Shaved it: Jerry's face

Jerry has put an end to his facial hair. We had a good time shaving it in stages. Vote on your favorite Jerry (poll to the right):






FuManChu:






Jerry thinks he looks like Stalin, I'm thinking this Stalin lives in a van down by the river:






The nicest Hitler...er, I mean Charlie Chaplin, ever:







Clean cut Jerry:

Crocheted it: Scarf

This is my first time crocheting. I will always prefer knitting BUT there are certain patterns in crochet that you don't see in knitting. For example, a cloche. I had one pattern in knit and it was for a super expert. It had a complicated herringbone pattern. I figured out the pattern but when it came to the pattern and increasing and decreasing....I gave up. I must have tried to knit this 8 or 9 times. I don't feel like it was a failure because I tried several times and the person at the knit shop was impressed that I figure the pattern out and could not really help me when it came to whatever my problem was (yep, so complicated we did not even know what my problem was, just that it wasn't right) . To impress a knitting shop lady is pretty impressive so I just left it at that--pat on back!
So I got the book "Get Hooked Again!" and it is ok. The written instructions are easier than the pics, but I found this to be true of online instructions as well. Knitting seems easier to represent graphically. I did not like the colors of the yarn at the craft store so I chose another brand (Vanna's Choice by Lion Brand Yarn) and bought the hook mentioned in the gauge and am using the pattern in the book. Unfortunately the yarn is acrylic BUT the colors are awesome.
So crocheting is not too bad, everyone says it is quicker but I don't necessarily think so!

Laughed at it: Sprinkle Brigade

My pal Jill shared this site with me. It is funny and nauseating at the same time:
www.sprinklebrigade.com

Cooked it: Soup Soup Soup

Since Jerry is sans job we have been making lots of soup. Soup is great because it is usually some what economical and lasts a while. It has been pretty cold here, well, cold for us...ok, it will be 74 degrees on Tuesday...whatever! My favorite thing about the soup is my enameled cast iron soup pot (kind of like this but in apple green) and the ladle (both thoughtful gifts from my soup buddies). However, I do not recommend you drop any part of the enameled pot on your foot....it really hurts.
White Chicken Chili- I like this recipe because it is healthy and easy. Other than sauteeing the onions and peppers (I use red bell peppers only, not the green), everything else is cans. I usually use red kidney beans vs the white beans. Also I dump in a small can of corn (sorry I used dump and corn in the same sentence).
Sausage and Kale soup: Jerry LOVES this soup. We use smoke turkey sausage. Also pretty healthy with the beans and the kale. Kale is really good in this because it stands up flavor and texture wise, something the more delicate greens can't do. (also, this version)
Curried Caulifower Soup: This is a great potato soup alternative, the dominate flavor is definitely onion but the cook down so they are melt in your mouth. It is a little labor intensive (roast the cauliflower, sautee onions, cook together, take out half and puree). We used curry powder and really it does not have a curry flavor. I threw in some red pepper flakes to give it a kick. My friend Scott suggested toasting and grinding some whole spices, I agree it would probably give it a better flavor, more of a true curry, and if you are going through all the trouble any way, you may as well!

Read it: Mysteries

Ok, I am hooked on mysteries... I can't help it. Sometimes with contemporary lit I get so bored. It is so stylized and usually a let down. What I do like about mysteries is the predicatability; there is a murder, the murder is solved. I also like the unexpected twists. I may have it solved but there is usually something I did not see coming.
This would be the case with Kate Morgenroth's book, They Did It With Love. This is a chick lit mystery. There are a ridiculous amount of characters and sometimes it can be a little tedious. It moves along fairly quickly. I think this book is best read in a short period of time since there are so many characters to keep straight. I liked it though. I was hoping she would set it up as the first in a series but I doubt that is the case.
The other mystery of late is Every Secret Thing by Laura Lippman. Lippman has a series but I really enjoy her stand alones (also enjoyed, What the Dead Know). This book was a good quick read. She really depends on the reader making a lot of assumptions only to totally demolish them in the end...very sneaky. I think that is pretty intense and skillful , to write a book knowing the assumptions of the reader is making ...mind-blowing!

Read it: A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam

I judged a book by the (beautiful) cover and boy, am I glad I did! This is an excellent first book by Bangladeshi born writer Tahmima Anam. Anam delivers a powerful story about Rehana and her young adult children trying to survive during the liberation war fought against Pakistan. Anam does a good job capturing the strong bond between mother and child as she becomes as involved in the liberation of Bangladesh as her children. This story is very moving and has a surprise ending. It is the first in a trilogy, I look forward to more from this new author.
(you probably cannot tell from the picture but the design on the front has a layered, stamp look---it is really pretty)

Read it: Happiness is an Inside Job: practicing for a joyful life by Sylvia Boorstein PhD

This is the first time I have ever read a "self-help" book, however, I do think I picked a good one. I just liked the title, and was unsure what the book was about. I really enjoyed it and it has helped me tremendously. I like(d) to dwell on things a little too much, especially things I have no control over, sometimes constantly re-living the past, or imagining the future, anything but living in the present.Sylvia teaches you why and how to avoid this through Buddhist concepts. She is good at explaining things and gives really good examples to illustrate. The book is well written. Sylvia teaches and when reading the book I feel like she is speaking to me. I feel like this book has made a big impact on me already. I will probably read more by her, read similar books or re-read this one. Many of the things she talked about I naturally do. I think you can choose to be happy even when life throws you challenges.

