-
Monday Meme
It’s been awhile since I’ve done a meme, but in honor of my SIL, from whom I have never received one of these before, I decided to bring the Monday Meme back to life. And FYI, she watches What Not to Wear. I never knew. I pink puffy heart that show, though I haven’t seen it in quite awhile. Here goes: Three names I am called: 1. Julie 2. Jules 3. MYOB (no, I’m not called MYOB, but I’m not telling the world Ted’s pet name for me. Some of you know. The rest of you, MYOB.) Three jobs I have had in my life: 1. Cleaning out stalls at…
-
On the First Day of Christmas…
(image found here) A Facebook friend posted this morning, “Happy First Day of Christmas”, which confused me, because I thought Christmas Day was the first day of Christmas, with Epiphany being the 12th day, and the day that the magi came bringing gifts to the baby Jesus. But what do I know, I’m an atheist. Thanks to the internet, all I had to do was search for ‘1st day of Christmas’, and I found this very informative page, which both agreed with what my Facebook friend said, and what I had said as well. In other words, different traditions and churches celebrate it on different dates. I don’t know about…
-
Friday Randomness, Now on Tuesday!
(photo found at SF Gate, here) Does anyone else still get a newspaper delivered to your house, as opposed to looking for your news online? We are suckers and pay quite a bit to support this dying industry. Sometimes I wonder why, and other times, I’m glad. Today I was glad, as I saw the picture above, which I might have missed if I had been looking online. The story is that the San Francisco Ice Co. donated 10 tons of ice to the San Francisco Zoo, which the zoo had blown into snow for the Polar Bears, who look like they’re LOVING it, don’t they? Doesn’t the bear in…
-
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Mariam had never before worn a burqa. Rasheed had to help her put it on. The padded headpiece felt tight and heavy on her skull, and it was strange seeing the world through a mesh screen. She practiced walking around her room in it and kept stepping on the hem and stumbling. The loss of peripheral vision was unnerving, and she did not like the suffocating way the pleated cloth kept pressing against her mouth.“You’ll get used to it,” Rasheed said. “With time, I bet you’ll even like it.” They took a bus to a place Rasheed called the Shar-e-Nau Park, where children pushed each other on swings and slapped…
-
Half Life
I know, you’ve seen this picture before. I do like it, though, and gosh, we’re so young way back then, huh? I was thinking the other day that this is our 22nd year together. Our first date was December 12, 1987. Then I realized, I’m turning 44 in a few weeks…which means, I’ve been together with Ted for longer than we were apart. More simply put, he and I have been together for over half of my life thus far. How can that be? How can I be that old? Kinda strange. But when I look in the mirror, and see that I’m not that fresh faced, wrinkle free girl…
-
How I Live Now
Daisy is a fifteen year-old anorexic from New York, sent to live in London with her aunt and cousins when her father and her pregnant step-mother decide they can’t deal with her and her disorder anymore. They are much more interested in the unborn child they have not yet met, than the very much alive and in-need-of-help-daughter they already have. Daisy arrives in London, met by her cousin Edmond, who is fourteen, smokes, and drives. She is impressed. Her cousins appear to be somewhat telepathic, though that isn’t the crux of the story. The crux of the story is that soon after she arrives, her aunt has to leave on…
-
Wordless Wednesday ~ Gorgeous Edition!
-
Beef Stroganoff
(photo found here, along with quite a few stroganoff recipes, but not the one I used) When the weather turns cold, it’s easy to start thinking of yummy warm dishes like stews and roasts. The other day I was trying to think of a beef recipe that I hadn’t made before, but might be fun to try. I decided a nice Sunday dinner would be a good Beef Stroganoff. Mmmm. Beef, mushrooms, butter and cream, what’s not to like? I found the recipe here. Looks like it came from an old issue of Gourmet magazine. A lot of the comments said to double the sauce. So I did. This is…
-
Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!
(picture courtesy SFGate.com) We got a dusting of snow on our local mountain ranges last night. We often get one or two dustings a year on Mt. Diablo (shown in the picture – this is actually the hills at the base of Mt. Diablo…the top is covered in clouds right now. Cherry found a webcam, so if you look soon, you might see the whole thing here…Thanks, Cherry!), but rarely as low as this. Some places as low as 350 feet got a bit of snow. Sadly for us, we live lower than that, so we just got rain. Still, it’s nice to drive around and see it in…
-
Feeding the Hungry
Today we did kind of an amazing thing. Maya is taking a class in school called “Teens Around the World”, which I would describe as sort of a Global Studies class, where they learn about how people, mostly children and teens, live in other parts of the world. They are learning a lot of compassion and caring, and are sometimes moved to tears. They are thankful for what they have. They want to share with others who aren’t as fortunate. In this spirit, the class decided they wanted to put together lunches for the homeless, and deliver them to people on the streets of San Francisco. So we parents donated…
-
Genevieve’s Corner
Hi everyone, it’s Genevieve! It’s been a LONG time since I’ve been around here, huh? I’ve missed your smell. (I can’t really smell you, you’re too far away, but that’s something that polite dogs say to each other. And my mommy taught me to be polite.) So guess what? I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but the lights went out! It’s dark! It’s always dark! So I keep bumping into things, which is sometimes OK, and sometimes hurts. Like yesterday, I was really excited because it was time for my shash (J’s note…that’s Gen’s word for food), and I turned fast and bashed my face on the coffee table! Ouch! …
-
The Old Man and the Sea
He was asleep in a short time and he dreamed of Africa when he was a boy and the long golden beaches and the white beaches, so white they hurt your eyes, and the high capes and the great brown mountains…. He no longer dreamed of storms, nor of women, nor of great occurrences, nor of great fish, nor fights, nor contests of strength, nor of his wife. He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach. They played like young cats in the dusk and he loved them as he loved the boy. He never dreamed about the boy. Santiago is an old fisherman living…
-
Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone
It’s Wednesday afternoon, and tomorrow’s Thanksgiving. I got up early and went to the grocery store before it got too crowded and insane. Came home and started some cooking. Sweet Potato Pudding? Check. Homemade Cranberry Sauce? Check. Green beans prepped for my favorite green bean dish (green beans, steamed, then sauteed with butter, then tossed with Gorgonzola cheese and toasted walnuts. Yum.) Check. Pumpkin pie and pecan pie purchased? Check. All that’s left to do tomorrow is make my Grandma’s Fruit Salad, put together the green beans, and enjoy a lovely feast with the family. And, of course, stop to think about what I’m thankful for. That is a long…
-
Slaughterhouse-Five
In Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. tells the semi autobiographical story of Billy Pilgrim, a man who has come unstuck in time. Much of Billy’s time is spent during World War II. As an new soldier, Billy is sent to the front, where he is captured at the Battle of the Bulge by the Germans, and sent to Dresden as a P.O.W. Billy is not prepared for war, had just gotten through his training when his father died. He was furloughed home for the funeral, and is sent to the front so quickly after his return that he is wearing dress shoes in combat. Because he travels through time, he understands…
-
Neverwhere
Richard Mayhew is on his way to dinner with his fiancee’ Jessica, an important dinner where he will be meeting her boss for the first time. When a young girl steps through a door in a wall and collapses in front of them, bleeding, Jessica is all for ignoring her and moving on to impress her boss, but Richard vows to help the girl. She begs to not be taken to the hospital, to be taken somewhere safe from her attackers, so he takes her home with him, infuriating Jessica in the process. In getting help for the girl, Door, Richard finds himself in a labyrinthine version of London below…