The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

Yes, the book won a Pulitzer prize.

Yes, I think the author was deserving of it.

No, I did not enjoy it.

Would I recommend it? There is a lot of Spanish in this book, and not your average high school Spanish either. This is Dominican Republic slang Spanish, enough of it that you can sort of pick up the meaning in context, but only sort of. This means that if your Spanish isn’t up to snuff you might find it all freakishly irritating. But, as a plus there are lots of footnotes- and I do like footnotes.

I Wish I Were…

I wish I were the kind of person that had a morning room. You know, how you see in old movies where husband and wife are enjoying their morning pot of tea and reading the paper when the nanny brings in the fed, cleaned and dressed kids.

One of those morning rooms.

One of those morning rooms where I could sit and drink my tea and wake up before the demands of life hit me.
One of those morning rooms that’s cheerful and sunny – maybe it would improve my general personality at that time of day.
One of those morning rooms that is very, very quiet because of the conspicuous lack of children -they’ll be with the nanny.
One of those morning rooms that I could sit with my husband and talk before the day started so we’d start the day together with a plan.

Yeah – one of those morning rooms.

I’ll even be reasonable. I’ll pass on the rest of the implied life style that would go with such a room (it sounds boring) and I’ll send the nanny on her way by nine (I like to spend time with my kid the other hours of the day). I just oh so very much wish that my mornings were lacking in pee, blood, crying, running late, yelling, cajoling, lost shoes, cold vehicles, puking dogs and general chaos (and that was just this week).

While I suppose the proper thing to do would be to wish I were a kind, gentle, patient, happy morning person, at this point I find it more likely that I’ll win the lottery (which I don’t play) and am able to spend egregious amounts of money on the first two hours of my day than that I suddenly develop an appreciation for life before eight am.

For more” I wish I were…” posts check out Weekly Writing Challenge: I Wish I Were  where you can read many other posts that were actually posted during the week of the challenge. The photos  I took as part of the Weekly Photo Challenge: Silhouette and also failed to posted on time. I get to see the sun rise behind my neighbors cows every morning, I should probably appreciate the picturesque beauty of it more often instead of internally cursing the fact that I am up early enough to see the sun rise!

Belated Birthday Thoughts

While our internet was misbehaving I wrote many posts that I never got a chance to publish due to technical difficulties. I wrote this the evening of Clara’s birthday…

From the time Clara arrived, Ivy was a dutiful big sister. When Clara was a baby, Ivy was so attentive to her baby sister that I worried about ever leaving them unattended, a quick trip to the bathroom and I’d come back to find Clara under stacks of books, toys and blankets that Ivy just couldn’t wait to share. Of course as they have grown Clara is now happy to be buried under Ivy’s toys and Ivy is usually happy to play with Clara. But their sweet sisterly ways have been experiencing some growing pains since Ivy started school. Now Ivy drags herself off the bus, tired out after a big day of school and greets Clara’s happy rush to greet her with a “NO thank you Clara.” There has been more fighting between them than there ever has been before and the last weeks have been trying on everyone.

As Clara’s birthday approached we made sure to include Ivy in all the preparations and the big hearted sister that she is showed right back up. Ivy sewed Clara a pillow for her baby doll as her gift to give her. Then she gave me a special piece of fabric that she had been saving so that I could make a blanket for Clara’s baby. When we went shopping she asked if she could pick out Clara a present with her own money all by herself and she did. Ivy discussed cake plans with me, watched John build a doll cradle, wrapped gifts and even picked out some of her toys that Clara likes and wrapped them up to give to her.

When Clara’s birthday arrived Ivy had a bit of a tough time – it’s hard to be the big sister when it’s not your birthday. But when all was said and done, Ivy told Clara that she could pick out all the bedtime books and when I thanked her for being such a good big sister all day she admitted that it was pretty good, “Except for a few moments of cryin’.”

