Haven't heard from anybody about our latest read. I finished " The Last Lecture " some time ago. I think I'll read it again. I was close to death a few times in Vietnam but in most situations my involvement was measured in minutes. I didn't have a lot of time to contemplate. The author on the other hand had months to ponder his waning mortality. He faced it with courage and dignity. Quite a legacy for his family. Good choice Kara. May add more later. Larry

Happy Holidays!

Just a quick hello to everyone to say Happy Holidays. Even though we may not get to see everyone during the holiday season, we still think of all of you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Snow Day

Happy Birthday Emerson!!

On December 10th Emerson officially became a big 4 year old. She had her 4 year check up at the pediatrician yesterday. She weighed 37 lbs and was 42 1/2 in tall. Everything checked out great UNTIL the very end when nurse Camille entered the room and had 4 shots ready to fire. To say the least things got a little tense, but we both survived. Of course receiving 4 stickers, one dinosaur ring and a Christmas pencil didn't hurt either. She had a great birthday party and her all time favorite gift was her drum set.. thanks to Nana Karen and Papa Phil. She is a regular Tommy Lee from Motley Crue :)

Hello from Gig Harbor

Hi,

Just checking in. Noticed that there haven't been any posts since 10/25. No real news here. Andrew is still in Jerusalem, and working at The Jerusalem Post. He's applying to graduate school, hoping to be in school for the 2009-2010 academic year. Lisa is happy with her job at WBUR in Boston. She's probably going to be there for another year or two. Rick and I don't have any out-of-the ordinary plans until we go on a bicycling trip in Vietnam in February. Trying to stay in bike shape over the winter here is a wet experience. Craig came up last week for a follow-up doctor's appointment and stayed a few days with us. We always enjoy his visits. He has made a buddy for life of our dog, Marley. She doesn't leave his side when he's here. I haven't read Kara's book choice yet, but I have it and plan to sit down soon to read it. It's a quick read. I saw most of the lecture on PBS. I think you can watch it on the Internet too. I hope everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving. Neither Lisa nor Andrew can make it home, and Rick is on call and working full days Thursday through Friday, so I'm going to have a very quiet Turkey Day. I have a gift suggestion for those of you needing suggestions: make personalized USPS stamps. Just go to PhotoStamps.com. It is sooooo easy. I used a close-up face photo of my brother-in-law John's bulldog to make one sheet for him and then used the Oregon Beavers logo for another sheet for him (the site has NFL and college sports logos you can use). Anyway, just an idea. I've got to get moving here. I am a reading mentor at our local elementary school on Wednesday afternoons. Rick and I are going to Seattle Arts and Lecture Series tonight to see John Updike. He must be ancient. Hope all is well with everyone. --Love, Jennifer

Book Recommendation

Per Uncle Craig's request, I am recommending the book The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. One of the most moving and meaningful books I have read in a very long time.

See what you think!
Kara

Happy Birthday

Happy 30th Birthday to Kerri!

Time Travellers

An interesting counterpart to our most recent Book Club Pick is F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." I had forgotten about this story until I saw a trailer for a movie of the same name on TV (looks like it's going to come out later this year). In the story, the main character, Benjamin, is born mentally young, but with the body of an old man. Over the course of his life, he grows mentally older and physically younger, until at the end he is mentally and physically like a baby and his existence comes to an end. In the story (the middle of his life sometime) he meets a girl and I think they eventually get married, but it doesn' t work out (he is growing physically younger and she is growing physically older). A really neat little story - and a lot shorter than Time Traveller's Wife!

Invitation

Hi Everyone - Thanks Melanie for the information about signing in!

