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Wow - my seniors took their physics final exam today. Hard to believe the year is almost over! Tomorrow is the Awards Ceremony (I think I have all of the certificates done!) and Friday is graduation practice. They graduate on Sunday. Amazing. Day15 - 4. book from the left on your shelf Shelf - singular? To hold all of my books, that would be one long shelf! I've got floor to ceiling bookshelves in my library! I checked ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=91.6) alryssa's entry to see how she handled this (like me, she has many shelves) and she opted to pick 4th book from the left from each shelf. I think I'll try 4th set of shelves, 4th shelf, 4th book all from the left and just stick to my library. Hmmm, I'm interested to know myself which book this is. (Hopefully, I'll pick the correct left!) *time passes* Heh - once I got into my library, I wasn't sure which set of shelves to start counting with. And if I should count shelves with no books as a shelf to count from. In the end I wound up with The Gryphon by Nick Bantock. "In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin & Sabine Is Rediscovered." I must admit, Bantock's Griffin & Sabine books are beautiful to look at and fun to read, but honestly, totally forgettable. I really don't remember them, and I know I've read books 1-3 twice (but this one only once, thus far). (To me, that's worse than being a bad book - being forgettable.) ( The rest of the 31 days: )Tags: 31days, books, meme
Current Mood:  astonished - the end is nigh!
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Day14 - Book from your childhood Since I have loved most of the books that I read (or had read to me) from my childhood, I decided I'd mix it up a bit and pick a book from my childhood that I dislike. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. See, for me, it was never a story about a toy rabbit that becomes real. No, it was the story of a child who lost his favorite toy due to illness. And I was always afraid I'd get sick and Teeny Tiny Teddy, my most favorite teddy bear (a gift to me on the Christmas the week before I was born) would be taken from me and I'd never see him again. (And what would Teeny do as a real bear? Surely he'd not be 41 years old and still pootling about these days.) Anyhoo, I never did get sick like the boy in the story and Teeny and I have been firm friends ever since. He used to travel everywhere with me (to college & back, to Chicago, London, etc.) but now he's retired from travel and stays on the pillow next to mine in bed. ( The rest of the 31 days: )Tags: 31days, books, meme
Current Mood:  anxious
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(Got back from playing cards after midnight last night, so missed a second day in my meme. Whoops!) Happy Mother's Day! I took mom (and dad) out to a Mother's Day Brunch at the Crystal Room today. They had a few teething troubles at the brunch and we had a waitress with bad karma, but other than that, it was a lovely time with my mom (and dad). I think she was supposed to get a carnation, too, but that was one of the teething troubles they were having. No matter, I had brought some lilac flowers in a glass for her this morning. Thank you mom for borning us! Day12 - Book that a friend recommended The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo by Stieg Larsson. My sister was reading the Millennium Trilogy long before the rest of the country was reading it. She bought the first book for dad for Christmas, and it wasn't long before the entire family was reading the series. As I mentioned in an earlier post in this meme, I read much of books 1 & 2 while on our cruise. Day13 - Book that makes you laugh Oh, there are many that do this. I have no reservations about laughing out loud while reading, even if I'm alone at a restaurant. But probably the book that has made me laugh out loud the most was Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. I read a lot of it in bed, and remember slapping the bed often while howling in laughter. I suspect the kitties were traumatized by the laughter (but they must have gotten over it since they still sleep with me in bed). ( The rest of the 31 days: )Tags: 31days, books, meme, mom
Current Mood:  thankful
