WHAT TO DO WHAT TO DO

I have a day, here, during which I can potentially make a lot of progress on my stuff. I'm in my office again, looking at that same pile of Christmas linens on the printer, thinking that the green and gold doilies are really going to go. And with that, I just pulled them out from the bottom of the pile and am putting them near the stairs to go down to the sale pile. Complete with my mom's scribbled note on the back that says "from Toula + Spiro". I don't think I can cull anything else from this pile right now, so I'll make a point to put it back to the top of the closet.... today. I'm sitting here still in my nightgown, making typing mistakes constantly because my hands are freezing.

I've just spent the past 90 minutes seeing if I could update to Lion (I think I can although the guy at the Apple store said I need 2 gigabytes of RAM, but online it indicates it's more of an either/or situation, and I have the either/or, but not the AND of it. Then I tried to create the multiple desktops, which I think I did, but if you're on one of the other desktops, you can't get to your original desktop easily. I may actually have alternate desktops going now, though.

Then I decided I had to pass along a beautiful vintage Dutch Doll with Wooden Shoes that has been in my sewing room for over a year. She was given to me by a lovely and kind man, Xavier, to whom I sold some Hat Boxes last year. After weeks of phone calls, he wasn't able to come to get them, so one day when I was on the south side, I delivered the boxes to him. I was a bit apprehensive about delivering to a complete stranger, but didn't have a bad feeling, really, so agreed to meet him in the lobby of his building. It was a beautiful turn of the century building with an even more beautiful large lobby, where huge parties could be thrown and I could imagine people from an earlier time arriving in their carriages and finery to rendezvous in that lobby. ANYWAY, when Xavier came down to meet me, along with an envelope of money, he gave me a box. A gift, he said. To be opened when I got home. Something that had been in his family for years, and that he wanted me to have. Upon arriving home, I opened my present, and it was this lovely vintage Dutch Doll and there was a note from Xavier wanting me to have the doll. My apprehension about meeting a stranger from Craigslist once again not only unnecessary, but rewarded with the chance meeting of a kind human being.

There I was again....making progress in dispersing the extra things (hat boxes) and then through only kindness, receiving something new to take care of. It's finally time, though, and with this blog post, I am going to let the Dutch Doll go. I've looked her over carefully and done some research, and she is valued at $45.00 if she is Celluloid, and maybe $65+ if she is Bisque. All I know for sure is that she originally sold for fl 7.50 which is what is marked in pencil on the bottom of one of her shoes. I knew that Holland's currency used to be the florin, so I researched that but cannot come up with any kind of original price in a current market since Holland now uses the Euro. I am going to be a brave soul, and take a picture of her with my iPad since my camera is broken, and then I am going to connect my iPad to my computer and hope that just the pictures transfer and that the computer doesn't automatically do a complete sync. Which messes up the desktop on the iPad and seems to play havoc with iPhoto, not to mention duplicate photos in both places. Who knows what will happen with all these new desktops, too.

If you're still reading this, I applaud your patience with me. I've just spent 20 minutes writing this post, and Peter just came home and is taking his shower, so now I might not get the hot water in my shower that I so desperately need in order to warm my hands so that I can do something besides sit at the kitchen counter reading the paper with the space heater warming me up. Pictures to come. Oh, and I didn't even mention that the reason for all the fuss and bother (but I know that you knew this) about the doll is so that I can put her for sale on Craigslist for $40.00, and then give the money to Xavier.

THE ART OF FIELDING

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach - There is nothing like having great books to read during vacation times. The Art of Fielding is about baseball, but even more about college, and even more about relationships, and even more about stages in our life that are crossroads. The thing about these crossroads, especially as one grows older, is that you don't necessarily know that you are at a crossroads in the moment. It's only later that you realize the reason for your tough times. Chad Harbach worked on his novel for nine years, and he got it right. I won't be forgetting Henry Scrimshander and Mike Schwartz for a long time. And I won't forget this baseball story for a long time. Baseball stories are a genre onto themselves, and if you've ever indulged in the stories of Ring Lardner, or read the early biographies of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb and the like, then this modern day story will satisfy you with its timeless feel.

As I was Googling for Ring Lardner's name, I learned that there is a generation of baseball books out there that are now considered the "classics". I remember reading
Ball Four, but nothing about it, because it wasn't in the same league, and I read some of Peter's baseball mystery biographies when he was younger, but they weren't the same, either. There is something about the early part of the 20th century that was magical and strong and the writers and movies romanticized it. In the future, gritty reality took precedence over romanticizing, and things have never been the same since. Until you read a modern novel like The Art of Fielding. It's got just the right mix of fictional reality and romance.

So, what else have I accomplished in these post Christmas days? Well......I organized my wrapping paper container which was a mess, and I started bringing some stuff downstairs to the living room where all garage sale items will be staged for the next few months. I am so determined to get rid of the stuff we don't use. With the internet, it can almost always be found again, because someone else saved it. But I will have been there and done that, or in the case of everyone else's stuff that I keep getting, they will have been there and done that, and it's not MY memory, so out it will go.
The important things are the pictures and certain ephemera. The other stuff and paper is preventing me from moving forward in a myriad of ways and I'm sick of it. I guess I've learned that hanging on to the past doesn't keep me young. Time marches on, so it's either hang back or move forward. I'm choosing move forward.
I think.

