October in Pictures - Day 1, 2 and 3

October 1st -  Fall

October 2nd - Leaves

October 3rd - Bubbles

Turn the Page...Tuesday

Oh holy cow!  I didn't realize I hadn't blogged since last month at this time until I just pulled my blog up...  Sheesh!  Here's hoping for a better posting month----And here's what I've been reading:

The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club by Gil McNeil

Sweet and fun, this book kept me laughing the whole time. Set in England, I really enjoyed the British terms throughout the book like people always "tutting" and exclaiming "bugger". So fun! The story starts off with Jo packing up herself and two boys for a move from London to a small seaside town where she will be taking over her Gran's wool shop. Her back-story is that her husband, Nick, had come home from assignment to tell her that he has just landed a new position and has been having an affair. He tells Jo he will be leaving her and the boys, then slams out of the house in a temper and has a fatal car accident. Jo finds herself a new widow who can't grieve properly for a husband who was just about to leave her, so maybe taking over Gran's wool shop is the new beginning she needs. She soon finds wonderful new friends and a place to belong. Written delightfully and with so much humour, I really enjoyed this one!
One of my favorite passages (for the humor!)was when Jo's best friend, Ellen, is trying to get her to tell her what her Christmas present is. Jo finally states, "Something to keep you warm and snuggly". Ellen replies something like,"Johnny Depp in his pirate costume? Perfect. Bike him over right away!"

The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O'Connor McNees

Delightful! Author Kelly O'Connor McNees takes facts from Louisa May Alcott's life and spins an imaginary summer around those facts. How could Miss Alcott have written such wonderful novels full of romance yet never have been in love herself as all the historians claim? The author imagines a time when all of that changed and takes us along for the journey. I don't know much about Louisa May's life so it was fun and intriguing to learn how her family lived and what an absolute bum her father was. Louisa was a fiery young girl who knew she was born to be a writer. She believed that when a woman married, she lost herself so when love presented itself, Louisa struggled with the idea that she could be a writer and have someone to love and cherish. Would it be worth giving up her independence? A wonderful novel about a great author and a theme that many women still struggle with today.

Once I finished The Lost Summer, I just had to pull one of my vintage copies of an Alcott book off my shelves and dive in.  I choose Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott~

This was another fun, light read.  I actually enjoyed it more than Little Women.  Here is the book description from Amazon:

At the age of 13, Rose finds herself orphaned and living with two elderly aunts on "Aunt Hill" where she is treated as delicately as the flower for which she is named. But Rose soon finds her quiet world turned upside down with the arrival of her seven boisterous boy cousins followed by her Uncle Alec, a doctor and a world traveler. Upon meeting Rose, Uncle Alec quickly prescribes fresh air and much activity to help with the girl's poor constitution. Uncle Alec's diagnosis turns out to be an accurate one and Rose, with the help of her cousins, finds herself in the middle of much hijinx and merriment. 

August was a good reading month!  Looking forward to my September reads!

Pop over to visit with Adrienne as Some of a Kind and find out what others are reading as well~

Turn the Page...Tuesday

When the Emperor was Divine

by Julie Otsuka

Written beautifully, almost in prose, this small novel is set in a terrible time and deed in our country's history. A time when all Japanese Americans were rounded up and taken to interment camps to be held "for their own security". Author Julie Otsuka takes us along as one family experiences this horrific time and how it changed them. Told in three different voices, the story opens with the mother seeing a notice in downtown Berkley, California to all Japanese residents, telling them what to pack, what to leave, and what day to leave for camp. We follow the mother's steps through the time of packing. Once the family has boarded the train, we follow along with the sister and her thoughts through the long train journey to the desert camp in Utah where they will be detained. At camp, the story is told through the eyes of the little brother, who desperately misses his father, a man who was taken from the family the night of the Pearl Harbor bombing. There are so many unknowns for the family. How long will they be here? Will they ever see Papa again? What is happening to their house and belongings? 

This book is powerful, written almost without emotion, but so beautiful that I found myself reading out loud to an empty room just because I liked the way it sounded. A book that speaks to you and will be with you for a very long time to come.   

