Playing possum

Now...I'm all for using new materials and not wasting but I'm not sure what's going on over at the New Zealand Nature Store where they sell plenty of goods made of possum wool. Locals say it's lighter and warmer than sheep's wool...and it's one of the most flame retardant fabrics around. Think about it - have you ever seen a possum burst into flames?

An open letter to: You know who you are...

Today is a great day - the Binghams have moved to Oregon. Hillsboro, specifically. I've seen pictures of their new place and driven by, but cannot wait until the movers have worked their magic and gotten them all settled in.

This move marks the beginning of a new era - and now we'll all have dinners and go to movies and hang out and have book clubs and festive gatherings and slumber parties and road trips and take classes together and have friendship bracelets. And we'll be awesome here in the Great NW...because that's how we roll. I wonder what fun, exciting, thought-provoking, life-changing thing we're going to do first?!

BOBBY PERU!!!

Welcome Home! It's hard to imagine where these last two years went, but they flew by and you are home now. I am thrilled. We love you.

Early Hiatus...

I am so sad that some of my favorite shows won't be returning until the Fall. Like Chuck and Pushing Daisies. 30 Rock will be back in April along with The Office and Reaper. And Psych is done for the season - and will return in the summer...but I've said that before. But I am currently enjoying Eli Stone...and other shows that I watch that I will not discuss here.

Just crazy enough to work...

From my Google Reader - came this gem via Serious Eats - orignally at not martha.

Dude. She made bacon bowls. AWESOME.

A soup exchange...

Okay...raise your hand if you like soup.

ME, TOO!

Okay...now raise your hand if you would want to be part of a soup exchange party?

ME, TOO!!

The folks over at Whipped are having their second annual soup exchange, and I'm just wondering how many folks would want to participate? You can read all of the details over at Whipped. Comment or e-mail me if you'd wanna join. And if you're not local - you should totally organize one in your neighborhood. People love soup.

A great idea...

This cool new book is a collection of six word memoirs...famous people and ordinary people somehow summing up their lives in just six words. I can't wait to read it.

When you boil you down, what six words are left?

Holy Bajolies!!

Has it really been almost a whole week since I was posting around here?! I've been reading a lot, both on the Internet and in actual paper books.

Bad news on the Spelling Bee front...Lexi is SO smart that she can spell words AND is a mathlete. And the competitions for both are on the SAME day. I'm pretty sure she'll be headed to Corvallis with her math team - at which I cannot cheer or bring an air horn. So, what's the point?! I will cheer her on and hope there are many other opportunities to root for her in person!

Executive Decision...

All those interested in the NW Book Club...listen up!

We will be reading Loving Frank by Nancy Horan. There are copies at libraries and at Powell's Books and just about every other bookseller...

And one of the major rules of this book club will be that you must have read the book by the time the club meets. There will be none of this "Well, I'm halfway through..." business.

We will be meeting some time during the fourth week of March. Location and the exact meeting date and time are yet to be determined - although I'm thinking this will be a great opportunity to see the inside of this home in Hillsboro...

Happy Reading!

Spring is ready - and so am I!

The sun has come out here in Portland - and things are starting to warm up...so it's time to get ready for Spring...here's what I'm thinking:

This new bag

and these new sunglasses. I have to get new sunglasses because my others broke. And yes - it's sad that they broke, but I did find them in a camp van last summer...so I'm not out the investment, if you know what I mean.

A litereary week...

So many of my recent posts have been about books and reading - and this one will fall right along with that. I am most excited! I was one of the first 50 folks to e-mail in one of the Sk*rt giveaways - and so I'm getting a free copy of The Bright Side of Disaster! Holy Cow!! Part of getting the book is then reading it, and posting about it on my blog and then "be invited to join the virtual book club that will take place in April (date to be announced soon) with a live podcast hosted by Sk*rt- with author Katherine Center herself… where readers can ask questions, give comments and chat with the author about the story, what it’s like to be a novelist...." You get the idea. I'm a super nerd and am so excited to get a new book and all that comes along with it!!

Books are cool...

Wouldn't you just love to have these stairs and all the great books that are in them?! Of course - it's a good idea to have the stairs be plain wood - or you'd have people sitting on the stairs reading all the time if there was cushy carpet...
The image on the left is from the bottom of the stairs looking up - and from the top down on the right...genius, no!?

Correct!

Yes - the tee is in support of Psych ...which I am sad to say has ended it's season until the Summer. But thank goodness it is on a wonky schedule and it wasn't effected by the Writer's Strike...and will return again this year!

I had forgotten about Lobsterbob Lobsterpants...I guess it's possible this shirt COULD do double duty...

Investment...

Sometimes there are things in this world that you just have to have. Often they include air and water. And in this case, for me, it includes a talking Kenneth the Page bobble head doll.

He says awesome things like " Frankly, La Donica, you have not been real helpful." And "It's gonna get raw in here like sushi so haters to the left." or "To the wig shop!" or "Yes, sir!" He has twelve awesome things he says that would brighten the gloomiest of days...

In other ways of showing how much I love my stories...can you guess what show I love if I'm wearing this tee?

Upcoming Events!

