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29.12.11

My Dog

When I was 11 I begged and begged and pleaded and begged my parents for my very own dog. I sent a letter from an anonymous source saying why I deserved a dog. I researched what kind of dogs there were. Then I begged some more. Finally I was allowed to get a dog, he was a corgi and his name was Buddy.

Last November we went home to Colorado and my dog was 13 years old. He wasn't doing so well so I took some portraits of him.



My sweet puppy had to be put down in February. I don't think it will really hit me until I'm back home again in just three weeks. I'm dreading the moment I walk in the door and he doesn't come to greet me.

He used to greet me off the school bus (yes, just like Lassie). We could leave a bag of carrots within his reach and he would go get one out of the bag, take it to a comfortable spot and munch it, then go back for one more. He barked at the vacuum, and he absolutely loved snow (like me!).

I miss him.

27.12.11

Drabble Dienstag - Hidden Among Us

Ever wondered what really lives among us? Getting coffee in line in front of you is a wizard disguised as a homeless man. The woman behind you on the sidewalk is a fairy masquerading as a stay-at-home mom.

A grown woman, I flit among the leaves, relishing the feel of sunshine dappling my skin. My heels stick in the mud, and I swing my briefcase as I twirl.
A twig snaps.
I stop, crouching to stay hidden. Once I’m sure there is no one there I begin dancing again. I take off my suit coat to move easier and lay it across a bush. I spin, and it’s gone. A child is holding it, eyes wide. I make sure to tuck my hair around my pointed ears and yank the garment away, striding out of the woods, dignified.

22.12.11

Delirium by Lauren Oliver - Book Review

Delirium by Lauren Oliver is a testament to what we are as humans. What makes us tick? According to this book, it's love. And in the future someone figured out how to cure us of love.

Lauren Oliver is extremely perceptive about humanity as whole. A few lines:

"You know you can't be happy unless you're unhappy sometimes, right?" (Page 21 Kindle)

"No wonder the regulators decided on the segregation of boys and girls: Otherwise, it would have been a nightmare, this feeling angry and self-conscious and confused and annoyed all the time." (Page 57 Kindle)

She brings all kinds of things from our world into the mix including blogs (or isn't that what she's describing as banned here?):

"...people can't just write whatever, or post things themselves, or write up false information or 'inflammatory opinions'..." (Page 93 Kindle)

The characters have traits that make them seem extremely human. Like how Lena, the main character, has gum wrappers and paper clips and random junk in her locker and her backpack. Or when Lena says something that she didn't consciously realize until it's coming out of her mouth. I do that all the time.

The change in Lena is gradual. She is gung-ho for being cured. It's all she's ever known and it's safe. But her best friend, and so many other circumstances, make her realize that safe doesn't mean best.

It ended without ending. I hate open endings. I know it's a sequel, but I want to be hooked by the writing not by the fact that the story isn't finished. That was my one and only pet peeve.

Have you read it? What did you think?

20.12.11

Drabble Dienstag - The Future of Medicine

This time present tense came a lot easier. What do you think? Am I horribly morbid?

She puts her coin in the vending machine, and the door swishes open to allow entry. Inside the metal box she finds a robe lying on a metal table, undresses, and lies down. Her eyes follow the blinking lights and buzzing noises around the silver closet. When it dings, she dresses again and goes outside to await her printout. People walk by her on the street, not noticing her nervous eye twitch or the sweat gathering in her palms. Finally, the machine prints out a ticket for her and says cheerily, “Thanks for visiting the Quick Doc. You’ve got cancer!”

16.12.11

Déjà Vu Blogfest - Ahhh, Memories

I'm participating the the Déjà Vu Blogfest hosted by DL Hammons, Creepy Query Girl, Lydia Kang and Nicole Ducleroir.

I went back through my posts so I could repost one, and it made me feel a lot better about my blog. I'm always worried that I don't have enough voice but I found myself shining through everything I read. It also made me reflect on the years past and how much I've grown, which is why I'm reposting about our first year in Germany.


Originally posted October 21, 2010

A year ago today my husband and I left the United States for Stuttgart, Germany. It has been quite the adventure. I really believe it has brought us closer, but I wouldn't say it's a good form of therapy for the light-hearted. Stress is our constant companion. We are just now starting to untangle its fingers from around our necks.

