Freaky Friday

OK...it's not really freaky, I just couldn't think of a better title. (Although, a Billy Mays commercial just came on the TV and it's turning a bit freaky!)

It is so HOT HUMID MUGGY SOUPY here in New England. I am trying really hard NOT to complain. When I go to complain, I just visualize shoveling off my back stairs and I quiet right down!

I think I've decided that if every month could be like April or May in New England, I love it.

Christmas in August

I was giving my stepdaughter a hard time the other day for listening to Christmas music on her iPod.

Well, now I'm reading Six Geese-a-Slaying by Donna Andrews, a Christmas mystery. I really didn't know it was a Christmas story and if I had, I probably would've held off on reading it.

I guess the title should've been my hint. Hmm.

Jumping for joy!!!

The summer semester is O-V-E-R!!! Gave my presentation and passed in my final paper. One whole glorious month is all mine...before the fall semester starts!

Whoooooo hoooooo!!!!!!

Check back soon...SOTB will have a new look thanks to my talented friend Amanda!

Boston, You're My Home

I've been meaning to blog about this for awhile, but I love Boston. I live about 40 miles north of the city and don't actually go into the city very often. However, since I've started school, I have to drive into Boston at least once or twice per week. During the summer it's especially magnificent.

I love going over the Tobin Bridge and seeing Boston's skyline. (I DO NOT like paying $3 to cross it, however.) This doesn't fully capture it, but you get the gist.



After crossing the Tobin and getting on the loop ramp (or whatever crazy construction project it's referred to as) to get onto Storrow Drive, you see the Garden. Technically, that'd be the Gah-den. Us Bostonians don't care what corporate entity decides to sponsor the building...it will ALWAYS be the Garden to us.



On the way home, I get to see the Zakum Bridge. (I get to see it on the way in, too, but it's much more majestic in the dark, when I'm leaving class.)



So, even though there's a lot of not so good things about Massachusetts, viewing Boston on a summer's evening makes one forget about a lot of them.

Do you force yourself to continue reading a book even if it's bad?

In the past, I have...and people think that's strange. I guess I feel that with each chapter, it will get better. Well, I gave up on the latest book I was reading, "In the Kitchen" by Monica Ali. I didn't like her previous book, "Brick Lane," so I'm not sure why I thought I'd like this one.

I read about 100 pages (basically until I was able to get to the library) and then quit. Next to read? (See to the right.)

Review of "A Wolf at the Table"

So, you may have noticed that to the right, I am now posting "What I'm Reading Now." I hope this will give my readers (as few as there are) some suggestions for what to read and I hope it will spur me to write more reviews.

I just finished reading "A Wolf at the Table" by Augusten Burroughs. I first must say that I have just recently gotten into the biography/autobiography genre and I LOVE Burroughs. There are many reasons for liking him and his writing, but one is the fact that we're both from western Massachusetts. He lived in Amherst and Shutesbury and I grew up in Greenfield, about a 1/2 hour away. I always think it's interesting to read authors who are from one's hometown or who write about it. Burroughs does both in this book. More about that later...

"A Wolf at the Table" chronicles Burroughs' relationship with his father (aka "the wolf.") His father has serious mental health issues and threatens the lives of Augusten, his mother, and their pets on many occasions. Throughout the book, Augusten struggles with the thought of growing up to be like his dad; cold, unfeeling, depressed, homicidal, etc... Augusten shares his earliest memory of his father (from when he was two) to his adult relationship with him. It's well written and captivating. It is a tearjerker, however.

As mentioned, I'm from Greenfield, Massachusetts. Claims to fame: home of Penn Jillette (one half of Penn & Teller), home of Peter Bergeron (major league baseball player), and ummmmmmm.... Yeah, so I thought it was pretty interesting when I read the paragraph that Burroughs wrote about Greenfield,

"Greenfield was about forty minutes from our house. There was something depressing about the town, with so many of its Main Street stores empty, FOR RENT signs taped crookedly in the windows. But I liked Greenfield because its bones were grand. Main Street was wide and elegant. Homes in the town had rolling grass lawns, neoclassical columns, and old fruit trees in front. Greenfield reminded me of a beautiful grandmother that nobody ever visited, but she kept squares of lace on the arms of her sofa anyway."

Augusten...I'm with you all the way.

Forget the Ben & Jerry's on the shelf below...

...go for the Whole Fruit Sorbet. It's soooo good! I've never been a big fan of ice cream, which might make some think I'm crazy. However, being lactose intolerant forces one to find other yummy refreshing treats. Hence, the Whole Fruit Sorbet.

Pomegranate, Blueberry, Acai = pure refreshment on a hot summer day!



Credit: Flickr