Minda's Place

Resolutions Redux

2012-01-02T08:52:00.002-05:00

My sister-in-law wrote about how she sets and follows through on goals at her blog. I'm busy this morning figuring out what specific steps I'm going to take this week to make progress on my resolutions.

My sister also wrote about resolutions yesterday on her blog. The title made me laugh and shudder. I was around 10 when Mom decided we each needed a daily dose of cod liver oil. Raspberries are much tastier.

New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-01T11:23:00.004-05:00

As a child, I loved New Year's resolutions. With the eternal optimism of youth, I determined each January that this year I would become perfect. I would clean my room. Not fight with my brother. Brush my teeth and say prayers twice a day. Write in my journal and read scriptures daily. As I entered double digits, I added lose weight and exercise to the list.

Of this list, I have mastered brushing my teeth twice a day.

I don't fight with my brother anymore either, but that resolution has been replaced by one to show more patience with the family members I live with now.

I eventually ditched New Year's resolutions altogether, in an attempt to relax and accept myself.

Then I decide to challenge myself to read 52 books in one year. Unlike many of my earlier resolutions, this one played to my strengths while stretching me to grow. Not only did I complete the challenge, I enjoyed it. Last year, I made a different soup from Sunday Soups each Sunday we were home. Although my blog posts failed partway through the year, the cooking continued, and I had fun discovering my buried cooking skills and developing new ones.

Neither of these goals felt like New Year's resolutions because they were fun and were things I wanted to do, not things I wanted to want to do. But maybe these were what resolutions were supposed to be?

I became fully committed to setting resolutions again this year as the result of a conversation I had with Michael's sister during our trip to Ireland. I have admired her accomplishments for years, but without giving a lot of thought to how she does so much. Learning more about how she sets goals and follows up on them inspired me to give it another try, but this time with some of the self-forgiveness and self-acceptance that I developed during my years off.

I'm still flawed, of course. Last night I wrote down some personality traits I'd love to leave behind and watched the paper burn to ash in the fireplace. As I finalize my resolutions today, there are still some that speak to impatience, procrastination, and a lack of mental presence in the moment. But these resolutions are gentler and more forgiving than in years past, and most of my resolutions focus on things I want to accomplish that keep getting buried in the minutiae of day-to-day life.

Here's to a great 2012.

Year in Review: 2011

2011-12-31T14:55:00.002-05:00

January--Went cross-country skiing for the first time.

February--Ran lights and sound for a production at a local theater company (another first).

April--Spent two weeks studying Spanish in Costa Rica.

May--Ran my first 5K (with IM). Turned 40.

August--Moved out of the inn. Both the inn and the house survived Hurricane Irene.

September--Attended a surprise birthday party for my best friend from first grade.

October--Spent a weekend in NYC with Michael and two of our good friends from Utah.

November--Attended a professional conference in Austin. The family spent Thanksgiving in Oregon with my parents and my brother's family.

December--Spent a week in Ireland with Michael's sister Wendy. Enjoyed the most relaxing holiday week I've had in years.

My reading was down a bit this year. I read 35 published books, plus three that came to me through Michael's agenting, and several more of Michael's that I proofread. Although my reading this year contained a fair bit of fluff, I also read several books that have been on my To Read list for years.

More Spanish Lessons

2011-09-21T20:48:00.002-04:00

LW has a weekly Spanish session with a woman from Argentina. Every lesson starts with him reciting a story from one of his picture books. Usually Michael helps him learn the story and I take him to class, but this week we switched.

I read a line of the story, and LW repeated it. Part way through, he turned to me and said in surprise, "You're getting better at this!"

On our second pass through the book, however, he decided it was time to work on my accent.

Me: Tres mariquitas, pero, donde esta el gato?
LW: Tr-tr-tr-tres (pauses to shoot me a meaningful look) I'm saying this for you.

As if there was any doubt.

Me, the Valley, and Irene

2011-08-29T20:03:00.004-04:00

From our house on the hill, Irene seemed like just another rainy day. During an evening walk, we noticed that the brook was rushing and dangerous, but if it weren't for Facebook we would have had no idea of the seriousness of the storm.

Just as we were going to bed, we lost power and the generator kicked in. Things I've learned so far about our generator:

It is LOUD.

Not all outlets are connected to the generator.

The outlets for my bedside lamp and the alarm clock are not on the generator but the overhead lights in the bedroom are.

The outlet under Michael's desk is NOT on the generator.

The outlet under my desk is.

We woke up to no phone or internet service, and after an hour we couldn't stand not knowing how the inn was doing and Michael headed off to find out. A trip that usually takes 20 minutes took 2 hours, as he ran into one closed road after another and was forced to backtrack and find an alternate route. I had phone and internet back long before he reached the inn. Thankfully, the inn is fine. As is the sketchy-looking bridge to the north of the inn, which has reopened after being closed for fear it was being undermined.

It turns out Facebook is extremely useful in a situation like this. People are sharing news of road closures and tips on how to get to X from Y. A lost dog was reunited with its owner thanks to someone who recognized the posted picture. Those in need of volunteers are able to post what they need and when.

I was both touched and amused when I logged in to work today to find that my large corporate employer wanted me to log in to a special web page and tell them if I was not safe, safe, safe and able to help others, or none of the above. What are the odds that if I were not safe I would be able to log in to my work email account to get the link to the web page?

This is what we come to if we turn right out of the driveway:

There is a second culvert that is threatening to wash out just past this one, but the nice man from the road crew said they are hoping to get them both fixed by the end of the day tomorrow.

If we turn left out of the driveway, we connect to a state road with things like this:

Yes, that's a large tree blocking the right lane. But since this is in between two closed bridges (one totally washed away and one that has been seriously undermined) and since this same lane completely collapses for about 20 feet half a mile up the road from the tree, removing it isn't high on anyone's list.

Moving Days 2-5

2011-08-27T20:49:00.003-04:00

Wednesday--To be honest, I'm grateful this day has already faded into a blur. I can tell from the bruises and sore muscles that we moved a ton of furniture and boxes. EM stepped up to the plate and functioned as a grown-up, which made the whole day possible, although I can't say we all stayed cheerful. We slept on the floor at the inn that night, since we had arranged for the new innkeeper to move in on Thursday.

Thursday--Michael and EM took one last load to the house in the U-Haul truck. That load looked less like an organized move and more like an emergency evacuation, with assorted good crammed in laundry baskets and plastic totes. Despite lofty goals to have beds assembled, the kitchen organized, and bathrooms cleaned, the three older kids slept on mattresses on the floor.

Friday--Michael and I were back at work from our lovely new office. I drove down to the inn for an hour in the morning to review some of the paperwork and computer systems and retrieve a few left items. In the afternoon, we tried out the pool, only to discover that the heater isn't on and there seems to be a trick to starting it that we haven't discovered. Fortunately, the day was warm enough that a cold pool was refreshing. (We have a call in to the pool guy to arrange for a time for him to walk us through the systems.)

Saturday--After helping with the initial early breakfast rush at the inn, I drove the kids to the city to return IM's trumpet (she's decided it is not the instrument for her), buy a few last items for school, and replace some household things that stayed at the inn. Shopping trips exhaust me on a good day. The Saturday before school starts, when all the college students are moving into their dorm rooms and apartments, AND everyone is stocking up on essentials in advance of the hurricane? Clearly Dante needed a new level of hell. However, the unpacking continues at a steady pace, I successfully ran a load through the new-to-me front-loading washer, and the kids and I shuffled boxes around in the garage to make room for the car. (I figure if there is a day to park inside, it's the day the hurricane hits.

There is a lot more work ahead of us, but we are enjoying the process.

Moving Day 1 by the Numbers

2011-08-23T20:04:00.004-04:00

Number of Pilot loads of boxes taken to the new house: 3 (plus 2 yesterday)

Number of hours the one-and-only key to the new house was lost: 3.5

Number of times I emptied the water on the carpet cleaner: 6

Number of books left at the new house by the previous owners: 800?

Number of books we tossed: an uncomfortably high number

We Are Homeowners Again

2011-08-22T21:55:00.004-04:00

We closed on our new house today. For the first time in almost eight years, we own a home that is not a business. I have been looking forward to this moment for . . . almost eight years.

And yet, my overwhelming feeling tonight is not elation or excitement, but exhaustion.

We first saw the house during Memorial Day weekend and made an offer within the week. That was when simple and easy ended. I hadn't realized fully how stressed I was until I walked out of the attorney's office with the key in my hand.

Hopefully, I'll snap back to normal by tomorrow morning, because we have a lot to do!

Spring and Summer Reading

2011-07-31T11:42:00.004-04:00

Whose Body?--This is my first Dorothy Sayers novel. A light, enjoyable read. There is nothing here to compel me to read more in the series, but I wouldn't avoid reading more if I stumble across them.

Three Cups of Tea--Yes, I know. The rest of the world read this one years ago. A great story of someone who is making a difference instead of standing around wishing someone would do something.

The Butterfly Mosque--The story of an American woman who moved to Egypt, converted from atheism to Islam, and married an Egyptian Muslim. I find stories of people's faith journeys fascinating, and this was no exception. I was surprised by how easy it was to understand what drew her to Islam:

It had to be a faith that didn't need to struggle to explain why bad things happen to good people, a faith in which it was understood that destruction is implicit in creation. I had a faint attraction to Buddhism, but Buddhism was not theist enough; the role of God was obscure or absent. I would have liked to be a Christian. My life would have been much easier if I could stomach the Trinity and inherited sin, or the idea that God had a son. Judaism was a near perfect fit, but it was created for a single tribe of people. 12

And although parts of the book were a trip to a foreign land and foreign minds, I laughed out loud at her thoughts on housekeeping:

The idea that housework was demeaning and oppressive had been drilled into me from such a young age and from so many sources that I could not remember where I first came across it. I believed it, and took the maxim to the next logical step: if housework was demeaning and oppressive, it must also be unnecessary. I was confused when the kitchenette in my college apartment got dirty. When dust bunnies accumulated under the bed, I had an uneasy feeling that the world was not functioning as it should. If people were not meant to clean, cleanliness should not require people. 203

The Actor and the Housewife--I had seen this recommended as a fun, light read, so I bought it for my Kindle before I left for Costa Rica. Although I quite enjoyed the author's young adult novels, I found this book highly irritating. I am pretty sure this is a trunk story, written before her later successes. It emphasizes the most annoying and juvenile aspects of Utah Mormon culture, and I had a very difficult time liking the main character. This might be the worst book of the year.

Sabriel--EM recommended this series to me. He owns the second and third books, but not the first, so I added this to my Kindle list for vacation reading. A well-written young adult fantasy novel. I was sorry I didn't have the rest of the series with me.

Raisin in the Sun--EM brought this one to Costa Rica as part of his assigned school reading. Once he was finished, I read it. I almost never read plays these days, but this one reminded me of why I enjoyed reading them when I was a teen. Raisin in the Sun is a family drama that reminds me of Arthur Miller and Eugene O'Neill.

Something Borrowed--I was in the mood for chick lit, so I chose this somewhat at random from the list of top-selling Kindle books. It was entertaining. There is apparently a sequel, but since it's written from the point of view of the most annoying character in this book, I have no intention of reading it.

Take the Monkeys and Run--Michael suggested this as a good indie book for my Kindle. A housewife married to a George Clooney lookalike gets involved in taking down the mob. If you can suspend your disbelief, it's a fun read. There are definitely a few places where a good editor could have improved the book, but overall it is competently written.

The Brothers Karamazov--My freshman year of college, this was my assigned reading for Christmas break, and I never finished it. To my knowledge, this is the only work of fiction I was ever assigned to read that I failed to complete. It's been niggling away at me ever since. So this year I decided to prove that twenty years of aging is all I needed to enjoy Russian novels. Sadly, that did not prove to be true. There is just something un-Russian about my mind and soul, apparently. However, I did finish it. And I enjoyed parts of it. If anyone has a good explanation for the subplot involving the boy who died, I'd love to hear it. I don't see how it connects to the main plot, which makes me wonder why it is in there at all.

Comeback America--A quick non-partisan read about the financial mess our country is in and how we can get out of it. This should be required reading for all elected officials, government workers and potential voters.

In addition to these books, I've also proofread four of Michael's novels (one needed two reads) and one novella.

