The day was magnificent.
Sincerely, Lucky Duck kj
This is JB and our 15 year old grandson, Drew, walking on our street in Provincetown, on day 2 of a 3 day visit. Drew's a foot taller than he was last year, and more into the world of his phone and TikTok, but, along with his 3rd grandmother Pat, we had a wonderful time together. We ate, we bowled, we watched Big Brother and a movie, we walked to the pool and to our favorite Fanizzi's Restaurant, and we squirmed and blushed our ways through the unexpected raunchy scenes from The Rocky Horror Show, a stage production at our local theatre.
JB and I have each of our grandkids alone, here in Ptown, for 3-4 days each summer. There will come a time when they'll be too busy or bored to come, or we'll be too sleepy and boring to have them. But that time isn't now, and I am so grateful. Just seeing these two walking together made me happy. And Jess is coming for an overnight, without the kids, in a few weeks.
This is all about MEMORIES. They get imprinted. They stay. On the phone, Drew told his mother that the Rocky Horror Show was "horrible," but afterwards, the more we three grandmothers and one teenage grandson talked about it last night, the funnier it was and the more we laughed. Priceless.
(I wish the same for you, in whatever ways appear.)
love kj
JB and I have a tradition of taking our grandkids and nieces and nephews anywhere they want in the USA when they turn 16. We were a year late with our 17 year old Ryan, but finally, off we went. We're not sure why, but he chose Las Vegas. This would be his first time out west.
We were determined to create a lifetime memory for him. We didn't know that would be true for us too, but it was. I booked us at Circus Circus for three nights, remembering how cool it was when I took my Jess when she was in 6th grade. It has an inside giant amusement park, with laser games: I figured Ryan would like that. Wrong. The hotel was a pit. And the kids were little, not teenagers.
So we moved immediately. We ended up at Planet Hollywood, in the middle of all the action on the Las Vegas Strip. It turned out there was a piercing convention there when we were: probably 300 or more attendees plastered with piercings and tattoos from head to foot. They were a great group: psyched about the new techniques they were learning, all ages, and fun to chat with.
We had adjoining rooms with Ryan. He loved having his own space and we had a total great time. We had the fabulous buffet at Ceasar's Place (omg!) lunch at Gordon Ramsey's Hell's Kitchen (also omg!); we saw the Bellagio Fountains and a Cris Angel Magic Show (a disappointment); we rode the giant High Roller at midnight (it took 30 minutes to go around one time.) We all agreed that the show at the 360 degree theatre at the Sphere was the highlight of our trip: a 50 minute immersive experience about planet earth, in a circular space where birds flew overhead and our seats shook and elephants thumped toward us and the forests and the mountains and oceans evolved right in front of our eyes. It was phenomenal.
We did a wholelot more, but the bottom line was how special it all was. No casino slot machine playing because of Ryan's age, but 10 minutes before we taxied to the airport, he gave JB $ 60 of the $100 she had given him to spend however he wanted, and asked her to put it all on black on the roulette wheel. She did, and he pocketed $ 120.00. A fitting end to an awesome trip.
I hope our Ryan remembers his time with Gram & BB forever. I know we will. xoxoxo
I'm asked a lot what it's like to live in Provincetown.
This is a coastal town on at the end of a peninsula, at the very tip of Cape Cod, in Massachusetts, in New England, on the Atlantic Ocean. The year round population is around 3,600, and about 55% of housing is seasonal. In the summer season, there can be up to 60,000 people here vacationing and enjoying the beaches, the harbor, the restaurants, art galleries, shopping, and nightlife.
The question I'm asked the very most is what is it like to live in Provincetown in the winter.
I'll answer that first. It's quiet and local and beautiful. Whether it's a brisk winter day when your cheeks freeze, or a snowstorm when you hunker inside, or a wild wind and rain that blows and shakes the roofs and windows, we can't avoid the elements here. We're vulnerable to floods and storms, but mostly, if you live here, you can't help but be part of the weather patterns. Sudden and dark clouds blowing into the local bay are a magnificent sight. You learn to keep track of the forecasts and the tides.
