Life: It Goes On - September 24

Happy Wednesday (just barely still Wednesday)! We were out of town until Monday evening and by the time we unpacked, did laundry and fed ourselves, I didn't have the energy to write a post. Last night was time for a visit to see my dad since it had been almost a week and this evening it's been about getting things done around the house that usually get done on the weekends. Tomorrow may be an evening to just relax and get the reading done that I thought I'd get done in the car over the weekend, but didn't. 

Last Week I: 

Listened To: M.C. Beaton's Death of A Smuggler, some of Javier Zamora's Solito (it's a tough listen and I can only do a little at a time), and yesterday I started Rachel Hawkins' The Wife Upstairs, which I didn't know was a reworking of Jane Eyre.

Watched: Saturday we watched the Nebraska football game at my niece's home in Wisconsin (her husband was a real sport and cheered along with us). Their three-year-old son took a shine to The Big Guy and was his shadow, watching the game sitting right by his side, watching BG to make sure he was reacting to every play the right way, and echoing everything BG said. Given the outcome of the game, I'd definitely say watching those two guys was the better option of things to watch. 

Read: I got very little reading done over the weekend, despite the long drive. I spent a good chunk of the time driving and had to navigate much more than I usually do, thanks to heavy traffic, rain, and thick fog. Tonight I'll finish Charlotte McConaghy's Wild, Dark Shore. Next up will be Taylor Reid Jenkins' Atmosphere. 

Made: A caramel apple dip that didn't travel well, but tasted delicious. I'll make it again but when the person I got the recipe from said it needed every bit of the sugar she was putting in, she was lying. I'll cut the recipe in half, cut the sugar by about a third, and put the toppings on just before serving. 

It was a grey but fun day! 

Enjoyed: Time with family, including finally getting to meet my 17-month-old great-niece and a drive along the north shore of Lake Superior, including revisiting the site of one of my mom's favorite ever vacation experiences. 

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This Week I’m:  

Planning: On, hopefully, getting BG to work on the garage this weekend while there's no football game to distract him and it's still warm enough to be out there. 

Thinking About: Miss H is moving soon and we'll be headed to KC a couple of weekends to help with that. Since she'll be living with a friend for a few months, instead of own her own, we're having to figure out what to do with the rest of her furniture. 

Feeling: I forgot my blood pressure meds over the weekend, which seemed fine over the weekend; but now I'm suffering the consequences so I'm off to bed shortly. 

Looking forward to: Going to see Jon Batiste with friends on Sunday evening. 

Question of the week: I was so happy on the beaches this weekend, even if it was too cold to swim. I love just listening to the waves. Are you someone who prefers time on the water or do you, like BG, prefer the mountains? 

Life: It Goes On - October 17

Happy Thursday! It's been that kind of week when I'm only just now getting around to a post I normally get done on Sunday! But this week's goings on are for another day...today I'm playing catch up. 

Last Week I: 

Listened To: Vampires In The Lemon Grove and I started Helen Simonson's latest, The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club. We also listened to some podcasts while we were on the road...but I already can't remember which ones. 

Watched: Our great-nephew play t-ball. He's six, but plays on a team of six-and-under kids, so he's playing with a lot of four-year-olds. He towers over them! Also, I'd forgotten how hilarious little children are in their early attempts at organized sports. 

Read: Guys, I'm doing such a poor job at picking up a book and actually finishing it. I keep starting things then realize I need to be reading something else before it goes back to the library or my early copy is no longer available. 

Made: My take on Molly Yeh's beans and greens with runny egg, which we both really liked but I'll need to tweak some when we make it again. 

Enjoyed: A three-day weekend trip to Columbia, MO. We got to spend Friday afternoon and dinner with our friends there; went to that t-ball game; hung out at my niece's; went to a winery on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River and then went to a landing that sits right on the river to listen to a band; stopped by Miss H's on our way home; and picked up some new-to-us dining room chairs in K.C. that I found on Facebook Marketplace. A busy, but very fun weekend! 

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This Week I’m:  

Planning: Now that I have those new chairs, the two that I prepped for painting can go to Mini-him and Miss C so I need to get those painted. 

Thinking About: Politics. Part of me is trying hard not to because it's so stressful. The other part of me is wanting to get more involved. 

Feeling: Nervous. I got talked into going to my class reunion this weekend and I'm honestly not looking forward to it. Why did I do this to myself?!

