So it's winter time and we're hunkering down for an Arctic Blast coming our way. An Arctic Blast here in Atlanta means that temps will be around 14 F when we get up tomorrow morning. Cold enough that I'm considering letting little d stay home from school.
But, the upside of winter, for me, means more reading! I finished Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides; I listened to it as I sewed my SIL's curtains, and I'm sure to associate them with this story from now on. I didn't expect to like this book - I thought it was going to be lurid at best, salacious at worst. But it really drew me in as a multi-generational family epic.
One of the new questions we ask now at bookclub is "Who would play x character in a film?" I didn't really think of actors, as much as the fact that this wouldn't really be a feature film...more like a Lifetime Miniseries. But I still enjoyed it.
I have finished the last (#8) of the Sookie Stackhouse books, and am eagerly awaiting the next installment.
I've just picked up The Reader by Bernhard Schlink, and since it IS a feature film now, I'm imagining Kate Winslet as the lead female. That was easy!
I've mentioned here before, I think, that I try to stay away from Oprah books, so I'm kind of suprised that I'm reading two in a row, but this came on good recommendation.
Happy Reading!

Delurking Day!

So I hear that today is Delurking Day 2009...come on out of the shadows, y'all!

Don't have much to say today...but I DID finish a portion of the massive sewing project I volunteered to do for my SIL. (Curtains for 3 rooms plus a duvet cover...I'm completely insane.)

I decided to tackle the kitchen curtains since it's a pattern I've done before, and I thought it would make a big impact - which it did. We're all really happy with them:





The best part is that this was the most complicated pattern, and it only took 4 hours (2 hours over 2 evenings) to make!

2008 Wrap-up

Update from the last post: Eric's commander ok'd his extended leave and they'll be in the air on January 8th, after Amy's post-op visit on the 7th. Hurray for sympathetic military dudes! Also, hurray for Northwest Airlines for changing their tickets (they just HAVE to remember to show the dr's note, otherwise they'll have to pay $500 in change fees!)

We had a great Christmas, especially since this is the first one little d's built up excitement for in the days leading up to The Unwrapping of the Toys! But honestly, we did so much visiting and hosting that I was too pooped to party last night and ended up snoozing on the sofa between the hours of 8 and 10! But, I DID wake up in time to watch some idiot on a motorcycle:



Also, I've volunteered to sew my SIL's curtains for her kitchen...I'm hoping they'll be finished by the end of the weekend, and I'll post photos after they're up.

I have introduced little d to the best film EVER: The Sound of Music. I am so happy that he's enjoying it. We're only watching it in small increments and it's holding his attention very well. My heart was full when his said that he wanted to go play with those kids. "He gets it! He really gets it!" (sobs a little)

I've been reading/listening to audio books quite a lot (oh wonderful, wonderful Christmas break!) My annual Agatha Christie , because nothing says Christmas like a British murder. An Anne Tyler (not her best work), #7 in Sookie Stackhouse Vampire series, and Middlesex (Oprah, why oh why do I keep falling into your snare of weird books?)

And, last but not least, spending entirely inappropriate amounts of time on Facebook.

Oh yeah, and spending time with Big D and little d.

Hope you enjoy your last few days of vacation!

A Christmas Medical Drama

My sister and her husband are in the US from Germany for the month of December, and we had planned for them to stay with us this past Saturday & Sunday night. They arrived about 8:00 Saturday evening (after a wedding they went to). We had a fun time...little d was infatuated with "Uncle Eric". Told him he likes the way he smells, said he looks like the lead male in Transformers, and asked if he was Eric from The Little Mermaid!
Big D took little d to bed, and I stayed up until a little after midnight chatting with Amy & Eric, and then went upstairs to bed, myself. (Our guest bedroom is in the basement).
So, Sunday, Amy wakes up after a loooong night in the bathroom (enough said) and said she's been sick all night, thinks she may have food poisoning, and just thinks they'll head back up to Mom's house.
"GREAT!", I thought, "we're going to be infested with a stomach virus right at Christmas. Just great!" But of course I coddled her and gave her Gatorade, and barf bags, and crackers for the hour ride home. They'd hardly left the driveway before I was disinfecting the basement and spraying Lysol like a maniac.

Later that evening, she's still no better, and her stomach is cramping terribly, and her new husband decided she needed to go to the ER. Now we're not the ER type of family. You basically have to be missing a limb for that kind of drastic action, but luckily, Eric's not like us!

Because: Amy had to have her APPENDIX out! Who knew?

She's doing great, and home from the hospital today, but it'll delay their (or at least her) trip back to Germany by about a week and a half. Eric is talking to his superior officer to see if his leave can be extended. I hope so!

Heli-bummer

The last few days have been a bit of an emotional roller-coaster...well, maybe not roller-coaster, maybe just slightly scary mountain road.

A couple of weeks ago Big D found a great deal on a heli-skiing trip, and since he's always wanted to try it in Alberta, Canada (kinda sorta near Calgary) we decided that could be his Christmas present. What's heli-skiing, you ask? Oh, it's no big deal...you just ride to the top of a mountain in a helicopter, jump out of said helicopter, and procede to ski down the afore-mentioned mountain.




Anyway, I've been a) excited for him that he's getting to go; b) smug that I'm such a cool and understanding wife; c) annoyed that I'm left to finish Christmas preparations by myself; d) scared that Big D will die in a avalanche.



So, today was travel day, and the issue of the passport (his: expired) was no biggie since he'd read on the State Department webiste & spoken to a few people on the phone, that he could just bring his old passport and his driver's license and/or birth certificate and he'd be good to go.

Unfortunately, the people at the airlines hadn't read the memo, and wouldn't let him board the plane in his connecting city of Salt Lake City, UT. So, that told him they'd let him fly to Spokane, WA, and maybe he could board a greyhound to Calgary. Looks pretty close on the map, but in Greyhound time, it would be a 30 HOUR trip.

So he's heading home tomorrow...poor Big D. But I told him maybe this is a blessing...maybe he WOULD have been badly hurt or worse heli-skiing.

Bottom line: I'm bummed out for him, but happy he's on his way home tomorrow. (Plus he's already taken vacation days at work...he can just hang out with us!)

A little bummed out

little d has been super-excited about going home from school today with his little buddy. The buddy came over to play one day last week, and so for a week little d's been talking about going over to buddy's house.

But I just got a text from buddy's mom, who has a migraine, and can't entertain today.

I'm so sad for little d...I'm trying to think of something a little special to do with him this afternoon.

For your musical enjoyment

I was driving around this morning, and popped in the soundtrack from the movie Singles, and listened to Paul Westerberg's "Dyslexic Heart" 3 times! So when I looked up the video on YouTube I found an unexpected gem: Jeremy Piven (aka: Ari on Entourage) dancing like a total dork.

Enjoy...and relive the early 90's! : )