Month: July 2013

Erie Etc.

Last Wednesday, the parental units and I headed north to Oak Harbor and Port Clinton to spend some time with friends and hang out at Lake Erie. Our friends have a nice cottage right on the beach of the lake and we spent a wonderful afternoon there, enjoying the cool weather. Sadly, the zebra mussels (an invasive species) had been out in force and the waves deposited a hell of a lot of their shells on the beach making barefoot walking a bit of a chore. Apparently two days prior to our arrival, the beach was perfect for bare feet.

Apart from that, out time at Erie was practically perfect. After checking into our motel, the whole party of us (there were 9 in total) headed to Mon Ami, a nice restaurant in Port Clinton, for supper. 8 years ago, five of us in this group had all been to Italy together along with other friends (including ) and we were able to celebrate the 40th anniversary with one couple in our party. The couple celebrated their 48th anniversary with us at Mon Ami that night.

The food at Mon Ami was very good. I ordered their baked brie appetizer to share at the table (though I probably had the lion’s portion). It was soooooo good. Baked brie and baked apples and baked peaches covered in a cinnamon and pecan glaze. I think we all agreed it was a winner. I followed it up with lobster bisque and a salad (with dried apricots and dried cranberries). I couldn’t finish the bisque or the salad thanks to the brie but they were both excellent too.

The plan for Thursday was just to hang at the beach all day. Which we did. We had sandwiches for lunch and smoked pork chops for supper. Mom brought the pork chops and rub as well as finger salad (vegetables in an oil and vinegar soak). I brought bread, which I’d baked on Tuesday, and brownie bites, also baked Tuesday. Both were popular. And the pork chops when smoked were very yummy. That night we sat out on the beach by a camp fire.

Friday was another beach day, with the intent to get out on the water. Wednesday was too choppy and we just never got around to it on Thursday. So I and two others took one canoe out to the “secret beach” while the anniversary couple took their canoe out and went to the same location. Mom and two of the guys rode on a paddle boat. (Mom got to sit and rest while the guys peddled their hearts out.) Dad went fly fishing beside a sand bar.

Some time after 1pm, we all loaded up our cars and headed off to Oregon, OH for lunch. The Oregon Inn has the best fried perch in the area, according to one of the guys we hung out with. Since Oregon was sort of on the way home for most of us, it seemed best to stop there on the way home. All but one of our party ordered perch and I’ll admit, it was pretty tasty. Since both parental units imbibed for lunch, I drove us home. Go me!

I got us home safe und sound. And after we rested a little from the car ride, we went to downtown Troy’s Prouty Plaza for a free concert of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. This was possibly the biggest crowd they’d had this summer – maybe on par with the Cincinnati Pops. You can imagine that I spent much of Saturday resting up from our Erie trip followed by an evening concert!

Anyhoo, here are some photos from the Lake Erie trip, one shot from the concert, and a few pictures from my Brukner walk yesterday morning.

Lake Gulls
Lake Gulls
Gulls flying off of the beach at Lake Erie.

Friend's Cottage at Erie
Friend’s Cottage at Erie
My friend’s cottage at Lake Erie, right on the beach!

At the Bar!
At the Bar!
Standing out on a sand bar on Lake Erie. Or rip wrap bar. Or whatever one wants to call it. (This was near our motel, not near my friends’ place.)

Sunset over Erie
Sunset over Erie
The sunset on Lake Erie.

Fire on the Beach
Fire on the Beach
Thursday night at Lake Erie, enjoying a campfire on the beach.

Glenn Miller Orchestra
Glenn Miller Orchestra
The Glenn Miller Orchestra played at Prouty Plaza in downtown Troy. There was quite a crowd.

Skellington
Skellington
A deer who died at Brukner – photo taken in March.

Skellington 2
Skellington 2
The same deer in late summer – photo taken yesterday.

Wild Flowers 3

Wild Flowers 2

Wild flowers

Pix or it didn’t happen!

As promised, here are some photos that I took in Chicago and in Galena when , , and I got together the past week.

Cell Phone Wars
Elsa and Judi and I engage in a simple game of "Cell Phone Wars" – I think I won cuz I got 'em both in one shot! 😉

Elsa on the boat
Elsa awaits the boat ride to see the Navy Pier fireworks.

Judi on the boat
Judi also awaits the fireworks on the boat. I probably had the same expression that she did that night.

Night Pier Shot
Navy Pier at night.

