Scaifea's 2014 Challenge - Thread #10

Welcome to The Tenth Thread!

This year, since I read a fair amount of children's books, I think I'll open my threads with photos of the work of some of my favorite picture book illustrators.

This time around, Peter Spier. The detail in his illustrations are amazing.





Below you’ll find an explanation of my reading habits, which, I warn you, is a bit crazy. Usually I have about 10-12 books going at once, one each from the following groups (and occasionally other books slipped in there, too):

1. A book from the 100 Banned Books book (at least currently. As soon as I finish this list, I'll replace it with another, and oh, I've got tons of lists).

2. A children's book, for Charlie's library. I'm trying to collect books from various award lists, and I like reading them before reading them to Charlie or deciding to add them to Charlie's shelves. For this category, I’m currently working through three lists:
a. 1001 Children’s Books You Must Read Before You Die
b. The CYOA books
c. The Caldecott Honor books

3. A book from the Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List, in chronological order.

4. A book for the Presidential Challenge. Books for this category are read in chronological (presidentially) order.

5. An audio book, which I listen to as I knit/sew/otherwise craft/drive.

6. A list I'm working through together with my best friend, Rob: The Hugo/Nebula/WFA/Bram Stoker lists (combined, in chronological order)

7. For this category, I cycle through 7 different stacks:
a. A book from my shelves which I haven't yet read
b. Agatha Christie's bibliography (in chronological order)
c. Stephen King's bibliography (in chronological order)
d. Neil Gaiman's bibliography (in some order other than chronological (don't
ask)).
e. Christopher Moore's bibliography (in chronological order)
f. Stephen Fry's bibliography (in chronological order)
g. The NEH Timeless Classics list
h. The National Book Award list (in alpha order by title)
i. The Pulitzer list (in alpha order by author)

8. A bath-time book: I read aloud while Tomm gives Charlie his bath.

9. A book from my Classics shelves.

10. A book on Buddhism or from the Dalai Lama's bibliography.

11. Book-a-year challenge: Last year at some point, along with a few others in this group (*cough* Paul *cough*), I made a year-by-year list to see how far I could go back with consecutive reads. I've decided, again, to follow Paul's lead and try to fill in some of those blanks, and so I'm adding an entry here to my lists.

12. This slot is reserved for books that just grab me and shout that they need to be read Right Now.

And on top of these, there will be a multitude of picture books, which Charlie and I read together. I only list picture books that I or we read for the first time - no repeat reads will be mentioned here (and they are legion).

So, now you've got a glimpse of just how neurotic I am.
Please feel free to post comments, recommendations, or whatever else strikes your fancy. And Happy Reading, everyone!

What I'm reading now:
-Lady Chatterley's Lover (Banned Books list)
-M Is for Magic (Gaiman bibliography)
-Journey to the West (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, a Private Life (Presidential Challenge)
-The Amulet of Samarkand (audio book)
-The Man in the High Castle (Hugo award list)
-Enemy of God (from the TBR shelves)
-Mr. Poppers Penguins (bath-time book)
-The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Augustus (off of my classics shelves)
-Deity Yoga (buddhism list)
-My Man Jeeves (year-by-year book list, 1919 (1919 is the first year, going backwards from 2013, in which I've not read a book, so I'm starting here and working back.)
-The Life and Times of Paddington Bear (from the READ ME NOW pile)
-The Iliad (everyday audio book in the car)

In addition to these, I have some classics-related texts that I'm working through (quite slowly):
-Asinaria by Plautus (reading in Latin)
-Iliad by Homer (reading in Greek)
-Latin Literature by Gian Biagio Conte
-The Cambridge History of Classical Literature Volume 1 Part 1

And here's my list for the Reading Bingo, which seems to be taking us 75ers by storm. Like many others, I'll not make an extra effort to fill it, but rather just see which of the books I read this year happen to fit what categories:

More than 500 pages:
Forgotten Classic:
Book that became a movie: The World of Pooh
Published this year:
Number in the title: 45 & 47 Stella Street
Written by someone under 30:
Book with non-human characters: Odd and the Frost Giants
Funny Book: Diggers
Female Author: Flora & Ulysses
Book with a mystery: One Came Home
One-Word Title: Truckers
Book of short stories:
Set on a different continent: Wings
Non-Fiction: Buddhism for Beginners
First book by a favorite author:
Heard about online:
Best-selling book:
Based on a true story:
Book at the bottom of TBR pile:
Book my friend loves: Stories I Only Tell My Friends
Book that scares me: The American Red Cross First Aid & Safety Handbook
More than 10 years old: The Genie in the Bottle
Second book in a series:
Blue cover:

Books Read (see previous posts for previous reads):
FEBRUARY
85. (#8) 45 & 47 Stella Street (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
86. Under the Willow Tree (Charlie's school library book) - 8/10
87. 1 Is One (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
88. Locomotive (Caldecott Award Winner) - 9/10
89. Marguerite de Angeli's Book of Nursery and Mother Goose Rhymes (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
90. The Storm Book (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
91. The Thanksgiving Book (Caldecott Honor book) - 7/10
92. Journey Cake, Ho! (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
93. A Very Special House (Caldecott Honor book) - 7/10
94. Fly High, Fly Low (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
95. Crow Boy (Caldecott Honor book) - 7/10
96. Snowy Valentine (public library book) - 10/10
97. Owen (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
98. The Happy Day (Caldecott Honor book) - 7/10
99. Song of the Water Boatman (Caldecott Honor book) - 7/10
100. A Is for Amos (public library book) - 8/10
101. Word Bird's Valentine's Day Words (public library book) - 8/10
102. 1,2,3 in the Box (Charlie's school book) - 8/10
103. Best Valentine's Book (public library book) - 7/10
104. (#9) One Came Home (Newbery Honor book) - 9/10
105. (#10) The Bigfoot Mystery (CYOA series) - 8/10
106. Lifetime (public library book) - 8/10
107. The Emperor and the Kite (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
108. The Fox Went out on a Chilly Night (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
109. The Valentine's Express (public library book) - 8/10
110. Happy Valentine's Day, Sweet Babboo! (public library book) - 8/10
111. Little Bear's Valentine (public library book) - 8/10
112. A Pocketful of Cricket (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
113. Anatole and the Cat (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
114. The House That Jack Built (Caldecott Honor book) -8/10
115. (#11) Funny Letters from Famous People (Blind Date with a Book choice) - 7/10
116. I Can See (Charlie's school book) - 8/10
117. Amelia Bedelia's First Valentine (public library book) - 8/10
118. Which Would You Rather Be? (Charlie's school library book) - 7/10
119. Math Fables (public library book) - 8/10
120. Some Monsters Are Different (public library book) - 9/10
121. How to Catch a Star (Charlie book) - 9/10
122. Penguin in Love (Charlie book) - 9/10
123. Extra Yarn (library book) - 10/10
124. Yummers, Too (Charlie's school library book) - 6/10
125. Gilgamesh the King (public library book) - 9/10
126. The Steadfast Tin Soldier (public library book) - 9/10
127. Simon Welcomes Spring (public library book) - 8/10
128. The Quiet Book (public library book) - 9/10
129. (#12) Diggers (series read) - 8/10
130. The Zoo (public library book) - 8/10
131. Volcanoes (public library book) - 8/10
132. The Moon Jumpers (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
133. Umbrella (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
134. Curious George Dance Party (public library book) - 8/10
135. (#13) The World of Pooh (Charlie's bath time book) - 10/10
136. (#14) Flora & Ulysses (this year's Newbery Medal winner) - 8/10
137. If You Give a Cat a Cupcake (Charlie book) - 9/10
138. The Magic School Bus Inside a Beehive (public library book) - 8/10
139. The Loud Book (public library book) - 8/10
140. Lizette's Green Socks (public library book) - 8/10
141. See the Shapes (Charlie's school book) - 8/10
142. (#15) Wings (Bromeliad series) - 9/10
143. Thy Friend, Obadiah (Caldecott Honor book) - 9/10
144. Goggles! (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
145. Moja Means One (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
146. The Angry Moon (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
147. The Man in the Moon (Guardians of Childhood series) - 9/10
148. Elephant's Story (public library book) - 8/10
149. One-Dog Sleigh (public library book) - 8/10
150. Duck at the Door (public library book) - 9/10
151. If I Built a Car (public library book) - 9/10
152. A Perfect Day (public library book) - 9/10
153. Pet Show! (Charlie's school library book) - 8/10
154. The Bears' Vacation (public library book) - 7/10
155. Fly Guy vs. the Flyswatter (public library book) - 8/10
156. (#16) Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King (Guardians of Childhood series) - 9/10
157. Now It's Hot! (Charlie's school book) - 8/10
158. Prehistoric Pinkerton (public library book) - 8/10
159. The Sandman (Guardians of Childhood series) - 10/10
160. It Could Always Be Worse (Caldecott Honor book) - 8/10
161. Shoo, Fly Guy! (public library book) - 8/10
162. One Dark Night (public library book) - 8/10

Charlie, showing off his notebook, in which he makes all sorts of To Do lists (he's clearly my child - ha!):

And the Bonus Question:

If you could go back in time and do one thing over, what would it be and what would you do differently?

Does the fact that the Bonus Question is posted mean that you're ready for visitors?

Maybe I'll be first to your lovely thread!

But I need to think about that question.

Amber, congrats on the new thread. The pictures are gorgeous and Charlie is a charming boy.

I never would like to go back in my life. All experience I had (good ones as well as sad ones) are in my memories. I'm looking ahead what the future will bring.

Ah! I can jump in again! The previous thread got totally ahead of me in like, three days? Just like Paul: blink and you're on to the next thread!

About your question... I've done this game in my head and in therapy so many times, and there are so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so many things I'd do differently, that I wouldn't know where to begin. Choose different parents to begin with? Is that allowed? LOL

Or, ok, choose to move to Paris instead of stay here with the ex-boyfriend I still have nightmares about .*

* eta: (I wouldn't mention it, but the latest one woke me up this morning in fact, after way too little sleep).

#2 Love the half a minion peeking out :)

Terri: Yep, the bonus question is the last of the setup posts. You're #1! As far as the question goes, it *is* a head-scratcher, isn't it?

