10 Things I Learned This Week

1. Puppy Chow (or Muddy Buddies) might be the easiest food in the world to make and one of the most addictive. I've been banned from bringing it back to the office.

2. Last minutes guests can often be the most fun. Thanks Josh for a fantastic weekend! I'm glad you took me up on my offer to visit.

3. No matter how many times I say "I have too many books" or "I have too much yarn", I don't seem to believe myself.

4. The mall sucks during holiday season. Sucks! It's pretty bad the rest of the time, but during the holiday season it makes me want to slit my wrists.

5. I am a series reader, no matter what I've said in the past.

6. A Song of Ice and Fire might be one of the best series I've ever read. Period. (There Jon, I said it.)

7. Apparently, given the right video game, I will gleefully club baby seals.

8. Even the thought of some meats makes me ill now. And although you won't believe me, I still haven't craved bacon, once.

9. Jim Carrey may have been the only bad part of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events (the film). The tone was right, the kids were cast perfectly, the guardians were wonderful, and Timothy Spall was an inspired choice. I enjoyed the film. Carrey as Olaf...not so much.

10. Some books are like calm waters for the mind. They reinvigorate you, they calm you, and they make you wonder. Those are the ones I keep to reread every couple of years. I've found another one (more on that in my next post).

You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch

So I have a confession to make. It's kind of a big one, so you should probably sit down. Or if you're already sitting and are at work, be prepared to hold in that gasp. Here goes: Hi, I'm Cat, and I'm a grinch. Christmas is not my favorite holiday. In fact it's one of my least favorite. I don't find this time of year magical. It's more stressful for me. I don't dream of a white Christmas. And honestly I can't stand Christmas music. There I said it. I'm a grinch.

I love Christmas lights but I think they should go up the day after Thanksgiving and stay up until the end of February. I think they are the perfect bit of light in what is a terrible, dark, cold time of the year. But I don't put up a tree (gasp), I dislike the crowds at any shopping area, and I'm certainly not decking any halls. I make it a point to not make anyone else miserable at this time of year but honestly I'm really glad when it's done. I only feel a great relief the day after New Years.

I like wrapping presents but I like that any time of the year. I will watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Chuck Jones's The Grinch, but other than that I instantly change the channel whenever a Christmas show comes on. And the one radio station in town that started playing Christmas music 24/7 the day after Halloween was instantly banished from my pre-set stations.

I'm not sure why I dislike this holiday so much. Perhaps it's the fact that it happens in winter. I'm not a fan if you didn't know. But I don't honestly mind a good snow day, when I don't have to go anywhere. Or perhaps it's because Christmas is slowly eating away at Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday of the year. I hate that businesses are now opening on my favorite day. I liked at least one day of rest from our consumerism. Or perhaps my issue with Christmas is just that it has become unavoidable. I can't have a conversation lately without someone talking about their decorations, their most recent present buying trip, or their Christmas tree.

I feel a bit like a Scrooge but I just can't keep silent anymore. I have twenty more days of hearing nothing but Christmas. And I'll listen, and smile at your excitement. I like passion in any form. But don't look at me askance when I tell you that I don't have a tree up. That I haven't finished my shopping, or really started, and that I don't have my Pandora channel set to carols. I'll raise my glass of hot chocolate after the new year. Until then, I'll be the grinch in the corner, not liking Christmas a lot.

Quotes

My little sister got me started on a collection a couple of years ago. She mentioned that she keeps a book with quotes that she likes. I looked through her quote journal and instantly decided that I needed to do the same. So I hunt for bits of wisdom to add to my collection. I've gathered quite a few and they all hold a special place in my heart. I have a beautiful wood-covered journal that my mother bought me that I knew was too lovely to hold my own words. So I started using it as a "commonplace book". It's a journal for keeping all the interesting fact, quotes, and ideas that I have. I mostly use it for quotes I like. I thought I'd share a couple of them with you. I'll do this periodically. I can't be alone in my love of quotes.

"Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear, and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dreams. Water them with optimism and solutions, and you will cultivate success. Always be on the lookout for ways to turn a problem into an opportunity for success. Always be on the lookout for ways to nurture your dreams."   ~Lao Tzu

"The finiteness of a lifetime adds intensity to our search for truth, for beauty, for happiness, for love, for ourselves. I've begun to understand that death lends meaning to life, that it adds weight to the choices I make about how I want to live and who I want to be."    ~Jill Fredston

"I care not how humble your bookshelf may be, nor how lonely the room which it adorns. Close the door of that room behind you, shut off with it all the care of the outer world, plunge back into the soothing company of the great dead, and then you are through the magic portal into that fair land whither worry or vexation can follow you no more."     ~Arthur Conan Doyle

"The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity."    ~Dorothy Parker

"A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinctions between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself he always seems to be doing both. It's enough for him that he does it well."     ~L.P. Jacks

Games of Thrones

Since I've gotten home from St. Louis, I've done nothing in the evenings except read. I come home, say hi to Jeff, and plop myself down on the couch to read. At 11 or so I'll move upstairs and then read until I either fall asleep or read until I think I'm going to have problems waking up the next day. To say that I've been a little focused is a bit of an understatement.

I've been told by at least half a dozen people that I need to read at least the first book of the Song of Ice and Fire series, A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin. Jeff had received the book as a gift last Christmas and it's been sitting in my stack. So last week I picked it up. And I was immediately sucked in. The characters are all so unique. Throughout the book I would fall in love with different characters. Eddard, Tyrion, Arya, Catelyn, and Jon Snow all have been favorite characters at one point or another. They are each so well described and their individual stories so fascinating. The book follows the Starks of Winterfell, the lord, his lady, and their five children, as they set out into a very well described fantasy world. Each has their own role to play in just this book and I know that those roles will be every futher expanded as I read the rest of the series.

Martin tells a story that's both raw and truthful, which is a tough thing to say for a fantasy series. The word he creates falls its own set of rules beautifully. Magic exists in small doses but it has it's place. Dragons and other creatures have or do live in the world. But each part of the book rings true. Martin creates a history for the world, a mythology for the world, religions, and enough ruling classes that sometimes they are a tad tough to keep straight. He does provide an overview of the houses in the back, but you're so focused on the Starks that I didn't find I had to consult it often. The book has political intrigue (a lot of political intrigue), a fascinating family story, myth and legend, war, and a bit of sex. It's everything I enjoy in a good book and I can't wait to continue on and find out what happens next.

Yep, I'm a series reader again. I broke my rule with the His Dark Materials trilogy, and shattered it with the A Series of Unfortunate Events series. I already the next book of the Song of Ice and Fire series and after a small break I'll dive back into that one. But it won't be tonight. I should probably catch up on the housework I've been ignoring since I started the first.

Thanksgiving Trip

Jeff and I spent the holiday in St. Louis visiting family. We drove down on Thursday and made it just in time for dinner. We left Sunday morning. In between we spent tons of time with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and their adorable little guy. Here they are below. This is Jeff's younger brother's family. They hosted us this trip and did so wonderfully.

We did some shopping on Friday. Not much (I'm not a Black Friday fan) but trips to JoAnn's and Barnes and Noble made me happy. My sister-in-law wanted to make a couple fleece tie blankets as gifts. We managed to get the fabric and complete both blankets in one weekend. Here's my wonderful sister-in-law playing around in JoAnns.

Friday night we went to Jeff's older brother's house for dinner and some wonderful wine. My sister-in-law has introduced me to a number of great wines over the years and this night was no exception. I think between us, she and I must have drank a bottle and a half each. Great conversation, great food. A fun night.

Saturday we went to the zoo with my little brother and his fiancee. It was a bit cold out so the zoo was really quiet. But the animals were active and we made good use of the heated indoor houses. The bird house was Jeff's favorite, it was so quiet you could hear even the quietest birds call. We were the only ones in there for most of our time. The lions were playful and fun to watch. It was a great trip.

The weather was perfect the entire trip and it was great to see family. We don't get down to St. Louis near enough so it was nice to have a longer visit to catch up. We'll hopefully get back down in the spring. But it was a wonderful trip.

Foodscapes

I'm sure you're all tired of seeing food at this point. After the huge feast that is Thanksgiving, there are days and days of leftovers. And dinners with family. And extra pie in the fridge. I'm sure you're thinking that you've seen enough food for a lifetime. Or, if you're like me, you never get tired of food. Particularly not when it is as well presented as these foodscapes.

