Scenes from a break
We’ve stayed home for March break. Kevin and I are doing our best to split the days so that we both have time to work; this is a blessed change from past holidays when the bulk of the sudden increase in childcare fell directly on me. (I hope to sustain this change, at least in part, over the summer too, and without relying too heavily on camps.) The kids love being at home and doing next to nothing. Add in a few friends, a few sleepovers, and this beautiful spring weather, and home is a pretty happy place to be. Our big outing for the week is going to a matinee movie, planned for tomorrow. Set the bar low and we’re all totally excited about this small adventure.
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Reminder: I’m reading tonight at Conrad Grebel College, 7pm!
And: Here’s a link to my post today on The Afterword, on judging my book by its cover.
Rolling, rolling, rolling
I feel like I’m writing a lot about Juliet lately. I apologize. But this blog is an accurate reflection of my life and interests and the way I spend my hours, and truthfully, Juliet is filling up a lot of hours. And a lot of mental space.
Some cliches pop to mind. This too shall pass. Strike while the iron’s hot.
It’s not every day that I can tell you to go and buy April’s Chatelaine magazine. Look for Juliet! She’s in there (the review is not available online). And she’s in the latest Quill & Quire too. A thoroughly lovely and thoughtful review. There is also today’s post up on The Afterword titled “My time in Nicaragua.”
So it’s busy. It’s tumbling me along.
And I’m grateful for getting up early and working as hard as was physically possible this morning in spin class. I’m pretty sure exercise is the answer to some of my questions, and some of my anxiety. It has the effect of transporting me somewhere quite beyond the scribbling scurrying superficial thoughts. It empties and clarifies my mind. I’ve hit the stage of the publishing process over which I have no control. Let’s just say I have some learning to do, yet, in the roll-with-it department. Look at that sky in the photo up above. Those clouds know how to roll with it.
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If you’re in Waterloo, I should also let you know that I’ll be reading tomorrow evening at Conrad Grebel College’s series called “Mennonite/s Writing in Canada.” 7pm. I’ll read something different from what I read at the launch. Books will be available for sale. Hope to see you there.
News plus nostalgia
fake front page from December 8, 2000
All this week, I am guest editing the Afterword, which is the National Post newspaper’s absolutely terrific book blog. Since my first real job was at the National Post in their books section (oh, more than a decade ago now; pre-children and post-grad school), the current books editor, Mark Medley, suggested I write about my time there. Which got me all nostalgic, I must confess. And that is the subject of today’s post on the Afterword. More of my posts, on other subjects, will follow throughout the week.
A word on the photo above. When I left the National Post, colleagues in the section surprised me by putting together a fake front page with stories written by them especially to mark the occasion. It was one of the sweetest gifts I’ve ever received, and of course I framed it to keep forever. Below, a close-up. This photo was taken at a Post party, and it’s what I looked like in the fall of 2000. I was in fact pregnant with my first baby, though you can’t tell (and yes that is a non-alcoholic beverage in my hand). I just look at this photo and think: so young. (Also: why the turtleneck, young sexy Carrie? Why?)
I look at this photo and it makes me happy.
The week in suppers: mid-March, sigh
making maki
**Monday’s menu** French onion soup over stale baguette slices, with melted cheese.
**Inspiration** This meal was inspired by a stale baguette. However, we had a soup shortage; underestimated appetites. Apparently it was delicious. (I ate leftovers and didn’t get a taste.)
**Tuesday’s menu** Sweet potato coconut soup. Bread. Cheese.
**A request** Realized, while the kids were preparing to leave for school, that the day was going to be insanely busy and something needed to be tossed into the crockpot. I thought lentils. The kids requested my sweet potato soup instead. I was surprised because I thought they’d be getting sick of it; but I love requests. Apparently it’s not to be called “yam” soup, even casually. Yams don’t sound as tasty as sweet potatoes.
**Wednesday’s menu** Pulled pork on buns.
**Thanks** to Grandma who babysat (and brought a crockpot of food!) while Kevin and I were in Toronto eating Chinese food before the Harbourfront reading.
**Thursday’s menu** Mashed potatoes. Mushroom gravy. Kale chips. Fried tofu.
**Plenty of time** Thursdays are the best because I have time to cook (at least with our the most recent schedule; who knows what the spring schedule will bring). That mushroom gravy is fantastic. The kids would agree with me, except for the mushrooms.
**Friday’s menu** Ethiopian lentil bowl. Baked rice.
**Leftover surprise?** Nope; there were not quite enough leftovers to anchor Friday’s meal and I didn’t want to suffer a repeat of Monday’s shortages. So I cooked up lentils with tons of garlic instead. The recipe is from Simply in Season and it’s delicious and super-easy.
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**Weekend kitchen accomplishments** Four loaves of bread. Used the new bread flour, which made light and fluffy loaves; a big improvement on the rustic lumps of the last batch.
**Cooking with kids** CJ’s menu, Fooey’s assistance. Sushi, maki, and miso soup. Green tea.
**Overheard from Dad-in-charge** “You’re putting your sleeve into the roll again.” “I think you should take off that sweater.” “You’re covered in rice.” “There is rice all over the floor.” [muttered]: “This would be so much easier without help.”
**Guests** In keeping with our attempt to invite guests to dinner at least once a week, we invited three to share in our sushi meal. Together, we devoured 3.5 pounds of sushi-grade salmon, plus rolls made with mango, avocado, and cucumber.
“A very spirited Juliet”
this morning’s paper
Kevin and I slept in this morning. Indoor soccer season *at 8am for six-year-olds! is finally over. We must have been tired.
When we finally dragged ourselves out of bed, I picked up my phone to check messages. Here is the first one I saw: “Congratulations on your Globe review, Carrie. You’re probably going to want to read this one.”
Without saying a word, I beelined for the porch, retrieved today’s Globe & Mail, flipped through to the Arts section, and to Books. And found my own self-portrait, which my brother tells me has a Zoolander flavour to it (nooooo!). I also found a really solid review of The Juliet Stories. Exhale.
And then Fooey came to see. “I found your name, Mommy!” She tried to sound out the headline: “sp, sp, sp …” And then Albus asked if he could have the section. It has the funnies in it.
At dinner the other night one of the other writers with whom I was reading said a good review is like a sugar rush. This feels like a caffeine high. I’m not sure it’s quite healthy. Don’t get me wrong, I am not arguing in favour of bad reviews, not at all. It’s that attention of any kind has an unpredictable effect on the human spirit. It’s a dangerous flirtation. This may be my Mennonite roots showing. Guarding against vanity; humility of spirit.
But this is a good and happy and out-of-the-ordinary moment in my life.
So on behalf of all Obscure CanLit Mamas out there, I embrace this unsettling rush, with deep appreciation for a continuing dream. My feet are off the ground — one flash-frozen stride in a long journey.