tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63359832012-01-16T14:52:35.044-08:00Wishing you a day filled with very satisfactory moments.Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.comBlogger7621100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-45907462888617275112012-01-11T18:51:00.000-08:002012-01-12T19:50:28.680-08:00

The gentleman paused in front of the recumbent bikes, tilting his head toward me with a quizzical expression on his face. "Are you as confident as you look?"As soon as I stopped laughing, I thanked him. My mind had been all over the place while I was doing what passes for working out these days. I'd been worrying about my dog's health and wishing my roots weren't emerging in such an obvious, dull

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-7257760013207958792012-01-10T15:23:00.000-08:002012-01-12T18:09:51.260-08:00

It's the sort of book someone would have given my dad, a railroad man who traveled to some of the best known stations in the United States. America's Great Railroad Stations, photography by Roger Straus III, text by Ed Breslin and Hugh van Dusen, captures these stations in all of their restored glory.The photos and text are grouped geographically, from the Mid-Atlantic, New England, the South,

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-84498210456763617532012-01-09T14:17:00.000-08:002012-01-15T16:29:02.646-08:00

If you are craving a Mad Men fix (or even if you're not), you might want to check out Jojo Moyes' The Last Letter from Your Lover. Much of the novel is set in early 1960s London. Jennifer Stirling awakens from a coma and struggles to piece her life back together, unaided by her husband, mother, or friends. While everyone around her seems concerned with superficialities, the appearance that Mrs.

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-42281705896047045672012-01-07T16:16:00.000-08:002012-01-12T20:00:20.983-08:00

Six-time Spur Awardwinner Richard Wheeler picked a vivid era and setting for his latest novel, The Richest Hill on Earth.The book opens with newspaperman John Fellowes Hall arriving in Butte, Montana in 1892. Much of the novel is told from the perspective of Hall. His boss is one of the wealthiest men in the nation, a copper king who made his fortune on the backs of miners toiling in dangerous,

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-91838684526635803492011-12-11T16:16:00.000-08:002012-01-12T19:22:30.939-08:00

New York Times journalist Lily Koppel couldn't resist a little dumpster diving when vintage trunks long-stored in the basement of her Upper Westside apartment building were unceremoniously tossed into a bin, contents spilling forth like the treasures that they were. Among the clothing and personal items from the 1920s and 1930s, she found a diary belonging to a young former tenant, Florence

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-16559186914826423772011-11-28T14:50:00.000-08:002011-11-28T14:50:00.619-08:00

Twice recently I've encountered a reference where novelist Ann Patchett recommended Jeannette Haien's The All of It.I found the slim volume at the library and prepared to be charmed. A forward by Patchett explains her personal association with the book and I've no doubt she was instrumental in the 2011 reprint of this quiet novel, originally published in 1986.A rainy day in rural Ireland, a

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-79622092365862859272011-11-27T10:53:00.000-08:002012-01-09T15:05:52.594-08:00

David Laskin's The Children's Blizzard offers a grim, extensively researched account of the blizzard of 1888. It took me awhile to work my way through this 2004 book. It's not the sort of thing one wants to read before dropping off to sleep. There are dense sections of details, providing background information and effectively putting a face on some of the victims and survivors. Thousands of

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-72056418721759666872011-11-27T10:26:00.000-08:002011-11-27T10:51:53.819-08:00

I had checked out several places before entrusting my little dog to what I thought was the safest situation, and let me just say how grateful I am that I ruled out the place in the country. And how next time, if there is a next time, I'm picking the place closest to home.He got away. Slipped out, under, over a narrow gap in the gate. The husband was reading the newspaper on the patio when he

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-547187982307255372011-11-27T09:45:00.000-08:002011-11-27T10:25:51.108-08:00

We not only made reservations, we had reservations as we planned a short trip to celebrate our ten-year wedding anniversary. Our regular dogsitter was going to be out of town but she recommended a lovely couple, friends of hers who lived in our small community. The dog and I met with them and it seemed like a good fit--they were used to small dogs and their house and yard seemed ideally set up

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-70573579753555617042011-11-25T15:08:00.000-08:002011-11-25T15:08:00.603-08:00

Like reading about cults and people surrendering their free will?Me neither.But, spend a little time with Gregg Hurwitz's The Program and you might find yourself feeling really grateful for the simple everyday choices in life.Hurwitz is really good at what he does, creating thrillers that will keep you turning the pages long after you had intended to be sound asleep. His characters are flawed and

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-76588250790941069722011-11-23T14:39:00.001-08:002011-11-23T15:05:46.991-08:00

While doing a little online library research I stumbled across a charming travel book. Jacqueline and Lee Bouvier wrote and illustrated One special Summer as a gift for their mother, recounting their trip abroad the summer of 1951, when Jacqueline was twenty-two, and Lee, eighteen. The text and drawings reflect humor and whimsy. At times the book feels like a graphic novel, and it is fascinating

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-87766479199729360492011-11-16T09:47:00.000-08:002011-11-23T15:08:18.848-08:00

I propose an additional rating system for movies: the raunch factor. Something simple, indicating least to most, perhaps 1-3. I've learned that I don't want to see anything in its unrated, uncut version, and that, in all liklihood, I am a bit of a prude.It seems there might be a trend for movie ratings to increasingly make use of key descriptive terms: contains brief episodes of extreme violence;

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-47072287244846415032011-11-10T14:30:00.000-08:002011-11-23T14:29:04.170-08:00