The cold is getting better. I canceled my doctors appointment this am. I still have a few days to go I think, but feeling 100% is on the horizon! I am also happy that I will not need to take an anti-biotic.

Read it: The Innocent Man by John Grisham

I had been wanting to read this and finally made time for it as a book club selection. I am usually not a big Grisham fan (pretty indifferent, I guess) but I do like my non-fiction. This story is really compelling as he follows the life of Ron Williamson, an all-American small town boy whose only dream is to play major league baseball. Williamson is drafted to play but things don't go as planned. He turns to drugs and alcohol to assuage his lost dreams and mental illness (bipolar). He (and his friend Dennis Fritz-sentenced to life) spent 11 years on death row for a crime he did not commit.
The Innocent Man addresses the American justice system in a fact-based, thoughtful book. Whether or not you are for or against the death penalty, it is not hard to see that the judicial system constantly mocks justice with corruption, prejudice and inefficiencies.

What I also find is heartbreaking is the many years Ron spent getting inadequate care for his mental illness. Part of it you can definitely blame on the system (not being kept on meds while being incarcerated, being over medicated by prison staff, being taunted by prison staff, etc) , but also with mental health problems that is just the nature of the beast. It is very difficult for families to cope with adults who suffer from mental illness and get them the help they need.

Grisham does a great job stepping back and giving people a look at the big picture. I think knowing that the injustices suffered were part of the system is an important part of the book. Also, I think if the injustices were an anomaly, I would probably be less interested and outraged.
Grisham does a fair job writing this, not great but straightforward. I feel like he did the same job anyone else would do, but being John Grisham got some instant recognition.

My cold feels like it could be easing up some. I have an appetite for food with flavor and to celebrate Jerry is making Chicken Parmesan. I have a doctors appointment in the morning but who knows, maybe I will be able to skip it. I look forward to being less couch-ridden, however it did allow for some quality reading time:)

Irrigated it: my nasal passage

I have had a cold for exactly one week. In desperation I decided to try out a neti pot. I heard of this before and my friend Skip and co-worker Linda swear by it. I have used saline nasal spray in the past, especially during the winter months when the air is dry (ok, when it is not in the low 70s). I love the neti pot. Something was very unsettling about pouring water in my nose. I thought about those times at the pool when I was a kid and got chlorinated water in my nose , not pleasant. But this is awesome. It is warm and then once the saline finally makes it through, you can blow your nose a lot. I even found an old Barbie shoe I shoved up there when I was 5...well, not really...but I did find gold!
My mom and my niece went to Paint a Pot (one of those ceramic you paint it pottery places that my 7 year old niece has been dying to go to forever) today. I wish they had a neti pot to paint: Out , out damn snot!

Celebrated it: Happy New Year

Wow, another year. I almost went to bed last night at quarter till midnight, I forgot about ringing in the new year. But , I made it and we kissed. There were lots of fireworks in the area last night. We could see and hear them from our front porch. That was a pleasant surprise.

No resolutions this year except my usual: refer to the bathroom as the "terlet". This has been my resolution for a few years and it is a good one. Pretty low pressure...the resolution not the terlet....

Watched it: Masterpiece Theater

I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED!!!!
PBS's Masterpiece Theater is showing Jane Eyre Dec 30 and Jan 6
Then....
They are showing all 6 Jane Austen novels beginning in 2008!!! They call it Sundays with Jane
Holy Cow!
I am so excited...too excited really....

Watched it: No Country for Old Men and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

We decided to trade holiday cheer for violence and bloodshed in our holiday movie selections!
No Country for Old Men was a dark and bloody Coen brothers film starring Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin. It was pretty good; the ending just ends, so don't zone out since there is no rewind button. There was lots of witty (in a dark, unassuming way) conversation taken pretty much directly from the book of the same title by Cormac McCarthy. Woody Harrelson was in it for a bit too, I forgot so it was a nice surprise.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead was directed by the octogenarian Sidney Lumet. I
hope to be as together as him at that age! It was very well directed. Two brothers decide to rip off their parent's jewelry store for some cash and of course it does not go as planned. The film replays scenes for the days surrounding the robbery from different perspectives. There was some choppy mtv editing I could have done without. It was very intense to say the least.



Highly recommend both. I think NCOM is best on the big screen due to the scenery. I think of the 2 I actually like a little BDKYD better.