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First, a Happy Birthday to my sister, who turns 37 today! She now has a year in which she can quote from Monty Python and the Holy Grail: "I'm 37, I'm not old!" Yay! Now, onto the meme: Day8 - Book that reminds you on a certain place The first one that I think of is Dancing the Code, a Past Doctor Adventure by Virgin publishing. Just thinking of the book makes me think of B-WISER camp. And just thinking of B-WISER camp makes me remember that book. Heh. Many other books make me think of my library - I often sit in my comfy chair reading books (with cat or cats on lap). Much of the Harry Potter series was read in this manner (though book 6 was also read at judiang's place). Christopher Moore's Lamb makes me think of Chicago as well since I bought it (and several others) there when Narns Ignoble was doing a Buy 3 get 4 or some such deal. Loved the cover and the premise, so bought it knowing nothing else about it. Loved the book. Oh, and in a stark contrast, reading about the cold Swedish weather in the Millennium trilogy makes me remember the cruise that mom, Judi, elsaf and I went on since I started the trilogy while on that cruise. Yeah, places implant themselves in my books, and my books in places. ( The rest of the 31 days: )Almost missed sending this out today since we went out tonight to watch a double header (7 innings each) at the Dayton Dragons - only to experience the first game going to 16 innings before the Dragons lost. We opted to head home rather than watch game 2. Heh. Tags: 31days, amy, books, dad, elsa, judi, meme, mom
Current Mood:  tired
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Alas, I slipped up and forgot to post yesterday. I actually did think of it after work, but didn't have the time. And then forgot after my evening of fun & frolic. (Went to see the Newton HS band & choir perform at state contest with mum. Both were excellent. Oh, and in between performances, we picked up dad and let him buy us Japanese food for supper.) Day4 - Book you hate When I first thought of an answer for this, I thought "I don't read books that I hate!" And then I remembered Eternity Weeps by Lawrence Miles from The New Adventures of Doctor Who series. Oh yeah, I hated that book. I even gave it a second chance. Didn't work for me the second time, either. And when I later read Miles' Bernice Summerfield novel, Dead Romance, I realized that Miles wasn't writing for me. (I think I disliked that book even more than EW (ewwww!).) So I've avoided all of his other books. Day5 - A Book you can read again and again There are several of these, but the first that pops into my mind is Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Such a joy to read. ( The rest of the 31 days: )Tags: 31days, books, meme, mum
Current Mood:  peaceful
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alryssa posted this meme in her LJ today, and I thought "oooh books, I like writing about books!" So I'm going to see if I can use this to get myself writing more regularly in my LJ. Here's hoping! Day 1 - Book you are reading right now I never have just 1 book going at a time. I'm currently reading (almost done with) Londoners by Craig Taylor, just started DVD Extras Include: Murder by Nev Fountain (book 2 of his Mervyn Stone mysteries - glad it's finally out as eBooks), and on my phone, vol 1 of The Arabian Nights. Oh, and I'm 13 chapters into Christopher Moore's latest book, Sacré Bleu, but I didn't get it done before my alloted time, so I'm back in the queue from the digital library. ( Click for the rest of the 31 days. )One down, 30 to go! Tags: 31days, books, meme
Current Mood:  optimistic
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Here it is, the last day of April, and we're getting rain! We didn't really get a lot of rain in April, so I hope that doesn't mean bad news for our local farmers. However, it did mean we had many fine weather days during the month, which I really appreciated. Saturday, however, was an exception. Saturday was our annual Garage Sale Day in town. So of course, the temperature was chilly (barely got to 50F), the rain was near constant, there was sleet or hail or some form of ice balls falling from the sky. Glad I didn't have a garage sale. But the good news about Garage Sale in town is Bowman's Texas Tenderloins. They always park their vending trailer at the main intersection in town for the garage sale and (probably) make a killing. So I invited the folks around for lunch. We all got Texas Tenderloins and fries (mom and I stood in the rain waiting - it was just a fine drizzle at the time), and then returned to my place to eat. Wanting to show off my new Blu-Ray of The Sound of Music (the 45th anniversary release), I put it on. I figured we'd watch the starting bit, and then stop the flick. But no, we watched the whole thing. Ah, such a fine movie. That made the third time I've now seen the movie in a month. (Watched the flick, watched with commentary, watched with the folks.) I've still not watched all of the extras from the set - will probably put that disc back in later in the week. School is zipping by. Only 11 days more or so for seniors. Wow. I have the schedule up on the board for chemistry's exams - 4th quarter exam (I write), lab exam ( IU writes), final exam (IU writes - or rather, buys from the American Chemical Society or something). A lot of testing at the end, but I'm just impressed that I've hit all of the material before the year is out. Hope y'all have been having a lovely spring (or fall if you're below the equator)! Tags: dad, mom, work
