Book Report July 2013

Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer

This was from the children’s section. Written in 1936, it was a little unusual in the way it brought reality into a child’s world. Kid’s lit in those days didn’t include the deaths of friends. This was a semi-autobiographical account of Ruth’s life one year in New York in the 1890s. The main character, Lucinda, had unusual freedom while staying with elderly sisters while her parents were in Europe. She could roam freely through New York City with absolutely no fears. Totally unheard of now, of course. A truly enjoyable look at life in a time long past. And even though it included the sad deaths of an elderly friend and a little girl, stuff like that happens.

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The Witches by Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl wrote some really odd children’s books. Some are not ones I would read to a small child. This is one of them. An enjoyable book, well written. Definitely for an older child. I saw the movie based on this book years ago. It had a happy ending. The book didn’t. Be warned.

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How to Write Yuki Teikei Haiku by Edward A. Thompson

When Sarah was in high school, a local writer asked the art teachers at both high schools for illustrations for some of the poems in his book about traditional haiku. She submitted some drawings and had two of them used in the book. Each student that had his/her work used received a free paperback of this book. Sarah had zero interest in Haiku (still doesn’t) and let me keep the book. I had looked through it and read the poetry and of course made note of Sarah’s art. I recently read the whole thing. The philosophy behind this style of poetry was interesting. I did learn a few things about one of my favorite forms of poetry. I’ve always loved haiku. I skimmed through it and then read the poems again. I think my haiku are fully as good, and in some instances better, than what this guy wrote.

Gimme 5 - July 2013

This one ties in a bit with my last “Gimme” post, which had to do with travel. This one is:

5 Places in the world where I’d like to live for a year. And again, they’re in no particular order.

1. England. I’d like to experience a year of seasons in an area where I could take weekend trips to Wales as well. There is SO much history in both countries, and to do any justice at all would take at least a year, I’d think. And I don’t mean living in a large city. I would love to explore the rural areas, country lanes, things like that. I’d love to have a sweet cottage with a small garden. Of course, what comes to mind is the Agatha Christie type place, which no longer exists for the most part.

2. Australia. No big cities here, either. I want to see the outback. Visit Uluru. Go to a rainforest. Experience the rainy season. Visit a sheep station.

3. Alaska. A cabin in the pines. Maybe near a lake. Even though I’m not fond of fish, I’d be willing to learn to cook and eat it when it’s fresh from the water.

4. A houseboat in Seattle. Those little communities look so inviting. Maybe split my time between there and a cabin down the coast in Eureka, close to the redwoods and the ocean.

5. Traveling the US in an RV. One of the really fancy ones with a top deck and a slide out side to give lots of room. And the way Marv would want to do this is to fly into the area we want to explore, rent an RV, and when we’re finished exploring, fly into the next area. That way, you could visit every state and spend a week in the area you want to visit the most. And since I’d have already lived in Alaska, I could spend TWO weeks in Hawaii!

Hear That??

That’s the sound of an empty nest. For the last 2 weeks we’ve had my son, his wife, and her daughter visiting us from Virginia. And last weekend we had my daughter and her daughter here as well. Full house, indeed. And it was wonderful! I loved having both my kids here! I loved having their families here too! It was total chaos but it was nice to feel like a real mom again.

And now they’re gone. It will probably be a long time before my son and his family are able to come out again. And now that Lia is starting school everyday, visits from them will be fewer, as will be my visits down to Fresno. Not a lot of point to spending all day at the house and only being with Lia in the afternoon and evening. I will admit to a LOT of sadness about that. It’s just not as much fun to color in coloring books without Lia there by my side…

BUT…now I hope to really get into my altered books again. I have decided that is my real love as far as crafting goes. I intend to clear out my craft room and put it back together again, with the hope that this time it will be “for reals” and will stay that way. I know that will make Myrtle happy.

So a new time of life starts. I’ve been less of a “mom” for some time now, and “grandma” now takes a back seat as well. Not having an outside job since having kids, my life and sense of self-worth has revolved around caring for someone else. Now it’s my turn.

But if Sarah calls and needs me for any reason, I will be in Fresno so fast your head will spin!

Requien For Ravenwood Fair

This will be my last post about one of the nicest little games I’ve ever played and thoroughly enjoyed. Even though the games aren’t shutting down until the 18^th, I’ve chosen to walk away now and not look back.

I started playing RF about the same time as Cityville, and there were several players in common with both games. Cityville became more and more a frustration and a job than a game, so I quit. Ravenwood, however, I loved from the very beginning. When the running of the game changed from the original folks to people who didn’t care about it, I still played, even with all the problems. When the “sequal” game of Ravenskye City started, I enjoyed that too. My first love was still the Fair. I’ve been faithful the whole time, problems or no. As have many others.

Now the end has come. We’ve been urged to do as much as possible and help our neighbors as much as possible before the final shut-down, but I couldn’t. Just too sad. I started to “get my affairs in order” so to speak, but it was just breaking my heart. Ravenskye was always second place with me, and if that was all that was going bye-by, I could’ve dealt with it. I would’ve still played with my Fair and been happy. Even if it was just rearranging the layout in the fair and the mine.

I would buy this game if it was offered. In a heartbeat. But I doubt that will ever happen.

I didn’t even want to save a screen shot. That’s like taking a picture of your loved one when they’re in the casket. The biggest benefit from the whole thing is the people I’ve meet on Facebook through this game. Some have kept with RF to the end, some haven’t. A lot of the ones who left the game are still my friends on FB and I enjoy the interaction with them personally.

So goodbye Ravenwood. Goodbye Ravenskye. Thanks for the hours of gentle fun.