Posting

I don't know a heck of a lot about administering blogs, but it would be nice if we could all post with our own author "identities." That way we would always know whose post is whose without having to necessarily "sign" it. It's really easy to set up a Google account (what you need to sign into the blog independently) and once you have done it, your computer will most likely keep you signed in. I "invited" a bunch of family (via "Permissions" in the Settings tab) with the email addresses that I have. However, I know I don't have everyone's email address (or current email address), so maybe everyone could help out with that. If you want to "invite" yourself, feel free: click on Dashboard, then Settings, then Permissions, then Invite and insert your email address. Or, if that is too much, send me your current email address and I will "invite" you. My email address is: mstebay@hotmail.com

All you need to do to get set up is to click on the link in the invitation email and follow the instructions. You need a pre-existing email address and then you create a user name and password and that's it! Easy breezy!
-Melanie

Hi everyone. After a brief hiatus, I finished the book as well (I kind of lost momentum in the middle due to summer vacations, weddings, school starting, etc). I thought it was an entertaining read. I didn't really know much about it before I started reading, so I had very few expectations up front (in terms of it being a love story, or what you will). I have to agree with Larry, though, that there were several times that I found myself very confused about who was when and where. I think the idea of creating this relationship between Henry and Claire through and amidst time is an interesting one with potential, but the author never really made that happen. It's almost like she figured out an easy formula that worked for a chapter or two and then created the whole book around that - the form of the novel couldn't really sustain itself! It seemed like there were some problems with Henry's going backward in time and interacting with himself also (truly, I'm not a sci-fi geek!). In the end, I just wanted more of a trajectory and defining moment to cap it off. Overall not my favorite book, but I'm glad I read it nonetheless.

Also, what a great slide show Kerri! I would love to know how you did that.

-Melanie

Slide Show!

Slide Show

Hi Everyone! I have been playing around with different ways to post and I made this slide show of our trip to Seattle! I have been working on The Cardenas Family blog this evening. I learned how to make slide shows and add music to my blog. Check it out at www.anthonyandkerricardenas.blogspot.com
Have a good night! Kerri

Wedding Pictures

Hi everyone! I think I have finally recovered from wedding maddness! I recently got all of my wedding pictures loaded on to Costco.com. In case anybody is iterested in having some printed, email me your Email address and I can share them with you. There are some very cute pictures of the kids on there and tons of others to look through! Costco has really good prices on print outs and you can pick them up or have them mailed to your house. Anyways, my email address is Ewee54321@hotmail. com, so if you are interested, email me your address and I will add you on to the account. Hope everyone is well! Erin

Summer is waning

Summer is waning. I've been reflecting on all that's happened recently. I think it was recently...it all developed so quickly. A back-operation, with all of its ongoing complications, two weddings, and vacations stuffed in-between. Oh!Including, five trips to Tacoma for medical assistance. Rest and recuperation at Gig Harbour. Thank you..Rick and Jennifer for being so kind. Both weddings went well. Each ceremony unique. The brides were beautiful and the grooms handsome. Most importantly we welcomed Megan and Tyler into our family. Melanie, Steve and Archie got to visit for almost three weeks. They were a great help setting up for Ewee's wedding. We did get some post wedding time at Twin Lake, Idaho. School has started and Chan is back to work. She has only fourteen students in her class. That's unusual; And good. Life has slowed. I'm getting a bit antsy tryng to figure out ..what I can do..this fall to occupy my time. Sitting is still a real problem for me. I writing this blog on my knees. Also, picking up anything the weighs more than a pound is trouble..it exacerbates my numbness. I do have my rock tumbler rolling. It has rocks from Jennifer's beach. I've got a small collection of rocks I'm waiting to show Campbell and Iva. Rock collecting and identification can be fun. I just finish The Razor's Edge. I recommend it. I'm thinking I might like to learn a foreign language. This will keep me busy. Au revoir. Craig p.s. where is the underline function on the blog page.

This book--AARRGGGGHHHHHH! Not my idea of a love story. With all the jumping from time era to time era I think I got lost in time. I found myself having to go back to the headings to remember everyone's ages at the time. This could well have been called just " The Time Traveler." I thought the plot centered more on Henry than it did on Claire. Also, I had a tough time grasping the idea of going back in time and interacting with yourself. Wouldn't it cause all kinds of paradoxes? The author has Henry saying he can't take anything through timr for fear of altering the future.{ paraphrasing } But at different points in the story Henry goes back in time and teaches himself how to pick pockets, gives advice to his friend on the stockmarket, and when he has a vasectomy at age thirty-seven goes back when he's thirtyt-three and gets Clair pregnant. Wouldn't those things alter the future? Interesting premise but not my cup of tea. Larry

