on a less grouchy note...

The good stuff:

*Several inches of the fluffy white cover the ground for one of the few times in this very, very bizarre winter.

*Ana's truly gorgeous post on Mrs Whatsit from A Wrinkle of Time. Just gave me that totally warm and cozy feeling.

*These two:

*And these two:

Lucky feels the need to groom everyone these days. (Though Max is definitely his favorite.) Baker isn't thrilled, but is always a good sport and puts up with it. :)











*A whole day ahead with nothing on the schedule but homeschooling planning/prep. Will hopefully at least be ready to start the next quarter tomorrow, even if I don't get as far ahead as I'd like.

*Am reading so many varied, and satisfying on one level or another, books at the moment (Hiroshima, Epic, and Cane Toads and Other Rogue Species to name a few).

*Dean's Beans coffee is just such a good (and necessary) way to start the day.

*Having kept up (so far!) with my goal of reading an essay, a poem, and a short story every week this year. (Even if I did forget to post about it last week.)

*My warm and comfy fleece polar bear pj pants.

*Getting even more excited about putting in new gardens when we move, thanks to posts like Chris's. Heck, he's always getting me exciting about gardening. His enthusiasm makes me smile hugely. :D

*Starting this for Annie's birthday. Hopefully will even finish it in time. (If not, there's always next year, right? :P )

*Jean's promise to come visit this summer. :D

*Phineas and Ferb. What can I say, it never fails to make me laugh.

*My bread machine. Think I need to whip up a loaf of Italian Herb Bread for supper. Mmmmm...

*It's the last day of January. This means that barring tragic and unforeseen events, we've only got one month left until we move. :D

...Okay, tis almost time to take the littlest munchkin to the bus stop, and then I will need to buckle down and dive back into the homeschool groove (Gray is taking full advantage of his 4-day weekend and likely won't wake until noon, and Annie is off at MCC taking classes today)...but it was nice remembering that the good things in my life really do outnumber the bad...

just whining...please ignore me...

Homeschool planning and prep is sucking the frickin' life out of me...Fibro is kicking my ass, and my thighs, and my neck, and my shoulders, and my back, and my upper arms, and...Our plumbing estimate (though we don't even have an exact number yet) has sent me into shock...

Okay. Good to get that out of my system. Hope to return tomorrow in a less grouchy state of mind...

tidbits...

*Was supposed to have a doctor's appointment today. Car would not start. Battery stone cold dead. Felt horrible calling to reschedule at the last minute like that, but they were very understanding. Even told me I didn't have to pay the fee for late cancellation.

*Spring semester started for Rich and Annie. (Well, not for Annie's at-home classes--we start our third quarter on Feb. 1st.) At the community college, Annie's taking a health course called Emotional Wellness, Precalculus Mathematics with Analytic Geometry, and Literature of the Holocaust. Bet you can guess which class she's most looking forward to, huh? (At home, we'll be continuing with Biology, doing a half-year of Phys Ed, and starting a class on U.S. History Since 1945, which we'll be continuing with next fall.)

*Meeting with a plumbing contractor at the house we're buying on Friday. Am ridiculously scared to find out what kind of estimate we're going to get for all the work that needs done. But I sort of figure knowing the size of this price tag is a better kind of stress than not knowing.

*Have so many ideas for projects for our soon-to-be new-to-us home. Am going to concentrate on one room at a time. First up will be the dining area...well, not counting the bathroom which needs help beyond our piddly DIY skills. Starting with the dining area, partly because it's pretty much the first thing you see once you walk in the house from the sunroom, and partly because I just have it pictured so well in my imagination. I couldn't resist getting started. I had an image in my head of placemats I wanted to make...but I couldn't find a pattern anywhere that was quite like what I wanted. So I decided to just come up with my own pattern.

And I must say, I'm thrilled with how they're coming out. It took some playing around to get the pattern of stitches correct so they would lay flat, but it wasn't too difficult overall. Each one is going to be done in the same colors, but the order of the colors is going to be different for each one. Figured why not--our chairs are all mismatched and so are our dishes. :P (I also plan on making coordinating coasters.)

