Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

When I read Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand, I never dreamed an entire non-fiction book about a horse could keep me interested. It kept me enthralled. So when I picked up Unbroken, I thought it should be pretty good. After all, it is about real people and World War II, both subjects which I find interesting.

It was so much more than pretty good. It was captivating, fascinating, horrifying, and thrilling. I was worried about getting slogged down in a lot of facts. Not so. The story is well woven, and enticing. I had a hard time putting it down, and was anxious to get right back to the book as soon as possible.

Unbroken is the story of Louie Zamperini, an American who was shot down over the Pacific during the war. We learn of his amazing survival of the tortures of a Japanese POW camp, and his life back at home afterward, struggling to put the war behind him.

That is a very boring and inadequate summary of the book. But I don't want to say more, because it is wonderful to discover it all yourself. For such a hard subject, the book is entertaining and uplifting, yet you never forget all that Zamperini suffers and overcomes.

It is well worth reading. In fact, I think it's a must-read.

My Valentine

Yes, he's my valentine. And we made it official on Valentine's Day, 32 years ago. I wouldn't change a thing. It's been a glorious time.

February 1984

February 14, 1980

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

This is the reason I belong to a book group (or two). I would never in a million years have picked this book to read on my own, but I liked it so much I feel like giving it to everyone I know.

It's classified via its dewey decimal system number as applied psychology. On my shelves that is usually classified as boring. Not so with this book. It is a quick, fun, fascinating read.

Gretchen Rubin is a writer who lives in New York city. One day as she was riding the bus she realized she has a pretty good life, but that she doesn't appreciate enough how happy she is. So she devised the Happiness Project: a year of goals and ways to be more aware of her happiness, and perhaps increase her happiness. Not in a big, change your life way, but within the parameters of her normal life.

On the surface Gretchen and I do not have much in common. She went to law school, clerked for Sandra Day O'Connor, then gave up law to be a writer, and lives in New York with her husband and two children.

I myself am a West Coast girl (California and Washington) who has landed in Utah. I have a degree in Elementary Education, but stopped teaching when I had children. I reveled in being a stay-at-home mom, and now revel in my young grandchildren. I must admit to having had a strong desire to go to law school that faded when I met my husband, got married, and had children.

One major similarity I have with Gretchen Rubin is that I have a happy life. I also think I could be a little happier, but I definitely could appreciate my happiness more. So we started off on the same foot as I began the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed sharing her journey through the year. She and I think alike in many ways, and our goal-setting and accomplishing strategies are very similar. Maybe that's why I liked it so much. But her objective with the book is to set forth her project and hope that anyone could take the idea and make it their own and therefore do it their own way.

I feel like my goals for this year -- first things first, one shelf/drawer per day, 30-30-30 -- have made me happier. I'm hoping that will continue through the year. Now I might add some other things to help me increase my happiness awareness.

My Own Bag

Last November I gave these bags to Lori, Marilyn, and Jennifer (read about it here). I really wanted my own, and had all the fabric to make it, but lots of other stuff got in the way - the holidays, and just life in general.

On my birthday I decided to start on my own bag - my present to myself. I made quite a bit of headway, then didn't have time again to work on it until this week. I finished it today. I'm very excited to start using it. 

It appears very orange in the picture, but the main part of the bag is actually red. The details about the pattern, fabric and size are in the earlier post. I don't think I'll make this bag again. I love the look of the outside, but I was quite frustrated getting the lining to lay right, and after a lot of fussing just settled for okay (on all four bags). Also it is very bulky to sew through, and that was another set of problems to work through. I have a lot of bag patterns that are much easier to work with, and could modify one of those to have this same look and feel.

Don't get me wrong, I love the bag. After all, I did make four of them. But four is enough. 

The bags for Lori, Marilyn, and Jennifer

My bag

By the way, I'd like to report that I listened to music from my computer while I sewed. Yes, I'm moving forward in the digital music age...

A Couple of Things I've Learned Recently

I learn things from my grandchildren all the time. Unfortunately I don't always seize the opportunity to share them while they are still fresh on my mind. Here are a few I paid attention to this last week:

From Matthew (age 5): "G'ma. The trees that live in winter are pine trees. We call them conifers. I will show you all the conifers while we drive."

From Diane (age 2): No words are necessary in order to carry on a conversation. A glance at the cat and a raised eyebrow means: did you see Boris get down off the bed and go in the other room? I nodded and she nodded. Conversation complete.

From Madeleine (age 4): any good story can be greatly enhanced by twirling constantly during the telling.

An Irish Country Girl by Patrick Taylor

I'll say it again: Patrick Taylor really knows how to spin a tale.

This book in the Irish Country Doctor series is a departure. It's the story of Kinky Kincaid, the housekeeper for Doctors O'Reilly and Laverty, when she was a girl. It isn't about Ballybucklebo and the usual cast of characters for these books.

At the beginning of the book some time is taken to describe what makes a good story teller, and how Kinky came to weave wonderful tales. I laughed to myself, thinking Patrick Taylor must have been describing himself.

I highly recommend all these books!

Sunday Celebrations

Last Sunday we celebrated a few things.

Andrew in the Johnny-jump-up for the first time. He's three months old, and one of the smiliest babies I know. Here he is with his sister Rachel (left) and cousin Madeleine. 

Three January birthdays! Diane and Rachel on the 25th, and Diane on the 30th.

GiGi Is Back for a Visit

Audrey, Matthew and Elizabeth are here for the week. It snowed today and Matthew and Elizabeth went outside to play.

Matthew did not want GiGi to miss out on the fun. He set GiGi up to watch everything from a good vantage point.