#15 More Non-fiction

Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers Guide
This is a compilation of five years of presentations from the Nieman Conference on Narrative Journalism. I read it for work, but I think there were lessons even for blog writers. Blog writing is a form of memoir, which is, after all, narrative journalism. Somewhere I wrote this long essay about blogs-as-memoir and the difference between memoir and reportage (and thus between a truth and the truth, or, you know, as close as we can get).

For me this book was useful because there are a lot of things that I know about writing, but not so many that I know about reporting. Well, I know them but I don't always have ways of articulating them. And I certainly think that skill will come in handy when I am interviewing for jobs.

non-fiction: 7.5

#72 Go on a Picnic

I think I was thinking of something a bit more romantic than having lunch al fresco at Haverford College, but all I wrote was "go on a picnic." So I have fulfilled that. Yesterday, the dude, his mother, and I ate egg salad, mozzarella and tomato salad, and roasted vegetables under the "Penn Teaty Elm." Allegedly, William Penn signed the Shackamaxon treaty in 1683 with the Lanape Indians under an elm. That elm died in a storm in 1810, but someone took a graft. That elm died from Dutch elm disease in 1977. However, self-seeded offspring from 1915 survive. And that's the one we ate under.* So, it's like the grandson. It's freakin huge.

Penn Treaty is in quotes because it is both the cultivar of the tree and gets the marks, but also beyond a painting, no record of the treaty remains. So, like, Penn was never probably under that elm tree and people went to a lot of trouble to maintain it.

* This tree is friggin' spectacular and this is the photo you choose?

#38 Frame 10 FUFOs

Yesterday, I dropped off four pieces at the Strawberry Sampler. They are having a sale 20% off all framing--including the mounting, which they usually exclude from sales. The pieces are My Whole Heart Loves You, You are My Sunshine, Trio of Hearts, and Tall Flowers. Photos when I pick them up in about a month.

#15 Read 16 Works of Non-fiction

This book is a record of the traveling I would like to do. I would like to go somewhere and get into the culture. I suppose I did that to an extent when I taught English in Poland, but there was something extra safe about being able to call on friends and colleagues when my complete lack of Polish got in the way of me ordering food, about spending time in large groups at tourist destinations, about being carried into the emergency room but surrounded by people who spoke my language.

Erika Warmbrunn decided to run away with her bicycle to Russia and rode all the way to Vietnam. In time she learned to walk into Mongolian gers when she sought shelter, how to offer food to people in China, and how to properly address people in Vietnam. Erika's writing is very good, and she's able to express the human warmth that is generated by a bowl of soup, or sharing a bed, or washing one's feet in (finally) hot water. She is generous about all of the people she meets which makes the reader like her all the more.

I don't remember Erika specifically, though we seem to have been in Russian class together at Bryn Mawr. Her facility with languages and my utter lack thereof may be part of the reason; she was probably one of those people who just wished I would study more (I did!) or drop the class (what and work hard to become mediocre in yet another required language?) .

Erika claims that there is nothing she did that we all couldn't do. But I think there is. The dude, for example, really isn't much of a bike rider (he's ridden twice in nearly 40 years). With my crazy gut illness and falling down issues and chopping myself to pieces problem, I really couldn't have spent that much time in a country that still uses 1950s-style medicine. (I know this about Mongolia because I interviewed a doctor who does heart surgeries there.) Also, there's the complete lack of language facility--though I can say ferroviaria like a native Italian. Unfortunately, I can ask for the train station or a stamp in Rome but not understand the directions I get in return. And in the 15 or so years since she went and did this crazy thing there have been more white people traveling to the far corners of the earth. But she's also right; each of us can put one foot in front of the other and complete a journey of 5000 miles. We only need open our hearts.

Non-fiction: 6.5

This is my 100th posts and I wish that meant I was closer to finishing 101 things than I am. Sigh.

#15 Read 16 Works of Non-fiction

In Other Words: A Language Lover's Guide to the Most Intriguing Words Around the World by Christopher Moore translates some of the foreign words and idiomatic expressions that are reckoned to be "untranslatable."


Words I wish I could remember so that I could use them more:

• esprit de l'escalier (French) witty remark or smart retort that you think of too late to say (in fact, on the stairs)
• korinthenkacker (German) raisin pooper--someone taken up with life's trivial detail that they "crap raisins." (bureaucrat?) Interestingly in Dutch, a raisin pooper is someone who's cheap.


• egyszer wolt budan kutyavasar (Hungarian) "There was a dog market in Buda only once" that is an opportunity you must take or you will regret it.
• Nie dla wszystkich ckrzypce graja (Polish) the violin doesn't play for everybody. If you've ever heard someone try to learn violin, you should understand the essence of the idiom.
• hankikanto (Finnish) in the book they say it resists translation into many languages because it is "a frozen crust on the surface of snow that is strong enough to walk on." I recognized it instantly, though I imagine some people who didn't grow up far enough north wouldn't.
• denize girse kurutur (Turkish) "he gets dry if he enters the sea" someone who can't do anything right.
• aware (Japanese) awareness and appreciation of the ephemeral beauty of the world. Part of the idiom mono-no-aware "enjoying the sadness of life." Moore writes "it's that bittersweet, vaguely poetic feeling you get ...looking out at the driving rain." Isn't it interesting that I felt this on Sunday but didn't have a word for it until Monday?

It's interesting to learn the sorts of philospohies that don't exist in other languages like compromise--or the nuances of relationships that do exist in other cultures. Just like me to read a dictionary. Wordork.


Non-ficion: 5.5

# 14 Read 16 Works of Fiction

When I was dying of boredom, I got the dude to take me to the library, and this is one of the books I got. There's something I love about Peter Whimsy. Gaudy Night is one of my favorite mysteries of all time. Unnatural Death is more of a how-dunnit than a who-dunnit--kind of like Columbo. There is something a little jarring, though, about the 1920's lack of political correctness, or as the new book I am reading, In Other Words, would have it, onderbuikgevoelens (Dutch for socially unacceptable sentiments). Full report when I finish, probably on the bus ride home.

Recently--Mother's Day to be exact--I gave my niece a box of our old books. My contribution was the Nancy Drew novels I had loved as a child and my sister's was some Roald Dahl novels. Yesterday, Lala reported that she's read three Nancy Drew books. They're saying she takes after me. Of course, the books are short and she has way more free time than most of us, but she is only eight.

