A note from Lauren: My husband Ian has been keeping a regular journal on his computer for a couple of years now. Recently, he was reading aloud to me some passages he had written a year ago, last February. (We sometimes re-read our old journals to each other, and it helps to put things in perspective.) I thought it would be nice to publish some excerpts here, along with pencil drawings from my sketchbook.
Ian in profile.
Ian Kindle at 2/17/2019 11:08 AM
Another one of those instances when life gets in the way… not in a negative way, but the past few days have been busy and wonderful. On Valentine's Day I made dinner and got the kids to bed and then spent time making crème brulee for Lauren and getting her valentine's present together…
On Friday I worked on cleaning to get ready for our trip to visit Kat and Jen in Massachusetts…Travelling took longer than expected. Bad traffic on 84 near Danbury and Hartford. Took us almost 6 hours to get up here. We were pretty tired and hungry by the time we got here. Jen's been under the weather and rested most of Saturday. Kat had a class and Lauren and I took the kids to the Smith College Art Museum in the afternoon. Grace met us there and we had a nice time looking at art and talking a bit…
Today Kat and Jen have taken the kids to Berkshire East for Snow Tubing.
A kid on a snow tube. (Photo credit: Kat Good-schiff)
Lauren and I had a very nice time reconnecting... Right now she's sketching pets. She is so beautiful with her long hair pulled back, braided in a loose rope down her back. Dangly red carnelian and crystal earrings that I bought her for an anniversary several years ago and a light rose colored blouse that looks like linen but is likely cotton. She gazes down at Rosie, eyes darting back and forth from the old golden retriever sleeping in the sun and the sketch book front of her. She glances up at me…
Sketch of Rosie, napping.
Then she returns her attention to her sleeping model. Rosie sniffs and stretches and readjusts her legs before going back to sleep. "Rosie," Lauren says fondly, "now you're in a totally different pose." She starts a new sketch.
"Quantity not quality is my new motto. In writing too. It's easier to edit crap than a blank page. Ego gets in the way and prevents you from doing good work. It's impossible to do good work when you're trying to do good work. It's like trying to walk but stepping on your own feet."
Sketches of Hadley, finding a comfortable spot on the floor.
Cat and dog napping in a sunny window.
Finally found out yesterday that I tied for third place in the romantic essay contest [at the National Hotel in Frenchtown, NJ]…
I think Lauren and I will have a nice date night there sometime soon.
Sketches of Ian, while he writes his journal…
Related Reading: Love, Art, Diaries, Letters, Poetry, and Pie (not in that order)
Smith College Art Museum: paintings we saw that day
Strange Love Letters: letters I wrote to Ian, once upon a time
Lovesick Teenage Diary: some embarrassing excerpts from when I was 17…
Solace: our wedding vows
Kat and Picasso: a trip to the MoMA with Kat in 2016
Pie: a guest blog post by Grace LeClair
Dragon’s Meow: Kat’s poetry blog