GIRL IN TRANSLATION

Girl In Translation by Jean Kwok - This was the book I'd been waiting for! Once begun, I couldn't put it down. It's the story of Kimberly, who moves from Hong Kong to America with her mom. Her evil aunt gives them a job in her sweatshop, and arranges for them to live in an unheated apartment in an abandoned building in a terrible neighborhood. I don't want to say one more thing about this book. I absolutely loved it, and hope that you will, too. It's a story of surviving in America in the 1970s or 80s. I chose this one off the book club shelf at the library based on the cover, title and blurb. Although the last few books I've read were enjoyable, this one surpassed expectations. Let me know if you loved it as much as I did.

THE VIOLIN OF AUSCHWITZ

The Violin of Auschwitz by Maria Angels Anglada - This is a really good book. If you are a violinist or luthier, this story might hold a special interest for you. (Did you know that a luthier is someone who makes and repairs stringed instruments?) It's a small novel, but a big story....not overly dramatic (it was originally written in Catalan, and this is a translation) but very engaging. The story of a woman named Regina, a man named Daniel and a man named Bronislaw. I got up early this morning to finish the book, then the phone rang, so I went into my office to talk to Susan and check my email, Scrabble, etc, and when I'd finally finished that so that I could go back and read the book, I was freezing. Freezing. So I crept under Peter's covers since he was at school and his room is the warmest, and as I was reading, I thought about what it would have been like to be a prisoner in a concentration camp. I think I could have handled the lack of food, the rude treatment, maybe even some amount of torture. The thing that would have gotten me would have been the cold. All each person has to do in the world is to never hurt any other person, and we'd be so much better.

INVICTUS

Invictus - Excellent. Invictus is a movie starring Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela shortly after he became president of South Africa. Matt Damon plays the captain of the South African Rugby team. There is so much here, that I wouldn't know where to begin. See this for the history, for the biography of Mandela, for the positive message of peace and reconciliation that Mandela promoted with every move he made.
The word invictus means unconquered or undefeated. It is also a poem of inspiration, quoted by Mandela/Freeman in the movie:

| Invictus

Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. William Ernest Henley

I REMEMBER NOTHING * THE UNCOMMON READER

I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron - You can't go wrong with Nora. She'll be writing fresh and fun when she's 100, and we can all not remember it together. These short funny personal stories seem even funnier than her previous books, but who really remembers? My favorite is the story about meeting people who you know you know, may or may not remember how you know them, know that you may have spent a whole weekend with them at some point, but still can't remember them.


The Uncommon Reader A Novella by Alan Bennett - There's nothing for it, really. The queen stumbles onto the library on wheels, meets a lowly young cook from the royal kitchen, picks up a book and soon becomes a reader. So what this tiny little read is about, is about reading. It's highly enjoyable, but for me, sad to say, went nowhere at the end. Nevertheless, if one is a reader, all the rest of the book is worth the read. One meant to mark a sentence or phrase here or there, but suffice it to say, if one is a reader, one will know just when one has come upon one of the gems in this tasty moresel.

Remembering what to do today. My lists are long. Very long, and I'm going to try to do one of those days where I go off the list and just keep doing things as I come across them. Something important will be to once and for all put things away in my room, since I never completed the put-away after selling the big dresser. Here goes!

CHELSEA ON THE ROCKS

Chelsea on the Rocks - Not worth it. Save your time and catch up on your DVRd stuff.

THE SUMMER BEFORE DARK

The Summer Before Dark by Doris Lessing - The cover looks promising, right? White letters on misty dark background, and a Nobel Prize Winner to boot. This book was written in 1973, and won a Nobel Prize for Literature. I have no idea why. Except there was a different sensibility about writing in those days...a more serious, bland way of writing with characters doing lots of ruminating. Books were often written in the third person, which somehow, coupled with the ruminations, rings false to me. In this book, a 45 year old English housewife gets a job when her family are all away for the summer. Then she has an affair with a 30 year old she meets in Turkey who gets sick in Spain after they sleep together once. Then I missed how she unloaded him, (he was really really sick, for weeks-whatever it was it was bad) but then she gets sick (really bad) and goes back to England where she rents (lets) a room in a house with a young woman who is rich and buys clothes and doesn't know who to marry or what she wants. The older woman gets better but sometimes goes out of the house looking old and haggle-y and sometimes goes out looking great. Actually that part I like a little bit because it's so true; there's that age where you can look fabulous for your age, or look 20 years older. Sometimes in the same day. As the English say in some of these ruminating books, "there's nothing for it, is there?" I also love but don't, that expression. It means nothing. Part of my bad attitude is that this was on the Book Club shelf at the library. When I first started writing book reviews, the Book Club shelf at our library had the most wonderful selection of new fiction. I'd read every one, and each was better than the last. It got to the point where I couldn't wait to see a new offering on that shelf. A few years ago, someone started adding non-fiction and ancient writings (such as this 1973 prize winner) to the book club shelves. One really has to be careful or one will bring home a dog like this. I'll end on that note. This is probably one of the worst reviews I've written! But, I suppose there's nothing for it.