Portrait

2011-07-24T13:05:00.004-04:00

LW brought this portrait home from preschool months ago. It's been taped to my desk hutch ever since, but it's getting a bit beat up. Now that we have a scanner, I decided to preserve it electronically, which also means I can share it with all of you.

Eight (!) Spring and Summer Soups

2011-07-24T12:27:00.004-04:00

I'm not cooking soup today (Michael's in Toronto on his yearly writing retreat and it's been so blasted hot I am not turning on the stove), so I decided to play catch-up on writing about soup.

Emily's Springtime Salmon Chowder--This is a quick and easy soup with potato, onion, garlic, and asparagus in addition to cream and salmon. Yum. Five thumbs up. There is a note that you can also add snow peas, which I think I will do next year.

Sweet Pea Soup with Early Chives--Some weeks, you worry about the soup. This was one of those weeks. Michael is not a fan of split pea soup, and it's not one of my favorites either, so I was not expecting to like a pea soup without even the benefit of ham. (Although the suggested side dish, Green Bean, Cherry Tomato and Bacon Salad, sounded like it would be tasty even if the soup wasn't.) I also wimped out slightly and used the ground nutmeg in my cupboard, instead of the freshly-grated whole nutmeg I was supposed to use. I remained skeptical even as I set the soup on the table. It's green. Vivid green. And yet, when all was said and done, pretty tasty. Five thumbs hovering between so-so and up. Not one I'll probably add to the menu next year, but one I might pull out if I find myself with five cups of fresh peas I don't know what to do with. (The salad, however, will be served more regularly.)

I skipped the next week, because we spent the weekend in the Adirondacks.

Penne, Asparagus, and Peas in Parmesan Broth--For this soup, the author recommends augmenting store-bought chicken broth by simmering vegetables, herbs, and a Parmesan cheese rind to infuse the broth with more flavor. It required a little more planning, but it definitely added to the flavor of the soup. This soup is great comfort food, with the crisped prosciutto on top adding a nice touch. Five thumbs up.

Paella Soup--Michael loved paella when we were in Spain, so I switched things around to serve this on Father's Day. He, EM, and IM loved it. (I can't remember how NB voted.) I didn't, although I'm not sure why. It's stuffed full of yummy ingredients--shrimp, chicken, chorizo, and white wine. Maybe it was the ghost of bad Spanish food past getting in the way of my taste buds.

Thai-Style Lemongrass Soup with Shrimp--EM looked at me like I had two heads when I said I didn't like this soup, but I didn't. (I'm not sure EM has met seafood he didn't find tasty.) I think the problem was that you are supposed to simmer the broth with lemongrass and lime slices. Since I couldn't find lemongrass even at the big Shaw's, I substituted lemon slices to go with the lime slices. There was an aftertaste to the broth that I found unpleasant. Michael, EM, and IM were thumbs up. NB and I were thumbs down. I would be willing to try this one again if I ever find myself in possession of some lemongrass.

Avocado Soup with Fresh Tomato Salsa--This was the first of the cold summer soups. It is essentially liquid guacamole, and therefore quite tasty. It doesn't really feel like dinner though, more like a dip for tortilla chips. As a dip, it got four thumbs up. (EM detests avocado, a weird blip in an otherwise sophisticated palate.) As a soup, we didn't quite know what to think.

Icy Cucumber Soup with Smoked Salmon and Dill--Michael is not a fan of cold soup, so he preferred to heat his up in the microwave after the first bite or two. He said it's good that way. I thought it was quite tasty chilled, as it is meant to be served. I wouldn't mind having it again. Three thumbs up, one shrug (NB), and one thumbs-up if heated.

Victorine's Gazpacho--Delicious, especially since I was able to get the tomatoes, green peppers and green onions at the farmer's market. I will definitely make this next summer. Five thumbs up. I served it with Crab and Avocado Sandwiches, which were also tasty. Even EM liked them, as he said the crab covered up the taste of the avocado.

There you have it. We are all caught up.

Weekend in the Adirondacks

2011-06-11T20:09:00.003-04:00

We needed to leave town last weekend to give our then-prospective innkeeper a chance to try out the job (we've since finalized the arrangement), so we packed the kids up after school on Friday and headed for the Adirondacks.

We stayed in a cabin at a KOA campground near Lake Placid. Saturday we walked through High Falls Gorge and then spent a couple of hours at the WILD Center. I was lured there by the promise of otters, one of my favorite animals to watch. They were entertaining as always, but the surprise star of the trip was this creature:

They brought her out so she could eat her lunch in front of an audience. Did you know that porcupines eat corn on the cob the way people do? She held it in her hands, ate across one row, turned the cob, ate across one row, and so forth. Her method of rifling through the contents of her bowl looking for something tasty also looked very human.

Sunday morning we went hiking at Ausable Chasm. LW still has a way to go before he's a great hiker, but we are hoping to give him more practice once we are not living at the inn.

Four Sunday Soups

2011-05-15T21:06:00.004-04:00

The last two weeks of March, I made Mama Veli's Pozole soup and Black Bean Soup with a Hint of Orange.

Michael loves pozole, so he was happy to see this on the menu. I'm pretty sure this was the first time I'd cooked with fresh tomatillos. The soup was more involved than some, but the end result was tasty (five thumbs up) and I plan on making it again next year.

Black Bean Soup with a Hint of Orange was tasty, but the hint of orange was so hinty I couldn't taste it. And since that was the main difference between this soup and the black bean soup I've had for years, I don't know if I'll make it again, despite its five thumbs up. I did gain a recipe from this week, however. The Red, Yellow, and Orange Pepper Salad with Tequila-Lime Dressing was delicious.

We skipped soup for the month of April, since I was either cooking for just EM and I or in Costa Rica. Now we are into spring soups.

Last week's soup was Spring Risotto Soup, a mound of risotto covered with chicken broth containing mushrooms, snap peas, and green onions. I love risotto and I thought this soup was fantastic, the perfect comfort food when a spring cold comes knocking. (Side note: the Kindle is great for reading while you are stirring, stirring, stirring.) EM and IM also loved it. NB and Michael, however, gave it a sideways thumb. I told Michael I love it enough that I plan on making it next year anyway.

Today's soup was Dreamy Creamy Artichoke Soup, served with Watercress Salad with Red Onion and Chopped Egg Vinaigrette. Michael this is a yummy simple soup--just leeks, butter, frozen artichoke hearts, chicken stock, cream and Parmesan. Only three of us ate it (NB and IM were full of pizza from a birthday party) but we all liked it. The salad was good too, although I couldn't find watercress and substituted mixed spring greens instead. I need to find a watercress source soon, because watercress soup is coming up in June.

Costa Rica: A Very Tardy Trip Recap

2011-05-03T21:03:00.016-04:00

Random impressions
* There are a ton of dogs and cats roaming the streets of Puerto Viejo. Anywhere you go, you have an instant pet (or two or three) following you around. Restaurants are no exception; at one point Michael and I had a cat sitting in the extra seat at the table, a dog resting his head on Michael's lap, and another dog who patiently sat by our table with hopeful eyes and a wagging tail for the entire dinner.

* Although the roads were much better than we saw on our last trip, by the end of the month we were dodging potholes in a road Michael had seen paved during his first week there.

* I lack the appropriate spatial awareness for driving in Puerto Viejo. Cars, trucks, bikes, scooters, pedestrians, horses, and the dogs and cats mentioned above all make use of the roads, which narrow to one lane for every bridge. Michael adapted just fine to the crazy passing and dodging; I closed my eyes.

* There is a limit to my feminism. When this showed up in our bedroom, I told Michael if the bug wasn't out of there by bedtime I was finding somewhere else to sleep:

I wasn't too found of this, either:

* If your private Spanish teacher is a good-looking, younger surfer, it's really great when you can shrug and say to your husband, "Well, you arranged the lessons."

* Land crabs are hard to dodge while driving. It's not until you are almost on top of them that you realize the rocks in the road are moving.

* It's nice of the aviary to ask us to stay three feet away from the birds, but someone should explain that to the birds.

* And the corollary: It's a little unnerving to be buzzed by toucans. Those beaks look wicked sharp when zooming toward your head.

* Although I am generally in favor of preserving wildlife, I don't quite see the need for the eyelash pit viper breeding program at the local animal rescue center.

* Tree frogs are a lot less noticeable with their eyes closed.

* It is possible to eat well in Costa Rica. The Caribbean had great seafood, including the best fish tacos I've ever eaten. And EM and I became quite attached to the bananas cooked with honey we encountered in the San Jose area.

* Three-toed sloths are even cuter than two-toed sloths.

* I suppose if I lived in Costa Rica, I too would become totally blase about howler monkeys in the trees on the edge of the beach. Eventually.

* Song is not the right word for the sound a toucan makes. You know those wooden friction sticks your music teacher let you play with in elementary school? That's what a toucan sounds like.

Bonus Soup!

2011-03-18T20:38:00.002-04:00

I realized this week, that I had more soups left in the Winter section than I had Sundays left in March. So I counted the soups. Despite the subtitle A Year's Worth of Mouthwatering, Easy-to-Make Recipes, there are 60 soups in the book, 15 for each season.

Deciding that if I can't make them all, I want to choose which ones I skip, I started thumbing through the book. And that's when I discovered a St. Patrick's Day soup (at the end of the Spring section, which is wrong by any measure).

So on Thursday I made Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup--"Under Cover" (in ramekins with puffed-pastry crust). It was easy to make during my lunch hour (it needs to be refrigerated for an hour) and is easily the most tasty corned-beef dish I've eaten.

Five thumbs up.

Sunday Soup 10 and 11

2011-03-13T18:47:00.003-04:00

Okra and I seem destined never to meet. One of the stories from the early days of my parents' marriage that entered our family lore (along with The Crazy Landlady and the Columbus Day Storm and Make Sure You Take Your Checkbook to the Grocery Store) is The Time Mom Made Okra.

Canned okra was on sale, you see, and they were trying to be frugal. Both of them agreed that the results were awful, and as a result, Mom never again served okra. Considering she used to feed us liver and onions and daily doses of cod liver oil, I think that's saying something. I grew up convinced that okra was the worst food in the world. Or at least America.

So when I looked at Soup 10 (Gulf Coast Shrimp Gumbo) and realized it had okra in it, I was dubious. Still, I promised to work my way through the cookbook, so off I went to get okra.

As it turns out, that's not an easy thing to do around here. I checked the produce and frozen food sections of both grocery stores, and neither had okra. I had suspected it might be difficult to find, so I had researched substitutions ahead of time, and purchased some asparagus. Not being able to find the andouille sausage, since I'd seen some last month, was unexpected. Pulling out my trusty cell phone (90% of all my cell phone calls are made from a store to home), I called Michael and asked him to google substitutions.

So, I can't actually tell you how Gulf Coast Shrimp Gumbo tastes. Apparently, a soup can't even be called gumbo if there isn't okra. However, Gulf Coast Shrimp Soup with Asparagus and Chorizo Sausage got five thumbs up.

Okra eluded me again.

Today I made Fennel X Two Soup with Vegetable Pitas with Goat Cheese and Fresh Herbs.

The soup is six cups of chopped fennel, one potato, two onions and some chicken broth, simmered, pureed, and mixed with cream that has been infused with tarragon and crushed fennel seed. Very tasty.

The goat cheese, fresh basil, and kalamata olives made the vegetable pitas especially yummy, although I think next time I'll reduce the salt slightly. Again, five thumbs up for both soup and sandwich, although NB notes that the pita is a bit messy to eat.

February's Reading

2011-03-05T18:22:00.005-05:00

Wedding Season--This book delivered what I've come to expect from Katie Fforde: rural English setting, a protagonist focused on a traditionally feminine trade, some romance. I preferred other books by this author, but I'm not sure if that's because I'm tired of the pattern or the quality slipped.

Operation Mincemeat--I really enjoyed this account of trickery during World War II. It tells the story of a successful scheme to convince the Nazis that the Allies were not going to attack Sicily from North Africa. The British fooled the Nazis by placing fake documents on a dead body off the coast of Spain.

