Short Story Monday: Stardust by Phil Lovesey

by Carol6 Comments
I loved this quirky little story. It's told in the first person by a thief who in on parole, again, after having been released from  jail, again. By his own admission, he's not a very good thief. (and I do count myself as competent at breaking in, it's the getting out and away with it that tends to be a little more problematic) After being released, he is set up in an apartment in a run-down building. On the top floor lives a man who spends most of his time looking out his window through an expensive, fancy telescope. This man, who people refer to as Buzz, as in Lightyear, has a proposition for our narrator. The characters make this an enjoyable story. The narrator has an off-beat way of looking at life, and he's so honest about his faults, about the system, about his outlook. Buzz is just nutsy enough to be uniqe, and I enjoyed the interactions between the two of...
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Me – A to Z

by Carol7 Comments
Michelle had this fun little meme posted over at New Horizon Reviews the other day. I thought I'd give it a try, too. A. Age: 36 B. Bed size: Full C. Chores you dislike: Vacuuming and sweeping D. Dogs: One - Scrappy. His picture was up yesterday. E. Essential start to your day: Coffee - black F. Favorite color: Purple G. Gold or silver: Silver H. Height: 5'1" (almost) I. Instruments you play: Piano, organ J.Job title: Customer Service Rep K. Kids: 1 daughter L. Live: Ohio M. Mom’s name: Carol N. Nicknames: Suzie O. Overnight hospital stays: 1 - when my daughter was born P. Pet peeves: Text abbreviations - I never know what they mean. Q. Quote from a movie: "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." R. Righty or lefty: Righty S. Siblings: 1 brother T. Time you wake up: About 7:15 on weekdays, later on the weekends U. Underwear: Cotton - no lace, no silk. Boring...
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Spring project #1

by Carol14 Comments
I don't think the dog is thrilled with the kitchen project. So far, David's taken all the white tile off and scraped off the gluey cement stuff, which was an incredibly noisy process involving a coal shovel, and gotten down to the old linoleum that he's just going to put the new padding and floor over. To the dog, it  means he wasn't allowed in the kitchen for a couple hours on Sunday and again Tuesday, even though David was in there and the treat cabinet's there. And it was too noisy when they were scraping off the junk. We moved his food and water dishes, the fridge is blocking all the light coming in the dining room window and the big islandy thingy is right in front of the living room window, the window he always looks out of. Yeah, he can't be real happy. And of course he doesn't realize that we're doing it a lot for him....
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Game Night: Cupcakes of Catan

by Carol3 Comments
A good game and cupcakes! Settlers of Catan is a great game, and we actually played just a couple of weeks ago. (I lost.) I don't know if I could play with cupcakes as the tiles; people may end up not getting any sheep because I ate them all. It would be fun to try though, if only I baked. Or maybe cookies. I could buy them and then just do the icing myself....
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Friday’s Tale: The Story of Tuan Mac Cairill told by James Stephens

by Carol10 Comments
This is actually a fascinating tale of the history of early Ireland, told by James Stephens in Irish Fairy Tales. Tuan Mac Cairill is visited at his home by a monk, St. Finnian, who converts Tuan to Christianity. After spending time with Tuan, the monk asks him to tell him his story. The monk is at first amazed and bewildered by the story, but then just listens to Tuan's narrative. I know absolutely nothing about ancient Irish history, but Tuan's tale is fascinating. Tuan came to Ireland with Partholon, the first group of settlers to come to Ireland after the great Biblical flood. All of Partholon's people died from a plague; Tuan was the only survivor. He continues to survive, each time he becomes old and tired he is transformed into a new animal, first a stag, then a boar, a hawk, and a salmon. He sees invader after invader come to Ireland. Through his long life he saw battles, storms...
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Review: Leaping Beauty by Gregory Maguire

by Carol6 Comments
(Suggested reading level: Grades 4-6) This was a cute collection of fractured fairy tales, each with animal stars. Amber (11) and I read it together over several evenings and both enjoyed it.  There are eight tales, each recognisable but transformed. In addition to Leaping Beauty, there is Cinder-Elephant whose pie pan shoes were perfect. We met So What, a chimpanzee who moves in with seven circus-performing giraffes. I think one of my favorites was "The Three Little Penguins and the Big Bad Wolf." The youngest penguin has an artistic streak that made the story truly funny. And there's Little Red Robin Hood, who likes to pretend he's a superhero. The little robin was called Little Red Robin Hood, because he was a red robin. Also, when he grew up, he wanted to rob the rich birds of the forest and give their worms to the poor birds of the forest. (pg. 107) I think Amber was about the perfect age for this one....
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