Madame Will You Talk? by Mary Stewart

Some people do retail therapy. I do re-read therapy. I wanted a little mental break from things, so I picked up an old favorite. I've read Madame Will You Talk? many times, and enjoyed it every time. This was no exception.

I love Mary Stewart mysteries. They were among the first "grown up" mysteries I read, and I read every one of them several times. I collected all her books in paperback, and one time while on a declutter spree I decided to get rid of them, thinking I could always get them at the library. Wrong. Our library took them out of circulation. Then I tried to buy them again, and they were out of print. Yikes! I panicked for a few years and picked up some used copies as I could find them. Finally they came back in print and you can bet I bought them all again. Lesson learned: keep the books you love.

Stewart started writing in the 50's, and her books reflect the times. Lots of cigarette smoking, women wearing dresses all the time. It's kind of fun to have a reminder of what things were like. I'm sure they were very current when written. What will people say about our current books in 60 years?

Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran

When I was young, we went to Niagara Falls every couple of years (when we went to visit my grandmother). We usually went to the Canadian side because the view of the falls was prettier there. While there, we visited the wax museum. It turns out it is a Louis Tussaud wax museum, not Madame Tussaud. Louis was her great grandson.

So, it was fun for me when this book was chosen for us to read. I found the information in the book fascinating. I had no idea that wax models were made as early as they were. Madame Tussaud lived during the French Revolution and was making wax models  even before then.

Even more interesting for me than the making of wax models was the story of the French Revolution from her point of view. The book is fiction, but most of the characters in the book really lived, and the events really happened. The beginning years of the French Revolution were truly gruesome. Somehow Moran portrays that without the book being graphic or sensational. If you like to learn a little more about history in an entertaining way, this would be a good book to read.

May Report

Wow! Where in the world did this month go? My reading time diminished drastically, yet there is not much to show for any time spent elsewhere.  Well, that's not quite true. I spent time with my kids and grandkids--the best use of time ever. However, that sure didn't last for a whole 31 days. Oh well, that's just the way it goes some months.

1. First Things First: I've spent a lot of mental time in this area lately, trying to figure out the best way to make all of this the highest priority for myself. After all, I call it first things first for a reason. My tentative goal: no obligations before noon if at all possible. Obviously there are times that can't happen, but I'm going to do my best to dedicate my mornings for taking care of myself (and my house).

2. Photo Labeling and Scanning: Ha!

3. Household Organization: I did not work on the living room/dining room area. I did, however, start my herculean summer effort of trying to keep up on the weeds in our yard, and get our vegetable garden planted. I'm hoping the vegetable garden goes better than last year. I don't think there's any way it could go worse.

4. Projects: I was going to organize my password list. That would have been a very short project. It didn't get done. I'll let it carry over into next month.

Hopes for June accomplishment: downstairs bathrooms/ organize motorcycle travel basics/ some quilting

Baby Quilt for Annie

My niece is having a baby in August, but moved away a couple of weeks ago. I made this baby quilt for her before she left.

I used 2 charm packs of Lario by 3 sisters for Moda. I really like the colors in this line. The finished quilt measures about 41 inches X 41 inches. 

The Winter Sea (reprise)

It was my turn to choose the book to review for my book group this month. We had a fairly intense discussion last month with The Light Between Oceans, so everyone wanted something a little "lighter."

I was happy to oblige with The Winter Sea. I loved it just as much the second time around. I was surprised at how much discussion we had with the book. Everyone really liked it, which is always fun, but I wasn't sure how much of a discussion it would inspire. We talked for quite a while about it.

Seriously. If you haven't read this book yet, you should.

A Little Thought About My Mom and Dad

I just got off the phone with my mom. We had the most normal conversation, and I thought: that's Mom! For about two minutes there was no glimpse of Alzheimer's to be seen.

Then we hung up, and I thought: I wonder if Dad was really doing/where she said he was, and I wonder if she will remember to give him the message. I'll have to call back in a few minutes just to make sure he got it. Usually she hangs up and can't remember the conversation.

My Dad's memory is slipping also. Somehow his is a little harder on me. Maybe because I consider my mother's memory loss as a disease, but his seems more an indicator of aging. Maybe because he's been such a bastion of good sense amid the craziness (literally) of his life with my mom. Maybe because now I need to keep a closer eye on the two of them. Maybe there are too many reasons to count.

Meanwhile, I'll just bask in the two minutes of normalcy that I just experienced with my mom. That's enough for right now.

A Couple of Bags

I whipped up these bags last week. I've finally figured out a few things that make life easier when making bags. Like how to put a zipper into the top. (I learned how when I made my Zippy Strippy Bags.)

Also I have several patterns I've used over the years, and now sometimes use a combo of patterns. I like a stiff bag that will stand. Putting in a layer of cotton duck under the batting helps nicely with that. 

I always think a bag will be easier to make than it is. In my mind it should be just like making a very small quilt. But the details take longer than I think they will, and sometimes working with small things is not easier than working with big things, and seams add bulk, etc, etc.  But I sure like the look of a quilted bag. 

April Report

First of all, kudos to me for actually having this done on the first of May.

1. First things first: there was a decided upswing in this area this month. I've decided to relax a little bit about making myself get up in the morning, and just take a slightly later outlook on life. That's one advantage of my stage of life. No kids to get off to school, no having to get up and out the door for work. So on days where I don't have an early appointment, I just get up when I wake up. Since I'm naturally a fairly early riser it's not like I'm sleeping in until noon every day. It sets a decidedly more relaxed tone to my day.

2. Photo labeling/scanning: I'm beginning to wonder if I'm having more fun figuring out how I want to do it than actually doing it. Then I take stock, and remind myself that I'm making some progress. This month I scanned about 450 slides from my husband's mission to Germany. A hint and reminder to all of us: you can never over-label a photo. Trying to figure out 35 years later the where/what/who of a photo is no fun. A few seconds now saves hours of frustration in the future.

3. Household organization: I did not get to my family room as planned, but I did get my bathroom shelves organized. Feels great.

4. Project list: This month I finished up my emergency binder and 72 hour emergency kits. I love having my binder all set to go. I also reorganized my inbox, and put all those miscellaneous little papers into a binder and now things look much neater, and I know right where all those things are. I'm loving my clean desktop.

Goals for May: get the yard and garden going/ the living room and dining room/ and organizing my passwords list. We'll see how it all pans out at the end of the month.

Happy May!