iPod Roulette - November 2010

We were having thunderstorms yesterday (with a tornado watch) when I settled down for a session of iPod Roulette. Just like last month, a rather mellow assortment of songs. A nice contrast to the weather.


1. Like A Stone (Audio Slave) - This was Audio Slave's most successful single.

2. Anticipation (Carly Simon) - I love this song, but can't listen to it without thinking about ketchup.

3. Sloop John B (Beach Boys) - Even though I can sing along with many Beach Boys songs, they're not one of my favorite groups. This is from the Forrest Gump Soundtrack.

4. Magic Man (Heart) - Fantastic female rockers!

5. Ruby Rap (Eric Serra) - This is from one of my favorite movies.

6. Still (Commodores) - Okay, so I like The Commodores and I like Lionel Richie. It's a guilty pleasure.

7. Black and White (Three Dog Night) - This brings back memories of Junior High.

8. Poor Boy (Jeff Beck) - Another track from the album I wrote about here, again featuring Imelda May.

9. Caribbean Queen (Billy Ocean) - Very 80s.

10. Your Blue Room (Passengers) - This is from an experimental album recorded by U2. They decided to release it under another name since it was so different from their other stuff.

11. Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin) - Does anyone remember this entry?

12. Pines of Rome: The Pines of the Janiculum (Respighi) - Our area symphony performed The Fountains of Rome last year. I enjoyed it so much that I came home and downloaded it along with this, the second part of Respighi's "Roman Trilogy".

13. Don't Stand So Close to Me (The Police) - Whoa! Does this song bring back memories from college! You see, I had this professor.... no, wait. I won't go there.

14. Does it Really Happen? (Yes) - My favorite group. Enough said.

15. Bach: French Suite #4 BWV. 815 2. Courante (Glenn Gould) - Finished off with a little classical piano.

The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris

When I read Jenners' review of The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris I just had to get the book. She described it as a "personal dystopia" and that fascinated me.


Tim Farnsworth is an attorney in New York with a major problem. He has a totally uncontrollable compulsion to walk. Day, night, rain, snow.... Tim never knows when the urge is going to hit and he walks until he drops. It might be during the night while sleeping, it might be in the middle of a meeting at work. He might wake up in a back alley or in a roadside ditch. It's a constant challenge. However, Tim is not the only one affected by his illness. He has a wife, a daughter, and a job at a prestigious law firm. His walking takes its toll on both his personal and professional life. However, it's the relationship between Tim and and his wife Jane that is the true heart of the story.

I'm still not 100% sure what I thought of this book. Did it hold my interest? Yes. It wasn't the book's fault that it took me awhile to get through it. Could I empathize with the characters? Usually. At times its poignancy was almost depressing. Did I find it believable? Well, I think this is where the book fell short for me. I had problems with the whole concept of Tim's illness and how it was dealt with. There were some issues and inconsistencies that I couldn't seem to wrap my mind around. Finally, am I glad I read it? Yes. I liked the basic concept. Besides, I had to see for myself what its appeal was for so many others.

Shadow Shot Sunday #4

Hosted by Hey Harriet
(click above image for more photos)

Pumpkin Spice Chai

Most of you know that I love my tea. I'm always open to trying new varieties, whether loose tea or bagged, my only real preference being black rather than herbal or green (or white, or oolong). I guess I like my caffeine.

Here's a variety that I found for the first time this fall. Perfect for the holiday season!

Four Questions Asked, Four Questions Answered

I've been tagged.

Tracy (Petty Witter) from Pen and Paper decided to join in a question and answer session from Jenner's blog and has in turn asked four questions of her own which I'm supposed to answer.

1. You are going to a fancy dress party - what is your costume of choice and why?

I can only remember one time that I went to this type of party and my date and I dressed in Roman garb that he borrowed from our local theatre. I'm sure they weren't authentic togas/stolas, but it was a lot of fun. Given another opportunity, I would probably opt to do that again. It was very comfortable!