It was a Howard Hughes, the later years, kind of moment, cringe-worthy in a creepy way.In my ongoing battle against clutter I use baskets of varying sizes throughout the house. Even the tiny drawers of the bathroom cabinet have several shallow trays to hold lip balm, barrettes, tweezers and such. The other day when I reached for the nail clippers, I felt something clinging to the tip of my finger

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-83725899062463299122011-11-08T08:17:00.000-08:002011-11-16T09:47:19.346-08:00

The protagonist in John Smolens' new novel, Schoolmaster's Daughter , puts her intelligence and beauty to good use during the early days of the American Revolution. Abigail Lovell lives in a house divided. Her schoolmaster father is a loyalist who entertains high-ranking British officers in his home while his children risk their lives to gain independence from the British.Smolens shows readers

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-64125384923443595192011-10-30T14:28:00.000-07:002011-11-07T09:29:29.878-08:00

The blurbs alone would have led me to Vanessa Diffenbaugh's The Language of Flowers. Seems I've read the work of all eight authors who were offering glowing advance praise for Diffenbaugh's debut work.Protagonist Victoria Jones spent most of her childhood in foster homes in San Francisco. She's a solitary soul, uncomfortable in the company of others and seemingly ill-equiped to make her way in

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-7866611217168186862011-10-29T14:17:00.000-07:002011-11-06T15:43:03.354-08:00

Later, I wished I would have grabbed the camera for a quick snap, but that wasn't exactly my first thought when I saw a scorpian on the bedroom ceiling. I've seen them on the floor, gliding in super-speed or curled up and deceased. I even accidentally picked up one with my bare fingers when I thought it was the back of an earring I'd dropped in a dark closet! Despite being long dead and dried up,

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-81386732528487367242011-10-26T11:13:00.000-07:002011-10-26T12:02:07.653-07:00

I thought I'd read a few chapters of Erik Larson's In the Garden of Beasts, get a sense of Berlin in 1933, then move on to something else, something fluffier, less rooted in reality.Instead, I wound up reading this nonfiction book cover to cover (well, not quite, I skipped the abundant endnotes) and found it fascinating.Newly elected president Franklin Delano Roosevelt had a hard time finding a

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-70655658627049500952011-10-24T18:32:00.000-07:002011-10-24T18:32:00.724-07:00

After an hour and a half of chopping and sauteing vegetables, I called out to my husband, "Dinner will never be ready."Ever the supportive optimistic, he called back, "Maybe we can eat it tomorrow?"Finally I was ready to assemble the veggie lasagna. Unlike my sister, who used to whip up two lasagnas (stowing one in the freezer) in the time it took me to prepare layer one of this recipe, I've made

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-23987359851499304362011-10-22T10:14:00.000-07:002011-10-22T10:14:00.113-07:00

I lead a casual life. I often spend my days in yoga pants and T-shirts. On those rare occassions where something a bit more formal is required, I panic. I tear through my closet, attempting to piece together an outfit from random purchases made at discount stores. After a recent harried experience with a so-so outcome, I made a mental note to find a good pair of pants, something that could become

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-36191942205614883992011-10-20T10:03:00.000-07:002011-11-06T15:17:05.286-08:00

Although there is nothing Spenseresque about the pulse-pounding opening pages of David Housewright's The Taking of Libbie, SD , the protagonist evokes the wry humor and healthy ego of Robert Parker's Spenser. There's an effective twist to the premise and the setting rings true. In Lisa Unger's Darkness, My Old Friend a broad cast of characters struggles with loss, making peace with the past and

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-75435862795175413162011-10-18T09:33:00.000-07:002011-10-18T10:03:17.922-07:00

I began a new writing project a few weeks ago. It's an idea that had been rolling around in my brain for awhile and, somehow, the time now seems right for it. Pity, as the research part would have been much easier, a few or twenty years ago.After cranking out ten pages of narrative, idenitfying key characters and three interwoven storylines, I pursued some research for background information and

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-26325629724323661992011-10-12T19:10:00.000-07:002011-10-18T09:33:41.576-07:00

Hmm, a creepy old castle, a WWII setting in England, and the tale of the Mud Man. Something seemed familiar about Kate Morton's The Distant Hours. Had I read it before? Maybe. Would that stop me from reading it again? Definitely not. As the contemporary protagonist sorts through her strained relationship with her mother, she finds herself drawn to a family connection with three elderly sisters

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-30035949088935992252011-10-01T10:17:00.000-07:002011-10-04T16:07:58.446-07:00

A compelling storyline and an effective use of narrative technique combine to make Rosamund Lupton's Sister a great read. Protagonist Beatrice, living abroad in New York, rushes home to London when she learns of her younger sister's disappearance. While the police draw one conclusion, Beatrice searches for other possibilities, aided by exhaustion, paranoia, and wishful thinking. The complexities

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-63372692339524849812011-09-23T15:01:00.000-07:002011-09-23T15:16:40.630-07:00

I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. While it is fun to catch up with people I haven't seen since high school or when I was teaching, it can feel like a major distraction if I'm trying to focus on something else, like, oh, I don't know, work. Suffice to say my presence on FB has been limited at best.Now I'm flitting with a technique I call 'Facebook at a Glance.'I stop by for a brief

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-70114299061439796022011-09-21T18:35:00.000-07:002011-09-23T15:01:24.950-07:00

