Wordless Wednesday: sky

Autumn sky at sunset
2009

Old Eyes

Yep! That is what I am suffering from. I am really enjoying Foreign Affairs by Alison Lurie. But the reading is slow going because the print is so darn small!! I have finally resorted to wearing my reading glasses which I have ignored since buying them several years ago. I am even needing them at work for when I am on on the computer--and because I can't see faces of people checking in right in front of me at the counter when I have them on, I have also resorted to wearing them on a chain around my neck so I can put them on and take them off quickly.

I can't believe I have sunk so low. When did this happen to me? Anybody else share my misery?

The Sunday Salon-

Seriously? Another week has flown by already? I need to get crackin' on those last few books I have for the rest of my challenges. Before we know it, the time to sort through the vast amount of new challenges being offered for 2010 will be upon us!
But, enough introspection and on to the various little bookish snippets I feel the need to share.



Reading news:
I finished Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones last week and enjoyed it. You can read my review in my previous post. Suffice it to say that I highly recommend this little gem.

I am now reading Foreign Affairs by Alison Lurie. It won the Pulitzer in 1985, and even though I am less than 100 pages into it, I can tell that I will probably really enjoy this one.

Challenge News:
I finished another challenge. I think that makes two challenges completed in the last two weeks. This week it was the Dewey's Books Challenge.


You can click on the link above to be taken to my challenge page or you can click on the Dewey's Books label at the bottom of my page to be taken to all the reviews I wrote for the books I completed for this challenge. I wish I could access her blog and read her reviews again, now that I have read the books for myself--but alas, I haven't been able to get to her blog for quite some time now. It was an honor to participate in this challenge and to honor the memory of our bookish friend.

Other News:
In case you haven't heard... the next Dewey's 24 hour Read-a- Thon has been scheduled. The date is October 24th-25th. So, clear those calendars ASAP!
Can you tell I am excited???

Okay folks. I am off to bed, to what else? Read!

Book Review

Book: Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
Finished: September 2009
Pages: 256
Challenges:
** Read & Review ** Summer Reading Challenge ** Dewey's Books**

First sentence: "Everyone called him Pop Eye."

This book was stunning. I would say I loved it, except love doesn't seem the kind of word that should be used for this book. Mister Pip is one of those books which stay with you for a long while after completion. I finished it early last week and I am still thinking about it. The prose is not hard to read--Jones has a very sparse yet poetic style at times. Some of the events towards the end of the book were difficult to read--and some reviews I have read felt that those events did not fit the story. I totally disagree. I think those event are very believable--especially within the context of the setting of this book. It is set on a small island, somewhere between Papua New Guinea and Australia. The island has been taken advantage of and then betrayed by white men and now is caught in the middle of a civil war that rages around them and then within their own little village.


From The Washington Post
On an island called Bougainville in the early 1990s, civil war rages. Rebels have taken up arms, and soldiers helicopter in from nearby Port Moresby to reestablish New Guinea's sovereignty over the island. All the whites have fled except one: Mr. Watts, a New Zealander married to a local woman. He offers to replace the departed teacher and reopen the village school; on the second day of class, he begins to read Great Expectations aloud.

Suddenly, the village's children have a refuge from the incomprehensible conflict engulfing their world. "We could escape to another place," declares Matilda, the 13-year-old narrator. "It didn't matter that it was Victorian England. We found we could easily get there."

New Zealand writer Lloyd Jones's spare, haunting fable explores the power and limitations of art as Matilda chronicles 21 increasingly desperate months. The villagers are trapped between the rebels and the soldiers just as inexorably as Matilda is caught between Mr. Watts and her fiercely religious mother. Outraged by her daughter's immersion in Great Expectations, a novel that she finds both immoral and dangerously irrelevant to their imperiled existence, Matilda's mother insists, "Stories have a job to do. . . . They have to teach you something."

Mr. Pip/Mr. Watts (one and the same person) gave the children of the village permission to use their imaginations--something oh-so important during those harrowing war months.

From page 256:

...my Mr. Dickens had taught every one of us kids that our voice was special, and we should remember this whenever we used it, and remember that whatever else happened to us in our lives our voice could never be taken away from us."

Candid Camera

What do you do when you are bored at your sister's house, and your mom hands you the camera:

(Sometimes I just never know what I will find when I go to upload pictures off my camera!)

Saturday musings...

What a gorgeous week we have had here in the great old Northwest! I was just noticing today while out driving how the sunlight looks so different in the Fall. There is just the hint of crispness in the air also.