The Buddha in the Attic

by Julie Otsuka

Another incredible book by author Julie Otsuka! The Buddha in the Attic begins on the boat from Japan that is carrying young mail picture brides across the ocean to their husbands in San Francisco. This novel is done in sections, from the women's journey across the water, to the first meetings with their new husbands, to the fields and farms and cities they will call home, and throughout their lives until they are taken away from their homes and placed in relocation camps. These were very strong women who gave up everything to come to America, and once here, gave up more to be what their husbands needed and wanted. Then, when there was no more to give, gave up their homes, and sometimes their families to be tragically herded into these camps "for their own security". Written in the first person, this incredible book is done in not one voice but a chorus of nameless voices that somehow feels very intimate. It is a quite small novel, but very very powerful in it's prose.

The Green Mile

by Stephen King

Never having read Stephen King, I wasn't sure what to expect with The Green Mile but I am here to say that this is one incredible story, written so well and so engaging right from the first page that I couldn't put it down. 

Set at Cold Mountain Penitentiary in Georgia, this is the story of just a few months of time during 1932 and really focuses on John Coffey, a man who has been convicted of the rape and murder of two little girls. Two other prisoners, convicted murderers as well, are also a big focus of the story; Eduard Delacroix, a small french man who befriends a mouse named Mr. Jingles, and William Wharton, a psychopath known as "Billy the Kid". Paul Edgecombe is the "bull-goose screw" of the E block known as The Green Mile. Here we meet the other very likable guards, Brutal, Harry and Dean as well as one guard, Percy, who has his job because of his family connection to the governor and is just as sadistic and mean as the worst prisoner to live on this death row. 
John Coffey is a huge black man, simple-minded, afraid of the dark, and whose face shows great sorrow with his never-ending tears. He seems to be just a gentle giant of a man and after miraculously curing Paul's terrible urinary tract infection with a touch of his hand, Paul starts to wonder if it is really possible that John committed the terrible crime that he's been convicted of. John  Coffey seems to have a gift - but is it more of a curse than a gift?
I can't tell you much more in order to not spoil some things for you if you haven't read this book. What I can tell you is that it is one of the best books I've ever read. You will connect emotionally with each character, whether or not you like them, love them or hate them. Each character could be your neighbor in your small town. There is no horror in this book like Stephen King is known for, only friends, enemies and magic. I finished the book in tears, then turned around and watched the movie, (which was done really well, by the way!), in tears also. A story that will haunt me for awhile.

And then, I had to make my very own Mr. Jingles.   

What have you been reading this month?

Pop on over to Adrienne's place - Some of a Kind - to join in and see where reading has taken others lately.

British Slang

(This picture has absolutely nothing to do with British Slang!)

Today I learned two new words, both of them slang used in Britain.  I will try to remember to use both of them myself because they are just too cute!

1).  Chuffed - A state of delighted satisfaction

example:  After opening the gift, I was chuffed and excited!

2).  Faff - To spend time on a non-productive activity. "Waste time".

example:  "I spent ages faffing about with my hair this morning."

I so prefer faffing to, well you know, that naughty "f" word that everyone throws around so much.  I rather prefer to faff about, don't you?  Now I must get that British accent just right...

Do you know any fun slang words you can share with me?  

A Dragon Sky

Summer Loving

Mid July and the berries are getting ripe ~ Perfect for some wonderful baking full of the flavors of summer.  In the July issue of Sunset magazine was a recipe for a raspberry lemon cake that looked and sounded delicious so I had to whip one up and was not disappointed.  Yum!

Buttery Raspberry Lemon Cake

1 cup butter, softened

1-1/4 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt

1/2 cup low-fat milk

1/4 cup lemon curd

2-1/2 cups flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 cups raspberries

powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 325.  Butter a 9x13 baking pan.  In a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until fluffy.  Beat in eggs, salt, vanilla, yogurt, milk and lemon curd until mostly blended.

Add flour, baking soda, and baking powder to bowl and beat until smooth.  Spread half of batter in pan and scatter half of the raspberries on top.  Gently spread remaining batter over berries, then scatter remaining berries on top.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean;  about 1 hour.  If cake begins to brown too quickly, tent with foil.  

Let cool about 1 hour, then dust lightly with powdered sugar~

Serve~  preferably on the deck with some good company and laughter ~

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday