May 2017 Book Report

Zac and the Dream Stealers (2012) by Ross MacKenzie

Zac and his Granny travel to the realm of Nocturne, where Dream Stealers are stealing the dreams of people in the human world. Granny is a very powerful wizard and it turns out that Zac has power as well in defeating the Stealers. Great kid’s book.

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Soulless (2009) by Gail Carriger

In Victorian England, Alexia battles vampires, falls in love with a werewolf, and gets to meet Queen Victoria herself. Great steampunk novel. First in a series. Can’t wait to read more.

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Amos Jackman (1957) by Daniel Doan

Amos lives on a barely functional farm with Pa, Gram and his brothers Mort and Wicher. Joan is from a wealthy family and is visiting their summer home when she meets Amos. She tries her best to be a farm wife, but has to admit defeat. Amos ends up selling the farm to get a “regular” job to support the wife he loves more than the land.

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44 Charles Street (2011) by Danielle Steel

I’ve never been a big fan of her books, but the premise of this one appealed to me. Francesca breaks up with the man she thought she’d be with forever. She buys out his half of the brownstone she absolutely loves, but has to take in renters to keep up the payments. The three people that come to live in the brownstone become family to her, and they share their lives and troubles with each other.

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After Long Silence (1987) by Sheri S. Tepper

The planet Jubal has “crystal presences” all over the surface that shatter unexpectedly. It takes the music from Tripsingers to lull the presences enough to be able to get past them safely. Some say the presences are sentient, which threatens the ability of humans to live there.

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Random Harvest (1941) by James Hilton

Charles Ranier loses his memory in WWI. He “awakens” in a park to discover 2 years have gone by. He remembers the start of the war, but that is all. He becomes a very successful business man, but always feel there is something missing from his life.

More Stuff You Don’t Care About

I’ve been sick for a week and are only just now feeling human. So needless to say, I haven’t been working very hard on a blog for this week. As you will discover. I decided to start randomly picking stuff to write about and let it do for now.

Thursday was a good day, because it was Marv’s birthday. I am always grateful for another year with this man. AND his boss bought PIE to share with everyone at work and Marv got to bring most of a whole pie (chocolate cream) home!! WOOT! We also went to dinner at Denny’s for Marv’s free birthday breakfast. I had chicken fried steak, which I hadn’t had in YEARS and it was WONDERFUL.

I’ve written before about how hard it is to find the name Dorothy on stuff like ornaments and such. I do have 3 ornaments, a mug and a candle holder. And I’ve been seeing all these posts on FB about it being National Sharon Day or National Mary Day. So I went to the Ultimate Source: Google, and THERE IS NO NATIONAL DOROTHY DAY ANYWHERE IN THIS WORLD. There was a famous Catholic activist/journalist/editor named Dorothy Day, but that’s not what I was looking for.

I have never been able to discern direction very well. East/West/North/South mean nothing to me except when I look on a map. Tell me to drive East on Whatsit Ave and I will have no idea what you’re talking about. I also sometimes have trouble with right and left. *sigh* I get by on landmarks.

They say that the worst day fishing is better than the best day at work, but I say “The worst day at work is better than the best day at school!” I really, really, really hated school.

The talk now is that I’ve been peeling a banana the wrong way all my life. You don’t start at the top of the stem, you start at the bottom. You know what? They’re right, but I DON’T CARE! I still peel them from the top.

According to one of those things on Facebook where every letter has a Japanese sound after it, my Ninja name is TE MO CHI (Dot) or DE MO SHI MO CHI RI FU (Dorothy). But you can call me BabyCakes.

The year I turned 30 was 1983. I’d been married for 8 years and had a 3 year old and a 2 year old. I was probably certifiably insane and had migraines all the time. The only reason the 2 kids and I got to the present day more or less intact was the fact that I had a first class man to help me through it all. With God’s grace and Marvin’s help we made it! Double WOOT!!

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Odd Things

A friend posted this on Facebook and it was titled “40 Odd Things About Me.”  I enjoy this kind of thing, but as I commented to her, the questions really weren’t that odd. I was looking for something off the wall. So I decided that I would tweak things a bit and post my answers for the most interesting questions. Enjoy!

Do you like blue cheese? You mean, do I like mold that tastes like death? Do I enjoy throwing up? The answer is “Hell no!”
Have you ever smoked? Not only have I never smoked, I’ve never been on fire!
Do you own a gun? Not at the moment, but I DO know how to use one…just sayin’…

What flavor Koolaid? I’ve never liked Koolaid. Never. It’s the only drink we got in Sunday School and Vacation Bible School. Tasted awful. I do use it for dying Easter Eggs, though.
What do you think of hot dogs? I think they are a fine idea. An all-purpose food. They can be eaten hot or cold. I do prefer them hot off the grill.
What is your favorite movie? Rocky Horror and Cold Comfort Farm. I can watch them over and over. CCF is a bit hard to sing to, though.
What is your favorite sport to watch? Olympics. While in my recliner eating chips and drinking beer.
What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Coffee. In total silence. All alone.
Can you do a push-up? No. Why on earth would I want to?????
What's your favorite piece of jewelry? I love any jewelry anyone wants to give me. Hint, hint.  
What is your favorite hobby? Chillin’, just chillin’
What was your favorite childhood cartoon? Just about all of them that were around in the mid 50s to late 60s. Got a little irritated at Mighty Mouse beating up the cats all the time…
Name three things you did this morning. Made coffee. Drank coffee. Sat silent and alone.

Name three drinks you drink. Soda, booze and coffee
Favorite place to be? Anywhere with my Lia
How did you bring in the New Year? Fairly sober for once. Decided I really don’t like throwing up.
Where would you like to go? Somewhere where everybody knows my name…
Can you whistle? You bet. You just put your lips together and blow….
Where are you now? At any given moment I am usually somewhere between blind panic and ehhhhh.  
Would you like to be a Pirate? Sure. You wanna see my booty? Or swash my buckles??
Have you ever scuba dived? Since I have a great fear of deep water, I’ll have to give this one another “Hell no!”
What's in your pocket? I’m gonna go with banana….
What's your favorite animal? I think most people who know me even a little bit know this answer…CATS
Do you like to dance? Other than The Time Warp, not really, but I LOVE to sing. Can I sing? Sadly, people listening to me would say “Hell no!”