Miss Hargreaves by Frank Baker

A friend recommended this book - said it was one she really liked.

I plowed my way through it, almost quitting several times. It's the story of a young man who occasionally made up stories. One of them comes to life in the person of Miss Hargreaves. She becomes a trial, and he eventually has to try and get rid of her.

So-so.

An Irish Country Courtship by Patrick Taylor

I really enjoy this series. This one did not disappoint.

If you like a nice, easy, humorous, character-filled read, this one is for you. I recommend starting with the first book An Irish Country Doctor.

Spider Web by Earlene Fowler

I have really enjoyed the Benni Harper series. I buy each book as it comes out, and devour it.

Not so this one. I started it, and I don't know if it was my travel fatigued mind, or if the series is getting tired, but I just couldn't make myself keep reading it. So, I gave it up.

Maybe I'll give it another try sometime.

Maybe.

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt

I loved The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt and my book group recommended this one also, so I read it.

It was marvelous. Schmidt really has a way with words. Although the book is fiction, it is based on a real event in New England. I don't want to give it away by telling more.

Take my word for it. It's worth reading.

The Queen's Thief Series by Megan Whelan Turner

 I need to catch up on posting the books I've read. I did not get nearly the reading done on our trip to China that I expected. That's okay. We were busy, busy, and very tired at night.

I did read The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whelan Turner again. I reviewed it for one of my book groups. It was even better reading the second time. Her writing is amazing, and I loved being in on all the twists and turns this time around.

I've included all the book jackets here because I think the artwork is beautiful.

If you're interested in reading my reviews from the first time I read them, here they are:
The Thief,  The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia, A Conspiracy of Kings.


 I

My Favorite Travel Accessories

Three favorites:

1. The travel clothesline. It's hard to see in this picture, but there are suction cups on the end. This one is by Lewis N Clark, and it runs about $4.50. It stuck to any wall I put it on and is very stretchy. We each had a carry-on bag in China, and washed out undies, shirts, and socks on a regular basis. It saved us a lot of space.

2. Power Glide. I actually used the anti-chafe roll on, but used it on my feet. Next time I'll get this one which is specific for feet. It was wonderful. No blisters, and I usually get blisters even from shoes I've worn a lot. I might add that baby powder was wonderful too. 

3. My best travel accessories ever. I mean ever. I bought these two Le Sportsac purses before our New England cruise, and I love them. The small one holds my passport, wallet, sunglasses, small digital camera, lip gloss, and a pen. At least that much. Sometimes more. It measures 7.5 inches by 9.5 inches (stretched). The shoulder strap is adjustable to 48 inches long, and is also removable. I added a small carabiner on the strap rings, and hang my hat from that when I don't want to wear my hat but still want it near at hand. (A Tilley hat, which I love). 

The small bag can easily fit inside the large bag. The large bag is 15 X 13 X 4 inches. It's my purse on the plane, and the small bag is inside, plus a file folder with our travel information, my Kindle, a coat, an umbrella, cough drops, tissue, my Grandmother's Flower Garden handwork, and anything else I feel like I need (toilet paper in China, for example). The  purse is never unwieldy, nor heavy (it's very lightweight empty). And it folds perfectly flat if I don't need it. And it's waterproof. I'm tempted to buy a second set in case something happens to this one. But so far it seems very durable.

A Week with the Grands

I've had Audrey's kids this week, and to tell the truth, I'm surprised I've found a few minutes to blog about it. I'd better type fast before Elizabeth wakes up from her nap, or the boys come storming inside demanding a snack.

They've been great. It's amazing what the promise of a popsicle before bed will do to enhance good behavior during the day. We should have learned that trick a long time ago. 

I took all three to their Aunt Amy's on Monday and Thursday for a couple of hours while I went to the doctor with my dad, and had lunch with some friends. What a nice break for me! And apparently it was a nice break for the children too. Austin informed me on the way to Amy's: This is the best day of my life. I get to go to see my cousins Seth, Malcolm, and Calvin.

Wednesday Debra came with Madeleine and Diane and we went swimming. I asked Debra if she had her camera, and she did, so I didn't take mine. Ha! Keeping track of five rambunctious children in the pool took all our efforts. Not a single photo of that activity. 

Today we went to the park. I don't know why I didn't do that every day. It's close, they love it, and it takes up a lovely amount of time outdoors and outside the house. Lesson learned for next time. 

Here are a few quotes from the week:

Austin

"Please be quiet while I read!" This was said when he was in the middle of a crowd of noisy children. It never occurred to him to get up and move

"I wish I had the hands of a lemur." When asked why, "Because then I could hang from things for a really long time."

As I was chasing Elizabeth to try and change her diaper - "G'ma and Girlie, round two!"

Matthew 

"Austin, you get to be the boss of me." (I want to remember that one for the future.)

"Wild horses sometimes buck people off, but they don't get a time out. It's just what they do."

"G'ma, you don't have to give me what I want." (Another one to remember in the future - more like the next few minutes.)

Here are a few photos from the week:

I felt like I was reliving my youth, watching Austin read in any location/position he could find.

Austin

Elizabeth, Matthew, Austin. Watching Ray mow the lawn.

Austin learning how to swing on the monkey-bars. Perhaps this is what inspired the Lemur comment.

Elizabeth and Matthew. Elizabeth does not want to share.

Victory. She has it all to herself.

Matthew was fascinated by the  landscaping crew and the riding lawn mowers.

Austin

 

Elizabeth

 

Austin, Matthew, Elizabeth

Food, Glorious Food

When we were preparing for our trip to China, we were all worried about what the food would be like, how the bathrooms would be, and if we would have drinking water readily available.

So when we actually landed in China, we drank all the water we could hold whenever we could, used every bathroom in sight, and began eating like each meal was our last one on earth. In general I think of ourselves as a pretty clever bunch, but it took us almost until we were ready to come home to realize that we always had enough water, there were bathrooms whenever we felt the urge (which was often, because of the water consumption), and so much food we nearly exploded.

Each meal we had a very small plate - usually 4 to 5 inches in diameter, a small bowl (not even 8 oz.), and small glass for our drink, and chopsticks. In Guilin they would fill your glass twice, then it cost more. In Xi'An you only got one fill for your glass. In Beijing they allowed multiple fills. It seemed like once they started serving food, it never ended. The food was delicious - very American style Chinese food for the most part.

I also learned that they eat rice in the south, and noodles and dumplings in the north. I don't know what I'd do if I lived there - I preferred the south to live, but liked the noodles and dumplings in the north to eat.

But I'm still not ready to go out for Chinese food yet. Maybe in July.

Here are some random pictures of our eating experiences:

Lunch at the Buddhist Monastery in Hong Kong

These were not the actual dumplings that we ate, but these are what they looked like (rabbit).

More sample dumplings - fish

These are some of our actual, more nondescript dumplings (or what's left of them)

Slicing noodles straight into the pot. So delicious!