in praise of Cracker Barrel

There are two places in this world that I can easily get a delicious eggless breakfast.

One of them is a national chain, and that chain is Cracker Barrel.

This weekend, while we were traveling, openupenterin made me ecstatically happy by giving me a present. It was a map of the continental US showing every single Cracker Barrel in the country. I said, "Oh, baby." She is so sexy. The map is so sexy. I will never travel without it again.

singalong

I'm really getting into this singing on car rides thing.

I'm not talking about singing along with your CDs, or the radio. I'm talking about singing unaccompanied.

I'm surprised I didn't realize a while ago how awesome this is. It's making me want to get involved with a singing group of some kind.

Anyway, here are some of my favorite tunes for right now:

River - Bill Staines
Cowboy's Hard Times - Bill Staines
Closer to Fine - Indigo Girls
You've Got a Friend - James Taylor
Sweet Baby James - James Taylor
Old Time Religion - various
Rooty Toot Toot for the Moon - Greg Bear
Circles - Pete Seeger
American Pie - Don McLean

They're good for any range, and have choruses that you can teach to the other people in the car even if they don't know the song in general.
Plus, they still sound good without any instruments and they don't send the driver of the car into a trance. (Pagan chants, I have learned, are not the best for car trips.) What are your favorites?

Daughters of Darkness, Seven Seasons of Buffy and The China Garden

Daughters of Darkness by Laurie J. Marks was a teen occult romance, which I liked. It wasn't amazing, but it was good. It was funny in places, and the characters were believable. Three stars.

Seven Seasons of Buffy edited by Glenn Yeffeth, was an anthology of essays about Buffy, written by science fiction writers. I liked three a lot. In one, the role of the outsiders was discussed at length. In another, Buffy's trials and travails were compared to magical initiations. In the third, the idea of a predator/prey relationship between Buffy and the vampires was explored. Oh, and a fourth talked about the ideas of immature and mature relationships and how love is created. It was a good book, and I would recommend it for any Buffy fans. Three and a half stars.

The China Garden by Liz Berry was amazing. It was a YA fantasy centered around family secrets and being caretakers of the land. It was very witchy and very good. The only thing I didn't like about it was the love interest, who I thought was kind of a jerk. (It could just be that we got off on the wrong foot, though.) Four stars.

Currently reading Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman (one of my favorite non-genre fiction writers). When Survivors Give Birth is next up, for my job.

meme from fortryll

Seven things meme...

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