Savoring

I began this post at dictionary.com. Savor. To Savor. Savoring. Savorous. Summer Savory.

You can read all the definitions there yourself at http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/savor?s=t  The definions that interest me are "power to excite or interest" and "to give oneself to the enjoyment of."

Gaylen can now savor her new job opportunity. They made her the offer. It's hers. And let me tell you, that is one company that will soon be happy with their choice.

Daphne's hubby can savor life with his three day old new hip. Hip, hip, horray!

Paula is savoring a trip to Morocco very soon. And really hoping those snakes are make of rubber.

In an instant potatoes kind of world, I don't take much time for savoring. Do you? T'was my friend Susan who taught me the art of savoring. I like it. I don't do it enough. It was, oh, maybe two Christmases ago. Or was it three? She wasn't there, so I gave her little Christmas gift to her husband to take home to her. And then, I didn't hear from her. Christmas came, and went. Boxing day came, and went. Didn't she like my gift? She's on Facebook every day. She never mentioned it. I was Curious George, so finally I asked, "Did G---- give you your gift?" "Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "I'm savoring it." Christmas was five days past. Her gift from me still sat under the tree, completely dressed in its paper and bow. "Give me two more days," she said. I don't remember what it was, or whether it was worth the wait or not. But, untouched, she looked at it and wondered and anticipated.

Isn't that half the fun? It is for me. I'm a great day dreamer. It's a good thing, probably, that only about one per cent of those day dreams come true. But once in a while, my dreams revolve around a plan, and I savor it. I wonder what is in the "package." I visualize the outcome. The dream is the package, of course. I never know quite what will be in the package when I begin to unravel it, but it is so much fun to anticipate. And then, hopefully, once it is open, I can put it to use, put it on a shelf, put it in a recipe, put it under a decoration, give it away, sell it, repurpose it . . . just depends what it is.

What am I savoring right now? In no particular order:

1. The next Holmes family gathering in autumn, 2016, somewhere in New England
2. My "to make" Christmas gift list
3. The printing/publishing of "Riverbank Visitors"
4. Supper: will it be spaghetti casserole or chicken fricot? I'm thinking the fricot, with a goodly amount of summer savory in it (that's the power of suggestion)
5. A trip to Long Island in November
6. The trigger for this post: the two books on the bottom of the collage, above (click on photo to enlarge)

I didn't mean to buy something for myself at Chapters yesterday. I really didn't. But, then, I did go with a title in mind, just to look at, you know. On the way to the fiction/literature section, I passed a table with new books for 2014 on it. The middle book jumped out at me. It said, in a loud whisper, "you want to read me." I looked it over. I felt it. I read the back. I opened it up and read a page. I carried it as I headed for the f/l section. "I would think about it," I decided. I found the book I was looking for. I looked it over. I felt it. I read the back. I did not open it and read a page, for I had already read some good reviews. It sounded delicious, probably in a sad way, given the era. I went over to another section, picked up what I had come for, and added another for a Christmas gift. "While I was there," I thought, "I might as well."

Four books. Two gifts for others, and two gifts for me. As I have the top one in the photo on the go already, I will finish it as I savor the new books. I was not going to crack a cover, but I did, this morning, a very slight crack. It has a map on the inside cover that smacks of a very old-world setting. Now, which book will I read first: that is my dilema.

Hubs is reading a text book and taking an on-line course. He wondered how people got through the book in the short time alloted. He is not an avid reader.  I asked, "do you read every word?" He replied, "yes, that is how I was taught to read," and there was something in his tone of voice that made me feel "that was a silly question. Shut up, Peggy."

When I write, every word is important to me. Does it fit? Is it appropriate? Does it enhance the sentence, or would the story be better without it? But when I read, I skim. I read quickly. "What do I miss?" I wondered, as I pondered his reply. My goal is to read every word of those two books that I am savoring. A text book read. An editing kind of read, but not overdone to the point of all criticism and no enjoyment. Hopefully, a pleasant, interesting read, or perhaps, a thought provoking read awaits between the covers.