In this book I (briefly) met the inspiration for Q of James Bond fame (did you know Ian Flemming was in British intelligence during WWII?):

[Charles] Fraser-Smith [of "Q"-Branch] possessed a wildly ingenious but supremely practical mind. He invented garlic-flavored chocolate to be consumed by agents parachuting into France in order that their breath should smell appropriately Gallic as soon as they landed; he made shoelaces containing a vicious steel garrote; he created a compass hidden in a button that unscrewed clockwise, based on the impeccable theory that the "unswerving logic of the German mind" would never guess that something might unscrew the wrong way. 112, 114

I found the conclusion stirring:

But [wars] are also won by feats of imagination. Amateur, unpublished novelists, the framers of Operation Mincemeat, dreamed up the most unlikely concatenation of events, rendered them believable, and sent them off to war, changing reality through lateral thinking and proving that it is possible to win a battle fought in the mind, from behind a desk, and from beyond the grave. Operation Mincemeat was pure make-believe, and it made Hitler believe something that changed the course of history. 295-296

I definitely recommend this book. There are fascinating bits all the way through.

Water Witches--My Pilates teacher passed this to me. It's a novel about dousers and the ski industry in Vermont. I found it an enjoyable but unmemorable read.

The Imperfectionists--I read this one for book group. Every chapter is told from the perspective of a different person affiliated with an international English-language newspaper. Perhaps unsurprisingly, my favorite chapter was one about the corrections editor. He rants about the use "literally" and his chapter is one of the happiest.

* literally: This word should be deleted. All too often, actions described as "literally" did not happen at all. As in, "He literally jumped out of his skin." No, he did not. Though if he literally had, I'd suggest raising the element and proposing the piece for page one. Inserting "literally" willy-nilly reinforces the notion that breathless nitwits lurk within this newsroom. Eliminate on sight--the usage, not the nitwits. The nitwits are to be captured and placed in the cages I have set up in the subbasement. See also: Excessive Dashes; Exclamation Points; and Nitwits. 84-85

Room--The best book of the year so far, and I'll be surprised if it doesn't end up in the top five come New Year's Eve. Like The Poisonwood Bible, this book gave me a new view on life and parenting that will return to mind again and again in the years ahead. I almost didn't read it because the subject matter seemed so disturbing, but I'm very glad I did. Haunting, horrible, and hopeful.

Town Meeting Day

2011-03-01T20:10:00.002-05:00

Today was Town Meeting Day, when voters across the state meet to approve budgets and pass resolutions. I love it.

Our local Fourth of July celebration is more Guy Fawkes than God Bless America, so Town Meeting Day is our greatest group demonstration of commitment to democracy. Some things (the inter-town high school budget and election of officials) are done by ballot in the voting booth, but the issues? The issues we hash out in open debate and voice vote ("all in favor say 'Aye!").

You need a thick skin to serve on a town board. Every town has a crank or two, and Town Meeting Day gives them access to an open mike. And then there are the non-crank but very blunt native New Englanders. ("George, what the hell are you talking about? Just quit the stories and tell us what you want.") Any line in the budget is up for critique, and people in the audience are routinely called on to dredge up the history of certain issues or subcommittee reports.

Today's meeting was relatively free of drama. The two issues I thought would be most controversial going in (the elementary school budget and a large paving project) both passed with nary a nay vote. The cemetery was a sneaker issue, generating far more debate than I expected. And there was one laughable moment, when a woman insisted we should ask nearby towns to help us fund the paving project, since they used the road too.

Due to a computer crisis and orthodontist appointment, I wasn't able to stay for the potluck lunch or the final resolutions (mostly housecleaning), but all in all it was a good day for democracy.

Here's to government of the people, by the people, for the people.

Sunday Soups 7, 8, and 9

2011-02-28T20:32:00.002-05:00

Unfortunately for Michael, due to some shifting around to get easy soups for the busy play weekends, we ended up with tomato soup two of the last three weeks. He was very supportive and ate both with no complaints.

Tomato and Fennel Soup with Pernod Cream--I left the Pernod out of the cream, because I didn't want to buy a bottle of anise-flavored liqueur when I only needed 3/4 of a teaspoon for this recipe. I like licorice, but I don't want to drink it. This soup has more fennel than tomato. It went very well with grilled cheese sandwiches made with good Cabot cheddar. Michael couldn't quite give it a thumbs up, but the rest of us did.

Spicy Pork Chili with Cumin Polenta--I had an ingredient issue with this recipe. Serrano peppers were not to be had, so I substituted with jalopeno. I'm not sure if it was due to the subsitution, but this chili was not as spicy as I had expected. It's more labor-intensive than most of the soups I've done so far, but it was tasty enough that is will likely make the permanent rotation at the end of the year. Five thumbs up.

Tomato, Dill, and White Cheddar Soup--This one had four times the tomatoes of the other soup. Perhaps consequently, Michael liked it less. I thought it was great, and it's quick and easy enough to make midweek. This soup has two qualities that are common among the recipes in this book: the use of leeks instead of onions and a touch of heat (cayenne pepper in this case) that intensifies the flavor of the vegetables. Michael was neutral on this one (because he is too polite to give it a thumbs down); the rest of us liked it.

Completely Missing the Point

2011-02-27T08:34:00.003-05:00

We're reaching the end of our rope around here. Not just Michael and I, but the entire town. It's the last night of the busiest ten days of the ski season, and we're a bit worn out from being ON all the time.

We had a couple of late-night noise complaints Friday night, so last night, when Michael left the key for our late arrival and closed up, he was hoping to get a solid 8 hours of sleep.

Around 11:30, the guest called to say he'd arrived and to thank Michael for leaving the key.

Because nothing says "thank you" like a phone call when you're fast asleep.

Public Service Announcement: Think of Your Driver

2011-02-19T09:23:00.002-05:00

We got a call at 3:30 this morning from the apologetic desk clerk at the posh resort on the mountain. She was sorry to bother us so late, but did we happen to have a room available? One of their guests had arrived by hired car and had failed to reserve a room for the drivers.

As it turns out, due to last-minute cancellations (funny how highs in the 50s and chance of rain brings out the illnesses), we did have a room available, but what on earth would this man have done if it had been a typical President's Week, when every bed in the Valley is full?

We see this at least once a winter, usually with bus drivers. Yes, people, even the help needs to sleep.

Time for an Anatomy Lesson

2011-02-16T22:00:00.003-05:00

LW, yesterday: Mom, you know the sack behind my penis? Is that where the pee comes from?

Sunday Soups 5 and 6

2011-02-09T18:59:00.002-05:00

We had our first soup fail, but it wasn't the one I expected.

Ever since my first skim through the book, I've dreaded the day I had to serve Celery Bisque. The fact that it was to be served with Stilton Toasts improved it slightly, but not enough for me to stop worrying. Really, is there any vegetable more boring than celery? Celery Bisque seemed like the soup equivalent of celery sticks. Palatable enough, but certainly not a meal. I even made dessert as a culinary apology.

Surprisingly, it was quite good. It tastes a lot like the cream of broccoli soup I frequently make. Thumbs up all around (except for LW, of course).

This week was Cauliflower Soup with Crispy Prosciutto and Parmesan. Eh. Some of it might be the fault of my blender, which didn't do a great job pureeing it, but only IM and EM (who, frankly, will eat just about anything they can get in their mouths these days) gave this a thumbs up. Michael, NB, and I were neutral. I approached the leftovers quite glumly at Monday lunch. Its strongest asset is that it's a way to use up two entire heads of cauliflower. As I slowly move toward my goal of more seasonal and local eating, that's something to consider.

I have to say that I finished this soup off at lunch today, after taking a break yesterday, and I found it quite delicious. I still probably won't make it again unless I find myself in possession of large quantities of cauliflower.

January's Reading

2011-01-31T20:23:00.005-05:00

The Magicians--This was my book group's selection for January. It's billed as an adult Harry Potter, which indicates how completely the speaker missed the attraction of Rowling's world. True, there is magic and even a magic school, but it's a magic school inhabited by apathetic young adults with no sense of direction. And yet, although I had a hard time caring about the characters, I found myself picking up the book again and again. Grossman is a brilliant writer, with subtle cultural references reminiscent of Stephen King.

This is a great book for anyone who has ever wished to go into a book, and for anyone who has ever looked around and wondered where all the promise of youth has gone.

"I will stop being a mouse, Quentin. I will take some chances. If you will, for just one second, look at your life and see how perfect it is. Stop looking for the next secret door that is going to lead you to your read life. Stop waiting. This is it" there's nothing else. It's here, and you'd better decide to enjoy it or you're going to be miserable for the rest of your life, forever." page 333

2001: A Space Odyssey--Like Childhood's End by the same author, which I read last year, 2001 has sparse language and intriguing ideas. I enjoy reading Clarke's predictions with the advantage of hindsight. He foresaw greater advances in space exploration than we have achieved, but he did not envision the media spread of the last twenty years. His 2001 lacks cell phones, the Internet, and iPods, although it does have the Newspad, a folio-sized device which allows you to read newspapers from around the world. But the biggest argument I have with Clarke is his view of food:

"More food was produced by chemical processing systems and algae culture. Although the green scum circulating through yards of transparent plastic tubes would scarcely have appealed to a gourmet, the biochemists could convert it into chops and steaks only an expert could distinguish from the real thing." page 59

I side with Michael Pollan. Give me some real food, please.

The Lightning Thief--NB and IM have been wanting me to read this book for years, and I finally got around to it. Eh. Unlike Harry Potter or The Hunger Games, this is not a book that grabbed me. I see why the kids like it, and I like the references to mythology, but I won't be continuing the series.

Like Water for Chocolate--I missed this one back when everyone else was reading it. Another eh. I'm not a fan of magical realism. (And yes, sometimes I do think my literary tastes are too Anglo-centric.)

I'm continuing to plod slowly through The Brothers Karamazov. My target completion date is imitating a software release date and slipping steadily back. I have to finish it by the middle of April because I refuse to have this be my beach read in Costa Rica.

Sometimes the Guests Say It for Me

2011-01-31T18:20:00.002-05:00

Sunday morning, I asked a woman what she wanted for breakfast. She looked at the menu and asked, "What's the difference between fried eggs and scrambled eggs?"

As I bit back what I wanted to say and began explaining the difference, her traveling companion turned to her in disbelief and said, "Is it your first day on the planet?"

Sunday Soup 4

2011-01-26T20:00:00.003-05:00

This week's soup was Ribollita--The Tuscan Minestrone. Essentially it's a vegetable soup with one cup of white beans added. It had onion, leek, carrot, celery, garlic, tomato, Savoy cabbage (a wrinkly little vegetable I never would have picked up on my own), potato, zucchini and Swiss chard. The soup is served with toasted, day-old bread and Parmesan cheese.

It's easy to make, although not quick. I spent about 40 minutes chopping vegetables, but after that it was simply a matter of adding the correct ingredients to the pot every hour or so.

I thought it was delicious, which is convenient because Michael gracious let me eat all the leftovers.

My two least discriminating eaters (EM and IM) gave it thumbs up. NB gave it a neutral thumb, but I think only because he was being polite.

Michael said it was his least favorite of the soups so far, but tasty. When I asked, he said it would be fine if I made it again next winter. However, I think the lack of enthusiasm for the leftovers indicates his feelings more clearly than his words.

We didn't have a side dish this week because I misjudged the amount of life left in the lettuce.

Sunday Soup 3

2011-01-16T19:45:00.003-05:00

I'm changing the order of the soups a bit for the next month so I have quick soups during two busy Sundays in February.

This week I made Cream of Chicken and Fennel Soup with Roasted Pear, Walnut, and Feta Salad with Baby Greens and bread on the side.

I really like this soup. The fennel flavor is layered nicely--chopped fennel cooks in chicken broth and then you add crushed fennel seeds as well. The soup also has carrots and snow peas, which I always enjoy.

The salad was yummy as well. IM helped me prepare the pears for roasting by brushing on the balsamic vinegar and olive oil mixture.

Leaving out the impossible eater, both the soup and the salad got a perfect score.

Five Reason I Prefer Cross-Country to Downhill

2011-01-15T18:24:00.002-05:00

No lifts. Some people find the ride up the mountain peaceful. I imagine plunging to my death.
The boots! Who knew that ski boots could be so comfortable, and so easy to put on.
No goggles. I hate goggles, but feel they are a safety requirement when skiing downhill. Speaking of which . . .
It doesn't feel dangerous.
Less muscle burn.

Sunday Soup 2

2011-01-09T19:14:00.002-05:00

Today's soup was Cold Weather Potato Chowder with Caraway Cheese (although I was unable to find havarti with caraway seeds in our small town and had to use plain havarti). The side dish was Roast Beef and Watercress with Horseradish Cream on Dark Bread.