I am afraid my reading time might be scarce the next several weeks-the wild ride of my life just seems to continue...

....Just a few of the things on my plate:
Son leaves for China next Sunday--plan and execute good-bye party/joint birthday party celebration for him and his little brother, Sam, whose real birthday is the day Drew leaves!

The next weekend after that, helping my best friend execute the wedding of her son. My other friend and I are catering the groom's dinner for her and various other things she needs help with. We will be at the groom's dinner, wedding, formal dinner reception after the wedding and the gift opening brunch the day after the wedding. (My two younger boys, Sam and Austen are candle lighters in the wedding . Austen will leave the reception early to attend his homecoming formal dance!)

The next weekend, a little break, and then the next one will be the read-a-thon! I am so pumped for that event again. I am hoping I really will be able to participate--another little thing has come up that might hinder my involvement.....that next week my daughter and her husband are moving to a new apartment. No problem, except that will be 15 days before her due date!! They need to move as their current apartment is on a major flood plain and due to some structural problems on a local dam in the area they are predicting the whole valley below us is facing a 1 in 3 chance of major flooding--4 to 10 feet in some areas if the worse case scenario plays out. Sooooo.....I will definitely be helping her with her packing, but hope to do some of it in the evenings after work.

I plan to write my Sunday Salon post later tonight and be able to give some thought and chit chat time to my reading!

Till then...

Wordless Wednesday

Hanging On

(photo taken October 2008)

the Letter G

Welcome to A-Z Wednesday!!

Hosted by Vicki from Reading At The Beach

To join, here's all you have to do:

Go to your stack of books and find one whose title starts with the letter of the week.

Post:1~ a photo of the book

2~ title and synopsis

3~ link(amazon, barnes and noble etc.)

THIS WEEKS LETTER IS: G

My "G" book is: The Glass Harmonica by Louise Marley

Synopsis from Barnes & Noble:

Eilish Eam is an orphan and street musician, living in 1761, London. She survives on pennies and applause, and nothing more. Until the night Benjamin Franklin stops to listen, awe-struck by her gift-and with plans for her future...Erin Rushton is a classical musician living in 2018, Seattle. She stands in the orchestra, consumed by the music-and haunted by visions of a young girl from a different time, who needs her help...

Changing of the seasons

Happy first day of Fall

(picture taken October 2008)

The Sunday Salon: Chit Chat

It is probably Monday where everyone who reads me lives, but for me, there still remains 25 minutes. So, I am squeezing in a Sunday Salon Post.

** Book Bloggers Appreciation Week is over, and as usual, I joined in the part late. But I did manage to participate a little bit and even hosted a giveaway, this lovely bookmark pictured here! I am happy to announce that the winner of the bookmark is Stacy from Stacy's Books. I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who entered to win--I wish I had enough bookmarks to give each of you one!
It was a great week and a big round of applause goes to everyone who helped make BBAW happen.
Personally, now I am really starting to get ramped up for the Read-a-thon which is being held the end of October.


** I finished a book last week--If You Lived Here, and I am almost done with another. I sat and wrote 4 book reviews last night--and it felt good to get them done. I hate it when they pile up like that.


** I finished a challenge this week also! It was the Read Your Name challenge. I have now completed 11 of my 24 challenges. In challenge news, I also ditched one. I realized that I am not going to get it done, the books I had chosen to read for it just don't look appealing right now, plus I re-read the rules and only 3 of the books could be used in crossover challenges and I had way more than that. So, I say good-bye to the 9 for 2009 challenge.
OH, and I picked the books I want/need to read for the Fall Into Reading challenge, being hosted by Katrina. I think the sign ups begin tomorrow or Tuesday--I guess I better check into that! :

Well--that is my reading news for now. On to a new week!

Anniversary Doings

Thursday was my 27th wedding anniversary!
We didn't celebrate then, because who wants to go out to a fancy dinner on a work night?
So.
We celebrated today.
With our boys.
We went to Salty's on Redondo Beach, which happens to be our absolute favorite restaurant. But it is so pricey that we only go once or twice a year. We went to their brunch today and ate salmon and crab and shrimp and crepes and chocolate fondue and creme broulee and......you get the picture!

We had a great time and the sun came out so we were able to get some fun pictures too!

Challenge Completed!

(Edited 9/20/09)

Ijust finished the Read Your Name Challenge! Those challenges are slowly being checked off--and can I tell you how much I love to check things off a list?!
I LOVE it!
You can read my reviews of these books by clicking on the label, Read Your Name, found way at the bottom of my page.
My favorite: If You Lived Here by Dana Sachs
My least favorite: The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond



Tis the season....to sign up...
...otherwise known as what happens when you have been housebound due to snow and ice for 2.5 days!


