Saturday, May 27, 2006

Monthly?

Oh my. It's almost as if I've forgotten I have a blog. I look at the recent posts and see they're MONTHLY. Not good blog commitment. Geesh.

Taking the writing class meant I was writing on paper, not the web. I also hit a rather intense patch of business travel. And, hey, life gets busy with a husband, two careers, two kids, two dogs, etc.

I realize I've been in the mode of taking in, versus reflecting out. I've been reading books and magazines voraciously, listening to audio books, reading blogs by the dozen. All those words and images going in, filling me up, seemingly endlessly. Now it seems time to reverse that trend.

I have been thinking about what this blog should be. I don't have a single theme but neither does my life. I do want to be posting images online. Of course, that requires picking up the camera--a good thing. It also challenges me to draw, something I've been reading about and want to put into action.

I struggle with getting these pages to do what I want, to look the way I want. I'd like to be posting more reviews of what I'm reading, have read, and have queued up. Getting the Amazon links is still a bit of a procedure. I struggle with how to get in-line links (and haven't won that battle yet). I sometimes look lustily at blogs from Typepad--they're more visual and seem to show links effortlessly.

Ah well, here's to re-engaging. Let's see where this road leads.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Sweet Sorrow

I just finished my last class in a series on food writing at Stanford University; it is a bittersweet day indeed. The title of the course is "Soup to Nuts," the professor is Jeanette Ferrary. For the last five weeks, I have thought hard, done research, and written essays. It has been terrific, a bit like stretching heretofore undiscovered muscles. Alas, all good things must end and today marked the end of the class. We celebrated with food and shared words (what else, for a class of food writers). I appreciate the feedback and inspiration from my colleagues. I have the utmost respect for the experience and insight of our instructor, Jeanette. Want a great read? Check out Jeanette Ferrary's Out of the Kitchen: Adventures of a Food Writer (her memoir) and M.F.K. Fisher and Me (her perspective on a special relationship with the legendary M.F.K. Fisher). For me, I expect more time at the keyboard. Trust me, that's a good thing.