Barbara: Thanks! Yours is the same answer that I would give. Sure, there are some not-so-great things in the past, but all of my experiences together have brought me to where I am, and that's a mighty wonderful place, indeed.

Ilana: Paris vs. horrible ex? I don't blame you! Sorry that you're having the nightmares - am I remembering correctly that it's medicine-related?

Bekka: I know, right? We're all big minion fans here.

Amber, forgive me for my somewhat sardonic answer if I say it's probably parent-related. I've had nightmares on a regular basis since I was tiny. Serious security issues. Or... I'm just nuts. Take your pick! :-)

There are too categories of things that I would do over if I could: The first category is things that in the big picture are completely insignificant and thus not worth listing here. The second category is things that are too personal to divulge in a public forum. So I'll pass on the bonus question, but chime in with an "Awwwww!" for Charlie and his notebook. :-)

Ilana: No apology necessary, of course; I *am* sad though, that this is the case for you.

Julia: Tsk. You're such a tease. Ha!

Amber, I love the Peter Spier pictures - we loved several of his books. Some with words, but I think the best are the wordless ones.

Handsome Charlie.

Do over? The very thought boggles my poor mind. However, here we are, and it's all too complicated to change anything. Well, maybe try to be more understanding of my family.

Or not.

Helen: Agreed - our favorite is his Noah's Ark.

Gail: It is boggling, no? I thought about having another day with my brother, but that's not really a do-over and it's also just me being selfish and wanting to see him again so badly.

The new cake recipe that Charlie and I tried out today is really good! Here it is, in case anyone is interested (I found it in a Taste of Home magazine):

German Butter Pound Cake
Ingredients:
• 6 eggs, separated
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• 1 ½ cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cardamom
• 6 tablespoons milk

1. Heat oven to 350⁰.
2. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. (I used a bundt pan and baking spray.)
3. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Beat in lemon peel and extracts.
6. In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and cardamom; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition.
7. In another bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form.
8. Fold egg whites into batter.
9. Transfer into prepared pan.
10. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
11. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool.

Amber as usual your "bonus" question sets me thinking. I am thinking that you mean in out own lives so I won't say I'd whizz off back to the Garden of Eden and tell Adam to put that bloody apple down, or into Troy and tell them not to admit that ugly wooden horse.

The twists and turns of life are far too entangled for me to pick out a specific instance but one of them would have been to have bought the minority shares in the company Peter and my father had together so I could have prevented the rupture between them.

Hi Amber, that cake sounds delicious! Love the Charlie topper and what does it say about me that I spent a couple of minutes squinting at the bookshelves behind Charlie!

Your question is interesting but for me, even though I have made some seriously wrong choices in my life I wouldn't change anything as everything leads to what I am today.

Happy new thread, Amber.

About the question...hmm...I am a huge proponent that everything leads to where we are, and I LOVE where I am, so I don't think that I would do anything differently. Hate to muck things up. However, the thing that instantly comes to mind is my wedding - I really think that if I had it to do over again, I would just elope and save myself all that time and effort and the agony of dealing with my mother.

They say you don't regret the things you do, but the things you leave undone... If I could have one "do-over", I would visit my Aunt Jessie in the hospital after her gall bladder surgery. It should have been routine, and I thought I'd wait until she was home and feeling better. I was working full time, while mother-and-wife-ing, about 30 miles away, and it would have taken some juggling. Unexpectedly, she developed complications, and never recovered. So. That.

Ugh, Amber, I feel I've soiled your shiny new thread with my TMI. It was really a question of timing. I probably would have answered something totally facetious on any other day, but I've just been in a strange zone on the personal front all day, and that question does tend to get me into trouble because I harp over that wayyyyy too much. Anyway. Happy! I'm happy! I really am! It's been a great day! I don't regret a thing, or "Non, je ne regrette rien" as Edith Piaf sings. Or rather, I'm thankful for each opportunity given with every new day, a new minute, a new moment. There. That's better, no?

eta: (typo) my autocorrect really doesn't like me typing anything in French!

Paul: I'm not at all shocked that your do-over is one that would benefit others, you old softie, you.

Judy: Ha! I *knew* people here would be squinting at the bookshelves! If you have inquiries as to specific spines, I'd be happy to help. :)

Mamie: Amen, sister! We had a small wedding, but I still was miserable. And it wasn't my mom's fault (she's my BFF) - I just don like being the center of attention like that and think spending money on such a thing is silly.

Linda: Excellent point about things not done the first time around.

Ilana: You're too worried about this! Not TMI at all. In fact, I hope everyone feels free to over-share here - this is an Over-Share Safe Zone. Ha!

Yep. I really hated being the center of attention - we paid for it all ourselves and it was very small, still...I would much rather have gone off and just quietly come back married. I think that would have been so lovely.

>22 Crazymamie: I'm so in favor of people doing the marriage thing small and private if that's what they want. I've been to some lovely weddings, but I've also been to some mighty expensive affairs that didn't impress me, and didn't bode well for the marriage either. It shouldn't be an occasion for "show".

Mamie & Linda: Yes! We made ours as small and inexpensive as we could. We rented a gazebo in a city park in Columbus for $40 (which was, nevertheless, gorgeous - it's in the Park of Roses, which is as beautiful as it sounds in June), I wore the least expensive dress that I could get away with, Tomm and I had one person each stand up with us, and we let them wear whatever they wanted, we invited only immediate family members, and afterward we all went to a buffet-style restaurant for lunch. That was it. But still, I would have preferred the courthouse and just the requisite witnesses.

If my time to get married ever comes, I want to rent a froofy wedding dress with great big crinoline skirts and wear my purple chucks. My groom can wear something equally as nonsensical (I'm thinking tux with tux shorts). Then I want to rent a ginormorus 1950s buick convertible and drive through a chapel in Las Vegas. Then friends and family at the buffet. :-D

Stephanie: and then Niagara Falls, right? Ha! Love it!

>3 scaifea: aaargh, I can not deal with that question as in answering it I would have to admit that I have regrets. I am not willing to admit that today :)

But I do like the wedding talk. Me and my lovely other (well, me really) were once thinking of sending out invtations for a WE ARE (not) GETTING MARRIED party :)
It was to be at a local music venue, fairy lights everywhere, pot luck, party style. But then the earthquake wrecked the venue and we decided to flag it for now.

Megan: Oh, I like that idea *very* much!

>23 laytonwoman3rd:, 24 Perhaps I should have mentioned that our wedding was in my parents' living room, with immediate family only, and a buffet reception in the side yard. Worked pretty well for us, as here we still are, nearly 42 years later.

Linda: Oh, that sounds lovely.
I'm currently quite peeved at my best friend's fiancee, who has decided that she simply *must* get married on a Disney Cruise. Rob (my best friend) had only one request for the wedding - beyond, well, getting married - and that was that I be his best man. I'm so honored and thrilled and excited, but I seriously doubt that we can afford to be there. Lame.

151. If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen (public library book, picture book) - 9/10
A young boy day dreams about the car that *he* would invent, were such things up to him.
This is the *perfect* book for a 5-year-old boy, or, at least for *my* 5-year-old boy. He loved it! And rightly so - it's a fun and imaginative book, and the car that the boy invents is quite true to life, in that I suspect it has features that most young boys would add to their own vehicular inventions. Certainly recommended.

152. A Perfect Day by Carin Berger (public library book, picture book) - 9/10
A group of children spend a day out in a countryside which has been newly decorated with lots of snow.
A beautiful, gentle little book. Gorgeous mixed-media illustrations. Absolutely recommended!

3 -- Everything.

barney67: Everything differently or everything the same?
I've thought about how it might be nice to be quite young again, and then I shudder and come to my senses. Good lordy lou, how awful would suffering through high school again be?! Or - horrible dictu! - junior high!

my best friend's fiancee, who has decided that she simply *must* get married on a Disney Cruise.

Seriously?! Not to sound cheeky, dismissive or anything negative, but just how old is she if this is her idea of a 'dream' wedding?

I can't answer the thread question.... I am a fatalist at heart and approach everything with the conviction that there is no turning back, once the decision has been made. Kind of hard to envision a 'what if' scenario, but I will ponder it some.

Congrats on the new thread!

My regrets and happiness are mostly all tangled up together. I probably wouldn't change anything, though there are a few cases where I would be tempted (a year of grad school in a program that was a bad fit for me, a job working for a woman I'm pretty sure was a sociopath, buying a house right before the bottom fell out of the market...)

And, since the topic has turned to weddings, it's interesting how, as I've gotten older, my ideal one has gotten smaller and less formal. Not that I'll ever have one, but if I did, I think I could achieve my current ideal for less than a thousand bucks.

On the one hand, it would be interesting to re-experience high school knowing as I do now that the popular kids are not going to all become millionaire movie stars. :-)

On the other hand, high school. *shudder*

And what a bummer about your friend's wedding, Amber! Maybe she will come to her senses? Any hope of that?

Oh I have many things I'd like a second chance at but just mention a couple -

Wedding - We had a very small wedding in my family home with our neighbour as photographer - I'd just like to redo a few of the photos as we have the messy kitchen (as you can imagine) in the background instead of a beautiful view out across the deck! Apart from that it was a pretty ok day.

Citizenship - I only found out that I was eligible for Irish citizenship after all my children were born which means we missed the chance for them to take on Irish citizenship as well. Would love to go back and apply earlier.

Lori: Ha! Yeah, she's pretty much my age, I think, but has a Disney obsession - her family makes multiple trips every year to Disney World.

foggi: Yep, we did ours for quite a bit less than $1000, really.

Julia: I know, right?! I did have some pretty great times in the marching band, though.
And, nope. It's booked and everything. Sigh.

Kerry: My brother took our wedding photos as his wedding present to us, which was wonderful, as he's a professional photographer!

Having a hard time keeping up with you, Amber! Your thread is really exploding! Any cake with lemon peel and cardamom has got to be good.

Happy new thread! I wish I hadn't wanted so much time in my youth reading really bad books.

#26 Amber
Only if we can go over in a barrel ;-)

>2 scaifea: What a charming picture! It made me smile. I'm sure Charlie has you smiling frequently.

