Kitty updates

We've been getting regular deck visits from a neighborhood stray. We've decided to name him (her?) "Button."

We're pretty sure that Button is a stray and fairly young. He has his claws and seems to have been on his own for a while.

Our cats don't seem to be very bothered by him looking inside, but why would they be bothered? They are nice and warm and have fancy Christmas clothes to wear!


Buttercup sporting her Rudolph look and Q is Santa-licious...

Countdown to Vegas....

7 days!

Yes, in just one week I will be in lovely Las Vegas.

I am looking forward to wandering around the MGM Grand looking for my lucky Wheel of Fortune slot machine (the one under the picture of Gregory Peck) and hunting for the elusive margarita in an Eiffel Tower-shaped container (the one with a really big straw!)

The boys (Dad and Richard) will likely spend their time and money at the Star Trek experience. That's male bonding at its best.

Tonight I'll be at home preparing my own Thanksgiving feast of Tofurky, veggie stuffing and vegan mashed potatoes. Yummy!

Have a great holiday everyone!

What I'm reading

Currently I'm reading my next book club selection, A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. This memoir recounts the journey of a young boy during the Sierra Leone war in the early 1990's. This is a difficult story to digest, although it's one of our shorter book club selections.

I'm finding that I can't read this book in long stretches, and like another member of the book club, I can't read this title before bed unless I want to be haunted by the events depicted by Beah.

Frank discussions of war are understandably difficult to read, but in this case, the point of view of a young boy turned soldier is particularly difficult.

I'm at the halfway point of the book. At this point I highly recommend the book, as I feel it's very clearly written, offers valuable insight into the tragedy of war, and the knowledge that the author is alive and well, and seemingly well-adjusted to life in the United States makes me feel there will be a message of hope in the end.

I'm looking forward to our book club discussion on Monday, December 3rd at 7 p.m. at Wayne College. I'm sure we'll be discussing topics ranging from the resiliency of children, how a peaceful person might be turned into a killer, and issues dealing with our government's decisions of involvement (or lack of involvement) in wars around the world. The question that keeps creeping into my mind is this: Could this happen here?

I'm planning on viewing the author's appearance on BookTV, which is scheduled for Thursday, November 22nd at 11:30 a.m. and again on Friday, November 23rd at 2 p.m.

If you're interested in discussing this book or just interested in seeing what a book group is about, please join us on December 3rd!

Countdown to Vegas...

12 days!