How I Read Myself through 2011: Part Two

If you’re making New Year’s Resolutions, you might consider resolving to keep a book list for 2012. I know I’m not the only one who can actually forget the title or the author of a book I recently read or even (hangs head in shame) one that I am currently reading. A book list can be very helpful!

For instance, how else would I know that I traveled via the page to fifteen different countries – well, sixteen if you count Paradise – and read a total of 17,619 pages over the course of the past year. When I complete a book, I enter it on the list and include the title, the author, number of pages and sometimes a brief paragraph describing the book and the main characters. This helps jog my memory when my aging brain locks the door on the details of a book I read last year or even last week. I will also sometimes include a memorable quote or two from a book that impressed me, and lately, since we’ve been traveling a lot, I enter my geographic location at the time I finish the book. What? You say I exhibit obsessive compulsive symptoms? Not really – I just look at the books I read as a sort of collection.

Here’s my list for the second half of 2011:

July

25. She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb 480 pp

** This is a very popular author, but, for me, the sad tale of a young woman who responds to abuse and loss in her adolescence by encasing herself in a freakish weight gain did not work. The characters seemed like escapees from a comic book for me, but hey, to each his own.

August

26. The Paradiso by Dante Alighieri 349 astounding pp

Dante Alighieri (Wikipedia image)

***** I’ve covered this ground in a previous post http://polloplayer.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/i-have-entered-the-empyrean/ so there’s not much more to say other than WOW. And yes, I have not forgotten that my New Year’s Resolution will be to crack open the Inferno again tomorrow for a re-read.

27. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand 398 pp

*** If this story wasn’t true, Hillenbrand would have to be accused of jumping the shark. An almost unbelievable tale of war-time survival and spiritual redemption. Hillenbrand gifts readers with a lucid account of the life of Louis Zamperini and the only thing more amazing than his story is the fact that Hillenbrand apparently remains an atheist after writing the book.

28. Drown by Junot Diaz 213 pp

*** A book of short stories drawn from the author’s Dominican Republic heritage. He writes in a truly original and authentic voice.

29. The Most Beautiful Walk in the World: A Pedestrian in Paris by John Baxter 298 pp

***And so begins the spate of books I tried to digest before and during our recent trip to France. This one was a gift from my dear friend, Nancy, and was one of my favorite Paris primers. Baxter writes engagingly of the people and places of Paris past and present.

30. Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris by Sarah Turnbull 304 pp

** This was a fast read and gave me a sense of the Rue Montorgueil area in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris that I would not have otherwise had, but the author’s self-involvement and self-conscious style made me squirm.

31. A Year in the Merde by Stephen Clarke 288 pp

*** This little piece o’ fluff gets an extra star for the number of times it made me actually LOL.  Clarke sometimes tries too hard to entertain, but is often wickedly funny as he lampoons the French in the way only a Brit could manage.

September

32. Seven Ages of Paris by Alistair Horne 422 pp

*** A survey of the City of Light from the days of the Romans through the rule of DeGaulle. I would have given this four stars but for the fact that the author handicaps his impressive work of history with a rather alarming lack of objectivity. Yes, I know Mr. Horne is esteemed and revered, but he enmeshes the facts with his opinion a bit much for my taste.

33. The Flaneur: A Stroll through the Paradoxes of Paris by Edmund White 224 pp

** White is a literati darling and has apparently drunk the Kool-Aid and believes his own press. When he sticks to the subject of Paris walks he is tolerable but his political convictions are jaw-droppingly outlandish. I’m sure the French adore him…

34. Le Divorce by Diane Johnson 309 pp

** Saucy and frivolous, this salacious account of Americans in France attempting to navigate French mores, morals and cuisine is a clever romp up to the last fifty pages. It seemed as if the author was in danger of missing her deadline and, needing to tie up loose ends, tossed in an inexplicable and implausible shoot-out at Disneyland Paris. Huh?

35. A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle 224 pp

*** I’m the last person in the western hemisphere to read this book so you hardly need a summary. I’m always wary of mega-best-sellers but I really enjoyed this book and it was a great preparation for our visit to Provence. I finished it in Paris…sigh.