The soup received 5 thumbs up. The sandwich received 4 thumbs up, although it would have had five if the red onion hadn't been so potent.

(We exlude LW from voting on the grounds that he fails to meet the basic requirement of tasting the food. He wouldn't even eat the crispy bacon on top because it was touching an onion.)

The chowder is pretty basic, except for the havarti. It also had a different thickening method than I've used in the paste--stirring in a paste made of room-temperature butter and flour at the very end of the cooking process.

As for my cooking skills, I've decided I need to chop faster. Maybe I should follow Julia Child's example and spend a day simply chopping.

Sunday Soup

2011-01-02T21:34:00.002-05:00

For Christmas, Michael followed my extremely detailed hint (can sending an Amazon link via ICQ count as a hint?) and bought me Sunday Soup.

I'd seen it in a local store around Thanksgiving and fell in love with the idea. One soup recipe for every week of the year, divided by seasons. Since I love soup, cook dinner on Sundays, and aspire to eat more food in season, this book seemed like a great fit. I've decided to cook my way through the book this year.

According to the author, Winter starts in December and lasts three months, but since March feels nothing like spring around here, I've decided to cook the winter soups in January, February, and March and push the other seasons back one month each.

Today I made White Bean Soup with Chorizo and Kale with Arugula Salad Tossed with Olive Oil and Lemon on the side. (Yes, the book even recommends side dishes and provides recipes.)

Overall, I'd give this soup two thumbs up. NB wasn't thrilled, but he's my pickiest normal eater. EM and IM both had seconds.

2010 Reading Catch-up

2011-01-01T09:47:00.006-05:00

I knew I was behind on blogging about my reading, but I am shocked at how far behind. These will be quick summaries.

The Help--Possibly the best book I read this year. All three narrators have great voice, and the subject is fascinating.

Life Skills--Mindless fluff by my favorite fluff author.

97 Orchard Street--A serendipitous find in August about the inhabitants of a NYC tenement that is now a museum (and which was already on the itinerary for my September trip). A look at how the various immigrant waves changed the food of America.

The Town that Food Saved--A look at how the locavore movement changed one town in Vermont. Motivating.

The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen--I had completely forgotten about this book until I saw it on the list. Pleasant, but clearly not memorable.

Mockingjay--The book I was most anticipating this year. A satisfying conclusion to this great trilogy (although I wanted Katniss to end up with the other guy), but not as strong as the other two books.

The Tapestries--Interesting story set in early twentieth-century Vietnam. Compelling, but overly graphic at times, which made it a tough read for me.

Childhood's End--Classic science-fiction at its best. Interesting premise, sparse language. Haunting.

Eat, Pray, Love--Not as annoying as I feared it would be. (I read this for book group.) I liked Eat and Pray better than Love.

When the Emperor Was Divine--YA novel about one family's experience in a Japanese internment camp in Utah. Notice the use or lack of names. The scene where the woman kills their old dog the night before they leave made me cry.

The Message--A verse-by-verse paraphrase of the Bible. I'd been wanting to read the Bible cover to cover in a short period of time to get a better sense of the overall structure and flow, and with The Message I finally found a version that I could read quickly enough to accomplish that. Ninety days, give or take. I liked the paraphrase best for the history and prophets. It bothered me more in the New Testament. Reading the Bible always raises more issues than it resolves for me, and this was no exception.

Nomad--Fascinating look at the issues raised by Muslims immigrating to the West, by a former Muslim (now atheist) immigrant. I'm not convinced that converting to mainline Christianity is a key part of the solution--it seems to me that Islam could moderate itself just as mainline Christianity has done--but I agree with many of her other points. The final chapter is the weakest part of the book.

Murder in a Mill Town, Murder on Black Friday, Murder in the North End, A Bucket of Ashes, Still Life with Murder--Several years ago, I accidentally read book three in a six-book mystery series set in Gilded Age Boston. Michael gave me book two for Christmas, and I then found electronic versions of the other four books. They remind me a bit of early Anne Perry novels.

Water for Elephants--I started reading this right before I began The Message and finished it in December. Despite my disjointed reading of it, I really like this book. The narrator has a great voice, and the look at Depression-era circuses is interesting.

There. All caught up. I'll try not to get so far behind again.

I'm currently reading The Lightening Thief and The Brothers Karamazov.

Some questions have easy answers

2010-12-02T07:38:00.002-05:00

Me, complaining to the piano music: How many fingers do you think I have?
LW: Ten, Mommy. You have ten fingers.

Toys I Am Not Buying My Kids for Christmas

2010-11-27T20:34:00.002-05:00

I'm browsing Amazon's toy section, looking for ideas for LW. Here's what I'm shaking my head over tonight:

* Wild Planet Spy Gear Night Goggles--The last thing I want is a toy that encourages my five-year-old to stay up late.

* Crayola Color Wonder Sound Studio--Who had the brilliant idea to turn coloring into an electronic activity?

* Bacon Band Aids--Why?

They're Around Here Somewhere

2010-10-16T19:54:00.002-04:00

3:00--Guest calls to say she and her family are coming up for a wedding today and staying with us. (Someone else booked, and is paying for, their room.) Do we know where the wedding is? Michael says we can give her directions if she knows the name of the venue. She doesn't. She hangs up.

6:00--Guest arrives with her family right as we are sitting down to dinner. She still doesn't know where the wedding is and seems to think this is our problem. Michael's calls to the person who booked the room go unanswered. The guest says it has something to do with a farm, so Michael calls around. The X Barn has a wedding, but it's the wrong one. The X Barn mentions that the Y Barn also has a wedding today. Michael calls the Y Barn, but no one answers. Since it is only a 15 minute drive, he circles our location and the Y Barn on the map. Guests seem a little confused about the idea of a map, but after many repetitions of the directions, they set off. Shortly after, Michael takes a call from someone with the wedding, who confirms that it is at the Y Barn.

7:50--Man calls from the wedding asking if we have seen the guests, since they have not arrived yet. I forward him through to their room just in case, although I think it unlikely that they would return here without coming to ask for something.

So the question is, where are they? And will we see them again?

What the kids are saying today

2010-10-05T19:44:00.002-04:00

LW is trying to communicate with me without using words. It's frustrating for both of us.

IM: Why did I have to get Mauritius for my report? It's the only African country with no problems and [teacher] expects half the report to be about problems!

NB: I've figured out a way for telepathy to be scientifically possible. You know how your brain communicates with your body electronically? Well . . .

EM is saying precious little today, although he did divulge that they are studying the Opium Wars in history and that his mouth feels slightly better than it did yesterday.

New York City by the Numbers

2010-09-26T15:59:00.002-04:00

1.5
Number of hours it took me to fly to NYC.

7
Number of nights I slept in NYC.

8.5
Number of hours it took me to ride the train home.

3
Number of people (my mom, my sister, and my sister-in-law) who joined me on my adventure.

4
Number of shows we saw: a comedy show, Black Angels Over Tuskegee, Wicked, and Memphis.

2
Number of art museums we visited: Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Frick Collection.

8?
Number of motorcades we saw. (It was opening week of the United Nations.)

6
Number of buttons on the spiffy Japanese toilet in the sashimi restaurant: lid up, lid down, flush, wash front, wash back, and dry. There was no button for heating the seat. That happened automatically.

354
Number of steps to the crown of the Statue of Liberty.

5'5"
Maximum height to escape hitting your head during the climb to the crown. (I'm guessing a bit here. I'm not quite 5'5" and I was bump free. My sister is slightly taller and was not so lucky.)

956
Approximate number of times I laughed during the week.

Death by Hugging

2010-09-05T12:30:00.002-04:00

LW is a very affectionate kid. Hands down the most physically loving of any of my kids, and also full of compliments about how wonderful I am and how much he loves me.

It's very sweet. Really.

And I know I will miss this terribly in another year or two when adoring your mom isn't cool anymore.

But this weekend I find myself craving a few hours in an isolation tank. Who knew being the object of adoration could be so wearing?

Too bad I can't bottle this up to sprinkle through his teen years.

First Day of School

2010-08-30T20:25:00.003-04:00

The kids started school last Wednesday. This is the last year they will all have the same first day of school, because next year EM will start one day later. (The freshmen have the run of the high school the first day.)

EM is starting 9th grade, NB and IM are starting 5th, and LW is starting P4.

Sadly, the last group first day of school pictures didn't turn out that well.

This is what the bus stop wait typically looks like. The three younger kids chatting together:

While EM does the cool teenager act off to the side:

Library Basket

2010-08-14T15:08:00.005-04:00

This morning, we had that rare library trip where the kids were actually quiet and well-behaved, and I got to browse. (My trick: I took them for a walk through the woods first.)

Want to see what I got? There is no way these will all end up on my Books Read list.

Childhood's End--I picked up this one in the children's section, where it had been mistakenly shelved. I assume because it has "childhood" in the title. I decided this was as good a time to read it as any.
The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen--A novel purporting to tell the tale of Jane Austen's secret love affair. I don't have high expectations, but I'll give it a chance.
Waiting on a Train--The abysmal state of America's rail system is a favorite rant of Michael's, so I had to get this book for him when I saw it. I'll probably give it a skim as well.
The Well-Tended Perennial Garden--The flowerbeds around the inn are getting overgrown and need some sort of drastic revival, but I'm a bit flummoxed about where to begin and how to proceed. I'm hoping to get a pointer or two from this book, which promises "planting and pruning techniques."
Losing Moses on the Freeway: The 10 Commandments in America--I'm partway through the first chapter and beginning to think that the title is the best part of the book.
Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography--I've seen video clips of Crossan speak and read quotations from him in other books, but I've never read one of his books. It should be an interesting juxtaposition with A Marginal Jew, which I read during Lent.
The Town that Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food--I'm pretty sure I'll finish this one. It's a quick read about a favorite subject.
Full Moon Feast--I should have looked at this one a bit more. I was hoping for lots of seasonal recipes (I need some new pot-luck recipes for the fall), but this has more musings on food and fewer recipes than I wanted. I haven't yet determined if the musings are interesting.
bon appetit (August edition)--I was seduced by the blackberry, lemon, and gingersnap cheesecake pudding on the cover. Since I haven't been responsible for day-to-day cooking in almost seven years, this falls under the category Michael and I call "food porn," much like my Food Network viewing. (Just so no one gets the wrong idea--Michael is an excellent cook and spends a lot of time serving up tasty meals. I just really like to eat and like to pretend to myself that I like to cook.)

The kids also loaded up on books, and as I type this, everyone has his or her nose in a book.

Appointment August

2010-08-02T16:20:00.002-04:00

I am officially declaring this month Appointment August.

So far, we have the following scheduled between today and August 25, when the kids go back to school:

Three eye exams (on three different days)*
Four doctor visits (two on one day and two on another)
One orthodontist appointment
Four dentist visits (thankfully, all on the same day)

I'm hoping to squeeze in haircuts for IM and EM as well. (Michael normally cuts the kids' hair, but these two like the occasional professional cut.)

And, since EM's orthodontist appointment is the official "Yes, we are going ahead with braces" visit, there's a good chance he'll have another appointment to actually install them sometime this month.

Thankfully, Michael is a modern dad and does his fair share of appointment driving.

* Yes, really. Could I have done a worse job of planning? The initial appointment time (set up last year) turns out to conflict with IM's theater camp. And it is also 17 days too early for the insurance to cover EM's visit. The health insurance pays for one eye exam every two years and they figure it down to the day. Really. So EM's visit, in order to be covered, could be no earlier than August 19. And by the time I figured that out, there was no way to get all three kids seen at the same time before school started.

July Reading Notes

2010-07-31T20:10:00.004-04:00

Johnny Tremain--I finally finished reading this book to the three youngest kids. (Since we usually read at the bus stop, our routine falls apart in the summer.) It's been almost thirty years since I read it initially, and I'd forgotten everything except the very basic premise: boy in Boston at the start of the American Revolution. I was surprised by the sophistication of the language, which was a definite step above most of the children's books I've read recently.

New York--My first Rutherfurd book, Sarum, has a very Mitchneresque feel. It literally starts with the glaciers receding from Europe. This book starts in New Amsterdam in 1664, and although I was disappointed to see so little of the Native American experience reflected in the book, the shorter time period does make this story more cohesive than Sarum. It's a great overview of the history of New York City since the Europeans settled the area. I learned new things and remembered things I had learned but forgotten. Definitely a good book to read in preparation for my trip to NYC in September.

