100 Books

The book meme has been floating around on the internets for some time. Basically it's list of 100 books and you get to check those you have read. If I counted right I have read 32 of the 100 books, well above the challenge statement: " We believe most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books here."

Which ones have you read?

Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen

2 The Lord of the Rings JRR Tolkien

3 Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte

4 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone JK Rowling

5 To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee

6 The Bible Various

7 Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte

8 1984 George Orwell

9 His Dark Materials Philip Pullman

10 Great Expectations Charles Dickens

11 Little Women Louisa M Alcott

12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles Thomas Hardy

13 Catch 22 Joseph Heller

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare William Shakespeare

15 Rebecca Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit JRR Tolkien

17 Birdsong Sebastian Faulk

18 Catcher in the Rye JD Salinger

19 The Time Traveler’s Wife Audrey Niffenegger

20 Middlemarch George Elio

21 Gone With The Wind Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gatsby F Scott Fitzgerald

23 War and Peace Leo Tolstoy

24 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams

25 Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoyevsky

26 Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck

27 Alice in Wonderland Lewis Carroll

28 The Wind in the Willows Kenneth Grahame

29 Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy

30 David Copperfield Charles Dickens

31 Chronicles of Narnia CS Lewis

32 Emma Jane Austen

33 Persuasion Jane Austen

34 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe CS Lewis

35 The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini

36 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin Louis De Bernieres

37 Memoirs of a Geisha Arthur Golden

38 Winnie the Pooh AA Milne

39 Animal Farm George Orwell

40 The Da Vinci Code Dan Brown

41 One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel Garcia Marquez

42 A Prayer for Owen Meaney John Irving

43 The Woman in White Wilkie Collins

44 Anne of Green Gables LM Montgomery

45 Far From The Madding Crowd Thomas Hardy

46 The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood

47 Lord of the Flies William Golding

48 Atonement Ian McEwan

49 Life of Pi Yann Martel

50 Dune Frank Herbert

51 Cold Comfort Farm Stella Gibbons

52 Sense and Sensibility Jane Austen

53 A Suitable Boy Vikram Seth

54 The Shadow of the Wind Carlos Ruiz Zafon

55 A Tale Of Two Cities Charles Dickens

56 Brave New World Aldous Huxley

57 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Mark Haddon

58 Love In The Time Of Cholera Gabriel Garcia Marquez

59 Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck

60 Lolita Vladimir Nabokov

61 The Secret History Donna Tartt

62 The Lovely Bones Alice Sebold

63 Count of Monte Cristo Alexandre Dumas

64 On The Road Jack Kerouac

65 Jude the Obscure Thomas Hardy

66 Bridget Jones’s Diary Helen Fielding

67 Midnight’s Children Salman Rushdie

68 Moby Dick Herman Melville

69 Oliver Twist Charles Dickens

70 Dracula Bram Stoker

71 The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett

72 Notes From A Small Island Bill Bryson

73 Ulysses James Joyce

74 The Inferno Dante

75 Swallows and Amazons Arthur Ransom

76 Germinal Emile Zol

77 Vanity Fair William Makepeace Thackera

78 Possession AS Byatt

79 A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens

80 Cloud Atlas David Mitchel

81 The Color Purple Alice Walker

82 The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro

83 Madame Bovary Gustave Flaubert

84 A Fine Balance Rohinton Mistry

85 Charlotte’s Web EB White

86 The Five People You Meet In Heaven Mitch Albom

87 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

88 The Faraway Tree Collection Enid Blyton

89 Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad

90 The Little Prince Antoine De Saint-Exupery

91 The Wasp Factory Iain Banks

92 Watership Down Richard Adams

93 A Confederacy of Dunces John Kennedy Toole

94 A Town Like Alice Nevil Shute

95 The Three Musketeers Alexandre Dumas

96 Hamlet William Shakespeare

97 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl

98 Les Miserables Victor Hugo

9Bleak House Charles Dickens

100 Brideshead Revisited Evelyn Waugh

Eighth Night

Eighth Night
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Last night, Wednesday, was the eighth and final night of Hanukkah.

After I took this picture of Rebecca and Nate lighting the menorahs my camera promptly announced that its card was full and shut down.

And I was perfectly fine with that.

I knew I had he picture I wanted and I was in no hurry to clear out the card for more pictures. Sometimes getting the shot you want is easy.

Artist of the Week: Drum Recital

Max
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Max is this week's artist.

Larry took this picture of Max while we were at a friend's house. This is the same friend that I mentioned before with all the horses. Max climbed up on the fence to wait for his turn on the pony.

I was pretty amazed that he was interested in riding. He was quite adamant at home that he was NOT going to do any sort of riding. He was going to go along and check out the place and that was it.

But... after watching Rebecca and, most importantly, Nate have fun riding the very well mannered pony, Max decided to give it a shot. After a few laps around the ring Max was eager to go up to a trot. When his turn was up he reluctantly slid off the pony's back.

With drums, however, he never experienced any sort of uncertainty. He wanted to play drums and was very happy when we found him a teacher. Max started lessons last spring with Josh, the son of a friend of ours.

Josh and Max really hit it off and during the beginning of the video below Josh tells how much he likes Max. The performance lasted about a half hour with our family, including Grandma and Grandpa, in attendance.



Max did a great job and had a terrific time. If you last to the the end of the video you can see when Josh and Max had a little jam session.

Seventh Night

Seventh Night
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Tuesday was my birthday and the eighth night of Hanukkah. After a delightful dinner out we lit the candles and enjoyed their now very bright and rather hot glow.

