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Friday five
Sep. 11th, 2009 12:40 pm1. I hate the dentist! And I am such a wimp. It's been 20+ years since I had any serious dental work (ie fillings), but when the corner of a molar chipped, there was nothing they could do to repair it except give me a crown. Yes, I've had five babies, only one of which happened with a functioning epidural (not because I'm against medicine--there was no time or it didn't work). And here I am with novacaine that is mostly affecting just the tooth and not much of the surrounding tissue, and I'm feeling nothing. And really, they're doing a great job of slurping out the er, drilled-away stuff so that I only get a whiff of that drilled-tooth smell I hate. But the whole time I was gripping my hands into fists and hoping I didn't pass out right then and there.
2. I need sleep! My mouth felt fine last night--but then I woke up with my stomach hurting. Not sick, just hurting. Hopefully it doesn't come back, because DH has four classes today, plus he's the only faculty member in town to run this German conversation table tonight.
3. I found chapter 16! Unfortunately, I used less of the remaining material I need to work in than I'd hoped, but on the plus side, I like how it came out. Much stronger emotionally.
4. I read two extremely different books this week: Taken by Storm, by Angela Morrison, and When you Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead. I thought Storm was really well written (although Michael's character was a bit more fully realized than Leesie--the problem being that to explain her character and her choices, there was a lot of info about her LDS-ness that the author had to explain--which led to some telling that wouldn't have been necessary if more readers were just familiar with her background, and made her character a little less fluid than it could have been). It's a book that is not for all readers--I wouldn't give it to my 11-year-old son, for example! But it would be the right book for someone else. (The prime tension is er, how these two people with extremely different lines of what is okay regarding intimacy sustain a relationship--all the while with the guy going through post traumatic stress for being the sole survivor of a hurricane that took his parents and everyone else on board their ship.)
The other one, When You Reach Me, was fun to read in a mental puzzle sort of way. Normally I don't care for books set in the historical past I've lived in (hm, my mother says this, too--which rules out WWII and the Depression for her). But I could recognize the 1979 NYC area as accurate, and I particularly liked how the mother was a social thinker--even between now and then, people see things differently, and it's always nice to have multiple opinions in a book (esp. on race and justice. Note: it's not a book about race.) The one thing I found interesting was that the MC doesn't really do anything. I mean, the book works, but she's just sort of telling someone else's story. I think that one book like this is okay, but I wouldn't like all books to be this way. I'd be interested in your thoughts on either of these two books.
5. Now I've got to feed people and pick up kids. It's Friday, so a bit later we'll settle down and do some more drawing. I'm just glad I was able to do some revising today. PMB has learned to climb chairs, so during school I am mostly chasing him off danger points, and when everyone comes home to help me, well--everyone is home! So I'm saving the drawing for when everyone is here. Drawing and talking is easy. Writing and talking--not so much.
Have a great weekend!
2. I need sleep! My mouth felt fine last night--but then I woke up with my stomach hurting. Not sick, just hurting. Hopefully it doesn't come back, because DH has four classes today, plus he's the only faculty member in town to run this German conversation table tonight.
3. I found chapter 16! Unfortunately, I used less of the remaining material I need to work in than I'd hoped, but on the plus side, I like how it came out. Much stronger emotionally.
4. I read two extremely different books this week: Taken by Storm, by Angela Morrison, and When you Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead. I thought Storm was really well written (although Michael's character was a bit more fully realized than Leesie--the problem being that to explain her character and her choices, there was a lot of info about her LDS-ness that the author had to explain--which led to some telling that wouldn't have been necessary if more readers were just familiar with her background, and made her character a little less fluid than it could have been). It's a book that is not for all readers--I wouldn't give it to my 11-year-old son, for example! But it would be the right book for someone else. (The prime tension is er, how these two people with extremely different lines of what is okay regarding intimacy sustain a relationship--all the while with the guy going through post traumatic stress for being the sole survivor of a hurricane that took his parents and everyone else on board their ship.)
The other one, When You Reach Me, was fun to read in a mental puzzle sort of way. Normally I don't care for books set in the historical past I've lived in (hm, my mother says this, too--which rules out WWII and the Depression for her). But I could recognize the 1979 NYC area as accurate, and I particularly liked how the mother was a social thinker--even between now and then, people see things differently, and it's always nice to have multiple opinions in a book (esp. on race and justice. Note: it's not a book about race.) The one thing I found interesting was that the MC doesn't really do anything. I mean, the book works, but she's just sort of telling someone else's story. I think that one book like this is okay, but I wouldn't like all books to be this way. I'd be interested in your thoughts on either of these two books.
5. Now I've got to feed people and pick up kids. It's Friday, so a bit later we'll settle down and do some more drawing. I'm just glad I was able to do some revising today. PMB has learned to climb chairs, so during school I am mostly chasing him off danger points, and when everyone comes home to help me, well--everyone is home! So I'm saving the drawing for when everyone is here. Drawing and talking is easy. Writing and talking--not so much.
Have a great weekend!
