Learning to Juggle

Moving On

2012-01-14T17:22:00.001-06:00

I am giving Wordpress a try. I hope you will follow me over here:

http://nextdarkage.wordpress.com/

Best Wedding Ever

2012-01-13T18:29:00.001-06:00

I was privileged to cap off Big Meeting week in Honolulu with the wedding of Stefphanie, colleague and friend. She and Vince have been together for six years and decided to get married in Hawaii with a tiny group of us and then have big ol' parties with their families upon their return.

It was to be an in-the-park at sunset affair. The car picked us up at 4:30. One of these:

We arrived to find the minister, who was a bit nervous because the photographer had not arrived. Messed up calendar or something, which really sucked because pictures at a sunset wedding require..sunset. The minister put out a couple of SOS calls and Stef charitably said that if they couldn't get a photographer right away, they would get married and meet a photographer for pictures the next night.

While this drama was going on, there was some commotion on the other side of the park. Turns out they were filming an episode of Hawaii 5-0. Half of our group went all fan-girl and ran over to watch.

I was not one of them.

But Stef's cousin, Holly, spotted Scott Caan, walked right up to him and told him the story. Wedding. Missing photographer. Would you mind if..? So the bride and groom were photographed with the actor, and that went right up on Facebook.

Around that time, people starting poking their heads around our limo to see if anyone famous was inside. Heh.

A real photographer arrived and there was a wedding. It took about ten minutes, which is always great. Holly held her phone out on speaker so that Stefphanie's mom could listen in. Not sure whether that was planned or a "While you are on the line" after we called to tell her about Scott Caan. But it was sweet.

I am not going to give you pictures of people, but here were a couple of the scene.

Then we went back to the hotel for a drink whereupon I left for the airport.

Seriously, it was the best wedding ever.

Pictures Like this Are Why I Love the Chicago Tribune

2012-01-12T18:00:00.004-06:00

That stupid Marilyn Monroe statue downtown during the first snowfall of the season.

Island Time

2012-01-10T13:04:00.002-06:00

Big Company Meeting in Hawaii this week. Yeah, yeah. I'd explain why it is all a big pain, but you wouldn't believe me.

Things on the island are more laid back. Meaning that if a meeting is supposed to start at 2pm, it will really be at 2:15. Makes me crazy, actually. But here's where it got funny:

Last night, my sixth in town, was the end of the big functions. When I got back to my room, there was a gift box on my bed. I opened the card, thinking it was a Thank You. "Time to Relax" would have been premature.

The card read (in short), "We welcome you here to the islands of Aloha...You have our commitment that...Please feel free to let us know how we can make your stay more memorable." Followed by the contact information of five people.

It was a lovely box of Hawaiian shortbread cookies.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith

2012-01-05T19:38:00.003-06:00

Book 1, 2012

This is another that falls into the category of, "Books that everyone read in school. Except me." I've been stalling on reading it for awhile, because everyone said it was so sad. Started with the audio book and finished on the airplane - boy are Brooklyn accents harsh.

Eh. I've read worse. (SPOILERS)

The novel follows a family living in poverty in Brooklyn, mostly during the years preceding WWI. If you don't count the infant mortality rate of women that can't afford medical care (and I don't because it only indirectly affects our main characters), the saddest thing that happens is the daddy drinks himself to death. It is a tragedy, but we are also told this way in advance. Also, there is so much forshadowing of the event that an 11-year old could see it. Since an 11-year old would be the intended audience. I was braced for it.

There is also a terrible, terrible moment when a 15 year old girl has to decide whether to take a promotion that would make her more money than her fmaily has ever seen before..or go to high school in the fall. Seriously, I found that family discussion more tense than anything else in the story.

I was very interested to read the mother's consistent feelings about taking charity. She would rather starve. And have her children starve. I am not sure if this was a matter of "a different time" or the immigrant experience, but it was striking.

I also appreciated the running demonstrations of the ways teachers can make or break the aspirations of children.

I loved this book. Loved.

