OREO TRIO * THE SEPTEMBERS OF SHIRAZ * LOTERIAS

Those Oreos are called Oreo Trio with the Tres Sabors of Chocolate. I received a response to my email to Nabisco asking whether these will be available in the US, and was told that different products are available in different parts of the world depending on the tastes of the people in those countries. Now why won't americans buy triple chocolate cookies? We know they won't, because Keebler used to have Keebler Double Fudge Sandwich Cookies, and they are no longer available. There is a wonderful Greek Version of Double Chocolate Sandwich Cookies by Papadopoulos, and now these Oreos here in Mexico. I found a Canadian version of Double Fudge Sandwich Cookies at Fresh Market, but so far the best are the memory of those Keeblers, the Greek ones, and now these Orio Trios.

Remember when I said that Away was the next book to read? If you haven't started it, then forget that and read

The Septembers of Shiraz by Dalia Sofer - I read it all day yesterday in a mad marathon of sun and shade and sun and shade and not being able to get out of this story. It's about a family in Iran in 1981 shortly after the Shah was deposed and the Ayahtollah came into power. We get to know each of the members of this family, and we see them through experiences that are all too familiar to so many people in today's world. I loved this book.

Loterias is a great game that is the Mexican version of Bingo. Each person gets a card or cards with sixteen different pictures (and words). The caller goes through a master set of cards, calling out the pictures to the players who cover each picture on their card with a marker as in Bingo. The first person to cover their card wins. This picture shows the most common version of Loterias, but I found a version with Alphabet letters and easy vocabulary words, as well as a Disney Princess version, as well as a version with body parts. So much fun and we're learning Spanish.

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE OREOS

Yesterday, while perusing the cookie aisle at Walmart in Puerto Vallarta, I happened upon Triple Chocolate Oreos. Too bad I'm not eating sugar on this trip. Just as I was pulling myself away from the aisle, (So many tempting packages!) I spotted small candy bar sized packages of the Triple Chocolate Oreos for 3 Pesos each. How could I resist?
I also threw a little package of the Nuevo Combinado Oreos into our basket. New product, price, and not heavy to carry back to the condo on our walk. Right away out of the store, I tried the Combinados and they were lovely. I resisted on the Triple Chocolate thinking they'd be a great little treat after water aerobics the next day. And so they were.....So much so, that tomorrow I'm going to go for another little walk, probably without company, to buy up many many packages of Triple Chocolate and Combinado Oreos to bring home as little gifties for any of my sweet loving friends. I can only describe the Triple Chocolates as the best thing to come down the pike since those Very Cherry M&Ms last year. They seem to be a Dark Chocolate and Light Chocolate wafer sandwiching a chocolate creme filling. Mysteriously, there is a cherry like flavor in there too. These are so nuevo that I cannot find a web presence for them. Am I the first to report on these? I can't wait for tomorrow. MMMmmm! I can't wait to enoy more of these and to take many pictures of them. If they had these at home I'd be a goner.

MANSFIELD PARK REVISITED

It was with no small trepidation that I selected this not uncolorful tome to follow that most auspicious read called Away. Jane Austin is not an unfamiliar author to me, yet my knowledge of that lady has been through films that have been based, in one way or another, upon her books. Having enjoyed the repartee of Sense and Sensibility, the lovable characters in Bridget Jones' Diary, and most recently, The Jane Austen Book Club, I "was of a particular interest" to read

Mansfield Park Revisited A Jane Austen Entertainment by Joan Aiken - A complimentary review at the back cover of the book informed me that one wouldn't have had to read Mansfield Park to enjoy it, so I came to be wholly disposed to the possibility of the pleasures that would be found therein. The story follows the society of those residing at Mansfield Park, and in particular, one Susan Price, she being "well endowed with quickness of understanding, pleasure in being useful, no inconsiderabe force of character, and a disposition to be happy".......she "had established herself as the linchpin of the household". The quickly paced tale, well developed characterizations and all the general doings have left on me a favourable impression and gratification to the author for her pleasant calculations into the futures of those characters originally introduced by Jane Austen. Susan is a sensible girl, delightful in her manner and coutenance; my curiousity was "naturally whetted to an extreme degree" as to whether she would find love, and with whom she might find it. I look upon this book with a great deal of favour, and recommend that others might also entertain "expectations of happiness" between its pages.

