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An author muses about many things as well as the writing life.
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Number of Readers that added this blog to their MyJacketFlap: 6
So I've done it: I've started a new blog called, Victorian Scribbles, a historical blog about the Victorian Era in England, as well as the Victorian Era/Gilded Age in the United States and La Belle Époque in Europe (they overlapped). Please click here or go to the top and click "My Other Blog" to read the first post.
I hope you will read both blogs whenever you have time.
Whichever blog you return to the most, I hope you will comment and leave information about yourself, so that I can read your blog. I love meeting new bloggers and keeping in touch with old blogging friends.
Ciao for now,
Out of the blue, I was recently (and kindly, I might add) awarded The Liebster Award, by Murees Dupé at
Daily Drama of an Aspiring Writer.Here's how it works:
Liebster Award Rules:1. Thank the blogger who gave you the award and link back to his or
her blog.
2. Answer 11 questions from the presenter; list 11 random facts about
you, and create 11 questions for your nominees. (Whew, this part
is a lot of work, which is why it's taking me awhile to complete.)
3. Present the Liebster Award to 11 bloggers whose blogs have 200
followers or less and whom you feel deserve to be noticed. Leave
a comment on their blog notifying them of your nomination.
4. Upload the Liebster Award to your own blog.
Murees's Questions for Me:1. What is the worst job you ever had?
A laundry I worked in, once. The biggest problem was boredom.2. What is your favorite snack?
Cookies. Any kind. I love them.3. What is your favorite TV series?
Downton Abbey. I confess, I'm hooked.4. Who would you like to meet? (Person could be dead or alive.)
Hmm. Perhaps Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Then I could ask him why he felt his Holmes stories weren't literary.5. If you could be any animal, what would it be?
A dog. They are such noble creatures.6. What are you most grateful for?
My marriage, my extended family, and my friends.7. What do you hate?
I don't hate.8. Do you include exercise into your daily routine?
I should, shouldn't I . . . Does gardening count?9. Do you like animals?
Dogs, cats, horses, for sure. Maybe not octopi.10.What is your favorite season?
Fall, but Spring runs a close second.11.What is your favorite food?
South Indian cuisine. So many delicious dishes. So much variety.
Eleven Random Facts About Me:1. I love to read a good mystery, whether for adults or for children.
2. I love poetry, both reading it and writing it.
3. So, it follows that I hang out at book stores and libraries, right?
4. I love the French Impressionist painters.
5. I'm hooked on the Victorian Era. So much so, that I'm starting a second blog, called,
Victorian Scribbles. It's still in construction, but it should be ready for visits by next week. Take a peek.
6. I love opera. Especially Puccini's operas. Especially
La Boheme, Madame Butterfly, and
Tosca.7. I once nibbled a dog biscuit just to see what the appeal was for my dog. I don't recommend it; not my kind of cookie. Probably not yours, either.
8. One of my ambitions in life is to walk a part of the pilgrimage road in Galicia that leads to Santiago. To get a certificate, you have to walk 100 kilometers on it. (Hmm, maybe I should start exercising. See Murees's question #8.)
9. I drink a cup of hot chocolate every morning. It's a great way to start the day.
10.That said, I'm not particularly keen on chocolate
per se. I mean, I enjoy a piece now and then, but I can have a gift box of chocolates on the shelf for a good six months before its contents are finally gone.
11.Some day I would like to go to Ireland. It's a land that seems (to me) both haunting and haunted.
Here's My List of Questions for My Award Recipients:1. Who is your favorite artist?
2. Favorite author?
3. Have you ever interviewed someone? If so, who? and about what?
4. What is your favorite genre in literature?
5. Do you speak any languages other than English?
6. If you were 19, what career would you choose—the one you did choose, or another?
7. Which deceased author would you most like to meet, and why?
8. Which living author would you most like to meet, and why?
9. What is number one on your bucket list?
10. Do you believe in Hobbits?
11. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
And Here Are My Picks for the Liebster Award:(Go check out their sites; they write good stuff!)1. Rosi Hollinbeck -
The Write Stuff2. JaNay Brown -
JaNay With Words3. Richard Hughes -
Writing and Living by Richard P. Hughes4. Victoria Lindstrom -
Writ of Whimsy5. Julia Hones -
My Writing Life6. Catherine Winn -
The Writing Room7. Julie Luek -
A Thought Grows8. Joanna Marple -
Miss Marple's Musings9. Linda Jackson -
Writers Do Laundry Too10.Shannon Lawrence -
Writing from the Peak11.Kenda Turner -
Words and SuchCiao for now . . .
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| A city of cathedrals |
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| Porto from the river. |
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| An amazing wine shop/bar. |
It's time for Portugal again. Our dog has improved. My godfather's health is improving. And now I'm ready to return to O Porto. albeit only in memory and in pictures.
