You know those thoughts of "oh, if I had all the time in the world I would learn this, or that"? Remember when you were little and every day there would be a new "when I grow up I want to be a pilot, astronaut, archaeologist, princess"?
Well, when you are on the back side of 50 those thoughts come back to you. You have much less time left to achieve any of those dreams. Sad to say it, but it's the truth. If you want to be a librarian you best get to figuring out the qualifications and getting to it.
I have a list of dreams that I would think of but only in the abstract, never in the real life. And in no particular order, here we go!
Archaeologist
Psychologist
Writer/Storyteller
Midwife
Chef
Owner of a cozy book store
Librarian
Artist (not necessarily a painter, but something artistic)
Healer
And what have I achieved in my life? I never did become an archaeologist, or a psychologist, or write any books.
But I am a massage therapist and I have read, studied and learned to heal and treat with herbs, oils and natural remedies. I am a birth and postpartum doula and I am good at it.
I am a pretty damn good cook and am an adventurous person in the kitchen.
I would never claim to be an artist or an author, but I am creative. And I have spent many years making things, learning needlepoint, cross stitch, embroidery, sewing, crochet, knitting, and quilting. I took a class one time on making Battenburg lace.
I am a nurturer and hope to be blessed to be a grandparent one day.
And the things I wish? I still wish I could write. I would love to write stories, poems and straight-to-the-point diatribes on what's wrong with the world. Because I am opinionated.
I still wish I knew what it takes to be an archaeologist. I think it could still be in the realm of the possible.
But no way I am going to get to have a cozy book store like the one in 84 Charing Cross Road. Barnes & Noble killed off most of the fabulous little book stores and then Amazon gutted what was left.
Any wishes you have? Any dreams that you haven't reached for yet?
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Update on the new eyeglasses and a few other things
Did you look at the pretty frames I posted the other day? Well, I got in to see my eye doctor and the new and improved lenses will be ready to go soon. However, one of the new frames did not work for me. Yes, it is sad to say that the Frida Kahlo frames will not be mine. They did NOT look good on me. My daughter is coming to visit and I will offer them to her if she wants them and if they look good on her face. If not? Well, I will either offer them up to someone else or ask the seller if I can return them. They are lovely and need to be worn.
Other random thoughts running through my head:
1. When you have little kids and you can't go to the bathroom by yourself, they eventually outgrow that nonsense and give you some space. When you have cats? Not so much. This morning I had 2 in there with me and one at the door. They are like little 2 year olds with OCD.
2. I am still sick. I believe I am on the mend, but I am still sick. And every time I go to a doctor they all ask "Are you depressed?" Well, let me think. I have been sick since April 1 and before that I had sciatica and couldn't walk and before that was the frozen shoulder. What do you think?
3. I know summer is the worst time to try and watch anything on t.v. because it's usually a wasteland of crap and reruns. In case you haven't seen any of these great summer shows, here are a few I highly recommend: The Jim Gaffigan Show. It's on Nickelodeon or TVLand. Also the FX channel has 2 great new shows, Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll starring Denis Leary and John Corbett, and also one called Married. These are outstanding t.v. Look for them. The upcoming fall season is going to include The Bastard Executioner whick I am really looking forward to and what appears to be the final season of The League.
4. I am still doing the mostly all meat-free, dairy-free and gluten-free. I say mostly because I have eaten a bit of meat here and there. Maybe once a week. But no dairy and almost no gluten. I went to an Indian restaurant and of course I had a small naan and one of the golub jammun for dessert. The naan was totally worth it and the golub jammun was not. It was not as good as I am used to and was a total waste of calories and gluten. So far, I am still with the sinus congestion and still coughing. I have lost 1 pants size so there's that!
5. I am almost completely off the caffeine, too. I dropped my black teas months ago and drink a cup of green tea in the morning and then switch to red tea (rooibos) and herbal teas after that. AND NO SUGAR!!!
6. I have been starting the Kon-Mari method of tidying up and decluttering my life. I love her philosophy. Here's the book in case you haven't seen it yet.
And that picture is almost life-size. The book is tiny. Everything in your life, your house, etc. should spark joy and bring happiness and be useful. If not, thank it, and release it.
Have a great long Labor Day weekend!
Other random thoughts running through my head:
1. When you have little kids and you can't go to the bathroom by yourself, they eventually outgrow that nonsense and give you some space. When you have cats? Not so much. This morning I had 2 in there with me and one at the door. They are like little 2 year olds with OCD.
2. I am still sick. I believe I am on the mend, but I am still sick. And every time I go to a doctor they all ask "Are you depressed?" Well, let me think. I have been sick since April 1 and before that I had sciatica and couldn't walk and before that was the frozen shoulder. What do you think?
3. I know summer is the worst time to try and watch anything on t.v. because it's usually a wasteland of crap and reruns. In case you haven't seen any of these great summer shows, here are a few I highly recommend: The Jim Gaffigan Show. It's on Nickelodeon or TVLand. Also the FX channel has 2 great new shows, Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll starring Denis Leary and John Corbett, and also one called Married. These are outstanding t.v. Look for them. The upcoming fall season is going to include The Bastard Executioner whick I am really looking forward to and what appears to be the final season of The League.
4. I am still doing the mostly all meat-free, dairy-free and gluten-free. I say mostly because I have eaten a bit of meat here and there. Maybe once a week. But no dairy and almost no gluten. I went to an Indian restaurant and of course I had a small naan and one of the golub jammun for dessert. The naan was totally worth it and the golub jammun was not. It was not as good as I am used to and was a total waste of calories and gluten. So far, I am still with the sinus congestion and still coughing. I have lost 1 pants size so there's that!
5. I am almost completely off the caffeine, too. I dropped my black teas months ago and drink a cup of green tea in the morning and then switch to red tea (rooibos) and herbal teas after that. AND NO SUGAR!!!
6. I have been starting the Kon-Mari method of tidying up and decluttering my life. I love her philosophy. Here's the book in case you haven't seen it yet.
And that picture is almost life-size. The book is tiny. Everything in your life, your house, etc. should spark joy and bring happiness and be useful. If not, thank it, and release it.
Have a great long Labor Day weekend!
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Hi, My Name is LisaPie
And all you 12-steppers just said "Hi Lisa Pie" in your heads, didn't you? I am a self-professed recovering codependent person. If you had told me 10 years ago that I was codependent I would have laughed at you and shown you the door. If you had suggested to me that my way of handling things wasn't working and I need to learn a new way, I would have told you that my way was just right and it was all those OTHER jack wagons who were impeding the progress I had so carefully laid out.
Fear and a need to try and control things in your life and around you and in your loved ones' lives is a full-time job. A full-time job with no benefits and lots of heart ache and resentment. And it will suck the life right out of you and leave you with sadness and sometimes bad health due to focusing so much on fixing others and ignoring your own self. That is after you damn near kill your alcoholic/addict with kindness trying to handle everything for them.
If I were to list here all the completely crazy things I have done that made perfect sense to me at the time your own head might explode. You might start to wonder how I am able to get up every day and walk around like I have good sense. And this was all back when I thought I only had one addict in my life.
You know how they say that you are given a lesson over and over again until you get it right? Just recently I was listening to what is called a "speaker tape" even though it is now on CD rather than tape. And it was a man speaking to a gathering of AA and Al-Anon members. What he said was so perfectly in tune with my life he could have been speaking directly to me and about me. And it was as if a light had been turned on in a dark corner of my brain where I was keeping all the files that would show me how codependent I really am. Now in order for that particular analogy to make any sense you should know that I picture my brain much like an old, old library with nothing but card catalog file drawers. And all my thoughts, memories, etc are all in there. So of course, as I have gotten older and older I get more and more file drawers for all of these things. That's why it sometimes takes me a while to find the right drawer and rifle through it for the exact thought I am looking for. This is my story and I am sticking with it.
So what happened when that light was turned on was this: I was suddenly aware of all the times I had chosen the addicted person, the alcoholic, the person with the most stuff to work on to be attracted to. I can pick out a person with an addictive personality at 20 paces. Now to be fair, they tend to be funny, inviting, smart, interesting people. But there is something in me that is drawn to them like a moth to a flame, or you could say like an alcoholic to a bottle of vodka. And I mean friends, boyfriends, lovers, all people. There before me was this long list of people that I had to look at and take stock of. What is the deal that I never saw this before? The speaker on the tape/CD said this "if you are ever questioning whether you think you might be an alcoholic and want an answer here is a surefire way to find out: just come up to me and ask "do you find me attractive?" and that is exactly what I do!
How did I get to be 55 years of age before I was aware of this about myself? I can't answer that. And here's a better question: how is it that my chemical makeup is such that I am drawn to the addictive person rather than to the drugs or the alcohol? I mean, I have used alcohol and cigarettes and some drugs in my life, but I could always quit. And I have. I quit smoking cigarettes 35 years ago. I quit taking drugs/smoking pot not long after that. And I have gradually cut back on my alcohol consumption to the point where I might have 6 or 8 drinks a year. That has come about due to having arthritis and other health issues that require medication and I don't want to overload my liver with the meds and the alcohol. It's just not a big deal for me. Not like eggplant parmigiana. Now, that is a big deal to give up. I am certainly not trying to make light of people who have an addiction that they are struggling with. I am only pointing out that this is one way I can see that I am not a member of that tribe. Anyhoo, I don't know how I could NOT see this as a pattern in my life except to say that it sure is easy to walk around with blinders on and not notice the big obvious elephant in the room.
I am now a loud and proud member of the struggling to improve codependent crew. This will be a life-long endeavor for me. Reading books, doing some step work, going to meetings are a part of my life. I want to be better. I want to be a healthy example of what you can be if you are willing to take the hard looks at yourself and face up to what you have done and what you can do differently. And I will most likely be a glaring example of how to fuck things up occasionally. But I am trying and learning and growing. And I am here if you ever need to talk or need something because that is part of who I am; I am a nurturer and a care-giver. As one of my friends from the meetings said "I never thought I was controlling, I always thought I was just being helpful!"
And just to be a little bit more helpful here is a list of some books that are outstanding:
Actually, if you go to Melody Beattie's website you can read all about her and all her great books. These are just 2 of hers that have been really helpful to me. The one by Sarah Hepola is new and very good. I was surprised at how many things she wrote about that applied to me. And the Daily Meditation one by Misti B I just got and am just starting it. She is taking a humorous approach to the daily meditations that are usually quite serious. I am loving what I am reading so far.
Hope you have a great day out there!
Fear and a need to try and control things in your life and around you and in your loved ones' lives is a full-time job. A full-time job with no benefits and lots of heart ache and resentment. And it will suck the life right out of you and leave you with sadness and sometimes bad health due to focusing so much on fixing others and ignoring your own self. That is after you damn near kill your alcoholic/addict with kindness trying to handle everything for them.