There are plenty of fun things filling my calendar these days - haircut, dinner with friends, watching DVDs, an Oscar party, book club - but I'm very excited about the upcoming regional spelling bee! Our friend Lexi qualified to be among the 45 regional finalsts. And if she wins - she gets to go to the NATIONAL SPELLING BEE! So, on March 8 at 10:00 a.m. - I'm going to be at the Hollywood Theater to cheer her on.

Book Report...

Last week I read the following books:

The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
Several years ago I read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and I really enjoyed it. But this novel took way too long to capture my full attention. I must first blame the ugly cover as a distraction to wanting to read this book. Even though everyone SAYS we shouldn't judge books by their cover - I do. It seems that books that people really like will create great covers to capture my attention and make me want to read the book and perhaps discover the meaning in the cover artwork. But TYPU had unattractive colors and made it difficult for me to want to read it.

Once I was hooked into the story and stopped being confused by all the characters and shifting time (between memories and the present) I really did enjoy the story and learning about this culture. So - I can't give this book a glowing review, but I can say that after forcing myself to carry on - I was not disappointed in finishing the book.

'A" is for Alibi by Sue Grafton
I started this series at the recommendation of my friend Reyna - and I'm sure enjoying the books. As you can see by the column on the right of the blog - I'm already enjoying the second book - and should be done with that by close of business today.

Our heroine, Kinsey Millhone, is a wonderful character and inhabits a world that is interesting and unique without being so far fetched I can't buy into the story. And while I don't want to BE Kinsey Millhone - I would love to have dinner with her.

The Scarecrow and His Servant by Phillip Pullman
This is the newest book from the author of The Golden Compass and other children's fantasy books. And yes, I, read juvenile fiction. Wanna fight about it?

This is such a fun book - the titular characters are so well developed in so few words. I love how brave and bold the Scarecrow is and I love how clever his servant is. The servant, Jack, has so many wonderful qualities - but his ability to adapt to every new situation makes him a hero for children and adults alike. I highly recommend this book to folks reading chapter books with young readers - or folks who like a fun fairy tales with great characters and plenty of adventures. But you don't have to take my word for it! Ba-dum-BUM!

The cover images come from the author websites, to which I will link once I'm at my home computer.

Transporter...

So - with all the reading I've been doing - I'm remembering a:) how much I love reading and b:) how highly suggestible I am. I finally finished reading The Yiddish Policeman's Union this week - and I won't give anything away by saying the book is set in Alaska...and I've been cold all while reading the book. The next book I read this week was A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton - which is set in 1980's Southern California...so I've been much warmer and coughing from the smog. It's been a while since I was reading books back to back like this - and it was very jarring to go from the artcic tundra to the lovely beaches of California. Weird.

I'm also so excited for the formation of the NW Book Club that will be meeting for the first time in early March here in the greater Portland area. We don't have a lot of firm details yet, but if you are interested in joining the book club, send me an e-mail and I'll let you know more about what will be involved.

Let's go out to the lobby...

For those of you who are lucky enough to live near an AMC movie house, you should totally check out the marathon they are having on Saturday, February 23! If you haven't been to the show in a while, perhaps you've missed seeing all of the films nominated for best picture. To help with the dilemma, AMC is holding a movie marathon where you can see all five of the Best Picture nominees for just $30.00...and a whole day spent in a movie theater! Sadly - the nearest AMC house is up near Seattle - so, no official marathon for me. But if YOU live near one, get yourself over there!

TempThief...

This week I have been a full time temp at a Portland electrical engineering firm. I wish I could say that it's been the best week ever - because it hasn't BUT it has been a very quiet week.

Last Friday my annoying head cold became a combination of black lung and tuberculosis. It was not pretty. And as a rule - I cannot abide coughing - even my own. I am tremendously improved now, a week later - but still have a special cough that gets going when I laugh. And it's a good thing this job is so...quiet...because then there is no chance of me heading into a coughing jag.

This company needs a temp receptionist while their newly hired bookkeeper learns her job and doesn't have to worry about interruptions, etc. As a temp receptionist my main job is to answer the phone. In doing so - I screen the calls and then transfer the caller to their desired party. I play operator. But the phone only rings about three or four times in an hour. HUH. Then the mail usually arrives and I get to sort that, opening items that might be checks or bills, and then distribute the mail to its intended recipient. There is very little foot traffic, even from the six guys who work here. But sometimes messengers deliver things or the FedEx guy comes in. And then it's lunch time.

I do get an hour break for lunch which is nice - and I bring my lunch, so I drive down to a water front park that is near the office and listen to the radio, eat my lunch and watch the people. Then after that hour of serenity - it's back to the office for phone patrol. One day this week I made some copies. Another day I made a simple Excel spreadsheet. Seriously. The days are very long because there is SO little to do. So I read a lot. I read actual books and on the interwebs. But wow. That's been my week. And I'm here for another week, at least. I'm not sure how long this "gig" will last...and it's hard to know what to wish for. The boredom isn't that painful - but I'm more exhausted when I leave here than I am after a full day as a sub!

IT'S OVER!!!

Even though I will not feel the effects of the writers going back to work for a few weeks - I'm still happy to know that the writers are back at work in the morning....or whenever writers normally show up...

HOORAY for the WGA! HOORAY for television!