Jodi Picoult: Handle With Care
I just finished the latest Jodi Picoult novel, Handle with Care. I was uncomfortable with it at the beginning, as I often am with Jodi Picould novels. She’s like that guest who brings up topics no one else brings up, and sometimes you wish she would stop, but the conversation gets rolling and everyone has an opinion, and the party would be much duller if she weren’t there.
She’s also the friend you would go to if you had an embarrassing problem you couldn’t discuss with anyone else. We all need that kind of friend, an honest sounding board, not afraid to deal with the grit and grime of everyday life.
I know the reason her books make me uncomfortable is that sometimes I see things I don’t like about myself in her characters.
The subject of the book is a disease called osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), and Willow, the youngest daughter, has Type III, which means she was born with broken bones, her bones would break if you picked her up wrong, changed her diaper the wrong way, even if she rolled over. Her bones were brittle, and the slightest thing could cause a break. She is also very smart, and a delightful character.
Picoult takes us inside many heads – the mother, Charlotte, a former pastry chef (Picoult includes some of her very best recipes, YUMMMM), Sean, the fiercely loving father, Amelia, a troubled pre-teen who hides her bulemia and cutting, and Marin, the lawyer, searching for her own birth mother. When Charlotte files a wrongful birth suit against her best friend – and obstetrician – Piper, her life starts to fall apart. It’s hard to believe things could get worse than having a child whose bones break all the time, but things definitely get worse.
What I hated about Charlotte, who has learned to anticipate her damaged child’s needs, is seeing myself through her eyes. Frequently, she shows us our insensitivity to the disabled, how we patronize, how we are oblivious to the simplest needs. Charlotte is a little angry at the world, so protective that she bites back scathing words to outsiders – or doesn’t. People without disabilities – visible disabilities, we all have disabilities, don’t we, just some are visible and some are not? – can be so smug, so unaware of the hardships others face. I cringe when I read this book. I see myself, and I don’t like what I see.
I admire Jodi Picoult. I will read just about anything she has written, because of the courage she has to tackle the most sensitive subjects. This is not a comfortable book to read, but it is a worthwhile book to read.
Income Tax Blessing
You didn’t think those words could all be used in the same sentence, did you? AdventureMan and I have to pay something called “quarterly estimated taxes” and this year, I guess because our investment income went seriously down, we overpaid our taxes. I know, I know, that doesn’t sound like good news to you, but it sure beats the pit-in-the-stomach of learning that you owe more to Uncle Sam. We overpaid, and we will go ahead and apply it to next year’s taxes and hope that everything works out well next year, too.
We used to talk to my father about ways he could pay less tax on his income and savings. He would look at us and say “But the government was always good to me!” (he worked for the government) “They paid my salary! They pay my retirement! They help pay my medical bills! Why would I not want to pay them taxes?”
It was an extraordinary attitude; I have never forgotten it.
Forecast: Hot and Crabby
It isn’t my fault. I was born in the cold winter months in Alaska, and to this day, I thrive in cooler weather. When October comes to Kuwait and I can feel an occasional cool breeze on my face, I am in heaven for the next six months. When the rains come, I dance for joy.
So, alternatively, when I open the door to take a photo of the sunrise from my balcony, and it is as warm outside as it is inside, my heart sinks.
The sunrise this morning was awesome – lights and darks and sparkles all over the place:
What is not to love?
I’m trying not to be grumpy. I’m trying to think cool thoughts, and to be cool-headed. Keep me in your prayers, please, for sweetness of spirit, and for peace of spirit, and for super organizational skills.
The Thirteenth Tale – Setterfield
After reading some heavier stuff, I needed a break, and waiting on my “read me!” bookshelf has been this book, The Thirteenth Tale, another one of those I pick up at the last minute and stuff into the last remaining centimeter of space in my overstuffed suitcases. Nobody recommended it, it just looked like it might be good.
It was good, although now I can’t think of anything so gripping about it. Setterfield took the classic gothic novel – she mentions Jane Eyre frequently – and updates it, makes it modern and personal. It was a good, fun read, had me hurrying through my daily “must-do’s” so I could read more – I like a book like this now and then.
And – the main character, Margaret Lea, loves books. 🙂 She works in her family old-books business, leads a quiet, kind of sad life, haunted by the loss of her own twin early in life. When contacted by famous novelist Vida Winter to write her biography, she is intrigued, and accepts the job offer, which involves going to stay in Vida Winter’s house.