Rules of Civility captures that heady time between the end of the Depression and the beginning of WWII. Set predominantly in 1938 New York, the novel focuses on a pivotal year in the life of Katey Kontent--a twenty-five year old protagonist who is nothing like her name suggests. Although not a debutant herself--an office worker of more humble origins--Katey slips into the orbit of New York

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-24718607369235063522011-09-13T11:36:00.000-07:002011-09-13T11:52:44.812-07:00

Ellen Airgood's debut novel, South of Superior, portrays the culture and climate of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Although the narrative progresses with multiple points of view, the main protagonist is thirty-five year old Madeline Stone. Raised in Chicago, Madeline returns to the southern shore of Lake Superior in search of a connection to her past, the family she never knew. The climate is harsh,

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-35963569922097107962011-09-08T17:26:00.000-07:002011-09-13T12:12:51.458-07:00

What if you could reverse or prevent disease simply by changing the foods you eat? Would you do it? Or would you rather take a pill, with a long list of possible side effects that might even make you sicker? FORKS OVER KNIVES explores the benefits of rejecting animal based and processed foods. Much of the core content of the movie deals with the research of Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-16597606034647724472011-09-06T16:51:00.000-07:002011-09-10T10:05:27.587-07:00

My husband mentioned John Larison's Holding Lies as something I might like, and so I read a novel about a fly-fishing community in the Northwest.As protagonist Hank Hazelton, a fifty-nine year old river guide, prepares for a visit from his estranged daughter, a death rocks the community and raises some uneasy questions. Larison, a river guide, realistically portrays the culture of the guides and

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-34003650849200556522011-09-05T16:26:00.000-07:002011-09-06T16:40:27.919-07:00

Near the end of WWII a transport plane containing twenty-four American servicemen and WACs disappeared in an unchartered mountain region of Dutch New Guinea. Three of the sightseeing passengers survived the devastating crash. Injured and ill equiped to face the dense jungle, Margaret Hastings, John McCollom, and Kenneth Decker hiked down the mountainside.Mitchell Zuckoff's Lost in Shangri-La

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-81014631074555915792011-09-01T16:09:00.000-07:002011-09-06T16:51:49.820-07:00

This year I've become increasingly fascinated by the brain. Lisa Genova's two novels, Still Alice and Left Neglected, started me on this path. Now I find myself picking up nonfiction books about brain function and thought process, and you know how hard it is for me to stick with anything that doesn't have a plot.In Alice LaPlante's novel, Turn of Mind, protagonist Dr. Jennifer White, a retired

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-25847792309818420022011-08-30T16:02:00.000-07:002011-08-30T16:10:44.557-07:00

A few months ago my cousin (k) sent me a youtube link for the Italian teen trio IL Volo . I loved it, loved them, shared the link with appreciative friends and added the il Volo CD to my 'to be purchased later' queue and forgot about it. I've got the CD now and the guys have won me over again. I love the sheer joy in their singing, their solo voices as well as their harmonies.

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-67094501725797165952011-08-27T06:43:00.000-07:002011-08-27T13:53:30.325-07:00

As if growing up weren't already challenging enough, imagine you were in a family of performance artists and you were never completely sure what was real and what was staged. What if the world thought of you as A and B, the children of Caleb and Camille Fang, known for their works of art, for creating happenings? Annie and Buster's unconventional childhood has left them confused and disoriented

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-80468545970726495682011-08-26T17:34:00.000-07:002011-08-27T12:59:11.260-07:00

You know you're getting older when you buy a new pair of sandals and think 'great, I should be able to wear socks with these.' Just in case, you know, your feet get cold . . .

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-30175668637535889942011-08-25T16:57:00.000-07:002011-08-27T13:24:58.849-07:00

Best-selling novelist Ann Packer (The Dive From Clausen's Pier) published a collection of short stories this year. For some reason, I often find myself reluctant to read short stories. For me it's a lot like attending an event--I don't usually want to go, but once I get there, I might have a good time. I picked up Swim Back To Me when I was skimming the sparse titles on the new releases shelf

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-27413591412151109422011-08-24T15:51:00.000-07:002011-08-27T13:29:56.807-07:00

I can be stubborn. I can be determined. Sometimes about the wrong things. Like that set of stairs I encountered yesterday. I used to run up those stairs. They were solid, not too steep, nice railing. I was feeling good, why not give it a go? The first step was okay, just a slight twinge in my knee, but with each step that followed, oh my--this was so not a good idea. A quarter of the way up,

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-66419540266218738872011-08-22T16:05:00.000-07:002011-08-22T16:18:05.133-07:00

If you're in the mood for an excellent thriller and willing to give up some sleep, check out You're Next by Gregg Hurwitz. Just when protagonist Mike Wingate's construction company seems poised for success on a grand scale, a very real threat emerges from a past he barely remembers. Pacing, layers of plot, characters and writing style all work to make this novel a satisfying read.