Why the uncertainty? Because here, for example is the pile of Christmas linens stuff. The "here" in question being on top of my printer. There is a set of green and gold, edged in gold doilies from my mother's cousin Toula, in Greece. Toula made those for us years ago, and whenever I pull them out, I think of Toula, and how much I love her, and how wonderful she has been to me all the times I've traveled to the village and seen her and stayed with her. Now, when Toula came here, it was just before September 11, 2001, and she was out east for some reason, and when the planes hit, she freaked and cut her trip short and went back to Greece as soon as she could. And never even called me. So now I have mixed feelings and emotions about the doilies, because it would have been so nice and fun to have Toula come and stay with us. But she didn't even call. I never liked them (the doilies) until some years ago when I realized that they were great to pull out at Christmas. This year I didn't though. I wonder if I could let the largest of the three doilies go, and keep the two smaller. There is also a really pretty quilted christmas fabric pillow cover I made with three grosgrain ribbon ties. And some extra fabric yardage of Christmas fabric that I'm always going to make into something. Christmas aprons, Christmas bread cloths, Christmas pillow cases. So then I try to back into it: What is the most important thing in this pile? It's the wide felt banner that Peter made in Sunday School when he was little, and that I didn't hang this year. The Christmas fingertip towels are important two. I love putting those out. Actually I love the whole thing. And I do have space designated for this stuff at the top of the closet in the sunroom. Help! Will I get rid of the extraneous or keep it? Will it make me happy or frustrated when I pull it down from the upper reaches next year? Will it make me happy or frustrated if I ever have a granddaughter to sew with, and it's right here for us, ready to sew? Just so you know, the pile is already 1/3 down, because I haven't detailed the things that I did cull and that are in the sale pile already.
I can say that I don't really NEED this stuff. I'm so glad my camera broke, or you'd be looking at a picture of the pile. And there's something else: If I sell the doilies from Toula, will I miss them? I'm pretty determined to go all silver and white for Christmas from now on, not gold. And I always prefer red to green. OK, I just let 4 homemade fabric tapestry coasters go. So that's good. And I'm also letting go a fairly large piece of freecycle-obtained red fabric that I edge-serged in white and used for something at some point. It's nice under a creche or other display, but out it goes! And the piece of red watered-silk cotton, although it would make a great apron or pillow cover....out! Let some other sewer make the apron. The quilted pillowcase cover. This is tough. I can't do it. It always made me feel cozy. I can just see me in my old age, living in Florida, leaning back on the pillow I covered for Christmas and remembering it. I don't think I'll be able to get rid of Toula's doilies unless I can put a picture of them here. There is one large oval one, which I don't even see in the pile, and two small placemat sized ovals. She cut the ovals out of ecru tiny tiny needlepoint cloth, then needle pointed all the green areas. the areas that were left plain are edged in bright gold metallic thread. Then she folded under the edges and hemmed them by hand, then she stitched on the lacy gold trim. What to do. What to do. I think I'll table this for now and take Peter to the mall to exchange the Nike Frees I got him for Christmas that were too small. Maybe then I'll come home and figure the picture thing out. I can always take the picture with my iPad, although I risk losing all the info on it when I hook it up to the computer. Then I have to re-sync.

HERE COMES TROUBLE * HALL PASS

Here Comes Trouble Stories From My Life by Michael Moore - The thing about Michael Moore is that in anticipation, I never want to see a documentary, even an award winning angry, funny, sad one, and Michael has sort of a monotone, and although he's interesting, he isn't appealing in the regular sense. He is appealing in the other sense, though, whatever that is, and so just because there is no anticipation, never seems to mean that I won't like, or even enjoy, (as in the case of Here Comes Trouble), his work. With that, I'll add that this is a great book, full of interesting self-aggrandizing yet self-deprecating stories. It's funny, it's maddening, and its even sad. And it's all true. Michael Moore is always always questioning, and he always did. It's what makes him so good. He's not afraid to ask the questions that others don't want to ask, or don't want to be asked. As a person who questions but often doesn't speak up, I thank him for staying with it, and I'm happy for him that he's become so successful.

Hall Pass - My raunchy-comedy-movie-loving-15 year old son said "I can save you some time there. I saw Hall Pass, it's not that good, just erase it and don't bother watching". I'm so happy that I didn't listen to him. This is a really funny movie for those of us who are past the teen years. Owen Wilson always adds something sweet to a movie no matter how extreme, and this one hits that note along with lots of laughs. Owen's 40 ish married-with-children character and his married friend are always ogling women and being juvenile, obnoxious and embarrassing to their wives. So Owen's wife gives him a "Hall Pass". She'll take the children and get out of town, and he can have a week to not be married and do whatever he wants. If you want to laugh at a mindless comedy and don't mind some off color stuff, this nutty movie is for you.

THE SITTER * EVERYTHING MUST GO

It's the first Saturday of Winter Break which is what they call Christmas Vacation nowadays. My list is extremely daunting, and yet doable if I just get to it and don't look at the clock and see that it's already past 1:30, and that it's going to be dark in 2 hours. I'm loving movies, though. Last night I took Peter and a couple of his friends to see the latest R-rated inappropriate offering for teenagers younger than the R rating.

The Sitter - Jonah Hill stars as a college graduate with no job or prospects, who agrees to babysit for three kids so that his single mom can be fixed up with a guy. I want to see clever and funny and not too raunchy, and I thought this was a funny movie with a sweet component, not quite deserving of its R rating. I didn't get bored or fall asleep, and I laughed a lot, so yeah, take the teens and go see The Sitter during break. By the way, the boys didn't mind it, but they didn't rave about it. They don't need it to be sweet. They want to see and hear more gratuitous this and that, more violence, and more pushing of the envelope. I'll quote Cat Stevens on that..."They're still young, that's their fault, there's so much they have to go through".