Part of what is fun reading this book is that we are dealing with an “unreliable narrator” with Vida Winter. Sometimes she is lying, sometimes she is lying by omission, and part of the mystery is that Margaret must try to verify what she has been told and try to figure out what has been left out. She has a great adventure in the process.
This is great escape reading. Good for a long plane trip, good for sitting by a sick relative in the hospital, good for using as a carrot (“if I get this done, and this, and this – then I get to go read ‘The Thirteenth Tale!’ “) You can buy it on Amazon.com for around $10 paperback.
The Camera-Phone Diet
Sometimes AdventureMan will say “Take a photo! You can talk about this place in the blog!” I give him the look that says “get your own blog, AdventureMan.” Like if there is no one else in the restaurant, I might try, IF there is no one watching us. If there are other people I might do it IF I can do it subtly . . . I don’t like to attract attention, and especially if it is a place I like going back to regularly, I don’t want them figuring out who I am.
But now . . . I have a whole other excuse! I think this diet from Real Age is a total hoot! Keeping a food diary is known to help lose weight, but snapping a photo BEFORE you eat helps you think about how much you are eating, keeps you conscious of it . . . who knew? I wonder who thinks these things up?
You can read all about this diet HERE
Try the Camera-Phone Diet
Could your camera phone help you lose weight? One study seems to suggest so.
When people in a small study snapped a picture of everything they ate for 1 week, something interesting happened. They took better stock of their meals — and ate less or ate more healthfully because of it.
Snap Your Way to Slimmer Hips
Just think of it as a digital version of a food diary — but better — because it forces you to think about what you’re eating before you put it in your mouth, instead of after. With written food diaries, it’s too late — people log their choices after the fact. Watch this 60-second video on how to dish up just-right portions.
Worth 1000 Words (and Calories)
In the study, the simple act of taking a picture caused people to pay closer attention to how much they were eating, how diverse their food choices were, or how healthful the food was. And that extra thought and attention actually helped them eat better.
Here are some more slim-down tricks to try:
Pace yourself. Find out how eating slowly can help you eat less.
Be regular. Here’s why you don’t want to skip meals.
Learn to decode labels. Yep, reading is good for weight loss.
Chart your weight loss with this nifty weight loss tracker that lets you see your daily progress.
RealAge Benefit: Maintaining your weight and body mass index at a desirable level can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.
Sunrise 26 April 2009
Last night, out for dinner, the air was not cool and refreshing. It was warm. The outdoor seating was thronged; for many, the temperatures are wonderful; for me, it is a little stale. Just the night before, we were outside and it was wonderful, still a tiny cool breeze now and then. Overnight, you can feel the inevitable approach of the scorching summer. It’s coming. It’s almost here.
Sunrise this morning was silvery. There are some fleecy little clouds up in the sky, but no, it doesn’t look like rain, only a little tease.
At 0700, it is already hot.
The pace is picking up, lists of things to do growing instead of shrinking . . . the pressure is on.
Cell Phone Etiquette: What do you think?
AdventureMan and I were having lunch yesterday and I saw a couple at another table, both on their cell phones. So, like they were sharing a meal, but not really sharing time with each other.
I’m not that big of a cell/mobile phone fan, although my son and my sister both have iPhones, which I look at with envy and think one day I will get one. I carry it because I think it would really be a bad thing in Kuwait to be in a car accident, not my fault, with our without a cell phone. I carry it so I can reach my husband in an emergency. But sometimes, yes, my bad, I forget it and don’t even miss it. Sometimes I stick it in my purse and remember two days later that it is still there.
Here is how I see it. If you are with another person – like if you and your best-friend-forever are having lunch, sharing your deep down secrets, how do you feel about them taking a phone call, one that really doesn’t matter? I totally understand if there are emergencies, or even if one of the children wants to ask something, but what about a full-blown conversation? Chat chat chat chat chat as if you don’t exist?
AdventureMan and I used to disagree about this. Now, if he gets a phone call and he thinks it can wait, he doesn’t answer. If he thinks it might be important, he answers but keeps it short. If we are in a large group and it is a crisis call, he will leave the group, and not subject us to be unwilling evesdroppers. I am very comfortable with this. if it is just the two of us and a tricky phone call comes in, I just pull out my Sudoku and work on a puzzle until he is free to rejoin me. It works for us.
