Winding Down

Well, home sweet home and bun surly bun.  We made it back to Denver yesterday, picked up the ingrate, and proceeded to lay around the house.

She pretends like she's not happy to be home, but we know she is.

Thanks to our week with The Toddler, G came down with a cold and I have "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes" stuck in my head.  Every now and then "Bah Bah Black Sheep" interrupts it.  I'm going out of my mind.

Darth Maul?  Is that you?

Well, 2013 is winding down.  Our vacation is winding down.  The holidays are winding down.  It's time to take down the Christmas decorations and mentally prepare for the long winter (Looooooong winter) and all the changes soon to come.

One of the changes for me - I suspect - will be less time to read for fun.  Over the past couple of weeks I re-read this:

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

This is one of the best books I have ever read.  I got it in grad school and have read it probably 4 or 5 times since then.  It is the story of an American missionary family who volunteers to go to the Congo in the 1950's and subsequently becomes trapped there due to the father's bad decisions and the country's political turmoil.  The story is told through the eyes of the mother and her four very different daughters throughout the 50's, 60's and eventually the 80's. It captures the African landscape and culture, world politics of the time, issues of colonialism, religion, and family dynamics.  In a word, it is fascinating.  I highly recommend it.

A book I do not recommend, though, is this one.

The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom

I have seen this in bookstores for years and have been curious about it.  The Russkie passed it along to me in a stack of books a couple of weeks ago and since it is so small, I thought it would be good to take on our trip.  The story is about five people that an old carnival mechanic meets in Heaven after he dies. I thought it sounded intriguing - or at least thought provoking - but it reads like an elementary book for adults.  Interesting idea, poor execution.  In all fairness, after the first few pages I basically skimmed it, waiting for it to catch my attention. So, it's not like I read it with my full attention.  That would have been a waste of time.

One of our cool gifts from the fam: hats from India!

Remember when I said we were going to eat about 85 pounds of chex mix?  Yeah, not kidding.

I am on a Truman Capote kick these days.  How did I major in Literature and never read any of his stuff?  He is such a good writer and captures Southern culture so well.

G will soon be on here with his five top reads of 2013, as well as the next dose of ridiculous.  I am prepping for a grueling day at work tomorrow, followed by a couple more days off.  Now, that is a manageable schedule.  I think we should look into implementing it permanently...