Carl Warner is a U.K. based photographer who creates landscapes out of food. Almost everything in these scenes is edible. He takes very traditional looking scenes and finds the exact right ingredient to make them out of edibles. According to his website each set takes a couple of days to build and then Warner takes photos of the foreground, background, and the sky separately. Like any organic setting, the food deteriorates quickly so he has to work in stages.

Warner started as a still life photographer and then began to branch out into these arranged landscapes. His work has been used in numerous advertisements and he even came out with a book of his work. I just love the inventiveness of these images. Every part of the picture offers such wonderful detail, which makes for complete images that are creative and simply amazing. The images can be dramatic or serene but they are all wonderful to look at. And all made of food.

Not sure why but this simple scene is my favorite

The Stacks

There's a reason I don't reread my books that often. It's below.

This is my bookcase of books that I haven't read yet. Not just one of the shelves, the whole case is unread. This isn't even the whole case. There's one more row below of oversized books. Books come and go from the case but it's never empty. And often books will stay on there for years before I finally get to them. Buying books is a matter of moments, reading them is slower.

This is my stack of books that I haven't read that don't fit on the bookcase. Currently they are sitting in boxes in my closet but I drag them out occasionally to pick from them.

As you can see I have plenty to keep me occupied. I could choose not to buy or borrow another book for two years and I'd probably still have enough reading material. I've accepted that I'll never read all the books I want to read. But I would like to one day empty the bookcase above. Of course that would mean avoiding the library and the bookstore. So, it's probably never going to happen.

Rereadings

I'm sure it won't surprise any of you to know that I read a lot. And I mean a lot. I spend much of my free time with my nose stuck in a book. What might surprise you is that I don't reread. Ever. I can list on one hand the number of books that I've read a second time or more. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse gets reread every couple of years. I think of that book as a re-grounding. I read it to refresh myself. Pride and Prejudice has been read at least four times. Charlotte's Web gets pulled off the shelf occasionally, and yes I still cry no matter how many times I read it. I've reread two others for a book club I'm in. Other than that, nothing gets reread.

I once started a book only to find within the first three chapters that I had read the book in high school. The whole plot flashed back to me and I put the book down and moved on to something else. Something new. But this weekend I started a book that I was pretty sure I'd read before. It's a memoir about reading called So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson. I was sure I had read it years ago and every once and a while I would get flashbacks of chapters. But it never came back to me fully. I read her discussions of books and had the odd sense of deja vu that comes with rereading but even up until the end, I never remembered the book enough to put it down. And it wasn't in my LibraryThing (I'm CatB if you're interested). So I read the book for perhaps the second time and enjoyed it.

The moment I put it down I grabbed another, and this one I knew I had read. I picked up Russell Hoban's The Mouse and His Child. I read this book as a child and it had the biggest impact on me. Here was a book that was on the surface about a wind-up mouse and his child, trying to find some friends and evade an enemy. But even as a child I recognized that the book was so much more than that. It was an allegory. I saw the discussions of infinity and trying to define Being and cause and effect and the book intrigued me, even at a young age. So when I found out that the book had been reprinted with illustrations from David Small, one of my all-time favorite illustrators, I made it a point to find a copy. I had glanced through the book after buying it but didn't plan to reread. After all, it was the illustrations I was looking for. But today, after finishing one potential rereading, I purposefully picked up the book and read.

And the book lived up to its memory. I loved it for a second time. The story was familiar, but I was amazed at how much I had forgotten. There were characters that I hadn't remembered at all. There were subplots that hadn't meant anything to me as a child and were therefore forgotten. And the ending surprised me. I'm not sure how I had forgotten it. Although the characters were the same I read this like a brand-new book. And it got me thinking. I wonder how many of my childhood favorites would be worth going back to reread? How many stories have I forgotten enough of that they would be worth revisiting? I might have to go through my shelves. And create a stack to reread. After all, if it hadn't been for the illustrations, I would never have picked up this wonderful tale again.

Nostalgic Musical Interlude

The summer before my junior year of college was one of those great times that I look back at nostalgically. I was living alone at the time, working to pay my own bills by cleaning apartments. I would wake up at 5 each morning, clean apartments until 2, then go home and write until nearly 11 or midnight. It was the most productive time in my life. And I loved it.

