My eyes are burning...Book Review

I've said it before: I am NOT a crier. Unless there is a serious death in the family, including the cats, I rarely shed a tear. If I watch one of those sad chick-flicks, I might tear up a little, but it doesn't get further than that. So imagine my surprise when I found myself weeping at the end of Dewey. I was hysterical. That's really unlike me. So now I can't say whether I'm about to recommend this book or scare people away.

Quite a few cat lovers have heard of Dewey, the fluffy orange cat that was found as a kitten in a book slot and kept on as the library's full time representative. Vicki Myron's story, about his life in the library, as well as hers both as a library director, a cancer survivor, as well as victim of various other tragedies, really does tug at the heart, even my normally lukewarm one. On top of these two life stories with their ups and downs, it's also the story of Spencer, a small town in Iowa. I know nothing about Iowa, and I only know a little more now. Still, Spencer sounds like a nice place, where people work together during hard times to get through. Plus they grow a lot of corn, and I love corn. I don't care how simple that sounds, corn is great!

Anyway, it was just fine reading about the amazing Dewey, and all the love he showed the library's visitors, and how much he was loved. It was something how his fame spread wide during his lifetime, as far as Japan. I guess if you can't handle the sadness of a cat dying, skip the last two chapters, and you'll be fine. Personally, I thought I'd be fine, and next thing I knew I was gasping like a little kid after a tantrum. Sheesh. (Sniff!)

What got me was probably thinking about my own lovely orange cat, Cinnamon, who died the same year as Dewey. He may not have befriended a whole town, but he did breathe new life into our home after a really bad year. Though I'd known other decent cats before, it was he that turned me into the cat person I am now, for better or worse. So by the time I got to the part in the book where Dewey had to be put down, it was too close to home.

I may need to stay away from the animal books for a while. I have to finish The Labrador Pact first. Uh oh.

Long Lost Footage!

My two favorites in one room! Miracles!

Actually, this looks like a video I'd have made when I used to make all those silly videos. Maybe it's a good thing I stopped...

Frolicking in the Foliage

 

 

 

 

I've said it before, but I live for the autumn. The colors are one of the major attractions. I wish my camera caught it a little better, but this will have to do.

Bonfire!

 

 

 

 

I really need to catch up on my picture posting from last weekend. I have some time now, especially as I'm laid up with a raging cold, or whatever it is. Vexing as it is, I'm relieved I didn't suffer from this last week.

Why didn't I bring my shredding upstate? It would have taken five seconds to dispatch us in this lovely bonfire. There's nothing like a warm fire on a rather cold night, and a night well populated with stars. You don't see that everyday (well, I don't, anyway)

We start with the kitty...

 

 

 

 

I figured a good way to begin showing my weekend upstate would be a showcase of my Mad Cat-Lady skills. This is Goober, the outside cat. She's friendly and quite up there in years (about 16). It was like having Kira with a personality adjustment. (Kira is the cat Marie got the same year we got Cinnamon, and she's managed to outlive him yet.)

Okay...ew

I got the following message from an eBay seller regarding an item I received about a month ago:

"I don't understand why you won't take the short time it takes to go to your feedback profile and leave me some positive feedback as I and others have done for you. Please take a moment to leave me a kind word, as I did my very best to make you a happy eBayer."

Here's the thing. The item was sent in a timely manner, the transaction was smooth, and I tend to leave feedback in these instances. Sometimes, though, I let one or two slip past me. The usual reason is that I just got off an eBay buying spree, which though much tamer than the ones in previous years still frightened me. I'm a recovering shopaholic, and I've done so well that even a slight lapse of control is disappointing. So I try to leave feedback as often as possible, but when I get off one of my binges I attempt to keep off the eBay site altogether for as long as I can.

Does this guy deserve positive feedback? Perhaps, but I don't like being hounded for my input. I don't do that to my buyers. So, as Kip would say, "I'm a little T.O.'d" (Napoleon Dynamite reference.)

Now I'd like your opinion on this matter, but don't worry, I won't hound you for it.

3 at 3...til 3

 

 

 

 

It's rare to get the three sisters together for tea: not impossible, just rare. We all had off on Tuesday, so we met up for my favorite ritual: Afternoon Tea.

It was hard to settle on which venue, but as Bonnie had only been to Alice's Tea Cup once, and Pam had just been to Chapter II, we went to Chapter III. We all ordered The Mad Hatter (big surprise), and my tea of choice was Trafalgar Square. If I can't be there, I'm gonna drink it instead!

The only complication is that I'm on a strict no dairy, no red meat, no fun, diet. Well, I cheated for a day. You got a problem with that? Well, my digestive system did, but I let's not get into that.

I was particularly taken with the pear walnut scone. Such a nice and substantial flavor combination, like the perfect autumn day (which it was). The sandwiches were nice, too: I can never get enough of the Lapsang Souchong-smoked chicken with apple slices. Superb. One of these days I'm going to try to make this at home. It can be done!

Times being as they are, going out for tea is a luxury, so it needs to be appreciated. I certainly do, and I never tire of spending time with my sisters. (Awwwwhh.)

(there was also a bit of good news when I came home that day, but I won't go into it here. Suffice it to say if I did have a blood pressure problem, which I don't, I won't. Huh? We're all mad here.)

As for milestones, well, I actually finished Bleak House, which is amazing. Two Dickens in one year? For me, this is significant. Put Middlemarch and various other hefty bits of literature on top of that, and it's been a seriously well-done reading year for me.