Read Your Name Challenge, 2009 is being hosted by Victoria. It runs from January 1st through December 31st, 2009. Click on the link to sign up!

The rules:
1. Using your first name, or blogger name, or your pets name, or even your favorite literary character's name; whichever you like, choose books with first title letters that spell out your name. (Audio books and eBooks are also okay.) Such as my name: Victoria. the first book's title would start with the letter V, then the next book title begins with I.

2. If you have your own blog, come back here every month and leave a comment containing the link to your challenge page containing the books you've read or each review you've written for books that count for this challenge. (Crossovers with other challenges are okay.) I will make a new post for this on the first of every month.

I am using my full name: Kimberly

K: Keeper and Kid-finished
I: If You Lived Here by Dana Sachs-finished
M: The Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux--Or--Misery by Stephen King-finished
B: Big Fish by Daniel Wallace-- finished
E: Elizabeth and Her German Garden-finished
R: The Road by Cormac McCarthy-finished
L: Love Walked In by: Marisa de los Santos--finished
Y: The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond-finished

Book Review

Book: If You Lived Here: a novel by Dan Sachs
Finished: September 2009
Pages: 321
Challenges:
** Summer Reading Challenge ** Read & Review ** Read Your Name ** A-Z Challenge ** TBR 2009 **

First Sentence: "I'd guess that Marinos have been burying Rivenbarks for seventy years."

Barnes & Noble Synopsis

Forty-two-year-old Shelley Marino's desperate yearning for a child has led her to one of the only doors still open to her: foreign adoption. It is a decision that strains and ultimately shatters her relationship with her husband, Martin—the veteran of an Asian war who cannot reconcile what Shelley wants with what he knows about the world. But it unites her with Mai, who emigrated from Vietnam decades ago and has now acquired the accoutrement's of the American dream in an effort to dull the memory of the tragedy that drove her from her homeland. As a powerful friendship is forged, two women embark on a life-altering journey to the world Mai left behind—to confront the stark realities of a painful past and embrace the promise of the future.

This was a beautifully written book.
I connected with the characters immediately and could truly feel the heartbreak that Shelley felt at not having a child.
And Mai--what deep heartbreak her story invokes--of a time and country steeped in the aftermath of war.
Martin--poor Martin. Locked within a world where he just cannot share the memories he has of his time in Vietnam during the war. Memories which make him who he is--and because of the lack of ability to open up, drives his wife to make decisions without him.

Sach's depiction of modern Vietnam, in contrast to the war torn Vietnam were lyrical and allowed me to actually paint a picture in my mind of what she was describing as I was reading. I was not able to put this book down at times.
But this story is not all about heartbreak. No, it ultimately a book of healing and hope

Passage (page 143) :
We fly in from the east, and Vietnam reaches out to us. I have never seen my country from the air before. At least, not from so far above. Once, when I was twelve or thirteen, our teachers led the class on a hike up Ba Vi Mountain. We were Hanoi children living in the countryside to avoid the bombs falling on the city. Whenever our parents had a chance, they would bicycle out to the village to visit. Most of the time, though, we were on our own, supervised by anxious teachers who couldn't keep track of so many charges......at the top of the mountain, we ate a picnic of boiled manioc, dried fish, and jackfruit picked from a tree. From where we stood, our teachers pointed out the bomb craters that ripped a zigzag line across the earth. "See, the American government is cruel", Teacher Lam shouted. "Dropping bombs on children and farmers. But they won't ever win this war!" We children chanted and cheered. From the top of Ba Vi, we could just make out the scattered clusters of simple homes, the swooping roofs of pagodas, neatly planted sugarcane fields, and farmers with their water buffaloes plodding through the rice paddies. It seemed so cruel that a pilot flying overhead would drop a bomb on all of that.

Book Review

Book: Julie & Julia: my year of cooking dangerously by Julie Powell
Finished: August 2009
Pages: 307
Challenges:
** Read & Review ** A-Z Challenge ** Summer Reading Challenge **

First Sentence: "At seven o'clock on a dreary evening in the Left Bank, Julia began roasting pigeons for the second time in her life."

Hmmm...what to say? This book was making the rounds all summer around the blog world and I must admit that I didn't read many of the reviews because I didn't want it spoiled before I had a chance to read it. My impression though, was that the majority of readers really enjoyed this book.

