I guess I'll start here because I can't figure out how to move these pictures
around without making me curse. And yes, it's going to be one big, long post.
I can't believe it's been an entire month without posting.
And yet, the sun still rises. Hmmm...
Someone should have warned me. It was like going on a five day drug binge.
(So I hear.) I felt like I needed to go through detox after I was done. Wow.
Netflix streaming on every device we own (our Wii, iPhones, iPads and Max's 3DS)
meant we could get a fix almost constantly. Intense stuff.
I insisted on a "No Discretionary Spending" month in January.
It just snowballs in December and it could have gotten ugly.
We only spend on essentials. Which was hard, especially at first, but
really nice in the end.
Max is always going through some kind of phase.
Some constant motion that seems to please him.
Here is a list of some of them:
Blowing bubbles with his saliva.
Whistling.
Sucking on his fingers.
Blowing raspberries.
Right now, he is enthralled with sticking his hands down his pants.
Inside the pants in the back. Outside in the front.
He says whatever's down there is "itchy".
I must say, I miss the other phases.
I have not had good luck in the year of the dragon
(the lunar year) thus far with reading.
The librarians are probably getting sick of seeing me.
I request five or six books from the comfort of my own home, they e-mail
me when they are in and I pick them up. Sometimes that happens on a
weekly basis because all of the books are total misses.
BUT these two books weren't bad.
The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale was a very engaging, interesting read.
It's set in the mid-1700s England/London. The main character
leaves her tiny village and makes her way to London where she
finds work as an assistant to a man who makes fireworks.
I'm not a chemist (understatement) but it was interesting to see
how they worked. I don't know if I recommend this book other than the fact
that it's a fairly easy read and definitely kept me interested.
Beijing Confidential by Jan Wong is a true story of the author
returningto Beijing to find a long lost acquaintance. Jan spent time
studying at Beijing University in her younger years and also
as a journalist. The first time she was there was during the Cultural
Revolution under Chairman Mao. She turned in a fellow student to
"the authorities" because this girl expressed interest in going to the US.
That was a no-no. Ms. Wong felt guilty all of these years and wondered
what happened to that person and so she took her husband and two
sons back to Beijing to try and find her.
It was really interesting to read about the contrasts from then and now.
Not all good, not all bad.
One of my favorite lines:
"How do I come to temrs with my past in a place that denies its existence?"
Very interesting. A bit disjointed but I'm glad I read it.
Ok, that's it. We're loving this mild winter. Everybody is healthy.
I don't know what to do with this dog of mine. I love him but
the last two days, I could trade him for a goat (as my dad always said).
Go Pats but the Super Bowl had better not interfere with my beloved
Downton Abbey! How can they get away with only six or seven shows
for the entire season?
