Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

Cleopatra, Luigi, a kitty/purple monster, and a blonde, blue-eyed Asian princess are tucked into bed, while their treat buckets upstairs bulge with sugar.  I hope everyone’s night was safe and happy!

And NOW for the book I finished the night before we left for Idaho (that would be Wednesday the 17th!)–Eva Ibbotson’s A Countess Below Stairs.  (It’s lately been published as The Secret Countess, but I far prefer the original title.)  I own this one, but in the interest of actually reading it sometime this decade I opted to listen to it on my phone instead.  (There were a few terms in the book that were different on the audio; my copy of the book was published in the U.S., and clearly Penguin was worried that a few of the most European terms wouldn’t convey the same meaning to American audiences.)  I thoroughly enjoyed it, too, although the build-up to the climax was not a short one.  Ibbotson’s YF (YA?) titles don’t have the same kind of Roald Dahl comedy that her middle grades do, but they retain a beautiful dry wit and an inclusion of (and appreciation of) the absurd.  Countess also had the kind of dramatic love that feels so relatable to the YA crowd, but the setting and length of the novel made it far more believable to my 39-year-old self.  (Believable is relative, of course; it’s still more fairy tale than realistic fiction.)  The supporting characters are an impressive asset to a story that offers a perfect escape from everyday life; if you love historical fiction, love stories, or understated British dramadies, don’t miss this one!

My friend Britt recommended (and lent!) Blackbird Fly to me, and it’s been sitting on my shelf for a couple of years.  When Erin Entrada Kelly won the Newbery Medal for Hello, Universe, I didn’t realize until Britt pointed it out that she was also the author of Blackbird Fly; still I procrastinated, because I’m generally extremely frustrated by protagonists who are suppressing much of who they are in order to stay friends with people who clearly aren’t worth being friends with in the first place.  Kelly, however, managed to take such a plot, give it an understandable backstory, and make it, well–amazing.

Seriously.  I loved this book, and I didn’t expect to, because the very beginning was agonizing to read.  In the hands of an exceptional author, however, Apple became a person I could understand, a person I wanted to befriend, and a person I was wholeheartedly rooting for.  Her journey to self-realization drew me in, and watching her develop real friendships was a delight.  I loved the musical aspect of her story as well–really, I just loved the book.  (Have I mentioned that?)  If the plot summary for this book doesn’t necessarily make you jump for joy, well, read it anyway.  (And then give it to your middle schoolers.)  Me?  Well, I have two more of Kelly’s books in my house, and both of them just shot way up on my to-read list!

The kids and I spent our fall break in Idaho, coming home on Monday to a whirlwind of laundry, unpacking, jam, applesauce, and general insanity.  We’re back, though, and we loved spending the time with family; we even got to give my 7-year-old nephew a lift to visit his Idaho grandparents, which was icing on the cake.  (Seriously.  He was GREAT in the car!)  Despite the vomit–which I discovered in my still-mostly-sleeping son’s bed at midnight when we were due to drive back to Utah in 9 hours or so–it was a pretty great trip, with yummy food, beautiful trees, and lots of cousin time for my kiddos.  We got to see my niece and nephew’s Primary program on Sunday, and the Lord answered my very specific trip-related prayers perfectly.  (No vomit on Wednesday to keep us home, no vomit in the car, and no traumatic sickness on the trip.  My son barely seemed to register throwing up; he was mostly enraged that I wouldn’t let him gorge himself on warm cinnamon rolls 8 hours later!)  After last fall’s trip-of-grumpiness, that blessing cannot be overestimated, believe me.  My family fed us and played with us and loved us all.  You can’t ask for a better trip than that!

Incidentally, I finished one book the night before we left for Idaho, and I’ve been planning all along to review that one tonight.  It’ll have to wait until Saturday, however, because I’ve been reading Laurel Snyder’s Penny Dreadful to my two older girls for weeks–more like months, really–and we finished it less than an hour ago, after a marathon reading session before bedtime.  My oldest gave it 3 stars–it’s less her kind of book, and she was mad that the ending didn’t resolve the vague tangential mystery–and her sister gave it 4.  I’d probably go with 4.5, because I thought it was delightful–whimsical and unexpected, with an emphasis on friendship and initial impressions that can only be good for its intended audience.  The illustrations gave off a slightly different vibe than the text (my oldest agreed), which was odd, but they were charming, and Penny’s journey from bored, lonely city monotony to life in the country with real friends for the first time is punctuated with a subtle humor that I appreciated far more than I would have thirty years ago.  If you’re looking for a well-written tale of imagination and friendship, look no further.

