Arlington had its first real snow of the season on Tuesday, which seems so mild compared to last year's weeks and weeks of white. The county decided not to cancel school, apparently a bad call as several school bus accidents occurred on the slippery unplowed streets.
As for us, the kids had a fantastic time walking to school while launching snowballs.
Happy weekend everyone!! Don't forget to check out Cherish This Day, there's a huge posts today with lots of incredible images.
RANDOM LINKS:
* These are probably the most creative and happy photographs I have ever seen. As in EVER. I'm totally in awe.
* Cold weather science projects.
* Winter shandy punch. Now we need to have a party.
- This novel made several critics' "best of" lists, so of course I had to read it (plus it's a long book and I needed a long book). The writing is excellent and the storyline is suspenseful (I couldn't put it down). But I didn't particularly like any of the characters and nothing about the plot will stick with me for years to come. Basically, a long, easy read.
- Gilead tells the story of an elderly preacher's late marriage (which results in a young son) and his struggles with questions of faith and doctrine. It's somewhat of a slow read, but beautiful. And after I finished it, I immediately read (and devoured) 
(a companion novel, which is written from the perspective of the pastor's young wife). Both books, taken together, probably make up the best love story of our time (I could not stop crying during Lila). 
- I keep meaning to read this, but it sounds so depressing that I continually put it off ("an endless siege of rape and torture"). 
- As a child, I was somewhat obsessed with Margaret Mead. I dressed up as Mead in second grade and the teacher had to call my parents to figure out who she was (apparently anthropologists didn't get a lot of play in the 1980s grade school curriculum). Anyways, this book is a fictional account of the fall of Mead's second marriage, which occurs while while she and her then husband were studying native tribes in New Guinea. I found it riveting. As in, I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN. Afterwards I had to immediately read 
in an attempt to learn how much of novel was true. And even that wasn't enough. Luckily, there's google.
- These stories are quirky - best friends who disappear, furniture that "walks out" in the middle of the night; a random breast that appears on one's back; a mother daughter relationship summarized through financial arguments. I liked them. A lot. 
- Murakami is one of my favorite authors, but I've found his last few novels underwhelming (1Q84, Kafka on the Shore). Luckily, he's back on track. Tsukuru Tazaki is just weird enough, while also having a lot to say about memory and friendship and the passage of time. Definitely, Murakami's best novel in years. 
. Rather than making me want to cook, his recipes convinced me that it would be easier for me to drive down to Charleston (yes, all 9 hours) and have him cook for me. Not that there's anything wrong with food that takes (much) effort, but I'm a little too lazy to make it work. 
. The recipes are simple, easy, and healthy. It's actually written as a kids' cookbook, but I think it works well for all ages. 
