The secret of a fabulous life is to live imperfectly with great delight. I’ve been playing with this quote in my journal this week through many take-offs, landings and miles of travel along undiscovered roads. It has been a fabulous week filled with delights, like:
Discovering this sign outside Fact and Fiction Books in Missoula, MT
Making a wonderful new friend, artist Karen Savory, of Simply Savory Art..
Connecting with kindred book lovers.
Finding Jasper in Elliott Bay Books in Seattle
Signing books at Owls Nest Books in Calgary and then seeing it on the same shelf as AMPS by Miriam Toews.
Then there have been spectacular moments like these:
A curious deer, Missoula MT
Snow geese on the prairie
Elk herd, Banff.
Then there are, what Brian calls, neurochrome moments. Fragments etched in my mind: A smile and a welcome at the airport to a family immigrating to Canada. My delight in discovering that they are from Ethiopia. Theirs in discovering that I once worked there. Sweet cinnamon buns, even sweeter conversation at an art cafe with my sister-in-law, Sue. Looking up to see my nephew, Jude’s, evocative painting on the wall. E-mails when I wake up from readers met along this journey who have found hope and a little of their own “Jasper” in the pages of The Clay Girl…
These funky seahorses were inspired by a ‘Eric Carle’ card given to me by my agent, Hilary. The quote, The secret of a fabulous life is to live imperfectly with great delight, belong to Leigh Standley. I was going to leave this doodling hidden inside my journal, because it looked like it had been composed in a moving vehicle, which it has. And why is that? Because, I am so friggin’ lucky to be on this adventure.
Think I’ll just pitch perfection out the window, sieze the clay of this perfectly imperfect day and delight in this fabulous life!
Photos, once again, by the incomparable Brian D.Tucker, including the stunning shot of Lake Louise.
Best wishes on the adventure!
Thanks, Vicki. I’m riding it up, down, sideways and head on!
Lovin the highlights, pics, doodles and neurochrome moments of your cross country tour!! So happy for you.
Thanks, Janet. It is a spectacular adventure. But like a kid counting the sleeps until Christmas, visions of my own bed, my dog, quiet mornings with that first cup of tea in my office and a leisurely walk in my woods are dancing in my head.
I have not loved a protagonist this much since Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird. This novel and character will echo in my heart the same way.
Thank you, Sharon, for your generous encouragement. I think in an alternate universe Ari and Scout are friends. Ari is a mosaic of the many resilient, spirited children I’ve met in my personal and professional life. Her journey will continue in Cracked Pots.