whatever pops out

on my mind this morning...

2010-10-11T09:12:00.000-04:00

*My dear friend Jean. I am such an overwhelming mess of emotions just thinking about her these past few days. So many tears. Most of them sad. But it's also such a story of love. If you should read this Jean, just know how much we're thinking of you. And how very much we love you.

*The weekend was a rough one in terms of missing a much-loved friend. Nearly two years after Dewey died, I can really finally remember her with mostly smiles. I can focus on the thankfulness I feel because I got to call her friend. I can think about our conversations, both silly and serious, without always breaking into tears. Of course, I still miss her. That will never change. Never. But it is so nice to see some random thing and actually smile, instead of automatically tear up, because it reminds me of her.

But the past few days were tough. The read-a-thon is always tough. (And thus, in my true run-away-from-your-problems nature, I sort of avoided it as much as I could this time.) But on top of the read-a-thon, Ali Edwards put up her first December Daily project post. I know that should anyone happen to read this post, that that will make no sense whatsoever. And I've no idea how to explain, so I won't. But I went down to my creative space on Friday, and I pulled out the base album I made in 2008. An album which never had a single photo added to it, because day 1 of the recording aspect of that project was the day I'd found out that Dewey had died. So yes, the album has sat empty ever since. I sat with that empty album on Friday, flipping the pages, and just letting the tears flow. I felt I'd gone back in time nearly two years when the pain was so new and so raw.

Anyway, I know how incredibly selfish it sounds, but I want so much to find myself smiling again when I think of Dewey. But it's not because I think the tears are bad. I don't.

*On a more mundane note, I'm disappointed that I've been such a flop this Halloween season. I can't believe that I still haven't dug out the Halloween decorations (though I hope to remedy that today). The kids still don't have costumes...so I'm pretty sure they're not going to get anything too elaborately made by me. Of course, Gray wants nothing but to be a dragon, and my sewing skills were never in that league anyway! I'm guessing it will be much like last year--throw together something at the last minute. And you know, I actually think they had just as much fun then as they ever have, so I'm not sure why I'm worrying about it. (Oh, yeah, because worrying is one of the few things I'm very adept at. :P) I also haven't tried any of these new, scrumptious-sounding "fall" recipes I've been gathering. Not that time is up for that, of course...but I had visions of trying a new one every weekend this month. And finally, I had a list of people who make my world a brighter place that I wanted to make cards and little Halloween trinkets for...ummmm...yeah, the chances of this becoming a reality shrink by the minute. :(

---Hmmm. When I glance at what I wrote, I worry that it seems like life is sort of sucking. But that's not the case. Seriously, self, when you read over this someday in the future, I don't want you to take that from this. Life is truly wonderful. True, there's been a lot of sadness. And if I could do anything to make this time easier for Jean, I'd do it in a second. And I don't mean to say that sadness and death and hurting are "good." But they are necessary. And they help me in appreciating the fullness of being alive.

a morning at Wickham Farms (9/25)

2010-10-01T12:25:00.000-04:00

an apology

2010-09-29T09:19:00.000-04:00

Something has been making me very sad lately, and I haven't yet figured out how to fix it. But I do want to apologize for it. "It" being the way I've been neglecting my friends. I've been horrible--I've been spotty at best in reading/commenting on blogs and I've been pathetically slow at returning emails (and that's when I manage to return them at all). I have this list of little projects and cards I wanted to make for friends for Halloween--and I'm making ridiculously slow, nearly non-existent, progress on that front.

I don't want to whine and dish out my laundry list of things that keep me from paying enough attention to my friends. After all, we're all busy, arent' we? I just seem to be sorely lacking the organizational skills to find a way to fit it all in...and I swear I've been trying to work on my organizational weaknesses, but I don't seem to be making much progress.

Anyway, it's so unfair that my friends always seem to be the ones at the end of the line. It should *not* be that way. I swear, you're all way more important to me than the tomatoes in the garden...but since you won't rot on the vine if I don't get you canned, I tend to the damn tomatoes first. And a little boy, who after a great start to the school year, is now crying every morning worrying about going to school...well, he soaks up a lot of my emotional attention. And...and...and... But I won't go into all the "ands"--like I said, I don't want this to be a whiny, "I'm overwhelmed" post.

My friends mean so much more to me than it would seem from my behavior as of late. And I am so very, very, very sorry. I truly am.

I'll get my act together one of these days. I promise.

scenes from an 8-year-old's birthday weekend

2010-09-27T13:22:00.001-04:00

Birthday boy's breakfast of choice: Double-dipped berries.

Birthday boy's gift: A shiny red DS.

Birthday boy's cake of choice: A cat, of course.

Birthday boy's dinner of choice: Chuck E. Cheese, with a friend.

Birthday boy's choice for an evening activity: Cat crafting.

And Saturday brought another day of fun: Wickham Farms for big pillow bouncing, ice cream cones, pumpkin picking, and a corn maze. Then a visit from cousins, pizza, more birthday cake, and another present. :)

and she's off...

2010-09-07T08:41:00.000-04:00

Oh my goodness. Just look at this girl. So many thoughts crowd my mind as I stare at this picture I took this morning...

*I hate that "summer" is over. I hate it. I'll miss you being gone all day.

*But at least you'll only be "gone" for school two days of the week. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays--you'll still be stuck with me. :)

*Unfortunately, that isn't the case with your brothers. And tomorrow when they head off for their first day of school...yeah, I'm going to be a mess inside.

*Since when did 13 look so old?!! I guess it probably always has...but looking at 13 through parental eyes is somehow different.

*I'm so sorry that you're so worried about Chemistry. I'm hoping that after today, you'll be a little more comfortable. You really are going to do just fine, sweetie! I know you are.

*Still, three hours of chem lecture starting at 8:00am is quite a shock to the system, huh?

*I hope you'll call me before your afternoon class starts and let me know how things are going.

*You're so beautiful.

*I miss you already--though if you were home, you'd still be in bed anyway. ;)

*I'm proud of you. For so many things.

*I love you more than words can say.

dreams for the day...

2010-08-25T11:08:00.000-04:00

*savoring one small square from the Dark Chocolate and Orange organic, fair-trade chocolate bar I bought last week...heaven, pure heaven

*chopping veggies (mostly from our garden) to make that spaghetti sauce I was going to make yesterday

*bowling (and sucking at it) with Rich and Gray and Max and Annie

*pigging out on the fresh garden salsa I made yesterday

*hanging out the towels to dry on this picture-perfect summer day

*spending time cleaning up my creative space

*reading fairy tales

*being appreciative

our last morning

2010-08-22T10:13:00.000-04:00

I have to admit that Friday was a tough day around here. None of us, most of all me, were ready for Happy Week to come to end. I'm serious, it was just so hard taking Chris to the airport. And it took everything I had not to just break down in tears saying "goodbye."

But here's just a few photos from that morning:

I know you already know this, but we miss you, Chris! Thanks for a wonderful week!!!!

more photo inundation (days 4 and 5 of Happy Week)

2010-08-21T11:06:00.000-04:00

Dining al fresco:

War wounds after a particularly brutal game of predator crossing:

A trip to one of our favorite local parks, Mendon Ponds:

Feeding the birds:

A bit of local wildlife:

Bookstore #2 (unfortunately, the used book store we tried to hit this day was closed by the time we got there):

An early morning (okay, not that early) game of catch:

Bookstore #3 (by far the most dangerous of those we managed to hit):

A small haul (though Chris, you forgot to include your One World Goods loot):

Supper from our favorite local pizza joint:

photo inundation Niagara Falls (day 3 of Happy Week)

2010-08-19T07:05:00.000-04:00

What the camera-happy boys looked like most of the day:

My lovable goofball husband jumping into yet another photo:

On the Maid of the Mist:

At the Rainforest Cafe:

One big-ass stump:

My obsession with taking photos of dead flowers continues:

Everyone rode the tram over the whirlpool except wimpy old me:

photo inundation (days 1 and 2 of Happy Week)

2010-08-18T08:57:00.002-04:00

The plan: Pick out my favorite photos from the week and post them.

The problem: Even after deleting the blurry, the duplicate-ish, and the just plain bad shots, there's hundreds and hundreds of photos to choose from. (And we're only halfway through the week.)

The solution: Just post all the ones I want to anyway. After all, no one has to look, right?

At the airport:

At bookstore stop #1 (Borders):

Juggling lessons:

Chimney Bluffs State Park:

(The boys "not getting wet" at Chimney Bluffs.)

Chris petting Lucky for Ana:

Family book club at Casa Azteca:

P.S. Family Book Club was a big success--not only did we eat delicious food and have fun discussing our books, but everyone liked what they had to read.
Max read The Stuff of Legend by Mike Raicht, and gave it an A.
Gray read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and gave it a B+. (This is higher praise than it might seem, coming from Gray.)
Annie read The Lonely Werewolf Girl by Martin Millar, and gave it an A+.
Chris read Unwind by Neal Shusterman, and gave it an A+.
Rich read the first three Warriors graphic novels by Erin Hunter, and gave them A (possibly exaggerating his enjoyment for Max's sake).
Debi read The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, and gave it an A+.

And for next meeting, we're going to learn to Skype (yikes!). The picks:
Max picked the next series of three Warriors graphic novels for Rich.
Gray picked a Pokemon manga for Annie.
Annie picked The Dreaming (vols. 1-3) by Queenie Chan for me.
Chris picked Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan for Max.
Rich picked Hoot by Carl Hiassen for Gray.
Debi picked The Stand by Stephen King for Chris.

best get this out of the way

2010-08-14T17:43:00.000-04:00

So, I was having a bit of a breakdown last night--just overly tired and worrying about getting things done. Rich decided I just needed to get out of this house, so he hauled us all off to Taco Bell for supper (yes, we are pathetic enough to eat at Taco Bell--what can I say, their classic limeades are pure heaven). Anyway, aside from the limeades, Taco Bell also has the fact that it's located by a decent little used bookstore going for it. Well, I was obviously too exhausted to practice any self-restraint...I bought 9 books. Despite the fact that I knew that I would be buying truckloads of books this coming week when Chris is here--yes, enablers we definitely are to one another (and face it, neither of us even need enablers to go overboard).

Figured I ought to get this one last post out of the way now.

From the used book store:

*Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger. Just been wanting to read this one for a while.

*I Have the Right to Destroy Myself by Young-Ha Kim. Okay, so the gorgeous cover might have been enough. But then I read the blurb on the back...it sounds dark and original and...well, I'm not really sure what it will be like. But I am incredibly intrigued.

*Homeland and Other Stories by Barbara Kingsolver. Justification for this purchase? Hmmm...well, I haven't actually read anything by Kingsolver before, but I'm convinced I'll enjoy her writing. And, well, despite the fact that I haven't read many short stories lately, I really do love them. How about--the price was right? Or--I'm supporting small business?

*Oscar Wilde: The Fisherman and His Soul and other Fairy Tales. This volume collects the tales from The Happy Prince and The House of Pomegranates together in one book. And an adorable little book it is, too! Now I just have to get the guts to read it...because yes, he intimidates me.

*The Plague by Albert Camus. Yes, and speaking of being intimidated. But I've really wanted to read this...so maybe someday I really will take the plunge.

*City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende. I've been wanting to try Allende for quite a while. But it was Kelly that really, really got me excited about it here recently during an email conversation. And while this was not one of the books she recommended I start with, I picked it up anyway since it was the only one I saw there. Thus, I am passing off all blame to her anyway...you know, because no one can stop me. ;) POINT FOR KELLY.

*Generation X by Douglas Coupland. And speaking of Kelly. Well, I'm blaming her and Ana and Chris and Nancy for this one. Possibly not a fair thing to do, but tough. See, I've yet to read one of his books...but I've gotten pretty good at picking them up whenever I see them. And it's all because of them...every time they talk about Coupland, it just gets me so excited. I know, I know, so why haven't I read any of them then, right? Yeah, good question. POINTS FOR KELLY, ANA, CHRIS, and NANCY.