Project Linus - Year One

2012-01-03T10:59:00.000-06:00

Let's start with my last two blankets of the year:

Blanket 69 starts with this blue fleece from Ikea. It is large, as seen on a queen sized bed. So it doesn't need to be cut at all, just run through with the rotary skip stitch blade to crochet. I forget who in our chapter found this, but at $2.49 it is a great deal. I bought several and swapped them for prepared fleece, then got one back the next time around. I forget what the yarn is, but I want to say it was one from Bernat.

Blanket 70 was just your average piece of pink fleece and a Red Heart variegated yarn. I think it was the Cotton Candy one again.

And that was the year. 70 Blankets is pretty good for Year One, I think.

So as I reflected a bit on the experience and what I want to do in 2012, I had several thoughts.

First, when I turned in my completed blankets at the last Starbucks night, Peggy pulled them out of the bag to put the special Project Linus tag on them and saw that I had a fully crocheted blanket in with several crocheted-edge fleece. I said, "Yeah. I'd forgotten how long it takes to do them." I can finish a fleece inside of one average professional sports game (I finished my first 2012 blanket during the Bears game yesterday). Fully-crocheted takes forever. So it is hard to put a number on how many blankets I plan to do next year.

Also, I am still only doing a single crochet. The ladies at Project Linus are certain that at some point, I will want to branch out and stuff takes longer when one is learning.

But what I can say is that I made time to attend more events than I originally thought I could do. I made nearly all of the bi-monthly Saturday events and was a regular at the monthly Wednesday evening gatherings at Starbucks. I have met a lot of wonderful people who welcomed me warmly even though I haven't a fraction of their artistic skills.

I've said that my chapter is large and active. I have already offered to help if they are interested in taking the networking to the next level online. But I'm not sure they even need it!

Overall, I am very happy with the experience and plan to continue as an active donor and volunteer in 2012.

Goal Check - 2011

2012-01-02T10:15:00.001-06:00

So here is what I wrote last year and how it went:

At the Refuge, we have all agreed that we need to start organized fundraising efforts. I spent a few hours researching grants that might be available. Of course, I'll have to learn how to write them.

We held a fundraising walk on Memorial Day that raised a bunch of money. Another volunteer picked up the grant writing and ran with it, although I don't know what kind of results she had. Finally, my employer started a charitable matching contribution program that I maxed out in support of the Refuge. I am calling a Win on this goal, but we'd better step it up next year.

At the Library, we have talked a lot about how to keep all of the volunteers better informed. It is really hard to keep everyone on the same page when we are all working one-at-a-time. I owe our director an e-mail on the instructions regarding onsite sales of Amazon listed books.

Didn't make much progress here. Not all volunteers are online so we have relied on a notebook to keep volunteers informed onsite. But not all of us are onsite at regular intervals. We are having another planning committee meeting soon and I expect we will be discussing this again.

I mentioned that I am beginning to contribute blankets to Project Linus. I am not sure how active I can be in the local chapter, but I think I am halfway through my second contribution.

I rocked this one, and will discuss it further in a separate post.

I was disappointed that I only made it to 50 Books read in 2010. However, it seems to be a reachable goal, so I'd better stick with it. I will commit to reading every book that my Book Club selects, even if I am not able to attend the meetings.

I hit 65 books, thanks to the audio section of the Library. However, I did skip one Book Club Book. The meeting was on the day of a Bears game and it would have been a re-read anyway.

I am not going to commit to visiting any place new in 2011. The winter vacation is a repeat, and unless I have a much better idea, I think I want to go back to New Orleans this year.

I did not visit any new cities in 2011. However, I have a vacation to Kauai planned for late winter (been to Hawaii, but not this particular island) and a conference scheduled for Wrightsville Beach, NC (been to the state, not this area). I do not have hard plans for the summer yet.

Additionally:

Several months of the year were defined by my mother's health crisis and the aftermath. For the most part, she is recovering nicely. There are some ugly straggling bills coming in, but it could all have been so much worse.

