The Weeklies #3 - Better Late than Never Edition

The Weekly Read: Mockingjay. DH and I finished Catching Fire and are on the third and final book of the Hunger Games trilogy. I've been surprised by a couple plot twists, which is always enjoyable. I'm interested to see how it ends!

I have a second book on the go: Kosher Nation, which is about the kosher food industry. I have some strong feelings about this topic, which I won't go into now.  I'd definitely need a dedicated blog post for this one.

The Weekly 'Za:  DH and I have two Sunday traditions.  He always makes pancakes for breakfast and together, we make pizza for dinner.  DH makes the crust (gluten-free because I'm celiac).  We tried several recipes until we found the one we liked best.  I actually don't know if my hubby makes the thick or thin crust, but the recipe is in Elizabeth Barbone's Easy Gluten-Free Baking.  As an aside, this is my go-to GF cookbook for all baked goods.  It has yet to let me down.

My job is making sauce (crushed tomatoes, sweet chili sauce, onions, garlic, cumin, pepper, lemon juice, honey and sometimes olive juice or red wine if I have either on hand), cutting up the veggies and assembly.

This week's pizza had zucchini, orange peppers, mushrooms, olives, cheddar and Parmesan and it was delicious, despite the fact that I should have left the crust in to bake for about three minutes longer.

The Weekly Milestone:  Pumpkin is full-on grabbing his Winkle toy and gumming it.  So cute!  We also bought a wide mirror for him and he LOVES looking at himself in it.  Major score, as it allows Mommy to get some blogging done!

The Weekly Adorable: 

The Weeklies #2

The weekly read::  DH and I are reading Catching Fire together. It's the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy, which he and I read separately. This is the second novel we've read together. DH likes reading aloud and whereas I prefer to listen, so it works well.   We read a chapter each night before bed and on Shabbat we're able to get quite a lot read. We're about a third of the way in and the story is finally getting moving.  So far, so good.

The weekly film: On Monday, Pumpkin and I went to Baby and You at the Revue. It was our second time going and I have to say, it's pretty awesome.  The theatre is kept lighter than it normally would be, and the film is played at a slightly lower volume to protect babies' ears.  Two diaper changing stations are set up in the lobby, complete with wipes, antibacterial lotions and diapers in multiple sizes (I cloth diaper so don't use them, but it's a nice touch).  Both times we've been, there have been about 10 moms and babes.  It's a very relaxed vibe.  If your baby cries, no big deal!  Breastfeed, bounce, walk the aisles...anything goes!  This week's movie was The Adjustment Bureau. It was alright, nothing special, could have been better. There were loose ends, like what was Henry's motivation and wasn't the ending rather convenient?  Still, a nice way to spend the afternoon.

I also rented The Trotsky. I have a soft spot for Canadian cinema and this has been on my "to rent" list for months.  I was disappointed.  It was not good.  I enjoyed seeing Colm Fiore in the role of high school principal.  I liked seeing McGill on screen.  But overall, the film was just silly, and not in a cute, fun, quirky way (although I think this is what the filmmakers were going for). One of the main plot lines is the romance between Leon, a teen, and Alexandra, a lawyer in her mid-20's.  In the beginning it was believable because she wouldn't give him the time of day (d'uh!).  But all of a sudden she falls in love with him?  Yeah, right.  Again, what was her motivation?  Ridiculous.  Even more ridiculous were the scenes of them kissing with Leon's family looking on.  What parent is okay with their kid having an affair with someone a decade older?!

The weekly super awesome sweet find:  I received a lovely tea set (Crazy Daisy by Portmeirion, isn't it cute?) as an engagement gift and like everything I own, I quickly broke a piece. I'm nothing if not clumsy!  I broke the top of the teapot, but hooray! The sugar bowl top fit perfectly. Except, yesterday, I broke that too. Sadly, the creamer does no have a top, so I went out this afternoon to buy a new 6 cup tea pot.  I found the exact same set at William Ashley.  And, it turns out you can purchase the top only!  I bought a replacement top for the sugar bowl and the tea pot.  It could be months until I receive it because they have to wait for a larger order (the company is based in the UK) but regardless, my set will once again be complete!  Until I break another piece.  But never mind that.

The weekly political: I took Pumpkin to his very first rally this week.  W00t!  On Wednesday we went to Queen's Park for the Midwives are Worth It! Rally for Pay Equity.  Check out the Star's article on the event here.  There were reportedly 600 people in attendance.  I'm a HUGE midwifery supporter.  Maybe one day I'll tell you about my home birth experience (awesome!).  My favorite thing about the rally were the slogans. There were kids wearing t-shirts that read "Made at home, born at home" and banners that said "Because storks don't deliver babies."  We met up with a friend and her babe which leads me to...

The weekly adorable: Pumpkin at the rally.

The Weeklies #1

I've been reading Rude Cactus for over five years. It's your basic personal blog. Chris talks about his kids, wife, books, politics and so on. He has two running features: Monday Haiku's and The Weeklies. The Haiku's are self-explanatory. The Weeklies are a list of, well, stuff, that has filled his week. Music, books, celebrity bru-ha-ha etc. I like The Weeklies so much that I've decided to make them a feature of my own blog. Thanks for the idea Chris. So, without further ado...my first Weeklies.

The weekly read: Annabel, by Kathleen Winter. First, a caveat: I've never been very good at writing book reviews. I don't think I much liked writing book reports as a child. I don't even like book clubs. I want to READ books, not talk about them! But, I can't very well blog about my weekly read without at least giving you a taste of what the book is about.

Annabel is the story a child, a set of parents, an adult friend and a playmate. Wayne is a hermaphrodite born in a small town in Labrador in, I think, the 70's. Wayne's father decides that he will be raised as a boy and with his mother, keeps his intersexuality a secret. Wayne knows he has to take pills and see doctors and that's about it, until a teacher (and neighbor) intercedes during a medical emergency.
Winter's writing is lyrical, with lengthy descriptions of the landscape which set the tone of the novel. Many readers love this type of writing Me? Not so much. I get bored. I prefer character and plot driven novels.

I was really excited to read Annabel because of the topic. Ever since taking a gender and science course during my women's studies undergrad, I've read everything I can find on intersexuality and transgender issues, and in particular, I find fictional accounts (or biographical accounts, but I've read less of them) of individuals outside of society's normative gender expectations fascinating.

I rated Annabel 3 starts on Goodreads. I  wanted to like it more than I did. Due to Winter's writing style I found myself skimming paragraphs about the harsh landscape, wishing she would just get on with the story already. I like characters, but wish they had been more flushed out. In the end, they felt mysterious, like Winter's was being vague on purpose.

The weekly film: Another Year, by Mike Leigh. If you've seen any of Leigh's other films, than you can surmise the tone of this movie. The acting was incredible, the tone was understated, the plot was slow. A year in the life of a happy mid-aged married couple as they interact with friends and family members who are significantly less content. The type of film that critics love. It was a good film to sit on the couch and knit to on a rainy day.

The weekly pretty thing: My custom made iPad cozy arrived!

 I ordered it on Etsy from Bellamela after a failed attempt at crocheting and felting my own. It's adorable and fits perfectly. I love it.

The weekly adorable: My Pumpkin in a gorgeous, silky smooth sweater knit by my cousin A.