I'm thinking about making DIY posts for some of the projects we do. Which I realize likely won't interest anyone, but I'd kind of like to have a chronicle for myself of bringing our dream house to life.

*Just want to wish dear Heather a very happy birthday one more time before the day's is out. Happy Birthday!!!

You know, January has produced some amazingly awesome people...in addition to Heather, there's Ana and Renay and Jason...yep, I think I just gained a much greater respect for January as a month after this realization. :)

end of week hodge-podgey wrap-up #2

Project Life:

Week Two complete! :D

*****
New-to-me words:

*sigil-a sign or image supposedly having magic powers (from Epic by Conor Kostick

*allogrooming-another term for social grooming among animals (from Guide to the Planet by Matthew Murrie and Steve Murrie)

*****
Music from Ana:

This past week's song from Ana's list from my happiness project was Edward is Dedward by Emmy the Great. My thoughts jotted down throughout the week:

*Already knew I loved her voice. Just more confirmation.

*This is one of those love-at-first-listen songs. And one which I suspect will only become more loved with more listenings.

*Okay. This song is breaking my heart. It's beautiful. Just feels so fucking real. So real. So sad. So beautiful.

*I think the lack of "sentimental" makes it more loving than anything else could ever be. (That probably makes no sense outside of my head.)

*Does it sound weird to say that I think this is one of the most beautifully written songs ever?

*I know this sort of thing changes an a weekly/daily/hourly basis, but right now, Edward is Dedward is my favorite song.

*Another day, and it's again my favorite song.

*Note: I wasn't able to find this song to download, but instead repeatedly listened to it through this youtube video:



(Project progress: Happiness project, Ana's list of songs, Item 2-Edward is Dedward by Emmy the Great)

*****
This week's mini reads:

Essay-
"Rendezvous 8: Lemurs, Bushbabies and Their Kin" and "The Aye-Aye's Tale" from The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins. I enjoyed this one profusely. And not just because he quoted from Last Chance to See, one of my favorite books ever. :P (And I must thank you again, dear Ana for introducing me to it!) Anyway, this is where we meet Concestor 8, the grand ancestor of all primates. Mostly what we get a look at is the uniqueness of Madagascar. As Dawkins puts it "The Aye-Aye's Tale is about Madagascar, textbook showcase of biogeographical natural experiments...."

Short story-
"The Protectionist" by Meg Cabot. Again, from What You Wish For. And again, a first-time-for-me author. Okay, I have to say that I ended up really liking this one. And it was one of those times when I didn't realize it until the end. I mean, I was enjoying it as I read, but it wasn't until I'd shut the book that it hit me how much I enjoyed this story. That seldom happens, but when it does it's just the neatest little gift. Does this ever happen to anyone else?
I don't want to say too much about the story in case anyone goes on to read these book, but suffice it to say that the main character is...well, quirky. His heroes are an early 20th century economist and a BMX extreme athlete. And he's a bully target. But it turns out he's not immune from making surface judgments of his own...

Poem-
"The Herbalist's Nightshade Song" by Katrina Vandenberg (from Atlas). It took a few readings for this one to grow on me...but grow on me it did. In fact, it's one of my favorites from the collection, and believe me, that's saying something...

(Project progress: Misc. Projects--Read one short story a week, Read one essay a week, and Read one poem a week)

lookie what I got...

A Moving Fairy!!! Is she not the cutest stinkin' thing ever?!!! (And truthfully, she's even more adorable in person--my camera seems to have washed out her colors a bit.)

Thank you, thank you, thank you Care! She is going to be our little good-luck-smooth-sailing-all-the-way-put-a-smile-on-my-face Moving Fairy!!!

Okay, me and my fairy are off to pack a few more boxes...

The Fault in Our Stars...*totally* random thoughts...

*I realize even voicing this thought could bring threats of bodily harm, but I have to admit I was getting a bit sick of all the hype over pre-ordering and signed copies and blah, blah, blah. But thankfully, the minute I cracked open my pre-ordered, signed in purple, copy of the book and started reading, I viscerally remembered how much I love the mind of John Green.