Everything Must Go - Will Farrell. This is an interesting little study about a guy who has a really bad day, and then comes home to find all his stuff on the front lawn of his house and the locks changed. All of the performances are stellar, and the story is tight, and gives you just what you need to know when you need to know it. It doesn't move fast, and I fell asleep a couple of times, but then woke up and finished it out. It's for those nights when you just want to watch a good movie and not have to work too hard at it. I like how Will Farrell can be the nutty over the top guy in his comedies, and then show heart and restraint in a movie like Everything Must Go. There is probably a lot of meat here for a movie club or analysis, but I'll leave that to the clubs and analyzers. I liked it.

UNDER THEIR THUMB HOW A NICE BOY FROM BROOKLYN GOT MIXED UP WITH THE ROLLING STONES (AND LIVED TO TELL ABOUT IT)

Under Their Thumb by Bill German - This was such a great book. Bill German was a 16 year old high school student when he started a magazine about the Rolling Stones called Beggar's Banquet. It was a labor of love, and although he never got rich from his 17 year, 102 issue project, he became an insider to the band while maintaining his distance as a journalist. He's a great writer (which his subscribers already knew), and this is a great story. He worked in both worlds. The one before the commercialization and corporatization of American life, and the one after, where everything went haywire and became more about money than passion. Or maybe it's that the people with the passion for money were able to turn things to their advantage in a big way, and the Americans and now the world followed. I'm not saying that money isn't good, but the gap between the haves and have nots gets wider and wider and wider. Anyway, the Rolling Stones was my first concert, at Cobo Arena in Detroit, and around here somewhere is my ticket stub. $7.50. Except the concert was sold out, and I had to buy my ticket from a scalper who was a friend of my Uncle Peter's and owner of the bar across the street from where I worked in the summers at Michigan Bell. The bar was the Lindell AC and it had good hamburgers, when a good hamburger was just a great burger in a dark and somewhat mysterious place with a little atmosphere. So Uncle Peter made the call to his buddy, the owner, and I went over there on my lunch hour, and Jimmy Butsicaris took me upstairs to his office and pulled out some tickets from a drawer, and we chose two tickets that were like on the third base line if you were at Tiger Stadium, except this was Cobo Arena. I was of course not allowed to go to a rock concert, but I was going to go to that show no matter what. Here I was making my own money and everything, but my parents wouldn't drive me, and I couldn't use their cars to go, and I wouldn't be allowed to take the bus at night, and besides, they wouldn't drive me to the bus stop on Michigan Avenue for it either. So I got one of my Junior Achievement friends from Detroit, from another high school, Donna W something ski (it was a polish name) (I just remembered! Donna Wysocki!) (I'm going to look her up on Facebook!) said that she would go, and that her brother would drive us. So I bought the tickets ($35.00 each) from Jimmy Butsicaris, and her brother drove us, and Donna and I went to the concert. It was a good show and noisy and wild, and one of the blues guys played with them, and they were kind of far away, and it wasn't fun so much as an experience, and I was so happy I went, and still am. And my favorite albums are still my Hot Rocks albums Big Hits and Fazed Cookies. The early one with the white cover, and the next one with the black cover. I'm going to go look up Donna now.

CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE * THE DESCENDANTS

The Descendants - This movie had great reviews, so when after a busy few weeks it was still playing at the theater, I finally got to go see it yesterday. It was a decent movie, good story, George Clooney is a father facing some major life changes and decisions. It's nice to watch and keeps your interest.....but.....I think you can wait until it comes out on DVD. On the other hand, there was a movie I missed at the theater that I rented the other night, and it was really good:

Crazy, Stupid, Love - Steve Carrell plays a similar dad role, and he gets some life changing news at the beginning of the movie. Ryan Gosling plays a guy who hangs out at the bar. This movie is charming and funny and watchable. I wish I could watch a movie like this every night. Especially if Ryan Gosling is in it!

A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD

A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan - During all the time I wasn't reading this since it was first recommended to me, I wondered....what is the Goon Squad? What if I don't like it when so many did? What if the Goon Squad is scary and unpleasant? Do I really want to read about it? It turns out that the Goon Squad visits all of us no matter what we do, and although it can be scary and unpleasant, it's OK. These stories are about a woman named Sasha, a man named Benny Salazar, and a man named Lou, and the things that happened to them during memorable and not so memorable parts of their lives, as told by people who know them. At first I could put it down, but then I couldn't. I love a good book ending, and A Visit From the Goon Squad has a good ending. I like that it's a New York story, a San Francisco story and and L.A. story. There is a lot of ground covered here. I'd put it next on your list.

PARIS PORTRAITS

Paris Portraits by Harriet Lane Levy - I wonder if Woody Allen read these stories and was inspired to make Midnight in Paris. Harriet Lane Levy was born in San Francisco in 1867 and lived in Paris in the early part of the 20th Century as part of the Parisian avant-garde. Harriet's world very much revolved around the Stein family. Her straightforward style is illuminating and uncompromising, yet not unkind. The lines are here, and you don't have to read between them to get more than a surface knowledge of what was happening. These newly published stories and accompanying photographs are simply magical, because you feel like you were there. If you haven't seen Midnight in Paris, read this first, then see the movie. And at some point, I'll go to the source and read Gertrude Stein herself, now that I see I've been skirting around her for quite a long while.

