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February 04, 2009 9:10 AM- four and twenty blackbirds

The sense of disconnectedness I have from this blog is indicative of where I am in general: drifty, distracted & deluged. (Well, deluged is a BIT of an overstatement, but that's what happens when you meander down alliteration lane).

I haven't been journaling anywhere-- which is unlike me. Journaling keeps me grounded and when I get too busy to stop and spill out my tangled thoughts I often end up here, in this state of criss-crossing to-do lists.

So, as the simplest, most direct route to bring clarity, reason and order to my situation would be to clean and organize this office, I naturally have no inclination to do that and will likely put it last on the list. Yes, there it is-- #11, "clean this F#@$%&* mess"!

Instead, I will come in here and tap on your collective energies to try and sort my guff into reasonable stacks. It's not like I have so much to do. Truly. Things are well in balance. It's more that I am deeply tired. How can I be tired? I don't know, I just am.

On another note, the fairy tale class is progressing really, really well. I love these kids and they are responding with such enthusiasm and interest to what we are exploring-- it's killa. Of course, not a class goes by without me rolling my eyes at the ceiling because, my god, the cultural divide has occurred. 15 kids-- not one has read Gone With the Wind (or seen the movie, but I don't care about the movie!). How can I reference Scarlett and Melanie when they don't know who they are?

It boggles. Not that GWTW is literature, mind you-- but doesn't everybody read that when they are like, 12? No? Just me then.

Aside from class, I am, as you might expect, rather consumed with Squam-- but it's all good, just keeps me busy. I'm even getting a bit, dare I say, homebody-esque as I am in the process of procuring some fabric to get two chairs recovered that we have had for 100 years and I've put off doing this for like 99 of those years. This is actually a fun little adventure and I WILL take photos of where/when I get the fabric and take you through it because I CARE about your boredom! I am COMMITTED to your ability to use this site as a sleep aid.

Insomnia is a genuine malady in this country and by god, I will do my part to ensure people get some sleep.

Oh, but before you drift off, this Friday night-- February 6-- I'm headed down to Rochester to Susan's gallery (Artstream Studios) for the opening of an exhibit called "Midwinter Thaw" from 5 - 8 pm. It's gonna be a great show-- with Caitlyn Cedarstrom, Lisa Occhipinti, Denise Jansson, and Heather Palmer. Maybe I'll see you there?



got 2 cents?



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Jazz says:
It's winter fatigue the tiredness is. Even if January was good, it's been a long time since summer. Oh, and GWTW? At 13, I was a year late.
posted on: February 04

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Sam says:
Oh yes, you know I've read GWTW - several times. I probably learned more of my Civil War history from that book than my public schooling! (To be sure, the slanted Southern perspective! - the war of Northern Aggression, ha!) Oh, but the movie is priceless - too bad you can't make them watch it! I am so wishing I could take a class in fairytales. It sounds like bliss. I agree, the tiredness must be winter worn-out-ness. It's just been a long time since we saw leaves on the trees and the warm sun on our faces!
posted on: February 04

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bad penguin says:
I read GWTW around age 12 myself. I wish I could take your fairytale class -- it sounds wonderful. And yes, I agree with Jazz and Sam. Winter makes you tired, even when it is sunnny.
posted on: February 04

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corgilvr says:
I spent all my summers on Squam Lake, Little Squam to be precise, right across from the channel. Where are you located?
posted on: February 04

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lizardek says:
Hmmm...about GWTW. I tried to read it around age 13?several times. I finally made it through be skipping all the war stuff (which is half the book, I know). I didn't see the movie until I was over here in Sweden and a rabid fan friend forced me.
posted on: February 04

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lizardek says:
Also feeling a leetle disconnecty myself; know exactly whereof you speak.
posted on: February 04

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alexis says:
i somehow managed to not read GWTW in middle school...i can't remember how, i remember other kids talking about it. should i still read it?
posted on: February 04

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Swirly says:
My friend, you have such a gift. Well, many gifts, but your gift for cracking me up every morning with your exquisitely funny writing just might be my favorite. I miss you oodly boodly.
posted on: February 04

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Chris says:
I totally read GWTW when I was twelve! I loved it - though not enough to ever re-read it. Mitchell gets a little bogged down at points. But I LOVE the movie. That's all-caps love right there, baby. And I'm still recovering from the Coke-up-my-nose incident when I read your line about being committing to making this site a sleep aid. It's totally not slumber-inducing, but you bring the funny like no one else, BP!
posted on: February 04

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Grace says:
I have a photo of my friend and I reading GWTW with matching books. We were 13. I also feel disconnected, but am making a good night's sleep my number 1 priority! Add to that an antioxidant vitamin!
posted on: February 04

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patricia says:
whoops -- i was 14 when i read gwtw (but i read it in less than a week, does that count for something?)...and, yeah your class sounds awesome -- i always loved fairy tales and myths -- grimm's is on my shelf somewhere still -- and then edith hamilton and joseph campbell take the cake with myth...love it...
posted on: February 04

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Sarah says:
I totally read GWTW when I was 12!! :) It was my first adult book - I thought I was so cool for finishing all those pages.
posted on: February 04

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catherine says:
something so wrong with me, I was nearly past my prime (in my 20s) when I read GWTW, loved it and for several years in a row read it every summer.
posted on: February 04

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June says:
It was the summer of 77, which would have meant I was turning 12, and I was obsessed with Gone with the Wind. It makes me sad that those kids didn't read it. Don't they know what they're missing? I've gone back to it several times since and can't believe how...Southern...Margaret Mitchell is.
posted on: February 04

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otter says:
Mark me down under the tired-not-sure-why-I'm-tired-but-Jesus-Christ-I'm tired column. And also the GWTW as a pre-teen column. Four times. But I am from the south. And also a dork.
posted on: February 04

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Liz says:
Uhm... yeah, it was ready at year 12, a summer by the pool, and again at age 14 - a deep dark broody winter, and then again at 19, a summer working at a gallery in the city... hmm perhaps a tad over-read on my part... naaahhh kids these days, geesh... :)
posted on: February 04

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Geraldine says:
hello there, what lovely views you've posted in this post! winter always makes me feel disconnected, and i somehow hibernate - though it's not half as cold here as it appears to be in your area! (i'm in malta, europe, in the middle of the mediterranean)
posted on: February 05

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sherry says:
Count me as one of the noobs that didn't read it in my youth. Recently, I found a dusty old copy at a second hand store and bought it. So now I can relive my years and get it right this time around.
posted on: February 05

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Jo Anne says:
Howdy. Referred by the Ravelry blog and am getting excited about a possible trip to New England -- my first -- to participate in SQUAM. Just a glimmer of an idea at present, but maybe.... Meanwhile, when I'm not meeting (or setting) goals I get tired. When I'm not working enough on my heart's desires and too much on what others want of me I get bone tired. Read GWTW when I was 12 or 13, can't remember which, and forced myself through it because my mom loved it so much and insisted I would too. I hated it. I cannot imagine today's preteens even reading the first page!
posted on: February 05

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kateri says:
For a split second I was thinking "she's coming to Rochester!" and then I remember there was a Rochester up your way and my heart rate slowed back down. Have a fun trip though. :)
posted on: February 06

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Lisa says:
I don't understand the disdain for GWTW being so "southern". What do you expect from a woman who was raised in the deep south and was exposed to many CW veterans? I guess I just don't understand the Northern perspective.
posted on: February 07

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bp says:
hi Lisa-- I'm so sorry if you felt there was disdain in my voice. I assure you that is simply not the case. I loved GWTW (not the movie, but the book) and it is a treasured memory in my coming of age.
posted on: February 07

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