Fiction: 15

#14 Read 16 Works of Fiction

Ella Minnow Pea

by Mark Dunn

Another in the series of books recommended by Nancy Pearl, Ella Minnow Pea is a "progressively lipogrammatic epistolary fable." On a fictional island nation off the coast of South Carolina, a government grows steadily more oppressive (linguistically at first) as letters fall from a statue dedicated to the developer of the pangram "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." The situation grows increasingly absurd until half the island is in exile. In the past few years I have found reading books about oppressive governments to cause me to feel increasing dis-ease. Especially when so many characters are willing to stand by and let the government do as it pleases. Interestingly, the Kirkus review calls this book "lighthearted" where LJ (in a starred review) compares it to "The Lottery" or "Fahrenheit 451" with "farce and comic relief" stirred in. I have to say I'm on the side of Library Journal. Other reviewers say it's a book for people who love words and wordplay, and I'll admit to you I needed to use the dictionary once while I was reading. It's surprising how obscure words come to the fore when you can't/don't write with the letters q, z, j, and d.

Fiction: 15

#39 Send Four Items to be Professionally Finished

Two down. I can highly recommend Mona, finisher for The Silver Needle.

#33 No TV

Well, we've done it! This morning I turned on the television to check the weather but only left it on for about 5 minutes. And thus ends an experiment. The only time I missed watching was when I realized this weekend was the NFL draft. I can't believe these two events coincided. I have watched the draft--both days--for years. One year I even recorded all the data, but that was when I had a former student who was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons.

We just fired up the magic box and reviewed the lists of draftees. It wasn't as good as watching but I got the information just the same. I think we may have relied on the computer too much as a substitute for the television, though. I drew the line and didn't watch any television on the computer. Maybe next time we'll have to ban the computer too. In the evenings anyway.

#33 Go without tv for one week--in season

It's National Turn off Your TV Week. We didn't watch tv yesterday because the contractor came to give the estimate, so today on the El I asked the dude if he wanted to turn off the tv this week. "Can I record things?" he asked. I don't think there are official rules about never seeing this week's World Poker Tour or CSI so I told him he could set the DVR. I think I should switch off the power strip that powers the tv. That seems like an appropriately Earth-y Day thing to do today too.

Counter Balance

We had a contractor come give us an estimate to replace the kitchen counters. My parents are buying that for us as a housewarming gift. We're so sad that it's two years in and we're finally getting around to it. We got a quote for replacing the backsplash at the same time but it sounds really.effing.high. I've got to call around, but the ball is rolling...

#15: Bonk

I loved this book: I am interested in science; I think everything should be seen through the most humorous lens; and I, like most people, am a voyeur at heart. The other day at an office gathering I regaled someone for 15 minutes with stories from this book about penises. Because we're fascinated by sex. All of us. Even the ones who pretend otherwise. Of course, you don't want anyone telling you about their sex life, but read about Kinsey's proclivities and what he did with toothbrushes, sure. (When I was reading this at the lunch counter of a Korean restaurant, this guy next to me started talking to his friend next to him about this hook up he had had over the weekend and how much he regretted it. I so wanted to say, "this book says she really regrets hooking up with you too." Because really, what kind of guy does that? And he wasn't even that good looking. But I digress.)

I read it in two days. Which just goes to show, there is something really wrong with that influenza book that I cannot get through it. And I have done research on what this college I work for did during the epidemic of 1918. Philadelphia was pretty hard hit because their public health organization (and the local government then as now) was totally corrupt. You'd think that book wouldn't be such a yawn.

I have to go back to the library and get Stiff.

non-fiction: 4.5

Neglect

I've been neglecting this little endeavor. I think it's because my time draws near, and I have no motivation.

Here's another wreath I made from silk forsythia, or, as I would have it fauxythia:


I watched Yankee Doodle Dandy which is on the AFI top 100 list that I am trying to complete. It was long, tedious, and predictable, but Cagney, godblesshim, was doing quite a job. Sometimes you could almost see his eyes pleading with the other actors to show a little more life. Unfortunately, he played a song and dance man but he could neither sing nor dance. I also started watching The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Sometimes I felt like I was out in the desert digging for treasure with them: bored, hot, tired. I'm not one who needs a snappy film. I love Chinatown. Do you know how slowly that movie goes? I enjoyed The Conversation. I don't need all kinds of action. But boy howdy, I've been disappointed in the AFI's 100 best that I've watched so far. (There were about 50 that I had seen before and quite enjoyed. Maybe I didn't see the others for a Very.Good.Reason.)

I still haven't finished The Great Influenza. I don't know what is wrong with that book. I really enjoy medical history; I work at a frickin' medical school. I think it's the organization. Anyway, I wish I could count it among my non-fiction finishes, but no such. I finally went and got something different to read: Bonk by Mary Roach. If sex doesn't interest me...oh yeah.

Taveling Woman

#64: Visit Four of the Following States Overnight

Our trip to eat barbecue in Kansas City was a success. We visited LC's, Gates, and Arthur Bryant's. Each had its attraction, pros and cons listed below.

LC's
Jacque assures us this is a neighborhood we shouldn't have visited, but we lived in South Central LA and I lived in Harlem so we're not scared! But we had heard the neighborhood was dodgy so we went for lunch. I had the burnt ends and an order of onion rings; the dude had short ends (ribs) and cole slaw. LC's turned out to produce our favorite sauce: more tomatoe-y and vinegar-y more hot than sweet than the others. The burnt ends were cut in large chunks and had a bit more fat on them than they should. The short ends were great--super tender--but toward the end they were a bit gristly. I could wax poetic about their onion rings. I know this wasn't the reason we went to Kansas City, but these are the second best onion rings I've ever eaten {the best are made by my uncle} LC's onion rings were not at all greasy and were deliciously salty. I was happy.

Gates
I ordered the burnt ends and potato salad; the dude had mutton and cole slaw (they were out of short ends). We also bought, but could not eat {until later}, a individual size sweet potatoe pie. The big surprise here was the sides came with a generous sprinkle of rub on them. YUM! We didn't buy the rub, but I may have to order some so I can throw it on side dishes this summer. Or every day when I eat. The burnt ends were chopped up very fine and were served (hooray!) on a bun not the nasty ubiquitous white bread. The grease soaked into the bread. I loved it. It was like Texas toast without the cheese. The dude thought this was overchopped, but I'm not a fan of chewing meat {it's true} so the closer I get to having someone regurgitate chewed food into my mouth, the better. No not really, but I did like the chop. The dude loved the flavor of the mutton but he really had to work at the bones to get past the fat. Is that how mutton is supposed to be? Probably not, but he dug it because the meat was tender and falling off the bone, of course. Gates had our second favorite sauce: thicker and spicier than LC's, really good. It was our first favorite price because we won $5 when our receipt came up with a red star on it.

We were pleased with the pie when we ate it the next day. Nice, crumbly pie crust but sturdy enough for the sweet potato mash. Not as good as Aunt Kizzy's {"so light it can float like a feather"} but it was quite tasty.

Arthur Bryant's
We finally got a clue and only ordered one thing and no sides. We split the burnt ends. This had the best chop size--not too fine, but the sauce was too sweet, very tasty but not to our tastes. The burnt ends were very good. Served, again, on white bread, which the dude ate. I steadfastedly refused. We bought this on the way to the airport, so we didn't actually eat it right away. I'm not sure this made that much difference. The meat was a good quality.

