Blog, in a Nutshell

Blog, in a Nutshell

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Sometimes it all comes back like the rekindling of an old passion — the reason I started this blog, which is the walking and what it leads to, the new ideas, a fresh way of looking at something. Though I post about books and music and writing and more, it was walking that started it and walking that energizes it still.

No surprise this came to me yesterday, when the air felt more like spring than fall and a pair of doves rose up and fluttered off as I strode too close to them. I heard geese, too, a flock that has decided to winter here, I guess.

The light was soft and the scenery, to quote Hemingway, a movable feast, and I gobbled it up as I ambled past. Thoughts floated by, some of them even worth keeping. So I rushed home and wrote them down. And there you have it — the blog, in a nutshell.

Small Tech Victory

Small Tech Victory

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Though I envision the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day as a black hole of relaxation, a time when I need do nothing but read, write, walk and watch movies, reality does intrude. Yesterday I even had to boot up my work computer — horror of horrors — to check on the old flexible spending account, a time sink if ever there was one.

To do this required the overcoming of several tech challenges, including the export of an Excel document. I was charged up by the fact that I did this without error, a small tech victory that inspired me to attempt others.

If increasing technical complexity is the sea in which we must swim, then small tech victories are the life rafts we must celebrate.

Walking to Georgia

Walking to Georgia

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On my getaway last month I briefly hiked the Appalachian Trail. I passed it quickly on the way up to an advertised 360-degree view, which was more like 345, since to reach the ultimate pinnacle required a little more rock scrambling than I wanted to do. But on the way back to the car, the AT was there and I was game.

But first, I had to decide: would I head to Maine … or Georgia? A silly way to put it, of course, since I wouldn’t be walking to either one, wouldn’t even be on the trail itself for more than a few minutes.

Making the choice made me think, though. Despite all we hear about it being the journey not the destination that matters, endpoints make a difference. They shift the way we think about a trip. They color the journey.

In the end, the sun was slanting more fetchingly to the south, so that’s what I chose. This is what I saw. Not Georgia … but not bad.

After the Whirlwind…

After the Whirlwind…

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The day was grand, filled with family and food and thoughtful gifts. In its wake there is gratitude and satiety and relief that I’ve no more gifts to buy!

Almost always after Christmas, I long for a cleansing, a de-cluttering, a new broom to sweep away the cobwebs.

At war with this instinct is the urge to relax, to actually do nothing except read, write and watch movies. And right now … that’s what’s winning!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

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Once again the days have passed, the splendid ones and the trying ones. Once again we’ve come back to this point, which is for me, and for many, the great pause. Christmas Day. Soon to be followed by New Year’s Day and the delicious week in between. Once again I’ll re-run this blog post, one I wrote in 2011. Merry Christmas!


12/24/11

Our old house has seen better days. The siding is dented, the walkway is cracked, the yard is muddy and tracked with Copper’s paw prints. Inside is one of the fullest and most aromatic trees we’ve ever chopped down. Cards line the mantel, the fridge is so full it takes ten minutes to find the cream cheese. Which is to say we are as ready as we will ever be. The family is gathering. I need to make one more trip to the grocery store.

This morning I thought about a scene from one of my favorite Christmas movies, one I hope we’ll have time to watch in the next few days. In “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Jimmy Stewart has just learned he faces bank fraud and prison, and as he comes home beside himself with worry, he grabs the knob of the banister in his old house — and it comes off in his hand. He is exasperated at this; it seems to represent his failures and shortcomings.

By the end of the movie, after he’s been visited by an angel, after his family and friends have rallied around him in an unprecedented way, after he’s had a chance to see what the world would have been like without him — he grabs the banister knob again. And once again, it comes off in his hand. But this time, he kisses it. The house is still cold and drafty and in need of repair. But it has been sanctified by friendship and love and solidarity.

Christmas doesn’t take away our problems. But it counters them with joy. It reminds us to appreciate the humble, familiar things that surround us every day, and to draw strength from the people we love. And surely there is a bit of the miraculous in that.

Photo: Flow TV

Holiday Greetings!

Holiday Greetings!

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There are fewer cards on the mantel each year, it seems — Facebook and high postage rates at work as well as the lovely ecards that I treasure, too. I still send out a slew of hard-copy photo cards, as I have every year since Suzanne was born. And I still cherish each card that comes in, maybe even more so now.

This year’s crop brings much joyous news of health battles overcome (or at least at stalemate), of new babies here or on the way, of friends moving back to the area.

The mantel is a bit more crowded this year with a new clock, so I’m making room for the cards on the table, where I can pick them up and read them over and over.

They are, as always, a reminder of what matters most, of love and fellowship, of the fact that we are fellow travelers on the way — and that this is a time to rejoice.

Gift of Restraint

Gift of Restraint

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I”m just back from a last-minute shopping run, and I’ve decided that one of the less-appreciated but most important presents we can (not) buy is … the gift of restraint.

Yes, I did pick up a few extra items, but there were many, many more that I did not. I avoided the games section, refuge of the lost and frantic. And the jewelry and toiletries, ditto. Doing this not only saves me money, but it saves my loved ones time because they will have fewer gifts to return this year.

This is not to say they won’t find many gifts underneath the tree. They will! But there are some they will not find … and they will thank me for that!

Choosing Fixtures

Choosing Fixtures

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A brief pause from holiday topics to discuss … bathroom fixtures. Shortly into the new year, we embark on the first major home improvement work this house has seen in almost a decade — and the first interior home improvement work in almost two!

It’s long overdue, this bathroom remodel, but it involves myriad decisions and realizations, learning about things like tub drains, grout color and tile permeability. Things I never think about but now, unfortunately, must.

The other day, while doing my stair-walk at work, I ruminated on the little metal placards that hold the floor number and how they’re attached to doors. And that made me realize how infrequently I think about how things are made. I slide along on the built surface of life, barely giving it a second thought. That is about to change.

Real v. Fake

Real v. Fake

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As I prepare to finish my holiday shopping I’m encouraged to learn about an expense I have so far avoided this season. The nine-foot “Starry Night” artificial Christmas tree by Frontgate costs $2,474 — though you can score another tree from this brand for a mere $999.

I learned this from a Washington Post article this morning, which also contains these tidbits: Americans prefer fake trees by two to one. And last year 63 percent of Republicans said they planned to buy an artificial tree compared with 44 percent of Democrats.

In this house the trees are always real … though never say never.

The Countdown Begins

The Countdown Begins

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Now the countdown really begins. Even December 18th and 19th have the aura of Christmas about them, and certainly the 20th does. These dates glow with an ancient brightness. They echo down through centuries. When will we hit the darkest day? When will we hit bottom and start to rise again?

Of course, these close-to-Christmas dates also have personal memories, harking back to childhood. They were the days that would never end, full of anticipation and wonder and even a little bit of fear. Had I been good enough? Would there be a bride doll or a bicycle or whatever else I absolutely had to have waiting for me underneath the tree?

Those days are long gone, of course, but memories of them linger and color late December, make it a magical time, even now.