If I were to list here all the completely crazy things I have done that made perfect sense to me at the time your own head might explode. You might start to wonder how I am able to get up every day and walk around like I have good sense. And this was all back when I thought I only had one addict in my life.
You know how they say that you are given a lesson over and over again until you get it right? Just recently I was listening to what is called a "speaker tape" even though it is now on CD rather than tape. And it was a man speaking to a gathering of AA and Al-Anon members. What he said was so perfectly in tune with my life he could have been speaking directly to me and about me. And it was as if a light had been turned on in a dark corner of my brain where I was keeping all the files that would show me how codependent I really am. Now in order for that particular analogy to make any sense you should know that I picture my brain much like an old, old library with nothing but card catalog file drawers. And all my thoughts, memories, etc are all in there. So of course, as I have gotten older and older I get more and more file drawers for all of these things. That's why it sometimes takes me a while to find the right drawer and rifle through it for the exact thought I am looking for. This is my story and I am sticking with it.
So what happened when that light was turned on was this: I was suddenly aware of all the times I had chosen the addicted person, the alcoholic, the person with the most stuff to work on to be attracted to. I can pick out a person with an addictive personality at 20 paces. Now to be fair, they tend to be funny, inviting, smart, interesting people. But there is something in me that is drawn to them like a moth to a flame, or you could say like an alcoholic to a bottle of vodka. And I mean friends, boyfriends, lovers, all people. There before me was this long list of people that I had to look at and take stock of. What is the deal that I never saw this before? The speaker on the tape/CD said this "if you are ever questioning whether you think you might be an alcoholic and want an answer here is a surefire way to find out: just come up to me and ask "do you find me attractive?" and that is exactly what I do!
How did I get to be 55 years of age before I was aware of this about myself? I can't answer that. And here's a better question: how is it that my chemical makeup is such that I am drawn to the addictive person rather than to the drugs or the alcohol? I mean, I have used alcohol and cigarettes and some drugs in my life, but I could always quit. And I have. I quit smoking cigarettes 35 years ago. I quit taking drugs/smoking pot not long after that. And I have gradually cut back on my alcohol consumption to the point where I might have 6 or 8 drinks a year. That has come about due to having arthritis and other health issues that require medication and I don't want to overload my liver with the meds and the alcohol. It's just not a big deal for me. Not like eggplant parmigiana. Now, that is a big deal to give up. I am certainly not trying to make light of people who have an addiction that they are struggling with. I am only pointing out that this is one way I can see that I am not a member of that tribe. Anyhoo, I don't know how I could NOT see this as a pattern in my life except to say that it sure is easy to walk around with blinders on and not notice the big obvious elephant in the room.
I am now a loud and proud member of the struggling to improve codependent crew. This will be a life-long endeavor for me. Reading books, doing some step work, going to meetings are a part of my life. I want to be better. I want to be a healthy example of what you can be if you are willing to take the hard looks at yourself and face up to what you have done and what you can do differently. And I will most likely be a glaring example of how to fuck things up occasionally. But I am trying and learning and growing. And I am here if you ever need to talk or need something because that is part of who I am; I am a nurturer and a care-giver. As one of my friends from the meetings said "I never thought I was controlling, I always thought I was just being helpful!"
And just to be a little bit more helpful here is a list of some books that are outstanding:
Actually, if you go to Melody Beattie's website you can read all about her and all her great books. These are just 2 of hers that have been really helpful to me. The one by Sarah Hepola is new and very good. I was surprised at how many things she wrote about that applied to me. And the Daily Meditation one by Misti B I just got and am just starting it. She is taking a humorous approach to the daily meditations that are usually quite serious. I am loving what I am reading so far.
Hope you have a great day out there!
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Updates
Just last week I was ranting about not loving the endings to books, and I forgot one of the ones I had just read. "Gone Girl" was recommended by so many different people, I can't even tell you!!
And it was good. It was very cleverly written and drew you in to the story. I kept thinking the whole time I was reading it how much I really didn't like any of the characters. So I was not near as invested in the outcome of this book as I could have been. If any of the characters had been like-able, that is.
But the ending? Holy Cow! I did not see that coming. I was confused by it for a while. Then? I decided it was probably the way idiots like these would behave.
Remember a few months back I posted a list of recommended books? I have been working my way through that list (which is where I got "Gone Girl", by the by) and one of the books recommended was fabulous, outstanding and sensational!!!
This book was so darn good I just wanted to start it over again, right then and there. *****, that's a 5-star rating, is what that is.
So when I was at Half-Price Books I picked up another book by Christopher Moore.
Loved it!!! I finished it last night as it was a quick read. So clever and completely out there.
And you know what? He knows how to finish a book. I mean really finish so that it feels like a full-course meal from soup to nuts. Not just soup.
I was thinking about how I as a reader need to feel really engaged not just with the book but at times with the author as well. Sometimes that feeling of simpatico, of being kindred spirits just comes through and you have a real connection. And I wondered if authors are also trying to make that connection with their stories or if they are writing for themselves and we as readers can go along for the ride or not and we are really superfluous. How important is the audience for the writer? If no one was going to read them ever, would books be written anyway?
Is the writing of a book a "need" within the writer whether or not there would be readers?
Interesting questions to ponder.
Switching gears:
Did y'all see DWTS All Stars? Holy Moly! There was some fabulous dancing going on for Day 1 of competition!
All except for poor Pamela Anderson and little Bristol Palin. That was sad. The judges were so harsh with Pamela, too. I felt really bad for her. Poor thing was trying so hard not to cry on camera.
It's gonna be hard to pick a front runner this season with this line-up. They are all so good.
Switching gears again:
It has been so strange around here without our little Fergus Jackson MacPhee. He is greatly missed. His brother Angus is having some issues, as is Lester Buster. Lester and Fergus were snuggle buddies and Lester is having a hard time finding a comfortable spot without Fergus. It's sad.
And no, I do not want any more pets.
Mostly.
And it was good. It was very cleverly written and drew you in to the story. I kept thinking the whole time I was reading it how much I really didn't like any of the characters. So I was not near as invested in the outcome of this book as I could have been. If any of the characters had been like-able, that is.
But the ending? Holy Cow! I did not see that coming. I was confused by it for a while. Then? I decided it was probably the way idiots like these would behave.
Remember a few months back I posted a list of recommended books? I have been working my way through that list (which is where I got "Gone Girl", by the by) and one of the books recommended was fabulous, outstanding and sensational!!!
This book was so darn good I just wanted to start it over again, right then and there. *****, that's a 5-star rating, is what that is.
So when I was at Half-Price Books I picked up another book by Christopher Moore.
Loved it!!! I finished it last night as it was a quick read. So clever and completely out there.
And you know what? He knows how to finish a book. I mean really finish so that it feels like a full-course meal from soup to nuts. Not just soup.
I was thinking about how I as a reader need to feel really engaged not just with the book but at times with the author as well. Sometimes that feeling of simpatico, of being kindred spirits just comes through and you have a real connection. And I wondered if authors are also trying to make that connection with their stories or if they are writing for themselves and we as readers can go along for the ride or not and we are really superfluous. How important is the audience for the writer? If no one was going to read them ever, would books be written anyway?
Is the writing of a book a "need" within the writer whether or not there would be readers?
Interesting questions to ponder.
Switching gears:
Did y'all see DWTS All Stars? Holy Moly! There was some fabulous dancing going on for Day 1 of competition!
All except for poor Pamela Anderson and little Bristol Palin. That was sad. The judges were so harsh with Pamela, too. I felt really bad for her. Poor thing was trying so hard not to cry on camera.
It's gonna be hard to pick a front runner this season with this line-up. They are all so good.
Switching gears again:
It has been so strange around here without our little Fergus Jackson MacPhee. He is greatly missed. His brother Angus is having some issues, as is Lester Buster. Lester and Fergus were snuggle buddies and Lester is having a hard time finding a comfortable spot without Fergus. It's sad.
And no, I do not want any more pets.
Mostly.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Am I getting crankier?
When something happens once you tend to think of it as an anomoly. When it happens again, it's just a coincidence. But when it happens for the fourth or fifth time, IN A ROW! you tend to realize (unless you are dumb as a stump) that it might just be YOU.
Here's my predicament:
Lately, every single book I read, well, I end up hating the ending. Hate. the. ending. All summer long this has happened.
I think that trashy ass 50 shades book jinxed me. And everything I have read since I just have not been happy with the endings.
I decided to read the Game of Thrones series since I have been watching the HBO series. I love watching that and wanted to see how they align with the books. The books are long and in parts, quite tedious. Think Harry Potter long and James Michener tedious and you will have an idea of what I mean. I enjoyed them. And I was just going to read the first two because that's all the seasons they have shown on HBO and I didn't want to get ahead and then be all "yeah, yeah, I know what's coming next" when it next airs. But I didn't do that. I kept reading. Let me just interject here that each of the first two books have been pretty well represented entirely in each of the first two seasons. So I expect to see book 3 in season 3 whenever that comes around again.
Anyhoo, since I am now over 50 and my memory has gone to shit, I figured I would go ahead and read book 3 and maybe I would still be surprised by things in season 3. But book 3 was so exciting that I went ahead and read book 4.
Now, at the end of book 4 there is a little afterward from the author talking about how he was wrapping up the series and it was just too much for one book, so look for book 5 to complete the series since he couldn't fit all these millions of characters in one book, etc, etc.
So, then I couldn't stand it and I got book 5. Supposedly, the very end of the whole series. And let me say here, Thank God I got these on my Kindle! I picked them up and looked at them at B&N one day, and if you called them HUGE! you wouldn't be wrong. These books are each so big they could be referred to as tomes. I could not imagine lugging these dictionary sized books around with me.
Book 5 is going to wrap up all the mysteries for me! It will answer all my questions! I will get to find out what happens to each and every one of the characters I have invested so much time into! (yes, I know that ended that sentence in a preposition. Sue me.)
Didn't happen.
Nope.
Not even a little bit.
Well, except for the ones that were out right killed and then you knew you had been really screwed. That's how I feel when I am given a character that is beloved and I am all wrapped up in their story and BAM! out of the clear blue he/she gets whacked. Seriously? We spent 5 giant books worth of words describing this character's feelings, how he/she grew up, matured and was looking forward to the next part of his/her life and there you are. I never saw that one coming. I didn't even think "well played, I was certainly surprised by that one!" Nope. It was more like "well, out of the top 10 characters in this series of books with casts of thousands, half of the top 10 just were discarded with no other news of their future, demise, or whatever and the other 5? Dead?"