Other things we did besides eat:
Truman Library and Museum
The dude's a fan of presidential libraries--well of the Kennedy library--so we decided to visit this one. Obviously we're both too young to remember this period in American history, so this was quite educational. Many exhibits featured excerpts oral histories from various people. Most interesting, Truman left office with a 30% approval rating. History has shown that his policies and actions have become more popular--like when they had a boatload of presidents and vice-presidents from both parties quoting him in their speeches. I'm pretty sure we won't see similar changes in 40 years at the George W. Bush library (which will house, what? coloring books?).

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
A relatively new museum, this place is really about racism in American culture. A terrifically interesting narrative. Because there's so little space, there's more text crammed in each square foot than there probably should be, but I really learned a lot here.

Jazz Museum
How do you make a museum about sound? I think they did a pretty good job engaging us as listeners. There's probably a bit too much focus on the big names of jazz, but they did cover a wide variety of styles, instruments, and time periods. There was also a section that let you listen to particular sounds--rhythm, percussion, etc. Though the dude was disappointed that their reed section didn't include any clarinet (he plays). Too bad we didn't have an opportunity to go to the Blue Room.

Letters

Dear Kansas City,

Why the Wonder Bread? You use quality beef to make your barbecue. Your sauce is on the spicy side, which I enjoy—brought home four bottles, even. Yet you insist on using the crappiest bread you can find. I have this thing about bread dating back from when I was a child. I’m only picky about two things: no fat or gristle on my meat and no bread that deteriorates on contact with the slightest bit of liquid. It’s a little sad how much bread was wasted this past weekend. And I blame you.
###

Dear Mother Nature,

While I greatly appreciate that you held off with the snow until we were actually out of Chicago, couldn’t you have done a little better with Dallas? I know it doesn’t seem like it should matter since we flew MCI-> MDW -> PHL, but those winds in Dallas threw everything off and we spent 10 hours in transit, mostly in airports just sitting.
###

Dear Midway Baggage Handlers,

When they cancel a flight, say 440, and put all the passengers from 440 onto the same new flight, you should take the bags that you have stacked up to put on 440 and bring them to the new plane. You had over an hour; I really think you should have been able to handle this one.
###

Note to Self:
When checking bags, make a note of three things that are packed in each bag. That way when the lost baggage clerk in Philadelphia asks for three items in the bag, you can think of at least one thing that’s not birth control.
###

It was a fun trip. Full report later!

#50 Exercise three days/week for 3 months

I've been trying to decide whether I should make this public to keep myself on track or if I should wait until I've been a little successful, then announce how great I am. I am going for the former.

One prong of Weight Watchers' four pronged approach to weight loss is exercise, and that's what we talked about at last week's meeting. One of the recommended methods to keep yourself on track is to use a visual reminder. The leader, who is nice but rather unimaginative, suggested putting a photo of your fat self on the refrigerator. Honey, if that worked I never would have gone this far down the wrong road. My mother's had fat photos of herself on the fridge my whole life. But it did start me thinking: two of the skinniest people I know keep a calendar on their refrigerator and every day they write in what they did for exercise that day. I noticed in cramped hand there was "2 hours basketball" (his) and "45 minutes yoga" (hers); "45 minute run" and "60 minute aerobics video." I couldn't stand there staring at it all day committing it to memory, but you get the idea. I thought this was a much better visual reminder than a fat ass photo, so I told the story and ended with my own flourish, "And these are skinny people! They don't even need to be doing this!" To which the leader responded, "Maybe they do."

Oh.

Then it occurred to me that the her of the couple started out in that relationship with what my father likes to call a two axe handle ass. Maybe she did.

So I've been dutifully keeping track since Saturday. So far the calendar reads: "30 minute walk," "30 minute elliptical trainer," "55 minute yoga," and "35 minute aerobic video." My goal is to go the whole month, every day. I know I said three days a week, but maybe if I overshoot, I'll actually end up doing three days. I'll worry about the three months when I've gotten through the first. One day at a time, as Bill W. likes to say.

You've probably noticed that ticker hasn't moved since October. Something must be done.

#14: Read 16 Works of Fiction

The Friday Night Knitting Club
Kate Jacobs

I won this book in the Craft Magazine/baseball thingamajig. Yesterday, I picked it up when I was in the craft room sewing. I read about 60 pages, and was totally hooked. It's a nice cozy little book about people who hang around in a yarn shop. It's about women's lives and how they form friendships. It's a lot more warm than Whitney Otto's How to Make an American Quilt but less academic? literary? Something really sad happens, but I'm not going to tell you because you should read it.

The dude saw me put the book down and asked how many pages. 345. "I couldn't have read that book today if I had stayed home from work." But I didn't read it all today. And it was just a little cozy book with the big sad thing. But it made me all warm and fuzzy anyway.

Fiction: 14

KCMO

The dude and I are heading out of town in a couple of weeks to continue our journey to taste the great variety of barbecue in the U.S. Our next stop is Kansas City, Missouri. According to the research we have done, we are in for brisket and burnt ends with sauce that is thick and spicy and sweet. Burnt ends--I love burnt food so I am really excited to try this!

We began our BBQ quest on our cross-country drive in 2005. It all started in Memphis where I ate my first rib. (I'm picky about the meat I eat, and I thought I wouldn't like them.) We plan on visiting N.C. and possibly re-visiting Texas as well for this journey. Of course, it will be a lifelong adventure, but these are the four states we're starting with.

This visit will mark the second stop on #64 "Visit four of the following states overnight: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, or Wisconsin." (These are all the U.S. states I haven't yet visited; I've shopped in Delaware, flown through Minnesota, and driven through Arkansas, but I don't think that counts.)

Taking Stock for the New Year

Completed: 33
Begun: 20
Remaining: 48

Time: 433 days



So in 2/3 of the time I had, I managed to do 1/3 of the things I had hoped to do. That sounds like me.

#80 Install blind upstairs bath

That is a new blind in the newly painted bathroom. It replaces the craptastic burgundy metal miniblind that came with the house. So, yeah, two years later and we just fixed that. (Let's not talk about the toe-molding in the bedroom.)

#29 Host Open House each December

I added this item to the list because I thought it would force me to finally invite people to the house. (We still haven't had a house warming!) Last December, I had to pass, since I was still hobbling about on crutches; sometimes life just gets in the way. This year, I had my family and some outlaws over—fourteen in all. We enjoyed appetizers, bigos, pierogis, and cheesecake, and because it was the fourth day in row we were with all the relatives, plenty of alcohol. After dinner, we played a chaotic game of What Were You Thinking? The game is fun for small and large groups, and very easy. All you have to do is think alike! Then everyone had had enough, and I was left with tons of washing up. But it was fun, and I haven't yet tired of the complements on my cooking and decorating.

