Still boring, but still here.

Spring is definitely here, because mulch is now available at my grocery store!  I'll be getting some next weekend and for a number of weekends thereafter, which may mean that Bubbles & Baubles goes on hiatus, given what I tend to do to my nails during mulch time. :) 

Temptation Nursery is open now, and Mom and I have a date for May 12th to go shopping for tomatoes and to fight about letting me buy her at least one plant for Mother's Day.  I swear, fighting with her over buying her things is as much of a tradition as giving her a card.

I also need to invest in a good spray bottle so I can get my butt outside and deal with the nettles.  I don't mind like dandelions, plus Snoopy mows 'em down regularly, but I will not allow prickly things in my flower beds!

Doc and I also have a date for lunch on the 12th, so I'll have to coordinate that with Mom, but then I get Doc to myself for a couple of hours.  She's had a lot of changes in a short period of time, and while we had a long phone conversation on Friday, nothing beats face-to-face chat over a bowl of white chili con queso and chips.

May is probably my favorite month of spring.  There are seeds and seedlings to plant, weeds to kill, mulch to spread, flowers blooming, lots of sun and the heat isn't usually ridiculous.  I'm looking forward to the next month.

The Most Boring Person on Earth

That would be me. I wake up, drink coffee, answer some want ads, go to work, come home, maybe go work out, eat dinner, read, play on the computer, play with nail polish, read some more, go to bed.

There are house finches nesting in the tree by the breezeway, which is fun.

There are nettles everywhere in my yard, which is not fun.

I have a ton of supplies to make nail polish jewelry, which is fun.

Other than that, there really isn't anything going on. The dogs are fine, I'm fine, the whole famdamily is fine. I just wish I could find a job for when Mom closes the office.

Yet another book review

Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This didn't wow me--it's much better written than most of the Austen sequels/ripoffs/homages/reimaginings that have hit the market in the last few years, but it's by a professional writer, so that's not surprising. Most of the character have evolved in ways that fit with their original depictions, and the relationships have done the same. The mystery is decent if not innovative, and handled well, but overall, the book just didn't grab me or live up to the standard set by Ms. Austen.



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Another book review!

The Lost Conspiracy by Frances Hardinge

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It was with reluctance that I closed this book and left the world of Gullstruck. Ms. Hardinge combined splendid world-building with fascinating character-building. Learning about a society reliant on those of its members who can project their astral selves and what happens when that ability is gone was fascinating, but the story of Hathin, the central character, was even more so. Watching Hathin cope with her duties and responsibilities and then with her fears and hopes was a rich and rewarding experience.

I hope that sometime in the future Ms. Hardinge will revisit this world--I would love to read more about it.



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Book review

The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


A note for Brooke--don't read this, I'm sending the book to you.

While the world-building and character-building in this novel are good and the plot is interesting, I just couldn't get past the (view spoiler)[animal abuse in the first chapter and the large-scale child abuse in the main plot (hide spoiler)].



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No more rubber ducks

A few years ago, I read and enjoyed A Year Without Made in China by Sara Bongiorni, and it made me realize how pervasive Chinese-made items were in the US. Then a good friend almost lost a cat due to tainted pet food made in China. Recently, I read Swindled, a very good and very scary book about how food has historically been adulterated and continues to be. The saddest and scariest parts were the New York swill milk scandals of the mid-1800s and the two Chinese milk scandals in the last ten years. Then came the revelation that MAC Cosmetics, which wants to sell to the growing Chinese middle class, will in fact be testing on animals, something which is required by Chinese law.

So the Chinese government does not care about food quality for either pets or babies, but requires makeup to be tested on animals? It won't make much, if any difference to the big picture, but unless it's something I need instead of something I want, I will not be buying anything Chinese-made.

I will be going through my cosmetics to see what has been made in China, and no, I won't discard anything I already have, but I won't buy more from that company. I already know that most, if not all, rubber ducks are made in China, so no more of those. For everything else, I'll look to see where it's made, and only buy it if A. I need it and B. I can't find an American-made alternative.

A Mouse milestone!