Winter is also a time to leisurely catch up with friends. In the summer, most of us are busy with vacationing visitors, so to be able to cook and gallivant and share special meals with special people is a treat. It's made more so by the quiet outside. Janet and I live on one of the only two main streets in and out of Ptown, so the silence is a luxurious backdrop to socializing. And the time to quietly read or write or paint or veg out on Netflix--that's luxurious too.
Whether you've been here a hundred times or one time or never, most people think of Ptown as a beach town. The Cape Cod National Seashore protects almost 44,000 acres of land here. This includes a forty mile stretch of unspoiled sandy beaches in Outer Cape Cod. Ptown has its fair share of those beaches and its spectacular sand dunes, so beach life is naturally what comes to mind.
For many out-of-towners, it's a huge surprise that we residents are always attuned to coyotes, and we know that during mating season we can't let our smaller dogs off leash or unprotected. We aren't afraid of the many local foxes we commonly see scurrying along the streets and in and out of yards, and we pretty much ignore the turkeys who travel in groups and complain like old grouches.
And living here in summer: that too is miraculous. By Memorial Day, the repairs and renovations that started in March are done and the town is ready to showcase its best appearance. It's no longer inexpensive to visit here: hotels can easily pull in $300-plus a night, and even lunch for two will too often top $50. But there's plenty to do that cost nothing. By August the bay and ocean waters are a warm 80 degrees. There are colorful scallop shells all along the beaches, the whale watches will take your breath away, and the 'be-yourself' vibe is contagious. Ptown is the one of gayest places in America, and home to more than 60 art galleries. The Friday Night gallery strolls are invigorating, and the many restaurants and bars and cafes are excellent.
And the shoulder seasons--spring and fall: the best of all. There is not a more beautiful place to be in September and October in all the world. Ask anyone who knows, and they'll agree.
Most of all, whatever the season, uou can be yourself here. You'll probably feel extra creative here. It's easy to fall into the rhythm of the tides here. In short, it's a gift to live in Provincetown. A huge gift.
PS I will love your comments. Many will show up as Anonymous, so please include your name xo
This one requested something reflecting Japanese architecture. I do all this free hand, and there's clearly room for improvement, but I'm coming along. It feels really good to have a year-long challenge where I'll learn and improve. I'm thinking I may give the final journal to my Jessica next Christmas. She may or may not appreciate it, but in my mind, I fantasize that maybe the great grandchildren I may never know might look at my doodles and get a kick out of them.
A musician friend once told me that almost all new music is pirated aka "borrowed" from what already exists. There are only so many combinations of notes. I wonder if art is kind of the same. Almost always, I'm googling examples of what the daily prompts require--draw a landscape looking down, sketch a storefront, create different hair styles, etc etc. And almost always, I sketch from a copy of what I find on the internet. I know many artists who paint from photographs, which is pretty much what I'm doing. I put my own spin on it, but for sure this scene already exists.
I should add that as of today, I'm already 21 days behind. That's fine, because my Turtle Therapy way of doing things says that I won't let something I love become a chore. So I'm taking my time doodling. I'll finish by the end of the year, but at my own pace!
Love kj
JB and I are redecorating. New living room chairs, new rug, new dining room set. It seems that we do this every decade or so, and we have the slowest and best time making decisions and trying to pull together a cohesive presentation. We finally chose chairs, to be delivered soon, and we're pulling back our old dining table from JB studio to create a rustic-coastal look, whatever that is!
People say our space is cozy and comfortable. That's exactly the look I want. That's exactly how I want to view my life. I'm old enough to know that's not always possible, but when I get a run of easy living, I'll grab it with gratitude.
Which is where I am now, two years after two years of challenges and family hospice (not us) and weekly long distance travel and orthopedic hassles (me.) But finally, life is settling down. I'm writing and drawing and planning a garden. My family is wonderful. JB is having a hip replacement next week, but we're confident it will go well. Spring and summer await on Cape Cod.
I should add that the climate is giving the inhabitants of Earth a frighteningly rough time, and it's our fault for ignoring the signs and warnings. The wind howled here all last night and there are concerns for coastal flooding. The earth is justifiably furious. Will we learn? Is there time to correct this?