*I Feel Bad About My Neck and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron. More blame. This time, it's Eva's fault. Absolutely, positively, without question. This book went immediately to my wish list when she reviewed it. In fact, if I'm remembering correctly, that particular post added several books to my wish list. POINT FOR EVA.

*French Milk by Lucy Knisley. And I'm pawning off responsibility for my final purchase from the used book store on Eva as well. While she wasn't head-over-heels in love with this book, it was her that first brought it to my attention. Not entirely sure if I'll enjoy it or not, but for the price I figured I couldn't go wrong. POINT FOR EVA.

From elsewhere:

*The Children of Green Knowe by L.M. Boston. Yep, yet more blame for Eva. I was so excited to find this in the used book section at Barnes & Noble the other night. Eva got me really excited about reading this series, as they were childhood favorites of hers. And over the past year or so, I've managed to find a couple of them used. But never the first one...until now. :) POINT FOR EVA.

*Women of Science: Righting the Record edited by G. Kass-Simon and Patricia Farnes. Originally found this in the used section at B&N as well, but as it was still a bit on the expensive side, Rich looked it up on his phone for me and managed to find a much cheaper copy online. As you can probably tell from the title, it's about many of the largely unacknowledged women of science. Know what I already really love about it--the dedication, which reads: To those we didn't find.

*Incarceron by Catherine Fisher. I always feel guilty blaming someone else when they were kind enough to send me the book in question. (Oh okay, I'm a big fat liar--I don't feel guilty at all!) Sorry Kara, but you're going to have to suck up a point for this one---it was *you* that made me really want to read this one, after all. And despite blaming you, I am extremely appreciative--thank you so much for sending it to me! POINT FOR KARA.

*The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi. And then there's this one...and I actually paid retail for it (well, minus the B&N discount anyway). I just couldn't help myself. I've been wanting to buy it ever since it came out, and well, what can I say--I was just caught in a moment of weakness. And hey, you know what--I'm not even sorry! :P I've been trying to convince myself that I can blame this on Eva...but that might be stretching it even for me. See, it was because of her that I read Bacigalupi's story, "The Fluted Girl," a year and a half ago. And I fell utterly in love with his writing. And thus the extra-strong desire to buy this book.

So who's read what? And what did you think?

and the award goes to...

2010-08-09T10:09:00.002-04:00

Me!!! Yes, I was given a blogger award...from myself! Yes, and if I was talented enough, I'd even make myself a little button.

Yes, I've been given the Pathetic Blogger Award! I'm ever so deserving, wouldn't you agree? :D

And I'm going to continue living up to the honor for the next week, at least. So much to do this week in preparation for our stay-cation. (This is the very bestest kind of stay-cation, too---because we have a very much-loved friend coming to enjoy it with us! Yes, in fact, he is the very inspiration for it!)

Anyway, it's not so much that I mind not posting, but I always hate it when I get in these slumps where I don't get to read other people's blogs. Not that anyone minds, I know...we *all* go through these periods. Just bums me out. You know, because everyone's off talking about really cool stuff and reading all kinds of interesting books and making and growing awesome things...and I'm missing it all. :( I could look at it as having all these great things to look forward to in a few weeks when life slows back down, but face it, one can never catch back up when you get that far behind. At least not if you're a Pathetic Blogger like me. ;)

But, in the spirit of awards, I'm going to pass this on the only blogger I know who is more pathetic than me...my darling husband, who last posted in March. Hey, sweetie--your first ever blog award. :)

I just can't help myself...

2010-08-05T09:32:00.000-04:00

Okay, new strategy...I'm working hard not to let the mess rebuild in our bedroom, which means I need to stop letting the books I acquire pile up beside the computer. So as I get them, I'll just pop them into a blame game draft, and then just publish whenever I reach six or eight or so books. Yes, I bored you with that little blurb just so you would understand if these posts sound disjointed. (You know, because sounding disjointed isn't my usual modus operandi--ha!)

*Finding George Orwell in Burma by Emma Larkin. Honestly, this was not the book I was dying to get my hands on. The one I really, really, really wanted was Larkin's other book, Everything is Broken. But I'm too stingy to shell out that new hardback price. So for now anyway, I'm waiting until my turn comes up at PaperbackSwap, or it comes out in softcover. I thought that maybe ordering this book would take away some of that urgency I was feeling. After all, Eva really loved this book. Unfortunately, while I'm happy that I was able to get this from PBS, it didn't really do anything to quench that desire for the book I actually wanted. Oh well. POINT FOR EVA.

*Uranium: War, Energy, and the Rock that Shaped the World by Tom Zoellner. I honestly have no idea how to explain this acquisition. Once I saw it, I absolutely *had* to have it. I don't even know why, but it just sounded so incredibly interesting! And really, I can't even believe I'm saying that. If someone else had told I'd be unable to stop myself from buying a book about uranium, I would have thought them utterly loony.

*Bound by Donna Jo Napoli. Picked this up from the used book store. One of her retellings. I think it's a Cinderella retelling, but I'm not entirely sure. I don't want to try to find out for sure though, because it seems like it would be more fun to just read it and see for myself.

*In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien. I have no earthly idea what this book is about. There's no cover synopsis or anything. But it is sticking in my head that I've heard of this somewhere, and had a positive reaction. Plus, since I've never heard a bad word about O'Brien's The Things They Carried, I figured I couldn't go wrong. Especially at used book price.

*Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles by Richard Dowden. Rich and I spent a little of our anniversary yesterday at the bookstore. Yeah, big surprise, huh? Anyway, there were a couple of things that compelled me to bring this one home. First, I was pulled in by the cover blurb. Here's part of it:

Africa is a complex continent of people. The West so often treats African as if it were one country, and its interventions, therefore, often misfire. Richard Dowden teases out the web of history, myth, rivalry, alliance, ambition, and protest that comprises the current reality... Their daily challenges, innovations, and dreams provide a sweeping, illumination and often uplifting portrait of modern sub-Saharan Africa.

And then I read the foreward by Chinua Achebe. Again, a piece of it:

Africa, as most people are aware, has endured a tortured history, and continues to persevere under the burden of political instability and religious, social, racial and ethnic strife. Many chroniclers of the African condition often find Africa overwhelming. As R.K. Narayan once said about new stories: 'there are often too many stories out there to be told.' The writer is often faced with two choices: turn away from the reality of Africa's intimidating complexity, or conquer the mystery of Africa by recognizing the humanity of African people.
Richard Dowden makes the brave choice. In Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles, he tackles Africa's problems without fear, sentimentality or condescension.

Now I just hope that I find a way to make time to read it!

thank you...

2010-08-04T06:29:00.003-04:00

...for filling up the car with gas so I wouldn't have to worry about it while taking Gray to camp this week

...for the surprise bag of spice drops you brought home for me the other day

...for telling me you love me, every single day

...for saying, "Thanks for another delicious meal"

...for getting the coffee ready every night so I just have to flip the switch in the morning

...for enjoying Project Runway as much as I do

...for our Sunday morning trips to the farmer's market

...for being a complete and total dork, and loving me for being one as well

...for always being the snow cone maker

...for saying, "The bathroom looks great" when I clean it each week

...for taking the boys off on a hike the other day, as I always get more accomplished without the constant, "Mom, can you..."

...for most stress-relieving hugs on the planet

...for owning more books than I do (thus I don't have to feel guilty)

...for asking how my friends are doing, and really caring about the answers

...for making the bed a couple times this week

...for putting up with my goofy decorating ideas

...for always turning off the jazz when I get in the car with you

...for making me laugh so hard I sometimes nearly pee my pants (if I actually did pee my pants, I might not be thanking you though)

...for offering to clean the kitchen floor before the "door guy" comes

...for loving me just the way I am

That's just 20 of the things I have to thank you for this week. Multiply that times 52 weeks a year. Then multiply that times 20 years of marriage. That's a lot to be thankful for.

And I hope on those days when I forget to say "thank you" that you know I mean it anyway. That I'm thankful for every minute I spend with you. That I *know* how incredibly blessed I am to be spending my life with you. And that I hope this 20 years of marriage is just the beginning.

Happy Anniversary, Rich. I love you.

Oh, and that complete and total dork one...thanks again. That one means a lot. :D

a case of the crankys

2010-08-02T14:29:00.002-04:00

I have no good reason for being cranky. Oh, I have reasons--they're just not good ones. ;)

Mostly, I think it has to do with spending the last day and a half largely on the computer. And not doing the things I wanted to do, like reading blogs and returning emails. No, instead I spent the time uploading photos to Snapfish and sending off an order. It's been far too long since I've done it--as in almost exactly a year. This is unforgivable--one would think I'd have learned after our last computer crashed and I lost a year's worth of pictures. But no...laziness set in again. And I've been paying the price here the last two days. (Though this is a much better price than actually losing the pictures, of course!) Anyway, I finally got our order put together (managing to wittle it down to a mere 1,749 prints) and sent off. But now I sort of feel like turning off the computer for the next three days to recover. And I really might do that...so if I owe you an email, I apologize.

It also didn't help that I had to drive this morning. In the city. I hate driving. I hate driving in the city with a passion. But it was for a good reason. Gray started fencing camp today! And he was still excited enough about it that his anxiety was at manageable levels this morning. He was a tad shaky, but didn't ask once to stay home. While eating breakfast, I said, "I wonder how many kids will be there." He answered with, "I wonder how many of them will be bullies." :( But he went. And he was honestly braver about it all than I ever would have guessed.

I'm also really sick of this decluttering/super-cleaning/reorganizing project I set up for myself this summer. Really sick of it. But I refuse to give up, especially since I'm nearly halfway done. And because I so love being in the rooms I have managed to finish. Besides, Chris definitely deserves better for his vacation than to have to stay in a shithole. Though I know he would never complain. (But speaking of your visit Chris--Rich, Annie, Max, and I spent our entire lunch talking about it!!! I swear, I think we're all so excited we might just implode with impatience! The closer it gets, the harder the waiting becomes!!!)

Okay, I suppose that's enough complaining for one day, huh? Especially since every single thing I'm complaining about comes with a side that is infinitely brighter than the down side.

good stuff returns

2010-07-29T10:58:00.000-04:00

*Just 17 days and approximately 6 hours until I see one of the best friends I've ever had!!! :D

*Cleaning out my closet and finding a pair of shorts I forgot I had...and finding that they still fit.

*Finishing up another room (well, except for a couple of crafty-type projects that will take a while) in my big summer decluttering/supercleaning/reorganizing extravaganza.

*Having fun with the boys at the library. (Even though the book I wanted was apparently checked out since I checked the library website two days ago.)

*Being sucked into a book (in this case, Unwind).

*Knowing that when Rich gets home from work today, we've got a three day weekend together (even if we are going to spend the bulk of it working around the house).

*Our garden seems to be thriving and soon we'll be eating loads of tomatoes and cucumbers along with our green peppers and jalapenos and kohlrabi.

*Finding a particular little craft book that I thought I'd lost forever (this cleaning thing has its rewards).

I would so love to hear your good stuff!!! Care to share?

two for the price of one

2010-07-28T14:28:00.002-04:00

Okay, that title doesn't really make sense. It's more of a "killing two birds with one stone" kind of thing, but I really despise that saying. So what the hell am I talking about anyway? Well, I've reached our bedroom in my major decluttering/super-cleaning/reorganizing-the-house mission for this summer. And obviously, these books sitting here by the computer must make their ways to their proper homes. So, I get my blame handed out, and I deal with a miniscule portion of the bedroom all at the same time.

Most of the books that have made their way into our home during the past few weeks are simply for school. The literature course Annie will be taking this coming year has a pretty extensive reading list...and I just decided to fill in all the gaps of the books we didn't already own right now, so I wouldn't have to worry about it later. What I could, I ordered from PaperbackSwap; what I couldn't I ordered used. Obviously, these have no blame attached:

Tales of E.T.A. Hoffmann edited and translated by Leonard J. Kent and Elizabeth C. Knight

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

The Metamorphosis, The Penal Colony, and Other Stories by Franz Kafka

Science Fiction: A Historical Anthology edited by Eric S. Rabkin

The Erasers by Alain Robbe-Grillet

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.