Well, I did also, at times.
But I have to say, there were plenty of times I did not enjoy this one.
First off, I was under the impression that there would be more background on Julia Child--and was disappointed to find only an occasional anecdote thrown in every so many chapters, but not enough to really give much insight to her life, or even to line it up with modern day Julie's.

Secondly, I felt the book had a very distinct negative undertone to it. The author has quite a potty mouth, and while some bad language doesn't usually bother me too much, this just seemed gratuitous and abrasive and oh-so noticeable.

Thirdly, while I know that not everyone shares my political ideology, I don't appreciate everyone who shares mine to be lumped into one large group and raked over the coals as one big group of non-caring, bumbling idiots! She quite frequently took nasty swipes at Republicans and frankly, it added nothing to the storyline. As a mainly Republican person, I was sorry that I had spent money on her book when I read those passages. They were truly unnecessary.

Now, all that to say, the movie was 100% better! It was entertaining, more lighthearted, and focused much more on Julia Child than the book did. Amy Adams gave the character of Julie a bit of whimsy and wholesomeness and humanity that the book did not give. And Meryl Streep? I love her! I found myself totally forgetting it was her up on that screen, such a great rendition of Julia Child she gave.

Book Review

Book: the Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes: Diane Chamberlain
Finished: August 2009
Pages: 522

I read this book purely on a whim while on vacation. It doesn't fit with any of my challenges or any other reading agenda I may have planned.
It truly was a great vacation read--hooked me from page one and the writing style was perfect for being able to pick up and set down often while watching the kids in the water or talking to my husband as we relaxed in the shade. But there were times I was loathe to put it down as I could not wait to find out what was going to happen to CeeCee next!

Barnes & Noble Synopsis:

An unsolved murder.

A missing child.

A lifetime of deception.

In 1977, pregnant Genevieve Russell disappeared. Twenty years later, her remains are discovered and Timothy Gleason is charged with murder. But there is no sign of the unborn child.

CeeCee Wilkes knows how Genevieve Russell died, because she was there.

I have not read anything else by Chamberlain, but hope to pick up some of her other novels soon. Like I said, her writing is straightforward and engaging!

Book Review

Book: The Elegance of the Hedgehog: Muriel Barbery
Finished: August 2009
Pages:325
Challenges:
**Summer Reading Challenge ** Dewey's Books Challenge ** Read & Review ** Well Rounded ** A-Z Challenge **

First Sentence: "Marx has completely changed the way I view the world, " declared the Pallieres boy this morning, although ordinarily he says nary a word to me.

My thoughts:
This is definitely not a quick read. I am not even sure I would have chosen to read it, except for the fact that it was the "currently reading" book in the sidebar on Deweys blog when she passed away. I chose to read it for the Dewey's Books Challenge, and at times I doubted my choice. There is very little plot, and a ton of philosophy, something I am not all that keen on! At times it was like reading little essays--interwoven with the storyline.
But, by the end I had grown to like and even care about the characters and finally understood who they were and why they were that way based on their environment.

The Barnes & Noble Review

Hedgehogs aren't native to America, but you don't have to be French to sniff out at least some of the contradictions in the title of Muriel Barbery's European bestseller. Her novel both depicts and hopes to appeal to the connoisseur of humanity who can appreciate exquisite qualities unacknowledged by others. One of her two Parisian diarist heroines is a concierge, the other a suicidal adolescent. They sound conventional, but that's precisely the point: they both work very hard to achieve stereo typicality. As the frumpy concierge Renée says, "I correspond so very well to what social prejudice has collectively construed to be a typical French concierge that I am one of the multiple cogs that make the great universal illusion turn, the illusion according to which life has a meaning that can be easily deciphered." From her position as a teenager, Paloma casts a jaundiced eye: "In our world...you must constantly rebuild your identity as an adult,...it is wobbly and ephemeral, so fragile, cloaking despair and, when you're alone in front of the mirror, it tells you the lies you need to believe."

Just from the quote at the end of that review you get a good taste for the writing style. I did manage to find the humor that was promised in the reviews, but also the sadness. The first half of the book was more tedious than the last, and I must say that if you try reading it, make sure to read to the end.

Quote: (after visiting grandmother in the retirement home)
"...my sister said, "Okay, it looks like Mamie is nicely settled in. But as for everything else...we have to hurry and forget about it, and quickly...."