Not loving the wrap-up here, Mr. George R. R. Martin.
I also recently re-read The Thorn Birds for a book club. Didn't really love the ending there, either.
Then I read The Patron Saint of Liars, which was a recent recommendation. This was a great book right up to the ending. Meh. Didn't love the ending.
I just googled the book and it came up as a made-for-tv movie from 1998. Good Lord, how old is this book?
Last night I finished a book that my daughter, the fabulous Rachel Pie, had been wanting me to read. She kept recommending it and one day, about six months ago, we were at Half Price Books and she saw a copy and got me my very own so that I would be sure to read it. It kept getting put to the bottom of the pile so that I could read crap like the 50 shades of craptastic crap and then be disappointed. So I pulled it from the bottom of the pile o'books on my night stand and read it.
The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Urrea. The main character is a great-aunt of the author and he spent 20 years of his life researching and writing this book. I loved the book. And yet, I wanted more out of the ending. Was she happy? Did she marry? Did she have children? Did her father live? Where did she live? What happened to all the other people in this book? What happened to the ranch?
I don't want to think I am being unreasonable as a reader. But why bring in all these details and then drop them?
The only book I have read in the last six months that I thought the ending was perfect was Lamb by Christopher Moore. Fabulous book. I picked up another of his on my last trip to Half Price Books. I will let you know what I think of it. And whether the ending disappointed or not.
Here's my predicament:
Lately, every single book I read, well, I end up hating the ending. Hate. the. ending. All summer long this has happened.
I think that trashy ass 50 shades book jinxed me. And everything I have read since I just have not been happy with the endings.
I decided to read the Game of Thrones series since I have been watching the HBO series. I love watching that and wanted to see how they align with the books. The books are long and in parts, quite tedious. Think Harry Potter long and James Michener tedious and you will have an idea of what I mean. I enjoyed them. And I was just going to read the first two because that's all the seasons they have shown on HBO and I didn't want to get ahead and then be all "yeah, yeah, I know what's coming next" when it next airs. But I didn't do that. I kept reading. Let me just interject here that each of the first two books have been pretty well represented entirely in each of the first two seasons. So I expect to see book 3 in season 3 whenever that comes around again.
Anyhoo, since I am now over 50 and my memory has gone to shit, I figured I would go ahead and read book 3 and maybe I would still be surprised by things in season 3. But book 3 was so exciting that I went ahead and read book 4.
Now, at the end of book 4 there is a little afterward from the author talking about how he was wrapping up the series and it was just too much for one book, so look for book 5 to complete the series since he couldn't fit all these millions of characters in one book, etc, etc.
So, then I couldn't stand it and I got book 5. Supposedly, the very end of the whole series. And let me say here, Thank God I got these on my Kindle! I picked them up and looked at them at B&N one day, and if you called them HUGE! you wouldn't be wrong. These books are each so big they could be referred to as tomes. I could not imagine lugging these dictionary sized books around with me.
Book 5 is going to wrap up all the mysteries for me! It will answer all my questions! I will get to find out what happens to each and every one of the characters I have invested so much time into! (yes, I know that ended that sentence in a preposition. Sue me.)
Didn't happen.
Nope.
Not even a little bit.
Well, except for the ones that were out right killed and then you knew you had been really screwed. That's how I feel when I am given a character that is beloved and I am all wrapped up in their story and BAM! out of the clear blue he/she gets whacked. Seriously? We spent 5 giant books worth of words describing this character's feelings, how he/she grew up, matured and was looking forward to the next part of his/her life and there you are. I never saw that one coming. I didn't even think "well played, I was certainly surprised by that one!" Nope. It was more like "well, out of the top 10 characters in this series of books with casts of thousands, half of the top 10 just were discarded with no other news of their future, demise, or whatever and the other 5? Dead?"
Not loving the wrap-up here, Mr. George R. R. Martin.
I also recently re-read The Thorn Birds for a book club. Didn't really love the ending there, either.
Then I read The Patron Saint of Liars, which was a recent recommendation. This was a great book right up to the ending. Meh. Didn't love the ending.
I just googled the book and it came up as a made-for-tv movie from 1998. Good Lord, how old is this book?
Last night I finished a book that my daughter, the fabulous Rachel Pie, had been wanting me to read. She kept recommending it and one day, about six months ago, we were at Half Price Books and she saw a copy and got me my very own so that I would be sure to read it. It kept getting put to the bottom of the pile so that I could read crap like the 50 shades of craptastic crap and then be disappointed. So I pulled it from the bottom of the pile o'books on my night stand and read it.
The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Urrea. The main character is a great-aunt of the author and he spent 20 years of his life researching and writing this book. I loved the book. And yet, I wanted more out of the ending. Was she happy? Did she marry? Did she have children? Did her father live? Where did she live? What happened to all the other people in this book? What happened to the ranch?
I don't want to think I am being unreasonable as a reader. But why bring in all these details and then drop them?
The only book I have read in the last six months that I thought the ending was perfect was Lamb by Christopher Moore. Fabulous book. I picked up another of his on my last trip to Half Price Books. I will let you know what I think of it. And whether the ending disappointed or not.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Book Review
If I were to write a book review on the craptastic "Fifty Shades of Grey", this would be it.
Please, pop over and check this out. Save yourself the time and aggravation of actually reading this drivel.
Or go watch Ellen read from it.
Both of these are better than the book.
Please, pop over and check this out. Save yourself the time and aggravation of actually reading this drivel.
Or go watch Ellen read from it.
Both of these are better than the book.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Book Review
I am reviewing a book I only started last night!!!
I am barely into this and am imagining the possiblilities for my own self.
Believe it or don't, this book has it's own trailer on youtube. Am I the last person on earth to know that this happens?
Now that you have watched it and have an inkling of what this book is about, let me move on with my own thoughts about what I am reading.
Jen Hatmaker makes the choice to do this project and document what she finds in order to remove clutter from her mind and her life in order to make room for God and his message. I think this is awesome. She is on the path to discovering that things, possessions, filling your life and your mind with all this crap only slows you down and impedes you finding your purpose. Finding why you were born. You and your own set of talents and gifts were born to do something, to be the best you there is. To possibly teach or be a lesson for someone else.
But living our lives the way we do with so much STUFF doesn't help us achieve our purpose. All it does is cloud things over and distract us.
I love how she lays out how each month will work and has her group of women she calls her Council to help her find what the boundaries of each should be. They also hold her accountable and go on the journey with her each in their own way.
I love how she allows herself the freedom to complain and bend the rules or break them when necessary. And then spend some time reflecting over each decision and find the lesson.
The first month is food. She did not force her kids to do the first couple of months but then the rest were all done as a whole family. For the food she worked out a nutritious gang of 7 foods and stuck to it and tried to find recipes to incorporate as many as possible. The only seasonings, condiments allowed were salt and pepper. And so Jen opted to make those 7 foods as healthy as possible and bought local, organic and high quality foods. Her findings over this month were really inspiring.
The second month was clothes. Holy moly! I am sure a lot of people are like me and have a huge closet full of things and yet only wear a tiny fraction of what is there. Jen went through all the closets in her home and guesstimated the amount of items and multiplied that by $20 for each and got a staggering figure of how much money is just hanging there in the closet, unloved, and unneeded. That's a sobering idea, isn't it?
And let me tell you, I have waaaaay more hanging in my closet than she did!
Right now I am most of the way through her Month 3 of no media, meaning no t.v., no facebook, no texting, no Wii, no screentime except for work and school. So the family are forced to deal with each other face to face. They go find things to do, like bike riding, playing ball outside, really good intereactions with each other rather than mindlessly staring at a screen.
I am wondering as I think about the first 3 chapters how this is going to manifest itself in my life. Am I willing to be this drastic in any area of my life, much less 7 different ones?
I don't know. I will continue mulling it over and let you know as things unfold.
I am barely into this and am imagining the possiblilities for my own self.
Believe it or don't, this book has it's own trailer on youtube. Am I the last person on earth to know that this happens?
Now that you have watched it and have an inkling of what this book is about, let me move on with my own thoughts about what I am reading.
Jen Hatmaker makes the choice to do this project and document what she finds in order to remove clutter from her mind and her life in order to make room for God and his message. I think this is awesome. She is on the path to discovering that things, possessions, filling your life and your mind with all this crap only slows you down and impedes you finding your purpose. Finding why you were born. You and your own set of talents and gifts were born to do something, to be the best you there is. To possibly teach or be a lesson for someone else.
But living our lives the way we do with so much STUFF doesn't help us achieve our purpose. All it does is cloud things over and distract us.
I love how she lays out how each month will work and has her group of women she calls her Council to help her find what the boundaries of each should be. They also hold her accountable and go on the journey with her each in their own way.
I love how she allows herself the freedom to complain and bend the rules or break them when necessary. And then spend some time reflecting over each decision and find the lesson.
The first month is food. She did not force her kids to do the first couple of months but then the rest were all done as a whole family. For the food she worked out a nutritious gang of 7 foods and stuck to it and tried to find recipes to incorporate as many as possible. The only seasonings, condiments allowed were salt and pepper. And so Jen opted to make those 7 foods as healthy as possible and bought local, organic and high quality foods. Her findings over this month were really inspiring.
The second month was clothes. Holy moly! I am sure a lot of people are like me and have a huge closet full of things and yet only wear a tiny fraction of what is there. Jen went through all the closets in her home and guesstimated the amount of items and multiplied that by $20 for each and got a staggering figure of how much money is just hanging there in the closet, unloved, and unneeded. That's a sobering idea, isn't it?
And let me tell you, I have waaaaay more hanging in my closet than she did!
Right now I am most of the way through her Month 3 of no media, meaning no t.v., no facebook, no texting, no Wii, no screentime except for work and school. So the family are forced to deal with each other face to face. They go find things to do, like bike riding, playing ball outside, really good intereactions with each other rather than mindlessly staring at a screen.
I am wondering as I think about the first 3 chapters how this is going to manifest itself in my life. Am I willing to be this drastic in any area of my life, much less 7 different ones?
I don't know. I will continue mulling it over and let you know as things unfold.
Friday, November 4, 2011
You put what? where? Reeeeally?
Here is the story David Sedaris told us the other night. Now, you and I both know that it was WAAAAYY funnier when he told it, but I will do my best.
It seems 30 years ago a friend of DS told him this story. The friend was dying to go to the bathroom and his father called. So he answered and was talking to his dad.
But he really had to go.
So David Sedaris said to his friend, "so what did you do?"
To which the friend replied, "I shit in my hand." Like it was the most normal thing in the world.
David was shocked and taken aback. But the friend was adament that this was not such a big deal. It was 30 years ago. And we were all tethered to the wall with our phone cords and such.