American Gothic
Seeing this painting at the Art Institute of Chicago was even neater after seeing the 3D version at Troy's Sculptures on the Square exhibit.

Chicago at Dusk
From our second night time boat ride, the city of Chicago at dusk.

Chicago Haze
A shot from my morning bike ride. I'm probably 6 miles or so from Judi's place when I took this photo.

Me and the Mississippi
You can see my shadow (and that of the sign beside me) as I look over the Mississippi near Galena, IL. That's Iowa on the other side of the river.

Chestnut Mountain Resort
The front of the resort we stayed in near Galena, IL.

High Foot Bridge
We had to climb up to the top of the levy to get to this foot bridge to cross the Galena river and get to the town proper.

Lots of Stairs
I never did get a good enough shot to really get a feel for how high up the stairs go in Galena. I think Judi got a nice one though.

Galena from the Bridge
A shot of Galena from atop the foot bridge.

Grant Our Citizen(s)
From the size of this photo, you can't hardly see the caption on the statue, but it says "Grant Our Citizen." I had to get Judi to pose in front of it, of course.

Home again!

I have returned home from my lovely Chicago trip to see and . It’s bloody hot outside, so I’ve decided to spend the rest of the day in my house with my cats. I think they missed me. They’ve been hanging around with me since I got home.

So when I last left off, we’d had Tapas and then it was time to return home and get some sleep. The next morning was, sadly, Elsa’s last day with us. But before she began her big long drive, she made us breakfast! (Yeah, I don’t get it either! But she loves to cook and we love to eat, so it works!) She made a lovely frittata with lots of fresh veggies and ham and cheese. Then we had the unenviable task of loading her bicycles onto her bike rack. Several hugs & good-byes later and she was off.

So what were Judi and I to do? We decided to play most of the day by ear though we had a few things we’d wanted to get to. We started by visiting the bike shop where she’d bought her bike a few years ago. She tried out a different style of bike than what she owns, but decided, for the time being, to see if she can get her knee in gear before giving up on her current bike (which has hardly been ridden).

It was bloody hot yesterday, so Judi and I were carrying umbrellas as parasols and we took the bus to the Art Institute of Chicago. I purchased a ticket, the souvenir pocket guide book, and the audio tour. Then we headed off to see what we could see. Our main visits were the Impressionists, the British Museum loan, “American Gothic” and its neighbors, and finally the Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity exhibit. By the time we were done with that exhibit, we were ready for a late lunch.

Bennigan’s is just across the street, so we decided to eat there. I ordered fish & chips and draft Woodchuck cider. It was all very yummy. The beer batter on the fish was particularly good. And I like hard cider on tap – always a plus.

We then hurried on towards the Icon theatre to see Pacific Rim. It just seemed like the type of movie you want to see on The Big Screen. And it was. I was quite entertained and Idris Elba is very nice on the eyes. (And a good actor, too!)

After the movie, we returned to Judi’s so that she could walk Patty and so that I could see if there were any tickets still for Fireworks cruises. There were, so we ordered the 9pm tour (with fireworks starting at 9:30pm). Judi hired a cab to get us there and we arrived with time enough to fully peruse the Haagen Dazs store. I wound up ordering a Dulce de Leche shake (and Judi got a Mango smoothie). I also discovered that the reason our ice creams were so small the previous trip was that we’d ordered the kiddie size! Eep!

We were led astray by the boat dude and wound up being late to board the boat, which was boarding early (and took off early). Still, they did a nice architectural tour of the Lake-side buildings before it was fireworks time. I think we were further away in this boat than in the last, and the fireworks were more behind us than in front, but it was still nifty to see. Judi and I both missed the chill breeze we’d experienced on the Saturday cruise. It was still stupidly hot!

We got to the bus stop shortly before a bus arrived, and thanks to some confusion on the boarding passengers, we wound up getting on and getting seats. (Though we had a moment of being “THOSE PEOPLE” when Judi put her card in wrong or something and the bus conductor said she’d put her prescription card in by mistake. Turns out the advertising on her CTA pass confused us all. A cash payment and we were finally able to sit.)

Once we got off the bus, Judi got a craving for Buffalo wings, so we popped into Scout on the walk back to her place. She ordered the wings and I saw that Angry Orchard cider (my current favorite) was on tap. And then Judi bought my drink for me – yay!