THE LOVELY BONES

The Lovely Bones - I read the book years ago and loved the first part of it and liked the second part a lot. Although it's a story with a disturbing underlying theme, Susie Salmon draws you in. She's so alive and there, no matter where she really might be. The movie is great. I hadn't remembered many details, but couldn't stop watching just like I couldn't stop reading. The actress who plays Susie is amazing. Watch with an open mind and open heart, and this movie will talk to you too. And then....watch your children.

I eaten all the cookies I'm interested in, and Steve can finish them off. In a day or so they'll all be gone which is kind of embarrassing but goes to show you the power of sugar. Sh Sh Sh.....Sh Sh Sh......Sh Sh Sh Sh Sh Sh Sugartown.... Didn't you love the Nancy Sinatra video?

SUGARTOWN

While reading, listen to this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzIrfA_t1Yk

Yesterday was my friend Jeanne's annual Cookie Exchange. She and another friend invite all the women they know to bring 4 dozen cookies to one of their homes on the first Friday morning in December. Everyone chats around, drinking coffee, juice and mimosas while snacking on mini quiches and spanakopita. It's a two hour event from 9:30 to 11:30 am. At 11:00 am, the hostesses award someone the prize for the prettiest cookie. Someone else gets a prize for last year's tastiest cookie based on hostess opinion and requests for recipes after the event. (I requested the recipe for a huge peanut butter truffley cookie dipped in chocolate, as well as shortbread that was cut into the tiniest bite-sized squares - obviously those are gone and not in the photo). Then you get a big tray and go around and take one of each cookie. They provide lots of saran wrap, you wrap up your cookies and go. Peter didn't notice there was a huge platter of sugar in the middle of the counter, but Steve always notices. However, there are a few rules for the poor guy. (Good thing he doesn't crave sugar). .....Steve, don't eat the the shaped ones, don't eat the ones that look like they don't have nuts. Don't eat anything that looks like a truffle, or with peanut butter, or really special. If they are a bar cookie without chocolate, with nuts, and look crunchy, show it to me and you can probably have it. And you can split with me any chocolate ones if it looks like they have nuts or fruit in them, but then you can probably have my half too, if I take a bite and don't love them. And you can have anything with ginger, jam or mocha. Except I forgot that the really chocolate-y looking shortbread was a mocha cookie and I ate it. My contribution this year was a simple cookie like brownie with white glaze and red and green holly decoration. I missed the first year of the cookie exchange - it was the morning of the memorial service for my friend Janice who was the most wonderful and avid cook and baker. May her memory be eternal. It is with me, because every year during the cookie exchange I remember her intelligence and wisdom and warmth. She was a great friend. But I digress.....The 2010 Cookie Exchange was a sugary success which has left me on a sugar high, so look out stuff to do....here I come!

DECORATING FOR THE HOLIDAYS

...or should I say holidaze. I can't believe the season is already here. It doesn't feel like it inside my messy little world of home and stuff to constantly do. Which is my own doing. I don't know what I'd do if I had no long list of things to do constantly ahead of me and in my path. I only wish I could always just do the things I want to do, and not the things I have to do. Which means get someone in here to clean! But I've been unable to give up the control of how it's done. It either gets done my way or not at all. Oh well. ANYWAY I did get started on a couple of pretty trees in the dining room. My theme this year is all silver and white with a bit of black here and there. Above is the Silver Tree, purchased at a garage sale last summer. No lights, just the white and silver ornaments. Here's the white tree with the silver ornaments....if I have time, I might change out the red ribbons for white. I love the way the tree is reflected in the mirror, and then if you look in the mirror behind the tree, you see the reflection of one of my mirror trees. Here's a card-worthy picture of a star in the white tree: Now back to the silver tree where I added this old fashioned looking doll I picked up at a craft fair years ago. And last but not least, one of my favorite ornaments, purchased when Peter was a baby. This is one I'd save when it comes down to it. The snowbaby. So soft, so peaceful, so comforting. I love the snowbaby. Oops...there is a problem loading pics into Blogger now, I'll have to add them later....