36. Babylon Revisited by F. Scott Fitzgerald

**** This collection of short stories are quintessential Fitzgerald. It would be easy to dismiss this volume as a period piece but I finished it with a renewed respect for Fitzgerald’s gift of prose. He himself once said “All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath” – and this was an author who dove deeply and held his breath well. Of course, he also said “First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you”, which, for him, was the truth, and a darned shame.

Scott and Zelda (image from flavorwire.com)

October

37. In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson 464 pp

***** This is a must-read. For me, this book finally answered the question “How could it have happened?” Meticulously researched and masterfully written, Larson lets us experience pre-WWII Nazi Germany as Hitler careens toward madness and his “Final Solution” and as statesmen on both sides of the Atlantic fail to act through a convenient combination of denial and disbelief.

38. When She was White: the True Story of A Family Divided by Race by Judith Stone 288 pp

** Genetics play a trick and a family’s life is destroyed when a dark-skinned daughter is born to white Afrikaner parents in 1950′s South Africa ruled by Apartheid.

November

39. The Ambassadors by Henry James 450 pp

**** This was my first Henry James novel but it will not be the last. The sly James pits Calvinist Americans against belle epoque Parisians and everything that could happen does. It is true that Henry James will invariably choose to write a thirty-word sentence when ten would do, but after a while it grows on you.

The Ambassadors (image from tradebit.com)

40. The Sojourn by Andrew Krivak 191 pp

*** If the entire book had been as stunningly written as the first chapter, this would be a five-star review. Krivak tells an interesting, if uneven, story of an American-born Slav who becomes a sniper for the doomed Austro-Hungarian army in WWI. The book was a finalist for the 2011 National Book Award.

41. Leaving Van Gogh by Carol Wallace 258 pp

***A fictional account of Vincent Van Gogh’s last months at Auvers. Alluring, but ultimately frustrating as the reader longs to know what is fact and what is fiction.

42. Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay 293 pp

** Once again, I fail to fall for the best-seller everyone else loves. I’m not saying it isn’t worth reading – de Rosnay does a great service by shining a light on the infamous 1942 Vel d’Hiv round-up of French Jews by their own government. It’s when she switches to the present and the marital woes of the one-dimensional protaganist, journalist Julia Jarmond, that the book loses its focus.

43.  New York: the Novel by Edward Rutherford 862 pp

***Book snobs all hate it but I enjoyed every chapter. It’s not as good as Rutherford’s soaring London, but if you are a devotee of historical fiction and/or New York City, this is a good read. Rutherford’s m.o. is to trace generations of a family forward in history and here he begins with the Van Dyck family in 1600′s New Amsterdam and follows their descendants forward through the generations up to post-9/11 NYC.

December

44. The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris 774 pp

**** The first of Morris’ fine three-volume study of Teddy Roosevelt. This one assays his sickly childhood, his years as a North Dakota cattle-rancher, the successful assault on San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War and his timely rise through the political ranks to become governor of New York, Vice President and then President of the United States following the assassination of William McKinley.

45. Tricking Freya by Christina Sunley 352 pp

**** I thoroughly enjoyed this novel about a young Canadian woman who searches her Icelandic origins and culture for answers to a dark family secret. The author skillfully weaves Norse  history and mythology into the plot and makes the landscape of Lake Winnipeg and Iceland come alive for the reader.

46. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson 644 pp

*** I know you thought I’d finish the year with something more erudite, didn’t you? Now that the film is out, I decided it was high time to read the book and there was a copy on the shelf of the room to which we were shuffled while guests were visiting during the holiday. The danger of waiting this long to read a whopper story like this one is that I had to picture Daniel Craig (not a hardship, admittedly) and Rooney Mara rather than draw my own idea of what the characters look like.

That wraps it up for 2011. If my insomnia continues at its current pace, I should easily be able to read fifty books in 2012.

I’m always looking for reading recommendations – send me yours!

