Sunday, February 5, 2012

Sunday Salon: One Woman's Garbage

 I'm not sure I can match the (near) perfection of the week before last, but this past week wasn't all that bad.  I'd only rate the productivity at a 5 out of 10 for a few reasons, none that were avoidable.  


My son caught some kind of ugly head cold (allergies?) that brought him home early on Monday, then again on Wednesday, and was home all day Thursday and Friday.  It was Catholic Schools Week, so luckily there were more special events going on and less classwork, so I'm hoping he won't be too slammed next week.


We also had a sick cat, so that required attention.  Nothing serious - just a UTI - but you can't let those things go, lest you are swimming in cat pee.  


Also, I spent quite a bit of time preparing for our garage sale which my mom and I held on Friday and Saturday.  You know, it always sounds like a great idea at the time...purge all of our crap, make a little money, converse with all walks of humanity.  You really do meet the most interesting folks at these things!  But when it comes down to it, and you think about the time involved, the whole thing kinda blows.  I'm glad it is over with.


We've been hitting a few movies.  At home, we have been working our way through the Godfathers - some of the best cinematic stuff ever made in my humble opinion.  It's probably been 10 years at least since I've watched them, so this is like old home week.  The kids and I also decided to pop out and see "The Woman in Black" (despite the fact I have indeed NOT read the book) and enjoyed it.  Gothic and mega-creepy.  Slight digression...we decided to pass on "Big Miracle" purely because of the TOTAL LACK OF CREATIVITY in naming the damned film.  Is that the best they could do???   


On the reading front, I had a pretty decent week.  I finished "Perfect" by Ellen Hopkins on audio and I really really enjoyed the book.  Now I want to listen to more of her work!  I am about halfway through "To Be Sung Underwater" by Tom McNeal and I'm having a few issues with the narrator but am overall engrossed by the writing.  I've actually been inspired to stop what I am doing and write down a few passages...something I rarely do.


In print, I felt like I needed a speed boost to get caught up a little, so I read both "Maus 1" and "Maus 2", graphic novels about WWII.  They were pretty intense, but extremely good.  I also read Sarah Pekkanen's short story "Love, Accidentally" and am about a quarter of the way through her "Skipping a Beat".  I have a funny Sarah Pekkanen story to tell about the circumstances revolving around this Pekkanen binge, but I'll save it for my reviews.  I heart Pekkanen.  In fact, I sorta thought she should run for President.  Why not at this point?  Any woman who can write these fantastic books while sitting in a Chuck E. Cheese gets my vote.


So who's excited about the Super Bowl?  I have absolutely no vested interest in either team (maybe the opposite in the case of the Pats) but I'm always up for a friendly family betting pool, some wings, and some fun commercials.  I'm pretending that it won't be a challenge to my diet...water and celery for me, woo hoo!  


Whatever your Sunday activities, hope they are stress-free and full of good reading!
   

16 comments:

bermudaonion said...

I know what you mean about garage sales. You work your tail off for about 25 cents an hour - I think I am over them.

I haven't wanted to see Big Miracle because I figured the trailer showed all the high points of the movie.

rhapsodyinbooks said...

Can't wait till you get to the end of To Be Sung Underwater so we can talk about it!

Darlene said...

Garage sales are exhausting! We had one a few years back and they're more work than they're worth I think. It was interesting to see the people this showed up though.

I love the Godfather movies. I haven't seen them in a while though. I want to see The Woman in Black as well. It sounds good although I wouldn't mind reading the book first though.

Hope your son and the kitty feel better and that you have an awesome week ahead!

Trisha said...

Ah, the Super Bowl. I care so very little but must pretend to care for my poor husband; although this year, he's pretty ambivalent about the whole thing.

Unknown said...

I have fairly decided I'd never have another garage sale. The prep is too much. I haul our stuff to the Sharing Center that supports women of domestic violence and their families.
We'll be watching the Super Bowl....and I'm not counting calories.

Gavin said...

Glad to hear you enjoyed "Woman in Black" as it looks like creepy fun. And I'm glad the cat is okay. Have a good week, Sandy.

Anonymous said...

Garage sales are a giant PITA. You spend way too much time getting everything ready, and you have to get up at the ass crack of dawn, and for what? A hundred bucks? I'd rather just take everything to Goodwill and be done with it.

Kathleen said...

Every time I have a garage sale I say I will never have another one...ha!

caite said...

I am still trying to understand why they are called the NY Giants since they play in New Jersey!

Beth F said...

I'm over garage sales too. I'd rather use Freecycle and Goodwill.

Zibilee said...

I had a garage sale once where a man wanted to give my husband a dollar for all his assorted scuba gear. I was flabbergasted. I don't like garage sales. People are always trying to haggle you into taking ridiculously small amounts of money for perfectly good stuff. I don't do them anymore.

Superbowl was a good time for reading this year. We had junk food and watched the commercials, as we are not huge football fans.

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

I'm glad you liked Maus! They are incredibly intense.

Jenners said...

Garage sales are definitely not worth the time and energy they require. And you do meet some rather interesting people. You just inspired me to write a post about my own garage sale experiences one day!

And I can't imagine anyone being able to have a coherent thought (let alone write) at Chuck E. Cheese. I recently finished Skipping A Beat and thought it was good but not great. Maybe I'm not a Pekkanan material.

Alyce said...

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a woman on a diet must face many food temptations (especially on super bowl weekend). Mine came from a different venue - my husband brought me home a bag full of Godiva chocolates.

Julie P. said...

I'm glad you're finally experiencing Ms. Pekannen's books!

Unknown said...

I'm way behind visiting blogs and you always have wonderful reviews and Sunday Salon posts so I stopped here.

That's some awful cold your some had. I hope he's feeling better. And your adorable kitty cat, too. Those UTIs are a PITA! lol

I'm interested in your review of "To Be Sung Underwater" because I have a beautiful copy of it on my shelf but haven't had the inclination to read it!

I'm excited that you enjoyed The Woman in Black. I was hoping it was a good, creepy movie!