Yesterday afternoon, I was trying to take a nap. Little Miss Piggie Pie was curled up on my bed and Mouse was curled up on his bed. Just as I was drifting off to sleep, Mouse got up and trotted out of the room. LMPP followed him, and about 30 seconds later I heard thumps and thuds. When the noise hadn't stopped in five minutes, I gave up on the nap and got up.

Mouse and Little Miss Piggie Pie were playing together, and he was participating with every aged bone and muscle. They were so cute that I didn't even think to grab the camera, just watched them and grinned. Of course, Mouse tired first and had to hide under the kitchen table until she finally got the idea that he was done, and he probably shouldn't have played with her on a full stomach (details omitted), but I feel as though he's finally truly happy to be here.

I think I have recovered from Monday...

I should have taken the flock of wild turkeys crossing my path as I drove to work as a hint from the universe and turned around and gone home!

A good man and good friend of the family died of lung cancer.

There were crises upon crises at work, and I'm finding that I do not function well with Mom out of the office for extensive periods.

I forgot my lunch and the soup of the day downstairs was broccoli cheddar (ick).

I ran out of antidepressant on Saturday.

In the line at the drive-through pharmacy, I was stuck inbetween two cars for fifteen minutes. Then when I got to the window, the pharmacy tech was moving like a glacier. If someone was in her way, she didn't go around them, she waited. She searched everywhere twice for my prescription, went back to the computer in between each location, and finally had to ask for help. It had been another seven minutes by the time she found it and ten by the time I was out of there.

The dogs were so hyper they nearly broke my fingers as I was trying to take Mouse off the chain and put Little Miss Piggie Pie on it.

When I took off my brand new earrings, one of them fell apart.

I would say the week got better, but since I woke up at 5 this morning with my third migraine in ten days, I can't. It's not getting worse, that's all.

Book review

Lady Almina And The Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy Of Highclere Castle by The Countess of Carnarvon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The book was interesting, although there were various grammar and spelling usages which threw me out of the narrative. These may just result from a difference between British and American English, so I didn't deduct any mental points. Almina, Countess Carnarvon, was certainly an interesting woman, but I did deduct a point for the marketing strategy of linking her life with a popular television show. The book could have stood on its own merits.



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Pennsylvania House of Criminals

The bare bones:

A Pennsylvania legislator decides PA needs one of those trendy new transvaginal ultrasound laws.

A blogger reads the entire bill, then writes him a letter.

The legislator responds with condescension, obfuscation and the disclosure of his own daughter's medical information.

The long version

Dear...

Grump ringing up my purchases at World Market,

If you don't like people, get a different job.

Opposing counsel,

We're in compliance, you're not. Straighten up!

Collection agency person,

No, I'm not going to prove to you that my boss is someone's guardian so you can serve the ward. Call the nursing home and see if you can get past the staff.

Mail order pharmacy,

You have the checking account information, STOP telling the nursing home staff they can't re-order without a credit card. Assholes.

Dog,

Get your stanky butt off my brand-new pillows.

Other dog,

No people food for puppies in this house. Get used to it.

Love,

MondayJammies

One good Valentine deserves another...

I had to stop at Petsmart tonight to pick up a tag for a client's dog, and there was a very long checkout line, and next to it a bin filled with dog toys for $1.47. So of course I succumbed--the toys were adorable, cheap, and they don't have faces. I brought home two toys, and Mouse went "Meh" and went back to sleep, and Little Miss Piggie Pie went nuts. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.








After Little Miss Piggie Pie had gone crazy, she walked away. Poor Mouse got curious and was left red-pawed with the evidence of the crime. Fortunately, he's got me as a character witness. ;)

She loves me, yeah, yeah, yeah, BLECH!

Valentine's Day is bad enough when it's a daylong reminder that I am a rejected spinster, but it didn't help that my first Valentine of the day was a dead mouse from the dog at oh-dark-hundred!

Oh, well, at least my nails looked pretty and we had a yummy lunch at work, complete with vegan strawberry cake and pitas and homemade snack mix. Of course afterwards, instead of napping my way out of a food coma, I had to help Mom with trial prep, but TANSTAAFL, right?