Yes, I missed on Monday, but it’s been a rough few days; there has been vomit, and my schedule has been nutty, and I’ve been keeping on track to read The Book of Mormon again before the end of the year, like President Nelson challenged us to do.  What’s more, I’m going to take the next week off, both for family time and for maybe-if-we-all-get-enough-sleep-we-can-feel-better time.  I wish you a lovely week (it’s not hard in October, right?).  See you on the 25th!

Oh, I love “The Princess Bride!”  Anyway.

1.  There was vomit last night–from my youngest.
2. I spent the first half of the day not enjoying at all the little food I ate.
3. I spent MOST of the day dealing with clothes–summer clothes vs. winter clothes, too-small clothes vs. too-big clothes vs just-right clothes, and every conceivable combination thereof.
4. I am poopered.

On that note, goodnight all!

I might have preferred to bow out of this book review tonight–I’m working on cleaning out my bedroom, and I’m firmly in the ‘you have to make a bigger mess before you can make it smaller’ stage–but I told my 9-year-old that I’d finished Kristy’s Big Day (The Baby-Sitters Club Graphix #6), and if I were to then withhold it because I didn’t want to take the time to review it tonight, well–it doesn’t bear thinking of.  She can yell and stomp with the best of them when she’s mad, but she was born with ginormous blue eyes that plead masterfully, and when they get sad?  Well, her sad eyes are a weapon the likes of which most of the world has never seen.

Anyway.  For my own safety AND the health of my decluttering project, I shall simply say that the sixth of the BSC graphic novels was every bit as good as the first five.  (I must be used to Gale Galligan’s art by now, since I barely noticed the difference between this one and the first four installments, done by Raina Telgemeier.)  The story was engaging, I laughed in all the right places, and the ending was satisfying.  Keep on keeping on with this series, folks!  (And now the book goes back to my 9-year-old, who started reading it 10 minutes before bedtime.  Trust me, she’ll want it FIRST thing in the morning!)

To turn on the heat?  Or not to turn on the heat?  This is the question…

…Then, my friends, you make that the title and move on, because ain’t nobody got time for that.  (Those dishes, sadly, aren’t going to be doing themselves anytime soon.)  I just finished listening to Laura Marx Fitzgerald’s The Gallery, which I checked out for my daughter because she loves art AND mysteries.  (She and I both also really enjoyed Fitzgerald’s other middle grade novel, Under the Egg.)  Sadly, listening to it might not have been ideal–the accents fluctuated, and I think I would have preferred my own conception of Martha’s voice–but with so many books and not enough lifetimes to read them all, sometimes needs must.

I did end up liking it more than I thought I was going to for the first third of the book, which was happy.  I was expecting something similar in style to Under the Egg, and this wasn’t so much; it was a bit more of an overall mystery, whereas Egg was a bit more of a coming-of-age-with-a-mysterious-problem-to-solve-as-the-catalyst.  1920s New York also has its own kind of feel as a setting, and that played in.  By the end, though, I was thoroughly caught up in the what’s-going-to-happen?? mindset, and so on to my oldest it will go.  What she’s going to think of Martha, a Catholic school suspendee turned maid under her housekeeper mother, is anybody’s guess.  As for the newspaper magnate and his crazy (or is she?) wife, well–we’ll just have to see.

Bottom line?  If you’re interested in art, mysteries, or New York on the edge of the Great Depression, pick this one up.  If not, well–it’s up to you.

I admit, I’m patting myself on the back for how much I liked this recipe.  I’ve been trying out more crockpot recipes lately, because evenings are feeling busy now that the kiddos are back in school.  When I saw this Slow-Cooker Chicken Curry, I was attracted to the easiness of it but wary of how it was going to taste; my last few recipe tries in the curry department have ended with me wondering how so many spices and extra steps manage to equal such one-noted flavor.  Since I like a taste of sweetness in my curry, I decided that using peach mango salsa (I buy it at Costco occasionally) would be worth trying–and it totally was.  There was a bit of sweet, a bit of heat, and a hint of creamy from the cream cheese, making it the best curry I’ve tried in quite a while.  (Tried making, that is.  I can’t remember the last time I went to a restaurant where curry was even an option.)  And so easy!  I tossed the onion in a pan with a bit of oil for a couple of minutes and added the curry powder to it before mixing it with the salsa and pouring it over the chicken, because why not do what you can to boost flavor?  My son gave it thumbs middle to up, and my hubby also liked it better than he’s liked any curry in a while, so I’m calling that a win.  (My girls ranged from ‘not my preferred flavor profile’ to ‘spicy’ to ‘grumpy three-year-old who gives unreliable feedback.’)  If you’re looking for easy, tasty, and a bit different from the usual fare, here’s your next dinner idea.  Enjoy!