I did some pro bono work through the Taproot Foundation, finishing up my first project recently. It was mostly a positive experience, but it became very difficult to schedule with my other commitments. I should write up a complete post on that.

We lost two pets this year, Shadow the Dog and Spooky the Cat. We adopted Gibbs as a puppy this summer and made a serious goal of making sure he is well-trained and socialized. His training is going well. He does. not. like. strangers. Also, Sigmund the Foster Grey has decided that he is staying. I believe this is called a "failed foster" and his adoption is pending.

Finally, I have used the Internet to do a whole lot more networking and idea-sharing with other non-profits and volunteers. I have not contributed much to Glenview Patch lately, though.

So. I owe posts to my blog on Sigmund, Project Linus, Great Non Profits, and Taproot. I go back to work tomorrow for one day, then leave for Big Work Meeting. I think it is going to be a good year.

Bragging about my Dog Again

2012-01-02T05:44:00.000-06:00

We gave this to Gibbs for Christmas:

I gave him a quick demo by putting a small treat into two compartments. One was open and he snatched it up. Then he watched me open the other so he could grab the second treat. Then I picked it all up and loaded it all up. Then I gave it to him and this is what happened (only the first minute is really worth watching):

That moment he was distracted was because Kiwi the Grey flew over our heads. He didn't get the last two, but came back to it later.

I love this dog.

2011 Reading Recap

2012-01-01T10:04:00.000-06:00

Not long ago, my friend, Nyla asked what my non-fiction to fiction ratio was. I really didn’t know, because I enjoy both, so she put me in the 50/50 category. Not this year:

24 non-fiction to 40 fiction

My favorite fiction reads were The Help and The Book Thief, followed by Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. Favorite non-fiction was My Life in France and Mornings on Horseback.

The most important thing I read was Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, which introduced me to many non-profits doing great work across the globe including Women for Women International. I am now an active sponsor.

New for me this year was diving into the audio books. I am going through books much more quickly when I can sit and work on a Project Linus blanket at the same time. I wonder if that isn’t why I read fewer non-fiction – there are definitely fewer non-fiction books on audio in the library.

I still buy books faster than I read them. And I don’t do as much on the Kindle as many people. Here was the final tally (the links are to the appropriate page on Librarything. If you are interested in my "reviews" you might find the "50 Book Challenge 2011" tag down the right-hand side of the page and scroll through):

11 Days in December: Christmas at the Bulge, 1944

Stanley Weintraub

Santa Clawed: A Novel (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries)

Rita Mae Brown & Sneaky Pie Brown

Autobiography of Santa Claus, The

Jeff Guinn

In the Dark Streets Shineth: A 1941 Christmas Eve Story

David McCullough

A Week in December

Sebastian Faulks

Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor

Lisa Kleypas

The Christmas Train

David Baldacci

The Fat Man: A Tale of North Pole Noir

Ken Harmon

The Book Thief

Markus Zusak

Home for Christmas

Andrew M. Greeley

A Christmas Secret

Anne Perry

Everyman

Philip Roth

Dr. Zhivago

Boris Pasternak

Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir

Christopher Buckley

The Lake of Dreams: A Novel

Kim Edwards

Travels with My Aunt (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

Graham Greene

Homer & Langley

E.L. Doctorow

The Tortilla Curtain: A Novel (Penguin Ink)

T.C. Boyle

The Castle in the Forest: A Novel

Norman Mailer

Harp

John Gregory Dunne

The Last Dickens: A Novel

Matthew Pearl

What If?: Short Stories to Spark Diversity Dialogue

Steve L. Robbins

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Jamie Ford

True Compass: A Memoir

Edward M. Kennedy

Working for Peanuts: The Project Linus Story

Karen Loucks Rinedollar

Changing the World on a Tuesday Night

Tammi DeVille

The Flanders Panel

Arturo Perez-Reverte

Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny: Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam

Zainab Salbi

Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How They Changed America 1789-1989

Michael Beschloss

The Red Leather Diary: Reclaiming a Life Through the Pages of a Lost Journal (P.S.)