2. What is the oddest gift you have ever received/given?

If I'm not mistaken, the first wedding anniversary is traditionally meant to be celebrated with a gift of paper. (does anyone really follow these rules??) On my first anniversary I received a 20-gauge shotgun from my husband!! Maybe not traditional, but one of the best gifts he's ever given me! Perhaps a little odder, though, was our tenth anniversary. We gave each other rolling desk chairs.

3. Every Christmas morning we would eat tinned hotdogs for breakfast. A family we know ate a box of malteser chocolates in bed to celebrate a birthday. Do you have any holiday traditions? If not, what tradition would you like to start?

This one's easy. Holiday Bingo!! Over the years it has become the focal point of our family gathering on Christmas Eve. I'm always the "caller" and I provide lots of fun small prizes including a WalMart giftcard as the final "cover the board" prize. It's something we can all enjoy, from the youngest to the oldest.

4. You find a time machine, to which time in history would you travel and why?

I love historical fiction/mysteries and find many periods in history fascinating. However, I think I would pick ancient Rome, in particular during the time of Vespasian. I love the Marcus Didius Falco books which are set during this timeframe. Any time I speculate on this to my husband, he's always quick to remind me about things like sanitation, gender roles, etc. So...I'd want to make sure I had my finger on the "return" button of my time machine in case I found myself in a sticky situation!

Now I'm supposed to pose four new questions and tag four others to answer them. Rather than actually tagging anyone, I'm just going to invite anyone who wants to participate to do so. (and I hope SOMEone will take me up on it!!) Do your own post, answer here in the comments, or do both!! Here's your assignment:

1. What's the best (or worst) vacation you've ever taken?

2. If you could be fluent in any language (that you don't already speak fluently) what would it be and why?

3. What would be your ultimate fantasy job/career?

4. What is your favorite childhood memory?

Ponderings

Nothing earth-shattering, just something to think about.

Tell me your preferences in the comments. My picks are in green.


1. Star Trek or Star Wars?

2. Summer or Winter?

3. Cats or Dogs?

4. Sweet or Savory?

5. The Mountains or The Beach?

6. Lyrics or Music?

7. Elvis or The Beatles or The Stones?*


*My daughter and I disagreed on which two to use, so I had to include an extra.

Shadow Shot Sunday #3

Hosted by Hey Harriet
(Click above image for more photos)

Watercolors

This puzzle, entitled "Watercolors", was a freebie with an order from Bits and Pieces. It worked up quickly until I got to the sky. Not a particularly challenging puzzle, but satisfying in a therapeutic sense.

Favorite Five - YouTube clips

Our satellite internet connection does not lend itself to watching YouTube clips. While faster than dial-up, it allows a very limited amount of downloading each day before totally slowing our system to a crawl. So....although I haven't spent lots of time at YouTube, I've still managed to find a few short clips that are guaranteed to entertain me.

I'll bet most of you are familiar with at least one of these.

1. Model Falls Twice - I'm a bit klutzy and can always laugh at myself when I trip, but it's really the newscasters' reactions that are funniest here.



2. Lizard Jumps on Newscaster - You'll probably have to watch this one more than once. Keep an eye on the left side of the picture.



3. Sneezing Baby Panda - Short, but hilarious!



4. Spiders on Drugs - My favorite spider is the "caffeine" spider.



5. Evolution of Dance - Lengthier than the others, but worth the time.

Old bones!

Remember the bones I told you about in my Halloween post*? Well, it turns out they might be a little more significant than we first thought. Keep in mind this is all preliminary - it may take two years or more to get a full forensic report - but, it's possible that the bones date from somewhere around 100-200 A.D.!!

Kind of blows my mind.


* I don't think the link to the newspaper article in the Halloween post is still active. Sorry. Hopefully you linked to it when I originally posted it or can figure out from the comments what it said.