Happy Valentines to everyone!

Book Review

The Man Who Made Vermeers: Unvarnishing the Legend of Master Forger Han van Meegeren by Jonathan Lopez

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


An intriguing story, a compelling if not particularly likeable subject, crisp writing, elegant language and an author who explains details and concepts without talking down to his reader all made this a wonderful reading experience.



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Book review

The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


Bleah. For a so-called "ghost story," this was terribly boring. The writing is technically proficient, but the characters are two-dimensional placeholders, which makes for absolutely no tension in the scary plot developments. Those plot developments are telegraphed loudly in advance, and there's no leavening humor or humanity to make a reader care enough to be scared on behalf of any of the cardboard figures populating the novel. Throughout the read I was irritated by the use of second person singular for chapters involving the main character, then ticked when the cat was killed for no apparent reason except to demonstrate which "herbalist" was the Big Bad and finally just bored right out of my little fuzzy socks



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Happy Massacre!

When I bought the gingerbread trains for my nephews, I also picked up a gingerbread house for me. Unfortunately, the weekend was just too crazy for me to do anything with it, so it's been sitting in my cupboard for the last two months. When I found out Mom was giving a Valentine's Day talk, I knew what I was going to do with the gingerbread house!







And because Mom mentioned the Valentine's Day Massacre in her talk and I had some extra pieces in the gingerbread house kit, well...

Sick and tired

of being sick and tired. I've had this cold for nine days now, and now when I cough I get a sharp pain in my right side and I can't sleep for more than two hours without coughing. Functioning at work is interesting.

Mouse is doing well, thank heavens. He's eating, he bounces when I come home from work, and he's putting up with Little Miss Piggie Pie's efforts to play with him.

My condolences to Sherri and Jay

who lost their beautiful black and white kitty Ophelia today. I had the pleasure of hosting Ophelia twice, and she was as sweet as she was pretty.

*hugs Sherri and Jay*

Long week

Even with the holiday on Monday, it's been a very long week. I have a nasty sinus infection and a really messy house. Mouse is starting to settle in, although Little Miss is bummed that he's not really interested in playing with her. She's very good about not over-pestering him, though, so yay for that!

The rental company where I used to work put an ad in the paper on Sunday, and I did some soul-searching and some list-making to see if I wanted to apply for the job. Back when I quit, I was specifically told that if I ever wanted to come back, I'd be hired. In the end, though, I remembered how unhappy I was at the end of my time there and decided I'd keep looking.

Hopefully, I can manage to find enough energy to at least do laundry and run the vacuum this weekend.

Mouse is here!

He's absolutely huge, incredibly sweet and pretty needy right now. He's in the spot that has been a refuge for Littlefoot and Little Miss, in the well of my desk. This means I am sitting back from the desk and typing from a very odd position, and I'm thinking this might be a good time to go sit in my recliner, watch "Downton Abbey" on the netbook and stop straining my back!

Mom and I took the boys to Kalahari, a water park in Sandusky, yesterday. It's about 90 minutes from my house, so between that and the seven hours we spent there, it was a long day. Snoopy stopped by in the late morning and let Little Miss outside, and he would have stopped in the evening, but Mom and the boys and I got back early. We discovered that McDonald's milkshakes have gluten, and The Awesome Nacho discovered that he prefers plain hot chocolate to hot chocolate with caramel in it. SuperDoughnut, on the other hand, adored the caramel hot chocolate. Both boys had a wonderful time at the waterpark, and I enjoyed myself, although I didn't feel as though I got much exercise. My biggest victory was not showing how dizzy and sick I felt after riding the big, enclosed waterslide in a 4-person innertube!

I don't know if it's stress, the long day in and out of dryness, heat, cold, etc. or if it's just been incubating for a while, but I have a nasty sinus infection kicking my butt today. Thankfully, Mom took the day off and gave me the day off, and I'm working half-days tomorrow and Thursday, so hopefully I can rest and recover. Mouse has an appointment with his old vet on Thursday, and after that I will take him to my vet for care in the future.

All in all, a good 3-day weekend.