I feel the same way about texting. Some people are very good at doing it so subtly that no one else knows; I don’t mind that. If you are in a meeting, however, and there is a speaker, don’t you think the right thing to do is to put away your phone and pay attention to the speaker? If you are with a friend, isn’t it rude to be texting all the time to someone else? What kind of message does that send about how much you value the relationship with me?
If you are texting while you are driving, how much attention are you paying to the road? I see you, half in my lane because you are trying to read the response!
I don’t like being accessible to the world 24/7. I think these mobile phones are supposed to be our servants, not our masters. I like seeing who is calling (if your number doesn’t show your name on my phone, I won’t be answering!) I like getting and sending messages. I just have a feeling there is a time and place for everything. If I have made plans to see you – I want you to pay attention to me!
Am I way out of whack on this?
There is a little voice telling me this is generational, that I am falling a little out of step with the modern way of doing things. So, you tell me. How do you see it?
Horseback Riding Camp
“Whatever you might have heard from your kids” the camp director started, and AdventureMan and I looked at one another with concern, “it is just rumors. The counselors did not have a big drunken party, and we have the situation under control.”
We hadn’t heard anything. We were there to pick up our son and his best friend from Horseback Riding Camp. They were eight years old and this was their first time away. We had dropped them off a mere week before, at the clean clean little chalet camp in Southern Germany, where they would learn to ride and take care of their horses.
“So, son,” AdventureMan starts with that casual voice grown-ups use with their children when about to launch an interrogation, “tell us about the camp!”
We were driving back, and wanted to get a campers-eye-view of the week. Our eight-year-old son was exhausted and not very talkative; it was only during the following week that most of the details came out.
He hated horseback riding. He hated taking care of horses. The instruction they got was minimal to non-existent. Most days they missed their horse riding lessons because the counselor overslept. The kids got up and got their own breakfast – cereal – until the milk ran out, and then they ate it dry.
Horrors. We had done everything right. We had checked the camp references, had visited and inspected the camp before deciding to send him there, had met the counselors – horrors! In fact, our son enjoyed the week, but mostly because they had a TV, and no supervision. They spent most of the week watching TV.
In the following years, he went to other camps – adventure training camp, karate camps, Space Camp (that was the best organized) and then became a camp counselor himself, teaching karate. Our most graphic memories as parents, however, are of picking him up at horseback riding camp and learning how loosely organized and supervised it was, compared to what the brochure said and the inspection visit promised.
Walnuts Help Protect Against Breast Cancer
Walnuts may prevent breast cancer
You can read the entire report on BBC Health News
Walnuts have been linked to heart disease prevention
Eating walnuts may help to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer, research suggests.
The nuts contain ingredients such as omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and phytosterols that may all reduce the risk of the disease.
Mice fed the human equivalent of two ounces (56.7g) of walnuts per day developed fewer and smaller tumours.
The US study was presented to the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting.
Researcher Dr Elaine Hardman, of Marshall University School of Medicine, said although the study was carried out in mice, the beneficial effect of walnuts was likely to apply to humans too.
She said: “We know that a healthy diet overall prevents all manner of chronic diseases.”
“It is clear that walnuts contribute to a healthy diet that can reduce breast cancer.”
Previous research has suggested eating walnuts at the end of a meal may help cut the damage that fatty food can do to the arteries.
It is thought that the nuts are rich in compounds that reduce hardening of the arteries, and keep them flexible.
In the latest study mice were either fed a standard diet, or the walnut-based diet.
The animals fed walnuts developed fewer tumours, and those that did arise took longer to develop and were smaller.
Molecular analysis showed that omega-3 fatty acids played a key role – but other parts of the walnut contributed as well.
I remember reading another study where walnuts made veins more flexible and were helpful against heart disease. It isn’t any hardship, in this part of the world, eating fresh walnuts – they taste so GOOD!
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Blog Comment Scam
I’ve noticed a random few times recently that frequent commenters have double comments. When one showed up today with the same added line of a previous one, different commenter, something like “forgot to say – great post!” it made me look a little closer. Like someone who comments says they like your post, what’s to check, right? But when it shows up, exact same working, it’s time to check.
First time, Daggero, second time, exact same comment but “great post” added – only it’s some cell phone salesman, if you follow the blue hypertext on the name. Today it was 1001 Nights, but the copy-cat was selling acai berries.
If you get these duplicate comments showing up, no matter how flattering, check them out. It’s likely some scammer, trying to get you to their site to sell you something.
April 27, 2009 Posted by intlxpatr | Blogging, Lies, Marketing | comment scams, scams | 6 Comments