AWAY * PUERTO VALLARTA

Here we are in sunnyPuerto Vallarta, although if you look up the weather, you'll see that for some reason, there isn't a lot of sun today. It was a nice little vacation day though; I finished an appropriately named book called Away so not only was I in Puerto, (as my niece Libby calls it) but I was also in Alaska or Canada today, in the book. We got through our Mexican Style water aerobics class (basically tons and seemingly hours of arm excercises while you jump or jog in the pool in waist deep water). No working with and against the water in this class. I cheat a lot, (you didn't know there was cheating in mexican water aerobics?) but it's fun. Then I came up to the condo and had half an avocado (food of the gods....nectar....etc.) and a little bean/corn/onion/tomato/cilantro salad with a glass of jugo mango. Hung out and tried to get the password for this blog for about an hour (couldn't do it), went for a beach walk with Steve, (yeah) saw whales jumping out of the ocean (oh yeah), collected a few pink rocks, came back to the room, had a white russian (this is the land of Kahlua) looked at Facebook (learned about, actually) with my niece, Libby, and she recovered or reset my password to something I can remember from remote foreign locations, and here I am! The idea was to write about
Away by Amy Bloom - But just another aside (I asked Peter what color he thinks of when he thinks of PV/Mexico, and he thinks of orange ((I do too)) hence the font color today). Anyway, this book was incredible. It's the perfect vacation read, taking place in my favorite decade, the 1920's. Female protagonist named Lillian leaves behind (but not really because for her entire life she continues to dream) her country and life tragedy to come to New York City. By the end of the book she's crossed the country and experiences the great Northwest, and of course I can't tell you anything else but that Amy Bloom is an amazing story teller. Just read it now.
The rest of the day has been empty without a book because I needed to leave a buffer zone between Away and the next book which I think is a little Jane Austin type tale.

Oh! I forgot to write about Animal Crackers, the book I finished before starting Away.... Remember I read The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti? So amazing I had to read what else she wrote,which was

Animal Crackers by Hannah Tinti - Her first book, a collection of short stories, each one unusual and self contained (I've always loved short stories) and featuring people and maybe an animal. My favorite was the last story about Miss Waldron. I wish I had known her. Maybe the Robin Williams movie about the Museum of Natural History was inspired by one of the stories in this book. OK, so why is this book photo a different size than the other one?

ONCE AGAIN TO ZELDA

Upon spotting this title, I was intrigued, because of course, it was a book dedication by
F. Scott Fitzgerald to his wife, Zelda.
Once Again to Zelda The Stories Behind Literature's Most Intriguing Dedications by Marlene Wagman-Geller is a great little read. The story behind each dedication is a short story in itself, and very briefly gives a great deal of insight into the lives of 50 authors. It presents in chronological order beginning with Mary Shelley and ending with Michael Chabon. Back stories are so much fun, arent' they?

Today I'm cleaning and getting ready for Bead Group tomorrow.

ESTHER'S INHERITANCE *

As I was reading this small novel, I wasn't enjoying it's sometimes stiff prose and not enjoying the judgemental honesty of the narrator, Esther. However, it redeems itself, and I was so intrigued by the end, that I read about the author. He wrote it in 1939!
Esther's Inheritance by Sandor Marai let's you in to all the characters' minds and hearts, even as we don't even know these people. I wonder if the author imagined Esther to be as lovely as the woman on the cover?

MILES FROM NOWHERE * BALLS OF FURY

We are loving juvenile humor comedy movies here lately. Last night we saw Balls of Fury, a satire about championship Ping Pong players. It was very goofy and funny in a sweet way. This morning I finished

Miles From Nowhere by Nami Mun, about a runaway girl. If you're not into first person fiction about life on the streets, this wouldn't be the book for you. Each chapter is a self contained short story. Fit them together and they become a remarkably readable novel. Joon is a tragic character if you think about her rationally, intellectually, but emotionally you wish that you knew her so that you could protect her from herself and her choices.

My plan to accomplish a little bit each day has been working out. As long as I stay home and don't venture out to stores. A short walk to town or the library seems to not derail me, even inspires, but getting in the car to go anywhere dooms me to failure!
So here's another day. I think I'll tackle the dining room table and that valance. (Right, I haven't touched the valance since I measured and sewed lining to fabric. What has to be done next is to decide the style of the valance, and mount the curtain rod hardware; if I can do those two things, then the project will complete itself. So the roadblocks are decision making and Steve help - maybe I'll put up that curtain rod myself).

