End of month ramblings

Usually February is the month that seems to drag on forever (despite being the shortest), but this felt like an extra-long January. I'm not sure someone didn't sneak some extra days in there somewhere!

I got a good start on my reading challenges by completing seven books this month! That's great for a slow reader like me. I usually do well to get three or four read in a month. (still contemplating the idea of someone slipping in some extra days)

Remember the donkeys I featured in a Shadow Shot Sunday post earlier this month? They're gone!! Turns out our livestock partner found a taker for them. They left before I even knew we were giving them away! I'll miss hearing them bray in the mornings. My husband says he won't miss them. They were greedy and got in the way when feeding the cows.

Duck season is over for another year. After all my enthusiam at the beginning of the 09/10 season, I haven't been back since. Oh well. It's gotten where I prefer dove hunting and I did get to do that several times last fall. Speaking of.... it's time I pull some of the little birds out of the freezer and prepare them for my husband. He loves my dove in mushroom gravy.

Mabel had a rough weekend. She must have eaten something in the yard that she shouldn't have. Projectile vomiting is one thing, but projectile diar...... well, I won't go into detail. Let's just say I don't know who I felt worse for, her for being sick or me for having to clean up after her!

Moving right along, it's been a month filled with wild swings in temperature. Hot, cold, warm, cool. Saturday it got up to 73F (23C). Another cold front is coming, though, and by tomorrow night it's supposed to get down to 25F (-4C) with a high Wednesday of 35F (2C). What I really dislike is when it's very cold at night, yet warms up considerably during the day. Makes it hard to know how to dress.

Enough ramblings for one day!

Shadow Shot Sunday #13

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Stained Glass Shadow

Favorite Five - Movie Soundtracks

Before we continue, let me clarify things. Don't confuse the soundtrack for a movie with its score. For example... everyone is familiar with the musical score for the original Star Wars movie. However, that's not what I'm talking about here. That can be a whole different post for another time. What I am referring to are the albums that are released containing specific songs, usually by various artists, that appear in a movie.

1. Boogie Nights (and Boogie Nights 2) - This should have been released as a double CD rather than making you buy both! Despite the title of the movie (which is actually about a porn star), it's not just disco music.

2. Forrest Gump - This one is a double CD. One of the best things about it is the wide range of years the music covers, just like Forrest's life.

3. Beverly Hills 90210: The College Years - I never liked this TV show and haven't seen the movie. I only got the CD because of one specific song (before the days of iTunes and individual purchases). Fortunately the rest of the CD was good.

4. Blues Brothers 2000 - A lot of the music on this CD includes the Blues Brothers Band, but that's okay since they're quite good in their own right. Includes Blues Traveler, Erykah Badu, The Louisiana Gator Boys, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Jonny Lang, and more.

5. The Fighting Temptations - This is a fun, feel-good movie with some great music from such varied artists as Beyonce, The O'Jays, Shirley Caesar, Missy Elliott and others.

Worth mentioning: Almost Famous, Good Morning Vietnam, In the Name of the Father, Mr. Holland's Opus, The Fifth Element.



I hope I haven't blurred the line between soundtrack and score with any of my choices, especially the "worth mentioning" picks. I've included a link to Amazon for the top five so you can see what songs appear on each album.

How about you? Are there any particular movies with great songs that you want to mention?

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

I knew from all the reviews I'd read for The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein that I would like it. How could I not - it's narrated by a dog!

As the story begins, Enzo is comtemplating his transition from this world to the next. He knows from a TV documentary about Mongolia that when a dog is finished living his lifetimes as a dog, his next incarnation will be as a man. He feels he's ready.

First, though, he shares his story and in doing so we learn all about Denny and Eve Swift, their daughter Zoe and all the tragedy that befalls them. And, wow, what a story!

I really enjoyed this book until about half way through. At that point things started happening that totally frustrated and angered me. Still... that didn't stop me from pressing on, totally absorbed with Enzo's tale. Death, false accusations, custody battles, financial woes, and racing. Lots and lots of auto racing. It's not a topic for which I have much interest, but that didn't matter. Enzo, with his humor and insight, made the whole journey worth it.

This novel was read for the What's in a Name challenge: a book with movement (racing) in the title.

January (2011) iPod Roulette

I decided to make a change to the "iPod Roulette" rules. From now on if a song comes up that appeared in the last two rounds, I can skip to the next. Believe it or not, with more than 3600 songs to choose from, I had two repeats this time from my session in November! How bizarre is that?!