Lily Koppel

I Am Charlotte Simmons: A Novel

Tom Wolfe

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Mary Ann Shaffer

Thunderstruck

Erik Larson

Neverwhere: A Novel

Neil Gaiman

Einstein: His Life and Universe

Walter Isaacson

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Seth Grahame-Smith

Exiles in the Garden

Ward Just

Run

Ann Patchett

A Spot of Bother (Vintage)

Mark Haddon

Son of a Witch: Volume Two in the Wicked Years

Gregory Maguire

Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt

David McCullough

The Shack (Special Hardcover Edition)

William P. Young

American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies in the Founding of the Republic

Joseph J. Ellis

The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

John Steinbeck

White Jazz: A Novel

James Ellroy

Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy

Frances Mayes

Zombie Spaceship Wasteland: A Book by Patton Oswalt

Patton Oswalt

My Life in France

Julia Child

Unaccustomed Earth: Stories (Vintage Contemporaries)

Jhumpa Lahiri

Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself

Alan Alda

The Help

Kathryn Stockett

Boom!: Talking About the Sixties: What Happened, How It Shaped Today, Lessons for Tomorrow

Tom Brokaw

Suite Francaise

Irene Nemirovsky

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide (Vintage)

Nicholas Kristof

The Poe Shadow: A Novel

Matthew Pearl

THE SECRET ADVERSARY

Agatha Christie

A Separate Country

Robert Hicks

The Child in Time

Ian McEwan

1776

David McCullough

Bloody Crimes: The Chase for Jefferson Davis and the Death Pageant for Lincoln's Corpse

James L. Swanson

The Zahir: A Novel of Obsession (P.S.)

Paul Coelho

THE EDIBLE WOMAN by Margaret Atwood (Paperback - Jan 1969)

Margaret Atwood

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex

Mary Roach

The Witches of Eastwick

John Updike

11 Days in December: Christmas at the Bulge, 1944, by Stanley Weintraub

2011-12-31T11:11:00.002-06:00

Book 64 of 50 Book Challenge and Book 9 of Holiday Reading Challenges

Closing out the year with a quick audio book. Weintraub wrote another Christmas book that I read awhile ago, about George Washington. So when I saw this at the library's holiday display I picked it up.

I thought I was done with the holiday thing.

The jacket description lays this out with the old story of General Patton trying to get off an air campaign, being held off by weather and asking God whose side he was on. The book spends almost no time on that subject.

There was a lot of politicking among the generals in December 1944. Normally, I like to read about the politicking. But this was more about who was endorsing whom for more stars and who thought whom wasn't agressive enough in the campaigns. I didn't need to hear about how Churchill didn't like Ike. I was really hoping for a book about the guys in the field that Christmas - like that part of Band of Brothers (who made an appearance in this book).

There were a couple of very worthy anecdotes. American soldiers end up at a lady's farmhouse on Christmas and she is sharing the little she has when the German soldiers show up and they all manage a peaceful holiday together. The one where the mail had been held up, but Christmas arrives and Dick Byers receives two boxes of treats from his fiancee in the States. I wish there had been more of those.

And that just about does it for the year. I will work on a 2011 book recap soon.

The Autobiography of Santa Claus, as told to Jeff Guinn

2011-12-30T20:23:00.002-06:00

Book 63 of 50 Book Challenge, Book 8 of the Holiday Reading Challenges

I am pretty sure I found this at the Library's Used Book Store, and it received an enthusiastic thumbs up from one of the Holiday Challenge Readers.

Loved it. In fact, I daresay this was the best of all the holiday books I read this year.

This book is Santa Claus explaining himself. Laying out the historical truth and the evolution of the myth, beginning with his childhood in modern day Turkey. Nicholas was an orphan with a trust fund who was uncomfortable with his wealth in the face of so many in need. As an adult, he became a priest. His good works continued and he became a bishop. As rumors of "miracles" spread, so did his fame and he felt the need to abandon his life to continue his mission of giving gifts to those in need.

