Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween!

or...should I say Happy Halloweinie?

Happy Hallowienie

Friday, October 7, 2011

Something I never thought I would do...

I love to read.  I have for as long as I can remember.  I would sneak and read in bed instead of going to sleep (a bright hallway light and good eyes).  I just love the feel of a book in my hands.  Packing 10 to go on a weeks vacation (because one never knows what sort of reading mood the vacation atmosphere might have).

I have been aware of audio books and ebooks-but never ever thought about "reading" them.  For me, the feel of a book in hand is part of my reading experience.  Also,  the thought of missing something because I was "distracted" by driving worried me.

Until recently.

Someone in my book club raved about the audiobook "To Kill a Mockingbird".  She offered it to me to listen to.  Read by Sissy Spacek (50th anniversary edition).  It. was. Amazing.  I had read the book and watched the movie in high school. After 2 discs I coerced my husband into listening to it.  He loved it. (and for him-who has read maybe a tenth of books I have in the 10+ years I have known him-that's a huge compliment) He caught up to me fairly quickly and several of my tweets that week were about the frustration of him holding the next disc hostage.

I have been hooked on audiobooks since then. Another favorite was The Bonesetter's daughter, by Amy Tan-and loved that it was read by 2 Chinese-Americans.  The accented English was perfect for it.

But I still passed on ebooks.  Last month my book club chose an older book to read.  When I checked the book out of the library I knew that I would have to read it in the free ebook form.  This is the worst time of year for my asthma and allergies-and the faint mustiness of the books was more than I could handle.  So I downloaded it and read it, with the book sitting next to me (I could not resist bookmarking my place each night to gauge my progress).  I have to say-I didn't mind the ebook format.  It would certainly solve my vacation issue (10 books is a lot of space!).

If you have been on the fence about audio books or ebooks as I was-don't be.  My audio book love has made my commute to and from work something to look forward to! 

I am listening to one of my favorite books right now-Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon. 

My recommendation-start with something smaller...something you may have read and liked (Highly recommend that 50t anniversary edition to To Kill A Mockingbird-I can't say enough about Sissy Spacek's narration.  Brilliant)

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Chicken Soup for the Soul

"It's good, but it's not as good as Aunt Jean's."   This statement cut through me in an instant.  My husband had uttered this after tasting some meal I made sometime after we started living together.  I angrily fought back tears.  I had made a favorite dish of his.  A recipe that was raved over by others.  And he had the nerve to actually say those words. out loud.

Aunt Jean, in his eyes, is the best cook ever.  We all have that person in our lives.  Usually it's your mother or grandmother.  For him, it's her.   Aunt Jean cooked all the Sunday dinners and football tailgates of his life.  She IS a great cook. I look forward to the dinners we eat with her.  I just don't like hearing how my cooking doesn't live up to hers. (Does anyone?)

My husband doesn't have the best filter when it comes to me.  He says things that, well, I think he should have edited or kept to himself. He was being honest-but he should have stopped at "It's good."  Over the years he has learned to edit himself most of the time-actually ALL of the time when it comes to my cooking-since I made him cook dinner for a week after that...and any other time he made reference to my cooking being less than exemplary-which, for both our sakes, have been very few.  :)  

Tonight, I made my favorite chicken soup recipe.  I have made it several times before and he has eaten it without much comment.  Tonight was different.  He looked at me and said, "I really think you need to make this and take it with us the next time we go to Aunt Jean's so she can have some.  I think she would like it."

That's the best food compliment he could ever give me!