With three menorahs in action you almost didn't need to have the lights on. It was a beautiful sight to behold.

Sixth Night

Sixth Night
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

And it's my birthday.

Last night was the sixth night of Hanukkah. Three of my crew got to light them. It looks like we'll have to get another menorah so that everybody will get to light one.

Since it is my birthday I'm being brief, Weezie's is calling my name.

First Snow and Fifth Night Party

first snow
Originally uploaded by

Saturday night we got our first real snowfall of the season. I did see a brief flurry while grilling dinner Friday (nothing like seeing stuff falling from the sky and sizzling on the hot grill- I was very confused at first), but nothing stuck. It was beatiful watching the flakes fall and coat the deck with a light blanket of snow.

The ground was too warm for any sort of significant or lasting coverage, but it was pretty while it lasted. Grandma asked the kids if any of them had been dreaming of a white Hanukkah. Sadly by the end of the day Sunday it was all gone.

Fifth Night and Party
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Which brings us to the fifth night and our congregation's Hanukkah party. I went early to help out with the preparations. I ended up being the assistant fry cook and latke mixer. There were about 50 people at the party and Meryl and I ended up cooking pretty much all of the latkes. They were delicious and more than enough to go around.

We all ate to nearly bursting, listen to the Rabbi's daughter sing and a few of us even danced. It was a lovely way to spend the fifth night of Hanukkah.

Third and Fourth Night

Third Night
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Friday night was the start of the third day of Hanukkah and was also Larry's birthday. We had a lovely dinner of flank steak with latkes and a lovely Pino Noir we had been saving. For dessert I made Chocolate Sybil cake, a truly scrumptious chocolate cake that is dead easy to make.

However, that morning I also went horse back riding for the first time in oh... 18 years. It was a lot of fun and I'm proud to say I lasted an hour and did not fall off the horse. Unfortunately my calves made it very plain to me that I was a very bad person and it took a big dose of ibuprofen to get them to quite down (Yay, better living through chemistry!) So I was just plain wiped out at the end of the day. It's a minor miracle that I even took pictures. But... I did take pictures and this is our bicycle chain menorah. I found it at a funky little store in Careytown called Ten Thousand Villages last year. It's simplicity called out to me. Coupled with my renewed interest in biking , I couldn't resist it.

Fourth Night
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Saturday night was the fourth night of Hanukkah which we got to celebrate with my in-laws who had just come down for the weekend. Coincidentally it was also my mother-in-laws birthday. After a quick candle lighting we skedaddled out for dinner at Weezie's and the 7:15 show at the Byrd Theater.

The food, as always, was fabulous. The movie, The Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hool, was less so. It wasn't a bad movie (the CGI was impressive), but it really butchered the books. At least we had Bob and the mighty Wurlitzer and only paid two bucks a head.

So as you can see we have been a bit busy with even more to post later.

Second Night

Second Night
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Here are the candles from the second night of Hannukah.

I almost forgot to post this. Essentially I remembered while lighting the candles for tonight before the candles for Shabbat. I had a great big duh moment as I was laying out the candles and looking for the camera. At least I took the pictures!

First Night

First night
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Today is the first day of Hanukkah and this is my favorite menorah.

I've blogged about it before, so I won't bore you with the story.

I hope your evenings will be merry and bright.

Artist of the Week: Fall 2010 Recital

Happy rider
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Rebecca this week is back in the spotlight again as the Artist of the Week.

The day before the grand festival of food known as Thanksgiving, we visited a friend in a neighboring county. She has invited us a few times and enticed with the fact that she has many horses and one very patient pony. It was a beautiful day Wednesday and the kids had the day off from school. So we loaded up the van to go see and ride the horses.

Rebecca was ecstatic. She loves horses and this would be her first time really riding a pony. She has been you on a pony before, but the pony rides at the county fair don't quite count.

We groomed and saddled the pony, just using a bareback pad- I wanted my children to really feel the pony and not mess around with stirrups. After a few laps around the ring with me at the pony's head I let her go solo. She even got to ride at a trot for a fair bit.

I proud to say she did a fine job and had a nice seat even at a trot. All those years of having her sit up straight and tall at the piano has paid off in unexpected ways.

As for her piano playing, well that's the real reason she's the artist this week.

The weekend before Thanksgiving was Rebecca's Fall Recital. She did a nice job with her piece, Night Owl by Rollin.


Unfortunately I was a little slow off the mark in taping and missed the opening bit of the piece. However, poor camera work aside, you still get a good sense of the piece.

I love her poise at the piano and the big grin on her face as she returns to her seat.

Kiwi!

Kiwis can have big dreams too. A very touching little short film.

Happy Endings

Happy Endings
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Dessert is serious business around here on Thanksgiving. We have the all but obligatory pumpkin pie (Max has been bugging me about this since Halloween), the tarte tatin ( aka the apple tarty thingy) that is much beloved by the adults, and the ever popular chocolate course courtesy of Meryl.

The chocolate course came about because Meryl wanted to bring something for Thanksgiving the first time she came over a few years ago. I had the meal well in hand and anything else other than chocolate would be akin to bringing coals to Newcastle. It was a huge hit and is now a permanent part of our Thanksgiving.

This year she went one better by bringing the centerpiece in the photo. It's a melted snowman made of fudge surrounded by a ring of maple sugar candy (melted snow) and an outer ring of chocolate sponge (mud). It's great fun and we are slowly chipping away at it.

Happy Thanksgiving

I'm thankful for my family and that we are all healthy and together. Oh and my dishwasher, I'm very, very thankful for my dishwasher.