CODE TALKER

Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac - Code Talker is a fictional account of true events that happened to Navajo Indians in the first half of the twentieth century. This is the story of a Navajo boy who is sent to boarding school in order to unlearn his Navajo language and ways. Then, when he is a teenager, he and other Navajos are recruited by the United States Marine Corps to study and develop a code that our enemies in WWII won't be able to understand or decipher. The code, as you may have guessed, was composed of words from the Navajo language. The second half of the book is about the character's war experiences in the South Pacific. It's about storming small islands under Japanese fire and what it's like to live under those conditions. The author is a historian so the book is loaded with interesting information and details. The Navajo are a gentle, poetic, nature inspired people. Yet, they sent their sons into war. War is so unnecessary and so cruel and so wrong on so many levels, and it still occurs. And is sanctioned by our own government! It is beyond my comprehension that a government could send human beings into situations where they will be killed. For nothing. Unbelievable. I digress. Code Talker is a good Navajo Indian, World War II read.

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT

The Kids Are Alright - This great movie was only in the theaters for a minute, probably because it's such a great family values movie. Which is a quote from the writer/director. I say, without further ado, rent it and enjoy a fun little thought-provoking story. Great characters, great dialog, great story. This is about two adopted teenagers deciding to find their sperm donor father. They are actually half siblings, because each of their moms had a child with his sperm. Loved this movie.

OK, so I've got another day to spend at home, and the list is long my friends. I'm making my gifties, got some straightening, want to bead, need to figure out tomorrow since Friday is the famous Cookie Exchange and I can't believe it's already here. I'm not in serious competition in this thing, but some of the women really really like to win. I just want to make something delicious. Want to do some early wrapping since I enjoy it. Want to get a whole bunch of new seasonal stuff onto Craigslist. OK, here goes. I'll maybe post pictures of my two pretty little Christmas trees later on.

AL CAPONE DOES MY SHIRTS

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko - This is a great crossover book ... written for kids and pre-teens, but appealing to every reader. It's the story of a boy whose family moves to Alcatraz in 1935 when his dad gets a job on the prison island as a guard and electrician. His older sister has always been an unusual person, and his mom wants to her to go to a special school in San Francisco. Although it takes place during the depression, there is something timeless about this book, which makes almost no sense in our current world of screens. Even the cover is appealing - red, silver and black. I give you this suggestion as a gift, and you can give this book as a gift to any young reader this holiday season. It's a wonderful read.

THE AVIARY GATE

The Aviary Gate by Katie Hickman - This is the story of Celia Lamprey, daughter of a merchant ship sea captain in the 16th century. At the same time, it's the story of Elizabeth, a PhD scholar at Oxford who is doing research and stumbles across some old writings about an English girl who may have been lost at sea. Celia's story is really interesting since she ends up as a "slave" in a Turkish harem. It's so interesting to learn how the inner workings of a harem and it's hierarchy. A little guide to the characters and map of the harem rooms at the beginning of the book is really helpful to keep track of what's going on. Throughout the book, I didn't need to be reading the modern day story, but at the very end, it comes together nicely. I liked it, although the book that took place in Venice was better. I reviewed it a few posts ago...

Today I somehow got real busy in my sewing room, and am so happy to be doing so! I also started to seriously get rid of stuff that I'd collected in the large dresser I recently sold, so condensing my things and deciding what to keep and what to get rid of went well. Tomorrow I'll put a few things for sale.

My Christmas decorating theme is going to be silver and white this year. I'm just finishing up a white satin table cloth that will go on the round table in the dining room with a sheer silvery snowflake fabric overlay. On that will either be a white tree or silver tree. Both fabrics are from my voluminous stash, and I even used up two spools of silver metallic thread. That I have to replace, but I'm super psyched about using the satin and the snowflake fabric. Once the little vignette is finished I'll put a picture up.