*John Green chooses the. best. names. for his characters. Hazel Grace. Sheesh, I want to have another child just so I can name her Hazel Grace! Or Augustus. But especially Hazel Grace.

*Why does Hazel have to take classes at MCC?!! I know how stupid this sounds, but every time "MCC" is mentioned, I get pulled out of the story because that's the name of the school where Rich teaches/Annie takes classes.

*A bit that made me cringe a little:

...It was kind of a boy movie. I don't know why boys expect us to like boy movies. We don't expect them to like girl movies.... (p. 35)

*One of many, many, many brilliant bits:

...I guess I had been looking toward the Encouragement above the TV, a drawing of an angel with the caption Without Pain, How Could We Know Joy?

(This is an old argument in the field of Thinking About Suffering, and its stupidity and lack of sophistication could be plumbed for centuries, but suffice it to say that the existence of broccoli does not in any way affect the taste of chocolate. (p. 35)

*Page 90: First tears shed. Sweet tears.

*Page 98: Shed first throat-on-fire-from-trying-not-to-cry tears.

*My guess is that nearly everyone's life has been in one way, shape, or form been touched by cancer. In many ways, shapes, and forms. I have never personally had cancer. I can't pretend to know what it is like. And of course, there is no universal this-is-what-it's-like-to-have-cancer. Yet while acknowledging all of that, I can't help but believe that John Green somehow managed to get it right. I don't know for a fact, but I'm guessing there are at least bits and pieces that many teens with cancer can relate to in Hazel's and Augustus's and Isaac's stories. I wish I could ask my cousin Dee, but I can't because she died of leukemia when we were teens. I can't count how many times this book has made me think, "Was this how you felt, Dee?"

*I really like Hazel's parents.

*Page 245: First all out sobbing.

*So I just finished reading. As in just. As in I'm typing through tears. Tears that hurt. But also tears that love. Tears that hope. Tears that feel gratitude for...well, for many things. I don't know what to say about this book that could ever convey what a beautiful treasure it is. This seems profoundly absurd to me, but if I had to choose my three favorite books of fiction that I've read in the last twelve months, they would very likely be A Monster Calls, Two Weeks With the Queen, and The Fault in Our Stars. Why does this seem absurd? Because each of these books deals with cancer. But see, that's not it. That's not what makes them so profound. They're aren't wonderful simply because they rip your heart out and leave you sobbing. No, not one of them uses cancer as an easy way to loosen the tear ducts of its readers. No, what got to me, what won my heart over, was the truths that each of these books told in their own special way. Not truths about cancer. But truths about love. About people loving people in so many different ways. About the truths that seem too hard to admit but make us human. About the truths of loneliness. And the truths of being understood.

*I love this book.

(Project progress: 50x50, Item 8 from #40-Read a book set in each of the 50 states [this one was Indiana]
AND 2012 unofficial-for-me reading challenges, What's in a Name 5, category 2-a book with something you'd see in the sky in its title)

you'd think I'd learn...

Not to assume, that is. How many freakin' times do I have to have my assumptions proved wrong before I quit making them in the first place?!!

This time around--I assumed I wouldn't like a particular movie. The Village. I remember when it first came out, and I wanted nothing to do with it. Well, Chris "assigned" me this movie for my happiness project. He was even so kind as to send me the movie! On top of all that, Annie had been dying to watch it. So on Friday night when Rich hauled the boys off to go ice skating, I decided the time had come. Annie and I had a mini girls' night. We popped it in...and much to my surprise, I was immediately taken with it. Slightly confused at first, but very intrigued. And wow. I totally ended up loving this movie!

Far-fetched? Maybe so, but I loved it anyway. :)

The only downside: Every time I see M. Night Shyamalan's name, I am reminded of the whitewashing of The Last Airbender. This still greatly saddens me. :(

Anyway, thank you so much, Chris!!! I really did know deep down that you wouldn't steer me wrong! :D God, I love this happiness project. :D

(Project progress: Happiness project, Chris's list of movies/TV shows, Item 32-The Village)

tidbits...