Today's menu is as follows:

Turkey
Stuffing with and without Sausage
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Tzimmes
Haricot Vert
Clover Leaf Rolls

A Chocolate Course

Pumpkin Pie
Tarte Tatin

Served with a choice of cider, soda, and Les Heretiques red table wine

I hope you all have a happy and very tasty Thanksgiving.

Artist of the Week: Small Spaces

Nate and Pony
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

This week's artist is Nate and today he got to ride the sweet little pony in this picture.

We have a friend with numerous horses and she's been wanting us to come out and ride for some time. Today we were finally able to coordinate schedules. Rebecca was beside herself with excitement, the boys less so (in fact Jake the whole thing a miss and stayed home). I wasn't sure at first if Nate and Max would ride, but in the end I got all three up, ride a bit on their own and even go at a trot. The pony was incredibly good natured about three kids going on and off. It wasn't until the end that she would head to the gate, indicating that she was done and wanted to go to her stall.

small spaces
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

But enough about ponies, instead let's focus on small spaces.

At some point I had given Nate a small pad of paper that was roughly 2 inches by 3 inches. I think it's original purpose was to collect friends' email addresses and phone numbers. However it he has long strayed from the pads original use. Just the other day he presented to me two slips of paper with sketches of essentially the interior of our house.

The top drawing is of our living room with dog on the far right corner of the carpet (it's a bit easier to distinguish in the original sketch). Nate intended the picture to be a some what abstract study of the room. I see the abstract elements, but it is still very clearly the living room.

The lower picture is a side view of the stairs leading up to the second floor. Again, he was going for a more abstract feel. Meanwhile I found this picture to be a dead-on representation. Nate's drawing has come a long way during the past 6 months. He took art the first quarter of the school year and it looks like he learned quite a bit.

Whew Doggie

Today was the last big day of errands before the kids are out for five days. I didn't have lunch until after I picked up Jake from school at roughly quarter to three.

Jake was shocked at how late my lunch was and asked me why.

So, I told him what I did between seeing he and his siblings off in the morning and picking him up from school.

I walked the dogs.
Goofed off on the computer for 20 minutes.
Returned some dishes to a kind neighbor.
Rescued my beloved chickadee cookie tin (sans cookies) from the high school.
Drove to Meryl's and together we ran errands (it's far more fun to do boring stuff with a friend.
The errands consisted of:

Dropping off Jake's trumpet to be repaired.
Treat shopping at the For Love of Chocolate with bonus purchase next door of a new camera bag (Dell keeps eating my camera bags).
Getting wine for Thanksgiving at the wine and cheese store J. Emerson.
More adult beverage shopping at Corks & Kegs.
Hardcore veggie shopping (Hee- or rather Haricot vert shopping).
A preemptive Costco run, I refuse to go there the Wednesday before Thanksgiving onto the Monday after. Around Thanksgiving Costco becomes an evil, evil place.
And then a quick stop at Trader Joe's.

Whew, Meryl and I packed in a whole lot of errands, but now we are done with Thanksgiving shopping and don't have to set foot in a store until next week.

After I finished reeling off all my accomplishments Jake, clearing stunned by it all, told me I deserved to goof off for far more than 20 minutes and then asked if I do that every day.

My answer was fortunately no.

ONE - Tropfest 2010 Finalist

Lovely little wordless movie featuring, of all things, dice as the main protagonists.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Today was a whirlwind of activity for us. In addition to the normal musical lessons for Nate and Max we had Rebecca's piano recital and a private showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows courtesy of Meryl.

The musicals bits all went well, except for the fact that the recital was too dang long (two hours vs the normal one hour- long story and I hope it's not repeated). Which brings us to the movie.

It was glorious.

Yes it's dark, but then the last book is dark. The characters stayed true to the book and only a few liberties were taken. The stopping point chosen was logical and left us pining for the second half. Mind you it's not short, clocking in at 2 1/2 hours. However the movie was well paced and edited, fully utilizing that extra half hour. You really don't mind the length of the movie. I can't wait for the second installment come this July.

Scott Pilgrim Silliness

Scott Pilgrim Avatar
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

In the not too distant past I saw Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World in our beloved second run movie palace, the Byrd Theater.

It is not great cinema, but it is a wonderful flick. It rips along with a great sense of humor and is just the right length. I don't want to say much more, because odds are I would end up spoiling it. Basically it's a boy meets girl, boy has to defeat exs of girl to win her type of movie.

I didn't write about the movie earlier because I hadn't much to say. But, since then I have started poking around on the movie's website. The site is turning out to be a glorious time suck of Avatar creation and YouTube remixes. It's a nice way to wind down the week.

Fall Color

Fall Color
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Here are some of the pretty, pretty leaves out front.

The dark red is Japanese Maple and the more washed out red and orange is my waaaay past peak Burning Bush (winged euonymus). Then down below there are bright splashes of red berries amongst the green leaves of my Heavenly Bamboo.

Interestingly two of the above are considered invasive species and should have never been planted in the first place. Which is a pity with the Burning Bush. I've haven't had any problems with it and I'm fond of the bright red it produces in early fall. The Heavenly Bamboo, however, I could happily rip it all out if it weren't so well established and... well invasive.

As for the bright orange pumpkins on the steps, they should have been tossed last weekend. They make for a pretty picture, but the insides are nightmarish to say the least.

Artist of the Week: Mezuzah

Rebecca
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

This week it's Rebecca's turn to be Artist of the Week.

This picture is from a while back. She was home sick with her brother and was so cute cuddled up in bed I had to take a picture. It was just a touch of bronchitis, so apart from the cough she didn't seem at all ill, but she wasn't cleared for school. We just kept things on the quiet side and in no time at all she was back to school, both religious (aka Hebrew or Sunday school) and secular.

