September 23, 2023 GLORY DAYS

 

One thing people never tell you is that your kids will grow up, move out, live their own lives AND it will never be the same. As my kids were growing up, I never really thought too much about it BECAUSE THEY WERE ALWAYS AROUND.  But when they left-- everything changed. I guess I took my time with them for granted. We tend to take people for granted when they live with us day in and day out. I still see my older kids often-- BUT NOT ENOUGH FOR ME. It's really hard to go from knowing their every move to knowing NOTHING. Letting go is the hardest thing. I still struggle with it and I haven't lived with my older kids for over 10 years. Not sure what I'll do when my youngest leaves --in less than 2 years. Ugh. As horrible as the Pandemic was in 2020, one good thing happened. My daughter came home and lived with us again for several months. I LOVED having her home again. We walked, talked, and drove each other crazy. It was great. I was reminded of my (guilty) good fortune while reading Ann Patchett's new book Tom Lake. This little gem is set during the Pandemic in 2020 in Northern Michigan on a fruit farm. The main character, Lara Nelson, is enjoying spending time with her three adult daughters, Emily, Maisie and Nell, who have come home because of COVID restrictions. As many of the crew has abandoned the farm, Lara and her daughters need to help pick fruit for several hours a day, and to pass the time, they ask their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor she knew briefly in the 1980s. The novel then jumps back and forth between the two time periods as Lara relates the story of her time at Tom Lake, a theater company, where she was almost famous playing Emily Gibbs in Our Town with Peter Duke. I don't want to say much more other than I totally enjoyed this book. It reminded me that we all have a summer in our past  that stands out and it's fun to take a nostalgic look back at our glory days every once in a while.  Find out all about Lara's past and her relationship with Peter Duke and other theater actors when you read this super enjoyable book for yourself. It's only 300 short and sweet pages. Enjoy.

September 10, 2023 HOT OF THE MOMENT

Crazy first week of school. The weather was wicked--HAZY-HOT-HUMID. School felt a little like Death Valley. Seriously--just breathing made me sweat. BUT--No biggy right--WRONG.  School was actually canceled Thursday AND Friday because of the heat. I have invented a new term for it. We had  two "SUN" DAYS.  Get it? Instead of SNOW--SUN. Can't make it up. Thinking back to the olden days......can't remember anyone ever caring if we sweat TOO much in school. Pretty sure NO ONE cared what we did back in the day though.  Kids today are WEAK. A little sweat and they whine like babies. Better watch out--we're gonna  create a WHOLE generation of people who have NO COPING SKILLS. That's gonna hurt. In other news, I just finished a really good mystery by William Kent Krueger called The River We Remember. I am a huge fan of Krueger and have read several of his books. This one does NOT disappoint. Set in Jewel, Minnesota, in 1958, while the small town of Jewel celebrates Memorial Day, the body of Jimmy Quinn is found floating in the Alabaster River. Sheriff Brody Dern, a war hero, investigates the death while the town folk immediately suspect Noah Bluestone, a Native American WWII veteran because he's not White and he had the audacity to marry a Japanese woman named Kyoko.  Both Angie Madison, a war widow, and Brody, try to ease tensions in the town after Bluestone is arrested and  refuses to speak. Find out who killed Quinn and so much more when you read  this mystery for yourself.  It's about small town life in the late 1950's, the cost of war, and the prejudices people try to justify in the name of Manifest Destiny. It's about 430 pages--an easy read--with great characters. There's even a bit of a love story mixed in if that suits your fancy. Enjoy! 

