A Faery Wood

Enchanted woods surround us here in the Pacific Northwest.  A walk through them will clear your senses and make you believe once again in magic, just as you did as a child.  Ferns, moss, fungi and the chatter of birds add to the mystical feel as you wander down paths barely traveled.

What a joy to come upon a rope swing where some other wonder filled soul has spent some time among the lush foliage of our forest.

Be sure to keep your eyes wide open.  You never know what may be waiting for you just up ahead.

The Faery Forest

by Sara Teasdale

The Faery Forest glimmered

beneath an ivory moon;

The silver grasses shimmered

against a faery tune.

Beneath the silken silence

the crystal branches slept;

and dreaming thro' the dew-fall

the cold white blossoms wept.

Late Tuesday...

It seems that I'm late to the Turn the Page Tuesday party once again.  Just trying to make an entrance...Turn the music up and let's get this party started!  (or turn the page quietly so we can all continue to read.)

Adrienne from Some of a Kind is the lovely host of this party.  Pop on over to her house to see what everyone has been reading this past month.

For 2012, Adrienne has thrown down the challenge to read a book each month that is part of a sequel or series.  Any one you choose, no limitations there.  For January I choose to read An Absence So Great by Jane Kirkpatrick.  This is the sequel to A Flickering Light which I reviewed back in December.

An Absence So Great by Jane Kirkpatrick


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Another wonderful book by one of my favorite authors! An Absence So Great carries on where A Flickering Light left off in the life of Jane's grandmother, Jessie Gaebele. Jessie is now eighteen and living and working in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She has gone away from her family and hometown of Winona, Minnesota as a punishment to herself for the longing of a married, much older man; her boss and mentor Fred J. Bauer. In Milwaukee, Jessie is working for Suzanne Johnson, a woman who has lost her husband so is now running his photography studio. She is living with the Harms family who are actually relatives of Mr. Bauer and in the course of time it comes out that Mr. Bauer is paying them for Jessie's room and board. She does not at all want this support, so begins to take photographs at the local dances in order to tuck away enough money to pay Mr. Bauer back and be once again out of his debt. When word gets to Jessie that one of the studio's in Winona is up for sale, she goes back home only for a short visit to approach the bank manager for a loan to secure the studio. Turned down on the basis that she is a woman, Jessie instead goes to work for this same studio to prove her abilities to the owner. She does so and the banker has a change of heart and gives her the loan. But all is well only for awhile and circumstances have Jessie once again leaving her family and hometown for the wide open prairies of North Dakota. Will painful memories ever leave Jessie behind? Will she come to terms with the pullings of her own heart?

Another historical novel beautifully written. Jessie Gaebele will grab your heart.

View all my reviews

I got a couple of very fun books for Christmas, including The Unfinished Clue by Georgette Heyer.  Read on...
The Unfinished Clue by Georgette Heyer


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I haven't read a murder/mystery in a long time but I got this for Christmas and dug right in. I completely enjoyed it! Set in the English countryside mansion of Sir Arthur Billington-Smith, guests have assembled for a week-end get together and they are a strange combination of guests! Sir Arthur himself is a tyrant with a penchance for yelling at his young wife, Fay. He has invited Basil and Camilla Halliday as he is expecting a fun weekend flirtation with the pretty, and money-grubbing, Camilla. Fay has invited Stephen Guest, a man who is in love with her and patiently waiting for her to decide to divorce her over-bearing husband. Sir Arthur's son Geoffrey, from his first marriage, is coming for the weekend and bringing his fiance', the beautiful cabaret dancer La Lola de Silva. His father is horrified by the match. Geoffrey is a writer whose father has never had any love for anyway and this engagement intensifies that feeling. Fay has invited her sister, Dinah Fawcett, to join them as a buffer between her and her husband. Sir Arthur's nephew, Captain Francis Billington-Smith shows up unannounced, needing to ask a favor of his wealthy uncle. Also invited to dinner is the town Vicar and his wife along with Mrs. Twining, a neighbor widow whom Sir Arthur has known for many many years.

The dynamics of this group is crazy and it is a thunderous weekend indeed with Sir Arthur in a rage most of the time. By Monday luncheon, the tyrant is dead - stabbed in his own study. In comes Inspector Harding of Scotland Yard to try and sort out the mess. I thought I had it figured out from the get-go, but that twist at the end got me and I was wrong!

What a fun book and a light read that I really needed!  Very Murder She Wrote-ish.

View all my reviews

There you have my contribution to this month's reading frenzy.  Right now I'm spending my reading time in a bakery in Colorado Springs.  Where is your reading taking you this month?

Birthday Winner!

