I went exploring today and found an art exhibit by Salvador Dali that I hadn’t known about.  And it had all sorts of crazy pieces I’d never seen before.  That made my day.

Dali was such an eccentric.  It makes me feel inadequately normal.  I am not really normal, but put me up next to someone like that and my approach to life and art is so…pedestrian.  I think there’s something to be said for going to extremes.  I’m just not capable of it myself.

I’m also happy because I managed to buy “normal” meat at the Czech grocery store today.  (As opposed to the chicken stomachs that I thought were beef for stew when I bought them the other day.  Oops.)

And I found a place nearby that carries mini cans of Coke so I can feed my addiction, but in limited amounts.  And I found these yummy chocolate covered wafers (called Minonky).

So, I may be no closer to getting published, (it would help to sit down and write some…), but all in all it’s a good day.

And, because this is a writing blog and I haven’t shown any PCW love in a bit:

Patricia C. Wrede on Cooking vs. writing

What she says is so true.  Like this:

“Which leads me to the rather obvious conclusion that most people aren’t great cooks.  Because following recipes will get you a decent meal if you’re not trying anything too complicated, but it won’t get you a great meal except by pure luck.”

And this:

“A great cook has to adjust everything on the fly, from cooking time and temperature to whether to add an extra pinch of spice (or an extra tablespoon).”

And this:

“All the really good cooks I know use recipes – if they use them at all – as a sort of starting guideline, adding and subtracting ingredients according to their own taste, experience, and inspiration.  Writing is like that.”

And…oh, seriously.  Just go read it already.  I’m still a newbie at writing, but I can certainly agree with what she says about cooking.  It really is an art not a science.

And, because some of you still won’t go read it:

“You can learn a lot about writing by reading how-to books and blogs and analyzing other people’s work, but if that’s all you do, you’re not a writer. You need actual, on-the-ground experience to get good at it, and getting that experience takes time and effort, and there will be disasters. Some of the things you try won’t work the first time, or the second, or the eighth. Some of the things you are quite sure will never work turn out to be brilliant. You will hardly ever be able to tell in advance which is going to be which.

Cooks have to actually cook; writers have to actually write. Thinking, reading, or talking about it isn’t enough.”

So, go write.  Like I’m about to.