Presents presents presents!

December 29, 2009 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

We had a stupendous Christmas/Boxing Day, and are still rolling in bounty. I think Greg's family is trying to keep us on the East coast through the sheer force of Christmas loot. We had a very quiet Christmas morning at Oak Street, where Greg made apple turnovers from scratch and got me everything I wanted (A Year of Mornings, a Year of Evenings, the new Grizzly Bear album, and even scrimshaw earings made of 10,000 year old mammoth). The next few days are devoted to packing for Eugene and preparing myself for staying up three hours later every night.

Staycation in Paradise

December 23, 2009 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

Have I mentioned that it snows in Massachusetts? It snows big, fluffy cold snow that sticks for weeks. The air just got nose-bleed dry, and I'm sitting in our kitchen, drinking tea and watching our neighbor pack her car for the vacation. She locks her car every time she goes inside for another load, and I wonder if people raised in New Hampshire actually believe North Grafton, MA is a dangerous place. These are the things I have time to think about during our long staycation.

I've read a pile of books (in case you're looking for a happy YA romance for your favorite gay boy, tuck Boy Meets Boy under the tree), watched a pile of movies (looking for a happy teen movie? Go for Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist), and did a whole pile of nothing with a very sweet companion. Being in my home the day before Christmas Eve is awesome. And for all the joys of being a perpetual kid in someone else's house, being a grown up in my own house on Christmas has a romantic kind of magic. 

Rochester

December 20, 2009 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

Here is a picture of Dorothy from my venture to Rochester.

Graceling: totally bitchin'

December 15, 2009 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

I recently finished Kristin Cashore's fantastic book, Graceling, and am now wading through a really horrible book that doesn't deserve being mentioned by name (you know who you are). Graceling has had enough critical praise for me to simply direct you to much more articulate reveiws (http://kristincashore.blogspot.com/2008/02/reviews-reviews-reviews-for-graceling.html). It's hard to read this book without wanting everyone you know to read it immediately. Not read, inhale. While it is cool to finally have a female character that can make her own decisions (glaring your way, Ms. Myer), it is the dialogue that make the book so real and whole. So much YA fiction is shaped around two people who are talking at each other, either to convey information to move the plot along or to convey their innermost feelings that are unaltered by the other person's response. Cashore's characters come into a conversation with one idea and negotiate a third way, so the plot, while action-packed and riveting, doesn't seem to move the characters along without their will. Which is how some books (oh, yes, Stephanie, I'm still talking to you) make their female characters into slaves, to other characters or outside forces. This is only one of many refreshing, progressive, fantastic things about the book, like the hero cycle and the rich development of characters as they grow as people and together. So, if you haven't read it already, grab it up, make a cup of tea, and take the phone off the hook. 

Oh, and my Christmas list is:

Good Earth Original Sweet and Spicy Tea (I can't find it in any of my local grocery stores, but maybe they haven't pulled it on the west coast)

The beautiful photo book, A Year of Mornings: 3191 Miles Apart

Megan Whalen Turner's The Thief

holiday break

December 14, 2009 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

The house is still, challah french toast is soaking, and I'm preparing to finish another big book from my wonderful neighbor, Lydia. This week, the priority is to remember how to talk to other people without mentioning bureaucracy, national data sets, or even those wacky students from my wealth and poverty class. I'm just talking about feminist speculative fiction.

Our Hanukkah dinner was really fun, and we had way too much food. My menorah seemed to work pretty well, too.

Oh Christmas tree

December 10, 2009 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

I got my first farm-raised tree last week (not counting trees from mom's farm, obviously). Greg did quick work of it, and we dragged it back home without much of a struggle. It's so nice to have our own real Christmas tree to sit next to and read while it snows and hails outside.

We're celebrating the first night of Hanukkah with friends tomorrow. I made my own menorah out of antler and wire, and am going to try to make traditional kugel and latkes. Lots of oil to celebrate the festival of lights- yum!

It's quiet and snowing.

December 06, 2009 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

I'm making bread and my holiday cards this afternoon, watching the snow melt off of the trees outside.

Ornaments from the Bay State

December 03, 2009 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

After deciding between a submarine theme and Martha Stewart Christmas Explosion, Greg and I compromised on a nautical Christmas, very appropriate for a little town whose ancient graveyard is full of captains. I began ornament making by rifting on an Anthropologie design. All I can say about the child labor they must use to construct the ornaments is that those little fingers are magic. Each boat took an hour! Greg suggested that I take pictures of the two I've already made and hang a dozen facimilies on the tree instead. Next project- the octopus tree topper.

Happy Happy Birthday Robbie!

December 02, 2009 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

I hope you have a wonderful birthday.