Thursday, August 28, 2008

More happy-fication

Just read this morning that Nathan Fillion has a job on a new TV show. Even better, it's not on the FOX network, which I'm boycotting because of their lousy treatment of Firefly, Keen Eddie, and a list of other shows (basically, everything I've watched on FOX has been cancelled swiftly, other than X-Files). I like Nathan Fillion, mostly based on his work in Firefly & Serenity (*), but also because he was extremely creepy as Brother Caleb on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I wish I had DSL so I could have seen Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, but I'll wait for the eventual DVD.

* I love Firefly, and really liked Serenity. However, I still haven't watched the last 30 minutes or so of Serenity since I saw it in the theater for the second time. I was totally un-spoilered, and there's a certain moment in the film that I had no warning about. Felt like someone kicked me i nthe head.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Easily Happified

Proof that it doesn't take a lot to make me happy:

A flyer in our weekly mailing of local coupons with a pair of coupons to our favorite Mexican place.

Even better? We got two copies of the flyer. So $20 in coupons for a place we go once a week. Awesome!

No, it doesn't take much some days to cheer me up a little.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Library backsliding

A little backwards movement in the library numbers, I've got 24 items out and 2 holds now; we returned two books but came home with four books and a CD. Ah well, most of them are quick-read mysteries - including a Monk (the TV show) mystery and a new Sister Agatha book.

Returned:
  • Guerilla Gardening - pretty interesting stuff, and now I've got gardening urges again.
  • G is for Galaxy
Spent $3.50 at the book sale - one hardback journal-type thing for me, and a couple of paperback kiddie books.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Mistaken Identity

Or, another reason not to name your son after yourself.

Somehow, probably because DH and his dad share a name, and because said Dad is of retirement age, DH has been getting a lot of retirement-related mail recently. Things like invitations to "financial preparation" lunches, Medicare seminars, and today a brochure from a local "senior community" or whatever they call a retirement home these days.

Those aren't so bad, because we can figure out why we're probably getting them. I can't figure out, though, why I'm getting the occasional advertising flyer from a) car dealers that I've never had any connection with, and b) those iffy refinance-your-loan places that are one step up from a payday loan joint. Those are easy enough to shred and/or recycle, but I wish there was a way to get off their mailing list.

Also, if you and a relative share both a name and a pharmacy, keep an eye on things. Apparently some of FIL's prescriptions were linked to DH's insurance information. That's a little odd, since they ask for date of birth every time we get refills. Easy to clear up, but still something to watch for.

And thus ends your public service announcement for the day.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

But then . . .

I checked my email when we got home from the movie, and found out that those Twits at Sci Fi (or MGM possibly) have cancelled Stargate: Atlantis. Even better, they're ending it on a cliffhanger. The lousy B@$^@*#s.

I'll admit, Atlantis hasn't been the show that Stargate: SG-1 was, especially in SG-1's early years of awesomeness. However, it's a good show most of the time, and better IMHO than most of the "Sci Fi Original" dreck that the channel churns out. I mean, seriously - Mansquito, anyone?

After this, my only reasons to watch Sci Fi will be Eureka and Doctor Who. I'm mostly over BSG (and Lost), and Who's taking a year off while David Tennant plays Hamlet. can always get Doctor Who on DVD, since the BBC is behind them. Sci Fi is just getting crappier and crappier. Soon they'll be right up there with FOX on my hit list.

At least Sci Fi wasn't quite as tacky this time. They announced SG-1's cancellation out of the blue, at the big 200th-episode party, for cripes' sake. How low can they go?

And if it was Sci Fi's decision, and they try to blame it on money? I'm calling a big "BS" on that one. They're paying for the rights to run Lost, for pete's sake - that can't be cheap.

I'm off to look at Space.com's list of top 10 SG episodes now. Maybe it'll give me happy thoughts.

It was a hit

We made it to the movie theater this morning, and Horton Hears a Who was a hit.

It was iffy at the start; someone was saying he didn't want to go to the movie, he'd rather stay home and watch Charlie Brown. Then he decided he'd rather take his balloon from dinner last night, instead of his elephant. He changed his mind on both counts before we left.

(Waiting for the movie to start.)