Current Mood: refreshed
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Yesterday I left Chicago bright & early after making my farewells to judiang and elsaf. *sniff* The night before had been an adventurous one, however. After writing my last post, I took a walk around Museum Campus, walking around Shedd's Aquarium in the course of it. It was a chilly day, but sunny and pleasant. We had my chili for lunch, along with some multigrain bread and some fresh pears. The girls liked my chili, which made me happy. And Judi got some leftovers, too. (I think we left her with a nice assortment of foodstuff.) The rest of the evening was one of discovery. That is, discovering what lurked in some boxes that Judi still hadn't unpacked from her move of *mumble* *mumble* ago. For the most part, the stuff that we uncovered was trash (well, not literally garbage, just stuff she has no use for), but there was some treasure as well. Including the three books that I loaned Judi to read before her move. If she's interested in reading them in the future, she'll need to borrow them from the library cuz they are now home with me. :-) In the middle of my treasure hunt, we headed off to supper at a new local sport's bar which is a short walk from Judi's place. The Scout had some pretty good food. I had a spare rib sandwich with au jus and fried tator tots. Yum! Also had an Original Sin hard cider, which was pretty nice. The place was loud like most sports bars, but other than that, a nice time out with friends. After our treasure hunt was over and I'd cleaned up the mess I had made of Judi's closet, we finished with pineapple upside-down cake ala mode. Just as good the second day! Bed, then up early the next day for my flight out, which was uneventful. Breakfast at the airport (Egg McMuffin, McHashbrown, McApple Juice), Auntie Anne's pretzel at the Columbus airport, followed by my long drive home. The weather was gorgeous. The kitties ignored me at first, but now they are my good & dear friends (both curled up on my lap & asleep right now). Lazy day yesterday, lazy day today. I like spring break! Thanks Elsa & Judi for the fun weekend/start! Tags: chicago, elsa, food, judi
Current Mood:  chipper
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Still having fun at judiang's. elsaf arrived Sunday by 4pm and we headed off to Navy Pier around 5pm. We had tickets to see A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Shakespeare Theater. The last time I had seen Dream was in London and Dawn French was playing Bottom. This production wasn't a celeb-fest, but I enjoyed the performance. A very minimalist set, but some nice music. Was good seeing a live show (again) with my friends. When we returned, it was nearly time for the 3rd showing of ep 1 season 2 Game of Thrones. Elsa and I enjoyed season 1, so were looking forward to the premier. Alas, I don't have cable (and if I did, wouldn't pay for HBO), so I'll have to wait for my next visit to Judi's (and On Demand) or for the Blu-Ray set to come out. Having read the books, I suspect I can be patient and wait for the rest of season 2. Yesterday started out with breakfast at The Little Branch Cafe, which is just outside of Judi's complex. I had a fritatta sandwich, hash-browned taters, and a small fruit cup (which was mostly melon, so Judi at that bit). Elsa and I then did some needed grocery shopping with a quick stop at Target while Judi flexed. (Would love to flex as a teacher...) The afternoon saw Elsa cooking up a storm, as she is wont to do. I got a walk or two in, which was nice. And then we had a late supper in honor of Judi's b-day. Beef bourgonoine, curried green pea soup, salad greens w/ raspberry vinaigrette, rolls from scratch, and pineapple upside down cake ala mode. Mmmmm. Not a fan of the green pea soup, but snarfed all of the rest up. This morning, the Elsa Grill was open and we all had eggs, toast, and bacon. I had mine over easy. They were yummy. The toast was from homemade bread leftover from the homemade rolls. I suspect Judi's gone back to bed. Eep! Well, she worked hard yesterday, so deserves it. Plus, she IS a year older, you know. *ducks* Oh yeah, and I've got a pot of chili cooking on the stove right now. Elsa requested my "award winning chili" which was basically mom's recipe. So I've made it (much simpler than beef bourgonoine) and it's simmering for lunch. Tags: chicago, chili, elsa, food, judi
Current Location: chicago, il
Current Mood: accomplished
