Are you ready to retire?

I had the ideal retirement day today. Still enjoying daylight savings, I slept until almost 8:30 (as did the cat and dog--the latter didn't want to go out until almost 9:30). By the time I got myself ready for the day, read the paper, dealt with emails and phone calls, it was 10:45 before I got out the door to the office to do just a couple of things. Then home to pay bills, do some email ordering (yes, I do that) and it was lunchtime. This afternoon, I'm reading--part studying, part fun.
The rest of the day has gone the same way--a bit of work, a lot of relaxation, good veal leftovers with asparagus and mushrooms. But I honestly have been using my brain a bit too. I found a quote that really hit home: an editor wrote about occasionally, reading a proposed manuscript at home, his hair stood on end, and he thought, "I could publish that and do it right, and it might amount to something." I've had manuscripts that struck me that way, and I've had fair success with them. I won't try to list them, but the Calvin Littlejohn book I've wanted to publish for twenty-five years and just did, thanks to Bob Ray Sanders, has met with tremendous reception and today we have word that a donor has funded buying a copy for every Fort Worth middle and high school. Littlejohn was the pioneer black photographer who chronicled the black community when newspapers, etc., wouldn't. His photogrpahs are striking, both in terms of photography (he was inventive, even making his own enlarger) and of the history he captured. A truly remarkable story, and we've brought it to the public. There have been other books I've felt that way about--books that thrilled me when I held them in my hand finally, after all that went into them. I really wish others could understand that feeling.
I am both amused and incensed today by the ongoing controversy over the decisions of the State Board of Education in Texas. Apparently they have decided to make Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson heroes of leadership, while omitting all mention of Thomas Jefferson as a Renaissance man. Of course, Stonewall Jackson fits the right-wing conservative stereotype perfectly--he was a Puritanical Christian who cared neither about his own death or that of others, which is why he fought so valiantly. The whole teaching of human values is messed up in this state, and I wonder who appoints the SBOE. Governor Perry? Textbook publishers are going to either have a hard time getting their books into the state's curriculum or they're going to have to skew history so much that other states will be left reeling. Much as I love Texas and its history, sometimes I wonder why I live here. Canada sometimes looks pretty good, if it weren't so far from family and friends. Mexico is out as the violence escalates and now has targeted Americans with connection to the Embassy in Ciudad Juarez. I even worry about friends in El Paso, though a friend who takes frequent tours to Mexico told me he felt completely safe on his last tour. The world is not a fun place these days.

Weekends

This is a lovely weekend in Fort Worth--sunny, beautifully clear, cool this morning, almost 90 this afternoon. But lovely enough that I served cocktails on the porch last night and lunch--leftovers--today.
The photographer and author of our Day of the Dead book are in the area promoting the book. Late yesterday afternoon good friends Sharon and Bill Benge met them at my house, and Sharon did an interview for the arts show she does weekly on WRR FM. Then I served wine and antipasto and sent them off to sign books for two hours at Barnes & Noble. Turns out Sharon's favorite place is Oxaca, with most of Mexico coming in close behind, so they all had lots to talk about. Denis, the photographer, has in recent years, also made three trips to Cuba and is proposing a book to us called Capturing Cuba. Day of the Dead, after two months, is a rip-roaring success, so yes, we're interested. Now that we have cracked--okay, Melinda has cracked--the secrets of publishing four-color in China, we're lining p all kinds of coffee table projects that should help our bottom line immensely. Also they're lovely, books that make me glow with pride that we did them. Of course, I can't retire!
Today I called a friend who has had knee surgery and picked her up--we hit DSW Shoe Warehouse and Barnes & Noble and then came back here to eat leftover pickled baby corn, salami and cheese, southwestern tuna, olives, dolma, whatever was left from last night. Made a satisfying lunch, and once again it was lovely on the porch. This afternoon I'm playing catch-up, but I find myself putting off my great chefs project. I'm just going to have to get firm with myself and get it done.I have all these gorgeous cookbooks sitting on my desk, waiting to be written about! But I keep getting distracted by mysteries, and today I bought three set in Scotland. Which reminds me that tomorrow, I'm going to a nearby Presbyterian church to hear the Kirken on the Tartans--I'm not quite sure what it is, but I know it involves bagpipes, so I'm excited.
Tonight a small privately owned museum in Weatherford, about 30 miles away, is opening their annual Day of the Dead celebration, and there's a big reception. Our book, our photographer, and our author are featured. My neighbor Sue and I will go and then stop on the way home for a glass of wine and a snack. I hope, of course, that they sell a lot of books. Check it out on amazon.com and see how beautiful it truly is: Day of the Dead/Dia de Los Muertos with photography by Denis Defibaugh and text by Ward Albro.