Some Clarification
So, the latest wondertime posts are here and here.
And I just thought I should mention that--well, you know all that Thanksgiving food I wrote about? That's what I was working on for one of my deadlines! (And they are killer recipes, by the way--you just wait until November comes! You'll fall to the ground, aswoon over the blessing that is your own leftover turkey.) I hadn't realized it was unclear until some of you wrote in kindly to say: "If you've got so much work, then maybe skip the whole gravy thing until you're a little less busy, you crazy head!" And I slapped my forehead. Because I am crazy. But I'm not that crazy. In my parallel magazine writing life, Thanksgiving comes in July. Hence the big deadline. Q.E.D. (A little geometry-proof humor for you there. I'm sure you all love a good geometry-proof joke as much as the next chortling nerd.)
I also wanted to mention that my friend Peter is now recording the posts, and if you listen, please weigh in on the sound quality, okay? (And by "weigh in" I mean, of course, "rave about his techno-studliness.")
xo
I figured about the recipes and gravy magazine deadlines...because why else would anyone make all that hot food when it is 94 degrees and 99% humidity in the Northeast? I am looking forward to the food stuff, though because this is MY year to host Thanksgiving again. (Hopefully, no one else in my family will get divorced before then)Glad you had a wonderful vacation and the kids are better- loved the most recent column- I'll have to go back and listen- but I still can't comment over there. Here's hoping you have some lazy days ahead of you sans deadlines for awhile. Ciao!
ReplyDeleteCatherine,
ReplyDeleteI noticed the WAY better sound quality and am LOVING it!!! Way to go Peter! It's such a joy to hear your voice every week. A real treat. Thanks for another wonderful collumn at wondertime and of course, it's great when you post over here, too. I much check at least 3 times a day to see if you put anything new here.
And, along with what others were saying...... it would be SOOOO awesome if you would write another book. I have practically memorized Waiting for Birdy and feel like that was such a long time ago for you. Something new would be so wonderful. Thanks for all the great stuff to read now, though. You rock!
Meg
I meant to say, "I MUST check." It's really really early in the morning and I should go to bed:-)
ReplyDeleteMeg
The funny thing about American Thanksgiving recipes is that they come out waaaaay too late for us Canadians who have our Thanksgiving, somewhat oddly, in mid-October. But I'll file your recipes away for 2008.
ReplyDeleteEveryone I know is feeling somewhat desperate right now - a friend phoned me weeping yesterday, unable to keep up with everything in her life and letting everyone down. It's a hard, hard feeling.
Yeah, the Thanksgiving in July thing makes sense only if you're writing for a magazine. I guess some of your readers do not stalk, uh, I mean follow you as closely as others. =)
ReplyDeleteLove the sound quality. Love hearing you voice. Thank you Peter!
Re Thanksgiving post-- That is so weird: that photo, it is exactly how I imagined your kitchen and dining table area. Have I seen a photo before? Because I am feeling a little freaked.
ReplyDeleteOh! Ben's hair is short in that photo, and he's younger. So I must have just seen that photo another time. Whew.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't Birdy sound like a small mary oliver!
ReplyDeleteI have the vague sense that you quoted this somewhere...anyway, just because it never hurts to read it again:
"I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?"
I did not make the crazy four-months ahead magazine deadline connection to your Thanksgiving cooking extravaganza. I'm glad that you clarified. I thought that, perhaps, you were just really craving turkey. But, honestly, in this oppressive heat? I was thinking, "Dude, why not just just grill up some turkey burgers?"
ReplyDeleteNow it all makes sense.
See, the editor in me totally didn't even flinch at the Thanksgiving in July thing. Of *course* it's already November. Well, actually, it's simultaneously last May, late-August, October, November, and the end of the year.
ReplyDeleteWhat?
I think the heat makes people kind of crazy this time of year. It is worse then the dead of winter because it looks so beautiful outside but you can't go out during the day because it is so hot.
