Ponder Post: Uncontainable

I find being in The Container Store fun and inspiring. My sister and I enjoyed an excursion up to the Walnut Creek store when she visited last June/July. It is in my post for July 3, 2014.

When I saw that one of the founders of the store chain wrote a book about it's birth and development, I wanted to read it. I also figured the book Uncontainable would make a good Christmas present for my son Dan who recently got his MBA and is interested in business type stuff. I was too busy to read the book before the holidays, so I delayed giving it to him at Christmas. But I just finished it this morning and will pass it on to him when I see him next. It is filled with tidbits of information and interesting philosophies couched in the framework of seven foundation principles.

The Container Store is extremely selective in their hiring, accepting only 3% of applicants and paying them 50%-100% over the industry average. The company invests humongous amounts of time in training their employees both in company philosophy and in the products they sell. Even in the deepest recession, The Container Store managed to avoid laying off any employee. The phrase "it's not personal, it's business" does not fly in their culture; business is personal and about relationships. It is unclear whether by chance, coincidence, criteria, or performance, but the fact is, 80% of their executives and managers are female. Their "Man in the Desert" selling approach is quite amusing (Foundation Principle #3). The skit acted out to train new hires made me chuckle.  

I can relate to their "Air of Excitement" when entering one of their stores, (Foundation Principle #7). The feeling conjures up for me the Back to School season when Robin and Dan were pre-college. I used to love going with them into our local stationery store, McWhorter's, the evening after the first day of school. We would buy binders in a variety of colors - one per subject, fresh highlighters and markers of various hues, nifty locker organizing tools, spiral notebooks with inviting covers, etc. It was a rainbow of organization that rivaled Christmas morning.

This book is simply written and a quick enjoyable read. I feel it could have been edited a bit more because I found parts repetitive, but overall, it was worth the few hours of time I invested. Even if you do not read Uncontainable, treat yourself to an outing to your local The Container Store. It is that fresh-start-for-the-new-year experience all over again. For those who love color and being organized, it is a must! 

Ponder Post: Mystery Book from Library

This book is fluff. Pure, predictable, fluff. But, what the heck, it is an enjoyable, feel good way to while away a couple hours in stress-free reading. The mystery in this post is not about the genre of the book, since it is a romance novel and those are rarely mysterious, but rather about re-telling the tale of how I came to read this book.

Our library has a online service feature where I can request a book at their website and if it is on the shelves someone will pull it for me, label it, set it on a special pick-up shelf near the front of the library, and send an e-mail that it is ready. If the book is not available, the library tracks when it does become available and initiates that service then. Couple this perk with the convenience that the library has self serve scanners available for the patrons, the process really is pretty slick. I just need to go in, pull the book from the reserved shelf, scan the barcode on my library card, scan the barcode on the book, and poof, I am outta there in less than five minutes. Since parking at our library is at a premium this works great. Frank can drop me off, circle, and when he gets back, I am at the curb, book in hand. This also prevents me from spending too much money on Amazon for books.

The other day, I got an e-mail notice from the closest branch of my public library that the book Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor, which I'd requested from another branch, had been returned, transferred to my branch, and was ready for pickup. I stared at the title in the e-mail notice and did not have a clue as to what it was about or why I had requested it from another branch and reserved it. Not a clue! So I picked the book up yesterday morning and started to read it yesterday evening. Perhaps reading it would clue me in to why I wanted it.

The hardcover version of this book was first published in 2009.

The setting! It is set in Seattle. So that must be why I reserved it! Vacationing with friends in Seattle this July 2014 must have sparked my interest. Actually I did like the locale of the book. It focused on the islands around Seattle and not on the city proper so it painted a whole other image of that area. I would like to go back sometime and explore an island or two off the coastline of Seattle via the ferry system. The book setting gave off a kind of Martha's-Vineyard, quaint-town, beach-type vibe, very eclectically different from the City Pass attractions of Seattle. The main female character, Maggie, ran a toy store and related well to kids, a scenario that reminded me of Meg Ryan's independently owned book store The Shop Around the Corner from the movie You've Got Mail. The main male character, Mark, roasted coffee beans, not necessarily Starbuck's, but no doubt a cursory nod to that huge chain that began in Seattle. If, however, I did not remember the setting of the book as Seattle, how could that have been the reason I reserved it? 

The author! I went to Amazon and looked up other books by Lisa Kleypas. She is rather prolific as a New York Times best selling author, but I did not know that until just then when I saw her other Amazon listings. How could this have been the reason I requested the book if I'd never heard of the author before?