*This past week+ has sucked me dry. It has been stressful x 10,000. It has been aggravating, frustrating, infuriating. And it has also been ridiculously exciting. But last evening, we seem to have reached the practical end of this leg of the moving journey. There are still a few i's to dot and t's to cross, but essentially it appears that we shall be selling this house and buying another on February 29th.

*I have not yet learned to give fibromyalgia its due respect. I don't blame myself for having this condition, but I must take the blame for not managing it very well. I hurt. I hurt. I hurt. And I'm tired of not having my brain in functioning order.

*I finally finished a project I've been working on...and I want so much to share a picture but I must wait until the intended recipient gets it. So hope it makes you smile as much as it makes me smile, intended recipient!

*The Fault in Our Stars is surpassing all expectations. I shall probably finish it today, which makes me both happy and very very sad.

*Nervous as hell to see what the engineer's inspection report will reveal. I suspect it will be novel-sized. :P Yeah, we know the house we're buying has problems! Despite this, we're so freakin' excited about it. The house definitely has character--and yes, you can take that in both the positive and the negative connotations. Besides actual problems, there is much, much, much redecorating to be done...but that's the part I love, making it our own. I know it will be an exceedingly slow process, but that's okay. (Ana, I can't help but think of you whenever I picture the currently existing purple dining room...and for this reason, I will be sad to change it.)

*After a wonderful long weekend of frigid temperatures and snow, we're headed back to unseasonably warm temperatures in the low 40s for a few days. I so hope it doesn't melt all the snow. Has this been the freakiest winter or what?!!

end of week hodge-podgey wrap-up #1

Project Life:

Week one of our 2012 Project Life. I am determined to follow through for the entire year this go round. Determined. And I've accepted that that means most weeks will look much like this. As in very plain, very simple, little or no eye candy. That's okay. Sure, I wish I had time to beautify and play, but that's not in the cards right now.

*****
New-to-me words:

*vorpal-deadly (from Epic by Conor Kostick)

*polymorphism-the simultaneous existence, in a population, of two or more alternative versions of a gene, where neither is rare enough to be just a recent mutant (from The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins)

*augury-an omen or portent (from Epic by Conor Kostick)

*****
Music from Ana:

I love, positively love, every single one of the lists I asked my friends to make me for my happiness project. But the list of songs from Ana is just so incredibly special to me. I can't really even put into words why. For one thing, you'd all think me utterly sappy and sentimental if I tried to explain.

Anyway, I am utterly unqualified to talk about music. I don't even have the vocabulary for it. So when I talk about the song I spent the week experiencing, it will not be in any polished or knowledgeable way. It will simply be the random notes I jotted down during the week. Interesting to no one but myself, I'm sure. And maybe Ana.

So...this week's song was "Vesuvius" by Sufjan Stevens.

*Whoa. This is so different from what I was expecting. Not different as in "bad." But different. I'm not quite sure if I like this or not. Am eager to spend more time with it finding out.

*Decided to pull up the lyrics and read along while I listened this time. Glad I did. After reading through with this song once, I'm no longer catching myself just trying to understand a word here or there. I hate being jarred out of a song's flow when I do that.

*Love that I now know how to pronounce his name! (The living in a cave thing rears its ugly head yet again.)

*This song is definitely growing on me. More and more with every listening.

*I can't believe I've gone from not even knowing if I liked this song to totally loving it. Makes me wonder how many songs I've written off without even giving them a fair shot.

(Project progress: Happiness Project, Ana's list of songs, Item 1-Vesuvius by Sufjan Stevens)

*****
This week's mini reads:

Short story-
"Pearl's Fateful Wish" by Jeanne DuPrau. As with last week's story, this one came from What You Wish For: Stories and Poems for Darfur. And like last week's story, I'm just sort of meh about it. It's not that I dislike it by any means...but it definitely didn't wow me in any way, shape, or form. I'm wondering if part of my problem so far with this book is a matter of my own faulty expectations. This book was displayed in the teen section of the bookstore, and yet these first two stories read much more like stories aimed at younger kids. Don't get me wrong, I love middle grade fiction! But I think in this case I was just caught off guard because I was mistakenly expecting something else. I've still got high hopes for the rest of the collection though--both because of adjusting my outlook and because there are some pretty amazing authors still to come.