Apt quote! (image from blog.quotabl.es.com)

The Insomniac’s Bookshelf: How I read my way through 2011 in the dark

Every night is a new adventure when you can’t sleep. Usually I fall asleep easily and then wake up a few hours later and finally fall back to sleep by dawn’s early light. Yeah, it’s highly unlikely you’ll get me to commit to any breakfast dates.  But last night the gods of anti-sleep pulled a fast one on me: I could NOT fall asleep, even though a husband, two dogs and a cat (Dodger has recently been awarded a good-behavior place of honor in our bedroom at night) all managed to slumber sweetly beside me.

Our new roommate: the Dodge

I finally got some shut-eye between 3 am and 6 am, but in the long hours preceding my “nap”, I was grateful for the insomniac’s best friend: a good book and a reading light.

Which reminded me: some Polloplayer readers have asked for another book list update and the last day of the year would seem like a good time to provide it. Thanks to my membership in two book clubs, the list is an eclectic one. The list is chronological, and I’m awarding stars for those of you who are looking for recommendations. I will divide the list into two posts, as it turns out I did a fair amount of reading this year!

January

1. The John McPhee Reader 416 pp

***  Selections from McPhee’s works. Recommended especially for the chapter “The Crofter and the Laird”, McPhee’s enchanting account of life on the Inner Hebrides islands of Scotland.

McPhee lived for several months on his ancestral island of Colonsay while writing "The Crofter and the Laird" (image from armin-grewe.com)

2. Little Bee by Chris Cleave 266 pp

* Not recommended. Everyone loved this novel but me. It was a bestseller but I found the characters unsympathetic and the plot overpromising and implausible.

3. The Iliad by Homer (Fagles translation) 614 pp

***** What can I say? The ultimate page-turner. There will be blood!

4. The Memory Palace by Mira Bartok 301 pp

** Meh. Highly readable account of the author’s childhood with a paranoid schizophrenic mother. For my money, Jeannette Wall’s The Glass Castle was a better treatment of this genre.

4. Colonel Roosevelt by Edmund Morrison 570 pp

**** The third and final volume of Morrison’s meticulous account of Roosevelt’s life. A larger-than-life read of a larger-than-life character, this account covers the period of Roosevelt’s life from his White House departure to his death.

February

5. Postcards by Annie Proulx 320 pp

**** Proulx is the rare best-selling author who just happens to be a fine, fine writer.

Annie Proulx's latest is "Bird Cloud: A Memoir" (image from thestar.com)

6. The Curious Life of Robert Hooke by Lisa Jardine 323 pp

*** Okay, this is an esoteric one, but I enjoyed it. Hooke was a contemporary and rival of Sir Isaac Newton who, according to the author, was gypped out of his rightful claim for his contribution to Newton’s inverse square law of gravitational attraction and for his partnership with Christopher Wren to the plans for St. Paul’s cathedral. A fascinating read for a survey of the history and innovations in Europe during the 1600′s.

7.  Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore 235 pp

*** I dare you to read this and not be moved. An account of an unlikely and redemptive friendship between an art dealer and a homeless man.

8. Crow Lake by Mary Lawson 304 pp

*** A novel of family tragedy and growth told against the backdrop of rural Ontario, Canada.

9. Rivers in the Desert by Margaret L. Davis 303 pp

**** Fascinating account of the building of the Los Angeles aqueduct, the Owens Valley water wars and William Mulholland’ fall from grace after the tragic failure of the St. Francis dam.

March

10. The Blindness of the Heart by Julia Francke 416 pp

***** Disturbing but ethereally written translation from the German about a woman who had the misfortune to be a child in Germany during WWI, a young adult during the era of the Weimar Republic and an adult mother during the privations of WWII. I should warn the squeamish that there are passages of graphic although not gratuitous sexual encounters between two sisters. An astonishing work from a preternaturally accomplished young author.

One to watch: the German author Julia Francke (Wikipedia image)

11. Extraordinary, Ordinary People by Condoleeza Rice  328 pp

*** I read this after seeing Rice speak. A memoir of the forces that shaped Rice’s childhood and ascent to a powerful Cabinet position in the George W. Bush administration. My impression after reading the book is that the assumption that Rice is a right-wing conservative is far from accurate.