And these are the books that are not for school, a couple of which do come with blame attached:

Ismael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit by Daniel Quinn. (I've been wanting this book ever since Ana told me about it many months ago. Finally, it is mine. POINT FOR ANA.)

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. (Had this on my wish list, and Rich just surprised me with it out of the blue. Sweet guy.)

Stories edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio. (Yeah, like I need to explain this acquisition.)

The Year of Ice by Brian Malloy. (I honestly can't even remember what this is about, but I do remember how excited I was to add it to my PaperbackSwap wish list after Staci's review. And my turn finally came up. POINT TO STACI.)

YAY! A blame post done and a computer table cleared off.

if you had three wishes, what would they be?

2010-07-27T11:31:00.000-04:00

Now, I know your first inclination is going to be to list all kinds of ways for making the world a better place, bringing happiness to others, spreading justice and equality, etc. I know this because my friends are incredibly loving, giving people. But that's not what I'm talking about here. I want to hear your "selfish" wishes!

This line of thought started as I was on my hands and knees scrubbing the bathroom floor. Yet again. And I thought, "Oh Max, I so wish you'd work on your aim!" And as I continued scrubbing, I thought, "Yeah, and what I wouldn't give for beautiful new floors throughout this house." Greedy, I know. Then, as I was turning around, I smacked my head into the side of the door and thought, "And while I'm wishing here, could I just be a little less clumsy?!!" So yeah, there you have it--my three selfish wishes.

What are yours?

yeah, so I totally suck at this blogging thing...

2010-07-25T09:24:00.000-04:00

You know, I keep telling myself that someday I'll get my act together. Someday I'll get this blogging thing down. Someday I'll figure out how to post regularly. Someday I'll come up with a system of getting all the blogs I *want* to read read. Just wish someday would freakin' arrive already.

In the meantime, would you do me a favor? Tell me about something that made you smile this weekend. (Yes, I'm greedy--because I know all your smiles will certainly give me smiles of my own.)

a simple Sunday

2010-07-19T10:48:00.008-04:00

...of laundry on the line, and a trip to the farmer's market, and working around the house.

(A humid, breeze-less day means long drying times.)

(Forgot to take pictures at the market, but here's some of what came home with us.)

(We're replacing the shutters because they're faded and cracked and just downright ugly. After Rich took them down, a major scrubbing was in order.)

(It's nice to have such cute little helpers.)

...of baking dog biscuits, and baking bread, and baking raspberry crumb cake.

(And while Rich had his cute little helper outside, I had my cute little helper with me in the kitchen. In fact, the whole reason we're even baking dog treats is because my little helper wanted to.)

(Italian Herb Bread. By far the best recipe I've made in the bread machine so far...even if the picture is lousy.)

(Again, the picture does not do this justice. This is what became of those purple raspberries from the farmer's market. Mmmmmm.)

...of lesson plans for fall, and crocheting, and a bit of fun reading.

(Okay, not a lot of progress was made on this front. I just can't seem to get motivated. But every little bit is something...or at least, that's what I keep telling myself.)

(The start of a new bathroom rug.)

(And I even finished a book. I may just meet my summer goal this year.)

apologies...

2010-07-15T07:56:00.000-04:00

to everyone I owe emails, etc. I swear I have not been ignoring you voluntarily...it's just that I spent the better part of a week sick and out of commission. (And you know how it is when you're really sick--the better part of a week feels like the better part of a month. And thus, no one likely even feels I owe them an apology yet--it's just me that feels like I've been ignoring people for ages. As well as ignoring everything else.) Anyway, I'm definitely on the mend, and hope to catch up with you all in the next few days.

passing the buck yet again

2010-07-08T20:25:00.003-04:00

Well, this is overdue. Of course, just about everything in my life is "overdue" these days. Seems to be the state of normal around here. Anyway, I'm not sure why I even make these posts, except that I have such fun keeping track of when I picked up a particular book...and whose to blame for it. Yes, I'm very easy to amuse. ;) But hey, I've always figured that was a good thing.

So, in no particular order, my recent acquisitions:

Whiteout: Volume 1 by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber. Murder mystery type graphic novel set in Antarctica. I read about this somewhere, but can't for the life of me remember where (so someone may be getting let off the hook on this one). Anyway, our local B&N had all their used books half off the other day...so this is one of several books that made its way home with me.

A Woman Like That: Lesbian and Bisexual Writers Tell Their Coming Out Stories edited by Joan Larkin. Title sounds pretty self-explanatory. Another from the half-price used book sale.

Pure Dead Magic by Debi Gliori. A previously unheard of by me book. Gotta admit, it was the cover that first drew me in. The numerous references to Lemony Snicket in the review blurbs kept my interest. And well, the fact that it sounded like a book the boys and I would love to read together--that cinched it. Well, that and the fact that it only cost $1.50 at the book sale.

Rosalind Franklin & DNA by Anne Sayre. This book has been on my wish list for ages! I can't believe I found it (actually Rich found it) at the book sale for just $2.00. :D

The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Now this is what I call good timing. I'd never heard of this book until just days ago when Pat reviewed it. I knew immediately that I wanted it...and then there it was in the used section on sale. POINT FOR PAT.

Bachelor Girl: The Secret History of Single Women in the Twentieth Century by Betty Israel. This one popped onto my radar thanks to Ana. She talked about it in a coveting post. While I wish she would write coveting posts more often as she always talks about the most amazing books I've never heard of, her coveting leads to coveting of my own. ;) And this was the last of the books bought at the half-price sale. POINT FOR ANA.

The Backyard Homestead edited by Carleen Madigan. Okay, so blame for this falls squarely on Chris. He emailed and told me all about this amazing book. (And Chris, if you don't mind, I'm now going to skip the part of the story about my feeble brain. :P ) Rich actually ordered this one for me because he knew how badly I wanted it. POINT FOR CHRIS.

Urban Farm: Summer 2010. Okay, so I've never dished out blame for a magazine before. But then, no one has ever made me want to buy a magazine like this before. And it cost more than all those half-price used books, so why shouldn't it count, right? (Sorry Chris, but I'm just not taking responsibility for this one. :P) POINT FOR CHRIS.

Brains: A Zombie Memoir by Robin Becker. Total impulse buy. Just sounds ridiculously fun. And Rich thought so, too. So we sort of shared blame for this one. It's about a college professor turned zombie who is on a crusade for peaceful coexistence with humans. Described as dark and humorous. I'm looking forward to it.

The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan. Oh, poor Chris. He didn't even love this book, and here he is taking the blame. ;) What can I say, he still made it sound good to me, so when I saw it at the library, I just had to bring it home with me. POINT TO CHRIS.

Recycle This Book: 100 Top Children's Book Authors Tell You How to Go Green edited by Dan Gutman. Uhhh Chris, you might want to take it easy on me here. If our library decides to cave in during your visit, I'm afraid it will partially be falling right where you're sleeping. :P In other words, stop filling my house with books! This review is at fault...picked it up from the library shortly after reading it. POINT FOR CHRIS.

Get Crafty: Hip Home Ec by Jean Railla. A total impulse grab from the library. Looks like it may be one of those rare craft books that I actually read cover to cover--yep, it looks that fun! (No idea why the picture came out so blurry when I added it.)

Junk Beautiful by Sue Whitney & Ki Nassauer. As soon as I read Carl's post about this book, I went immediately to our library website and ordered this. All the photos he shared, not to mention his review, made me knew immediately that I would love this book. POINT FOR CARL.

Junk Beautiful: Outdoor Edition by Sue Whitney. Fair or not, I'm also blaming this on Carl. If I hadn't gone looking for the first, I never would have run across this one. So I'm saddling him with the blame for both. POINT FOR CARL.

Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden. How is it that I've never heard of this series before? Or have I, and I've just forgotten about it? I really don't think that's likely though--it sounds so up my alley that I can't imagine forgetting about it. But then again, my brain is not what it used to be. Whatever. This is the first book in a series about a group of teens fighting back after their home country, Australia, is invaded by unspecified country. Anyway, this was a total impulse purchase.

Incantation by Alice Hoffman. Saw this in a used book store. While I couldn't, from the back cover description, get a good feel for what it's about, it definitely sounds intriguing. And I absolutely adored the one Alice Hoffman book that I have read (Green Angel). Figured for the price, I just couldn't go wrong.

Cobwebs by Karen Romano Young. Talk about not having a clue what it's about! But the combination of the vague description, the cover, and the price had me picking this one up at the used book store as well.

The Rag and Bone Shop by Robert Cormier. I read his book, After the First Death, a couple months ago and really, really enjoyed it. In looking into his other books, this was the one that most caught my eye. (I know The Chocolate War and I Am the Cheese are much more popular, but they just don't interest me.) I've kept my eye out for this one at the bookstores, but they just don't seem to keep it in stock. So I was extremely excited when I not only found it at the used book store, but found it for practically nothing.

She Looks Just Like You: A Memoir of (Nonbiological Lesbian) Motherhood by Amie Klempnauer Miller. A book that Rich just surprised me with out of nowhere. Isn't he sweet?

Getting Bi: Voices of Bisexuals Around the World edited by Robyn Ochs & Sarah E. Rowley. Another one Rich just surprised me with out of the blue. Though this one had been on my wish list.

Love & Lies: Marisol's Story by Ellen Wittlinger. Been on my PaperbackSwap wish list for a while, and it finally became available.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. It was actually something in one of The History of US series by Joy Hakim that made me want to pick this one up. And lucky for me, it was immediately available at PBS.

Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala. Been getting a lot of requests for books from PBS lately. While this is a very good thing--I love getting books out of here--it's also a dangerous thing. Because when I log into PBS to print the mailing labels, they display all those books there that can be mine just for the asking. ;) Yep, that's what happened with this one (and the next one). I've never heard of this book before, but it seems like a book I should have heard of. Anyway, it's a novel about a child soldier in an unspecified African nation. And I needed it because having two (non-fiction) books on the subject, that I can't seem to make myself read because I know they're just going to be so heartbreaking, just isn't enough. ;)

Resource Wars: The New Landscape of Global Conflict by Michael T. Klare. Sounds fascinating. But of course, it is bound to be somewhat speculative, which makes me extra wary. I was happy to see an extensive notes section at the end when it arrived though. Anyway, I eager to read it, though I'm sure it will be unnerving.

An Open Book by Michael Dirda. Hmm...again with the blurry picture. :( Well, Ms. Ana is to blame for this. Not that she reviewed this book in particular. But she has reviewed a couple of his other books. And I ended up adding every single one of his books to my PBS wish list in the hopes of eventually getting my hands on one of them. And it finally paid off. POINT FOR ANA.

Note to self: Stop waiting so long between these posts, you idiot!

bullet point potpouri

2010-07-06T14:24:00.012-04:00

*Behind on everything. Again. Or perpetually. Emails. Blog-reading. Heck, I'm nearly a week late mailing a birthday present.

*Really need to do a blame game post. Need to move this stack of books out of here.

*No way I'm going to make my current household goals by Sunday like I'd hoped. But progress is being made, so it's not all bad news.

*I am such a goshdarn wimp...I hate these 90 degree temps! As Rich proclaimed to the weather gods earlier, "We left the South for a reason, you know."

*Is it horrible that I'm so grateful that the family reunion is over for another year? Not that we didn't have a lot of fun, mixed in with the inevitable annoyances. ;)

*Our garden is finally starting to take off. :D We'll be harvesting the rest of the radishes in the next couple days. And eating lettuce on our sandwiches, too. And I don't think it will be long at all until we're munching on kohlrabi (one of my all-time favorite veggies!). We had an infestation of cabbage moth caterpillars munching on the kohlrabi leaves last week, but Rich picked them all off and moved them to the front yard. And Rich built some little supports for our beans to grow up this morning.

