What I'm Reading Now -- Stoner

I haven't actually started reading this yet. It's been a bit crazy the last couple of days, as the end of the year always is.

This was recommended to me by someone I work with at my bookstore, and I was especially impressed by this comment, from the New York Times Book Review: "John Williams's Stoner is something rarer than a great novel - it is a perfect novel, so well told and beautifully written, so deeply moving, that it takes your breath away." Not many books get that kind of praise from the NYT - it's a rave if I've ever heard one. So I'm trying it out for myself.

Happy Birthday to Me!

The Traveler's Wife -- Take 2

I'm finally finished! I'd give it an overall thumbs up, but not too enthusiastically. The breakdown:

I loved the first half. That gets the enthusiastic thumbs up. Brilliant story, brilliant writing, brilliant way of messing with your mind just a little bit. But starting at about the halfway point where (MINOR SPOILER ALERT!) they start trying to have a baby, I really lost interest in it. I kept reading because, by that point, I had made enough of an investment in the book that I wanted to finish it. And thankfully, the last 100 pages or so get back to the story I liked, and mess with your mind even more. Especially right at the end, you have to do some serious thinking to keep the story lines -- which are happening at different times and yet simultaneously -- straight in your head.

But (credit where credit is due) even the parts of the book where I didn't care for the story had brilliant writing. Niffenegger's ability to capture a feeling or emotion in words which effectively convey it from the character to the reader is impressive, to say the least.

Food, food, food!

Christmas day was a festival of food. First there were supposed to be eggs at Dad's house. Turns out though, that everyone decided to eat earlier than anticipated, and no one thought to inform me of this. So we missed the basil and cream cheese eggs, which I'm sure were delicious. I did have some coffeecake though (thanks Grandma), and coffee (without the cake, thanks Dad).

Then there was brunch with J's family, which included the following: egg stratas (like casseroles, I learned), more coffee cake, regular pancakes, nutella pancakes, strawberries/blueberries/whipped cream, delicious bacon, coffee, and OJ. I ate myself silly. But that wasn't the end...

Third, there was dinner back at dad's house. He made a stick-to-your-ribs venison cassoulet with some of his gazillion pounds of elk meat, and it was delightful. Aunt J brought down some cranberry sauce from the Chicagoland area, along with loads and loads of cookies and other tasty goodies. T came to the rescue with a last-minute run for eggs, which allowed us to whip up some delicious cornbread as well (mom's recipe - best in the world)! And lots of wine and candies too! It was a food extravaganza, all day long!

And of course, there was the present-opening extravaganza. It was a delightful afternoon spent around the living room fire!

E

J

Me

K

G1

B1

G2

Dad

B2

Cousin M

Uncle T

Cookies!

Merry Christmas to All!

Why don't I just pay everybody I can think of?

Like many of my cohorts, I have student loans. Recently, I got a letter in the mail from the original servicer of two of my three loans. This letter said that they had sold my loans to a bank I've never heard of, and that XYZ bank would now be servicing the loans, and I should send all payments to them.

Now, I understand that this type of sale is not terribly unusual in the loan/mortgage/banking industry. (Isn't this part of what got us into the economic mess we're in in the first place, though?) Anywho, when I read the letter, I just had an overwhelming sense of ickiness, to quote Cher. It was like they were saying, "okay, we've gotten our money out of you, now we're going to sell you to someone else, and they'll take their cut, and they'll sell you to someone else in a year...." You get the picture, and it's not a pretty one.

Don't get me wrong, I know this is how these companies make money, and I suppose they're entitled, but it just seemed...wrong, somehow. Know what I mean?

Wildlights

Last night, J totally indulged the 8-year-old in me and drove me all over this town to see Christmas lights! It was awesome!

The first place we went was the zoo, which does this thing called Wildlights. Apparently this has been going on for a number of years, but I've never heard of it! How is such a thing possible? Anyway, it was awesome, as you can see:After that we drove around South City, in the neighborhoods off of Hampton and near Ted Drewes. They are so festive around there! Nobody near where I live puts up Christmas lights, but practically every house had them on some of the streets! It was amazing! And bright. I wonder how they sleep? I guess maybe they turn them off at night?

Mobot

First, apologies for the delay. It's Christmas (almost), and everything is quite busy. But back to the issue...

On Friday, L and I went to the Missouri Botanical Gardens. They had a "Gardenland" exhibit, which was a miniature of the gardens, with toy trains running throughout, and -- of course -- beautiful flowers. It was amazing to see so much color at what is normally such a dreary time of year!
They also had an exhibit of wreaths which had been put together by local florists:
We also spent some time walking around the gardens, which were a bit empty and lonely-looking given that it's December, but they did have the Shaw House all decorated for Christmas, and it was beautiful!
And let's not forget the Dale Chihuly inside the main building, and the row of little trees they had out in front:

It's a Christmas Cookie Extravaganza!

Okay, maybe I've gone a little crazy. So far I've made 5 kinds of Christmas cookies, and there's a least one more on the way! The ones in this picture, not that you can tell, are as follows: apricot squares, rum balls, Santa snacks, sugar cookies (with icing, of course), and molasses crinkles. Also to come (at Dad's special request): pfeffernusse cookies. Oh, and there are cranberry-citrus muffins in there too. If you want some snacks, come on over!

Update -- The Time Traveler's Wife

Yes, I'm still trying to read this book! And unlike the first time, I'm really enjoying it! The problem is that I'm just so busy, what with Christmas coming up and all. But I'm trying! I hope to have a report soon. And I better get on it, because I'm building up a backlog of books and movies from the library!

How cute is that?

Celebrating Winter

Celebrating winter with J, L, and Frosty.

Health Care Legislation

Like a lot of people, I am interested in what Congress decides to do about this whole health care situation. Also like a lot of people, I am busy. I have found myself unable to keep up with all the debates and changes and versions and proposals and....

Sidney Watson, a health law expert at SLU (and also my Torts professor), was recently on St. Louis On The Air giving a summary of the current status as well as answering some listener questions. She does a wonderful job of explaining the current bills. To hear her interview, click on "Health Care Legislation."

What I'm Reading Now -- The Time Traveler's Wife

I'm taking my second stab at this book. I tried it once before, a couple years ago. I admit that I didn't make it very far, but I just couldn't get into it. After much poking and prodding and hearing how good it was, I'm giving it another try.

In addition, Niffenegger's second novel, Her Fearful Symmetry, really interested me when it came out a couple months ago. For reasons I cannot explain, though, I feel like I should read this one first. So, here goes Round Two.

Excuse me, what?

I saw this at a shop in the airport in ATL on the way home from North Carolina:

Can anyone explain this to me? What is this stuff?