She has been going to Sunday school, since Kindergarten. It's the third go around (you could even say fourth as well because of the whole twin thing) for our family so we pretty much know what to expect for each grade when it's Max and Rebecca's turn. Once a year there is special event called Gesher when the parents are requested to attend to school. There is a discussion group during the first have with the Rabbi, then students and parents come together with some sort of craft. During the third grade Gesher the students got to make their own mezuzah.

mezuzah
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

This year the students got to use modeling clay with a variety of colors. Previously they have made them from small cardboard tubes or regular white clay.

Rebecca, being the girlie girl that she is, went for the pinkish white and fuchsia. She carefully molded it around a wooden cloths-peg and made the top and bottom nail holes. Once she was done constructing the holder it was taken back to the kitchen to be baked.

It turned out rather well and, miracle of miracles, survived the ride home. All that was left for us to do was insert the blessings and affix it to her doorway. She was delighted when I finally did my half of the job yesterday.

Puppy Puppy Pumpkin Eater

Pumpkin eater
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

John loves eating pumpkins. Actually both dogs do, but after I yelled at Dell for snagging a lid off of a pumpkin I had just carved he has been less interested in pumpkins. Dell will still eat them, he just waits for permission now.

Anyhoodle, John doesn't wait for permission, he just helps himself whenever the mood strikes him. At least he has only been eating one pumpkin and has left it pretty much in place. At this point, two weeks plus post carving, not much is left. It looks like a small explosion of pumpkin pulp near the bottom of the steps.

As for Dell, he now doesn't approve of John's wanton destruction of the pumpkins. After I took the picture above of John, Dell bounced down the steps and gave John the hairy eyeball and stood by the pumpkins.

Disapproving Dell
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

John's reaction was to casually stroll away, as though Dell had nothing to do with his moving off. I don't know if you can see it, but this picture captured the moment when Dell was standing in rigid disapproval next to the pumpkin. John, meanwhile, is halfway across the yard.

I found the whole thing hilarious. Dell has such a sunny, happy go lucky demeanor 99% of the time. However my chewing him out over the pumpkin lid really made an impression on our goofy boy. He has appointed himself defender of the pumpkins.

At least when I'm around. It wouldn't surprise me if he snuck in a few bites when I'm not present.

Birds on the Wires

I found this video sometime last year, loved it, bookmarked it for later, and then forgot it. While pruning out old and dead links in my bookmarks I rediscovered it. I first found it over at Laughing Squid, but the Vimeo page is far more informative.

Either way, sit back and enjoy.

Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

Lesson Learned This Weekend

I am not a sleepover kind of parent.

I am a parent that will cheerfully and enthusiastically cater to whatever your birthday cake desires are. If you can envision it and clearly articulate what you want, I'll give it a shot. Nate's "The Horror of Cake War" cake was deemed epic by his friends.

I will go along with an endless Nerf gun battle in the house as long as my bedroom, my husband's study and the dining room remain off limits. I can deal with the eleventy billion foam darts littered throughout the house. I will calmly walk through the fire fight and ignore the darts flying around me. To their credit not a single dart hit me.

But I can't deal with loud voices at 2:00 am, every light turned on downstairs at 3:30 am, and bizarre questions about birthday presents at 4:00. The last bit resulted in my telling Nate that in all likelihood he was never having a sleepover again.

The boys weren't particularly awful or ill-behaved (well except for the question bit at 4:00am and that was my own child), in fact the two guests are a lovely pair of polite and well mannered children. I'm just getting to old to deal with the random interruptions in my sleep and the endless noise. I treasure the peace and quiet that descends on this house every night at 10:00 pm.

A Birthday Party A Day Late

Nate's 12th birthday cake
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Veteran's Day is Nate's birthday, but we didn't celebrate it until today.

As per Nate's request I made him yet another war themed birthday cake and I really outdid myself this year.

I carved out craters on the top and sides, made two tanks (one intact, the other broken and trapped in a crater, and had a rather bloody Cake Corp on top.

The cake was a huge hit at the party. It was declared epic and all the boys liked the the red sparkly gel icing I applied generously to the downed soldiers. If you click on the picture it will take you to my Flickr page and the complete photo-set.

Bloody and gruesome is what 11 to 12 year old boys loved to have on their birthday cakes.

My Veteran, My Father

My father, Aunt Doris, Uncle Robert
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

To all of those who have served this country, I thank you.

My father served in WWII on a mine sweeper in the Pacific. This is one of the few photographs I have of him in uniform. He is on the front stoop with his Aunt and Uncle in his Navy uniform.

He looks so young, he had just turned 26 years old if it's the later part of March. And this was years before he even met my mother.

So once again thank you for all your sacrifices in keeping this nation safe and free.

Artist of the Week: Technical

Jake
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

In a purely technical manner, this week's artist is Jake.

As I'm sure I've mentioned before, I have to employ a form of ambush photography to capture my eldest child. It's not so much camera shyness as it is my son having an uncontrollable urge to make odd faces when a camera is pointed in his direction. The four pictures before this one consisted of him hiding behind his DS whatever gobbledygook that follows, a strange twisted open mouth, a squinty eyed duck face and one blurry action shot. Then I just sat near him and waited and got this fairly decent picture of him. He's looking down which makes it seem as though his eyes are closed, but really they are open.

technical drawing
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

His drawings, on the other hand, are a whole lot easier to photograph. The only tricky part is getting the light balance right and the contrast.