The Secret Magdalene--My friend who loaned me Queenmaker, loaned me this book also. It takes the premise that the Apostle John and Mary Magdalene are the same person (remember The Davinci Code?) and tells a story of how that came to be. The first half of the book dragged, and I came very close to quitting . There are so many other books on my To Read list, I wasn't sure I wanted to spend any more time with this one. But I have a hard time not finishing a book I have chosen to read, and I'm glad I stayed with it. The book's coverage of the events in the Gospels is more interesting than the coverage of the lost years. I don't think this is a plausible version of what happened, but it did make for an interesting look at Jesus through gnostic eyes.

Harris and Me--This is the assigned summer reading for the twins, so I thought I should read it. It's not great literature, but I did laugh out loud several times. Harris is a delight.

Of Mice and Men--One of the two books EM must read this summer. It met my two expectations: depressing and well-written. The surprises were the length (it's practically a short story) and the Gollum-like scene at the end.

My Life Needs Footnotes

2010-07-22T21:34:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I was reading Click, Clack, Moo to LW. It's a delightful children's book about a farmer whose cows find a typewriter, learn to type, and send letters demanding electric blankets because the barn is cold.

We've read the book numerous times. LW enjoys it and always laughs.

This time, he turned to me and asked, "What's a typewriter?"

And I suddenly realized that he's never seen one in action. Have you ever tried to explain a typewriter to a child born in the computer age? NB and IM joined in with questions about how the paper advances and how you correct mistakes when you're typing.

Oddly enough, I'd just shared with a coworker earlier in the day that my children once asked why we say "dial a phone number" when there is no dial involved. And her comments about how people with no memory of carbon copies still cc people on emails prompted me to have a conversation with EM about the origin of the term.

I'm suddenly feeling very old. Things I have used in my life are so strange to my children that they need explanations to understand references to them in text.

How Many Minds Are in There?

2010-07-19T20:49:00.001-04:00

LW didn't want to go to sleep because he's been having nightmares. I told him he should think about something happy while he's falling asleep. He said, "I'm sorry, but my dream list has a mind of its own."

Some Ideas Should Not Be Tried

2010-07-18T19:06:00.002-04:00

Several years ago, I heard a mom say that during the summer they have ice cream sundaes for Sunday dinner. I thought it sounded fun, but Michael, the family chef, did not. Since he's out of town for the week, I decided today would be a perfect time to try it.

The kids have been counting down the days ever since the ice cream entered the house.

I made sure we all had a healthy breakfast and lunch, and then I made brownies. For dinner, we had brownie sundaes with two kinds of ice cream, hot fudge sauce, butterscotch, and whipped cream. Sugar shock hit me two bites in, and I went in search of the leftover pasta salad. After that, I spent an hour lying on the couch.

NB and LW ate their small first helping and made it half-way through their seconds. NB then made himself a roast beef sandwich.

IM and EM asked for thirds, but when I said no they also scrounged up something healthy.

I learned two things today. One, this is not a new family tradition. Two, there are limits to my sweet tooth.

Who says a word has only one meaning?

2010-07-17T11:08:00.003-04:00

LW: Mom, we have a tiny problem. And by tiny, I mean huge!

(For the worriers who might be reading, a Lego structure collapsed.)

No, the non-smoking policy does not have an exception for your before-bed cigarettes

2010-07-16T21:19:00.002-04:00

The guest in room 7 just called.

I notice the sign on the door says that it's a non-smoking room.
Yes, we don't have any smoking rooms.
I usually smoke a couple of cigarettes right before bed.
There is no smoking allowed in the room.
I wouldn't smoke any other time.
There's a $100 fine for smoking in the room.
I guess I'll have to go outside to smoke.
That would be great. Thank you.

He's called two other times in the last ten minutes. He's having trouble setting the alarm clock in the room.

Temporary Pet

2010-06-30T20:05:00.002-04:00

NB was fetching something from the basement, when he yelled, "Mom! There's a snake down here!"

Sure enough it's a baby milk snake. EM caught it, Michael found the snake cage we keep on hand, and it is now residing on top of my piano.

Reading Notes

2010-06-22T19:43:00.007-04:00

I was shocked to realize I haven't written about my reading since February. I'm going to aim for once a month from now on.

Chocolat--Set in France during Lent, it seemed an appropriate book to read during Lent while preparing to visit France. The book was enjoyable and adequately crafted, but it was less than I expected. Less sensual. Less controversial. Less substantial. A French beach read, with the unfortunate side effect of making you crave chocolate.

Chasing Vermeer--A children's book the twins were reading. It reminded me of The Westing Game, which I read when I was their age.

My Life in France--I saw Julie & Julia in the theater last year during one of my trips to Waltham, so I had some idea of what to expect when Michael brought the book home from the library. The descriptions of the food were fantastic, of course, but I found that I prefer Meryl's Julia to Julia's Julia. By the end, there were simply too many examples of underhanded criticism and self-centeredness. I was happy to finish the book and leave her behind, so I was surprised when I looked through my quotation book to discover I had one from My Life in France:

Oh, how I yearned for a passel of blood-brother friends to celebrate with. We had plenty of acquaintances in Oslo, but, as in Plittersdorf, we suffered months and months of nobody to really hug but ourselves. p215

The Zookeeper's Wife--Some books are in the air and you can no longer remember who recommended them first. Such is the case with this one. I interrupted my French series to read it in April because it was the selection for a fledgling book group. (So fledgling it has yet to meet.) I have mixed feelings about The Zookeeper's Wife. On the one hand, I came away with a new-found understanding of the Polish experience in World War II and an appreciation for the Polish spirit. (And more information about the Nazi party. Did you know Nazis were frequently environmentalists and animal rights activists? Humans truly are baffling.) On the other hand, the author is prone to long, flowery descriptions and the subject of the book suffers somewhat in comparison to the side stories. Still, I filled my book with quotations such as these:

One of the most remarkable things about Antonina was her determination to include play, animals, wonder, curiosity, marvel, and a wide blaze of innocence in a household where all dodged the ambient dangers, horrors, and uncertainties. p166

At the outbreak of the war, thinking to decapitate the country, the Nazis had rounded up and shot most of the Polish intellegentsia, then outlawed education and the press, a strategy that boomeranged because it not only made learning subversively appealing, it also freed the surviving intellectuals to focus their brainpower on feats of resistance and sabotage. p169

Yet 70,00o-90,000 people in Warsaw and the suburbs, or about one-twelfth of the city's population, risked their lives to help neighbors escape. p189

After the defeat of Communism in 1989, with characteristic good humor the Poles turned the former Gestapo headquarters into the Ministry of Education, the former KGB headquarters into the Ministry of Justice, the Communist Party headquarters into the Stock Exchange, and so on. p321

A Marginal Jew, vol. 1--"Suppose that a Catholic, a Protestant, a Jew and an agnostic--all honest historians cognizant of 1-st century religious movements--were locked up in the bowels of the Harvard Divinity School library, put on a spartan diet, and not allowed to emerge until they had hammered out a consensus document on who Jesus of Nazareth was and what he intended in his own time and place." (1) A Marginal Jew attempts to be that document. This volume describes the concepts, evaluates the sources, discusses Jesus' birth and family, and provides a basic chronology. The author (a Catholic priest and professor at Notre Dame) does a fantastic job of weighing evidence and explaining why he draws the conclusions he does. I found especially interesting his discussion of why the Last Supper was not a Passover meal. I need to go buy volume two.

Queenmaker--I was handed this book by a friend when I saw The Red Tent on her bookshelf and said how much I enjoyed it. This is the story of Michal, daughter of Saul and wife of David. I was surprised a couple of times to find that a situation I had assumed was the author's creation was in fact taken from the Bible. Queenmaker was enjoyable, but it didn't have as much of an impact on me as The Red Tent. That might have more to do with changes in me than with the respective qualities of the books.

The Farseer Trilogy (Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin, and Assassin's Quest)--I read Assassin's Apprentice in 2007, but abandoned the trilogy because it felt wrong to pay $3 in Inter-Library Loan fees for each paperback book. Instead, I put them on my Christmas wish list, and Michael bought them for me last year. Since it had been so long, I decided to start by rereading the first book. I really liked it. (Again.) The second book turned darker, and I started to realize I wouldn't get an ending as happy as I would like. The third book dragged for a bit in the middle, but I found myself sobbing through the last 100 pages. PMS? The fact that I had just said goodbye to our closest friends after a week-long visit? I don't know, but I was relieved I was reading in the privacy of my bedroom. Think Frodo leaving Middle Earth.

Vacation Remorse

2010-06-13T19:48:00.003-04:00

LW came to me Friday night and demanded to know when he was going back to school. I pulled down the calendar, pointed to June 11, and then showed him August 25.

He burst into tears.

Apparently, although he's been talking eagerly about summer vacation, he hadn't realized that during summer vacation you don't go to school.

Weeping. Wailing. Gnashing of teeth.

It turns out he had a P3 bucket list, and he hadn't finished it yet.

Buying train tickets

2010-06-10T19:13:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I bought tickets for my trip to New York City in September. I'm flying down, but taking the train back.

This is the first time I've purchased Amtrak tickets online. There are a few quirks in the process.

First, on the page where you enter your credit card information, there is a little notice that informs you that prices aren't guaranteed until your credit card is charged. I figured Amtrak is large enough I could trust them, but really! Requiring me to enter in my credit card information with no guarantee that the price displayed on the screen is the price I would end up paying?

Second, the page that displays at the end of the process has big bold letters across it: THIS IS NOT A TICKET. Which is true. You have to either pick up your ticket at the station or pay to have it mailed to you. The problem is that if you read the smaller print you realize that the NOT A TICKET page has a bar code that you need in order to retrieve your ticket. And I can verify that the bar code doesn't come through correctly in Google Mail. So although it might not be a ticket, it's a really good idea to print the page.* If you don't, you'll be standing in line at the ticket window instead of being able to get your ticket from a kiosk.

I can't decide if Amtrak thinks its patrons are gullible or sophisticated.

* Don't worry, Mom. I printed it.

The Secret in their Eyes

2010-06-06T08:29:00.003-04:00

Last night, Michael and I took advantage of the empty inn and went to see a movie with some theater friends. We saw The Secret in their Eyes, an Argentinian film that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film this year.

I'm still thinking about it this morning.

The movie takes place in two times--the present, and twenty years ago. In the present, a retired judicial employee is trying to write a novel about a rape-murder case. The flashbacks show the initial investigation.

The acting was excellent, and the aging of the actors completely believable.

I was worried it would be depressing (in my experience, Oscar-winning foreign films tend to be), but it wasn't.

It was, however, haunting.

Hand over the Oscar

2010-06-02T20:39:00.002-04:00

NB and LW just called me up to their room because there was a spider on NB's bed and they wanted me to remove it and not kill it.

Clearly, I have been doing an amazing acting job for the last ten years if they thought calling me for help with a spider was a good idea.

But, Michael is at rehearsal, so what's a mom to do?

The spider is now alive and well and outside.

I even managed not to shudder until the kids were back in bed.

O's Sneaky Marketing

2010-05-28T16:51:00.002-04:00

I received an envelope in the mail from the Office of Credit & Adjustments of O, The Oprah Magazine. The envelope had IMPORTANT ACCOUNT INFORMATION across the front.

I thought this was odd, since I haven't subscribed to O in years, but I was curious enough to open the envelope.

The top of the letter said "Credit Amount: -$42.00." The fine print informed me that due to my "credit adjustment" I needed to pay only $12.

Does anyone actually fall for sneak marketing like this? Are there people mailing in their $12 today because they think they owe it, not realizing that if they aren't getting O and don't want to get it, they owe nothing?

The marketing department at O clearly doesn't think much of their potential readers.

LW is at it again

2010-05-27T21:24:00.002-04:00

Me: IM, you are being awfully picky about the music today.
LW: Picky? That's my job!

After I tucked NB in first (because LW was still in the bathroom): That's not what Moms do to kids who love them!

The Vegetable Nazi

2010-05-13T20:29:00.002-04:00

On our first Sunday in Burgundy, we went to the market in Chablis. French markets have everything you would expect to find in an American farmer's market--produce, meat, honey and jams, baked goods--and many things you wouldn't. Mattresses, for example.

