Book Review #2 -"The Girls" by Lori Lansens

Okay, I'm starting over with the numbering of my books reviews, (which I hope to do more of -as a side note I'm trying to get away from only posting things about my kids, I do have interests and activities that don't 100% focus on them), so this is number two for 2009.

This book is the story of Rose and Ruby Darlen, conjoined twins born during a rural Ontario tornado in 1974. Rose decides to write her (their) autobiography and Ruby adds her "touching two cents worth" along the way. I am fascinated with Lansens ability to write a book with two narrators that have such authentically different voices. Rose and Ruby are very different people, and even without the change in typeface you could tell who was speaking about two lines into a change of narrator.

From the first chapter: "I have never looked into my sister's eyes. I have never bathed alone. I have never stood in the grass at night and raised my arms to a beguiling moon. I've never used an airplane bathroom. Or worn a hat. Or been kissed like that. I've never driven a car. Or slept through the night. Never a private talk. Or solo walk. I've never climbed a tree. Or faded into a crowd. So many things I've never done, but oh, how I've been loved. And, if such things were to be, I'd live a thousand lives as me, to be loved so exponentially. My sister, Ruby, and I, by mishap or miracle, having intended to divide from a single fertilized egg, remained joined instead, by a spot the size of a bread plate on the sides of our twin heads. We're known to the world medical community as the oldest surviving craniopagus twins (we are twenty-nine years old) and to millions around the globe, those whose interest in people like us is more than just passing, as conjoined craniopagus twins Rose and Ruby Darlen of Baldoon County. We've been called many things: freaks, horrors, monsters, devils, witches, retards, wonders, marvels. To most, we're a curiosity. In small-town Leaford, where we live and work, we're just "the Girls"'.

There are some heart breakingly tender moments in this novel. I love that Rose, looking back on her life events can be objective about some of the things that happened. Looking with adult eyes on what she saw and experienced, she recognizes that she doesn't have all the information, doesn't understand all the nuances of relationships, and just decides to move on. I also love that while she is fairly practical and smart she doesn't clue into the reality of some situations until Ruby (who is more fanciful in some ways), points out her naivete.

It is a lesson for us all that while Rose and Ruby can almost read the others' thoughts, can feel eachothers' heartbeats and are constantly together they still misunderstand one another at times. I've thought about this quite a bit over the last couple of days, that really as human beings it is almost impossible to truly know a person, each man really is an island, (was it Johnson or Donne who said that?) But despite this, it is possible to be loved exponentially. Overall, a really well written book.

Jaw-Droppingly Delicious Asparagus Penne

I tried out this recipe from Rachel Ray last week for the first time and it was definitely a hit. A very different flavour from the normal tomato based pasta. What I liked about it was in general these are things I have on hand, except for maybe the fresh Parmesan. It also persuaded the kids to actually eat asparagus...hooray!
Overall a winner.

SALT
1 lb. ASPARAGUS
1 lb. PENNE PASTA
1 Tbsp. OLIVE OIL
2 Tbsp. BUTTER
2 large cloves GARLIC
2 Tbsps. FLOUR
3/4 C. VEGETABLE STOCK
3/4 C. HALF AND HALF CREAM (I used soy milk and it turned out pretty good so you could probably use whole milk with decent results if you were looking to lower the fat content.)
2 Tbsp. DIJON MUSTARD
2 tsps. grated LEMON ZEST
BLACK PEPPER
2 Tbsps. fresh TARRAGON, finely chopped (I didn't have fresh, it turned out ok.)
Juice of 1 lemon
PARMESAN CHEESE (The good stuff, not the Kraft shaker!)

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt the water. Drop the asparagus in for 2 minutes, then remove, drain and chop into 2 inch pieces. Add the pasta to the water and cook to al dente.

To a skillet placed over med. heat, add the olive oil and the butter. When the butter melts into the oil, add the garlic and gently cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then sprinkle the flour into the pan and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Whisk in the stock, half-and half, mustard, and lemon zest. Season the sauce with salt, pepper, and tarragon, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes to thicken. Add the lemon juice, gently toss the asparagus and pasta with the sauce to coat. Turn off the heat and adjust the salt and pepper to taste. Top with grated cheese and serve.

Serves 4.

