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.