randomly chaotic and frequently mundane

file this under movies that are about equal to the books they’re based on.

the last unicorn, that is. it’s been one of my favorite movies since i was a kid. i only learned about a year ago that it was based on a book… which i was able to read this week. it was offered as a bookring on bookcrossing. there were a few differences between the book and movie, but nothing tremendously story altering. i actually think the movie was about equal to the book, honestly.

it’s been one of my favorite movies since i was a kid.  i got a copy of the book in a bookcrossing bookring yesterday, so i’m reading it.  it’s pretty good so far.  several parts are just like the movie, word for word… or perhaps i should say several parts of the movie are word for word like the book…

maybe when i’m done with the book me and gage will watch the movie.  haven’t watched it in awhile.

i’m so glad we got new couch cushions for gage to play with… really.  actually it’s kinda cute.  maybe we should have kept the cushions from the old couch for him to play with.

i’ve been going thru some of the stuff for getting gage ready for kindergarden.  there’s also a huge packet of games and activities for the summer.  also got a reading challenge thing… which would mean taking gage to the library.  i wonder how he would like that.  i know he loves to be read to, and he’s got a bunch of books… i’ve been thinking about going thru them and reading them to him 1 at a time, and putting them up in the closet after it’s been read.  so he can’t ask for it again until the rest of the books have been read once.

i’d love to get a small bookshelf to put in his room.  something that would hold his weight if he climbed onto it and could hold his books.  or maybe a table that had shelves underneath… that would be really cool.

i got books today. books i’d ordered from paperbackswap. stephen king’s song of susannah and a book with tips on how to make $ selling crafts. since i enjoy doing them so much… might as well make something from it if i can, eh? saturday i got a couple of books that i ordered for woody… tao of pooh and te of piglet. he was surprised i’d gotten te of piglet… apparently it’s not an easy book to find. but find them both, i did and they’re in great condition. the copy of tao of pooh that we had isn’t in very good shape. we got it at a used bookstore and it’s got water damage and the cover’s starting to come off and stuff. i might use that copy for a wild release (after reinforcing the cover with tape, that is)…

gotta get shipping supplies and send off the latest batch of sold ebay stuff.

going to have to take gage for birthday pictures soon… perhaps this weekend. i’ll just gel his hair back or something so it’s not in his face. i wish we could get it cut, but he’s so against having it even brushed…

speaking of gage… he loves nightmare before christmas. he sings along as best he can to the songs and stuff… and he’s also started singing AND dancing along to jack’s lament.  i’ve gotten a couple of pictures.  for the record, YES his shirt IS on backwards… but he picked it out himself (it’s one of his favorite shirts to wear) and he put it on all by himself.  he usually does a really good job putting shirts on right… this one, for some reason he keeps putting on backwards.  this is the only scene/song in the movie that he mimics all the way thru, which is funny, because it’s my favorite song in the movie.

ok, so i finished acceptable risk (by robin cook) damn was it good. i had suspicions about some aspects of the ending, but i SO didn’t expect it to turn out the way it did. it was good. scary. disturbing. i LOVED it.

now i’m reading legion, by william peter blatty. which as far as i can tell was the basis for exorcist III. which is a great movie, by the way.

gage has many books, and i wonder if i should keep them all or sell/trade the ones he doesn’t seem to be interested in and replace em with different ones. when he was just born, and right before he was born we got a bunch of books for him… classic kids books, our favorites, that sort of thing. falling up, the giving tree, charlotte’s web, stuart little, where the wild things are, etc… he likes the giving tree… and sometimes falling up. the others he hasn’t really enjoyed having read to him.

speaking of children’s books… before gage was born, woody found one of my favorite childrens books of all time on ebay and bought it (and 2 others w/ the same character) for me. i wanted it for the baby. blue bug’s vegetable garden. i haven’t read those to gage in awhile. i should try this weekend. he might love em. i’d be tickled pink at that.

i sent out a bookbox w/ 11 favorite books or books by favorite authors… it included stephen king’s IT, fannie flagg’s fried green tomatoes at the whistle stop cafe and into thin air by john krakauer among others.  i sent it out in july and it arrived home today.  i’m so excited.  it came home with:

• left behind, by tim lahaye & jerry b. jenkins
• piercing the darkness, by frank e. peretti
• the hiding place, by corrie ten boom w/ john and elizabeth sherrill
• a light in the window, by jan karon
• the confession, by beverly lewis
• joshua and the children, by joseph f. girzone
• into the wild, by john krakauer
• i’ll be seeing you, by mary higgins clark
• legion, by william peter blatty
• message in a bottle, by nicholas sparks
• the perfect husband, by lisa gardner

there are probably a few that i won’t read.  i find it ironic that the box went out originally with into thin air and returned with into the wild.  i was actually thinking of reading it.  also i think it’s funny that i got legion in this box.  i had a copy that i sent out thru paperbackswap.com about a month ago without reading it.  it was an older bookclub edition so it didn’t have any synopsis or anything.  the paperback copy that arrived today DOES, and it looks like this is the book that the exorcist III was based on (which i happen to love).

