Another post about Audrey Niffenegger

I read a lot. It's always been one of my favorite hobbies and I can track my life's journey by my favorite books. (Starring Sally J. Friedman as Herself - 8; The Diary of Anne Frank - 12; Catcher in the Rye - 15; On the Road - 18; Jitterbug Perfume - 22; A Time Traveler's Wife -28) I'm always reading a book or two and I'm not terribly picky. I love Science Fiction and I just finished my first hard-core fantasy novel, "The War of the Flowers" by Tad Williams (which was, by the time I finished it, good... but it shouldn't take an 816 page novel 450 pages to get good.)

No, I don't mind reading a good story by a mediocre author. (Dan Brown)

But then you have someone like Audrey Niffenegger who

takes
your
breath
away.

A week or two ago, I got an advance readers copy of Niffenegger's new book, "Her Fearful Symmetry."

This is a story about Robert and his lover, Elspeth, who live in first and second floor flats next to Highgate Cemetary in London. Martin and Marijke live on the top floor and Martin suffers from debilitating OCD. Soon after Elspeth dies, her twin sister Edie's daughters, Valentina and Julia, move in.

Valentina and Julia, also twins, make you ache with their complexity. Visually identical and close beyond reason, they struggle with their personality differences. Shy v. extroverted. Independent v. the need to be needed. As they find themselves in a new place, these differences become more evident, and troublesome.

And Elspeth is there throughout, watching and learning how to be a ghost in a most remarkable storyline.

From the beginning, this book is a mystery - something happened between Edie and Elspeth two decades previous that has caused a cavernous rift between the two. This unknown penetrates the entire book and the resolution is satisfyingly shocking, even if the end is... ah well. I must not say too much.

I've been thinking about what it is that makes this book different from other books; what makes Niffenegger's writing so powerful. Two things stand out.

First, she is unabashedly brilliant. I mean, yes, she's a brilliant writer, but there is no doubt that you are reading a book written by an astoundingly smart person. (And anyone who has met my husband knows that brilliance makes me weak in the knees.)

Secondly, her characters are flawed. They make mistakes and you, faithful reader, ache with the repercussions.

It's this intelligence, this reality, this combination of incredible writing paired with incredible storytelling that makes Audrey Niffenegger one of my favorite authors.

a night out

Even before I moved to Kentucky, Roy would tell stories about growing up in "the neighborhood" with his friends Jeff (Fisher), Jason, Greg, and Josh. From 4th grade on, these guys... terrorized? No, that's much too strong a word. Let's say explored their neighborhood, mostly swimming pools, late at night. It's a rare thing, I think, to remain so close to friends you have had for 20+ years, but these guys have done it.

Last week, Greg and I talked about having a party to celebrate his, my, and Fisher's August birthdays, and he offered to host it at his place with his beautiful fiance, Stacey. We hadn't been out there and were looking forward to seeing his new life and getting to know his soon-to-be bride a little bit better.

Roy's mom offered to watch Sophie for the night as a birthday gift to me. She also got some quality time with Aubrey.
I have very few pictures of what happened next.

Greg is a master pit boss and he started the smoker about 10AM loaded with brisket, pork shoulder, and chicken. I cooked fresh green beans country style all day, and there were potatoes and fruit and bread and caprice salad and cookies (2 kinds!) and beer and the homemade bbq sauce dripped off chins onto the table. We laughed, we played hacky sack, we explored the near acre of property, we listened to the guys tell the same stories of their childhood that they tell every year and always keep us in stitches. Josh and I played music and explored the wonders of the ukulele. We met our friend Jamie's new girl and loved her. We told crass jokes and we laughed and we laughed and we laughed.

Then, around midnight, Josh decided to jump into Greg and Stacey's swimming pool.
(I should stop here and say that yesterday was COLD. We were huddled under blankets and wearing sweatshirts. By midnight it was easily in the low 60's and the low last night was 54!)

Fisher came next.
Then Greg.
And when Jason jumped in and the floaty noodles came out, I had a glimpse of their childhood.
They were in for a while because it was too cold to get out. But they found their comfort zones.

We stayed very very warm standing on the side and laughing at them.
We went to Greg and Stacey's with the intention on spending the night outside. We packed our tent, but when we got there and saw the mosquito-netted tent next to the pool, we moved our bed in there.
And when I woke up and opened my eyes this morning, this is what I saw.
Today is a day for laziness. Oh, I'll go to the grocery store and cook something simple for dinner. I'll work on my lists of things to take to South Dakota (in little more than a week!) and I'll love the open windows and softness of the couch. And I'll feel that warm, deep in my belly feeling of love and good fortune after a night well spent.

