Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About

Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About by Mil Millington.

From the back cover: “Pel Dalton leads an uneventful life. His days are spent bluffing his way through an IT job in the university library, pillow-fighting with his two sons, surviving family outings to the supermarket, and finding new things to argue about with Ursula, his German girlfriend. But things are about to change…”

Thank goodness for the glowing snippets of reviews on the book cover (“…wickedly funny…”, “…sharply written…”, etc.) because that back cover summary is lame and doesn’t come close to capturing the spirit or tone of the book. Pel’s life isn’t “uneventful” — it’s teetering on the brink of disaster. He’s consumed with trying to conceal just how out of his depth he is at work, is engaged in a love/hate (but mostly hate) relationship with Ursula and is overwhelmed with the demands of raising young children. It would be really depressing if the writing weren’t so witty and sly.

Millington’s novel is based on his website, which is so ugly and hard to read it makes my eyes bleed, but is very entertaining.

Final word: Highly recommended.

books

Halloween 2011

Has it already been three weeks since Halloween? What’s that? It’s been more than three weeks?

Oops.

Then I guess it’s too late to show you this:

Here’s Anna as The Most Familiar Sight in Nova Scotia. She even made the sign herself — with a little help from her Dad. Pretty good, huh?

Is it too late to show you this?

This is Foster as Captain Rex (from Star Wars, duh) in a costume made entirely by Foster and me his father. It’s amazing what I they can do with some cardboard and an x-acto knife.

So it’s definitely too late to show you this:

Charlotte’s starring turn in Anne of Green Gables: The Musical in ten years is a given, wouldn’t you say? The Boy Wonder No! I made the braids—me me me, not Whatshisname who tries to hog all the glory—and even went the extra mile to turn them into a hat so that (1) it would provide some warmth under the straw hat during trick-or-treating and (2) could be worn on its own for the rest of the winter. Genius, I know. I only mention it so you can see how humble I am about it. My genius, I mean.

I went as A Woman Who Generally Dislikes Halloween, but Walks Around the Neighbourhood With Her Children for Two Hours Anyway and Is Not-So-Secretly Hoping to Be Compensated in Mini Chocolate Bars. No costume required.

5 Responses to “Halloween 2011”

  1. Barb

    very, very cute.
    Did they get lots of candy? how much did you manage to sneak? did you dress up your dogs? We dressed up Rex as a vampire, yes, I probably need grandchildren.

  2. Carolyn

    Finally! Have been checking your blog daily to see the kids in their costumes. But never mind, it was worth the wait and I know how busy you are. They look great. Congratulations to Anna for the good job on the sign and to Foster and his Dad for the fantastic costume and last but certainly not least to you for the great red braids, attached to a hat no less.

  3. Lori

    Because our area has so few trick-or-treaters (we had 6 total), the kids always get TONS of candy. Our neighbours are always so happy to see us, they dump multiple giant handfuls in the kids’ bags. And I’m very fortunate in that I don’t have to steal from the kids because they are extremely generous about sharing. They keep me well supplied. The dogs didn’t go out because it was a little too cold and they get very nervous walking after dark. And yes, you do need grandchildren. Tell those girls to get on that ASAP. How was Katie’s wedding?

  4. Lori

    I’ve had the pictures ready to post for a couple weeks, but just couldn’t find the time to get them online. Luckily, we had a big snowstorm yesterday (40 cm) and the library was closed early for the day so I had a couple bonus hours. I just don’t know where the days go.

  5. Barb

    the wedding was beautiful, everything went well, had a lovely sunny day. Katie and Dave had a great time, she didn’t stress on the day.

    Vanessa and her boyfriend are moving into their own apartment next weekend so I won’t have Rexy here to mother. Doug says he doesn’t want another dog, so I have to work on him, he’ll be sorry! He’ll be begging for a pet.

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Mud, Sweat and Tears

Mud, Sweat and Tears: Tales from a Country Vet by Bud Ings. Acorn Press.