I should also add that the political climate in the USA and worldwide is also dangerous. I couldn't ignore that even if I wanted to. But today, I'm just glad my daily life has settled down. So I'm leaving it at that.
love kj
Well! Here I am on almost Bunny Day, which kj said I shouldn’t say, because she said Easter is about something very serious, and religious even, but I can't help it. All I can think about are:
I hope if you celebrate Easter that you are thinking like I am, and not ignoring the benefit of M&M's and Cadbury cream eggs and Reeces peanut butter cups, if you want be nice to yourself or to somebody who would smile if you gave them one.
If you don't like sweets (that is very sad), you could dig up a plant in someone’s yard and maybe put it in your own pot and maybe even give the plant to someone nice or someone you want to be nice.
I really cannot concentrate on anything right now except candy and jellies and lollipops. I hope you are smart enough to know what your priorities are like I do so you will not waste your time worrying or working too hard.
Happy Easter from Emily R.
My knee rehab requires that I take walks and complete a set of exercises daily. Sometimes I don't, but usually I do. But rarely with enthusiasm! My good friends across the street are out at 6:30 am, in the rain, slugging through the sand dunes here in Provincetown. Their dog Basil is the lucky recipient of amazing free runs, chasing after seals (and always failing, thankfully) and running up and down sandy hills. Our poor Mattie, on the other hand, sits on the couch with me, as patiently as she can muster, until JB scoops her up for their daily walk. Soon, JB will have a hip replacement and I will be (have to be) mobile enough on my own to take over the walks. This is not something to complain about: Provincetown is a gorgeous spit of land, surrounding by the bay and ocean. The bay and beach is barely a block away from our home, and the sky and sunsets and low tides, with all its ripples, is magnificent.
These days my passion is back for writing, and I'm s-l-o-w-l-y learning techniques to improve my drawings. This is all couch work, which doesn't help my activity level, but does give me a cozy sense of contentment.
The last days have been an auspicious week, at least I think so. For the first time in TWO YEARS, my days have felt 'normal.'No crisises, no one to worry about, no long traveling, no challenges. My god mother Marie fell at home two years ago, and then my cousin Maureen got her terminal diagnosis, and from there JB and I have had our hands full. But now, it looks like we may have really, truly turned the corner.
It's March, the days are longer and warmer, and my miniature irises have broken through the ground. My daughter Jess and my grandkids and my friends and family are well. Along with JB, I'm soon to be rewarded with a mini-vacation at a fancy hotel. A heated pool. A massage. Four star food.
No complaints. Not today. I wish the same for you xoxo
love kj
The writing and editing is the hardest. And the VERY hardest is querying agents and publishers to see if they (one!) may be interested in my submission. The query is as important as the manuscript itself. It has to be impactful, well written, and concise. It has to be a page or less. It's a discouraging project, and the odds of being 'picked up' are tiny. But, I'm determined to test the market. If that doesn't work, I'll again self-publish, and that's okay too.
This drawing reflects the mountain village in Italy where my grandfather was born and raised. I've had various feedback about what to do with the foliage and shrubs. Some folks like it as is; others, including me, think it blobs of green are too flat and blah. This drawing is on page 32 of a book that gives me a creative prompt for all 365 days of the year. I'm psyched to complete it! It will be a surprise Christmas present for my daughter, Jessica.
Sometimes I'm not sure I'm spending my time wisely. These are all activities I enjoy, a lot, and why I judge whether or not they're worthwhile is beyond me....
love kj
I have a novel to edit and query, a poetry book to promote, a revised version of The Light Stays On to land somewhere, and all kinds of new ideas to ponder and write about. That's one important thing about writing: there's no need for boredom. I can always write.
This year, probably because I've been on the couch and in physical therapy rehabilitating my knee, I've also started drawing and painting. I have this book called Draw & Create 365 that instructs me to create something every day in 2024, and I'm having a grand time doing that so far.
I chose this image today because the USA and the world is such a mess. It's a challenge to be optimistic in this time, but it's important to hope for and work for kindness, hope, community. Almost every single person I know is a good human being: that has to count,.
