I said I wasn’t going to read it. I lied. I just can’t NOT finish a trilogy. Besides, it said it brought the two main characters together from the first two novels. Surely that would make for a good novel.

I should have stuck with my gut. I actually finished Cities of the Plain a week ago or so, but it was so incredibly forgettable that I didn’t write a review. I’ll just say this:

I didn’t like the third any more than the second and it was only for love of the first that I even finished the trilogy at all. Maybe I am just too set on finding redemption where there isn’t any, or finding hope when all is lost, or believing that all of Mexico just cannot be evil…

I’ll just suffice it to say that All the Pretty Horses was a good book, a good movie (in my opinion) and the rest need to just sit on the shelves and collect dust.

Cell phone, small wallet, glasses, chapstick (that’s as much makeup as you’re ever going to see me toting around. Whatever I put on in five minutes or less in the morning is it for the day – perhaps reason #54 why I’m still single…), keys, pen, hair band, receipts for things I might want to return yet, bookmark and the long zippered pouch holds my money. Well, some of it. Let me explain.

The long zippered pouch (given to me for no apparent reason from a co-worker) holds my spending money. I get paid once a month, so at the start of the month, I divide my grocery (gas, and “extra”) money into four groups (with paperclips). The green paperclip is the money for the week I’m currently in. Right now, a week before payday, I have $30 in this wallet and that’s IT. Of course, the fridge is pretty full and the gas tank is half full, so we can get through the week just fine right now.

The little black wallet holds all kinds of things. Insurance cards, library card, SS card, Debit card, etc. In the top zippered part, I keep all the single dollar bills I receive in change. This money (along with some fives and tens I sometimes throw in) goes into a box for spending money on our vacation. There’s also a little side zipper part where I keep change. I NEVER give a clerk change. If the total is $3.17, I give $4. All the change I receive goes into a mason jar that goes back to church to give to the missionary families so they can buy Christmas presents. It’s May and our jar is already half full.

Last but not least, and again, blurry with no explanation, are my pictures of my boy. He is six in the picture on the left and nine in the picture on the right and I know that puts me two years behind, but hey! At least I have a photo of my kid on me! These were both taken on my dad’s boat in Tennessee. Too bad the kid doesn’t enjoy being captain, huh?

So, there you have it. Exciting, huh?

Now, for some Red Sox baseball.

(But first, to write a thank you for the interview I had yesterday. No great news there, but I’ll keep you posted, of course.)

“Mom? You know how Grandma Jenny’s favorite bird was the cardinal, and now that she’s in heaven, whenever we see a cardinal we think of Grandma Jenny?”

“Yes…”

“Well, what do you think Scout’s favorite animal was?”

“LM, I think Scout loved birds as much as your Grandma Jenny did.”

“Mom? Do you think Scout had a favorite bird?”

“I think Scout’s only preference in birds was the bigger the better!”

“So if we see an ostrich on the balcony, we should take that as a sign of Scout?”

“LM, if we see an ostrich on the balcony, we should take that as a sign from God himself!!”

“Hey, George? In your ant farm, do you ever see little parts of ants in any of the tunnels? Like a leg here, a head there? LM seems to have ant parts in his some of his tunnels.”

“No, Aunt Fred. I don’t have any ant parts.”

“Hmm…I wonder what’s wrong with LM’s ants…”

“I think it’s maybe that the ants are making their tunnels to small, OR, that the ant parts aren’t sticking together like they should.”

(I wonder if you can use Gorilla Glue to keep an ant’s legs attached.)

“George? How many tunnels have your ants made?”

“Let me count. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6….7….8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13…”

“Wow, George! That’s a lot of tunnels!”

“…14, 15, 16…17, 18…19…20, 21, 22, no, 21. No, 22. Wait.”

“1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6…7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13…14, 15, 16, 17…18, 19, 20, 21. Twenty-one.”

“No, 22. No, 21.”

(Julie thought he was counting how many ants there were in his farm. She laughed when she found out he was counting the tunnels. “Does one tunnel keep disappearing?”)

Oh, George, you are so good for my soul.

Last night, inexplicably and without warning, Scout died. I could write an entire post about how much I loved my cat and how shocked and upset I was last evening, but I won’t. For those of you who have loved a pet, you already understand. For those of you who aren’t animal lovers, there is nothing I can say that will help you understand.

What I want to write about this morning is about who I called first. In my panic, my unbelief at what had happened, while uncontrolably sobbing, I called J. “I need your help,” I sobbed. He was calm, he was understanding, he was reassuring. He would come immediately. “Don’t bring LM,” I said, “he doesn’t need to witness this.” In that breath and many to follow I was ever so grateful that last night LM had been with his dad. J said he would call the neighbor to come sit with LM and he’d be at my door in 25 minutes. Would I be okay until then? Yes, I sobbed.