"On the contrary, we absolutely mustn't forget it. We mustn't forget it. We mustn't forget old people with their rotten bodies, old people who are so close to death, something that young people don't want to think about (so it is to retirement homes that they entrust the care of accompanying their parents to the threshold, with no fuss or bother). And where's the joy in these final hours that they ought to be making the most of? They're spent in boredom and bitterness, endlessly revisiting memories. We mustn't forget that our bodies decline, friends die, everyone forgets about us, and the end is solitude. Nor must we forget that these old people were young once, that a lifespan is pathetically short, that one day you're twenty and the next day you're eighty.
Colombe thinks you can "hurry up and forget" because it all seems so very far away to her , their prospect of old age, as if it were never going to happen to her. But just be observing the adults around me I understood very early on that life goes by in no time at all, yet they're always in such a hurry, so stressed out by deadlines, so eager for not that they needn't think about tomorrow...but if you dread tomorrow, it's because you don't know how to build the present, and when you don't know how to build the present, you tell yourself you can deal with tomorrow, and it's a lost cause anyway because tomorrow always ends up becoming today, don't you see? "

Fall Fun

Now that BBAW is almost over, my mind is turning to the next couple of bookish events. The first is this:


Fall Into Reading 2009, hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days. Doesn't she have the cutest button for this challenge?

I have taken inventory of the books I need to read in order to finish the challenges I want to complete. If I read all the books on the list below, I will make my goal for the year. If not, oh well! I will have had a great year anyway. :)

1. Emma: Jane Austen-finished
2. The Governess; or, the Little Female Academy: Sarah Fielding -finished
3. The Chili Queen: Sandra Dallas-finished
4. Mr. Pip: Lloyd Jones-finished
5. Jane Emily: Patricia Clapp-finished
6. Foreign Affairs: Alison Lurie-finished.
7. The Zookeeper's Wife: Diane Ackerman-finished
8. Last Night at the Lobster: Stewart O'Nan- finished
9. The Lucky Ones- finished
10. Night of Many Dreams
11. The X-mas Season--finished

BBAW: Thoughts About My Blog

BBAW Question of the day:

Tell us and this is really important, in 50 words or less what you love best about your blog! And then in 50 words or less where you want your blog to be by the next BBAW! Ready? GO!



What I love:
I love changing my look to match the seasons or my mood--especially now that it is Fall.
I love managing my challenges and keeping my reading list current on here.
I love the connections to some very special people who, without my blog, I would never have met.

Where to go by next year:
I would love to figure out a way to simplify my sidebar, yet still be able to manage all the information I like collecting---I also hope to curb my enthusiasm for challenges and narrow down how many I join. Maybe I will also even host my first one???! I would also love to find a way to write more thoughtful book reviews---it is like I get writer's block everytime I sit down to write one!

Books and My Life

I found this on A Bookish Way as I was visiting new to me blogs, thanks to BBAW, and thought it was a fun idea, so I figured I would give it a go.

What you do:
Take all of the books you have read so far this year and choose which ones can answer the following questions. Try not to repeat a book title!

Describe yourself:
How do you feel: The Year of Fog
Describe where you currently live: A Busy Day
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Olive's Ocean
Your favorite form of transportation: Queen of the Road
Your best friend is: Very Valentine
(my best friend's birthday really is right around February 14th!)
You and your friends are: Fair and Tender Ladies
What's the weather like: World of Pies
You fear: Misery
What is the best advice you have to give: Chocolat
Thought for the day: The Uncommon Reader
How would I like to die: The Graveyard Book
My soul's present condition: Heart and Soul

Let me know if you do it too. I would love to read your answers!

BBAW: Hold My Spot giveaway

My giveaway for the week is a lovely bookmark. I know some people can't be bothered using them, (like me, most of the time!), they still like collecting them! I purchased this one a while back because I fell in love with it. But the time has come for me to part with it and spread its cheer to someone else. I know it isn't as flashy as a brand new book, but it is book related! :)

I have a hard time photographing bookmarks, so the picture isn't great. It is a flat, metal bookmark, bronze in color. There are yellow ribbons, a strand of green seed beads, and some clear and gold colored charms hanging off the end.

The quote is:

Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.
James Barrie

Details:

1. This will run until Sunday, September 20th, at 6 pm Pacific Time.

2. I will ship Internationally!

3. 1 entry for leaving a comment--telling me how many book marks you own.
***Oops--almost forgot--leave me an email address so I can contact you!!***

4. 2 entries if you become a follower

5. 3 entries if you are already a follower

6. 4 entries if you post a picture of your bookmarks on your blog and link back here in a comment.

