Day 1423 October 7, 2016
Storm preparations are necessary, what do you do to prepare?
In my part of the world we are largely sheltered from major weather disturbances, with the last major hurricane impacting us in any significant way back in 2005. We are lucky here in New England in that way. We can, however see our share of snow. Recent years had brought storms that left us with resistant mountains of blacked snow marring our parking lots and driveways well into Spring. The running joke is that under the threat of snow, we all rush out to stock up on bread and milk...or in my case, wine and cheese. In the event that they are forecasting a major storm, we do try to make sure we've got enough candles and batteries and food that doesn't need to be cooked. We charge up the laptop and cell phones and in the case of a more substantial threat, we would fill up the bathtub with water and stack extra wood inside for the fireplace. We live in a more urban location however, on the same power grid as the hospital, so sustained power outages are rare. During a recent winter storm that brought ice and nearly ten inches of snow, we passed a long weekend inside cuddled under blankets with the fireplace raging away. It was actually very pleasant, all of us together with no work or school...a snow day for the entire family. It wasn't easy to take the dog out but other than that, it was an unexpected and welcomed break.
"Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise"
Day 493 October 7,2016 Who said romance has to be boring? Discuss your favorite romance story.
Romance had never been a genre I read much other than the required text of Romeo and Juliet. It is hard for me to buy into romance. I think I am likely a bit jaded in that department. There are great romances through history, great stories both fictional and real life and I'm sure if I thought about it, I would find at least one that inspires me. At the moment, I'm drawing a blank which is both disappointing but not unexpected.
I do not spend a lot of time thinking about romance. Even when I write erotica, I'm not sure if my pieces would be considered romantic in nature. It is not something that comes naturally to me. It is not that I consider romance boring, more that I find more...impractical maybe? To me romance is flower petals strewn down a hallway, a long tandem bubble bath, poetry readings and all manner of other things that seem lovely but have little application in my real life. My husband and I are lucky to squeeze in a rare date night that doesn't end with falling asleep on opposite sides of our sleeping daughter. The pace of life for working parents, in my experience, dictates that we be more literal with our demands and more practical with our expectations about romance and intimacy. It would be very difficult for me to read a romance novel without feeling like it was the stuff of fairy realms and unicorns. The prompt today asked me for something more so I will reach a bit farther out for the sake of challenging myself...
If there was one book, one romantic story that stayed with me, I would have to say it would be Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants. There was something about it that was so vivid and touching. The relationship between Jacob and Marlena seemed to grow in a way that seemed credible, if a bit star-crossed. The thing I liked so much is that is sustained itself, stayed true to itself. Their love became a thing that carried them forward through their lives without pretending to always be glitzy and pretty. It was a love that fortified them without stripping away their individuality. They were always very much themselves, with their pasts and their scars, but they were also two people who found love and built a wonderful life around it.
Romance isn't for everyone, but some people do manage to make it part of their lives. I commend them and find that perhaps I am also a bit envious of them too.
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