Sunday Salon | Book Chatter

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!

It is still 100 degrees in So Cal and yet, all I can think about is scary reading and comfort food. For the scary reading part, I am participating in the IT Along which is a read-along of epic clown proportions. It’s a lot more fun this time around because the group that lured me into it seems to be having way too much fun with it. Way too much. Trust me.

I like IT for numerous reasons but what I like most of all, is that it’s really a very simple story. Bad things happen to kids. Other kids stop IT. Then it comes back. Kids return as grown-ups, to see if they can stop IT again. I am listening to the audio which is so well done, yet utterly terrifying! It’s read by Steven Weber. You might remember him from the TV show, Wings. Anyway, he is such an unassuming guy but I am telling you, I get chills while listening to this one.

I just hit the halfway mark and it’s been fun talking about it on Twitter and scaring each other with clown pics and the like, but it’s made me want to re-visit some of King’s other books too, primarily The Shining. I need to get ready for the sequel due out next year.

On Friday we hit the lake for their “Movies on the Lake” and it was our first time going even though they have been doing it for years. Here’s a summary of how it all went down:

Found out they were showing The Hunger Games.
We went to dinner, and decided last minute to check it out.
Once there, The Girl said she had a headache.
The Boy pitched a fit and left to sit in the car. Apparently he had other things he needed to do. AKA, phone was dead.
20 minutes in, The Girl is hungry. We just had dinner.
10 minutes later, we smell a skunk.
The Boy returns. The skunk sprayed near the car. The Boy was forced to come back.
The Girl cries when Rue dies but laughs when someone else dies.
The Boy wants to leave again.
A bright light begins to really annoy me.
The movie ends.
Start the car. Click click click.
Battery is dead. Are you kidding me???
The Girl cries. The rest of us yell at each other.
No jumper cables. WTF?
A nice guy and his wife take pity on us and help us out.
The End.

UGH.

How was the movie? Truthfully, not very good but the idea of seeing a movie, outside on a lake was enough to make it worthwhile to me.

This week is audition week so we will be very busy. The Girl and Boy have been practicing. We’ll see how it goes. I know The Boy knows what to do. It’s his 12th show so he ought to, but The Girl… it is her 3rd show and she is still a little gun-shy when it comes to auditions. She has no problem once she has the part and is in front of an audience, but they audition in front of judges AND peers and I think it’s the latter that she has a problem with. Please send good performance thoughts for Tuesday and Wednesday. I’d appreciate it!

Now for the soup. I was craving tortilla soup so I am making a huge pot of it now. There is no recipe. I toss all sorts of stuff into it. Sometimes even enchilada sauce or cream cheese but today’s soup is pretty traditional (chicken, cilantro, good stock, tomatoes, tortilla strips) topped with avocado and cheese. YUM! We will be eating this all week, I’m sure. Even when it’s 100 degrees I still crave soup every now and then. I’m a soup girl!

Well, I am off to read Blackberry Winter and finish off the soup. Hope you are having a good Sunday!

BTW…for those wondering, the Otter Pup’s broken tooth is out and she is all better! Thanks for sending us good thoughts.

Chatting with friends about books and life…