*The guys have been busy in the kitchen as of late...Max with his brownies, Gray with his blueberry smoothies, and Rich with his beer.

*Just a few more weeks of soccer. Not that I'm complaining, honest. I love going to their games...I just wish it didn't take up four nights a week.

*How on earth did I ever live without a bread machine for so long?!! Rich got me one last week, and I'm addicted! I just started a loaf of Italian Herb Bread...it's not even baking yet and it already smells incredible. (Bread machines, however, are not conducive to losing weight.)

*Our flower garden springs to life more and more each day it seems. I'm so in love with it, it even makes up for the rash I got on my arm weeding it this morning.

*When we out running errands yesterday, we hit one of the local thrift stores. Miss Annie made out like a bandit--a whole bunch of shirts/tanks, a few skirts, and her favorite thing of all...these boots! She's never really worn shoes with much of a heel before (these have about 3.5 inch ones), but I think halfway through the day here, she's finally got the hang of them. ;)

babbling...

2010-06-28T12:09:00.000-04:00

So I'm on this mission to put some organization back into this household. (I talk all about it over here. It's a tad frustrating...because I want to do it all RIGHT NOW. Which obviously is not possible. I've made good strides in some areas this past week, but it comes at a price. For one, this blog. Not that that's really a big deal. Just more of a way of explaining why I've disappeared somewhat.

I also moved most of my bookish musing to a different blog. But it's not really reviews or anything. More just a personal journal of what I'm reading and my thoughts on it. I'm going to leave the blame game here for now though...simply because I'm too lazy to move it right now. I do have a pile of acquisitions sitting here, with a few points to dole out. Hopefully tomorrow.

I know...here I am, trying desperately to get more organized, and yet I seem more scatter-brained than ever. Maybe I should just accept that that's who I am, huh?

a daddy's day hike

2010-06-24T12:28:00.000-04:00

almost summer...a camera happy version

2010-06-20T11:36:00.001-04:00

It's been such a beautiful weekend here so far. It's really starting to feel like summer, with just one week left of school now. And the weather has definitely been helping that summer-y feeling along.

Yesterday, much to Maxidoodle's delight, Rich blew up their little pool.

And we also had our first backyard picnic of the season. Grilled veggie burgers, potato salad, watermelon, and oatmeal bars. Mmmmm.

And our veggie garden is springing to life a wee bit. (See, Chris--I told it looked pretty pathetic compared to yours.) We've got radishes, lettuce, green peppers, cucumbers, kohlrabi, jalapenos, tomatoes, garlic, green beans, and onions.

Annie's little garden looks a little better. It got a wee bit of a headstart on the big one. She's harvested three strawberries so far. :) And her cherry tomato plants are looking pretty good.

We finally convinced her to do some weeding. :P

And here's my little herb pot. Just have basil, rosemary, and oregano growing. Decided to include this picture since the Bacon-ater was in it looking so cute. :)

Yesterday was actually a bit too much on the hot and humid side for us here. (Yes, we're extremely spoiled when it comes to summer weather for the most part! I'm sure many would be mighty pleased with the not quite 90 degree temps we had here yesterday.) Anyway, today is much more to our liking, supposed to stay in the 70s. And to celebrate, Rich serenaded the beautiful Father's Day morning. :P

And since I took pics of the food gardens, I thought I'd go ahead and get some pics of the latest flowers to make their appearance in the flower garden as well.

So, what's on slate for the rest of our weekend? A bath for Bacon. A Father's Day hike. And supper out at a place of Rich's choosing.

Hope everyone else is having as lovely a weekend as well!!!!!!

a happy start to the weekend

2010-06-19T09:10:00.000-04:00

Why am I in such a good mood today?!! Not that I'm complaining, I swear. But I a bit baffled. The boys, but especially Gray, had a rough night last night--which left me only getting a bit more than 3 hours sleep. And most of it was on the living room floor. And there is the fact that I'm really worried about a couple of friends. And then there is the fact that I've got one more hell week of school.

But this last one is probably actually a good bit of the reason for my good mood. Knowing there's just ONE MORE WEEK OF SCHOOL!!!! Yes, I've got so much to do that it makes me ill to think about...but it's JUST ONE MORE WEEK!!!! Not only will Annie and I finish up (except for writing her final quarterly report), but Friday is the boys' last day of school, too! Yes, they can drive me crazy sometimes, but oh how I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE having them around for the summer!!!! :D JUST ONE MORE WEEK!!!!

I'm also happy because Rich is so in love with his Father's Day present. We got him an iPhone yesterday. Really stupid thing to do, because we really don't need that monthly charge...but for now I'm just focusing on how very happy it's made him. :D

And Gray...he's having a great weekend. Last evening, he and Rich went to the Jazz Fest, just the two of them. He had a wonderful time! Including eating himself silly--lemonade, a veggie burger, ice cream, and on the way home, they stopped and had a frozen coffee and a donut! And he got a phone call yesterday from his best friend who invited him to go camping. They'll be picking him up in an hour or so and be back sometime tomorrow. It's just so darn nice to see this kiddo having such a special time! :D

And this picture...well, it just makes me smile.

cherry-picking time

2010-06-15T09:16:00.000-04:00

From tree to tummy. (Though I'll spare you pictures of the inevitable cherry pit wars. :D)

why fight it

2010-06-12T09:10:00.001-04:00

I keep telling myself that it's time to reenact that book accumulation ban...but I just can't seem to get serious about it. And you know, I think it's just time to say to hell with it. Don't I have enough to stress about in life? Why yes. Yes, I do. So if I can't get control over this book acquisition addiction, so be it. As long as the vast majority continue to be used books as opposed to new books, I'm just done beating myself up over it. So there.

And with this new attitude, I can now show off my new acquisitions and dole out the blame without even the tiniest tinge of guilt. Really.

From the library:

*On Thin Ice: The Changing World of the Polar Bear by Richard Ellis. I've been wanting this book ever since it came out. When I saw it at the library yesterday, I told myself, "Don't check it out. You don't have time to read it right now anyway. You can always get it later." Hmmm...and yet somehow it came home with me. ;) I've told myself that it can be my reward for finally finishing up the school year at the end of the month. Problem being, I've said that about a few dozen books already. :P

Polar bears are such beautiful, majestic creatures. I just can't bear to think of this world without them. I'm hoping desperately that this book will offer at least a few glimmers of hope. But I fear it won't.

*Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization by Steven Solomon. I had even less business checking this one out than the last one. Seriously, when exactly do I really think I'm going to squeeze in a nice 500 page book in the next several weeks? I blame the library though--they really shouldn't put up these lovely tempting displays of their new arrivals.

Books that became available from my PaperbackSwap wish list:

*Hole in the Sky by Pete Hautman. Post-apocalyptic YA. Need I say more? POINT FOR STACI.

*Far from Xanadu by Julie Anne Peters. It was Julie Anne Peters.

And from our little local used bookstore:

*The Night Stalker: The Life and Crimes of Richard Ramirez by Philip Caro. Okay, so when I was in the bookstore, I was convinced that I was in the mood for a true crime book. But honestly, I was flipping through this book earlier, and I might just be too creeped out to actually read it. We'll see.

*A Walk in the Wood: Rediscovering American on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson. I probably shouldn't admit this, but this is actually the third time this book has made its way into our house. (Well, not this exact copy of the book, of course.) I bought it for Rich long ago, because hiking the Appalachian Trail is how we spent our honeymoon. And then he received it as a gift from a friend of ours. So we gave that copy away. Rich read it and loved it, and I always planned on reading it myself. But then I read Bryson's Notes From a Small Island. And well...it was sort of a love/hate thing. I found him to be hilarious and annoying all at the same time. Annoying ended up winning out, and I decided not to keep A Walk in the Woods. Silly, silly me...as I've now changed my mind...what can I say--it's fun to be fickle.

*The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Blame coming for this one...yep, Ana made this sound sooooo good! I just hope it doesn't take me ten years to get around to reading it. POINT FOR ANA.

*Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong. Do you ever get the feeling that you're the last person on Earth to hear of a certain book? That's the sort of feeling I get with this one. I don't even know why. It just seems like a book I should have heard of before. So--has anyone read it, and is it as good as it sounds?

*Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. Margaret Atwood is one of those authors that just scares the crap out of me. I have this feeling that I'm not smart enough to "get" her books. Where I pick up these ideas, I have no idea...but I do this *a lot*. Anyway, Oryx and Crake has long intrigued me, and after reading Care's review, I decided this was the book I needed to venture into the writings of Atwood. POINT FOR CARE.

*Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie. I've been wanting to read something by Alexie for a long time. And when I came across this one, I knew it would be the perfect place for me to start. It sounds absolutely incredible...alienation, racism, and a serial killer.

*The Good Good Pig by Sy Montgomery. Okay, I'm going to pass off the blame for this one onto Eva. Not because she reviewed this book. In fact, I'd never even heard of this book before. But because she reviewed another book by Sy Montgomery (can't remember the name off the top of my head, but it was about tigers), and she made Montgomery sound like such an awesome writer. So when I saw her name, it made me pull the book off the shelf. And the book sounds utterly delightful. A happy sort of read. POINT FOR EVA.

*Lost Mountain: A Year in the Vanishing Wilderness: Radical Strip-Mining and the Devastation of Appalachia by Erik Reece. This is actually a book I've been wanting to pick up for Environmental Science this year, so it was mighty gratifying to find it at the used book store. It's pretty unlikely that we're going to get to it though, as the school year has only two weeks left it it. But I'd really like to read it anyway, and Annie just might want to read it on her own as well.

crank...random thoughts

2010-06-10T06:23:00.002-04:00

Crank by Ellen Hopkins.

Okay, so I knew going into this book, it wasn't going to be a pretty read. I knew the general story--"good girl" turns "not-so-good girl" thanks to drugs. (Quotes signifying that I know nothing is ever so straightforward.) What I didn't know is how much this book would leave me feeling physically battered. How much I would relate to these issues, to these scenes, to these feelings.

See, I could have been Kristina. No, our stories were not identical. No, our family circumstances were not the same. And no, my fall was not nearly as devastating. But it could have been. And I'm smart enough to know how very lucky I am. And here I'm only talking about the drug use.

But I could relate to other details of Kristina's life, too. For example, her rape. Again, different circumstances. Different outcomes. But also again...I found her voice so believable.

And speaking of believable, Ellen Hopkins wrote this story based in part on the experiences of her own daughter, her own family. This knowledge had a way of breaking my heart even more...I found myself time after time thinking, "Oh no...I hope this part is purely fiction" because I didn't want to think about the reality of this or that happening to a real live human being. And of course, the sad truth is, all these things do happen to real live human beings every damn day.

You know what made it all the scarier? Being a mom.

This book is written in free verse. A thought that scared me a bit before I started reading. But I loved its style. And it certainly made it a very fast read for a book of over 500 pages.

If I have any complaint about the book, it would be the ending. After spending over 500 pages spanning just a few months time, the last few pages cover the rest of an entire year. Yes, I think I understand why Hopkins wrote it this way...and I can't really talk about it without giving things away...but I really would have loved to have heard more about what Kristina did and thought and felt during that time.

There is a sequel to this book. And I believe a third coming out later this year. Will I read them? I haven't yet decided. Not because I didn't think this was a great book. But more because it just hit me so very, very hard.

in the garden...

2010-06-09T09:25:00.001-04:00

(in this case, the flower garden)

It was four or five summers ago that the first milkweed plant showed up in our flower garden. We were very excited about it...after all, milkweed and monarchs go together, right? Each year, the number of milkweed plants has grown and grown. (In fact, this year I've pulled some out because they're crowding out some of our other flowers.) Anyway, I think they're very pretty plants all on their own (at least for most of the summer...though towards the end, they seem to ooze out some ugly sticky stuff from their leaves and they don't look so pretty then). But I do have to admit part of our attraction is their ability to attract the monarchs. Each year, we've seen monarchs lay eggs, and and a couple times seen teeny tiny caterpillars. But apparently we've got plenty of predators in the garden, too...because we've never had a caterpillar grow to any size before. Until now, that is.