The drawings in question are from Jake's technical drawing class in High School. I still can't get over the fact that I'm the mother of a high schooler. I'll always think of myself as riding heard on grade schoolers. Anyhoodle, he wanted to take Latin, but it did not fit in his schedule so he decided to take Basic Technical Drawing instead.

He has been having a great time in class. It is right up his alley, minutely examining things and getting them down just right. So far he is finding the class to be an easy A, a nice respite with an all honors course load. The whole class seems to be fairly effortless for him with the exception of one extra credit assignment, a film reel. He hasn't quite sussed out the best way to draw it. As he put it, it's all circles within circles and some oddball shapes thrown in for good measure. He'll get sooner or later, I have no doubt about that.

Am I Missing Something?

Gits Group
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

I fully realize that it is the business owner's family name, but really?

Gits Group?

I have always viewed the word git to be a rather negative descriptor. The phrase "stupid git" springs to mind.

I even went so far as to look up the word. According to the dictionary a git is a worthless or foolish person, British origin.

So maybe I'm mistaken that it is part of the common lexicon. Possibly the result of watching far to much Monty Python in my formative years.

Then again Larry, who had a far less Anglophilic upbringing (My family maybe 13th generation American but we still cling to the oddest aspects of our UK heritage. Seriously, how on earth have we remained English, Scottish and Welsh? My generation is the first one to really venture out in the gene pool.), agreed it was the oddest choice in business names.

So what do y'all of you think of this?

Goodbye, Penguins by Greg Stones

A very Edward Gorey-esque treatment of a penguin count down book. I really liked it, but I decided it is not appropriate for Max, the 9 year old penguin lover of the house.

Iron Fatigue

Nate is learning to play guitar. A while back we bought him a small acoustic guitar with the idea of eventually getting him lessons. He has since outgrown it, but he is now learning how to play on his father's guitar.

He is very quick to learn and eager to play, far more so than he ever was with piano (but ah, the groundwork had been laid). If fact his teacher is greatly impressed by his progress each week.

Unfortunately he only plays one recognizable tune, the classic coda from Black Sabbath's Iron Man. Which is not a bad song, but when you hear it over and over- day in and day out it gets a little tedious. I'm glad he is so enthusiastic to practice, I just wish there was a bit more variety.

Oatmeal Chocolaty Goodness

Oatmeal chocolate chip
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Earlier this week I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for a friend. He had helped me out in selecting an appropriate Apple (I'm a PC kinda a gal and I haven't a clue when it comes to Macs) computer for my mom and I wanted to thank him for all his time an effort. I asked him what kind of cookie did he want and he wrote back oatmeal with chocolate chips, no raisins.

Alright then. I've never made oatmeal cookies before, but I'm willing to give it a go. I've never been a big fan of oatmeal cookies and for that I blame the ubiquitous raisin. Since I was making them and my friend had requested no raisins I had a good feeling about the cookies.

I selected the The Best Cookie of 1900-1910 Oatmeal Drop Cookies from my Betty Crocker Cookie Book with of course various modifications by me.

1/2 cup shortening
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup molasses
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/4 cup chocolate chips*

(*original recipe called for 1/2 cup chopped nuts and 1 cup raisins instead of the chocolate chips. I dislike both and my friend requested oatmeal chocolate chip)

Heat oven to 400 F
Mix shortening, sugar, eggs, and molasses thoroughly. Measure flour by dipping method or by sifting. Stir dry ingredients together; blend in. Stir in oats and chocolate chips (or raisins and nuts if you go that way). Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls about 2" apart on a lightly greased baking sheet (oops I forgot to do that and it really wasn't a problem). Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack and then enjoy!

The cookies were scrumptious. Moist and chewy with a wonderful depth of flavor from the molasses and the chocolate. They were a big hit with the family and they are almost gone. I think the only reason any are left is that I made brownies a few days earlier. Oh and all the candy from Halloween too. I will definitely be making these again.

I Wish

Pizza
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Isn't this a pretty pizza?
Doesn't it look delicious?

I thought so and took a picture of it when I made it way back in August.

This was what dinner was supposed to look like tonight. We were having make your own pizza night. However our oven had different plans.

It initially heated up to almost 450. Then, unbeknown to me, the bottom heating element gave up the ghost. I was happily watching the cheese brown unaware of the fact that the crust below really wasn't cooking. It wasn't until I started pulling pizzas from the oven that I discovered the true state of affairs.

It was then a mad scramble to figure out how to cook the pizza without a fully functional oven. In the end I decided to place the metal pans directly on the cook top and finish off the pizzas that way.

It was far from ideal, but it did work. The pizzas were a mess; cheese sliding off and a bit over done, the bottom of the crust a bit burnt in places. But, they were edible.

So it looks like I'll be buying a new heating element tomorrow.

Artist of the Week: Carving

Jake, Nate, Max, and Rebecca
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

This weeks artist, or rather artists are Jake, Nate, Max and Rebecca. This year was a very significant one in our annual Halloween pumpkin carving extravaganza, all four got to design and carve at least one pumpkin by themselves.

Until now I've been leery of setting them all loose with knives. Jake has been carving a little bit for the past couple of years, Nate even less so. I had some metal cookie cutters that were designed for walloping into a pumpkin and knocking out a shape. The forms came in a variety of shapes and sizes, but were honestly a real pain to use. They would get stuck in the rind of the pumpkin and would inevitably get battered and squished. It was a good idea, but was lacking in execution ( the biggest drawback to the kit was the rubber mallet. It was easily the smelliest tool I have ever encountered).

pumpkins
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

So this year they got to use the knives.