After faffing about on Judi’s computer (trying to get it to go faster), we both eventually hit the hay. And subsequently both woke up early today. As I was lying in bed thinking of asking Judi if I could take her bike for a ride, she popped in to ask if I wanted to go for an early morning swim. So I went for a ride and Judi for a swim. I went the same path that Elsa and I had gone, but went further south (about 20 blocks further). I had hoped to go the whole length of the path or at least ride for 2 hours, but was pretty hot before I’d even ridden for an hour. I stopped at the north end of what apparently was Hyde park and then headed back. It’s a very pretty path, but has less shade than I’m used to. And can I repeat, it was bloody hot, even at 7am!

Once I was cleaned up and packed, Judi and I headed over to Yolk for breakfast. I’d not been to one before, but Judi remembered visiting the more northern branch some years before. I had eggs over hard, bacon, and French toast (and most of Judi’s grapes). It was all very yummy and so far has filled me up all day. We then parted company at the corner of Michigan and Roosevelt whereupon Judi headed home and I headed for the Roosevelt CTA station to take the Orange train to Midway.

After an uneventful flight, I got to my VERY HOT car and drove home. Sadly, my poor little air conditioner tried its darnedest to make my VERY HOT car less hot, but it’s like as soon as the cold air came out, it was converted to hot! 90 minutes is a long time to be driving like that. Whew! (Just imagine if I’d had no cool at all! Eep!) I got to the post office before they closed and also picked up two new books and a video from the library which had come in while I was in Chicago. So now I’m set for some relaxation time reading with my kitties! In a later post, I will publish some of the photos that I took on this trip.

Pooling Around and Tapas Talks

First off, whatever you’ve heard from is false – I am not drunk.

Second, I forgot to write about our two recent Pool adventures when I did my last massive update.

The night we spent at the Chestnut Mountain Resort, Judi, and I went to the indoor pool after 10pm. This is a REAL pool that actually went to 9 ft deep. There was also a hot tub/jacuzzi which was very hot and very bubbly. We started in the hot tub making Judi/Elsa/Trina soup and then hopped into the pool to cool off. A little girl and her grandma were there and they had a beach ball they weren’t using, so I asked if we could play with it and we had a ball, literally, tossing it back and forth in the pool. Elsa showed off her L33T swimming SKILZ and I showed Judi a few water aerobics things to try. It was a really fabulous pool time.

Then last night, we headed off to Judi’s complex pool (actually, the pool is very simple, not complex at all) which boasts a deep end that is 3’10”. However, this pool is atop an apartment building which overlooks the Metra line and is in view of the Field Museum. Since it is an outdoor pool, it was lovely laying back in the water and looking at the Chicago night sky. I even saw a few stars!

This evening we walked to Tapas Valencia which is a Spanish Tapas bar not too far from Judi’s place. (Well, Elsa determined it was 1 mile away. Still a hell of a lot closer than any Spanish restaurants are to where I live!) We had a fabulous evening of food and fellowship. Never am I more happy to be a Foodie then when I get to experience wonderful food in the company of my dear friends.

I started the night with a Tangy Mango Margarita (which made me drunk during another visit to the joint) and then we started our first course with grilled brochette of beef tenderloin, garlic potato salad, and duck confite (a favorite for Judi and me). They bring the stuff out as it’s made, so we’d eat a bit, chat a bit, then more food would come and we’d eat more.

Round two of our dinner was grilled shrimp with garlic lemon butter, stuffed mushroom caps, and crepe with goat cheese, spinach, pine nuts, and apples. Plus I decided to try their Passion Fruit Martini. This course was also a delight.

Round three, I decided I’d had enough booze (and I tried to convince Judi that I wasn’t drunk), but we got three more items. Chorizo and morcilla sausage, sauteed black mussels with bell peppers and tomatoes in a white wine rosemary sauce, and grilled squid with garlic olive oil. I’m not a big sausage fan, but I tried both sausages and they were pretty tasty. I didn’t have any mussels – just not a fan. It smelled heavenly, though. But the squid was yummy. (If you wondered who ordered which items, I always put them in Elsa, Judi, Trina order.)

Round four was dessert. With Elsa shooting for low carb, she opted to skip dessert, but Judi and I forged on. Judi had their flan of the day: white chocolate. And I had my favorite, their crema con chocolate, which is basically creme brulee with little chocolate bits inside. *sigh*

I love that I can enjoy such wonderful foods. And I’m glad that I’ve gotten lots of exercise this trip in order to counteract some (if not all) of these wonderful calories!

Lead (II) Sulfide, IL

One of the things that wanted to do on this trip was go on a road trip to Galena, which is on the other side of the state from Chicago. We decided that Sunday would be our day to head out there, but first, we’d finally get to the Taste of Chicago.