For those of you who lost the thread of that journey, on our fall trip to Galicia my husband and I went with friends Terri and David to the old city of Porto, for three days and two nights. Porto is like an aging beauty queen: Despite the make-up and glittery clothing of main streets and the wharf side cafes and shops, you can see the "wrinkles" on back streets. But Porto has an air of grandeur, of lost days of glory still sparkling on tiled walls and statues, on the gleaming waters of the Rio Douro where boats bob on rippling water and reflections of colorful buildings on the far bank shimmer below on the wet surface. Just writing about it brings it all back. You can see why: |
| A city of statues. |
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| The wharf-side |
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| A back street. |
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| The far bank. |
You can scroll back to read the earlier post about our first day there and where we stayed. And also the fabulous restaurant where we ate: O u (which means "the oven"). Also, in the earlier post you can see the lovely tile work of our hotel and the wonderful garden grounds.
The second morning, when we headed out to sightsee, we noticed a school across the street, and several young girls were crowded at the window, waving at us. Then the teacher must have told them to sit down, because a moment after the picture below, they all vanished.
On our way to the wharf, we passed the wine shop you see above, at the beginning of this post, and again below. The owner is from Brazil. The shop was absolutely tiny, with a small bar that would seat four at most, and the shelves were lined with every kind of bottle of wine you could imagine. We stopped by on the way back and enjoyed a glass of port. I am not really a port drinker, but it was good to try. After all, Portugal is the inventor of port.
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| Rajan photographing the wineshop. |
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| School of curious girls. |
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| On our way up the river. |
Once we got to the wharf, we could not resist the call of the river. So we boarded a boat for an hour-long river cruise.
And what wonderful sights we did see! Below are just a few samples.
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| Leaving the wharf. |
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| I love the woods behind buildings. |
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| A hidden castle in those woods. |
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| So much color! |
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| Awesome bridge for sure. |
For every one of these, we have oodles more. It was a splendid sight up and down the river.
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| A truly grand view. |
Two rather interesting boats, we thought.
With the wind rippling against our faces and the smell of freshness surrounding us, once we returned to land, we were hungry. So we ate at a charming little restaurant with great atmosphere at the wharf—its name eludes me, alas.
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| The restaurant. |
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| Our server. |
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| The atmosphere. |
And then we walked around the city some more, before going home. Later, of course, we ventured out to eat a late supper. And then the next morning we left so that we would have time to stop in the city of Tui on the Spanish side of the Rio Minho (Portuguese) or Rio Miño (Spanish). Tui, in Spain, is an old castle town with a huge cathedral, and is across the river from Valença, and old fortress town in Portugal, and that will have to be for another day.
Meanwhile, I hope you enjoyed this little (and limited) trip to Portugal.
No travel or writing post today, but it seemed time to post. Our dog is improving, but still acting weird, and I don't think he'll ever quite come back to where he was before his episode. His head still waggles when he looks up at you. He lurches from side to side when he walks. And he can laboriously climb the four stairs to our back door, with one of us hovering near by, but we have to help him down the stairs or he loses balance. I think this will be the pattern for the short rest if his life, but he still has his sweet personality.
But there are other concerns in my life and my husband's as well. My godfather has been quite ill with pneumonia. He's out of hospital and into a "restorative care" facility, but it's a bit touch and go as to how "restored" he'll be. He's on an oxygen tank now, and when he goes home, it will go with him, and his wife will need some assistance with the times he needs to get out of bed. He's 97 and has had a blessed life. He and my godmother are incredible people who have impacted so many lives. They live about 90 miles away from us, so the past few days my husband and I took turns going to the Bay Area to visit.
Though it's sad to see him so helpless (and it really bothers him -- even at his age, he wants to be up and about), it's also an inspiration to see him and his wife. They have a wonderful, loving, even romantic relationship after 65 years of marriage. They laugh and tease each other and hold hands. (The whole family is like that. Their son and daughter and their spouses are as near and dear to us as they are, and even while visiting the facility, a lot of laughter fills the air and keeps all the attendants chuckling as well.) And, behind all the laughter, they have always been deeply philosophical folks, so the conversations get profound at times as well. You can see their spirits in the pictures above taken just a few years ago.
It's nice to write about this, because I walk around thinking about them all the time. Writing about anything else (travel, writing posts, book reviews, etc.) just doesn't seem, well, meaningful right now. It seems a time to be away from all that; a time for introspection and appreciation of the part they've all played in my life.
All this by way of saying that I won't be posting for awhile, though I'll definitely be back. And I will take time to read your posts when I can. Meanwhile, I wish you all happy writing until I "see" you again.
Ciao for now.
I certainly hoped to be back to posting about our Portugal trip, but I've been working on Book Two for my series, writing articles, and making school visits for more information for my articles. Then, just when I thought I could post again, our dog came down with another attack of "idiopathic vestibular disease" or "old dog disease."
Cezar will be 15 years old in a couple of weeks, and he periodically comes down with these attacks. This was his 3rd (they are happening more frequently), and this was quite severe. Something in his middle ear doesn't function right and his vertigo causes nausea. Consequently, in the throes of an attack, he can't stand without falling down, and he can eat or drink because of the nausea. So we were in and out of the vet's office several times, getting him hydrated and having shots to counteract the vertigo. He's just started eating and drinking on his own again, and yesterday and today he was able to stand by himself and walk by himself, though not very far, and with weaving steps. The odd thing about this disease, is that an attack gives symptoms very much like stroke symptoms, but then it just clears up unaccountably after some days, and he's fine until the next time. And it's something that frequently accompanies a dog's old age.I hope to be back to posting about our travels and books and writing soon. I do miss it. But first things first.
