I have a notebook with me all the time, and I begin scribbling a few words. When things are going well, the walk does not get anywhere; I finally just stop and write.
I notice that my characters go out to dinner and have fun and take these great trips, but I spend so much time on their lives, I don't have much of a personal life of my own. I have to sort of remember to fill out that little notebook on me.
I have a penchant for fresh notebooks and mechanical pencils. It seems every time I go to the store, I buy a new notebook. I have dozens of them just sitting around.
Over time, I've paid attention, taken notes and forgotten easily half of everything I've gone through.
You build a fan base over time, and they will accept you as long as it's good. Nothing matters as long as something's good. If it's bad, nobody will see it.
Whereas recessive traits require two bad copies of a gene to become noticeable, a dominant trait expresses itself no matter what the other copy does. A benign example of dominance: If you inherit one gene for sticky wet earwax and one gene for dry earwax, the sticky earwax gene wins out every time.
Middle -age is the time of life, that a man first notices - in his wife.
I've spent a lot of time in America since Sept. 11, 2001. Being here, I was noticing that the people, who in the '60s used to voice their opinions about their rights, are much different today. People are afraid to voice opposition to the government in a mass way.
It's worth noting that at the time of the American Revolution, no sane person would have given two cents for its success.
We are seeing at the Republican National Committee a phenomenon that is worth noting this week; maybe today, maybe tomorrow, maybe Wednesday, we will have a million first time donors since the president took office.
Leisure is not synonymous with time. Nor is it a noun. Leisure is a verb. I leisure. You leisure.
I have a lot of fruit trees and my own little vegetable garden and chickens. And every time I eat, I bless my food; I say I'm grateful for for it and let it nourish every part of my body.
Is there any practice less selfish, any time less wasted than preparing something nourishing and delicious for the people you love?
I'm sort of getting into the idea of nourishing your inner aspect and doing that by investing in your family and making a meal and creating time together.
My theory is that literature is essential to society in the way that dreams are essential to our lives. We can't live without dreaming - as we can't live without sleep. We are 'conscious' beings for only a limited period of time, then we sink back into sleep - the 'unconscious.' It is nourishing, in ways we can't fully understand.
I often have to play a role to get what I want in my life. At the same time, I can't do that without also nourishing who I really am and being aware of my true self and the ways in which I'm not bound by my race or sexual orientation or class or country or whatever.
The feeling of your baby taking nourishment from your body for the first time is amazing, and it remains the most touching moment of my life.
A big diamond necklace is nouveau riche, really. People who have wealth a long time don't wear such things.
If I ran to a doctor every time I got a little cyst or abrasion, I'd still be in Nova Scotia.
I went into the world confident my tea training would open many doors. And I did particularly well with the Irish and fellow Nova Scotians over 60. But this only got me so far. It took a long time to cultivate the tricks of easy social interaction.