We left for the Taste around 10am and walked there. Turns out they were actually opening earlier than the originally proposed 11am. So once we got down to the other end we started buying our treats. As usual, I stuck to Taste portions and wound up spending 3 sheets of tickets for the day (giving 3 tickets to Elsa as well).

I started off with some mustard fried catfish from BJ’s Market & Bakery. Next was Ricobene’s Italian breaded eggplant which was in a small bun. This was very tasty. I then picked up an Irish egg roll from Abbey Pub & Restaurant, 1/2 a tamal from Carbon Live Fire Mexican Grill, and churritos (which are mini churros which aren’t filled) from Churro Factory. I returned to BJ’s and went in with Judi for a peach cobbler. I finished my Taste excursion with a non-Taste portion of Bacio ice cream (chocolate hazelnut gelato) from Cafe Gelato. Although the Taste is a shadow of its formal self, there were still lots of yummy places to eat!

Once we had rested up from the return walk from Taste, we loaded into ‘s car and she drove us to Galena. I navigated with the aid of my phone and CoPilot Live app. I had “avoid toll roads” so we did wind up most of the trip on US20 West which took us through a few more small towns than Elsa wanted to drive through. (And too many highways than my dad would prefer to drive on. Heh.)

When we arrived around 6pm, we checked in to the Chestnut Mountain Resort (which was about 8 miles from Galena and off in the “mountain” roads). It reminded me a little of Hueston Woods, where my folks, sister, and I used to go when I was a kid. We ate at their upper scale restaurant, the Sunset Grill. I had a nice salad which had blackened shrimp, pine nuts, gorgonzola cheese, and mixed greens. It was very tasty. Judi and I decided to finish with their strawberry shortcake, which we discovered was their short of strawberries cake. It was still tasty and the ice cream we got on the side helped.

Judi and I then took a walk around the grounds and chatted with a lady working in the gift store. We had a lovely view of the Mississippi (and Iowa on the other side) from both the resort and from our room. I also discovered a path I decided I’d walk along the next morning.

The next morning, we all woke up a bit early mainly because none of us thought to shut the blackout curtains. Whoops. I took the walk I had intended to take, and then we went down to the Summit restaurant for breakfast. I had eggs over easy, bacon, hashbrowns, and toast. Yum!

After we checked out, my phone was once again our navigator to Galena. We parked across the river from the town proper and walked over a nice foot bridge to get to the town. We purchased tickets for a trolley tour and wandered the streets a little before the tour began. Turns out Galena (an old mining town known for its lead (II) sulfide – aka galena – mines) has five levels to it. Main street was on level one and our tour took us on all five levels. Which was just as well as the day became so hot, we never left level 1!

Apart from being known for galena, Galena was home to Ulysses S. Grant (whom we loved to joke was Judi’s great-great-great-great-great-great grandpappy) and we saw his childhood home and the home he was given after being president. We also so the huge stair steps that run through that town that he would climb daily (often twice a day as he’d eat lunch at home). “No wonder he drank” said our tour guide.

After the tour, we went to Chef Ivo’s for lunch. Judi had studied the tourism booklet we’d gotten at the resort and had decided the previous night that we’d eat at Chef Ivo’s. She ordered some pork shank as appetizer (my first time having shank and it was pretty tasty) and I got a half rack of St. Louis ribs with an apple glaze barbecue sauce. My sides were slaw, spiced apples, and the tiniest cornbread muffin you ever did see. But everything was tasty, even the fried catfish that Judi had ordered and let me taste.

We shopped along Main Street until the girls were pooped. Then I continued on down the street until I realized that Galena, IL (like Chester, VT) doesn’t allow my Pay As You Go service to work. If the girls couldn’t get ahold of me or me ahold of them, I figured I should curb my shopping spree and return.

We still had a hot walk back to the car to go, but we all made it safely. Elsa then drove us home, this time with my phone allowing toll roads in the mix. So the way back was shorter (and would have been even shorter still but for the traffic once we got to Chicago) than the way there.

It was time for supper, so we walked to the Nepalese place for supper, only to discover it’s not open on Mondays. We wound up going to Zapatista (a Mexican joint) instead. I had another salad, this time with goat cheese and carmelized pecans. Judi then suggest splitting a flan, which I agreed to. We had a vanilla flan, which I seemed to enjoy more than Judi did.