The book goes on to explain the sainthood of St. Nicholas (which embarrasses him) and frequently returns to a theme of Magic vs. Illusion. Travels begin (dude was on the damn Mayflower) and assistants are recruited - many historical figures - and they are all unnaturally long-lived.

My suspension of disbelief held pretty well. Although Santa kinda skipped over the part wherein he broke his eternal vow of celibacy in order to marry Mrs. Claus. (Even if you are a couple hundred years old, an eternal vow is an eternal vow.) I even got a little misty hearing Santa describe his reading of the "Yes, Virginia" column - reprinted in its entirety.

I can't say this is an Every Year classic. But I am pretty certain it will be a repeater in my house.

How the Target Pharmacy Lost my Business

2011-12-28T19:00:00.001-06:00

or Today's Rant of My First World Problems.

The stupidest use of legislation ever was the State of Illinois deciding that it would combat the evil meth labs by making it painfully inconvenient for the Good People to obtain pseudoephedrine. Without which I cannot breathe.

Until recently my drug of choice, Allegra D, was only available by prescription. So I ordered it in 90 day supplies from the mail order pharmacy preferred by my health insurance. When I went to reorder this month, the mail order pharmacy said they are no longer distributing Allegra D because it is an over-the-counter drug.

Knowing about the Stupidest Use of Legislation Ever, I asked what my options were. Going to the pharmacy every 10 days to buy a new box is unacceptable. Mail order pharmacy suggested that I call my doctor for a new script and take it to my local pharmacy. They would probably give me 90 days if those were my doctors orders.

I called the local pharmacy and my doctor's office and confirmed that I could do this. I picked up the script the next day and figured I would pick it up the next time I ran by the pharmacy.

Then I went goofy.

I happened to be in Target for last minute Christmas stuff. They have a pharmacy. I haven't been entirely happy with my regular pharmacy, so I took my script to the Target pharmacist. He told me the state law said that he couldn't give me more than a ten day supply. It didn't matter that I had a prescription. He had to take my driver's license, put it into a national database and confirm that I was allowed to have it before he could give me a ten day supply. When I told him that my local pharmacy said they could do it, he said, "Their systems must not be as good as ours."

I took the ten day supply.

Fast forward to today. My mother saw our doctor, and having heard the first part of my story, got him to write a script for Claritin D, which has the same regulatory issues. She took hers to a third pharmacy and it was filled with no problem. I went back to my regular pharmacy tonight and got my 90 day supply.

Perhaps because I work in HR, there are few things that irritate me more than people telling me what "the law says" when they have no idea what they are talking about. I understand the rules with this drug are crazy, but if I can't count on the pharmacist to know them better than I do, I will be taking my business elsewhere.

Sorry, Target. That was your shot.

Everything Old is Still Old

2011-12-27T15:38:00.000-06:00

The Christmas Conversation at my House

Ainslie (age 3): Alex! Alex! Sing "Jingle Bells Batman Smells!"
Alex (Age 6 1/2): (complies)
Mom (to my brother, Scott): Wonder where he got that?
Scott: I didn't do it!
Mom: Oh, yeah? It was your favorite..
Scott: School kids, kids in the neighborhood...
Me: (completely believing him) Seriously. An entire generation later and the kids can't come up with anything better than "Jingle Bells Batman Smells?"
Scott: Guess not.

This reminded me of a day my freshman year of high school. I had been passing notes in Geometry with my friend, Todd. He wrote out an entire dirty joke on a piece of notebook paper that (of course) fell out of my back pack when I got home. I don't remember what the joke was.

My mother grabbed it, read it and handed it to my father. As I thought I was about to be scolded, I prepared for battle. But my father said, "I've got news for you, kid. I heard that joke when I was in high school." My mother said, "I didn't hear it until college. When your father told it to me."

I grabbed my stuff and went to my room, totally disgusted.