Phew! All caught up.
Since I missed my chance on the last thread, I have to say:

LOVE THE HAT!!

and
"No more rhyming now, I mean it!"
"Anybody want a peanut?"
Which is heard at least once a day in our house.

And... what would I go back and change now, if I could? I would be less worried about funds (common problem for we eldest of many children) and I would go back and do a study abroad semester. At the time, I probably would have gone to Germany, having already devoted 5 years to the study of German, but if I could pick now, I'd go to France.

The one thing I really, really regret and would go back to change is letting my dad convince me not to take french when I was an adult. While his argument was valid, Spanish is more useful, I really wanted to learn french.

I know it's not too late, but I do wish I had said, "too bad Dad, I'm taking it."

I'm still thinking about that question. On the one hand, I can think of lots of things . . . on the other hand, undoing any of them would likely unravel things that are important to me. Life really is a tapestry -- pull one string, and the whole things starts to come apart.

Here's one that's probably good: I wish I'd appreciated my parents more when I had them around.

Hi Amber, About the question: I would defenitly not stay home after finishing highschool. I never studied because it was decided that I should stay home and take care of housekeeping. I would have liked to be on my own for a period of time and experience what it's like to live by myself.

Hi, Amber! I love the pic of Charlie and his To-Do Notebook! What a great kid! I'm so impressed!

On the subject of keeping (well, getting) organized, I recently started using Evernote (thanks, Morphy!) and am loving it! I've already created notebooks for To Do Lists, Appointments, Contacts, Shopping Lists, the home rental search I'm about to start in earnest the first of March, the bird, books, writing, photography and receipts/payment confirmations, among others. I even have one titled "Where I Put It," to log in where I put certain things that I know I'm going to need one day but will probably forget where I put them.

You asked an interesting question, and one I've thought about off and on over the years. There are a lot of things I've done/neglected to do, especially in my youth, that I wish I had not done or done differently, but, like others have said, I'd be afraid to made a change in case everything from that point on also changed and my daughter might never be born. After that point, though, I would definitely change the way I raised her ~ I'd be more patient with her (and myself), more understanding, less concerned about things that I now realize didn't really matter (like the job(s) I had at the time), plus I'd do more fun stuff with her as she got older, and be a bit more insistent on spending quality time together when she was a teenager. I might also have started saving for retirement at a younger age, and put a lot more into my retirement funds over the years than I did. And, if I could change one more thing, I would not have quit a relatively good job 8 years ago to start with a lawfirm where I worked with a bunch of sociopaths and maybe even a psychopath or two. Those were 7 years of pure hell (but it was right around the time when the economy went into the toilet, so I felt compelled to stay and suffer through it until some jobs opened up).

Other than those three things, I've been pretty happy with my life since becoming a mom.

Hi Amber, nice new thread my dear, have a really great Monday.

It's hard to think of something I would go back and do over because I have so little life experience. The last time I had Dairy Queen I had one of those brownie earthquakes and it was absolutely delicious, so if I could go back and relive that again I most certainly would. :P

Lori: It *is* good - I'm having a slice for my breakfast along with my tea and it's very tasty.
In fact, the cardamom in the ingredients list was the clincher for me - love the stuff.

Marianne: What kind of really bad books? Nosey Nellie wants to know...

Stephanie: Is there any other way?

Joanne: He makes me laugh every single day.

Jenn: I'm so glad you like the hat! I'm pretty happy with them - I love finding new uses for old things.
And that is one of my absolute favorite lines, too! I randomly spout that one frequently, too. Charlie looks at me funny and giggles, but one of these days, he's going to realize just how cool I am for quoting the Princess Bride... Ha!
As far as the study abroad re-do wish - careful, Julia may rope you into doing a testimonial for her... :)

Stephanie: I took French and don't regret it at all. Then again, French was the most practical language of the bunch that I've studies, so...(all the others, besides German, are dead - I mean, Hittite? Really?! Ha!)

Terri: I feel that way about my brother; I wish I had been able to spend more time with him and I *really* wish Charlie could to grow up with him around, because he loved Charlie so much - always wanted kids of his own and couldn't have them. As it is, Steve died when Charlie was not yet 2, so he doesn't remember him, and that breaks my heart. I talk about him a lot, because that's the only way I know my mom's parents and I do feel that I know them pretty well. But still, it just breaks my heart.

Connie: I was such a homebody that I was very nervous about moving away from home for grad school (I went to college only 45 minutes away from home and visited every weekend), but once I settled in I very much enjoyed my living-alone years.

Mary: Thanks! Tomm gave Charlie one of his old clipboards and a legal notepad this weekend and you would have thought that he'd bought the biggest toy in the toyshop by the way Charlie reacted! Ha! Now he carries around both the clipboard/legal pad and his little notebook like he's got the entire world on some sort of schedule. Yep, no question he's my boy. *snork!*
And you've hit the proverbial nail - I wouldn't want to change anything that might jeopardize Charlie's coming into my life, or Tomm's either. I've managed to stumbled into a crazy sort of charmed life here, so I'll keep all of the not-so-great things that have happened in the past (and honestly, there's not much that I can complain about anyway) that have led me here.

John: Thank you - good to see you!

Stephen: *snork!* Yes! Those are amazing! I've been craving a Choco-Cherry Love Blizzard lately. Or a Midnight Truffle one...

On today's agenda:
I started getting a sore throat yesterday morning, and it just kept getting worse all day. And this morning it's even worse and it's brought along its friend, Sinus Headache. So, yay. On top of this, Charlie woke up at 1am from a nightmare, so it took a little while to reassure him and get him back to sleep, and then *I* couldn't get back to sleep - just the wrong time in my sleep cycle to wake up, I think. Sheesh. Anyways. I'll take Charlie to school and then come home, take a long, hot shower, have another cuppa lemon tea with honey (working on the first one now) and try to relax a bit. No treadmilling today. I may try to sew a bit; we'll see. I have a couple of errands before picking Charlie up, so I may leave for those a bit early and treat myself to a leisurely browse round the thrift shop...
After school, Charlie and I will head to the library for Story Time, which started last week but we missed the first one for not wanting to get out in the ice and snow.
No idea what to fix for dinner. Birds in a Nest, maybe? Something simple is needed, clearly.

I wanted something light and easy for reading in bed last night, so I crawled in with Nicholas St. North and I'm just loving it so far. Apparently William Joyce helped with character development with the Toy Story movies and A Bug's Life? Anyway, I like the cut of his jib so far.

Today's Calendar Book: Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin, about a 69-year-old mother who gets separated from her daughter and husband in the subway, and it takes her family trying to find her to realize how little they know her.
Sounds pretty interesting to me - anyone read this one?

Oh, no! Sinus headache! Feel better soon, Amber.

#2 - Another little list-maker! I love it. Adorable.

Kerri: Thanks - I'll get off my duff and take some sort of medication, soon and hopefully that will help.
And, yep, he's makin' momma proud. Ha!

Oh dear, poor girl!

Barbara: Thanks! I feel bad for complaining, because it's really not too bad, but I'm just worried that it will turn into something worse, especially with Tomm gone this week.

Amber, I keep my fingers crossed that it will turn to the bright side :-D

Barbara: Yes! Thanks!

I hope you feel better soon!

Hope you feel better, Amber! I always feel sort of helpless in the face of a sore throat, even though I know there are things that will help make it feel better. Just something about that particular malady. May yours resolve itself quickly.

Bonus question: I am very much of the mindset that everything that has gone before led up to who I am now, so (as others have said, too) I'd be super wary of changing anything for the fear that it might unravel something else I've got now that I love dearly. That being said, there are a few moments in my life that I wonder about--how would things have gone if that moment had played out differently? The only one I come close to actually wishing had been different was my quitting the swim team after sixth grade (after four years on). I was only decent, so it's not like I gave up on some amazing talent or anything. But I was probably good enough to carry on through high school and maaaaybe college. That undoubtedly would have changed my life dramatically (especially in college--different friends? that's a very scary thought as one of my best friends and my husband were both college friends), but I suspect that keeping up with it might have helped me have a better attitude toward exercise and food now--something I desperately wish for.

Thanks, Terri!

Laura: Yep, it all comes down to how much one little thing might change others in a big way. We didn't have a swim team in high school, which is probably for the best, since we didn't have a pool! I'm happy that we didn't, though, as it may have meant that gym class would have required a swim test, and since I can't and am in fact pretty scared of the water, well, yeah.

Good morning, Amber! I'm sorry you've got a sinus thing going — those are awful. I'm glad you can take it easier today and hopefully knock it out before it gets a good hold.

And Jenn, it's never too late to study abroad! I can hook you up with any one of a number of great programs in France. Do you prefer city or small town? :-D

Julia: Ha! I *knew* you be all over the study abroad bit!

>60 scaifea: Wow, I thought I was the only one who lucked out like that at a high school without a swimming pool! I had a near-drowning experience when I was 8 that has made me terrified of the water (well, really just of having my face under it; I don't mind wading). If we'd had a pool in high school, I think I'd still be there trying to pass my PE requirement.

Sorry to hear that you are feeling under the weather, Amber. Hoping that you feel better soon.

Ursula: Yep, I'm the same way - don't mind wading, but once the water gets up to my check, I start getting scared.

Mamie: Thanks - I'm already feeling a bit better, as the ibuprofen has kicked in and both dulled the throat and taken away the headache. Whew! Still hoping it doesn't progress into anything more.

I graduated in a class of 42 students, from a high school with less than 200 students, in a school district where the entire K-12 was located in one single-story building. We did not have a pool. I did not even know that there were high schools with pools until I went to college and talked to some folks from the "big city". I'm not sure I believed them.

Julia: I went through a very small town school system, too, and I remember when I was a sophomore we went to Chicago for a drumline competition and spent the night on the floor of a gym in a city high school (and, yes, it was horribly uncomfortable sleeping on a basketball court, thanks for asking). The school was ginormous, and the gym was, in fact, 5 basketball courts all in one row, with huge curtains dividing them, and on one end was a full gymnastics training-type space. We were all star-struck by this and waited until the chaperones all went to sleep, then snuck (sneaked? sorry - my Latin is better than my English, I swear!) into the gymnastics area and had a *blast* playing on all of that stuff. Ha!