I'm surprised to see that I understood Germany pretty well when we first got here. I'm reading through the old blog posts. Here is a photo I took of the farms behind our first apartment. Lovely Bonlanden, the place that smells like farts when the cabbage rots.
Day 81
The adventure of going through buying a car. And then having that car break in the IKEA parking lot and be broken for another few months. (It's now having the same problem, oh yay.)
porsche4

Finding a beautiful apartment, renting and decorating it, and very soon after moving in locking ourselves out of said apartment.
wohnung_7

We've gone to fests and made a ton of new friends. As well as had my family visit. A lot of friends and family are planning on coming out next year, it will be another crazy year!
family_49

We discovered the Nürburgring car-racing track and have traveled so many places. I think Albert has seriously been bitten by the traveling bug, he's constantly wanting to go somewhere new now! (And it's funny because he's only been to Europe once...even though it has lasted a year! He's never even dealt with the jet lag on the way back to the U.S. so he doesn't have an opinion when people argue over which way jet lag is worse.)
cars_2
It has really been a good year. A stressful one, but a good one nonetheless. I'm looking forward to many more either here in Germany or elsewhere. Tomorrow night we are headed to the restaurant we ate in on our arrival. Only this time we can actually order in German!

15.12.11

Book Club - The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell

We had book club on Tuesday to discuss the book The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell.

The discussion turned to language because in the book the Dutch are trading with the Japanese and language is the main problem between them. In the first part, the Japanese seem kind of shallow and silly, but in the second part the Japanese characters speak in their native language and gain a new level of personality.

Not many people finished the book, whether because it was too long or because they couldn't get into it. I think if might be a book that really hits you right or wrong from the very start. My one hang up was present tense in a historical fiction novel.



We had candy sushi (awesome!) and a great time.

Have you read it? What did you think?

8.12.11

Original Fairy Tales Challenge 2012

I challenge you. (in 2012)

Let's all read some original fairy tales. (original being the keyword there)

And then (if you're a writer) write your own short story based on those fairy tales.

Or just a blog post if you wish.

I'm planning three fairy tales sprinkled throughout the year. One month to read each in February, June, and October. Then the month after on the 1st, post your story or blog post (March, July, and November).

I have chosen three of my favorites, but how can I say that when I haven't actually read the originals you say? (Exactly why I'm proposing this challenge.)

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
Cinderella by Charles Perrault
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie 

Blog which fairy tales you'll read and post your link in the widget below. I can't wait to see which ones you guys come up with!

6.12.11

True Colors and Other Short Stories by Michelle Davidson Argyle - Book Review

True Colors by Michelle Davidson Argyle is a stunning collection of literary short stories and poems self-published by the author.

 I found the imagery to be absolutely stark, the language fluid and convoluted in a beautiful way, and the stories natural and inviting in their life-like portrayal. Michelle brings the reader directly into the stories with colors and emotions and dialogue.


The symbolic meanings behind a lot of her metaphors are clear but strong. Water is a constant among her stories, among other things, but it didn't ever feel overused, it was always new. Also, fish slip in and out of the stories; a slimy, slick connection bringing color and life in the form of metaphors and similes. The book is connected as a whole, but each story stands on its own equally as well.

There were a few of the stories that I felt were too confusing. They felt like poems offered in prose form and just didn't hit me right. But then there were stories I wanted to curl up in, disappearing inside them for the next few days.

My favorite was Enclosures with a close second on Clover.

You can find the book here: 
Amazon (paperback)  
Amazon (Kindle ebook) 
Amazon UK (Kindle ebook) 
Barnes & Noble (Nook ebook) 
Smashwords (all formats)

And you can find Michelle here:
http://www.michelledavidsonargyle.com/

P.S. Michelle's ebooks are all on sale for $0.99 in December!

1.12.11

When She Woke by Hillary Jordan - Book Review

When She Woke by Hillary Jordan is a science fiction remake of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Can I just say that I hope high schools start moving on to newer syllabi and teach things like this. Hannah Payne, the main character, had an abortion and was accused of murder. The punishment is to infect her with a virus that turns her skin red, so everyone she sees knows what she is.

The first chapter was absolutely superb. Intense, gripping, it sucked me in to the moment and wouldn't let go. Throughout the book I had a lot of emotional response to the characters. A lot of them really pissed me off, but that's a good thing because it meant I was impassioned and wanted to keep reading.


Hannah had such a visible and strong character arc. She went from timid, perfect Godly daughter to strong, independent, knowing-what-she-wants adult. I think she even found the happy medium of still believing in God but not blindly following people who think they knew what she needed.

The ending was a little too romancy and anticlimactic for me. It ended too easily when there were so many possibilities for more conflict.

I would definitely recommend this book, but beware that it does get rather religious. It's not that the book is telling the reader to become religious, but it is a touchy subject and I'm sure some people would not enjoy it.