I started with a recipe for the bigos, but in an uncharacteristic move, I improvised it on my very first go.

2 lbs sauerkraut
1/2 lb bacon
1/2 lb veal
1/2 lb pork
1/2 lb ham
1 kielbasa--don't know which kind, but next time we're doing it with "hunter's kielbasa"
small head of cabbage
3 onions
1 lb mushrooms
butter
dry mushrooms
2 c boiling water
2 bay leaves
1 T caraway seed
1 beer, I used Sam Light since it was the only lager in the fridge (and I wasn't using the Skullsplitter)
3 tomatoes

Bring the sauerkraut (with juice) to a boil. Meanwhile, fry bacon. Throw the bacon in the pot with the sauerkraut once it is browned. In the bacon fat, brown the meats. Add to the pot. Slice the cabbage and add it to the stew. Chop the onions and brown in the butter. Slice the mushrooms and cook with the onions. Throw the cooked onions and mushrooms in the pot. Put a handful of dry mushrooms in the boiling water. Once they are reconstituted, chop the mushrooms. Add the mushrooms and their (strained) liquid to the pot. If the liquid level seems low, add a beer. Add bay leaves and caraway. Chop and add three tomatoes (you can used canned).

Bring it to a boil and simmer for a couple of hours. The stew is purportedly better after a day or so. Boil it every day. I made the stew on Sunday and the dude boiled it on Monday. We didn't get to it on Tuesday, but heated it up (to boiling) well in advance of the party on Wednesday. Everyone raved.

Notes: The original recipe called for 1/2 c red wine instead of beer. It also suggested a chopped apple to sweeten it (it's a little tart from the sauerkraut). It called for 1/2 lb game (rabbit, venison) which is a little difficult to procure at the last minute. (But my father had both moose and venison in the freezer, if I'd only known!) And it said you could throw in any other cooked meats you might have. Which is why I decided I could play fast and loose with the recipe.

#36 Finish 3 FUFOs as pillows

I have finished my third pillow—I still only have two photos of these, though. I’m feeling very confident in my pillow making skills these days. Everyone raved about Sissy's pillow. She was just happy that it was a finished gift! (Which is a sad comment on my gift-giving history.) I should definitely work on finishing more of my stitched pieces.

#74 Repaint brown bathroom

I finished four coats, just in time for Christmas and the visit from the relatives. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to put up the blind, but soon. Very soon. I’d show you a photo, but it’s a picture of a bathroom painted white. With pink and burgundy tile (which is why we wanted it to be brown. But with no bathroom fan, there was no way that paint wasn’t bubbling.)

#63 Visit England just before Christmas

I can’t believe we forgot to bring the camera. With any luck, my inlaws will send some photos of us soon.

It was a whirlwind tour! We spent two nights on the floor of a front room in Surrey before being transferred to Wimbledon for two nights on the lumpy fold-out couch in the front room. And then two nights in a proper bed in Durham (with “Cathedral views”—in America, we wouldn’t lie; it would be “Cathedral peeks.”) I fell in love over and over again with my nephews. My SIL has two boys nine months and three years. My BIL has two boys six and four and a half. Am I allowed to have favorites? Because I’d have to say the four-and-a half year old is it. But they all have their unique charms, and I do hope we will get to visit them more often. The happiest part was that we were able to share Christmas with them all. Usually, our parcels arrive in February or April. I reported on the trip here.

#40 Take a sewing class

Sweet, sad, neglected little blog. I haven’t been writing but I have been crossing items off my list.

My sewing class came to an end just before I left for England. Of course, then the Christmas hubbub was upon me. I did finish two projects and begin a third. I made these placemats. (photo to come) My goal is to make matching napkins—I bought plenty of fabric. The napkins will match the little yellow corners.

I also made this bag for my aunt. I’m pretty sure she likes it.


I started the Amy Butler overnight case, and I’ve decided to sign up for the class again so I can finish it with help from a more experienced person. This class has already born fruit: see number 36 above (to be added soon).

#8 Visit the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at Penn

Thanks to the FIL's visit, I have achieved No. 8, a visit to the Penn Museum. We only had time for a short visit, because my FIL had to see my husband's office (you know, four plain white walls, a window, basement office). We focused on the people of the Americas, since it's difficult to find stuff like that in Europe. There is an impressive amount of Tlingit materials--because a Tlingit man worked for the museum and collected widely in the area--or stole from his people, but isn't that the problem with anthropology and archaeology and much museum collecting in general? There was an impressive display concerning looting in Iraq, speaking of. I look forward to going back.

Also, I decided that I couldn't be a Hopi woman because I could never make piiki, a bread which is made by spreading a thin batter onto a hot stone with the hand. The bare hand. I can hardly use the oven without burning myself, and no one's telling me to touch anything in there!

Unfortunately, we didn't do anything else from the list. We did spend a few hours on Sunday learning about the battle of Gettysburg. If you ever find yourself there, you must do the rent-a-guide thing. The Park Services has a group of certified guides who will ride around in your car (or drive it!) with you and explain the battle. I so did not care about Gettysburg. (In fact when one of the tourism mongers (fake certified "Town Guides") asked what I was interested in seeing, I said, "Nothing!" This led the dude to be all pissy with me, until I said, "I want to do this because your father wants to do this." There aren't too many comebacks to that.) Anyway, this guide was so interested in it--but in a learny kind of way, not a reenactment dork kind of way--that I really tried to picture 12,000 Confederates coming up over a ridge. I'm pretty sure my FIL knows the exact movements of troops at 3:00 on the second day (they give you that kind of detail) but I am perfectly happy knowing that Gettysburg is Gettysburg because of the 11 roads that converge at that point, that and it was the beginning of the end of the war. That's all I need to know. I think we're going to go back with my dad. I'm sure he'd love it.

#53 Learn CPR

I have been certified to resuscitate adults, children, and infants. I can help choking victims. But don't be faking unconsciousness, because first I shake you then I rub my knuckles on your chest. Go ahead, try it on yourself. It hurts. So no faking.

But I would like everyone who has a child under the age of one to stay away from me until my certification runs out in a year. Because I was totally freaked by practicing on the infant dummy. I don't want any babies choking near me because I do not want to rap the baby on the back; I do not want to make the "baby sandwich" (a way of flipping the baby from the back to the front); I do not want to compress your baby's chest. No, no, no.

Non-fiction

I am still dragging myself through that flu book. It's not that I don't like history or thinking, but it is just taking me so long to read it. I'm about 2/3 of the way through.

I did manage to read Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair in about a minute and a half. It was enjoyable like Laurie's website is.

I wanted to share with you Laurie's list for having better relationships, because I think everyone can learn from it.