I yet again apologize for being absent on my blog for so long. I'm still determined to do better!
With love, kj
I’m definitely not an average fan. I ‘discovered’ Taylor Swift and her music not even a year ago, and besides that, I’m seventy-five. You won’t find me climbing up to Section H, Row 32 in any stadium. But I’m a writer, I love words that rhyme, and I like music. I’m also a counselor who senses that Taylor Swift is a nice person. At this point, I still don’t know which of her song titles go with which of her songs, but I’m learning. Her talent is amazing. It’s obvious that her sexy moves and glittered leotards are just window dressing for her incredible, multiple talents. Her song writing, her story telling, her catchy musicality, her stage presence, her physical movements, her connection with her fans—each of these are skill sets, and they’re extraordinary.
That Taylor Swift is thirty-three years old with a seventeen year career is an incredible achievement. That she is filling 70,000 person stadiums night after night, presenting a forty-five song, three hour concert, on stage constantly moving and emoting and singing, without a break, is ground-breaking enough. The reviews I read and the video clips I see have catapulted her fifty-two city Eras Tour into a generational once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon. Taylor Swift has released over two hundred songs and her legion of fans know the sing-along words to all of them.
I should add that her phrases and images are also extraordinary: ‘They told me all my cages were mental/So I got wasted like all my potential…,’ ‘They say all’s well that ends well, but I’m in a new hell every time you double cross my mind…,From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes…,’You kept me like a secret, but I kept you like an oath…,’ ‘You call me again just to break me like a promise…,’And if I get burned, at least we were electrified…”Cuz there were pages turned with the bridges burned, Everything you lose is a step you take…’
These are words from an observer and a participant in life; from someone who knows how to frame and share images that we all understand.
***
The Eras tour began with Taylor Swift snugly in her almost seven year relationship with Joe Alwyn, or so it seemed. For all that time, this couple kept their private life and relationship private, a remarkable feat for the performer of the Century (Century, not decade.) The breakup, announced on the opening night of her filled stadium in Tampa, was a shock to Taylor’s fans, who were quickly concerned about how she was doing. With a thumbs up from the stage, she made it clear she’s doing fine. Word has it that 'Taylor and Joe' actually decide to move on in February, and she’s looking forward to being more open in her personal life and relationships. She’s confirmed this so far by hanging out publicly with friends in New York City, more than once, and, as of two weeks ago, enter the rocker, Matty Healy.
I don’t know any diehard Taylor Swift fans to check with, so I only have my own opinion, but only three months after ending a seven year partnership, and dealing with all the emotional feelings and fallout in leaving someone you truly loved, and jumping quickly into another relationship, isn’t usually the healthiest or smartest thing to do. Surely Taylor Swift knows this, because she’s smart and introspective and observational. Yes? So, what’s going on?
Certainly, I have no idea. I have no agency into the private life of Taylor Swift. But do I think there’s some cause for concern? I’d say yes to that. It doesn’t help that the press and paparazzi are all over the Taylor-Matty story. There’s good evidence that she’s keeping herself pretty busy. That’s often a good coping tool to get through a break up. But also, major life changes need time to percolate. Even when a breakup is mutual or expected or healthy, all kinds of feelings come with it: attachment/abandonment issues, loss, old wounds, triggering memories, outdated beliefs, old and new fears. A sudden jump into ‘dating’ again, and especially intimate dating, doesn’t allow time to process all this, and a guy who by all reports has been a ‘bad boy,’ who’s publicly made racist and homophobic statements, seems, well, a surprising choice. My guess is many (most?) of Taylor’s fans expected (hoped?) to witness a strong, amazingly talented woman rebuild her life as now-single and independent, with determined courage to move forward, on her own.
It’s so presumptuous of me to question the decisions of a woman I have never met, and whose relationships I know nothing about. So why am I writing this? Honestly, probably because, for what it’s worth, I have (unsolicited!) advice. I’m holding up a flashing yellow slow-it-down light. It’s my experience talking, just in case. Don’t rush, Taylor Swift. Take your time, alone, and with your family and friends. Have fun. Breathe. Feel.