It must have seemed like another planet, Amber!

It sure did!

Funny you should ask that about do-overs, since just yesterday we were talking about regrets at youth group so it's been on my mind.

Like Laura, I tend not to have many big ones because a lot of things have gone into who I am now and I wouldn't want to change it - so while UMass was not the best college fit for me, I know I wouldn't know that now if I'd never gone, and I may not have gone on to the grad school I did... and that would completely change my life in ways I can't even imagine. But I do have a small one. There were kids in high school that I was terrified of, and looking on back on how I acted now, I now believe that how I acted and what I said to them made me sound stuck up and cruel, which I didn't mean to be at all. I wish I could take back some of those things and have been kinder.

Hi Amber, feeling any better? I hope so!

Sorry to hear you're feeling under the weather, Amber. I hope it passes quickly.

As for do overs, I don't think I'd want any. But if I can still time travel, I'd like to go back and re-experience some of the fantastic things instead. :)

#65 Yep, I'm the same way - don't mind wading, but once the water gets up to my check, I start getting scared.

You are quite brave to start getting scared once the water reaches your chest; I quite start panicking once the water rises above my waist level!

If I wasn't much afraid of drowning before, the drowning of two of my closest friends in college would have changed that.

Mary: I suspect that most of us have small high school regrets like that. It's so difficult to get through those years, and most handle things in ways we wouldn't later on.

Connie: I am! A little. Throat's still sore, but not as much, but here's hoping it was just a quick thing and is on its way out.

Micky: Oh, yes please, especially if the time travel machine comes with a David Tennant...

Piyush: Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear about your friends. That must have been so difficult, just at the age when we begin to realize that we're not really immortal, too.

Here ya go, Amber. With smarty specs. *swoons*

Micky: Oho, my. Is synchronized swooning an Olympic event?

Well, so I did in fact treat myself to a stroll through the thrift shop before getting Charlie from school. Here's what came home with me:

Heart of Darkness was my first clue that I knew more about literature and themes than I thought. And although I got teased a lot in high school for saying "I read the book" any time a movie based on that book hit town, Heart of Darkness was also my first clue about movies and literature.

I'm not sure I'm explaining myself well. I'd seen "Apocalypse Now" before reading Heart of Darkness, and while it startled me to be right that the movie was based on the book. It was also very satisfying to figure that out.

Stephanie: That's a great story - and it's a magical moment, when that happens, no? Mine came in college (late-bloomer! ha!) in a lit course, in which I realized that I didn't agree with a commentary on Milton...

In all honesty, I really disliked Heart of Darkness when I read it, but this is a Norton Critical Edition, and I collect those, so the obsession to collect overrode the revulsion of the title. Ha!

Hi Amber! I love that you are teaching Charlie to cook!

Hi, Rhinda - thanks! It's so much fun to cook with him, as he's so enthusiastic about it.

Oh I wish I could teach you how to swim, Amber et. al. I worked as a lifeguard and swimming instructor all through high school, and especially loved working with people who had had a scare around water.

I did a lot of dopey things when I was younger, including some I really had to work hard to get out of, but I wouldn't undo any of them because they were huge life lessons for me. Like Linda, there is one thing around the death of a family member which I would have handled better, given a chance.

I missed the whole last thread & since I've been sick I'm going to be a brat and say I'm going to answer that question instead of the do over question. :)

Sue me.

I loved ALL The Princess Bride quotes & manybofvthose were favorites of mine. That's one of the best quote worthy movies ever! Can you believe Lisa has never seen it? I didn't know that before the wedding!! Lol. I should have checked!

So, for a favorite non PB quote, I choose: "Age doesn't matter. Unless you're a cheese." -- Billie Burke. :)

>61 rosalita: - Julia, I'd run off to France in a heartbeat, were it not for the husband, 15, 9 and 7 yr olds. Maybe we'll look into it when we've sent them all off into the world. Meanwhile, I will content myself with Babbel. :)

Heart of Darkness is another pretty intense book I read in HS. I am unearthing a pretty amazing list of books I read in HS that I had forgotten about. Anyway, in spite of its intensity, one of my favorite reads ever. Until LT, I didn't know anyone else who liked it.

I debated whether to respond to your "bonus" question or not. In general, I am very happy with my life, but I have to say, I regret, having been an adolescent during the Summer of Love, being a good Catholic girl and hooking up with one guy and getting married right out of college (one that didn't work). Honestly, I wish I'd slept around a bit and lived on the wild side in those pre-AIDS days, and not played it so safe.

tiffin: I wish you could teach me to swim, too! You'd have your work cut out for you, as I've tried taking lessons 3 separate times at 3 different stages in my life, and all three teachers gave me up for hopeless. *sigh*

Tina: Ha! No bratiness at all! I'm just happy to see you up and around the threads!
Poor Lisa - Princess Brideless! Let's remedy that - I'll be right over with the popcorn...
Love the quote, too.

Jenn: Part of the awesomesauceness of LT - and the 75ers in particular - is discovering others who love what you love, and others whom you love despite them not loving what you love. I, for one, love it here. :)

Roni: I *love* your answer! The biggest regrets are the people things we didn't do, no? Ha! Although never Catholic, I was a goodie-goodie, for the most part, and for the most part I don't regret that, although there was *one* guy whom I turned down and about whom I think on occasion...oof, he was easy to look at...

On today's agenda:

More throat soreness, apparently, and worse this morning than yesterday. Dang. Strep, I wonder? I sure as heck hope not. And I *really* hope Charlie doesn't catch it from me. The trouble is, Tomm's out of town until Thursday, and I don't want to drag Charlie into the dr.'s office with me - I don't like taking him to the clinic unless he needs to be there (no sense in exposing him to unhealthy people unless absolutely necessary). So. Yeah. *sigh* Lots of lemon tea with honey today for me, and ibuprofen. But at least no headache this morning - yay! And otherwise (beyond the usual bronchial stuff that always accompanies this sort of thing for me) I feel fine, if a little tired.
Charlie has asked if we could go down to Dubuque to the mall, which has a small indoor playground and a pretzel stand, and since it's once again too cold to go out to play and he doesn't have school on Thursday, I thought it might be a nice distraction. So I think we'll do that today. Otherwise, a smidge of cleaning and some laundry. Maybe some sewing this afternoon. I puttered some in the sewing room yesterday while Charlie was at school, and made another stack of literary magnets - I'll try to get a photo or two up later.

Baked Ziti for dinner - gotta get the gluteny stuff in while Tomm's away - ha!

Today's Calendar Book is Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of Taiping Civil War by Stephen R. Platt. I know an embarrassingly small amount about China's history - there's some sort of big wall involved and that's about all I've got - so in that sense this one appeals to me, but I wonder if perhaps I should read something more general first so that I won't be completely lost? Thoughts on this one?

Morning Amber- Sorry, you are still feeling under the weather. Bummer. I can not believe we are getting another arctic blast. REALLY?
Not familiar with the Platt book. Sounds good. Like you, I am under-read, when it comes to China.

153. Pet Show! by Jack Ezra Keats (Charlie's school library book, picture book) - 8/10
Details a neighborhood pet show and the local children getting prepared for the event.
Again, Keats is excellent at capturing a sense of community and character. Always enjoy his books and I was happy to see Charlie had picked this one.

154. The Bears' Vacation by Stan and Jan Berenstain (public library book, picture book) - 7/10
Charlie picked this one up at the library, otherwise it would not be in my house. I'm demonstrably not a fan of the Berenstain Bears - too much preaching and not enough of anything else. But Charlie picked it and short of some sort of extreme circumstance, I will not say no to him no matter which books he chooses to check out. But, well, ugh. I just don't like these bears! Ha!

Ha! Sorry! That last message is still me, but just my other account - I didn't realize that I had switched over to that one before posting!

(I keep track of all of the library books - both mine and Charlie's - over on that account, but never use it (on purpose, anyway) for posting to threads.)

Mark: I know, right?! Will we be shoveling snow on Easter this year? Even though it's later in April? I wouldn't bet the farm against it right now. Sheesh.

Good morning Amber,

Thanks, Barbara!

#78 Amber I am a big time Conrad fan, and yet, Heart of Darkness, probably his best known work is my least favourite of them all!

I never actually made the connection of this book with Apocalypse Now, a movie I very much enjoyed, be it Martin Sheen's acting, the Mad Colonel's character, or the The Doors soundtrack.

Piyush: I didn't really like the movie, either, although I'm fascinated by the backstory - apparently Sheen nearly died making it due to Coppola's trademark brutal demands on his actors.

Sorry you are feeling so poorly and add my good wishes so Charlie doesn't get it.

Re: The Catcher in the Rye.

I gave it 7 out of 10 stars back in 2008 when I read it for the first time. Not to shabby. Unfortunately I wasn't writing mini-reviews at the time so can't tell you more.

Re: Do Overs

As long as it didn't affect my relationship with MrMorphy, I would want to have learned a better way to handle my stress than with food. It has caused more problems in my life than anything else.

Re: Marriages

I've had a $15,000 marriage and a $1,500 marriage ($30,000 vs $2,600 in today's dollars). Guess which one lasted 2 years and which one has lasted 23.5 years?

Re: Heart of Darkness

I gave it 3 out of 10 stars. That's barely above readable.

"I slogged through this story about nothing really by reading in small bits through DailyLit and I was very grateful it was as short as it was. Also, I wouldn't have understood a word of it without the help of SparkNotes. Bleh. Just bleh."

Morphy: I can't remember exactly where Catcher in the Rye comes up in my lists, so I don't know what I'll get to it, but I'm looking forward to it when I do.
Yes, I wish I were better about not using food as a comfort thing, too.
15K, huh? Wow!
Heart of Darkness - I'll see your 'bleh' and raise you a 'ptooey!' Ha!

Keep this quiet but I agree with Morphy on Heart of Darkness. It was twaddle.

Get better quickly.

Paul: *discreet high fives*

You are all wrong. Heart of Darkness is one of my absolute favorites, since my first read in high school through my last one last year or the year before. Good stuff. So there!