Going clockwise starting from the upper left we have Rebecca's very traditional one tooth pumpkin. It's such a happy looking face. I love how the eyes are just a little bit cockeyed, it adds to the overall charm.

Next we have Max's flower, bat and moon. He always makes tiny detailed drawings and this pumpkin was no exception. He did a beautiful job drawing and craving his creation.

On the lower right is Jake's grumpy old man. Like Rebecca's it is a bit more traditional. Jake's observation about it, after he was done carving, was that the pumpkin kind of looked like an old guy that would yell out Hey kids! Get off my Lawn!" So of course this was the pumpkin we put at the end of the driveway to bring in trick or treaters.

Last up we have Nate's zombies. I apologize for the poor quality of the picture. I had a hard time setting up to take this pumpkin's picture. The carving, like Max's, is a tableau of zombies under a cresent moon and stars. He had a hard time carving the stars and ended up with a sort of triangular shape. I think he did a great job and the pumpkin looked great once it was lit up.

All four had a great time drawing their designs on the pumpkins and then cutting them out. The best part for me, however, was that nobody sliced themselves with the knives. It was a sucess and I forsee more carving in the future.

Civic Duty

civic duty
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Here is my annual, or at least as annual as the elections allow, I Voted sticker shot.

This year it's a bit washed out from the bright sunlight in my backyard. However, rain or bright sunshine I vote. It's my civic duty and I take it very seriously.

Beyond Words

An amazing short film. It's best to watch with an open mind, don't read anything about it.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

I hope y'all had a safe and fun Halloween.

This year we have a fabulous witch, a pirate and a member of the Russian Mafia (with in gun storage of candy).

The Insanity Continues

Once again I have bought a boat load of pumpkins. I seem to be holding steady at 18, I'm pretty sure that is how many I got last year. Either way it's a heck of a lot of pumpkins.

My plan is to hollow them out tomorrow after we are all done with soccer. I think I'll be willing to carve a few as well. We'll see how it goes. My main concern is the weather, as long as it doesn't rain I'll be happy. So far it like it will be cool and clear.

Now I just have to find my jumbo bag of tea lights...

My House is Infested

With Dachshunds.

Theoretically the top cushion should be against the back of the dog couch, but John prefers to have it stacked top of the bottom cushion. He usually pulls it back down within an hour of my straightening it up into it's "official" position. So at this point I don't bother unless we have company.

Nate noticed Dell in the dog couch the other day and took this picture. We both found to rather funny that Dell's head was the only thing you could see. Normally he and John will be on top of the cushions, each dog curled up in his respective spot. But not this time, Dell apparently wanted to be inside the cushions.

And stay he did until something far more exciting (at least to Dell) happened in the house or outside.

Artist of the Week: The Life and Death of a Pumpkin

This particular short film was the very well deserved winner of the Best Short Film and Best Concept, 2006 Chicago Horror Film Festival. It is done in true horror film style with a very generous dash of humor. This movie very seasonal appropriate and I could not resist featuring it today. I think Aaron Yonda and Benson Gardner came up with wonderful film, the one caveat I have is there is an ad at the beginning of the film.


Happy Halloween!

The Best Part

I really love fall. The cooler temperatures, the crispness to the air (well not so much today- it was rather warm and humid down in old Virginny), and the splashes of color that grab the eyes as you drive down tree lined streets. But the very best thing is cider.

I love an ice cold glass of full bodied cider. The best ones have a bit of effervescence that somehow enhances the whole experience. Apple juice is such a pale shadow, it only vague hints of its apple origins. A good cider boldly proclaims itself and, if you are lucky, you can even tell what the varietal used.

I very rarely bought apple juice for my children, it's nutritionally bankrupt and is closer to sugar water than fruit juice. Cider, however, is a whole other ball game. We all look forward to cider's return each fall.

Millimetres Matter

A teeny, tiny catapult paired with itty bitty pastries results in some delightful insectile mayhem. And yes it's another ad, but it's too cute for me not to post.

Dune

A few months ago while poking about the library I was seized by the notion to reread the Dune saga. I had read some of them in high school and I thought it would be nice to read the ones I had missed the first time around and reacquaint myself with those I had read. It had been long enough ago that the books would be relatively fresh.

And so I did.

I plowed through all six of the original novels by Frank Herbert. I found the later ones not quite to the same level as the first, however they still were very engaging. It was a disappointment to reach the end of Chapterhouse Dune and the end of Frank Herbert's writing. The series felt unfinished and I wanted more.

Thus bringing me to the books written by Brian Herbert (his son) and Kevin J. Anderson.

So far I have read about a third of their output. The books are partially based on old notes and a treasure trove of ideas that turned up in a lock box 11 years after Frank Herbert's death. There are differences from the original series, but the overall feel of the books is the same. What I am enjoying, so far, is that the books I have read are exploring the backgrounds of the main characters. I am learning more of how the characters came to be. The explanations and stories fit neatly into the pre-existing Dune universe. My opinion may change once I start reading the books that continue the original storyline, but for now I like what I have read.

Brilliant Fall

burning bush
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

I think autumn is my favorite time of year. I love the crispness in air from the cool nights and warm days. I get to wear my funky boots and jackets again after the long insufferably hot Virginia summers have passed.

And then there are the colors.

We don't get quite the vast stretches of brilliant fall foliage like up north, but it is around if you keep your eyes open. The Winged Euonymus, aka burning bush, is one of my favorite plantings we have on our property. Come fall it never fails to delight the eyes with is scarlet color.

So I raise my glass of cider (mmm cider another fall favorite) to you autumn.