We strolled through, buying some cheese Michael had heard about. Checking out the olive and dried fruit booth. Did you know you can dry kiwi slices? The most popular meat booth had an entire pig (head and all) on display. There was a long line waiting to be served there.

After we had finished exploring, Michael asked me to pick up some vegetables while he purchased some picnic supplies from another booth. The vegetable booth we were standing in front of had tables of vegetables on either side of the walkway. Michael assured me he had seen customers picking out vegetables themselves, and he pointed to the plastic bags available to hold them.

And then he left. I found the onions and carrots he wanted and put them in plastic bags, being careful to only touch the ones I was buying. The tomatoes were on the table on the other side of the walkway, and I noticed that customers there were waiting for the vendors to help them. There was a line, so I waited.

All of a sudden, a man walked up from behind me, grabbed the vegetables out of my hands, and put them (still in their bags) back on the table. I held out my money, but he waved me away.

And then I realized that those vegetables had come from his vegetable booth, which curved around the corner of the street. I had taken his vegetables and was attempting to pay his competitor for them.

I tried to apologize and pay him, but he shook his hands at me and turned his back.

"No vegetables for you!"

French Chateaus

2010-05-09T18:32:00.009-04:00

We eventually arrived in France on Thursday (after waiting in line for three hours to check in at the Air France counter in Montreal).

We went straight from the airport to Versailles:

We skipped the interior and focused on the gardens. I was a bit surprised to see that none of the flowers were planted yet. I expected spring bulbs.

The drive from Versailles to our rental house was supposed to take about 40 minutes. Let's skip over the gory details and just say that the A86 was designed by Satan, shall we? Not my finest navigating moment. But we eventually found the house, although not in time to buy towels. (The rental contract for this house was all in French, so we missed that we needed to bring our own.)

Due to arriving in France five days late, we had to scrap most of what we wanted to see that first week, including Paris. We ended up focusing on chateaus.

On Friday, we visited Vaux-le-Vicomte, a chateau so elaborate that a jealous Louis XIV imprisoned the owner for life and seized the property.

Visitors at least 10 years old get to climb up to the dome:

And the stonework is rife with Italian fence lizards. Each boy stalked his own.

Saturday morning we had to pack up again and drive to our next rental. We visited Fontainebleau on the way.

The kids were amazed by this fountain. It doesn't show up well in the picture, but the dogs are all peeing. (You can buy a full-size replica of the dog in the gift shop, to bring a touch of France home to your garden.)

Napoleon bid farewell to France from the top of this staircase.

Interesting tidbit from the audio guide: French queens were required to give birth in public to prove the child was legitimate. Barbaric and nonsensical.

Canada

2010-05-09T08:10:00.005-04:00

I had never considered Ottawa as a vacation destination, but there was quite a bit to do.

This picture was taken outside the Museum of Civilization, with the Houses of Parliament in the background.

All the museums were closed on Monday, so we drove to Parc Omega. We followed the suggestion to buy one bag of carrots each and then set off into the park.

You feed the larger animals from the car:

But you can feed the deer on foot:

We also visited the Museum of Science and Technology, where I was most impressed with the flawless way the presenters switched from French to English and back in the same session, and the Museum of Nature. The dinosaur floor was a huge hit:

When You Can't Go to France, Go to Ottawa

2010-04-19T06:04:00.003-04:00

(Note: I tried to post this from our hotel room in Ottawa, and just realized the posting attempt failed.)

Once our Friday-night flight was officially canceled, Michael and I spent about an hour on hold with Air France. End result? We now have tickets to fly on Wednesday evening.

My plan was to stay home and get stuff done until Wednesday. Michael didn't think much of that plan, so he made reservations at a hotel in downtown Ottawa.

We drove up Saturday. We're closer to the Montreal airport than we were at home, and in the meantime, we can keep busy having fun instead of sitting at home feeling sorry for ourselves. It's working so well that I find myself with surprisingly mixed feelings about our chances of getting to France later this week. (Partly this is due to dreading a trans-Atlantic flight with a 4-year-old once the initial excitement of going on vacation has worn off a bit.)

Ottawa is a charming small city. Saturday night we walked up to the Houses of Parliament. The kids liked the rabbit we saw hopping around on the yard, and the unicorn and lion statues. The grounds of Parliament and the nearby park have thousands of tulips that are almost ready to bloom. In another week or two it will be absolutely beautiful.

We also found the Byward Market area, which has many small ethnic eateries. Because we arrived right as most places were closing, we ended up eating Chinese, but not the typical Chinese food we can get in the Valley. The twins shared a huge seafood soup, and the rest of us had pork and thick noodles. And then we discovered beaver tails, a Canadian version of the fair food we called elephant ears in Oregon. The Canadians are more inventive with the toppings. My favorite so far is maple icing, but they have all been good.

Sunday morning, we returned to Byward Market to eat breakfast at the French bakery. Obama ate here once, and there are pictures of him all over the place.

We spent the bulk of the day at the Museum of Civilization. Did you know the Tsimshian people thought that humans and fish share the same group of souls? When you die as a human, your soul returns as a fish so you can help feed the current humans. The totem poles on display were impressive. There was also an interesting exhibit of artifacts from Afghanistan, but LW dragged me through that pretty fast. (He was eager to get to the IMAX movie.)

We find reminders of France everywhere, from the numerous French bakeries to the out-of-business Made in France store to the French embassy to the bilingual signs. These sightings sting a bit, but the pain is easing somewhat.

How I Became Obsessed with a Volcano in Iceland

2010-04-16T08:58:00.002-04:00

Not so much the volcano itself, actually, as the big ash cloud it created over the airspace between here and France.

Our flight for tonight is not officially canceled, but it's also not showing up on Air France's web site.

LW removed the last paper on the count-down calendar this morning. It was rather sad.

I will be shocked if our flight leaves tonight, and yet I still feel compelled to do all the last-minute tasks so we are ready in case a miracle happens.

I'm trying to remind myself that this is not a big problem, in the grand scheme of things. We have our health. We have our family. I have a good job. The inn is doing well. It feels pretty selfish to be so disappointed over a missed vacation.

And yet I'm finding it hard not to cry.

Packing

2010-04-13T18:23:00.002-04:00

Today I finally started packing for France in earnest.

I dreamed last night that we arrived in France with no toiletries and, more importantly, no shirts for me or the three younger kids. I decided to pack so my subconscious won't bother me tonight.

The three older kids can pretty much pack for themselves, although they need a bit of guidance about clothes and a lot of reminding about no liquids in the carry-ons. Yes, contact solution counts and so does glasses cleaner!

The hardest thing about packing is making sure that all the kids have seven days of photograph-appropriate clothes. My kids are hard on clothes, and for the sake of sanity and budget I have long since stopped stressing about holes in the knees or paint stains. But clothes that look passable in rural life somehow look rattier in pictures. (This is one of the hidden costs of our trips.)

This year, what with work and Easter and Michael's trip to Costa Rica and our unexpectedly large tax bill, I didn't do as much shopping. Maybe we'll take lots of head shots.

Attention, Telemarketers

2010-04-06T17:15:00.002-04:00

When I tell you that I'm not interested, "But you can't be not interested! You haven't seen our product yet" is not an appropriate response.

Slightly Skewed Work Estimates

2010-04-03T08:48:00.004-04:00

Spring has arrived here in the Valley, at least temporarily. Yesterday, while I was digging rocks out of the ground in preparation for reseeding the back lawn (a casualty of the construction process last summer), the younger kids were exploring the woods for the first time this year.

IM came back all fired up with plans to build a bridge out to the island in the river. (In the summer, the kids can wade to it, but the river is far too wild in the spring.) Digging rocks was "too hard" but carrying concrete blocks down to the edge of the property and rigging them up on supports? That we could easily do. And should do. Immediately.

This is not the first time our kids have come up with hare-brained schemes that they are convinced are less work than the chores we assign them.

I think LW is the only child who hasn't yet suggested that building a room-cleaning robot would be easier than picking up the room.

But the classic case in our family comes from EM, when, at the age of three, he managed to lock the bathroom door on his way out of the bathroom. Given that the upstairs toilet was not always reliable, there was a certain urgency and stress involved in coming up with the solution. As Michael and I debated various lock-picking strategies, EM grinned. "I know! We can build a robot that will flatten itself, slide under the door, and open it from the other side! That will be best."

Is it any wonder that as adults we underestimate construction projects?

Parent of a High School Student?

2010-03-27T07:53:00.002-04:00

We met this week with EM's high school counselor to plan his classes for next year. He has decided to drop band so he can double up on math.

I can't decide if by supporting this we are encouraging his passion or giving him enough rope to hang himself academically. He has no doubts. He's convinced that honors algebra 2 is an easier class than band. (And it might be. Our band program is not for the faint of heart.)

Taking this route means that we'll be winging it a bit for his senior year, since he will finish the formal math offerings as a junior. There are options (independent study B/C Calculus, a summer class at the state university, a night class at the community college), but they aren't guaranteed.

But hey, I figure this feeling of closing my eyes and trusting EM can handle it should be good practice for when he gets his driving permit.

LW's on a Roll Today

2010-03-21T12:37:00.002-04:00

On the way to church this morning
LW: Mom, look at me.
Me: I'm driving. I have to look at the road.
LW: I want you to see if I look cute.
Me: You always look cute.
LW: Yes, but I want you to tell me if this is the cutest ever.

During Children's Time, the minister was talking to the kids about the importance of focusing on the present.
Reverend Susan: So you shouldn't live in the past . . .
LW, interrupting: Because if you lived in the past, you'd be dead by now!

One of the other members of the congregation asked Susan how she felt being the straight man for a four-year-old.

Flooding

2010-03-16T19:22:00.002-04:00

Sunday I drove down to Waltham for a week of meetings at work. It was raining heavily during the drive, but that's not unusual, so I didn't really think much of it, other than wishing my cute little rental car didn't have such a tendency to hydroplane.

And then I got onto the side streets. I've never seen water gushing up out of the storm drains before. The size of the puddles reminded me of the Cost Rica guidebook's tips on crossing rivers. I wished I'd left the rental car with Michael and brought the SUV with its high clearance.

Turned on the news Monday morning to watch people being evacuated from their homes in Waltham in the middle of the night. Luckily, the hotel sits on a hill, and the streets between here and work are relatively dry.

The rain stopped sometime Monday night, but the Charles River is still very high here in Waltham, in part because they've had trouble opening the floodgates on the dam. As of this morning, they had only succeeded in opening 5 of the 12.

I'm hoping the flooding concerns ease up by tomorrow night, because I want to go to the Irish pub for dinner so I can listen to the live Irish music on St. Patrick's Day. But the pub (and most of the good restaurants in Waltham) are on the other side of the river. In fact, I'm pretty sure that the news coverage about the dam that I saw this morning was shot from the patio of the Mexican restaurant I'm eating at later this week.

Stress

2010-03-13T16:13:00.002-05:00

It's been a surprisingly stressful past few days.

Work needs me to spend a week in Waltham before we go on vacation, and once I factored in Michael's trip to Costa Rica, Passover (my boss is Jewish), and various kids' events, this coming week looked to be the best week. So I arranged my meetings and lined up my hotel room and rental car.

And then the floodgates opened. I am feeling decidedly guilty at the week Michael is going to have, and telling myself that the inn was his idea and we have two employees who can help him with breakfast is not making me feel better. Of course, by the time I realized how awful it was going to be, it was too late to change my trip.

We've also been trying to wrap up some financial matters before I go (corporate tax paperwork due Monday and a loan refinance). So we've both been corresponding with our attorney and loan officer (old and new) and the accountant. The loan officer was nice enough to stop by the inn yesterday, so we could sign papers with LW napped.

So far, today's schedule has looked like this:

5:30 Wake up and start prepping for an early breakfast (racers today and tomorrow)
6:30--9:30 Breakfast
9:40 Take the kids to swimming lessons
11:20 Back from swimming
12:40 Take IM to ski resort to sell Girl Scout cookies at the booth
2:20 Get back from cookie selling and have Michael drop me off to pick up rental car. (Garage is closed on Sunday.) Pick up tax forms.
3:00 Michael leaves for Costco. I deal with guests.

I still need to do laundry so I can pack, but at this point I need to wait until the guests have all showered and left for dinner.

It doesn't help that our streak of low-maintenance guests seems to have come to an abrupt end, right at the end of the season when our cheer is at its lowest.