Having a DVR has afforded me the ability to watch shows at my leisure. It has also allowed me to be remarkably behind on celebrating events such as Earth Day. It was only just today that I finally watched the Oprah episode on going ‘green’. I don’t watch every Oprah episode, perhaps only one in ten, but often the ones that I do watch require me to take notes, especially this one! I thought I would share with all of my (six) readers some of the tips that were suggested on the show and ask for any and all comments about ways that you and your family are helping to save our environment. Whether you subscribe to the global warming warnings or not, saving our natural resources is a cause we can all stand behind.

1. Use reusable (organically made) grocery bags, including cloth produce bags.
2. Choose items at the grocery store with the least amount of extra packaging.
3. Buy recycled aluminum foil, toilet paper, tissues, paper towels, etc.
4. Use reusable water bottles made from recycled plastic or aluminum.
5. Visit www.greendimes.com where you can donate a dime a day to stop junk mail from coming to your home and have trees planted as well!
6. Stop using (or greatly limit your use of) paper napkins.
7. Don’t take a receipt at the ATM machine.
8. Use the same cup or glass all day long at home or at the office.
9. Buy clothes at resale shops. Never throw away clothes or shoes, donate or give them away.
10. Use Smart Power Strips – really turn things off when not in use.
11. Change lightbulbs to energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.
12. RECYCLE everything you can. Visit www.earth911.org to find out what is recyclable in your area.
13. Take extra styrofoam from packages or meat trays to a local packing place to reuse.
14. Don’t leave the water running while you shave or brush your teeth. Also, take shorter showers.
15. Wash clothes in cold water.
16. Trade your SUV for a hybrid.
17. Take your own coffee mug to the coffee shop each morning.
18. Keep your water heater on 120 degrees.
19. Put gaskets in your outlets on outside walls to help insulate.
20. Recaulk windows, add weather stripping to doors.
21. Keep thermostat at 78 degrees in the summer.
22. Visit www.americanforest.com. They will plant a tree for $1. (It takes four trees to replenish the air for what we take out of it every month.)
23. Buy eco-friendly, all-natural cleansers and products (New Wave, Seventh Generation, Meyers, Method, etc.)
24. Buy bio-degradable trash bags (and doggy bags!)

The amazing statistics that follow from each of us just doing one of these items, or just changing one lightbulb, or turning off one appliance are astounding. I am certain you all have some great tips to add, too!! I can’t wait to make some changes and to hear what ideas you all have!!

(First on my list is to purchase bio-degradable doggy bags. We’ve been using the leftover plastic grocery bags, but then we don’t recycle those, we put them in the trash. That’s HORRIBLE!!)

Office Manager comes over to my desk today. Talks with me about a template I was working on for her. Then hands me a box and asks me if I’d like this Pocket PC. It has a camera, color display, blahdayada… she doesn’t use it (it’s still in the box). The company bought it for her, but since she isn’t going to use it, she thought maybe I would like to.

She can tell I’m hesitant. She leaves it with me and says to think about it.

Kinda hard to accept a freebie of such value from the company when you’re sending out resumes over your lunch hour, huh?

(Don’t worry, I’m not keeping it. I’m just going to let it sit on my desk for the afternoon.)

Things learned during a visit with my fam:

1. The joy of a band concert is quadrupled with every extra family member attending. (So are the trips to DQ afterwards!)

2. A casual attitude with pets will make for embarrassing moments when company visits. Having cats that walk across the counters and sleep on top of the fridge is one thing. Having a cat sit in your sink waiting for someone to turn on the water for a fresh drink of water is another.

3. Filling your deck with plants and container gardening will leave little room for anyone to actually sit out in the sunshine. Luckily, Judy didn’t seem to mind.

4. Sometimes, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. (Seeing my dad and Judy constantly picking up books to read over the weekend provided evidence #1 that I might actually be related to my dad.)

5. Evidence #2 that I might be related to my dad: for the first time in 35 years someone seeing us together for the first time said we looked alike. (Must be the mischievious twinkle in our blue eyes, huh, Dad?)

6. You can stock your entire fridge with mostly healthy items, but your guests will not be fooled into thinking this healthy eating is the norm when they see the expiration dates on the salad dressing. (How bad can balsamic vinaigrette be from Sept. 06?)

7. Never underestimate the power of $4.50. At the local redneck haven, I mean, flea market, LM purchased a billfold, snakelight flashlight, laser pointer and a pocketwatch for less than $5. Even better? When Papa slipped him $5 later.

