Thursday, May 2, 2013

I Am Having a Good Time




 The fridge at the Pomegranate Kitchen


As most of you who read this blog know, I'm a children's book author. I'm very fortunate and blessed to make my living doing this, and I love it. But I love other kinds of writing, too, and for a long time have wanted to write more about where I live and some of the things that interest me.

Tomorrow, I'm going over to the Durham Bulls baseball park to talk to the groundskeeper about foxes. Apparently, for awhile this spring two foxes made their home there. And as it just so happens, my last book had a mystical fox running through it, and as it just so happens, there's a big documentary project taking place this summer called Bull City Summer, in which ever single Bulls game is going to be documented and blogged about, and as it just so happens, a friend of mine is involved in this project, and when she heard about the foxes, she emailed me and said, "You have to do a blog post about the foxes living in the Durham Bulls park!"

So I emailed the park's groundskeeper, who emailed me back and said, Come on over!

I could not be more thrilled.

First of all, I'm a baseball fan, and I'm a Durham Bulls fan in particular, and the idea that two foxes were making their home in this humongous, AAA park tickles me to no end. That I get to write about it tickles me further. That my friend who's involved with the documentary project just told me she's going to try to get me a press pass so I can go to whatever games I want and write about them? Good grief! I can't even tell you how happy that makes me.

Another happiness: I have been contributing some posts to a blog that covers North Carolina foodways. Tomorrow, they're publishing my post about a nearby Persian restaurant that's not really a restaurant--it's called Pomegranate Kitchen, and it is, in fact, just a kitchen. You buy your food, and then you take it somewhere else to eat. Have you ever eaten Persian food? It is to die for. If you told me I'd fall in love with a dish called pomegranate stew, I would have told you I don't think so. But it's amazing! And the woman who owns this place and is the cook is fabulous. I walked in on Tuesday afternoon and said, "Can I interview you for this piece I'm writing?" and she told me all this interesting stuff about Iran, where she's from, and how people cook there.

The drink selection at Pomegranate Kitchen


This made me very happy, too. And tomorrow, the Man and I and our friend, Rick, who leads my Bible study and also speaks fluent Spanish (he owns a landscaping business and all his employees are
from Mexico--and documented, Rick would want me to tell you; he insists upon this, and every January he or his partner travel to Mexico with their workers to help them get their papers renewed), and another friend of ours named Cricket are going to a Mexican grocery/taqueria called La Superior for lunch so I can write about it (and the Man can take pictures to accompany my story--the Man is also coming with me to take pix at the Bulls stadium--so convenient to have a husband who's also an amazing photographer!). And this makes me happy, too. It makes me happy to live in this small city, where all sorts of interesting things are going on.

But I have to admit, all this excitement is also a little exhausting. I'm happy for it, but I'm also happy that things at home are quiet, and that I have Bible study every week to keep me grounded, and that I have my friends who are steady and helpful and kind.

So I'm having a good time, and now, just writing about it, I'm ready to go to bed. I think the entire month of May is going to be like that. I'll keep you updated.

10 comments:

debbie bailey said...

That sounds like fun! I have the good fortune to have a daughter-in-law from Northern Iraq. Her cooking is amazing! I imagine it would be similar to Persian cooking since the places are so close together. Good stuff!

Gumbo Lily said...

What a lot of excitement! I look forward to the article about the two foxes living in a baseball park. I wonder what they are eating? Are they male & female or what? Will there be fox pups? Where do then den up? What a fun interview you're going to have.

Persian food sounds like something good to try.

Heather said...

I can feel how excited you are when I read this. This post just exudes happiness! It all sounds so interesting. I'm happy for you and I can't wait to read about what you learn.

Angela said...

The fox-trip sounds like fun.

I am in awe of your HUGE fridge! Makes mine look minuscule. But there are only 2 of us, so it doesn't usually matter.

Yes, a weekly Bible Study IS a Good Thing for keeping a person 'grounded' [in the right sense!]

blessings xx

Pom Pom said...

Hi dear Frances!
You are SO right when you say "all this excitement is exhausting" because it is SO true! I'm very exhausted about now (it's May).
You sound so good, so excited and "learn-y"!

Leslie said...

You have just about convinced me to be a writer...except for that writing part. I would love to pose as a writer to be able to interview folks and to be able to have a reason for my effusive and unfettered questioning and then just go away happy and never write a lick. I guess that would be wrong, but what you are doing sounds super fun (despite the baseball part...ha).

Congratulations! I am really excited for you and hope you link up how we can read your interesting work. You will won't you?? Please?

Tracy said...

Sounds like perfect writer-fun. I wonder what foxes do when they live in a stadium? I'm sure there are no chickens to be chased down for dinner!

The dB family said...

I love knowing that I know a writer. One of my dreams was to have a book published in 2010. At least that's what it said in my highschool yearbook. It didn't happen. Maybe I should set a new goal for 2025? I have never had Persian food, but I would love to try it. Have fun! I will be looking forward to your posts!

Blessings!
Deborah

GretchenJoanna said...

What a lot of (tiring) fun for a writer. It's great to be able to write non-fiction things for a change, about people and animals and food right there in your community.

I made a Persian pomegranate chicken stew not long ago. It had pomegranate molasses in it, and was a long process, and the upshot was, I thought it was good, but not worth all that labor - maybe because I would always rather eat beef or lamb or pork rather than chicken. So no way am I getting rid of that lovely pomegranate molasses. Middle Eastern food is yummy.

Nancy McCarroll said...

I found you through PomPom. And I don't think I'll be leaving.

My daughter and SIL live in York, SC. Love the Durham area, now in CO. Come over for a visit.