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-36335039712104642552011-08-21T16:18:00.000-07:002011-08-22T16:50:50.793-07:00

It was a humbling moment. I was nearing the end of my physically therapy sessions and I kept thinking I should be making more progress -- less pain, more range of motion. I asked the therapist to give me pointers on climbing stairs. I hadn't climbed a set of stairs this year, and when I did encounter stairs I took them one step at a time, keeping my left leg straight. Dr. N secured a white

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-55279975233277181132011-08-12T11:45:00.001-07:002011-08-27T13:21:18.005-07:00

Infertility issues play a role in several novels I've read recently: Ann Patchett's State of Wonder (see earlier blog entry), Jody Picoult's Sing You Home, and Jennifer Weiner's Then Came You. Picoult portrays the high cost of infertility treatments -- financially, yes, but also psychologically and physically. She pokes a sharp stick at the big baggy monster of religious intolerance, one

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-65056326100963492032011-08-11T17:12:00.000-07:002011-08-12T11:44:52.824-07:00

Ann Patchett's latest novel, State of Wonder, left me in a state of awe. Protagonist Dr. Marina Singh works for a pharmaceutical company in Minneapolis. When tragedy befalls a colleague at their research site in South America, she is sent to Brazil to find answers, even though it means confronting her past and risking her own life. The characters, plot and setting are intriguing. The layers of

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-52532173696112959302011-08-09T16:10:00.000-07:002011-08-12T11:14:46.898-07:00

Thanks to an alien invasion and a new twist on the legal drama, we've been able to watch something in addition to episodes of Pawn Stars this summer. Falling Skies (TNT) just ended its first season. The aftermath of an alien invasion in the northeastern United States leaves humans struggling for survival. The always great Noah Wyle plays a history professor, a family man who becomes adept with

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-70667581825899780562011-08-06T12:00:00.000-07:002011-08-12T11:28:00.733-07:00

Abducted at age 11, repeatedly raped, emotionally abused, confined in unhygenic, spartan living conditions -- Jaycee Dugard's memoir, A Stolen Life, will make you grateful for every minute you can participate in the normal activities of everyday life. Jaycee's book offers painful memories and present day reflections. That she was able to move forward and not descend into madness, that she is

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-11366644510262503622011-07-28T08:12:00.000-07:002011-07-30T11:00:38.625-07:00

A scratching sound kept me awake for much of the night.I envisioned packrats -- industrious vermin stripping wires, going condo behind the wall or maybe in the attic. I tried ear plugs, extra pillows, relocating to the sofa in the living room, while my husband, part-time insomniac and ultra-light sleeper, slept on undisturbed.At dawn I eased out the side door, skirted our yard and walked along

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-60807728826577465332011-07-25T20:29:00.000-07:002011-07-27T15:36:14.605-07:00

While I may not be traveling this summer, my reading has gotten me out of the house: Harlan Coben's Caught (suburban New Jersey), Mary Kay Andrews' Summer Rental (Nags Head, North Carolina), Steve Hamilton's Misery Bay (Upper Peninsula, Michigan), Liane Moriarty's What Alice Forgot (Sidney, Australia), Paula McLain's The Paris Wife (1920's Paris, Austria, and Pamplona, Spain), Tana French's

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-69730550440020227762011-07-19T09:25:00.000-07:002011-07-19T09:25:00.716-07:00

I let the dog out and we walked a ways into our back yard. The moon was coming up, a big glorious beacon. The dog went through his usuall sniffing routine, showing a little too much interest in a patch of gravel ground cover. I figured he'd found some bird droppings, oh joy.When we returned to the house I glanced at his muzzle, thinking I might need to clean him up a bit. I saw a leaf caught in

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-91589378707277273072011-07-18T08:03:00.000-07:002011-07-18T09:25:28.443-07:00

Frustrated by six months of pain and limited activity, I surrendered to knee surgery in the hopes of eliminating both. Numerous people assured me they'd had arthroscopic knee surgery and it was, alternately, "pfft, nothing" and "a piece of cake." I'm still waiting for the cake, or, for that matter, the 'pfft, nothing.' One day last spring, pre-surgery, I was at the dog park and discovered

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-38001634681388444622011-07-07T08:13:00.000-07:002011-07-08T10:03:40.019-07:00

I knew I would LOVE The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, yet it sat on the shelf for months, pushed aside and ignored while I read other things. Why the delay? Was I saving it? If so, good call, I was in dire need of something to lift my spirits. Perhaps I thought the title a little too precious and suspected I might find the content similar? Maybe I'd taken a peek inside or read a

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-1833569885814797492011-07-06T21:01:00.000-07:002011-07-07T17:08:11.032-07:00

I heard a fly buzz, which always reminds me of that Emily Dickinson poem:"I heard a fly buzz -- when I died" Figuring that this particular fly was trapped between the window glass and the dense shade, I lowered the shade. Nothing. I raised the shade. Nothing.Hmm.I repeated the same aerobics a couple days later, then realized the sound was coming from the computer tower, the tower that was turned

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-83507733689928108292011-07-05T16:41:00.000-07:002011-07-06T20:50:44.780-07:00

Zipped through Lisa Scottoline's Help Me. The woman certainly knows how to write a pageturner. I didn't want to put the book down, even though I was frustrated with the characters at times--maybe that's a good thing as apathy would make it easier to set a book down. The premise grabbed me right away: a mother volunteering at her daughter's grade school makes a difficult decision during a crisis

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-51568164283775211812011-06-27T16:16:00.000-07:002011-07-07T17:01:36.505-07:00

Yesterday I encountered an earlier version of myself when I discovered two thick files containing papers from my college years. There was my first critical analysis of a poem, "Peter Quince at the Clavier." I had no idea what I was doing. I had done my research at an unfamiliar library on a different campus (our library didn't carry the literary references I needed). I remember an assistant

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-57872094574693296512011-06-22T14:15:00.000-07:002011-07-05T17:13:01.049-07:00

Golly, what Irish Catholic doesn't love to read a good story about pedophilia and the priesthood? Fortunately, I didn't realize the subject matter when I joined the waiting list for Jennifer Haigh's latest novel, Faith. Haigh chose a tumultuous time and setting for her novel: Boston, the spring of 2002. Accusations and lawsuits shook communities and the Church scrambled to provide damage control.