Have more sex. Hire a cleaning service so you spend less time being resentful. Go out on dates at least once a week. Always be kind, even when you want to be mean. Listen more, talk less. Don't drink too much wine at a party and accuse him of ...anything. Wear sexier stuff to bed. Have your own life. Have your own goals, interests, and activities. Don't give up being whole. Don't pick someone who'd need you to be less than you are. Choose well. Don't criticize his driving.

I'm working on a few of these. The mean thing. The criticizing the driving thing. I think we need to work on the housekeeper thing too.

Nonfiction: 3.5

#17 Attend three ethnic celebrations in Philadelphia

The dude and I went to "America's Czestochowa" for the 42nd Polish-American fair. We got there in time for lunch so we split an order of pierogi (potato and cheese), a golubki (even though the dude thinks he doesn't like cabbage), plackis (or as we call them latkes--my great-grandmother spoke Polish and Yiddish, though she was Catholic), and a steamed kielbasa sandwich on rye. The dude also tried a Żywiec. And a woman randomly handed him some kind of apple and pear cider which he enjoyed as well. (Because when Polish old ladies hand you a cup, you drink.) Later we found someone with a great pot of bigos, but we were too full to get it (even though it was only $2). Seeing the steaming concoction convinced the dude that we have to make it for our Christmas dinner--we're hosting the relatives on December 26.

At one of the little stands, the dude fell sway to cwikla, beetroot and horseradish relish, which they served to him on a small disc of smoked kielbasa. Of course, he bought a huge jar--the price difference between normal size and huge was only $1. That kind of thing sways him. This will be our appetizer for 12/26.

We wandered through the craft stands. Mostly standard crap fair fare. There were a couple of amber peddlers, and the dude bought me a beautiful pendant for my birthday. (No photos until October.)

Good clean fun!

#91 Paint Craft Room

It's Labor Day, so we labored. The craft room is painted. Ceiling, trim, and walls. Right now, it looks like a big white box, so no photos; you'll just have to take my word for it. You will be able to tell in the photos when the room is complete. Stay tuned.

#21 Ride in a Hot Air Balloon

Thank you all for being so kind as to not mention the um, ballooning disaster in Canada before my flight. In fact, through my own negligence, and my family's protectiveness, I didn't hear about the accident until I showed up for my flight on Saturday evening. Four of us were oblivious which meant four more of us were either idiots or extraordinarily brave--or like me, they just figured what are the chances? (Or like one woman, you can just get totally loaded before you go up in the balloon. Interestingly, she was fulfilling her "life's ambition." It seems to me that your life's ambition shouldn't be something you have to get smashed to do, but that's just me.)

Our pilot reassured us that in 25 years of ballooning, he's never had an accident. I went back to my family--my cousin's husband didn't ride but the whole famn damily came to see me off--and asked who knew about it: they all did. I overheard my cousin explaining to Lala:
"The balloon caught fire."
"Well, some people died but some people were only injured."
"Some people jumped out."
So I double checked before we took off: "If it catches fire, jump or no?"

Armed with this important information, I had one of the top 10 experiences of my life. It was smooth sailing over the trees--sometimes through them, and no, the basket doesn't swing when you hit a tree--where the wind took us. It was beautiful and peaceful. I can't wait to go again.

My pilot does European tours. I'm thinking the next flight should be to the Alps in January for the Chateau d'Oex Balloon Festival. Let's see if I can convince the dude.



My photos (l-r): the balloon ready for inflating; looking up; balloon packaged for another day. Top: self-portrait.

#58 Lunch eaten

...and steps taken toward #27. I had the turkey sandwich with coleslaw and Russian dressing on rye. He had the portabello burger. We talked shop, home dec, and weird uncomfortable things just to, you know, show how cool we were with weird uncomfortable things...

#58 Eating More Lunch

So today, Mr Graphics showed me a photo of his kitchen--and it looked exactly like mine. Well okay, we painted the same color, and I have black and white floor tile and he has black and white counter tile. It's like we were separated at birth. Anyway, we're going to lunch on Friday. I'll be 2/3 of the way there. I have to say the two lunches I have had with people outside my department have been the easy ones--people I work with regularly and get along with and can see myself being friends with. I have no idea how I am getting a third...the president will invite me to lunch? Or...does the time I went with my boss to Marathon with an assistant dean to talk about the publication we do for his college count? I totally forgot about that.

Here's a question about the intraoffice lunches (#57), do I have to go out with them? Can we sit around the lunchroom together? I mean, so long as we're eating and talking, does that count? You never know what little nuances there are to these list items until you start doing them. At any rate, if it's the latter--the lunchroom conversation counts--then I have to add NS, JH, and HB (they're thick as thieves and move as a unit) and KB. That KB lunch was funny. JH (a different one) said that KB wanted to raise goats and marry a farmer, and I turned her on to Farmer's Only. She thinks I may be responsible for her future happiness. Well, good, she deserves it.

(And that means I am down to 14 with one person leaving at the end of next month...I should try to do more to have lunch with her before she goes.)

#57 Eating Lunch

I forgot that when I went to Newport I actually fulfilled a second goal--I had lunch with two of my coworkers with whom I had not eaten before. One--the senior vp--I wasn't sure how I was going to get lunch with him. Much easier than I thought it was going to be...The other one, well, I wasn't sure how I was going to get through a lunch with her. But I did.

Just what does a billionaire serve for lunch? They eat just like the hoi polloi: wings, cheeseburgers, hot dogs (she had a hot dog), potato chips, a pickle dish, salads, cottage cheese (?). Dove bars and store bought cookies for dessert. Went all out, she did.

The countdown continues, 18 left: BC, BE, CM, DM, HB, JH, JR, KW, KB, LM, MG, MK, NS, PH, PM, SS, SS, TM.

21, 20, 19, 18...

The countdown begins! I have booked my flight on the balloon. I know, you've been wondering when I was going to do this for almost two years! (The dude did get this trip for me for my 39th birthday.) D-day is September 1, weather permitting. I'll be taking my flight with my cousin's husband--the dude is not so keen on the heights. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

#40 Take a sewing class AND #53 Learn CPR

The Haverford Adult School catalog came a few days ago. I signed up for beading boot camp and an applique class. I am going to work on my sewing skills, people. Whoot!

They are also offering Red Cross Certification in CPR.

Two birds, one catalogue.

#15 Read 16 works of non-fiction

For a person who studied contemporary American women's fiction, I know a lot about the Victorian period, especially the New Poor Laws--that's what the dude wrote his dissertation on, and good spouses make good editors. Or something like that. Actually, we would offer polite criticism like "these two sentences should be two paragraphs." And the critiqued would yell, "It's perfectly fine the way it is; you don't know anything." Following a generous period of sulking, the critiqued would take the editor's advice. It was like clockwork. But I digress. I just meant to say, I know a little about the historical and cultural period in which our tale is set.