Ivy was right, it was a good birthday. Clara turned three and was as well behaved as a three year old can be and Ivy turned back into the big sister that we all know she can be. Tomorrow is back to school and regular schedule and I’m certain that the two girls have more rocky times ahead, now and in the future. But thank goodness for birthdays, and the opportunities they bring for teaching, thoughtfulness, and smoothing a bit of the rocky road, even if temporarily.

Just over a month later I’m happy to report that Ivy (and the rest of us) are getting used to school and her new schedule. There are still days where Ivy draaags her tired feet off the bus to the house and refuses to talk to Clara but there are just as many days that they are happy to see each other and disappear up the stairs in a fit of giggles.

Gotta Have A Story

If there is one thing I’ve learned growing up in a family of hunters it’s that if you don’t come home with something dead you’d better come home with a good story – if you can swing both so much the better.

So, yesterday afternoon when I found myself watching a pheasant and opossum having a stare down while I was out hunting with the dogs, I figured I was set. “This is going to get interesting!” I said to myself as the dogs came crashing through the cattails toward us.

And then it didn’t.

The pheasant, upon seeing me, dashed off into the cattails.

The opossum climbed a tree, a very small tree.

The dogs ignored the opossum (good dogs!) and sniffed their way after the pheasant.

Storm went on point in the cattails and I couldn’t find her.

The bird flushed – I missed.

The dogs passed by the opossum, stopped, looked up, and carried on (good dogs!).

I went to the opossum and took a quick picture.

Then we tracked down the pheasant and even though I was unaided by any sort of pointing from my dog (bad dog!) I got the bird.

Trip retrieved it, (good dog!).

Then he blasted off through the cattails and ran down another until it flushed -waaaay away from us (bad dog!).

So we looked for it, until the dogs stunk of swamp, I had cattail fuzz up my nose and we were all covered in burrs.

Then I got a phone call that I was needed at home.

I returned home to find my entire family in the field “helping” gut the buck our friend shot (nice work Jeff!).

We spent the rest of the night cleaning swamp muck and burrs off the dogs.

Today the dogs are tired and on drugs to combat the beasties in the swamp water that are disagreeing with their systems and I’m left reflecting that my unexciting opossum/pheasant stare down turned into an interesting evening anyway.

After all, I got my bird and I got a story.

Edible Books

I’m joining a new online book club this month called Edible Books. They choose food related books and discuss them on twitter throughout the month. Novembers book is White Truffles in Winter by N.M. Kelby it looks like it will be fun.
If you’re interested you can find all the details at http://ediblebookclub.com

(In other exciting news the internet people claim they will have our internet fixed by tomorrow and our new computer is scheduled to arrive before the weekend! I’m crossing my fingers it all works out!)

Good Night

"Honey, come quick!’
I drop my armful of dirty laundry and head out the door to find John looking South and listening.
I join him on the back patio, bare feet chilly in the frosty air.
The full moon gives everything a blueish tinge and even the shaggy dog is quiet except for the click of her toenails on the concrete as she stand by us and we listen.
The road is blissfully silent and all the night seems to hold are the quiet noises of the cows in the pasture near our house.
Then the great horned owl calls again… and again… and again.
We grin and whisper and listen until John attempts to call back and the owl stops.
Our silence collapses into giggles and silly dancing and we head back to our respective Sunday night chores.
It is not until later while settling a fussy child that I hear the owl again.
The sound drifts though a crack in the window that I couldn’t bear to shut entirely on such a beautiful night and as I rock my baby I have a chance to reflect on the day.
And I am thankful.

The Many Faces of Clara

While we figure out what to do about our lack of computer at home I’m borrowing a friend’s computer to check e-mail, the price of a new computer, bank statements and other things not nearly so important.

I had these photos of Clara already ready to go before the computer went kaput…

…hopefully we’ll get our technology sorted out soon. But for now I”m on borrowed computer time and since Clara is literally eating the couch I think it’s time for me to go!