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-62039495778391476292011-06-19T14:26:00.000-07:002011-07-05T16:14:43.081-07:00

Full of fascinating factoids about time capsules, David Morrell's Scavenger offers an action packed read. Many consider Morrell, the author who created the character Rambo, the father of the action thriller. Scavenger is a sequel to an earlier novel following the adventures of a reluctant but likeable protagonist.

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-10775398031454968912011-06-08T07:45:00.000-07:002011-06-08T07:54:49.097-07:00

Utah father wears a different costume every day of the school year to wave goodbye to his sophomore son.What a great dad and a fun family.I feel like I'm the last person to know about Wave at the Bus, but in case I'm not, check out the website.On the right side you'll find a link where you can see all of the outfits in a short clip on You-Tube: 170 Days in a Minute.

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-37011513323018748812011-06-07T07:54:00.000-07:002011-06-08T09:00:34.552-07:00

You know you're in for a compelling story when you read a novel written by Jodi Picoult. In House Rules a young man with Asperger's Syndrome is accused of murder. Factor in an inexperienced attorney, a struggling single mother and younger brother and you have a story that could turn in a number of directions.Emma Hunt has fought for her son Jacob all of his life, a fact that Jacob's younger

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-27447664614146645752011-06-02T11:37:00.001-07:002011-06-02T11:52:14.057-07:00

Readers who love a good British whodunit will likely enjoy the adventures of Alan Bradley’s spunky protagonist Flavia de Luce. I just finished reading A Red Herring Without Mustard, Bradley’s second novel centering on eleven-year-old Flavia, and I plan to find the first, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, as soon as possible. The novels are set in the countryside of post WWII England. The

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-64063380957606538262011-06-01T11:35:00.000-07:002011-06-02T11:36:57.713-07:00

Robert and Dayna Baer’s memoir, The Company We Keep: A Husband and Wife True-Life Spy Story, reads like fiction. The short chapters dip in and out of their separate experiences. It’s a fascinating glimpse into the life of a CIA operative and the danger and finesse involved in cultivating resources and gathering intelligence. The movie Syriana was based on Robert’s earlier memoir, See No Evil.

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-90073860300718584112011-05-29T14:31:00.000-07:002011-05-29T16:00:08.757-07:00

Victoria Brown's debut novel, Minding Ben, seems to be generating a lot of buzz. Our local librarian asked me about the book when I returned it and I panicked, uncertain what to say, offering my classic fragmentary comments."It's different.""That's kind of the point of fiction, isn't it?" She narrowly refrained from rolling her eyes. Next.I tried again. "It's kind of like the Nanny Diaries if you

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-81695113680971794052011-05-27T17:10:00.000-07:002011-05-29T16:02:02.831-07:00

I love Betty White.That twinkle in her eye, her facial expressions, her comedic timing, her animal advocacy.Like many, my fondness for Betty began with her role as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and continued with her role as Rose (Lindstrom) Nylund on The Golden Girls. It's a joy to see her in other roles, whether on the big screen or small.Her latest book, If You Ask Me (And of

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-17075450805019686662011-05-18T14:36:00.000-07:002011-05-29T14:31:26.638-07:00

Rae Meadows explores the lives of three generations in Mothers and Daughters. The novel opens with new mother Samantha trying to find her way through the first year of her daughter's life, attempting to reconcile who she had been prior to her pregnancy with who she is now. In addition, she is coping with the loss of her mother. Alternating chapters allow us a glimpse into the lives of Samantha's

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-76071052443645773572011-05-17T14:30:00.000-07:002011-05-29T14:21:27.507-07:00

Author Elizabeth Berg explores conficting emotions and the convoluted path relationships may take in her latest novel, Once upon a Time, There Was You. Divorced parents John and Irene lean on each other during a crisis involving their eighteen-year-old daughter, Sadie. Berg shifts perspective, offering three points of view, bringing us closer to the main characters.

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-76193639173248338522011-05-16T14:32:00.000-07:002011-05-18T14:51:50.267-07:00

According to Ava, the thirteen-year-old first-person narrator in Karen Russell's Swamplandia!, "The Beginning of the End can feel a lot like the middle when you are living it" (7).Ava is the youngest member of the Bigtree family, owners of Swamplandia, a declining tourist attraction in the Florida Everglades. Ava's mother had been the main attraction, a champion alligator wrestler, but her

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-19590431541986114702011-05-14T20:16:00.000-07:002011-05-16T11:21:29.205-07:00

Eventually I accepted the use of the plural first person narrator in Eleanor Brown's The Weird Sisters. From the start, I trusted that this was an author who knew what she was doing. While I found the plural voice a bit intrusive it worked thematically. The novel centers on the three Andreas sisters, daughters of a Shakespeare professor who often communicates in verse and passes through scenes

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-88035601408856159222011-05-11T13:10:00.000-07:002011-05-11T14:14:48.894-07:00

Three months and counting since I joined the ranks of those with chronic knee pain. I waited two months before seeking a diagnosis from an orthopedic specialist, learning my own web diagnosis of a 'torn meniscus' was incorrect. Then it took another month to meander through the channels of the surgeon's office and the insurance company before I got an MRI. By this time both knees hurt. According

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-27649905481026647182011-05-06T15:02:00.000-07:002011-05-09T08:48:39.575-07:00

Waiting for a great book or movie adds to the appreciation of the experience. I finally saw The King's Speech and loved it, and I've been reading some great books, too bad I didn't blog about them while they were fresh in my mind.The one that I savored the most was Susan Vreeland's Clara and Mr. Tiffany. I love Vreeland's work but the subject doesn't always speak to me, not a problem with this

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-55515506447970282982011-04-17T20:30:00.000-07:002011-04-20T15:02:05.780-07:00

We watched the full moon rise this evening, expecting a leisurely pace, the increasing steady glow of moonlight washing over the edge of the Catalina Mountains, but this was a moon on the move. Within a couple of minutes it broke free from the horizon, moving in a steady arch across the night sky, an enormous, luminous orb.