White Bread

I normally use my friend Susanna's bread recipe when baking, but decided to try something different over the weekend. I used this recipe from Allrecipes.com. My husband and daughter really liked it. I prefer Susanna's recipe.

It did make a pretty loaf, though.

Inside vs. Outside

I made a comment on an online forum long ago that I've never forgotten. Actually, it was the response to it that stuck with me. I had made some reference to my "outside" dogs and another commenter took major offense to this. She stated that if a person is going to own a dog it should be kept inside where it can be properly taken care of. Basically she accused me of abusing or mistreating my dogs! She couldn't understand how I could possibly have some of my dogs inside the house, yet make others live outside.

Our outside dogs have plenty of food, shelter from the elements, and the freedom to run free. They are spayed and neutered, given the proper vaccinations, and get plenty of love and attention. In no way are they mistreated! We've learned over the years that some dogs just prefer living outside.

Angus, our first Rottweiler was meant to be an outside dog. When he was two years old he developed a tick-born disease called Ehrlichia. We treated him with massive doses of antibiotics to cure him, but the vet said the only way to keep it from recurring was to lock him in a pen or bring him in the house. We couldn't imagine penning him up. He would have been miserable. We had several other dogs at the time and they loved to all roam the woods together. So, we brought him inside. We had never had a large dog in the house before, but it was the beginning of a love affair for our family. He housebroke easily, immediately took charge of guarding our kids (and herding them when necessary), and fit right in to our family.

Our next two rotties, Esther and JJ, were destined to be house dogs from the time they arrived at our home as puppies. However, between the time we picked them out at the kennel and they were old enough to bring home, we got Betty and Veronica. Since we didn't want four puppies inside at one time, Betty and Veronica were kept in the back yard. It was only because of Veronica's tragic death that Betty got to move in. I sometimes wonder if they both wouldn't have ended up inside eventually.

The majority of our outside dogs have been strays that were passing through and decided they'd found a good home. Most of these dogs would never have been happy as inside dogs, not after the freedom they had already experienced. Daisy Mae and Hope were perfect examples of this and lived with us for quite a few years. I debated whether to try and make a house dog of Bella, but felt Hope needed her company after Daisy died. Perhaps if I'd moved her in that terrible day in the pasture might never had happened. I can't think about that.

Anyone who has followed this blog for any length of time knows about our current dogs. Alice and Mabel (and their ten siblings) were abandoned on the side of the road at Christmastime two years ago. Blue and Mama Dog (and her subsequent litter of puppies) the following summer. Suzy this summer.

I took pictures of Alice and Mabel in the back yard over the weekend. I caught Alice with her head in mid-shake in the first one. It's hilarious and looks like she's about to warp into another dimension! Hard to believe they're from the same litter, isn't it?

Shadow Shot Sunday #2

I just used this photo in a September blog post, but it has such a nice shadow I wanted to use it again for Shadow Shot Sunday. Be sure to check out Hey Harriet for more shadow photography!

Bark at the Bazaar

It was a very busy week!

Each year the craft group at my church (I organize more than I craft) hosts a holiday bazaar. (click here for past entries) It's held from 7:00 until 11:00 a.m. on the second Thursday in November and offers a variety of items for sale: jewelry, handmade ornaments and holiday decorations, scarves, wreaths, decorative trees, baby gifts, and much, much more. Our "Trash & Treasure" section is always overflowing with items. In addition to a bake sale section (cakes, cookies, breads, jellies, pickles, etc.) we offer breakfast items for dine-in or carry-out (with free coffee for those dining in).

In addition to the usual goodies I prepare for the bake sale, I always like to try something new. This year it was a treat called "Cookie Pretzel Peanut Bark". I didn't plan to post the recipe, but my son and his girlfriend liked it so much they wanted me to.