So years later he is telling this story to a woman friend. And instead of being shocked and taken aback, she says . . . .
"Well, OF COURSE he did! I always shit in my hand. Well, not always, but you know, when I am in a public restroom".
Huh???
"Yes," she went on, "when you are in public you don't want that loud splashy noise going on, so you shit in your hand and then gently drop it in with NO loud splash. Why? Don't you do that?"
*We were all about to fall out of our seats laughing at this story.
Then he goes on to say that he could not believe that everyone shits in their hands and he was the last one to know about this. So when he is on book tours and such and around a lot of people to ask, he now asks people if they shit in their hands. And a couple of days ago he was telling this story and asking someone about their experience with shitting in their hand and the lady behind that person pipes up with this contribution, "Well, if she is concerned about the plopping sounds she should just take a large wad of toilet paper and put it in the toilet first. You know, like a landing pad."
This is one of those stories that no one except David Sedaris, could really tell and have it be hilarious and not disgusting. Or maybe it was hilarious BECAUSE it was so disgusting?
Anyway, I am here to tell you that I have never shit in my hand. If the situation ever arose that I was in a public restroom and worried about making plopping sounds I would rather that strangers overheard the noise than I have a handful of shit. Sorry. But I have drawn a line in the sand on this one!
It seems 30 years ago a friend of DS told him this story. The friend was dying to go to the bathroom and his father called. So he answered and was talking to his dad.
But he really had to go.
So David Sedaris said to his friend, "so what did you do?"
To which the friend replied, "I shit in my hand." Like it was the most normal thing in the world.
David was shocked and taken aback. But the friend was adament that this was not such a big deal. It was 30 years ago. And we were all tethered to the wall with our phone cords and such.
So years later he is telling this story to a woman friend. And instead of being shocked and taken aback, she says . . . .
"Well, OF COURSE he did! I always shit in my hand. Well, not always, but you know, when I am in a public restroom".
Huh???
"Yes," she went on, "when you are in public you don't want that loud splashy noise going on, so you shit in your hand and then gently drop it in with NO loud splash. Why? Don't you do that?"
*We were all about to fall out of our seats laughing at this story.
Then he goes on to say that he could not believe that everyone shits in their hands and he was the last one to know about this. So when he is on book tours and such and around a lot of people to ask, he now asks people if they shit in their hands. And a couple of days ago he was telling this story and asking someone about their experience with shitting in their hand and the lady behind that person pipes up with this contribution, "Well, if she is concerned about the plopping sounds she should just take a large wad of toilet paper and put it in the toilet first. You know, like a landing pad."
This is one of those stories that no one except David Sedaris, could really tell and have it be hilarious and not disgusting. Or maybe it was hilarious BECAUSE it was so disgusting?
Anyway, I am here to tell you that I have never shit in my hand. If the situation ever arose that I was in a public restroom and worried about making plopping sounds I would rather that strangers overheard the noise than I have a handful of shit. Sorry. But I have drawn a line in the sand on this one!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
David Sedaris
Oh my. Sparky and I went to see David Sedaris last night and it was so much fun. It was well worth every penny. We got there really early, like an hour and a half early, and believe it or don't we found a good parking spot! Gasp! That NEVER happens!
We wander inside the building and right up to a table that is selling DS books. There will be time for a book signing and they wanted to make sure we have all the books we need to be signed. Guess who had to buy more DS books?
All my effing books are either on my Kindle (heart the Kindle) or audio books. No actual books for signing. This might be the biggest drawback to the Kindle. So I chose 2 of my favorites and was just standing around there in the big hallway next to a sign. It said "No Photographs". Maybe people thought I was famous and carried that signage around with me everywhere I go?
Anyhoo, there I am standing and waiting. Sparky had to find the restroom and we were waiting for 2 other people to join us and we had their tickets. So I am standing around being conspicuous. With my sign. And an official-looking lady comes over and says "Good job, being first in line!" And I said "Really?" Then she answered me that "Yes, you are first in line for the early book signing. He is going to do a signing before and after the show."
Yay! I was first in line. So eventually, David Sedaris showed up at the table and asked me to come over. We chatted and it was wonderful. He signed my books. And I rambled on about how I love his books and I have all his books, just on the Kindle, so I had to get new copies so that I could stand in line to get him to sign them. He very cleverly signed one of my books and drew a picture of my Kindle on it and said "There! There's a picture of your Kindle. In case it ever gets stolen you can show this to the police so they will know what it looks like." Heeee!
He signed my second book and drew me a picture of a rabbit wearing glasses. Just because.
Then he asked me who I was with and I called Sparky over and introduced them. And then he gave us some postcards he had made up. One is a picture of a dog skull and skeleton and it says "Pekingese" and the other is like a hand-written sign that says "Abortions $3.00" O. M. G.!!
We stood, we visited, we schmoozed. It was wonderful. I could have gone home right then. But no, we stood around f o r e v e r waiting for the stupid people to open the auditorium doors. Thousands of people milling about in a tiny area outside the doors and it was hot and claustrophobia-inducing and uncomfortable and gross. I kept smelling other people, their breath, their sweat, their heavily-applied colognes and was getting on the verge. You know what I mean?
So, they at long last opened up the auditorium doors and we went in and found our seats. It was airy, cool and fresh in there and praise the Lord for that!
David Sedaris came on stage and was charming, witty and hilarious. He read us stories that are new and not-yet-titled. He read us stories from The New Yorker. And then he read to us from his diaries. Hilarious entries from his diaries. And if that weren't enough he read to us from his favorite new book and I can't even remember this guy's name to pass it on to you. I will ask Sparky tonight and post something about it tomorrow. Then he asked them to raise the lights and did a Q&A just taking random questions from the audience. And you know how in his stories he starts out on one topic and rambles over to here and then there and flits all over and is nowhere near the original paragraph? That is exactly what happened when he was answering questions too. I love that so much!
Tomorrow I will tell you all about a story he shared with us from his diaries. It was hysterically funny, is what it was.
We wander inside the building and right up to a table that is selling DS books. There will be time for a book signing and they wanted to make sure we have all the books we need to be signed. Guess who had to buy more DS books?
All my effing books are either on my Kindle (heart the Kindle) or audio books. No actual books for signing. This might be the biggest drawback to the Kindle. So I chose 2 of my favorites and was just standing around there in the big hallway next to a sign. It said "No Photographs". Maybe people thought I was famous and carried that signage around with me everywhere I go?
Anyhoo, there I am standing and waiting. Sparky had to find the restroom and we were waiting for 2 other people to join us and we had their tickets. So I am standing around being conspicuous. With my sign. And an official-looking lady comes over and says "Good job, being first in line!" And I said "Really?" Then she answered me that "Yes, you are first in line for the early book signing. He is going to do a signing before and after the show."
Yay! I was first in line. So eventually, David Sedaris showed up at the table and asked me to come over. We chatted and it was wonderful. He signed my books. And I rambled on about how I love his books and I have all his books, just on the Kindle, so I had to get new copies so that I could stand in line to get him to sign them. He very cleverly signed one of my books and drew a picture of my Kindle on it and said "There! There's a picture of your Kindle. In case it ever gets stolen you can show this to the police so they will know what it looks like." Heeee!
He signed my second book and drew me a picture of a rabbit wearing glasses. Just because.
Then he asked me who I was with and I called Sparky over and introduced them. And then he gave us some postcards he had made up. One is a picture of a dog skull and skeleton and it says "Pekingese" and the other is like a hand-written sign that says "Abortions $3.00" O. M. G.!!
We stood, we visited, we schmoozed. It was wonderful. I could have gone home right then. But no, we stood around f o r e v e r waiting for the stupid people to open the auditorium doors. Thousands of people milling about in a tiny area outside the doors and it was hot and claustrophobia-inducing and uncomfortable and gross. I kept smelling other people, their breath, their sweat, their heavily-applied colognes and was getting on the verge. You know what I mean?
So, they at long last opened up the auditorium doors and we went in and found our seats. It was airy, cool and fresh in there and praise the Lord for that!
David Sedaris came on stage and was charming, witty and hilarious. He read us stories that are new and not-yet-titled. He read us stories from The New Yorker. And then he read to us from his diaries. Hilarious entries from his diaries. And if that weren't enough he read to us from his favorite new book and I can't even remember this guy's name to pass it on to you. I will ask Sparky tonight and post something about it tomorrow. Then he asked them to raise the lights and did a Q&A just taking random questions from the audience. And you know how in his stories he starts out on one topic and rambles over to here and then there and flits all over and is nowhere near the original paragraph? That is exactly what happened when he was answering questions too. I love that so much!
Tomorrow I will tell you all about a story he shared with us from his diaries. It was hysterically funny, is what it was.
Monday, October 31, 2011
News for the week
News flash #1: It's Halloween! Yay!! We get to see all the little neighbor kidlets running around in costume. We always sit out front with our giant tub o'candy and make them walk the steps up to our front door to get said candy. I know, it seems mean to make little kids go the extra mile but hey, it's either them or us. And they are young and floating on a sugar high. We are old and need our strength.
News flash #2: Wednesday we have tickets to go see David Sedaris! Yay again!! But even more yay!!! I just adore him and I am thrilled to get to see him live.
News flash #3: If seeing David Sedaris isn't enough goodness and excitement, guess who else I get to see next Monday?
Here's a hint: it's another author.
Here's another hint: he's world famous and fabulous.
One more hint: he has written one of the Top Five Books Ever Written.
Ok, last hint: He is the only author out there with a fatwa issued against him by the Ayatollah of Iran.
Yes, indeedy, I will be in the presence of Salman Rushdie one week from today.
In honor of that I am now re-reading The Satanic Verses. This book is just so damn amazing I find it hard to believe it was created by a mere human being. Mr. Rushdie must be on a whole 'nother level of creativity and genius than the humble plane I live on.
It's really easy to be humble when you are going to be face to face with both these creative, clever geniuses.
News flash #4: Sparky has auditioned for and gotten a role in a new play, kind of a one-act show, at his school. Yay for Sparky!!! Which means in addition to all the school work, work study work, other work, meetings, etc. he gets to add daily rehearsals to his way too busy schedule. He's young. He can do this. It's only for 6 - 8 more weeks till the semester ends.
News flash #5: My sister and her very best life-long friend and the friend's sisters and nieces are all going to do the Susan G. Komen 3-day walk, sleep in pink tents, and raise money event this coming week in Dallas. She and the very best friend have been working all year long to build up and be ready for walking 20 something miles each day. They have been so dedicated to this. I am really proud of what they have done. The actual walk will just be icing on the cake.