Till then, hope the writing goes well and look forward to reading your posts in the near future.
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| Top left corner is Galicia. |
It's been such a busy time since we returned from Galicia at the end of October. I only managed one post on return, and then there was the announcement of my husband's photo website and contest, announcement of the winner, a friend's book launch, a family reunion in Raleigh, North Carolina, another friend's book announcement, and then Christmas (which was just lovely but where went the time?) All the while Galicia has been on my mind, but I've been pouring my responses to it into poetry. So it's nice to be back to blogging about the place we love so much.
Today's post, however, is about a trip we took with our friends, David and Terri, to Porto, or "O Porto", in Portugal. Portugal is directly south from Galicia and is like a continuation in many ways. If you look on a map, you can see that one flows into the other, and, indeed, Gallego and Portuguese are "sister languages". For the most part, a speaker of one can understand a speaker of the other with very little difficulty.
But when I think of Porto, I remember tiled walls, a feature, I have to say, of any Portuguese city. (We went to a walled border town, Valenca, a few years ago, and were struck at that time, too, by the many artistically tiled walls.) Along every street, whether old or restored, buildings gleamed with colorful tiles. We stayed for two nights, and the day we arrived the weather was overcast, but that made no difference. In sun or mist or rain, Porto is a beautiful and colorful city.
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We stayed at what a brochure described as a castle, appropriately named Castelo de Santa Catarina. We've also been told it was a mansion built by someone from Argentina, who later returned to South America. It's a beautiful place, as you can see from the pictures below. There is a central crenelated tower that certainly epitomizes a castle tower,
and also a separate chapel (which was typical of castles in olden days), but the rest of Castelo de Santa Catarina branches out in wings with tiled walls, and gardens at several levels. My husband and I both went crazy with the cameras. Below is just a sampler of what this amazing place looked like! |
Neither Terri nor I could resist the opportunity in one of the gardens to sit with ancient pharaohs:
(Do you get the feeling they're ignoring us, though? That's just like those ancient pharaohs!)
The first day, despite overcast weather, we headed down to the river (the Río Douro), where the cafés and shops are. It was a nice walk from our lodgings, ever downward toward the river, and finally down a flight of stairs to the river level and the main wharf area—a convivial sight to say the least, flocking with tourists. Lots of handmade items in some shops. I picked up a few souvenirs there to bring back.
Before returning to Castelo de Santa Catarina, we had a really fabulous dinner at a restaurant close to our lodgings: It was an unbelievable meal, enhanced greatly by one of the servers who had a truly funny sense of humor. Here we are, having a grand old time at O Forno:
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| O Forno |
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| Rajan, the server, Terri, and David |
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| Me, Terri, David, & Rajan |
After our meal we returned to Castelo de Santa Catarina: And another artistic experience greeted my husband and myself:
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| Our bedroom. |
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| Our bathroom. |
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| The breakfast room next morning. |
And with that, I bid you goodnight for now. Coming up: A wine shop, a river cruise, a school, and a fond farewell to what we will always remember as "The City of Tiles."
Meanwhile, is there anything else you would especially like to know about Porto? I'm so enamored of the trip I'd be more than happy to look it up.
I am pleased to announce the exciting news that Rosi Hollinbeck's Christmas memoir, Christmas Without Snow, is included in the new Christmas anthology by Jennifer Basye Sander, A Miracle Under the Christmas Tree, along with many other wonderful stories. This book will make will make great holiday reading. Order information is at the bottom of this post.
Rosi also hosts a wonderful blog called
The Write Stuff which you can read by clicking
here. (It's also shown again at the bottom of this post.) A little about her story:
CHRISTMAS WITHOUT SNOW by Rosi Hollinbeck
Living in Minnesota has some drawbacks: the sweltering dog days of August filled with mosquitoes the size of Buicks, and Februarys that seem to freeze even time. But one of the true joys of being a Minnesotan is being there at Christmastime. It just seems so right. Minnesota is a Christmas kind of place. Cheeks and nose-tips redden in crisp, cold air. Soft, fresh snow nearly always blankets the ground on Christmas mornings. Frost covers everything turning trees and bushes in jeweled ice sculptures. The daytime sky is such a pure, hard blue, it hurts to look at it, and the sun casts purple shadows across the snow. The sweet smell of burning hardwood permeates the air through the long evenings. . .
About Rosi Hollinbeck:
Rosi lives in Roseville, California, just east of Sacramento. She is active in the Society of Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators as well as the California Writers Club. She has work in up-coming issues of Highlights and Highlights High Five magazines. Her historical short story, Helen’s Home Run, won first place in the 2011 Foster City International Writers Contest Children’s Division. Her middle-grade novel, The Incredible Journey of Freddy J., was a finalist in the Grace Notes Discovering the Undiscovered contest. She writes book reviews regularly for the Sacramento Book Review and on her blog. You can find out more about her at her blog at http://rosihollinbeckthewritestuff.blogspot.com.
