November 13, 2026 YESTERDAY WHEN I WAS MAD

 

Back to school after the fire. Nice to see the kids and be back in my classroom. The building hasn't been this clean in 70 years. It looks incredible. The cleanup team really outdid themselves. Onto fixing the REALLY damaged part of the building. Not sure how long that will take but I've heard rumors that the library will be open in the next few weeks AND the auditorium just opened--so we'll be able to celebrate Thanksgiving mass as a school. Would have been weird to have mass in the gym........sometimes you don't know what you've got til it's gone. Glad it was SO temporary. Glad to be able to focus on books again. Just finished Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth. Elsie "Mabel" Fitzpatrick, the main character in the story, is an 81 year old woman who lives a quiet life on Kenning Lane in Melbourne, Australia. After the death of an elderly neighbor, an old headline reappears and Elsie is questioned by the police on suspicion of murder. It seems that Elsie is famous---she's the youngest person (15) ever convicted of murder in Australia. All of the sudden, Elsie is in the spot light again and reluctantly decides to share her story with two young podcasters in hopes that she will finally be released from the past. The story then alternates between the past and the present as the reader learns all about Elsie's young life,  her devoted Aunt Cess and Ness, and the tragedy that befell them years ago. The story also focuses on Kenny Lane and the quirky cast of characters who are Elsie's neighbors. These include wonderful people including--Daphne, Pete the Greek, Joan, Persephone and her mom Roxanne. Find out all about Mad Mabel and her life when you read this lovely novel-- that will stick with you for a long time. Enjoy. 

October 24, 2026 VIRTUAL INSANITY

 Talk about PTSD. We have been teaching virtually for the last few weeks while our building recovers from the fire.  Seriously having COVID flashbacks. Virtually teaching is so much work. All lessons have to be uploaded into google classroom--all online work has to be be graded after it is submitted AND I'm drowning in emails all day long. Figuring out new technology is also time consuming and super frustrating. As an art teacher, it is even more difficult because students don't have access to the same materials--I can't walk around and offer a little extra help, cheer them on, or assess work while students are in the room.  IT IS ALSO AN ENORMOUS HEADACHE spending so much time on the computer. It's totally been affecting my reading AND THAT DOESN'T WORK FOR ME. My eyes are too tired to read and I've been too tired to write my blog. UGH.  Hopefully be back in school sooner than later. In the meantime, I finally finished a book yesterday that you might like, it's M. L. Stedman's new book A Far- Flung Life. The MacBride family has owned Meredith Downs, a million acre sheep station in Western Australia for several generations. As the story unfolds, It is 1958 and Phil MacBride and his two sons, Warren and Matt, are driving a truck full of sheep to the station when a kangaroo hits the truck and tragedy strikes. Phil and Warren are instantly killed and Matt ends up in the hospital for several months with severe brain injuries, black outs and memory loss. Meanwhile, back at the station, Matt's mother, Lorna, and sister, Rose, hold down the fort while navigating through their grief. When Matt finally comes home, his life is very different. He has to learn to manage a station he barely remembers. His sister Rose also has problems of her own that cause her to leave the ranch for a time, eventually  returning with scars of her own. An unspeakable event --that I will not tell you about--also changes the landscape of the family forever. This is a beautifully written, family saga that spans about forty years with many interesting characters including Pete Peachy, Bonnie and Andy, who live in extreme isolation and endure  grief, love, guilt and hopefully forgiveness. 

October 6, 2026 SMOKE ON THE WATER

 

You just can't make it up. One minute I'm at school grading projects--and the next--we are having a fire drill BECAUSE THERE IS A REAL FIRE. As a seasoned teacher--I have been on countless fire drills. They are just a fact of life. We drag all the kids outside--take attendance--keep kids orderly. OK--so we go out for THIS drill--THINKING IT'S ONLY A DRILL--and it's NOT. It took me a few minutes to wrap my head around the situation. Thankfully--we got all the kids out safely and later home.  You can drill all you want BUT until it happens at your school.....The good news is that we had just practiced a whole new fire drill line up/system two days before so the kids knew what to do. Although only one office was affected by the fire, countless others have water damage and the whole school will have to undergo a major clean up. Hopefully we will be back in school sooner than later but just think of all the extra reading I can do. I recently finished a beautifully written book by Elif Shafak called There are Rivers in the Sky. This  historically based novel is set against the Tigris and the Thames and has four main characters who are connected through the centuries by one drop of water. King Ashurbanipal of ancient Mesopotamia in the 7th century B.C., whose library held the original Epic of Gilgamesh that is later discovered by archeologists.  Arthur Smyth in the 1800's,  a product of the slums, who by grit, determination and brilliance eventually escapes to study the ancient world. Narin, a young Yazidi girl, who lives by the Tigris River in Turkey who is forced to flee with her grandmother because of ISIS in 2014, and finally Zaheekhah, a water scientist in London, recently divorced who faces an identity crisis in 2018. Their stories and the supporting characters in the book are interesting and I really enjoyed learning more these areas. Check it out and let me know what you think. 