I read on, liking the book and its simplicity, but being nagged by the reason I requested it. I formulate pictures of the characters in my mind as they are introduced and described. They are new to me, and somewhat stereotypically familiar as romance characters tend to be, but I do not get the sense I have read the book before. Since it is a light romance, Pollyanna type plot, I could not help thinking, "...this reads like a Hallmark Channel movie...". Bingo! The light bulb in my brain goes off. I scurry back to Google and type "lisa kleypass books made into movies" and hit return.

Isn't Google wonderful?
A sleepless night can be avoided just with a few clicks on the computer keyboard.

Then I jump over to IMDb and type in the movie title Christmas with Holly and learn that it is a 2012 TV movie. Just from the first two sentences of the plot summary I confirm that this is based on the book I am reading.

This movie does indeed have the same plot as the book Christmas Eve in Friday Harbor.
It was part of the Hallmark Channel's lineup of Christmas movies this year.

A few keystrokes over to Amazon and I learned that the Hallmark Hall of Fame made the movie into a DVD in 2013 and it is for sale.

The character casting in the movie
does not match my perceptions from the book.

And then the memories flood back - uh, correction - the memories trickle back. Over the holidays Frank and I recorded movies from the Hallmark Channel's promotional "twelve movies for the twelve days of Christmas." Some were real turkeys that we deleted 15 minutes or less into watching. This particular one sparked my interest but somehow we always missed the window to record and watch it. In the promotion for it, I must have learned that it was based on the book Christmas Eve in Friday Harbor – or maybe I looked it up. So, having missed the movie, I must have put the book on my library want list. Being Christmas time, it took a while for it to become available. Notice a lot of this is conjecture and not pure memory, but then conjecture is the foundation for a good mystery. This explanation allows me to finish the book in peace.

Netflix does not have the movie so I guess I will just have to wait until next year to see it on TV.  My experience has been that the movie is rarely as good as the book anyway. Based on the DVD cover I already know the casting is weird. While reading the book I pictured the main male character, Mark, as Pierce Brosnan, a tall, dark-haired, well kempt type. In the movie they cast some dude with nearly shoulder length parted in the middle no less. And, in the book Maggie, is repeatedly described as having very curly red hair, which is a continual distraction for Mark. In the movie she is a blond! I do not intend to buy the DVD so I will just watch the Hallmark channel next Christmas... if I remember.

In the interest of clutter reduction,
 I took a picture of this plaque from a catalog instead of buying it.

Books about Surfing and Dancing

One thing about traveling, I get some reading done. It needs to be light reading, though, nothing too heavy. Both of these books fit the bill.

I really liked The Red Bikini. It is the first published novel of a friend in Carrie's book club so I wanted to buy and read it in support of her. Yes, it is a romance novel but it was sensuous without being raunchy. Several of the locations were in SoCal near where Dan and Carrie live so that made it fun, too. The heroine is a divorced women with a young daughter and an ex-husband who is, well, a turd. The woman shows spunk and independence in leaving an unacceptable situation and in dealing in a dignified manner with the a**hole of an ex-husband and uncaring father. Sometimes in romance novels, the women melts at the sight of a guy who treats her chauvinistically but this surely was not the case here. The male love interest in this book is a professional surfer, which puts a nice twist on things. The juxtaposition of an ex-husband who is a doctor with the classy pro-surfer, who is far from the stereotypical beach bum, is insightful.  I also liked that the daughter is woven into the story and that situations take into account the practical realities and commitments of a relationship when there is a child to consider. I would recommend this as a great read.

I will definitiely read the next book Lauren Christopher publishes.

The other book I read was Taking the Lead by Derek Hough of Dancing with the Stars TV show fame. I generally have very little interest in the lives of the stars and almost never read their biographies or memoirs but I like this television show and Derek in particular seems to bring out the best in his dance partners. I was curious about his Morman upbringing and if that had an impact on his values that helped him relate to his co-dancers, partners, and judges. I also enjoy watching the banter on the television show between him and his sister Julia and his best friend and co-dancer Mark Ballas. Derek spent a good portion of his teen years living with the Ballas family in London in order to train for dancing and I was curious to get some insight into families that send their children off to train for a sport as many Olympians hopefuls do. His going off to London was a combination of an intense passion for dance and the upset of a divorce between his parents. Yes, Mormans do divorce I naively was surprised to learn. The slant on the book, "being a leader" seemed contrived to me and did not add anything to the read. He seemed humble and self-deprecating at times while simultaneously making the pretentious claim of being a leader. It was an odd inconsistency that I could not quite resolve. There was one concept, though, that stuck in my mind. It was about looking forward and not berating yourself for the past. Consider a car. The windshield is big relative to the size of the rearview mirror. We are supposed to look forward more than back and that idea appealed to me. This book can be read in a few hours and was well suited for the captive audience associated with an airplane flight. I am glad I read it and, if you are a fan of the TV show Dancing with the Stars, it is worth the read - not stellar - but not bad, either.