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-87196149591047398072011-04-09T17:02:00.000-07:002011-05-16T11:28:11.384-07:00

A quick look at a few books:The 150th anniversary of the opening battle of the Civil War seems a perfect time to read Robin Oliveira's debut novel,My Name is Mary Sutter. The story offers an engaging glimpse into the world of medicine, including the appalling sanitary conditions faced by the Union soldiers, from the perspective of a young midwife who wants to become a surgeon. Oliveira's research

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-52809956771767315922011-04-07T15:50:00.000-07:002011-04-07T20:31:33.554-07:00

Check out the eaglets in Decorah, Iowa, curtesy of the amazing nest cam.

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-25568132256488909992011-04-03T11:10:00.000-07:002011-04-08T09:56:20.669-07:00

My dear, sweet, generous friend Louisa sent me linens she's been lovingly storing for years. Soft, snowy white dish towels with charming images hand-sewn by her mother and grandmother! They are delightful works of art, worthy of framing. The dishtowels denote the days of the week (like those panties that were popular when I was a teen). Since Wednesday is missing, Louisa suggested I take a break

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-65588282623583597432011-04-02T18:48:00.000-07:002011-04-10T12:16:45.651-07:00

How do you measure a life? Jobs held, children raised, trips taken, volunteer efforts? My mother created eight scrapbooks, one for every decade of her life. Newspaper clippings, announcements, programs, postcards, ticket stubs--it's all in there. And now, as I dismantle these lovingly compiled books, I marvel at the time and attention she gave to this hobby, and realize that even though she had

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-50629305375021372522011-03-24T07:42:00.000-07:002011-04-01T05:29:44.678-07:00

Helen Simonson charms readers with the characters and village she creates in Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. At times I felt like I was reading a book set in an earlier era. The declining fortunes of the aristocracy, the newly wealthy, brash Americans--it seemed like something from an Edith Wharton novel in the early 1900's. But British-born Mrs. Ali, a Pakistani shopkeeper, and her devout Muslim

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-37241157330780540512011-03-21T09:23:00.000-07:002011-03-21T09:23:00.172-07:00

Early in our relationship, my husband and I stumbled upon a delightful exhibit at the Bellagio Gallery in Las Vegas: The Private Collection of Steve Martin, from Picasso to Hockney (2001).A decade later, I still remember some of the paintings and Martin's audio commentary offering information about the works. The first painting Martin purchased was a nighttime seascape. A fellow art appreciator

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-45468059965813751552011-03-15T14:28:00.000-07:002011-03-20T14:59:53.100-07:00

Two days had gone by before I realized that author Lisa Genova's inquiry regarding a good place to eat was 1) a conversational ice-breaker (hey you in the sunscreen and hat, ask your questions, she's open to conversation!), and 2) she wasn't looking for an overview of the lunch options available at the book festival food tent.Two days.I really need to get out more.In my defense, and I feel that I

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-48669207457371274612011-03-14T16:11:00.000-07:002011-03-14T16:52:55.824-07:00

Each year I’ve assisted with the Tucson Festival of Books in some minor capacity. This year I branched out and observed the festival from a different perspective, opening my world in unexpected ways.I signed up months ago, not knowing the speaking schedule. Once the schedule was released, I made my peace with the sessions I would miss and planned my attendance accordingly. There were two authors

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-30964013027311300772011-03-09T15:55:00.000-08:002011-03-10T06:16:20.375-08:00

I was adding a movie to our online queue when I noticed the Juice Newton DVD. My eyebrows yanked upward in such a fast, high arch, I nearly gave myself whiplash.Juice Newton? Didn't she have a pop hit in the 1980s? My husband, Mr. Folk Music with a dash of country, put a Juice Newton concert in our queue? We generally like the same music, with some exceptions, clearly this was going to be one of

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-46567969542235153922011-03-08T21:20:00.000-08:002011-03-20T15:20:17.359-07:00

Randy Schmidt's Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter (2010) hadn't been on my reading radar until I spotted it on the new releases shelf at the library. Since I was already familiar with some of the history of the Carpenters, I anticipated taking a light look at the book, but wound up reading it cover to cover.Occasionally I felt bogged down with the wealth of details--interviews with

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-39385659572011018352011-03-07T19:30:00.000-08:002011-03-16T19:57:30.126-07:00

One compound word keeps nudging its way into conversations in our home: backsplash.Any topic of conversation ultimately leads back to this. The time to pursue a project is when you are motivated, and my husband seems to be a man who wants to install tile as soon as possible (not that he's every done it before). He's pretty handy, he can probably acquire the proper tools and figure out how to cut

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-83035899067268432122011-03-03T20:58:00.000-08:002011-03-08T16:12:35.709-08:00

