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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Two Resolutions This Time Around

Already I’ve forgotten if I made any resolutions last year. This time around, as today’s headline indicates, I’ve come up with a couple, both easily quantifiable and thus measurable. That is to say that if I flub either one, I’ll know it. And since I'm announcing them here, the flubbing will be public. Okay, semi-public. All right, at least quasi-public. But enough stalling--here they are:


Plan for a Day: My first resolution has to do with a one-time event I’ve thought about hosting year after year, and year after year I’ve let the date slip past without getting my act together, but this year is going to be different, and here is my official announcement: On Sunday, February 5, 2012 (please let me know if I’ve got the date wrong, which would not do at all! I did check it several times over but am still nervous), Dog Ears Books will be open for anyone who wants to attend a Super Bowl Escape Party! That’s right, if you’re not a football fan, or if you need a break from the excitement of the Big Game—whatever the reason, you can stop in at Dog Ears and be assured that there will be no wide-screen TV booming at you. We’ll have snacks. Maybe we’ll have games. I haven’t worked out all the details yet and am open to suggestions. After all, we have over a month to figure it out. ESCAPE THE SUPER BOWL! And if YOU want to escape while someone you love does not, I have it on good authority that the Garage Bar & Grill next door will have the game on.... 
Project for a Year: My second resolution will demand a more sustained effort. Inspired by several books read during 2011, as well as by a conviction that the woods and hills around me deserve more attention than I routinely give them, I have resolved to spend time outdoors, not walking or driving but sitting still, looking and listening, once every week in the coming year. On these weekly expeditions, the camera and the dog will stay home. Sarah will still have her daily outdoor adventures with me, and the camera will doubtless be with me most of the rest of the time, but this one hour a week will be dedicated to stillness. My weekly report will be made on a new blog called “Home Ground,” where I have already posted more about this year-long project.
What else? Those are my only two formal resolutions. This blog will continue, as will “A Shot in the Light.” I’m less certain about the fate of “Without a Clear Focus” but don’t see any need to decide one way or the other by any specific date. Then there is reading. It was only today, December 28, 2011, that it struck me that my “Books Read 2011” list will be ending soon! As it’s getting cumbersome to have so many long lists here on the blog, I’ll probably remove 2009 and 2010 soon.
And that’s about it. Those are my plans. As for the bookstore, winter hours are posted in the right-hand column. We haven’t had much winter yet, but there’s no telling what January will bring Up North. Or any month or year, for that matter! But I will be keeping you posted, wherever in the world you are.

11 comments:

Dawn said...

Well at least you HAVE some resolutions, and good ones at that! I haven't thought about it at all...I don't want to go with the tried and failed traditional resolutions ...if I do any I want them (it?) to be unique to me. We'll see if genius strikes me before the first of the year. Or ever for that matter! :)

P. J. Grath said...

My resolutions just came to me, Dawn. The one has, as I say, been coming to me for years and being shoved off, so it seemed time. Super Bowl not coming until February helped me decide, too. More time to prepare! The second came as something I wanted to do, also, and only took resolution form as the end of the year loomed. I completely understand about your wanting your resolutions to be unique to you, personally meaningful. Of course, they can really come at any time of year, too.

Anonymous said...

What, and miss Madonna at half time? Your place is gonna be crowded!

Bill U. Knowho

P. J. Grath said...

Bill, you could take your break during the play time and go back to the TV for the half time. And don't think you are anonymous, either. I know very well who you are!

Gerry said...

We are still pondering our options. I have always been a procrastinator, and Miss Sadie and the Cowboy are happy to go along for the ride no matter where it may take us. Miss Puss, of course, feels (quite rightly) that I may resolve as I will, but she will always be the mistress of her own fate. It's humbling, living with animals.

P. J. Grath said...

Our animals keep us grounded, don't they? Sarah is enjoying her New Year's Eve rawhide bone to the max at the moment, wanting nothing more. I feel a similar contentment with my little glass of red wine. David is contented, too. We're not looking for fireworks tonight.

dmarks said...

There's a Detroit Lions joke in this about always spending that Sunday Superbowl-free, but I can't get the right wording for it.

Anonymous said...

I bet if you ask the animals it would be the other way around about being humble and grounded.

P. J. Grath said...

Last night it occurred to me for the first that perhaps "Super" is the culmination of Rose, Sugar, Cotton, etc., etc. I could look it up but am too happy with having come to the conclusion myself to verify it elsewhere.

P. J. Grath said...

An anonymous comment appeared in my e-mail but not here on the blog, for some reason. It was: "I bet if you ask the animals it would be the other way around about being humble and grounded." Meaning that we keep the animals grounded? That would only be fair. Reciprocity is a good feature in a relationship.

P. J. Grath said...

As you can see, I found the Anonymous comment in my Spam folder, marked it "Not Spam," and now it appears before my note saying that it doesn't appear. Ah, the mysteries of the blogosphere!