Water for Elephants

Today is the Eleventh of December. On this day in 1803, Hector Berlioz was born.
In 1882, Fiorello LaGuardia was born.

I've been buried in administrative work around here; it's not very exciting to talk or write about, so I haven't had much to say. When I've had a chance to break from that, I've been doing similarly unremarkable things like pruning the fruit trees, and printing cards. Lots of activity, but not much to talk about.

I did just finish a fantastic book though- Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen. I'll just say it takes place mostly in the 1930s in a train circus, but is told as a flashback. The history is fascinating and vibrant, the present is crushing, and the characters spring right off the page. It'll make you gasp with surprise. It made me cry, but in the end I was crying because it ended so well. I'm now trying to steel myself enough that I can force my way through the last Harry Potter book. No, I'm not one of those who think Rowling's a good writer- frankly I think she needs a good editor, haha, but her stories and ideas are fun, even if getting through them can be a chore. Still, she's the one with seven (oops- now eight) published books under her belt, so maybe I'm not the one to be offering criticism.

I've done a good job this year of not opening too many boxes at once. By 'boxes' I mean projects, of course, and so by limiting myself, I've been able to be much more productive and organized. As a result, I'm looking back at the last couple of years and wondering what the hell I was thinking. All I can say is: Just because I forgot what I was doing ten minutes ago, doesn't mean I was finished ;)

It might look like a deficient memory to you, but I assure you, it's all there. It's just not organized conventionally.