One of the delights of the Diva path is discovering spontaneity. For me, this has often been hard to do – I tended to be rigid and list-driven. But the holidays – yes, even in the M.C. Escher world of 2020 – often bring us wonderful opportunities to go off the beaten path and just experience the world in unexpected ways.
Take today, for example. I had planned to spend today baking and bustling about the house. Let me make it clear – that was my plan, I had prepped for it, I was ready to go. Then I got a text from a friend telling me that she was going to unexpectedly be in my part of the “sticks” and quickly we arranged to meet. I tossed cranberry sauce in the box for the Reverse Advent Calendar and decided being spontaneous in this way would be a good Diva drill for today.
What fun! All too often, we don’t think about being tourists in our own towns, thinking that only grand cities like New York and Paris are suitable for touring. My friend and I, along with her daughter, who was in town to take a Very Serious Test that had been rescheduled due to – well, due to 2020 being 2020, played around for a few hours. Fresh baked cupcakes at a local bakery, coffee from an indy shop that roasts their own every day, a stroll around uptown with me playing tour guide and realizing that we have quite a number of quality shops and restaurants and attractions (Revive Spa and Salt Cave, we’re coming for you!) – it was a lovely way to enjoy a day warm enough to have the top down on the car. Next time, maybe we’ll even ride the carrousel, which is a show-stopper in the City Park!
From the bookshelf, I’m recommending Strapless, which tells the tale of John Singer Sargent’s scandalous painting of “Madame X” and how the notoriety changed the lives of both artist and subject. (It’s a painting that now seems crazy-tame and elegant [seriously look at it!] but at the time that fallen strap was an outrage.)
As if my outing today wasn’t holiday prep enough, the tree now has lights on it. Full decorating will wait another day while the cats adjust. (I know it seems late, but keep in mind that we observe “Old Christmas” in our house, so the tree will stay up until Epiphany on Jan. 6.)
Come back tomorrow!
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