Artist of the Week: Domino Tower

Max
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

This week it's Max's turn to be artist of the week.

I took this picture of him back in July when we were visiting my cousin. It is from a much larger picture that I cropped down to just Max. His stance has an almost wistful quality as he looks out to sea or he is just contemplating chucking some rocks into the water. Either way I really like the pose, he is relaxed and for once keeping still without my telling him to stop moving.

A rare moment indeed in this household.

Four kids + two dogs = nonstop action

And I wouldn't want it any other way.

Domino tower
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Anyhoodle, Max a few days ago was playing with the dominoes and created the rather intricate tower pictured on the right. When he completed it he promptly asked me to take a picture. I duly complied with his requst and not 10 seconds later Dell ambled by and knocked over the tower with his tail.

A classic moment.

Fortunately Max understands that is one of the hazards in our household. As I stated above, it's an active household and things get knocked on a regular basis.

As for the tower, I think Max really outdid himself. He was able to use most of the dominoes and balance them on on just two vertically standing tiles. You would think it would tip over in an instant, but it required a direct hit from Dell's exuberantly wagging tail. I think that is pretty impressive.

Finally Happy

old chair
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Fifteen or so years ago we acquired a dining room table. A friend of the family was in the process of emptying out her parents old house and putting it on the market. By way of Larry's mother we were invited to come over and take whatever struck our fancy from what was left after the family went through the house.

It was too good an offer to refuse, so we headed on over.

Most of the furniture was not to our taste, but with one notable exception- the dining room table.

It has a beautiful faux Malachite finish and has built in storage for it's four leaves. I fell in love with it and wanted to take it home. But first Larry had to drive Jake and I home then empty out he van. Before he left I told him not to bring home the chairs, they were ugly, stained and were far too low for the table.

Unfortunately the soon to be former owners insisted the we bring the chairs home along with the table.

And so for the past decade and a half I've lived with dinning room chairs that pretty much reviled.

new chairs
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

But now that has all changed for the better, a few weeks ago I found my chars.

They are simple and elegant with a style for more appropriate than their predecessors. No longer do we sit with our chins practically in our plates. If fact the new chairs are so much nicer that even Nate noticed. He declared the the new chairs are far more in keeping with the table than the other pattern and design. Which is quite a statement for an eleven year old boy.

Meanwhile I'm just happy the I finally got some dining room chairs that I actually like.

The Elements song in Japanese

In honor of my twins' recent birthday I present to you a quirky Japanese translation of Tom Leher's classic song The Elements featuring the twins Angelina and Jennifer.

Twin Cakes

twin cakes
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Just like Max and Rebecca, their birthday cakes look nothing alike.

Rebecca requested a cake with chocolate icing and a pink unicorn. Max wanted a turtle cake with the cake corps, but was rather vague concerning how the army men were to be deployed. I opted not to dirty my army men and left them off the cake (bad mommy- but I was seriously over extended and decided my sanity came first).

Over all I was happy how both cakes turned out. Rebecca had fun putting on the sprinkles (I helped with filling in the unicorn) and Max admitted that his cake was pretty good even though he did miss the army men. As for their party guests, they were all impressed and then happily devoured the cake.

As for the party, it was their first non-home based birthday party and it was very exciting for them. They had decided almost a year ago on where they wanted their party and stuck with the same idea. There was only a brief moment of regret on Rebecca's part when I informed her that she could not invite her whole class, but she got over it very quickly. They and their friends had a great time.

Number Nine Times Two

smiling twins
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Nine years ago today I met these two little bugs. In this picture they are not even a year old.

A lot has changed since then, but they will always be my smiling babies, ready to be hugged or give a hug.

Their big party is tomorrow and for the first time it will not be at home. My babies are growing up.

Happy, happy birthday Max and Rebecca.

Trololo Cat

Two thoughts here: there are some very strange things on the internets and cats seem to be inherently funnier than dogs in stuff like this.

Artist of the Week: Riding in Style

An Alaskan couple, Jody Foster and Fred Keller, have been all over the web lately and for a darn good reason.

Using an old 1976 Mazda pickup truck, they created their very own adult sized Radio Flyer.

Sadly I couldn't find any pictures that I could legitimately repost. Instead, you'll have to go to the article I linked above. I think the whole idea is absolutely brilliant and they did a masterful job. It looks like they are having a blast tooling about in their not so little red wagon.

Electric Blue Frivolity

electric blue
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

A couple of weeks ago I realized by toe nails were long over due for some attention. The nail polish was chipped to a ridiculous degree and I just couldn't ignore them any longer.

I was a bit bored of the usual pinky toned spectrum that I have been using all summer, it was time for a change.

Rebecca had picked out some bright blue polish the other day and I thought why not.

So now I have electric blue toe nails. They are very cheerful and bright. The funny part is that two weeks after the fact I still startled by my own nails.

Frivolous indeed and we can all use a little bit of frivolity in our lives every now and again.

Dot

The world's smallest stop-motion animation character shot on a Nokia N8
Just a sweet and very creative little film. Yes it's an ad, but that has never stopped me before. If a movie is well done, it deserves recognition.

The Awesomeness of This Monday

Tomorrow, Monday, is an early dismissal day (some folderol about professional development). And by early dismissal, I'm talking about 3 hour early release.

Which roughly translates into less than 2 hours between me loading the youngest onto the bus, we leave for the bus stop at 8:45 am, and then picking up Jake from high school at 10:45 am. He does not ride the bus because to is a an one and a half hour odyssey each way with a 5:45 am pickup from our neighborhood. Meanwhile we live 10 minutes from the high school.