MADE

Made - Is one of the best Dream Come True TV shows ever. It's been on MTV for years, and this morning I just watched a particularly sweet show. A self-proclaimed nerdy high school freshman wanted to be seen and noticed at school, and decided that hip-hop dancing at a fall pep-rally would be the way to do so. MTV went for it, and sent him a Made coach for hip hop. He is the only son of an older single mom, and felt like a mama's boy to top it all off, skinny, glasses wearing, a bit of a lisp and a beautiful smile...you just love this kid. The coach had pushed him hard, which they always do on Made. Finally, the day of the pep rally was here, and he and his freshman team got out to dance in front of the whole school. Alas, the sophomores won the competition, but the freshmen came in second! He was cool with that because he finally felt like people saw him and knew who he was. His second goal was to ask the girl he had a crush on to that night's dance. Although she said she'd go, she ditched him the moment they walked into the dance. He took her outside and she told him that although he took it as a date, she didn't take it that way. He's such a nice boy....he was OK with that as long as they were still friends. Soon he was on the dance floor, though, and lo and be, he was surrounded by cute girls! They all danced with him (he was now a great dancer from the coaching) and one even followed him outside and asked if he would kiss her. I LOVE THIS SHOW! His mom and coaches said that he was a different person than the boy they knew just five weeks ago. Made is formulaic.....on each show, the Made team surprises the Made kid at school, usually in the cafeteria, but sometimes in an assembly or class. Then the kid starts working out, but gets really tired and burned out fast. So the Made coach has a heart to heart talk with the kid about dedication and hard work leading to success. The kid gets re-inspired, and the coach becomes friendlier. Then comes the big day of the competition or show, and then the social situation with the special someone. Watching Made is about learning a new skill, each different kid, and that we are all the same...everyone just wants to be seen.

Family Jewels - This is an A&E show that I watch many mornings at 7 - 8 a.m. It's a reality show about Gene Simmons and his family. For those few clueless who read this, Gene Simmons was (is) the lead singer of KISS. Now he manages his business empire, makes appearances around the world, and spends time with his amazingly grounded family. Shannon is his girlfriend; he does not want to get married-it would go against everything he's always stood for. They have two almost grown kids, 21 and 16 who love to tease him. It's pretty sweet and Gene is a character.

A SEPARATE PEACE

A Separate Peace - I read the book a couple of weeks ago so that I could discuss it with Peter who is reading it for freshman English. Last night I watched the movie and liked it almost as well. The beginning of the movie takes some licenses with the actual story, but once the story was rolling, it was pretty true to the book. I cannot stand when screenwriters change essentials, though. Here you've read a book, and when watching the movie want the events to unfold as you read them. Except not only are they not unfolding, but new and strange events never written by the author are happening. For years, I wouldn't watch a movie that had been made from a book that I'd enjoyed. I'm glad I saw this, though, because the characters were rightly played by some fine young actors.

OK, so it's Thanksgiving weekend, and ostensibly I have 6 days to myself to stay home and get things done. If I go out, let's say it will be in the morning on Friday IF there is some deal that I can't resist in the Thanksgiving fliers. It'll hardly be worth it though. Traffic, cold, crowds. Who needs that? A couple of years ago I went out on Friday in Naples, and it was fine. Warm, not much traffic, not many crowds, and deals on presents that I was planning to buy anyway. If I can get this place shaped up at all, I'll be so happy!

AVATAR

Avatar - Finally. This was one of the biggest news movies of last year. And it was amazing. Visually, it's one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen. I loved the jungle all lit up at night, and the magic of the Avatar bodies. The story was age old....war monger white men from earth want something valuable from a new land, and are willing to kill and destroy whatever is in their way to get it. That's the simple story. The rest of the story is of love, of dreams, of nature and of spirituality. And that's why you really watch this movie. A don't miss...and don't worry, it takes only a few minutes to get involved with the story.

So it's almost Thanksgiving, and tonight we are going to a tongue in cheek Thanksgiving party given by the Griswolds, that middle american family from the Vacation movies. They are buying kegs and frying up turkeys. We are bringing a dish to pass, so I am making Ritz Mock Apple Pie, which is Apple Pie with no apples. I've got the Ritz crackers at the ready, and am ready to roll out the dough. It's not even noon and I've washed my hair, sold a paella pan, gone to a house sale, walked to town, checked in at the bank, saw our village Thanksgiving day parade, caught up on 10 fb Scrabble games, and written this blog! whew. Of course, pretty much NONE of that was on any list of things I have to do.

IN OTHER ROOMS, OTHER WONDERS

In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin - The short stories in this book take place in Pakistan. The characters in the stories appear here and there throughout the book in different stories about other characters. We walk here with servants. We walk here with their masters. Sometimes we meet family members who don't understand the particular relationships of their parents or children. I love interconnected stories. The reader gets to know a character in one way, and then later on meets the same person in the background of a story from a totally different perspective.
A beautiful book. I wish it hadn't ended.

