Physics Not Physique

December 31, 2021-January 1, 2022

MY PERIODIC TABLES

Bringing periodic updates to the table…but wait I’m getting ahead of myself.

First, I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! 2021 has been a fruitful year, yet as every gardener knows fruit comes as part of a cycle. I hope the joy of your triumphs has been doubled and the weight of your sorrows halved by the ones who love you.

The Christmas Table:

Christmas is over and we’ve celebrated well. So, my periodic tables will start with Christmas chemistry. I am so grateful for my family and friends who make my life feel so incredibly extraordinary. It is the little things, remembering something I like, making me a special bow, listening to me discuss the things I enjoy, supporting me with both care and critique, loving and accepting me with all my crazy quirks and interests. I love each of you and cannot express in words the beauty and hope I feel when I think of each of you. My love for you grows every year.

Me showing up for Breakfast the whole season through (laugh)

The Bow Table:

Santa’s helpers dropping off gifts for us to bow…and picking up the snacks left for them. “This is the way.” (hahaha)

The Tentative Table:

Physics not physique was the mantra this week as Superhero, and I managed to move a 400lb refrigerator and 250lb stove over a four-foot obstacle. A soon to be island made a tentative table. At one point we both looked like monkeys climbing up and over while balancing homemade leverage systems (laugh).

Tadah! Reminds me of writing – when there is still lots to do but the heavy lifting is done (smile).

The Water Table:

Even motion is procrastination when stillness is what is needed.

Just finished NaNoWriMo and now relaxing with some time to post to the website and update about progress. No egrets, I mean regrets about taking this time to rejuvenate. Thank you, Abbie Emmons – incredibly kind young writer whose YouTube blog a writer friend shared with me. Abbie sent emails out every day during NaNoWriMo to writers, and it was very thoughtful. She has two teen/young adult books available.

The Temporary Table:

It can often be hard when you are hooking up lines and connecting wiring to feel like a space is anything but a WIP, but Superhero helped me use a temporary table to make our work in progress feel as warm as home. Take the time to make the journey as beautiful as the goal.

The Tasting Table:

Superhero and I find the tasting table a true favorite (grin). This night we enjoyed Octopus Ceviche, Fluke Tartare, Sweet Potato Falafel, Scallop and Salmon Roe Chawanmushi, Old Fashioned Chess Pie with Bourbon Ice Cream, Chocolate Raspberry Profiterole, and Passion Fruit Dark Chocolate Bon Bons with Passion Fruit Marshmallow Drops. I have to say that ceviche is the best way to eat octopus. It was tender, flavorful, and delicious. Each dish was prepared with care and had an exquisite combination of flavor.

The Reading Table:

Superhero and I enjoyed a great opportunity to see a collection of Van Gogh’s work and learn more about his life. I appreciate the different perspective he gives to each piece; the reading table (Oleanders at THE MET) despite being post-impressionism in its time period, to me, creates drama in a still life by its very Baroque style of having the table disappear off the canvas. I expanded my limited knowledge of art appreciation this year and it enhanced my experience of this exhibit. I remember purchasing a print of Van Gogh’s Cafe while in college because I loved the color, not realizing it was a Van Gogh. It is fulfilling to see the piece in this exhibit and have an improved appreciation of craft and art to enjoy it. The details of his paintings, to me, speaks volumes about the artist.

The Writing Table:

Book 1 copy and line edits are completed and back with editor

Book 2 rough draft is complete

Jezel’s Novella (A side character from Book 1) completed during NaNoWriMo this year.

Now I’m deciding about whether to start Book 3 or take the time to polish up Book 2 and Jezel’s Novella. Hmmmm…present plan is to print out copy/line edit Book 1, the drafts of Book 2 and Jezel’s book so I can mark them as I write Book 3. I’m using December to organize all that I have completed and prepare to tackle Book 3 in the new year – 2022.

Momma’s Table:

Superhero and I visiting with my parents and my mom brought my first pair of shoes out to show us she still had them (smile). At Momma’s table you know each part of your life is important. I may walk my father’s compassionate path to help humanity, yet I do so with the shoes my mother lovingly selected because she is my biggest fan.

