Today I’ll review two children’s books + one grown-up book, what do you think about that?

“Chester” by Melanie Watt, no, it’s by Chester, it turns out, Melanie’s cat. (Kids Can Press, 2007, $16.95.) And he also wrote the sequel, “Chester’s Back!”, which is NOT a Melanie Watt book, thank you! (Kids Can Press, 2008, $18.95.) This one was also “Written and illustrated by Melanie Watt’s hero.”

Chester says, blah, blah, blah, get to the reviews already, lady.

“I SAID…
A long time ago, in a faraway land, lived a cat named Chester.
NOT ready yet!
A long time ago…
CHESTER, not THAT long ago!
BORING!
CAVE CAT take over!
Ooga Chugga Ooga Chugga!”

(from “Chester’s Back!”)

These books are delightful — the drawings are lively, full of color and movement, made from pencil and watercolor, and assembled digitally. Chester is amiable, of course, even as he hijacks Melanie’s projects and runs away with them.

Does he like mice? No, he does not.

“Hasta la vista, Mousie!” — Chester

Now on to a selection for the adults in the house. Meg Federico, a writer from Nova Scotia, writes her mother Addie’s story in “Welcome to the Departure Lounge.” The book is by turns hysterical and depressing, over-the-top funny and too poignant for words. I read it quickly, then loaned it to my mom. I can’t wait to talk about it with her. It would be a great book club pick, this one.

What to do with Addie and Walter, the author’s well-to-do, aging mother, and Walter, Addie’s “new” husband? He’s soused, she’s soused, and good luck getting the credit cards away from them — they’ll just apply for new ones. And good luck finding good help to provide in-home care. The cow jumped over the moon, the dish ran away with the spoon and someone ran off with all the jewelry. (Except Walter’s — it turns up, eventually.) Ms. Federico gives a disclaimer early on that she is well aware that not everyone can afford in-home care. I was wishing she would have bankrupted her mom and put her into a nice assisted living place.

Oh, wait. She did try that — Addie checked herself out.

“Mentally competent” is not really how I would describe Ms. Addie, but the doctors disagreed.

Ms. Federico is one of the best writers I’ve come across in ages, and her writing sings and stings. Brilliant work.

Reviewed today:

Hey. Bullets? Okay.

* My husband asked me out for lunch. Wasn’t that sweet? Then he bought me an iced vanilla latte. That was sweet, too. Almost as sweet as the mango custard we had with lunch. Almost as sweet as the kheer. (Had to sample that, too.) Almost as sweet as Steve. He’s pretty sweet. Hmm. Maybe I’ll do his laundry for him now.

*Lentil Garden, you are the best Indian buffet place around. I mean it. Smooch. Thank you for the “Southern Comfort” food.

* No, I haven’t studied yet today. (Edited to say: I opened workbook. It intimidated me. I closed it. I opened it up again and began to study.) (School at age 44 is a lot different than school at age 22. If you’re young and you’re thinking of dropping out, or “wrapping up that degree” later on, plz you will think again.)

* The nail tech next to me yesterday, to her client: “I’m taking this class and I’m thinking, What the hell? This is so frickin’ hard! For my final I wrote and wrote and wrote and my teacher wanted more and I told her, Too bad, I’m out of ideas.”

* hahahaha. For some reason, she is going to be able to get by with this and still graduate I just know it. Me? The prof would flunk my ass.

* Hmm. I did work out last night and this morning. You?

* Our son had a great birthday weekend. Seven is so grown-up. Six is still a little kid. Wow. I have a seven-year-old and a nine-year-old.

* They’re still not too old for the park, thank God.

* I’m still not too old for the park. My knitting, a mug of coffee, my girlfriends, all the kids tearing around, ahhhh…

* Really loving the sunshine.

* Happy Monday to you.

xxox

wm

The sun is out for the second day in a row. I had fun at Fuchsia SATURDAY at fred meyer yesterday (fuchsia saturday, how I love thee), Wacky Girl and I had our nails done today, shopped at Target and enjoyed lunch out. Now I’m going to sweep and mop the kitchen floor and sit on the porch and drink wine.

Wine that I bought at Target.

I am incredibly classy this weekend.

ps i want chocolate now not next weekend, so guess who’s getting their Easter baskets early? That’s right. Hockey God and both kids.

pss they don’t believe in the Easter bunny anymore, so it doesn’t matter.

ppss maybe Steve still believes but I sincerely doubt it.

ppsss — i will always believe in you, Easter bunny. Gimme the goodies.

Please send love to Miss Zoot and her family.

We had a total blast at moms’ night out last night. We all (in the past) have had our kids go to different schools, all over the city, even though we live near one another. That seems to be changing and I’m glad.

Nice women live in my neighborhood and they have sweet families, too. Fun.

Now to plant some flowers and celebrate someone’s 7th birthday all weekend…

1) blog
2) see my granny
3) get the kids to and from school
4) fix dinner
5) okay, think about fixing dinner
6) stir-fry and apple pie
7) make poems that rhyme: stir-fry and apple pie/way up high/up in the sky/woot!
8) no future as poet. blog on other blog.
9) study for my online course, Human Development
10) finally finish the first six chapters of the HONKIN’ HUGE textbook with the teeeeeeeeny-tiny little print
11) yes, i did get a pair of “progressives” due to the fact that “i cannot read such teeeeeeeeeeny-tiny-witsy-bitsy print.” but i can’t deal with using them, they make everything go skittery. Today, however, I have worn them for an entire hour. Well almost an entire hour.
12) i can feel old
13) but not as old as my granny
14) she sez: Count your blessings
15) try to sign up to take first exam, which must be skedded two weeks out. Get e-mail from anon. PSU person that says, Use Blackboard
16) find blackboard. Excuse me — Blackboard — even tho anon. person did not include url. Is it too much effin’ trouble to have attached the url, or is finding it part of the exam? (which even tho it is multiple-guess, i have profound terror of.) (of which i have a profound terror.) (even tho am solid A/B student.)
17) start watching Nova DVD, The Miracle of Life (Lennart Nilsson)
18) (I can also spell “Lennart Nilsson” correctly without even thinking about it)
19) (does that count for something? two extra points?)
20) “The fertilized egg, now with genetic material from both parents, moves through the tube through the uterus…” (hit pause on DVD. thank lucky stars am not pregnant. there are some benefits to this whole “getting older” thing.) (i ponder that for a minute. Yep, it’s okay to be in your forties.)
21) I need another cup of coffee. Get a cup of coffee (I love my thermos. Steve bought it for me so I can take Snow Snakes to hockey games. I always have a nice cuppa coffee ready. Or a Snow Snake.)
22) blog again.
23) Have I done enough for the day?
24) I think so. I’ll finish watching the DVD, though.
25) but first, the recipe for Snow Snakes: hot cocoa with a shot of peppermint schnapps, whipped cream on top drizzled w/ Creme de Menthe in the shape of a snake. Bon drinking!

On the way to school:

Wacky Girl: “Is ‘screw you’ a cussword?”
me: “No. I mean yes.”