Heart of Darkness seems to be one of those "love/hate" books. For myself, I got it from the library but didn't finish it before it had to go back, and I haven't gotten around to checking it out again.

Heart of Darkness was on umpteen Canadian high school curriculums (curriculii?) in the 60s. Reading it then, under those circumstances, was quite enough. ETA: they did their best to kill Shakespeare for me as well, but the Bard won out.

For anyone who is on the love side of Heart of Darkness I would highly recommend reading King Leopold's Ghost for the real story. The truth of the Congo is even more terrifying then the fiction.

Add me to the loathe it camp - on both Heart of Darkness and Catcher in the Rye! Two of my least favourite books.

I can't say I'm a fan exactly of Heart of Darkness but it does seem like 'one of those reads'. Am i better off for having read it? In some fundamental way, yes.

On the other hand, hard core fan of Salinger. He's not making anything up. Overall I think Franny and Zooey and Nine Stories go a lot deeper.

*smooch*

Katie: Ha! You are most certainly entitled to think that way, Katie, so you just go on ahead and think it. *pats Katie indulgently on the head*

Julia: It does seem to fall into that category, doesn't it?

tiffin: That's *another* book I don't get as high school required reading - what teenager is ready, life-experience wise, to read that?! Sheesh. (Also, it would be 'curricula.')

Erik: Can we only take that recommendation if we liked HoD? Because it sounds pretty good...

Bekka: Oh, no! That doesn't bode well for those of us who have Salinger coming up on the list...

Lucy: I'f got Franny and Zooey and Nine Stories both on my shelves...

Richard: *catches smooch, sticks in pocket for later* Thanks!

Amber, it is a really good book. I just thought it would hold more interest for those who liked Heart of Darkness. While I am usually up for a story about something that happened a 100+ years ago and on the other side of the world, I am coming to recognize that I am in the minority in my preference for non-fiction.

Erik: Oh I'm up for that kind of story, as long as it's not horribly written....

It is a horrible story but a well-written one.

Erik: Okay then - wishlisted!

Hi Amber, Sorry to hear that you are not feeling any better. Take care and get well soon!

Amber, sorry you're feeling under the weather. Positive thoughts.

Connie & Stephanie: Thanks, ladies! I'm really feeling okay - the sore throat is much more in the background than it was yesterday, even though it was hurting worse this morning than yesterday morning. On it's way out, I'm hoping.

Sorry you are not feeling well! Just saying hi so I can track you.

Sorry about the sore throat. Got any tea tree oil (melaleuca)? Even though it tastes pretty medicinal, it's great for sore throats. We use it all the time at our house. It has both antiviral and antibacterial properties, which is pretty awesome. If you have some therapeutic grade, put one drop under your tongue. Otherwise, rub some on your throat. And of course, if you think you have strep, go get antibiotics. :)

Hope you get to feeling better soon!

Lois: Thanks!

Jenn: 'Medicinal' = gawdawful, doesn't it? Thanks, but no thank you. I'm known for my complete petulant-childishness when it comes to medicine-tasting medicine. Part of my charm. Ha! These Riccola cough drops are bad enough - they work but ding dang are they terrible-tasting!

Thanks, Jim! I feel pretty okay but for the sore throat and the tickling cough. Here's hoping tomorrow sees the back end of it.

155. Fly Guy vs. the Flyswatter by Tedd Arnold (public library book, easy reader) - 8/10
Buzz and his pet fly get themselves into some hot water during a school field trip to the flyswatter factory.
This is the first of this series that Charlie and I have read. He picked it out at the library and to be honest I've been curious, as I'm always re-shelving several of these at the school library, so they must be pretty popular. It's cute and a little silly, but nothing special. I'll be happy to keep reading them with Charlie if he wants to do so, but they aren't something that I'd continue to choose for him on my own.

156. (16th non-picture book read this year) Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King by William Joyce (Guardians of Childhood series, 228 pages) - 9/10
Nicholas, an old wizard and a little girl, with the help of the Man in the Moon and his long-lost boy-guardian, fight against Pitch, the Nightmare King in a battle to protect the children of the world.
When I discovered that the Rise of the Guardians movie was based on a series of books, I immediately ordered this first book in the series from the library. I love that movie like crazy, and Joyce is also the man behind the story behind Meet the Robinsons (another amazing movie), Morris Lessmore and the Numberleys (both *amazing* books-cum-apps). So, yes, I was more excited than I likely should admit about the prospect of this series. And this first book did not disappoint. It's wonderful storytelling. Needless to say, I suspect, I've already ordered the entire series from Amazon and can hardly contain myself waiting for the TWO WHOLE DAYS it will take my Prime account to get them here...

157. Now It's Hot! by Julie Haydon (Charlie's school book, beginning reader) - 8/10
Another very-first reader sent home by Charlie's teacher and which he read to me. Contractions ("it's, she's he's" in this book) were giving him a bit of trouble, but it was fun to help him through those. My years of being a language teacher are kicking in! Woot!

158. Prehistoric Pinkerton by Steven Kellogg (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
Pinkerton, the Great Dane puppy, gets into a bit of trouble when he tries to cut his new teeth on a dinosaur bone at the museum.
Many thanks to foggi for recommending this series for Charlie and me - this was the only one that I could find at the library, but we really enjoyed reading it!

What I'm reading now:
-Lady Chatterley's Lover (Banned Books list)
-M Is for Magic (Gaiman bibliography)
-Journey to the West (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, a Private Life (Presidential Challenge)
-The Amulet of Samarkand (audio book)
-The Man in the High Castle (Hugo award list)
-Enemy of God (from the TBR shelves)
-Mr. Poppers Penguins (bath-time book)
-The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Augustus (off of my classics shelves)
-Deity Yoga (buddhism list)
-My Man Jeeves (year-by-year book list, 1919 (1919 is the first year, going backwards from 2013, in which I've not read a book, so I'm starting here and working back.)
-The Life and Times of Paddington Bear (from the READ ME NOW pile)
-The Iliad (everyday audio book in the car)

In addition to these, I have some classics-related texts that I'm working through (quite slowly):
-Asinaria by Plautus (reading in Latin)
-Iliad by Homer (reading in Greek)
-Latin Literature by Gian Biagio Conte
-The Cambridge History of Classical Literature Volume 1 Part 1

Glad you enjoyed Pinkerton!

I think you get the award for the most diverse reading list!

Get a good night's rest, Amber, and hope you feel better in the morning!

Watching the conversation regarding Heart of Darkness is like watching a tennis match - back and forth,back and forth. Never read it and not really 100% sure I want to but I do know that I am sorry to see that you have caught a sore throat. Take care of yourself Amber and get better soon!

>122 lkernagh: - On the bright side, Lori, it's relatively short and so if you do decide to give it a try it won't cost you countless hours. :)

Amber, I know what you mean about bad tasting medicine. That's why I usually rub it on my throat rather than ingest. I don't usually go on and on about alternative medicine because it's such an individual thing, but the tea tree oil has been nothing short of miraculous in our family. We've only had one kid on antibiotics since August of last year. Just saying. :)

And your reading list is inspiring. I agree with you on Fly Guy books. Meh. When my youngest (7) was just starting to read, we read a lot of Magic Tree House books. Even though they do have some big vocabulary words, he was able to read a lot of it. We would trade off. I would have him read the shorter pages and I would read the longer ones. I will give credit to those books for his current penchant for non-fiction. Today, he tried to check out most of the juvenile reference section at the library. lol

Sometimes I wish I read Greek and Latin. Then I realize that I am learning French so I can help my older son (and because I have always wanted to), and that seems like enough for now. :)

Sorry you're not feeling well!

I forgot! when I stopped by earlier, I wanted to know if you had a blog or someplace where you show off things you sew. Just because I'm really into sewing too and I want to see what you're making. :)

foggi: We sure did - and thanks again for the recommendation! I'll be keeping an eye out for more of them.

Lois: Ha! What a lovely and tactful way of pointing out my weirdness!

Mary: Thank you - I did, and I do! Sore throat is very nearly gone - whew!

Lori: I know, right? As much as I didn't like it, I will admit that books that raise such a stink with folks (love 'em or hate 'em books, I mean) must be worthwhile in some way or another - books that cause discussion of any kind are okay with me, really.

Jenn: It may be a short one but it felt like it went on forever! *snork!* I'm just cheezin' ya, as Charlie would say.
Alright, you've nearly sold me on the tea tree oil, especially if I don't have to ingest the stuff. I'll put it on my list and stop by the local health-type store soon to see if they have it.
'Diverse' and now 'inspiring'? You folks are a hoot! Just plain crazy is more like it. I wouldn't have it any other way, though. And thanks for the Magic Treehouse tip - I've been pondering those, since there's always a handful of them to re-shelve at the school library, too - v. popular.
Re: Greek & Latin - well, I'd be happy to teach you! I can say that if you could read Latin, you'd already be reading French. The romance languages just sort of fall into your lap after learning Latin; I haven't had a lick of Italian lessons, but I can pick it up and read it with minimal help from dictionaries and grammars.
And as far as the sewing projects go: I have an etsy shop, but that's only the stuff I make to sell, of course. I usually post here about everything that I make (although I did make some new curtains for the bathroom yesterday and didn't bother posting, because, well, curtains = not exactly the project of the century), but I haven't been very productive since Christmas, sadly. I do keep a thread over in the Needlarts group where I always post photos of finished projects. Here's last year's and this year's threads:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/147492
http://www.librarything.com/topic/163209

Terri: Many thanks - I seem to be on the recovery road, so, yay!

Amber, I hope you feel better today. I've read The Iliad and enjoyed it very much.