This morning was finally our bike ride day. Judi tried to ride hers but her knee was hurting. So rather than ride Elsa’s spare bike that she’d brought (which was older and less comforable), I rode Judi’s bike. We went south on the bike path for almost 4 miles and then returned. It was warm but with the moving bike, was still pretty comfortable.

We’d decided to try the Nepalese place (Nepal House) again and had their buffet for lunch. I had a little bit of nearly everything and enjoyed it all. And then I decided to be foolhardy and when the girls went back to get the car, I walked to the Icon theatre where we were going to see Despicable Me 2. I survived the heat and beat the girls there (since they had to walk back to the apartment complex to pick up the car).

At the start of the flick, we were the only 3 in the theater, but during the trailers, another party arrived. The movie was very entertaining and will be added to my BluRay collection when it comes out.

After a short hop to Target, when then returned home (and once again, I walked both places). Now we’re about to head to the pool.

Tonight, Spanish tapas! Tomorrow *sniff* Elsa heads home.

Dim Sum and Then Some

The girls ( and ) and I have been having a great time. As you can guess from my icon, I’m currently in Chicago. The weather’s been perfect and we’ve been on many Grand Adventures thus far.

Friday morning, I headed off to pick up mom and we went to our WeightWatchers meeting. My weight was down again – whee! I’ve now lost 20lbs since I restarted WW. I decided my goal for this week is to gain no more than 2lbs during my time in Chicago. I may even lose weight (at the rate we’re going, I will!) I returned mom to her home and drove directly to the Columbus Airport.

The flight to Chicago and train to Roosevelt were both uneventful (just the way I like it), and Judi and I met on the streets near the station to get a late lunch. We tried out the new (since last September) Artists Cafe. I got a strawberry & spinach salad (with goat cheese and pistachios and such a small amount of vinaigrette you’d think I’d put it on myself. Heh) and water. Judi tried one of their gyros. We both enjoyed our lunches.

Back at Judi’s we vegged a bit and then eventually went to the pool. I didn’t think it was warm enough to swim, so we didn’t dress for the occassion but went to sit and read. That didn’t last long because when Judi found her dog sitter there (she’d borrowed Judi’s pool fob) the lady talked & talked & talked. I can get into that state sometimes, but Judi assures me that this is her default state. We eventually untangled ourselves and returned to the room.

Elsa arrived before 6pm and we decided we’d go off to Ma & I for some Thai food. There was a 20 minute wait, but we sat & chatted and were eventually seated. I, of course, ordered pad Thai (with tofu) and, once again, it was very delicious. Ate it all, too! (I think the WW points assigned to pad Thai in the database is a bit low, but I’m not changing ’em!)

The three of us went for an evening walk along the lake path and it was simply beautiful to watch the skyline get darker and darker. Judi has a lovely city, especially at night. And as we returned from out walk, we popped into Little Branch cafe and ordered ice cream. The pistachio was yummy!

We’d decided that Saturday morning would be our Dim Sum day. Elsa got up earliest and then rode her bike off to a nearby farmer’s market. When she returned, I took a walk around the Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium. By the time I was back, Judi was up and ready to go, so we headed to Chinatown and Three Happiness, our Dim Sum place of choice.

We were good girls at Dim Sum and didn’t overeat. Well, Judi and I had two sesame balls each, but I did track it! It’s funny, Judi had surreptitiously wrapped the last sesame ball in a napkin, intending to take it home for later. And then one of the waiters popped by and handed her a small takeaway box to put it in. And she thought she was being subtle! 🙂

We stopped at Target on the way home and Judi got some essentials. Then we returned home. After awhile, Elsa and I took a walk around museum campus, which started out perfect, but was just a smidgen warm by the end. I grilled her about names of flowers and wildflowers, but probably won’t remember any of ’em when I get home.

For supper that evening (I had no lunch – just ate most of the cherries that Elsa had bought at the farmer’s market) Elsa made us salads with fresh greens, tomatoes, peppers, onions, raspberries, and strawberries topped with a homemade raspberry vinaigrette. She also found a package of Jiffy corn bread mix and made that up, but realized after the fact that it was probably out of date. (Judi found the expiration date – it was 2008.) They were dense but still tasty. She’d also had some brie/bleu cheese hybrid she’d gotten at the farmer’s market which we also had with supper. A very filling meal.

I had pre-ordered tickets for us to see the Navy Pier fireworks on a boat, so around 7:45pm we headed off to Navy Pier. Our original plan had been to take the bus, but that had been changed to car trip. This turned out to be not the best idea we’ve had for the trip, but it all worked out in the end.