Cookie Pretzel Peanut Bark
contributed to Simple & Delicious by Peggy Detjen of Lakeville, MN

1-1/4 pound white candy coating, coarsely chopped
3 cups pretzel sticks, broken into pieces
1-1/2 cups dry-roasted peanuts
14 chocolate cream-filled sandwich cookies, broken into chunks

In a microwave, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. Stir in the pretzels, peanuts and cookies.

Drop by tablespoonfuls into miniature paper liners or onto waxed paper. Let stand until set. Store in an airtight container.

Typically British Reading Challenge 2010 - Completed!

I've finished my third and final reading challenge for the year. When signing up for the Typically British Reading Challenge, I set out to read four books - the "Gordon Bennett" level. Instead, I ended up reaching the top level - "Cream Crackered" - with eight books.

Here are the links to the reviews for the books I read:

Revelation by C.J. Sansom


Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter by A.E. Moorat


Fallen into the Pit by Ellis Peters


Nemesis by Lindsey Davis


The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears


The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths


The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox


Conspirata by Robert Harris

Conspirata by Robert Harris

Conspirata is the second book in Robert Harris' planned trilogy about the life of Marcus Tullius Cicero. Once again narrated by his secretary, Tiro, it picks up where the first book (Imperium) left off, with Cicero having been elected consul of Rome.

Whereas Imperium read more like a courtroom drama, chronicling the trial which led to Cicero's fame, Conspirata delves into the day to day politics of Republican Rome.... a nasty, vicious period in history, to say the least. It begins two days before Cicero takes office in 63 B.C. and closes in 58 B.C.

Although written as fiction, Harris does a superb job of weaving his story around the actual facts of this era. It's true that Tiro existed and that he produced a biography of Cicero. It is cited by both Plutarch and Asconious Pedianus. He was the first man to record a speech in the Senate verbatim, using the shorthand system he created (traces of which can still be found in our writing today). Sadly, the biography along with many of these other works disappeared during the collapse of the Roman Empire.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - every bit as much as the first. Even though I know the history and what the ultimate outcome will be for Cicero, it ends as a cliffhanger. I anxiously await the third!

This is my eighth and final book for the Typically British Reading Challenge.

A Double

I was preparing lunch on Sunday and was startled to see two yolks when I cracked open an egg. It's been years since I saw or even thought about a double yolk egg. I called my husband over to look at it before taking a quick photo with my phone.





After stirring it in I decided I needed another egg. It was another double yolk!! What are the chances?! While looking for some facts online, I came across several links to a story about a woman in the UK who found not one, but six eggs with a double yolk.... all in the same carton! Click here for the story. I have to admit, it took a little of the thrill out of my two-egg find.

But....I still have ten more eggs in my carton.

Be careful what you wish for...

... because you might just get it!


For quite some time now Suzy has been escaping whenever she can slip out the carport door. This isn't just when we go in and out, either. If the door isn't shut firmly she will nose open the inside door then push on the storm door to make her way out. This isn't the problem as much as the fact she then takes off into the woods and will not come back when called. All our other dogs mind us. Suzy doesn't.

We finally decided she must really want to be an outside dog, so we stopped letting her back in when she returned. Mama Dog, Blue and Jed have taken it in stride. In fact, I think Jed loves having someone who will run and play with him all the time. The transition has gone fairly well with the exception of nighttime. That's when Suzy thinks she wants to be an inside dog again. No way! Living in the country with no leash law gives our outside pups freedom to run the woods.... and pick up all sorts of creepy crawlies. We do use collars and other flea/tick products on them, but that doesn't equal the controlled environment of the inside girls. The first three nights Suzy managed, one way or another, to get into the back yard then sat on the back steps and barked. And barked. And barked. The past two nights we shut her in her crate which we moved to the carport. She seemed content with that. Meanwhille, things are getting back to normal inside for Alice and Mabel.

Here are some photos I took over the weekend.

