A cozy kind of life...

Di took the train to my corner of Belgium to spend a few days pursuing creative projects and sharing secrets. After an entire week of heavy clouds, rain, and wind, the sun kissed the blue sky good morning and stayed all day.

We walked along tree-lined paths in the park until our knees hurt, sipped tea, had a late lunch and listened to the children re-cap their days and work on maths. After dinner was served and the darkness stuck to the windows, we lit a fire, and looked at books and checked our e-mail and read our blogs.

When the kiddos were off to bed, the wine came out and the conversation deepened, and we spoke of the people we love and the women we want to be while the cat watched the fire burn down and the hands on the clock pushed the night toward morning.

After midnight, the chips and salsa made an entrance and the wine made an encore and I sent Peter a "wishing you were here" e-mail. When I stumbled into the shower and fell into bed with wet hair at 1:30 a.m., Di was tucked into her attic bedroom under the stars, tapping away on her laptop. Ah, the writing life is a good one.

Today it's cold but the sun is shining and there's snow in the forecast for tomorrow. I'm warm inside and out, lapping up the sunshine and the company.

November 15, 2007

Comments

[Di]

Creatively, this was a stunningly good idea. I'm down here stealing time on your computer, reading your blog about our yesterday and realised I forgot to say, I wrote a poem up there in the attic room, in between listening to and writing up the interview I've been slaving over.

It's so good to have the time, the quiet and the friendship to let these things surface.

Thank you!!

[Manictastic]

I think Di's entering in the footsteps of Charlotte Bronte, or Karl Marx, or Charles Baudelaire, Voltaire, Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, etc. Yup, she's headed for stardom. :)

[Claudia]

* pines for nights and memories like these * Ahhh - it's been SO long. I am SO hungry! I am envious!!! Allow me to live vicariously through you guys for a bit?

Kudos to two fearless femmes.

May the good times roll for a long, long time!!!

O's galore!!!!

[furiousBall]

this phrase is so utterly perfect to describe dusk letting go of hopes of any more sun..."the darkness stuck to the windows"

[V-Grrrl]

fB,

Maybe one day we can write together--music and lyrics. Might be interesting....

[wordgirl]

You've just described one of life's most perfect evenings. If it could happen to anyone, I'm glad it happened to you, my friend.

[Expat-CIT]

I can hear the collective whispered sigh from all of your readers. Perfectly fits with your longing to find the greater spirituality of the "every day". I am personally pleased to hear your happiness seeping back into your writing. :)

[RD]

A wonderful way to enjoy a friendship. I'm envious. I find that these kinds of relationships are rare today.

[Nance]

There is absolutely nothing better than good company.

[Shirley]

I can visualize the two of you and the fine girlfriend evening you had. It also takes me back to similar special times I've spent with some of my very best friends.

[Tera]

Sounds absolutely lovely. Tonight, I am picking up 2 good friends and we're heading out for dinner...nothing like grrrl talk to make your spirits soar.

[Peter]

Thanks for the "wishing you were here" e-mail V!

The seasonal bugs finally caught up with me though: those tiny pieces of venom that turn one into a live fountain, desperately in need of more Kleenex.

I just sprayed some Xylometazonline, swallowed more Acetaminophen than I should have and laced it all with a generous dose of, well, something with a name that seems to crash my spell checker.

A trip to Tervuren would have been great, I sure would have loved the company, but I got out of bed at 2pm
and my "mobility" is rather compri(must be an o)mised at present (no spell checker, this machine
labels every word I type as incorrect, as it isn't Dutch ;-)