September 4, 2023 TEARS IN HEAVEN

 Tomorrow marks my 25th year in education. WOW. The beginning of the school year is such an exciting time. It really is fun to meet new kids--It's especially rewarding to show them that they can accomplish anything if they commit and put in the effort. Just believing in the possibilities is a gift in and of itself. I am really blessed--I get to watch kids grow and develop into kind human beings. When teachers-parents-staff-students work together, great things can happen. Hope everyone has a great year. Just finished an incredible book, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, by one of my favorite writers, James McBride. As the story unfolds, It's 1972 and workers discover a skeleton in the Chicken Hill section of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, while digging to make way for a housing project. The bones have been there for several decades. The story then goes back to 1925 when Chicken Hill was a neighborhood of immigrant Jews and African Americans. One of the main characters, Chona, runs the Heaven & Earth Grocery store and her husband, Moshe, runs a theatre and dance hall in town. When the state decides to send a deaf, black boy named DoDo to Pennhurst, the community on Chicken Hill band together to try to save him. This novel is about the survival of a marginalized community and the lengths they go to for justice in a corrupt, small town of bigots, liars and thieves. The cast of characters who live in Chicken Hill are unforgettable--Paper, Nate, Addie, Fatty, Big Soap-- and the writing is perfect. Find out what happens to DoDo, Chona and the rest of the characters when you read this page turner for yourself. I totally enjoyed it!

August 28, 2023 CHAIN OF FOOLS

Been going to physical therapy for a few months AND happy to report that I've started running again. My knees are FINALLY feeling better and I'm currently running two minutes/walking 2 minutes for 3 miles and feeling good. It's been a long road....6 months since the fall. I've been working on strengthening my feet, knees, quads, glutes and core. Also spending a good amount of time stretching the hamstrings and IT band. Doing all kinds of drills too to change my running form. I'm marching, skipping with high knees, butt kicking, grapevining, lunging........I'm working on driving my knees forward, reducing step length and keeping shoulders up and back to reduce stress on my knees. Glad I have a buddy to work with as my running partner is also coming back from an injury. Pretty soon, we'll be back to our old routine. Can't wait. Also, can't wait to tell you about the final installment of the North Bath series written by Richard Russo called Somebody's Fool. Russo wrote the first book in the trilogy in 1993 called Nobody's Fool. In 2016 the second novel was written and it was called Everybody's Fool. This one written in 2023 is Somebody's Fool.  This lovely novel is also set in North Bath, a small town in upstate New York in 2010. Although Donald "Sully" Sullivan has been dead for 10 years, his spirit is alive and well. The town of North Bath is finally being annexed by its rival Schuyler Springs and Sully's son Peter is back in town living in Miss Berle's house. His abandoned son, Thomas, reappears causing Peter to reflect on his own abandonment by Sully when he was a kid.  Doug Raymour, the former chief of police finds a dead body in the long abandoned hotel, Sans Souci, and he is forced to work with the new chief of police and his former lover, Charice, to solve the crime. There are all sort of trials and tribulations for the cast of characters-- Rub, Vera, Carl, Ruth, Janey, Tina and it was a pleasure to return to Bath and reconnect with them. Russo is a master at writing about working class people, small town life--where everyone knows your business and people care about their neighbors. It's about 450 pages from a writer who is spectacular at his craft.

August 21, 2023 SIX FEET UNDER

I have a confession to make. Don't judge me BUT I have a strange obsession with OBITUARIES. I have been known to scour the obits looking for QUIRKY--FUNNY OBITS. I'm not interested in  traditional obits--those are a dime a dozen. I'm looking for very DIFFERENT obits--the ones that either make my head spin, laugh out loud or both. I'm serious. THEY ARE REALLY OUT THERE. I didn't realize until yesterday that being an obituary writer is an actual profession. If I had known that --I just might have chosen a different profession. Ha. On a serious note-- there is actually a Society of Professional Obituary Writers out there--BUMMER they not accepting new members right now. This is interesting though.  They hold "The Grimmys" every two years. Writers from all around the world submit obits and win awards for best obits.  Who Knew?? The reason I'm thinking about obituaries right now is because I just finished a book and one of the main characters was a professional obituary writer, It's called The Love of My Life by Rosie Walsh. As the story unfolds, Emma and Leo have been happily married for ten years and live in London with their young daughter, Ruby. Emma, however, has been struggling with cancer for several years and is hoping to be in remission soon. Emma is a famous Marine biologist and Leo is an obituary writer for a major newspaper. As on obit writer,  one of his responsibilities  is to get "stock obits" ready for the future. Unbeknownst to Emma, Leo begins a "stock obit" for her. While researching her general information, Leo learns that there are some major discrepancies between what Emma has told him of her life and reality. As Leo digs into her past, he starts to believe that Emma is not the woman he thinks she and that their life together is based on lies. Find out what happens to Leo and Emma and why Emma is hiding her past and keeping secrets that could ultimately shatter her future when you read this serious page turner of 385 pages. This is a love story and mystery, with lots of twists and turns with complex, flawed characters that I really enjoyed. 

