Remember when I said Rot & Ruin was the best zombie book, EVER? Well it was and the second book in the series is just as damn good. Dust & Decay had a lot to live up to, and it did. It totally did.
I have this very long TBR list but I’m dying to squeeze book three in SOON. Really soon.
I’m having a lot of fun with art and craft books, right now. Even when I don’t absolutely love the books I’m reading and playing with, it’s fun.
Like Craft-a-Day: 365 Simple Handmade Projects. Nice cover. Nice, big book. Total impulse pick up from the library. Turns out it’s not so much 365 projects but a couple dozen projects done with 52 different themes. So, a little stuffed felt animal/item every week. Same method of creation, just a different template. Simple and pretty boring.
Most of the people on GoodReads panned this book, because it’s just the same thing over and over. That was my feeling as well. But… this wouldn’t be a bad book to have on your shelf, for simple templates or to hand to a bored child who wants to DO something.
A better book, in my opinion, is Zentangle untangled. I loved it. I want a Zentangle kit. I want the Zentangle workbook. I need a better pencil and a much better black pen!
Art and Craft or Art vs Craft Read More »
I’ve cursed this dog all damn day. ALL day.
She’s eaten a whole lot of things she should not eat and it’s making me crazy.
I was in the laundry room making a pot of coffee. She followed me in, as she usually does, and then she left. No big deal — except she took one of TW’s brand new water shoes. I didn’t know this until she’d had it for five minutes and I heard her chasing something around the living room. She was chasing the little plastic slidey thing that allows you to tighten the shoe.
Sigh. We got those shoes YESTERDAY.
I was on a phone meeting when I noticed the damn dog had a mouth full of… fur. Grey fur. Or maybe it was grey feathers? I don’t know, I was ON THE PHONE and she wouldn’t come to me so I could take whatever it was away. Because she KNEW she should not have that.
I’m trying to figure out a new thing at work and TW is off picking up the kids at school… I hear some banging noise… Skeeter, who was JUST on the bed with me, is in Prince J’s room eating the last bully stick (and she also shredded some paper while she was there.)
If she’s not laying here on the bed asleep, she’s eating SOMETHING. Eating ALL THE THINGS.
Eating All The Things Read More »
Junk Genius was fun to flip through — unfortunately I don’t have any of that junk on hand and have no plans to go out in search of some of that junk. Heh.
I’m kind of fascinated by the lamp shade coffee/end tables. I might have to try that some day… assuming I can find the proper lamp shade.
Ya. We joined the Dog Park circuit. (And I do mean circuit, since there are four parks we can visit — and we plan to visit them all.) Joining a dog park is not something I ever thought I’d do. Really. But, this is a nice park — not just a fenced in dirt/dead grass lot. That’s why I decided to join Prairie Wolf Dog Park rather than one that’s closer to us.
– The one we’ve visited is a little more than 40 acres. The ones closest to us are 2, 4, or maybe 6 acres. That’s a big, big difference.
– This park has trees and ponds (a really big pond that seems more like a lake to me), hills, flowers, weeds — and yes, it has a lot of mud holes. There are trails to walk. The photos and videos of the ones closest to me have pretty much none of these things.
– The one we joined is open year round and the others are not. I know, much of the year it’s frozen cold and snowy and odds are slim that we’ll take Skeeter to the park very often (ever?) once that happens but it’s nice to have the option.
– The cost for a non-resident to join the nice park (that allows you to visit three other parks) was about twice as much as the park closest to us.
After two visits, I’d say it’s worth it.
Skeeter thinks so, too.
She’s most anxious to visit the Duck Farm park next. Look at that mud.
Then again, Independence Grove looks good, too. Skeeter really likes the woods and this one looks nicely wooded.
LOL Lakewood looks like it’s got plenty of mud, too. Good thing I’ve learned my lesson about the towels, eh?
Hanging Out at the Dog Park Read More »
Total impulse pick up because I like Dorothy Parker and because Michelle really, really likes Dorothy Parker. How could I not pick up a book where the ghost of Dorothy Parker arrives to help a movie critic (and everyone else she meets) get her life in order.
Turns out the book critic helps Mrs. Parker and everyone lived happily ever after, except Dorothy Parker (who was dead) but she was happy with the way it ended too.