BBAW: Thanks For Introducing Me!

Let’s talk about that book you know, the one you discovered only because you read about it on a book blog and then you realized you couldn’t live without it! And then you read it and you loved it so hard! Tell us about it and about the blogger (or bloggers!) that introduced the book to you!

I have found countless books to read thanks to all my bookish friends. But, due to limited blogging time tonight, I am only got to spotlight a few!

1. Doreen by Barbara Noble
I found this little gem over at Jane's blog, Fleur Fisher Reads. In fact her review hooked me so quickly that I headed right to Amazon and purchased it. I even had to purchase it from Amazon UK because it isn't in print in the States!

2. Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
I found this one last year during the Southern Reading Challenge from Maggie of Maggie Reads. It was not an easy book to read, content wise, but so worthwhile and beautifully written. Maggie has hosted The Southern Reading Challenge for the past few years, and it is a fun challenge to join. Her blog is a treat also--she reads such interesting things!

3.The Graveyard Book and Coraline, both by Neil Gaiman
I had never really heard of this author until I started seeing him raved about all over my favorite blogs. I read Coraline first and thoroughly enjoyed it, and then went on to enjoy The Graveyard Book.

BBAW: My Reading Habits

Well--I am obviously oblivious to the fact that BBAW is happening and the proof of that is in my lack of posts and spirit available thus far this week to participate. Umm..I am drowning in real life and I miss being a part of the book blogging world--(even if I am just a small part and not part of the big power blogs!)

So, I am going to try to get a caught up and at least complete a couple of the daily events--

Here goes:

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?--
I love to snack when I read! Crunchy things usually, but chocolate hits the spot too. Recently I have fallen in love with peanut butter M&M's.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of
writing in books horrify you?
I do mark once in a while, but it is not the norm for me. I turn down pages instead.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?
I use something to mark my place--along with my pretty bookmarks, I also find fast food straw wrappers in my book.

Laying the book flat open?
I always close the book when I am not reading it.

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?
Both-

Hard copy or audiobooks?
Hard copy only!

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you
able to put a book down at any point?
I usually try to get to the end of a chapter, but if that is not possible I am able to just put it down.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?
No. I try to figure it out from the context.

What are you currently reading?
If You Lived Here by Dana Sachs

What is the last book you bought?
Foreign Affairs by Alison Lurie

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can
you read more than one at a time?
I prefer to only have 1 going at a time, but I have been known to juggle 2. Never more than 2 though.

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?
I read on my lunch break, (in a Starbucks or in my car), and in the evening on my bed.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?
I like both, but the series has to be really good.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?
A Lantern in Her Hand, anything by Adriana Trigiani or Fannie Flagg.

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)
Organized? Ha! I don't think so. They are in piles. The ones I need to finish for challenges are in crates all together and that is as good as it gets!

How do I spell relief?

We have a go on school starting tomorrow!
Yes...
Finally we can leave the land of limbo and get going on our year. I guess I should double check the bag in the corner of the room that holds all the boys' school supplies, purchased over 3 weeks ago. I hope we actually got everything that is needed. It seems so long ago.
The bag sits right where it was dropped after the shopping trip, by a boy who was not thrilled with summer being over.
I think after this strike fiasaco, he is ready to go back, even if he won't admit it to his momma. :)

Now, I also need to face the bittersweet news that yes, Austen is a senior, and child #3 is on the verge of leaving my nest...

in my not reading time...

Because of this:





































I set up a corner in my room to sew.
To relieve stress.
To get away from the collateral damage the project in the first pictures has meant for the rest of my house.



















So far I have finished 5 of these little burp cloths.
My granddaughter will be a stylish burper!



















(I have a dream one day to be able to have a sewing spot that does not include a 1950's era card table!)

Burp cloth pattern was found at My Longest Year blog. Thanks Crystal for sharing your tutorial!

Slump..

Yes, sadly I am in a reading slump. There are numerous reasons for it, but they all stem from 2 major problems: lack of time, and lack of concentration.

** From my previous post you will see that my boys are not in school yet due to a strike. Monday will be day 10. Life feels so limbo-ish.

** We are in the middle of a remodel in one of the boy's bedroom. It involved taking everything out of his room while we work in there. We have a small rambler with no garage or extra storage/unused rooms. So..his stuff is stored in stacks and piles in our small den/computer room, in his brother's room and the family room, and my bedroom. When my house is this our of order it sends me into orbit and crabbiness from me lurks around every corner. Hopefully, next week we will be done.

