Simple syrup

Sometimes it's the simple things - sugar and water melted together. Yum - add it to limeade, lemonade - or some mixed drink. Mmmmmm.

Kat's Cradle - Karen Kijewski

My fun, silly, book club book. This is one of those books that are part of a series with the attendant silly caste of characters. We needed something fun for book club after the stuff we had been reading, so I suggested this one. It has an interesting twist that is something to discuss at the end. Did the mother know - and did that change how she reacted? I look forward to discussing that on Thursday.

I might even go back and reread the entire series.

eat, pray, love - Elizabeth Gilbert

Someone gave me this book to read, I don't know who anymore. It sat on my shelf for months and I finally picked it up. I knew nothing about it other than that it seem popular these days. I think I saw it for sale at Sam's Club - a good indication a book is a bestseller.

Reading this book was so easy - the style of prose, the short "beads" for each of the 108 articles. Easy to pick up and put down. Reading about her divorce reminded me so much of mine - the despair, fighting, and sense of guilt for being the one to leave. Reading about her experiences, I thought I had forgiven my ex, but can you forgive someone if you still hate them? I know I have not fully forgiven myself - I don't feel guilt/shame for leaving, I feel the shame of having been there in the first place and been there so long. It's not something I think about much, but when I do, it's in the middle of the night. This book was so easy to read, but it's leaving me wondering where do I go next.

This book may be about one year of living abroad and finding yourself. It's also about finding out what is important to you. What is it that makes you want to get up and face the day? What are the things you do to yourself that keep you from doing those things?

Those are things I need to think about.

Where does TCMH come from?

A long time ago, when Higgy posted comments on the Dave Barry blog, he didn't want to use names. So once upon a time before I was TCMH, I was TFMH - The Future Mrs. Higgy. Then I became The Current Mrs. Higgy. But I also consider other c adjectives - crazy, cunning, clever, careful, competitive, cheerful (HA!), competent... I even said to him, shouldn't it just be TMH or TC&FMH. But I hate thinking of names for sites and I didn't want to use my name, so I used it. So that, dear reader is where TCMH comes from.

Another day down...

Happy thoughts - the simple things,

• a pair of dump trucks and a bobcat to start O's day with a laugh and shout.
• finding the missing "O" to his name stool - under the stove - it's been gone so long a friend of my parents had already made us a new one
• routines - they help with the stress of a missing parent - even if Higgy isn't here, the routine is helping O cope
• 80 mile drive to San Ramon, took 80 mins - both there and back! I hope tomorrow is the same.
  

Things aren't all perfect though. With the smoky air, school has been limiting the amount of outside play. O is going to bed at least an hour later than usual because he has so much extra energy. At least I realized that was the problem and adjusted tonight. No reason to have the endless get back in bed conversation for two hours.

2 days down, 4 more to go. and in 2 days, I have reinforcements.

I made it through the morning

3:30a alarm clock and Higgy is out of bed, getting ready for an early morning flight to Europe. Back to sleep, only to wake up as he walks in and out of the door waiting for the very late shuttle to take him to the airport. I found notes all over the house, making me smile, making me miss him even though he was just at the airport.

O was up just after I showered, enough to just settle him into our bed while I got ready for the day. We were able to share a little quiet time before L was up - which makes the start of the day so much easier. Somehow, we were all dressed, sunblocked, and fed before the 7a work day began. O even had his lunch packed - with a cookie.

I hope tomorrow works this well.

So many books so little time (6)

After reading In a Dark House, I wanted to read more - more brain candy, so I went to my local independent bookstore and picked up what he had for Deborah Crombie (including 2 of one by accident). And then I went on a binge of junk reading the first 5 books in the series. I don't think I read any of these over more than 1 day:

All Shall be Well
A Share in Death
Leave the Grave Green
Mourn Not Your Dead
Dreaming of the Bones

These are not as good as In a Dark House, but I feel I know the characters more.

And for book club, I read Kim Stanley Robinson's The Years of Rice and Salt. That one took a week of dedicated reading every night. It was interesting, but if the author hadn't been coming to book club, I would have stopped after 100 pages. I don't feel like it was a waste of time and after talking to Stan, I would have to say I think more favorably on it now than I did before.

But I've just been too busy to think about what I read and then write - sorry.

In fact, I keep think I read something else since I last wrote. For the life of me, I can't think of what it would be? I know I started Your Money or Your Life - maybe that's what's nagging at me?