The Turn Table:

My reproduction turntable had me playing some old school tunes and I had an idea to turn the tables and combine something old with something new. I’ve had my grandmother’s 8-track stereo for years, but it doesn’t have the speakers, so it was never played. I stripped an RCA cord and hooked up my grandmother’s 8-track stereo to an LG speaker (grin). It sounds like the mid 1900’s technology that it is, but hey at one time this little baby was designed for Learjets. Maybe I can really turn the tables and find a new jet for my old 8-track to go in.

The Matching Table:

The pumpkins that Superhero and I painted were inspiration for costumes. Mad Hatter Covid Style – Superhero and I enjoyed a few activities this year with the caveat of careful. Am I going mad? Some of my favorite quotes are from Alice in Wonderland. “No use going back to yesterday – I was a different person then.”

The Gifted Table:

Superhero surprised me with this outdoor gardening table. I think it is a conspiracy to move all my gardening outside (laugh). The lemon tree loves being outside when she can, and her swelling fruit show it. However, there is a reason my outside garden is mostly trees.

The Together Table

This table hosts many events – at this table everybody matters, and everyone is seen. My thoughts on what creates a together table brings me to an event we share with friends. This particular event we pick a theme, and everyone brings a dish related to that theme. This particular theme was Italian. This was my first attempt at Focaccia bread. There is something very special about humans and how we can come together in support of each other through good times and bad. At this table we ask only that you come as you are; your successes will be cheered, and your mistakes will be recognized as steps to future success.

The Family Table:

Like every family we have had our share of sorrows and joys this year. I am reminded every day to be grateful and I have become increasingly mindful of making time for the ones you love. Superhero and I have made a commitment to that improvement of time spent with family and friends.

The Mountain Table:

Horseback riding up the mountain. The three of us were able to collect beautiful herbs and flowers from a garden at the base of the mountain tended and kept by a family who can trace their family history here back over 160 years. Why go anywhere else when this is home?

The Garden Table:

I added an app on my phone that is supposed to identify plants. I tried it on this giant that grew almost as tall as me in one of our outside begonia planters. The app said it was a rare plant and I had to laugh. The squirrels or birds must have contributed this rare find (laugh) because I found them everywhere. I finally braved up and planted the rosemary I have been growing inside for years, but the thought of not having one of my favorite herbs inside for the winter had me pot-planting a new one soon after (smile). The lemon tree is still going strong. Each year I think about what I’m going to do as it keeps growing. I told Superhero I’m going to have to raise the roof on the house. You know you love gardening when your idea of adding on really means enclosing the outdoors (wink).

Serendipity Table:

One of my favorite things is seeing a space transformed for function. This challenge gave me that opportunity in spades! The space isn’t finished, but it’s better than the way we found it and the find at the end just felt good (grin).

Daddy’s Table:

I’m rainbow sprinkles, and he’s nuts, but we both love ice cream. My Mom jokes that she would tell people I belong to the milk man but I’m too much like my father (laugh). Yep, from fixing things to healing things I have much to thank him for teaching me. Mom was not always so keen on the skills he taught me when it came to electrical and duct tape (laugh), but they come in handy in a pinch.

The Game Table:

Well, at present my dad and I are 50/50 on wins (laugh). We will play chess even if it’s with paper (laugh). I look forward to our next match so I can tip that 50/50 scale in my favor (grin).

Our Golden Egg and her husband support my love of both the game and science fiction. We had a chance as a family to fly the Millenium Falcon this past year, so you know I had to sit at “The Game Table”. We had an incredible time – It’s all fun and games till Superhero and I take the wheel (laugh).

The Editing Table: What my book looks like…March 2021 This is where I left off in my last post so now you are completely up to date:-) Thank you to my Beta readers – you made this year an accomplished interactive time of discovery and support. Each of you brought me more joy, insight, and surprise than I can ever thank you for. I am indebted to you.

Alexis Westmore's Butterfly Room

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