Dwell on These Things

Life is Sweet

Life is best when we set our judgments aside and savor the moment of whatever it is that the universe is dishing out, in big or small servings.

- Addie Johnson, Life is Sweet.

Recently, we picked up a copy of Life is Sweet: 333 Ways to Look on the Bright Side and Find the Happiness in Front of You. (It's one of those little hardbacks with smooth paper. It has a nice drawing of a pear on the cover. How could we resist?) It's a quick to read little pick me up with a lovely forward by MJ Ryan, who urges us to focus on the donut rather than the hole: good advice, really.

Blissing about Shoeaholics

We love it when we find a new chick lit author and were thrilled to find Beth Harbison. Her books Shoe Addicts Anonymous  and Secrets of a Shoe Addict have been keeping us happily entertained in the car while we wait to pick up the kids from camp. Fabulous!

Blissing about a beautiful book!

A couple of years ago, I was honoured to be part of panel that presented at the Association for Research on Mothering's annual conference. Our topic was mothering and blogging and I was thrilled to be part of a wonderful group of fellow mother bloggers: Dani, Ann, Marla, and Andrea.

After that presentation, I learned that May Friedman and Shana Calixte were editing a book about mothering and blogging for ARM's Demeter Press and I polished up the presentation I made and sent it over.

And then I made myself forgot about it because the lead times in publishing are long and things happen and I don't like to jinx things.

Only now I have a copy of this beautiful book, Mothering and Blogging: The Radical Act of the Mommyblog, in my hot little hands and I am just proud as can be of my essay, Blog for Rent: How Marketing is Changing Our Mothering Conversations. (My co-panelist, Ann, has a lovely piece in the anthology too.) Lovely!

Blissing about Books as Design

Recently, we did a big cull of our books We figured that if we are not going to reread a book, there is no point in keeping it simply so we can pat ourselves on the back for having read so many books. We did keep a number of thick, glossy-paged tomes on flower arranging, home design, and art. We love the idea of setting up shelves based on book colour like in this piece in Martha Stewart magazine on how the MS offices look (gorgeous, naturally!)

Blissing about a beautiful book

Thank you for all of your emails of support since the last issue of Bliss Notes was sent. Please know that your kind words are very much appreciated.

I'm most of the way through Isabel Gillies's Happens Every Day --  one of the most beautiful books I've read in a long time (such a love letter to Oberlin is it that I defy anyone to read it and not want to move to a college town and sell ball jars filled with flowers at the local farmer's market.) So much of the book speaks to me right now, but this one particular passage struck me as magnificent.

The author writes about eating breakfast at a local cafe at a point when her marriage was irrevocably broken, but she and her husband were still putting up a facade of togetherness in the interest of their young sons. As savours the aparagus, gruyere and ham pancakes topped with maple syrup she had ordered in "a leap of culinary faith," she recognized that in spite of all of the awfulness that accompanies the shattering of a marriage, she is still able to take pleasure in good food:

I thought if I could get such a kick out of these pancakes, I hadn't died. ... It gave me the courage and hope that even on the darkest day, there is a way to see light and feel the beauty of the world. Sounds corny, but life can be glorious. Remembering that during the lowest, saddest times is imperative if you want to get back to the highs. But you have to look. You have to remind yourself to look.

Bliss Notes -- as ironic as it seems at times -- is my way of reminding myself to look beyond the darkness and to see -- and savour -- the syrup-topped pancakes.

Feeling Blessed

The other day I was browsing in a children's book store, looking for more birthday gifts (I suspect my 4 year old daughter's social schedule would put Tinsley Mortimer's to shame). I stumbled upon the book, In Every Tiny Grain of Sand: A Child's Book of Prayers and Praise by Reeve Lindbergh. I'm drawn to children's prayer books. I find that in their simplicity, they tend to winnow out complications of religion and reveal the spiritual kernels of truth.

This book is broken down into praise for the day, for the home, for the earth, and for the night, and features prayers from many world religions, as well as snippets from Anne Frank, Lao-Tzu, and Walt Whitman, among other wise souls.

One of my favourites is a piece from the Pawnee Bear Dance:

I am like a bear.

I hold up my hands

waiting for the sun to rise.

To me, these sixteen words capture so much about the essence of Bliss -- a feeling of hope and a willingness to surrender to the universe.

And as a reminder to Dwell on things worthy of praise, I love Guru Nanak's

Turn,

Trust God,

Fling from thee all that is less.

One day soon, I might even share this book with the children...

A novel approach

The Universe is trying to tell me something.

A while back, Joy Fielding -- who was my instructor at a writing workshop last year -- appeared to me in a dream, telling me to "Get back to work."

Then, in the midst of moving, our amazing real estate agent introduced me to her daughter, an awesomely connected, totally represents the kinds of books I want to write Literary Agent.

Then, when attending orientation for the I-Can't-Believe-It's-A-Public-School public school, I got chatting with a charming woman who is an awesomely connected, totally represents the kinds of books I'd like to write Literary Agent.

Last night, when reading some mommy lit, I was grumbling that my book would be better (you know, if I wrote it and all).

And today at the Summerhill Market, I bumped into a woman I met last year at the writing workshop. She of course asked me how the book was going.

It's time to get back to work on my book. I had a very good excuse what with renovating an old house,  buying a new house, selling the old house, renovating the new house, and moving. But everything has been unpacked for months now. In a month my children will be tucked away at morning camp for six weeks. I'm running out of excuses.

So back to the book I go.

'Cause when the Universe is trying to tell you something, you listen.

Currently Loving

Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth. Yes, I am still on the Oprah bandwagon. And yes I am listening to the audio CD (as a reader, Tolle is no Kate Walsh (whose reading simply made A Body to Die For) but that's OK).

It's a really interesting book. The sort of psychology/philosophy combo I enjoy. Parts of it are tough going but I've already had a couple of AHA moments. It is far less flaky than I feared it might be and it making a lot of sense. It totally reinforces the whole Peace not Drama thing I'm trying to put into place in my life. Plus, Tolle quotes Shakespeare a bit, which is never a bad thing.

I heart Scholastic

When I was in elementary school, I loved it when we got a new Scholastic book order forms. I can distinctly remember the newsprint flyer and the little tick boxes to indicate the selection one made. I remember agnonizing over the page as I decided which books to select: Starring Sally J. Freedman As Herself, Pippi in the South Seas, Fudge, or the Six Million Dollar Cucumber*.

So I was of course thrilled when my children started bringing home the order forms. And now I can agonize over Make Way for Ducklings or Zen Shorts or one of the Pigeon books.

Decisions, decisions.

* I actually cannot remember whether or not these were scholastic picks, only that I loved these books as much as I loved checking off the forms.

A Beautiful Life

One of the many things I like about the new Victoria magazine is that they feature Alexandra Stoddard, whose book Living a Beautiful Life has graced my bookshelf since my late teens. When I'm feeling tetchy, I find her books a breath of fresh air.

She focuses on small things one can do to bring beauty into one's life -- things like drinking water at work out of a pretty glass instead of a plastic bottle, or using a really nice pen instead of the free one you got from your bank manager. Personally I like this absinthe glass from La Rochere (maker of the bee glasses I adore), and this sterling True Writer pen from Levenger.com.