Looking forward to: Several fun things that I'm hoping to do this weekend. More on that on Sunday. 

Question of the week: Am I the only one who feels like time is speeding up? We have so many things I want to get done before we have a house full of people for Thanksgiving and there's been so little time to actually get to any of it. 

Life: It Goes On - August 18

Happy Sunday! I hope you all had a lovely weekend! We certainly did. Got up early yesterday and drove, with Mini-him and Miss C, north to visit her parents. They have such a beautiful home in a wooded area overlooking Lewis and Clark Lake. We attended River Boat Days, visited a good local brewery, took a sunset-into-night boat ride, and went out for breakfast on the lake this morning. We very much like Miss C's parents and talked and laughed a lot and made plans for another visit. Our boys have both hit the jackpot with in-laws (or, as this case may be, future in-laws). 

Last Week I: 

Listened To: I finished The Villa by Rachel Hawkins then took a break from books and listened to an episode of Kelly Corrigan's podcast, Kelly Corrigan Wonders, and a lot of music. 

Watched: The closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics which I thought was kind of a bore, some preseason NFL football, and the first two episodes of season 4 of Emily In Paris (even though I wasn't happy about what happened in episode 1). 

Read: The Art of Home by Shea McGee and Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate. 

Made: Lots of caprese (salad, platter) and a couple of different pasta dishes because it's summer and everything has to have tomatoes involved in some way. 

Enjoyed: More than once this weekend, I looked over and saw this two holding hands. Again and again, I heard them laughing together. My boy is so relaxed and himself around Miss C. It makes this mama's heart so happy to see her kid this happy. 

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This Week I’m:  

Planning: What I didn't enjoy last week was getting water in my basement after we got 7" of rain in 24 hours. I spent a chunk of Wednesday evening and a good part of Thursday dealing with the aftermath of that. Being in the basement that much had me really thinking about what should stay and what needs to go. I have a vehicle load ready to go and this week I'm going to work on getting a second load of stuff out of there. After being in Miss C's one-year-old home this weekend and seeing their basement, I have visions of what ours could be and I'm inspired to make that happen. 

Thinking About: Doing some painting. I just ordered four paint samples. We'll see how long it takes me to get around to using them! 

Feeling: I'm so tired. We did spend a lot of time sitting and relaxing this weekend, but being "on" for 36 hours wears me out, even when I do like the people and I am enjoying myself. 

Looking forward to: Book club Tuesday to discuss The Measure. 

Question of the week: Are you in camp "let's don't rush summer" or camp "schools in so it must be fall now?"

The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hand

The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff

137 pages 

Published March 1973 by Lippincott Williams and Wilkins

Publisher's Summary: 

When devoted Anglophile Helene Hanff is invited to London for the English publication of 84, Charing Cross Road—in which she shares two decades of correspondence with Frank Doel, a British bookseller who became a dear friend—she can hardly believe her luck. Frank is no longer alive, but his widow and daughter, along with enthusiastic British fans from all walks of life, embrace Helene as an honored guest. Eager hosts, including a famous actress and a retired colonel, sweep her up in a whirlwind of plays and dinners, trips to Harrod’s, and wild jaunts to their favorite corners of the countryside. 

A New Yorker who isn’t afraid to speak her mind, Helene Hanff delivers an outsider’s funny yet fabulous portrait of idiosyncratic Britain at its best. And whether she is walking across the Oxford University courtyard where John Donne used to tread, visiting Windsor Castle, or telling a British barman how to make a real American martini, Helene always wears her heart on her sleeve. The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street is not only a witty account of two different worlds colliding but also a love letter to England and its literary heritage—and a celebration of the written word’s power to sustain us, transport us, and unite us.

My Thoughts: 

I knew I was forgetting a book when I did my mini-reviews the last week of December, trying to finish reviewing all of the books that I had read in 2023. Maybe this one just demanded to have its own review. 

It took me fifty years to finally read Helene Hanff's most famous work, 84, Charing Cross Road. I was charmed, as millions of others have been; but it didn't occur to me to find anything else Hanff had written.  Last year, when this book was brought to my attention, I was delighted to discover it and get a chance to read more of Hanff's work. 

Whilst 84, Charing Cross Road is entirely an epistolary work, composed of letters primarily between Hanff and London bookseller Frank Dole, The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street is Hanff's memoir of fulfilling her dream to travel to London, a diary she was encouraged to write by a friend. 

