December, 2008 | Ann Leary, author of The Good House

Happy New Year

December 31, 2008 by Ann Leary 14 Comments

The other day, my friend Helena sent me a poem called A Summer Day, by Mary Oliver. The poem ends with these lines:

Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

I’ve only had a few hours sleep, so I’m a little ragged and these words are bringing tears to my eyes, right now, as I think back on this year.

What else should I have done? Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?

Filed Under: Dogs, Cats, Horses, Husband, Just Nothing (really, nothing), Literary stuff, Red Carpet Diaries, Shameless Self-Promotion, Stuff I Did, Very Important Stuff Tagged With: babies, family, Husband, poetry

Morning Fling

December 29, 2008 by Ann Leary 7 Comments

In the mornings I write in bed. This is a very luxurious way to write especially now that my husband is home. He rises with the dawn to play hockey, and he feeds all things canine and equine and even brews a large pot of coffee, so all I have to do is pad downstairs for my coffee, and then snuggle back into my bed with my laptop.

Filed Under: Literary stuff Tagged With: Husband, poetry, writing

A Cove, A Fort, Slumdog

December 27, 2008 by Ann Leary 6 Comments

I was in Marblehead this weekend, visiting my family. My sister and I went for a walk and I took some photos. Here’s a cove near my mom’s house that I photographed last summer at low tide:

This is what it looked like yesterday at high tide:

We walked through the streets of old town, through the warm fog, and found ourselves at Fort Sewell, which is at the edge of town – at the edge of the continent, really. Then there was no place to turn but back home.

Filed Under: Just Nothing (really, nothing), Stuff I Did Tagged With: nature, sister

Ring Out Wild Bells

December 24, 2008 by Ann Leary 10 Comments

Happy holidays to all my dear friends and readers.

Here are some chilly scenes of winter for you:

That’s Gabriel’s back above. No we don’t blanket in the winter, they grow thick cozy coats of their own.

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to make my blog less doggy, as I think some of you get sick of seeing our girls all the time. So I’ve decided to go out with a bang.

Here are three sleepy girls after a long day.

Filed Under: Dogs, Cats, Horses, Husband, Very Important Stuff Tagged With: dogs, holidays, horses, nature

Green

December 21, 2008 by Ann Leary 1 Comment

Yesterday I visited the Manhattan home of Lisa Sharkey and Paul Gleisher and their three children, and I interviewed them for an upcoming episode of IN HOUSE. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, Lisa and Paul live in a green, eco-friendly townhouse on the Upper West Side and they have written a beautiful book about “eco-fabulous” homes. This is their roof garden:

Filed Under: IN HOUSE radio Tagged With: books, city life, writers

Winter Weather

December 19, 2008 by Ann Leary 5 Comments

We stayed in the city last night and this was the view from our window this morning:

Pretty huh? Well, it was pretty then, but now it’s slushing out. That’s right, slush is falling from the sky. Denis and the kids are attempting to drive to the country, but it’s snowing where they are and they’ve been driving for hours and are not even close to home. I stayed in the city an extra night because tomorrow I’m interviewing Lisa Sharkey and her husband Paul Gleicher who have co-authored a beautiful book called Dreaming Green: Eco-Fabulous Homes Designed to Inspire.

Filed Under: Husband, IN HOUSE radio, Just Nothing (really, nothing), Stuff I Did Tagged With: books, city life, family, nature, writers

Daphne and Denis and Me

December 18, 2008 by Ann Leary 10 Comments

Last night we attended a New York screening of Marley and Me, to which dogs were invited (they were allowed to bring their owners as well). There was a red carpet and all the dogs had their photos taken. Here we are with Daphne, who was, by far, the most well behaved dog at the event. She really was shocked at the behavior of some of the other dogs. In the photo, she is looking at the antics of the dog who played Marley, who was just off camera. The Marley dog had been trained to act a little wild and bark at people and Daphne was absolutely mortified. She posed politely for the cameras, then slept on the floor at my feet during the whole film.

Filed Under: Dogs, Cats, Horses, Red Carpet Diaries Tagged With: dogs, etiquette, red-carpet

Marzipan and Butterwelsh

December 15, 2008 by Ann Leary 7 Comments

I haven’t posted in a few days because I can’t find the USB cord that attaches my camera to the computer, rendering me virtually mute, as I’ve become seriously dependent on photographs for this blog. Now I’m forced to use my words, as I did at the beginning of the blog, when I didn’t know how to load photos. But, I’ve been working and reworking my pathetic collection of words all day and can’t summon enough wit for an interesting post, so instead, I’ll print a short passage from Dylan Thomas’s A Child’s Christmas in Wales.

If you indulge yourself in nothing else this holiday season, I implore you to march yourself over to itunes and download the audiobook recording of Dylan Thomas reading this treasure himself. Get the Dylan Thomas version, not a version read by a famous actor!

Filed Under: Literary stuff Tagged With: holidays, writers

IN HOUSE Radio Returns!

December 12, 2008 by Ann Leary 6 Comments

Maybe some of you will recall that I have a weekly NPR radio show called IN HOUSE. The show was on hiatus for a while because I had surgery and then really needed some time to work on my book. Well, tomorrow WHDD-FM, (robinhoodradio.com), will broadcast a brand new episode of IN HOUSE, featuring author and NPR commentator Heather King.

Filed Under: Husband, IN HOUSE radio, Shameless Self-Promotion, Stuff I Did Tagged With: etiquette, family, friends, holidays, Husband, radio

Very Exciting Day

December 11, 2008 by Ann Leary 18 Comments

Today, Denis was nominated for a Golden Globe for the HBO movie, Recount!.

I was on my way to the set of Rescue Me when he called me with the news, which made me very happy, but I was already whipped into a state of delirious excitement that bordered on mania because a) I was approaching a major metropolitan area and b) I was leaving a very quiet rural area.

It’s 8:00 in the evening and I’m back in the country but I’m still wound up. I’ve spent the past couple of weeks almost completely holed up in my office and I had forgotten how fun the people can be!

Filed Under: Husband, Red Carpet Diaries Tagged With: city life, country life, Husband, red-carpet, technology

Happy New Year

Morning Fling

A Cove, A Fort, Slumdog

Ring Out Wild Bells

Green

Winter Weather

Daphne and Denis and Me

Marzipan and Butterwelsh

IN HOUSE Radio Returns!

Very Exciting Day

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