Purchase Links: A Miracle Under the Christmas Tree is available from Barnes and Noble as a paperback or Nook book or from Amazon as a paperback or Kindle book. Here are the links:
Lynda R. Young’s short story titled Birthright has been published by J. Taylor Publishing in the Make Believe anthology launched TODAY! Virtual cake for everyone!! Make Believe is currently available in e-book format and includes Paranormal Romance and Fantasy stories inspired by the image on the cover. This will make great holiday reading.
Birthright by Lynda R. Young
Christa can mask the pain and hide the scars, but running from a birthright is impossible.
She’s tried to escape her grief by fleeing to a small town in Florida. Much to her frustration, the locals think they recognize her even though she's never been there before. To make things worse, a man named Jack spouts outrageous theories about her.
Both spur Christa to bolt, to start fresh yet again, but there’s something about Jack that intrigues her enough to stay. The only problem? Someone else wants her to leave, and they won’t stop until she’s dead.
Go this minute to the J. Tayor Publishing Make Believe website HERE to read blurbs about all the stories in this wonderful collection, as well as how to order it.
About Lynda R. Young:Lynda R. Young lives in Sydney, Australia, with her sweetheart of a husband who is her rock, and a cat who believes world domination starts in the home. She writes speculative short stories and is currently writing novels for young adults. In her spare time she also dabbles in photography and all things creative. You can find her here: Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads
The winner in the recent photo contest for a free print from my husband's Galicia Gallery is:
JaNay Brown-Wood. Congratulations, JaNay!
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| Monastery |
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| Ribeira Sacra Doade |
I am pleased to announce my husband's new website, VARADANARTFOTO.COM
featuring his black and white art photographs.
Many of you have commented on the photographs of Galicia posted in my blog. Most of them were done by my husband, Rajan Varadan, whose specialty is actually black and white photography. Ever since we’ve been going to Galicia, he’s been captivated by the beautiful old stone buildings and walls (some of them in ruins, and some in beautiful repair). And the countryside especially offers beauty because of the various textures in the landscape (vineyards, forests, pastures, and rising mist).  |
| A Small Vineyard |
For about six years he made calendars featuring 12 of the particular year’s best. Then last summer, our friends in Galicia, Terri and David Anderson, arranged for an exhibition of those 60 photos at the Concello in Ferreira, a town near where we live. We weren’t able to be there, as we’d returned from a trip in the spring, but they sent pictures of the exhibition, and I blogged about it in my May 28th post this year (you can click on it at the right margin.)
Now he has started an online gallery with photos to share: So far he only has the Galicia gallery up, but in the future, he will have a California gallery and a gallery with photos of places in India. (He’s from India, and is especially enamored of the Belur Halibid temples with their many exquisite sculptures and carvings.)
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| Sheep Grazing in Bramble |
At present he is featuring 62 black and white photographs of Galicia, many of which were not in the show. The website is
VARADANARTFOTO.COM When you go to the site, click first “Portfolio” and then “Galicia”.
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| A Path through the Village |
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| The Gathering |
Scroll through all the photos, each of which has a name and number.
The latter is important, because we are running a contest! Whoever wins gets an 8-1/2 by 11 print of their favorite photo free, including free shipping -- from wherever you are.
Here is how to enter: Each one of the following is a "point" and your name goes into the hat.
1. Comment here.
2. Tweet this post.
3. Share it from here on Facebook.
4. Leave a comment on HIS website in the “contact” section about your favorite photo (the one you want to win.) That's your name in the hat four times already.
On my Facebook you can get more points, spelled out by my post on my timeline. When the contest is over, I use a randomizer to pick the winning number.
Contest starts Saturday, November 10th (tomorrow!) at 1:00 a.m. PST and ends Saturday, December 1st, at the stroke of midnight, PST.
Meanwhile, scattered throughout this post is a sampler of photos to enjoy. And remember, you can see 54 more pictures and pick one to win on his website. |
| Country Lane in Mist |
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| Broken Steps |
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| Trasulfe in the far upper right; lower, to the left is a neighbor's farm. (The neighbor who brought us the quemada described later in this post.) |
When people learn how often we go to Galicia, Spain, they often just hear "Spain", and ask us if we've seen Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla . . . No, we haven't been to any of those places (except for the Madrid airport).
Somehow Galicia has cast its spell over us, and, except for two short trips to Portugal (which we loved, and I'll write about in a later post), we haven't gotten out of Galicia. There is, of course, the famous city of Santiago, destination of pilgrims from all over the world, with a beautiful cathedral and an interesting old part of the city (as is the case with so many of these ancient cities in Galicia.) And I wrote about Lugo my previous post. But what captures our hearts so completely is the tiny village of Trasulfe. We bought a restored house there from friends, and the people of Trasulfe and their way of life have become an integral part of our lives.