**My oldest son who graduated from college this past June just received word last Wednesday that, yes, he is going to be able to go to China to teach English this year. He leaves on October 4th!! That is only 3 weeks away! Breathe, mommy!
He lives about 2.5 hours from us and now needs to move everything home to store while he is away. He is coming home tomorrow with his car, and then we will drive him back up to his apartment tomorrow night (and then driving us back home so we can work on Monday), and he will come back down on Monday with a small U-Haul of stuff.
Problem.
Did you read my previous point? The one about how one bedroom and consequently the den are out of commission? The one where I mention the sad fact that we don't have a garage?
Umm, so yeah. We are going to add more fun into the chaos! You would all shudder if you saw how I am sure he is packing his stuff too. Probably all in black garbage bags!


But, I am plodding through a book. It is called, If You Lived Here by Dana Sachs. I think I just bought it at Target on a whim last year, yet it looks like from Amazon that it is already unavailable. (oops, just checked and Barnes & Noble has it available)
It is a great story so far---I am on about page 100. An adoption story, but so much more as the author delves into the culture of Vietnam and the implications of the war on a couple of the main characters. The writing style is beautiful.

CAUTION: huge vent

Just because I need to vent---

My kids have still not started school.
Today was day 9. That means so far we now have 9 days to make up, and we will, at the least have 10, because school is not starting on Monday either.

Do you know how depressing it is to walk into the stores and see all the Halloween stuff for sale when you child hasn't started school yet????

September 3rd, a judge ordered them back in the classroom by the 8th.
They defied the court order. Which disgusts me to no end.
There was a compliance hearing on Thursday (yesterday)-where the judge expressed her displeasure at their defiance.
She is levying fines on them and the union if they are not back by Monday the 14th.
From the press reports I have read, they are still saying they will continue to defy the order, unless there is a contract.

Ten more days (at the least) added on to the end of the school year puts them in school until July 2nd!!

Can you tell I am just a tad bit irritated. I am sick of hearing the union's mantra, "We are doing this for the kids!"

Here is a direct quote from an elementary school teacher:
"As teachers, we want to be role models in our community. So we feel we need to obey the law, but at the same time the laws aren't the best for the entire community. Sometimes people have to take a stand on that."

Umm....yeah. Just the kind mentality I want teaching my child.
Last time I checked, in our country, if you don't like a law (in this case, public employees in Washington State may not strike), you change it legislatively, not by thumbing your nose at the courts. Especially since this is not some kind of human rights issue. Some of the teachers are comparing their stand to that taken in the 60's during the civil rights era. How insulting is that, to those who fought that terrible battle.

Hmm...let's see...I don't like my class size, or pay, or having to attend so many meetings issues= people can't sit in the front of the bus, attend integrated schools, or attend any college they choose, drink from a water fountain, vote, ect...

I don't thing there is any comparison. Do you?

Remember

One day.
Eight years ago.
Shock.
Horror.
Panic.
Fear.
Crushing sadness.
Disbelief.

But it did not define us.
It did not crush us.
We have always had hope.


Today, my heart will be heavy as I remember the events of that day and how they unfolded in my house, with my young family.

Today, my heart will be heavy as I remember the innocent lives taken.

Today, my heart will be heavy as I remember the heroes of the day, and those lives that fell.

Because we should NEVER forget.

Wordless Wednesday

How do you tell this sweet face to get off the couch?

The Letter E...

Welcome to A-Z Wednesday!!
Hosted by Vicki from Reading At The Beach
To join, here's all you have to do:
Go to your stack of books and find one whose title starts with the letter of the week.
Post:
1~ a photo of the book
2~ title and synopsis
3~ link(amazon, barnes and noble etc.)

THIS WEEKS LETTER IS: E

My E book is: (the) Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim.

Synopsis (from Barnes & Noble)
A recipe for happiness: four women, one medieval Italian castle, plenty of wisteria, and solitude as needed.

The women at the center of The Enchanted April are alike only in their dissatisfaction with their everyday lives. They find each other—and the castle of their dreams—through a classified ad in a London newspaper one rainy February afternoon. The ladies expect a pleasant holiday, but they don’t anticipate that the month they spend in Portofino will reintroduce them to their true natures and reacquaint them with joy. Now, if the same transformation can be worked on their husbands and lovers, the enchantment will be complete.

The Enchanted April was a best-seller in both England and the United States, where it was a Book-of-the-Month Club selection, and set off a craze for tourism to Portofino. More recently, the novel has been the inspiration for a major film and a Broadway play.