News flash #6: Today is laundry day. Today is take down the noisy, crappy, old, metal mini-blinds in the bedroom that Angus MacPhee rattles and I hate with a white hot passion. Today is wash those windows behind the blinds and then hang the new and lovely and even better . . . quiet shades. Hurray for quiet shades and clean windows!
News flash #7: The planning for the Thanksgiving feast has begun! We are making lists of the contents of both freezers and going to plan the next month's menus around those items to get rid of them and make room for the turkey. Turkey dinner, it's a beautiful thing.
News flash #2: Wednesday we have tickets to go see David Sedaris! Yay again!! But even more yay!!! I just adore him and I am thrilled to get to see him live.
News flash #3: If seeing David Sedaris isn't enough goodness and excitement, guess who else I get to see next Monday?
Here's a hint: it's another author.
Here's another hint: he's world famous and fabulous.
One more hint: he has written one of the Top Five Books Ever Written.
Ok, last hint: He is the only author out there with a fatwa issued against him by the Ayatollah of Iran.
Yes, indeedy, I will be in the presence of Salman Rushdie one week from today.
In honor of that I am now re-reading The Satanic Verses. This book is just so damn amazing I find it hard to believe it was created by a mere human being. Mr. Rushdie must be on a whole 'nother level of creativity and genius than the humble plane I live on.
It's really easy to be humble when you are going to be face to face with both these creative, clever geniuses.
News flash #4: Sparky has auditioned for and gotten a role in a new play, kind of a one-act show, at his school. Yay for Sparky!!! Which means in addition to all the school work, work study work, other work, meetings, etc. he gets to add daily rehearsals to his way too busy schedule. He's young. He can do this. It's only for 6 - 8 more weeks till the semester ends.
News flash #5: My sister and her very best life-long friend and the friend's sisters and nieces are all going to do the Susan G. Komen 3-day walk, sleep in pink tents, and raise money event this coming week in Dallas. She and the very best friend have been working all year long to build up and be ready for walking 20 something miles each day. They have been so dedicated to this. I am really proud of what they have done. The actual walk will just be icing on the cake.
News flash #6: Today is laundry day. Today is take down the noisy, crappy, old, metal mini-blinds in the bedroom that Angus MacPhee rattles and I hate with a white hot passion. Today is wash those windows behind the blinds and then hang the new and lovely and even better . . . quiet shades. Hurray for quiet shades and clean windows!
News flash #7: The planning for the Thanksgiving feast has begun! We are making lists of the contents of both freezers and going to plan the next month's menus around those items to get rid of them and make room for the turkey. Turkey dinner, it's a beautiful thing.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Enchiladas, Rice and Beans
You're hungry now, aren't you? Enchiladas, Rice and Beans sounds good, doesn't it?
But I am not here today to talk to you about food. Not food for your body, anyway. You could consider this food for your soul.
This is a book that I have on my shelf. It is honestly one of the best books I have ever read. I bought this book years and years ago, but just last week I pulled it down and am now re-reading it.
As a person who was born to be a lover of all things Mexican, and as a person who has lived either in Mexico or on the border for most of my life this book is truly one that speaks to me. I just adore this book.
Sr. Daniel Reveles has written what I consider to be a piece of art. Actually, each chapter could stand alone as a little vignette, a snapshot of life in a Mexican border town. You will fall in love with each and every person you encounter in your travels through his stories of Tecate.
You know how Northern Exposure made you want to go find the fictional town of Cicely, Alaska and listen to Chris in the morning on the radio? And go to Hollings place to eat and have a beer? That's what this book does for Tecate.
Go to Amazon.com and get yourself a copy. I promise that whenever you find yourself in need of a great book to read to warm your heart and make you roll around laughing and then alternately weep, this book will do that for you. Because when you want to feel warm, cozy and comforted what's better than Enchiladas, Rice and Beans?
But I am not here today to talk to you about food. Not food for your body, anyway. You could consider this food for your soul.
This is a book that I have on my shelf. It is honestly one of the best books I have ever read. I bought this book years and years ago, but just last week I pulled it down and am now re-reading it.
As a person who was born to be a lover of all things Mexican, and as a person who has lived either in Mexico or on the border for most of my life this book is truly one that speaks to me. I just adore this book.
Sr. Daniel Reveles has written what I consider to be a piece of art. Actually, each chapter could stand alone as a little vignette, a snapshot of life in a Mexican border town. You will fall in love with each and every person you encounter in your travels through his stories of Tecate.
You know how Northern Exposure made you want to go find the fictional town of Cicely, Alaska and listen to Chris in the morning on the radio? And go to Hollings place to eat and have a beer? That's what this book does for Tecate.
Go to Amazon.com and get yourself a copy. I promise that whenever you find yourself in need of a great book to read to warm your heart and make you roll around laughing and then alternately weep, this book will do that for you. Because when you want to feel warm, cozy and comforted what's better than Enchiladas, Rice and Beans?
Friday, June 3, 2011
Day 3 Plastic No More
Here it is Day 3 of the Plastic No More Challenge. I have done a really good job of limiting or eliminating plastic coming in to my home so far. Here's the lowdown on how I have fared.
1. I haven't had to grocery shop yet. So that is good.
2. I have dedicated a small bucket to collect any plastic that I do end up with and will take pics of it so you can see what I am dealing with. For example, the first thing to go in the bucket is the plastic pull strip from around the top of the frozen juice concentrate paper can thing. The paper gets composted, leaving just the tear strip and the two metal ends to dispose of.
3. When we run out of frozen juice to use, I am buying a bag of oranges and setting them and the juicer out on the counter. You want juice? Cut yourself 2 oranges and squeeze them. Now, wasn't that fast and easy! Not to mention, good tasting and better for you.
4. I am going to have to go back to making my own laundry detergent when I run out of the liquid we currently have. The borax and the washing soda are in paper board cartons but the soap to grate is in a clear plastic wrapper. Alternatively, I can buy a box of Tide powder, but it comes with a plastic scoop inside. Either way, there will be a bit of plastic to go in the bucket.
5. When we run out of milk, I will have to decide which is the lesser of the evils.
A. Gallon of milk in a plastic jug, cheaper cost-wise.
B. Half gallons in the waxed paper cartons, but they have a plastic spigot and cap.
C. Tetra-pak liters that are completely non-recyclable and still have a plastic top.
D. Can of evaporated milk and dilute it. Cost-wise this isn't bad, but taste-wise? Gaaahhgg!
E. Box of powdered milk. I like the Nido milk from Mexico that is whole milk rather than the non-fat kind they sell here in the U.S. It comes in a metal can with a metal top. So this might be the way to go. I am the only one who drinks milk or puts it on cereal, so I am just pleasing myself anyway.
****Ding ding ding!!! We might have a winner on this deal!
6. Yesterday I bought 6 books in Japanese from my local used book store to gift my nephew who is studying Japanese in college. And before my brain had kicked into gear I was out the door with all those books in a damn plastic bag. Grrrrr.
I am blaming the lady who was in line behind me. She distracted me by being a wiener and being wrong. Here's what happened: She walked in whilst I was at the check-out counter having the guy look up the ISBN number of all these Japanese books to make sure they were in fact Japanese and not Chinese. Also to make sure they weren't porn or something I didn't want to be gifting my nephew. So the lady walks in and looks all impatient and stands there with a paper. The dude working there looks up from the computer and says to her, "I'll be right with you."
She says "I am looking for books by (consults her paper) Maud Lucy Montgomery"
He says "Who????"
I butt in and said "She wrote the Anne of Green Gable series. They should be in young teenager section back there" and pointed in the right direction.
Then I said "I believe her name is Lucy Maud Montgomery, in case you can't find it the way you have it".
She looked me straight in the eye and said "No. Her name was Maud. She just went by LUCY!"
Okaay.
Which is what I said to her. And then went back to my business of making sure I had Japanese and not Chinese and not porn.
So see what I mean about being flustered when I grabbed my bag and left?
Anyhoo, get this. I went next door to the Bubble Tea place and met up with the rest of my group and we decided to head over to Goodwill. So I go and put my books in the car and backed out of my parking space and was headed up the aisle of the parking lot when the same lady was coming towards me in her car waved me down. I rolled down my window and she said, "I found what I was looking for. And I wanted to apologize for correcting you. You were right."
Awwww. Wasn't that nice? Most people would never bother to do that. Afterwards I said to myself, I should have apologized to her for butting my fat nose into her business in the first place.
I get to Goodwill and what did I find? A 20th Anniversary edition of Trivial Pursuit in very good, damn near brand-new condition. That's what I found!
In case you don't know this about me, I love games. And I love, love, love Trivial Pursuit games. And I don't have this edition. And it was marked 1.99.
Who do you think got herself a new Trivial Pursuit game? And who do you think played the game with Sparky last night and WON?
And who do you think remembered to tell the GW clerk to keep her plastic bag and carried her own game out in her own little hands?
Have a great plastic-free day!
Count so far:
Plastic - 2 items
1. I haven't had to grocery shop yet. So that is good.
2. I have dedicated a small bucket to collect any plastic that I do end up with and will take pics of it so you can see what I am dealing with. For example, the first thing to go in the bucket is the plastic pull strip from around the top of the frozen juice concentrate paper can thing. The paper gets composted, leaving just the tear strip and the two metal ends to dispose of.
3. When we run out of frozen juice to use, I am buying a bag of oranges and setting them and the juicer out on the counter. You want juice? Cut yourself 2 oranges and squeeze them. Now, wasn't that fast and easy! Not to mention, good tasting and better for you.
4. I am going to have to go back to making my own laundry detergent when I run out of the liquid we currently have. The borax and the washing soda are in paper board cartons but the soap to grate is in a clear plastic wrapper. Alternatively, I can buy a box of Tide powder, but it comes with a plastic scoop inside. Either way, there will be a bit of plastic to go in the bucket.
5. When we run out of milk, I will have to decide which is the lesser of the evils.
A. Gallon of milk in a plastic jug, cheaper cost-wise.
B. Half gallons in the waxed paper cartons, but they have a plastic spigot and cap.
C. Tetra-pak liters that are completely non-recyclable and still have a plastic top.
D. Can of evaporated milk and dilute it. Cost-wise this isn't bad, but taste-wise? Gaaahhgg!
E. Box of powdered milk. I like the Nido milk from Mexico that is whole milk rather than the non-fat kind they sell here in the U.S. It comes in a metal can with a metal top. So this might be the way to go. I am the only one who drinks milk or puts it on cereal, so I am just pleasing myself anyway.
****Ding ding ding!!! We might have a winner on this deal!
6. Yesterday I bought 6 books in Japanese from my local used book store to gift my nephew who is studying Japanese in college. And before my brain had kicked into gear I was out the door with all those books in a damn plastic bag. Grrrrr.