Santa Clawed, by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown

2011-12-27T15:24:00.002-06:00

Book 62 of 50 Book Challenge, Book 7 of Holiday Reading Challenges

"Sneaky Pie Brown" being the author's cat. My mother used to read these novels - small town Virginia farm lady solves mysteries with the help of her dog and two cats. The animals can talk to each other but not to the humans, similar to Bunnicula. So this was the holiday-themed one.

The novel did start with the heart-warming country Christmas stuff, but it didn't last very long. The ladies decorating the church for the Christmas social or whatever. Gossiping about a guy with whom they attended high school who grew up to be convicted of securities fraud and joined the local monastery upon being released from prison. Our heroine meets him again at the monks' Christmas tree farm, Later that night, when she brings her husband and the pets (really?!) to pick up the tree, the dog finds the monk with his throat slit.

I found it very interesting that such a cutsie concept could be wrapped around what came to be a rather sordid tale. I'm not sure it was necessary. The mystery was doing just fine without the dog and cat quibbling over...whatever. When I asked my mother about it, she said that she liked when the horses got to talking, but that didn't happen very often.

Having said that, this was a lot of fun. I liked the main character and I liked the small town cops. I'm not planning to seek out more of these books, but it is nice to know they are readable in a pinch.

My Three Trees

2011-12-25T17:54:00.002-06:00

The first thing is that we really like Christmas ornaments. Factor in that we combined two households. That has lead to not even unpacking a whole bunch of ornaments for years. We thought about getting a second tree, but it seemed like to much work. Enter pre-lit trees. And dropping prices. So this year, I bought the second tree. A small, four foot pre-lighted that we put on a kitchen cart in our family room:

About a day later, I made my one trip of the season to Crate and Barrel and found this "ornament tree":

This is a terrible picture, as the angle I had to take in the hallway doesn't do it justice, but I also think that next year I will focus on spherical ornaments here, rather than just "small" ones. I think it'll fill out nicely that way. Finally, the main event:

In the front window of my living room. Sorry about the glare. There are an awful lot of gifts here, but that is because my brother sent his over already. So my house is officially ready for guests and I am watching the Bulls game.

Merry Christmas.

Best Christmas Video Ever

2011-12-24T16:49:00.001-06:00

A Week in December, by Sebastian Faulks

2011-12-24T15:37:00.001-06:00

Book 62 of 50 Book Challenge, Book 6 of the Holiday Reading Challenges

I found this at the library in a display of holiday-themed audio books. It sounded really good, so I picked it up.

It is not a holiday book.

It is one of those books about various different strangers with nothing in common whose lives intersect over a big event. As I read through the book..and it is a very slow burn..I came to understand the event was going to be a terrorist bombing. And I hung around trying to figure out who would live and who would die.

The other thing this novel has is the point of view of one of the big shot hedge fund guys right before the financial collapse. The setting is London, but the feel of the super-wealthy getting super-wealthier and the impending doom for everyone else is there.

There is also some commentary of what I think of as evidence that we are descending into the next Dark Age. In fact, one of the characters lays it out that there was a "Golden Age" of education from about 1925 to 1975 when education was relatively universal and teachers would teach. After that, we as a society decided that we didn't want to leave anyone behind so we taught less to everyone. The theory posited is that the coming generation (I couldn't quite pinpoint which that was) would know less than the one before it and that is when society is officially backsliding.

(Side Note to my 8th grade civ teacher, Mr Pielin: It is absolutely your fault that I obsess over this concept.)

Faulks also takes a shot at Reality TV by having a character rant that it is the product of bad people taking advantage of stupid people. So true.

So. There was no warm and fuzzy holiday anything, and I think I will have to have a talk with the librarian.

In the Dark Streets Shineth, by David McCullough

2011-12-22T19:13:00.003-06:00

It seems like cheating to count this for any reading challenges, as it was so short. I picked it up at the clearance sales last year, so I knew it was a slim volume. I didn't realize that it was mostly pictures.