Although Frank died three years before Hanff was finally able to make the trip (and Marks and Co was no longer in business), her correspondence with Frank had led her to correspond with his wife, his daughter, and other employees of Marks & Co. Not only that, but the success of 84, Charing Cross Road and led Hanff to "meet" many other people in England who wanted the chance to meet her and show her the country. So, when she finally arrived, she was flooded with people who wanted to take her to dinner, to show her the sites, to ensure that she saw all that she longed to see, not necessarily just the touristy things. Their generosity allowed Hanff to stay in England longer than she had thought her money would last. 

Hanff was an interesting lady; she was a bit of a recluse who also seemed to attract people to her. More than one of the people she met in England arranged to meet up with her again and to take her on outings outside of London. She was unfashionable when it came to her clothes, but liked to make sure her hair was just so. She was witty, intelligent and had strong and often unusual opinions.

"I despair of ever getting it through anybody's head I am not interested in bookshops, I am interested in what's written in the books. I don't want to browse in bookshops, I browse in libraries, where you can take a book home and read it, and if you like it you go to a bookshop and buy it."

 Once again I come away from Hanff's book thinking that she was a woman I would very much have enjoyed getting to know. This one will make you long to do a better job of chronicling your own travels; London comes alive in Hanff's capable hands, as do the people she met. When I finished 84, Charing Cross Road, I suggested that it was a book I would definitely read again. When I do, I'll reread this one as well.  

 

Life: It Goes On - September 26

Happy Tuesday! We returned yesterday evening from a wonderful long weekend visiting my sister and her family and I just could not muster the energy to post. I wish someone would invent a way to teleport one of these days so we can actually return from a break rested instead of exhausted by an eight hour drive in heavy traffic and/or rain. We didn't help ourselves any by spending a little extra time hanging out with my niece and her little guy before we headed south but it was so fun to get more time with him. Is there anyone else more fun than than a 2-year-old? 

Last Week I: 

Listened To: A Fever In The Heartland, by Timothy Egan (what an eye opener!) and more of The Wager, while we were driving. We were hoping to finish it yesterday but the drive was too stressful to focus on a book. 

Watched: A lot of Husker sports - two volleyball matches and a football game. 

Read: Dinosaurs by Lydia Millet. 

Made: Who can remember back in time to before we left for the weekend?

Enjoyed: Lots of family time; and a rainy, but very fun, trip along the north shore of Lake Superior, with stops to check out the view, get down by the water, and stop at a winery. 

This Week I’m:  

Planning: My dad will be moving sooner than originally planned so we will be working this weekend to get him packed up and ready. 

Thinking About: What needs to be done to move my dad, Miss H, and, possibly, Mini-him yet this fall. 

Feeling: One day back and I'm already in need of Friday to get here soon!

Looking forward to: I have a half day on Friday that will be spent doing lots of things just for me. 

Question of the week: If you could teleport anywhere for a long weekend without the time and expense of travel, where would you go?

Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan

Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan

240 Pages

Published February 2014 by Random House Publishing Group

Publisher's Summary:

When Kelly Corrigan was in high school, her mother neatly summarized the family dynamic as “Your father’s the glitter but I’m the glue.” This meant nothing to Kelly, who left childhood sure that her mom—with her inviolable commandments and proud stoicism—would be nothing more than background chatter for the rest of Kelly’s life, which she was carefully orienting toward adventure. After college, armed with a backpack, her personal mission statement, and a wad of traveler’s checks, she took off for Australia to see things and do things and Become Interesting.

But it didn’t turn out the way she pictured it. In a matter of months, her savings shot, she had a choice: get a job or go home. That’s how Kelly met John Tanner, a newly widowed father of two looking for a live-in nanny. They chatted for an hour, discussed timing and pay, and a week later, Kelly moved in. And there, in that house in a suburb north of Sydney, 10,000 miles from the house where she was raised, her mother’s voice was suddenly everywhere, nudging and advising, cautioning and directing, escorting her through a terrain as foreign as any she had ever trekked. Every day she spent with the Tanner kids was a day spent reconsidering her relationship with her mother, turning it over in her hands like a shell, straining to hear whatever messages might be trapped in its spiral.

This is a book about the difference between travel and life experience, stepping out and stepping up, fathers and mothers. But mostly it’s about who you admire and why, and how that changes over time.

