100 Things: Part One

Some bloggers write really nice "about" pages to give an overview of their lives and who they are while others give a list of things in place of a personal essay. Here is my first attempt at creating a list of interesting things about me.

1. I can recover a sofa. My mom and I worked on recovering a loveseat, an armchair, ottoman, and several barstools after I graduated from college. I did all the deconstruction, pattern cutting, and construction while she did the sewing. It ended up being a major project, but I think it gave both of us a lot of confidence in our makeover abilities. I am also in possession of the world's best staple remover tool.

2. This is my most treasured book. We had a copy growing up and my sister laid claim to it when my parents moved after retirement. I went online to buy a copy, thinking I could get one for about thirty dollars (ha!). I was devastated when I saw the price so I called my mom to commiserate. We started talking about Bad Mousie, Susan and the bears, and fairies in the lemonade. A week later a used copy arrived on my doorstep, courtesy of mom (she didn't pay near the asking price at this link). I can't even think about that book without smiling.

3. Foot fetish? Not likely. I had two moderate injuries in college, both involving a foot, beer bottles, and a formal dress. (Also, fear of lockjaw.) The more serious one was my senior year after my boyfriend's fraternity formal. I think I cut my foot open on a bottle cap, but I'm not sure since I didn't really notice the cut until I was spreading blood all over the fraternity house. The story is good enough to save for another time, but let's just say it involves CSI re-enactments, Waffle House, and a trip to the emergency room.

4. I would probably name a baby "Baby". My favorite stuffed animals growing up were Bear and Rabbit. (Rabbit met an unkind fate when my parents moved. Bear was rescued from the trash after he suffered a paint stain on his back. He now sits inconspicuously in my living room.) My first cat is named Kitty. I was smart enough to keep the name my second cat came with, but left to my own devices I probably would have named her "Cat". Names are obviously not my strong suit.

5. I have worked as a lunchlady. I worked in the Canyon cafeteria in Yellowstone after my freshman year of college. I generally worked the after lunch through dinner shift. For the first part of the summer I worked as a server (country fried chicken, lasagna, spaghetti, mashed potatoes, etc) but halfway through the summer the managers figured out that I had half a brain and promoted me to cashier. Again, this story is a post of its own.

I'll keep working on this list - I've got a long way to go!

Book Club - February

I just got back from this month's book club where we read The True Story Of Hansel And Gretel. I had meant to write this post beforehand to gather my thoughts about the book but I got sucked into the Oscars last night instead. There were only three of us tonight and I hadn't met either of them before, but it turned out really well. We were all on the same page with the book (possible spoilers ahead!) - it was a great read and very engaging but too contrived at the end. I am generally a huge fan of books that tell an existing story from a different point of view (see: Wicked and The Red Tent) so I liked this book from the start.

One of the main differences between this book and the ones mentioned above is that this book is told in a completely different setting than the original story. I really admire the author's ability to take the fairy tale (is that what Hansel and Gretel is called?) and move it into a very un-fairy tale setting: Poland during World War II. This book about broke my heart a million times with its descriptions of scarring the town children so that the Nazis wouldn't want them, the engineer father who survived in the woods with the resistance fighters, Gretel's rape, and the death of the "witch" at Birkenau. About three-quarters through the book I almost started hoping for an unhappy ending because anything else would seem too sugar-coated.

I feel like the ending tried to tie up too many loose ends. The young couple got away with the baby, the ultimate bad guy was caught and punished, and Hansel and Gretel found their father. It's not that I wanted these characters to suffer, but I would have been happy with an ending left open for interpretation. Also, I am a major crier, and it just doesn't feel right when I start sobbing halfway through a book that turns out to have a happy ending. Seriously, I read this book in two sittings and cried for about two hours straight.

Anyway, I really liked it and it was a great book club read. Highly recommended. Next month: The Good Earth