Miscellaneous Missives

While I'm certain I did not read 95 books this year as Dick Cheney said he read, I am would also question whether or not the man did indeed read 95 books. This, of course, is my prejudice since I find the man to be evil and a liar. As I was perusing the books I had to the side of my blog, I decided to see if I could figure out what I did indeed read this year. Although I couldn't really compile a list (one thing I'm working on for next year), I did choose five that were my favorites. 1. The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb All I can say is Wally Lamb knows how to weave a story!! 2. Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo I think it's Russo's characterization that made this book so good. 3. Zahir by Paulo Coelho I really enjoy the spiritual quest and storyline of his novels. This is my favorite. 4. The Attack by Yasmina Khadra This was fast paced and full of action... an easy read and a must read. 5. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David David Wroblewski...

One of my Christmas gifts was Nestle Abuelita hot cocoa. Michael and Holly bought it for me to warm me in the morning while I was a bit chilly (damn cold) in their home. It, the cocoa, was wonderful. When I was leaving Santa Cruz, I made sure to put it in my bag, so I wouldn't forget it. Although I've been home for a couple of days, I forgot about it in the cupboard until this evening. It's the perfect winter drink for reading and looking out at the snow. I hope I can find it here in Minneapolis.

This is the second week of my two week vacation and to this point I have ignored the work I should do for school. Part of my being productive today relied upon doing some tasks such as grading papers and entering scores. Of course before I could do anything I needed to clean out my school bag although in the back of my mind, I realize it is part of my procrastination. Alas, I now have a clean school back, papers graded, and scores entered. If only I had the ambition to do lesson plans too.

As I was standing in line at the post office to pick up my vacation hold mail, I had no choice but to listen to the conversation the man behind me was having on his phone. At first I thought he was selling Vikings playoff tickets. He talked about the $185 tickets that were upper level. As he continued, I started to think maybe he was talking about hockey because he kept talking about the blue line. After listening to this conversation for fifteen minutes, I was confused. What's the blue line? Why would anyone pay $185 for a hockey ticket? Is it the hockey playoffs? Why does this man feel it is OK to scalp tickets via the cell phone in the United States Post Office? This phone conversation ended with the scalper on his way to meet the purchaser of the $185 ticket... gray Mercedes meets black Blazer... and no, I'm not making this up!

Although the vacation was wonderful and quite relaxing, there were times of distress. 1) At the airport in Minneapolis, Dad had to have his bag opened and checked over thoroughly. It seems candles look like explosives under the x-ray. Since I didn't have room in my bag, I put the eight boxes of candles in Dad's bag. 2) Dad set off the alarm causing the police to come (at least an hour later) at the church across the street when we were trying to figure out if they had a Christmas eve service. They did not, but Dad spoke with the police when they final arrived. 3) Michael and Holly live in a Victorian style house. The heat is 60 or 70 years old, and heats one room of the house. When we awake in the morning, it is 50º in the house, and this is no exaggeration. In the morning we can all see our breath. Since I am a princess, I have my own space heater in the room where I sleep. 4) Michael has a potty mouth. Christmas we had to pull out a change jar and deposit money ever...

Even though it was a bit chilly in the shade, today we went to a state park and walked beneath the redwoods. Dad and I were able to see a Banana Slug which is actually the mascot of UCSC. We also took a little walk near their house later in the afternoon past a moss colored graveyard. As with all of my walks, I am amazed at the smells of Santa Cruz. This afternoon it was the fragrance of eucalyptus. Everything is fragrant and wonderful.

We also spent time on the boardwalk enjoying the beautiful day. As I am posting, Dad and Holly are also both on their laptops while Michael serves us our choice of wine.