A Tapestry of Spells by Lynn Kurland

A new novel of the Nine Kingdoms. I loved it, except for that darn leave-me-hanging-and-dying-for-the-next-book ending.

I keep telling myself that I don't like fantasy, but I sure like these. In fact, I haven't met a book by Lynn that I didn't like, be it her fantasies, or her romances.

Read about her on her website: lynnkurland.com.

Next time you want to put your feet up by a cozy fire, grab some hot chocolate and one of her books. You'll be transported, and won't want to come back.

It beats Calgon any day.

Civic Duty

Dear Sandy City,

You have been remiss in your road work. I was able to travel unimpeded by a construction project for approximately 500 yards today. I trust you will correct this oversight immediately. 

To date you have far exceeded anyone's expectations on the amount of road work that could be underway at any one time. I do not anticipate any change in those excesses in the foreseeable future; however, should you choose to quickly complete the Wasatch Boulevard project, I'm sure another needy area could be found to replace it in a timely manner.

Sincerely,

A concerned citizen

The view from my front door. Seen now for over two weeks. 

This was in front of our street for over a week. It's taking a while, but they are actually working pretty quickly. They also apologize for the inconvenience on a regular basis.

Some Favorite Restaurant Items

I went to lunch with friends today. We all lived in Kirkland, WA together at some point, and over the years we've all ended up here in Utah. Most of us live in the Salt Lake valley, but there are a couple down in Utah valley. We get together every month and have lunch. Today the food was pretty good, and the company was great. On the drive home I thought of some restaurants I really like.

Cafe Rio is one of those. I'm sure their mild green salsa has some ingredient that my body cannot live without. I have a compulsion to order food items that have that sauce on it. 

Cafe Veloce in Kirkland, Washington has a Pasta Muffaletta that I positively adore. I don't get to Cafe Veloce every time I'm in town, but I sure try to. I fell in love with Pasta Muffaletta at first taste. I have never ordered anything else there. When Ray traveled a lot I would treat myself to take-out Pasta Muffaletta, and save it to eat in solitude after the kids were in bed. The kids call it Stinky Pasta. I call it irresistible.

Pizza Bank Restaurant is only a few blocks from where I lived in Kirkland. It's about a mile from my mom and dad's house. I eat there every time I'm in Kirkland. It used to be a bank, then it was converted into a restaurant. My friend Betty Olcott first introduced me to Pizza Bank, and I've been eating there as often as possible ever since. 

I only order one thing: the beef gyro. I just know there are drugs in that meat. There is something about it that sends me over the moon. My mouth is watering right now, just thinking about it. It's nothing fancy, just some seasoned meat on a pita with a little tomato, onion and tzatziki sauce. But it's to die for. 

...drum roll, please...

The winner of my give-away...

... is Elna!

Congratulations!

I'll mail off the SnackSleeves (or if you have time while you're in town, stop by and get them).

These give-aways are kind of fun. Stay tuned for some more in the future.
I won't wait for another 523 posts.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

I'm still ruminating on this book. I held off writing about it until after my book group discussion, hoping that would help clarify my feelings on the book.

I'm not sure anything was clarified except my relief that most of the others felt the way I did about the book. I think I can summarize in three sections.

Section 1 (roughly half of the book): What??
There were so many words I did not know that I was frustrated. I don't know the last time I had to have a dictionary next to me as I read. The reviewer of the book handed out a list--with definitions--of frequently used words in the book that most people don't know. I wish I'd had it before I read the book. I almost gave up. In fact, if it weren't a book group book, I would have given up.

Section 2 (the rest of the book until the last ten pages): Aaahhh
Finally, some concise writing that flowed easily, with great wit, and blossoming characters. The story picks up and gathers momentum, which was badly needed by that point.

Section 3 (the last 10 pages): What!!
I can't say anymore. I don't want to give away the ending.

There are gems throughout the book. Most of the gems in the first half are buried, but you can find them. The second half they are more obvious. The last ten pages burst with gems.

I'm still ambivalent. At times I really liked parts of the book. Other times I forced myself to read it, and I wonder, do I have the time or inclination to do that when there are so many other books out there? I can imagine this is a book that might "speak" to some people. For whatever reason - things going on in my life right now, or just my personal preferences - it only whispered to me.

523

I have a thing for numbers. 

Not math, numbers. 

I love odd numbers. 

I absolutely adore prime numbers. 

And, if the numbers within a number add or subtract to equal odd numbers, even better.

For example, my birthday falls on the  25th.

It's a glorious number.

2+5=7 (my lucky number)

5-2=3 (my second lucky number)

Plus, I was born in an odd numbered month, and an odd numbered year.