I am blaming the lady who was in line behind me. She distracted me by being a wiener and being wrong. Here's what happened: She walked in whilst I was at the check-out counter having the guy look up the ISBN number of all these Japanese books to make sure they were in fact Japanese and not Chinese. Also to make sure they weren't porn or something I didn't want to be gifting my nephew. So the lady walks in and looks all impatient and stands there with a paper. The dude working there looks up from the computer and says to her, "I'll be right with you."
She says "I am looking for books by (consults her paper) Maud Lucy Montgomery"
He says "Who????"
I butt in and said "She wrote the Anne of Green Gable series. They should be in young teenager section back there" and pointed in the right direction.
Then I said "I believe her name is Lucy Maud Montgomery, in case you can't find it the way you have it".
She looked me straight in the eye and said "No. Her name was Maud. She just went by LUCY!"
Okaay.
Which is what I said to her. And then went back to my business of making sure I had Japanese and not Chinese and not porn.
So see what I mean about being flustered when I grabbed my bag and left?
Anyhoo, get this. I went next door to the Bubble Tea place and met up with the rest of my group and we decided to head over to Goodwill. So I go and put my books in the car and backed out of my parking space and was headed up the aisle of the parking lot when the same lady was coming towards me in her car waved me down. I rolled down my window and she said, "I found what I was looking for. And I wanted to apologize for correcting you. You were right."
Awwww. Wasn't that nice? Most people would never bother to do that. Afterwards I said to myself, I should have apologized to her for butting my fat nose into her business in the first place.
I get to Goodwill and what did I find? A 20th Anniversary edition of Trivial Pursuit in very good, damn near brand-new condition. That's what I found!
In case you don't know this about me, I love games. And I love, love, love Trivial Pursuit games. And I don't have this edition. And it was marked 1.99.
Who do you think got herself a new Trivial Pursuit game? And who do you think played the game with Sparky last night and WON?
And who do you think remembered to tell the GW clerk to keep her plastic bag and carried her own game out in her own little hands?
Have a great plastic-free day!
Count so far:
Plastic - 2 items
Monday, May 23, 2011
I am such a slacker, but my friend isn't.
I have been a really bad blogger. I love reading all your blogs and staying current, but I have not been posting and returning the favor. And for that I am sorry.
Life has been pretty busy over here. I have picked up new clients and their schedules and mine weren't meshing well, so I am doing what any good doula would do and am adjusting myself and my schedule to theirs. And for whatever reason they all want to meet at the crack of dawn. Now, you probably know this about me already, but I am NOT a morning person. I am whatever is the polar opposite of a morning person. So, this is a HUGE undertaking getting me and my late-night self all synched up with the morning folks. By 2 in the afternoon I am exhausted! Good Lord!
Anyhoo, that is why I have not had the inspiration to post anything.
Today, I am here to tell you all about my friend Mary Helen and her NEW BOOK! This is a sequel so you probably want to check out the original book as well.
Here is a link to her blog and her post about the book:
Let me tell you a little back story about Mary Helen and me. We met when we were both living in the same neighborhood in Guadalajara. We have kids that are the same ages. We each have a boy followed by a girl and it was natural for our kids to have great play dates. They were so cute together. I will have to dig around and find some pictures of them to show you. I think they had more fun at Mary Helen's house because she always painted their faces and they had great imagination play over there.
So Mary Helen is a journalist and was living in Chile during the Pinochet years and met her fabulously fun and charming British geologist husband down there. That is where she started gathering the beginnings of her first book, Soldiers in a Narrow Land.
There were many times when Mary Helen needed to focus on her writing and research and I had the kids all over to my house so she could focus for just a few hours. We had so many lovely times together having dinner parties, play times, and our husbands played tennis on Saturday mornings.
And who knew that many years later and many moves later, my family would end up in Chile? We lived there just after her book came out. The family who became our very best friends in Chile had this book on their shelves and when I commented on it, she told me that her company had made it required reading for all their employees who did business in Chile.
And just so you don't think this is just me being all biased and proud, click here to read an unbiased review of this book.
It has taken many years and lots of trips back to Chile to complete the sequel of this book. Here is a look at the cover:
Life has been pretty busy over here. I have picked up new clients and their schedules and mine weren't meshing well, so I am doing what any good doula would do and am adjusting myself and my schedule to theirs. And for whatever reason they all want to meet at the crack of dawn. Now, you probably know this about me already, but I am NOT a morning person. I am whatever is the polar opposite of a morning person. So, this is a HUGE undertaking getting me and my late-night self all synched up with the morning folks. By 2 in the afternoon I am exhausted! Good Lord!
Anyhoo, that is why I have not had the inspiration to post anything.
Today, I am here to tell you all about my friend Mary Helen and her NEW BOOK! This is a sequel so you probably want to check out the original book as well.
Here is a link to her blog and her post about the book:
Let me tell you a little back story about Mary Helen and me. We met when we were both living in the same neighborhood in Guadalajara. We have kids that are the same ages. We each have a boy followed by a girl and it was natural for our kids to have great play dates. They were so cute together. I will have to dig around and find some pictures of them to show you. I think they had more fun at Mary Helen's house because she always painted their faces and they had great imagination play over there.
So Mary Helen is a journalist and was living in Chile during the Pinochet years and met her fabulously fun and charming British geologist husband down there. That is where she started gathering the beginnings of her first book, Soldiers in a Narrow Land.
There were many times when Mary Helen needed to focus on her writing and research and I had the kids all over to my house so she could focus for just a few hours. We had so many lovely times together having dinner parties, play times, and our husbands played tennis on Saturday mornings.
And who knew that many years later and many moves later, my family would end up in Chile? We lived there just after her book came out. The family who became our very best friends in Chile had this book on their shelves and when I commented on it, she told me that her company had made it required reading for all their employees who did business in Chile.
And just so you don't think this is just me being all biased and proud, click here to read an unbiased review of this book.
It has taken many years and lots of trips back to Chile to complete the sequel of this book. Here is a look at the cover:
I have ordered the Kindle edition to carry with me AND I ordered the hardback to send to Mary Helen to sign for me and put on my shelf next to the other one.
If you are interested in reading something that is not the usual light summer reading that you won't remember five minutes later, you should definitely check out these books. If you are interested in the very recent history of one of our neighboring countries in this hemisphere, you should read these. And if you ever want to travel in Chile, one of the most beautiful and diverse countries on the planet, I highly recommend you read these just to have some backstory about the culture and the people from the last 50 years.
And sign up to read her blog, she posts some really interesting articles not always carried by the mainstream news.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
What's on my nightstand, so to speak
Y'all remember that I was sick with the head, chest, coughing virus thing for damn near FOUR WEEKS? Do you further remember that the meds and the coughing made it impossible to sleep? How to while away the hours while the rest of the house slept was my dilemma.
Kindle to the rescue!
Oh, how I love my Kindle. I love me some regular hardbound books, don't get me wrong. I hold the written word in very high esteem.
So, I have been reading. A lot. I finally forced myself to read the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy. I had tried and tried to start the first one, but it just wasn't striking my fancy. Then finally, it did.
It's a crying shame that they were published posthumously. I am sure he might have had a couple more good books in him.
Then I read this:
I can't remember who recommended this book to me, but thank you to whomever it was. This was a really interesting read. And then . . . . at the end?
There's a conversation with the author and he goes into great detail about how this was one of those novels based on his very own personal family tree. I really enjoy those historically accurate novels where you start out based in truth and then fill in the blanks with what you think would make a great story.
After that came this one:
Kindle to the rescue!
Oh, how I love my Kindle. I love me some regular hardbound books, don't get me wrong. I hold the written word in very high esteem.
So, I have been reading. A lot. I finally forced myself to read the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy. I had tried and tried to start the first one, but it just wasn't striking my fancy. Then finally, it did.
It's a crying shame that they were published posthumously. I am sure he might have had a couple more good books in him.
Then I read this:
I can't remember who recommended this book to me, but thank you to whomever it was. This was a really interesting read. And then . . . . at the end?
There's a conversation with the author and he goes into great detail about how this was one of those novels based on his very own personal family tree. I really enjoy those historically accurate novels where you start out based in truth and then fill in the blanks with what you think would make a great story.
After that came this one:
Ok, now this book was recommended to me twice. And when I read the little synopsis, I was immediately leary. I thought it would be different than what it turned out to be. So I did what any good Kindle owner would do, I got the free sample chapters to try it out.
Yea for the sample chapters!!
If they can hook you in the first couple of chapters, you are good. If not, you've only wasted a little time and no money.
Back to Room. This book was so clever, so intriguing and so gripping I don't even know how the author came up with this. It does come to some good resolutions, but not so cute and "happily ever after" in a smarmy non-realistic way.
These were both really good books and I can recommend them. After the dark subject matter of these I decided to go with a more light-hearted read and am currently reading a new Maeve Binchy. More on it when I finish.
Oh!! And totally off the subject of books, I got myself a new phone this weekend. Yea! I still like my old phone, but it was dying. Is anyone else irritate that phones seem to be made to last 12 to 18 months while your contract is designed for 24 months? And then you have to baby your phone along to get to the 24 month? I am trying to get the hang of the new phone and find all new ringtones and Caller Tunes (as T-Mobile calls them).
In a couple of days it will be April Fools Day. And that signals the beginning of all sorts of festivities around here! Spring, wildflower sightings, Fiesta , Poteet Strawberry Festival , Easter, Earth Day , not to mention the NBA PLAYOFFS!!! Time for our beloved Spurs to rally. Yea!
Yep, April is a great month. I swear to you there are at least 2 or 3 things you can find here to do every single day. Most of them free. If you are bored, it's because you want to be.
Every few years I update my inventory. I do a complete inventory of everything in the house. We have had to do this in the past because of all the international moving we did and keeping the inventory was a chore I took on and if we made a big purchase I would try to take care of entering the item right away from the invoice. But sadly, since we have been planted for almost 6 years I have neglected my inventory. So along with the spring cleaning mentality I get the "let's clean up the inventory list" fever. And that is my goal for the rest of this week, to work on the inventory. Isn't that exciting? Don't you wish you led the glamourous life I lead? Real Housewives of SA, here I come! Heh.
Enjoy your day.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
What's on my nightstand, so to speak
I used to post pics of the stacks of books on my nightstand. And that was kind of fun. But since I have a Kindle that I love so very much, it is more difficult to share with you what I am reading. I am a very visual person, meaning my style of learning and remembering is visually based. So I would love to show you the cover of the book I am currently reading, but who wants to look at a pic of a Kindle screeen?
And so I go online to look for a picture of the current book and here it is!