Swine Flu Vaccination

So I've been giving the whole Swine Flu Vaccination thing a lot of thought. I have a step son in middle school, a toddler in pre school, and I work at the public library. All in all, we're exposed to a lot of bugs and viruses. I've gotten the flu shot in years past, as has Sophie, and I've been okay with it. But the H1N1 Vaccine... that's a whole other ballgame. Do I want to submit Sophie to this?

I read the Dr. Sears blog on the subject and I just wanted to share. I know other parents read my blog and I found it helpful and comforting.

update of a nearly 3 year old

This week, Sophie left the comfort of her 2-year old room at daycare and went to the 3-year old room in the preschool building. What a great opportunity to give a little update on the wonders of my growing little girl.Each developmental stage has offered such joy, and I know that 3 (which she will turn in less than a month) will be no different.

More than almost anything, I have loved experiencing her development of language. She loves phrases like, "Hey, I have an idea!" and "I surely can't." She loves to reenact conversations, saying, "Mommy says, 'Sophie, you can't have candy' and Sophie says, 'but mommy, I want m&m's." She's had great fun talking about "cousin Oviler" and explaining that her grandma and grandpa are also Ella's grandma and grandpa and that her Granny is also Aubrey's granny. When she found out that her grandma was my mommy, she laughed very, very hard.
She loves Hide and Seek, but is terrible at hiding. She would much prefer to seek. If it's her turn, I generally find her standing in the middle of her room with her hands over her eyes.

Everything is pink. She wants pink for her birthday. She wants to eat pink for dinner. Although, she really wants a blue dress.

She's very curious and when we walk to the park, she stops at the same place every time to examine this little spot. (I mean really, can you blame her??)Our struggles with her a few, and for that we are very grateful. She minds us (for the most part) and we've learned not to pressure her to eat all of her dinner at one sitting, or give some leniency in her bedtime. Her eating habits are evolving and she'll love one thing one day and hate it the next, but fortunately she can't get enough of blueberries or cherry tomatoes.

She sleeps well, but there are the occasional nights when Roy and I head to bed and find this little bundle covered up in our blankets and fast asleep, all of her own accord.

This face... it's a sign that she is embarrassed or shy or just uncomfortable being asked to do something. In this case, she clearly did not want to be the center of attention.
She loves the computer and really navigates quite well, as long as we turn off the right click.
Oh, we have our moments with her. She IS almost 3. She is my daughter and therefore stubborn in independent. She would much prefer that I take her to bed over Roy and lets her wish be known in a way only a tired 2 year old can. She wakes up at 3am and doesn't want to go back to bed until it's time to leave for school.

But those moments are so minor compared to the joy we get out of our little nix nux being her silly, wonderful self.

Sprinkler

Yesterday we took advantage of an August day that actually felt like August. We mowed, weeded, worked in the yard, I tended to my herbs, and planted carrots and spinach for the fall. Oh yea, and we played in the sprinkler


Riley liked putting his head into the sprinkler.

and Sophie had to follow suit.



What a joy to watch them play!

signs of things to come

Riley started middle school this week. I picked him up after school.

Me: Riley.... are you wearing cologne?

Riley: (Defensively) Yeah. I've always wore cologne.

Me: Always since when?

Riley: ....yesterday.

Raw Tomato Sauce

I don't know about you, but between my neighbor's tomato plant and the abundance people bring at work, I have a LOT of tomatoes. (I'd like to add my tomato plant to the mix, but it's pretty weak in the production department - the taste though is outstanding!)

I've been looking for cheap and delicious ways to use them. Last week I checked out Alice Waters book "the art of simple food" and I knew I'd be able to find the perfect recipe. I made this tonight and it was exactly what I was looking for.

Raw Tomato Sauce
Makes about 2 cups

"this recipe is only for tomatoes that are at their absolute peak: dead ripe and full of flavor"

Core and cut into medium dice 2lbs raw tomatoes (I used 2 large)

Put them in a bowl and toss them with:
Salt
1/4 cup torn basil leaves
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Cover the bowl tightly and set aside for at least 1 hour before tossing with hot, fresh cooked, drained pasta. (I used penne)

seriously good. I think it tastes like summer. Had I had a few bits of fresh mozzarella I would've thrown them in with the pasta, but wouldn't dare add anything else.