Isn't it beautiful?!! We keep watching it grow and grow and grow...and I think I'm finally hopeful that maybe this one will actually make it...

in the kitchen today...

2010-06-08T21:45:00.002-04:00

*laundry detergent

Not especially appetizing. But green, and oh so economical. :P

*muesli

Mmmm...now this is appetizing. Though the picture doesn't do it justice. Wish I could make the photo "scratch and sniff"...I swear the aroma is getting me high...heavenly.

*muesli bars

Set aside half the muesli for breakfast and snacking, and turned the rest into these. They better be good, 'cause I burnt the hell out of my thumb getting them out of the oven.

*supper

Slop. Not so much to look at, but tasty.

thank you...

2010-06-06T16:57:00.001-04:00

*to Craft Hope. That helpless feeling I think many of us have over the oil spill in the Gulf...well, Craft Hope's latest project is making me feel just a tiny fraction less helpless. And I'll take that over nothing any day. (I'm hoping to get a full set crocheted and a couple sets sewn.)

*to Jan. (She takes care of the greenhouse where Rich works.) She'd grown more tomato plants than she could use so she gave a bunch to Rich. Usually we grow ours from seed, but this late winter/early spring was just so incredibly hectic and stressful that we never had time, and thus we were going to have to buy tomato plants. So yeah, she just saved us a bunch of money.

*to Chris. Actually for so many things. But for now, I will single out the way he's sparked our love and excitement over gardening. Yes, we've gardened for years, but never with this sort of enthusiasm.

*to Rich. For braving the elements with me this morning to hit the farmers market. Our drenching was well worth it--we came home with some gorgeous radishes, some of our favorite local beekeeper's honey, and a couple dozen ethical eggs (YAY--it's been so long since we've bought eggs, and we are sooooo looking forward to them!).

*to Annie. For being our ever eager babysitter. It is just so incredibly awesome to be able to head out, just Rich and me to do whatever.

enchanted night random thoughts and vivid visuals

2010-06-02T09:30:00.004-04:00

I can say without question that I've never read a book quite like this before. Seriously, what a unique little book it is. I'm not even going to try to review it...Chris and Carl have both done so recently, and have done so far better than I ever could. Instead I just want to share a few short little bits gathered from throughout. Steven Millhauser paints quite a visual. So many times I found myself somewhat taken aback by the pictures that would spring to life in my mind. Taken aback because they were so real and clear and vivid. It's not that I found his writing exquisitely beautiful in the way I do Ray Bradbury's (yeah, I know, I know--I *always* use him as my example of writing that takes my breath away). But there was something about Millhauser's words that brought things so vividly to life. I'm not sure if they'll have the same power plucked from their little vignettes, but I'm going to share them anyway.

*So green, the grass, so strangely moonly green, that it looks greener than green: silk-blouse green, eyelid green, the green of transparent childhood marbles rolling in sun and shade.

*Moonlight lies on her cheeks, on her long fingers and half-parted lips. She feels the moonlight penetrating her fiberglass skin, soothing her, lulling her will; she feels a swooning languor combined with a secret excitement, a loosing of the rigorous bonds of her nature.
(The "she" in this passage is a mannequin.)

*Janet runs barefoot across the lawn turned gem-green by the moon, a fairytale green, the green of lost cities at the bottoms of lakes in the depths of dark forests...

*She ripples into moonlight, her nightgown fluttering, her tanned legs shining under the moon--she swings with flung-back face, looking at him upside down, laughing suddenly into the moon-mad sky.

*In the small secret place, tree-walled, a little room among the trees, Laura steps into the patch of brightness and lifts her face to the moon. The moon is so bright she has to close her eyes. She stands with her face turned up, the way she's seen people in Indian summer, leaves yellowing on the trees, stand with their eyes closed and their bright faces turned to the sun. Her sun in the moon, feverish-cool. Ice-flames ride down her arms.

*The music takes her by surprise: it sounds like the kind of music you might hear on a merry-go-round, a sad and jaunty music, a wooden-horse tune shot through with the smell of cotton candy and the distant clatter of rides. In the moonlit dark living room she watches the loony lady begin to turn slowly, her arms outspread, her eyes half close, her mouth smiling as she turns and turns on her bare feet on the dark rug with its pattern of peacocks.

books finished in May 2010

2010-06-01T16:18:00.003-04:00

After reading only seven books in April, I sort of half-heartedly challenged myself to double that number for May. Hmmmm...doesn't look like I made it, does it? ;) But you know what--I actually couldn't care less. Well, I guess that's not entirely true--I still wish I had managed to read more of the bazillions of wonderful books out there. But I'm not at all in a state of mind to complain about it, as I finished some of the most amazing books this month. Seriously. The. Most. Amazing.

*Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness
This is one of those that falls under that The. Most. Amazing. status. Trying to talk about this trilogy is like having my tongue tied in knots that even sailors couldn't manage. It's simply too effing incredible for words. Intense. From beginning to end. But meaningful in ways that most people could never even dream of expressing. Patrick Ness is a true genius. I love him so much for taking me places that I didn't really want to go, for making me think about things I didn't really want to think about, for facing the tough questions. And for not supplying me with all the answers.

*A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
Since I already talked about this one in a post of its own, I won't say much now. But I thoroughly enjoyed this book. More than I even guessed I would. Ursula Le Guin doesn't scare me anymore. No, she won me over not only with her writing, but even more so with her outlook.

*Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
The. Most. Amazing. Yeah, definitely applies here. In different ways than the Chaos Walking trilogy. Yet in ways, they have much in common. These are both books full of emotion and meaning. But Tender Morsels. Damn...I'm sitting here crying just trying to put into words what this book means to me. I can't do it. I just can't. I know how utterly ridiculous it sounds...but I swear Margo Lanagan wrote this book *for me*. Of course, she didn't...she doesn't even know I exist. But maybe for the broader me she did. For all those people who have been raped, abused, hurt in any number of ways, and who then "ran away" when facing it was just too much. Bottom line, this is a book of healing. It is a precious gift of healing. But I've made it all sound so simple, and there is nothing simple about this book. How many times did Ms Lanagan venture into realms that just took my breath away? I couldn't begin to count. For it wasn't just about the healing. There were these scenes that just left me shaken...a scene where Urdda can't fathom the idea of not being about to walk down a street by herself, a scene where Liga is first made to face the harm that overprotectiveness has caused, a scene where Branza gets to see a much loved friend only to face the fact that illusion doesn't hold up to reality. I don't think any book has ever felt this personal to me before.

*Keeping You a Secret by Julie Anne Peters
My first Julie Anne Peters book. And definitely not my last. I can definitely understand why she is so loved an author. I adored this book. It was so utterly readable...I'm guessing that makes no sense, huh? I just don't know quite how to say what I mean...it's just that I was so sucked into the story and so enamored with the characters. It was sweet and tender and harsh and realistic. And it was one of those books that had me so hooked that I got pissy when I had to set it down.

*William Shakespeare's The Tempest retold by Franzeska G. Ewart
My only disappointment of the month. I ordered this without knowing anything about it. I was hoping it was a retelling with a twist sort of book. With a unique perspective. Something that would make for fun reading and good essay assignment for Annie. But it wasn't that. And I fully admit it never claimed to be. It was honestly just a retelling. Told by Ariel, but with nothing new, nothing different to add to the original. Oh well, can't win 'em all, right?

*Water: The Drop of Life by Peter Swanson
A companion book to the PBS series of the same title. I've never seen the series, though I would now very much like to. Divided into twelve chapters, each focusing on a different aspect of water, the book told a multitude of different stories from all around the world.

*The Tempest by William Shakespeare
Rich, Annie, and I read this aloud together. My first time reading it. And I very much enjoyed it, though (don't hurt me Chris) I think I still like both MacBeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream better. It was much different than I expected, though I can't honestly pinpoint what it is I did expect.

*The Stuff of Legend Book 1: The Dark by Mike Raicht and Brian Smith
This was a total impulse buy. I just could not resist the artwork in this book--I had to have it. :) And don't just take my word for it--this quote by Brian K. Vaughan says it perfectly, "This is some of the loveliest artwork I've seen in a comic book in a long, long time, and a darkly beautiful story to boot." It's the story of a little boy living during WWII who is kidnapped by the Boogeyman. His toys come to life as they enter the dark to try to save him. While the art so incredibly gorgeous, and the idea of toys coming to life seems neither original nor dark, let me assure you this truly is not a "cutesy" story. And I'm very sad that I have to wait for the next volume to come out.

Well, I'm not sure if June will bring more in the way of quantity, but I find it impossible to believe that it could ever bring more in the way of quality.

a long weekend--in photos

2010-05-31T19:38:00.010-04:00

Friday evening:

*tennis lessons
(The last for a while. Now that it's done snowing ;) they can just play outside. If they're still interested, we'll probably start them up again in the fall. Pictures are lousy because the court they play on is so far from the bleachers. Okay, my lack of photography skills probably has something to do with it too. Side note: Annie cracks me up--no shedding her style even for a tennis lesson.)

*our little local ice cream joint--first trip of the season

*a trip to B&N
(For the "grown-ups" anyway. Wanted one particular book, but still couldn't find it. So instead I came home with three others. Foiled by Jane Yolen, a graphic novel with fairies and girl who fences--well, I think so anyway. The Stuff of Legend Book 1: The Dark by Mike Raicht and Brian Smith, another graphic novel. [Already read and loved this one, and want the next one to come out *right now*.] Push by Sapphire, and this one comes with a POINT FOR CHRIS.)

Saturday:

*finishing Annie's garden took much of the day (Rich and I fenced it, with a little help from Max. Annie did the bulk of the planting and watering, though she did allow Max to help a bit. She put in three cherry tomato plants and eight strawberry plants.)

*Rich, with a bit of help from Maxidoodle, began digging out a spot for the new family garden

*dinner out at Bill Grays was our reward for a hard day of yard work (The boys refused to have their pictures taken.)

*the first game in the Stanley Cup Finals (We won't talk about who won. But I did finish up a hot pad during the game.)

Sunday:

*Rich made us taco salad for supper...mmmmmm... (Forgot to take many pics for the day, but it was pretty much a work day with Rich working on digging up the new garden while I worked a little on the library and a lot on school stuff.)

*a trip to Borders (Again, just for the "grown-ups." But this time I found the book I've been dying to get my hands on--thanks to Chris. And yes, that would be Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. POINT TO CHRIS. But I also picked up a couple other books that look really good. This Borrowed Earth: Lessons from the 15 Worst Environmental Disasters Around the World by Robert Emmet Hernan. Trickster: Native American Tales A Graphic Collection edited by Matt Dembicki--This looks soooo good--It's a collection of over 20 Native American trickster tales, told by storytellers from various tribes, and each storyteller picked an artist whose style they thought would best match up with their story.)

Monday:

*getting the new garden blocked in and adding lots of lovely composted dirt (Well, that's what Rich did. The boys were in total lounge lizard mode. I spent the day with school stuff. And Annie did homework.)