Book Choice

Well, I finally finished the book.. which these days is an accomplishment in itself. Because I am not a book critic, I am able to say that I thought it was worth reading, not my favorite book ever, but definitely not my least favorite. It was a little strange in parts, but I read it to the end... which is a good thing. If it was my least favorite I would have never finished it. I guess I am kind of shallow in the reasons why I read a book...if it is relaxing and keeps my interest I am happy.
I just started The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. It is going to be a very quick read. I am really enjoying it so far. I know it has been talked about A LOT in the media, etc. but with all the hype around it, I still feel like his message is worth reading. If we are looking for a new book to read for the book club, it would definitely be one to consider (plus I might have a head start:) I have only read a chapter or 2, but it has touched me on many levels.. as a parent of small children, as an adult who had a great childhood, as an adult with more to accomplish and lastly, as a parent who has had a child die before them. Think about it.. I would highly recommend it.
Hope everyone is doing well, happy and healthy. I will get busy and post some pictures of the kids soon. Kara

MyTake

I finished. My brain has been on simmer the last few days trying to "take in" the content of this book. Wow! There not much I liked about this book. This isn't my idea of a love story. I've been questioning myself and my evaluation...am I an old fuddy duddy, old fashioned, am I too critical...well...maybe,maybe and I don't think so... in the end,I realized re-reading it wouldn't change my opinion. So..In conclusion, I beleive the negatives are to many to ponder. I appreciated the author's use of foreshadowing. Whew! I did get one plus mark. Thank you, Kerri for the book selection. Im hopeing others enjoyed it more than I. Craig.

p.s. do I still get to come to taco monday?

"Let's Get This Party Started"

This book held my interest only because I kept expecting something "significant" to unfold. It was billed as a love story, but it didn't have the emotional bang that I would expect from a love story (Doctor Zhivago, Pride and Prejudice, Romeo and Juliet). So, maybe my expectations were too high. When it didn't pan out as a powerful love story for me, I then expected something wildly creative to happen in the course of Henry's time traveling, but again, nothing really changed from the beginning to the end besides Henry popping in and out of the present into the future and past, and a fair amount of self-indulgent sex. And, it's not the kind of book that I could enjoy reading simply for the pleasure of the writing. So, I found myself reading it for the fun of it, but it flopped in the category too, for me anyway. I'm curious to know what others thought, because I'm wondering if I'm too cynical, or if anyone else read it and thought, "What?!" With that said, I certainly do not regret reading the book. I like the fact that the family book club encourages me to read books I would not pick on my own. So, Kerri, I don't intend this to be intense critcism, but it is a book club, so we do need to fling some opinions around a bit to get things started.

Book Pick

The book pick is:

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Kerri

thanks

Kerri, Thanks for pics of those handsome dudes. I laughed when I saw Eric's picture where he is smiling and squinting at the same time. If that isn't a mischevious look! Marshall looks like he's grown abit. It's good to hear Anthony is feeling better. As far as the book selection...you pick. Polling didn't work the last time. I'd like to see the baby..as soon as I improve. Thanks. Craig.

Eric and Marshall

Here are some pictures of my handsome guys!

Samonella/The Next Book

Hi Everyone, This past week Anthony became very ill and had to go to the emergency room. He spent three nights in the hospital and after many tests we found out that he has samonella. It is most likely from the tainted tomatoes out of California. He finally got to come home yesterday and has spent most of his time sleeping and resting. The doctor said he will continue to feel sick for 4-5 more days. Hopefully he will feel better soon.
I have been asked to pick the next book. I was actually asked quite awhile ago but I have not yet chosen. I am having a hard time deciding. I just finished Eat Pray Love and it was a great book about a woman who travels to three countries to help improve her life. It took me quite awhile - I have a hard time finding time to read these days! I have two books in mind for our book club: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger and A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider by Ishmael Beah. The Time Traveler's Wife is a love story about a man who involuntarily travels through time and his wife whose life takes a natural sequential course. This book is just a good pleasure read. Iloved it! A Long Way Gone is a more serious heartbreaking book about a boy who lives in war torn Sierra Leone. I am thinking maybe we should go with The Time Traveler's Wife just because we just finished a memoir. What does everyone else think?
Kerri