12.  Washington, A Life by Ron Chernow 817 pp

***** A stunning biographical achievement and a must-read. I have a whole new appreciation of the wisdom and sacrifice that won us independence and launched our nation.

April

13. Country Driving: A Journey through China from Farm to Factory by Peter Hessler 448 pp

*** Interesting account of a journalist’s experience living in contemporary China.  Wry humor and some behind-the-scenes portraits of real-life China. However, am I impertinent to suggest that this staff writer for The New Yorker needed a better editor?

14. Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks 385 pp

*** As a former musician, I really enjoyed this. I thought it was a much better read than Sacks’ popular The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat.

15. The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright 421 pp

***** A thorough, searing and often frightening account of the ways in which radical Islam of the 1940′s wrapped its tentacles forward in history and led to the tragedy of 9/11. Prepare to be horrified by the innumerable ways in which the terrorist attack could have been averted but for petty bickering among blockheaded government agencies.

May

16. The Cello Suites: J.S. Bach, Pablo Casals and the Search for a Baroque Masterpiece by Eric Siblin 336 pp

*** A lovely book that intertwines the slim details we have of J.S. Bach’s life with that of Pablo Casals and his iconic interpretation of the famed Bach Cello Suites. Best read with a recording of Bach’s transcendent cello suites at hand.

17. Gate of the Sun by Elias Khoury 536 pp

**** A haunting and lyrical fictional account of the squalid lives and shame of defeat experienced by Palestinians from 1948 forward,  based on factual interviews the Lebanese author conducted with refugee camp residents.

Recommended: Gate of the Sun by Elias Khoury (image from arablit.wordpress.com)

18. Children of Dust by Ali Eteraz 334 pp

** An autobiographical account of growing up Muslim in Pakistan and the US. Interesting, but I personally think the author (whose real name is Abir ul Islam) might have written a better book had he spent some time in therapy and chiseled his ego down to manageable size before putting pen to paper.

19. The Siege of Mecca: the Forgotten Uprising in Islam’s Holiest Shrine and the Birth of Al Qaeda by Yaroslav Trofimov

*** Somewhat esoteric (as you can see I was on kind of a roll with Middle Eastern reading) but significant piece to understanding the puzzle of contemporary radical Islam.  The author is a foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal and has an excellent grasp of his subject matter. This book (a gift from sister-in-law Jean) had been on my shelf awhile and my understanding of it was greatly enhanced by the other reading I had done on the subject.

20. “Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas 540 pp

***** Extraordinary account of an extraordinary personage. Also a gift from sister-in-law Jean – thanks, Jean, keep them coming! Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a member of a revered intellectual German family, emerged from a somewhat agnostic childhood to embrace Christianity and the pastorate. His conviction that his calling dictated that he work to save  the Christian church and Jews in Nazi Germany led him to eschew offers to leave his homeland for safety and instead, place himself on the periphery of a plot to assassinate Hitler. He was executed in the final days of the war.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, second from right, during an eighteen-month imprisonment at Tegel. He was later arrested and held in concentration camps before being executed in April of 1945. (image from being.publicradio.org)

June

21. The French Resistance: 140-1944 by Raymond Aubrac 40 pp

**This is just a small booklet of mostly photographs but gives a rudimentary account of the brave men and women who made up the Resistance in WWII France.

22. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan 288 pp

** This novel was on a lot of “best of 2011″ lists. The author’s breezy style and quirky characters make for an entertaining read, but if you’re looking for substance, you’d best look elsewhere.

23.  The Devil in the White City: a Saga of Magic and Murder at the Fair that Changed America  by Erik Larson 447 pp

**** This is a book that rightfully belongs on any “best of” list you want to make. Don’t let the ponderous sub-title hold you back: this is a terrific, gripping read that meshes the giddy excitement of the fair that ushered in the innovations of electric lights, the Ferris Wheel and Crackerjack with the chill of a serial killer on the prowl.

More to come…time for a nap!

Pullet Pin-Up

No one is immune to the allure of a fine-looking chick. Admit it -  this beauty is irresistible:

Gorgeous girl!