that’s the new rule in the bathtub.  actually it’s an old rule, just presented in a different way.  on the upside, i’ve probably got the cleanest bathroom floor on the block, lol.

so i’m going thru this book of herbal medicine i got from paperbackswap.com.  there’s a lot of interesting stuff in there.  i’ve tried a few basic things, like a cough soother (hot honey lemonade) which was highly effective.  alas i only had enough lemon to make 1 cup.  there are a few other things i want to try to help some of what ails us.  like a compress or soak next time woody’s foot acts up — since western medicine has failed helping that (miserably, i might add).   i’ve still got a lot of reading and research (since i’m not going by a single source) before putting some of the stuff in this book to use.

i took a piece of salmon out of the freezer and put it into the fridge thursday night.  haven’t cooked it yet.  i’m not sure if it’s still good.  i doubt it.  at the moment i can’t smell or taste anything, so i have no way of telling.  i’m thinking it will probably be thrown away.

so i’ve started a new book.  acceptable risk by robin cook.  not really part of any of my book challenges this year.  so far it’s pretty god, tho i’m only about 80 pages along.  there’s an interesting salem witch trials angle going on here.

it’s kind of sparked another interest in me… i’ve always wanted to learn a little more about the salem witch trials.  now i’m wondering what books on the subject would be best to start with.  there are a couple mentioned in this novel, but i haven’t checked yet to see if they’re actual titles or if cook made em up for the story.

so i’ve finished one for the money.  it was good.  not nearly as funny as i’d been lead to believe.  that’s ok tho.  it made up for it by being good.  part of the story was predictable, but it ended with a nice twist.  the first third of the book wasn’t that good… i guess it was a “setup period” but it was very dry.  mostly informative.  mildly entertaining.  after that, tho it got very interesting.  exciting in some areas.

and this was my 4th book in my 1st in 10 series challenge… not my 3rd as i previously thought.

so i’m on book 3 in my “1st book of 10 different series i’ve never read anything from” reading challenge.  one for the money by janet evanovich.  i was told it’s hysterical.  i’m only about 60 pages in, so maybe it hasn’t reached the hysterical point, but i’m thinking at the moment that the only thing hysterical is that someone with no experience would attempt a criminal recovery of someone who’s been classified as very dangerous.  or that anyone would allow and/or encourage her to do it.

i get the feeling that the protagonist is going to end up helping the guy she’s chasing prove his innocence, or something like that.  then she’ll turn him in, get the $10000 he’ll go free and they’ll live happily ever after.

in other book related news, my “favorite books/authors” bookbox should be on its way home sometime this week.  it’s in nebraska.  it’s been out and about since july.  i can’t wait to see what’s in it.

gage needs shoes.  all his shoes are either too small or about to be too small.  except for his snowboots, but he can’t be running around in those in the summer, lol.  gotta get him some new sneakers and sandals.

got his IEP progress report yesterday.  he’s making progress.  this is good.  he’s also going on a field trip next week, wee.  i don’t join them on field trips.  as much as i would love to, it’s not a good idea.  gage wouldn’t let me leave when it was time for me to go home… that’s why i haven’t visited his classroom except to pick him up early once or twice.

i’m working on putting together the second round of stuff to list on ebay.  this lot will include some of gage’s old summer clothes, stuff he’s outgrown that can’t even be used for play clothes.

i have a tremendous craving for a nice seafood feast… some crab legs… shrimp… clams… scallops… maybe a few mussels.  mmm.  or lobster.  lobster would be good.  we did a cool seafood feast back in october i think it was…  we each had a shoulder of crab legs, 2 medium sea scallops, 4 extra large shrimp… i think there were also a few clams.  i don’t remember.  i do remember that i did something different with each… steamed the crab, rubbed the shrimp w/ cayenne before cooking it… rubbed garlic on the scallops and seared them in butter… numminess all around.

so i’m reading dragon wing by margaret weiss and tracy hickman… it’s alright. it’s just not grabbing and holding my attention.  it grabs it and then it lets it go again.  over and over again.  not sure i’ll ever read anythign else in this series.  but i’ll finish this one.  i’m sure there are people who are huge fans of the deathgate cycle who just can’t get into dragonlance, which i happen to love (also by margaret weiss and tracy hickman).

need to go to the store today.  maybe walmart, too.  gotta get a lot of shipping supplies for the stuff that sold.  need to find a box that will fit the isis dagger… the wall mount is about 21″ long.

kurt vonnegut died.

i love margaret weiss and tracy hickman… at least i love their dragonlance work.

but i just cannot get into this book!  i’m only about 60 pages into it… it’s so tedious that i’ve only gotten that far in over a week.  seriously.  i’m gonna try to give it another 60 pages or so… but if it doesn’t start picking up a little i’m just going to have to give up on it altogether.  life is just too short to waste time on books you’re not enjoying.