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| One of the bends in the road on the way. |
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| The road we take is on the other side of this building |
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| And there it is: The village we love. |
Trasulfe once had a population of 84 people (counting the children) and a couple of grand houses that have fallen to ruin. Many of the stone buildings are in ruins. It is a rural area, and for years young people have left for the big cities or even gone out of the country to find jobs. Our neighbor across the lane worked for many years in Switzerland before returning home to care for his mother, and now he tends sheep. The couple down the hill lived in Barcelona for many years, but are originally from Trasulfe. The man who built our garage lives in a nearby town/village of Turiz, (or Toiriz in Gallegan), but his wife is from Trasulfe, and he tends his cows in a pasture nearby. And our neighbors down the lane who have had such an impact on us, Eva and Manolo, are both from Trasulfe. All of them have siblings, cousins, or grown children, who are living in places like Madrid or Barcelona or abroad in Argentina or Venezuela. The old villages are emptying out, and it's a shame.
Originally, as I said, Trasulfe had a population of 84, and now it has a year-round population of 8! This is the story of a lot of the hill towns of Galicia, and also other parts of Spain. The village populations are aging, but they still carry on their way of life, keeping chickens, pigs, rabbits, sheep, cows (never a huge herd), and growing crops and vineyards. When we arrive, our neighbors bring us wine and eggs regularly, along with whatever is growing that time of year. (We go in spring and fall, so it can be anything from tomatoes, walnuts, chestnuts, peaches, figs -- whatever they have, they generously share.)
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| One of our neighbors' vines. |
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| Our neighbor across the lane and his sheep. |
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| Gary Larson cows, gossiping. |
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| From our galería window. |
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| From our galería window. |
Despite the hardship of small rural villages (always, always they are working), there is a sense of peace and tranquility, of going with the seasons, of the cycle of life, that restores us while we are there. It's "hill and vale" country, and the land slopes down beyond our small fields into a valley, sloping up again on the far side, where we can see small villages akin to ours: white plaster walls, red tile roofs, varied shades of green due to fruit trees (apple, peach, figs), nut trees (walnut, chestnut), and low rock dry walls covered with brambles. Because of the elevation and the vales, nearly every morning begins with mist rising, sometimes an ocean of fog lapping against the far slopes; sometimes a veil over all, making the view haunting and mysterious. Galicia has two coasts, the Atlantic to the west, and the Bay of Biscayne to the north, and consequently it is the wet part of Spain. It's been called "green Spain", and you can see why.
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| Piñeiro, a village on the far slope. |
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| Another day of mist and sunlight. |
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| Another view from our galeria. |
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| Spooky chestnut forest. |
One of the turning points on the way to Trasulfe is a hunting preserve filled with chestnut trees. It always freaks me out, because it reminds me of the forest in Disney's original
Snow White, when the trees seemed malevolent. But actually neighbors from all the nearby villages go there to pick chestnuts. The chestnuts were late this year, due to a very dry summer.
Galicia -- all of Spain, in fact -- abounds with festivals and fiestas, and we missed two crucial ones this year: The festival in Toiriz Santa Maria which ended the day before we arrived is one we usually go to. It is not related to the wine harvest at all -- it's a saint's day fiesta -- but it follows the wine harvest (or vendimia), so it's always associated in our minds with the vendimia. But the festival at Santa Eulalia is actually a festival of the chestnuts, a one day festival that had an orchestra this year, and it was on the very day we were leaving, sad to say. The fiestas are so much fun. Orchestras and dancing mostly, but people come from nearby villages and it's an opportunity to catch up on talk.
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| You can see why these good people have stolen our hearts. |
Another moment of great sociability at day's end is gathering at the bench or some convenient group of rocks to just sit and talk. We look forward to this, despite our broken Spanish, and each year we can understand more and more. The picture to the right is from a couple of years ago, as we haven't yet downloaded all of this trip's pictures. It is always such a pleasure to see them again.
This photo is from our very first fall trip, which coincided with the vendimia. Friends and relatives were helping to make wine -- a wine that is very low in alcoholic content, as they don't add sugar when making it. They've been making it in their families for centuries, and every household has its
bodega with a store of wine.
What does have a high alcoholic content is the
aguardiente, a clear brandy they distill, similar to
grappa in Italy. All the neighbors make it in small quantities for home use, and sometimes they keep it clear, and sometimes they make herbal or coffee liquors from it. But it's always strong: A little goes a long, long way! We have a bottle going back years, because we drink it once or twice only, when the neighbor who gave it to us comes over for
meriendas (snacks) a couple of nights before we leave.
This year we had a delightful surprise: I call it "The Night of the Quemada". We invited our neighbors down the road in for
meriendas one evening, as they had given us a lovely lunch one day, and they brought the
quemada and invited our neighbor across the road too.
Quemada is made in a special clay bowl and prepared in a special way: You peel an orange, an apple, and a lemon, and put only the peels in the bowl, along with some sugar, then a generous handful of coffee beans.