Shadow Shot Sunday

I've noticed each week Boonie participates in something called Shadow Shot Sunday hosted by Hey Harriet. I was taking some photos on Friday for an upcoming entry and realized one of them would work nicely for this. Jed and his shadow!


To see lots of wonderful shadow photos, click on the button at the top of this entry. You can then visit participating blogs from the Mister Linky feature at the bottom of her entry. The collages in her post are made up of photos from past participants. Some are quite beautiful, others quite clever. Go see for yourself!

Titles Tell a Story

Here's a fun idea I saw over at Pen and Paper. Take ten books from your TBR pile and arrange the titles so they tell a story. Considering I have so many books waiting to be read, there were plenty of titles to choose from. Here's what I came up with.


When the Ground Turns in its Sleep (Sylvia Sellers-Garcia)

[and] The Dead Hour (Denise Mina) [approaches],

The Great Stink (Clare Clark) [caused by]

Holy Fools (Joanne Harris)

In the Company of Others (Jan Karon)

[was] Not Quite What I Was Planning (edited by Smith magazine).

[Despite having] Heart and Soul (Maeve Binchy),

The Art of Racing in the Rain (Garth Stein) [is quite difficult].

[After all, we all know] Life is a Three-Ring Circus (Rebecca Kelly)

[and] Being Dead is No Excuse (Gayden Metcalfe & Charlotte Hays) !

Movie Madness

My husband loves to watch movies so it was a wonderful thing for him when he discovered Netflix. He will give most any movie a chance and it's rare he won't finish one he's started, especially now that he's not paying per movie. I'm a little more discriminating and have to weigh how much I want to see one versus anything else I might have on my agenda.

Here are a few that I opted to watch recently. Some were worth the time, some were not.


Iron Man 2 - So often sequels fall short and I heard that this wasn't as good as the first Iron Man. I heard right. It wasn't as good, but still entertaining.

Robin Hood - I hadn't intended to watch this since the Robin Hood legend has never been one of my favorites. I like Cate Blanchett and Russell Crowe, however, and decided to give it a go. It was not the Robin Hood story I remembered at all. If anything, the ending set things up for a sequel more along the lines of what I expected with this one.

P2 - This is a horror movie. Definitely not my preferred genre. It sucked me in, though, and I stayed with it all the way through. There was only one scene that had me wanting to avert my eyes.

To Kill A Mockingbird - It wasn't that long ago that I read this book for the first time. Several folks told me that the movie was very good, perhaps as good as the book. I won't go so far as to say I liked it as well as the book (that's a rarity in my opinion), but I did think it was very good. A book just provides so much more detail than a movie can. It did stay true to the central theme of the story.

Date Night - This was one of those comedies that had its share of funny moments, but didn't leave any lasting impressions. I enjoyed it while I watched it, but wouldn't tell anyone it was a "must see".

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - Based on a video game. I can see that it's probably a great game, but it didn't make the transition to the big screen very well. I didn't think it was very good.

Julie & Julia - This was my favorite of all the movies listed here. It's based on a book for which I've read glowing reviews. I haven't read it myself and don't think I will. I could be wrong, but I just don't think it would be as good in book format.

Soil and Soul

The Arkansas Delta might be one of the poorest regions of the United States, but it's an area that is rich in musical culture and heritage, particularly the Blues. A friend told me about a website that offers a free CD of Delta music just for the asking. So, I asked and this is what they sent me.


In addition to the CD (which includes music from artists like Albert King, Al Green, Johnny Cash and Charlie Rich) there is a DVD of interviews with several musicians discussing the history of the Blues and the music it relates to such as Southern Gospel, Country, Jazz, Rockabilly and Rock & Roll. The brochure pictured with the CD/DVD is a promotional travel guide for the Arkansas Delta.

To get your own CD/DVD (it appears to be limited to those in the US), click on this link: Arkansas Delta Byways.

Thanks for letting me know about this wonderful freebie, Jamie!