Under The Tuscan Sun Movie

Not Many Meetings, But Still Plenty to do in Town

Last week alone there were at least four meetings scheduled to be held in Howell, but thanks to a malfunction in the air conditioning system, both the scheduled town council and planning board meetings were not held.

The planning board meeting was postponed until next week, while there is no word on whether or not the council meeting will be rescheduled. Even without those meetings there is still plenty to do within the borders of the township. 

With incredibly hot temperatures expected to settle over the area as the week goes on, the library figures to be one of the coolest places in town this week. This morning at 11 a.m. there will be a baby story time, followed by the Mahjong Club at 1 p.m. and family story time at 4:15 p.m.

On Tuesday, the library will hold a toddler story time at 9:30 in the morning, and at 2 p.m. the movie Ramona and Beezus will be shown. The film is based on the books by Beverly Cleary. There will also be an art project at 6 p.m. on Tuesday as guests from sixth grade and up will have the chance to make a printing. Using a sketch and ink those in attendance will have a chance to put their imaginations to work.

Also at the library on Wednesday, there will be a story time for school age children at 2 p.m. and an informative talk about bullying at 7 p.m. In between those two events, the Calgo Gardens will host an Alice in Wonderland event starting at 4 p.m. This is open to children of all ages giving them age appropriate activities to do while learning more about the classic children's story. 

On Thursday morning at 10:30 am. there is a family story time at the library, while at 1 p.m. the 2003 film Under the Tuscan Sun will be shown for anyone looking to escape from the New Jersey sunshine.

With the week winding down the Howell Chamber of Commerce will hold a breakfast bonanza event at St. Veronica's Parish where those in attendance will be able to ask questions about how technology will be able to help their companies. The fun starts at 8 a.m. All that leads into what will hopefully be an enjoyable weekend for Howell residents wherever they choose to go to.

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Let the ladybugs come | Angelique's Blog

Where Catherine (Lindsay Duncan) tells Frances (Diane Lane) about being a little girl hunting for ladybugs.  Eventually she fell asleep in the garden and when she woke she was covered in ladybugs.  Her point was she needed to stop trying to make something happen and let it happen naturally.

I love this concept – stop looking and let the ladybugs find you.  Sometimes we get so caught up in an idea, or rather in the excitement it brings out in us, that we end up missing the poor thing altogether.  I’ve noticed recently that if I try to ‘force’ my creativity, it just disappears.  On the other hand, if I just let them do their own thing, they (and in this case I mean stories rather than ladybugs) are far more cooperative.

The trick of course is to figure out how to let the ladybugs come.  In Under the Tuscan Sun, Frances is restoring an old Tuscany villa, and while our house definitely needs a makeover, taking to it with a hammer, paintbrush, and a team of Polish immigrants (look go watch the movie okay? or better yet read the book ) isn’t really an option right now.  So I have armed myself with new ladybug hunting equipment – movies, music, books, and a variety of pens and notebooks.

I’ve also set up a new writing corner.  Notice that I have said  writing corner and not Writing Room.  A corner and not a room, lower case first letters.  A simple table in the living room, near the fire.  Enough room for Pinky (my laptop), my phone, and a cup of tea.  Not enough room for endless bits of junk – well theoretically there isn’t, though I’m sure I’ll try to create room.

The great news is that the ladybugs have already started to peek out from under leaves.  The story idea I had recently   has started to flow without me even thinking about it (although I’m a little nervous about what will happen when I start to work with it….) It’s Not That Simple is starting to pull together.  I’ve even had a few ideas for some freelance pieces.

I think it’s vital to bring a sense of business organisation to your creative/artistic career, to ensure you keep the framework of your work functioning.  There is no point being a best selling *insert word of choice* if you ignore your taxes right?  However, that is the framework not the heart of what you do, and in order to allow the heart to function, you must keep it healthy but you can NOT turn it into a machine only functioning on your command.  Create but do not force; let the ladybugs come as they will….