Blog Comments

Most bloggers love comments. What they also love is to be able to reply to the comments they get. It's disappointing when I try to reply, and no-reply comes up as the email address.

It took me a long time to figure out how to change that for myself, and I ran into this quick little tutorial on how to do it:

No Reply at Pleasant Hill

Just click on that link, and it will tell you how to do it. It is about a 30 second process. It will be fun for you to know the comment you made was read and appreciated. Just like it's fun for me to be able to reply to comments.

I Still Dream About You by Fannie Flagg

Fannie Flagg caught me with Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, and I've enjoyed her books ever since. Some I liked better than others, but I liked them all.

I Still Dream About You is just what I needed to read right now. I was hooked on the story from the very beginning, and it made me giggle. Like I said, just what I need.

It all concludes pretty quickly, but that was okay for me this time. The epilogue wraps up all the loose ends, neat and tidy. Also what I need right now.

If you're looking for something to relieve your boredom, distract you from your cares, or is just plain fun, try this book.

Baby Quilt

Michael and Lindsey are having a baby any day now. In fact, she's due on my birthday. I secretly waved my magic wand in hopes that she'd be born on my birthday. It's such a great day to have a birthday! I went to a baby shower this afternoon, and gave her this quilt that I whipped up this week (it pays to have some fun fabric in your stash).

Completed: January 21, 2011
Size: 36 inches by 45 inches
Pattern: Roman Squares

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

We went to see The Glass Menagerie last night. I haven't seen it in years and years. I kind of recall seeing it performed on television - maybe CBS Playhouse or something like that - with someone(s) famous. We usually see musicals or more comedic fare than Tennessee Williams. So what did I think of it?

Wow. I was lost (in a good way) in the language. Beautiful, concise, writing that I savored. In a way I wanted my DVR so I could go back and replay choice bits. But of course the beauty of the performance is that it is a play.  And I thought the acting was good.

If you live in the Salt Lake area, I recommend it. It's playing at the Grand Theatre (the former South High, now SLCC campus). Tickets are cheap, and last night the theatre was nearly empty. Too bad, because it is well worth seeing.

Sunrise

This was the view from my desk Tuesday morning at about 6:45 a.m. Those are the Oquirrh Mountains across  the Salt Lake valley from me. This picture doesn't really do it justice - it was truly beautiful.

A nice way to start the day.

Green Hornet (and Kato) in 3D

My first 3D movie ever. The 3D was fun, and spending the time with Ray was fun. The movie was so-so. I had higher expectations than what I watched, and those expectations were fairly low. For one, the language was unnecessarily bad. No f-bombs, but plenty of other gratuitous cursing flying around. It was off-putting for me. The story was okay. I felt like the action movies and remakes I saw last summer were a lot more fun.

The real bummer is that we paid full price. We usually see a matinee, but I've just had too much going on. So we went last night.

A Holiday Yarn by Sally Goldenbaum

Another Seaside Knitters Mystery. Light, fun, the last of the three holiday books I bought on a whim.

I left it for my sister to read. We pass mysteries back and forth, and double our reading potential.

The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

I never do this, but here is the summary of the book from the Salt Lake County Library website:


Martha Carrier was one of the first women to be accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live. Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to stand together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that led to the torture and imprisonment of more than 200 people accused of witchcraft. This is the story of Martha's courageous defiance and ultimate death, as told by the daughter who survived.


This doesn't really give away the story, because from the very first you know where the book is headed.

I found the book compelling. Perhaps because a couple of years ago we visited Salem, Massachusetts. We saw a very short play - really more of a sketch -  of one of the witch trials, then walked through a "restored" jail, or prison of the time. In my mind's eye, I could picture the situation as I was reading the book. It made it come to life for me.

In this day and age we wonder how those witch trials could ever even have taken place. I can't imagine how it would feel to live with the fear that the wrong word to the wrong person could bring you to trial.  Let us remember, and not let that happen again.

Another Bartell Drug memory

Several years ago I was preparing for a getaway with my book club. We were headed for a few days in Leavenworth, with too much good food, lots of laughter, fun games, and talk, talk talk, which are all what we do best.

I needed to pick up a few things at Safeway and Bartell, and invited Beth to come along. Once we arrived, I sent her into Safeway to get started there, and I ran into Bartell Drugs for a couple of items. I told her I'd meet her in Safeway when I was done. I finished at Bartell, hopped in the car, and drove home.

About half an hour later, the phone rang, and it was for Beth. I searched high and low for her in the house, wondering where in the world she could be. I popped my head into Ray's office and asked him if he knew where she was. He had no idea. Just as I started to tell her friend that I didn't know where she was, I remembered. I yelled, "Holy Cow!!" and hung up the phone without saying goodbye. I drove over to Safeway and dashed in the store. I spied Beth wandering the aisles, looking for me. Adopting a casual approach, I asked if she was done yet.

The accusation came as Beth looked me straight in the eye: "You forgot me, didn't you?"

She still hasn't let me live that down.

Bartell Drugs

I'm in Kirkland, Washington right now, helping to get my parents ready to move to Utah and live in an assisted living place right by me. I can't wait for them to be there, but given their mental health (my mom has Alzheimer's, my dad some dementia), it's a little hard on them. They are doing remarkably well, though, and we're getting a lot done. I go back home this weekend, stay home for a week, then come back to do the actual move the week after that. January will be a busy month!

Meanwhile, I'm enjoying some of my favorite things around my old stomping grounds. Bartell Drugs is one of those favorites. Bartell's is a local chain, and I have fun every time I walk into the store. It's the next best thing to a truly old fashioned drug store. 

 There are a few things I can only find there - like Conair's hot roller clips. Not that I use them right now, but I've used them in the past, and might need them in the future.

Yesterday when I was there, I discovered these, and I had to buy one.



But my all time favorite buy at Bartell is my one candy bar indulgence: Milky Way Dark (not regular Milky Way)

I mean, who can resist this:

The Thief by Megan Whelan Turner

Excellent book. My sister-in-law highly recommended it, so I knew it would be great. It's a Newbery Honor book, and it well deserves the prize. A well written, captivating story, it distracted me from not feeling well. When I wasn't asleep, I was reading this, and couldn't put it down.

There are a few books that follow this, so I'm off and running on a new series. We'll see how it holds up.

I don't like to really tell what a book is about - I figure there are synopses out there for anyone to look at , plus I hate giving away too much of a story.

An Irish Country Village by Patrick Taylor

I've now caught up to having read the first three books. I've enjoyed this series quite a bit - nothing exciting, but fun reads.

There are two more out there waiting for me - An Irish Country Girl, and An Irish Country Courtship - but I'm not going to jump into them right away. I'll put them on my list of "get to in the next little while" books, and read them when I'm in the mood for that kind of read.

I love it when I discover a new author I can enjoy.

Happy New Year

The plan:
1. Review last years goals, set new realistic goals for this year.
2. Briefly post those goals.

The reality:
1. A stomach virus.
2. Next week I'll take time to review, etc.

I hope this is not a sign of how the year will go. I am determined to up and around, full force, by Monday. All my fingers and toes are crossed.