Poem-
"Wishes" by Jane Yolen. Also from What You Wish For. It wasn't my plan to read this this week, but when I saw that the next selection in the book was a poem instead of a short story, I just couldn't stop myself. And I'm glad I didn't. I've actually read "Wishes" a number of times now...I love it. I really really love it. I'd hoped to be able to find it online so I could share it here, but I didn't have any luck. :(

Essay-
"Rendezvous 7: Tarsiers" from The Ancestor's Tale. This one was much shorter than last week's, and for me, much easier to read. We meet up with Concestor 7, and we learn about the tarsiers and their very large eyes.

(Project progress: Misc. Projects--Read one short story a week, Read one essay a week, and Read one poem a week)

a bit of babble...

I was so proud of myself for the first handful of days there at the start of January...I felt like I finally had my act together when it came to blogging--I was keeping up, for the most part anyway, with blog reading and commenting and was even doing okay posting myself. What's that saying--pride cometh before the fall? Yep, that seems to be me. :P

The last several days have been a roller-coaster of emotions. Stress bursting through the eyeballs. But then what did I realistically expect from the whole process of selling/buying/moving etc. I thought I was prepared...but I wasn't. The twists and turns and ups and downs of the last five days have just about done me in. (That's only a slight exaggeration.) And where do we stand now? Well, we've accepted an offer on our house (after many backs and forths). The engineer's inspection is tomorrow, and if nothing from that report makes the buyer change her mind, we'll be closing on or before Feb. 29th. I keep telling myself that this is a good thing. It *is* a good thing. It's what I've been eagerly wishing to have happen for so long now. But. We have nowhere to go. Nowhere. We decided that the property we were madly in love with was just too much of a risk. For a lot of reasons. We just didn't think we could realistically deal with all the stress that place would bring on any number of fronts. We're viewing another property later this afternoon. We have high hopes...but we also know that high hopes can lead to big disappointments. In the meantime, we keeping our eyes pealed for some really big cardboard boxes--though I doubtful that they come large enough to house a family of five along with the menagerie.

Anyway. Being my "year of just because," I'm trying not worry about the blogging thing. But that doesn't mean I don't miss it...

mini readings...random thoughts

The first week of this new year is nearly gone already. Time--will you please slow the f*ck down already?!! Sheesh.

One of my hopes for the new year is to read at least one short story, one essay, and one poem each week. I don't want to call these goals, because that might lead to this being a stressful "oh crap, I failed at yet something else" kind of thing. And that is so not what I want.

I'm doing this (or hoping to, anyway) both because I truly enjoy this kind of reading and don't do nearly enough of it and because I have so many books of short stories, essays, and poetry started and it would feel good to actually finish some of them.

With the first week about to come to end, I'm happy to say that I'm having a successful run so far. (I know, big deal--it's just one week. But I'll take whatever successes I can get!) I didn't however, totally stick to script. Yes, I read from a book of poetry I already had started. And yes, I read from a book of essays I already had started. But the short stories...well, I couldn't resist cracking open a shiny new book that Rich was sweet enough to get me for Christmas.

What You Wish For: Stories and Poems for Darfur is a collection of short stories put together to help Darfuri refugees by supporting library development in refugee camps. From the jacket flap:

Each story and poem has its own affecting power and celebrates the simple wishes--home, family, safety and love, things we all wish for--of the Darfuri refugees this collection honors with incredible grace, beauty and oft-times humor.

The first story in the book, the one I read this week, is titled "The Strange Story of Bobby Box." This is the first of Alexander McCall Smith's writing I've ever read, though I've long wanted to give him a try. While I didn't fall completely in love with this story, there were definitely things about it that I did love, most especially its folktale-ish feel. I've got great hopes for this book overall--how could I not with its incredible list of contributing authors, including among many others, John Green, Nikki Giovanni, and Jane Yolen.

My poem for the week came from Atlas by Katrina Vandenberg. Frankly, it's positively disgraceful that I haven't finished this book before now. I started it so long ago, and was loving it to pieces...but then somewhere along the line it got set aside and buried in one pile of books after another. This is my opportunity to finish it. Finally.