When we got to Navy Pier, the main parking lot was full. So we were shunted to alternate parking. Having never done this before, we wound up on lower Wacker and then upper Wacker and Judi finally got us to streets she knew better. We eventually found a parking garage (the prices? OUCH!) and then walked toward the pier (once we figured out where it was in relation to where we were).

It was a long walk and I was afraid there’d not be enough time to get some Haagen-Dazs ice cream before we had to queue for the boat. Judi was more optimistic and insisted I stay in the line. We got our (teeny tiny) scoops of mint chip ice cream (very yummy, and really, the size I should get) and found Elsa at the boat booth. We wound up being nearly the last on the boat, but we still found seats on the bow and waited for launch.

Once we were underway, the boat found a spot and just sat there, playing music from a Pandora radio station. The music wasn’t overly loud and some of it was good. But the star of the eveing was the fireworks show. We could actually see the barge that the fireworks are fired from and the time between light & sound were almost instantaneous. It was the best way, IMO, to watch fireworks.

We got our entire hour (plus change) on the boat and then made our way to the trolley stop that (a) is free and (b) has a stop near our garage. The first trolley was after a 20 minute wait but filled before we could get on. The second was another 10 min wait, but we were the second party aboard. It did get us near the garage and so we got our car out of hock and returned home.

Today we’re off to Taste of Chicago (the dying carcass that’s left of the original Taste, which used to be spectacular) and then on to Galena, IL for a night of dining and day of shopping. The lodge has free wi-fi, supposedly, and wasn’t as expensive as some of the places. (Well, it’s off season for a ski lodge. Heh.) I suspect the fun will continue as normal. 🙂

July Update

My summer has continued to be a good ‘un. Looks like after 20 years of working, I’ve finally figured summer vacation out. 🙂

We had Independence Day recently in the US and I got to see fireworks two nights in a row. On the 4th, I went around to mom & dad’s community for their community party. I brought brownies & mixed fruit (not a melon in sight!) I managed to not go too overboard during the carry-in and the next day weighed in the lowest yet at WeightWatchers. Whee!

Anyhoo, that night, one of the families in the community brought around some sky lanterns and we launched about 8 of ’em or so after it got dark. It was sprinkling a little that night, but we didn’t care. Mom brought out some glow-in-the-dark bubbles which I blew around to the delight of the 3-year old in the community. When the fireworks showed up around 10pm, our original placement (on the back patio of one family’s house) wasn’t ideal since the fireworks weren’t as high as they’ve been in the past. So we all meandered over to a better spot to watch them. Troy has improved their show – it actually lasted 25 minutes.

The next night, one of the folks just outside of town put on a fireworks show for anyone wanting to watch, so I wandered over to the other side of town to watch and was quite impressed. For store-bought fireworks, they were pretty decent. And the people who shoot them off take many safety precautions when doing it.

Continuing Summer Stats:

# of Bike Rides: Now up to 7 since the start of summer vacation. This includes a 19 mile ride that I did. Whew!
# of Books Read: 15 (and will finish another one tonight, I suspect).
# of Movies Watched: 14 (I think – I really should write these down as I see ’em rather than try to remember them later!)

The books continued (all of these were library books, either paper or eBooks):
Goblin Secrets by William Alexander
The Redeemer by Jo Nesbo (another knock-out from Nesbo!)
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (excellent handling of the story about HeLa.)
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (probably my favorite of her three books, though I’m not entirely sure why.)
Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley
Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella (this is quite a contrast to The Redeemer, Dark Places, and Henrietta Lacks, I can tell you!)
The Cheese Monkeys by Chip Kidd (I wasn’t sure I’d like this book at first, but it grew on me. Ending sucks, though.)
The Black Country by Alex Grecian (I really enjoyed The Yard so I was pleased his second book of the series is out now. Although his main characters are male, he writes very strong females in his Victoriana mysteries and I really appreciate that.)

The movies continued (all DVDs from the library):
Hotel Transylvania
Rise of the Guardians (quite a fun flick – decided to check out the books, too)
Ice Age: Continental Drift
Frankenweenie (I preferred ParaNorman)
Anna Karenina (not even Jude Law could make me enjoy this flick – a shame)
ParaNorman (a great stop-motion puppet flick)
Life of Pi (beautifully filmed, true to the book)

Still doing pretty well on my book and movie choices (apart from Anna Karenina, that is). Hopefully will get some more theatrical releases into the mix soon!