my summer vacation day six: gin & f scott fitzgerald

our last full day on the lake! too soon, too soon. so, the goal was to spend as much time on the water as possible.

so, no sewing, no knitting, almost no cooking - just cucumber sandwiches, gin & lemonade, fresh peaches and cherries, and reading on the dock.

i re-read the great gatsby a few weeks ago, after realising (when the latest film version came out) how long it had been since i read the book, and how little i remembered. and i enjoyed it so much, that when i saw a copy of tender is the night while at a bookstore, i decided to read that, too. it's so much more personal than gatsby, much more looking inward than outward, much more broken.

all of which makes the sad tale of the introduction feel like a punch in the gut: that fitzgerald slaved and worried over this book for years and his response to the poor critical and commercial reception it received. it's like putting all your effort into making amends and trying to win back the heart of someone who know longer loves you with the greatest most dangerous act you can imagine, and receiving only the dull response of "huh, i don't get it."

i suppose that's just the way it goes, sometimes.

also, i got a sunburn.

n.b. these summer vacation posts are one week delayed as the cottage is delightfully free of electronics!

solitude

i find myself with an unexpected weekend home alone. lovely solitude! just me and the radio, haven't even looked at the internet till now, haven't answered the phone.

i spent most of yesterday doing a jigsaw puzzle. tidied up the kitchen a bit, made blackout liners for the bedroom curtains (finally!!), ate cake for dinner, finished the kiddo's xmas pyjamas, as well as pyjama pants for myself & tg - tops to come later, but there are categories at the fenelon fair for ladies' and men's "sleep pants" and fair entries are my priority at the moment. i now have 5 entries done and tagged! yay.

also watched the last time i saw paris - a bit melodramatic. curious to read the book, surely fitzgerald couldn't be quite so facile - and there had to have been more to charlie's relationship with marian. and i have to say, it's a good thing helen (liz taylor as a gorgeous young thing) never visited canada, she would have died on the spot. but oh, would i love to have her wardrobe! van johnson was a bit of a stick, but it was neat to see roger moore - before maverick, before the saint, well before james bond.

now, with this blog post, i feel i've done my socializing for the day and will go hibernate a while more!