My Thoughts: 

Glitter and Glue kicked off The Omaha Bookworms 2023 reading, for two reasons. First, it fit our theme of You Learn Something New Every Month. Secondly, it's a book that's been on my Nook for several years and this gave me a push to read something I already owned. I assumed it would be a book that would give us plenty to talk about. I hadn't anticipated how much everyone would enjoy it, including me. Here's why: 

• Corrigan blends her life in the U.S., her time nannying in Australia and Willa Cather's My Antonia! to explore her relationship with her mother. I really enjoyed how she was able to blend the three together to form a cohesive memoir. Plus, I always give high marks when someone works in a book by a Nebraska author. 
• The title comes from something Corrigan's mother told Corrigan: "Your father's the glitter but I'm the glue." Which really got me thinking (and then asking my book club) which of my parents was which and who played which role in my marriage. 
• I became so emotionally attached to the people in this book, both the Tanners and the Corrigans; Corrigan did such a marvelous job of making me feel what the families felt. 
• So many passages that I've highlighted, that really spoke to me and to which I could relate. Some I'll share here. Some I'll save and do a Book Gems post one day. 

"The living mother-daughter relationship, you learn over and over again, is a constant choice between adaptation and acceptance." 

"...a good mother is required to somehow absorb all this ugliness and find a way to fall back in love with her child the next day."  

I so often said, particularly of my challenging bookends, that it was a good thing that they fell asleep at night. It allowed me to recharge and to go in and watch them sleep, so peaceful and sweet.  

"I crack open my book, thinking about my mother and the many moments of my childhood when she tucked herself away somewhere, enjoying what she called a party for one." 

It made me think of the times when I felt I had lost control of myself and gave myself a time out in my room. I should have been more like Corrigan's mother and done that a little more often; it's essential for a mother to take some time to care for herself. 

• This passage made me think of the times that my book club has spoken to authors and, when asked a question about their books, had them admit that they hadn't thought of the book in that way but agreed with the idea. 

"I remember a lecture from one of my lit classes about a theory called "Reader Response," which basically says: More often than not, it's the readers - not the writers - who determine what a book means. The idea is that readers don't come blank to books. Consciously and not, we bring all the biases that come with our nationality, gender, race, class, age. Then you layer onto that the status of our health, employment, relationships, not to mention our particular relationship to each book - who gave it to us, where we read it, what books we've already read."

This almost certainly accounts for much of the reason some people love a book while others hate it, why I know that sometimes I have read a book at the wrong time in my life, why I'm able to recommend a book to someone knowing they will enjoy it, even if I wasn't wow'd by it. This one I'm going to recommend to you not just because it's a book I think you might like (because all six of you reading this have your own backgrounds you're bringing to the book), but because it's a book that most women, especially mothers, will be able to relate to and take something from. 

Life: It Goes On - June 5

Happy Sunday! After hardly leaving the house for the past two years, we hopped in the car Thursday for a trip to Dallas for the wedding of the daughter of one of The Big Guy's oldest friends. Home now and exhausted from the two ten hour drives in four days. We packed so much into just a couple of days! 

Last Week I: 

Listened To: I finished People We Meet On Vacation and immediately took it off my book club's reading list. Just not enough to discuss in this one. On the road we listened to a lot of music and a couple of podcasts including an episode of Tooth and Claw, about a moose attack that made me even more grateful that Ms. S survived her recent encounter with a moose. Had I told you about that? 

Watched: When it was time to unwind or to get ready to head out this weekend, I watched several episodes of Gilded Age. 

Read: Anne Tyler's latest, French Braid, which I'm sorry to say I'm not enjoying all that much. 

Made: In my defense, we haven't been home for more than half the week and were using up things from the refrigerator before we left. So, yeah, nothing again this week. 

Enjoyed: Top row: a morning at the Dallas Museum of Art with our nephew, which included getting to see a collection which is a recreation of a home that originally belonged to Coco Chanel and which still included her furniture. Middle row: the Dallas Arboretum with our nephew and his wife - if you're ever in Dallas, I highly recommend it. Bottom row: lunch at my fave Dallas eatery (so far!), Rodeo Goat, The Big Guy all dolled up for the wedding and having fun at the reception. Not pictured, a trip to historic Grapevine and a tour of our nephew's and his wife's new home. 

