Black Dog

Winston Churchill referred to his depressive episodes as that Black Dog that showed up and took residence in his life for awhile.  It's a good description.  Ever since my early twenties, the Dog has sometimes shown up at my house, too.  He's been around lately, but the good news is that I know what to do with him.    One of the best things about getting older is that while you may not have your stomach muscles anymore, you do have perspective.

I only tell you all this, because I want to mention what happened to me when I drove up 8th North in Orem today and looked at the familiar sight of the rocky mouth of Provo Canyon.  My heart lifted.  What a gift--to see sun glinting on stone.

What vistas make you  happy?

The Trouble with the Curve

Ken Cannon and I just got back from a Bees game (Bees NOT looking so hot, sadly), which made me think about a movie we watched this weekend, The Trouble with the Curve.  Have you seen it?  If so, what did you think?

It's a quiet movie.  And ultimately predictable.  I liked it well enough as I watched it, but it has stuck with me, and I find myself liking it more and more in retrospect.  Not sure why exactly--maybe because I liked the world of the movie, and I liked that it was about fathers and daughters.  I might even watch it again.

Garden love

It occurred to me the other day that I'm a lucky girl because I have a little bit of everything I love in my garden!

Iris

Dahlias

Oriental poppy (not a great shot)

begonias (not my favorite, actually, but look at this color!

Snowball bush!  Now appearing for Memorial Day!

Peony (the best flower in the history of the universe)

Early roses

Lilacs

And also! A vow!

The Coach once told me that early in his career when things were looking grim--he had a losing record at Granite High and there were more than a few lean years at BYU--he made up his mind that he wouldn't become one of the Bitter Ones.  He'd chosen a dicey line of work--one where things may or may not pan out.  And in fact, chances were good that they WOULDN'T.  Still.  He chose it.  He decided to give it his all and then be good with whatever happened.

As it turned out, he had a singular career.  Very few people in any field get to experience some of what he did, which is why you can't really try to model your career after his.  He was good at what he did, and he was lucky, and both things contributed to his success.

However, I'm pretty sure that if things had gone south, he would have stuck to his resolution.  I think he would have been very disappointed, of course.  Underneath all that stony calm he is a fiery competitor. But I think he would have eventually shrugged his shoulders, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to try his hand at something he loved, and walked away.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately, because wow.  It is very, very easy to get discouraged in this business.  And when you're discouraged, it's easy to go to the Bitter Place.  I know whereof I speak, People.    So today I am re-newing my vows to stay grateful, to stay positive, and to stay busy writing.

Damn, I'm inspirational!

Today's writing prompt

Again, this is taken from The Pocket Muse by Monica Wood, which (btw) you should consider purchasing.  It's full of engaging, user-friendly prompts and advice.  Sara gave it to me for Christmas one year, and I've hearted it very much.

Here goes:

Write about TROUBLE resulting from a good deed.

Another opportunity to feel some first-world guilt

So this week I took the granddaughter to Hogle Zoo, which has substituted Lego animals for real animals (not kidding) since everything's under construction.

Anyway, one of the Lego animals was a snake.  The docent explained that just like the rabbits in Australia, a certain species of snake (I can't remember which one) accidentally introduced to a new environment (I can't remember where) went crazy and ate all the birds.  And so now those birds are extinct.

"And now pet cats are doing the same thing," the docent told us, "WHICH IS WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER LET YOUR CAT OUTSIDE."

Which is probably good, responsible advice.  But seriously.  I have to worry about dead birds now, too?

Column, Column, Who's Got the Column?

So, I was busy reviewing books for TKE this week--thought I'd get a column out of the experience.

What are some of your favorite picture books?