February 18, 2007
Don't eat things you find
Today was a rather bookish Sunday, as Stuart devoured Chart Throb and I turned page after page of To Kill a Mockingbird to get to its magnificent end. Oh Atticus. When I read this book ten or eleven years ago, the precocious children impressed upon me, but the greatness of their father got lost in adultland. This time around he was the centre he was meant to be. Again, that this book is extraordinary is hardly news, but it’s nice to be reminded. And afterwards I baked banana scones from this recipe. I used whole-wheat flour instead, but they were absolutely exquisite. Oh, and last night we watched Rocky II. We loved it.
February 13, 2007
Self Portrait
We’re tired at our house, which is what happens when we both spend the night having dreams in which we are struggling to sleep. And so for today, in lieu of coherence, Pickle Me This brings you me waiting for the tub to fill. Turban-headed because if my Japanese life taught me anything, it was that a bath sans shower is foul. And I like this image because it incorporates four of my favourite things: books, baths, big mugs of tea and Stuart (for it is his robe after all). Happy All The Time was a splish-splash delight.
Today in the post was a letter from Bronwyn, with whom I’ve defied Laurie Colwin’s quote from Happy All The Time: “Friendship is not possible between two women one of whom is very well dressed”. (That said woman is Bronwyn and not me should be revelatory to nobody). And her note contained the news that she has subscribed me to the London Review of Books, which is sort of like having pennies rain from the sky. I’d say life must be mostly good, with friends like that.
And I think Lucky Beans is one of the prettiest blogs I’ve ever seen.
February 4, 2007
Welcome back to Capeside
We’ve been a regular Angst Central over here at Pickle Me This during the past week. Existential, creative, ancestral, you name it. Every day an early episode of Dawson’s Creek, or a page from a Norma Klein book. And now it’s -28 degrees outside, and just as cold in our uninsulated bedroom and so we’re confined to the kitchen with no intention to go out of doors. Luckily I am reading a Kate Atkinson book, Emotionally Weird and so the world is a good place no matter what else. And Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was legend. I didn’t even see it coming. And we’ve had a nice weekend anyway, with dinner at Erin’s on Thursday, the lovely Erica G for supper Friday (and the spicy squash risotto was a success), and then brunch in Kensington occasioned by the marvelous luck of Kate in town, but all the company was wonderful and we both had an excellent time.
January 18, 2007
Joons and Places
Last night’s Asian meal out was brought to us by Joons for Korean with Curtis, and I had bibimbap– the deliciousist. We have to stop going out for dinner though, before we become chronic. In other news, I’m reading The Hunters by Claire Messud, which is actually two novellas. The first was stunning, and the second currently has me in its grip. Remarkable too, as the first story (“A Simple Tale”) takes place in Toronto, and the second (“The Hunters”) is set in London. And of course, The Emperor’s Children, which I read last November, is all about New York. I like that writer can evoke so many different places, but then again Claire Messud gets around.
January 17, 2007
The End of the Ugliest Boots in the World
Last winter we were going through a period of great impecuniousness. I had just started graduate school, and Stuart was in the midst of a long wait before receiving his permanent residency and being able to work in Canada. And so when the snow came in late November 2005, we didn’t have a lot of choice in terms of winter boots. We had to buy the Cheapest Winter Boots in the World, which were on sale two for one and came to about $80 for both pairs. And the Cheapest Winter Boots in the World were also the Ugliest Boots in the World. I was absolutely ashamed of them. They were also horribly uncomfortable too. We both hated them from the start, but they were what we had. And I’d forgotten about their awfulness until this week when I hauled them out of the back of the closet. I wore them to work and back Monday and Tuesday morning this week. Last night I showed Stuart the damage to my ankles which had resulted: blisters bubbling up on the bone, and the top of the boot also cut in through my skin a few centimetres above. In addition, these boots put holes in socks. Anyway, the happy ending is that upon seeing my ankles, Stuart proclaimed that I can buy new boots this weekend. He’s not being so generous. He hates his boots too. I am pleased, however, as I was intending to put in another season on account of thrift. Thrift schrift, though, apparently. How nice.
January 15, 2007
I'm all alone.
Thanks to copious amounts of ice and snow, my husband has been stranded in Montreal. He’s hoping to be back tomorrow.
Update: He’s back! Spent a lovely night in a hotel, caught and early flight back to TO and then worked all day. He’s knackerered. Bless.
January 14, 2007
Stu is fine
Zadie Smith’s article on writing fiction is gorgeous, but gut-wrenching (or at least I thought so). “To become better readers and writers we have to ask of each other a little bit more.” Here for what happens to a poem when it rhymes. Harper Lee attends a student performance of To Kill a Mockingbird. They like My Wedding Dress in this review.
We’ve had a wonderful weekend. Out to Thai Basil Friday night, and the food was delicious. Andrea and Chris (of that valuable internet resource www.chrislev.com) came for dinner last night, and we partook in Apples to Apples with great joy. We’ve done a lot of relaxing too, which is fine as Stuart has to get up early tomorrow morning to fly to Montreal for a meeting. (How exciting!)
Speaking of Stuart, his family has reported that they don’t get enough Stuart updates here at Pickle Me This. You see, they live faraway across the sea, and six days out of seven, this site is their only portal into their dear son’s world. (And on the seventh day, there is the telephone). Perhaps I should start a blog devoted to Stuart, like Mama Bloggers do with their wee ones. With photos of Stu’s latest antics, and anecdotes about the cute things he says, and photos of him in bathtubs or sandboxes with other kids his age. Not that he gets up to much of that so often. And I’m not sure that Stuart would be too impressed with so much attention. We may just have to stick with our periodic updates, but rest assured that he’s doing just fine.
January 12, 2007
Peppermint Love
I’ve just learned that my household has acquired Apples to Apples, which is one of the most enjoyable games I’ve ever played. Though I hate most games so my perspective is limited, and this one is bound to infuriate serious game-lovers, as it has no rules. Though I still lost at it when we played, but I lose at all games. It’s my constitution. And so that’s fun news, and more fun is that I’ve got a date with my husband this eve. We’re having company for dinner tomorrow night and I’m looking forward to that (as well as a chance to break out the game?). And so life continues lamely, but nicely.
I finished rereading Alice Munro’s Who Do You Think you Are? yesterday. What an incredible book. I reread the legendary Lives of Girls and Women last summer, and wasn’t as impressed as I’d wanted to be. I think that Munro was constrained by “A Novel”, and Who Do You Think…, while definitely connected, was obviously composed of short stories and she’s better at that. In fact, she is extraordinary at that. I know I’m certainly not the first one to say so. It’s just nice to be reminded. And I’m now reading Noah Richler’s This Is My Country, What’s Yours?”, which is cool because the only other book on CanLit I’ve ever read was published in 1972, and certainly a lot has happened since then.
Here for an article on Richler’s and a few other unusual Canadian atlases, and their lessons on Canadian identity. 50,000 copies of Andrea Levy’s brilliant Small Island have been distributed through parts of Britain “to encourage reading, and discussion”. (Wonderful connections between Levy’s novel and Kate Atkinson’s work have just dawned on me). Here for Literary Pop Idolatry. Type Books in the press (and the business press to boot).
My new teapot is full of peppermint love, and I shall get down to an afternoon of glorious work.