We were in one of the renovated screens today (the theatre updated some of their screens a few years ago). Stadium seating, nice plushy cushions and reclining seats. Plus more seats, although it wasn't a full house. We weren't the only ones with a plush buddy along, although I didn't see any other Hortons like ours.


The movie was a hit, too. Last time, we saw Open Season and spent a good 20% of the movie doing laps in the hallway. This time, El Burrito hopped up in his own seat, had a bit of fun with the seat going up and down, and watched the whole movie. He didn't get too loud, he clapped in a couple of spots, talked about the elephant, and had a good time. Even Onnifaant only landed on the floor two or three times. I was prepared with water and crackers, but other than a drink or two, he didn't want a snack until about 10 minutes before the end.

I took a few pics without the flash, but they're not that great. This is one of the better ones. I liked the movie as much as El Burrito did. Usually I'm not a big fan of Jim Carrey, he goes way beyond "over the top" a lot of times. This time, though, he must have been working without caffeine or something, because it wasn't obviously Jim Carrey doing the voice. He was recognizable, but not in-your-face with things.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

A change of plans, and more

We had a little hiccup in our plans today. We intended to go to the $1 kiddie movie at the local theater today - it's Horton Hears a Who this week, and El Burrito is currently crazy about his plush Target-clearance Horton (even though he doesn't know it's Horton). We actually made it to the theater in time, fully equipped with snacks, drinks, and "Onnifaant" aka Horton (that's as close as I can get to the way he says "elephant" these days. I knew we were in trouble when the parking lot was full, and I was right - sold out. So much for Plan A, but at least we didn't wait until Friday to go.

So we bought tickets for tomorrow's showing, and went over to Shelter Gardens for a walk, since we were already out. They've started working on "renovating" the rose garden; they took out all the roses there recently. The roses were looking pretty crappy this year, the weather was hard on them last year, I don't think the switch over to organic did them any favors, and I really think they got a fungus or something. That's the only reason I can think of to tear out all the plants and start over.

Anyway. DH met us for a short walk on his break, and I ended up spending over an hour there with El Burrito. We walked through the little schoolhouse (his choice) and spent 20 minutes walking up and down a wooden ramp at the gazebo. Saw the fish, the flowers, and two squirrels. El Burrito probably would have stayed longer, but it was lunch time and I was hungry even if he wasn't.

Now, for the El Burrito stories. Have to write them down here or I'll forget them.

He's been on a roll lately. He got his first bloody lip at the Garden on Saturday; no real damage to teeth or anything, just a bit of blood and a few minutes of crying. He didn't cry a whole lot, he's got a high pain threshold so far, and it's already mostly healed up. He wanted to go to the Garden, and started talking about it when we drove by, so we turned around and went for a walk. He wanted to go see squirrels and chase Mommy on the grass. So, we saw squirrels and ran around.

He's drinking more milk now. We've been using a gallon a week, between my Cheerios and his drinking, but I think that's about to change. We bought a gallon on Saturday and it's got about one sippy-cup full left, so we'll have to pick some up tonight. We're going to be a bit stuck, because we don't have room in the fridge for 2 gallons of milk and the Brita pitcher, and I don't think we can rearrange the shelves to make room.

He got very upset last night, for the strangest reason. He was finishing his dinner and chattering about a hair cut, for some reason. Said he looked "scruffy" and wanted a hair cut. I told him he didn't need one, and you'd think I told him no more Charlie Brown videos ever. Squinched up face and big sobbing, then I think he asked for a hug. (He asks for a hug sometimes, if he gets upset or something.)

Also, still on the singing jag. I've been trying to get it on video, because it's just so darn cute sometimes. He sang to his grandmothers on the phone this week, and likes to walk around singing Happy Birthday. He 's getting tricky though - he changed the words of our "stinky diaper song" yesterday so that I was the one with the stinky diaper. Sense of humor, my kid.

And he was entertaining the whole family at Grandma's last week. I was talking to one of my cousins outside and El Burrito was running amok in the yard. I got a blade of grass and was using it for a whistle, and El Burrito started trying to make the same sound as he was running around. He also does the same thing with his talking Lightning McQueen, but he's not as good at mimicking the screeching tires.