Some how on the Blue Zones website they only have one photo of the book, and it is a combo pic of both books together. I am reading the one on the right. It is really, really interesting stuff. And while I was over at the Blue Zones website I took their happiness quiz, to see how truly happy I am in my current surroundings and such.
I got a B+!!!!
Not too bad! Their recommendations were that I get outdoors more often (I don't know about that, because outdoors here means suffering greatly with horrible allergies for weeks after just one excursion) and that I stop watching so much t.v. (Well, of course I saw THAT one coming!!)
Check it out and please, feel free to come back and report on your happiness findings and which areas they recommend some adjustments in your life.
And so I go online to look for a picture of the current book and here it is!
Some how on the Blue Zones website they only have one photo of the book, and it is a combo pic of both books together. I am reading the one on the right. It is really, really interesting stuff. And while I was over at the Blue Zones website I took their happiness quiz, to see how truly happy I am in my current surroundings and such.
I got a B+!!!!
Not too bad! Their recommendations were that I get outdoors more often (I don't know about that, because outdoors here means suffering greatly with horrible allergies for weeks after just one excursion) and that I stop watching so much t.v. (Well, of course I saw THAT one coming!!)
Check it out and please, feel free to come back and report on your happiness findings and which areas they recommend some adjustments in your life.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
For Colored Girls
I watched the Spurs kick ass and take names last night (just to redeem themselves from the previous game's loss) and then I went to Movies On Demand. I was all set to watch Red with Morgan Freeman, Bruce Willis, and Helen Mirren and then I saw the little promo for For Colored Girls. So I chose that one.
Have you seen this little gem? O. M. G. What a fabulous, sad, wonderful, depressing, uplifting, gritty, and gorgeous movie. I could not believe it was made by Tyler Perry. Some of the diaglogue was so riveting I could hardly contain myself from rewinding and watching it over and over again.
So today I got up and looked up what I could about it. It was originally 20 poems by Ntozake Shange that was made into a play back in the 1970s. The play was entitled For Colored Girls who have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow is Enuf.
The movie has a cast that you can't believe. Fabulous women!
I would love to say here that Whoopi Goldberg stole the show, or that one of my favorite actresses Loretta Devine was the star, but no. This is an ensemble cast and they all fit together to lift up the sum of their parts to an even higher level. It was so good.
And Macy Gray has a small but unforgettable role that will make you squirm. Yes, there are men in this movie. And it is to the credit of these talented actors that they can play their roles so well that they let the women shine through.
I am going to go read the obits as I normally do, and then since I have paid for this movie for 24 hours, I am going to watch it again. which I never do. It is that good. Then I am going on Amazon to find a book of Shange's poetry that contains these 20 poems and I will be up tonight devouring them.
I don't know why this was not a huge success at the box office. Maybe the subject matter was too in-your-face? Maybe because they didn't know this is as far from Madea as Tyler Perry could get? But I promise you, this is a movie you should watch.
Have you seen this little gem? O. M. G. What a fabulous, sad, wonderful, depressing, uplifting, gritty, and gorgeous movie. I could not believe it was made by Tyler Perry. Some of the diaglogue was so riveting I could hardly contain myself from rewinding and watching it over and over again.
So today I got up and looked up what I could about it. It was originally 20 poems by Ntozake Shange that was made into a play back in the 1970s. The play was entitled For Colored Girls who have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow is Enuf.
The movie has a cast that you can't believe. Fabulous women!
I would love to say here that Whoopi Goldberg stole the show, or that one of my favorite actresses Loretta Devine was the star, but no. This is an ensemble cast and they all fit together to lift up the sum of their parts to an even higher level. It was so good.
And Macy Gray has a small but unforgettable role that will make you squirm. Yes, there are men in this movie. And it is to the credit of these talented actors that they can play their roles so well that they let the women shine through.
I am going to go read the obits as I normally do, and then since I have paid for this movie for 24 hours, I am going to watch it again. which I never do. It is that good. Then I am going on Amazon to find a book of Shange's poetry that contains these 20 poems and I will be up tonight devouring them.
I don't know why this was not a huge success at the box office. Maybe the subject matter was too in-your-face? Maybe because they didn't know this is as far from Madea as Tyler Perry could get? But I promise you, this is a movie you should watch.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Random Things from This Week
Nothing like a big serving of randomness, is there?
1. Yesterday I posted my usual thing of obit reading. But I also talked about a t.v. show that ended. And since I led with the t.v. show and ended with the best obit I have ever read, I kinda thought that the last thing you read would be the first thing commented on. Nope. Not so much. Either y'all don't really give a shit about the obits, or you really liked the husband from the t.v. show! Ha! That was pretty much the concensus of the comments. Everyone liked that guy. Did anyone give a rat's ass about the poor dead concentration camp survivor guy? Apparently not.
2. We had a storm come through here last night and dropped the temp about 50 degrees, with lots of wind and rain. And this usually makes for some great sleeping at my house. Love, love to sleep during a rainstorm. However, last night? All the flipping pets were up at one time or another and were all a bit on edge. None of us got a good night's sleep. In spite of that, I still have a full day of things to do. Those dogs and kitties? I am sure they will be basking in front of a window with lots of warm sunbeams on their fur. I intend to poke each of them and wake them up every time I walk by and see one of them sleeping. Twice if they were one of the ones who kept me up all night. Revenge, it's what's for breakfast!
3. I am reading a book that my son has for one of his classes this semester. He brought it in and said he thought I might like it and he doesn't have to start on it for a few weeks. So I have been reading it at night and it is really an interesting premise. Let me go get it so I can tell you the title.
Okay, I got it. And I went ahead and took a pic of the cover so you can see it.
A World of Babies, Imagined Childcare Guides for Seven Societies. The little blurb on the bottom left is from T. Berry Brazelton, my favorite of all pediatricians.
So, here is the deal on this book - The opening chapters are explaining what the premise is behind each supposed childcare guide. Then with each childcare guide there is a synopsis of this particular society, how it functions, how large it is, what are the social, religious, spiritual more's, etc. Then there is the imagined childcare guide written from the perspective of a healer, a grandmother, a midwife, or whoever would be a respected person from that culture.
It is really interesting. And all these babies will grow up just fine not because of the way their parents rear them, but in spite of! There are so many conflicting customs. Some believe in bathing babies 5 times a day, some 2 times a day, some not until they are 210 days old. Some swaddle tightly for months, some never.
What all this means is there is no one right way to do things. There never has been. What is appropriate in one society in one time period would never work across the world in that same time period or any other. What we can take from this is that we should all be open to learning new ways and not judging things as "right" and "wrong".
I think I am on the 4th society and have 3 more to go. I will let you know if I change my opinion when I finish.
4. Since Lester Buster made it back home safely, I have not let him go outside at all. Everyone else thinks I am being too hard on him, taking away his Outside Privileges, but I swear to you I lost 5 years of my life worrying about him and I don't think I can do it again. I am sure that in time I will loosen up and let him go out front again, but for the time being, he needs to be indoors. Which brings up all kinds of my codependent issues. It's like I am learning to be better in one area of my life, and BAM! Lester goes missing and I fell right back into my old familiar pattern. Nice.
5. Yesterday would have been the birthday of one of my sisters. She died 15 years ago, way too young. Her best friend and I sent each other email messages remembering things about her. It was a rather sad, nostalgic day. R.I.P. sweet beautiful girl.
6. And before this turns any more maudlin and depressing, I have this for you!
I sure hope he gets picked up for a new series or new movie or something. He is a cutie, isn't he?
1. Yesterday I posted my usual thing of obit reading. But I also talked about a t.v. show that ended. And since I led with the t.v. show and ended with the best obit I have ever read, I kinda thought that the last thing you read would be the first thing commented on. Nope. Not so much. Either y'all don't really give a shit about the obits, or you really liked the husband from the t.v. show! Ha! That was pretty much the concensus of the comments. Everyone liked that guy. Did anyone give a rat's ass about the poor dead concentration camp survivor guy? Apparently not.
2. We had a storm come through here last night and dropped the temp about 50 degrees, with lots of wind and rain. And this usually makes for some great sleeping at my house. Love, love to sleep during a rainstorm. However, last night? All the flipping pets were up at one time or another and were all a bit on edge. None of us got a good night's sleep. In spite of that, I still have a full day of things to do. Those dogs and kitties? I am sure they will be basking in front of a window with lots of warm sunbeams on their fur. I intend to poke each of them and wake them up every time I walk by and see one of them sleeping. Twice if they were one of the ones who kept me up all night. Revenge, it's what's for breakfast!
3. I am reading a book that my son has for one of his classes this semester. He brought it in and said he thought I might like it and he doesn't have to start on it for a few weeks. So I have been reading it at night and it is really an interesting premise. Let me go get it so I can tell you the title.
Okay, I got it. And I went ahead and took a pic of the cover so you can see it.
A World of Babies, Imagined Childcare Guides for Seven Societies. The little blurb on the bottom left is from T. Berry Brazelton, my favorite of all pediatricians.
So, here is the deal on this book - The opening chapters are explaining what the premise is behind each supposed childcare guide. Then with each childcare guide there is a synopsis of this particular society, how it functions, how large it is, what are the social, religious, spiritual more's, etc. Then there is the imagined childcare guide written from the perspective of a healer, a grandmother, a midwife, or whoever would be a respected person from that culture.
It is really interesting. And all these babies will grow up just fine not because of the way their parents rear them, but in spite of! There are so many conflicting customs. Some believe in bathing babies 5 times a day, some 2 times a day, some not until they are 210 days old. Some swaddle tightly for months, some never.
What all this means is there is no one right way to do things. There never has been. What is appropriate in one society in one time period would never work across the world in that same time period or any other. What we can take from this is that we should all be open to learning new ways and not judging things as "right" and "wrong".
I think I am on the 4th society and have 3 more to go. I will let you know if I change my opinion when I finish.
4. Since Lester Buster made it back home safely, I have not let him go outside at all. Everyone else thinks I am being too hard on him, taking away his Outside Privileges, but I swear to you I lost 5 years of my life worrying about him and I don't think I can do it again. I am sure that in time I will loosen up and let him go out front again, but for the time being, he needs to be indoors. Which brings up all kinds of my codependent issues. It's like I am learning to be better in one area of my life, and BAM! Lester goes missing and I fell right back into my old familiar pattern. Nice.
5. Yesterday would have been the birthday of one of my sisters. She died 15 years ago, way too young. Her best friend and I sent each other email messages remembering things about her. It was a rather sad, nostalgic day. R.I.P. sweet beautiful girl.
6. And before this turns any more maudlin and depressing, I have this for you!
I sure hope he gets picked up for a new series or new movie or something. He is a cutie, isn't he?
Monday, January 24, 2011
What are you reading?