I've also come to the conclusion that short of picking my own selections there's no way to get a true sampling of all the varieties of music on my iPod. That said, here's what came up this month:

1. Luck of the Draw (Bonnie Raitt) - This is a good song, but not one of my favorites of hers.

2. Video Killed the Radio Star (Buggles) - The video of this song was the first music video to appear on MTV in the US.

3. The End (Beatles) - This is from Abbey Road, my favorite Beatles album.

4. Forgiven and Loved (Jimmy Needham) - Not your run-of-the-mill sounding Contemporary Christian artist .

5. Afternoon Delight (Starland Vocal Band) - This song has been made fun of a lot in the past, but I really love it.

6. Rich Girl (Hall and Oates) - These guys appeared on American Idol either this past year or the year before. They've gotten old! (and I haven't?)

7. We Will Trust You (Ginny Owens and GlassByrd) - This is from one of the City on a Hill CDs.

8. Cry Aloud (Colin Towns) - From the PBS "Brother Cadfael" series.

9. Car Wash (Rose Royce) - I know this song has come up in the past, but evidently not in the last two sessions.

10. Angelia (Richard Marx) - I had forgotten all about this song. Not bad.

11. Stay (Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons) - This is a great song from the past!!

12. Dear Prudence (Beatles) - From the White Album, not one of their more well-known songs.

13. The Stone Circle (Acoustic Alchemy) - One of my favorite jazz groups.

14. Games People Play (Spinners) - Possibly my favorite R&B band. I attended their concert when they visited our small town more than 25 years ago.

15. Oh, Lord, You're Beautiful (Sarah Sadler) - Another lovely Contemporary Christian song.

Shadow Shot Sunday #12

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Dog Crate

Gerry Rafferty

I was sad when Gerry Rafferty died earlier this month. My favorite of his songs, Baker Street, made my "favorite five - songs" list that I posted last year. It was released in February of 1978 and I spent that summer studying in England. Brings back great memories!

Waiting for Columbus by Thomas Trofimuk

Every so often there comes along a novel that totally captivates me. Waiting for Columbus by Thomas Trofimuk is one of those novels.

As the story begins, a man believing himself to be Christopher Columbus is brought to an asylum in modern-day Spain after being found in the Strait of Gibraltar. His delusions are not so unusual. After all.... the asylum houses a few other well-known people from the past as well as the first female Pope! It's where the story goes from there that is so captivating. Over the next few months Columbus shares tales from his life in the 15th century with Nurse Consuela, who can't help but be drawn into the romance and adventure of his stories. Like Consuela, I found myself totally charmed by Columbus. His storytelling is so convincing it comes almost as a shock when the first inconsistency surfaces.

It's clear throughout the novel that something tragic has caused Columbus to break with reality and this weighs heavily on the reader. In addition to the storyline within the asylum, we also follow an agent from Interpol as he searches for a missing person.... knowing this ties into Columbus' story, yet not knowing how.

Love, romance, mystery, adventure, history, humor..... all a part of this outstanding novel I will not soon forget.

I counted this as a European book for the Global Reading Challenge since it takes place in Spain (both present day and the 15th century!).

Being Dead Is No Excuse by Metcalfe and Hays

The full title is: Being Dead Is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral by Gayden Metcalfe and Charlotte Hays. Bob has been urging me to read this book ever since he found out it was in my TBR pile. I should have followed his advice sooner.

This has to be one of the most entertaining books I have read in a long time! A Southern funeral is not just an activity in which deceased is eulogized and buried... it's an event. An event with rules and rituals. Metcalfe and Hays, both Mississippi Delta natives, share these rules and rituals in a fun, light-hearted book filled with recipes and running commentary. Although I live in Arkansas rather than Mississippi, and not even in the Delta region of my state, I found so many things I could relate to! Not only is the book hilarious, the recipes included look delicious. Of course being the good Southern Lady that I am, I already have my own versions of many of the recipes included. However, there are some that I have never prepared and may have to try in the future. You certainly don't have to be from the American South to enjoy this book.

I read this as a "book with a life stage in the title" (being dead) for the What's In A Name challenge.

Remembering Daisy

We lost Daisy Mae three years ago, but she's been on my mind lately. I decided to repeat this post which originally appeared on my Yahoo 360 blog.

It's never easy losing a dog. I don't care if you've had them many years or only a few months. Once they've had a chance to work their way into your heart.....you're hooked.