This book offers a fairly interesting sketch of a subject that is near and dear to my heart, the functioning of medical colleges. I know that the orphaned dead would end up in the medical schools of Philadelphia (from Skeleton Stories); I'd really love to do more research on how the place where I work dealt with the procurement of subjects.

Ultimately, I thought this book lacked organization. Sometimes it felt like the author had no clear direction. Lots of backtracking. Lots of interruptions for whole chapters that were meant to provide context, but it wasn't woven together terribly well...or maybe non-fiction isn't meant to be read in half hour spurts on the bus.

It was fine but I never felt like I opened up the book to find out what happened next...and it was a tale of a lurid court case. I really should have wanted to find out, but the court sections were dense and had the Newgate stink about them.

Non-fiction: 2

#66 Visit Newport, RI

I left my house at 6:00 am to fly up to Providence to interview the donor, and boy, what a trip.

Our hostess showed us her private home, offering us a picnic, and brought us to visit "The Farm".

By the time we got to town, we only had an hour or so before we were scheduled to head to the airport. We did walk a bit down Thames and Bellevue, but we didn't have enough time to tour any homes. But then again, I mentioned the tour of the private home, right?

As usual, Philadelphia airport SUCKS, and ATC had to delay our flight two and a half hours. Apparently they can schedule flights, they just can't stick to the schedule. Even our pilots were perplexed because there was no weather in Phillie. It's just the crappiest major city in America.

#90 Rip up carpet in craft room

I thought we weren't going to finish today. I was still packing up the room (and sorting, lots of sorting) at lunchtime. I suppose the experience of taking up the carpet in the bedroom--and figuring out how to deal with the disintegrated rubber mat--paid dividends today. Armed with our dustpans (yes, the secret to taking up rubber mat that has stuck to the hardwood), we made quick work of the carpeting.

This floor is in the best condition of all the hardwood we've revealed so far. It's very exciting.

#97 Paint the shutters

Done. Man, I was smokin' this weekend!

Before:


After:

In Bed by 2:00

Yesterday, despite the release of the new Harry Potter, the dude and I went to Philadelphia to play tourist in our adopted hometown. We headed off to Rick's for cheesesteaks; it was supposed to be a farewell, but there has been a reprieve.

We headed over to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the first art museum in the country. They currently have The Gross Clinic, and I have now seen it twice as often as I ever saw it when it was hanging just two blocks from my office... We said we were going to start there and work our way to the door of the old building, but we got totally distracted by the wallpaper in a room filled with black lights. Virgil Marti's psychedelic "Morris-esque" wallpaper was too intriguing. Even the women who asked about the Gross Clinic, clearly having only come to see that and the special exhibit Warp Trance (um, hey, we're part of the art), got sidetracked by that room. Although the whole gallery smelled faintly of urine, (the dude assures me it was age and possibly mildew) the building itself (Furness) and the collection were incredibly interesting. We popped over to the contemporary wing--why does viewing contemporary art always make me feel like I'm going shopping?--for a bit. On our way out, we were accosted by a docent who brought us into the sculpture wing and gave us a little tour.

We then walked over to DiBruno Brothers to spend the dude's birthday gift certificate. We ended up with a cheddar, an aged gouda, and a washed rind cheese--the stinkiest ever. Our fridge currently stinks of old socks mixed with poo. Yum! The stinky cheese is Drunk Monk, just in case that description was too much for you to resist.

We arrived home at 4:00 to find my copy of Deathly Hallows sticking out of the mailbox. When I only had just over 150 pages to read at 11:30, I determined to stay up and finish. And I did.

But I only read it so quickly because I read it before. Must be. Pblllllllllllllllllllllllt. Unlike the New York Times, I'm not talking.

#14 Half-blood Prince

Done. I had forgotten a lot of this one. Now, I am ready for Saturday.

I really wasn't sure I was going to manage this, but I have read the whole series in 23 days.

#52 Lose 50 pounds

I have been going to Weight Watchers, though I don't talk about it much. Last Saturday, I lost three pounds (I had gained the week before, so some of that was "fake" weight loss). That brought my total to over ten pounds. In celebration, I made a ticker. I know I can stick with this, but we'll see if I remember to update the ticker. I weigh on Saturdays.

#19 Go to Camden Yards

Here is the photographic evidence of my recent visit to Camden Yards. Thanks to brave astronaut, who knows my list better than I do and is perhaps more dedicated to it, I have attended a baseball game in Baltimore (and had a delightful anniversary dinner. Thanks again, brave astronaut and best pal!). The Orioles won in extra innings--the home team has won every game I have attended this season. I should rent myself out.

As we were driving down to Baltimore, I was telling the dude that we should take a vacation to visit ballparks one year. We first thought we could have some significant fun in two weeks driving around the midwest. Then we decided fuck two weeks, when we retire, we are going to go to every park in one summer. It will be the summer of baseball.

#14 870 Pages Down

...652 to go. Finished Order of the Phoenix tonight. Maybe I'll go stitch a little as a reward.

#14 More Potter

I finished Goblet of Fire last night after the Di Bruno Brothers cheese tasting we went to for the dude's upcoming birthday. It was English beer and cheese night. Mmmmmmmm cheese.

I have plenty of time to read the Order of the Phoenix before the movie is released.

I have been made aware that I am the topic of lunchroom conversation. That feels pretty weird, but I'll cope. I told the dude of brave astronaut's complaint about the rereading (see comments below), and he agrees. The discussion devolved into how great he is because he has read loads of books--at least one every two weeks--on our commute. (He was kidding.) He does read incredibly widely: authors of classics (The Defense), international Nobel Prize winners (Master of Go and Thousand Cranes), nonfiction (Where I was From), contemporary British fiction (Brick Lane)...just in the past few months alone. But for me, the point was to get back into reading, which I had pretty much stopped all together after grad school. I was nearing illiteracy...which is pathetic for a PhD in English lit. Plus which I have this hobby which you can't do while reading, and competes for the same time in my day.

The heavy load of nonfiction is the effort to stretch myself (and you will note, I'm not making nearly the progress on that). I will turn to it soon...say, the end of July.

# 66 Visit Newport, RI

I just got word from my boss--the president said we should go!

We have a major donor who we will feature in the next issue of the alumni magazine because the building that bears her name is opening. So we have to interview her. In person. And it just so happens that she summers (c'mon, she's a major donor and she "summers") in Newport. I am going for an overnight trip for a what, one hour, interview. YAY ME. Total score, I get to do one of the things on the list, and someone else is going to pay for it. I'd never have imagined it when I wrote the list.

I hope she has one of those major houses that I want to see inside of...

#14 Potter, Etc

Finished Prisoner of Azkaban last night. Wasted no time in getting to Goblet of Fire. Things should slow down from here, since the books are doubling in size. Think I'll still be done before July 21?