Getting a haircut should be a pleasant experience. After my regular stylist moved last year I wandered into a new salon. The stylist is great, but the overall experience feels like something I endure, a means to an end. The visegrip design of the sinks, the bubblegum muzak, the super bright lighting and interior design--this is not my kind of place. My hair sprouts wings the first week following

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-24129254219412129462011-02-20T06:52:00.000-08:002011-02-20T07:07:38.856-08:00

Today's the final date to participate in the 2011 Bloggies. Stop by to see the variety in blogs and cast your vote. One of my writing acquaintances, Donna Hull, is nominated in the Travel category: My Itchy Travel Feet. Donna's travel blog focuses on Active Travel for Baby Boomers. I'm not much of a traveler, but maybe I just need to learn how to do it right, starting with a trip to the spa she

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-35509900763404644732011-02-18T14:52:00.000-08:002011-02-20T07:24:01.231-08:00

We were walking along a curving path in a park, enjoying the banyon trees and colorful flowers, when we spotted it crossing the sidewalk. A snail. A splendid, beautiful snail, unlike any other snail we'd ever encountered before. His impressive two-inch shell dazzled us. We continued on our way, hoping he made it safely off the cement path to the protective cover of nearby bushes. He did not look

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-81400643103949650112011-02-17T12:43:00.000-08:002011-02-20T07:10:50.508-08:00

Lisa Genova offers another engaging novel in Left Neglected. Protagonist Sarah Nickerson, a busy executive, wife and mother, sustains a brain injury in a car accident. Her condition, Left Neglect, means that even though her vision is fine, her brain is unaware of her left side. The challenges are many, and the successes something that wouldn't have registered with her former self.In her latest

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-48551037458502622612011-02-16T09:56:00.000-08:002011-02-17T14:44:57.229-08:00

We're still adjusting to our kitchen renovations--including an attack fawcett and a stove that requires careful studying prior to use. The fawcett rests at an angle, poised to drench the unsuspecting user. The stove makes me long for the models without a digital control panel (I'm just cooking dinner, not monitoring the space shuttle). Due to color limitations, we had a choice of three stoves.

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-40616036114585343762011-02-15T15:35:00.000-08:002011-02-17T14:27:54.861-08:00

I caught episode sixteen of Hawaii Five-O last night. It was fun to see the short scene I'd watched them film, but also discombobulating to see how they patchwork scenes together, jumping from site to site in an effort to create forward momentum and a sense of immediancy.The 'kids' turned out to be college kids, not the little kids I had imagined, which made a whole lot more sense given the

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-82661095283373616032011-02-14T12:44:00.000-08:002011-02-14T13:13:45.675-08:00

It's Valentine's Day and I'm in a terrible-awful-horrible mood which began in the middle of the night when I awoke and couldn't get back to sleep for at least an hour.I've been rushing around all morning--baking, cleaning, doing loads of laundry--all things that could wait, except, apparently, for me they can't. So I'm driving us both nuts with my compulsive activity.My husband is three days

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-49227886193174691192011-02-14T12:20:00.001-08:002011-02-14T12:23:16.294-08:00

The doorbell rang Saturday afternoon, sending our small dog from napping mode into a frenzy of barking. Fresh from the shower, dressed but my hair hanging in damp clumps, I opened the door and discovered a barbershop quartet on our doorstep. I accepted the proffered long-stemmed rose and card and welcomed them into our home, redolent of boiled onions (a weird craving I indulge a couple times a

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-38301161459336236512011-02-11T09:57:00.000-08:002011-02-11T09:57:00.216-08:00

The blurbs on the cover of Tiffany Baker’s The Little Giant of Aberdeen County convinced me to give it a try—a starred review in Publishers Weekly, praise from authors Sara Gruen, Joshilyn Jackson, and Stephanie Kallos. The narrative follows protagonist Truly Plaice throughout much of her life, and she is a most unusual character, as indicated in the opening paragraph: “The day I laid Robert

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-77508474861868214242011-02-10T09:47:00.000-08:002011-02-15T15:35:31.842-08:00

On our last morning in Hawaii, we took our usual shortcut through the side lobby, past a knot of well-dressed people listening to a fellow with a clipboard at the center of the group. “I’m going to wait 'til the kids are here before I explain things, otherwise I’ll just have to repeat it.”Hmm, okay, maybe it was some sort of special tour.Several trucks lined the side of the narrow street that led

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-41282082237763770822011-02-07T09:53:00.000-08:002011-02-10T10:13:49.277-08:00

During my beachside reading binge, I sought out a few extra books to ensure I wouldn’t face the long return flight without adequate reading material. This was more challenging than I expected, as most book stores couldn't afford the high price of real estate in the area. A sundries shop offered a small rack of paperbacks, mostly guy books, but I did spot a historical novel by Philippa Gregory. I’

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-25736141598981025062011-02-05T09:27:00.000-08:002011-02-05T09:54:05.314-08:00

I love embroidered dishtowels. The oversized white flour sack style with a unique pattern in one corner. I purchased a couple at a garage sale in Iowa Falls when I lived there in the 1990s. Dancing teacups adorned the corner, one set blue, the other gold. My sister gave me another dishtowel a decade later, rainbow colored rolling pins and kitchen items in the corner. For awhile I was so charmed

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-3432027150144145262011-01-31T10:55:00.000-08:002011-01-31T10:55:00.457-08:00

The weather report had called for rain, so we were relieved when the cloud cover lifted, revealing the unique mountain range of Oahu. After a short, scenic drive, we stopped by a golf course/church--one of the most difficult courses in the world, perhaps justifying the unique combination, and began our short hike through a section of the rain forest, following part of an old stone road that had