MYSTERY SOLVED

When I was a little girl I loved to visit my grandparents. I especially loved the summers at their house on Schoolcraft Avenue in Detroit. My mom would drop me off there and I'd spend the day with my grandmother, hanging around the house, watering her flower garden, sitting in the sunny kitchen, waiting for the most delicious fluffy scrambled egg made in her funny small iron frying pan, angling for a handful of m&ms, chatting with the next door neighbor, Mrs. Thompson, who would stand in the kitchen, just inside the back door, having shell macaroni for dinner, doing a little sewing project, just following her around talking and learning. She's the one who first taught me the Greek alphabet, showed me Bewitched, watched movies with me, fed me toasted pumpkin seeds. When my mom came to pick me up, I'd beg to spend the night there even though I didn't have nightclothes with me. If I spent the night I was supposed to sleep in the pink room, a place of endless fascination with its waterfall vanity and deep dark closet. I didn't like sleeping in there though, even if the pink flowery sheet was on the bed because the window would be open and they lived on a busy street, and it would be noisy/scary. I preferred to sleep with my grandmother, on the side of the bed close to her waterfall vanity and the treasures in her jewelry box. My grandmother seemed a rather big woman in those days - by today's standards she'd probably be a size 12. In those days she was a size 16. Anyway, there was one nightgown in her drawer that was smaller than the rest, and that's the one I wore. And still wear. Over the years it's become almost threadbare and I've repaired it and repaired it. I decided years ago that Mom must have made this since it's a simple design with bias tape trim and a ruffle. It almost completely fell apart this summer and has been on my to-do sewing repair pile for months. Just now I patched it up yet again, and as I did so, I noticed that the seams were serged. That means Mom didn't make the nightgown. She didn't have a serger, and home sergers were not even on the market in those days. Further inspection showed that in the shoulder there is a faded tag. Mom didn't make the nightgown. Nevertheless, someday when I die and the daughter-in-law I don't yet have, or one of my nieces or goddaughter is going through my stuff, they will come upon this rag. I hope they wonder why it's in the drawer, but they might just shrug and toss it out. That's what happens with our histories.....except if they read my blog, they will know the story of the pink polka-dot nightgown.

A SEPARATE PEACE

A Separate Peace by John Knowles- I'd always meant to read this book, but didn't get to it until now because Peter is reading it for Freshman English. Of course Peter will read it on schedule not a page more than the teacher assigns at a time, and I will read it fast. Oh...I already did! Read it in a couple of days because I couldn't put it down. This story is set at a boys' prep school in New Hampshire during World War II. It's a true coming of age story....about competition, life, psychology, war, people. Although it's told by Gene the adult, he tells it from his teen-aged perspective. In so many ways, people are different nowadays, but again in so many ways, they are the same. Last night Peter read the chapter containing one of the pivotal moments in the story and he came upstairs to talk about it with me because he was so affected by it. I think he was kind of blown away, but would be upset with me for saying so. Good thing my blog isn't cool! Put this one on your reading list for so many reasons. It's tough but good.

CHICAGO POET

Peter had to present a poem for his English class, and he chose one called Chicago Poet by Carl Sandburg. When he told me it was the Chicago poem, I thought it was the one about the factories and city of big shoulders, etc., but instead it was a short poem about a guy. I love this, and more than some of his other works, for me, this is why Carl Sandburg is Carl Sandburg.

Chicago Poet

I SALUTED a nobody.

I saw him in a looking-glass.
He smiled - so did I.
He crumpled the skin on his forehead,
frowning - so did I.
Everything I did he did.
I said "Hello, I know you."
And I was a liar to say so.

Ah, this looking-glass man!
Liar, fool, dreamer, play-actor,
Soldier, dusty drinker of dust -
Ah! he will go with me
Down the dark stairway
When nobody else is looking,
When everybody else is gone.

He locks his elbow in mine,
I lose all - but not him.

I'm not sure what it is. Something speaks to me, and makes me wonder about that dusty drinker of dust.

AMELIA

Amelia - We just finished watching a great movie. Amelia is the story of Amelia Earhart, who disappeared on a "solo" flight around the world. Had she made it, she would have been the first person to succeed at the feat. Hilary Swank bears an uncanny resemblance to Amelia Earhart, which added to the overall enjoyment of the movie. Many stories have romanticized Amelia's fate with speculations about what happened to her, but I think the movie probably gets it right. She was an amazing woman, and the movie is worth watching. I think I'll go stamp shopping now.....