This Week I’m:  

Planning: It's going to be a busy week at work this week so I anticipate bringing work home most nights which means that not much will get done around her but I do need to get some work done in the yard and gardens. 

Thinking About: Our friends who were meant to also go down to the wedding but couldn't go because she got CoVid. We've been looking forward to this for months and I'm, once again, so annoyed that we are still dealing with this virus. 

Feeling: Shocked by how well my leg/back held up with all of the walking I did this weekend. I think I've finally found the right combination of medication and it allowed me to get some exercise which, in turned, helped the leg feel better. I was even able to wear heels last night!

Looking forward to: Seeing my sister this weekend. 

Question of the week: If you've ever been to, or live in Dallas, what's your favorite thing to do there? 

We both feel like there are still a lot of things we'd like to do and see there and see another trip down in our future. 

Life: It Goes On - May 17

Happy Tuesday! Happy late Tuesday, actually. 

We went out of town this weekend. Sometimes I schedule these posts before we leave, sometimes I have them mostly ready so that I just need to add a couple of things on Sunday evenings after we get home. This weekend, I clearly did neither of those things. And then last night I was finishing this month's book club selection. But I know how much you all live for these posts (😂), so here we go!

Last Week I: 

 Listened To: I've actually been listening to three books this week. My book club book this month (The Girls In The Garden) was a read/listen combo, The Big Guy and I listened to some of David Sedaris's Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls, and I've been listening to Susan Cain's Quiet during my commute. 

Watched: We had such a nice weekend with BG's brother and sister-in-law, nice and relaxing. We spent a lot of time watching movies and streaming shows while we chatted. My sister-in-law and I watched Motherhood, starring Felicity Huffman, Patricia Arquette, and Angela Bassett. Then she got me hooked on Inventing Anna. The four of us watched a couple of episodes of Alpha House, starring John Goodman, and Operation Mincemeat, starring Colin Firth. And, of course, I been watching the final episodes of This Is Us...with tears pouring down my face. 

Read: As I mentioned, I've also been reading The Girls In the Garden and I'm still trying to finish The School for Good Mothers. 

Made: Seriously - I might as well take this category off these posts. 

Enjoyed: One last trip to Decorah. BG's brother and his wife will be moving to Lincoln in a few weeks and we'll love having them close but they have a lovely home in a wonderful little town and it's always a pleasure to spend time there with them. Plus, this visit we were the beneficiaries of some things that they won't have room for in their new home, including a table that was the guy's great-grandmother, another table that their dad made in high school, and a wonderful collection of BG's brother's paintings. We are honored to be the new wards of all of these treasures. 

Yes, there are two chairs in 
there; and no, we could
not see out of the rear view
mirror

This Week I’m:  

Planning: On finding new homes for all of our new pieces. And deciding which of the two tables will be my first project of the season. Great-grandma's table doesn't need much so I'll probably start with that. 

Thinking About: Everything we'd have to get rid of if we were downsizing so dramatically. Makes me even more determined to purge the unused, the unneeded, and the things it's time to let go of. 

Feeling: Frustrated with my continuing sciatic/back issue; happy to have gotten to spend time with my book club friends tonight; brokenhearted by the death of man I've known for over fifty years who succumbed to his mental illness this week, leaving his sister bereft. This is one of those weeks when I really am feeling all of the things. 

Looking forward to: My dining room is half full of things that need to go to Mini-him's place (including that rocking chair you can see in the pic above and some of the art). I can't wait to get everything out of my house and see it all in its new home. 

Question of the week: By now you've all figured out that, rather than go to thrift stores, most of my previously loved pieces have come from friends and family. I love having all of these reminders of people in my house. What about you? Do you like old pieces or are you someone that prefers new things? 

National Geographic Guide To National Parks of the United States and National Geographic Secrets of the National Parks - Guest Review

National Geographic Guide To National Park of the United States and National Geographic Secrets of the National Parks

Published February 2021 and December 2020 by National Geographic

Source: my copies courtesy of the publisher, through TLC Book Tours, in exchange for an honest review

Publisher's Summary:

Guide To National Parks of the United States: 