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| Quemada bowl with peels, beans, and aguardiente. |
Then you pour a generous quantity of
aguardiente over it -- and set fire to it! The fire burns a soft blue with some yellow, and it has to burn for a few minutes so that the drink picks up all the essence of the fruit peels and beans. It's a marvelous aroma! (Our little dining room smelled so good afterwards!) Then it's served in very small cups -- and for good reason!
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| The fire burned . . . |
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| The fire was set . . . |
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| Everyone was merry . . . |
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| And I was more than a little surprised! |
I hope you've enjoyed this little taste of Trasulfe life (pun intended).
Now, a question for you: Where is your dream place you would like to go if you traveled away from your usual walk of life? What would make you return to it again and again?
By:
Elizabeth Varadan,
on 10/6/2012
Blog:
Elizabeth Varadan's Fourth Wish
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Here we are, still in our first week, and it has felt jam-packed. We arrived Monday evening, late. It was midnight before we got to bed. Then we spent the first couple of days opening the house, vacuuming and dusting, etc., and unpacking. Thursday we met friends in town at our favorite café bar in Monforte, Adega do Carlos, and yesterday we went to Lugo and stayed overnight for the San Froilán Fiesta.
The festival actually goes on for eight days, and yesterday, Friday, was the major religious day as San Froilán is the patron saint of Lugo, and the second day was the actual saint's day. Lugo is an ancient city about 60 miles north of Monforte, and it has both a Roman and Celtic past. (Well, for that matter, you can say that of all of Galicia: a Roman and Celtic past. There are old Roman bridges with arches everywhere, and the culture is both castiliano and galegan .)
What's fascinating about Lugo is that the center of town—the original town—is enclosed in a circular wall with about 17 arched entrances; a wall so thick it's wide enough for a car to drive atop, although only walking is permitted. Inside the walls are the old crooked cobbled streets, replete with restaurants and café bars, as well as two cathedrals and several plazas. Once we drove in and found the closest parking garage to our hotel, we unpacked and headed out to stroll the plazas and listen to music. Because it was the saint's day, all the clothing shops, etc., were closed, although eateries and bakeries were open.
Around the Plaza Mayor two huge stages were in preparation for the evening orchestra/bands. But the ayuntamiento (council building) flanks one side of the Plaza Mayor, and the municipal orchestra of Lugo was playing excerpts from Tschaikovky's Swan Lake, as well as music by Rodrigo and other composers. Really lovely to listen to. Walking down one of the narrow streets, waiting for lunch time (2:00 p.m.), we heard strains by Mozart floating from a restaurant's open doorway.
We are vegetarians, so sometimes it's hard to find restaurant food in Spain, but, luckily we eat fish and seafood. So we had a really tasty lunch of croquetas bacalao (codfish), grilled prawns, and—a real adventurous "first" for us—steamed cockles with lemon. My goodness, they were good. They looked to me like tiny versions of clams, and they had that "ocean" flavor that was quite evocative. Along with wine, of course.
After lunch, wandering around, we found a band in rehearsal at the Plaza Santa Maria. They were playing all the traditional Galician music with traditional instruments. Their orchestra was composed of four harps, four bagpipes, four violins, six tambourines, one huge set of drums and a smaller drum, and about eight "lap" organs with handles, as well as castanets and a mouth instrument that was "twanged". The music was haunting and beautiful, and sometimes sounded Irish, and sometimes sounded Greek, and sometimes sounded Spanish. Just fantastic. Later, around nine p.m., after a picnic dinner in our room, we heard the concert all over again and enjoyed it just as much. Then, at 10:30 p.m. we returned to the Plaza Mayor to listen to another Latin orchestra. We sat and enjoyed that until nearly midnight, and then returned to the hotel and went to bed.
After rolls and coffee at a bakery this morning, we walked along the shopping areas (and I did find a nice belt and scarf.) We returned, then, to the "artesian" tent, where local artisans were showing their beautiful handicrafts. And then we headed back "home" around noon.
Weather-wise, we have been lucky. Except for rain this morning, and not a heavy one, it's another beautiful sunny day. And now, I must wrap this up. I'm at a wi-fi café, and I want to post this before we return to the house. Later, I'll try to post some pictures.
Meanwhile, for us, Galicia is a magical place. I write poetry about it at times. Before we started coming here, McKinley Park in Sacramento used to affect me that way. Do you have a place like that? If so, where?
Expect to finish this draft in October. Please check back November 1st, because by then I'll be dying to post!
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So here I am again, explaining why I haven't been blogging.
The good news is that I've been writing. And re-writing. And, yup, re-writing. And when I'm not doing that, I'm reading in a focused way that I hope will make the current re-write better. I keep thinking that any day now I'm going to blog again and write a brilliant post or at least a book review of one of the many books I've been reading. But duty calls: I get immersed in my WIP. And I need to, too! There is someone waiting for me to finish this rewrite.
I think while I'm so engaged in the WIP right now, I'll have to content myself with visiting your blogs and commenting and defer posting for awhile.
But, in the meantime, if you've stopped by, please share what you are doing and where you are in the writing process. I'm sure others who stop by will be just as interested as I am and will want to visit your blog to learn more.
