Well, right now it's a lazy Tuesday evening and I'm trying to put off ironing DH's dress shirt for work tomorrow as long as possible, so I hope I can still "play" ;^D 1. What are you wearing? Jeans, a black, long-sleeve tee shirt and black leather boots. I'm going to change into my pjs in just a few minutes. 2. What have you eaten today? the usual healthful breakfast; a fabulous oven roasted veggies in a mushroom broth over grilled polenta and topped with a small scoop of whipped goat cheese for lunch ( at a restaurant in town with my best friend); a bowl of Wheat Chex in skim milk for dinner, as DH and DD weren't here and I was feeling lazy. 3. Are you reading any good books? If so, what? I'm reading a biography of the current Dali Lama, written by a close family friend of his 4. What was the best part of the past week? Meeting up with my best friend for lunch today in town . . .fun! 5. What did you do growing up that got you into trouble? I was a tomboy. Once when I was 12, my then best friend Barbie and I decided one cold winter Saturday morning to try and raft across the melting local skating pond on an a big "ice flow", using broom sticks to push us along. The pond was only about 24" deep, made by the local parents in a vacant play lot. Needless to say, it didn't go as planned. We both fell in pretty quickly and had to bike home soaking wet and icy. My parents were so ticked off at me, but were kind of used to Barbie's and my crazy stunts by then. They still grounded me for a few days, though. I could write a book on the stupid things Barbie and I did as kids. We're both very lucky that we never broke anything or got killed! 6. Have you started any Christmas shopping? Yes, but I wish that I was further along than I am 7. What's the worst gift you've ever given but didn't mean to? a yellow sweats outfit to a good friend who, it turned out, looked really, really awful in yellow! 8. Why were you given your name? My parents just like the name, Lynn. I wasn't named for anyone 9. Are you looking forward to cold temperatures? I'm looking forward to cooler Autumn temps, but not below freezing yet! If your TV is on, no matter who's watching it, what show is airing? the local evening news is just now starting. I'm a bit of a news junkie Lynn

I tried a few Oprah picks, but they all seemed stuck on one theme: dysfunction -- usually of the family sort or women doing stupid things, then transcending their idiocy. Very noble in intention, I'm sure, but I always feel I've been thumped on the head repeatedly with a tablespoon when I read O's choices. My list would start with Mark Twain. He can get me out of a funk quicker than just about any American writer. I would like to include Harper Lee and Margaret Mitchell, but I'm with Carolyn that only one book each makes them hard to estimate. I really like Wallace Stegner's histories (e.g., about the American West, Mormons) and biographies (John Wesley Powell). I'm not fond of his fiction for a reason I find hard to define...maybe it's just because it's fiction after I have been so entranced by his skill with nonfiction. Styron has written some of the loveliest, most vivid descriptions I think I've ever read. But gosh! his fiction, to me, is depressing. I recognized that even before I knew that he was suffering depression himself. As for Faulkner, I still say that The Reivers is my favorite -- I find it hilarious. It's entirely accessible too. I know he's admired for his labyrinthine sentences and stream of consciousness, so the 'normalness' of The Reivers evidently makes it lesser somehow in some sniffy quarters. Let 'em sniff; I'll take pure entertainment when I can get it. I liked Steinbeck when I was younger, but trying to reread his fiction is like listening to stale sermons. I didn't realize how preachy some of his stuff is. I'll stick up for Hemingway any day, though I know that many women loathe his writing (and him, too, apparently). Of the two rivals, F. Scott Fitzgerald was certainly the more elegant writer, but Hemingway appeals in an entirely different way to me. I think it's really silly to compare them, but it seems inevitable for some reason. Poets: Edgar Allan Poe (and short stories) Elizabeth Bishop (I like her prose, too.) Emily Dickinson Sylvia Plath Anne Sexton (Why are so many fine poets depressives?) Mary Oliver (she's growing on me!) Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (call him corny, I don't care, as I think his corn will outlast most of the synthetics of the 20th/21st centuries)

Been reading a mishmash of different titles at the moment, including A Sight for Sore Eyes by Baroness Ruth Rendell. I have no idea why I have not picked up more of her work as I am *adoring* this story and have a hard time putting it down to do other things. The characters are believable, they do believable things and make believable decisions. Rendell is, quite honestly, the best writer I have read for some time (in terms of sheer enjoyability). Along with that, I am reading Dave Cullen's NF book about the Columbine shooting. I had ordered this weeks ago on ILL and it just arrived last Wed so it was a strange coincidence that I am reading this title when the awful shooting happened in Aurora (only 17 miles from Columbine). Cullen is a seasoned reporter and has covered the Columbine incident since Day One. It's a compelling read and it mostly focuses on how facts get twisted through media repetition and word of mouth based on that inaccuracy. It's not slamming any one media outlet in particular - just an well-informed observation of how a story can evolve despite the facts being known. Quite curious and I would not be surprised if something similar happened with the Aurora shooting. And then along these, I am also reading the original Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie (1906). What a twisted tale this is and very different from the sanitized Disney version! Tinker Bell is mean and spiteful, there are daily grisly murders in Neverland, and no one has enough food. Peter is also a bully, and don't mention the psychological issues of the Lost Boys with Wendy...! Fascinating read though.

susandefede. I love your kitchen. Heck I seem to love everyone's kitchen! Probably because mine is still possibly years away. The weather is not cooperating, you just can't put up huge sheets of roofing steel with winds gusting over 20 mph. Not without risking permanently ruining the steel or decapitation! This is how it looked a few days ago. We've only been able to add 2 more sheets. Today we hope to start on the left side of the reverse gable, then when that's done there will be no more angel cuts and just straight sheets. I don't think there is any way this roof is going to be done by winter.