There’s simply no better getaway in the United States than a visit to one of the country’s 62 national parks from Alaska to the Virgin Islands, from Maine to America Samoa. Profiled in this all-new ninth edition of National Geographic’s enduring and informative guide, you’ll find expert travel advice, candid tips for hiking and wildlife spotting, and detailed maps to help navigate your way through America’s great outdoors. Updated throughout with the latest information from park rangers and National Geographic’s own acclaimed travel writers, this fully revised and comprehensive guidebook includes the newest additions to the United States park system-Indiana Dunes, White Sands, and Gateway Arch national parks. Whether you’re looking to explore the underground world of Mammoth Caves or make your way through the mangroves of Everglades National Park, you’ll find a destination that suits your needs, and inspiration to plan your next wild adventure. In addition to park details and descriptions, this sparkling new edition features week-long regional road trip itineraries s so you can visit multiple parks in one vacation. Filled with more than 300 dazzling photographs and 80 full-color maps, this inspiring book reveals the best the United States has to offer-right in its own backyard.

My Thoughts:

NOT my thoughts - again when the ladies from TLC Book Tours contacted me about these books, I knew they'd be right up my husband's alley. So, again, I give you his thoughts: 

I have always been a bit of a geek for reference books like these since the days my parents got Readers Digest books on America and the National Parks.   These books are arranged by sections of the country with excellent index references. The Secrets of the National Parks is an excellent book that is best described by some of the comments on the cover and rear jacket:

Experts' guide to the best experiences beyond the tourist trail

Hundreds of secrets and tips on ways to enrich your visits to National Parks

Expert advice on the best times and places to visit to avoid crowds (one of my favorites)

Useful park maps to locate places of interest and pathways to get there (I've always been a map hound)

Gorgeous photographs of landscapes, wildlife and distinctive features (of course with Nat Geo)

Easy to find listing of visitor center locations, website and contact information

Clearly indicated levels of difficulty for trails, roads and other byways (definitely helpful to be safe)

Background stories and travel suggestions from those who know these parks the best

Comprehensive index for quick and easy access by state, park name or sites featured

I can't really improve on these descriptions as National Geographic has, as you probably know, outstanding writers and obviously photographers. Although Secrets of the National Parks was published first, I'd recommend reading it second - learn the parks in Guide To National Parks then go learn its secrets. Each section in the guide tells you How To Visit, suggestions on when to visit the park, and information on camping and lodging at the park. Each also gives some history of the park. Secrets let's readers in on local intelligence and hiking information. 

These books make me want to go out and see more National Parks and now I feel I have a good guide to better navigate Americas' natural resources, books in tow.  Now hit the road and see some of our National Parks!

Thanks to the ladies of TLC Book Tours for including us on this tour. For other reviews, check out the full tour. 

Life: It Goes On - October 12

Happy Monday! We finally got the courage up to head out of town for a long weekend away and headed north to see my sister and her husband and only just arrived back a couple of hours ago, tired but feeling renewed. It was absolutely beautiful up there - we couldn't have timed it better for fall foliage. Although we couldn't stay with Mini-me and Ms S (did I tell you about the fire they had?), we also got to spend a few hours with them yesterday enjoying dinner and a fire. Everything in my suitcase smells like smoke after all of the time around fires this weekend but it was well worth it! 

Last Week I: 

 Listened To: It was all about the road trip playlists on Spotify this weekend - mostly the NPR Roadtrip Playlist. 

Watched: A fair amount of sports in the background but that's about it. 

Read: As usual, I didn't read nearly as much as I thought I would in the car. I always feel guilty if I'm reading while The Big Guy is driving. 

Made: Some brownies to take with us that I probably won't make again. My sister made delicious meals for us: crockpot chicken potpie, instant pot lasagna, and a beer cheese soup that I would eat once a week.

Enjoyed: See above! All of those trees are at my sister's house. That's us in the middle, taking our annual sister picture. You'll notice that she kindly let me work on a project while I was there. It was almost as hard for me to leave a project unfinished as it was for me to leave my sister! But she knows exactly what to do from here on and my brother-in-law will get the final Danish oil coat on and the brass hardware cleaned up - can't wait to see it when it's finished. 

Of course, loved spending time with my kids, too. Mini-me whipped up a mean potato leek soup, Ms. S taught me some about sourdough bread and gave me some of her starter, we got to see the smoke damage from the fire (although we couldn't go in the room where the fire actually happened), and our grand pets were all happy to be loved on. 