I'll never be accused of being very poetically literate. Don't get me wrong--I love poetry. Well, some poetry. But I have to admit that I don't like to have to work very hard at it. And I've no earthly idea how to talk about it. This week's poem was "The Problem with the Pills." Stark, depressing, and so very realistic. While not my favorite poem thus far from this collection, it's definitely affected me and I find it entering my thoughts unexpectedly.

And finally, my essay came from The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins. Another book I started long ago, but set aside for far too long. This is one of those books that I really, really, really wanted to read for a long time, yet it scared the living crap out of me. I was so afraid that it would be over my head. Rich tried to reassure me that this was Dawkins writing for the layperson, and I didn't need to be afraid...but well, I sort of doubted him. :P But I shouldn't have. This book really *is* accessible. Which isn't to say that it's always easy reading for me. I definitely have to be in the right frame of mind for heavy concentration while reading most of these essays. (In other words, this is not a book I can read late at night or while in the midst of a bout of fibro fog.)

This week's essay was "Rendezvous 6: New World Monkeys" and "The Howlers Monkey's Tale." It was incredibly interesting, its focus on color vision. But it was one of those that demanded full attention. Okay, more than full attention--some paragraphs took two or three readings. And unfortunately for me, I likely won't retain much of what I learned for long. This book is just so jammed-packed with fascinating information. So much information. And my memory just ain't what it used to be. :( But hey, even if I only remember a tenth of what I learn, I'm still enjoying the journey, right?

So anyway, hooray for me--one week successfully completed. :D

(Project progress: Misc. Projects--Read one short story a week, Read one essay a week, and Read one poem a week)

I'm not even sure I should be writing about this. Because I really don't know what to say. But my heart is so heavy. It's aching for a lovely woman. And her family. And a class of fourth-graders, most especially our Maxidoodle.

It was not even two months ago that they suddenly lost a classmate, a sweet beautiful friend, to pneumonia. She is still so missed every day in their classroom, and in their hearts.

I think I've mentioned before how they've been trying out a new approach, called the "family model," in Max's school. How it works is that for 3rd through 5th grades, the kids stay together as a class (also kindergarten through 2nd grade). They have a new teacher for each grade, but the teachers work together. As in, Max's 3rd-grade teacher, his current teacher, and his teacher for next year all collaborate on any number of things. And the classes from the different grades get to participate in some things together. Thus, the "family" in family model--a 3rd grade class, a 4th grade class, and a 5th grade class, along with the three teachers.

Well, yesterday this wonderful group of kids, Max's fourth-grade class, got news that their teacher from last year, part of their school family, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She's an incredible lady, and I know she'll fight like hell to beat this cancer. She's even hoping that she'll be back teaching before the school year is out. But I know the journey, even if successful, won't be easy.

And I know it's not easy for Max, trying to make sense of it all.

I have been remiss...

Here we are nearly a week into January, and I haven't even mentioned how happy I am that Carl is again helping us to indulge in several weeks worth of sci-fi reading with his Sci-Fi Experience. Well, better late than never, right? So, let me just say right now--I'M SO HAPPY. :)

Just a few years ago, if anyone had asked, I'd have said that I simply wasn't a fan of sci-fi. Which I now realize is just plain silly. Sci-fi is so much broader than my previous ignorance had me believing. I'm still pretty ignorant, truth be told, but I'm having fun learning.


So what am I hoping to read during these next couple months?

--Epic by Conor Kostick (Gray and I have just started reading this one for school, so I know I'll actually get this one done. :P )
--The Search for Wondla Tony DiTerlizzi (Maxidoodle and I are currently reading this one together. When I bought it, I thought it was fantasy, but thus far I'd say it leans more sci-fi. So far [we're only about 50-ish pages in] we are both loving the heck out of it.)
--Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card. (I just reread Ender's Game last month, and I'd really like to get around to this one before too much time slips by again. Plus, this is one of Chris's picks for me for my happiness project.)
--Syndrome by Blake Leibel, Daniel Quantz, R.J. Ryan, and David Marquez (Rich got me this graphic novel for Christmas. I *think* it's sci-fi, but am not a hundred percent sure of this. If all goes well, I'll find out soon.)
--Three Days to Never by Tim Powers. (I've been wanting to read this one for ages. Hopefully it will finally happen.)

