Silliness

Heads You Lose is a mystery novel written in turns by two authors who have a bone to pick with eachother.  Each takes turns with a chapter, and, while the story isn't bad, the star of the show is the digs mixed into the footnotes, post-chapter letters, and twists of the story.  It made me laugh a whole lot while reading.  7/10.

Must admit

Coneflowers are one of my favorite perennials.  Spotted these on a walk.

Spotted

Spotted these pretty pots on a walk.  Filing them away for inspiration.

There's a leak in the boiler room

My favorite Tom Waits song a la Cookie Monster

Shades of pink

I've been faithfully continuing my pledge to have fresh flowers in the house at least once a month.  Sometimes they are cut from my yard.  Other times I pick them up from the local grocery.  My favorite so far has been these tea roses and snap dragons that I bunched together.  So soft and fragrant and lovely.

Weather, politics, and destruction

Isaac's Storm tells the horrfying tale of the hurricane that hit Galveston in 1900 and killed over 8,000 people.  It follows the tale from the perspective of a man who was in charge of the local weather bureau office.  The story is well told - tying the meteorological patterns and signs to the political background of the bureau to the awfulness of the destruction.  This book will haunt my nightmares I am sure, but it was a really compelling read.  8/10.

Gritty

Rango was such a fun movie.  It follows a fish out of water lizard who stumbles into the dried up town Dirt.  I loved how gritty and ragged all the characters in the frontier town looked.  The story struck me as a bit too dark and scary for kids, but a lot of fun for grown-ups.  I adored the owl musicians particularly.

Capital

Great House is a collection of intertwined narratives about people whose lives are touched by a desk - a big massive desk that's full of a jumble of drawers.  The desk has a History with a capital H. The reader is expected to appreciate all the Important and Deep things thought and said about the desk and the people in the stories.  I was less than Impressed.  Mostly I was confused and bored and held at a great distance from these people.  I don't understand the fuss I guess.  3/10.

Orangey

Husband made this orange zest pasta a few days ago, and it was fucking amazing.

Creeping

My neighbor's morning glories are creeping over the fence to brighten my yard as well.  So pretty they had to be shared.

Sweet!

Collection of newlywed photos from New York. 

Never does

Mine didn't turn out as pretty as theirs, but this veggie casserole was delicious.

Always working on improvement



Since our house monsters systematically destroyed our old blinds, we finally got around to getting some new ones.  I'm in love with how the light comes in though these and the fact that they don't have cords (for the cats to chew off).  Love those simple improvements.

Pegged

This post has me pegged.  I'm so totally an under-buyer.  Evidence:

- Wearing a fall coat all of last winter because I didn't love the styles of winter coats I found and didn't want to spend the money on a coat I didn't love.
- Buying personal care items I use all the time in singles instead of stocking up
- My gas tank is on empty right now (Wait - that may be laziness and a too busy gas station on my way home.  Although I only usually fill up when getting gas from the grocery store gas station where I get discounts.  Other places I'll put $10 in because I figure that I'll be hitting the grocery store soon enough.  Hmmm.... does that make me smart or cheap?)

Mmmmmmmm

I made chorizo & sweet potato enchiladas recently.  So good - even the leftovers!  Here's the recipe if you're looking for some inspiration.

My Life as a Dog is such an excellent coming of age movie.  Its about a boy sent to live with a relative in another town while his mother is recovering from an illness.  I loved how this Swedish film made me laugh and hit some really sad parts.  I also kind of wanted to live in this town full of so many interesting and wonderful people.  Definitely a feel good.  6.5/10.