DUE DATE * SIP & SHOP

Due Date - The other night I wanted a movie, and On Demand had Due Date with Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianikis. Gotta see that, right? Zach is really funny, and RDJ is usually good. It's in the Trains Planes and Automobiles genre where two strangers are thrown together and have to get across the country, but can't take a plane for whatever reason. I just told you the whole movie, but it seems to move as slowly as it would take to make the actual trip. Zach is funny, but he's never been as good as he was in the original Hangover, although he came close the other night on the season finale of Bored to Death. Robert Downey Jr. needs to play that character that he played on Ally McBeal, which for me was his best role, although even that didn't last when it turned out that he was only teasing Ally because he had a secret wife stashed away somewhere. (Or was it a child and an ex-wife - whatever.....the tension would have built more satisfyingly if they'd just stuck to a formula on that one). To be fair, though, in this movie, RDJ starts out as so so intense, and really relaxes once Zach gets the car all heated up so that his dog can get high on the drive. That's actually the funniest scene, and almost worth the movie. Well, not worth paying for, but worth watching for free on HBO this month.

Tomorrow night is the Sip & Shop, and I'm in the final throws of getting ready. I've got even more new jewelry, a few pieces of which I'll put on Jewelry by Dianne Sophia right now......

THE HOUSEKEEPER AND THE PROFESSOR

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa - I know, I know....how can I be finishing books when I have so much to do to get ready for my jewelry sale on Thursday night? This book reads so effortlessly, so kindly, so intriguingly, that I couldn't resist the siren's call to turn its pages. The housekeeper tells her story simply and namelessly, yet she gives you every detail that you need to have a perfect understanding of the unique situation in which she works every day. It's told in the elegant style of Japanese authors, and it incorporates the universality of the world of numbers as experienced by the brilliant math professor and then the humble housekeeper and her son. There is much to enjoy, ponder and think about once you finish the book, so you get the journey and then the memory. I've just told you absolutely nothing about this story, but you know you have to read it, right? It's so good that I've just reserved Yoko Ogawa's other two books.

JEWELRY BY DIANNE SOPHIA

Just when I think I'm great at technology and websites and figuring out how to post just the way I want to, I discover something not quite working the way I want it to! In this case, there are two things.
First of all, I have a companion blog to this blog at diannesophia.blogspot.com
I thought that everything I've posted on that blog was also located under the heading
Jewelry by Dianne Sophia on this blog. But it's not! So to see the jewelry that I'll be selling at St. Francis' Sip & Shop on Thursday night, please go to diannesophia.blogspot.com
The above is a link by the way. The blogspot links are not underlined, and although they are a slightly different color than my regular font, they are difficult to distinguish.

Next, I also have a companion page to my Facebook page. The companion page is also called Jewelry by Dianne Sophia, and when I went to post my latest designs there, I discovered that all the posts would appear on the news feed of all my fb friends automatically. I really don't want to do that. I just want to have them look at the jewelry if they are interested in doing so. I don't want them to have to slog through the 10 or 20 new photos on their newsfeeds. Maybe I'll try just posting photos at my regular fb page, and hope that they don't go out to the newsfeed.

Above is the Rhodochrosite necklace with Custom Victorian Sterling Clasp. I love pink flowers, and the marbled pink Rhodochrosite double strand of beads with the flower clasp is lovely. Swarovski crystals and Bali Silver add a little spark to the mix. I saw the designer Valentino on TV a few years ago, and he said that anyone can wear the color pink. It lightens you up and makes you look younger. Wear this necklace with black or dark brown, or go monochromatic with pink. Either way you can't go wrong. With pink my girl is In The Pink.

A STOLEN LIFE

A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard - Jaycee's story is one of resilience and survival. She is an amazing writer, as well as an amazingly perceptive human being. This is her memoir; the story of how she was kidnapped at 11 years old, and how she lived during her 18 years of captivity. It's a mind-boggling concept to think about. On so many levels, and at so many times, things could have gone differently. It's a thoughtful and insightful account, and I couldn't help but think again about Room, which was much more of a roller coaster of a story. Both books are worth the read, if only to rethink and remember that predators are among us, and we need to be on our guard to spot them and stop them if ever given the opportunity. During the Penn State predator story, I missed Oprah. She's been the loudest continuous voice in this arena. There was a column I read in the Tribune, and the author said that we need to know what to do. Another Tribune article about sexual harassment of a female intern by older men said that this harassment is hidden in so many cases because the victims are afraid to come forward and don't feel safe about coming forward. But here's what you do, if you're a victim, if you can, and if you're a witness, especially:
STOP THE ATTACK. CALL THE POLICE.
They need to be teaching this in schools, just like stop drop and roll.
STOP THE ATTACK. CALL THE POLICE.

SIP 'N SHOP

I've only got one week to complete all the tasks I want to do for Sip 'n Shop. I want to make another one or two Leopard Necklaces, another one or two Knossos necklaces, a blue necklace, and a few more pairs of earrings. I'd love to have a few more bracelets to sell as well. I've got to shine all the jewelry up, and would love to have an explanation card for each piece. I need to channel Kelly, that stylist from The City, as I set up my display. I want to keep it simple and clean. I need to get a receipt book for the event and make a couple of signs which I'll frame in silver frames for my table. I have to get my mirror ready (I always take my lightweight full length mirror to events like this), and have a suggestion for hosts of such events to provide mirrors at every aisle or every few tables. You'll sell more stuff if people can see themselves looking great in the wares (or wears). I have no idea how the lighting will be, so I have to have one or two lamps and extension cords ready to go. I've got lots more jewelry to photograph and post, and I want to re-make my lightbox so that the white background will be brighter in my photos. OK, here I go. I'll try to post a picture of my display later today.

