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June 2009

Dear Friend

Peter and I ended up celebrating our 35th anniversary quietly at home in our cottage. Because Peter’s spring flu lingered, we decided to postpone Paris until a more appropriate time. Life wherever we are is a blessing, and in our case, the month of May in Stonington has been enchanting.

The whole village smells of lilac and lily-of-the-valley. We were here to watch the lilac bud and bloom. For our anniversary, in celebration of our mutual love, we’re having landscaping work done surrounding our cottage. After 22 years of trying to grow good grass, we finally realized we’re better off with some colorful ground cover. We’re adding some Nikko blue hydrangea in our tiny walled back yard in order to have a circle around our table. The new outdoor shower will have a feast of a view with our “forest” of blue hydrangea.

In honor of Cooper Lily’s birth, we’re having a fragrant rose bush planted next to the one we have for her mother Brooke to remember her wedding and 35th birthday five years ago. We are adding three additional rose bushes along our white picket common fence to provide more privacy for us and our wonderful neighbor, and our three grandchildren, Nicholas, Anna and Lily will be able to tend to their roses when they come to visit us.

The silver lining surprise for us was Brooke coming to stay with us with the baby, precious Cooper Lily, and joined by her husband for the long Memorial Day weekend. Cooper is adorable, and we saw her sprout before our eyes in the six days she was here. She loves Stonington the way her parents do, and enjoys the beach, the sea gulls, the flowers, trees, the water, sky, and the freshness of the air. Being able to spend relaxed time with her was a great gift, and in the evenings when she was asleep, we, the proud grandparents, delighted in supper parties in our freshly-renovated dining room. If we’d been in Paris as scheduled, we would have missed out on this fun time together.

Another blessing – having postponed our annual trip to Paris meant I had fewer interruptions with my work. I am deeply committed to my book about Aristotle. Without question, this is the most challenging book I’ve written, and because it is intensely complex, I have had moments of frustration trying to put all the pieces of the puzzle in place so they all fit correctly.

It is my humble feeling that Aristotle is the most brilliant thinker who ever lived, and my book sets out to show why. This project has taken me over; I’ve fallen more deeply in love with Aristotle’s mind and the experience of trying to write a book that is of the excellence he teaches us should be our goal. This book is entirely different in style from anything I’ve ever written because it is all a dream, not reality. I need hour after hour of uninterrupted time to work; any distraction is upsetting because I lose the spell.

Aristotle teaches us that the pleasure is in the focused effort and I am a witness. I’ve never enjoyed writing a book more. I am stimulated, inspired and modest as I move toward re-writing a draft in order to have it typed up to show my literary agent and publisher. I am dedicated to this book and am pouring my heart, soul and mind’s energy to give it my full force, no matter how much time this requires.

As a result, I am not able to speak on the phone or answer mail until I complete this phase of the work. I am four months behind my projected date in terms of progress. The book has taken on a life of its own. This is now my number one priority. When I do complete this phase to my satisfaction, Peter and I will fly off to Paris for a week.

The cottage is quiet and simple, an ideal place for Peter and me to work. Peter continues to work on his book Figure It Out, as I work on bringing Aristotle back to life to guide us on course in an increasingly troubled world. I’m looking forward to June “busting out all over.” I feel confident I will succeed in meeting my goal.

Peter and I appreciate all the kind cards and notes we received on our anniversary. You are very much with me in my heart as I work, and I send you great love, affection and appreciation. I have not left the planet, but I have gone back 2,500 years into history to let Aristotle’s voice guide me as I write.

To be continued!

Love & Live Happy

Have you taken photos at one of Alexandra's events that you'd like to share? If so, you can email them to AStoddardInc@aol.com. Please be sure to include the names of those in the photo and where and when it was taken! We will try to include them on the website in the future.

Spring pansies lift their happy faces to the sun!

For all of the mothers that you'd like to give an autographed copy of my new book, please send your order (including inscription information) to:
Jane Hannon
Bank Square Books
53 West Main Street
Mystic, CT 06355
(860) 536-3795
banksquarebks@msn.com

Grace Note

Dream big dreams because they will come true.

Alexandra Stoddard