Farewell, Dorothy Parker is fun chick lit for those who like Dorothy Parker.
Farewell, Dorothy Parker Read More »
Here’s the problem with me and books in the Cybils Challenge — I reserve them at the library without knowing what they’re about.
The Lions of Little Rock was one of those books.
Little Rock in the 50s, so no, I wasn’t really surprised when Liz showed up at school and I knew immediately that Liz was trying to pass and this was not going to end well for anyone.
It was at that moment that I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to like the book. In those early pages I had to keep reminding myself that this is a middle grade fiction book. This is a middle grade fiction book. And before long, I wasn’t having to remind myself of that. I could just enjoy the story. And, I really did enjoy it.
I do have one question — after Judy flew from Pine Bluff to Little Rock on New Year’s Eve, how did she get back to Pine Bluff? (It’s little things like this that stick with me and bother me.)
The Lions of Little Rock Read More »
It’s moments like that I really wonder about how and why some books are turned into movies while others are not. I’m not talking about the obvious huge selling books, their move(s) to the big screen make sense.
I’m talking about obscure coming of age novels like Goats. (Hard as hell to find this book on Amazon because if you search for Goats, you get a ton of non-fiction about goat tending, sheesh.)
Written in 2002 — first novel by a short story writer — it’s… different.
Not great, not horrible. Just different.
There were moments of genius and moments that caused eyerolling and overall, I liked it. I might even be glad I found this on the list of books turned movies (for my books turned movies challenge.) I can’t wait to watch the movie…
Remember when we went to the Pet Expo, well not only did we buy a bunch of dog treats, I bought a cat nip toy in the shape of a banana for the Fake Cat. It was a banana, I couldn’t resist.
It was in the bag with the other treats that we bought and that bag was in Prince J’s room. A couple of hours after we got home, Elly asked if she could give Skeeter the banana toy. I told her that she could not because it was a CAT treat for the FAKE CAT, duh. She insisted Skeeter wanted it. Needed it. Should have it. I told her NO!
Since then, every time Skeeter has broken into Prince J’s room or one of has has inadvertently let her in there, she’s gone for the banana cat nip treat.
When I retrieved the banana cat nip toy to send it to the Fake Cat, Skeeter got very excited. She was SURE she was finally going to get that treat. She jumped, she spun around in circles, she sat like a good puppy. She begged. She tried to grab it out of my hand. She sniffed it all over and licked it and made one last attempt and grabbed it from the counter while I was looking for the Wild Iris coffee mug. I had to chase her through the house to get it back.
Why does our dog love cat nip? Do all dogs love cat nip? Why does Skeeter go nuts over the banana cat nip toy while the Fake Cat is so much calmer?
Cat Nip Loving Dog Read More »
Yesterday I confessed to hating Little Golden Books. (I know. I know.) Today, I have a bigger confession. This one makes me really nervous.
Until last year, I hated The Monster at the End of This Book.
I know. I KNOW.
Here’s the problem… while I loved (and still love) Sesame Street, I did not love Little Golden Books. I did not own many Little Golden Books. I did not buy many Little Golden Books for my kids.
The Monster at the End of This Book was published in 1971, (I was 8 and my brother was 4), as a Little Golden Book.
Pshaw.
For most of my life I’ve heard adults rave about how awesome The Monster At the End of This Book is. I’ve seen people I otherwise loved and respected put The Monster at the End of This Book on their favorite books of all times list.
I’ve always rolled my eyes at those people.
ALWAYS.
And then, Starbucks was doing that free song or app of the week thing, (They still do it, but this was back when it was still new and I was excited by those little cards every Tuesday), and The Monster At the End of This Book app was the free app. I shrugged and said what the hell. It’s free. I’ll look at it. I’ll delete it.
Except I did not delete it. I held on to it because the app is cute. And.
Gasp.
The book is cute.
When JMP was born I was very excited because I could play with the app with him some day… and we did that when he was here in January. It was a little dissatisfying for both of us, he was a little young — he’d be better at it now. The app is still on my phone. It’s on my iPad, too. We’ll play with it again someday.
And, I really like The Monster At The End of This Book.
I particularly like that I can buy it in formats other than Little Golden…
Airing Another Dirty Little Secret Read More »