cooking, my heart, book club, and movie time

1 We work together in the kitchen today making Strachi. It is a recipe a friend gave to me years ago. It's crepes stuffed with either a ricotta cheese mixture or thick spaghetti sauce, then it's smothered in more thinner sauce and cheese and baked. mmmm
2 Isabelle tells me how happy she is to see me and that she loves me so much. My heart melts from this wee one and when I say it back she smiles and leans in for a big hug. 
3 Book club. It's that time again and our food theme is Italian. The potluck consisted of strachi, lasagna, bread salad, tomato and mozarella salad and breads. Dessert was cannolis, tiramisu and gelato. Oh right the book. We had read Unbroken. It was liked by all with the focus on redemption, forgiveness and hope. 
3a I've also seen the movie and would  recommend it. Great acting, relatively close to the storyline and dramatic but not over the top.

Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday

1,2 3 Work seems to be the consuming topic of late. I am busy with a new job and doing two sets of training. Not sure which of the 4 jobs I will keep but I'm giving myself just a bit of time to figure it all out. To be sure though, switchboard stays, the rest...well I have to think hard about what works, what doesn't and why.

4 He makes a good dinner of garlic smashed potatoes/yams, salad, roasted stuffed portobello mushrooms, and steak! Oh yes, apple pie and vanilla ice cream for dessert.

5 I miss the grandkidlets. Tomorrow we will have them for a few hours while their parents work on some stuff around their home. I think it'll be a park day if nice, otherwise maybe the library or just crafts here.

6 She's coming for a visit soon and it can't come soon enough! 

7 Book club is tomorrow and I'm not even close to being prepared for hosting it. Tomorrow I can throw it all together if I make my lists tonight.

8 Margaret Laurence's The Stone Angel is the book I've chosen for our group. 

9 Here's my book review. 

The Stone Angel, by Margaret Laurence

This book will NOT be for everyone. If you're looking for a quick escape, lots of action or a strong romance, this is not the book you want. However, if you enjoy books that aren't your usual fare and are strong on psychological tension, this is a good choice.

I loved this story of an elderly woman, who is a rather judgmental, cantankerous person. I like novels that show how a person grows and changes and I find slow change to be most believable and true to life, as it is in this book.

It might be easy to see Hagar Shipley's life as being rather ordinary, even dull. But I didn't – she was married to a man she eventually saw as inferior and coarse, her relationships with her children, her desire to make a proper home and better herself - were all quite realistic to me. Sometimes, I was filled with sadness and pity, sometimes I laughed out loud, and sometimes, I just wanted to shake some sense into her. As she becomes increasingly frail and dependent on her son and daughter-in-law, she also comes to see her life in a different way. Hagar's struggle with her own painful life memories as she tries to protect her independence and maintain her pride is quite heartrending.

It is a reminder of the hardships of past generations; how foolish pride is, and how it stands in the way of freedom and happiness.

10 I stay home from work today and just rest. So welcome, so needed. I've only had 3 days off in three weeks!

11 Mr P eats the soup I have made and I eat the salad he made. Funny, how food someone else cooks always tastes better.

12 I'm sitting in the living room imagining the new sectional we will have here one day. Not yet, we haven't found the 'right' one. But soon.

two to go, happy anniversary, and zzzz

1 Last day of training for day shift at switchboard. It's busy and she says, I'll just read a book and watch you. At first I'm nervous but as time goes on it's much much easier and soon it almost feels natural again. By the end of the shift my brain is too tired to think and she fills in for me. She laughing says, your brain is full! Two afternoon shifts next week.
2 It's Chris and Michie's fifth anniversary and time to celebrate. The gran-kidlets come to our place so they can have some 'grow up' time <Izzy calls it that!> We play in water and then sand, feed the birds, eat tortellini, have a dance party and while I clean up they watch a movie with Grampa downstairs.
3 I'm so tired I can barely speak. Bed calls, I answer.