THE MARRIAGE PLOT

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides - When reading a book by Eugenides, I always get the feeling that the story is somehow autobiographical, because he gets so into the minds of his characters. One is in the mind of the character, hearing what the character is thinking, almost feeling what the character is feeling. In this case, he lets the reader into the minds of two of the characters, and part way into the mind of a third. Sometimes this book got too into itself for me, like when the characters would think about the books they'd read and mentally review them, and apply them to their lives. This happens a lot in the book, and it's annoying, except Eugenides is such a good writer that you want to keep going on. He even addresses this very thing near the end of the book!
"......was like reading certain difficult books. It was like plowing through late James, or the pages about agrarian reform in Anna Karenina, until you suddenly got to a good part again, which kept on getting better and better until you were so enthralled that you were almost grateful for the previous dull stretch because it increased your eventual pleasure."
Except for me, I'd rather have very little dull stretch and all pleasure. Who wants to wait anymore? He's a very studied, intellectual, clever writer. A good old-fashioned writer's writer with modern subject matter. And at the end, I smiled.

THE NIGHT BOOKMOBILE

The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger - Audrey wrote the marvelous The Time Traveler's Wife, which was also a good movie if you'd read the book. I expected this book to be a novel, but when I found it, it was in the 741 section of books because it's a graphic novel; illustrated like a children's storybook. One look at the enticing cover art, and I knew that this was a book for me. It's a story about a woman who goes on a walk that may be a dream, and what happens on her walk, and in her dream, and in her life, and how they all intersect. It's also about books, and it takes place in Chicago, and it's especially for lovers of books. I liked this so much that I'm going to read it again before returning it to the library.

I've just reread The Night Bookmobile, and wanted to include some of the author's "After Words" about the book. She asks "What is it we desire from the hours, weeks, lifetimes we devote to books? What would you sacrifice to sit in that comfy chair with perfect light for an afternoon in eternity, reading the perfect book, forever?"
Good Question.

In one week, on Thursday, December 1st I'm going to be in a holiday fair, selling my jewelry. It's called Sip 'n Shop, and it happens at St. Francis school in Wilmette, from 6-9 pm. I've been making necklaces, bracelets and earrings for weeks, and finally straightened up my dining room table bead studio, so that I could photograph the pieces, so that I could post them to this blog and to Facebook. Tomorrow I start posting and
publicizing. Yea! Sip 'n Shop will be a fun time. Complimentary admission, cash bar and a raffle, in addition to the vendors.



GARDEN STATE * UP THE DOWN STAIRCASE

Garden State - When Peter read Catcher in the Rye for school last month, and I read it for the 20th or so time, it was as good as ever, but since it was for school for Peter, there was more to the story. There was thinking and analyzing Holden in a big way. Then there was even more, because Peter's amazing English Teacher had the class watch Garden State with Zach Braff. In this movie, the main character, Andrew Largeman, returns to his home state of New Jersey for his mother's funeral. Andrew has been away for nine years, (since the time his parents sent him to boarding school), and has come home to face his demons. Natalie Portman co-stars as a girl he meets in a waiting room. It has the feel of a reunion movie, as Zach catches up and spends time with the friends he left behind. Peter wrote a paper about Holden and Zach and how they were sent away from their families (society) for being and acting "different". Now he and his English teacher have ME thinking in a deeper way about Holden and Andrew.

Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman - A few weeks ago there was an obituary in the Trib for the woman who wrote Up the Down Staircase, a book I'd read a couple of times in my youth, as part of my love of books about troubled high schools (To Sir with Love, Blackboard Jungle, etc.). This modern version includes an Introduction by the author, written in 1991, (the book was originally published in 1964) wherein Bel Kaufman writes about her writing process, and how the themes in the book still resonate. It's amazing that in spite of all that has changed in American education, so much of it is still the same. The students still want to make a personal connection with their teachers whether they know it or not, and the teachers want to mold young people into confident adults. Simple, yet so complicated.

BITTER IN THE MOUTH * LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS

Bitter in the Mouth by Monique Truong - I loved this novel about a girl who not only hears words, but gets a taste in her mouth for each word she hears. It's an extremely distracting way to live, especially when the tastes are bitter or don't combine well, one after the other. There are all kinds of family secrets and questions that occur to the reader, and one wonders whether a thread or two has been lost. No threads are dropped in this story though; by the end of the book, all loose ends are gathered up and sewn back into the tapestry. I wouldn't mind a second installment of Lindamint's life. What happens to her and the other characters after this? It's a question that she herself would ask.

Love and Other Drugs - Steve and I watched this on On Demand recently, and I must say, pretty as she is, Anne Hathaway can be overwhelming. I loved her as a meek character in The Devil Wears Prada, but as a leading lady she's too much. In this case she dominates Jake Gyllenhaal which isn't easy to do. All that said, it's an OK love story about a guy who gets a pharmaceutical sales job and the broken girl he ends up loving. The funny parts can be funny, and rather than one heavy-set male side kick, there are two heavy male sidekicks. Maybe because the makers wanted it to be more real-life? I say just let it be a movie, folks. If you miss it, you won't really miss it, even if some reviewers gave it lots of stars.