Her name, appropriately, is Sophia LoHen. She lives somewhere near us in Southern California, I believe, but like any big star, she keeps her personal details to herself. I can tell you that she is a Sicilian Buttercup, which means she will likely live up to the passionate, tempestuous nature of her namesake. A Mediterranean breed, Sicilian Buttercups are known to be fidgety, even flighty to the point of avoiding human contact. Hey, if you were this beautiful, would you deign to mix with the common folk?

Kind of hard to tell from the photo, but these birds have a unique comb:

The comb is almost like a crown, which a bird this beautiful most certainly merits! (image from timmyandfriends.blogspot.com)

This breed’s arrival in North America seems to be disputed. According to Mypetchicken.com, the American Standard of Perfection states that “100% of the Buttercup stock in North America came from hatching eggs brought here in 1892″. However, the esteemed Henderson’s Breed Chart notes that the American version of this breed was developed in Massachusetts as early as 1835 but no later than 1860 from stock purchased in Sicily and brought back to C. Carroll Loring by a Captain Dawes.

For me, the burning question is this: are they part of the Corl-egg-eone family?

(image from cinematicwallpapers.com)

Thanks to Katherine for passing along this little bit of eye candy!

Best bet: a full house!

It’s beginning to look a lot like…chaos. Other people (who are they, anyway?) have orderly little Christmas holidays  – they string popcorn garlands and go caroling and  order those high-ticket fantasy gifts from the extravaganza known as the Neiman Marcus Christmas book. (Because you see, only people with last names like Neiman and Marcus use the word ”Christmas” anymore - go figure!)

For $75,000 you could escape to this "dream folly" yurt from Neiman Marcus when the spiked eggnog runs out.

Oh, and speaking of fantasies, permit me to brag just a bit here. Son Daniel just scored a coup (not a coop, unfortunately, he doesn’t really resonate with my chickens) by organizing a holiday employee event for the agency where he interns that was so spectacular it attracted the attention of the Wall Street Journal.

The "Amazing Race" concept made for a festive replacement to the traditional ho-hum office party. (image from Wall Street Journal)

Employees were sent on a fantastical ”Amazing Race” mission throughout New York City to fulfill a long and creative list of directives. “Hug something fuzzy” was one (Daniel’s idea, of course!). According to the WSJ, “The Chandelier Challenge was the brainchild of agency director Richard Christiansen, his twin brother and managing director Geoffrey, and their intern, Columbia University classics major Daniel Gutsche, who figured out the logistics.” Yes, that would be the brilliant and accomplished Daniel who is graduating in May and who is eminently hire-able. Spread the word!

What could be fuzzier to hug than Elmo? (image from Chandelier Creative)

Instead of basking in all his well-deserved glory, however, Daniel is currently marooned here at home trying to get some sleep with nephews Thomas and James in the room next to his. Taylor is here, too. And the CE’s sister, Gail, with her bf, Paul, who are staying (wisely) at PG’s. Tina, John, Evie and Viv will arrive (cleverly) just in time for Christmas dinner.  Let’s see, that makes for a couple of pairs and at least four of a kind. If we were at the poker table, I’d be feeling flush but as the hostess I think I’m just hyperventilating.  I’m hoping Santa will show up, but I know for certain that our family would never have made the cut for Norman Rockwell.

This family we're not...(image from sweethomequiltco.com)

A few family snaps:

Lunch at the Palace Cafe is one of Gail's favorite traditions when she and Paul visit.

Bobby and Angie are always happy to see Chloe.

Blonde chicks: Angie and Luna

A gaggle of guys: the CE, Thomas, Taylor, James, Daniel and Bobby

Jamesy!

Gail, the CE and PG

My favorite Christmas present: having my boys home!

It’s getting crazier by the minute here and the only thing of which I am completely certain is that the 29-lb turkey in our fridge is not going to cook himself. So much to do and I’m so far behind. But having everyone here is most definitely a winning hand, so I’m going all in – see you on the other side of Christmas!

Chloe loves her Christmas present from Katherine!

Let’s hear the love for Lucy!

I take back all the mean things I’ve said about Lucy.