Looking "into"the Glass Castle/Craig

I read the Glass Castle a good two months ago..so I know that I've forgotten some details. I'm blogging from Jennifer and Rick's home in Gig Harbour. I'm here to followup with Dr. Schoenfelder. What I decided to do, is what I usually do, is.. let the info rattle around for awhile before I blog. Normally an idea arises from the gray matter..really gray matter. I recalled many similarities of the story line to my upbringing and several other ideas I could have written about. I decided to focus on one point..that haunted me throughout the book! That is Jeannette's inner strenght. Haunted yes. After several of the descriptions of her life incidents I started admiring how each of these were handled. I developed a sense of confidence ,the farther I read,how she would defeat each adversity that came her way... I'm already conceding that having intelligent parents and coming from unconditional loving parents is huge. Gosh! When she was rolled out of her car in the middle of the desert..at nightime..hurt..left for hours..what did she do. She walked back to where she was dumped and waited. The way she handled the potential rape scenario in the upstairs..the way she helped her older sister escape first..the way she dealt with the professor who was lecturing on the homeless...and last the way she courageously dealt with a father she loved and admired. Jeannette has grit! Thanks. Craig.

It Hits Home: The Glass Castle

Hello,
Sam and I have returned from our month-long journey in Italy (Rick joined us at Week 3). I reread "The Glass Castle" during our trip and took some notes, hoping to better explain to the younger family members why I, Sam, Larry and Craig were so moved by this book. I don't think Phil read it. Anyway, I got the impression from a couple postings that the book seemed somewhat unbelievable to some of you young'uns. I find it very difficult, and who really cares anyway, to adequately describe our upbringing so that people understand the meager-ness of our tangible assets, the wild nastiness of dad's alcoholic rages, and the freedom and relative okay-ness of our overall upbringing, in spite of some awful, by our kids' standards I'm sure, hardships. In spite of everything, we were loved. Well, I think I could write a book. But, for now, I'll point out a few details I noted when rereading the book which hit home for me. I'm too lazy to go back and cite these references in full, so I'm just presenting them as I jotted them down as I reread the book.
1. p. 18: ". . .sleeping in the desert on an army blanket." That was camping out for us! We would drive out to some remote area in the desert and throw an army blanket down and sleep on the rocky, hard ground. No pillows, no blankets over us, no air mattresses, etc. That was it. We slept on the ground out in the open and fished.
2. p. 21: ". . . brushing our teeth with baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. . ." We brushed our teeth with baking soda and salt. This is simply because we could not afford toothpaste.
3. p. 21: ". . .always went barefoot. . ." We bought one pair of shoes just before school started, and it didn't matter whether we outgrew them or not (I remember horrendous oozing infected bloody blisters), that was the only pair of shoes we had for the rest of the year. In the summer, we went barefoot because we had outgrown our shoes for sure by then and because we weren't going to get a new pair until just before school started. The soles of our feet were "tough and thick as cowhide."
4. p. 21: ". . .we'd catch scorpians, snakes and horney toads. . " There aren't scorpians in Eastern Washington, but we caught plenty of horney toads and snakes, and frogs and pollywogs and goldfish. We spent endless hours at the pond near our house(which was eventually turned into a gravel pit).
5. p. 22: ". . .Dad could build or fix anything. . ." I really don't think it's an overstatement to say that our father, Grandpa Tebay, was brilliant. He was also incredibly talented. He really could fix anything.
6. ". . . hard liquor. . " In the book, the father drank mostly beer, and occasionally drank hard liquor, which resulted in terrifying behavior on his part. This is so true of our dad. He was a "beer alcoholic," but I still remember the few times he drank the hard stuff. It was ugly.
7. ". . .West Virginia. . ." Must be something about being from West-By-God-Virginia. Grandpa Tebay was from Parkersburg, West Virginia. Our grandfather was a Ku Klux Klan member. Dad remembers moonshine stills. We have hillbilly roots, no doubt about it.
8. p. 30: ". . .smoking and driving and drinking beer. . ." That was our dad.
9. p. 37: ". . .swearing in general and the use of colorful phrases. . ." To say that Grandpa Tebay "swore" doesn't adequately convey the impact of his cussing language. He also used many "colorful phrases," one of which was, "The air is full of pigeons." It took me years to figure out what the heck that meant.