From the back cover: “Ings’ memoir is a rich, often humourous account of his first decade as a vet, at a time when there were few vacations, no modern tools of the trade, and no request too strange to attend to. It’s also the story of a past era, when PEI’s farms flourished and the animals were not only the backbone of the economy, but part of the family.”

I checked this book out of the library way back in July (yes, I’m slightly behind on my reviews) so I could take it to PEI for our annual week of eating, reading, beachcombing and eating. In an interesting turn of events, however, my father—who generally limits his reading to the newspaper and curling/golf schedules—saw it on the coffee table and snagged it for himself. His verdict? Two thumbs up.

Well sure, I thought, Bud Ings is not only writing about the PEI of my Dad’s childhood, but they also share the same exquisite taste in adopted first names. Would I enjoy the book as much as Bud Cameron?

::suspenseful music::

I did enjoy it. Ings’ details of farm life on PEI in the fifties are interesting, but even better are his descriptions of his encounters with the farmers—true characters, every one. Celebrity and tragedy memoirs are both more popular, I know, but I really believe these “regular person” memoirs are priceless for a glimpse at a world now long gone.

Recommended for fans of PEI, veterinary medicine or rural life in the fifties.

books

tales from outer suburbia

Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan.

From the back cover: “Do you remember the water buffalo at the end of our street? Or the deep-sea diver we found near the underpass? Do you know why dogs bark in the middle of the night? Shaun Tan, creator of The Arrival, The Lost Thing and The Red Tree, reveals the quiet mysteries of everyday life: homemade pets, dangerous weddings, stranded sea mammals, tiny exchange students and secret rooms filled with darkness and delight.”

The cover of this book beckoned me from across the library one day and – I know I should be ashamed to admit this, but I’m not, or rather I’m mostly unashamed, but still a little ashamed, as with most things, come to think of it, since that’s just the way I am – I almost ignored it since I thought it was a graphic novel. Yes, yes, I know graphic novels are the way of the future and so awesome and revolutionary and whatever. Stop hounding me about how great graphic novels are. I don’t get the appeal, okay? Call me old (true) and inflexible (true) and a snob (somehow also true, despite my shame), but I have zero desire to read a graphic novel. (And don’t get me started on graphic novel versions of the classics because I will become truly unpleasant. What is wrong with WORDS? Words as they were written?)

In any case, I don’t need to rant about Tales from Outer Suburbia because it is a lavishly illustrated book of very short stories, not a graphic novel. It’s a picture book for adults, say. (Not those kinds of pictures for adults. I know where your lecherous mind went.) It would be perfectly suitable for kids and teens too, with its intriguing mix of the poignant and the absurd.

The illustrations are fantastic and I suggest you check out Shaun Tan’s website for samples of his work. Seriously, his talent and creativity make me want to barf. Life is so, so unfair.

Anyway.

Tales from Outer Suburbia: Highly recommended.

books

wow, it’s been a long time

My baby boy is all grown up into a lumberjack.

 A pensive lumberjack.

2 Responses to “wow, it’s been a long time”

  1. Carolyn

    Love it!! Suddenly Foster looks very mature. Perfect for part of a halloween costume.

  2. Gary barnes

    Thanks for sharing these wonderful photos with us. Foster is looking like an old man. I really enjoyed this.

family

summer storm

Before that big thunderstorm the other day, the one that brought the cotton ball clouds, I managed to get a few shots of the storm rolling in.

First, it got a little dark:

 Then it got a lot dark:

That’s quite the contrast between the brightish sky to the east and the clouds overhead, isn’t it? Keep in mind that this was mid-afternoon.

And then this rolled in:

 The bright areas within the clouds are lightning. The accompanying crack of thunder sent me scurrying inside where two small dogs and a snotty cat, all spooked by the storm, tried to claw their way to the top of my head. Whether I was safer inside or outside is debatable.

3 Responses to “summer storm”

  1. Robin

    Whoa. Did you have to duck to not get him on the head by those clouds?

  2. Lori

    Yeah, they were so dark and low and massive, I thought, ‘Well, the alien ship has finally arrived.’

  3. Charlotte

    OH the Monday storm that one was scary!

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