However, it is a nice little story about Winston Chruchill secretly heading to the U.S. to see President Roosevelt after Pearl Harbor was attacked. He spent the holiday in Washington, attended the tree lighting and church service with the Roosevelts and then spoke at the President's holiday radio address.

So, this is a nice book to have in my library, but it didn't run as deep as I'd hoped.

Blankets 64 - 68

2011-12-21T17:27:00.000-06:00

It is Starbucks night for Project Linus and I finished this month's stash. I am now officially recording these out of order, as when I loaded my last two pics from the camera, I found three blankets that I'd finished earlier and not posted.

You can't tell from this pic, but that yarn matches the blue-green in blanket exactly. Loops & Threads Impeccable in Sea Green.

This was one of the Red Heart variegated yarns. Monet, I think it was.

I started using the Caron One Pound white yarn. I can't say I like it any better than Lion Brand Pound of Love yarn, except that it doesn't tangle as much.

Same yarn.

Caron Simply Soft yarn in Soft Blue.

I expect to be picking up a new stash of fleece tonight!

The Fat Man: A Tale of North Pole Noir, by Ken Harmon

2011-12-20T19:48:00.000-06:00

Book 61 of 50 Book Challenge, Book 5 of the Holiday Book Challenges

I found piles of this one at Half Price Books, all with remainder marks as thought it was the title that didn't fly last season.

It was awesome.

Gumdrop the Elf leads the Coal Brigade until Santa fires him. Then a guy is murdered using Ralphie's Red Ryder BB gun and Gumdrop is the prime suspect.

You don't get to be the leader of the Coal Brigade by being the shiny happy elf, so you can guess how this goes.

Pretty much every pop-culture Christmas reference is made at some point in this one, and it is kinda dark for awhile. For example, Kringle Town has a shadow land called Pottersville. Tiny Tim drives the ferry between the two. The Misfit Toys live on their island and there are rumors that a Misfit Mafia is stealing the "good" toys.

Not to go all SPOILER but the end is rather warm and fuzzy and true-meaning-of-Christmas-y.

This book is the most fun I have had in this challenge.

Quick Road Trip with Alex

2011-12-19T19:05:00.000-06:00

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum opened in 2002 and I hadn't been down to see it yet. My nephew Alex, age 6, digs the presidents so I asked if he wanted to go to Springfield with me to see the museum. He was in.

We decided that we would leave after the Bears' game. After the first series, I told Alex that if we decided the game was going to be bad, we could leave early. Two series later, Johnny Knox was down and we were out the door.

We stayed at the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel in downtown Springfield. One must pay $7.00 a day to park there, if you can believe it. There were exactly two cars in my level of the lot at 4:30 p.m. yesterday. We checked in and the first thing Alex did was look out the window, point to the Hilton towering over us and say, "I'm glad we aren't staying there." The second thing he did was unpack. He started with his mouthwash:

He was all pleased that he packed his own bag and remembered his mouthwash. (I had flopped on the bed to see if the Broncos were losing.)

Then we went to dinner. I asked Alex if he wanted to eat in the hotel or go out and find something else. He opted for the hotel so that he didn't have to put his coat back on. I didn't offer up room service. And I am glad I didn't because this was the Christmas Tree in the hotel restaurant:

I wouldn't have wanted to miss it. And we both ate for less than 20 bucks which made up for having to pay for parking.

The next morning we had breakfast and set out. We checked the walking map and found that the "Lincoln Library" was two blocks from the hotel. But when we got there, we found that it was actually the public library of the city of Springfield. Alex was cool with it, because he liked this mural that we saw there:

He actually read the plaque, but I wasn't listening because I was staring holes into the city map. Six or seven blocks in the other direction and we found it:

There were several exhibits and movies and artifacts, but the boy is only six so we didn't get the full effect. Also, there is a lot about death and dying - between the war and the sons and the assassination itself. There was even a replica of the coffin lying in state in the capitol rotunda that Alex said "creeped (him) out". But the White House portico was very nice:

The gift shop rocked. And do you know what that boy picked out for a souvenir? An Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum pocket watch. A pocket watch! If he were older, I'd have to called poseur on that. But for a six year old? Plus 1 to coolness.