10. p. 37: ". . .drowning cats. . ." We did not take injured or sick pets to the vet. Dad put them in a burlap bag and drowned them in the river.
11. p. 59: ". . .could go pretty much anywhere and do just about anything we wanted. . ." We had unlimited freedom. We would sleep outside in the summer, get up around 2:00 a.m., Larry and Craig would grab a rifle, and we would walk through town to the river to shoot carp. We all have endless and what seems now amazing remembrances of the almost total freedom we had. We were expected to stay out of trouble, and as long as we didn't bring negative attention to ourselves, we could pretty much do what we wanted.
12. p. 62: ". . .none of us kids got allowances, picked up beer cans and bottles." We had access to plenty of beer cans.
13. p. 67: ". . .being out of food. . ." We were often out of food. I mean down to beans beans beans. I love beans. Sam hates beans.
14. p. 67: ". . turned off gas. . ." I vividly remember the time when the gas had been turned off, due to unpayment of the bill, and all of us had the flu. We huddled together under flimsy blankets trying to keep warm.
15. p. 76: ". . .no school lunches, no new clothes, no class pictures. . . I don't look back on my childhood and think, "Poor me. What a deprived childhood." But, there are some painful memories, and not being able to buy a school lunch (I really don't think I EVER had a school lunch, and not being able to buy new clothes, and not being able to buy my class photos, are sad memories for me.
16. p. 96: ". . . womanizer. . ." Dad had a long history. I've only recently become aware of the fact that mom talked to me about this, but not to her sons.
17. p. 96: ". . . invididual leaves on trees. . ." This was a description of what Jeannette's sister was surpised she could see when she finally got glasses. I was out of high school before I had my eyes checked and realized that to most people, trees were not just a green blur. (I also went to the dentist for the first time when I was 22 and could pay for it myself. I needed extensive dental work. But, that's another story.)
18. p. 112: ". . .drunken rampages. . ." Dad was famous for these (to mom, me and Sam; Phil, Craig and Larry had left home by this time.)
19. p. 115: ". . .Christmas. . ." No tree. No presents. Pretty sad for a little kid.
20. p. 115: ". . .when Dad went crazy, we all had our own ways of shutting down and closing off, . . ."
21. p. 116: ". . .birthdays were not a big deal around our house. . ." I actually do not remember even being aware of my birth dates up until I was a teenager. Let alone celebrating them. When we got older, I think we did start making our own birthday cakes.
22. p. 171: ". . .expert foragers. . ." You should talk to Uncle Larry about the apples and other produce we helped ourselves to in the wee hours of the morning. He was the ringleader.
23. p. 173: ". . .skinny minny. . ." I had a lot of nicknames. All relating to my scrawniness. Skinny Minny. Bony Maroni.
24. p. 278: ". . .smoking 4 packs per day since 13. . ." Dad started smoking when he was about 10 years old (so he told me). He smoked three packs per day of Chesterfields 101s when I was sent down to The Lucky Dollar to buy them for him when I was like 9 years old. 35 cents per pack.
Whew. I could go on. This book really dredges up some reality for me, and Craig, and Sam, and Larry. But, this only scratches the surface!
Love to All--Jennifer

The Glass Castle

I finished The Glass Castle a couple of weeks ago and loved the book. My boss gave me her copy and she told me she purchased it because she had studied developmental psychology. She was interested in reading it as a way to find out why some children develop into healthy adults while others do not turn out to be as resilient in the face of traumatic events. So, with this idea in mind, I read The Glass Castle. From what I have studied about resiliency, most children who deal with trauma benefit from having just one loving adult in their lives whom they can trust. Though Rex turned out to be an alcoholic, Jeanette had a very strong bond with her father during her formative years and this might be why she was able to develop into a "successful" adult, according to American standards. I do wonder, however, how she feels about her childhood, because though she does not trust her parents and is ashamed of what they have become (she does not want to admit they are her parents to those who do not know her). She does not explore any resentment or regret over a childhood lost to being the caregiver to her parents. I would be interested to know how she feels on a more personal level about her childhood, in addition to what she explored in this novel, about overcoming the obstacles of poverty. Overall, though, it was an excellent read and I couldn't put it down. Nice pick, Jennifer! -Megan

Congratulations!