The soundtrack for that time in my life was Natalie Merchant's Tigerlily, Violent Femmes, the music from the film Evita, and Indigo Girls. I think I wore most of those cassettes out (remember those?). I would pop a tape in and listen while I cleaned. When I got rid of most of my tapes, those were the ones I kept. They were just too special to me.

This afternoon, as part of my desire to get back to myself, I've set my Pandora radio streaming to Natalie Merchant. And it's been so energizing. Pandora (seriously I love this service) offers me not just Natalie, but Sarah McLaughlin, Jewel, Dido, The Cranberries, Fleetwood Mac, and The Sundays to name a few. It is the soundtrack of my college years. I'm reminded not only of the songs I loved that I'd forgotten about, but about those years of my life.

No matter what happens in my life, music has always been an energizing force. I have songs that make me think of middle school, high school, college, my early years of dating and marriage, and my more recent days. A single song can take me back. You can tell my mood by what song I'm singing. And if I'm alone, I'm always singing. Today it's Life is Sweet by Natalie Merchant.

Hi

Hi there! I'm Cat. You might remember me from blogs such as Ancora Imparo and Yet Another Children's Book Blog.

This is me, on the left, back when most of my time was taken up with writing and reading. Back then I was young and immature and passionate and far happier than I have been recently. I've been struggling a lot lately with depression. People who see me day to day probably wouldn't have noticed but it's been there. Sapping my energy and taking away my passion. And I haven't been feeling like myself. So I'm going to get back to the things I love the most. And you're all welcome to join me.

Venting: Literally and Figuratively

Right now there are six industrial strength fans running in my kitchen. The noise is so loud that I'm camped out upstairs. This morning as I was just about ready to pack my lunch for work I noticed that the floor was shiny. It was reflecting the light we have in the bathroom. Thankfully I turned the kitchen light on before walking in. Otherwise I would have soaked my feet. There was a good inch or so of standing water all over the floor.

Instead of packing lunch I woke Jeff up, grabbed some towels and headed back downstairs to start the long process of mopping up my kitchen. We filled buckets with gray water and hauled them outside to dump on the lawn. We got good use out of the new mop we bought last month. With Jeff using a sponge and me using the mop we were finally able to make headway on the mess. Just as we had gotten mostly under control, our neighbor rang the doorbell and pleaded for help. She was in the same situation. Water everywhere. We helped mop out her kitchen as well.

With the water gone I headed out to work (I'd told my boss I'd be late) and left Jeff to wait for the sewer company. They arrived about 9 and quickly realized that there was a blockage in the main building line. We had taken the brunt of the mess along with our neighbor. Four other units were also affected but with much less damage. Jeff called a company to come in and clean up and they're the ones that set up the fans. They're also the ones that realized that the underfloor was soaked and that the vinyl flooring would have to come up. So not only do we have the charge of the clean-up but we'll be laying in a new floor and new baseboards. An expensive and very frustrating morning.

So right now I'm venting... along with the kitchen. It's hopefully getting dry, particularly the walls. And I'm starting to accept things the way they are. I won't have a kitchen for  probably a week and a half. Jeff and I will be looking at flooring tomorrow. I have the frustration of not being able to use my downstairs bathroom comfortably. And of course the added expense. The only positive is how incredible Jeff has been through this whole thing. He's been the one to deal with the insurance company (we don't have sewer coverage), the sewer company, the cleaning company, and shopping to make things simpler for me. He's been a godsend today. I hope I cool off before the floor dries. Otherwise it's going to be a long frustrating week.

Here's Looking at You, Kid

It's one of the most famous lines from the classic movie Casablanca. Or at least the most famous line that people get right. "Play it again, Sam" was never uttered in the movie. But I digress. I don't know of any movie that has more classic lines than Casablanca. Most of which come in the last 10 minutes as Rick tells Ilsa that she needs to go with her husband.

My sister introduced me to Casablanca when I was in high school and I have loved the movie ever since. It's one of the first black and white films I ever owned. It's a story I rarely get tired of watching. The odd part is that the love story is wonderful but it's not my favorite part of the movie. This is film filled with characters, unique personalities who steal a couple scenes and are never seen again. It's a movie that seems alive beyond what the camera lens is focused on. Simpering Peter Lorre, Louis the police chief, Sam with the magical voice, and a mix of other noble characters and scoundrels. Rick and Ilsa is a sweet story, but it's the side characters that draw me to the film.