I asked this question on facebook last week and got a HUGE response. People were dying to share their latest book recommendations. So I compiled them all and made a list. It is going on my Amazon wishlist for my Kindle.
Then I thought the rest of you might appreciate all these recommendations, as well. So . . . here is a list of books to put on your own wishlist!
The Watchman's Rattle
The Mistress of Spices
Love Songs from a Shallow Grave
Coroner's Lunch
People of the Book
Set of 3 mysteries by Kate Morton
Room by Emma Donaghue
The Power by Rhonda Byrne
Everything I want to do is illegal by Joel Salatin
The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven - Kevin & Alex Malarkey
I still dream about you - Fannie Flagg
Iron Lake by Wm. Kent Kruger
Finishing the Room
Half-broke Horses
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
First Peoples: A documentary survey of American Indian History
The Lost Symbol
Sundays at Tiffany's
Why We Suck by Denis Leary
Clara and Mr. Tiffany
The Hiram Key
If any of you have read these and have reviews to share, please do so. Also, if you have any great reads to recommend, I would love to add more to my list.
Then I thought the rest of you might appreciate all these recommendations, as well. So . . . here is a list of books to put on your own wishlist!
The Watchman's Rattle
The Mistress of Spices
Love Songs from a Shallow Grave
Coroner's Lunch
People of the Book
Set of 3 mysteries by Kate Morton
Room by Emma Donaghue
The Power by Rhonda Byrne
Everything I want to do is illegal by Joel Salatin
The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven - Kevin & Alex Malarkey
I still dream about you - Fannie Flagg
Iron Lake by Wm. Kent Kruger
Finishing the Room
Half-broke Horses
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
First Peoples: A documentary survey of American Indian History
The Lost Symbol
Sundays at Tiffany's
Why We Suck by Denis Leary
Clara and Mr. Tiffany
The Hiram Key
If any of you have read these and have reviews to share, please do so. Also, if you have any great reads to recommend, I would love to add more to my list.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Rambling and Musing
Prince William is getting married! This is such good news. I truly hope he (and his brother Harry) are both going to be happy and fulfilled in their lives. It just broke my heart when their Mama died in such a tragic way leaving them to the care of their dork of a father. Ol' Prince Charlie doesn't exactly scream "I am a warm, and loving kind of guy" now does he?
My Grandma has been transferred from the hospital back to the rehab nursing facility she was at when I was there. I don't know that this is the best option for her. But it is certainly the best one open to her right now. I don't know what this will mean for her. I also don't know if I should be planning another trip out there right now or not. Maybe take a wait-and-see attitude for a while? I just don't know.
I did finally decide to read the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and force myself to sit long enough to get immersed in the story. It took me close to halfway through that book to decide that I liked it. So the first thing I did when I finished was to go to the Kindle store and get the sequel! And I have just started that one. There are some really quirky and interesting characters in here.
I am also reading a book recommended to me called The Five Love Languages or the The Five Languages of Love. Or something along those lines. It's all about how people seem to be in one of five different categories as to how they instinctively prefer to give and show their love. And if your style of giving doesn't match your spouse/child/friend/etc. way of receiving love, you will end up with some problems. I can't imagine that there are many couples out there who have paired up whose style of giving and receiving is exactly the same. I immediately on hearing this assumed I was in one category, then upon reading I sort of vacilated between two others. Then at the end I took the test and ended up back in the first category. Maybe the first instinct is the right one? Now I just have to figure out which one is Mr. Big Ed's category and go from there!
Speaking of tests, I was reading Bye Bye Pie yesterday and June had us all go over to 9types and take a enneagram personality test. So I did. And boy oh boy, was I amazed and astounded by the results. There are 9 personality types and most people I think are dominant in one or two, some even in three. But my score looks like I am totally and damn near completely in one and totally deficient and even in the negative in most all the others. This does not seem like the results of a well-rounded healthy individual, does it? Apparently I am a Helper, a nurturer and care-giver individual with some artistic tendencies thrown in. Other than that, I have no personality. The other categories have to do with being a leader, a thinker, a questioner, a peacemaker (every time I see that I think pacemaker. Ha!). But I have no leading, motivating, or making of peace qualities I guess.
Anyone else doing any introspection? It's hard work for me because it does not come naturally and I have to really focus. Apparently being a helper, nurturer type does not include helping and nurturing the self! : )
Enjoy your Wednesday!
My Grandma has been transferred from the hospital back to the rehab nursing facility she was at when I was there. I don't know that this is the best option for her. But it is certainly the best one open to her right now. I don't know what this will mean for her. I also don't know if I should be planning another trip out there right now or not. Maybe take a wait-and-see attitude for a while? I just don't know.
I did finally decide to read the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and force myself to sit long enough to get immersed in the story. It took me close to halfway through that book to decide that I liked it. So the first thing I did when I finished was to go to the Kindle store and get the sequel! And I have just started that one. There are some really quirky and interesting characters in here.
I am also reading a book recommended to me called The Five Love Languages or the The Five Languages of Love. Or something along those lines. It's all about how people seem to be in one of five different categories as to how they instinctively prefer to give and show their love. And if your style of giving doesn't match your spouse/child/friend/etc. way of receiving love, you will end up with some problems. I can't imagine that there are many couples out there who have paired up whose style of giving and receiving is exactly the same. I immediately on hearing this assumed I was in one category, then upon reading I sort of vacilated between two others. Then at the end I took the test and ended up back in the first category. Maybe the first instinct is the right one? Now I just have to figure out which one is Mr. Big Ed's category and go from there!
Speaking of tests, I was reading Bye Bye Pie yesterday and June had us all go over to 9types and take a enneagram personality test. So I did. And boy oh boy, was I amazed and astounded by the results. There are 9 personality types and most people I think are dominant in one or two, some even in three. But my score looks like I am totally and damn near completely in one and totally deficient and even in the negative in most all the others. This does not seem like the results of a well-rounded healthy individual, does it? Apparently I am a Helper, a nurturer and care-giver individual with some artistic tendencies thrown in. Other than that, I have no personality. The other categories have to do with being a leader, a thinker, a questioner, a peacemaker (every time I see that I think pacemaker. Ha!). But I have no leading, motivating, or making of peace qualities I guess.
Anyone else doing any introspection? It's hard work for me because it does not come naturally and I have to really focus. Apparently being a helper, nurturer type does not include helping and nurturing the self! : )
Enjoy your Wednesday!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Reading material
It has been a while since I have mentioned what all I have been reading. I used to be clever and post photos of the books stacked up on my night stand. And then I would show you a pic of each book front.
But now?
I have a Kindle!!! Which is awesome in most regards, but in the show-off-your-book-fronts category, it is a loser.
So let me tell you all about what I have been reading and you can just imagine the fronts of the books.
First off, I just finished reading about the Michael Vick dogs. I thought it would be a heart-warming story of triumph over sadism, adversity, slavery, etc. But then it opened with a chapter from one of the dogs' point of view and a glimpse into the underbelly of the dog fighting world and the cruel way they train these poor animals and how they kill them. This chapter I had to read in very small doses.
The book outlined how the law enforcement team came to be there in the first place and how meticulous they were in everything they did to make sure everyone involved was brought to justice. Then it finally got down to the heart of the story which was what happened to each of the 51 dogs rescued and where they are now. This was why I wanted to read this book.
You know back in the day, the dog breeds now commonly known as "pit bulls" were family dogs, they were the dog you wanted your kids to have. They were known as nannies. These dogs would do absolutely anything for their humans. Even things against their nature. Like stay loyal to the death for assholes who think forcing other creatures to fight for their entertainment is a good thing.
Back to the book and off my soapbox, this was a good book. I liked how different chapters were told from all different points of view; i.e. the dogs, the rescuers, the cops, the lawyers, etc. It really gave you a wide range of perspectives. Two thumbs up for this one.
I also read the Squirrel meets Chipmunk, the newest David Sedaris. And I have to say "well, this book was certainly different." Don't get me wrong, it was good. It was completely different from all his other stuff, so it was unexpected. It was creative and different.
Before that I read Freedom, the latest Oprah book club selection. After slogging my way through it, I still have no idea why she was so fired up about this thing. Meh. It didn't do a damn thing for me.
And speaking of books that I just can't find any passion for? What is up with the Girl with the tattoo books? I have tried and tried to get through the little free chapters that Amazon lets you try for free, but nope, nothing.
I also finished up Shanghai Girls which was recommended highly by my mother. Fair. not great, not terrible, just fair.
So, hit me with some suggestions of great books. They don't need to be new, just new to me. My mind thirsts for fabulous turns of phrase and sometimes the brand new wells are dry.
But now?
I have a Kindle!!! Which is awesome in most regards, but in the show-off-your-book-fronts category, it is a loser.
So let me tell you all about what I have been reading and you can just imagine the fronts of the books.
First off, I just finished reading about the Michael Vick dogs. I thought it would be a heart-warming story of triumph over sadism, adversity, slavery, etc. But then it opened with a chapter from one of the dogs' point of view and a glimpse into the underbelly of the dog fighting world and the cruel way they train these poor animals and how they kill them. This chapter I had to read in very small doses.
The book outlined how the law enforcement team came to be there in the first place and how meticulous they were in everything they did to make sure everyone involved was brought to justice. Then it finally got down to the heart of the story which was what happened to each of the 51 dogs rescued and where they are now. This was why I wanted to read this book.
You know back in the day, the dog breeds now commonly known as "pit bulls" were family dogs, they were the dog you wanted your kids to have. They were known as nannies. These dogs would do absolutely anything for their humans. Even things against their nature. Like stay loyal to the death for assholes who think forcing other creatures to fight for their entertainment is a good thing.
Back to the book and off my soapbox, this was a good book. I liked how different chapters were told from all different points of view; i.e. the dogs, the rescuers, the cops, the lawyers, etc. It really gave you a wide range of perspectives. Two thumbs up for this one.
I also read the Squirrel meets Chipmunk, the newest David Sedaris. And I have to say "well, this book was certainly different." Don't get me wrong, it was good. It was completely different from all his other stuff, so it was unexpected. It was creative and different.
Before that I read Freedom, the latest Oprah book club selection. After slogging my way through it, I still have no idea why she was so fired up about this thing. Meh. It didn't do a damn thing for me.
And speaking of books that I just can't find any passion for? What is up with the Girl with the tattoo books? I have tried and tried to get through the little free chapters that Amazon lets you try for free, but nope, nothing.
I also finished up Shanghai Girls which was recommended highly by my mother. Fair. not great, not terrible, just fair.
So, hit me with some suggestions of great books. They don't need to be new, just new to me. My mind thirsts for fabulous turns of phrase and sometimes the brand new wells are dry.
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