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Ah, it feels good to be on break. We've had a busy school year with no snow days. So I'm further along in my classes than usual, which is great, but man, we're all tired! Yay for Spring Break! I have flown to Chicago in honor of judiang's birthday, and wouldn't you know it, but she's only gone & won the lottery and flown to Wellington, NZ to stalk Richard Armitage. Heh heh. No matter, I'm having a fun time so far. Late lunch at Ma & I (pad Thai, of course, along with California roll), some vegging time, followed by the 8:30pm showing of The Hunger Games at the Icon theater (hoity toity). We'd've gone all out for the VIP showing (at $18.50 per) but the next showing was sold out and we didn't want to wait until 10:45pm. So supper was popcorn and an Icee (blue, of course). The movie was excellent. Camera work a little shakier than I like, but still a great adaptation of the book. This morning, we went to Three Happiness for Dim Sum - yum! We ate until we were full and then some. And now it's naptime for Judi (what, you believed that entry of hers?) and computer time for me. I finished my assignment due tomorrow by midnight (reviewing the midterms of 4 of my classmates) and am now nearly done with this LJ entry. Feels good to be blogging again! Tags: chicago, food, judi
Current Location: chicago, il
Current Mood: amused
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The weather of late has been VERY lovely. Warm, breezy, beautiful. Little rain. So today, I took my first walk at Brukner Nature Center. It was a 50 minute walk, up and down hills, under trees that haven't quite started blooming and beside wildflowers that have. I was going to walk the Swamp Boardwalk, only on the hill up toward it (it goes up, then back down to the swamp), I saw that the boardwalk had sunk halfway along the path. So I took an alternate path that had a steep climb (for me) and got around to one of the main paths. It was very pleasant. Along with the spring flowers that I saw on my walk, I've just finished reading The Secret Garden for the first time. :-) Tags: books, wildlife
Current Mood: amused
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I'm pretty zonked right now - let's face it, the girls wore me out this (long) weekend. :-) But I suspect that "A Good Time Was Had By All." Amy & Rachel arrived on Thursday night, and the plane was a little early. Yay - more time with the girls! We took 'em home and sat around mom & dad's kitchen for a little bit, before all heading off to bed. Friday was a nice day, starting off with donuts and then Egg McMikey sandwiches (second breakfast?) Then it was off on a Grand Adventure. Our main task was buying a wedding gift for my cousin and her beau. This we accomplished at Kohl's, though we had to order it to be sent along to the kids since the store didn't have the color that Deanna requested. We then headed off to Greenville to the KitchenAid store for a wrappable accessory and some more shopping opportunities. We had a light lunch (and pie) at a coffee shop in the downtown there. Friday evening was grilled steak and card games. Mom and I taught A&R how to play Crazy Rummy. We played it (and Rumikub) several times over the visit. We went to bed late but got up at a reasonable time on Saturday. The morning priority for Saturday was to come back to my town for Pancake Day. One of the local churches serves all-you-can-eat pancakes, sausage, and scrambled eggs on the first Saturday of the month. Tasty and only $5. I treated the family (dad was shocked) to breakfast, then we hung out a bit at my place, before returning to Troy. Lunch was salad. Too tired to keep this up, so I shall continue it (perhaps tomorrow) with some details of Deanna's wonderful wedding and reception. Who knew you could have that much fun at a wedding? ;-) Tags: amy & rachel, dad, mum, shopping
Current Mood: sleepy
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It was rather appropriate today that when I weighed myself after school, it was the highest I've been in awhile. Whoops! I've not been as conscientious as I should be about what I stick into my face of late. And, of course, as soon as I weighed myself, I finished the piece of white cake with white icing that I'd picked up yesterday at the grocery. (My treat for my "medical procedure" that I'd had earlier in the day - more in a bit.) And when the folks offered to meet me at Applebee's tonight for half price appetizers and drinks in honor of Fat Tuesday, I said yes. And I don't regret it. You see, after I made the appointment with the folks, I got a call from my doctor's office. Regarding the "medical procedure" (diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound). Turns out I've got "nodules" in both breasts that my doctor wants me to have examined by a surgeon. I'm hoping it's just fibroids - I have 'em in my head, inherited 'em from mom who got 'em from her dad. So until I hear otherwise, I'm not going to worry. Much. So yeah, time spent this evening with the folks? Worth it. Having half-price appetizers and a mango martini? Worth it. Knowing that my sister and her partner will be here (if all goes well!) in two weeks. Very, very worth it. I'll worry about my weight tomorrow. Today I'll just sit with the kitties (both are on the chair with me right now), and read. Tags: nodules
Current Mood:  indescribable
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