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-66642791386217791352011-01-30T09:13:00.000-08:002011-01-30T09:44:52.202-08:00

A long flight, combined with fatigue and rainy weather, meant I zipped through the books I had packed for our vacation. When we located a bookstore I surprised myself in not selecting a light beach read. Instead, I chose Lisa Genova's Still Alice, a novel about a professor with Alzheimer's. I had read a compelling review about Genova's new release, Left Neglected, which also raved about Still

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-51298391541732869312011-01-26T15:32:00.000-08:002011-01-30T10:55:30.368-08:00

The library offered a long, long waiting list for Tatiana de Rosnay’s Sarah’s Key, but it was definitely worth the wait. The first half of the novel alternated chapters from two different time periods and perspectives, beginning with a frightened French girl in Paris on the night of July 16, 1942, the night the French police conducted a massive round-up of the city’s Jewish population. Despite

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-33786291829408936792011-01-23T13:35:00.000-08:002011-01-23T13:43:20.674-08:00

Sure, it seemed like a good idea at the time. It’s often only in hindsight that you realize just how dreadfully wrong you were.We were planning to have some work done in the kitchen and since it would mean we could be without a stove and a sink for one to two weeks, we thought, hey, why not have them start the project before we leave on a trip and finish when we return? We’d only be without a

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-18107400495108942802011-01-08T20:44:00.000-08:002011-01-08T21:00:28.758-08:00

“Wow, there must have been a bad accident at Oracle and Ina,” I commented to the store clerk. I’d felt fortunate to spot the flashing lights, the backed up traffic, the hovering helicopter, before getting blocked in. I’d been able to follow an improvised stream of cars, cutting through a small empty parking lot to a short alley, bypassing the area completely. A man ran along the edge of the road

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-34088201519536287142011-01-05T10:23:00.000-08:002011-01-30T10:51:57.385-08:00

Is a genius born a genius, or is it a quality that can be nurtured and cultivated? Jennie Nash explores this premise in The Only True Genius in the Family. The novel opens with the death of Claire's father, a famous photographer. Although they were not close, he shared a special connection with her daughter Bailey. Bailey is a gifted artist coming into her own as a young woman with a big show

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-22207479565388187662011-01-02T09:15:00.000-08:002011-01-23T13:49:20.861-08:00

Slogging through the opening chapters, I half wondered if author Stephanie Kallos wanted me to read Sing Them Home, or perhaps it wasn’t the right time for me to read it. Voices of the dead, members of a small Welsh community in Nebraska, converse like a Greek chorus, and we drop in on the lives of the three grown children of Dr. Jones as he summons his own death by golfing during a thunderstorm.

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-67182986632070509012011-01-01T10:54:00.000-08:002011-01-30T10:25:29.357-08:00

Anita Shreve's latest novel, Rescue, offers an emotionally rich, satisfying read. Set in Vermont, the novel shifts between two time periods in the life of the protagonist, Webster, centering on his troubled relationships with his wife and daughter. Webster is a paramedic in the small town where he grew up. His work, the tragedies he encounters every day, are threaded throughout the book.

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-7409491018392054192010-12-31T13:13:00.001-08:002010-12-31T14:13:50.592-08:00

Stove: Part II.The clerk at the box store referred us to a contractor who could modify our cabinets to accomodate a real stove. We called, his crew stopped by for a quick assessment. Sure, the alignment of the cupboards would be off a bit, but they'd just move the cabinet unit down, cut an inch from the space between the dishwasher and the sink and everything would be hunky-dory.Okay, nobody said

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-33076630981573556922010-12-31T12:37:00.000-08:002010-12-31T13:13:07.124-08:00

We shop for a stove. Part I.I think enough time has passed to tell this story, about four weeks or so, which gives you an indicator of the level of trauma involved.Picture me in a big, bright box store, chewing my lip, blinking back tears, as an earnest young man informs my husband and I that our countertops are three inches shorter than the standard.What?!I repeatedly muttered, "we are so

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-78210726452940126462010-12-30T12:15:00.000-08:002010-12-31T12:37:34.672-08:00

The new sink has been keeping me up nights. Rarely one to suffer in silence, I've shared my angst with my husband. Now the new sink is keeping him up nights.The lighting wasn't good in the store where we selected our new sink. There we were, squinting and holding a paint sample next to the sink. Maybe it will blend in at dusk. Maybe if we paint the kitchen walls terra cotta nobody will notice our

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-58037501880977752972010-12-29T17:43:00.000-08:002010-12-31T12:15:13.644-08:00

We painted the kitchen. And by 'we,' I mean 'my husband.' The only thing I did was serve as instigator. And now, we're not likely the results so much. Two green walls gone, consumed by beige. Blech.We live in a very beige world, and we have just succeeded in making it beiger. Beige walls, beige woodwork, beige homeowners. So why all the beige? Colorful flooring.2010 has been a year of home

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335983.post-81889604566790067102010-12-24T11:39:00.000-08:002010-12-26T10:46:42.813-08:00

Christmas makes me think of . . . fruit. I'm not talking to the exclusion of everything else -- the birth of the Christ child, stories of old, nostalgia wrapped in the distant memory of a glowing fire in the hearth and my family united beneath the roof of the only place that will ever truly feel like home -- I'm refering to a more humble association: my Depression era parents telling us of

Patricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10873021112341299847noreply@blogger.com0