Everyday Stuff | Book Chatter

Today is a day of recovery for me. I am recovering from two things:

My neighbor’s ridiculous party
American Psycho

The party started very early Saturday afternoon and went on until about midnight. It consisted of very, VERY loud music. So loud that my windows felt close to shattering at one point. Plus, the music was just horrible. The playlist caused me considerable pain. If you are going to go to the trouble of hiring a DJ, play some decent music. I seriously don’t know how the older members of the family ate their dinner next to those speakers. They probably had to turn off their hearing aids or something.

I really needed a nice, quiet Saturday too because I had just been to a birthday party AND I was trying to wipe the images from American Psycho out of my brain. That book is seriously twisted! So twisted, that when I stuffed garlic cloves into my roast for this evening’s dinner, I imagined stuffing them into a body instead. How disturbing is THAT?

Well, I didn’t get a relaxing Saturday and I spent most of today running errands but I am home now. I’m not sure I can read. I mean, what does a person read after such a disturbing book? Everything seems trivial to me. I am thinking I may try to take a nap instead.

On a happier note, I received a letter from Care and it put a huge smile on my face! She’s on a mission to write seven letters a week and this week, I was one of the lucky recipients. I love to chat with bloggers online but whenever I get mail from one of them, it’s like visiting with an old friend. Thank you Care!

My kids have Fall break this week, but the Hub and I do not so it’s really not like a break at all. Plus, it is 105 right now and is expected to be hot all week long. It just doesn’t feel like Fall to me when it’s so darn hot. I don’t know how much more of this we can take. The hillsides are brown and crisp. Truly, it’s a recipe for disaster.

Okay, I am about to go off and do something (anything) to scrub my brain of American Psycho. That is going to be an interesting review. Maybe I should write it quickly so I can put it out of my head for good? Yes, I think so.

It is still warm here. I like sunny days and blue skies but this is getting to be a bit ridiculous. Triple digits. Still. A little humid. Still. I am so ready for some 70 degree weather. I m anxious for cool weather walks, soup and the holiday drink menu at Starbucks but I guess I am going to have to wait a bit longer to enjoy them.

Today, is a “do nothing” day. I did all of my errands yesterday so that I could be totally useless today and not feel guilty. This morning I made cinnamon rolls and some pasta sauce is simmering away for tomorrow’s dinner. Tonight’s dinner is roasted chicken with fingerling potatoes. Simple. Easy. Good. Right now I am just sitting on the couch staring at the Otter Pup. Look what she did to those pillows. Tsk tsk.

Some updates:

The Boy and Girl completed the first round of auditions for The Music Man last week. I’ve no idea how they did because auditions are closed. The callback list will be posted late Tuesday afternoon and the second round of auditions is the very next day. Let’s hope they get a callback. The Boy is battling a cold right now, so we are trying to knock it down before he has to go back. Singing with a cold is very difficult. I hope he is over it by then.

This past week was back to school night at the high school and parent conferences at the grade school. Both kids are doing well. I am proud of them. I always brace myself when going to those conferences because you just never know but all is good.

Speaking of school…

You might remember me struggling with the short story class I signed up for. Well, I was willing to do the work, but after three weeks and no interaction from the teacher (online class) I decided to drop it. I do not approve of teachers who run their classes on auto-pilot. Seriously! They are getting paid to teach! Anyone can list the assignments for the semester. I don’t consider that teaching so I dropped it. I am still reading the stories on my own though.

What I am reading:

I just started Peter Geye’s new book, The Lighthouse Road. I adored his last book, Safe from the Sea so I am really looking forward to this one.

I also started American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis as part of the Dueling Monsters read-along/challenge. So many of you have emailed, saying that you have it on your shelves. If that’s the case, then what are you waiting for? Get it out and join us. As we read, we’ll be talking trash on Twitter using the hashtag #monstermash. It will be fun.

Okay, that’s it for me. Off to read! Happy Sunday to you all!

Chatting with friends about books and life…