I'm currently trying to reach a guest room to tell them that I've had complaints about their middle of the night party last night and there can't be a repeat tonight. This is not the room someone complained about at 10:30 last night. Michael called them then, and as far as we know they settled down.

Ironically, when our housekeeper went in this morning to clean the room of the complainer (who was quite angry), she reported that he's been smoking pot in the room. I thought pot was supposed to mellow people out?

Four-year-old wooing

2010-03-10T20:51:00.002-05:00

LW just came down from bed sobbing.

I just love you so much when I grow up I'll never be able to find someone else to marry! I'll never find anyone as pretty as you!

On booking travel

2010-03-06T15:35:00.002-05:00

We are finishing our trip in France with a stop at Disneyland Paris, and booking our reservations for that was at the top of my To Do list this weekend.

Disney's web site assumes if you are using a browser with English as the default language and you want to look at the Disney Paris pages, you must be in the United Kingdom. So I've been using the UK Disney site.

When booking, Title is a mandatory field, and on the UK site, in addition to Dr., Mr., Mrs., and Ms, the list includes Lord and Lady.

I was tempted to give myself a promotion.

On a related note, my ever-vigilant credit card company denied payment at first, despite my call to them yesterday notifying them that I would be booking travel in Europe this weekend. When I called to clear that up, the nice young man in India tried to sell me identify theft protection, so no one could make fraudulent charges.

Fraudulent charges? I can't even make legitimate charges without multiple phone calls.

Gargoyles

2010-02-27T17:32:00.002-05:00

LW and I looked at Cathedral yesterday, in preparation for our France trip. He was especially taken with the gargoyles and how the rainwater runs down the gutters and flows out of their mouths.

His swimming teacher was not quite as impressed with his imitation of a gargoyle during his lesson today.

Vie de France

2010-02-27T13:01:00.002-05:00

Subtitled Sharing Food, Friendship, and a Kitchen in the Loire Valley, this book is essentially food porn.

The author, a former chef, spent a month in France with a group of friends, doing some sightseeing and a lot of cooking and eating. This book is a meal-by-meal description of the month. I salivated over every page. It was all I could do not to grab my passport and head for the airport.

And since Michael told me he'd like me to do some of the cooking in France, it was good to start thinking of shopping and cooking in a foreign country. Michael's a great fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants chef (his chicken noodle soup last night was divine), but I tend to be overly reliant on recipes and not very flexible. Two months of mental preparation is about right.

One funny note: I checked this book out from the library, and emblazoned across the front and back cover, it says, "Uncorrected Proofs for Limited Distribution. NOT FOR SALE."

The Princess of Cleves

2010-02-25T20:50:00.003-05:00

Wanting to continue reading books about France, I scoured our shelves for something appropriate and found this book left from Michael's college days.

Once you get past the info dump on who was who in the court of Henri II, this is an easy read. Of course, I had Michael's margin notes to guide me: Important page. Theory of romantic love.

The Princess of Cleves is a woman faced with a dilemma: tell her husband she is in love with another man so he can help her avoid tempting situations? Or keep her love a secret and risk succumbing?

I think Anna Karenina would make a fascinating contrast, but my memories are twenty years old and far too fuzzy. I went so far as to pick my copy off the shelf, considering re-reading it. The sight of the 868 closely typewritten pages dissuaded me, and I put it back. I'm not quite that curious.

Snow!

2010-02-25T20:41:00.003-05:00

Tuesday morning when I woke up, I could see grass in places. Grass. In February. In northern New England.

Wednesday morning, I woke up to this:

It snowed for the next fifteen hours, although the rate eased up at times. We ended up with around two feet, with a chance for more later this week.

And the phone rang off the hook. The guests who had reservations were cancelling them because of the driving conditions, while others were making new reservations to take advantage of the improved skiing conditions.

The Happiness Project

2010-02-21T19:14:00.004-05:00

I found this book in a round-about way. The author has a blog, and Michael's cousin Lis linked to it from her blog a couple of months ago. I liked what I read, and meant to pre-order the book, but life intervened and it took me until February to actually get my hands on a copy.

I love self-improvement books--it's so much easier to vicariously improve yourself than to do the actual work of changing--and this was no exception. It's akin to The Year of Living Biblically, which I also enjoyed. (It turns out the authors know each other.)

Much of this book resonated with me, starting with the premise of the Happiness Project:

And more important, I didn't want to reject my life. I wanted to change my life without changing my life, by finding more happiness in my own kitchen. I knew I wouldn't discover happiness in a faraway place or in unusual circumstances; it was right here, right now. (p12)

I tend to be drawn to books and movies and music with that same central theme: Carpe Diem. Live deliberately. Dance.

Maybe I'm a slow learner.

The Count of Monte Cristo

2010-02-21T13:32:00.004-05:00

Shortly after we were married, Michael discovered I had never read this book. Once he recovered from his shock, he urged me to read it. Sixteen years later, I decided it was finally time.

It's a very fun read.

Alexandre Dumas wrote it roughly twenty years before Victor Hugo wrote Les Miserables. Both are French novels with long time lines. Both involve one character pursuing another through the years.

But there the similarity ends.

The Count of Monte Cristo reads like a soap opera: jealousy, intrigue, disguise, murder, revenge, secret romance, fabulous wealth. The story is very plot-driven, and Dumas keeps the story moving at a modern pace. No fifty-page tangents here.

It's a good classic to give a young teen, and I plan to assign it to EM before our trip to France, but IM has asked to have a stab at it first.

Olympics snark

2010-02-19T20:43:00.004-05:00

From tonight's TV Guide listing: In live action, U.S. men's curling faces France

Action? Has the writer ever seen curling? The Canadian women's team has an alternate player who is five months pregnant, for heaven's sake.

What a way to greet the morning

2010-02-19T20:26:00.003-05:00

Awakened at 5:45 to a little voice saying, "Mommy, I have something to tell you. I vomited in the sink."

Thoughts on toe tapping

2010-02-16T21:14:00.003-05:00

Our middle school has an excellent music program. I actually enjoy listening to the middle school band.

And yet . . .

It's a very different music program than I participated in during middle school and high school.

Someone--I believe it was Mr. Vicks, my orchestra teacher for fifth through eighth grades--drilled into us that there was no need to ever tap your shoe while playing. If you absolutely couldn't hold the beat internally, you could tap your toes inside your shoe. But the sole of your shoe should stay firmly planted on the floor at all times.

This is obviously not a belief shared by EM's band teachers.

Although I recognize that many of the rules that seemed inviolate to me as a teenager are not that important in the grand scheme of things, I must confess that a part of me spends the middle school concerts wishing I had a nail gun to drill the tapping shoes to the floor.

Just the tippy toes. I promise not to hit the feet.

Fun with the Girl Scout health history form

2010-02-08T19:22:00.003-05:00

IM is joining the Girl Scouts. She's thrilled. She's wanted to join since kindergarten, but until last week, there wasn't a troop close enough to be feasible and she does not have the sort of mom willing to organize a troop.

So tonight I filled out the registration form and the Girl Health History Record. I'm generally pretty exact about forms like this. I answer all the questions, providing a titch too much information.

Not this form.

Since last health exam, has participant had

a serious injury requiring medical attention? (If you receive medical attention, doesn't that become your last health exam?)
any prescribed or over-the-counter meds? (Really? They really want to know that I gave her Tylenol for a fever in October and decongestant flying back from Oregon in August?)
a surgical operation or fracture? (See earlier comment on medical attention)
treatment in hospital or emergency room? (Ditto)
any exposure to a contagious disease? (Nope. Not my child. She hasn't been exposed to the cold or flu since July. What? You don't believe me?)

And then there's the section on Other Health Conditions. These are all over the map, from wearing glasses to nosebleeds to fainting to immune disease. But the kicker is "Emotional Disturbances." They do realize they're talking about ten-year-old girls, right?

But I was good. I told them about her glasses and heart murmur and kept all snarky comments to myself, Michael, and all of you.

Still trying to figure out winter

2010-02-06T13:59:00.002-05:00

LW, on being told it was time for swimming lessons: In the outdoor pool or the indoor pool?

Pretty as a picture

2010-02-02T21:42:00.000-05:00

IM, riding in the car today: Mom, do they make lots of postcards of our state? Because if they don't they should. I mean, look at this!

An update on my "dentally delayed" son

2010-02-02T10:00:00.003-05:00

I took EM to his third pre-braces consult with the orthodontist recommended by his dentist.

Of the five baby teeth he had in August, he'd only lost one. The orthodontist pulled two more in the process of wiggling them to see how loose they were. (EM was supposed to be wiggling these regularly, but it turns out he had grown confused about which ones he was supposed to be wiggling.)

The plan is to have the remaining two teeth pulled by the dentist asap. (Fortunately, they are in the same quadrant, so he'll only need one set of numbing shots.) Then we'll give his adult teeth some time to grow in and he'll go back to the orthodontist in May.

With any luck, he'll be in braces and headgear by June.

In the meantime, having seen the estimated bill, we're seeking a second opinion and estimate.

Finished books

2010-01-30T21:42:00.005-05:00

First, a bit of 2009 catch up.

The last book of the year was Christmas: The Original Story. This book was a gift from my mother-in-law and made a great Advent read. I did feel a bit as if I were dropped into the middle of a lecture. I think in order to fully evaluate the author's arguments in this book, I would need to read her earlier book on temple theology. I'm not yet completely convinced of some of the assertions that are bedrock to her interpretation of the Gospel birth stories. I'd like to read her more completely developed arguments for those.

The first book of 2010 was Four Queens. This is a wonderful non-fiction book that reads like a novel. It's the story of four sisters, the daughters of the count of Provence, who grew up to become the queens of France, England, the Holy Roman Empire, and Sicily. The writing is great with lots of sarcastic asides.

A Garden of Thorns is a memoir of the son of Italian immigrants growing up in Dijon, France, during World War II. Dijon was one of the last areas of France that was liberated. It's pretty cheerful as WWII European memoirs go. Michael recommended this to me based on the opening chapter. The writing isn't strong in the rest of the book, but I had an extra interest in the story since we'll be visiting Dijon on our trip in April.

I just finished Vanished Smile. Another easy and yet fascinating read. Michael had to remind me once, or twice, or three times, that if he wanted he could read the book himself, so maybe I could finish this anecdote and then stop talking? Did you know the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in 1911 and was missing for two years? Did you know Picasso was one of the suspects and appeared in court to answer charges?

Two things struck me as particularly shocking. One was that the king of France had the Mona Lisa hanging in his bathroom at Fontainebleau for years. Of course. Because all priceless masterpieces love heat and humidity.

The other was that it took several hours from the time someone noticed the Mona Lisa wasn't hanging on the wall before anyone alerted the authorities. The reason?

The camera was becoming an indispensable instrument in the creation, conservation, and reproduction of art, and Director Homolle was so enthusiastic about the new medium that he allowed the photographers unlimited access. Any contract photographer or curator could saunter into a gallery and remove a painting from the wall without making a formal request, obtaining permission, or informing the guard. Because the paintings were simply hung on hooks--not even the most priceless masterpieces were wired or bolted--anyone could take them down and carry them off. page 19-20

So, any other great books about France I should read between now and April?

We Made It!

2010-01-04T07:42:00.004-05:00

We have officially survived Christmas week, but what a week it was.

First, the good news. The kids had a fun Christmas and thoroughly enjoyed their time off. I found that our new-in-2009 division of labor here at the inn did make for a less dreadful week for me. The weather was decent, with fresh snow several days during the week, although we had rain early on and high winds some days. And our guests were almost unanimously cheerful. That's a lot of good.

Now for the bad news. This was the week of facility issues. Here are the problems we discovered since December 23:
1. There was a crack in the fire wall of our oil burner which caused part of it to collapse, creating a pocket which resulted in an incomplete burn. And smoke. And, we thought, carbon monoxide. We discovered this on Christmas Eve, and the furnace repairman came out, removed the cracked firewall and said to keep an eye on it. We're still waiting for the replacement part to come in, but it has been burning cleaner.
2. Something is wrong with the draft in the wood boiler. We discovered this slowly, over several days of continuing carbon monoxide issues. It is now completely shut down (a fun process for Michael, that) and awaiting assistance from the company that sold it to us.
3. One of our leach fields appears to be failing. We discovered this on Saturday. Michael is still exploring solutions.
4. We had no cable at the inn for much of yesterday. Fortunately, the guests were understanding.
5. We had no Internet connection for most of yesterday. (This and the cable issue seem to have been caused by a power surge, although everything is plugged into surge protectors.) This is a much more critical issue than the cable, since people can book rooms online, and if we can't see what they are booking, it's easy for us to rent out the same room to someone who calls on the phone. I spent hours over the course of the day on the phone with tech support at our Internet service provider and our wireless provider, diagnosing the problem (the cable modem was not working) and trying to get the system up and running once the service tech connected the new modem. We got connection back yesterday evening, about 10 hours after it went down.