Not quite an insightful as I would have hoped
but did give me some background
on Derek Hough of Dancing with the Stars fame.

Traveling Home after OKC Christmas

We left Jeremy and Robin's house Monday, December 29th at the butt crack of dawn (4:00am OK time, 1:00am CA time) for a 6:20am flight out of the Will Rogers Airport in Oklahoma City. Frank and Jeremy had diligently cleaned off the roof and windshields of the car and the truck from the snowfall a few days earlier. What they both forgot was the bed of the truck where our suitcases needed to go. We could not squeeze our luggage and all of us into the KIA although Jeremy wrenched his back in a valiant attempt to do so. Out came the broom and shovel as he and Frank hurriedly labored under the street lamps to clear out about five inches of snow drifted in the corners of the bed of the pickup. Frank, Alex, and I got to the airport in plenty of time and by later in the day Jeremy's back was better. Our flight home went through Denver and we touched down in plenty of time to make our connection through to Oakland. But when we looked out Frank's plane window as we landed, we saw the accumulation of snow at its base and realized that it was snowing in Denver!

The snow piled up about a quarter of the way up the window while we waited to deplane.
The darkened sky is more due to the weather rather than the hour.

Our arrival gate was just a few slots down from our departure gate, which was at the end of a wing of the terminal. From the windows of the waiting area at our gate, we had a great view in three directions of the runways and service vehicles. It was surreal and looked like the frozen tundra or the blizzardly expanses of a polar expedition!

The tracks of the service vehicles seemed to fill up shortly after they were made.

In the far distance a row of five or six bright yellow snowplows, staggered a bit side by side, patrolled the runways,
racing with the falling snow to keep the paths as clear as possible for the planes.

After boarding the plane we taxied a long distance to a de-icing station where ICEMAN 1 sprayed us with a sort of foam to clean and safeguard the airfoils of our wings against ice build-up. Frank had the window seat and I was not in line of sight of the de-icing operation. In an odd play of the optical science, however, from my aisle seat I could watch the process on the screen of his cell phone as he snapped a few photos. Amidst that cloud of foam at the end of the boom is a guy holding and directing a hose along the wings and fuselage. His was not a job I would desire.

The Iceman Cometh!

As ICEMAN 1 drove off, we could see the expanses of the snowy airport through the streams of de-icing fluid as they dribbled down across the window panes. It was the presence of the snow clouds and not the earliness of the hour that lent the darkened feel to the sky and landscape.

The Iceman Go-eth!

Ready for takeoff. This is as good as it's gonna get.

Even with the extra de-icing operation we took off only about 20 minutes behind schedule. The flight was not turbulent and we landed in Oakland on time. Oh, how nice to exit the terminal in California, breathe in the fresh, not artificially heated air, and relish the sunny walk in our shirtsleeves out to our car in the parking lot. It was late-morning, bright with clear skies. We loaded the car with our luggage and headed off to drop Alex at St. Denis Home.

As we made our gentle left turn to pull into the driveway of St. Denis, we heard the rear door click as Alex prepared to jump out! We know he enjoyed traveling with us, but it was neat to see he enjoyed being home! Frank and I are so grateful and relieved that we have found a placement for Alex where he is truly happy and adjusted. He had some presents from the other clients and staff waiting for him under St. Denis' Christmas tree. Alex plunked himself comfortably on the couch and opened them eagerly.

It is as much fun to crumple the paper as it is to open the present.
Alex thinks that just maybe, if he is quick enough, he can sneak by staff and flush the paper down the toilet.
Not this time, Alex!

Puzzles! Oh, wow!

After seeing Alex settled in, Frank and I drove on to Livermore, making a slight detour to pick up some fast-food. Within thirty minutes we'd plopped ourselves at our kitchen table, munching away, glad to to be home. Laundry and naps followed soon after! Good to travel and visit family. Good to be home!

Christmas in OKC

Frank, Alex, and I flew to Oklahoma City on Monday, December 22nd to spend Christmas with Jeremy, Robin, and Autumn. Dan, Carrie, and Vivian were celebrating Christmas in Ohio with her family. It was the first time in 35 years that Frank and I were somewhere other than Livermore for Christmas! This year there were nine Christmas stockings for family members. We trekked all nine stockings from California to Oklahoma and rehung them there to symbolize that we would all be together in spirit on Christmas day.