Overall, while I didn't get everything done that I'd planned, I'm pretty happy with our productivity. And we managed to have a lot of fun, too. :D

Hope everyone else had a lovely weekend, too!

hodge podge

2010-05-28T16:54:00.001-04:00

*Our yard bloomed to life this week:

*Lots to do this holiday weekend:
--buy and plant strawberries and cherry tomatoes for Annie's garden
--finish getting Gray moved to his new "room"
--lesson plans, etc. for next week
--dig up area for our new family garden and get it framed
--catch up on emails
--do some baking for the week ahead
--weed and reshelve one wall of library
--finish The Tempest, Enchanted Night, and Water: The Drop of Life

*Gray has found his newest reading obsession: Percy Jackson. Annie and I have been telling him for ages that he'd love these books, but he didn't seem to believe us. But then his teacher started reading The Lightening Thief to the class. Well, he couldn't wait for her to finish it--he came home and finished the first book in one night. Started the second one before school the next day (first time ever that he's spent his free time in the morning reading!) and continued reading it at Annie's soccer game last night (another first--he usually spends this time running around the park with his cohort in crime). I have a feeling that before this coming weekend is out we'll have to go to the bookstore to get him the fifth one since we don't already own it. And we might as well just pick up The Red Pyramid for him while we're at it. :)

*The list of possibles for our dear friend Chris's visit continues to grow:
--Niagara Falls
--Chimney Bluffs
--bookstores and coffee
--homebrewed beer
--cheesecake
--bookstores and coffee
--Birdsong Trail
--Mendon Ponds
--bookstores and coffee
--Bill Grays
--Salvatores
--bookstores and coffee
--crocheting
--moth-ing
--bookstores
--and lots and lots of hanging out...

whinefest

2010-05-26T20:42:00.002-04:00

Not serious whining, mind you. But whining nonetheless. :P

*I always forget how tiring this time of year is. Busy busy busy. We've got soccer games four nights a week, tennis lessons one night, testing, field days, field trips, etc., etc., etc. Today was pretty much non-stop and I'm exhausted.

*Insomnia.

*I don't like the heat. I know, I know...it doesn't even get that hot here!!! But I'm wimpy, and the temp in our house has been in the mid-80s for the past few days, and I just haven't adjusted yet. I'm almost tempted to go to the grocery store just to be in the air conditioning. Almost.

*Poor Max is absolutely miserable. He suffers from chronic constipation (yeah, TMI...sorry). It's way better than it used to be, but he's been feeling lousy the past couple days. There were a couple times during his soccer game tonight when he doubled over for a moment or two. But the little trooper wouldn't give up. Broke my heart for sure though. And dingbat me forgot the camera yet again. Bad bad mom.

*I made Annie this cute little dress that I thought she'd love, and she says she does. But she hasn't worn it yet so I'm guessing she's just saying she likes it so she won't hurt my feelings. ;) Wish she'd wear it once so I could at least get a picture.

*Rich is out doing a bird and frog call count tonight (some project he's been taking part in for years). Now, I honestly do miss him any time he's gone, but I'm wishing he was here even more than usual because I'd really love a frozen margarita...and no way can I make them anywhere near as good as he can. (Even though he just uses the frozen concentrate. Which tells you how bad I am if I can't even handle that, huh?)

*I really, really want to homeschool the boys. But I'm too afraid to take the plunge. *sigh* It's all just eating away at me these days.

Yeah, yeah...enough complaining for one night...

self-medication

2010-05-25T07:33:00.001-04:00

Not feeling so hot this morning. Nothing major, honest. Just a bit under the weather. I figure a "happy list" might be just be in order.

*The Flyers are playing for the Stanley Cup!!! Un-freakin-believable!!! They only even made the playoffs by the skin of their teeth during the last game of the season...and now they've made it all the way to Stanley Cup finals!!!

*We're set to have another gorgeous day.

*I'm reading Enchanted Night. And I am positively enchanted.

*I've started exercising. Nothing fancy. Just 30 minutes on the Gazelle each morning before everyone gets up. But the really cool thing is that it's become something I look forward to! I pop in a Criminal Minds DVD, and sometimes I find it hard to make myself stop when that half hour is up.

*This is finals week for Rich. He gives a test this morning. And he has a meeting this afternoon. But in between he's coming home and taking Annie and I to lunch!

*And speaking of finals, Annie had her Arabic final last night. She thinks she did well. (And truthfully, with the grades she's gotten so far in the class, she'd really have had to bombed the final to get anything but an "A" for her final grade.)

*I got two more books in the mail (ordered used). From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell. POINT FOR ANA. The Waiting Place by Sean Kelley McKeever. Want to read them both. Right. This. Minute.

*On Sunday, Annie, Rich, and I got Annie's garden cleared of weeds and added heaps of lovely compost to it. So yes, now it looks like a box of fresh, pretty dirt. But we hope to get plants in it sometime this week. Annie's decided on mostly strawberries, a few cherry tomato plants, and an eggplant. We've decided where we want to put our new family garden, and can hopefully get started on it next weekend. (And thank you again, Chris! I haven't been this excited about gardening in a long time.)

didn't i just do this

2010-05-21T15:58:00.001-04:00

*hangs head in shame*

More books. Whatever am I going to do with myself?!!

Bought for others:

*Little Face by Sophie Hannah. Bought for my mom. POINT FOR MELODY.

*Zeus: King of the Gods by George O'Connor. When I saw Becky's review of this graphic novel, I knew I had to get it for Gray. Sure enough, he read it the very night it came. And then he read it again. And then Max read it, too. :D POINT FOR BECKY.

From the library:

*Daring to Look: Dorothea Lange's Photographs and Reports from the Field by Anne Whiston Spirn. I ran across this book when looking for reads for Ana's 1930s Mini-Challenge, and was happy to find that our library system actually had it. I wish I could I could place the blame on Ana for hosting her challenge, but I guess that wouldn't be fair, would it?

*Chasing Molecules: Poisonous Products, Human Health, and the Promise of Green Chemistry by Elizabeth Grossman. Just an impulse grab from the new non-fiction shelf.

From the store (with my Mother's Day gift card):

*Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. Sounds like a mystery thriller type book. Total impulse buy.

*Nonsense on Stilts by Massimo Pigliucci. Just couldn't resist. From the back cover:

Creationists who dismiss Darwin's theory of evolution. Parents who refuse to vaccinate their children. Climate change deniers who dismiss the warming of the planet as a hoax. These are just some of the groups that, despite robust scientific evidence, embrace pseudoscientific beliefs and practices. Why do they believe the bunk? And how does their ignorance threaten us all?

*Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet by Bill McKibben. Another just could not resist.

*The Locavore's Handbook by Leda Meredith. Okay, it's probably not exactly fair to Chris, but he's going to have take the blame for this one even though it's possible he's never even heard of this book. See, I'd longed planned on reading Animal, Vegetable, Mineral...but wasn't in that huge a hurry, as we already know quite a bit about the benefits of eating locally. But then he started talking to me about this book and how wonderful it was, and what can I say--I decided I now needed it immediately! But wouldn't you know, despite the store computer saying it was in stock, it was nowhere to be found! I was quite disappointed, and still sort of am, but I picked up this book just to tide me over. So you see why Chris is just going to have suck it up and accept the blame for this one--totally his fault! POINT FOR CHRIS.

In the mail:

*The Tempest by William Shakespeare. Rich, Annie, and I are currently reading this aloud together. And Chris, you get the blame again. It is totally your fault that this is the Shakespeare we chose for this year. POINT FOR CHRIS.

*William Shakespeare's The Tempest retold by Franzeska G. Ewart. Bought this one hoping it would be an interesting retelling, and make for a good essay assignment. Sadly, it's not what I'd hoped, but seems to be pretty much a simple retelling from Ariel's perspective with nothing new to add. Oh well, can't win them all, huh?

bits to smile over this weekend...

2010-05-17T09:13:00.002-04:00

*Annie attended the Rochester Teen Book Festival on Saturday. Eight hours of books and authors and friends and fun left her with a smile plastered on her face! It was positively delightful to listen to her chatter away about it all when she got home. She's been a bit down lately, and it was just such a wonderful thing to see her so excited about something, so chatty and bubbly.

*Gray has a new money-making scheme. He has created a chart to tally every time Rich swears. He's decided that at the end of each week, Rich has to pay him a dime for every cuss word he uttered that week. I said to him, "But Gray, Daddy will end up broke." And he replied with this smug grin, "Yep, I'll never have to work a day in my life."

*I got to hear Chris's voice on the phone! I admit it--I am totally phone phobic, but talking to Chris was a pure delight! He swears to me that I wasn't a bumbling, babbling idiot (but I suspect he's just being kind :P).

*I finished Tender Morsels. Oh my. Seriously, this is just a book that will always reside in my heart. I'm still sort of at a loss as to how to even talk about it...it's beautiful, it's honest, it's heart-pulverizing, it's healing. It's perfection.

*We got the test results from Annie's end of year testing (a homeschooling requirement in NY). I've no idea why I worry about it. I never did before she skipped a grade. And obviously if she wasn't ready for work at a level above where her chronological age would place her in a public school, we never would have skipped her to start with, so why do I worry that she won't test well at that level?!! Add to that the fact, the test results don't really mean squat...unless she scores under the 33rd percentile, and then our homeschooling program would be placed on probation. I guess because I am simply accomplished in the art of needless worry. Anyway, the results arrived...and she had a composite score in the 99th percentile. So, big smiles that another year's testing is over. And the results being well more than we need to continue homeschooling. Now if the school year would just end...

*I had the weirdest dream. Now I assure you that at the time it jarred me into awakedness, I was not finding it at all smile-worthy, but now I can't help but laugh when I think about it. In this dream I'd gone to the library and told them that I wanted to volunteer there. They told me I needed to do two things: get CPR training and let them whack off the fingers of my right hand at the first knuckles. I agreed, and they had me put my hand up on the circulation counter and took a big old cleaver...and whack! This is when I woke up. Guess they wanted to make sure their volunteers were serious, huh? :P

this is a tad embarrassing...

2010-05-14T20:44:00.005-04:00

So...I really, really, really think I need to get back on that book buying ban. I tell you, the amount of books that I've acquired during the last couple weeks...yeah, so not pretty. I'm tempted to play the old "but they were mostly gifts" card, which while true, doesn't excuse the fact that they came from my wish list. Ahh, but this is where shirking responsibility comes in...and I get to pass off some of this blame to those who made these books sound too good to resist. Yep, I've decided to keep up with the "blame game"...after all I'm still reading your blogs, and you're still *making* me buy books. ;)

(Btw, I'm sure it comes as no big surprise that Ana won the round which just ended in April. :D)

And thus we are off to a fresh start:

*Transformations by Anne Sexton. Ana earned a point for this one a while back, because her review inspired me to check this out from the library. Unfortunately, as so often happens with me and library books, we had to part ways before I actually got to read it. But then Chris went and reviewed it, and dammit, but there was no stopping me...I *had* to just go buy it! POINT FOR CHRIS.

*Empress of the World by Sara Ryan. Well, I first heard of this book from a guest post by Lauren Bjorkman on the GLBT Reading Challenge blog. So, hmmmm...do I give her a point? Seems only fair, huh? POINT FOR LAUREN BJORKMAN.

*Between Mom and Jo by Julie Anne Peters. Okay, I sort of feel like I should blame Amanda for this one. Not because of her review, as it was already on my wish list at the time she read it, but because she started the GLBT Reading Challenge to start with. It was back when she started the first year of the challenge. I was searching around for books to put on my list and stumbled upon Julie Anne Peters. Every single one of her books sounded so fabulous that they all ended up on my wish list. Of course, par for the course for me, I'm only now reading my first book by her (Keeping You a Secret)...and it is so good! Anyway, I guess that would sort of be stretching it with the blame, wouldn't it?

*The Wild Wood by Charles de Lint. Another one of those books that I really want to blame someone, but guess I shouldn't. See, in a very real sense, Carl is to blame for this book. Simply because of the Once Upon a Time Challenge. A few short years ago, before stumbling on his challenge (a stumble which literally changed my life!), I'd never even heard of Charles de Lint. But again, I guess assigning him blame for this book would be pushing the limits a bit, huh?

*One Foot Wrong by Sofie Laguna. Totally have to suck up the blame for this one myself. One of those pure impulse buys. It just sounds so good, so creepy, so different. I read the first few pages in the store and was totally sucked in by the uniqueness of the voice.

*Piggy Monk Square by Grace Jolliffe. Now this one is easy...the blame goes straight to Valentina. I likely never would have heard of this book if not for her. The title of this book is intriguing enough, if you ask me. But Valentina's review sent me straight off to PaperbackSwap to request it. POINT FOR VALENTINA.