In the meantime, I've been coping by immersing myself in a TV show.

What time is "Closing"?

2009-12-26T18:24:00.002-05:00

Guests expect innkeepers to stay on top of the local restaurants: what's good, what's not, and when they're open.

I try, but the restaurants don't make it easy. They switch their hours and their days off. And they send helpful emails like this one:

New Winter hours
Thursday – Monday
5PM- Closing

I don't know about you, but my clock never says "Closing." Since, with a job and an inn and kids, I don't hang around restaurants late into the evening, I have no idea what time they close. Why not just post the hours "Opening-Closing"?

Christmas theology from my four-year-old

2009-12-25T08:44:00.002-05:00

This morning, while the kids were waiting to go see what Santa brought, LW and I were discussing baby Jesus.

LW: Mary was Jesus' mommy but then she grew up into a man and became God.

In the middle of trying to sort that out, he surprised me yet again: Mommy, is Jesus a boy or a girl?

I wonder what else he thinks that I don't know?

What the grocery store checker said to me today

2009-12-24T15:58:00.002-05:00

"And your total is . . . wow! I didn't think you had enough groceries to cost that much!"

Not what the store manager wishes she'd said, I'm sure.

It's better than my French, but . . .

2009-12-23T09:35:00.002-05:00

Michael and I are tossing around ideas for our family vacation in April. Michael is leaning heavily toward a return to France, so I'm perusing rental listings in Burgundy.

I found this charming description:
An ideal of holidays and romanticism for the amateurs of forests, of lake and waterfalls. Our asses and horses shall welcome you as a friend.

Caroling

2009-12-20T20:08:00.003-05:00

The twins, LW, and I went caroling in the village with a group from church this evening.

As we were pulling away from the first house and the farewells had died down, LW called out into the silence, "Merry Christmas! Ho! Ho! Ho!"

Christmas Pageant

2009-12-20T12:54:00.003-05:00

The book I'm currently reading emphasizes Christmas as the "expected in the unexpected" and that's a pretty good description of our pageant most years. This year, the pageant featured a shepherd-versus-cow wrestling match. Here they are before they started wrestling.

Due to H1N1 concerns and the lack of a baby of the appropriate age, we used a doll as the baby Jesus. Which was a good call, as the cow turned around and punched the baby Jesus halfway through the pageant. (In the cow's defence, his baby sister is one week old today and I don't think anyone is sleeping much.) LW announced that the baby Jesus was "a fake," but since he was whispering I think only the first row heard him.

NB and IM were the world's most morose magi. (They were trying to look solemn.)

EM was the narrator. Numerous people commented on how deep his voice is.

Fourth grade philosophy

2009-12-18T12:11:00.003-05:00

Picking up LW at school today, I noticed a bulletin board with bits of wisdom various students had shared as part of a recent writing project.

What gems came from my children?

NB: In my life, I have learned that every mountain you climb has the best view.

IM: In my life, I have learned that if you ask for extra computer time, you will get zero computer time the next day.

Attention Gap Kids

2009-12-16T22:23:00.002-05:00

If my daughter talked like the girls in your commercial, she wouldn't be getting any Christmas presents, let alone clothes from your store.

For those of you who haven't seen the snottiest kids currently starring in a commercial, you can check them out here.

Good thing I still have the award

2009-12-16T19:41:00.002-05:00

Remember the Worst Mom in the World Award? The one I was going to keep for awhile?

I solidified my claim last week.

Driving home from the Christmas play on Saturday, NB said, "Mom, you never took treats to school for our birthday."

Ooops.

The twins turned 10 the day after Thanksgiving. I usually take treats to school on the Monday following. This year, that Monday was my monthly slot to teach the environmental science unit in their class, and I was also helping to pack up the Scholastic book fair.

Cupcakes completely slipped my mind.

And since their teacher was out with back problems for two days last week, she didn't remember to do their birthday circle last week either.

*sigh*

I made arrangments with the teacher to bring in treats on Friday. I've already purchased the cake mix and frosting. Now all I need to do is remember to actually make them.

I wonder if the grocery store would let me put up cans to collect change to pay for their therapy bills.

The Ethics of Innkeeping

2009-12-10T21:10:00.003-05:00

One aspect of innkeeping that I didn't anticipate is the ethical questions that come with the job.

Some things of course are cut and dried. Yes, I pay taxes on all payments I receive, even if you pay me in cash. No, I won't let you put six people in a standard room even if that's the only way you can afford a ski vacation.

Other situations linger in my mind and leave me second-guessing myself.

Should I discount a room for the local family staying at the inn because their pipes burst? How much? What about the woman and children staying at the inn because they are avoiding violence at home?

Do I have to rent a room to the couple having the extra-marital affair?

Should I bend the no-personal-checks rule for the young couple with the hard-luck story? Even if the last such person's check bounced, leaving me with a $60 bank fee on top of providing a heated room, hot shower, and breakfast for free?

Should I let the young family sleep in the breakfast room if I'm full and they will otherwise have to sleep in their car? Even if the door separating the breakfast room from our living space has a very inadequate lock? What if it's winter and their car is out of gas?

Should I make a room available for the local church to house a homeless family because the shelter is full? Does the answer change if one of the parents has a criminal record?

When mercy and common-sense disagree, how do I choose between them? It's one thing to sit in church and agree that Jesus calls us to radical hospitality. It's another entirely to realize how radical that hospitality can be.

Skiing Term of the Day

2009-12-08T21:15:00.003-05:00

There's a skiing term Michael shared with me that describes the current skiing conditions on the mountain.

WROD: White Ribbon of Death

It's what you get when the resort has concentrated its snow-making efforts on one trail, and it's the only trail that's open.

The Birth of Venus

2009-12-08T21:07:00.002-05:00

I read this book because I ran into a friend at the library and she pulled it off the shelf, handed it to me, and said, "Read this."

The Birth of Venus belongs to the "historical fiction with an anachronistically feminist heroine" genre. I tend to like these books, despite the anachronism, and this one was no exception.

It's set in Florence at the end of the fifteenth century. Don't know who Savonarola is? Neither did I until I started this book.

That said, there are a couple of scenes that are a little graphic, so I wouldn't recommend it for everyone.

scroogenomics

2009-12-02T17:26:00.004-05:00

Want to freak out your kids? Check this book out from the library: scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn't Buy Presents for the Holidays. Bonus points if you do so in November or December.

The author doesn't actually suggest you make any changes in the gifts you give your young kids, but the kids don't know that. The title of the book and the picture of the crying child on the cover are enough to strike fear into children's hearts.

That was an unintended consequence of checking out the book. I saw it sitting with the new books in the library and thought it looked interesting. It wasn't until I saw the look of horror on IM's face when she skimmed over my books that I realized how it must look from her perspective.

In any case, this book looks at gift-giving from an economic perspective. The author's main point is that since gifts usually provide less satisfaction dollar-for-dollar than money we spend on ourselves, holiday gift-giving provides a net economic loss. I'm not entirely convinced, but it was interesting to see him lay out the argument.

What I did find fascinating was the comparison in holiday shopping between the United States and other countries and between the present and the recent past.

When comparing the bump in spending attributable to the December holidays (as a percentage of sales), the United States is lower than the median. Not only that, the bump's percentage has not grown since 1935. And in fact, holiday spending is a smaller share of the economy now than it was then.

A Long-Overdue (and Long) Post about Books

2009-11-29T19:11:00.007-05:00

I've been reading, but not blogging about it. I like to blog about my books because it helps me remember, so here is the Reader's Digest Condensed Version of my reaction to the last several months' of reading.

Wild Designs--Fun fluff.

The Canon: A Whirligig Tour through the Beautiful Basics of Science--Reading this book should be a prerequisite for a high school diploma. If you are over 18 and haven't read it, go read it now. Chapters cover thinking scientifically, probabilities, calibration, physics, chemistry, evolutionary biology, molecular biology, geology, and astronomy. I read the library's copy, but this is definitely a book I want to own. That will make it handy to assign it to EM in a couple of years.

A Study in Scarlet and The Hound of the Baskervilles--My first Sir Conan Doyle, if you can believe it. It was interesting to see the birth of Holmes and Watson. Both books were enjoyable, although I personally found the shift from London to Utah halfway through A Study in Scarlet to be disconcerting. Interesting to see an outsider's view of Mormon polygamy.

The Year of Magical Thinking--Joan Didion's account of the year after her husband died.

Life changes fast.
Life changes in the instant.
You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends.
The question of self-pity.

Bridget Jones's Diary--I found this a pathetic excuse for a Pride and Prejudice retelling. Just like the movie, the characters start out amusing but grow tiresome halfway through. Unlike the movie, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth weren't there to distract me.

Passage--An intriguing look at Near Death Experiences by Connie Willis. Good, but not as good as The Doomsday Book.

The Martian Chronicles--Fascinating but grim.

The Hunger Games and Catching Fire--Young adult page turners. Quick reads, with lots of interesting issues to discuss. I'm already anticipating the release of the third book sometime in 2010 (I hope).

Life Together--I picked up this book by Dietrich Bonhoeffer because I'd been impressed with some of his essays I'd read last year in an Advent collection. I didn't like this quite as much, I think mostly because it conflicted with my universalism. I copied many quotes, but quite often I'm not sure I agree with them.

rabbit, run--This would be a depressing book if I actually cared a whit for the characters. Since I didn't, it left me feeling numb. Which I rather think was the point. I don't see me reaching for another Updike book anytime soon.

The Language of Bees--The latest in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series. This was not my favorite, but it was still quite enjoyable. With every book of Laurie King's I read, my curiousity grows: what is this woman's religious background?

Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys--I checked this out looking for insight into parenting my middle son. It was helpful, although the take away message was (as it so often is) Be Present. Some days I think if I could just manage that consistently, I'd solve most of my problems in life.

Unlikely Destinations: The Lonely Planet Story--This book was a gift from my friend Shirley. Michael and I own a lot of Lonely Planet guide books (we converted during our trip to Spain, when we realized the wretched binding of our England Rough Guide was a feature of those guidebooks, not a fluke), so it was fun to read how the company started. At times the book dragged, and there were sections whose primary purpose seemed to be to drop names I didn't recognize, but the travel sections and the chapters on writing guidebooks were very interesting.

Holy Silence--This is a book about Quaker silence. It's an easy read and gave me more of an understanding than I had going into it. Silent meditiation is something I'm increasingly drawn to, while simultaneously being really bad at it. I'm slightly less bad at it after having read this book.

How bad was the sleep deprivation?

2009-11-16T20:44:00.002-05:00

I'm sorting through the Christmas stuff in the basement, trying to tame the mess.

I stumbled across a box of unused Christmas cards. Or so I thought. Imagine my surprise to discover twelve addressed envelopes with signed cards inside.

I know the cards were from a Christmas after LW was born, but I don't know exactly which year. I'm assuming 2005, because an infant seems like the only even partially acceptable excuse for that level of brainlessness.

Did I write other cards? Did all of you not receive cards from me that year?

How tired was I?

Offense against Nature

2009-11-11T16:56:00.002-05:00

I like candy corn. I like them a lot. Since I have become an adult I have not let a Halloween go by without buying at least one bag for me to eat all by myself. (It helps that Michael detests candy corn. It's pretty hard to hide treats from him.)

Tonight, however, I saw something that just should not be.

Christmas candy corn. Red, green, and white.

I will not be buying them.

Not even when it is actually Christmastime.

My name eez Treebeard

2009-11-11T07:29:00.004-05:00

Today at the bus stop, the kids and I were singing Christmas carols. (Carols before Thanksgiving is normally a punishable offense around here, but they need to practice for a holiday play they're in.)

NB interrupted to ask, "What's a French ent?"

A what?

NB: "You know, 'on the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me three French ents.' How is a French ent different from a regular ent?"

(If you're having trouble remembering what an ent is, refresh your memory here.)