When you think about how close the chicken coop is to a boiling pot on the stove, it’s almost a Christmas miracle that Lucy hasn’t ended up in a casserole. But Lucy’s story, luckily, is one of redemption.

Goosey Lucy

I’m a sucker for the underdog or, in this case, the under-chicken. And when I noticed that Lucy was isolated from the rest of the flock during the nightly who-rules-the-roost-in-the-coop pecking order competition, my irritation with her began to soften. Several nights in a row I found Lucy marooned on the nesting box counter while the rest of the flock preened over on the roosts. At first I thought it was just another dumb-Lucy antic, but when I put her back with the rest of the ladies, I saw that they immediately reached over to peck at her.

Lots of speckles, but no friends.

So I conducted a brief experiment in social engineering. Every time another hen would reach over to peck at Lucy, I gave that hen a smart little smack upside the head. Three or four of those seemed to do the trick, and after a few evenings of hen relationship intervention (as I’ve said before, other people have lives, I have chickens…) things have seemed to settle down and Lucy has found a spot on the roost.

Mean girl! Tulip is turning out to be the most aggressive chick in the flock.

Lucy seems a bit less skittish, too. I’d like to think she appreciates my hen-smacking efforts on her behalf, but the more likely answer is maturity. (On her part, not mine, since we all know that just because I’m getting old does not mean I will ever grow up, right?) Yesterday, Lucy proved to the world that she is all grown up: while I was cleaning the coop, she hopped up on the nest and laid her first egg!

Those golf balls have been a great "x-marks-the-spot" guide to show the girls where to lay.

Lucy’s egg is creamy beige and very similar to those that Hope lays. It will be hard to tell them apart.

I can now add "chicken egg photo stylist" to my resume.

She is right at the 27-week mark in age – just past six months – which is probably around the average time for point of lay. Tulip and Coco were just five months when they began laying; no sign of eggs yet from Luna or Pippa. According to Wikipedia, we can expect approximately 240 to 260 eggs a year from Lucy. That’s a lot of breakfasts!

Frenemies

Hoo-roo to Dave and Karen!

Instead of G’day Mate, it’s Bon Voyage to Dave and Karen, who are happy as a box of birds to be headed Down Under for several months. This will be bonzer for them as they’ll get to lob-in and chin-wag with daughters and sons-in-law Jen and Vince, Lynnette and Brad and the nine grandkids they have in Oz.

That's a lot of ground for your Ugg boots to cover! (image from nationalgeographic.com)

But, by jingoes,  they are in the cactus with Chloe and Soho, who are spitting the dummy at the thought of their favorite housesitters heading for Bulla Manka.

These two have their knickers in a knot!

The rest of us are more or less resigned to seeing them head off to the Lucky Country since we’re pretty certain we’ve got Buckley’s Chance of changing their minds about going off  to the land of joeys and the Bushman’s Clock. So instead of flogging the cat we decided to make the best of it and put some shrimp on the barbie in their honor. Twice, since they’re so special!

Karen had the seat of honor at going-away dinner #1. She's wondering when she'll ever have time to pack!

PG announced that Dave is her "third son". Markie, meet your new bro!

Lynn and Dave W. enjoying a chat.

Dave W., me and Roger

Lovely Helene and the CE

The CE’s sister, Gail, arrived for a holiday visit with bf Paul and her famous pesto in tow (the word is, you can get it past the TSA agents as long as it’s frozen solid…good to know!) so we gathered again last night:

PG hosted the group, which included her Canadian snow bird friend, Rachel.

Paul and Karen

PG and pesto queen, Gail

Well, I guess they could be brothers: the CE and Dave

Yes, of course the dogs were invited! Gail with Miss Tart.

A few members of PG's festive Santa collection.

The travelers are soon off to celebrate their first wedding anniversary in Hawaii and will then shoot on through to the Great Southern Land.  We wish you well from the Coathanger to Brizzie and we have no doubt you’ll return to us fair dinkum Aussies!

Bring us back a kangaroo for our menagerie! (image from immigration2australia.com)

Grandpa and Nana go to Newport.

Nine days until Christmas and what are we doing?

Shopping? Wrapping? Addressing Christmas cards?