Thank You, 1/2 Price Books...

...Yes, yesterday, after seeing the movie Julie & Julia,
[Which I LOVED. Of course, is their a Norah Ephron movie I haven't adored. No! ],
my husband and I made a little trip to our local 1/2 Price Books store. In honor of Labor Day, they were having a little 20% off sale.

Dear Kerry hit the back wall where he always finds $1 hardbacks he wants to read, and yesterday they were only 80 cents!! I think he found a total of 5 or 6 but I can't tell you the titles because to be honest, I wasn't paying attention.

No, I was too busy doing a little shopping of my own.

Here is what I found, and I must say, there was quite a little adrenaline rush as I placed each book in the basket! Not a lot, but gems in my eyes.








































I hope you all had a wonderful day yesterday. Did any of you go out book shopping?

Book Review

Book: Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos
Finished: September 2009
Pages: 307
Challenges:

**Summer Reading Challenge ** A-Z Challenge ** Read Your Name ** To Be Read ** Read & Review**

First line: " My life--my real life-- started when a man walked into it, a handsome stranger in a perfectly cut suit, and yes, I know how that sounds."

My Thoughts:
I liked this book. I wasn't sure I was going to in the beginning, and there were a few parts in the middle that lagged a little, but at the end of the day I enjoyed it. The author's writing style is very lyrical with wonderful metaphors sprinkled throughout. The main characters, Cornelia, the 31 year old single gal, and Clare, the 11 year old lost and abandoned girl, were real and deep and thoughtful characters.

Clare is lost on two plains--physically she is abandoned on the side of the road by her mother. But lost also in her world at home prior to being dropped off as she navigates a world where her mother is spiraling towards a manic break. She is trying to hold everything together to protect her mom--striving to constantly give the allusion that all is well within the walls of their home. But it isn't.
And Clare is very frightened and alone.
I love how Clare is so brave, and allows Cornelia into her heart so readily--intuitively knowing that Cornelia is trustworthy.

I love how Cornelia was a bit old fashioned and a hopeless romantic--fond of quoting or alluding to old movies.
I love how Cornelia was such a natural nurturer, and stepped up to the plate without any hesitation to help this little girl.
But most of all, I love that at the end of the day, Cornelia sacrifices her dream and does the right thing by Clare.



From Booklist Cornelia is a single thirty something who lives her life like a series of movie moments. She's a manager of a cafe because she hasn't figured out anything better to do. Her ideal man is Cary Grant. And just when she thinks he'll never show up, he does, in the form of Martin Grace. What she doesn't know is that Martin, with his cool charm and debonair demeanor, has a daughter, Clare. And she never would have known that except that Martin, in a state of panic, shows up with the girl at the cafe after her mother had a breakdown and left Clare to fend for herself. Estranged from his daughter for years, Martin doesn't know what to do with her. Both women's stories are told in alternating chapters, Cornelia's in first person, Clare's in third.

Day Off

Happy Labor Day!

I am not laboring today, that is for sure.
I plan on sewing, reading, seeing the movie Julie & Julia, maybe heading to 1/2 Price Books, and then breaking down and doing a little laundry in between all the fun!

Today, I am taking a break from the Monday memes, but will just say that my reading time has been paltry. Simply terrible this past week. I am still reading Love Walked In, and have no clue right now what I will read next. I hope to finish this one tonight or tomorrow night....

I plan to seriously look this next week at my challenges and really decide if I can finish them all. If not, decisions will need to be made as to which ones to drop. When September hits each year, I go a little into panic mode with how fast the year is speeding by. It seems that those months between September and December are like a super bullet train ride and I am usually just hanging on by a thread for that ride!

As a side note, my kids have still not started school due to a teacher's strike. They have missed 5 days of school, tomorrow will be day 6, and maybe they will start on Wednesday but not for sure. This limbo has really been for the birds and by this time of the year, whether the kids admit it or not, they are ready for some structure in their life...sigh...

Have a great day everyone!

Local Produce.....

....or why I haven't had time to read today!

My daughter came over so we could can the Italian plums from the tree in our backyard. We love these little plums, and many years ago I would can them and then serve them warmed up with our dinners in the winter. While canning was a regular event in the midst of my stay-at-home mommy summers, I have not done any canning in probably 4 years. Boy, is it work, and boy am I tired tonight.

Here is the day and process in pictures!

The Pickers:
As my daughter said, it doesn't get any more local than in your parent's backyard!

Where is Waldo Sam?

The Produce:

The Canners:

The End Product:
53 jars total