Movie Season

I keep renting DVDs from the library, but during the summertime the DVDs just sit there. Now that fall is around the corner, I feel the urge to just dive in and swim in a sea of celluloid.

G is a big fan Entourage, I'm a big fan of In Treatment, and there's a Seinfeld reunion on Curb Your Enthusiasm this season. Plus, we're both Real Time with Bill Maher junkies. However, we are not subscribers of HBO. We've been talking it over and mostly decided to order it. I think G was waiting for me to call our cable service and order it. Unfortunately, I am completely burned out by speaking with customer service (and I use that term loosely) reps and phone trees.

So Sunday I made an executive decision. As I was sitting on the couch watching Tiger try to come back for a win, I pulled up the cable service web site just to see if I could lazily click a button and order HBO that way. And it worked. Within two minutes, I had HBO.

I can't decide which I love more. Movies or technology to help me watch more of them.

Words

I've heard some words lately that I've not heard in a while. I just like the sound of them.

skedaddle

pip-squeak

besieged

So when G asked if I wanted to play Scrabble last night, I jumped at the chance. G retrieved the Scrabble board (which is probably as old as I am) and we chose our tiles. I started out by playing the word WHORT and G rolled his eyes. He challenged me right away, but WHORT was in the dictionary (the whortleberry or its fruit).

He & I were neck and neck for most of the game until he used the Q he'd been saving. Grrrr

And with a triple word score. I gave it my best but I just couldn't catch up by then. He was victorious.

Rematch, rematch!

Power of Suggestion

I've been writing a tiny bit about Julia Child in my culinary blog. I made a reference to her being a spy in the 40s/50s and now I find that my summer reading has taken a dastardly turn.

Right now I'm reading Raymond Chandler's Farewell, My Lovely. This is after reading Casino Royale (the first ever James Bond novel), The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, Get Shorty, and Dashiell Hammett's Red Harvest and The Glass Key. Not to mention Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd earlier summer.

I know, not all spies, but lots of mystery and intrigue nonetheless. Time to get back to Philip Marlowe.

Spring

I've been looking forward to my first walk in the park this year.  I've had to wait.  And wait.  And wait.

Wednesday was the day.  What a relief.  I love seeing everyone else at the park after a long winter.  Everyone's pale and a bit ragged around the edges from being indoors for months on end.  Some people still haven't switched to their spring wardrobe so they're bundled up and gradually peel off layers.  Even though the thermometer told them that it was nice enough to walk outside now, the people can't truly believe it.  Then there are those who overcompensate and wear tank tops and shorts for their first outing even though sixty degrees might be the high temperature that day.

No one really smiles much as you pass them yet.  The friendly greetings and acknowledgements happen more toward June.  Right now, everyone's still a little incredulous that they're back outside soaking up sunshine.

And that's where I'm headed now.

Shopping Mojo

Mom & I spent the day shopping and I was on fire. My mission: to find some fun new jewelry, a new brown purse (to replace my 10-year old one which seems to be showing its age), and a brown winter hat.

Not only did I find exactly what I was looking for (on mega sale), I found a charcoal gray wool coat 50% off at Macy's. There was a button missing but as I tried on the coat, I found the button in the left hand pocket. At the register, I asked if I could have more of a discount on the coat due to the detached button, but the cashier said no. Then after chatting with me and Mom, the cashier said, "Well, I'll go ahead and give you another 10% off." Whoo hoo!

When we stopped at the bookstore to use a 40% coupon I had for any book, we were treated to free coffeecake and chai tea samples as we walked through the store. At the checkout, the clerk said, "Oh, looks like you have $5 in reward bucks you can use."

Lastly, we were driving down the street on our way to lunch when I scared my mom to death. "OMIGOD!" I chirped. Poor Mom. I couldn't hide my excitement as I eyed a Sonic drive-in. Sonic, my old Nashville haunt. In Michigan. Of course, I had to stop and get a cherry limeade, for old time's sake.

I told you...I was on.

Mom told me that I should've bought a lottery ticket that day.

Currently Reading...

The Book Thief

by Markus Zusak

I'm fascinated by this book.  The story's narrator is Death.  The protagonist is an orphan girl named Liesel who lives with her foster family in Nazi Germany just as WWII begins.

Liesel learns to read and write and becomes obsessed with collecting and reading stories.  In the meantime, her foster family takes in a Jewish man and hides him from the Nazis.

Has anyone else read this one?

Favorite reads of 2008

Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series

A friend of mine recommended these books when he found out I enjoyed mysteries.  I started reading The Closers in May and proceeded to raid the library the rest of the year to read every story that centered on Detective Harry Bosch.  Set in modern day LA, Bosch is a fantastic cop who runs into villains on the street, in the bureau, and in his own heart.

The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry

by Kathleen Flinn

This was a gift from a friend and an early '08 read.  I loved reading another person's adventures in culinary school, especially since she was in Paris.  Ah, Paris.

Twilight

by Stephenie Meyer

Everyone knows about this series now.  I read the first book over the summer; couldn't put it down.  I really enjoyed the lead character, her smarts, her angst, her clumsiness, her heart.

Loving Frank

by Nancy Horan

I couldn't stop thinking about this book after I'd read it.  It's a fictional biography of sorts of the woman with whom Frank Lloyd Wright had a long-term affair.  Mamah Cheney was a woman ahead of her time and the relationship between her and Wright was scandalous, yes, but also mesmerizing.  Reader beware:  The story does not have a happy ending.

Interpreter of Maladies

by Jhumpa Lahiri

A beautiful collection of short stories by the author of The Namesake.  I'm in awe of this author.

The Life Before Her Eyes and Snow Angels

by Laura Kasischke and by Stewart O'Nan

Heartbreaking and powerful adult fiction.