On today's agenda:

It's brutally cold here this morning (-8F with -28F wind chill), so, yeah. *sigh* So we'll wait until closer to noon to head out after it's had a chance to warm up just a bit; I need to go to the post office and then we'll visit the library for a spell. Otherwise, not too much - maybe some baking (I may teach Charlie to make Monkey Bread), the daily smidge of cleaning, sewing, reading. The summer programs through the city Parks & Rec office are open for registration, so I want to try to get Charlie scheduled for swimming lessons and maybe a dance class (they offer an intro to various kinds of dancing for K-1st graders that sounds like something Charlie would *love*) before they all fill up (these programs fill up *very* quickly here). We have several trips planned this summer, so it may be a tricky business to fit this stuff into our schedule.
And, as I mentioned above, I woke up with a *much* less sore throat this morning - WooT! Whatever it was seems to be on the way out the door, and here's hoping that Charlie doesn't catch it on it's way out!

Today's Calendar Book: Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos, a Newbery winner a couple of years ago, so I've already read this one. It's funny and pretty good, but nothing that really sang to me. There's something about his writing style that just doesn't quite resonate with me, I think. *shrug*

Barbara: Thanks - I do! And yay for Illiad-liking! It always makes my day to hear someone say that they like Homer, or Vergil, or Cicero, or Ovid, or...

You're welcome :-D

Morning Amber- I don't want to go out! Wah! At least I am off tomorrow, which makes me feel a bit better. Have a good snugly day!

Mark: Be careful out there today!

Stopping by and waving hi before I head out to the office. I have a book recommendation for you and Charlie. If you haven't read The Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleischman, you might give it a try. It was listed as a possible contender for the Caldecott awards this year. Alas, it didn't, but should have, made it.

The story is beautiful and the illustrations are very lovely.

Good morning, Amber! As usual we are having the same weather. When will it end?? I'm so glad that at least your sore throat is easing. The frigid temps would not feel good on an already sore throat!

Linda: I'm adding it to the library list and look for it today! Thanks!

Julia: I know, right!? Sheesh.

I'm glad to hear that you're feeling better today, Amber.

What is Monkey Bread???

Here you go Darryl, an image of yummy Monkey Bread.

Looks good! Is it more or less irresistible than a Girl Scout Samoa?

Amber, making monkey bread is a winner for a cold-day activity. My grandkids from Kansas City want to make it every time they come to visit now. It's good to have the extra three pairs of hands for all that cinnamon and sugar rolling, etc.

So glad the sore throat is better. There is so much sickness going around in this area that I try to stay home when I can. It's too cold to venture out today…so why did I take the dog on his usual morning walk? I don't think I was awake enough to realize just how cold it was.

Yummers! We love monkey bread at our house. Since I've missed three whole threads since the last time I posted I won't comment on all the interesting stuff you all have been talking about except to say I am in the dislike column on Heart of Darkness. I'm with Morphy, couldn't understand a bit of it without the aid of online Cliff Notes!

I am glad your sore throat is feeling better!

I've always wanted to try monkey bread but for some reason it makes me nervous.

Darryl: Linda's picture is spot-on. To make it, you make up some regular yeast bread dough, then once it has raised the first time, roll is into balls, dip them in melted butter, roll them in cinnamon sugar and then layer them in a bundt pan. Let raise again and then bake. Deeeelicious. Not certain that it's going to happen today though, as we were distracted by playing some games before heading to the library...
And yes, for me it's better than samoas, but only because I can't abide coconut. Ha!

Donna: I know, right? I'm really happily surprised that Charlie has made it through the winter so far with only one mild cold. *hurriedly knocks on wood*

Hi, Heidi! Solidarity, sister, on the HoD front! Ha!

Christina: Oh, you shouldn't be! It's easy peasy and so delicious!

Monkey Bread story: a few years ago I came across a recipe for individual monkey breads made in a muffin pan. My high school aged daughter was hosting a New Year's Eve party for her friends, and they were spending the night so I thought these would make a nice breakfast. At about 7am, while they were fast asleep in the basement, I set off the smoke alarm making these darn things. I haven't had the courage to try them again!

Monkey bread *drool*

Laura: Ha! Who knew monkey bread was so fear-inducing and dangerous!

Richard: I know, right? Yum.

I'd never heard of monkey bread either - now I know!

>142 scaifea: And yes, for me it's better than samoas, but only because I can't abide coconut.

I don't like coconut, either. However, I'm still addicted to those cookies!

Rhian: Your world just got a little bit more delicious, friend. Ha!

Darryl: You're making me wonder there the truckload of cookies that I ordered are...where is that little girl with my cookies?!

#142 -- You can also make monkey bread with biscuit dough from a can -- in fact, I've never made it "from scratch" as you describe! I'm sure your way is tastier, but mine is probably quicker. ;-)

foggi: It's not problem for me to make it from scratch, but then again, I love baking, especially bread.

House of Darkness? What's that?

House of Darkness? What's that? ;-P

Marianne: I don't know, but I bet it's better than the Conrad. Ha!

Ha!

Huh? You have an Etsy shop? Me too! Of course, mine is on extended holiday...
Anyway, link please?

Oh, and how would we do Latin lessons? I am kinda interested.

Jenn: Latin lessons: I taught an online beginning Latin course for Southern Illinois U. last summer, so I have all the lectures typed up, which I could send you, and then I'd be happy just to work through the textbook with you, going over translation exercises, answering any questions you may have... We'd go at whatever pace you set... Let me know if you're interested.

etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/elizaandelectra

What's yours?

159. The Sandman: The Story of Sanderson Mansnoozie by William Joyce (Guardians of Childhood book, picture book) - 10/10
The back story of Sandy (The Sandman) in Joyce’s Guardians of Childhood series. I am fast falling in love with this story and its storyteller. It’s beautifully told and so imaginative. Highly recommended.

160. It Could Always Be Worse by Margot Zemach (Caldecott Honor book, picture book) - 8/10
A poor man, who is harried by his family in their too-small cottage, goes to his rabbi for advice on how to get some peace and quiet.
A funny little story, and nicely illustrated, but it doesn’t really seem the sort of thing for a children’s book. There’s nothing really inappropriate, but it just doesn’t really seem the sort of thing a kid would be interested in. *shrug*

161. Shoo, Fly Guy! by Tedd Arnold (public library book, easy reader) - 8/10
Fly Guy tries to find his favorite food and has some narrow shooing escapes in the process.
Yep, Charlie is a Fly Guy fan, apparently. He excitedly made his was to the section in the stacks were he found the previous one, and happily chose this one. They’re not exactly my cuppa, but they’re not horrible and they’re books and Charlie loves them, so, yeah, fine with me.

162. One Dark Night by Lisa Wheeler (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
A mouse and a mole venture out on a dark night. Meanwhile, a big grumbly bear is pacing his lair and grousing about how hungry he is. Don’t worry - it turns out just fine - they’re all friends!
Cute and funny, told with silly and lovely rhymes. Charlie and I both liked this one quite a bit.

I'm not sure what it is about the Fly Guy books -- the shiny covers? the cartoonish illustrations? the gross factor? -- but kids (particularly boys) seem to love them!

foggi: I know! There's always at least 3 or 4 of them for me to reshelve at the school library each week.

Your shop has fun things! I love your mom's rugs. The magnets are awesome.

My Etsy shop

OK. We might have to call you a Latin warbler instead of a book warbler...but who can resist an offer like that?
I think it sounds great to do Latin lessons. Send me a link to where I can get a text book, and once I get that, we can set up a schedule. How cool would it be to read Cicero in Latin? Although it will probably still be mostly over my head. :)

ETA: forgot to ask if you have read Joseph Had A Little Overcoat with Charlie? My kids still get a kick out of that one.

One Dark Night is now on the TBR pile.

I have another recommendation. You might want to read The Wonderful Happens by Cynthia Rylant. My granddaughter Kayla read this and then read it again.

I hope the sore throat is gone.

Jenn, I see that Joseph Had a Little Overcoat is a 2000 Caldecott medal winner. I'm heading to the library tomorrow, when I take back the pile I've checked out, I'll see if I can find the Simms Taback book.

>156 scaifea: Weren't we going to do something like that for the poems of Catullus awhile back? I know you were kind enough to send me a copy of the Latin grammar, which I tried to use in conjunction with translating (one of) the poems, but I kind of gave up, what with working such long hours. Every now and then, I take it down off the bookshelf (the poems, not the grammar) and just leaf through it wistfully, but thus far I haven't done anything further with it, even though I have the time now.

#156 Amber and Jenn,
I'd be interested in joining you if there's room.

>38 scaifea: ( I know, I know- I am miles behind)
My brother took our wedding photos as his wedding present to us, which was wonderful, as he's a professional photographer!
My sister can say that exact thing :)

>128 scaifea: -8F with -28F wind chill
That is serious cold. Do your eyeballs freeze in that temp!??

>155 nittnut:/156 you guys are such over-achievers! I aspire to be one of those one day ;) (*jealousy will get me nowhere*)

Jenn: Thanks! I took a peek at your shop, and even though you're temporarily closed, I got excited about it - what a wonderful idea, fancy nightgowns for girls! Love it!
Here's the book that I use to teach Latin, so you'll need one of these if you - and anyone else, too - are interested in doing this:

http://www.amazon.com/Latin-Intensive-Floyd-L-Moreland/dp/0520031830/ref=sr_1_1?...

Charlie has a copy of Joseph Had a Little Overcoat on his shelves - I bought it for us because we both love it lots! I'm a big fan of Taback.

Linda: I think you'll love One Dark Night, Linda. And, Rylant? Say no more - love her. I'll make a note to check if our library has that one. I really should just give in and seek out her entire corpus, honestly, as I've not read one of hers that I didn't love, I think.
Also, you'll love the Taback, too, I bet.

Mary: Yes, I started a thread for that but I think all involved were just too busy with less important things than reading Latin, like work and family and life stuff. Ha!

Stephanie: You're absolutely welcome to join in, as is anyone else who is interested! I'll have to consider some logistics, as I'd prefer to let each go at her own pace, but it may be good to have a thread for general questions, too...

Megan: Behind or no, I'm glad you're here! Isn't is nice to have talent in the family?
And, yes, that is seriously cold. Eyeballs are still safely unfrozen, but I can tell you that it does *not* feel good on the face. Wowza! It sort of takes the breath right out of you for a second when you step out into it, and Charlie and I have been going through the chapstick this winter like nobody's business. Needless to say, I am ready for spring as I've never been before! And think of our poor little Mark, who has to be out in this stuff all day delivering the mail, with only his audiobooks to keep him warm...

