Good Monday to everyone!
I determined, some time ago, that sharing cultural what-nots is Waaaaaaaayyyyy more gripping than domestic mishaps. And in the assorted chaos that is my life, promptly forgot about it. Happily, I've recalled it now. Here's what I've dug into lately:
The giant basil plant. Jon was craving caprese sandwiches, and stopped off at our local Bachman's to bring home a new basil. We have a west-facing deck, and our plants get blasted by sunlight once June hits (well, once it stops raining, anyway!) Even with our minimal sunlight, our two initial plants are already stunted. $10 Well spent dollars later and we have a plant on our front step that gets partial sunlight and smells like basil-flavored heaven. The sandwiches have been amazing.
"Inception" - started watching it Saturday, and other than twinges of irritation with DiCaprio's character (why does smug come so easily to him?) I like it pretty well. We've only got to the part where Ariadne stomped out and Leo sets off to find Yves, we'll have to rewind a bit to get into it again tonight. So far, a fun story.
"Garden Spells" by, hmmmm, Sarah Addison. Well, I must like some of it a good deal because I'm re-reading sections of it from time to time. It does suffer by comparison to Practical Magic - too many similar plotlines. And Practical Magic is snappier with dialogue, while Garden Spells has strong description, but is soft on dialogue. Practical Magic is darker in tone, and heavier in subject matter - the stakes for the characters are higher, so the resolution is a bit more satisfying. Garden Spells is simply sweeter. Overall, I really like it for what it is. Light reading has it's own joys, and Sarah Addison does a really lovely job of world-building and scene setting, and throws in some nice plot twists - she resolves her plot in a really tidy way too. A fun summer read.
Pandora - this is a fun diversion....for when I have time to listen to it (well, practically NEVER). I like it best for picking music by artists I'm in the mood for, and seeing what shows up - without the effort of doing a playlist on my Ipod. Very cool music source.
Miscellanea - I've managed to dodge what felt like bronchitis or pneumonia - yay! and have resolved to eat more produce than usual. This could get expensive - local produce in MN is really stunted from all the rain. I've purchased one tomato plant, but will have to get it some friends and a proper container. I say this is a wise move - did you hear that an ENTIRE TRUCK worth of tomatoes was stolen in Florida? Veggies won't be cheap up here this summer! We decided to research campsites this week and go camping for my birthday weekend. I don't want many things, in general - I just want time to enjoy DOING things with my family. The kids are a great age for it, so we need to get them out there. Looks like I need to sign them up for swim lessons like NOW. So, pool hours shall commence Very soon! Today is a zoo day - need to get there before the great government shutdown slams the doors. No word yet on that - and I have to say that closed state parks will cause a big problem for the above birthday plan :-(. That's our government, hard at work. They better not be collecting a paycheck for ANY actual shut-down time. I will be one peeved tax-payer if I find out I'm funding their 'we-don't-have-enough-money-to-run-the-government" time.
There. There's the culture note for the week. I hope you have a lovely one!!!
S.
I determined, some time ago, that sharing cultural what-nots is Waaaaaaaayyyyy more gripping than domestic mishaps. And in the assorted chaos that is my life, promptly forgot about it. Happily, I've recalled it now. Here's what I've dug into lately:
The giant basil plant. Jon was craving caprese sandwiches, and stopped off at our local Bachman's to bring home a new basil. We have a west-facing deck, and our plants get blasted by sunlight once June hits (well, once it stops raining, anyway!) Even with our minimal sunlight, our two initial plants are already stunted. $10 Well spent dollars later and we have a plant on our front step that gets partial sunlight and smells like basil-flavored heaven. The sandwiches have been amazing.
"Inception" - started watching it Saturday, and other than twinges of irritation with DiCaprio's character (why does smug come so easily to him?) I like it pretty well. We've only got to the part where Ariadne stomped out and Leo sets off to find Yves, we'll have to rewind a bit to get into it again tonight. So far, a fun story.
"Garden Spells" by, hmmmm, Sarah Addison. Well, I must like some of it a good deal because I'm re-reading sections of it from time to time. It does suffer by comparison to Practical Magic - too many similar plotlines. And Practical Magic is snappier with dialogue, while Garden Spells has strong description, but is soft on dialogue. Practical Magic is darker in tone, and heavier in subject matter - the stakes for the characters are higher, so the resolution is a bit more satisfying. Garden Spells is simply sweeter. Overall, I really like it for what it is. Light reading has it's own joys, and Sarah Addison does a really lovely job of world-building and scene setting, and throws in some nice plot twists - she resolves her plot in a really tidy way too. A fun summer read.
Pandora - this is a fun diversion....for when I have time to listen to it (well, practically NEVER). I like it best for picking music by artists I'm in the mood for, and seeing what shows up - without the effort of doing a playlist on my Ipod. Very cool music source.
Miscellanea - I've managed to dodge what felt like bronchitis or pneumonia - yay! and have resolved to eat more produce than usual. This could get expensive - local produce in MN is really stunted from all the rain. I've purchased one tomato plant, but will have to get it some friends and a proper container. I say this is a wise move - did you hear that an ENTIRE TRUCK worth of tomatoes was stolen in Florida? Veggies won't be cheap up here this summer! We decided to research campsites this week and go camping for my birthday weekend. I don't want many things, in general - I just want time to enjoy DOING things with my family. The kids are a great age for it, so we need to get them out there. Looks like I need to sign them up for swim lessons like NOW. So, pool hours shall commence Very soon! Today is a zoo day - need to get there before the great government shutdown slams the doors. No word yet on that - and I have to say that closed state parks will cause a big problem for the above birthday plan :-(. That's our government, hard at work. They better not be collecting a paycheck for ANY actual shut-down time. I will be one peeved tax-payer if I find out I'm funding their 'we-don't-have-enough-money-to-run-the-government" time.
There. There's the culture note for the week. I hope you have a lovely one!!!
S.
oohh, I loved Practical Magic. Read it years ago. Maybe I should pick up Garden Spells...
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