Fiction: 11

#14 The Potter Books

I finished Chamber of Secrets and dragged the dude to the library so that I could pick up Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire. I'll have to slow down eventually--things need to be done around the house!

Fiction: 10

#14 Read 16 Works of Fiction

I've decided at this late date to reread all the Harry Potters before I read the last one. I started on Tuesday, and I finished Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone last night after the ball game. I started Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets today, but I really have to try to finish my contest entry for Craftzine's Stitch n Pitch thingy by tomorrow night. So I'll try not to read tonight until I've worked on it. And I'm in a race against the clock to get to book 5 before July 11th, well 15th, we wouldn't see the movie before the weekend anyway.

Fiction: 9

#18 Subscribe to the New Yorker and Atlantic Monthly

On magazine trends from the Chicago Tribune

INFLUENTIAL EDITORS: One of the most influential editors - and I'm not just saying this because I work for him - is [Rolling Stone founder] Jann Wenner... And secondly, I'm just going to say a name everyone else says: David Remnick. Even if you aren't reading his magazine, the New Yorker is so well-regarded that it's the only magazine where intelligent people feel deep, existential shame if they don't have a subscription.

We gave up the subscription, but I do not feel one iota of existential shame. Maybe it's because I'm not a regular "intelligent person." I'm superhuman in my intelligence. Seriously. The other day my boss introduced me to a consultant as the resident genius. I think I should get paid a whole lot more for that position--I only signed up to be the associate director of alumni and development communications.

The New Yorker didn’t give us time to breathe, to absorb, to fucking read it. Every time I got the mail there was a new one. We’re sticking with the Atlantic. We both like the extensive coverage of one topic and a whole month to look at it. And I greatly prefer Word Fugitives to coming up with captions for the world's worst cartoons.

#5 Visit Elfreth's Alley

The dude and I actually went into the city on a weekend! You'd think we lived 100 miles away instead of 9. But the traffic coming home did convince us that the surface streets--or even public transportation--was a much better way to go.

I forgot my camera, but I do have crappy camera phone evidence:

So, what's the deal with Elfreth's Alley? This National Historic Landmark is the oldest continuously inhabited street in the United States. The houses are, mostly, privately owned (one's a museum and another is a gift shop). Many of people who live there kindly open their homes twice a year, once in the summer and once around Christmas.

I thought it would be cool to see it, and I thought it would be neat to show the (English) dude that we have old stuff too. Of course, when we got to the first house, he says, "I grew up in a house older than this." Which of course could have been brought to my attention when they were still living in the house! Apparently, the kitchen cupboards were even original. I never went into the kitchen in that house. His "divorcing" parents sold it, so I will never get to really poke around in his old house.

But I did get to see some original cabinetry in these old houses. One of the most interesting things about the Alley is that it was originally inhabited by tradespeople, so it is an example of a working class neighborhood. In the late 19th/early 20th century the homes were occupied by immigrants. Now, of course, it's pretty upscale.

#23 Consult a financial advisor

So the dude, Mr I don't need no stinkin' budget, consented to come with me to the appointment with the financial advisor. He has changed his tune, fortunately. We've hired her, and we'll be changing the way money flows around here. I also believe she'll do a lot to help us with #22 (contribute additional $$ to retirement) and #24 (write a will, including all attendant documents).

So, see, #57 has really paid off!

#14 More Fiction

A couple of weeks ago, Cheryl in DC wrote to tell me about Confessions of a Teen Sleuth: A Parody by Chelsea Cain. It had been recommended by Nancy Pearl on NPR. Pearl let on that in the book Carolyn Keene had been the real Nancy Drew's roommate at my alma mater, Bryn Mawr, and that clinched it. Plus I was such a huge fan of Nancy Drew when I was a kid (Nancy Drew and Scooby Doo--I still love me a good mystery. And since Scooby Doo is my niece's favorite show, and now that she is reading chapter books, I know just what to get her for Christmas!)

This book was fun and quick. I guess I never realized how annoying those Nancy Drew books were. I loved the chapter where George, now a feminist professor, gathers the heroines of teen mysteries to discuss what kind of role models they were. Some parts of the book are really rather clever. It's entertaining, but never laugh out loud funny. Well worth reading if you read these books as a kid and wondered what happened when Nancy settled down and grew old.

Fiction: 8

#57 Have lunch with coworkers

Some days the only progress on this list I seem to make is that I eat. Today I had lunch with six coworkers. We got a "free" lunch for listening to an investment sales pitch. I am so not the sales pitch kind of girl. I tried really hard, but I had to make a comment.

Some of these people I've already had lunch with and some are so new they're not on the list. (I'm sticking with the original list because the number of people who are being added as we head into a campaign is phenomenal. I'll put them on the next 101 things list.) I'm taking MG and LA off the list because we ate together today. Going over the list, I see I should take NL off the list--we've had squid salad together at the Burmese place in Chinatown, not sure when or if I reported on it. LN was also there. You know, I've had lunch with her more since she left than I ever did while she was here.

I'm taking DG and KM off because I can't even find them on the current phone list, and I can't remember who they are!

I have twenty-one to go. I think I started with 41 or so. BC, BE, CM, DM, HB, FR, JH, JR, KW, KB, LA, LM, MG, MK, NS, PH, PM, PN, SS, SS, TM.

#64 Visit four of the following states overnight

I have been to Texas, and I stayed. The office sent me to a conference in San Antonio. The dude came and we extended our visit so that I could get out of the hotel for a while. We stayed on the Riverwalk, which is fine and totally prevents the downtown from being an armpit, but is of course totally touristy, which is where I belonged because I was the total tourist. I have been to the Alamo. I have been to El Mercado. I have been to the King William historical district, but there's really only so much you can do in a day and a couple of nights.

I did almost plow into Jeff Van Gundy when I was getting off the elevator. We had seen him on Friday night doing an ESPN talking head thing on the river in front of our hotel (the official hotel of the visiting team--I shared space with Steve Nash!). Then on Saturday night, he was planning dinner with some ESPN producers right in front of the elevator. He was pretty humble ("I'm the new guy. I'm a team player," he said as they tried to decide where to go...)

On the way out of town, our taxi driver was telling us how much house we could buy for what we paid for our tiny treasure in the burbs (two words: gated community). We were jokingly thinking about it, but since we don't have jobs in Texas, there's no point. When we got to the airport, there was an advertisement for a job opening for what my husband does.It was like a sign. Except the job was at the University of the Incarnate Word. Oh, it was a sign all right. A sign to go home to Philadelphia.

More Photos:


The ubiquitous river cruise boats.


Day of the Dead figures from El Mercado.


