Gives a whole new meaning to "toiletries".

I first noticed this last week as we drove back to town from cutting a Christmas tree ("Hey, I think we just passed a Christmas tree made out of toilets!"), but alas, didn't have my camera. Yesterday we drove out again to photograph it. Residents of Dane County (Wisconsin) -- you can find it on highway 14 between Middleton and Cross Plains.

Academy Awards Regrets

I would have liked to have seen Philippe Petit balance the statue on his chin when Man On Wire won "best documentary." Cool film; highly recommended.

Did I Dream This?

I think I coined a new term in my sleep last night: a nog. A news blog. Written by someone who uses their noggin of course.

Hey, it's almost Thanksgiving! Sarah Palin may be out pardoning one lucky turkey, but I have to head to the store and buy me some eggnog.( And Clementine tangerines too.)

Catch A Wave!

Got this email from my brother, who is grateful to have escaped after 10 years living in Salt Lake City:

Looking for ways to creep out your child's classmates and make the teachers wonder just what you're all about? Then dress your children like the polygamists!

And then check out the website here. Better hurry, so that those back-to-school clothes arrive in time!

(This memory just came back to me: About 10 years ago we were in SLC visiting my afore-mentioned brother. We were in a downtown mall, cutting through the Deseret Bookstore -- like Borders, only Mormon -- when I looked over and saw a family dressed in quaint old-fashioned clothes. I was about to ask my brother's girlfriend, "Are they having Laura Ingalls Wilder Days here?" when she says in a stage whisper out of the corner of her mouth, "Polygamist Alert!")

(And, by the way, Enriched Geranium really does have LDS action figures.)

Book Review: Monsieur Pamplemousse on the Spot

This is one of those books that I stumbled across enroute to looking something else up. Michael Bond is the author of the children's books about Paddington the bear, which I thoroughly enjoyed as a child and as a parent reading them to my own kids. I thought I would give his books for adult readers a try.

Monsieur Pamplemousse is an undercover food critic for The Guide, a prestigious French culinary guidebook. He is also an amateur detective; mysteries seem to find him. He fancies himself to be something of a modern Sherlock Holmes. In this adventure (one of many; the series spans decades) Pamplemousse and his trusty sidekick, a large blood hound appropriately named Pommes Frites, are taking a well-earned vacation at a renowned resort called Les Cinq Parfaits. Alas, the head dessert chef has disappeared, and M. Pamplemousse is on the case!

I have to say, the story was a little difficult to follow, but perhaps that is because I didn't begin at the beginning of the series. I also found some of the references to be rather dated, but the book was published in 1986 (which seems like only yesterday ...) On the whole, it was fun to read. I quite enjoyed all of the hoity-toity food and wine references. Mr. Bond has his tongue firmly planted in his cheek as he writes these books. I have one of the more recent ones checked out from the library, and I will happily give it a try to see how the series has developed.

(Cross-posted at the Spring Reading Challenge)