THE GIRL WHO FELL FROM THE SKY

The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow - Maybe it's something about being busy all the time and craving to accomplish things, but those big old sprawling books don't give me the same pleasure that I get from a story that is told without repetition. This is a small book about a young girl. The story is told by her, her mother, and a boy she doesn't know, but who knows her. It unfolds and unwraps in layers, each chapter about a place or time or person. The characters in this book are beautiful and real, and although it's tightly written, the author has not missed providing a single detail in a story that moves forward as it deals with events of the past. My favorite kind of book!

PERFECT LIVES * THE DISTANT HOURS

Perfect Lives by Polly Samson - The subjects of these short stories all live in an English seaside town, and I wish the author had named the town, and that the town could have been more of a character. Other than that, it is a perfect compilation of stories spanning a couple of generations and weaving through a few families whose lives sometimes intersect. I love short story collections, both the F. Scott Fitzgerald kind, where every story is it's own little tale, as well as the Raise High the Roofbeams and Nine Stories kind that J. D. Salinger wrote where the characters in the stories intersect and connect. These stories intersect and connect. My favorites were Barcarolle, about Richard the piano tuner, and The Birthday Present about a Hermes Leica camera. I've just spent the last 20 minutes looking for a camera like the one described in the story, but can't quite come up with a photo to do justice to Polly Samson's description. I even watched a couple of unboxing videos. Still, the reading is better than the seeing in this case! (Why do I love those unboxing videos?) I tried to get Peter to let me make an unboxing video of him unboxing his XBox last year, but he refused. Here's a youtube video of Polly talking about her book.

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton - Although I enjoy Kate's stories, I've decided that they are a bit wordy to put it mildly. They are big fat sprawling hardcover books with great tales of English countryside mansions and family secrets. You can't put them down, though! The Distant Hours is no exception.

CELEBRITY WEDDINGS

I had the best time last week attending a couple of celebrity weddings. First, Kim Kardashian married Kris Humphries. The lead up was fabulous. Family arguments, wedding planners, dress shopping, misunderstandings, make-ups, and more, all happening in that most magical of places, Southern California. Where I'd live if I could do it all again. For some reason, unfathomable even to me, I love these Kardashians. There's something about the way they stick together through thick and thin. It's real life soap opera. And little Mason is adorable! Kim wore three wedding gowns, and she was positively radiant at her dream wedding. I hope they'll be happy.

Next up was Gene and Shannon's long awaited marriage. Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed have been together for 28 years, and have two grown children, but Gene did not want to get married. For the past season, Gene has been pretty honest about exploring his life and views, in an effort to keep Shannon in his life, because she'd found out at some point that Gene had been cheating on her with groupies for years. This has been great stuff! Learning about Gene's rags to riches story, and watching him meet his Israeli brother and sisters for the first time was very moving. Once Gene proposed to Shannon, one had the impression that he might go back to business as usual, so he agreed to attend a marriage boot camp with Shannon. It was another powerful episode. And then, finally, after the family arguments, wedding planners, dress shopping, misunderstandings, make-ups and more, the wedding show. In Southern California. Another beautiful family sticking together. Shannon wore three wedding gowns, and everyone sang and danced. Just beautiful. I'd watch it again!

SUBMARINE * TEARS OF MERMAIDS

Submarine - If you liked Harold in Harold and Maude, Submarine might be for you. It's a coming of age movie about a boy in a town in Wales. He thinks too much, as do most interesting protagonists, and he's thinking about getting a girlfriend and about his parent's strained marriage. He's really sweet and watchable, not to mention clever with a turn of phrase, which is partly the English English, and partly his own quirkiness. Although it takes place in 1985, it has the stylized look of a more modern film. Steve and Michelle fell asleep throughout this one, but I was right there not wanting to miss anything. It flew under the radar at the theaters but was much reviewed. For me a thumbs up. For you, I don't know.

Tears of Mermaids the Secret Story of Pearls by Stephen G. Bloom - This is the non-fiction book about everything you ever wanted to know about Pearls including the lore, the history, and the pearl industry. Everything. It's well-written and overly thorough, and kudos to the writer for his passion and humor. I read and skimmed through this one. Overall, it was as I'd suspected, pearls are not all natural surprises found in oysters. There are just too many of them, right? And how about those colors and shapes? This book explains the manufacture of pearls and the author visits with independent Tahitian pearl divers as well as mega pearl producers.

THE RUNNER'S LITERARY COMPANION * RUN!

The Runner's Literary Companion Great Stories and Poems about Running edited by Garth Battista - For me, this has been the best running book so far. Overall, Born to Run is the most readable and interesting, but these stories about different runners and races enabled me to understand more about the differences between different distances, and then the mindset of a runner in a race. My favorite stories were Wheelbarrow by Eddy Orcutt, written in 1936 about a college mile race, and See How They Run by George Harmon Coxe, written in 1941 about the marathon. Many of the stories are more modern, but I've always loved a good old-fashioned short story, and these two were wonderful.
! 26.2 Stories of Blisters and Bliss by Dean Karnazes - Dean is an Ultramarathon Man who runs for a living. When he tripped over a tree root on a 100 mile endurance run and had to leave the race near the end, he ended up seeing one of San Francisco's top Orthopedic Surgeons. Here's my favorite excerpt from the book:

"When I entered his office, he took one look at me and said "You're a runner, you're going to have horrible knees." After seeing me and taking some X-rays, he informed me that I had a torn meniscus. He gave me some pills and told me to stop running. He instructed me to schedule a follow-up appointment in two weeks. I walked out of his office, threw the drugs in the trashcan, and went running. I never returned."