Nine stockings, all in a row, hung with care in Livermore.

Nine stockings, all in a row, hung with care in Oklahoma City. 

It was also the first time our Christmas tree was artificial –  a safety concession since we would be out of town. But we still got to enjoy the real tree in Jeremy and Robin's living room.

Our Christmas tree in Livermore.

Jeremy, Robin, and Autumn's Christmas tree in Oklahoma City.

Alex showed an interest in Autumn and Autumn viewed Alex as yet another adult to play with who had similar interests as she. They shared riding the swing set, putting coins in banks, watching videos, and tossing a large size ball back and forth.

The weather before Christmas was mild and perfect for some outside swing time.

Alex and Autumn are taking turns with Alex's coin bank.

Alex's Spiderman bank was a Christmas gift. He and Autumn take turns putting money in it.

But, My Little Pony, all encompassing for Autumn, held little interest for Alex. I think it just is not a guy thing!

Autumn is hugging Pinkie Pie.  Rainbow Dash is off to the right.
Grandma has lots to learn to name all the My Little Ponies.

Frank stayed home with Alex Christmas Eve while I joined Robin, Jeremy, and Autumn at services in Cross Timbers Church. Afterward, I read many, many, many books to Autumn upstairs in her bedroom while the Christmas tree in the living room below was populated with presents from friends, family, and Santa. We opened presents Christmas morning. A Spiderman bank and floor size puzzle were Alex's favorite gifts and Autumn loved anything related to My Little Pony or Frozen. Both Autumn and Alex liked Alex's Sort and Snap, a toy by Melissa and Doug where snap caps are pushed into holes over a picture overlaid on a perforated play board, matching colors.

Alex liked poking the brightly colored caps into the holes.

Autumn was actually quite good at matching colors.

In the early evening we ate a relaxed, low key, unconventional Christmas dinner of Sloppy Joe. The day after Christmas, Frank, Alex, and Jeremy went bowling and the day after that ... it snowed! It was not just a slight dusting of frost on the pumpkins, but rather a good 3" or so of accumulation.

The frost is on the pumpkin.

Brrr... Kinda cold!

About 3" of snow accumulated on the cars out front...

... and on the deck furniture out back.

The wind blew some of the snowflakes in to gather on the fully sheltered porch swing. But with a few sweeps of a brush and a spread-out towel, we could sit on the swing and watch the winter wonderland swirling around us. 

It is hard to tell if this is a buildup of hoar frost or a light dusting of snowflakes. Either way, I thought it was pretty.

Alex and I are chilling - literally- on the porch swing watching the flurrying snow about us.

Before Autumn was allowed outside, her dad put on her fur-lined shoes. I just love the contrast in foot size. Her jacket emulated the famous My Little Pony character Rainbow Dash.

One foot, two foot...  big foot, little foot.
Here are Jeremy and Autumn's feet compared side by side.

"I wanna go out!"

Autumn and Grandma sittin' in a swing ...
 It's S-N-O-W-I-N-G !

The day after the snowfall, we ventured out on the roads to run some errands and do some shopping at non-glamourous places like Crest Grocery and Lowe's Home Improvement stores. "Uncle" Alex enjoyed fastening the parachute clips on all the shopping carts and rolling around his niece. It was endearing to see him care for her and share with her in his own way. Autumn's posture indicates that we may have pushed the window a bit too much on nap time, however.

"Christmas can be so exhausting!"

Remember "Little Cindy-Lou Who, who was not more than two", the tiny toddler character in the book How the Grinch Stole Christmas? During our visit, especially snuggled in her Christmasy nightgown, Autumn so reminded me of her.  It was fun to watch Autumn grin from ear to ear when Frank lifted her way, way, high up and bonked her head against the ceiling!

"Again, Grandpa. Again!"

We played the game Set Cubed and the game Flash Point. Set Cubed is a competitive game with dice and a playing board much like Scrabble. The winners enjoyed playing it. Flash Point is cooperative game pitting our team of fire fighters against the board game. We won so everybody enjoyed playing Flash Point.

It's not whether you win or lose but how you play the game?
Not true for Set Cubed but true for Flash Point!

To be complete we took some posed photos of us all decked out in our comfy and casual Christmas finery in appropriately seasonal colors. But there were many more images imprinted in my brain, candid shots not captured by a camera lens, that made this a Christmas to remember!

Jeremy, Robin, Autumn, Alex, and Frank display some Christmas cheer.