*DMZ: On the Ground, DMZ: Body of a Journalist, and DMZ: Public Works by Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli. I think I actually mentioned receiving these before, and they don't really come with any blame attached...unless I can blame Brian Wood for making me fall in love with Local and thus want to read everything else he's ever written. :) Besides, it's dystopian...like I could resist.

And now, look at this pile of lovely (mostly used :D) loot Rich gave me for Mother's Day:

*The Ogre Downstairs by Diana Wynne Jones. This one's been on my wish list for a while...but I still remember just how wonderful it sounded in Ana's review. So, should this be my first Diana Wynne Jones read? Or should I borrow Howl's Moving Castle from Annie first? POINT TO ANA.

*The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter. I remember the very first time I ever saw this book. Rich and I were on a getaway weekend, and were wandering around a bookstore (surprise, surprise). I saw this book and was immediately intrigued. I carried it around with me for a long time before deciding I should put it back. Well, wouldn't you know, just days later Carl reviewed it! Talk about kicking oneself! Directly to the wish list it went after that. Of course, I've heard of Angela Carter plenty since then (Annie even had to do an essay about one of the stories from this collection for her children's lit class last fall), but that was my first meeting with her. POINT TO CARL.

*The Prairie Girl's Guide to Life: How to Sew a Sampler Quilt & 49 Other Pioneer Projects for the Modern Girl by Jennifer Worick. Actually saw this one in a book sale catalog (I think, Edward R. Hamilton Booksellers). And well, face it, doesn't everyone want to know how to cook dandelion greens and make rock candy and spin yarn and whittle and pan for gold and...

*From the Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey by Pascal Khoo Thwe. This is the 2002 winner of the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Prize...a prize I never heard of until I read the cover of this book. I am so not hip when it comes to literature. Or anything else for that matter. :P Anyway, I've wanted this book ever since reading Eva's review. So, of course, POINT FOR EVA.

*From the Borderlands edited by Elisabeth E. and Thomas F. Monteleone. Short stories. Which I love! (And never make time to read.) And horror. Which I love! (And never make time to read.) So this book, I will hopefully love. (If I ever make time to read it.)

*Sounds like Crazy by Shana Mahaffey. This is one of those odd books that I am both leery of and yet very intrigued by. Usually I end up avoiding books that I feel that way about, but I'd really like to give this one a try. POINT FOR STACI.

*The Lost Executioner: A Journey to the Heart of the Killing Fields by Nic Dunlop. This is another book that I've previously checked out of the library but never got around to reading. :( You know, as much as I adore the library, and though I will likely never get over my addiction to checking out books, there is something so nice about having a book here in my home knowing there's no deadline.

*The Long March: The True History of Communist China's Founding Myth by Sun Shuyun. Ditto the book immediately above. :)

*Nobel Prize Women in Science: Their Lives, Struggles and Momentous Discoveries by Sharon Bertsch McGrayne. Do I really need to explain? ;)

*The History of Death: Burial Customs and Funeral Rites, From the Ancient World to Modern Times by Michael Kerrigan. Just sounded interesting.

*When I Knew edited by Robert Trachtenberg. This is a collection of short little essays, written by gays and lesbians, some famous, some not. As the title suggests, the essays are mostly about the moments when the authors knew or accepted that they were gay. (Yes, I realize this is a tremendously simplified way of explaining this book.)

*Pixerina Witcherina (curated by Bill Conger). I'm not sure quite how to describe this book...so I'm just going to cheat and use this description from www.artbook.com. Oh okay, I'm also using this description to show you how utterly irresistible this book sounds, and thus you will understand why it *had* to go on my wish list to start with. ;)

In the typology of fairy tales, women are routinely reduced to caricatures of innocence or evil, either impossibly saintly and self-sacrificing or malevolent in ways that only the male sex would project. That said, fairy tales also provide a wealth of inspiration for art, and the work in Pixerina Witcherina transforms these polarities into whimsically abstracted visual yarns (the title is taken from the invented language used by Virginia Woolf to share secrets with her niece, and refers to this polarization of women's roles as either pixies or witches). These women embrace the power of myth while deconstructing it, re-imagining its pungency for our times. Pixerina Witcherina features work by Meghan Boody, Amy Culter, Margi Geerlinks, Claudia Hart, Julie Hefferman, Julia Latane, Tracey Moffatt, Maria Porges, Amy Sillman, Elena Sisto, Karen Arm and Katharina Fritsch.

Now, it may seem unfair to the lovely Ana, as she didn't actually talk about this book (as far as I know anyway)...but I'm still blaming it on her. See, it was reading a review she'd written about a book by Maria Tatar (The Hard Facts of the Grimm's Fairy Tales, I think) that made me run off to look up everything by Maria Tatar. And yes, most of it went to my wish list. So how does this book figure into that? Well, this lovely art book also features three essays on the subject, one of which is by Maria Tatar. See, it all makes sense now...POINT FOR ANA.

*Amphigorey by Edward Gorey. Again, no need for explanations.

*Instructions by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess. Now here's the epitome of "no need for explanations". :D (And of course, this one wasn't used...but if ever paying "full price" was warranted...) OMG...it is soooooo beautiful!!!

*The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin. So this one wasn't a present. But, of course, I had to get it after finishing A Wizard of Earthsea, didn't I? Luckily PaperbackSwap had it available with no wait. (You know, like that matters 'cause I don't have anything else to read. :P)

random thoughts on a wizard of earthsea

2010-05-13T10:34:00.002-04:00

*I feel so very sorry for this book. Or rather, I suppose I feel sorry for myself. For as much as I enjoyed this book, I think I would have enjoyed it even more if I had read it at a different time (i.e., not overlapping and following Monsters of Men). Monsters of Men, or the whole Chaos Walking trilogy really, just so took my breath away, so consumed me, that I think nearly anything in comparison would fall short. I think maybe the biggest part of this had to do with the pacing. Monsters of Men is nearly frenetic, and I think being so keyed-up from that experience, I found myself becoming impatient with the pace of A Wizard of Earthsea. So, yes, sad...because I *know* I wouldn't have felt this impatience at a different time.

*Other than my silly impatience though...I really did enjoy this book. And it surprised me immensely when Ana mentioned to me that many people despise this series. I'm with you, Ana, on that one...I can't for the life of me fathom what would stir up such strong negative feelings towards these books. (Of course, I've only read the first...but if it's any indication of what the series is like as whole...)

*Okay, shall I flaunt my profound ignornance when it comes to fantasy literature? A Wizard of Earthsea is the sort of fantasy that I grew up thinking stereotypical of fantasy. Wizards, dragons, quests. I find it so sad that for so many years I had no idea how enormously broad the fantasy genre is. *sigh* Can we just do away with "genre" altogether? *more sighs* I mean, I understand that categorizing books can have some usefulness in very limited ways. But for me, it does little more than confuse me. I also find it extremely sad that in my day, fantasy literature never made my assigned reading lists for school. Nor did science fiction. Nor did horror. In seventh grade, we did read an Agatha Christie book, but that would pretty much cover it for mysteries. I'm not saying the literature I was assigned was "bad" or "unworthy"...but book blogging has opened my eyes to how very limited it was. Shouldn't the goal of education be to broaden minds, not limit them?

*This was my very encounter with Ursula Le Guin. I know some people have very mixed feelings about her. All I can say is that my first venture into her worlds was a success. And she absolutely earned my respect, not as a writer (though she very much earned my respect in that regard as well), but as a person. With this one simple passage:

Later, when Ged thought back upon that night, he knew that had none touched him when he lay thus spirit-lost, had none called him back in some way, he might have been lost for good. It was only the dumb instinctive wisdom of the beast who licks his hurt companion to comfort him, and yet in that wisdom Ged saw something akin to his own power, something that went as deep as wizardry. From that time forth he believed that the wise man is one who never set himself apart from other living things, whether they have speech or not, and in later years he strove long to learn what can be learned, in silence, from the eyes of animals, the flight of birds, the great slow gestures of trees.

Oh yes, I love her.

*The next book in the series is on its way from PaperbackSwap. :D

today I smile because...

2010-05-11T09:31:00.002-04:00

*It is the birthday of one of the sweetest, most wonderful friends I've ever had. #luvchris

*I have several crafty-type projects going that I'm excited about.

*I finally finished making this damn geometry test last night.

*While my aching back tries to remind me of my age, in so many ways, I feel younger than I have in a long time.

*I am reading so many wonderful books right now.

*Rich never leaves for work without hugging me and kissing me and telling me he loves me.

*The munchkins woke up happy, and the morning routine went uncharacteristically smoothly.

*Only 96 days!

*Max started his soccer season last night (his first time playing on a team), and while he was nervous at first because he didn't know any of the kids on his team, he ended up really enjoying himself.

*I am listening to Annie hum away to herself as she sits taking that damn geometry test.

*It's nearly 9:30, I haven't made the bed...and yet the sky hasn't fallen. :P

pretending i'm twittering

2010-05-10T15:14:00.001-04:00

On Saturday:

*So loving how much Gray is into mythology right now. :D

*Goshdarn weather! Couple days ago--nearly 80 degrees. Tonight and tomorrow--freakin' snow showers! #mothernaturehasasadisticstreak

*Oh lord...sometimes the Maxidoodle does things that are too gross to even talk about. :/ Yes, it's a "He's lucky he's cute" moment.

*Boys requesting pumpkin waffles for supper. #icanlivewiththat

*Title: Zeus's Minion/Artist: Gray Stevens/Medium: Perler Beads http://twitpic.com/1m6ojz

*Me: You sure have a mess there, Gray. Gray: It's part of the creative process, Mom. #whoamitoargue

And Sunday:

*An essay from Gray about why I'm a special mom. #bestmothersdaygiftever

*Funniest line from essay: Whenever I lend her money for lunches or something else she always pays me back.

*I am never going to be ready for school this week if I don't stop goofing off!

And Monday:

*Obviously, I didn't stop goofing off...I'm so not ready for this week.

*Darn near every bk from my Amazon wish list that had a cheap used copy available ended up wrapped in a lovely pile of MD presents. #iamspoiled

*Also got gift card. If B&N doesn't have From Hell, I will sob right there in the store. @Nymeth

*And Ghosts of the Great Highway. I love his voice so much it hurts. In that good way. Obsessing over Lily and Parrots...

*...but Carry Me Ohio is still my favorite. @Nymeth

*Dishes need washed, laundry needs hung, discussion questions need typed, test needs made...yet Tender Morsels keeps calling my name...

totally random and scattered thoughts this mother's day

2010-05-09T07:44:00.001-04:00

*Mother's Day is sort of a weird holiday. Not necessarily "bad" or anything. But like Chris said in his post, wouldn't it be nice if we just celebrated the people who add so much to our lives on a spontaneous basis? You know, my heart and mind do this...I come up with all these wonderful ideas I want to surprise a friend with, or Gray's teacher with, or my mom with...but life gets away from me and so often these wonderful gestures of love and appreciation live only within me. My Mother's Day Resolution: Bring more of these ideas to life, because really, what could be a more important use of my time than letting the people in my life know I love them.

*Chris!!! I love that picture of you and your mom so much!!! (It wasn't there on your post when I read it last night, or I would have mentioned in my email.) Your mom is so beautiful, and you two look so sweet and happy! Oh, I just adore that picture so much that it has been tucked safely away in my "favorite photos I steal from friends" folder on my computer. :P

*It should *not* be snowing on Mother's Day. That's just wrong.

*When people call me a "good mom" I sort of feel like a fraud. I feel like I should tell them, "Well, you didn't see the way I totally broke down in tears of frustration because Annie's been lazy about finishing her school assignments on time lately" or "Well, you didn't see the way I totally lost my cool and yelled at Max the other day" or "If I'm such a good mom, why do so many people seem to blame me for Gray's 'problems'?" I don't know if I'm a "good mom" or not. I'm a mom who loves her kiddos so much it's painful at times; I'm a mom who wants each of her kiddos to grow up to be whoever it is he or she wants to be; I'm a mom who at times probably sacrifices more than I should--and that isn't a good thing; I'm a mom who makes mistakes on a daily basis; I'm a mom who knows how to say "I'm sorry" to her kids when those mistakes involve them; I'm a mom who hugs and cries and listens and laughs and talks and yells and cheers; I'm a mom who says "I love you" all the time--not out of habit but out of overwhelming emotion. Am I good mom? I don't know. It seems like such a big label to live up to, you know. But whether I ever live up to it or not, I know I'll keep striving.