On today's agenda:

No errands to run and no place to be (no school today for Charlie, as they're screening wee ones for next year's 4K classes this week), so Charlie and I are Staying Inside Today! Since the Monkey Bread didn't happen yesterday, we may get to it today. I also need to get my meal planning done and my grocery list together for tomorrow's shopping. And Tomm comes home today!! WooHoo!
The sore throat is gone, but has been replaced with a full-blown chest cold, along with the slight touch of bronchitis that I always get with these things. Yippee. But Charlie is still showing no signs of the stuff so I'm happy enough.
Dinner tonight I think will be homemade Fried Rice. Complete comfort food to feed this cold.

Today's Calendar Book: Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson, about an Ethiopian who was orphaned at age 3, adopted and raised in Sweden and became the head chef at a fancy restaurant in Manhattan by his early 20s. Sounds like a really interesting memoir! Anyone read it? Thoughts?

I'm a bit late to the party, but Samoa cookies trump monkey bread every time. Mostly because I love coconut but hate cinnamon.

casvelyn: Wow, I've never known anyone who hates cinnamon - okay, I'm officially fascinated by you now. Ha!

Ok, what is a "calendar book", and where can I find one?

Morning Amber- I am so glad I get to stay in today or at least not go to work. I still have a few errands. I have not read Yes, Chef. I don't read many foodie books.
Hope you have a fine snugly day!

Linda: It's a page-a-day calendar with a different book recommendation for every weekday and a literary quote on the weekends. My mom gave it to me for Christmas, and it's put out by Books a Million.

Mark: Here's hoping the we *both* have a snugly at-home day!

Good morning, Amber! I envy you and Mark not having to go outside in this ridiculous cold. It was -7F when I left for work this morning, windchill -25. It might not get above zero at all today, but I hope they are wrong about that. I'm starting to think this whole winter is some wicked psychological experiment to see how people react to unrelenting cold and snow.

I have had to read more than my share of Fly Guy books. It isn't a lasting phase in my experience.

Julia: Ha! I don't know how I feel about that experiment idea...

Erik: Well, that's good to know. They're not horrible, but there are other books I'd rather read. Ha!

I haven't read Yes, Chef, but Samuelsson is an interesting guy. He's always on Top Chef and other cooking shows. I really want to go to his restaurant, Red Rooster, the next time I'm in NYC.

Katie: Oh, he has his own restaurant now? Cool!

>167 scaifea: Marcus Samuelsson is a fascinating guy, though I don't adore his recipes. I am not a fussy-fidget kind of cook or eater.

Richard: I'm not either, but, yeah, I'm pretty intrigued by the sound of the guy. It sounds like a pretty good read.

Just dropping in and saying hi, Amber! I just can't keep up with your thread, so I hope i'm not missing important things!
But you are feeling better. That's good! Hugs!

Hi Amber, your thread got way ahead of me, as is usual, but I do want to come back and read people's answer to your question as it's a fascinating subject to me. My bleak answer for today would be: I wish I hadn't gotten into boys and drugs at age 13 and continued dissipating myself with fiction instead. I'm definitely compensating for that now!

Connie: I think you're safe, unless you want to sign up for the 75er Latin Class - ha!
Thanks for the hugs!

Ilana: I suspect that our teen years were quite different: I didn't get into boys in any sort of serious way until grad school (hello, late bloomer!) and the hardest drug I've ever tried was a clove cigarette or two, again, in grad school. Nerd Alert! Ha!

That wonderful Fed-Ex Man brought me another Amazon box today, and I'm so excited (and so is Charlie):



And then the mailman stopped by with the best surprise postcard I've ever received, from one of my best friends, a former fellow grad student, who clearly knows me well:

And how about another Tuppence photo? I took this one last night while I was *trying* to read in bed. Someone seemed just so pathetic - "Stop reading that stupid book and pet me!" As if I weren't already holding the book with one hand and scratching her ears with the other...

Hey Amber! Sorry to hear about your cold, but glad that Charlie is showing no signs of infection. I started a cold myself at the beginning of the week, but it seems to have limited itself to my head and nose. How is it possible for a person's nose to be both all stuffed up and running like a faucet at the same time?

Monkey bread - my best friend's daughter made some on Thanksgiving in 2012. It was so good! I immediately put the 'how-to' of it out of my head, because I knew that if I ever made it myself, I would have the whole thing eaten in no time.

The bonus question - I wish that the people at the hospital had gotten me mixed up with some other baby in the nursery and that I'd gone home with - and stayed with - some other family. I know this would have been a horrible thing to do to some other poor defenseless baby, but it's the only thing that might have changed my life completely.

#184 -- Ah, well do I know that look! Sophie will just put her head in between me and the book/ipad/computer screen some times, when she is feeling neglected.

Charlotte: I know, that nose thing is a total mystery, isn't it? My entire head is all stuffy today, but I honestly don't feel bad - since the sore throat left this has been the best-feeling cold I've ever had - ha!
I'm so sorry about your early family life; my heart just hurts for children who don't have a happy or comfortable home life.

foggi: I know, right? As if they're not completely spoiled as it is. Sheesh.

>184 scaifea: - That reminds me of Louis, who, when feeling neglected, will jump up on the ottoman of my reading chair and look at me like this:

Katie: Adorable!!

All the cute! Tuppence AND Louis. It's more than my flinty old heart can take, I tell ya.

*baaaaaaaawwwwwwwwww*

Tuppence is SSSSSSOOOOOOOO CUUUUUUUTE!!!

Louis is a fine specimen as well, Katie, fine and healthy.

#167 Amber,
I've not read Yes, Chef but have seen Marcus Samuelsson do interviews and on some cooking shows and have been impressed by him. It's a book I would read. FWIW and YMMV.

Julia: Come up for a visit sometime and you'll get plenty of Tuppence cuddles!

Richard: Isn't she, though? And I agree - Louis is a cutie-patootie, too!

Stephanie: I don't think I've seen him, but I'm happy to have put the book on my wishlist from all of the good things people have to say about him here.

I love the shiny book covers. I won't start to buy them..I can fast see it becoming a huge addiction.

I'm heading to a books a million site to buy one of those book calendars....

Thanks for pointing me in that direction.

Linda: I bet you would like the Guardians books, though. Maybe see if your library has them? Especially the two pictures books - they're beautiful.

Louis is lovely, and so are all the book cases in the background.

It is freezing cold here in NE Pennsylvania. I am more than weary of it all.

Linda: Spring is coming, right? Here's hoping.

On today's agenda:
Grocery shopping, laundry. Charlie has some sort of board game tournament planned out for the two of us this afternoon, or so he animatedly explained to me last night. So, board games this afternoon. Maybe some more sewing - I did manage a few minutes in the sewing room yesterday, enough to affix an iron-on transfer of an owl with a shamrock hat onto a green t-shirt for Charlie and to pick out the fabric combination for the next hat.

I'm about halfway through M Is for Magic and it is wonderful, as Gaiman always is, but this one seems more Old School Gaiman, Sandman Gaiman, which makes my heart beat just a little faster as I'm reading. Love.

Today's Calendar Book holds no interest for me at all, I think, unless some of you convince me otherwise: Dare Me by Meg Abbott, which is, apparently, about two cheerleaders fighting over who's the 'alpha' cheerleader? Really? Nope, no thanks. Unless it's so bad it's good, like the Bring It On movies, which I love for their awfulness...

Morning Amber- Now, they are talking another snowstorm on Sunday. Nooooooooo!!
I heard Dare Me was very good. I've had it saved on audio for a long time. I remember Gillian Flynn recommending it.

>199 msf59: Mark: Oh, hell no. NO!
Good, huh? Maybe the blurb is just poorly written. And maybe I'll just wait until you get round to listening to it to see what you think of it...

Good morning, Amber! A board game tournament sounds like loads of fun for you and Charlie. They are now predicting 3-5 inches of snow for us tomorrow through Sunday. It's not even worth typing a "Boo!" over anymore. Sigh.

Julia: Really?! Last time I check it was only an inch or so. Dang.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Maybe you are far enough north to be out of it.

Julia: I just checked again and it now says 1-3 inches for us. Goodie.

Wow, I actually managed to get all caught up with you! I'm a slow reader, so that's quite a time investment, but I feel a sense of accomplishment now!

You'd have to pay me good money to read a book about cheerleaders. Just sayin'.

Hope you're feeling better.

Ilana: That's sort of how I feel about the cheerleader book, unless, again, it's a spoof or so awful it's laughable. We'll see what Mark has to say about it - I'm willing to let him be the guinea pig - ha!

I've heard good things about Dare Me. Kind of Heathers meets Mean Girls meets Bring It On. Abbott has written several well-received noir-ish mysteries that a lot of people on LT seem to like. I haven't read anything by her, but I gave Dare Me to a friend as part of her birthday present, and she liked it. And she was a band nerd, not a cheerleader :) It's now on my WL.

Katie: Huh. I really think it may be a case of a poorly-written blurb.

Those books look amazing! *stomps off to seethe jealously in the corner*

Bekka: The Guardians ones? THEY ARE. Don't seethe - Amazon is just a click away...

Whelp, Tomm came waltzing in this evening with 4 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies! I knew I had good reason for marrying that man. I didn't, however, have the heart to tell him that I had already ordered $40 worth of the things. Oh well, we'll figure out something to do with them....

Mine seem to be gone before I know it, and there's only 2 of us, and only one of us that really eats them!

Lois: I know, right? It's weird how they just seem to disappear, isn't it? Ha!

We buy in bulk and stick 'em in the freezer for later!

Amber, I had to think of you this evening as I pulled my sewing machine out for the first time in a LONG time to replicate an apron for my pottery studio teacher. It's the first extensive use my Kenmore 16231 has had, and I'm really happy about how it handled the thick layers.

*Wave! Off to check out Book Depository. Lots of things Amazon won't ship here...

Amber,

>214 drneutron: Jim: Oh, that's a good idea! Plus, frozen Thin Mints on a hot June day sounds wonderful.