During this precious child free time I'll walk the dogs with friends in the neighborhood for about half and hour, pick up a few things at the grocery store and then... go get Jake.

Woo Hoo!

As a friend of mine pointed out, why couldn't this be on a Friday instead of a Monday. At least we could then cut out early for the weekend.

But then again, that would make sense. I don't begrudge the teachers getting time to various training and development. I just question the whole scheduling. Half days are the pits for both stay at home and working full time families.

Circle Dogs

Circle Dogs
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

As I have mentioned before, I have a children's book featuring dachshunds called "Circle Dogs. "

It is utterly charming, with deceptively simple illustrations that perfectly capture the spirit of the text. Together, pictures and text, you are drawn along a day in the life of a dachshund owning family, the dachshunds being the circle dogs.

And why are they called circle dogs?

Because when dachshund sleep their bodies form circles.

Nate saw John and Dell sleeping in perfect circle form and declared them circle dogs and took this picture. He said the red boys were just like the book and I couldn't agree with him more.

Artist of the Week: Mountain Lion

Rebecca
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

My little firecracker Rebecca is this week's artist.

She is a real sparkler once you get to know her. She is very shy at first and can even come off as aloof when she feels unsure about acquaintances. Rebecca feels very uncomfortable in situations when she can't remember a name or, at the very least, the other person's connection with her. We are trying to teach her that it is okay to smile and be friendly with someone you know only in passing and can't quite remember their name. This will come in time, I don't want to push her to hard or to fast on the social niceties. And really, a little wariness is not such a bad thing.

However once she really knows you, there is no holding her back.

She is happy to give out hugs and will literally hang off of you. I've seen her hanging off the forearm of some of her coaches. She will be giggling madly with a huge smile plastered across her face and radiating joy.

mountain lion
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

And as anyone one who knows Rebecca, another source of joy for her is art.

She enjoys and appreciates art museums, carefully examining each work while ignoring the complaints of Max and Nate. Making art is an even greater source of happiness. She is always drawing something. Rebecca's classmates have already declared her to be an artist. They have seen what she can do and how it is a part of her.

So of course this means she brings home a fair amount of artwork. This drawing of a mountain lion came home at the end of the previous school year. Rebecca was a bit upset that it did not weather the trip home at all well. It was wrinkled, folded, and had a couple of small tears around the edge. I had to set it aside and stack papers on top to smooth it out. I didn't want her to toss her happy lion. I thought it was a wonderful drawing that just needed a little care. And three and half months later the drawing is in a much better state.

Dedicated Soccer Mom

Max
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

It's that time of the year again when I get to spends hours upon hours sitting outside while my children practice or play soccer. There is baseball and Marching band as well, but I don't have to stick around for those practice sessions.

This year Rebecca is on strictly girls only team and she is really enjoying being around just girls for change. As for Max he is on a co-ed team which is mostly boys with just a handful of girls (And yes, that girl really is that much bigger than Max). Which means the dynamic duo are on very different game schedules.

Fortunately the games don't overlap by too much and so far it hasn't been complicated. The real bright spot is that the practice schedules mesh beautifully. Rebecca is Monday and Thursday while Max and Nate are Tuesday and Thursday. All of the fields are within walking distance and all of the practices start at 5:30 pm.

Heck, I've even been bringing a neighbor's child, J, on Tuesday and Thursday. His mom had knee surgery and will be out of commission for quite some time. I'm more than happy to help out since I'm going there anyways. I'm a soccer mom and I have room in the van. One more kid is not a problem.

In fact today I was such a dedicated soccer mom I even went to practice for a team my children are not ion. Poor Max has a major muscle pull in his left leg and was unable to attend practice. But Nate still had baseball today and that meant I still had to go to the park. So J still got his ride and ended having me hanging out at his practice instead of Max's.

Waldo Ultimatum

Where's Waldo for grown-ups.

A movie that I would love to see.

Season's End

yum
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

This past week I bought a lovely bag of vegetables from my favorite grower, Amy of Amy's Garden. She has some of the best produce around. In the bag were peppers, eggplants, salad greens, sweet turnips and tomatoes.

Her tomatoes are outstanding. The sun gold cherry tomatoes are almost like candy, I saw Amy had them available and got an extra pint. Rebecca and I are working our way through them with a little bit of help from the rest of the family (even Meryl is a fan).

Pictured here are some of the slicing tomatoes included in the bounty. They were so very very ripe I had to slice them up tonight. All I did was sprinkle a smidgen of salt, a healthy grind of pepper, a generous splash of balsamic vinegar (the dark spots in the rather vivid photo), and a handful of my rejuvenated basil.

It was divine.

Sometimes I'll have a bit left, but not tonight.

When Architecture Goes Bad

One of the on going assignments in Jake's Foundation of Engineering class is to bring in an article each week that features engineering. So far he has brought in articles about building green houses, ultra efficient cars, and so on. As a result I have found myself being a bit more aware of such articles.

One such article that has been spotted all over the place concerns the Vdara Hotel at CityCenter in Las Vegas (this particular link was featured over a amcgltd). It's a tall gleaming tower of glass that features a concave side facing south with a pool area centered on the southern wall and built on a low three story building. Which sounds lovely, but in reality the building is like a large mirror that focuses the sun energy on the pool area below.

The designers anticipated such a problem and placed a special film that would scatter 70% of the sunlight. However this is proving to not be terribly effective. People are getting burned and there has been at least one case of a plastic bag melting under the intense glare. Amusingly enough the employees are calling the phenomenon the "Vdara Death Ray."