It was the first week of May, 2002. At the time we had three dogs living in the house: Betty (the beagle mix), JJ, and Esther (both rottweilers). The only outside dog was Jake, a squirrel dog we had been given by a friend. If I remember correctly, it was a rainy day when two absolutely pitiful looking puppies showed up in our yard. We live in a rural area where dogs are free to roam, so dogs would often appear for a day or two before moving on. Usually they belonged to someone and were just passing through. These two had obviously been dumped. Despite feeling guilty, I tried to shoo them on without looking at them too closely. It worked for one night.

The smaller one with the swollen face came back the next day. She had either been hit by a car or beaten. Her jaw appeared broken and she looked near death. We had to help her! Her confidence that we would take her in led us to name her "Hope".

Less than a week later the second puppy came back. She was even more emaciated than before (if that was possible) and looked like she'd been in a fight. This time I couldn't turn her away. My husband was won over when he saw her chase a squirrel across the front yard. (Jake, the squirrel dog, was gun shy and had absolutely no interest in squirrels!) My daughter named her "Daisy Mae".

The vet estimated that Hope was about four months old and Daisy about six months. Antibiotics, baths, plenty of good food and lots of love worked wonders! They thrived and grew by the day. By the end of the summer, they had both been spayed and were settled in to their new life with us.

Daisy never became the squirrel dog my husband had hoped for. Daisy liked rabbits!! I'll never forget the first time we heard her pick up a trail and set out. We thought she had been hurt because she sounded like she was in agony!! Her "hunting bay" was a high-pitched yip that could be heard from far away. I can't begin to count the times I heard her yipping in the distance! She and Hope had an efficient system for hunting. When being chased, rabbits tend to run in a big circle. As Daisy chased the rabbit, Hope would silently bring up the rear and snag the bunny when it circled back. What a team!

I often feared their lifestyle would catch up with them at some point. I didn't know if it would be a car (though they were both fairly "street smart"), getting shot by a hunter (though most hunters in our area knew and liked them) or illness. In the end it was illness that got Daisy.

I first noticed a change in her behavior around Thanksgiving. She wasn't eating well (though this was often the case during hunting season when “deer parts” were plentiful), seemed lethargic and was losing weight. We took her to the vet and discovered she was running a high fever. Her symptoms indicated it was most likely a tick-borne disease. Despite collars, dusting and other treatments, ticks have always been an unfortunate reality for our outside dogs. The vet gave her a shot and we kept her on antibiotics for a month. Within 24 hours of the shot, Daisy was acting like a new dog!! All the more reason to believe it was Erlychia or something similar. Angus, our first rottie, had Erlychia when he was two and went on to live another seven years. I felt hopeful Daisy's life would get back to normal. It did, but only for awhile.

I noticed late one afternoon last week that she was moving more slowly. I got her started on antibiotics the next morning and she spent most of that day in the doghouse. It was cold and drizzly, so I didn't think anything about it. I just assumed the medicine would kick in like it did before. The following morning she wouldn't come out of the doghouse. We were shocked to see how quickly she had deteriorated! Her breathing was labored and she'd lost control of her body. We rushed her to the vet where we were told that her prognosis wasn't good. I had to make the difficult decision to have her put down.

I stayed with her until it was over. I wanted my voice and touch to be the last things she knew.... for her to know that I loved her.

I don't regret my decision. Nor do I regret allowing her to run loose in the woods all her life. She was a happy dog with warm gentle eyes that never left us any doubt that she loved us.

If I close my eyes, I can hear her now. She’s across the Rainbow Bridge, hot on the trail of a rabbit, her high-pitched yip fading in the distance…..

Daisy Mae
c. November 2001 ~ January 17, 2008

Shadow Shot Sunday #11

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Shadows on donkeys

Who Killed Palomino Molero? by Mario Vargas Llosa

Who Killed Palomino Molero? by Mario Vargas Llosa takes place in 1950s Peru and opens with the discovery of the body of a young airman from the local military base who has been murdered in a most gruesome manner.

Lieutenant Silva and Officer Lituma proceed to investigate the case, determined to get to the bottom of things - even if it means stepping on the toes of "the big guys" (who often seem to silence those who overstep their bounds). They must work hard for every clue they uncover as fear and corruption seem to thwart them at every turn.

In addition to being a well-crafted mystery, this short novel educated me on some of the racial aspects of this part of the world. I always enjoy a novel that piques my curiosity and has me looking up words and events to learn more. (in this case, for example, the word "cholo")

Overall, I enjoyed this novel despite a little more usage of the "F-bomb" than I normally like. It counts as my first South American novel for the Global Reading Challenge.

