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Sound of Silence

November 26, 2012 By Talya Tate Boerner

hello darkness my old friend
I’ve come to talk to you again

People talk too much. Uncomfortable with silence, they fill every quiet moment with noise. Television or iTunes. Incessant chatter.

I love the richness of silence. Silence has its own dimension, allowing the brain to create new thoughts, solve problems, remember. 
Watching game after game of football Thanksgiving weekend, the unceasing narration began to irritate. A stream of yammering, often nonsensical filler, by grown men who love to hear themselves talk.  Do they get paid by the syllable? Predictions and play-by-play commentary. Heisman watch. Coulda woulda shoulda... 

people talking without speaking 
people hearing without listening
I love football, but would like to mute the sound yet still hear the Baylor Fight song played by the band after each touchdown. 
Today my house is calm. I write. The only sound is the simmer of purple hull peas on the stove and the occasional jingle of the dogs’ collars. Birds chirp outside my window.

The sound is deafening.

talya

Musical Pairing

Sound of Silence, Simon & Garfunkel



Grace Grits Haute Giveaway!

November 23, 2012 By Talya Tate Boerner

Here’s your next chance to win a beautiful Haute Hostess Apron! 

Delphine from the Glam it Up Collection
will be given away on December 10, just in time for the holidays!
This double ruffle black Venetian lace apron is lined in Cashmere Satin
and retails for $200!

Classy and Chic—perfect for hosting
 Christmas morning brunch, a festive New Year’s Eve party,
or the perfect Christmas gift for your favorite chef!

 
Three ways to enter today!

1. Share on Facebook
2. Follow me on Twitter
3. Like Grace Grits & Gardening Facebook Page

Happy Black Friday!

talya

Come Away With Me

October 29, 2012 By Talya Tate Boerner

Dairy Hollow, Eureka Springs
My space at Dairy Hollow has a generous bathroom with a huge sunken tub. I prefer showers. As Kramer (Seinfeld) aptly explained, if I don’t have a good shower, I’m not myself. I feel weak and ineffectual…Showers are quick and efficient – in and out. Get on with the day. Waiting and waiting and waiting for the tub to fill with water makes me antsy. Baths are disgusting – sitting there in my own tepid pool of filth (again, Kramer greatness). 

But somehow at Dairy Hollow a bathtub is fitting. I have no agenda. After a writing session and an invigorating hike through the chilly Ozarks, a steamy bath is relaxing.
As I soak, I stare at a photo over the tub. A framed photo from Where the Wild Things Are, a favorite children’s picture book by American writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak. Years ago my son and I read this book together each night, over and over. He memorized the words and recited it along with me. My son who is now in college…I wonder if he still remembers the words to the story?

Dairy Hollow, Eureka Springs, Ar

 

Initially I thought it to be strange artwork for the bathroom, but as my mind cleared I realized the illustration is perfect.
The story is about imagination and magical travel and wild flights of fancy. It’s about playing and being creative. It’s about escaping to another place, another land, a world with a wild rumpus!
Dairy Hollow, Eureka Springs

 

Even Max’s wolf costume is befitting for Halloween in Eureka Springs where zombies are soon to stagger down Spring Street.
Dairy Hollow, Eureka Springs, Ar
Sometimes I think I could stay here forever, in the woods at my writing desk overlooking the turning leaves. But at the end of the week home will beckon. And I will sail back over a year and in and out of weeks and through a day and into the night of my very own home where supper will be waiting for me (maybe?)…

talya

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Musical Pairing:

Come Away With Me, Norah Jones

“There should be a place where only the things you want to happen, happen.” 
― Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are 

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Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of:

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (2022)

THE THIRD ACT OF THEO GRUENE (2025)

Recent Ramblings:

  • Sunday Letter: September 6, 2026
  • Why a Rainy Day Is the Best Time to Visit a Botanical Garden
  • Happy Birthday, Theo Gruene!
  • Sunday Letter~ 05.17.26
  • Sunday Letter: 03.29.26

Novels:

Coloring Books:

Fiction-Themed Coloring Books

Backyard Phenology:

Children’s Nature Book:

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