Jack-isms #1

At the breakfast table Jack and I had the following conversation.

Jack: What do you do after you are done being a grandma?
Mom: What do you mean? (I was wondering if this was some sort of trick question, I couldn't really fathom what he was getting at as we don't have any great grandmas left in our family so I didn't think he would understand that concept.)
Jack: I think then you become a hair cutter, a chef and a mail delivery person. And then AFTER when you are all done you go to live with Heavenly Father.
Mom: Oh, that sounds busy.
Jack: Yes. But I don't want to be a hair cutter, I'm only going to be a chef.
Mom: Okay

At this point Jack was beaming quite proudly that he's figured out the future for us all. Apparently Anne/Nan/Mommie Dearest and Grammie have a lot left to do before they are allowed to pass on!

Genetics

 

Eric-isms #1

Last week, on a day that I was sick, we were just hanging out in the living room. Eric was playing with Tickle Me Elmo and we had the following conversation:
Mom: Are you red and furry like Elmo?
Eric: Nooooo!
Mom: Do you have an orange nose like Elmo?
Eric: Nooooo!

Eric then proceeds to pop up and do the little hop/skip/dance that he does, around the living room and proclaims, "I have a bum like a cow!"

What?!!? Where do kids come up with these things?

A Week in Pictures

Here's some snapshots from this week. The weather was brutally cold and some of us were sick on top of it so we did indoor things and played together.
 We took out the mousetrap game that Aidan passed on to us on Sunday. We didn't actually play the game but the boys spent a good hour resetting everything to catch the mice. Jack really enjoys making the diver flip over into the bucket at extreme speeds.
 Me making a nutritious and warm stew to warm our weary bones. I'm sporting the cool apron Anne/Nan/Mommie Dearest gave to me for Christmas. It was doing a good job of keeping my rapidly expanding tummy clean. :)
 Aforementioned stew, southwest style.
 The boys playing on the Nick Jr. website. Both of them LOVE to play on the computer. I have reservations but when it's -30 outside you gotta do what you gotta do to keep little people busy.

Think Pink

 Hooray, it's a girl! Well -at least we think it is. Baby C was very very squirmy during the ultrasound so it was difficult getting clear pictures. But between the tech and myself I think we determined that there were not any little boy bits.

Book Review #?

My Husband's Sweethearts by Bridget Asher




It's been a long time since I have posted a book review on my blog...not sure why, life is busy I guess. Plus a lot of my reading of late has been murder mysteries, not really review material. Soon after finishing this book (at 1am) I knew I wanted to post about it.

Here's the synopsis from the publisher:

"When Lucy discovered that her charming, cheating husband was dying, she came home, opened up his little black book, and decided she wasn’t going through this alone. After all, Artie’s sweethearts were there for the good times—is it fair that Lucy should have to manage the hard times herself? In this wise, wickedly funny new novel, Lucy dials up the women in Artie’s black book and invites them for one last visit. The last thing she expects is that any will actually show up.

But one by one, they do show up: The one who hates him. The one who owes her life to him. The one he turned into a lesbian, and the one he taught to dance. And among them is a visitor with the strangest story of all: the young man who may or may not be Artie’s long-lost son.

For Lucy, the jaw-dropping procession of women is an education in the man she can’t forgive and couldn’t leave. And as the women find themselves sharing secrets and sharing tears, they start to discover kindred spirits—and even something that’s a lot like family. But Lucy knows one thing for certain: the biggest surprises are yet to come….

Full of heart, Bridget Asher’s unforgettable novel is about mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and the deep friendships between women. It’s about sweet liars and tenderhearted cheaters—about loving those we love for reasons we can’t always fully rationalize, and about the sort of forgiveness that can change someone’s entire life in the most unexpected and extraordinary ways."

I thought the book started off a little slow but by about page 50 I couldn't put it down. I spent the rest of the evening, and half of the night reading it. Asher's characters really do live up to the hype from the publisher, they are real people with big decisions to make about love, forgiveness and moving on. I ended up feeling for all of them, the cheated-on wife, the drug addict former mistress, the bitter older woman, even the crazy mother, and even adulterous Artie. Overall, a really good read.

Snow Mountain

 

Cheeky Monkey

 I often call Eric my cheeky monkey, and this is a good example of why.