A Poll To Make Up For the Poll That Wasn't

There used to be a restaurant in my town called La Patisserie. I LOVED that restaurant. Celebrated many a life moment there. It was a big part of life when I lived here before. There's an Indian restaurant there, now and before that it was...wait. I don't remember. Anyway. La Patisserie had the BEST Italian sodas in the world. And their crepes. OH. MY. GOSH. A thing of beauty. It's been...16? years since I've eaten there and we still talk about it, on occasion. I sometimes wonder if we puffed up the goodness in our minds, but I don't think so.

So. My question is this. Is there a restaurant you miss from your past that you would give anything to have again? Tell me about it. I'm in a loving food kinda mood...


(i think i love you, voice of the beehive)

Top 5 Christmas

I decided for this list that I would do SPECIFIC renditions, not just generic songs. Make it a little more tough on me... :)

1. O Holy Night - Eva O: It is not Christmas until I hear this. I absolutely LOVE this song, but this cover is nearly perfect in my eyes. I simply adore everything about it.



2. Last Christmas - Wham: I made Sammy dance with me in the kitchen the other night when this came on (Me: dancing with Sammy. Isaac: doing a puzzle...hello, Christmas!). My heart is full of joy whenever I hear it. The ultimate Christmas song, as far as I'm concerned...



3. Welcome Christmas - Love Spirals Downward: I dare you to feel miserly while listening. I don't think it's possible.



4. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Death Cab for Cutie: I've always loved the U2 version, but found this version this year and my love has been replaced.



5. Let It Snow - A Fine Frenzy: One of my favorite Christmas songs, but I LOVE this stripped down, sultry version so, so much.



And, your favorites are...?

Ugh

I don't HATE Oprah. I really don't. But I don't love her, either. I watch if she has something on her show I find interesting, but most of the time I find her a little, um, let's call it...lofty? She just seems a little too self-important for my tastes. And those who follow her every word kinda bug, but, really, I have better things to worry about.

The one thing I know about Oprah, though, is that I will rarely read a book club pick of hers. They are usually horrible and if they aren't, I hate jumping onto any perceived bandwagon. I've had this thing with non-conformity since junior high and I'm afraid it'll be with me until I die. The QUICKEST way for me to hate something? Make it popular. My friend Amy and I had this entire discussion while in a book store in Denver this fall. Neither of us will pick up an Oprah book club pick. She is actually the reason I won't read the latest Franzen (and, well, the tiny little fact that I hated his other book is in there somewhere, too...).

So. Imagine my torn feelings when I read the headline that her latest book club pick is A Tale of Two Cities. A book only bested by The Great Gatsby and Little Women as my favorite book of all time. UGH. I mean, GREAT! More people to fall in love with Sydney Carton (because, SWOON, people...). More people to fall in love with Dickens. But. Ugh. I hate how they rereleased it with a new "Oprah" cover. I hate how she purports to be such a champion of literature, but says she's never read Dickens before (or, maybe, that's just me being picky...Who reads as much as she allegedly does and doesn't read Dickens?) (Is this the part where you fire off an angry comment telling me how much you love reading but have never read Dickens, either? Um, sorry. NOT you...her! It's not you at all...)

So. A Tale of Two Cities. Have I ever mentioned my love of it, before? Because it is DEEP. Gatsby deep. I read it the first time in...junior high, I think. And my teenage brain fell completely and utterly in love with Sydney Carton. Who wouldn't want a man like that? He was the bar that all crushes had to be measured against; I held him dear. I became a hopeless romantic and the notion of a man dying to save my love was pumped up and held firm. I read it several more times through college, each time digging a little deeper into the story. But with each read and every nuance brought out, the romance was always first and foremost for me and the reason I read.

So I'm happy more people will turn to Dickens, who was brilliant. I really am. I just wish it didn't have Oprah's name attached to it, you know? I wish I was the bigger person who was glad people are reading, no matter the reason, but, apparently I'm not. Sigh. Just another thing to work on. (Oh, wait. She's retiring...Whew! I don't have to work on it after all!)


(if you were here - thompson twins)

He's Scared of Puzzles. Can't Work 'Em.

I'm not the biggest puzzle fan. My mom always had one out, working on it. She would walk by and pick up one piece of her 3 million piece all white puzzle and it would always magically fit. Drove me crazy. I get way too frustrated to do them properly and usually walk away...though, maybe if they had one of Neil Finn or Glen Hansard I'd buy it totally right after I renewed my subscription to Alternative Tiger Beat. Isaac, however, is much like my mom. He loves puzzles, but rarely does them because I don't. (I know. Pathetic, right? I'm such a shrew...)

When I was younger and still lived at home, my bedroom was decorated in masquerade masks and posters. I've always loved the dramatic look of them and especially the faces. So beautiful. I've noticed now, as I decorate my grown up house, I still tend toward the dramatic prints. A grown up version of masquerade masks, if you will. Like this. And this:


(which I love so wholeheartedly, it was nearly my first purchase for the old house)

So imagine my surprise when I was walking through Borders the other day and saw this puzzle.


I immediately bought it and we expanded our table and started working on it. It's tough and I still don't totally love the process, especially as much as Isaac and Sammy do, but I'm excited to see it all done. It's gorgeous and I guess not surprising that I was drawn to it in the first place.


Post Script: This last picture was taken late last week. It's much more done, now. In fact, even as I write, Sammy came running up here to let me know her dress was now finished. And I'm starting to see the value of having a stack of puzzles by the dining room table during the winter. Even if I don't contribute past the edge pieces. Because, let's be honest, I still get frustrated that I can't find pieces that fit. But I do love hearing my boys work at one together...


(that's entertainment, the jam)