My evening

My daughters invited us to their apartment and cooked dinner for us tonight. The food was great, conversation fun. I'm really enjoying my grown-up girls!

Book Review: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

A delightful Jane Austen read. She is wry and witty, sarcastic and sweet. The story line follows an "anti heroine" Catherine Morland as she travels from her childhood home to Bath and meets with people who are both genuine and fake. Learning to tell the difference and dealing with the consequences show the growth of our main character...who I loved for her charming simplicity.

We're at it again...

David and I joined Weight Watchers on-line yesterday. I hope we manage to lose the weight this time...for two people who can be so successful at so many different things, this is one that seems to elude us.

Double Weave Tool Holder

This may be the coolest thing I've ever made. It is made using a double weave technique that leaves the sides open. When you change which yarns are on "top" and which are on "bottom" you create horizontal pockets that work, in this case, as tool holders. I had a great time making it.

Book Review: Earthly Joys by Philippa Gregory

Earthly Joys tells the story of John Tradescant, gardener to gentry and royalty during the reigns of King James I and King Charles I. Following his life as he serves one lord and then another, Gregory offers a very interesting insight into life during the tumultuous time in England after Queen Elizabeth I died.

Tradescant's family are exploring their own faith outside of the newly formed and established Church of England, at a time when the royalty seem to be backlashing into catholic ways. The tension for John is that he staunchly believes in the great chain of being--god ordained the king who ordained the gentry who ordained their servants, etc. He can't seem to understand how his family can question this way of knowing the world, and thus all of John's decisions are based on what he believes he should do to serve is Lord.

I wasn't crazy about Earthly Joys, but I did like it. I really liked the perspecive Gregory takes by looking at life from a garderner rather than from a gentry or royal person. But I really didn't like how Tradescant so stubbornly held to his service to his masters despite the fact that he knew logically he shouldn't. I also didn't like the section in the middle of the book when Tradescant was serving the Duke of Buckingham. I finished the book with a strong curiosity about the sequel, so plan to read that one at some point in time

If you are a big fan of Gregory, I recommend it. If you like historical fiction, I say give the book a read and see if you like it...Otherwise, I don't know.

Book Reivew: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Jeannette Walls tells the story of her childhood and early adulthood in the Glass Castle. She writes unapologetically of her abusive family and her and her siblings' attempts to eek a living out of what is really quite stark and harsh conditions of abject poverty and neglect. (and I would argue mental illness on the part of the parents, but perhaps I'm being insensitive).

The story begins with a scene where Jeannette, 3 years old, is making her own hotdogs and ends up catching her clothes on fire and has to spend weeks in the hospital being treated for 3rd degree burns. From this point forward, we have the tension of the parents' dislike for all things ordered, clean and controlled, and how it jeopardizes their familial structure while at the same time creating a cohesiveness and love that was quite surprising. And somehow in the midst of all this chaos, three very intelligent, talented, self-sufficient and good-hearted people grow up.

Walls writes in such a straightforward way that you take these bizarre examples of family life at face value. Sometimes they are heartbreaking and sometimes they are uplifting, at other times horrifying. But never does the reader feel sorry for the Walls children. The memoir is written in such a way that you accept this family for their differences, sympathize with them, but never ever feel sorry for them. That's quite a feat considering the content!

The Glass Castle was chosen by Texas A&M's Common Ground program for all incoming freshmen in the College of Liberal Arts. My college roommate and I decided to read it along with them this year. I just wish I were in BCS so that I could attend some of the seminars that will be on-going throughout this year. I also wish I could read this book with the eyes and experience of an 18-year old.

Highly recommended. (especially for Aunt Janice :) )

Celebration hanging in its new home

I love it there right beside my bed. It looks great in my room...as if it were made for it (don't worry Carolyn I won't tell anyone about the money, I promise)...

Betty's Towels

I LOVE them...100% cotton towels in turqouise, green, yellow and white.

I had my first French lesson!

David and I are taking French lessons once a week so that when we go to Paris in December by ourselves we won't be total idiots and say all the time "parlez vous englais, s'il vous plait". I'm really excited, though all I can really say at this time is "my name is leslie, and my husbands name is David" but it was fun and we have lots of weeks between now and then and we'll be conversational pros by then...very exciting!

I'm so upset!

The plant thief struck again, this time taking 3 of our aloe veras. Two of them we'd had for about 5 years and they were very mature and beautiful plants.

Both patients are on the mend

Alyssa had her wisdom teeth out on Monday. She wanted to "do this on her own" so she went to the oral sugeon with her sister and then went to her apartment to recover. She came by here that evening and looked and sounded great. Yesterday she said she was swollen and feeling sore, but ok. "it's not that bad," she said.

Lochi, my kitty, had a urinary tract infection and was very miserable and uncomfortable when we got hom from New Orleans on Sunday night. She's on antibiotics and is acting like her old self again.

Heavenly

This silk and soy silk scarf looks like 2 scarves, but it's one. You can wear it on either side for a completely different look. The silk has lots of different colors to match just about any wardrobe. The drape and feel is heavenly too, just as you would expect from silk.

The scarf measures 7x60 and sells for $60.

4 Wash Cloths for my Aunt Betty

100% cotton, waffle weave wash cloths. I LOVE them and hope Aunt Betty does too!

Kuhlau, Sonatina in C Major: Op, 20, No1, Movement 1

I love my new bed

I'm sleeping so comfortably. My back does not hurt. David's movements are dampened and don't disturb me when I'm asleep. But darnit. I can't wake up in the morning. Can't.