Take a bite out of Estella's apple:
Before I shift into prattle mode (oops, too late) I should mention that the latest issue of Estella's Revenge is available for your reading pleasure. It's been up for a few days. Oh, well. Storms and flickering power and all that.We were freezing, I swear. After Monday's storms, a cold front hit Mississippi and we got all the way down to the 30's. Honestly, we thought body parts were going to freeze and fall off. And, then it warmed up and stormed, again. Meanwhile, in Alaska, it's unseasonably warm. This is bad for the Iditarod racers, apparently. Also, a terrible sign of that global warming thing -- icecaps melting, flood, hurricanes, famine, end of the world. Yes, I actually do believe we humans are destroying our world and that we should plant more trees, but that's another story.
Moving right along . . . I have a lot of fun reading the Anchorage Daily News updates and viewing the Iditarod photos. The news in Alaska is just so different from ours. Where else can you read about and view moose walking in the street, bear stories, whale-hunt photo essays, corrupt politicians? Okay, it's not all different, but some Alaska news is very, very unique.
She's no longer with us, but we still love her. The cat, I mean. No, not the black one; she's fine. My delightful friend Cindi, who named a character after me in her novel (coolness!), told me about the Spay Day photo contest and suggested I enter. The prizes are nifty, but the two that interest me the most are the Nature's Miracle products (because the litter box has been in the house since Sunshine's illness, which was then followed closely by the malfunction of the kitty door) and the $5000 donation to a nonprofit organization participating in Spay Day. Neato. I chose to enter one of my favorite photos of our dearly departed Sunshine, here. And, here is Cindi's baby. Sign up and vote for them, please, if you feel so inclined. You can vote repeatedly. And, don't forget to enter your own fur friend's beautiful mug.
Next up: quickie reviews of Persuasion by Jane Austen and The Last Single Woman in America by Cindy Guidry. Because I'm wimped and it stormed (not conducive to photography) I'm skipping the wahoos for the week.
Currently reading:
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami (yes, still)
Life Class by Pat Barker
When Lightning Strikes by Kristin Hannah (because I can't seem to concentrate on the others)
and the introduction of The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (which Tara loved and which counts as my March book purchase).
Still can't update my sidebar because of Blogger Fits of Madness. Who knows why these things suddenly cease to function?
Off to bed. Talk later. Will try to catch up on blog-hopping soon. Wave, wave.
Bookfool (aka, Her Wimpiness)
I was having that dream repeatedly a few years ago! In mine, I'd discovered a whole new wing of my house after years of living there, and it was enormous and felt a little forbidding. I kept wondering in my dream if the realtor knew about it.
ReplyDeleteI've had that dream! With the suddenly revealed (and strangely remembered) hallways and stairways that go to seemingy new places in my house, but then you remember that they were there before, and you've just forgotten. My ever-expanding house had some deep dark really frightening passages that I had to get down on hands and knees and crawl through. Now I try to wake myself up before I get to that part. :/
ReplyDeletePersuasion! I look forward to your review. I am, you know, a Jane fan.
ReplyDeleteI hope you thaw out and stay warm.
Well, let's see...
ReplyDeleteWe've had moose sitings within our city limits, I have a bear story of my own (well, my sister's but I was part of it), and we may be seeing a stink about political positions in the not too distant future...
But whaling stories? There you got me.
As for the dream - sounds like you're building the perfect house to invite the lot of us over to discuss our books. I'll take a room with a view, or, at the very least, a hidden passage behind the bookcase.
And Sunshine got my vote.
cjh
Bybee,
ReplyDeleteThat's the one! I always end up finding a surprise wing in a house I've already lived in for a time. Weird. But, mine are not forbidding; in fact, usually they're light-drenched and nicely furnished. The kitchens are always, always U-shaped, like the kitchen I grew up with (I have a galley kitchen, which I hate). And, nobody else knows about the empty wing until I tell them. I'm waiting for my mystery wing to appear. :)
Donna,
That's so funny! You and Bybee need to get together to figure out why your mystery-house dreams are spooky! Mine are more along the lines of wishful thinking (but still nightmares, if only because I wake up knowing they're impossible). I do the lucid dreaming thing, sometimes -- not often, but every now and then I'll get to a point that I realize a dream has become too frightening and wake myself up. Humans are so funny. :)
Cupcake,
ReplyDeleteYou're a Jane fan? I am all astonishment. This is, of course, a truth universally acknowledged, along with the dumb blonde thing. :)
We are, naturally, warming up rapidly. Cold fronts don't last long!
CJ,
LOL! I didn't know you had moose and bears! I forget you're in the UP, though. We saw lots of cute bunnies in Ann Arbor (and had one squirrel that wanted to move in with us).
Actually, I would love to have a house that I felt comfortable inviting people into. This house isn't really what you could call "suitable for entertaining". It's just too small. I've always wanted an old home with hidden passages. Wouldn't that be fun? Maybe not here, though. You never know what kind of creepy crawlies you'd run into in a hidden passage in the Deep South. shiver
Thanks for the vote!
I was talking to my Mom in TX the other day, and she suddenly says to me, "Oh, by the way, we got 2 inches of snow last night."
ReplyDeleteWHA??! SUCH WEIRD WEATHER. And my area of NC hasn't seen ONE FLAKE this year. However, I hear we're supposed to get more severe thunderstorms tomorrow, and I'm just hoping it all turns to ice on the way down. I miss coldness and white on the ground. Not that TX got a whole lot, but at least once or twice a year!
Gotta cut this short and go torture my class with a midterm, but wanted to pop in and say 'ello!
Andi,
ReplyDeleteEldest called from Memphis to tell me it was snowing, too. Unfair!!! We very seldom get snow and I don't think I'll ever stop missing it. Yeah, we just got maybe 3 decent snows in OK, per year, but that was just enough to satisfy me.
Have fun in class!!!
I gave Sunshine another vote.
ReplyDeleteI'm also reading The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, but blogger let me tell you that on my sidebar. Sorry you can't.
Thank you, Bonnie!
ReplyDeleteThe sidebar problem is bizarre. My scroll bar just goes about halfway and then the rest of the layout is cut off. I'm sure it'll be fixed soon, but it's annoying.
It'll probably take me weeks to finish The Omnivore's Dilemma. I can't seem to concentrate at all. Spring fever, maybe. :)
Yeah! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on Pollan's book.
ReplyDeleteWe were freezing, I swear.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to my world! I've been freezing my butt off since last November. I can't seem to shake the chill no matter how many layers I wear. Ah, but today was a balmy 40 and after a brisk walk with Annie, I managed to warm up just enough to leave the thermostat alone when we got home. Only 2 more weeks of winter!!
Off to vote for Miss Sunshine. :)
Tara,
ReplyDeleteDon't hold your breath! It's going to take me a while to get through The Omnivore's Dilemma because I'm finding it a tad dry, but it's a fascinating subject so I'm just going to keep on plowing away. Thanks for the recommendation. :)
Les,
We actually think we're freezing when it hits the 50's. You get a little pitiful about cold when you live in the South for too long. LOL But, I loved the cold when I lived farther north! I could readjust! I know how to layer and everything. :)
Thanks for the vote!!
Sounds like you got our storm. We had snow on Monday and Thursday (last night). I can't remember the last time we had two snow storms in one year. Burry! Where is spring? It's funny to see the Bradford Pear blossoms with the branches covered with snow.
ReplyDeleteTrish,
ReplyDeleteI do think we got your storm system, but certainly not in the form of snow!! Still, we did get a little bit of ice/rain mix, today. So, at least we had a taste of winter. :)