Then he was done and we made tracks home.

Winter Rant

2011-12-15T20:16:00.001-06:00

My office building has revolving doors on each side. There are, of course, handicapped accessible doors with the automatic opening button next to them. These double as emergency exits.

Some people like to use this door, because it is faster than using the revolving doors. They seem to have forgotten the purpose of revolving doors:

To keep the cold air out and the warm air in the building. (Or the reverse, in the summer.)

People seriously continue to do this in the winter. I stopped eating in the glass ceilinged atrium because of the general chill and frequent gusts of cold air.

So. I went to Noodles tonight before heading to the library. Noodles has a set of double doors for people to enter and exit..and a side door that leads to the patio-area in the summer. For some reason - I presume it is the fire code - this thing is unlocked in the winter.

Two jerks used it while I was eating. Apparently, they think that because they have their coats on, it is ok to blast the cold air in on the rest of us. Because I am cheeky, and a seriously regular customer, I stopped by the register and found the manager on my way out. I said:

"For the suggestion box: I wonder if you wouldn't mind putting a 'Use other door' sign on the side entrance.."

I hadn't gotten all of the words out when she said, "I had one on there for five days. You have no idea how many people ignored it. I saw people read it and then go out the door anyway. I tried locking it. Someone broke the lock on the door..."

Broke. The. Lock.

(It's fixed now, so don't get any funny ideas.)

People. It is winter now. Winter is long. Winter is cold. Please show some consideration for the people around you. Use the proper doors. And close them behind you.

Blanket 63

2011-12-14T21:18:00.002-06:00

I had to look up my blanket count, it has been so long since I have posted - meaning so long since I have finished a blanket. Two reasons: this is a fully crocheted blanket, as is the other I started on the road. And I have been working on the scarves for my grandfather's church. But Starbuck's night is next week and I have a couple more pieces of fleece to finish, so I'd better get moving.

This was Loops & Threads Impeccable yarn in Navy and Aran. Doesn't really stand out, but it meets the qualifications of gender neutral colors and large enough for an older kid.

Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor, by Lisa Kleypas

2011-12-13T19:51:00.002-06:00

Book 60 of 50 Book Challenge, Book 4 of the Holiday Book Challenges

I accidentally read a romance novel. I don't know how it happened. I thought it was about a little girl that lost her mother and found her voice and her joy again at Christmas. It was really about an uncle/guardian and the new lady in town who happens to be a young widow that has opened a new toy shop on one of those islands off the coast of Seattle. Next time, I must really read more than two lines of the jacket summary.

It wasn't a bodice ripper by any stretch, and for most of the novel it was pristine near to Jane Austen. And then it wasn't. And I found myself thinking, "Really? You knew that dude was a player and didn't even consider the birth control?"

It has been a really long time since I read a romance novel.

All of the characters were perfectly pleasant - even the girlfriend that was ditched. There wasn't very much conflict, which was fine, too. The "Christmas" connection was pretty weak, but that was ok. But I think I gotta go back to the Christmas murder mysteries now.

The Christmas Train, by David Baldacci

2011-12-12T17:24:00.000-06:00

Book 59 of 50 Book Challenge, Book 3 of the Holiday Reading Challenges

I had never read Baldacci before, but understand he writes crime/thriller type books. So I was interested to see what he did with a Christmas theme.

Not a thriller.

The concept is interesting enough...man of a certain age takes a cross-country train to meet his girlfriend for a holiday in Lake Tahoe. He meets all sorts of people going to meet family, or not. The Amtrak staff made for awesome characters, and if someone will tell me right now that the cross country trains really have staff like that I will book my ticket right now. Then things start to disappear and the weather turns. All good stuff.

Except that I didn't find our hero to be all that likable and the plot really seemed to be about The One That Got Away.

(sigh)

The climax of the tale is our hero lying in the blizzard with his love waiting to die. Seriously. And I wouldn't want to spoil the punchline for you.