THE PINDAR DIAMOND

The Pindar Diamond by Katie Hickman - I just finished reading this wonderful book that takes place in Venice, Italy in the early 1600s. It's a tale of intrigue, lost love, and friendship. The Blue Sultan is the name of a priceless diamond that brings fortune to its possessor. The author paints pictures with her words, so this is a very visual story as well. As a treat, some of the characters are from Greece, and a bit of Greek is spoken in the book, not always translated, which is a connection I always enjoy. I've never been to Venice, and hope to see it at least once in my lifetime, but if not, I've been there in some wonderful books. Apparently there is a book called The Aviary Gate that preceeds this story with some of the same characters, that takes place in the preceding years. I think I'll reserve it at the library right now! If it's half as good as The Pindar Diamond, you might want to read it first. I'll let you know in a few days.

Today I'm staying in, out of the frigid cold overcast weather, trying to catch up once again to all there is to do around here. I'm still upstairs ironing, haven't played Scrabble yet, but may work it into a system of rewards for tasks completed. If I could finish the ironing, straighten off my upstairs desk and make an area conducive to sewing, I could live with the progress for the day. If I could also get some cleaning done in my and Peter's rooms, I could be happy about the day. If I could do all that and also make inroads on the dining room table and kitchen desk, I could be very happy for the day. If I could do all those things, and also make the living room look good, the dining room look like a dining room instead of an office and jewelry workshop, line the jewelry supply dresser with pacific cloth liner and store everything in it, and get to the basement a little bit, I could almost be normal. But it all sounds very daunting put that way, so maybe if I could just complete the ironing and upstairs desk, it will be enough for today. Oops, this is all impossible because I haven't done my closet summer/winter organization. OK, so if that gets done today, Yea!
Oh, and how's this? I just read that little "About Me" section to the right of this blog post, and realize that I haven't done any of my favorite things in ages! It's time to get these tasks behind me and get back on track. Here goes.

THE TREASURE IN THE LITTLE TRUNK

The Treasure in the Little Trunk by Helen Fuller Orton It came to me today that if I had been substitute teaching rather than selling real estate, I might have passed the test to qualify to be on Jeopardy. Today I subbed 6th grade Social Studies, American History, and I learned all kinds of interesting things. I've been a reader from the moment I learned how to do it in first grade. God forbid anyone would teach you to read any earlier than first grade in those dark days of olde. I remember that in the library at River Oaks, there was an author whose name started with "O", and the books were on a bottom shelf. I remember that I loved the mysteries by this author. Nowadays they would call these chapter books, but in those days I was just a reader, and they were just books. For the last 10 years or so, whenever I'm in the children's section of a library, I always look at the authors in the fiction section whose names begin with "O". And for the last 10 years, there have never been any mysteries by a female author whose name started with "O".
Until last spring. I was subbing in the library at the elementary school with my friend Barbara who is the assistant librarian, and told her of my search. We looked on the shelf, and there it was! One book by Helen Fuller Orton entitled The Treasure in the Little Trunk. I recognized the name right away, and vowed to read the book as soon as I had time. Last week I was subbing with Barbara again, and checked out my book. I finished reading it this afternoon during my break period. I loved this story, which I'd probably read once before when I was 7 or 8. I'm surprised at how sophisticated the writing is, and at how much I enjoyed the embellishments (illustrations) by Robert Ball. It takes place in 1823-25, it's written in the 3rd person, and the main character is Patty Armstrong, a nine year old girl "going on 10". She and her family move from an established Vermont village and a lovely home to settle in the western part of the state of New York near the Erie Canal, which is then under construction. They travel by covered wagon, and among Patty's possessions is a little trunk holding her best treasure. When they arrive at their land, a friendly neighbor helps them to construct a log house, and their dad clears trees from the land so that he can farm in the rich soil. This book is so good! It was written in 1932, and the book I was reading was copyrighted in 1959. And the list of other books by the author are all mysteries! Mystery Solved!

GREZAGOLO - RICE PUDDING

I've been thinking about it ever since I found the Pearl Rice at Food 4 Less last week. Food 4 Less is Krogers which made it less daunting because we have Krogers in Detroit. It was nice. Well lit, OK prices in spite of the 4 Less in the name indicating that the prices might be super great, and a great selection of white rice. My grandmother's recipe calls for Water-Maid Short Grain Rice, but try to find it. So I use the pearl now which is more available with the popularity of Rissoto. ANYWAY. I wanted to make the double recipe, but had written a note on the back of my recipe card in 2003 telling myself not to double the recipe because it makes too much, I'm the only one who eats it, and besides, it burns the pan and has a burned flavor. Bummer. I really wanted to make the large batch. I decided to boil the rice and water 'til water is absorbed in a smaller pan, and then heat the milk in the larger pan. As I was heating the milk, I came up with the idea to put the larger pan on two stacked stove grates so that the pudding wouldn't be so close to the flame which always causes it to burn in that pan. And it worked! And it's delicious. And oh, so comforting. Especially since it's in the souffle dish that my grandmother and mother always used for it.