He's putting together longer sentences, and more understandable ones, but there are still some words that we just don't get. Like "scrum". Don't know where that came from. I tell him occasionally that he needs subtitles. Or a babelfish.

He's starting to walk down stairs if someone holds his hand, although he makes this weird hum/grunt with every step. That might be from spending time with his bad-kneed Grandma.

And that's about it for Burrito stories today.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Tuesday again

Yes, lots of crickets here last week. Not busy, just unmotivated.

Today's library stats: 21 items out, 4 on hold. Returned 3 books, checked out 4 books and a video.

Returned 3 books to the library today:
  • Valerie Bertenelli's autobiography Losing It - Not bad, probably more interesting if you're familiar with Van Halen
  • Dorothy Gilman's Uncertain Voyage - my least favorite of her novels, but I love Mrs. Pollifax
  • Healthy Child, Healthy World - Also good, but a bit depressing sometimes.
Spent $2.50 at the sale: 2 Tonka books for El Burrito, 3 for me, including a Sam Savitt book (love his illustrations).

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Another Tuesday, another trip to the library

Without further adieu, here are the library stats for today: 19 items checked out, 5 on the hold list. I returned 2 books and a dvd, and came home with 6 books (4 from my holds).

Returned:
  • Whatever Happened to Peggy Sue? - An autobiography of the woman that the Buddy Holly song was named for. She focused mostly on the time up to Buddy's death. Her first husband (not Buddy Holly) was a real piece of work. Read this in an afternoon.
  • Deadliest Catch: Desperate Hours - I'm a DC junkie, I'll admit it. So is DH, so I ordered a copy of this for his anniversary present.
  • Reckless: The Sequel - Almost better than the first mini-series. The highlight had to be Crane finding out that his parents were in town to attend his ex-wife's wedding. The look on his face was priceless.
We spent $7 at the sale. Came home with Dorothy Gilman, Lynn Hall, and Enid Blyton for me; Sesame Street, Pooh, and a Doreen Cronin book for El Burrito, plus a few others.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Gargle-challenged

Yep, that's right. According to DH, I'm gargle-challenged. Sort of; I do fine with salt water. But that lovely $30 + an hour of waiting "Magic Wash" that I got for the Sore Throat from H#**? Not so much. I managed to choke myself with it on Saturday, badly enough that I'm surprised it didn't shoot out my nose. On top of that, I can't seem to get the stuff back far enough to do any good. Not surprising, since both my dentists will tell you I have an over-active gag reflex, but still disappointing. My lips go numb, my tongue goes tingly, but the throat never got any relief.

At any rate, the worst of the sore throat is gone now (but replaced by a runny nose and nasty cough). It disappeared between midnight and 2 a.m. last night, to be more specific, while we were clearing up the aftermath of El Burrito's weekend at Grandma's. He has a great time, and I'm glad that my parents are better grandparents than their parents were to me, but geez, my mom could tell the boy "No" now and then. She worries all the time that he's not eating enough, since we told her he's on the bottom half of the height/weight charts, but then she went and fed him a big bowl of ice cream right before dinner yesterday. And wondered why he wasn't hungry for dinner.

Dad asked (when Mom wasn't around) how long it took to get him back to normal after a visit. No dummy, my Dad.

It takes about a day and a half, by the way. So far we're doing good, though, and he hasn't been horribly cranky. He was really tired last night, but we listened to Sesame Street CDs on the way home and he sang instead of sleeping. That was my devious plan, to keep him awake until we got home. Otherwise he naps in the car, and is wound for sound when we're ready for bed. He practically fell asleep while he was getting his jammies on, and conked out after less than five minutes in his crib.

Space News: Hubble's made 100,000 orbits of Earth so far.

Now I'm off to check the Olympics TV schedule and see when the equestrian coverage is on. A Tivo-like device would be so handy right now.

Friday, August 8, 2008

What a day

So, what did I do on my Burrito-free day, you ask?

Yeah, well, not much of any account, sadly. Those errands that I wanted to do, didn't get done.

Called the doctors' office first thing, and got an appointment with one of the docs there, for this afternoon. The sore throat woke me up about 3 a.m. and it's not getting any better. Went to a flea market, hoping for more farm toys. No luck on that, but I did buy a Sesame Street book and some 3-hole-punch binder pages that I need for a few things (2 pockets per page; hard to find, at least in the places I looked.) Called to check on El Burrito, who woke up at 6:30 this morning and was taking his nap about two hours earlier than usual.

