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East of Eden
I finished East of Eden last night. Whew, what a story. I can’t believe it took me almost a month (started on the 1st), but I guess that’s what makes it a Chunkster…that it takes awhile to read. What makes it a Classic, though, is not only the fact that it’s over 50 years old, but also that it’s famous, and accepted in literary circles as a great work. In case you haven’t read East of Eden yet, I’m going to highly recommend that you take a month out of your schedule and do so. This is a wonderful book, full of hope and love, pain and death, sex and…
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Wordless Wednesday
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Eat Some Pie
I could have left this until tomorrow, I thought of using this picture for a Wordless Wednesday post, since so far, I don’t have a post brewing in my head…unusual for me, I know. BUT, I would be remiss in my responsibilities, and I cribbed the picture from a bakery website anyway. Alas, I have probably put this off for too long, and my morning readers will not find out in time…but, if anyone is still out there, today is National Pie Day. So stop at the store on the way home, and get a pie. Or, if you’re that way, make a pie. Could be a Shepherd’s Pie for…
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At The Mall
People didn’t really believe in war even while they planned it. The Salinas Valley lived about as it always had. ~ John Steinbeck, East of Eden Ted and I were watching “NOW” the other night, an episode titled “Back to the Front” that followed troops from Fort Stewart, in Georgia, as they prepare to go to Iraq on their second, sometimes third, tour of duty. Although I have a dear friend who was a Captain in the Air Force, she left the military prior to September 11th, and never had to leave her children and husband behind while she went to war. Neither did she have to wait at home…
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Blog For Choice Day
Today is the second annual Blog For Choice Day. I participated last year as well, and I’ve been trying to think of what I could say that would be any different than what I said then. When I clicked the link from Brilliant at Breakfast to go over to the hosting website for Blog For Choice Day, it said the topic is: Why You’re Pro Choice. So…why am I pro choice…I don’t want to be glib here. I want to be thoughtful, and give meaningful answers, so that those who disagree with me may understand my point of view, those who agree with me may understand my point of view,…
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Measuring Success
I’ve been thinking about goals lately. I’m the kind of person who works well with goals, as long as they are easily identifiable and quantifiable, and also fairly attainable. In the morning when I wake up, I start making a mental list, a list of things that I need to get done. Then I compartmentalize them into blocks of time – get up, brush teeth, check email, read a few blogs. Check work email, answer any that are pressing. Shower, get dressed. Wake Maya, dry my hair, make the bed, feed the dog, make Maya’s lunch, make breakfast, get out the door by 7:30, walk dog while taking Maya to…
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Chunkster Challenge
I decided to participate in the Chunkster Challenge, but I don’t know if I mentioned it in my blog more than in passing. Silly me. The time frame is January 1st through June 30th, and the guidelines are pretty free flowing. Bookfool from Bookfoolery and Babble decreed that all participants should read as many or as few (but duh, at least one) ‘chunksters’ during this time period. What, you may ask, is a ‘chunkster’? Well, as it has nothing to do with the size of my waist OR my thighs, I’ll be happy to tell you. It’s a book that is daunting in length, or, if you must be specific,…
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Cafe Esin
Every once in awhile, I feel the need to get back to my Restaurant Reviewing roots…after all, that was my original idea when I started this blog…that I would write about restaurants, because, well, what ELSE would I write about? I don’t have any ideas, so that will do. HA! Anyway, Friday afternoon, Maya had her friend Jackie over for a sleepover. We quickly discovered that there was no food in the house, so we decided we would go out for dinner (our solution all too often, but we really do enjoy it). Ted wanted to go to a restaurant in San Ramon named Cafe Esin. He had been there…
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Happy Birthday, Grandma!
Today is my Grandma’s birthday. I have told you about her before, here. You’ll be happy to know, she’s feeling much better lately, though healing is much more difficult in your 80s than in your 20s or 30s, probably even more difficult to heal a bone than in your 60s. She broke her wrist, and it’s having a hard time mending. But that’s not the point of my post. My Grandma is a wonderful, amazing person. I remember when I was a child, writing her letters, and her writing back, and feeling like I had a pen pal. This helped me to know her when I was living in Alaska,…
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It’s That Time Again…
Local folks, if you’re interested, let us know. :)Â Deliveries March 22nd or soon thereafter. No pressure. 😉
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10 Things I Love That Begin With The Letter “M”….and 10 that I don’t…
Lotus was assigned “B” by Heather, and then Lotus assigned me the letter “M”. So, here we go, Ten Things I Love That Begin With “M”. And, because my brain just works this way, 10 things that I don’t love, that also start with an “M”. Maya – Of course, she’s my baby, and my very favorite “M” of all. Mondays – Duh. Marriage – Of course, it helps that I married Py. If I had a crappy marriage, this wouldn’t make it on my list. But happily, it’s there. Muscrat Love – Duh again. Moms – I’m a mom, and it’s the greatest thing ever. My mom is a…
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My Pretty New Header…
Back when I switched over to WordPress from Blogger, I took a long time picking out my template, wanting one that was pretty, and that fit the mood of my blog, etc. The one I picked was very nice, and the header that came with it has some pictures of nature. I like nature, so OK, I’m in. (I still have that header up for a little while, here.) But then Ted said, you should have a custom header. Well, I had always wanted a custom header, but I have no software, no artistic ability, etc., so I said to myself, whatever. Ted’s buddy, Jefito, he of the music blog,…
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TV Dinner
I’m hooked, not only on East of Eden (maybe 1/3 of the way through now), but also on the newish TLC show, Take Home Chef. Has anyone else seen this show? Here, it’s on from 5:00 – 5:30, and again from 5:30 – 6:00 on weeknights. So yeah, I’m kind of glued to the TV from 5 – 6 each evening. The premise of the show is that a cute blonde Australian chef named Curtis Stone (maybe from the Flintstones?) picks up someone at the grocery store (usually Whole Foods or another upscale store, and 9 times out of 10, the someone is a young woman, and she is always…
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Planned Obsolescence
OK, this is my new pet peeve. The thing that pisses me off. The BUGGER. Stupid Planned Obsolescence. I HATE when a product is introduced, knowing that in a few years, it will be yesterday’s news, and no one will bother anymore, because it won’t work with the new technology. My first experience with this, I think, was when my mom bought a Betamax. We didn’t have any kind of VCR device, and she went to Consumer Reports to find out which was the best on the market (Having learned her lesson from her Pontiac Sunbird, which was the worst year of the whole line, and ended up being a…
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5 Things You May Not Know About Me
One of the blogs I love to read, and I almost passed out once when she commmented on my blog, because, wow, you know, I got a comment from RSM, is Rockstar Mommy. I’m not sure we have a lot in common, other than that we’re both moms, and we’re both blonde (wink wink), and we’re both Capricorns, but I love her writing style (I’m a sucker for proper grammar, and a sense of humor to boot! And she’s only 25! Or 26! She just had a birthday, but I don’t remember the age…she’s young, anyway), and she has very cute kids and very great taste in music. Heck, I…