Kerri and Anthony - congratulations on the new addition! He is beautiful. How is Eric doing getting to know his new little brother? I hope you are all doing well.
Love, Melanie

Congrats!

Congratulations!! Kerri and Anthony. (you notice I put Kerri first..she did the hard part) again...Salute..Marshall is handsome. I'm looking forward to seeing him. I've got some healing to do ! first. (did i see little cougar symbol in the bottom corner of that picture.) craig.

Marshall Scott Cardenas

Hi everyone. Just wanted to write a quick note to let everyone know that our newest family member has arrived! Marshall Scott Cardenas was born at 5:52am on Thursday April 17th. He weighed 6 pounds 15 ounces and measured 19 inches long. He is so handsome! You can see how handsome he is at http://www.kadlecfoundation.org/template.php?id=3738
until I get some pictures posted.
Love, The Cardenas Family

Hello Tebays! Larry here. I finished GLASS CASTLE. Now I'm going to read it again. It rekindled so many memories, both good and bad, of growing up with an alcoholic father in a dysfunctional family. It was easy to identify with the author and her siblings because I went through so many similar situations growing up. When I think of the times I sat in the car, in front of a tavern, for hours at a time, while dad was inside drinking. He would come out sometimes and bring us little bags of beer nuts and then go back into the bar. Or the camping trips where we would throw a few things into the car or truck and head out to " rough it." Sleeping on the ground without a tent,making a camp, fishing and then eating whatever we caught for our meals. I loved every minute of it, never realizing that the reason Dad didn't get up when we did was because he was sleeping it off. The beer around the campfire was " normal" to me. I was so naive I didn't realize Dad had a drinking problem until I was ion High school. The Army was my way out. I'm sorry Sam and Jennifer that you had to stay and endure Dad's sickness. I was going through Hell in Vietnam but you both were going through your own Hell at home. This story made me realize something though. through all the hardships and constant lows we encountered on the road to adulthood, one thing was constant, we had each other. Like Jeanette and her siblings we survived. We didn't turn out so bad. Did we? Alcoholism is like a plague reaching deep and far, spreading it's tentacles wide and sparing no one. I love you Phil, Craig, Jennifer, Sam and Mom.

The Glass Castle

Hi everyone, Erin here!
I just finished reading The Glass Castle and enjoyed it a lot. I haven't had time lately to read too many books, so it was a good book to ease back into reading!
What struck me most about the story were the people; I almost didn't beleive that this was a memoir because the characters all seemed very well thought out, almost made up. Everyone had a certain roll, or certain stereotype that they followed, and they never deviated from them! Parts of the book were so symbolic, that it was amazing that these people and events were not made up.
My favorite person in the book to observe was the Mother (although I hated her at the same time). She was so in to finding the positive in every situation, that it backfired on her and always turned everything into a horrible situation. She found "the good" in everything...but to a fault ("hitler loved dogs"... I loved that line).
The book really shows you how personalies are formed by the way children are raised. The author was made to be self sufficient and strong through her parents unwillingness to coddle her as a child (making your own hot dogs at 3 years old?!), yet the youngest daughter turned out to be completely incapable of living on her own becuase everyone coddled HER as a child. To me, it was neat to be able to see the development of these people's personalities as they grew up. A lot of times as a human being, you like to think that you are in complete control of your own actions and all of your decisions are made because that's who YOU are. But really, that's who your parents/ your environment MADE you (not that this is a good excuse for certain actions, but it explains a lot sometimes!). It's a good view of, if you are a parent, how much your actions can affect your children. Good read!

Almost There!

Hi everyone! Just wanted to say hi. I have been reading the blog but haven't posted for awhile. We have been hanging out and preparing for Marshall to come. We only have five more weeks until our due date. I have included a picture of what my belly looks like for those family members I don't get to see regularly. Eric is doing great. He is definitely in the "terrible twos" stage. He tests all limits! Overall all I think he is a good boy but sometimes.... Here is a picture of him taking a bath tonight and another one of him washing dishes at Papa's house. Love to all Kerri

Jennifer's Turn

Hello Family. Craig has asked me to recommend the next book. I'm reading a book right now by Richard Powers which I like, but Rick is urging me to recommend, "The Glass Castle," by Jeannette Walls. It's a well-written, fascinating memoir, but not showily bookish. I'm betting everyone will enjoy it. Somehow we ended up with two copies. I'll send them to Craig, and he can distribute them. Nothing much out of the ordinary going on here. It's fun reading the family blog. I just need to get in the habit of checking it more often. Love to all. --Jennifer

Hi everyone! Just a quick post to let you know that the website for our percussion duo is fully operational. Check it out at: http://www.properglueduo.com

BTW, does anyone know when we will be starting on a new book?