I do hope to be doing it again before too long.
Until then, write on.
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| Maybe why I post less frequently? |
First the apologies, both for the long silence, and for the fact that some of you (e-mail subscribers, actually) have been receiving repostings from the past.
What happened was that I read an important post about the fact that bloggers can be sued for using clip art and online photos if they aren't actually in the public domain or royalty free. If you haven't already read about this on blog sites or on Facebook, you can go to my friend Rosi Hollinbeck's site, The Write Stuff, where she posted two good sites where you can learn about the hazards and also learn about the free sites you really can count on.
Because this can be tricky business: Some of the sites I visited in the past looked like they were royalty free, but they only were if you paid a fee to become a member with unlimited downloads, and stuff like that (info I hadn't read closely enough). This past week, instead of blogging, I've been diligently going through old posts to cull out pictures I wasn't sure about. In the process, a couple of times I clicked "post" instead of "update", and my subscribers have been getting reposts from last summer and fall. (Just disregard them, folks. If they aren't the current date, it just means I clicked the wrong icon. You can delete them.)
Yesterday two friend who subscribe let me know they received my Thanksgiving Post!Not that I don't have a lot to be thankful for.
Now we come to the good news. The other reason I haven't been posting for so long is because I've been doing rewrites of my middle grade mystery for an agent who was interested. And a few days ago I got the signed contract! I've posted this on Facebook, but some of you aren't on Facebook, so here is the news: Yes, I have an agent, a very good one. I'm very happy about it. She requested rewrites before we ever signed the contract, but, in the process, she nudged my writing up to a higher level, which will stand me in good stead for the sequel. (This is a mystery series.)
So there you have it: the reason for the long silence, and the reason for surprises out of the blue (if you're a subscriber). I'll be posting more often again from now on, so please stop by. And if you came by today, please leave a comment; I have a few questions:
Did you know about the issue re: public domain pictures? Have you been hard at work on your own writing? Are any of you at the SCBWI Conference in LA? (If so, I am sooooo envious. I went two years ago, and it was marvelous.) http://rosihollinbeckthewritestuff.blogspot.com/
I am two-and -a-half weeks into recovery from foot surgery, and there isn't a lot to think about when your day is spent reading one book after another while your foot is propped up on 3 or 4 pillows to keep it above your waist. (The first 2 weeks it was above my heart.) I could be doing book reviews, true, but it would be hard to pick one. I think I've read about 20 books in two weeks!
I keep wondering how this experience will play into my writing. Will it? Can it? I write mainly for kids. I had bunions and hammer-toes, an adult affliction that develops over time. The protagonist in my present WIP is a ten-year-old girl in the Victorian era, when corrective surgery for these didn't exist, and ten-year-olds wouldn't even know what they were.
Write what you know. Well, at present, what I know is all about foot surgery for bunions and hammertoes. Maybe one of you can have a character with this problem, in which case, please help yourself to the following information. This is kinda what my feet looked like before surgery. I had one of each of these on each foot. And let me tell you, they are really uncomfortable. Almost all my shoes started rubbing painful blisters. I could only wear those comfy sliders that look like bedroom slippers. You know the ones I mean.
I had the right foot done last summer, and the left foot done on June 22nd this summer. It's amazing what the doctor does: He cuts bone. Yes. He cuts the bunion off. Then he cuts the hammertoe off and pins that toe so that it's flat. Yeah. A pin. (That comes out after 5 weeks). The new big toe, now minus a bunion, has a little screw in the joint. That's forever.
Saturday we received news that my husband's eldest brother passed away. We called Friday evening as we often do, (which was Saturday morning In India), and he was on the verge of passing even then. All the brothers were there, as well as my husband's sister, and we conveyed news to two brothers here. One of them called India later and called us back with the news that he had passed about an hour after we called. He was 90, and would have been 91 in September. He lived a long and incredibly good life, and still I am sorry he is gone, though also glad for his sake. The heat in India is killing heat at this season. He was suffering from that in recent calls. But even though our visits were infrequent through the years, I'll miss him in future visits. He radiated kindness and wisdom, as does my sister-in-law, his wife. And he always took my spiritual questions seriously and took time to answer them. Both he and his wife have been beacons of goodness for all the family, and after all the traditional rites and ceremonies are performed, his loss will be deeply felt, though he leaves a wonderful spiritual legacy for us all.
I haven't been blogging because. . . A series of FORTUNATE events have been keeping me busy.
There was the art show in March. I always love setting it up. But then there was taking it down again before our trip to Spain. Busy, busy, when you are packing too.
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| The art show in the window of Are Ellis. |
There was the trip to Galicia. Wonderful, as always. This is our village, Trasulfe.
But this time there was not much time to blog, because I was doing a rewrite of my mystery for an agent who is interested. She liked many of the changes, but wanted more changes. So. . . , that meant another rewrite before surgery, along with the year's wind up of art club. And I still have another rewrite coming up. But I love doing it. I thought the book was ready before, but it's much better now, and I like the agent's approach.
Here is a location that is important in Book 1.