Dean travels around the world running and racing the most difficult courses in the most difficult conditions. His feeling is that if it's there, then it can be done. Just that idea applied to any area of one's life is an inspiration. It's about doing what you yourself want to do, even if it goes against the grain and flies in the face of everyone's superior knowledge and advice. Be your own person and your own best friend and decide yourself what is best for your own self.

50/50 * TURN OF MIND

50/50 - I just saw the latest best movie. 50/50 is based on the true story of a young man, 27 years old, diagnosed with a serious large tumor on his spine. He's seems to be an average guy, quiet type, clever, getting serious girlfriend, works with his best friend at a public radio station. His back hurts him when he's running, so he gets it checked out, and BOOM. This is the story of Adam, the cancer and his funny best friend who continues to be funny, irreverent, and sarcastic, treating his friend the same as he always has. Seth Rogan always delivers, doesn't he? How a movie can be sad and funny at the same time is a new and edgy concept that's been explored in the past few years, and one which I'll continue to watch. Be ready to laugh and to cry.

Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante - I've never read anything quite like this book. Told in the first person by a retired surgeon with Alzheimer's, you'll come to know the people around her in the way that she knows them with this disease. What kept me reading was the first person account about the descent of her brain and perceived intelligence. This is actually a mystery for those of my friends who read that genre. It's stirring and thought provoking, and I read it in a minute. You might read it to figure out the mystery; I read it to know about the turn of a mind.

BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK * THE HOUSE AT RIVERTON

Bill Cunningham New York - One of the best movie documentaries I've ever seen. Bill Cunningham is the fellow who photographs and writes the On The Street column for the New York Times. I'm listening to the Velvet Underground's I'll Be Your Mirror as I write this, trying to think of words that could do justice to this film about a man who has been able to spend his life following his passion, answering to no one. He smiles all the time, and there is a kindness and humility in his eyes that will make you wish that you knew him. It will make you want to read the Sunday Times, and it will make you want to dress in amazing creative ways. Mostly it will leave you with a good feeling about the world and the people in it. The booklet inserted in the DVD package is worth the read and the extra scenes on the DVD are as well.

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton - Kate did it to me again! Once into this novel about Grace Bradley, in service to the Hartford family at Riverton House, I was hooked. Then the 1920s came along, and there was just enough about the fashions, decor and Jazz Age goings on that I couldn't put it down until I saw it through. Which I did this morning. Never mind that there are so many unfinished threads around here, that it's a beautiful sunny day outside, I was at Riverton today.

THE CATCHER IN THE RYE

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger - "If a body catch a body, comin' through the rye". Iconic. This was my favorite book for most of my life. At a time when I'm reading so many wonderful and enriching stories, to revisit Holden Caulfield is like coming home. My copy of the book is the same one that Aunt Lu sent me when I was 11 years old, and it's literally in pieces, and I'd tucked J.D. Salinger's obituary into the front cover last year. It's still brilliant, and the honesty that Holden craves in the world resonates as much as it ever did. Peter is reading this for English class, and he likes it.

When I first read it, it was like Holden was talking to me. He was like the cool big brother I craved. He knew himself really well, and he was honest, and he liked kids and understood them. He was fearless and had adventures. He was his own man.

This is my book. I'll have it always.

MONEYBALL * THE NEW TV SHOWS

Moneyball - I love a baseball story, and when you have a good baseball story with Brad Pitt, it gets even better. Moneyball is the story of Billy Beane, the General Manager of the Oakland Athletics in a year when they lost the playoffs in 5 games, and then lost their three best players. Something had to be done, so Billy turned to a guy played by Jonah Hill, who believed and wanted to prove that baseball players' performance could be evaluated by math and statistics, rather than by personality, averages, looks and gut feelings, which is how the scouts were recruiting players at the time. It's good.

The new TV shows have been really fun to watch this fall. Here's a quick line up, and don't even ask when I find the time to watch all these shows. I'm not sure, and the DVR is really busy, and sometimes it's stressful because there might be three shows on at a time, and I can only record two, so I have to find the third show playing at a different time and record THAT. I multi-task by reading my line up of magazines and non-fiction books from the library while watching.

Pan Am - You've heard about it, we've only seen one episode, and it's charming. The Stewardesses are lovely to watch and just as glamorous as they seemed when I was a little girl.

Playboy Club - After two episodes, this show has a little more meat, and isn't as sweet as Pam Am. There's a murder, a cover-up, a prosecutor who walks a fine line, a jerky manager, and some strong women. I like it!

New Girl - Zoey Deschanel. Need I say more? After one show, this might turn out to be a favorite. Quirky and sweet.

Two Broke Girls - The cupcake making broke girl needs to tone it down a bit, but the rich broke girl is perfect. I watch the show for her. It's a fun show.

Glee - I love Glee!

Millionaire Matchmaker - It's been good this season. I'm always stimied by Patty's helpers with their crazy hair and uninformed ways. I don't understand why this show works, and why I continue to watch it. But I do. It must be that old lotto mentality where you watch because you want to see a winner, and you never know when you might see one. In this case a winner being a love match.

