Sunday is…

waking up before your alarm. ten minutes to nine. first stop: kitchen. waffles, with the neighbor. attempted Amish Friendship bread: failure leading to tomato, onion, cheese omelet. one failed waffle. five good ones. bacon. breakfast as a family, four become one. dishes with your boyfriend. a clean kitchen. house alone. breathe in, breathe out. smooth legs, smooth summer sun. strapping your yoga mat to your b a c k. a bike ride. yoga. s t r e t c h i n g. triangle pose. raise your hand if you’re having fun. giggles abound. Brett Dennen and Alex Murdoch. Amoeba music. Five new CDS. Matt Nathanson, times two. Joshua Radin. Carbon Leaf. Lady Antebellum. Love.  b a c k o n y o u r b i k e. home. a quiet house. Barbara Kingslover. finally finishing Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. summer sun still high. peppermint tea. sweatshirts. photos uploaded. PW Challenge ready to be tackled. three more recipes. hours with a friend who can make me giggle when giggling seems a cardinal sin.

life and love, all messy, most of the time.

What up, Kate? I think you're awesome.

This is my friend Kate. And her bf Tom. And me.

That’s her 4 years ago.


This is her last summer.

That’s me and my bests. Last summer. I love them.

Anyways, back to Kate. This is the thing: she’s amazing. wonderful. She’ll watch an entire season of any TV show you want in one sitting, ice cream and snacks in hand. She’ll also finish an entire tub of hummus and celery sticks with you on her roof over a pitcher of sangria. She’ll also go to the museum with you, and have something intelligent to say about just about every artist there. And even artists who aren’t. She’ll watch Oscar-nominated films, indie films, and bad chick flicks with you, and enjoy them all. She’ll defend you to the death, cut someone with a shank for you, if she needs to, and makes sure to always say “please” and “thank you” and “Is there more coffee?” She’s pretty much my fave. And she, my friends, is also a ridiculously talented writer. (I know, you’re not surprised. I wasn’t, either.)

She has been published here. Go read it. I’ll wait.

SO good, right? I just love her. Check her blog out, here. She’s totally worth it. I promise. (Like an extra set of crunches, or that extra handful of cranberries on your morning cereal, or that last episode of Full House about the time they lose Comet.)

You can thank me later.

Book List 2009: Updated

I have 5 more books to add to my list, and you’ll be happy to know only 2 of them are book club books. The rest are all my own. That’s five books since I last wrote, which was in May, so that’s roughly 8 weeks. Not bad. But I have to get cracking.

6.  The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (book club, I’ve already written about this.)

7. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

This one was OK. I appreciated the cultural of it, but I found it hard to follow the characters, and I wished it had focused on less.

8. Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingslover

Excellent read. Highly recommend it. So long, but so good.

9. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

A good solid war book. Satirical, entertaining.

10. Thirteen Days by Robert F. Kennedy

A thrilling memoir about the Thirteen Days of the Cuban Missile Crisis as told from Robert Kennedy’s involvement.

La Fin.

Finished: The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant.

redtent

4 of 5 stars. The second half of book felt a bit rushed, but the story was beautiful, the characters rich, and the scenes amazing. I loved hearing a biblical story through the eyes of a woman. It is interesting to read of midwives, of women as sisters and wives, of lovers of their own gods, of lovers of their shared husbands. It was a story that all women could relate to, and a story that teaches us all about the miracle of motherhood.

You should read it.

Books of 2009.

I wanted to read 50 books by the end of the year. It’s almost been 6 months, and I am sorely behind:

1. Illumination Night, Alice Hoffman

2. Montana Sky, Nora Roberts

3. Gonzalez and Daughter Trucking Company, Maria Amparo Escandon

4. Red Azalea, Anchee Min

5. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith

Only 5!! This is terrible. But I am half-way through The Red Tent, and now that I’ve been riding the train, I can read more.

Wish me luck!