*I get a bit uncomfortable judging other people's parenting. And yet even so, there are times when it just seems undeniable that someone is a bad parent--be it out of pathological selfishness or apathy or mental illness or physical illness or any number of other reasons, some totally out of that person's control and some very much within their control. Anyway, I can't help but wonder how sad Mother's Day must be for some people...those people who didn't get to grow up in a home with a mom who loved and cherished and respected them for who they were.

--Okay, and now I'm going to abruptly run off here. A couple of little boys have awoken, and are giggling away in the next room. And this mom totally wants to go join them.

Happy Mother's Day!

a few of the things I miss when Rich is away

2010-05-08T08:54:00.001-04:00

*His coffee...I swear I can't brew a pot of coffee that is anywhere near as delicious as he does...I don't know if it's the mix of beans, the fineness to which he grinds them, or just some bit of magic, but whatever it is I miss it.

*His help...around the house, with the munchkins' needs, with the myriad of other critters' needs...

*His listening ear...and I don't mean just to my stresses and problems, though there is that...but even more to listen to all those "OMG, did you hear...OMG, did you see...OMG, did you know..."" moments, those things that are just so awesome, or so upsetting, or so plain old interesting that I just have to share them with him immediately.

*His hugs...nothing in the entire world melts me into such a feeling of contentment...there are times I swear *nothing* can help the total fraying of my nerves, but being in his arms always proves me wrong...being there somehow always infuses me with the calm and the strength to move on.

randomness

2010-05-07T20:40:00.001-04:00

*It's just the boys and I for the weekend. (Rich and Annie left for Philly this morning. As I type this, they are enjoying [at least I assume they're enjoying] the Mark Knopfler show at the Tower Theater. Happy surprise--Rich's brother is out of town for the weekend, so they can stay at his mom's house instead of paying for a hotel.) Anyway, it's fun hanging out, just me and the little rascals. We went out for pizza, played way too many rounds of 20 questions, ate homemade chocolate chunk cookies, worked a little bit on tidying up the disaster area we call Gray's bedroom (we've got a loooooong way to go on that project), and we're about to curl up and watch a movie (okay, I'll probably read while they watch the movie, but it will still be nice to be hanging out).

*When Rich bought the tickets for this concert several months ago, he didn't realize it was Mother's Day weekend. And well, he's been feeling guilty about it ever since he did realize a couple weeks ago. And of course, I've taken every opportunity possible to tease him about it. ;) I'm guessing that's why he gave me a present last night just totally out of the blue. Or maybe it's just because he's a total sweetheart. Anyway, he gave me the first three volumes of DMZ by Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli. After I read Local, I just had to look and see what else Wood had written...and when I saw these, I immediately added them to my wish list. I cannot freakin' wait to start reading them!!! (But I am trying to show some restraint and finish some of the many books I have started first.)

*And speaking of books I have started...Margo Lanagan, you are a treasure. You have written a book of such healing and beauty...but it's been no magic pill--the healing and beauty come with a heavy price tag of tears. And I love you for every single tear.

*I hate SpongeBob. I'm sorry, but I just absolutely hate it. There, I said it...and I feel better for having got that off my chest.

*A nice huge frozen margarita sounds absolutely heavenly right now. But I guess I'll settle for a glass of ice water.

*I have the ugliest thumbs on the planet. I swear this is true. They're just so short and stubby. The rest of my fingers are fine, it's just my darn thumbs. Why I felt the need to confess this, I've no idea. (You're now probably thinking that I went for the margaritas after all, huh?)

Okay, the boys are ready to watch their movie...

my new secret weapon in stress-relief

2010-05-06T07:16:00.001-04:00

*Yesterday was a draining one. Though, thanks in large part to Chris and Ana for their support, I feel those particular troubles fading behind me. (I hope.)

*Gray had one of his many insomniatic nights. I ended up sleeping on the living room floor with him.

*After we'd managed to finally fall asleep, Miss Annie comes and wakes me up in the wee hours because there's a spider in her room. Oh my poor little arachnophobic daughter. And my poor little brain which really wishes it hadn't gotten some sleep.

*If anything rivals Annie's arachnophobia, it is surely my odontophobia. And I must have a filling replaced this morning. This always leaves me in a somewhat goofy-ish, giddy-ish state (my way of fighting terror, I suppose). And here is my latest tool in combating my fears and stresses and petty annoyances:

Okay, so others may be shaking their heads, thinking, "Huh?!!" But I can't help it, there is something about this picture of Lucky that I took a couple days ago that absolutely cracks me up *every time* I look at it.

pretending i'm twittering

2010-05-02T09:02:00.001-04:00

On Sunday:

*@Nymeth @chrisa511 Page 276--whoa...so totally didn't see that coming... #MofM

*I so adore listening to Maxidoodle chatter away to himself while in the shower. :D

*Coffee. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

*Will someone please tell me where the hell the weekend went?!!

*So much for determination...only made it to page 380. #MofM

And Monday:

*Mornings didn't used to be so painful.

*It should not take one 5 min. to realize one is trying to put a twin sheet on a queen mattress. #proofineedmorecoffee

*Mmmm...the smell of lilics wafting through the windows.

*Lucky batting toothpaste cap around the room. Max apparently forget to put it back on tube. Mess. #adventureswithcatsandlittleboys

*Gray: Why do they call them piggy-back rides? Who rides pigs? #goodquestions

*@chrisa511 @DesLily I am in looooove with your gardens! One of these days, we need to get ours in the ground, too.

*I have the best friends in the world.

books finished in april 2010

2010-05-01T02:24:00.001-04:00

*After the First Death by Robert Cormier

*Smoke and Ashes: The Story of the Holocaust by Barbara Rogasky

*Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

*Between XX and XY: Intersexuality and the Myth of Two Sexes by Gerald N. Callahan, Ph.D.

*The Stand: Captain Trips (graphic adaptation) by Stephen King and Roberto Aquirre-Sacasa, art by Mike Perkins and Laura Martin

*The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

*Local by Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly

--I know numbers don't matter...nonetheless, I am hoping to double that amount in May. There's just soooooooo many good books awaiting reading! And I've already started many of them. :P

reasons why i love local

2010-04-26T16:24:00.001-04:00

I am so very tempted to just say "everything" and call it a day, but that doesn't make for much of a list, does it? (I'm talking about Local by Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly, btw.)

*I'm really coming to enjoy the whole concept of a series of short stories coming together to tell a larger story. This series of comics does that beautifully. In twelve issues, we get twelve distinct stories (well, in a way, eleven, as two of the issues fit together a bit more tightly).

*The essays! In the original comics, both Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly included an essay at the end of each issue. In the big compilation, the essays are included at the end of the book, but I read the essays for each issue as soon as I finished the particular issue they were written to go with. And really that was the way to go...I think I likely got much more out of them this way. Anyway, the essays were so interesting! They gave such insight into so many things: the process of writing comics, the way Local changed from Wood's original concept as the stories began coming out, the personalities of Wood and Kelly, etc. And they weren't just interesting--they were downright fun!

*The soundtracks. I love when authors let you in on their soundtracks. And both Wood and Kelly included their soundtracks with each essay. Now, to be truthful...I didn't know a lot of the songs or bands (Me = Unhip). And if I'd have read this a year or two ago, I'd have known even fewer (my wonderful friends Ana and Chris are slowly dragging me into the 21st century, so I did know few like Modest Mouse, Sufjan Stevens, and The New Pornographers). And there were even a few I knew all on my own, like Bob Dylan and Talking Heads. Anyway, I just loved the soundtracks, and I loved going and trying to listen to the songs I didn't know just so I could hear what they were listening to as they created each issue.

*The whole city concept. Each issue is set in a different North American city. And they went to great lengths to make them accurate. Both in the big picture cityscapes and in the details inside the stores, restaurants, etc. It's just so awesome the way the great local flavors just come shining through. The only one of the cities I was at familiar with was Toronto. The opening panel of that issue just made me smile enormously because I could see without question the hotel that Rich and I stayed at when we spent a few days there a couple summers ago.

*Megan. She's the thread that ties these cities together. She leads sort of a vagabond existence from the time she leaves home at seventeen (in the first issue). She figures prominently in many of the stories, but only appears in the periphery of some of them. But even in the periphery, the events of these stories affect her. I was shocked to read in one of the essays that a lot people told Brian Wood that they hated Megan. I don't get that at all. I really don't. Yeah, she does some pretty annoying things. Even some hurtful things. But god, she's so real. She's a hurting, authentic, flawed young woman. And one of those stories where she's sort of in the periphery...well, no one could go through that and not come out a little inwardly scarred. I related to Megan so much. Not that I ever led a vagabond existence. But shit happened as I was entering adulthood that really screwed me up. I maybe wasn't always the nicest person over the next few years. And trauma or not, few of us move smoothly through the process of "growing up." (And this really does cover the span of her "growing up," following her from age 17 through about age 30, about a year passing during or between each issue.) So anyway, I really don't get how people hated Megan. I loved her, flaws, immaturity, pain, and all.

*Picking up little bits of previously unknown info. Like the fact that Hope Larson and Brian Lee O'Malley are married. Who knew? (Yeah, probably everyone but me. :P But hey, now I know, too.) They happen to be the letterers for this book, btw.

*And last, but not least...The Art. (And honestly, it's only last because I need to get some other things done...I suspect I could go on with this list for quite some time yet.) Okay, The Art. Black and white. Bold, yet full of detail. Expressive. Truly, I just thought it was gorgeous.

not the post i'd originally started

2010-04-24T09:42:00.001-04:00

I admit it...I'm as depressed lately as I've been in a very long time. The post I started was a list of things I do when I'm sad. And as I sat typing my list, out came "make lists of things that make me smile." And while there's nothing wrong with the list I started with, that entry gave me the incentive to go in this direction instead. Maybe tomorrow I'll confess to the ways I wallow in sadness. :/

But today, here is a list of things that made me smile recently:

*giggling with Annie (She doesn't giggle as much as she used to, so it's even more of a treat when she does.)

*having wonderful friends to whom I can vent

*Seth Aaron won Project Runway (I can't believe the person we *really* wanted to win actually won! That never happens! Goes to show that nice guys can finish first. :D)

*the Mary Oliver poem Ana shared this morning (I just love it when things fill me with such joy that tears find their way to my cheeks.)

*this silly Axis of Awesome video (What can I say, I just can't help it...I smile every single time I watch it.)

*this cake (It may well be the cutest, happiest cake I've ever seen! Wonder if they really ate it...)

i'd so like to read...

2010-04-23T09:13:00.001-04:00

Books I'd love to read for Ana's 1930s mini-challenge.

*Fattypuffs and Thinifers by Andre Maurois

*The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

*Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

*Strong Poison by Dorothy Sayers

*The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

*Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

*Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot

*Scoop by Evelyn Waugh

*Burmese Days by George Orwell

*Swastika Night by Katharine Burdekin

*The Mortal Storm by Phyllis Bottome

*Daring to Look: Dorothea Lange's Photographs and Reports from the Field by Anne Whiston Spira

*Unsolved London Murderes: The 1920s and 1930s by Jonathan Oates

things that make me smile as I look out the front window this afternoon

2010-04-22T18:18:00.001-04:00

*all the sweet little grape hyacinths in the front yard, and the way they keep spreading each spring

*the way the squirrels seem to nibble so frantically

*an old couple walking down the road hand in hand

*noticing that we still have the green lightbulb in the lamp post from Christmas

*cottonball clouds in that happy blue sky