-Melanie

Larry,
I hope you are feeling better :) What a cute picture!
- Melanie

I'm sitting here feeling worse than I've felt in years. I have one of the various flu bugs that have been circulating our area. Right now I feel somewhere between " What was the make of that bus that hit me?" and " Do you have a gun? Please shoot me." Anyway, not having anything to do I thought I'd peruse the blog. The picture attached is a culmination of a day in the snow with Moriah. We went sledding, cleaned the sidewalks,made snow angels, built a snowman and finished off with a mug of hot chocolate. Kids really do keep you young. Later--Larry

Valentine Poem

Kerry. Who's the author? Craig.

A Valentine Verse from Anthony and Kerri

Happy Valentines Day everybody! Here's a love poem by one of my favorite poets.

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)
i am never without it
anywhere i go you go,my dear
and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling

i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)
i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life
which grows higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

My $0.02

I've been finished with White Noise and have been thinking about what to post. I agree with Jennifer that while many of the major themes are at times overstated and slightly tedious, the writing is amazing. It took me a little while to become acclimated to Delillo's style - as Craig said, you spend the first chapter or two just trying to figure out what is going on and who is who - but I think what really helped get me going was simply "reading through." Not stopping if something didn't completely make sense or fit in. The result was a really neat sense of this story happening, but with a constant background of white noise - "Corolla, Acura, Celica", and other such stuff (there is always a TV on in the background). I am wondering though, if the themes may have seemed less cliche and overdone in 1985? I don't know. The ridiculousness of Jack's chosen field (and his academic "armor" - the robe and dark glasses) and the fields of his colleagues is hilarious, though, and just as true today in academia as I'm sure it was in 1985. In order to create a niche for themselves, people go into the most ridiculous specializations. "Hitler Studies" is especially funny, given that he didn't even speak German! His friend Murray's was pretty ridiculous too - basically his area was modern life. Go figure.
However, while the ridiculous and cynical are amusing, the most enjoyable element of this book I thought was the characters, especially the Gladney family. Craig mentioned that they were neurotic, but I disagree (at least I disagree that they were any more neurotic than anyone typically is). I appreciated that none of them were perfect or too cliche - they were all very realistic and complex people, with realistic strengths and weaknesses. This made me really want to root for them, especially Babette when she is having a tough time of it. My favorite passage by far is when they are "jammed into the car on our way to the Mid-Village Mall" having a conversation (beginning of chapter 17). I think this passage is hilarious; it makes me laugh every time. "The family is the cradle of the world's misinformation." I just think back to being a kid and having dinner as a family with conversations not altogether unlike this one.
Anyway, I am really looking forward to our next book!
Melanie

Holiday Happenings

Things are just getting back to normal here at Craig and Chans' abode. It was great to see our kids at Christmas. Sam and Megan came the weekend before Christmas, while Erin and Tyler were here on Christmas day Steve and Melanie's schedule allowed them to visit in the middle of January, for one week. We all had fun...catching up. It seems most of our "get togethers" revolve around coooking together or an eating event. It's great. I believe I gained five pounds.

Chan and I did get a strong "hint" for our Christmas gift from Steve and Melanie...a restaurant and travel guide to New York City. I would love to visit. Right now, it all depends on my "back" healing. Attached are some holdiday pictures I enjoy. Craig.

