Thank you to Lotus Reads for including me in my first meme!
1. Carrots – Best just raw with a little salt…but I’ll eat them steamed or boiled or simmered in a stew as well.
2. Cats – I have two; or perhaps I should say two cats have me. I love when they purr; they make me laugh when they chase each other around the house; I envy their dignity.
3. Comforters – There is nothing better than curling up with a good book under a soft, downy comforter. The thicker and softer the better.
4. Caribou – No, not the deer; my dog! I got her when she was just seven pounds and seven weeks old. She’s now 85 pounds and almost nine years old. My first search dog, my partner, my constant guardian, my “kid.”
5. Chocolate – The darker the better…drizzled over ice cream, stirred into an ice cold glass of milk, baked into a cake, or just a big chunk that melts lazily over my tongue. Ummmmmmmm…
6. Canines - I used to do german shepherd rescue; I gave that up but still dogs show up on my porch looking for a kind word, a bowl of chow and a soft place to sleep. I can’t resist stopping to say “hello” to any dog I meet. Along with Caribou, I share my home with Argus who is just a funny, good natured boy.
7. Cotton Flannel Pajamas – Especially after a few washings when they get really soft.
8. Camping - I used to like hoisting a back pack and hiking out in the wilderness to pitch a tent. Now that I’m in my forties, I find that I like the comforts I can carry in the back of my car; so camping nowadays is usually “car camping” where I can pull in next to a gorgeous stream and unload tons of food, an extra blanket or two and my air mattress.
9. California – I first moved to California from New England in 1989. I love the cliffs that drop off to the expansive Pacific Ocean; the blue sky days; the mountains near our home; the amazing array of wildlife; the fact that this is where I met my husband.
10. Children – I was never able to have one of my own, but that has not stopped me from being in children’s lives. I love my neices and my nephew, I love the kids I work with at Triple Creek Ranch. Kids make me smile.
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Posts from ‘January, 2007’
Ten Things I Love that Begin with the Letter “C”
Reorganization
Perhaps
it is because for more than six months I lived in chaos amid dust, the
debris of demolition, cans …
Library Thing
I am sometimes amazed by the things one can find on the Internet. My
most recent addiction is a place …
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
Two
city boys find themselves exiled to a mountain village for re-education
in the early 70′s in this novel which …
Half Of A Yellow Sun – Book Review
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half Of A Yellow Sun is a wrenching novel about love, disappointment, forgiveness and the unbearable emptiness of loss. Set during the 1960′s, the story details Biafra’s struggle to establish an independent republic in Nigeria. The novel gives the reader a glimpse into the politics which created Nigeria’s civil war. Adichie’s simple and eloquent language reveals the vivid, stark images of Nigeria’s cities, people and bush villages. Ugwu, Olanna, Odenigbo, Richard and Kainene are just some of the characters who people this novel – complex, rich and unforgettable they show us what it is like to be vulnerable and human during a time of uncertainty.
This is not a ‘feel good’ novel – instead it stuns the reader with the horrifying images of a brutal war and reminds us that in the end, despite cultural and religious and race differences, we are all just people struggling to anchor our lives with others.
Half Of A Yellow Sun is a literary masterpiece that has earned its place on the New York Times Most Notable Ficiton of 2007.
Excerpts from the book:
About forgiveness….
“It’s not for him, you know. It’s for you.”
“What?” He was still sitting, so she looked down to meet his eyes.
“Don’t see it as forgiving him. See it as allowing yourself to be happy. What will you do with the misery you have chosen? Will you eat misery?”
“Do you know waht I mean?” Kainene asked.
“Yes.”
About the horrors of war…
About loss…
About racism…
“I don’t see your point,” Kainene said.
“The white man brought racism into the world. He used it as a basis of conquest. It is always easier to conquer a more humane people.”
“So when we conquer the Nigerians we will be the less humane?” Kainene asked.
Odenigbo said nothing.
To read more reviews or discussions on this book, please visit The NYT Most Notable Book Blog.
Books I read in December 2006 – Reviews
I had a good reading month in December despite the craziness
joy of the Christmas season. All the books I …
The Thirteenth Tale – Book Review
I don’t normally read the books that get all the hype. In fact, I usually avoid them because more often then not they do not live up to the reviews. But, with Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale, the rich cover art made me stop and pick up the book. And I’m happy I did. Setterfield creates a world of intrigue set in libraries and an antique bookstore. Her beautiful language and interesting (albeit dysfunctional) characters kept me up late at night turning the pages. She offers many twists and turns on her way to revealing secrets long kept. There is a mystery, a murder, and characters who are not always what they seem.
The story centers around a famous author, Vida Winter, who is facing her mortality and decides to reveal the secrets of her past to biographer Margeret Lea…a woman with her own secrets. It is a story within a story, a rich tapestry of language and images, a gothic fairy tale which pits good against evil.
Highly recommended.
Near Cat-astrophe
We
started the New Year quietly…slept until 9:00am, rose, made coffee,
enjoyed the quiet stillness of a near perfect morning. …
= Excellent
= Good/Very Good
= Okay read
= Not recommended
= Ugh! Don't waste your time.
