On (Not) Maintaining an Online Presence When You're Away

I may have mentioned that we're away from our usual domicile for an extended stay in Maine. (Ahem. I think I've mentioned it about 100 times; but perhaps you missed that.) When I'm at home, I keep up a fairly regular online communique, via my blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, blog reading and commenting, email, and the like. In fact, in the last year, I've upped the ante in my online activities, for a variety of reasons. And I was under the impression that I'd be able to maintain that -- at about 90% capacity, so to speak -- while I'm here in Maine. After all, I have my laptop, which I take to the library for wifi connection, and I have my handy smartphone for regular FB, tweets, photo uploads, email, etc.

Well. Enter reality.

It's been more difficult than I'd thought.

For one reason, the girls aren't super excited to hang out at the library for more than two hours while I blog, read blogs, and carry on other online activity. I suppose I can understand that.

A few times, I've worked on posts at the cabin, writing them in Word and then copying them into my blog on my next trip to the library. That seemed really workable until recently. It seems that there's more of a vacation atmosphere at the cabin than there is at my "real" house. Quelle surprise, eh?

We have been visiting with friends. We've been boating, tubing, kneeboarding, and wakeboarding. We've been reading. My parents arrive tomorrow for a ten-day visit, and my cousin and her family arrive next week. We have lots of plans.

Perhaps this should cause me anxiety. Like other bloggers, I've read articles and posts on how to increase and keep readership. According to experts, I should write several posts at a time and then schedule them to publish over a period of days. Or I could solicit guest writers to post in my absence. I don't want to sound the death knell for my blog, do I?

Obviously not. I like my blog. I like to write. I like to provide interesting content for folks. But.

I wrote a post recently called A Celebration of Sabbath. If I really believe what I wrote (and I do), I need to be okay with sacrificing my online presence -- my virtual life -- for the blessings and benefits of living my real life.

So that's what I'm doing. While I won't disappear altogether, I'm going to downsize for a little bit.

And I hope you won't completely forget me.

She Is Too Fond of Books: Revolution, by Jennifer Donnelly

I mentioned Jennifer Donnelly's Revolution in a recent post. I quite enjoyed her earlier novel, A Northern Light, so I was pleased to see this title at the library. Well. This is a different book. Here's a bit of background: Andi Alpers is a privileged Brooklyn teen who's recently experienced a great tragedy from which she has not recovered and which splintered her family. She happens to find the diary of Alexandrine Paradis, a girl her age living during the horrors of the French revolution who becomes the companion of the ill-fated Dauphin. The narrative bounces between Andi in present day and Alexandrine in the past, via her diary.


This is a dark book. I don't have an issue with dark, and, given this book's focus, dark is appropriate. However, the world Andi and her peers inhabit -- wealthy, privileged, decadent, libertine, often inebriated or drug-dulled, self-absorbed, cruel, and careless -- is dismaying and, honestly, appalling. One could argue that Andi's emotional state casts a dark veil over her entire world and how she sees it. But there's really too much grittiness to make this position completely tenable.


Of more interest to me was Alexandrine's world. Donnelly does a wonderful job bringing this era to life, both in the diary and in Andi's later experiences. I also enjoyed other parts of the book and was pleased with the ending, although such a recovery seems like a house built on shifting sands to me.


Another point: the "discovered secret diary" motif is a tired one. I realize its obvious usefulness for linking past to present, especially to a particular person, injecting meaning into an otherwise anonymous history lesson. But I have a hard time envisioning someone like Alexandrine having the time to write lengthy entries in a diary. Would someone of her background and family have even been literate? I doubt it. and where did she get the paper, the pen, the ink? So the diary is problematic in more ways than one. Let's figure something else out, okay?


All that being said, I'm glad I read Revolution. There's enough there to consider, mull over, and process, both for the present and the past. Apparently others think so as well, since the book has won some awards for YA literature.


I would not, however, hand this book off to a teenager without a word. Read it first and think about how your child might respond. The book's circumstances and setting would certainly spark meaningful discussions on myriad topics with your child. And it's written for an age group in which these types of discussions would perhaps be wise.

Confessions of a Mediocre Cook: Super Summer Supper

When it comes to summer meals, I much prefer non-fussy recipes that fling together in a few minutes. I’m thrilled to report that the girls and I found a new favorite that meets these requirements: Ham and Broccoli Pasta Toss. The basic recipe comes from Cheap. Fast Good!, by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross, a wonderful cookbook that I highly recommend.

This recipe is quite flexible, so feel free to add other ingredients you have on hand. We’ve only made it with ham, but I’m sure chicken would be delicious, too. Other additions might include peas, sliced fresh mushrooms, or sliced black olives.

And talk about versatility! I served it for supper one night this week, and then breathed new life into it the next day for lunch.

Here’s the basic recipe, with my alterations in parentheses:

Ham and Broccoli Pasta Toss

(I halved the recipe since I was only cooking for the girls and myself)

1 pound short pasta, such as rotini (which I used)

1 ½ cups broccoli florets

1 cup diced ham

1 ½ cups cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half or quarters (I quartered them)

2 cloves fresh garlic (I used garlic powder)

½ teaspoon dried basil (I used Italian seasoning)

½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese (I just threw some in)

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta in boiling water according to package directions. Three minutes before the pasta is done, add the broccoli to the boiling water. If you haven’t yet diced your ham and cut your tomatoes, do it while the pasta cooks and then put ham and tomatoes in the serving bowl. Peel and mince the garlic, and then add it and the basil to the bowl and stir to mix well. When the pasta and broccoli are done, drain them in a colander and shake the colander well to remove as much water as possible. Add pasta and broccoli to the serving bowl and sprinkle with olive oil and Parmesan. Toss until the cheese melts. Season with salt and pepper and serve at once.

For lunch the next day, I served the pasta cold as a salad. I merely mixed together some ranch dressing and mayonnaise, which I stirred into the bowl of leftovers. I also added some chopped cucumber. To really jazz things up, you could also add grated carrot, diced bell pepper, chopped onion, shredded Cheddar, what have you. If I’d used chicken as my meat choice, a little seasoned salt would be a tasty option.

Quick, versatile, flexible, scrumptious. Yep, this one’s a keeper.

Weekly Happenings: Bliss!

Our second week in Maine and our first week of relaxation. A few days ago, I blogged about the gift of sabbath and our reluctance to accept it; but this week I've opened my arms wide with acceptance. So what have we been doing?

Reading, resting, swimming, a bit of boating, more reading, crafting. The girls have been enjoying a paper fashions kit we bought at A.C. Moore (which is just like Michaels). They've created quite a wardrobe.

Our next-door neighbors, who live in Germany over the fall and winter, have visitors from Germany for two weeks. These sweet teenagers, whom my girls love, brought us gifts, one of which was a lovely box of chocolates, packaged so perfectly.

One morning the lake was as smooth as glass.

When I write, I take my computer outside to the deck. Here's my outdoor office:

Here's my snowball bush, which was moved two summers ago for our construction project. I think it likes its new location.

And really, that's all. We started reading Oliver Twist after a break of several weeks, to Tiny Girl's delight. We read a chapter each evening. Here's an exchange that happened last night:

Tiny Girl: Are we reading Oliver tonight?

Me: Yep.

Tiny: Oh good! I am so worried about him!

Aren't books wonderful?