shbake

Out for coffee with Karen last night, she asked me what I had made for dinner. "I sliced up some chicken breast, Shaked and Baked that sucker. Chucked some frozen McCain redskin fries into the oven and stuck a bottle of ketchup on the table, called it done."

"Yum! But I'd be enjoying cinematography all night."

Huh?

Turns out, Shake and Bake gives her super-intense action-adventure dreams. "I wake up completely exhausted."

I nearly fell over laughing.

***
Last weekend my Dad turned 75, and we threw a big, fancy party for him. After all the guests had gone, Oscar Peterson still tickling the ivories on the hi-fi (how's that for history?), my daughter took a turn around the parquet with Dad. It was maybe my favourite moment of the whole party.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Day One

I'm trying something new for a while. I've decided to post to the blog every day.

I've become quite aware, lately, of the accumulation of moments and days - the way they stack up awfully quickly into years and decades. I've never been good at pen-and-paper journaling, but this format might be a bit more achievable for me. I'm looking forward to reading back at the end of the process and rediscovering events I might have forgotten.

***
Yesterday I dropped my daughter off at the stable, where she was going to have a practice ride. An hour later the phone rang - her coach's cell phone. My daughter fell off the horse, could I meet them at the hospital?

It's just a broken collar bone, thank God, but I'm wondering why on earth she couldn't have taken up a different sport? Why did she have to pick one that kills people all the time? What's wrong with a nice game of croquet?

I LOVE leftovers.

Erudite Mondays

Volume 11 Number 4

The Leftovers

by Tom Perrotta

This book was a weird little number. I LOVED it.

The premise is, the Rapture has happened. You know the one I mean - it's out of fashion in Christian circles nowadays, but it has enjoyed very sensational press in the past. The twist about this Rapture tale, though, is that not all the people taken were Christians. Or even "good people", if such a thing exists -- the Rapture was random. Some of the missing were atheists, some Muslim, and so on. (Gasp!) Interestingly, because of this seeming impartiality, Christian groups in the book deny that it even WAS the Rapture.

The novel deals with the lives of the people who have been left behind. The Rapture has happened, their wives, children, families, friends have been taken, and they have not. How do they react, how do they cope, how can they live their lives?

The author does a wonderful job of portraying human emotions in all their messy glory - the range of feelings the characters experience during the novel. It was a totally gripping book, because the human story was so profound. It was deeply sad and troubling, with a good dose of suspense and foreboding.

I spent three quarters of the novel waiting for the other shoe to drop. I half expected the author to pull back the curtain and show us exactly what happened. Or, I thought (as did many of the characters) there might be a second "Disappearance".

This book is really about people. It's about humans and the way they love, grieve, and live on afterwards. It's marvellous and you should read it.

Go! Read it!

HSB Highly-Specialised Book Rating System

Reread: Yes
Give to Others: Yes! Already have.
Bookplate: Yes.

3/3

7 Thingies In All

Remember when I used to talk about knitting? It seems such ages ago. Well, I have been knitting like a fiend for months. I have about 7 projects to do for Christmas, and can't talk about any of them on the blog.

Thing 1 is done. It's blocking right now, and taking up a good section of my living room carpet.

Things 2 and 3 are done, and they are blocked. Looking mighty pretty.

Thing 4 is done and needs to be blocked. Thing 4a is nice, but Thing 4b and 4c are AWESOME.

Thing 5 is in progress - I estimate I'm about 35% done.

Thing 6 and 7 are not cast on yet.

But the good news is, I have (unintentionally) arranged them in order of the amount of time they'll need, so Thing 1 took two months, Thing 2 and 3 about a month, Thing 4 two weeks, and so on. Things 6 and 7 will be quickish.

It's a good thing, too, because we are only 56 days away.

Ack!

Bought meself a new coat.

Deal of the century - $48 at Costco. It's not quite 100% wool, but it's durn close. (I think there's 20% nylon in there.) Also made Elsewhere (i.e., not China) so I'm happy X 2.

Plus, lest we forget - RED! And red is good.

International Day of Shan - XXXIX

Holy smokes, what a great year it's been. And there are 76 days left of it! Marvellous.

I'm spending today with Julia again - it could become a tradition. Today I'm making the roast chicken with port and cream (again - because last year it was so great), sauteed potatoes, and Reine de Saba: the famous soft-centred chocolate cake. Still undecided on soup.

Go! Have something delicious! Open a bottle and raise a glass for International Day of Shan!

Quoth she:

"Tonight I ate two dinners: one for me and one for my legs."

And that, in a nutshell, is why I am going to meet Lizbon today.