Grezagolo

1 cup Water-Maid Rice (short grain) (I've been using pearl rice)
1 cup water
1 Quart hot milk
1 beaten egg
1 tsp vanilla
pinch salt

This is how I made it today, but my recipe really calls for 6 cups of water for the first step! No wonder it went so fast today. Boil the rice and water until the water is absorbed. (In the original recipe, boil the 1 cup rice with 6 cups water until the water is absorbed, then add the hot milk to it) Heat the milk in a large pan and add the rice to it. Cook and stir well for 5 minutes. Add sugar and beaten egg (beat the egg in a measuring cup or bowl, add some of the hot rice mixture to the egg and then add the egg back to the hot mixture. This keeps the egg liquid). Boil until thick and creamy; Remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour into serving dishes and top with cinnamon. Enjoy.

GREEK SAPOUNI

Greek Sapouni by Maro Kentros - Do you like my font color in the color of the Greek flag on this one? I read a review about this in my University of Michigan Alumni magazine years ago, but could never track down a copy to read. Then one day, there it was on Amazon. It's the story about 3 generations of a Greek family. Sapouni means soap, so Greek Sapouni is grenglish for a Greek American soap opera. I don't want to give too much of the story away, because some of the characters last through the whole book, and others die young. Maro Kentros incorporates elements of Greek tragedy, philosophy, poetry and conversation into her story, making it very informative about Greeks, Greek Americans and American Greeks. It would be fun to know her. My suggestion is to read the commentary about the history of Greece as well as the Greek word translations and author note before you read the book, or at some point during your reading. It will give you a deeper perspective for the story. And I love the cover art of the YiaYia crocheting a blanket between two columns and on a tile floor. So greek.

THINKING DRASTICALLY

I am seriously thinking about taking a month off from the computer. So, no Facebook and Facebook Scrabble, no email, no this 'n that. The exception would be to list my stuff on Craigslist, but no Craigslist shopping. I could set up one of those automatic email responses that says I am off my computer for one month, and if you want to talk to me or buy something, you have to call me at home. Then if you're a friend, you'll call me, because you know my number, and if you're responding to an ad, you'll call me because I always put the phone number in the ads. Basically I'd be free of this huge time-taker-upper. I'm willing to miss whatever I'll miss by not looking at email. Having to go through a month worth of email at the end of it might not be worth it. It will take a day or more to catch up. So the question is....in a given month, does the computer take up a day or more of my time that could be spent otherwise accomplishing things? If you look around here, you might say yes. Discipline isn't my middle name when it comes to the computer.
I might or might not do this, and it might or might not be with any warning. Just one day THAT'S IT!
Oh, and of course I'd blog. But then could I search for the images that I like to have accompany the reviews? I think that would be OK. As long as I do it quick. I just went around and took 14 pictures of different areas of the first and second floors of my house that are a mess. I just can't bring myself to post them, though, so that's how bad it is. You are saying so iron it, put it away, sew it, read it, throw it away, put it somewhere until you sell it, pack it and send it, make a decision on it, call about it, make it, be creative! But I'm blocked. To top it off, it's an overcast rainy day, so I'm going to go bring in my soggy newspaper and read it. I've been wanting to make some grezogolo.

CAN'T REMEMBER

I had something to blog about, and I've forgotten what it was. I thought of it a number of times; it crossed my mind and I was pretty sure that it was big enough that I'd remember it when ready to put fingers to keyboard. I don't think I wrote it down, but I don't remember. Anyway, like I said the other day, I made a little house progress. Went downstairs and found my fall front door decor:
It's really pretty, and I love its verticality. I wish it were a little more orange and less red, but since it's got the red it will take us right into Christmas. I was inspired, so I emptied off the top of the painted cabinet in the dining room (it had stuff I wanted to sell or otherwise deal with on it for months) which turned out to be good luck, because someone came over and bought the clear etched depression glasses from their new spot on the dining room table until I could deal with them, and now they are in a happy new home and dealt with! OK, so after clearing off and dusting and fixing the fabric runner that was a piece of fabric folded over and not sewn (I pinned a hem onto it), I created this little vignette with all the rest of the fall decorations:
I think it's sweet. A little early for the pilgrims, but considering that I usually forget about them, I'm happy to have their presence. The Japanese Lanterns are home grown, and the last ones I have, because the plants did not flower this year. I love them because they remind me of my grandmother. She had them right outside the front door which is where I have them. All summer long they don't do much, and then in the fall...voila...the lanterns. The other stuff is this 'n that from the mart. I might get ambitious and put a piece of orange or black paper over the little oil painting and then put something fall on the paper. A picture, a leaf or two, something. We'll see, and I'm open to ideas.
Pretty Bird was so happy to have me working in the dining room. Did she sense that it made me happy to do so? She was chirping and talking and adding to the happiness. Here's our little green bird that afternoon:
Gotta get her a new perch, and withstand Steve's comments.

