June/July Book Report

Never got around to doing a report for June, so decided to combine last months and this, since only 4 books were read.



Camilla by Madeleine L’Engle

This is from the young adult section. I read it when I was in high school and enjoyed it once again. It’s a bit dated by now, but still a good book. Camilla comes of age and discovers her parents are only human. No one is perfect, parents make mistakes, the world does NOT revolve around YOU. In the process, she discovers her first love is the brother of her best friend. The book definitely does not have a happy ending, but the ending is real, and is one that can be dealt with.



Bedelia by Vera Capsary

This was a real corker from my mom’s library. Turn of the century suspense about a black widow that marries lonely middle-age men and makes them deliriously happy until they die “normal” deaths. After taking out huge life insurance policies, of course. The plot wouldn’t work in today’s modern age, but still a great book.



Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl

Non-fiction book that I’ve had for years, but never got around to reading it until now. Heyerdahl was convinced that the Polynesian islands were first inhabited by primitive sailors from the Americas. He set out to prove that a primitive raft, such as was available back then, could safely make it from Peru to Polynesia. He did it. Great read for anyone loving true adventure stories.


Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich

Since this is the newest Stephanie Plum book, and has only been out for a short time, I won't reveal too much. If you're not a fan of this series, you REALLY need to be! As usual, Stephanie goes after her FTA's with her usual flair and incompetence, aided by the plus-sized Lula. I will only add two more words: Ranger action. OK, I'll make that 3 words: MAJOR Ranger action. As in lots of action. Wow. With Ranger. Excuse me, I'm going to take a cold shower...

Alphabet Soup – part 7

R - R is for Roller Skates

I grew up in a very rural area where there were no sidewalks. I had roller skates, but no good place to skate. The street was far too rough, and there wasn’t enough room in the driveway. There was a local roller rink, but we NEVER went there. I didn’t even know it existed until I was in high school. The roller skates I had were the clamp on kind that you attached to your shoes and had to tighten with a key. I have no clue why my parents got them for me when there was no place to use them. My friend Shirley had a very large back patio where we could do a little skating back and forth a few feet. We were there one day when my skate caught on something and I fell forward into the little garden area at the end of the patio. I put out my hands to break the fall, and punctured my hand on a rusty nail sticking up from a board. That meant a trip to the doctor for a tetanus shot.

S – S is for Scurbles

I don’t remember when I came up with the word “scurbles” but it was some time when the kids were very small. It could be used as an interjection or anything you wanted. Sarah was always drawing little creatures with odd names and I guess decided to draw what she pictured a scurble looked it. Very cute, kinda like a little mushroom creature. Many years later when “Fantasia” first came out on video tape, I got it and watched it. One of the musical sections had little critters dancing around that looked just like the scurbles that Sarah had drawn! I was amazed! We had never rented that movie before, so it wasn’t an image that had crept into Sarah’s mind earlier.

T - T is for Tapioca

I have always loved tapioca, but since it was a cooked pudding, we didn’t have it very often. This was long before Jello came out with the packages that still required some cooking, but you didn’t have to soak it overnight first. My grandmother used it a lot to thicken fruit pies and cobblers. One time we had large pearl tapioca, which we’d never had before. After it was soaked, my grandmother made pudding. It was like having small eyeballs in your dessert! I loved it!

Alphabet Soup - part 6

Just a little preamble regarding the “L” posting a few weeks back: I got the ‘Leather & Lace’ CD and it was like going back in time!!! I was singing along with the ladies and lovin’ it! I was listening to it today while paying bills, balancing the checkbook and getting this blog ready. Awesome!! J

O – O is for Opal

I love opals. I love the fire within them, the prism of colors, the variations. Oddly, I have no opal jewelry. Wish I did.

P – P is for Pollock

I’ve blogged about Jackson Pollock before, so I won’t say much here. I love his work. He was a deeply flawed human being, but his soul was amazing. I was talking to Sarah once about accent walls, and I said I’d love an accent wall done as a Pollock abstract. I thought Marvin would barf. He does NOT appreciate Pollock.

Q – Q is for Quark

I’ve loved ALL the Star Trek TV shows and movies and have seen them all. I was deeply saddened by the non-ending of Deep Space Nine. I really hate when there are loose ends. Quark was such a great character. Yes, he was a greedy, conniving Ferengi, but he had a heart…

He certainly had mine ♥

Mega Blog! Watch Out!

As promised last week, here are TWO SEPARATE BLOGS to take the place of last week’s missing blog and this week’s regular one. Enjoy!
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RANDOM 5
1. Write a haiku about the last meal you ate: (2 verses!)

hot dogs and beans. yum!
franks sacrificed on the grill,
buns to follow next

second course: beans! oooh!
They kept those “home fires” burnin’
ALL NIGHT LONG

2. Name 5 things in your freezer:
ice cream, ice cubes, fish, vegetables, sausage patties

3. Are you looking forward to the next holiday? Why or why not:
When I originally planned this posting, the holiday coming up was July 4^th, but that has come and gone. The next holiday is Labor Day, and yes, I am looking forward to it. That’s when Sarah plans on coming up again. And of course, where Sarah is, Lia is as well. Not that I wouldn’t be more than happy to see Sarah by herself, it’s just that Lia is an added “bonus” so to speak. And speak she does! Volumes! At high decibel! Sarah was a VERY quiet child…don’t know where Lia gets it…

4. What would you be doing at this exact moment if the internet had never been invented?
Probably reading. That has been the biggest change in my life, due to the computer. And I do mourn that loss to a certain extent, but I have found such joy in just puttering around the ‘net! AND IT’S NOT JUST RAVENWOOD!!

5. Describe your “happy place”:
I don’t often go to my “happy place” during the day. Just too busy. Used to go there a lot as an unhappy child. Quite often when I lie in bed at night, though, I will check it out. And it was a different place then, but there are certain similarities to the one today. It’s a cabin in the woods up north. Maybe Shasta or Eureka. Lots of pines. Sometimes it’s almost like a tree house, tall and skinny, with the upper floors looking out into the pines on one side and over the mountains on the other. There’s a cold mountain stream or creek running nearby…you can hear it any time of day or night. It’s always sunny, although quite often very cold and breezy. It’s very quiet, except for the creek and the birds. There are decks aplenty to sit and enjoy the sun in the early morning with a hot cup of coffee.

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ALPHABET SOUP – PART 5

M – M is for Moggies!

There are several different stories of how the British term moggy/moggie came to refer to a cat. Being an Anglophile, I’ve always loved the term. It sounds cuddly. I even wrote a poem about them for the altered book I did for my niece many years ago:

Love them Moggies
Love them so
Always know just where to go
Don’t like dogs and don’t like snow
Lovely little Moggies

Friendly Moggies
Purr so sweet
Wash their little hands and feet
With rough tongues (they’re very neat)
Lovely little Moggies

I love Moggies!
Every day
Love to watch them run and play
In my bed at night they’ll lay
Lovely little Moggies


N – N is for Narcissis

This is the official flower for December, (my BD is Dec. 11, for anyone who wants to send a card, BTW). I’ve always loved them for their wonderful scent, which lasts even when they’re past their prime. Pretty flower, lovely scent, a couple vases of them in your home and you’ve got something special!


So there ya go, Gladys…forgive me? I’ll probably do this again at the end of the month when I’m spending another week at Sarah’s.

We pre-empt this blog...

...for an important message:
This week's blog has been postponed due to a heavy influx of "grandma business"! As a sop, next week will contain TWO BLOGS to make amends...

peace out ♥