Wordless Wednesday

Scrappy and the snuggling siblings. :)

"The Lace Reader" - Book Review

Publisher's note:

"Towner Whitney, the self-confessed unreliable narrator, hails from a family of Salem women who can read the future in the patterns in lace, and who have guarded a history of secrets going back generations. Now the disappearance of two women is bringing Towner back home to Salem—and is bringing to light the shocking truth about the death of her twin sister."

If you keep up with the blog at all, you'll notice that this book review comes only a couple of days after the last one. :) Once I started reading this one, I didn't want to put it down and my housework is showing it.

I love stories about Salem. One day I'd love to go there. The history is intriguing and woven throughout the book but doesn't detract from the plot of the story. All of the characters were well-developed and the plot was engaging and unpredictable.

Originally when I came across a description of this book, it was under a Young Adult classification, but I really feel that this story will appeal to all ages. It has suspense, magic, eccentric characters, romance...just some of the qualities that made this a great read. One of my favorite books over the past few years was "The Thirteenth Tale" by Diane Setterfield, and it was really comparable to that as far as keeping me engaged and intrigued. I didn't want to put this one down. A definite thumbs-up!

Book review - "Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson

I finished reading this in the wee hours of the morning last night. Here's the Publisher's Weekly synopsis:

"Fans of Robinson's acclaimed debut Housekeeping (1981) will find that the long wait has been worth it. From the first page of her second novel, the voice of Rev. John Ames mesmerizes with his account of his life—and that of his father and grandfather. Ames is 77 years old in 1956, in failing health, with a much younger wife and six-year-old son; as a preacher in the small Iowa town where he spent his entire life, he has produced volumes and volumes of sermons and prayers, "[t]rying to say what was true." But it is in this mesmerizing account—in the form of a letter to his young son, who he imagines reading it when he is grown—that his meditations on creation and existence are fully illumined. Ames details the often harsh conditions of perishing Midwestern prairie towns, the Spanish influenza and two world wars. He relates the death of his first wife and child, and his long years alone attempting to live up to the legacy of his fiery grandfather, a man who saw visions of Christ and became a controversial figure in the Kansas abolitionist movement, and his own father's embittered pacifism. During the course of Ames's writing, he is confronted with one of his most difficult and long-simmering crises of personal resentment when John Ames Boughton (his namesake and son of his best friend) returns to his hometown, trailing with him the actions of a callous past and precarious future. In attempting to find a way to comprehend and forgive, Ames finds that he must face a final comprehension of self—as well as the worth of his life's reflections. Robinson's prose is beautiful, shimmering and precise; the revelations are subtle but never muted when they come, and the careful telling carries the breath of suspense. There is no simple redemption here; despite the meditations on faith, even readers with no religious inclinations will be captivated. Many writers try to capture life's universals of strength, struggle, joy and forgiveness—but Robinson truly succeeds in what is destined to become her second classic."

This book is beautifully written, there is just no other way to describe it. It is exceptionally introspective from the point of view of Rev. John Ames. The only negative thing that I have to say about this book is that if you are looking for a plot in any way, you will be disappointed. It is written in letter format to his young son and that is exactly what you will find, a letter with several anecdotal episodes along the way.

With my own father passing a little over a year ago, reading this book made me wonder what he would have written if he had left a similar "letter" to my brother and me. It also gave me pause to consider that even from a minister's point of view of Christianity, it is commonplace that they don't feel that they have all the answers to life's questions either and ponder things just like the rest of us.

This book was kind of a slow read for me, but definitely a beautiful piece of literature worth checking out.

Next up? "The Lace Reader" by Brunonia Barry

Six Items of Clothes/Accessories I've Loved from the Past

This week's small talk six is to list items of clothing or accessories you've loved and you wish would come back into style. I don't know that I wish that any of these things would come back into style but they were all things that I loved at one point or another. Gotta love the 80s.

1. Who didn't have a pair of Mork suspenders back in the day?? I got these at Christmas one year when I was probably 7 or 8 and I loved the silly things. I wanted to wear them everywhere.



2. I also loved my pink Chuck Taylors circa middle school. Granted they have come back in and out of style a few times since then but just past the mid-point of my 30s I just can't justify attempting to wear them again...dangit.



3. I had this awesome pair of red suede cowboy boots at one point. I can't tell you if they were ever in style but I loved them anyway. I'd totally wear them again if I could find any like them. lol



4. I also loved my rainbow toe socks. I've even seen these from time to time in stores but I never seem to be able to justify picking any up. Next time I see them in the store, I'm totally getting them.



5. Acid wash jeans...need I say more? Oh wait I do. Only with the tight roll at the bottom too...anything remotely loose is NOT going to work. LOL



6. I had a green prom dress made from that shiny material that was RIGHTEOUS, people. If I weren't so lazy, I'd drag out the pictures and scan them - my mother made me go to the Sears studio to get my picture taken in this thing. I still have it in my closet to this day and it is GREAT. Sadly it does not fit me anymore but a friend and I have made a pact that if we lose 15 lb and she can fit in her silver one and I can fit in my green one, we're TOTALLY hitting an 80s night at the bar. A-W-E-S-O-M-E (Like totally!!) lol

I'm Sick of this Damn Tree!!