SING THEM HOME * GETTING MOTIVATED

It's another gray rainy day. The perfect first day of Daylight Savings Time, and a good day to accomplish little projects here and there that will add up to some good feelings around here. I finally finished (in a feverish burst of reading hundreds of pages yesterday morning)
Sing Them Home by Stephanie Kallos. It's the story of a family from a small Nebraska town with Welsh roots and unusual ways. I liked it, but didn't love it as much as the author's first book, Broken For You. The author weaves a story with lovely language and she's effortless at weaving decades together.
Yesterday Valerie and Diana treated me to a play at the Drury Lane Theatre in Water Tower Place, and then I introduced them to Forever XXI which is always a fun thing. I'd never seen
Xanadu and didn't know the story. It's a sweet musical that takes place in LA in 1980. It's about muses and mortals and there are sure moments of comedy, and the music is energetic and recognizable. Somehow, on that small stage, it didn't click in the slick manner that one might expect from a disco age 1980's LA story. Google Xanadu and watch musical stage clips of Olivia Newton John starring in Xanadu on Broadway.

Today I'm going to strip some more paint off door hinges in the back hallway, read some library books, catch up on DVR shows, and try to complete that long awaited master bath valance. Already it sounds like I'm not going to get all this done. I also have to read the Sunday Tribune which can be a real chore, but which I cannot not do.

Marylin Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School

Marylin Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School is a fabulous little movie for anyone who loves a good story. My friend Sue J. recommended this movie about a bread baker named Frank who meets a man by chance and then keeps an appointment for that man. You'll love all the well known actors and actresses who appear as if by surprise throughout the film. I can't wait for everyone to see and enjoy this one. Great for all ages.

We're having lovely unseasonably pleasant weather here for a couple of days so yesterday I went for a walk with Susan B. Upon arriving home I was inspired to clear out the back stairway "closet" and to organize my bag cupboard. Yea! I was so inspired by those two projects that I actually stripped paint off a large hinge on the door to the basement, and did a bit of prep sanding by hand on the door frame. I painted and glazed the back hall a few years ago, but never did the trim, which has gotten worse and worse. Now it's worst; I figure if I can do a little bit every day, maybe I'll get closer to finishing some of the unfinished decorating business around here. Most of which is painting that can't be done until the prep work is dealt with. It doesn't have to be messy; I'll do a little at a time and clean up only after little areas.

SEWING A BLANKET WITH BLANKET BINDING

I made the little flannel blanket today, and it's just perfect. First I serged the flannel all around, then I used the zig zag stitch on my new sewing machine to attach the binding per the instructions on the Wright's Binding website. It couldn't have been easier. At the end I decided to tack down the mitered corners. I am starting to love the new sewing machine. I figured out a way to thread it super fast by avoiding the spool cap step. This has made all the difference; the reason I had continued to use the Featherweight was because it is so quick to thread. It still is, but the Singer people have sped up the threading process after all. Threading a new bobbin is a snap, too.

I had a some fabric left over from the Scrabble Pants, so I made a little surprise present for my sister-in-law, and today I made one for myself. Et Voila....
It's a Scrabble Tile bag made out of Scrabble fabric! If I could score some more of this fabric, I'd make these for everyone. So, if anyone EVER sees this fabric out there, please let me know.

It's time to make Wendy's Soup. She takes a can of Muir Glen Organic Black Bean Soup, which I have, and adds a package of Uncle Ben's Southwest Style Rice, which I don't have because I can't find it at the Jewel. I'm substituting my brown rice/wild rice combo. Heat it up and serve with Sour Cream and Grated Cheddar Cheese. I'm out of Sour Cream, and might not have the cheese, so I'll substitute an hour of Heroes, and a side of The City, and although it will be enjoyable, it won't be as good as Wendy makes it!

THE COUNTERFEITERS * HAMLET 2

Skip Hamlet 2. It wasn't funny in either a good way, or even worse, a bad way. We all know I'm perfectly happy to recommend a badly funny movie like Step Brothers or Superbad, but this one was a dud. There is maybe one slightly entertaining minute in it, and you'll see that in any preview.

The Counterfeiters is a different story, however. It's a true story about how the Nazi's gathered and separated a group of prisoners at a certain concentration camp and ordered them to produce counterfeit English Pounds and American Dollars with which to fund the Nazi war effort.

On a personal note, the straightening, organizing and trying to purge goes on. (and on and on and on). Along with that goes using up supplies in my fabric, beading and scrapbooking stash. Today I made a pair of Scrabble pants for my niece who outgrew her last pair. It's so nice to complete a project and get it off lists and then out of the house! Next up is a flannel blanket. I bought the fabric years ago in Mexico at the fabric store in Puerta Vallarta, and years and years before that I bought the blue satiny wide blanket binding. My favorite blankets are the satin edged ones, so I'm finally going to make one myself. Tomorrow I'll post a picture of the finished blanket, since we're supposed to have another really really cold and blustery day, and I'm going to avoid being outside. It's March now; wouldn't it be great to have some spring like weather once in a while?