August 13, 2023 TRIP AROUND THE SUN

 

Six birthdays between July and August. That's a lot of CAKE, PRESENTS, PARTIES, COOK-OUTS.  I'm exhausted. Just finished the LAST party yesterday. It was the Queen's bday. Not sure why but her birthday goes ON AND ON. Seriously--for days and days.  It all started with her STAYCATION on the beach--gorgeous week--6 friends and a lot of fun. It ended last night with a Mussels party (her fav) with family and friends. Enjoyed vegan pesto pasta, salad, bread and vegan key lime pie!! I'm telling you--I need a vacation from her staycation. Gonna kick up my feet--relax--and review the book I just finished. I totally enjoyed Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano. This beautifully written family saga spans 1960-2008 and is set in Chicago. As the story unfolds, William Waters is the unfortunate child of parents spirally from the death of his sister. His parents are detached and their grief leaves William feeling unloved and unwanted. The only positive in his life is basketball. He excels in high school and is eventually recruited to play in college where he meets Julia Padavano. Julia and her sisters, Sylvie, Cecelia, and Emeline, are inseparable; best friends who share a tiny house with their parents, Charlie and Rose. After meeting William, Julia decides he's the one for her, but William's unhappy childhood haunts their future and an unforeseen tragedy changes everything and threatens the Padovano sisters' close relationship. This is a story about sibling love, family love, relationships, shifting allegiances, loss and acceptance. The characters are interesting, flawed people that you will come to love and miss when the story is over. It's about 400 pages of brilliant writing. Enjoy. 

August 3, 2023 WITCHY WOMAN

 Entering my 6th year teaching art. I really enjoy being surrounded by budding artists. Some of them are truly amazing. They have taught me many things over the years. One thing I have learned is that I AM an ART TEACHER NOT AN ARTIST. Yes--I can draw and paint BUT I do not have the secret ingredient. It's a GIFT. A passion and creativity that oozes from every pore. These are people DRIVEN to create--otherwise they feel incomplete. It's their oxygen.  That's the difference. I can teach anyone how to "SEE", draw and paint-- it's a skill anyone can cultivate to a degree---BUT that's as far as it will go without THE GIFT. I believe that we all have certain gifts and talents--it's our job to figure out what that may be and share it. I think my gift is probably teaching. Helping students be their BEST. Believing in them, caring about them and inspiring them to share their gifts with others. The characters in Weyward by Emilia Hart also have a special gift. As this debut novel unfolds, three women from different time periods appear to have a "sensitivity to nature" and an innate ability to heal others. The story of Altha begins in 1619 as she is being held in a dungeon on trial for witchcraft. Violet, the second woman, is a sixteen year old girl living with her father and brother on their country estate, Orton Hall, in 1942. Set in 2019, Kate is a woman living in London who runs away from her abusive husband and hides in her great-aunt's cottage in the country. Hart seamlessly weaves together an interesting tale of three woman over five centuries who are somehow connected. The reader learns not only about their tragic tales but more importantly their strength and resilience in a world controlled for the most part by men. This 330 page book is a real page turner. It touches on witchcraft, but is more than that. It's also a mystery. I was drawn to the characters and really wanted to make sure they were safe in the end. Find out what happens to each and how they are connected when you check out this book for yourself. Enjoy.