>215 ronincats: Roni: Oho, that's one brand (of the few!) that I don't have - good to know that it works well on heavy layers, which some newer models don't handle well at all, I've heard. Plus, yay for sewing!

>216 nittnut: Jenn: I'm a fan of the Book Depository, too, which, oddly enough, does some business through Amazon Marketplace here.

>217 Ameise1:: Thanks, Barbara! I hope you do, too!

On the agenda for today:
Our new recliner and TV stand came yesterday (!) so Tomm and Charlie will work on switching the TV and other various electronic devices over to the the new stand this morning. After that we'll head down to Dubuque for some grocery shopping and lunch. Then this afternoon will be devoted to sewing, reading, LT-ing and general round-the-house lounging, forward to all of which I'm very much looking.

Before we head out for Dubuque, I'll crank up the slow cooker for a Corn Chowder dinner this evening, and I think I'll try out Megan's (? I think it was Megan who posted the recipe) Corn Toasties.

The weekend quote from the Book Calendar is from an author who has been on my to-read list for a long time (I really need to get round to him soon!):

"I never saw any of them again - except the cops. No way had yet been invented to say goodbye to them." -The Long Goodbye, Raymond Chandler

Good morning, Amber! Sounds like a good Saturday brewing for you. Have you posted that Corn Chowder recipe before? It sounds yum.

>220 rosalita: Julia: No, I don't think I have:

Corn Chowder
Ingredients:
• 2 cans (14 oz. each) chicken broth
• 1 bag (16 oz.) frozen corn kernels, thawed (I use canned corn, drained)
• 2 small potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 rib celery, sliced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon coriander
• ½ cup heavy cream

1. Place broth, corn, potatoes, bell pepper, celery, salt, black pepper and coriander into slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on LOW 6 hours.
3. Partially mash soup mixture with potato masher to thicken.
4. Stir in cream.
5. Cook on HIGH, uncovered, until hot.

That looks delish and easy! Thanks, Amber.

You're welcome, Julia!

#210 Ohhh....darn it. I may have to now, having had a quick look. I can't seem to find them in paperback though :/

Hi Amber, I'm way behind on your thread but caught the mention of Yes, Chef – I won it on LT Early Reviewers at some point. Samuelsson has certainly had a fascinating life, and the book had some very interesting perspective, but Samuelsson isn't the nicest person sometimes. It was an interesting read, but I'll probably never reread it.

Great photo of 'pathetic dogs' - they really have perfected what, around here we call, 'the puppy face'. Posey worked me over yesterday night and this morning after my ten day absence, that's for sure!

>224 BekkaJo: Bekka: No paperback yet They're recent, but not *that* recent, I'd think. Weird.

>225 kgodey: Kriti: Oh, good to know about him not being the nicest guy - makes me want to check it out of the library instead of put money in his pocket...

>226 sibylline: Lucy: Ha! I know, right? Tuppence has the puppy face down pat.

Whelp, we're back from Dubuque shopping and an Olive Garden lunch (delicious!), but we drove home *very* slowly through heavy snowfall. *ginormous sigh*
And I'm completely worn out from the outing. This cold is kicking my butt, I'm afraid. So, I'm off to take some cold medicine, jack up the heating pad, grab a book and a cuppa, and get settled in the rocking chair under a blanket while Tomm and Charlie have a Lego Fest. So very glad I put the soup together in the slow cooker this morning before we left so I can just relax all afternoon!

Hope you feel better soon Amber. And March is always a hopeful month. Lots of signs of spring, including those heavy, wet snows...

Jenn: Thanks! I took some Dayquil, sat in the rocking chair and read for about 30 minutes, then fell asleep. Tomm woke me up 10 minutes later, apparently to talk me into going upstairs to take a proper nap in bed, and 2.5 hours later...
That Dayquil stuff just knocks me completely out! I think I needed it, though. Feeling a bit better, although still stuffy and a bit sinus-headachy. Hopefully it's on its way out.

It sounds like a nap was exactly what you needed, Amber! I so know what you mean about the cold and snow kicking your butt. If my energy levels drop any lower I'm going to forget to exhale ...

Julia: Ha! I meant the cold inside my head, but yes that outside cold business is the pits, too! Today was particularly bad, because it was gloomy on top of everything else, which seems to be pretty unusual around here. I thought we'd left most of those dreary cloudy days behind us in Ohio...

Oh, that cold! Yes, those are enervating as well. :-)

>183 scaifea: ah, a beautiful thing is a pile of books.

>221 scaifea: chowder recipe: consider it stolen

I am getting a recipe book together, I might have to call it Amber's Winter Warmers or something :)

Re: do-over question- I'd get a different undergrad degree. *waves* Tuppenance is ADORABLE!

>228 scaifea: Amber I'm sorry to hear you have a cold. I still can't shake my cough from mine. I hope you get better quickly. Take extra care of yourself.

Hi Amber. Naps are a must have for me :-)

Just up from a 2 hour nap myself. I wonder if I've caught a cold from all you winter sniffle people over there. Feeling a little sinus-y and headache-y too. Hot herbal tea, tea tree oil and bed for me. Container is getting delivered in the morning and I must be up to the job. :) I will probably be dreaming of where to put my dishes all night... does anyone else do that?

Hope you get better soon, Amber. As good as tea tree oil is, from what I understand, Eucalyptus oil is more effective when it comes to cold.

>233 rosalita: Julia: Ha! Agreed.

>234 LovingLit: Megan: Are the Corn Toasties from you, am I remembering right? I didn't get round to them yesterday - napped too long - but maybe tomorrow...
I have a big binder that holds all of my recipes. If I try a new one we all like, I type it up into a template I've made, print it out and add it to the binder. Then I just rotate through the recipes in there.

>235 leperdbunny: Tamara: Which degree did you get and which would you rather?

>236 luvamystery65: Roberta: Thanks for the well-wishings! I've got up this morning feeling better! No sore throat and minimally stuffy/sinusy head! WooHoo! That nap yesterday really did the trick!

>237 AuntieClio: Stephanie: Aren't they, though? I only get them very occasionally and on weekends, when Tomm's home to entertain Charlie. And usually I feel guilty about them unless I'm not feeling well...

>238 nittnut: Jenn: Oh, I hope you're not getting a cold! And good luck with the unpacking! Yes, I remember dreaming about packing and then dreaming about unpacking when we made our move from Ohio to Wisconsin.

Whelp, more white stuff on the ground this morning. Same snow, different day. Ha! We're staying put today. Tomm will be packing for *another* trip - he leaves tomorrow morning and we won't see him again until the end of the week. So we'll be hanging out together and enjoying the day. I'm going to try to get down in the sewing room for a bit today, and hopefully get some reading and LTing done, too. The fridge is chock-a-block full of leftovers, so no cooking on the books today besides the Caramel Baked French Toast that I put together last night and has been chilling in the fridge overnight, and which just needs to be put in the oven once Charlie and Tomm wake up.

I made some progress on The Man in the High Castle last night before falling asleep - I'm within 100 pages of finishing and *still* have no idea how it will end and loving every word of it. Thus is born a new PKD fan.
I also managed a couple more stories in M Is for Magic before the nap yesterday, and Whew!, this is classic Gaiman. Reminding me just how and why I fell in love with this author in the first place. I'm hoping to finish it up today so that I can move on to the rest of the Guardians series! So excited! Charlie is already clambering for us to start reading the first book at night, so I told him that we could start it after we finish Mr. Popper's Penguins...

All that snow! I hope you get some relief soon.

Tuppence is adorable! I expect she knows that and uses it to her advantage?

Carrie: I shouldn't really complain about the snow. Yes, we've had a *ton* of it this winter, but the majority of our days here are sunny even with all the snow, and that makes a huge difference. The intense and prolonged cold is nuts, but we've managed okay. I'd be lying, though, if I said I wasn't looking forward to spring...
And, yes, Tuppence absolutely knows how to work her adorableness. She *is* a border collie, after all - one of the smartest breeds...

184: Yeah...I'm pretty sure it would be pretty much impossible to read with a face like that looking at you. :)

Morning Amber- Yep, woke up to another 4 inches or so. Ugh! I am glad it is Sunday though, so I don't have to drive or walk in it.
I really want to get to The Man in the High Castle one of these days.

Hope you have a great day.

>244 Ape: Stephen: I was just thinking of Cheyenne yesterday - how is she doing?

>245 msf59: Mark: I know, right? Ugh. Also, I think you'd love The Man in the High Castle, so hop to it!

Nothing better than Thin Mints right out of the freezer. I love the little clicky-clicky sound they make against each other.

I love Olive Garden, too. My favorite is Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo. What did you all get?

How do Tuppence and the cat (name escapes me) get along?

Morphy: I got one of my usuals - Fettucine Alfredo, Tomm got the soup and salad and Charlie got spaghetti and meatballs. The we all shared a flight of those amazing mini desserts. Delicious.

Tuppence loves Susie, but I'm sad to say that it's an unrequited love. At best Susie tolerates Tuppence. But they don't fight at all.

Did you get some of those books at the library? I need to shuffle over to your thread to see...

No, we'll be going to the library some time this week and I'll read them there if they are in.

>183 scaifea: Love those!

I hope your cold gets better soon, Amber. It is time for spring to start now for everybody, I think. We did not have that much of a winter, but here lots of people have the flue. And not getting over it soon. We need fresh air and sun and going out taking walks of biking.

Have a happy week with Charlie!

>184 scaifea:, >188 katiekrug:: Amber and Katie, I would like to add Lucky's soulful gaze to the pictures of Tuppence and Louis, but he must be camera shy as he always turns away when a camera is aimed at him!

Amber, I am sorry about the cold -- inside and out! We are also getting more snow today than predicted. I shouldn't complain, though, with you and others not even seeing the ground for quite awhile now. At least we had some decent days for much of February. That Caramel Baked French Toast sounds like a wonderful reason to get up and face a snowy day. Too bad I missed out on it!

>250 connie53: Connie: Thanks! I'm feeling better, although I'm failry tuckered now and am seriously considering another nap this afternoon...

>251 Donna828: Donna: I'm looking out the front bay windows onto a wonderful sight - lots of sunshine and melting happening today! WooHoo!

New thread is up!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/171022