Nope. None of the above. We are slumming in Newport Beach, the devil-may-care alternative to contemplating the dread terror that awaits us when fifteen people show up for Christmas dinner next week.

We hadn’t yet visited Tina and John in their new home in Newport Beach, and Grandparents’ Day was scheduled at Evie’s school, so we drove down for a few lovely days in Orange County. Here are some pix:

Viv and Evie are always a bit shy when we first show up. This is their "Who are these people?" look.

Buster warms right up, though! He remembers that we reliably slip him treats under the table.

They are living on Lido Isle, which gave us a front-row seat to the festive holiday boat parade.

So many lights!

We had so much fun visiting Evie's classroom for Grandparents' Day.

Can you read the posters Evie made? When asked to describe Grandpa, she wrote "feeds chickens, silly, loves Buster". Spot on assessment, Evie!

We got to meet Evie's teacher.

And it was so fun to be at her school.

After the event at school we went to a local diner for lunch. Grandpa LOVES his chocolate malt!

Then we went to see the big tree at Fashion Island. Evie seeks help from above "please, no more pictures!"

We had dinner at their house last night while they packed to leave for their fun trip to Hawaii. Evie demonstrated a plie for us.

The girls love hanging with Dad!

They’re headed for Hawaii so it’s time for us to drive back up the coast and face the Christmas music – so many presents, so little time!

Viv is ready for fun in the sun! Aloha!

What I really want for Christmas: lots of Doxylamine Succinate

I am now on Week Four of the Yuck. That virus that’s been going around and which lingers long, long after its welcome has been outworn.

Sore, irritated throat? Yep, that's how it starts. (image from waytoknowkids.wordpress.com)

Started with a sore throat, bloomed into a nasty respiratory scourge - plugged ears and nose, tightness in chest, Darth Vadar-like raspiness when inhaling and topped off by what is euphemistically referred to as a “productive” cough. Ugh. Misery.  Caught it in NYC, brought it to the West Coast where, surprise, everyone else already had it. Bad news travels fast, as they say.

(image from home-remedies-for-you.com)

Week 1 I was brave, Week 2 I hunkered down for the duration, Week 3 it (and I, with my incessant coughing) became a bore and this week, Week 4, well, no one really wants to hear about it, including you.

But there is a silver lining. Rather, a syrupy green lining. Ah, Nyquil!

The good stuff! (image from saltcitygirl.com)

Since I don’t sleep anyway and especially not when gunk is collecting in my throat at an alarming rate, Nyquil is the one and only ticket to rest and sanity. I highly recommend the gel caps, which provide an alternate route to gagging from the taste of the traditional liquid Nyquil concoction. I’ve had several semi-nights sleep thanks to this stuff and got to wondering, what IS it about Nyquil that actually puts you to sleep, being over-the-counter and all?

The answer:  Doxylamine succinate! What it lacks in rolling off the tongue, it makes up for in its application as a short-term sedative. According to Wikipedia, “it is more sedating than some prescription hypnotics” and when you can’t sleep because of vats of mucus rolling in waves down your throat, that’s exactly what you need.

It may not look like much chemically, but it packs a punch. (Wikipedia image)

Not an every-night option, of course, but when you can’t breathe and can’t sleep, a dose of Nyquil will give you at least three hours of nighty-night, not to mention some VERY interesting dreams.

I’m pretty sure this stuff in my throat will be in the rear view mirror within a few days but I’m planning to lay in a copious store of Nyquil for whatever virus is lurking on the horizon. I heartily recommend it as a stocking-stuffer, by the way. Just a thought.

By the way, does anyone else feel like Christmas is roaring down the track like a runaway freight train? Fa-la-la-la-la and pass the tissue!

This kind of says it all. (Image from smalldog.wordpress.com)

Chasing Chickens: Harder than it looks!

If you’re following Polloplayer comments, you know that our friend Emily in Oahu is having a dickens of a time catching Casino. Which makes me wish I had video of the CE and myself the other day when the ladies declined to enter the coop. The CE had raked some new leaves in there for them and they were having nothing to do with those scary mountains that had appeared inside their pen while they were on a walkabout.

