Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Of Gardens and Libraries...


It's hard to stay motivated this time of year when the weather gets lousy, the Christmas bills have emptied your bank account, it's too cold to ride and spring seems as though it is an eternity from now.   So what can you do to get motivated and excited this dreary time of year?

Well, I'm a real believer in the quote above.  Makes a lot of sense.  Reading is a simple pleasure and there's nothing better than a warm cat in your lap while reading a great book. I just finished this one last night:


Maugham is my favorite writer and this was a book I had not read before. He is dark, sinister, but his characterization is wonderful and his insight into human behavior, well, let's just say he nails it every time.  Not everyone will like him. Some other suggestions:






I'm somewhat of a literary snob and like to read classic fiction, mostly from older writers. Wallace Stegner is another favorite.  Tell me what are you reading right now? 

Another method of motivation is planning a garden. I am hoping that I will go through with it this year.  I have books, magazines, catalogs, and a great sunny spot all picked out.  Now all I have to do is plan it. Would love it if my garden would like something like this when I am done:


Going with the raised beds idea for sure.  A fence around it would be nice, would define it and keep the deer and skunks out:


They have some old iron fence at an antique store here, saw it on Saturday......




I even have a shed that is big and empty but has no power:

 How are you motivating yourself to achieve this cold late January? 
(all photos are from Pinterest)

6 comments:

  1. I read a Maugham book when I was in high school that haunted me for years. Don't remember the name of it, but one scene, a woman crossing a river saw herself on a boat coming the other direction. Then when I was older, married, I saw a movie made from that book. It was so strange. I couldn't watch it. That scene for some reason has soured me on Maugham. Scared the daylights out of me. Maybe, now that I'm 63 I should give him another chance!

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    1. Was probably The Painted Veil which was made into a movie. There are several versions of The Razor's Edge but my favorite is the one with Tyronne Power. That is his best book by far, very philosophical. He does not have a positive impression of human nature,that is for sure.

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  2. I used to be a classic literature snob too. Even so far as I decided to read all the Faulkner novels one summer (but didn't get through ALL of them). After getting my degree in Lit, I kind of read whatever I feel like now... which ranges from current fiction to trashy horse teen books, whoops!

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    1. Faulkner! My, I am impressed. I have tried to read him but I just don't get him at all. That is real literary class!

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  3. Daphne DuMaurier is one of my favorites, I've read and reread The Scapegoat, Rebecca and ... the one about the woman who has a fall hunting and is paralyzed from then on... yikes, the title escapes me!
    Anyway what motivates me these days is the improvement in my 28 year old OTTBs cellulitis... it's been a long 7 weeks of care, but I am so satisfied that he's improving, that getting out there in the 15* weather is a little less brutal that it otherwise would be. Now if the eternal search for waterproof turnout blanket would end, I could rest! LOL

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    1. I only use Rambo blankets. They are waterproof and last forever.
      Would love to read the Du Maurier book you mention above. Do you recall the name of it?

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