Flossie's Unexpected Gift

If you are a frequent visitor here then you know serendipity is one of my favorite things. I love finding something surprising and wonderful when I am expecting something less, or nothing at all. Well, Friday was a day of serendipity!

A few months ago during frigid winter temperatures I wrote about how the driver's side seat warmer burned out in my car, forcing me to suffer from cold buttism. Now, in the heat of early summer, the A/C is in a rut. I'd love some cool, but Flossie Ford is stuck on the idea of me with a warm backside.  I told her she's behind the times and cool air is where it's at, but she'll have none of it. I wanted warm and warm I shall have.

The outside temp was a whopping 92 on Friday, and Flossie teased me with air that alternated between lukewarm and warmer. Hoping for a cool cross breeze I drove with the windows down and the sunroof open, and that was when serendipity found me. My nostrils twitched from a delightful onslaught of scents from fresh cut grass to blooming things I cannot identify. Even the smell of tar reminded me of a long ago trip to Hampton Beach with my daddy. The wind whipped through the car's interior, my hair blew with no care for style, I heard tree leaves dancing, dogs barking, kids playing, and in those moments I thanked Flossie for gifting me with the sensuous assault.

Upon my arrival at home I closed up the windows and roof, turned off the engine and marched straight into my air conditioned house, because it was freaking hot out, y'all.  But I did appreciate the beauty of the spring day and I love that something as uncomfortable as a blitzed air conditioner resulted in one of the nicest car rides in my recent memory.

I am grateful serendipity hunted me down.  I am also grateful Flossie's extended warranty doesn't expire until January.  She better behave after that or we'll have words.

Have a serendipitous week!

Lisa 

Sisters of Serendipity

ser-en-dip-i-ty: noun

The faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought after. 

Some time ago I crowed about "serendipity" with regard to a book I stumbled across at the library.  A great read, The Intelligencer by Leslie Silbert brought sheer delight. Well, Easter weekend gifted me with another serendipitous find, this time in the form of a friend.

The weekend promised to be entertaining since my 16-year-old daughter and I road-tripped to Virginia to visit my sister, Sophie, and her family.  We blasted our CDs, sang loud, and giggled our way through six hours on the road.  

Joining us for the weekend was my brother's beloved Meg, a lady I had yet to meet.  I knew she would be something special because she owns my big bro's heart and because our sis said, "She is the berries!", which is Sophie-speak for "super terrific".  Due to all of that I expected to like her.

 

So where does serendipity come in? Well, I went to Virginia expecting to make a new friend. Returning home with a brand new sister-of-the-heart was not even on my short list of things to do, but serendipity bloomed and her name is Meg. (If I'm honest, her name isn't Meg, it's Jerri, but our family is big on nicknames and hers is Meg, so dubbed in reference to something my mama once said.) 

 

Only rarely does the universe bring into our lives a person who fits our contours with seamless ease.  Truth be told, were my brother to lose his mind and move to Bora Bora to join a cult of dart-playing turtle worshipers, Meg would still be on my speed dial and Sophie would continue to beg for her sausage gravy and biscuits.  We're a new trio, Sophie, Meg and me--sisters of serendipity, unexpected but treasured.  I am so looking forward to strengthening this bond of friendship.

 

Ah, Miss Serendipity...I love it when she drops by!

 

Til next time,

Lisa 

 

Photos courtesy of stock.xchng.

Serendipity in the Stacks

While meandering through the library stacks I hoped for a run of serendipity with regard to choosing a good read. I oftentimes do a blind grab—choose a book I have never seen written by an author of whom I have never heard. Sometimes my optimism is dashed to shreds, but sometimes…sometimes, the heavens open up and I can hear Elvis singing, “I’m All Shook Up”. I love it when that happens!


Yeah, that didn’t happen today.

But the process reminded me of a time when it did happen, when a blind grab garnered a real gem titled The Intelligencer by author Leslie Silbert. I loved it, and Googled Ms. Silbert for a list of other books, whereupon I learned that there were no others. The Intelligencer was her first and, up to that point, her only published novel.

I put the author’s name on the backburner of my mind where it simmered until the pot went dry. Meaning, of course, that I forgot her name. But! I spotted The Intelligencer at the library and was reminded of being, you know, all shook up. That was when I Googled Leslie Silbert again and—this time it was the “Hallelujah Chorus” that rocked my world—she is nearing completion of her second novel, Killing Caravaggio. Yes!

Her main character is a female PI, and the twist is that the present day plot is intertwined with goings on occurring in centuries past. The Intelligencer brings insight into the life of playwright Christopher Marlowe who was a Shakespeare contemporary and a for-real spy during Elizabethan times. Ms. Silbert’s new, and as yet unpublished work, Killing Caravaggio, will detail the life of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, one of the greatest artists in European history. (That his life was turbulent and he was notorious for being arrogant and picking pub fights can only make the story more entertaining.)

So visit the author’s website (I've added Ms. Silbert to my list of Authors Who Rock My Socks), run out and grab The Intelligencer for a slam-dunk read, and then set all of this info to simmer on the backburner of your mind. If your pot runs dry, never fear. I’ve moved this from the backburner to the frontal lobe, and I promise to let you know as soon as the next Leslie Silbert novel hits the shelves. Hallelujah! I can’t wait to be all shook up!

Good reading –
Lisa