Celebrated it: Merry Christmas

We are having a pretty quiet day here at the Pemberton-Whitfield hacienda. This year instead of buying each other the same ole thing we invested in a photo. This pic was taken by Danny Burke. It was taken along side Lake Superior on the way up to the Porcupine Mountains. We like how you can see the sunset reflected in the trees.

We will have it framed soon (know any good framers??) and hang it on the wall facing our bed, so we can see it first thing in the morning!

Read it: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Yeah, I am still on my classics reading jag. I l-o-v-e-d Jane Eyre. I found it to be very readable for a classic, moreso than Pride and Prejudice and just as entertaining. I think the dialogue wasn't as clever as it was in P&P but that is ok. Jane Eyre is a compelling character and Charlotte Bronte is an excellent story teller. I think I remember reading Wuthering Heights back in high school or college, I will probably read it again soon. If you are thinking about reading The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, I really think I would consider reading Jane Eyre first or at least a really good synopsis (sorry Karen!)
Next I am going to read a couple of contemporary novels and then onto The House of Seven Gables by Nathanial Hawthorne.

Ate it: Azitra

Thanks to Jade and Nigel, Jerry and I enjoyed a delicious meal at Azitra, an upscale Indian retaurant in Raleigh. We had a great time going the whole 9 yards with drinks and appetizers etc. I had a Snakecharmer which was basically a ginger margarita. For dinner Jerry had the Lamb Rogan Josh and I had the Chicken Tikki Masala. The chicken was awesome, it was very tender and the sauce was really good (I wish it was a soup). We also had the peshwari nan which is like the usual nan but with cherries and coconut. It was great in combination with the chicken.
The ambiance was also really nice complete with sitar player (he even played a few Christmas songs, every one of which Jerry thought was Feliz Navidad). I worked all day and was too tired to change into something more appropriate. Luckily it was dimly lit!
*Also while we were there a guy walked in who was dressed as a wizard, Jerry said it was Dumbledore. Who knows...I was hoping there was some sort of Harry Potter meet up going on...but no one else, just the lone wizard.

Decorated it: Christmas 2007

We bought our tree today. We get it the same place every year (like Karen and Chris and Jill before she moved to D-town), the Citgo by the fairgrounds. I like their trees because they have a decent selection of small trees. We keep our tree on a table top because it is less stressful with 2 dogs and 2 cats. The tree is perfect. It was 20 bucks, just the right size and in really good shape.


This is our first Christmas in our new house and the first Christmas in a while that I have not been in school! I will definately enjoy decorating and look forward to doing more Christmas baking this year.

Putting the tree up was very unstressful. Everything worked and we did not have to make any adjustments to the tree....a Christmas miracle!

Read it: The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

The Eyre Affair (amazon, WCPL)was the best thing I have read in a while. Fforde creates and alternate world in which a special operations team fights and investigates crime involving literature. It was a great and witty adventure as Thursday Next tries to put an end to Hades Acheron. There is time travel, there is shape shifting, there are people naming themselves John Milton because they love the poet so much and don't forget the dodo named Pickwick *plock plock*

The WSJ review describes it best and most accurately :
"Filled with clever wordplay, literary allusion and bibliowit...combines elements of Monty Python, Harry Potter, Stephen Hawking and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but its quirky charm is all its own."

If you think this sounds too high falutin or snooty, it is not!

The best thing about this book is that it is the first in a series. There are 3 more novels centered around Thursday Next and her work in SO-27!

Made it: Collaging with Kate Klutz and Janet and Toffy

(I was going to spell collaging with a K but...that is just wrong) Today I finally had a chance to collage at Kate's house. Kate works at the State Library and rescues things that are destined for the landfill. As a result, she has lots of neat things useful for collaging. I fell in love with her super sharp paper scissors and various paper punches.

She also has lots of stamps from her dad's collection. Not only does she have postage for life she also has stamps letting us know that "Retarded children can be helped" (probably from the 70's? when people still used that word and that helping retarded children was news) and stamps commemorating the Pap test and its founder Dr Pap...something Greek...or Czech...or Polynesian....

(click on stamp for larger view)








Kate also has a swell dog, Toffy and a nice friend from Durham, Janet. Janet works at DesignBox in Raleigh and will probably move to Raleigh soon.

Made it: Cute purse

This was my first attempt at sewing something more than a seam or a square. It ended up looking pretty good. I learned a lot and thinks I can make one with fewer little mistakes.
I got the pattern from a book called Bend the Rules Sewing (amazon, WCPL catalog). I was pretty confused for a while but after reading the simple pattern 4 million times, I was able to sewing it in an afternoon. The freakiest thing is turning the purse so that the outside is pretty and the inside can be stuffed inside the outside. I messed up a tiny bit on it, but trying to figure out how to correct it would cause an aneurysm. As a reward for actually finishing a project I am going to buy some real sewing/fabric scissors and some sort of sewing box (probably a tool box).
The fabric was from a vintage dress I wish I had worn more. I am going to make another purse out of some curtains with a bird pattern. I would definately recommend this book for easy and cute first sewing projects.