And that's it. Yep, I'm being realistic here. There's quite a pile other things I want/need to read in the near future, so there's no point in setting myself up for disappointment, right? Of course, I do also fully admit there's a fairly decent chance I won't even get to all of these.

Thanks Carl! I know it's going to be a great couple of months. :)

tidbits...

I finished my first book of the year the other night! (And yes, that fact is deserving of an exclamation point...because let's face it, who knows how long it will be until I finish another. :P )

Mercury by Hope Larson.

Overall, I'd say it was a good book to start the year with. It didn't knock my socks off or anything, but I definitely enjoyed it. It's two stories, really. Separated by 150 years, connected by place and bloodline and a necklace. The stories alternate throughout the book, but it's never difficult to follow either. A Nova Scotia setting, a touch of magical realism, and lovely black and white art--lots of plusses. It kept me turning the pages, but never with an overwhelming enthusiasm.






(Project progress: Misc. Projects--Read the World, setting-Canada, fiction
AND 2012 unofficial-for-me reading challenges, Graphic Novels Challenge, book 1 of 12)

*****
This winter is driving me crazy...it just doesn't feel like winter at all. :( We'll have a day or two of cold weather (like yesterday and today), but then it warms up again to unseasonably warm temperatures. But what's even worse is the severe lack of snow. While December here is not generally super snowy, it's definitely not as lacking as this December was. In fact, it was the least snowy December since 1939. :( And while we're only a few days in, January sure isn't making up for lost ground...and the forecast isn't giving me much hope either. I grew up in the Great Lakes snowbelt, and was so grateful when we moved back nearly a decade ago (though to a different Lake). Not having "real" winters in the South always left me feeling unsettled. And it somehow it just seems worse having that unsettled feeling here in upstate New York.

*****
Will someone please buy our house?!! I am soooooo ready to move. (This is truly not news, is it?)

and we're off...

I'm off and running (well, running might be a bit of an exaggeration) on my happiness project. And it's already bringing me so. much. happiness.

First off, thank you Heather! Heather was kind enough to make me a list of fun/interesting/challenging things to do...and on that list was "7. Learn to knit, if you haven't already." I had taught myself to knit (just the basics) a few years back, but hadn't done any knitting since. Which of course meant that I didn't remember a darn thing. :P So I adapted this to "relearn to knit." And what project would be more appropriate than to make something for my dear friend Heather, right? Sooooo...

...my chubby little fingers set awkwardly to work. I had such fun relearning, and honestly, without Heather's prompt who the heck knows when I might ever have picked up the needles again. And you know what, maybe the stitches aren't all so perfect, but I'm pretty darn happy with how it came out.

But then, darling Ms. Heather could make anything look wonderful. :D

(Project progress: Happiness Project, Heather's list of fun/interesting/challenging projects, Item 7-Learn/relearn to knit)














*****
Next up. Thank you Chris! Chris made me a list of scrumptious sounding books, all of which I'm dying to read. Well, okay, a few of them scare me...but that just makes it all the more fun. Anyway. As the days of 2011 were coming to an end, I managed to squeeze in my first read from Chris's list. And what an incredible little read it was!

A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote. This little book was an out-of-the blue surprise from none other than Chris himself. It includes not only "A Christmas Memory," but also two other wonderful stories titled "One Christmas" and "The Thanksgiving Visitor." I really loved all three stories, but "A Christmas Memory" is by far my favorite.

Oh my goodness. If you haven't read this before, please please please treat yourself to it next Christmas season. Not that you have to wait until then, of course. It's a sweet (but not of the saccharine variety), beautiful, touching story of a unique friendship. Seriously...it dug itself a cozy little spot right in the depths of my heart.