white noise finis

I finished! It was a tough read, at first. As I read, I found myself trying to tie these "neurotic characters " to some direction or "plot" This distracted me...Oh my god.."are there really people like this? Is my a.d.d. working overtime. I chilled, kept reading enjoying it more and more. Oh yeah, I chuckled alot.
Dellio uses his cast of characters to comically approach their..."our" fear of death. "White noise" is the method with which society, families, people deal with this question. A question that won't go away. The solutions to this question reminds me of wooden dolls..the type that one is inside of the other, is inside of the other, is inside..etc. The answer is mathematical, sort of, assocative, you know..the graph where one set overlaps the other. It's a layered mess. Dellio makes it a comical layered mess!
I enjoyed his style of writing , like others have blogged. Actually, it is what kept me reading to the end. His style is reminiscent of an old Zero Mostel movie " A funny thing happened on the way to the forum". See it! There must be some connection! (looking left and right).
There are to many passages to"white noise" to mention, but here are a few of my favorites. Babbet teaches walking, sitting, and standing...its a feathery plume..black billowing cloud..enormous dark mass..and finally..airborne toxic event... Wilder crying for six hours.. Dejavu symtoms..followed later by closing of the Dejavu Crisis Center...Treadwells missing in the mall... a town psychic that finds the wrong criminal.. SIMUVAC...and..the..nebulous mass. These are the ones that got me laughing...Does anyone want to discuss these or others...Blog!
Craig. p.s. Thank you Megan for your mothers sphagetti receipe. psyblogs.

Italian Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

It's taken me awhile to post this, but I'm finally doing it! Here's my mom's Italian Spaghetti Sauce recipe:

1 medium onion, chopped
6 tsp. garlic
3 tsp. dried basil
1 can sliced mushrooms or 1/2 lb. fresh, sliced
3 tbsp. parsley
6 tsp Italian seasoning
1/3 c Burgundy or Chianti wine (fill 1/2 of mushroom can)
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. sugar
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. sweet or hot Italian sausage
1 29-oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 29-oz. can tomato sauce
1 12-oz. can tomato paste
6-oz. water

Brown meats, onion, and garlic. Add all spices, wine, mushrooms, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste. Thin sauce with water.

I hope you guys enjoy this! It took my mom years to perfect it and now she has it memorized!

White Noise

Okay, I’m ready. I finished the book last night. The theme of the book, Fear of Death (with sundry sub-themes: our drug-obsessed culture, what is manliness, etc.), would make good classroom fodder, but I got tired of it. I did, however, very much enjoy DeLillo’s style of writing. I reread certain phrases, sentences and paragraphs just because I loved the images those words conjured up for me. I read passages aloud to Rick. I smiled a lot. After I finished the book, I found myself flipping through it again to reread favorite parts. So, for me, it was a very worthwhile read. I can say more, but I’m not sure how thorough we’re going to get in these discussions. --Jennifer

I think Delillo has a gift in the perspectives he brings to his writing. His secret is reaching
within and touching our secrets.
We all can identify with situations of " dysfunctional moments " in our own lives. I enjoyed
the scenes where Jack was trying to learn German. Hilarious.
Truthfully, this book was hard for me to read and keep my concentration but worth the effort.
Well written.
Chan. As for the quote about nostalgia--true in some cases, but how about-- " Nothing is more
responsible for nostalgia than a bad memory."---Robert Benchley.
Larry--1/10/2008

White Noise

I just finished Chapter 34. This guy (DeLillo) just cracks me up! I look forward to a good chuckle every morning when I read a chapter. The characters are hilarious, with their neurotic antics. The author's style of writing absolutely amazes me. I think I'm jealous! :) He brings to the page the most fascinating perspectives and yet his words seem very poignant--not wasted. The funniest thing happened this morning. I'm working out on the elliptical with "Rhonda," my iFit trainer ("noise") and get to page 262. So, I read the entire first paragraph and the minute, no the very second, I reach the period at the end of the paragraph, "Rhonda" comes on my machine and says: "You did it! That was a GREAT workout! Remember to cool down and drink plenty of water after your workout. See you again next time!" Talk about serendipitous! That has to be the funniest thing that has happened to me throughout this reading! Perhaps DeLillo would be interested in substituting "Rhonda's" remark for the "woman passing on the street" in his 2008 Copyright edition, Ch. 34, P. 262, Para. 2! Ha! Chandra :0 p.s. Any comments on P. 258, Para. 2, "Nostalgia is a product of dissatisfaction and rage." ??? :)

White Noise

I am about three quarters of the way through the book, and will probably finish in the next week or two. How far along is everyone else?

Melanie