This Week I’m:  

Planning: My sis and BIL were getting rid of a bookcase (I have the mate already - they were built-ins in a lawyer's office and are at least a hundred years old) so you know I was happy to take that off their hands. It's going to go in my office and means I'll need to rearrange things quite a lot. But first I'll finally get around to getting those green walls painted white! My goal is to get it all put together by this time next week but BG is quick to remind me that my projects always take longer than I plan on them taking!

Thinking About: Going to bed early. Twenty hours of driving and three nights sleeping in beds that aren't mine have me longing to crawl into my bed early even if it means I'll be awake early. 

Feeling: Like I'm finally in the fall spirit. I might just join the R.I.P. Challenge after all. 

Looking forward to: Hoping for some warm evenings this week so we can catch up with friends. 

Question of the week: What did you do last week that brought you joy?

The Wangs Versus The World by Jade Chang

The Wangs Versus The World by Jade Chang
Published October 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Source: my ecopy purchased for my Nook

Publisher's Summary:
Charles Wang is mad at America. A brash, lovable immigrant businessman who built a cosmetics empire and made a fortune, he's just been ruined by the financial crisis. Now all Charles wants is to get his kids safely stowed away so that he can go to China and attempt to reclaim his family's ancestral lands - and his pride.

Charles pulls Andrew, his aspiring comedian son, and Grace, his style-obsessed daughter, out of schools he can no longer afford. Together with their stepmother, Barbra, they embark on a cross-country road trip from their foreclosed Bel-Air home to the upstate New York hideout of the eldest daughter, disgraced art world it-girl Saina. But with his son waylaid by a temptress in New Orleans, his wife ready to defect for a set of 1,000-thread-count sheets, and an epic smash-up in North Carolina, Charles may have to choose between the old world and the new, between keeping his family intact and finally fulfilling his dream of starting anew in China.

My Thoughts:
I've started this review three times and deleted everything I'd typed. I liked this book; I really did. But it's been a month since I read it and I'm having a hard time remembering the details of it that made me like it and the things that kept me from loving it. Back in the day, when I was blogging like I was getting paid to do it, even if I couldn't get a full review written out right away, I'd start a draft and getting some rough thoughts put down. Too bad I don't do that any more, it would really be helpful now. Luckily, I read it on my Nook so at least I do have the things I highlighted! So let's try doing this review this way:

What I Liked:
I'm a sucker for stories about families, especially when they involve a road trip. As a veteran of many a trip in the family station wagon growing up, this book took me right back to those days, to the ways being stuck in that car and sharing experiences could both drive you crazy and bring you closer. When you can relate to a book that way, it's always a point in favor of the book.

Curiously, I actually felt a bit sorry for Charles which helped me care that his journey was a eventually a success and to know that I'd feel bad for him if it wasn't For a guy that had been smart enough to build up an empire to be so clueless about what was going on around him, and for his chances for success, made Charles more likable than rich guys losing it all usually are.

I loved the relationship the siblings had with each other. They didn't always get each other, they often annoyed each other. But they had a bond forged from the loss of their mother. And I enjoyed watching each of them grow throughout the book.

What I Didn't Like:
Ok, maybe "didn't like" is too strong a phrase. Let's say these are things that didn't work for me.

I sometimes felt like Chang wasn't sure if this book was about Charles' journey, or the family finding a way to overcome their loss, so much as it was a story about Saina. Chang spends a lot of time tells us about Saina's experiences as an artist and her fall from grace, as well as her relationships with men. Strangely, I felt less sorry for Saina than I did for Charles which may account for why I got tired of reading so much about her.

But then I felt like Chang also got a little long-winded when she went off with Andrew on his solo expedition. I just really wanted things to feel a little more balanced.

Things That Caught My Attention:

"The only people who still used mules for anything other than entertainment were the mujahideen and the Amish, both lost tribes fighting for the useless past."

I'm pretty sure it would never have occurred to me that the mujahideen and the Amish had anything in common, but it turns out they do.

"He [Charles] wished they [children] could stay hidden away, with the damp, trusting little mouths, until they developed some sort of hard shell impenetrable to drugs or sex or disappointment or any of the thousand poison-tipped arrows the world might aim in their direction."

Yes, yes, yes. Every parent ever can surely relate to this.

My book club read this book. We did a terrible job discussing it but I do believe there is a lot here for a book club to talk about. Family relationships, art, cultures, ethics, the immigrant experience, what wealth does to people. Also, I don't think I mentioned this yet, the book is frequently quite funny which keeps it from getting weighed down with its heavier topics.