The doc says I don't have strep, just some virus, with sores on the back of my throat. He gave me a 'scrip for a gargle mix: lidocaine, benadryl, and mylanta. Which is how I found out that our regular pharmacy doesn't do compounding, so I ended up at Walgreens. Where I'll never buy drugs again, or at least any time soon.

"Just 20-25 minutes" they said. Ha! 10 minutes later, they page me - our insurance doesn't cover the mix, do I still want to pay $30+ for it? Sure, why not, I say. They'll page me when I'm done. I spend the next 45 minutes wandering the store, mostly playing with the Hallmark sound-chip cards. (There's a hilarious one with the Chicken Dance, plus one with Indiana Jones that I'm getting for myself.) Then I sat in their tiny waiting area for 15 minutes, before asking if my drugs were ready. Yep, they were in the fridge. So much for being paged. Twits.

The "magic wash" doesn't taste hideous, but I'm not sure if it works. Sure, my lips and tongue were tingly-numb for ten minutes after the first dose, but the throat part didn't seem any different. I'm wondering what the Benadryl is for, anyway. Maybe I should have skipped the $30 combo and got a $5 bottle of Chloraseptic.

I did manage to Freecycle some unused sports bras and check out a flea market, a thrift store, and Tuesday Morning. Oh, and gas up my car. Weird car - the low fuel light was on, but it only took 10 gallons to fill up the 13-gallon tank. Must be that slope I parked on.

Off to find the coupons so we can go shopping tomorrow.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Alone

Wow, I'm all alone right now.

First off, APOD has an awesome picture today. I think it's the purple that attracts me. That, and the idea of the Trans-Siberian Railway.

That's right, El Burrito is having his last summer trip to Grandma & Grandpa's house, since Mom starts back to work at the school on Monday. We're going down Saturday for the weekend and will bring him home.

I met them halfway between here and there, and we had lunch before I handed over El Burrito and the car seat. Mom spent lunch trying to bribe him to eat more (offering him ice cream), which didn't work. When he's done, he's done, and trying to sneak a spoonfull into his mouth doesn't work (usually). I don't see any reason to fight with him too much over it. He's growing well, his ped. is happy with his weight and height, and he does eat fairly well. If he says he's done, I'm not gonna contradict him. On the other hand, that doesn't mean he'll get junky snacks if he's hungry in a few hours. He'll get something like apple bits, instead of the orange Tootsie Pop that Grandma gave him while I was in the bathroom.

I've still got this nasty sore throat, and if it bothers me again tonight I'm calling the doctor's office tomorrow. No real fever, but a wicked sore throat and a cough is just not fun. I've also got some shopping to do tomorrow, fun fun.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Bleargh

I have a wicked sore throat right now, although the fever's gone away. Actually, I've had it long enough (since Monday) that I should probably see if I can get in at the doctors' office tomorrow and find out if it's strep.

Of course, if it is strep, treatment is a bit tricky. I'm maybe-probably allergic to penecillin (based on a slightly odd reaction 30 years ago), and very definitely allergic to sulfa antibiotics.

What fun.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Books and such

After the library run, we have 17 items checked out, and 9 on hold. I didn't keep track, but I do know that I returned 3 DVDs, a CD, and about 4 books, and we came home with 3 DVDs and 3 books, I think.

Returned:
  • Reckless Part 2
  • Reckless Part 3
  • a trucks & tractors DVD (better than the There Goes A series, because the Daves are just annoying)
  • Green, Greener, Greenest - Interesting stuff, and I like the way it was laid out.
  • In the Presence of Horses - Very weird, a high body-count (mostly equine), and kinda depressing. Seriously, don't waste your time. Wish I hadn't, and I just skimmed it over lunch.
  • Other book I can't remember.
  • Farm picture book for El Burrito
Then we spent $4 at the book sale. El Burrito got a Frog & Toad book.

And then we came home. Yep, I didn't stop to vote on the way back. Too darn hot, and I haven't been reading up on the candidates. Besides which, Missouri makes you choose which party's ballot you want, so you can't vote for a few Dems and a few Reps. Takes all the fun out of it, since most people are running unopposed and the "big" races are on different ballots.

