Curveball The Year I Lost My Grip by Jordan Sonnenblick

I should never have read this book in the shape I'm in.

Last night I came down with the flu or food poisoning--not sure which--but either way it's been miserable. Consequently today I've had to miss a big family event. As you can guess, I've been feeling a little sorry for myself.

I picked up this book to distract me. It sure did. Then came the part about Pete's grandpa having Alzheimer's. I was okay at first, but as the rest of the story progressed, I got more and more emotional. Finally I had to put the book down and have a major cry. Then I felt a little better.

Is this a sad book? Not remotely. Is it an emotional book? Not any more than life seems to be (on a normal, well-rested day). It's about Pete, a boy who loves baseball more than anything. Pete has an elbow injury that makes it so he can never play again. All of that happens in the first chapter of the book, so I'm not giving away anything you'll want to discover on your own. The rest of the book is about his Freshman year in high school, and coping with the changes that come his way in life.

Sonnenblick writes about this age in an accurate way, I think. This is a young adult book, but I think it is enjoyable for adults as well. No foul language, which is such a relief (Okay, thankfully perhaps not truly accurate about young teens).

I would almost call this book perfect, except I do have a couple of criticisms. One, the book font is Gill Sans. I actually like that font, but a sans serif font is harder to read in a book. And the italicized words (of which there were quite a few) were harder to notice. Second--and this was distracting enough to make me want to rate the book a little lower in my mind--trying to portray the photography teacher's New York accent was completely distracting. The fact that the teacher was from New York had no bearing on any of the rest of the story. Mentioning the fact, and letting those who know a New York accent imagine it in their minds would have been more than enough.

That said, I really liked the book.

Another Graduate

"Good, we got our usual seats," I said as we entered Portal Q and sat in rows 29 and 30. We saved 18 seats. The Marriott Center was already filling up and it was an hour and a half before Commencement began. The woman behind me asked, "How many times have you been here for this?" I told her that since 2003 we've had someone graduate each year except one. And a few of those years we've had more than one graduate. 

Three daughters, two with advanced degrees, three sons-in-law, one with an advanced degree. It adds up. 

This year is Randy's turn. A Masters of Music in piano performance. 

Randy--so happy to be done

Diane, Debra, Jonathan (yes, that's his little two-week old head peeking out of the pack in front of Debra), Debra, Randy, and Madeleine

I had to include this picture. It's the only picture I have with all eight of my grandchildren in it.
Front row: Elizabeth (3), Rachel (3), Diane (2), Madeleine (4), Matthew (5), Austin (6)
Back row: Bruce holding Andrew (6 months), Joseph, Audrey, Beth, Me, Ray, Debra with Jonathan in the pack, Randy, Grandma Jody and Grandpa Ray

The graduate and family are off to conquer the world. Unfortunately that means they're moving away. The good news is they're moving to the Seattle area--a place I love to visit to see my sister and friends that are already there. Now I have even more reason to go. 

They're moving in 10 days. What are they thinking? A new baby, a two year old, and a four year old. 

It can be done. Ray and I did it once with a two week old baby and a two year old. Then another time with an eight-month-in-utero baby, a two year old and a four year old. It's not easy, but it can be done.

Meanwhile, don't expect many posts in the days to come. I'll be busy helping them pack up, then we're helping them drive to Seattle. We're going to squeeze in every last minute with them that we can.

Big Girl Books

My mother was a librarian. What a blessing for a child who could never get enough of books. Although I'm sure she was a strong influence in my love of reading, there was no guarantee I would catch the vision just because she was a librarian.

We went to the library regularly and always came home with an armful of books. I distinctly remember the day she said to me, "I think you're ready for the next level of books." She led me to the juvenile fiction area and helped me select a few books. I felt like I'd made the big time!

Then I remember the day she walked over to the shelf with Amelia Elizabeth Walden's books and pulled down To Catch A Spy. She said, "I think you're ready for this now. It's one of my favorites." Could I feel more proud? I don't think so. It became one of my favorites, and now my daughter Audrey loves it too. I just reread it for about the fiftieth time. I finished it with a sigh. So many wonderful memories tied up in that book. 

Here are a few landmark books for me:

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

What's not to love? When my Beth was in high school, her English teacher mentioned this book. Beth said, "My mom's read that book a hundred times." He replied, "I think that must be an exaggeration." Hmmm, I don't think so. I had the first few lines memorized for a long time. I still know the first sentence by heart:

"Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents", grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.

The first time I read the book I didn't catch on that Beth died. My mom said perhaps I wasn't as ready for that book as she thought. I still remember the panicked feeling of failure when she said that. What if she didn't keep telling me great new books to read? Needless to say, the panic was unfounded.

I currently own eight editions of this book. Like I said, what's not to love?

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Sigh. This book was long, meaty, and engrossing. I loved it from the first page. (Scarlett off to the barbecue at Twelve Oaks.) My initial knowledge of the Civil War came from this book. I read my grandmother's copy. I have that copy now. It's a first edition, one she gave to my grandfather for Christmas. I know that from the inscription. I will tell you that my mother was not happy when my grandmother gave the book to me and not to my mother. You can read about my experience reading Gone With the Wind while the first Americans were walking on the moon here. 

Jubilee Trail by Gwen Bristow
Another book that I remember my mom pulling off the shelf and telling me she thought I'd like it. I was a little put off by the title. (Good thing the copy I read didn't have this cover--it would have put me off too. This is a true case of don't judge a book by its cover.) An epic book. Great story, great characters, fascinating story. Oh, I love it so! It was out of print for a long time. This Christmas I found it back in print and bought myself a copy. I never met a book by Gwen Bristow I didn't love, and I devoured every one I could lay my hands on.

Look at this beautiful pincushion my friend Marilyn made for me:

She was sick for a couple of weeks. When she gave me the pincushion, she said:

You know how it is when you don't feel well. You get a lot of reading done, and a lot of handwork done.

No, I don't know how that is. Reading? We all know how that's been for me, and I haven't even been sick. When I'm sick like Marilyn was, I don't read as much as she did. And I certainly don't sit around making yo-yos because they're new and fun to make. Then you can bet I don't put them together to make the cutest pincushion ever. And, she made more than one! She made a bunch of them. (I just know I got the very cutest of them all.)

Next time I'm sick--and I hope it's a very long time from now--I'd like to try being sick like Marilyn was. 

One Book in the Grave by Kate Carlisle

This is book 5 in her Bibliophile series. How can an avid reader resist a series with the name Bibliophile? Lucky for me they're a fun set of books.

I am still not getting much time in for reading. Or for a lot of things, it seems.  Mostly I've been busy helping with my daughter's new baby, a daughter  (the same one) who is moving (we are not talking about that), and a bunch of stuff for church.

I've been craving a day to be at home and get a few things settled around the house. Today's that day. So far it's noon and this post is only the second thing I've done. Well, to give myself credit, I did go to Zumba and start one load of wash in addition to the two other things.

Time to get moving!

At Home with the Templetons by Monica McInerney

I left on vacation expecting and hoping to read several books. This is the third and last book I read while I was gone. I don't think three counts as several, but looking at my track record at home right now, three seems like a lot. The good news is that I was having so much fun spending time with my friends and family that I didn't have time to read while I was gone. So mostly I read on the airplane, and a few minutes here and there in Hawaii.

This book was a great one to finish with. I really enjoy McInerney's books. I've read Those Faraday Girls, The Alphabet Sisters, and Family Baggage. They were all very good.

At Home with the Templetons follows a family and their various escapades with the people in their lives. The characters really grew on me, and by the end of the book some of the people I was sympathetic with at first became less likeable. It was a well crafted story. Just what I needed.

I read a lot of series, especially Murder mysteries, and I like getting to know the characters and feeling at home right from the beginning of a book. But there is something truly magical about opening the pages of a book, not knowing what will happen, who you will get to know, love, and hate, and the anticipation that goes with that. I like an author who can imagine and bring to life a completely different world in each of their books. Monica McInerney does that. I can't wait to read more of hers.

Note: Monica McInerney was first suggested to me by a cashier in Costco. I thought, "what the heck, I may as well give it a try." Good thing I did. You never know who can send you on a great new reading adventure.

Jonathan Robert Peck

We got the call at 6:30 a.m. yesterday morning: "Baby!"

"We're on our way," I said, and rolled out of bed.

Debra has her babies very fast. Ray and I dressed quickly and drove to the hospital. Randy was waiting in the lobby with Madeleine and Diane. We sent Randy on his way to be with Debby and brought the girls home. Twenty minutes after we arrived home came the text with the baby's picture. One hour and twenty minutes after we got the call he was born.

Jonathan Robert Peck. 8 lbs 7 oz. 20 inches long. Named for his paternal grandfather, Robert - better known as Grandpa Bob.

He's our eighth grandchild, making it now four boys and four girls. 

Baby Jonathan

Madeleine and Debra

Diane.  The girls aren't feeling great, so no "new family" picture until everyone's well.

Randy and Jonathan

Me and Jonathan

Ray and Jonathan

Great grandma Jody with Jonathan. Ray's parents were the first visitors.

Great grandpa Ray with Jonathan.

The Hunger Games

If I hadn't been lounging about the beach in Hawaii, I would have seen this movie on opening day. I couldn't wait to see it. Ray (husband), Ray (son), and I just saw it together.

I loved it! Thank you to Hollywood (for once) for great casting, costumes, make-up, performances, and screen play adapted from the book. It was fun to see it with my son, because he also read all the books, and we've had some good discussions about them. I wondered what my husband would think, because he went in completely cold - not a single clue what any of it was about. He really liked it too. His comment at the end was: is there a sequel?

If you liked the books, it's worth seeing. If you haven't read the books, it's worth seeing.

I can't wait to see the next one.

March Report

March flew right by. I had two vacations - Sister's Weekend, and Hawaii. I cannot believe it is already April. Here's my accounting of the month:

1. First things first: Fair on scripture reading. I don't do as well when not on a regular schedule. Pretty good on exercise. I was sick for a couple of days, so missed some there, and I did okay on vacation too. Not perfect, but okay. Food: I did pretty well with food - and actually very well considering I had a nice vacation or two in there.
2. One shelf/drawer per day. Derailed. I did do it for 16 days, which is at least a majority of the month. Barely. But once again vacation is to blame. 
3. 30-30-30: This is still working well for me when I have days with discretionary time. 
4. Skype/web-cam: not as often as I like, but at least a couple of times. 
5. Digital photo system/labeling: I'm taking an online class to get going on this during the month of April. Hopefully that will get me going. 

Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland

I've read a couple of other books by Susan Vreeland (Girl in Hyacinth Blue, and Luncheon of the Boating Party) and enjoyed them. She does a good job of incorporating real people and their lives into a fictional biographical account.

I put this book on my Kindle a couple of vacations ago, and never got around to it. This time I decided to give it a go. I wish I could have seen the jacket cover in color. I would have referred to it often as I went along in the story.

The book is about Clara Driscoll, who worked for Louis Comfort Tiffany as a stained glass designer and creator. Tiffany's was the only art glass company to employ women, and this book tells about that women's department (headed by Clara Driscoll). As a matter of interest, no married women were allowed to work there.

I liked the book. I like learning about people who really lived, and created things that I've seen (the Tiffany lamp shades, for example). It gave a lot of detail about the design and creating of stained glass windows, lampshades, and mosaics. A lot of detail. It almost derailed me a couple of times, but the story began to pick up and it all came together nicely.