(Mom in her new Christmas Parka - Ketchikan, Alaska 1971)

Early January and much of the northern world is covered in snow and ice.  When I was a small child, we lived in Ketchikan, Alaska where my dad had graduated from high school and my grandparents were commercial fisherman.  Mom was an Oregon girl who went to live on the island of Revillagigado with her young husband, having not even met her new in-laws until arriving in Alaska. Mom always said that Dad had a bit of gypsy blood and couldn't quite decide where he wanted to live.  We moved, along with the fishing or hunting seasons that were calling Dad's name, back and forth between Alaska and northeast Oregon several times when we kids were small. 

This picture of Mom was taken during one Alaska stay in 1971.  I remember it clearly.  Dad had purchased this beautiful parka for Mom for Christmas and made the mistake of taking me with him when he picked it up.  I was a precocious four year-old at the time and remember Dad telling me, "Now Paula.  Don't tell Mama about her new coat.  It's a secret."  I barely made it through the door at home that evening before blurting out, "Daddy bought you a new parka.  It's a secret!"

Dad didn't tell me secrets much after that....

Today was Mom's birthday so it is the day to draw a name for her birthday giveaway!

I hopped on over to random.org, popped in the numbers 1 through 9 (the amount of comments on the giveaway post) - clicked on go...and the winner is....

Tipper !

Congratulations to Tipper of Blind Pig and the Acorn!  These two coasters and that box of tea, along with two more coasters for a complete set of 4, will be headed your way!! (and for anyone who doesn't know Tipper - pop on over and introduce yourself - you will get lost in her incredible blog about life in Appalachia!)

Thanks everyone who stopped by and left a comment on the birthday giveaway post -

Happy January!

Terrible Tilly

Terrible Tilly, a photo by paulaniz67 on Flickr.

Tuesday - It's Tuesday!

Hey!  So maybe it's Wednesday but I seem to be making it a point recently to be late to everything, so...why not be late for Tuesday as well?  Now that we've decided it's Tuesday AND it's the first Tuesday of January   -   It's time for Turn the Page...Tuesday hosted by Adrienne of Some of a Kind!  Yipeee! Time to tell you all what I've been reading the last month and for you to tell the rest of us what adventures your reading has taken you on.

I read some fantastic books in December but am going to stick to telling you about just two of them so this post doesn't get to long and out of control. 

The Winter Sea was a wonderful novel that I didn't want to end. Even now, over a couple of weeks after finishing, my mind keeps going back to Sophia and wondering what she is up to now. In the Winter Sea, author Susanna Kearsley takes us on a journey of another author, Carrie McClelland, as she settles into a charming cabin on the Scottish cliffs. Carrie is writing a historical novel set at Slains Castle and gives the heroine the name of one of her own ancestors, Sophia Paterson. As Carrie writes and explores the ruins of Slains Castle, her characters become quite chatty and the story just seems to come alive as Carrie types.

The year is 1708 and the Jacobites are trying hard to help the young King James to reclaim his crown. Slains Castle is a very busy place, full of Stewart supporters and is the perfect cover for both French and Scottish fleets who support the cause as well. With some well-hidden coves, the ships can slip in and out quietly when needed. Sophia lost both of her parents young and her and her sister were sent to live with her uncle, John Drummond. Her sister has now passed away as well, in terrible circumstances and her uncle is deceased also. Sophia has arrived at Slains as the guest of the Countess of Erroll, a distance relation to John Drummond. In her research, Carrie begins to see startling similarities between what she has written and what actually took place at Slains during the time of her story. A retired Scottish doctor that is helping Carrie with her research suggests the possibility of ancestorial memory. Could this be what is happening? Is it even possible?


I really loved this book and the possibility of ancestorial memory. Our brains work in so many mysterious ways that are yet untapped and unknown. The author did a wonderful job of weaving both the past and present into her story; such wonderful history and just the perfect touch of romance.

For the new year, Adrienne has challenged us all to continue to dust off those books that have been lingering too long on our shelves, but to also read books from series that we have started.  Christmas with Anne covered both of those catergories for me this past month.  I loved the Anne of Green Gables series and always like a good Christmas read every year, so when I saw this at Goodwill months and months ago, I just had to bring it home.

Many of the short stories in this book were written as magazine stories by L.M. Montgomery and they are all either Christmas or New Years stories with sweet lessons to be learned. A couple of the stories are actually taken from the Anne series, so they were like visiting with familiar friends.  I very much enjoyed this one; it was the perfect light read for the week before Christmas and will go on my shelf with my other L.M. Montgomery books. 
 
Tell me, where did reading take you in December?  I hope you had some down time with a good book and a hot cup of tea. 
 
Speaking of that....please scroll down to my last post and enter the giveaway in celebration of my Mom's birthday!  

Mom's Birthday Giveaway

This is the perfect picture of my Mom.  She loved reading in the early morning and this picture was taken at my sister Stacey's house when Mom and Dad were visiting one year.  January 9th was Mom's birthday and even though she has been gone for many years now, Stacey and I like to celebrate her day by having Birthday Giveaway's on our blogs. 