I also haven't been keeping track of which candidates irritate me the most with things like automated phone calls and stupid-to-the-point-of-insulting TV ads. And the so-called "attack ads" - tell me why to vote for you, twit, not why to not vote for the other guy. I answered the phone once last week and it was a recorded message. I hung up, then picked up the phone, and the message was still going. Had to hang up twice more to get rid of the parasite. We've also got a local guy who claims to be the only Congressperson with both a medical and a legal degree. That's a lot of student loans for a guy who doesn't seem to be practicing either profession. He always makes sure to put the "Dr." in front of his name, though.

And on top of it all, I've got a killer sore throat this week. Doesn't seem to be DH's summer cold, since I don't have the stuffy head, etc., just a sore throat.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Hot, hot, hot

It's hot here. Really Hot. Predicted heat index of 113 today, actual temp of 98, although I haven't checked the radio to see if it's actually hit that yet. It's supposed to cool off by Wednesday - "cool" being 89 or so. Hopefully the barns over at Stephens are staying cool; they've got a few horses with health issues that make them not-so-happy when it's hot.

So, we sorted the laundry yesterday, and I got cracking on it earlier than usual. Had 5 of the 7 loads done by noon, and then we just shut the blinds and tried to stay cool. I'm assuming there was a peak alert from the electric company, but I didn't hear anything on the radio at noon.

Got a few things accomplished over the weekend. It was going to be hot Saturday, so we got up earlier than usual (ha!) and were home by 1:00 instead of our usual 5:00. Took a box of stuff to the household hazardous waste drop-off, did some grocery shopping, and stopped at the farmers' markets in town. (We have 2.) I was hoping for some good peaches, since the "Ripe & Ready" (tm) peaches at the store are neither ripe nor ready. They're usually so green you could drive nails with them, actually. We were too late for the good peaches, at 11:00 (the market opens 8-12), all we saw were small squashy ones, $4 for a pint box with about 6 peaches. I did get a $7 quart of blackberries, but for some reason, they don't taste like they did when I was a kid. Either it's because we were eating wild berries, or I just remember eating them with a lot of sugar sprinkled on. We'll have to check back Wednesday, since they do another market from 4 to 6 on Mondays and Fridays. Good peaches apparently move fast.

Coming later: El Burrito stories. The kid's a character.

Friday, August 1, 2008

My Reading List

Books I've Read: (*)

* Not to include books that I read to El Burrito. Maybe a separate list for those. :)