But don’t let passion drive you, not yet.
OMG I finally have a new Apple MacAir and already my inferior computer skills have become so much easier. This includes being able to post photos on my Blog without Herculean effort.
Here's home: where I'm nesting these days. It's a beautiful place to be inside and out. Our house isn't fancy but it's comfortable and welcoming. I spend a lot of time looking on this scene, from the couch, often writing. It's a big deal that I've added Microsoft Word to my laptop. It's been a foolish disadvantage I saddled myself with since every agent and publisher wants manuscripts and queries and everything in Word. So now I can stop worrying about how a document or file will look when I export it. Not to say that I know what I'm doing even on Word, but I'll learn. I'm motivated.
The time of day and the tides here in Provincetown determine the light of scenes like these. I'm amazed every time. The third shot is just outside my front door. Sunset.
This glittering scene is one block from our house. It's hard to feel anything but grateful when I pass by this. I'm an optimist. I hope reality doesn't force me to reconsider. Already I'm no longer a loyal fan of the human race.
His name is changed but this is a true story. I was a psychotherapist some years back and I could tell you a hundred stories like this.
The spacing didn't turn out correctly on this post but for some reason it's right as it is.
Davoni never answered. No matter what I asked him, he grinned and shrugged. “I don’t know,” he always
said. This was his response when I asked him if he missed his mother, when I asked him how he felt when his
foster mother told him that she didn’t want him anymore, what he thought when the new foster family shaved his
head and he had to he start a new school in a new home. I told Davoni that I would pay myself a nickel every
time he said “I don’t know.” and I’d soon be rich. “Oh another nickel—that’s fifteen cents so far today!” I joked
and and we laughed together, the way we sometime laughed for no reason when we walked to the little room
holding hands and tickling each other’s palms. He’s only six and he’s been in three foster homes so far.
Hello from Sebago Lake in Maine. JB and I are here on a five day mini-escape from chores and obligations. Life is finally settling down after months of unexpected and important demands. During that time, I've done nothing to promote either of my already published books and instead, I've started a new one! I've already shared a couple of chapters of our pre-Covid Road Trip across America, but as of today, I've finished a draft one run-through and I'm beginning to edit. But the really fun part comes when I start adding photos. This will be a different kind of book for me; the pictures alone will make it different. But it's also personal, almost a memoir, and sometimes it's hard to know what to include and what to leave out. Other people and their feelings and reactions to my descriptions of them matter, but so does the honesty of my writing. And once something's in print, there it is--so I want to be extra careful about boundaries.
None of this is easy for me. My computer skills are lacking. Even the most basic formatting--setting up margins and indentations and paragraphs--is often too confusing, and sometimes I end up messing up what I already have.
But, aside from legitimate guilt in not promoting my existing books, this process of new writing is such a joy for me. I can tell that my writing has gotten tighter and more descriptive, all good, but I'm never sure whether anything I write is good enough. I know that's common and I know that's not a reason to avoid writing.
So here it is, fall in New England. I am currently looking out onto a vast shimmering calming lake. Around me I have my manuscript and laptop and colored pencils and a moleskin and a coloring project I just might finally finish. All good ways to spend a few days creating. Because we're on an island, JB and I have stocked up on interesting food and treats. Mattie is with us and where we are is isolated and private and beautiful. No TV, no heat. No demands!
I'm aware that this kind of 'escape' is essential from time to time. Otherwise my head fills up and my body gets depleted and I explode. Last week I got so frustrated over nothing important that I threw a coffee box and then a paper bag across the kitchen. That sounds ridiculous and harmless enough, right?--but I was mad and actually out of control. Too many problems that needed fixing were piling up and I reacted. Lucky that I didn't throw a plate or a bowl. I could have. So I'm aware that anger is too close to the surface for me, and I'm at least smart enough to know I have to break that cycle.
So here I am at Sebago Lake. It's been a brilliant decision. I wholeheartedly recommend a change of pace and a change of scenery from time to time. Especially now, with so many political and moral challenges adding to the human pot.
More to come about the road trip book. I'm excited to have the first go-round done!
Thanks always for stopping by.
love kj
