July 2017 Book Report

Love Thy Neighbor (2003) by Ann Turner

The subtitle of this YA book is “The Tory Diary of Prudence Emerson, Green Marsh, Mass. 1774.”  This fiction book is written as if by a young girl at the start of the American Revolution. What makes it so interesting is that it’s written by someone on the “other side” of the war. Prudence is from a proud family that supports the King and is slowly shunned by the others in the town as things heat up. Even her older brother chooses the side of the Patriots. Very interesting perspective.

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The Black Vulture (1941) by Gene Ashcroft

Talk about your Gothic intrigue!! I loved this book! Old Silas Flint dies and in his will exacts revenge against those who wronged him. Everyone in the will MUST come and stay in his crumbling mansion for a certain duration and is free to hunt for hidden treasure. Whoever is still alive at the end and has found the treasure wins. Great atmospheric piece!

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Death at Sea (A Murder Mystery in 3-D) (1994) by Len Oszustowicz

Fun little book illustrated with “magic eye” pics. You’re supposed to be able to find the clues in the pictures to solve the murder of elderly Millicent Prestwood for her millions. It takes place aboard her late husband’s yacht, and everyone there is a suspect. The pics are a tad difficult to figure out, but the story is top-notch and witty. I wish the author had actually written some real mysteries.

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O Christmas Tea (2016) by Amy Woods/Kristen Eckhardt

Jan and Elaine host a famous food critic who wants to write a review of their tea room. When the critic collapses after tasting some of the tea and goodies, a rival tea room is suspected of poisoning her. The health department shuts the tea room down and the cousins now must find out who the perp is.

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The Paper Dolls (1964) by L.P. Davies

I first read this in junior high and it bothered my mind a great deal. I had never really read much in the way of psychological weirdness before. It haunted me for a long time. Reading it again recently, I was able to appreciate it much more. It takes place in England at a fancy private school. A tragedy occurs that points to something very odd going on with one of the young students, Rodney. Rodney was adopted as a baby and his parents are obviously afraid of him. Teachers Gordon and Joan do some digging and learn that Rodney has a twin somewhere. They try to find the twin and discover the results of experiments done in a concentration camp.

Souvenirs Aléatoires

The above title is just the fancy French way of saying random memories, which was the title of my blog a couple weeks ago. I didn’t feel like repeating myself and adding pt. 2 or anything like that and besides, adding a little refinement can’t hurt. I found some pics online that harken back to my childhood and sparked a little nostalgia.

I absolutely LOVED these cough crops and would sneak them whenever I could. I could consume and entire box if allowed.

I had a diary EXACTLY like this, except it was a 1 year. I loved that book and poured my heart out in it. To hide the little key, I glued a small magnet inside the top desk drawer behind the front where no one could see it. Since the key was metal, it rested safely in the desk until I needed it.

We had glasses like this! Almost the same pattern. Then we got a dishwasher and the glasses were run through it, instead of hand washing. There went the pattern!

I HATED this dryer! What my mom, grandma and I used was this ancient hand held thing that was very heavy and tiresome to use and took forever to dry my hair. Especially in curlers. My dad thought he was doing us women folk a big favor by buying one of the pictured models. I have no idea what my mom and grandma thought of it, but I detested it. That hose thing made it difficult to place the hood so the hot air wouldn’t burn your scalp. And where the opening of the hose was, that was the area of hair that got really cooked while the rest of your head was wet. Hated it!!

Man! Did I use a LOT of this stuff!! Since I was always into some kind of craft, even as a kid, I went through a LOT of this mucilage. That rubber tip wasn’t always the easiest thing to deal with. I usually didn’t get enough glue coming out to try and spread with the tip. Then I would try to amend the slit and would more often than not, get way too much.

Random Pic - Mushrooms

I was trolling some of my favorite sites for blog prompts and one had a random picture generator. I used to look at pictures in magazines and make up little stories about them. I haven’t done that in a long time and decided to try it again. The picture above is what came up.

The first thing I thought of was maybe a poem or two. Haiku is one of my favorite forms of poetry, so that was easy:

Mushroom or toadstool

Is a fungus among us

Either one can kill

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I also love fairytales and came up with a little poem for children:

7 little fairy houses

On the forest floor

Each one lived in all alone

Behind a hidden door

They sleep all day

And play at night

Because they love the moon

They write their names

On all the trees

With special Fairy Runes

Because they’re shy

Of humankind

You won’t see them about

Unless you learn

Their secret names

And softly bid them out:

Moonwind, Petal, Shimmer, Whisper, Leafkind, Star, Liana

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I doubt the mushrooms in the picture are the kind they serve in restaurants, but I LOVE sautéed

mushrooms in butter and garlic. I could eat them with almost any meal other than breakfast. Strike that, I would put them in an omelet with cheese. Hashbrowns on the side. And now I’m hungry…