Last night I got to see the movie on the big screen. One of our local art theaters screened it for the whole week and my mom and aunt suggested that we go. Even though I hate the theaters I couldn't pass up the chance to see that famous cafe on the big screen. As an audience, we laughed at the subtle wonderful jokes. I nearly cheered at the playing of the Marseilles. And I lost myself in a movie I've seen well over two dozen times. It was magic.

Experiment

For two and a half weeks I've been spending many of my nights in front of the TV. I'm a huge Olympics fan. I want to catch every minute of coverage I can. It didn't matter which sport, I was watching. And now I've gotten used to coming home and settling on the couch. I've been out to dinners and running errand this week but the moment I come home I'm again planted on the couch, reading Facebook updates and watching whatever show is on.

And my last post was all about unplugging. It was about taking time away from electronics and feeling freer. But here I am tonight, sitting in front of the TV again. And it's taken me well over an hour to write these two paragraphs because I've been distracted by the moving pictures. It should never take me more than an hour to write a paragraph. I should never have so little concentration or focus.

So tomorrow I'm starting an experiment. No television for a week. I'm going to try to concentrate on reading, writing, and other hobbies. I haven't been knitting as much as I'd like. I haven't been writing much at all this recently. I've been working on a fascinating book for almost two weeks now, which is incredibly slow for me. I'm not focused. And I'm hoping that this experiment will show me if my concentration issues are TV related. Or if nothing else I hope I get something done. It's an experiment. It may not work. But I assume that it will be worth the effort. Wish me luck.

Blackout

Jeff and I were watching some Olympics coverage (because I can't get enough of it) last night after dinner when suddenly the TV went black. And the AC turned off. And all the lights. We had a big storm the night before that had knocked out some power but we had been spared. Now tonight, with little more than a breeze, we were out.

So of course we did what everyone would do. We poured glasses of Baileys and sat out on the patio. Since the power went out at 8 we got to sit and talk and watch the darkness descend. It was heavenly. There was nothing to do and nothing we had to do. Most of the neighbors had done the same thing, sitting out on their patios with glasses of wine and relaxing.

And for a moment I thought about what it must have been like before the internet and TV. Now I was alive before there were personal computers. I remember a time where we didn't have the ever-present internet to entertain us. I never knew a time before TV. But sitting out there last night I found myself hoping that the lights didn't come back on for a while. I loved the undistracted time just watching the world grow darker while listening to people talk. Watching the trees blow in the breeze and listening to the cicadas. I loved the darkness and the sense of security of sitting in the dark. It felt safe and cozy. Eventually Jeff brought me a candle and I sat in the faint candle-light and wondered what the world would be like without television and email and constant distractions. I've decided that it would have been amazing. Then the lights came back on.

Recent Visitor

Ever since I put up my bird feeder I've had regular avian visitors. I started seeing birds only 17 hours after putting up the feeder and have rarely had a break since. I love seeing the chickadees, finches, nuthatches, cardinals, woodpeckers and sparrows that flock to the feeder. I have a rabbit that has started coming in the morning, along with numerous ground squirrels and squirrels. But none of them is as exciting as what Jeff saw when he looked out the window this past week.

He was watching Olympics coverage when he heard something loud out the window. He glanced out to see this beautiful bird above. It's either a juvenile Sharp-Shinned hawk or a juvenile Cooper's hawk. They look very similar at this age from what I know. The yellow eyes tell me that this is a juvenile. They'll turn a beautiful red as she ages. From the size I think it's female. She's a bit bigger than a crow which is the average size.

Jeff tells me that after sitting up on the fence for a bit, the hawk flew to the ground and spent some time sunning. It spread it's wings out and hunkered on the ground. No doubt it was waiting for some of the regular sparrows to come back. Coopers and Sharpies regularly eat feeder birds. So this pretty bird was waiting for a meal. After Jeff sent me a text with a picture my next question was whether it had found a meal or not. I'm excited that it's hunting my area. I love that not only does my feeder attract small birds but the big predators come by extension. Such a beautiful sighting. While I wish I'd gotten to see it but  I love all the pictures Jeff took for me.