ReplyDeletePlease write another book. I can't read Waiting for Birdy again....
ReplyDeleteLike Tina G said, I thought Thanksgiving turkey sounded perfectly AWFUL right now and therefore assumed that you MUST be developing something for a later piece for this fall. But, not working in the magazine world, I wondered how a Thanksgiving-related article could have a deadline NOW! Gosh, (she says, barfing over the cliche) time sure does fly.
ReplyDeleteStay cool!
Hadley
Every time my partner and I read your column we are shocked that you know so much about us. About the "in a minute" one my partner sent me back and email from work saying, "does she have a live feed from our house or what? are we on showtime and didn't know it????"
ReplyDeleteI made no connection whatsoever to a Thanksgiving deadline. I thought maybe you really wanted turkey leftovers, and you know how sometimes you stick to something eventhough everything around you suggests you give it up? Like the heat, deadlines, labor involved? "We are going to have turkey nachos if it kills me!" I can't bring myself to turn on the oven right now.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading the recipes. I'll be thinking of you sweltering in July.
I am a weekly reader but I have not left a comment yet. You are a wonderful mother and you really have a way with words. I look forward to reading each week. I have 2 daughters who are 6 1/2 and 3 1/2 and I have some similar experiences with my girls. Just wanted to say you are an inspirational writer.
ReplyDeleteOh, Catherine, you've got my teary-eyed at my desk again. I'm going to have to learn have to needlepoint now - I need a pillow that says "That this is our only life, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health. To love and to cherish, as long as we all shall live." so I can just look at it when I need a good cry. Thanks, as always, for reminding me.
ReplyDeleteI always flip through Family Fun for your name, with a funny kind of "I know her! Oh, wait, no I don't, well, kind of" feeling. And, I LOVE nerdy jokes. I have a sign on my desk at work that reads "If you aren't part of the solution, you are part of the precipitate" and basically my co-workers fall into two categories: Those who don't know the original saying,* and those who don't know what a precipitate is or what it has to do with the rest of the phrase (it's chemistry). If someone comes up to my desk, reads it, and chuckles - that person is the rare third category of a kindred spirit.
ReplyDelete* "If you aren't part of the solution, you are part of the problem."
Just back from a week at the cottage and have over 50! posts to catch up on...Wondertime will be in the mix. Oh how I missed this!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to catch up.
Mmmm...graaaavy. If you needed leftover advice, you should have asked me. Our lovely little corner market forgot to order our turkey last year, but fortunately had one left...a 20-lb organic one (for four people) that had evidently been massaged by Buddhist monks and fed by loin-clothed cabana boys every day of its life, because it cost $75. I nearly stroked out! But he was a delicious happy bird, and we feasted on his remains for weeks.
ReplyDeleteI loved your wondertime posts, and I'm sorry you've been so stressed. Deadlines and heat and barfing flu would do it to anyone. Maybe you and Michael should go away for just a little bit by yourselves? And drink beverages with umbrellas? And sleep till noon?
Catherine,
ReplyDeleteI have been reading your work for years and love it. I always enjoy reading about your summer trips to Cape Cod. My family and I moved to Noho about a year ago and I would love to know where you camp in Cape Cod. We haven't made it to the coast yet, nor have we had the chance to camp this summer, but ever since I started reading about your annual trips I've wanted to try beach camping. If you ever have a minute to pass on some useful information it will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for all the great reads. I agree with Meg - you rock! :)
Audrey
adakan@email.smith.edu
Just got my new Wondertime issue, and I was SO EXCITED to see your article! I've missed you in the last couple of issues. Plus it's a typical Catherine "write about exactly what I'm worrying about these days" kind of article. I am going to be more mindful of rushing at bedtime and the park, etc.. Love the pictures of the beautiful kids too!
ReplyDeleteI know I shouldnt but I fell off my chair laughing at the 'funk to funky' bit...x
ReplyDelete"Bew hew hew!"
ReplyDeleteToo funny...