Why do I write?

Yes, why do I write this blog? After all, my posts are just about - my non-working life here in Southwestern Connecticut. And unlike work where my mind is fully engaged (I wish my salary reflected that but alas, I only work part-time), my home life is just plain vanilla bourgeois. There, I said it! That used to be such a term of contempt back in my twenties before the burdens of mortgage and credit cards and car payments descended on my shoulders. And now there are other - very cute - monkeys on my back. My kids. But I hesitate to write about very personal things. What the hell business is it of anybody else's how much I love my kids or my husband or my parents or my brother or my niece or my....they know how loved they are and don't need a blog to tell them that, anyway. And I don't want to write about my neighbors, friends and other acquaintances either. They are decent people who do deserve better than to end up as unwitting supporting actors in somebody else's play.

So what shall I write about? Well, there is the house of course. What an education it has been to go through this remodeling process. I can now talk with aplomb about tiles and hardwood floors and siding and dormers. But is that really my passion? No, I loved putting my stamp on this house that hopefully will be our retirement too (in any case, I cannot see myself going through this process again). But I cannot talk endlessly about Toto versus Kohler versus Jado. So instead, I will write about the two things that I do have a passion for: books and food. I'll write about restaurants, recipes, novels and non-fiction and sometimes all of them together. With some music and movies thrown in. That will spare my family and friends and acquaintances from having to read unmentionable things about themselves in public and will also give me an opportunity to explore my extended neighborhood a bit.