Deliver Me From Evil by Alloma Gilbert

Deliver Me From Evil by Alloma Gilbert is the true story of a girl who, along with several other children, suffered horrible abuses while in the foster care of a woman named Eunice Spry.

The story begins as Gilbert is preparing to testify in court against the woman who took her into her home at the age of six then embarked on an eleven year nightmare of abusiveness. It then steps back into time, beginning with Alloma's birth in 1985, and recounts the events of her life leading up to the trial. I won't say I enjoyed the book, it was too disturbing for that, yet I had trouble putting it down once I began.

I found it amazing how many times over the course of Gilbert's "captivity" there were opportunities for outsiders to question what was happening and possibly intervene. It also struck me how easily a child can be "brainwashed". I can't begin to comprehend how a person could treat another human being, let alone a child, in the manner Alloma and her foster siblings were treated. I don't recall reading about this in the news, but that could be because it occurred in the UK rather than in the US.

My biggest complaint about the book was from an editing standpoint. There were quite a few typos, most notably contractions without their apostrophes. I lost count of the times "she'd" appeared as "shed". It was fairly distracting.

This was my first book read on my Kindle (which I got for Christmas) and counted as the "book with evil in the title" for the What's In a Name challenge.

Not the weather, the Internet

No, this isn't snow, it's sleet. Somehow I knew those promises of the fluffy white stuff would fly out the window and we'd be cursed with this stuff! Instead of the peaceful silence that comes with falling snow I heard the tinkle of sleet pellets for most of yesterday. It's an icy mess out there!!

But that's not why I'm here. We're having some Internet problems (not related to the weather) and I'm attempting to post this from my phone. I do it so seldom I'm never sure if I'm doing it correctly. So... I hope this posts!

Anyway, if I don't manage to get around and visit all of you like usual that's why. There is an upside. I'm reading more.

Shadow Shot Sunday #10

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Can you guess what made this shadow?

The Double Comfort Safari Club

I always have a feeling of contentment when I finish a book in the "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" series by Alexander McCall Smith. The Double Comfort Safari Club was no exception.

I love the picture of Botswana that Smith paints with his storytelling. In many ways it seems a slower, kinder, gentler world than the one I live in. However, flaws in human nature are universal and this is evidenced by many of the situations that Mma Ramotswe finds herself in. This keeps the narrative from being too "sappy".

This eleventh book in the series contains a variety of storylines including a tragic accident involving Mma Makutsi's fiance and a trip to the Okavango Delta to locate the recipient of a final bequest.

Kindness. Hospitality. Decency. These are some of the traits found in the characters from this little part of Botswana. Traits that we all should all hope to possess.


This first book of 2011 counts towards both of my reading challenges. The author was born in what is now Zimbabwe and the novel takes place in Botswana, so it is my first "Africa" book for the Global Reading Challenge. It also meets the "book with a size in the title" requirement (double) for the What's In A Name Challenge.

Personal Puzzle

My sister gave me the neatest gift for Christmas. Knowing that I really enjoy jigsaw puzzles, she got me one that is a picture of where I live! No, not an actual picture, but a puzzle made from the U.S. Geological Survey map of where my home is located.

Despite the fact it's only 400 pieces, measuring 18-1/2 by 12-1/4 inches, I think it's going to be a fairly difficult puzzle. I have no picture to go by and since I live in a rural area, there aren't a lot of distinguishing city landmarks to assist me. I've started working on it and there sure is a lot of green!

The puzzle covers an area of 4 x 6 miles with my home address as the center. They even make the center piece in the shape of a little house! While setting up and starting on the border, I managed to find my "house" and a couple of the pieces that adjoin it. You can click on these photos for a little better view.

Thanks, Sis!

A New Year

We brought in the new year in our usual way by gathering with two other couples for games and good food. Our favorite game is Pictionary, the guys against the girls. We got off to a great start this year, but the guys made a stunning comeback and ended up beating us.

As always, we had way too much food. One of the dishes I took was a new recipe for pumpkin pie dip. I thought it was great and so did two of my kids who stopped by the house earlier that day. It didn't go over that well at our gathering, though. Still....I consider it a "keeper" and want to share it here with you.

Pumpkin Pie Dip

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Gingersnap cookies

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Beat in the pumpkin, sour cream, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and ginger until blended. Serve with gingersnaps. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 4 cups.

Shadow Shot Sunday #9

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A shadow in motion