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The genre for September's book club, foreign translation, intimidated me a bit. I love choosing each months' book, so I approached choosing a foreign language book translated into English just like I usually do. I'm trying to stay away from depressing, sad, violent, negative and romantically sappy books. Yes, I realize those moods make for a compelling read, but between stress at work, the crazy world we live in, and trying to heal my broken heart...I need to read happy stuff these days. I was drawn to this book for three reasons: the first bunch of reviews I read all said it was "sweet", it was short, and it was on the shelf at the library. So, was it "sweet"? September 2013: Foreign Translation The Housekeeper and the Professor By Yoko Ogawa 2003 180 pages Originally written in Japanese, author Yoko Ogawa sets her sweet story in 1990's Japan. The story is narrated by the Housekeeper, who has just started a new job cleaning house and cooking for the...

It's almost that time again - ice is in, the pros are starting to play bonspiels - it must be curling season! Here's my annual recap of the curling team shake up that happened over the summer. There weren't a lot of moves as it's an Olympic year, but there were a couple shockers! Men's Teams Team Epping: Scott Howard is out ! He'll be playing on Team Rumfeldt this season. Collin Mitchell will join Epping. Team Martin: John Morris is out! Dave Nedohin is in! Team Cotter: John Morris will be taking over (but throwing third?) and this is now Team Morris. Gunnlaugson has moved to alternate. See above. Team(s) Appelman: Looks like both Ted and Tom will be skipping teams this year. Women's Teams Team Webster: Cathy Overton-Clapham will replace Erin Carmody. Team Crocker: Erin Carmody will replace Sarah Wilkes. Team Smith-Dacey: Jill Brothers (Mouzer) will now play third. Team Nicol: With Jill leaving, this team is now Hollie Nicol, Stephanie LeDrew, Danielle Ing...

Balcony Garden 2013 was the year of trial and error on my balcony, and error mostly won out. The wooden "pallet garden" my dad made for me was mostly a fail, except the violas did well on the top row. And I did get one salad's worth of mini radishes. But the cat grass, lettuce, swiss chard and spinach either got ruined by pests or never came up. Those were all on the bottom two rows, so maybe that had something to do with it. I think the main problem was it was so shallow - at only 2 inches deep. Too bad, it was a great climbing gym for the cats. It's bound for the recycling bin.  Though I thought it was dying after the June cold snap, my basil ended up coming back and flourishing. I got 28 servings of pesto out of it, so that actually was a win! I used almonds in the pesto because I'm too cheap to buy pine nuts, and I didn't use any parmesan, but it's delicious! Basil pesto, ready to be frozen in single serving portions in ice cube trays. Another win: my...