In our absence, our friends in Galicia arranged for an exhibit of my husband's photos of places in Galicia. We couldn't be there for it, but we heard it went well. There were 60 photos in all. Here are four of them:
And then there was the surgery itself, two days ago. (But you don't want photos of that.) I spent the last two weeks in pre-op appointments as well as gardening. I am so glad I pulled weeds and made the garden beautiful. Now, bed-bound,I can look out my back window and enjoy roses and geraniums when I get tired of reading. Rajan also put a huge bouquet of sunflowers in a vase on the desk in my writing nook here inthe bedroom. Another restful sight, and so cheery! (Don't have a picture of that yet, but I will.)
We also visited friends,because for about 7 weeks I won't be traveling anywhere except into cyberspace! (I AM looking forward to reading your blogs again after being so focused on my own activities for so long.)
Meanwhile the surgery went quite well. I'm supposed to stay off that foot and keep it elevated for about 7 weeks. I'm well-armed with books to read. So you can expect some book reviews in days to come. Also I have my writing notebooks to keep me occupied, and hopefully the time will f
Before I get to some book reviews and interviews that have been on the back burner, It's "catch up" time for some tagging. In March I was tagged by two cool bloggers, Rachna Chhabria and Linda Jackson with The Lucky 7 Meme tag.
Here's how tagging works
(although some of you already know this):
1. Go to page 77 of your current MS, WIP.
2. Go to line 7.
3. Copy down the next 7 lines, sentences or paragraphs and
post them as they are written.
4. Tag 7 authors.
5. Let them know.
Soooooo, here are my 7 sentences: (The car in question is a Model-T)
All at once everything returned to me--Fathe
By:
Elizabeth Varadan,
on 4/9/2012
Blog:
Elizabeth Varadan's Fourth Wish
(
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JacketFlap tags:
Galicia,
MG,
book review,
house sitter,
ciao,
dog sitter,
adios,
Spain,
lucky 7 meme,
Add a tag
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| The Puente Roman in Monforte de Lemos |
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| A view from our galería window in Trasulfe |
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| Nightfall in Tasulfe |
Wednesday we will be on our way to Galicia, Spain, for four weeks. Four weeks that will be almost entirely in Spanish, except when we are with our British friends. Does this mean that we are fluent in Spanish? No. It means our Spanish friends are supportive and kind as we thumb madly through our pocket dictionaries to figure out what they just said. But we love the experience. And our Spanish is getting better.
So, I probably will not be blogging before Sunday. But please check back, because I have lots to share:
A review of Richard Hughes' story collection, Only the Lonely. (And my apologies, Richard, for putting your last name as Hansen in my last post when I passed out the Lucky 7 Meme. I have another friend named Hansen, and that just leaps out every time. I've made the correction in the post. And anyone reading this today, go check out his cool blog here. . . .)
A review of a book by Lewis Buzbee (title withheld to keep you wondering.)
A sprinkle of posts about Galicia.
14 Comments on Almost Off to Spain, last added: 4/13/2012
So I've done it: I've started a new blog called, Victorian Scribbles, a historical blog about the Victorian Era in England, as well as the Victorian Era/Gilded Age in the United States and La Belle Époque in Europe (they overlapped). Please click here or go to the top and click "My Other Blog" to read the first post.
12 Comments on The Month of the Foot, last added: 7/12/2012
Oh how fun. Good for you.
You go, Girl!
I like it. Following for sure.
Just had a look. LIKE!
According to my kids I was alive then.
Hi, all, I appreciated your comments, and it was nice to see you at the new site, too. Thanks for following both blogs.
Good luck and enjoy your new blog, Elizabeth.
Congratulations, Elizabeth! I look forward to reading your new blog.
Theresa and Julia, thanks for stopping by, and thanks for visiting Victorian Scribbles. It seems off to a good start.
Elizabeth,wishing you all the best with your blogs and your writing. I'll check out your other blog.
Thanks, Peaches. Look forward to seeing you there.
What a cool idea! Love the Victorian Era and the Gilded Age.
Congrats Elizabeth. It looks super. Will have to follow that too so I don't miss the posts.
As a history buff - I most definitely want to check out this blog :)
Rachna, thanks for the visit and the comments on both.
Optimistic, I hope you do check it out. The poem on it is your kind of sentiment, I think. Full of optimism! :-)
good luck with your new blog. I'll pop on over and take a look...
Thanks, Lynda, it was great to see you there!
Dear Elizabeth. Your new blog sounds very interesting and I'll pop over as soon as I finish this comment, which is to ask you to please step over to my blog and watch the little video as you might just have won yourself a book... :-)
Wow, thanks, Jayne! I'll pop right over!
How exciting and challenging. Two blogs and I can barely keep up with one :) Where do you get the energy? I'm on my way over to check out the new blog!
Thanks, Catherine!
I am impressed that you can manage two blogs. I sometimes find it hard to find the time for one blog. I love blogging, but there are never enough hours in a day. Best of luck!!!
Thanks for the good wishes, Cynthia. I hope to stay pretty regular on both, barring family illnesses or emergencies and the like. We'll see. :-)