squirrel momma

Hammock Reading

Although, as the holder of a degree in English Literature and therefore a literary snob/Jane Austen freak, I probably shouldn't admit in public to reading (and enjoying) anything written after 1970, let alone something described as "chick-lit", sometimes I am a trifle wayward in my reading habits. But it's hammock reading season, so forgive me.

 

Yup, I am reading Wanna Get Lucky?, and yup, it definitely fits the bill for trashy hammock (or beach, should you not be the albino that I am) reading. Thank goodness Nut Boy is away at camp, so there's one less person to notice I'm not getting a single thing done until I finish it...
 

Scaredy Squirrel

Finally a squirrel who, like me, is obsessed with hand sanitizer.

 

Scaredy Squirrel and I have many things in common:

Although, actually, I'm pretty brave when it comes to tarantulas. Must be the fangs and fur that make them so appealing.

Books I'm Lovin'

I listen to a LOT of books while I'm crafting, and here's a few of my current faves...

Laurie R. King's mystery series about Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes:

 

I have to admit I was hesitant about this series--a fifteen year old girl meeting up with Sherlock Holmes and gradually becoming his partner and soulmate--but the wonderful historical detail, plus a new angle on Sherlock Holmes, make them really good.  

Laini Taylor's young adult (tween?) fantasy series, Dreamdark, which starts with Blackbringer:

 

was a fun, fun read.  She just won the National Book Award for her collection of short stories, Lips Touch; be sure and check out her fabulous hot pink hair on her blog! 

Last, one off the NYT bestseller list: The Piano Teacher.

 

And while it wasn't the greatest work of literature I have ever read, I have to say it was very entertaining. I could easily imagine it as a film starring someone like Olivia de Haviland, and, hmmm, someone who can be both charming and brooding. Ray Milland? Have to ponder that one. 

Now I have to go add Ray Milland's classic ghost story The Uninvited to my Blockbuster list...

 

Spooky Good Reading

I just finished listening to Sarah Water's new book, The Little Stranger.  Now, to be honest, it was read by Simon Vance, and I would happily listen to Simon Vance reading the phone book to me.  But Sarah Waters is an amazing authoress of literary historical mysteries, and this, I have to say, is my favorite of her novels.

 

Set in post-WWII England, The Little Stranger is narrated by Doctor Faraday, a lonely bachelor who practices in the country village he grew up in.  When he's called out to Hundred's Hall, the crumbling estate where his mother once worked as a maid, the gothic suspense begins to build almost immediately. Not since The Minotaur by Barbara Vine (another gothic goodie, but without the spice of supernatural that The Little Stranger has) have I enjoyed such a long, slow building of suspense.  Definitely a book to read under the covers.  Or with the lights on and the closet doors open, if you're more of a scaredy cat.

Of course, you still can't be sure of what's inside the walls.  Heh, heh.

And Yet Another Book Recommendation

As you are well aware of, there are really only three things I care about: making stuff, food, and reading. I'm short on time--we're about to leave to take Squirrel Girl to cross country camp (yes, she loves going to a camp every year where they run up and down hills all day long, except for when they stop and talk about how to run up and down hills all day long)--so I'll just tell you about the book I'm in the middle of.

Imagine Alfred Hitchcock's The Trouble with Harry* set in a little English village, with a precocious 11 year old girl as the narrator. Or perhaps Wednesday Addams plopped down in the middle of a Miss Marple mystery. Then you'd have The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley.

I don't want to give anything away, but the scene with Flavia de Luce, junior mad scientist, tampering with her older sister's lipstick is fabulous. I can hardly wait to find out the results.

*And if you have never seen The Trouble with Harry, you have to go rent it right now. I order you to.

Potter Mania

We just got back from a quick trip to Chicago, prompted by the world premiere of Harry Potter: The Exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry.

The exhibition is crammed full of props and costumes from the first six movies (yes, there are even a few from he-who-has-not-been-released).  The Museum of Science and Industry got the bid to premiere it because it was one of the few museums willing to build an entire wing to house all those goodies (actually in a ginormous tent attached to the main museum, but once inside you would never know it), and they really did a fantastic job recreating the feel of Hogwarts, including a Hagrid's hut you can actually go inside.

For someone who thinks she knows how to sew, it was quite humbling to see how much exquisite craftsmanship went into everything, even costumes that appear onscreen for only a few minutes at best. My absolute favorite was Professor Sprout's cape, with dyed and rouched velvet made to look like leaves, and her dragon skin gloves crafted from...um...dragon skin? (Darn it all--they wouldn't let us touch anything!)