THE TIME TRAVELER"S WIFE

The Time Traveler's Wife - I just finished watching the movie which is on HBO this month. It's a great story about a man who cannot control his time travel. He never knows where he'll go or what year it will be. The music was bigger than the movie, but other than that, it's the perfect way to spend an evening, especially if you'd read and enjoyed the book. I'm happy that I'd read the book ages ago, and that the details in the story were fuzzy, because I'm always disappointed when a movie script takes too much license with a book. Considering that it didn't last long at the movies, it was pretty good.

On another note, I got a few things done today. The first progress I've made around the house in ages. Put a ton of stuff on Craigslist, put up a small amount of fall decor, including adding a little spiff to the dining room chandelier, did a lot of paperwork, made a call or two, saw the movie and a couple of other shows which brought the DVR percentage down, started to get the new digital cable boxes from Concast set up on two of the tvs, took Peter to Game Stop for his new game, checked American Apparel for tube socks for my goddaughter's holloween costume, etc. Well, to be honest, that might be all that I did, and etc. is read the paper and take a bunch of Scrabble turns on fb, and check and reply to emails incessantly. It feels good. I took a few pictures and plan to post them tomorrow, to show my little fall vignette. It's little, but it's an improvement over the junk which had been in its place for pretty much the entire spring and summer. Yea.

THE SOCIAL NETWORK

The Social Network - It's been ages since I've been to a movie at the theater. And then even more ages since I went to a movie as an escape. Or maybe not. Since group didn't meet today, and I had a million other things to accomplish, and I had absolutely no motivation to accomplish anything more than read the newspaper, it seemed like a good idea to see The Social Network. What a great movie. It's about how Facebook began and the toes that were stepped on in making it happen. Even though it's free, if Facebook didn't have Scrabble, I might quit it on principle. But it has Scrabble, so I'm stuck. Anything else I say will sound negative, except this: It's an entertaining movie.

Oh, and I saw Modern Family last night for the first time. It was so much fun, and just what I need: another can't miss TV show. Oh well. TV is the best escape of all, and you don't have to go anywhere but to your recliner to enjoy it.

MOCKINGJAY

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins - This book is the third and final story in the Hunger Games trilogy. This is where we find out what happens to Katniss and Panem, and more importantly whether she ends up with Gale or Peeta or not. This is just a bit slow at the beginning while Katniss catches us up on the events of the previous two books. Once she is on her way to the Capitol, though, things really start to move. Katniss is an interesting character, and I find myself thinking about her and her relationships and how she can be clueless and clueful at the same time. It's pretty heavy stuff for pre-teens and teens, but I guess it's what we like when we're young. I love these books that transcend age, gender, and time in history. Enjoy!

BOTH WAYS IS THE ONLY WAY I WANT IT * COUPLES RETREAT

Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It by Maile Meloy - It's no surprise that anyone would love the title of this book, which is a compilation of short stories. I've written about my love of short stories in the past. They are perfect little jewels of reading. In small doses, an author gives you a character, a situation and a wrap. I used to love the short stories in the womens' magazines when I was younger. Redbook was full of them, Better Homes and Gardens, Good Housekeeping, Women's Day and Family Circle and McCalls always had one too. I'm pretty sure Better Homes had one. These stories are about families, friends, misfits, relationships. In many of these stories, the main character has a secret. I loved this book.

Couples Retreat - The trailers on tv looked so fun, but the movie did not get good reviews, so I waited until I could watch it for "free" on cable. The premise was good, the characters fun, it just lasted too long and needed tighter editing. The setting at the retreat was fabulous, though. My eyes feasted on the blue water and palm trees - it looked so warm there. Cute movie for something mindless; I like watching Vince Vaughn.

Where've I been? In Florida, playing fb Scrabble, worked one day, and trying to catch up in general. I need a major stuff purge. I need to not care so much about the stuff I'm getting from my relatives because they can't deal with it. It leaves no room for my own stuff which I was always able to handle. I can't even get down to mine because of having to sort through theirs. I've got a Purple Heart pick up on Tuesday morning, and am planning to let a fair amount go. Wish me luck. I need it.