What could be better than that?

Today could be your lucky day. I was checking some details on blogger, and discovered that this post will be my 523rd post. Not only is 523 an odd number, it's also a prime number. To celebrate that fact, I'm  having a give-away. My first ever. 

I'm giving away this set of two SnackSleeves. I made them, and they are reusable snack containers. (You may use them however you want.) They are washable and lined with rip-stop nylon. My daughter Debra uses hers all the time for my adorable granddaughters, her terrific husband, and her sensational self. 

SnackSleeve

The pattern can be found here on Etsy. You can read more about the SnackSleeve at agreensleeve.com.

Here's how to enter: make a comment (only one) on this post. That's it. You have until Friday, October 1 at midnight. Then I'll do a random selection and the winner will receive the SnackSleeves shown above.

Who knows? Maybe 523 will be your new lucky number!

First Kiss

Friday, September 26, 1975.  After class we hiked up to the Y on the mountain. What a fantastic view.

We hurried back to the dorms, changed clothes quickly and went to the volleyball game. The BYU Mens team was playing the 1976 US Olympic team in an exhibition match. 

After the game we went for a walk. We ended up at this tree. Only at that time instead of the bench there was a long branch that lay where the bench is now (the branch was attached to the tree). It was worn smooth, and was just right for a couple to sit on.

BYU Campus, near the arboretum

Thirty five years ago today. That's where it all began.

Summer of '85

Note: these photos were scanned in from our photo albums. Please bear in mind that baby books/photo albums/scrapbooks have evolved a few times over the years. These are old, and pictures were sometimes cut into interesting shapes. That's just the way it was. Styles have changed, just like the fashions we wear. So, you may chuckle to yourself, or roll your eyes, but no overtly making fun is allowed. At least not in front of me, or Elna.

August 1985. Our little family lived in Santa Monica. Okay, it was really West L.A., but Santa Monica sounds nicer, and it was only a few streets away. 

The Clarks lived in Carpinteria. 

We tried to get together as often as possible. Our stars aligned in August of 1985: Ray's parents and siblings who were still at home or not married went on an extensive road trip through much of the United States. They were gone the entire month. Elna's family (the Clarks) and our family stayed in Camarillo at Mom and Dad's and house-sat. 

Elna is Ray's sister. Four of her six children match up perfectly with my four children. At that time, however, there were only four Clark children, and two Linford children. Elna was pregnant with Samuel, and I was pregnant with Ray O. (they were born two weeks apart in December).

That month was a party. We ate French Dip sandwiches on a regular basis, swam in the pool and played in the yard every day. I have nothing but the fondest memories of that time. 

Audrey and Debra

Top to bottom and oldest to youngest: Joseph, Matthias, Lucy, Audrey, David, and Debra

David and Debra (both are about 27 months old)

Lucy and Audrey (both just a little over 4 years old)

Early on, Elna and I made an executive decision to avoid all but the most necessary housework and yard work until Mom and Dad came home. We figured that at the end we'd work hard for a few days, but in the meantime, like I said, it was a party.  One day Ray's grandmother stopped by and was horrified at the condition of the yard. She told us "Joanne [Ray's mother] would never have her yard like this. You need to get it in shape." We assured her that it would be taken care of.

Ray's parents' home at the time was on a half acre lot. The landscaping was beautiful, and usually immaculate. They had only been in that home for about a year at that time. Finally the time came to clean up. The grass must have been six inches tall. The flower beds looked more like "weed beds".

Ray cleaned the interior of the house - all the bathrooms, and mopped all those tile floors throughout the house. Elna mowed the lawn. I weeded the flower beds. (Perhaps that's when I began to detest that job.) The grass was so long that Elna had to empty the grass catcher on the mower each row. Then she would take the garden hose and hose herself off. Then another row. I weeded so long and hard that I couldn't stand up at the end of the day. Remember - we were both over 5 months pregnant. We worked like dogs for three days.

Side note: One of those days was my 10 year class reunion. I was so exhausted I did not want to go, but we had paid in advance, so we went anyway. Ray and I walked in, got our food from the buffet, I said Hi to about 10 people, and we left. I think we stayed about 30 minutes.

We did it. Mom and Dad arrived home, and everything was ship-shape. Would I do it again? Yes, I'd play for a month. We had so much fun! But I would keep up on the yard better, a little bit each day. Do I regret how we did it? Not at all. I still laugh about it. I can't say enough what a great time we had that month.

This morning Ray and I worked in the yard. It has gotten out of hand these last few weeks. It made me think of working in the yard that August of '85. Our yard is not that bad. Yet. This time I'm not going to let it get that bad.

I have learned a thing or two in the last 25 years.