  1. Henry Reed's Big Show - Keith Robertson (one of my favorite series)
  2. How to Live on Nothing - Joan Ranson Shortney (Good on philosophy, but it's quite outdated now, since it was first published in 1969. Radio tubes and such are not common these days.)
  3. Penny Pinching: How to Lower your everyday expenses without lowering your standard of living - Lee & Barbara Simmons
  4. Healthy Child, Healthy World (lots of information)
  5. Feasting on Asphalt: the River Run - Alton Brown (AB is the best thing on FoodTV these days)
  6. The Tale of Hawthorn House - Susan Wittig Albert (8-25-08 - #4 in the Beatrix Potter series that I've taken a liking to)
  7. The I Hate to Cook Almanack - Peg Bracken
  8. G is for Galaxy
  9. The Other Woman - Victoria Zackheim (8-27-08 - mostly for the Mary Jo Eustace chapter, since it's tangentially related to Due South)
  10. P is for Passport: a World Alphabet (8-27-08)
  11. Mr. Monk in Outer Space (8-27-08)
  12. The Voice on the Radio - Caroline B. Cooney (2nd sequel to Face on the Milk Carton)
  13. The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club - Laurie Notaro (8-29-08 funny if you're in the right mood)
  14. Mr. Monk in Outer space - Interesting. Not as good as an episode, but the steady stream of references to Trek and Battlestar Galactica was intriguing.
  15. The Prodigal Nun - Another Sister Agatha mystery, as good as the others.
  16. The Dirt on Clean - This one was educational and interesting. The emphasis placed on cleanliness by different religions was thought-provoking at times. Also either funny or gross, depending - hermits basing their holiness on how odorous they were, for example.
  17. A window over the kitchen sink - Peg Bracken
  18. Mayhem in Miniature - Margaret Grace
  19. The Diamond of Darkhold - Jeanne DuPrau
  20. Mr. Monk goes to the Firehouse - first of the Monk novel series.
  21. Without a Map - a magazine recommendation. It reads kind of choppy, but the author apparently does essays for magazines, so maybe that's the reason.
  22. Better Basics for the Home - Annie Berthold-Bond
  23. All Shots - Susan Conant. (9-30-08) A dog mystery, and a fast read (as in, I got it at the library today and finished it already). It's part of a series, I may get the others when I have time.
  24. The Complete Peanuts, 1955-1956 - I'm loving these. If I win the lottery, I may buy the whole set. Until then, the library copies will have to do, but unfortunately they don't seem to have all of the set. That may be because they're cataloged as a set rather than separately, so you have to read the fine print to know which volume has what year.
  25. Stolen Innocence - Elissa Wall's memoir about growing up in the FLDS family.
  26. Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants - had a few zinger comments about the actress/character switch.
  27. Sandry's Book - First book in Tamora Pierce's Circle of Magic quartet
  28. Roger Tory Peterson: A Biography - by Douglas Carlson (10-29-08)
  29. The Ship Who Searched (11-03-08)
  30. Sandry's Book
  31. Grantville Gazette IV (11-14-08) - Interesting stuff, a mix of fiction and non-fiction short pieces.
  32. The 4400: Vesuvius Prophecy (11/17/08) - Not bad. It's been a while since I watched the show, but this seemed like a pretty accurate book, no glaring inconsistencies that I noticed. Other than the plot having little to do with Vesuvius literally; it was more of an analogy.
  33. Farewell to Manzanar - Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston - This one was pretty good. I've read a couple of books lately about the Japanese internment in World War II. This one had more coverage of the author's life before internment, and a bit afterwards.
  34. Toons for our Times: Bloom County - Has the best Star Wars reference to date: Binkley lops George Lucas' head off with a light saber, because "Jedi knights don't wait 15 years for a sequel." (After Lucas says that the next six chapters should be done by 1998 or so.) I'm not as bitter as the South Park writers (see the China Probrem episode), but I'm glad I didn't pay a lot for that ticket to Phantom Menace.
  35. The Complete Peanuts, 1957-1958
  36. The Wizard of London - One of the books in Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters series. Very good; I'd read the short story that started this book before.
  37. Mr. Monk goes to Germany - pretty good, especially the Psych reference
  38. National Geographic Photography Field Guide (12-6-08) - interesting information, great photos, but I'm glad I read the library copy and didn't give in to the tempting mail offer I got from NGS.
  39. Palestinian Walks: Forays into a Vanishing Landscape, by Raja Shehadeh (12-10-08) - Interesting, well-written, but definitely sad-inducing. Between the whole Palestine/Israel mess, and the progressing loss of the natural landscape, this was somewhat of a depressing book.
  40. Here's the Story, by Maureen McCormick (12-10-08) - Interesting. Not a lot about the Brady Bunch days, more about her life after, including psychological problems, addiction, and family issues.
  41. Multiple Blessings (12-14-08) - winner for corniest title ever, and I'm glad I didn't pay for this one
  42. God's Harvard - Interesting, and a bit scary
  43. Plenty: One man, one woman, and a raucous year of eating locally - Made me want a garden. Sigh
  44. Book of New Family Traditions - Helpful
  45. I'll Be Home for Christmas : the Library of Congress revists the spirit of Christmas during World War II (12-18-08) - Very moving, especially at this time of year. My Grandpa was in a tank crew during the Battle of the Bulge.
  46. Antiques Maul (a Trash 'n' Treasures mystery) by Barbara Allan (12-18-08) - nice quick fluffy mystery
  47. lots of stuff I forgot to write down
  48. Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies - Very cute.
  49. Dragonheart (new Pern novel) (1-9-09) - Written by Todd instead of Anne, it was pretty good, definitely not a skimpy book, but somehow a bit unfulfilling and/or confusing. I probably need to go read the book that takes place concurrently with it (Dragonsblood, I think).