My beloved favourite writer every, JD Salinger, passed away last week. I re-read 'For Esme - with Love and Squalor' in commemoration. The papers were full of feature articles musing on whether his unpublished canon will soon appear. Part of me would love to read every single word that the man has written, but I also feel like it would be a slight betrayal considering his refusal to publish for so many years, despite admitting that he still writes prolifically.
Spent last week on hols in Queensland to visit new flaxen-haired nephew Sam. The week was a wonderful blur of restaurants, wine, family, drinking coffee and bobbing in the ocean. We were in Brisbane for four days, then Coolum for three. Arthur joined us on the trip, and flew down in a cargo box - quite comfortably it seemed. He emerged unscathed and mostly unphased by the experience, scooting out of his box, sniffing around and lifting his leg. I was definitely more stressed for him than he was. I think I projected my own claustrophic inclinations on Arthur, afraid of being cooped up in a box in the cargo hold of a plane for four hours. But he shrugged these fears off and managed the journey with aplomb. Well, as much aplomb as a small, odd looking terrier cross can have.
Now back in the Top End. Back at work. Ready to start the year with gusto and energy. Lots of plans afoot.
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life in darwin and beyond
So...
- Kate
- Freelance writer and mother of two littlies. Living in a shack by the sea with my family, dog and chooks. I love gardening and yoga and have dreams of speaking fluent Spanish. Nice to meet you. x
WHAT KATY DID, CHAPTER 1:
Katy's hair was forever in a snarl; her gowns were always catching on nails and tearing "themselves"; and, in spite of her age and size, she was as heedless and innocent as a child of six. Katy was the _longest_ girl that was ever seen. What she did to make herself grow so, nobody could tell; but there she was--up above Papa's ear, and half a head taller than poor Aunt Izzie. Whenever she stopped to think about her height she became very awkward, and felt as if she were all legs and elbows, and angles and joints. Happily, her head was so full of other things, of plans and schemes, and fancies of all sorts, that she didn't often take time to remember how tall she was. She was a dear, loving child, for all her careless habits, and made bushels of good resolutions every week of her life, only unluckily she never kept any of them. She had fits of responsibility about the other children, and longed to set them a good example, but when the chance came, she generally forgot to do so. Katy's days flew like the wind; for when she wasn't studying lessons, or sewing and darning with Aunt Izzie, which she hated extremely, there were always so many delightful schemes rioting in her brains, that all she wished for was ten pairs of hands to carry them out. These same active brains got her into perpetual scrapes. She was fond of building castles in the air, and dreaming of the time when something she had done would make her famous, so that everybody would hear of her, and want to know her. I don't think she had made up her mind what this wonderful thing was to be; but while thinking about it she often forgot to learn a lesson, or to lace her boots, and then she had a bad mark, or a scolding from Aunt Izzie. At such times she consoled herself with planning how,by and by, she would be beautiful and beloved, and amiable as an angel. A great deal was to happen to Katy before that time came. - What Katy Did by Susan Coolidge
Katy's hair was forever in a snarl; her gowns were always catching on nails and tearing "themselves"; and, in spite of her age and size, she was as heedless and innocent as a child of six. Katy was the _longest_ girl that was ever seen. What she did to make herself grow so, nobody could tell; but there she was--up above Papa's ear, and half a head taller than poor Aunt Izzie. Whenever she stopped to think about her height she became very awkward, and felt as if she were all legs and elbows, and angles and joints. Happily, her head was so full of other things, of plans and schemes, and fancies of all sorts, that she didn't often take time to remember how tall she was. She was a dear, loving child, for all her careless habits, and made bushels of good resolutions every week of her life, only unluckily she never kept any of them. She had fits of responsibility about the other children, and longed to set them a good example, but when the chance came, she generally forgot to do so. Katy's days flew like the wind; for when she wasn't studying lessons, or sewing and darning with Aunt Izzie, which she hated extremely, there were always so many delightful schemes rioting in her brains, that all she wished for was ten pairs of hands to carry them out. These same active brains got her into perpetual scrapes. She was fond of building castles in the air, and dreaming of the time when something she had done would make her famous, so that everybody would hear of her, and want to know her. I don't think she had made up her mind what this wonderful thing was to be; but while thinking about it she often forgot to learn a lesson, or to lace her boots, and then she had a bad mark, or a scolding from Aunt Izzie. At such times she consoled herself with planning how,by and by, she would be beautiful and beloved, and amiable as an angel. A great deal was to happen to Katy before that time came. - What Katy Did by Susan Coolidge
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