Roasted-Vegetable Lasagne Recipe at Epicurious.com

Great recipe. We had our usual family dinner on Saturday and Pat and I made this luscious lasagna and a traditional meat one too. Highly recommend this recipe, but add mushrooms. Also, awesome using no-boil noodles. So much easier

Wild Fire - Nelson DeMille

I've always enjoyed Nelson DeMille's books, but this was lame. Don't bother unless you don't have anything else to read.

To Do List

To do list:
Coat closet
Taxes
Hem mom's pants
Make Vet appointment
Call mom's health insurance re Dental
Polish/refinish double bed, dresser
Replace lightbulb in kitchen
Clean out closet under staircase
Reshelf books
Go to brew supply shop: sanitizer, beer kit
Clean out closet in bonus room
Box up Jill’s stuff
Joel’s address to mom
Plan family dinner
Look for mom’s recipe books
Paint, etc bathroom
Mail Nike watch
Mammogram appointment
Unplug back up power box in 3rd car garage

Little Women - Louisa May Alcott & March - Geraldine Brooks

Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

March - Geraldine Brooks

I've been wanting to read March for a long time and started it a couple weeks ago. It's the story of the father of the Little Women. As I read the first few pages, I realized that I should probably to back and read Little Women first. Luckily, we had a copy of Little Women and I got right to work.

I'd highly recommend it to adolescent girls and newlywed women. It is such a sweet story full of excellent advice on how to get along in a family and with a spouse. Such a sweet story.

I was disappointed with March; the author represented the father much differently than Louisa May Alcott did. It was Brooks' intention to 'humanize' him and show his flaws (and his wife's), but the original author chose not to show that side of him. For me, it took away from the sweet lessons in Little Women. Yes, people are complex and we don't always show what we are thinking, but I didn't want to know about that side of the Marches. Read this review.

Well written, but Little Women was tarnished.

Painting weekend

I visited Jill & Nathan last weekend. We had a fantastic time, as usual...eating, visiting, talking Jackie for walks, golfing, and an all day painting adventure. Wish I'd taken some pictures, but we painted the kitchen yellow, bathroom a retro blue-green, and a nice tan for the bedroom.


I can't believe I encouraged Jill to marry this guy.

Where's Sassy....Where's Rosie

Can you find the 'real' dog.

January Family Dinner

It's been awhile since I posted any pictures. Early in January, Lois had a dinner for the family. All the Brown siblings except Randy came.

What's So Amazing About Grace - Philip Yancey

This is my third time reading this book. It changed my life the first time I read it and rereading just reinforced those lessons.

Everyone should read it. It describes what a Christian should be, not how most Christians really behave.

Be the Pack Leader - Cesar Millan

Darla gave this book to Pat for Christmas and we read it together. Great book, makes me consider getting a puppy and being a better dog parent. Realized that Pat and I are not our pack leaders, the dogs think they are, but we're working on it.

The Collectors - David Baldacci

I bought this book for Jill for Christmas, but she'd already read (listened) to it, so I kept if for myself. It was a very mediocre read.

Vacation's over

I didn't get online the last couple days...too lazy. Last couple days of vacation were spent enjoying the fire and the snow falling heavily outside. Of course, we did make it outside to eat lunch and take a couple walks. Wednesday, we walked to the mall and ate at the Village Bar & Grill. It was ok, but probably wouldn't go out of our way to eat there again. A pleasant surprise was RJB's Restaurant and Sports Lounge across the street from Sunriver. We shared Fish & Chips. The portion was huge; more than enough to share.

As we headed home from vacation, we stopped at Greg's Grill in Bend. We had a lovely table with a view of the river and shared a bowl of chowder and fish and chips (again).

The drive home was uneventful, although quite snowy over Mt. Hood. The Santiam Pass was closed. I'll post our last pictures a little later.