This year Stacey is giving away a wonderful book that she thinks Mom would have loved called The Healing Quilt by Laurainne Snelling. 

Mom also loved to drink her tea in the mornings with her quiet time reading, so I will be making a set of four quilted coasters for my giveaway and a nice box of tea.  Just leave a comment, even just Hello will do, and you will be entered in my drawing for the coasters and tea. I'll draw a name sometime on the 9th.  

~Don't forget to pop over to Stacey's place, Stacey's Treasures, to be entered in her giveaway as well~

Happy beginning of 2012 all!

Turn the Page...Tuesday

It's time!  Time for December's Turn the Page...Tuesday hosted by the fabulous Adrienne of Some of a Kind.  Woot Woot! 

I read a couple of books this past month - One that left me wanting to read the next one in the series and reaching for my camera to capture the perfect light...and one that had my mind wandering away from the train that was chugging down the tracks.  Read on to see what I was reading on....

Another wonderful Jane Kirkpatrick novel! I just love her writing and this one did not disappoint. Written about Jane's very own Grandmother, this story brings Jessie Gaebele's love of photography and dreams of her own studio alive. Jessie is a young girl, working to help out her family and just happens to get a postition that she loves, at a photography studio in her hometown of Winona, Minnesota. Jessie's joy at learning her trade and expanding her talent is only dampened by her worry over her little brother, Frog, and her families growing discomfort over her relationship with her boss, Mr. F.J. Bauer. Mr. Bauer is a married man who see's Jessie's talent and spends extra time tutoring her. Mr. Bauer has re-occuring bouts of mercury poisoning which plaqued photographers of this time and Jessie proves herself invaluable in the running of the studio during his lengthy absences.

This is a beautifully written story. I loved the insights into the early photographic world and the photo's of Jessie that were included. Cannot wait to get my hands on the second in this series and follow Jessie's life for a lit bit longer!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The Gentleman From Finland: Adventures On The Trans-siberian Express by Robert M. Goldstein


My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book was my dusty read - one that had been sitting on the shelf for four years or so....
You know when you read a book and you just don't want it to end? This was not that book. The Gentleman From Finland wasn't a terrible read by any means; in fact I found parts of it fun and enjoyable but by the last 50 pages or so I just wanted it over but couldn't give it up when I was that far in.


The author writes about his journey riding through Siberia on the Trans-Siberian Express on an epic journey that he had wanted to take since he was a kid and fell in love with trains. In 1987, regular tourists don't generally get to make this journey by themselves, but because Bob was the guests of friends living in Moscow, he got all the right paperwork to ride the train. Things in Russia are sort of like Alice in Wonderland, with not much being as it seems. In his quest to get paperwork to ride this train, Bob's passport came through an agency in Finland, a place he has never even been, but it seems that all of Russia now thinks that the Mexican-American-Russian-Jewish Bob is Finnish. He can't seem to make anyone understand that he is an American, so finally gives up. Throughout his journey, Finland keeps popping up in all kinds of ways, as if there is something that Bob is supposed to find out about his heritage.


Two days in to the very first leg of his journey, Bob realizes that he isn't even on the famous train. Between his extremely limited Russian speaking skills and the man at the train station not understanding him, he boarded a train headed to the same first stop. Bob finally arrives, a day early, to the hotel in the town of his first layover, but because they are not expecting him until the next day, the staff at the hotel pretty much pretends that he isn't there until the actual time that he was supposed to arrive. The scene was pretty comical, if you weren't Bob. Along the rest of the way, we meet some pretty amazing characters, some quite unbelievable really. Bob ends up getting sick along the way and the last third or so of the book is really the ramblings of his feverish mind. Believe me when I say that it was time for this train trip to come to an end.


View all my reviews

Now I am on the Scottish Coast with Carrie McClelland as she writes her next novel in the shadows of Slains Castle in The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley.  Where is your reading taking you?

Peaceful

Tonight I realized that I should take more time to enjoy the incredible sunsets that we have here on the coast of Oregon.  Beautiful displays of pinks, oranges and deepest blue can be had for just the looking.  I put down my dishrag - dishes can wait - and stepped out onto the deck.  Taking a seat in one of the outdoor chairs, I breathed deeply.  The long day at work, the migraine that has been pressing all day, were forgotten for an instant in the beauty surrounding me.  Gazing off into the horizon, I just sat quietly, listening to the sounds of our evening neighborhood;  the thump of the daily paper hitting the front door as the newspaper boy tosses it onto porches up and down the street;  traffic noises as people come home after their work day;  the sound of voices as others move outside to enjoy the spectacular colors;  soft footfalls of the neighbor out walking his dog.  I am in solitude here on our darkened deck, but I am not lonely.  Our evening neighborhood is full of noises, but it is not noisy, only peaceful.  The last rays of light slip behind the hills and I pick my dishrag back up, better off for the few minutes of natural wonder enjoyed.