January 2009

Fire Study

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

When I realized there was another book published in Snyder’s series, I was soooo excited. I was also apprehensive because series have a way of letting you down. Fire Study didn’t let me down but it sure did start slowly.

But, that starting slowly thing was also helpful because it’s been so long since I ready Poison/Magic study that I needed to ease in. And then, I didn’t want to put it down… which is why I was up until midnight finishing it. (Also finishing it means I get to start the new Willig which means after that I get to read Gaiman. What a great weekend for books.)

Is Air Study next? Anyone know?

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A family of inventors

1 Comment / Family Funk, Kid Talk /

Last night, after the last phone call, Liz asked me to print the report that she had emailed to me. Unfortunately, she hadn’t emailed a report to me. So, her brother helped her and the report appeared in my inbox.

As I was saving it, I realized that I’m not used to having to print out reports for kids anymore. My “school stuff” folder is no longer on my desktop. Instead, it’s tucked into the “stuff” folder on my desktop.

As I was trying to figure out where to save this thing and missing Michelle (the child who I was forever printing reports for) Liz looked over my shoulder and yelled….

Hey! I invented that “stuff”.

TW and I looked at her blankly and then I realized, my mouse was over the “stuff” folder and I started to laugh.

Liz said…

I did! I invented that idea and made a stuff folder for my desktop.

The kid takes after her mother – the woman who invented fleas when she was a 10 year old.

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Shit Freezes

3 Comments / Family Funk, Pets /

A few nights ago, Jake wanted to go outside so I hooked him to his chain and nudged him out the door. I sat on the hope chest in the bedroom with my book while he “went”. Time passes. I look up from my book, wondering why he hasn’t been scratching at the door or hasn’t nudged it open to come back inside.

He’s sitting on the ground with his left paw on the bottom step, just looking at me through the door.

I patted my leg, indicating he should come up the step and push the door open. He didn’t move.

I called him, which is idiotic since he’s deaf. He’s also almost blind so I doubt he could read my lips. But whatever. He just sat there.

I stood up, yes I was cursing. I opened the door. He stood up but did not make a move to come in. I admit it, I yelled at him to come in. He tensed like he was going to and then he sat back down. On the ground.

WTF? Is he stuck? What could he be stuck on?

I look behind him and sure enough, he’s stuck alright. Not wrapped around a pole or the slide, which is common behavior when it’s not freaking freezing. Instead, his chain is stuck behind…

a frozen piece of dog poop.

I put a foot on the first step and tug at his chain. It doesn’t budge.

I curse again and put a second foot on the very cold, frozen, slippery, disgusting step and yank that freaking chain as hard as I can.

The frozen poop flies off the ground, hits the dog in the ass and the dog bolts into the house.

He stops. He sits. He looks up at me, completely defeated.

Sigh.

I know how he feels.

Shit freezes here.

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The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Fiction, From the Stacks Challenge, Women /

I don’t usually love or even really like books written as letters so I was prepared to grumble my way through The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters, but I didn’t.

Olivia Hunt writes a great letter – it doesn’t matter what kind of letter she’s writing, it’s excellent.

I don’t really want to completely pan everything else about the book because for what it is, it’s darn good. The problem is what what it is – a story about a good sister who has a good marriage who gets sick and dies. While the bad sister works in Hollywood, has bad relationships and lives.

Now I know Elisabeth Robinson worked in Hollywood. And I know she has a sister who died. So I get it. But this isn’t non-fiction and I’m a little tired of the good die, leaving the rest of us better people because of all we’ve learned and by the way, we really miss them and cancer sucks.

Been there, done that.

Except I have to say again… Olivia Hunt writes a great letter and for that, it’s worth reading the same old story again.

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A Family Heirloom

4 Comments / Family Funk, Memories /

Our house is full of boxes – again. We never got completely unpacked and here we are with tons of boxes from TW’s mother and sister. Boxes that were supposed to be here temporarily. Boxes that are labeled “immediately” but contain items I don’t believe they’ve used in three years or will ever use again.

There are many things that are “missing” – really important things like birth certificates, divorce decrees, medication, that special thingy folks put on the toilet to help disabled folks pull themselves up from the seated position, needles (as in the hypodermic type.) Things that really should have been in boxes clearly labeled for easy access as soon as they arrived here.

Alas. “Should have” doesn’t help us find those important things, does it? I’ve resigned myself to the fact that all of the important stuff is in the garage in boxes marked “long term” and I’m just going about my business and not worrying about what we have to buy, order or do without.

Except, the mini-Medtronic insulin pump died. This means TW is having to inject insulin into her mother’s body with real live needles until the new pump arrives. TW has been using her long ass B-12 needles because that’s all we have around here.

Suddenly TW’s mother says “there’s a box labeled cosmetics” (I mumbled to myself THREE boxes labeled cosmetics and TWO are in the garage) “that is filled with stuff from under the bathroom sink and needles might be in there.”

TW was excited by this idea, her long ass B-12 needles weren’t exactly doing the trick plus she’s not going to have long ass B-12 needles when she needs to give herself a B-12 (which is probably any moment now, by the way.) So she heads into the back bedroom and gleefully rips open the box marked “cosmetics” – there are no cosmetics in the box, as far as I can tell.

However….

TW says, “we can look at our crotches with any number of hand mirrors!” and she pulls out four of those suckers (who needs four hand mirrors?) As I’m laughing my ass off… she gets extra excited and she says….

“This is the mirror I used the first time I ever looked at my crotch!”

We’re keeping that one.

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links for 2009-01-26

Daily Dose /

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Blood Roses

2009, Books in Bed, Fiction, short stories, Women, Young Adult /

Ah Francesca Lia Block…. Blood Roses was not your best but it wasn’t bad either.

I pulled it from the shelf at the library just because I miss Michelle Belle and also to remind me that I never sent her the books that I swore I had bought for her for Christmas… and then couldn’t find.

Short stories about a bunch of girls. Typical Block ie fantasy, dark thoughts, deep feelings. TW couldn’t finish it, which is not surprising.

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3 more Cybils

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Cybil Challenge, Favorites, Non-Fiction, Poetry /

Astronaut Handbook was cute, nicely drawn but not my cup of tea, really.

Honeybee was pretty good, better than I expected. I preferred the prose to the poetry but even some of the poetry drew me in. Young poetry and prose readers won’t be turned off by this, though in some places it reads a little older than I expected.

Ain’t Nothing But a Man was excellent. Maybe it’s just because I liked John Henry as a kid and so was already drawn to the story or maybe because it was just really interesting? I don’t know, but this is another one I’d like to own. (The information about how to be a Historian, in the back, was also excellent.) If I was a Cybils judge, I’d be sorely tempted to vote this one as the winner. (I know, I haven’t read the others yet but… still, this is going to be tough to beat.)

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Three Cybils

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Comics & Graphic Novels, Cybil Challenge, Fiction /

First Cybil for the weekend, Big, Bad Bunny. Ho hum. It was cute but I don’t think it’s a book any of my kids would have crawled into my lap to hear over and over again.

Next, Mo Willems strikes again! I love new my toy isn’t nearly good as Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus but… it’s got something that made me smile all the way through it. Even when I read it a second time, over TW’s shoulder. (How come the elephant has a name but the pig is just “piggie”?)

Last one, graphic novel Into the Volcano. Great illustrations. Pretty decent story. I have a feeling Liz won’t like this one as much as the last couple of graphic novels I’ve given her, but we’ll find out this weekend. Updated: Liz liked it but not as much as she liked Chiggers.  It took her all weekend to finish it – not normal graphic novel behavior for her.  She usually refuses to put them down until she’s finished them.

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