Sleepovers and reviews

Lucy on Grandma's bed

Lucy in the bathroom sink

Gennie at egg-laying time

So Mommy was gone last night for her third sleepover with Grandma. My brother and I ignored Mommy Bonnie and let Tacumwah and Little Bear sleep with her. We did NOT get our ice cream last night! We couldn't believe Mommy Bonnie forgot! And Marquette hasn't had milk for two mornings now! I think that was because Mommy ran out. Tonight I expect we will get our ice cream.

The sleepover, of course, was a success. The food was, once again, to-die-for. Once again they had scallops. (They have a 5 lb. bag to eat, so they have several more meals of scallops and are talking about having them again next month!) Mommy took a salmon spread made with smoked salmon, cream cheese, dill, lemon juice, green onion and salt and pepper. The salmon was smoked with alder wood. I heard it was very good. (I also heard that Marquette was in the area of the kitchen here on Blossom Ridge when Mommy was making the spread and he got a taste of the salmon!) The French Lick rhubarb wine was a hit, and the oven fries and homemade slaw were the perfect touch!

The movie of the month was Revolutionary Road. Mommy said it was very heavy and gave her a lot to think about. Mostly it was about how people often settle for what is comfortable in the way they live and work because those factor in to how they are preceived by the rest of society, and they don't really follow their hearts/passions because that is too scary and takes more courage than most people have. Mommy and Grandma gave the movie two thumbs up and an R rating. Mature audiences only. This movie made Mommy appreciate that Mommy Bonnie is doing something very scary and brave in building the cottage in this (or any) economic climate in order that she might achieve her dream of living on a lake and being as self-sufficient as she can be.

Mommy also finished two books recently that she will review. The first is The Last Lecture. Mommy was disappointed with this book and kept waiting for the book to change direction, but it never did. Mommy has hesitated to say anything negative about the book because the author, of course, died of cancer last year. But basically the book was bits of wisdom he was passing on, and the lecture was about realizing childhood dreams. It was a recounting of how he had realized most of his childhood dreams in one way or another, and of all that he had accomplished in his life. Mommy was reminded of a very wise woman who, when Mommy once boasted about something she had done that she thought was great, was told that, "That would sound much better coming from someone else." And Mommy has never forgotten that. That is how she feels about this book...that an accounting of all that the author had accomplished would have sounded less egotistical if someone else had written about it. Now, if he was writing all of this down for his three children to read when he was gone, then why publish it? Just write it down for them and make it accessible to them.

The next book Mommy finished this week was Into Thin Air. It took a few starts and stops because other books came in for Mommy that she was not going to be able to renew, but she finally got Into Thin Air finished. It was a book that was interesting all the way through, but really got to be a page-turner about halfway through. Mommy liked Krakauer's Into the Wild probably a tad better than Into Thin Air. This book is a recounting of the 1996 Everest expedition that killed so many people. Krakauer was one of the few survivors of his team. What Mommy appreciated was his frankness and his ability to admit that he made mistakes - even stating that he did not attempt to rescue two people who were left for dead not far from his camp the evening of and morning after the assault on the summit. Now, in his defense, the man really had nothing left to give and might have perished himself had he attempted, in his condition, to rescue these people. One of the people, ultimately, did survive. The family of one of the guides who did not survive has been very critical of Krakauer, and Mommy feels they were much too harsh in their criticism. But then, Mommy didn't lose anyone, so she has no idea how she would feel. Mommy gives this book a thumbs up, thanks her co-worker, Tony, for recommending it, and, in turn, recommends it to anyone who is capable of reading at that level.

Gennie hasn't laid her egg yet. We keep checking. Mommy says it is definitely going to happen but still no sign of an egg.

Mommy met Mommy Bonnie in Roanoke for a latte on her way home from Grandma's this morning, and then they went to the cottage to take some measurements so Mommy Bonnie could put some shelving up in a couple of the closets. Mommy stopped by to see Denny, and he is going to help Mommy Bonnie disassemble the deck at the campground tomorrow and Monday and move the lumber to The Farm. It must all be off the lot by April 1. Denny was going to begin on it this afternoon. Mommy has to work tomorrow, but Mommy Bonnie has 5 days off and doesn't have to be back to work until next Tuesday. There is much to do both at the villa and the cottage.

We want to send best wishes out to Chuckie and Cashmere, both of whom are experiencing some health issues.

~There is no such thing as a FREE kitten!~