And as I'd hoped with the whole concept of my happiness project, the joy came from more than just the story itself. It came from knowing as I read every page that this was a treasure I was sharing with Chris because he picked it out for me to read. This particular story came with a bonus bit of joy...because it wasn't just Chris, but Ana as well, that stayed in my thoughts as I read. While this wasn't one of the books she'd picked for me, I know it's a story she loves as well, and it was because of her that Chris read this story in the first place.

Sheesh. I'm feeling mighty sentimental, aren't I? I'd apologize, except for the fact that I'm not really sorry. :P

(Project progress: Happiness Project, Chris's list of books, Item 32-A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote
AND Misc. Projects--Read Ana's List of Midwinter Reads, Item 5-A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote)

*****
And that's it for now. I have a few more Happiness Project items started...some of which should be finished soon, some of which will take a bit longer. But all of which I'm having great fun with.

Small Wonder...random thoughts...

Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver.

Why have I not read anything by her before? Why? Why? Why?!!! It's not like I've never heard of her. It's not like I didn't know how much some of my dearest friends love her Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. *waves to Chris and Heather* Heck, it's not even like I don't have easy access to her books, as many of them are residing right on my own shelves.

Alas, I can't go back in time to change it, so I shall just rejoice in the fact that I finally discovered for myself the beauty of her writing. And beautiful it is. Understated and gorgeous. This essay collection covered a variety of subjects, but the beauty of her writing was an unbroken thread throughout.

But it wasn't her lovely writing that made me fall in love with her. It was her heart. As it was straight from there that she wrote. And in a very unsettling, yet very pleasant way, it felt as if she were writing from *my* heart. If I had the talent, these are the essays I would write. She covered so much ground in these essays, from war to the environment, from food sustainability to evolution, from reading to motherhood. And oh so much more. I admit that I can find myself feeling depressed, feeling angry, feeling hopeless when I ponder some of the issues she so eloquently writes about. But that's not how I read her essays. Instead, the feelings I came away with were awe and reverence and hope.

Ms. Kingsolver simply doesn't seem the type to dwell on blame. Instead she focuses on what can be done. Especially on what can be done in her own life, with her own family and community. Don't get me wrong, I shed tears on more than one occasion. But it's not the tears that will shape the way I remember this collection...it's the love and the hope that will.

(Project Progress: 50x50, #45--Read 50 short story or essay collections, item 7)

the year of just because...

Yep, that is what I have declared my 2012 to be. Just Because.

As in, I will buy that little something that reminds me of someone and send it "just because" I hope it will make her/him smile.

As in, I will not wait until Christmas to make the kids Fairy Drops but instead will bake them "just because" they think these cookies are a slice of heaven.

As in, I will read that book "just because" it's calling my name.

You get the idea.

Yeah, I know there's a huge pile of things I must do (homeschooling prep and the like), but this is my year to make a concerted effort to figure out the difference between the things that really are musts and the things I've added to that category that don't necessarily belong there. I think that this may be the very best thing I could do for myself, both in terms of my physical health and in terms of my mental health.

This doesn't mean that there aren't things I'm hoping to accomplish in 2012, of course. (But I making no resolutions!) I hope 2012 will see me:

--leaving our current abode and setting up the home of our dreams

--restarting Project Life and really following through for the whole year

--really diving in and relishing every minute spent with my happiness project (and my other projects, as well, but it's my happiness project that has a special place in my heart)

--continuing to find ways to live more sustainably and to be ever kinder to our beautiful planet and all its inhabitants, human and nonhuman alike

--adapting habits that will make me healthier

--blogging, both reading and posting, on a more regular basis

--saying goodbye to guilt over the things that won't get done (For example, I've decided that on my "just because" journey, I'm no longer going to get birthday gifts for those outside my immediate family...but yes, this makes me feel guilty. But I'm hoping that as the "just because" attitude starts blossoming that this guilt will subside.)

--appreciating all the small and wonderful moments that life throws my way

Yep, if I could conquer even a portion of those things, I think I would see my happiness quotient rise. And face it, I've already got soooooooo much to be happy about as it is.

And as I said yesterday, I hope that your 2012 finds you on a wonderful journey to make your dreams come true as well!!! HAPPY 2012...really, from the bottom of my heart.