8. It is critical to allow enough time in a weekend for a rematch of cut-throat mini-golf. Papa still won. (Again.)

9. Despite Papa repeatedly expressing his frustrations with the project to the point of exclaiming that it is not a ‘keeper’ item from his woodshop, the bookshelves he made for LM’s birthday are gorgeous and will be treasured for a lifetime! (Do I have to let him take his furniture with him when he leaves home? Really?)

10. It is the ultimate flattery to use a recipe from the person visiting for Mother’s Day dinner. (At least I hope it is. Thanks for the lasagna recipe, Judy!)

11. Despite being the British spelling of the word, ‘cosy’ is not permissible in a game of Upwords. (Neither was ‘mele’, ‘lan’, or ‘chilt’.)

12. Boston Market needs to open a restaurant in Knoxville, TN. Although, if they did, my dad might not have any reason to visit us again.

13. Even if you have installed the exact same ceiling fan without help less than a year ago, installing one with an extra set of hands can actually prove to be more difficult. (It wasn’t the extra set of hands that was actually the problem. I think trying to install a fan WITH a remote was the real beast of the issue. Thanks for your help, Dad! Left on my own, I think Jacob might have had a broken bedroom window and pieces of a ceiling fan out in the lawn!)

14. Sometimes you can fix the ‘zen’ of your home by changing the direction of a battery. Sure wish other things in life were as easy to fix as the pendulum clock. Although truth be known, Judy seemed the most bothered by the fact that it was always 2:44 in our home.

15. Even if you try to hide the frayed edges of your nicest towels, your company will still take notice of their decrepit state. Fortunately, when it’s your parents visiting, they will suggest a trip to Kohl’s and will insist upon buying you two new sets of towels to match your bathrooms. (Thanks, D & J!)

16. The best Mother’s Day ever might just be homecooked lasagna (with a salad made by the boys) and watching NASCAR with Judy. (Who would’ve thunk it?)

17. Some things never change. While my dad might not record which exit off the highway has the best fast-food options (there are always DQ Blazier notations in our Rand McNallys), he still records where he found the cheapest gas so that he might make the same stops on the return trip.

18. Even a dog can appreciate company. I think Eli is in withdrawal from all the lovin’ he received while Dad and Judy were here. I think “Elijah” is Hebrew for “charmer”.

19. Time really does fly when you’re having fun. Four days just wasn’t enough time to soak up all the goodness that a visit from family brings. Dad and Judy, thanks for all the laughter, the shared bottle(s) of wine, the great food, fun and conversation. You did my heart good this weekend. LM’s, too.

For as much as I enjoyed All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing left me puzzled and searching. I’ll first note, that all but the setting, there is no relation to the first novel, and I disappointingly suspect the same of the third in the trilogy. I must also note that while much of the time the context will help the reader along, there are times in the novel when I think it would be of great service to actually know Spanish.

The Crossing depicts three journeys of a boy from New Mexico to Mexico. In the first, the reader is a captive audience as McCarthy tells the tale of a young boy spontaneously deciding to return a wolf to the mountains in Mexico from which he believes the wolf came. The second and third crossings were not nearly as interesting to me, nor could I find the rationale behind theboy’s decision to return to Mexico. Even his original decision, though honorable, makes the reader wonder what he was fleeing from, as it seems unlikely that a simple wish to restore nature would provoke such a long journey away from home without warning or preparation.

McCarthy can certainly write like few I have read. It is not for his story-telling ability, or choice of words, or poetic descriptions that I am left with a restless sense of unfulfillment, but for the actual plot, and character development.

Perhaps I am just not studying the meaning enough, perhaps I am not dissecting the novel to its core to truly understand the point. Perhaps this is a novel that I have simply taken too lightly to completely appreciate, but I have little interest now in reading the third in the trilogy. Maybe down the road, when this novel has had time to sit and simmer in the back of my mind, perhaps I will find some deeper lesson, some core value that might give it purpose. Until then, I think Cities of the Plain will just have to wait.

I know, you all (that’s ‘ya’ll’ for my P’s) want to hear how my weekend was with my dad and second mom. It was great. Better than great. It was awesome. (and no, I’m not just saying that because they read my blog.) Anywho. I’ll get to posting about it and sharing pictures and so forth shortly. I promise. No, really. Pinkie swear.

I’m just really tired.

And the camera is at home with all the pics still on it.

So it’s going to have to wait.

For now: suffice it to say that in addition to a great weekend, I also have an interview on Wednesday afternoon. Yes, I’ll keep you posted on that one, too.

Happy Belated Mother’s Day to all who are, wish to be, might be, or have a mother out there!

P.S. Katrina wrote a great post with a call to action that we should all consider. Go take a look.