September 24, 2026 HOUND DOG

Been tough transitioning back to school. Totally exhausted. My youngest ALSO went back to school so we are adjusting to being empty nesters again AND we had to put our 15 year old dog down. UGH. Farrah was the best.  She was a rescue dog-- she actually seemed to understand that she was given a second chance. She was a loyal, loving member of our family.  She was also "mother" to our other dog, Maggie, who seems utterly lost without "The Boss" around. We are all trying to navigate our world without our sweetheart. Not sure why it's so hard to lose a dog-but so thankful we got to spend 14 years with her AND even more thankful that we still have Mags around to keep us company. It's been a rough month. Good thing I had a pretty awesome book to help me get through. Just finished The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett. Set in 1933 on the Mississippi Delta during the Great Depression, Birdie Calhoun is a 24 year old unmarried bookkeeper who travels to Oxford to ask her sister, Frances, for a loan to save the family farm. While she is in Oxford, Birdie meets Meg Lefleur while helping out at the Orphan Asylum. Meg is an 11 yr old girl who is being gravely mistreated at the orphanage after her mother, Charlie, disappears. After Birdie and Charlie meet, they form an unlikely friendship and come up with a crazy plan to make money, control their own destiny and rescue Meg. The writing is spot on and there are several quirky characters in the story that are laugh out loud funny--my only complaint is that I thought it was a bit too long. Most people don't agree, so read this wonderful story about resilience and friendship for yourself and see what you think. 

August 31, 2026 SUMMER BREEZE

 

Another summer coming to an end. It's been a good one. Finally felt good running. Tried to run every other day between 4-6 miles. Overall I felt very strong. So thankful. CAN'T tell you how much I enjoy getting out there with my buddies. We do something every day. Either run, walk or yoga. CAN'T tell you how much I am going to miss this routine when I go back to school. I really need a job that works AROUND my exercise schedule. That's what would make me TRULY happy. Hopefully I'll find THAT job real soon. Anyone got any ideas??? Wish someone would pay me to read and review books. In the meantime, I just finished a novel by one of my favorite writers that I'd like to share with you--Elizabeth Strout's-- The Things We Never Say. Set in a coastal town in Massachusetts in 2024, Artie Dam is a 57 year old history teacher whose been married to Evie for over thirty years. After experiencing a tragedy involving their son, Rob, the couple is changed. Artie retreats into himself, lonely and filled with self-doubt, while Evie becomes callous and distant. Artie is further troubled by the 2024 presidential election and a world he feels disconnected from. One day while out sailing, Artie has a boating accident that forces him to confront his despair and change his life for the better. Strout is a master at creating characters with real struggles that readers can understand. And her writing is gorgeous. Find out more about Artie, Evie and a long buried secret that also threaten their future when you read this lovely gem for yourself. 

August 2, 2026 57 CHANNELS AND NOTHIN' ON

Who remembers the CONSOLE TV?  It was basically a giant piece of furniture with a TV in it that weighed at least 2 tons. Oh--those were the days. Life was so much simpler. There were only 3 major TV stations--ABC--CBS--NBC. There was also PBS and if you were lucky Channel 56. There was NO remote to lose--kids were THE REMOTE CONTROL. Today we have 3 remotes and I don't even know which one turns on the TV. Not even kidding. So our "SMART TV" has been freezing up on us--and our cable company told us we should switch to streaming. It's mind boggling. Should we get YouTube TV--Hulu--Disney--Philo---the list is endless??? And what the hell is a Fire Stick or Roku TV? Honestly--it's ALL WAY TOO MUCH FOR ME. I'd go back to the CONSOLE TV and 5 channels if I could. This all reminds me of a very interesting book I just finished called Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. As this debut novel unfolds, Natalie Heller Mills lives on Yesteryear Ranch in Idaho with her husband, Caleb, and their 5 children. Natalie is a "Tradwife" and successful  influencer. On her social media site, she promotes a 19th century lifestyle, Christian values, traditional gender roles, farm life and home schooling. One morning Natalie wakes up to discover that she is actually living in the 1850's in a house similar to her own but without modern conveniences. The story is told from 2 timelines--Natalie's life before the incident ( don't want to say anything about that) and the one where she is back in time. I found the story fascinating and hard to put down--it's definitely a satire BUT it is also a suspenseful mystery. Find out what happened to Natalie and her whole family when you read this very different book that I thoroughly enjoyed.   

July 22, 2026 YOU TAKE MY BREATH AWAY

 

Who remembers the ABC Afterschool Special? I absolutely loved it--ESPECIALLY- the 1979 episode starring Rex Smith called Sooner or Later. Denise Miller played Jessie, a love sick teenager who tries to meet and attract, Michael (Rex Smith) an aspiring musician, who teaches guitar lessons.  After watching it--I became completely OBSESSED with him. Posters from Teen Beat Magazine adorned my walls as I fantasized about meeting Rex AND BELIEVING--much like the show--that if he just met ME............This obsession lingered as I remember going to see him on Broadway in Pirates of Penzance--again dreaming we would meet....Crazy.  My heart still skips a beat--AND I FEEL THIRTEEN AGAIN-- whenever I hear the song You Take My Breath Away. This trip down memory lane has everything to do with an interesting book I just finished called American Fantasy by Emma Straub. American Fantasy is a cruise ship specializing in themed cruises. Annie, a recently divorced woman in her fifties, reluctantly agrees to accompany her sister on a celebrity cruise to see, Boy Talk, a boy band that was famous in the 1990s.  After her sister breaks her leg, Annie finds herself boarding the ship accompanied by 3,000 middle-aged screaming female fans. This is serious fandom--women completely devoted to the boy band --who  cruise every year to spend four days with the band--photo ops, meet & greets, concerts. The story is told through three different perspectives including Annie who is both horrified and caught up in the nostalgia she feels. Sarah, the head of JackRabbit productions, who is in charge of entertainment and making sure the band members are happy.  Interestingly, the story is also told through members of the band who are basically addicted to the attention in some cases while others just  need the money. Don't want to tell too much more about the story but you will totally enjoy it if you can buy into the fantasy and think of it as a fun escape. It totally made me think WAY back--who would I want to see if I ever went on a celebrity cruise.........maybe Rex Smith or KISS. Not sure....How about you??  Enjoy.