So Glad That’s Over!

Now that the election is over, we can return to our own lives and remember that it’s easier to come up with answers to the world’s dilemmas than it is to keep the kitchen floor clean. My brain has been so scattered lately, and although I’ve been journaling madly, it’s nothing you’d be interested in. Here’s what else I’ve been up to.

About two weeks ago, I decided that enough was enough, I was going to pull myself up by my bootstraps, seize the reins of power, and stop using clichés. No, I was going to eat less and exercise more. I’ve done pretty well. I cut out all desserts (even though they were sugar-free), cut back on portions, and managed to walk or somehow exercise every day. After a week of this strict regimen, I gained two pounds. Since then, I’ve lost 1.6 of them again— such are the absurdities of a digital scale. So I’m almost back where I started. I am soldiering on, checking Craig’s List for an affordable treadmill, and staring the holidays in the face.

Speaking of the holidays, my extended family has rented a huge and gorgeous beach house in Salvo on the Outer Banks for Thanksgiving week. It’s right next to Rodanthe, which, as you know from sobbing over all those Nicholas Sparks movies, is where the wild horses run! I hope we see some, but not too close. We have all been excited about this vacation since the spring, but then this little thing called Sandy happened, and the roads are still out. We will have to take two ferries to get to Hatteras Island! One from the mainland to Ocracoke Island, which takes three and a half hours, and another from Ocracoke to Hatteras, which takes another forty-five minutes! That doesn’t even include the hours that you could wait for each ferry. Just when we’d reconciled ourselves to spending an entire day just to get to the house, we called to make reservations, and the ferries are full! According to the mild-mannered and seemingly stunned man at the ferry office, our options are to hope that the roads are repaired by then, buy a four-wheel-drive vehicle, hope that they add extra ferries, or begin our vacation on Monday. I want to tell you that this house is not cheap, and we’ve already paid for it. The company will not give refunds because, after all, the ferries are running! So we are on pins and needles this week.

On Thursday, I went to a workshop for the latest in children’s books and had the opportunity to see some of my youth services peeps. I miss them so much! Our library system has some of the most creative and passionate people working with children, and, because of new organizational rules, I have not been able to see them as much as I would like lately. So, we had a big day having all sorts of fun and learning about new books for kids. I’ve been to this workshop four or five times, and it is presented by a talented and extraordinarily energetic woman who also served up side orders of political opinions, sort of like a free bonus. I don’t know why I’ve never noticed this before, or perhaps it was just because it was two days after an election? In any case, it was like an intermittent power outage in an otherwise charged-up room. What a shame.

David and I have started the series William and Mary, suggested to us by Netflix. It is so fun! We’ve watched several other British offerings starring Martin Clunes, including Doc Martin. How in the world the BBC considers Martin Clunes to be a romantic lead is beyond me. I guess Colin Firth doesn’t do television. In any case, Clunes is a terrific actor, and we love him. In this story, Mary is a midwife and William is a… well, I can’t tell you. It’s part of the surprise. Anyhow, they get together through a dating service, and, of course, madcap hijinks ensue. It is startling to see what British television will put on the screen. In one episode, a woman in labor is in her front yard, squatting and holding onto a tree, and she is stark staring naked! Not a pretty sight, actually. The relationship between William and Mary is both sweet and troubled, so the episodes are very absorbing so far. Before we get disc two, though, I have to make sure that we’re completely caught up to date with Elementary, my new favorite program. If you haven’t seen this new Sherlock Holmes spinoff, you should. I wasn’t sure that I would be able to handle a female Dr. Watson, but Lucy Liu does a fabulous job of underplaying. Johnny Lee Miller is also a splendid Sherlock. We love it.

Are you thinking, “Didn’t she say she wanted to watch less TV?” Yes, I did, and I meant junk news shows. I’m doing pretty well with that, and the only regular shows I watch are Castle, which has improved lately, and Elementary, which we watch on demand. Oh, no! And Big Bang Theory. I never make it through a Castle episode, since it runs until 11:00, so we have to record it.

There you are. This is a faithful (sort of) narrative of every event of the past two weeks. This week: jury duty. *sigh*