We'll just stay out here thank you very much

Here’s the thing: you cannot reason with a chicken. This is not to say they are dumb – I’m sure you know some very smart people with whom you cannot reason, correct? (Let’s not be naming names here!) Once a chicken decides she is not going where you want her to go, you are, for all practical purposes, Out Of Luck.  We looked pretty much like this in our efforts (no need to watch the whole four minutes; she never catches one, but the music is excellent!)

Suffice it to say that there was much work to be done on my subsequent visit to my physical therapist. Herding, chasing, and catching chickens are not recommended for the faint of heart nor for those without a colorful vocabulary to accompany the endeavor. According to the Internet (where everything is always true, of course) the median salary for a Chicken Catcher (yes, it’s a real job, remember that guy from America’s Got Talent?) is right around $40,000 a year. No wonder the CE and I couldn’t catch those girls – we are vastly underpaid! Maybe we need to learn to sing:

Should you ever be faced with the challenge of capturing or holding a chicken, here are the things you need to know:

1. Chickens will do pretty much anything for food. If you have a yummy treat for them, they’ll follow you anywhere. Except maybe for Autumn, who is just plain recalcitrant and there’s nothing to be done but leave her out there to do battle with the hawk.

"Don't worry about me. I could make mincemeat out of that hawk."

2. If you’re ever trying to impress someone while picking up a chicken, remember this: hold the wings down! Otherwise you will be subjected to a whole lot of flapping at the very least and possible abrasions at the worst – those wings can hurt and I say this from personal experience.  But don’t be intimidated, it is mere child’s play:

And why would a chicken not want to be caught? Primarily to evade bad photo ops. If you’re not careful, your owners might start posting pics of you all over the Internet:

Oh, the horror: Luna is caught in mid-toilette. And you thought she managed to look this good just hanging around the coop?

Tis the season for silliness. Good luck getting hold of Casino, Emily!

No, this is not our Christmas card photo - - but it could be!

Wrap up a chicken for Christmas this year.

One of the perks of writing a chicken blog is that I get to be a magnet for all things poultry. I get chicken-subject-lined emails almost every day, which might not be just everyone’s cup of chicken soup but it makes my world go round.

Yesterday I got one of those emails from Polloplayer correspondent Tina. She sent me a link for an organization called the International Rescue Committee, which serves refugees and war-affected populations. For  just $30, you can donate a flock of chickens to a family struggling to rebuild in a country torn apart by strife or natural disaster. To donate or learn more about the organization, which gets a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, go to http://gifts.rescue.org/product/rebuilding/flock-chickens

The International Rescue Committee was formed in 1933 at the suggestion of Albert Einstein (image from rescue.org)

You can also donate chickens – and goats – through World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization serving children in impoverished countries through individual sponsorship. For $100 you can donate a goat and two chickens, providing desperately-needed nutrition to families on the edge of survival in the poorest areas of the world. To donate livestock, clean water or a micro-loan through World Vision (also rated four stars by Charity Navigator), you can access their gift catalog here: http://donate.worldvision.org/OA_HTML/ibeCZzpHome.jsp?a=b

Melaka and her family in Zimbabwe raise eleven chickens they received through World Vision (image from WorldVision.org)

Heifer International is a third organization that matches families in crisis with livestock to provide food and income. Founded in 1944 by a Church of the Brethern relief worker, Heifer International’s mission is to “end hunger and poverty and care for the earth”. Through their catalog, you can donate a veritable Noah’s Ark of animals: camels, llamas, pigs, rabbits, chickens and even water buffalo: https://secure1.heifer.org/gift-catalog/?msource=kw2792&gclid=CMHy8KLc6awCFewaQgodPmzmIg. Heifer receives three stars from Charity Navigator.

Heifer International's approach helps people obtain a sustainable source of food and income. (image from heifer.org)

One thing I like about these gifting options is that it allows us to make a big difference for, well, pretty much the cost of chicken feed. Yet for the families served by these organizations, a flock of chickens can signify hope, or even survival. Just more proof that all around the world, chickens = happiness.

"Let's just be clear that we are not the chickens being donated, right?"

Happy holidays!