It's Friday! Oh wait, I'm a stay at home mom - that word really has no significance in my world. Hubs is working the overnight shifts this weekend so there are no plans, the big boys are at the jerkface's house so it will be more of the same of a regular week - me and the wee ones hanging out.

I still haven't gotten the infernal Christmas tree down. It's beginning to be the bane of my existence. The tree and I have a stare-down daily that goes something like this:

Me: (Glare) You're coming down today.
Tree: I don't think so, you aren't unplugging me, woman.
Me: Not only am I unplugging you, you're going back in the box and back into storage.
Tree: The 3-year-old will revolt. She loves my pretty lights.
Me: I'm sick of looking at you....sighhhh.
Tree: (Continues twinkling sarcastically).

The tree is winning this argument because by the time my dear daughter goes to bed at night, I've lost all motivation to take the blasted thing down. Maybe I should start making some heart shaped ornaments and stick them on there for Valentine's Day?

Wordless Wednesday

Here is the "way back Wednesday" photo. This is me and my younger cousin and I'm wrinkling up my nose like "what the heck IS that?" You will note my age with the righteous upholstered couch that I'm sitting on....LOL

I searched for a while to see if I could find a picture of the daughterling with her nose all wrinkled up but I got tired of flipping through endless pictures. Anyway, here is my mini-me with a lighter shade of hair than I had. Every time she runs across one of my childhood pictures she says "Oh look, it's a picture of me!" :)

Winter blahs...

It's warmed up here from a high of about 7 degrees last week to about 29 degrees this week, whoohoo! Get out the sunscreen, it's time to go sunbathing! Rrrright....

Unfortunately I still pretty much feel stuck in the house because there is still snow all over the ground and it's still too cold to get out and do much of anything. Looking at these same walls day in and day out is making me hate this house. lol Granted when we bought this house, we knew it wasn't our "forever home" and I'm thankful I have a roof over my head. I find myself looking at real estate websites and dreaming about the next house, wherever that may be. I just know it isn't going to be here. It almost makes me motivated enough to start packing. :)

I'd like to say I'm really motivated about cleaning and laundry and getting things done in the house; however, this weather really has me in a rut and the kids are bouncing off the walls (and coloring on them too, geesh) and it's about all I can do to keep up.

I started reading the first book on my book list for 2010 - "Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson and while it's beautifully written, it's kind of depressing too. It's basically about a man who married a younger woman and has a young son and he is dying and the book is basically a letter of things that he wants his son to know about him, life, etc. I'm hoping when I get to the end there will be something uplifting about it or I will have wasted a few nights on it...not that there haven't been things to ponder in it, because there are several parts that have been very thought provoking for me. I guess in this winter season that has me in a blah mood anyway it probably wasn't the best choice of reading material for the time of year. I'll let you know how it comes out, one way or another.

Now I'm just going to stop and be a bitch for a minute, so pardon me ahead of time if this offends or pisses you off at all. I've never been known for my social graces and I'm sure not going to start now... Apparently there was another blogger out in blogland that committed suicide (today or yesterday?). First off, I didn't know her personally or even on the internet so I have no personal connection to this whatsoever. My heart goes out to her family and the ones left behind, but on a purely personal note - suicide is seriously the most selfish, crappy thing anyone could ever do to their loved ones and there is absolutely no excuse for it. In this day and age of mental health awareness and availability, there is always, always a different alternative.

Oh and one more thing? I get that we live in a world of online social networking, I do. However, rather than put the circumstances of someone's death all over the internet, wouldn't it be better to let the family grieve in peace? Notify people? Sure. But I don't think we need to know every personal or miniscule social networking connection to the person that you had or thought you had. If something happens to me, there will be no follow up on my blog, nor will there be anyone "tweeting" it. And before anyone gets their panties in a wad over this, get over yourself already. I named no names in this blog and am making a general observation and voicing my own opinion, it's not a personalized attack on anyone. Stepping off my bitchy soapbox now....

Sorry, I'm not known for always saying the "right thing" - in fact, I'm very rarely known for saying the right thing but I will tell you the truth and what's on my mind and never leave you wondering how I feel about it. So my thoughts and feelings for today in a nutshell are:
1. I hate winter.
2. I'm not wild about this book I'm reading right now.
3. I think suicide is a selfish coward's way out.
4. I hate that this woman's family is having to go through this hurt and heartbreak because of her cowardice.
5. I'm unmotivated.
6. I'm sick of this house.
7. No one is allowed to tweet about me after I'm dead.
8. Did I say I hate winter already? Because I do...

COME ON, SPRING!!

And as an aside...I blog for myself and myself only - it's not a publicity thing for me. If it happens to entertain anyone reading, that's cool too. Consider this my "personal public diary" if you will. I don't do sponsorships, giveaways or review things (except books that I get for myself) and probably never will. I can offend you without worry of what my advertisers or corporate sponsors think and with the exception of a very few, I probably don't care what you think either. Just thought I'd put that out there for anyone ready to type their little hands off to flame me for this post that "I don't give a shit" in advance. ;)