San Fernando Cathedral

#13 Watch AFI 100 Top Movies

I'm watching Modern Times. I am so used to stitching while I watch a movie, but I can't with this, because it's mostly silent. I feel like I'm wasting so much time! Fortunately, they are walking off into the sunset right now. "Buck up"--that's the best they can do? At any rate, I learned where Dick Van Dyke got the idea for tripping over the ottoman and where quarterbacks got the idea for writing plays on their wrist guards. Nevertheless, this felt more like penance than anything else. But then it only came in at #81.

#95 Buy a new front door

Our new front door goes in today. The guy who's putting it in called last night to give us the head's up because he's also bringing over the quarter round that we'll have to paint tonight. So this morning he calls and says, "Where are the locks?" Um...locks? Doesn't that come with the door? Why didn't he tell me this yesterday, when I could have used the information? D'oh. Instead, I am standing in 69th Street Station freaking out about what to do about locks. Fortunately, the dude came up with a plan that didn't involve me taking off the whole day. I went online, found this, and told him to get me something like it. Brushed nickle first, black second. Do not get brass. Spend under $200. Not ideal, but we'll have a new door when we get home tonight! Screen door goes in tomorrow. No more stupid Amish buggies. (We're more than an hour from Lancaster, for goodness sake!)

#89 Shelving for dining room

Okay, so it doesn't look much like shelving, but it does take up much of that wall--we decided we didn't really need to add the storage the shelves would provide. (It was that ubiquitous Pottery Barn hanging bar sort of thing. Very chichi, too expensive.)

This is much more us anyway.

And, just because I can, a gratuitous shot of the $60 chandelier I got from Home Decorator's Outlet.

#14 Honey, Don't

Fiction: 7

#14 Read 16 Works of Fiction

Jennifer Government
By Max Barry

In this post-punk dystopia, corporations literally rule the world which has shriveled in size to three markets: USA (“free market”) countries, non-US economic blocs, and fragmented (ie emerging and hostile) markets. This book takes the reasoning of free trade to a logical but horrifying conclusion: a world where kids attend school funded by Mattel and learn about Barbie releases; where employers names their employees; where identity is supplanted by consumer goods.

I enjoyed this book. I thought it was a pointed critique of cultural and economic dominance of the US. Critics seemed to dislike the “one dimensional characters” but I think it adds to the atmosphere—where people are judged by their things, how on earth can we expect depth? Others complained about the choppiness, but clearly they didn’t see the sort of ad campaign vibe the author was creating.

Oddly, John Nike—the boss John Nike, not his underling John Nike—totally reminded me of this Wharton asshat I dated in college. I wish Jennifer Government had shot him.

Fiction: 6

Not On the List

This is how I spent my Sunday:


The dude and I put up the map in the study. And we did it without any arguments or fights. It came in eight parts, and we had to line up all the parts, so that was downright miraculous. The first photo shows the suede paint we did a few months ago. This room is really shaping up!

#78 Floored!

Here's the new floor. Clean. Pretty black and white. And did I mention clean? Slowly but surely, the kitchen is being turned into a room we want to have.

The dude took this picture on Sunday, but we're still working on putting things away--we've had to clean everything in the cabinets because of the dust that was raised in the making of this new kitchen.

#14 Read 16 works of fiction

Well, I found a mystery recommended by Nancy Pearl. (She recommends quite a few actually.) I have always enjoyed the A&E (Maury Chaykin and Timothy Hutton) Nero Wolfe, so it's about time I read the originals. Of course, it's very difficult to imagine anyone but Chaykin as Wolfe and Hutton as Archie, but I enjoyed reading it. Now I only have 72 more in the series. (I'm a huge fan of serial mysteries!)

Fiction: 5

More reading

Part of my dissertation examined the work of Margaret Atwood. She published this book after I completed that project, just when I had given up reading--taking a sort of well-deserved rest. I've read all the rest of her novels, and I usually quite enjoy them, so I wanted to complete the task she has set. And now I find out about the Penelopiad. Nevertheless...

I didn't enjoy Oryx and Crake as much as her other dystopia, The Handmaid's Tale. But O&C did make me think about something--in the end, when you have no need for language, what bits and pieces will be caught in your head? What stories will you remember how to tell? What words will keep you company? Me, I'll probably remember totally useless things about cooking with an oven and all the episodes of Seinfeld and The Simpsons.


I know I said the rest of the books had to be recommended in Nancy Pearl's Book Lust books, but I broke the rule already. I read A History of the African-American People [Proposed] by Strom Thurmond. I know Jim Kincaid, and I wanted to read it. It was funny, but the scary crazy character who proposed the book reminded me of my old boss, so there was a lot of dis-ease as I read. Some laughter. How come there aren't as many good satires as there ought to be? We all love Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert so why don't we have those types of voices on paper? Writers? Get to work!

Fiction: 4 down

Reading

I have read a couple of mysteries, and I think I've said this before: I don't know if I should count them toward my quota of fiction. They are fiction, but it takes me so much less time and brainpower to read mysteries than to read more highbrow stuff. I read Deadhead, a Dalziel and Pascoe mystery by Reginald Hill and Mrs. Malory and Death in Practice by Hazel Holt. I am also reading Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake; I'll probably finish that tonight, unless I decide to work on some crafts. Maybe I should make some sort of random qualification about what counts toward the fiction list, like the book has to be recommended in Book Lust. I hereby amend the list.

I also finished Mother Tongue from the Bryson list. It's very similar to Made in America, except there's more information on British English and English-around-the-world. It was okay. I have started looking for the other books, and even though I've checked several university libraries, I can't find Palace Under the Alps. I'm not buying it for $60 off amazon.

Well, there are some disorganized thoughts for you. The kitchen floor will be ready Monday. Big excitement!

Say Goodbye to My Ugly Floor

#78 Replace kitchen floor

Two weeks ago we popped into a local tile store, met a salesman when we were halfway in, and practically had the tile bought by the time we hit the back of the store--a very tiny store. But I knew what I wanted and there's no sense in hemming and hawing once they show you what there is. I could have gone all over hell and highwater searching for other things, but why?

Today, our contractor comes to take up the old lino. See how dirty it is? I have been on my hands and knees cleaning that floor. Nothing in the world was going to erase the years of ground in dirt.

To facilitate this job, we had to pull up the carpet in the hallway--we want him to be able to put in a nice marble threshhold. The hardwood threshhold is pretty beat up, so better to have him cover it, than have to deal with it later. So we are one room away from having the carpet pulled up in the whole downstairs (#76).

And we've placed an order for a new door (#95)! It should be up next week.

#28 Meet up with blogging stitching friends

Cathy invited some of us 'round to stitch; Jenna was there, and my new best friend, Karen. Karen asked me, if I was still in my 20s when I told her I wasn't in my 30s, and exclaimed that she was always the oldest when Cathy had people over. Heehee! What a delightful woman. Of course, she is sleep deprived, so maybe her vision is compromised. More here.