Oh, and the Buckminster Fuller exhibit at the MCA? Couldn't compete with with HP, but very cool. Live taping of NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me in Millennium Park? Hilarious, and Carl Kasell is the coolest 75 year old I know. Dinner at Frontera Grill? Yup, still one of the best restaurants I've ever eaten at. 

Whew! We crammed about a zillion other things into two and a half days, so the kids are sleeping in. But I can't stop thinking about Professor Sprout's cape, and my fingers are itching to sew...

Dream!

Our household is hurtling at the speed of light toward the end of the school year, so I had to get up extra early on a Sunday morning to catch up on my blog reading. I was happily surprised to discover that the online magazine Small has a new issue out, with lots of wonderful things to look at (even if you don't have small children):

The whole magazine is pure brain candy (and I mean that in a happy-buzzy kind of way, without the tooth rot).  I discovered Dallas Clayton's Awesome Book, which you can view in its entirety and order here.

I have seriously tried to give up my addiction to buying children's books, but I had to have this one. He totally sucked me in with the pictures of the rocket powered unicorns, and the line, "...Once you've got that dream in mind, please dream a million more.  And not a million quiet dreams, a million dreams that ROAR!"  Yes!

Harry Potter for Adults

Right now I'm listening to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke:

It's a lengthy (the audio version is 32 hours) and extremely detailed novel about magicians in England during the early 19th century--sort of like a Harry Potter for adults. But what struck me today, as I was listening and working, is how the images in the book have influenced my odd little creatures. Singing dresses, magical mirrors and an ominous Man with Thistledown Hair. No wonder I'm making birds with human faces! 

And it just occurred to me that my newest bird might possibly have thistledown hair...

Catch Up

It finally dawned on me today that I hadn't talked to you all week, so here's a quick catch up...

On Tuesday my dad turned 81 and we took him out to dinner. He's still very active, and volunteers as a driver for the Red Cross, chauffeuring people back and forth to dialysis appointments and such. His secret?  "Any day I'm still walking and talking is a good one."  Works for me! 

...

Yesterday I received a belated (thanks to Amazon being slow) Valentine's Day gift from my hubby.

    

I had originally picked up Teens Cook Dessert at the library, thinking it would be glorified rice crispy treats or something. But it turns out that the authors of the books, two teenage sisters named Megan and Jill Carle, are the daughters of a prolific cookbook author. So instead I discovered a cookbook full of some seriously scrumptious recipes, including Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake and Cheesecake Bars (with raspberry jam swirled through--yum!). It was only with great reluctance and the threat of heavy fines that I returned it to the library, so you can bet I'm pretty geeked to now own both volumes. Thanks, hon!

...

The kids have a couple of days off of school this week, which meant we were able to stay up and watch movies. With a 9- and 14-year-old it gets pretty hard to find movies everybody wants to watch, so I sometimes have to dig pretty deep in the Blockbuster vaults. I had forgotten what cheesy good fun this one was:

Ben Kingsley as Dr. Watson, the real brains behind the operation, and Michael Caine as the not very bright actor Watson has hired to portray the fictional Sherlock he's created. Like I said, cheesy good fun.

...

And lastly, I've really gotten into the swing of little critter production. My favorite this week has to be Tilt-A-Whirl Squirrel.

 

My family thinks it's pretty strange when I get so excited by putting a pink stripe in a squirrel's tail. But you understand, don't you?  

I'm mean, c'mon, he needed it!  

Happy Valentine's Day, Part Deux

Yup, I'm one of those nerdy English majors who love the BBC, Jane Austen, and Jane Austen on the BBC. Oh, yeah, and good ole Bill Shakespeare. So, imagine the delight with which my heart strings sang when my book group read Carol Goodman and I discovered The Sonnet Lover!

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

1) A love triangle involving the heroine, who is a professor specializing in Renaissance poetry, her college's president, and the Italian poetry professor she had a fling with 20 years ago.

2) A mystery involving Shakespeare's Dark Lady, to whom he addressed many of his sonnets.

3) An Italian villa chock full of secrets and murders.

I could go on, but I don't want to give too much away. Let's just say it's definitely my recommendation for what to read while you're lying on the couch and picking your way through a giant heart-shaped box of chocolates in the next few days.

Oh, and save me a dark chocolate covered caramel, okay?