American Pickers - I love these guys. They are so American and so nice, and so respectful of the people they find to buy stuff from. Picking would be my dream job if there was money in it and I had more energy.

Project Runway - Michael and Nina continue to annoy me and Heidi half annoys me, but I love the designers and the sewing and the clothes. It's still the best of the design genre. Can you believe that stony Olivia from The City was a guest judge last night? That's all we need. She was only to happy to sharply shoot down any looks she didn't like.

The Office - It's still good, but finding its way without Michael Scott to make crazy. It's not that you miss him, it's that the show doesn't seem to have the same center. Which is just how it is in a real life office when someone important leaves the fold.

Parks and Recreation - Leslie Knope. Gotta love her and all the people in the parks department.

Awkward - I just discovered this MTV show at the end of its season, so I'm waiting for on demand choices or even a DVD of it. It's about a high school girl, a love triangle, a maniac counselor, a really young mom, and it's fabulous.

Modern Family - It needs a mention because it's a favorite.

The Middle - I love the people in this family, especially the middle sister Sue. The episode about when their neighbor called them on vacation to say that someone had broken into their house, and when they came home, it was just that their house was so messy, was hilarious.

Suburgatory - This is the show they're putting on in between The Middle and Modern Family, and it's great! On the order of Awkward but more obvious about going for the laughs.

Survivor - Still watching still loving.

60 Minutes - How do you know that? A couple of my friends are always asking. I don't know how I know. Do you read the paper? Do you watch 60 Minutes? It's a way to know. And damned interesting too. Hey, I think that's the first time I've ever sworn in my blog. For Mike Wallace, Ed Bradley, Morley Safer. They were and are the real thing.

I hope these are the only shows I watch, but this is from memory only, and there are more. You will notice an absence of Idol, Dance and Sing shows, which don't appeal to me. They take too long! There is no story! Speaking of which, I have the final three All My Children episodes recorded and waiting for me as a special treat one of these days.
I never watched the very final Oprah show either. It's waiting too. One of these days....

127 HOURS * THE LONLINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER

127 Hours - This movie is a modern day Reader's Digest Drama in Real Life and although the filmmakers made it as edgy as possible, I didn't have fun watching it. James Franco stars in this true story about an adventurous canyoneer who gets himself in serious trouble. You know that he is going to make it, but you don't want to know (and see) how he does it. But you watch. I'm glad I saw it, because Franco was great, I didn't know the details of Aaron's story, and the music and flashbacks were so well done. So... well done.


The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner - This 1962 English film was based on a story by Alan Sillitoe, which I will read soon, and which no doubt I will enjoy more than the movie. It's about a boy from a poor family who ends up in reform school. While there, it becomes known that he is a great runner, so the headmaster pins all his hopes on the boy to win the Cross Country race that the reform school is going to have in an athletic day against the local Public (Private) school. Peter wouldn't watch it based on the title, but once I heard the title, I had to see it. Film noir for runners.

FRENCH LESSONS * CLOSET INTERVENTION BEFORE & AFTER

French Lessons by Ellen Sussman - This book is divided into three short stories about three French tutors in Paris, who give French Lessons to adults. I didn't love it, because it starts out with a really nice tutor whose student is a young woman who had an affair with a married man. The whole story tries to justify the affair by the man saying that he loves his wife and will never leave her, and that he is a "good man". Please. The next two stories are better, but it was too late for the book for me.

Today is a rainy Saturday, so I am going to go through my closet and really pare it down to the things I wear. It's divided into sections by season and then by type of garment. I also share this closet with my son, since it's in his room. He has about 10" of hanging space, and I want him to have more than that, because as things are now, his closet is on the end of his bed:
on top of his dresser:
and behind his doors:

Oh, no, the sun is coming out. If that happens I might be derailed. If not, though, here are the before pictures for my closet:
I know that it doesn't look so bad from here, but in Jeff Lewis' closet (he's on the reality show Flipping Out on Bravo), Zoila has to make sure that each hanger is exactly 3/4" apart. I've got all new beautiful hangers from my Auntie Kaye's closet - they are silver metal and look gorgeous. I'm so happy to be done with the fabric hangers and plastic hangers I'd had for years. The fabric hangers took up too much space and the bows on them would come undone making them look messy, and the plastic hangers, well, they didn't look as good as these metal ones. I sold a bag of the old hangers at my yard sale last spring. Today I'm going to make a pile of clothes for next spring's yard sale.

It's 2 hours and 20 minutes later, and my closet is so much better! I didn't really finish the job which would entail switching out sandals for winter shoes and bringing all the winter sweaters down a shelf, but I did streamline the whole operation and find room for more of Peter's things. I found a few rogue hangers, and realized that in addition to the metal hangers, I had three sets of the new slim line hangers. I was able to get all my summer clothes on either metal or beige slimlines, and was able to take out a set of brown slimlines that will go into Steve's closet, replacing many of his plastic hangers. There is a small pile of things to sell, and a small pile that I'll save for other projects and inspiration. If I get into a purging mood, I have a good idea of exactly what will go next. For now, though, I can work with this. I even found all the white tee shirts that I was missing! (They were in my summer clothes drawer, but now at least a few of them are in the closet on hangers and ready to wear.) I also found the B. Makowsky purse I carried last year, and took pictures of it, and am going to post it to Craigslist right now.
Here are my after pictures:
As soon as I treat myself to the 12 games of Scrabble that await me on Facebook, I'll have some cherries and Fage yoghurt. Doesn't that sound yummy?