My Reading Blog

I didn't plan on writing today, since we got back late yesterday from IL, but as I stood in the shower this morning, I started thinking about "Showers". I was "Showered" with the warm water rolling down my body. The earth is being quenched this morning with a "Shower" of gentle rain. Our son and future daughter were "Showered" with many gifts and friendship this past weekend. I was "Showered" with hugs and kisses from my granddaughters.                                                   God "Showers" me daily with His blessings.

Since I had a slice already written when Stacey asked for an update on our OLW, I thought I share my thoughts this week. Over the past seven months, I have found that my OLW - Grateful - comes into my life every day.  And I have been truly blessed by so many people and things in my life, but my OLW has made me look at those obscure little things that happen that I don't always think about.  In addition to family, friends, good health, etc. here's some of the little things that I'm grateful for. The books that I read that make me happy, sad, thoughtful, questioning. The puffy clouds that perk my imagination. The lyrics to music that make me smile and sing along. A delicious meal prepared "just for me" by my loving husband. The delight of spending time with my daughter and granddaughters and future daughter. The rain that quenches the earth and relieves the drought. The fish at the hatchery - tiny to big. A new restaurant. Knowing that I do...

Goodreads Summary:  Knit the Season is a loving, moving, laugh-out-loud celebration of special times with friends and family. The story begins a year after the end of Knit Two, with Dakota Walker's trip to spend the Christmas holidays with her Gran in Scotland-accompanied by her father, her grandparents, and her mother's best friend, Catherine. Together, they share a trove of happy memories about Christmases past with Dakota's mom, Georgia Walker-from Georgia's childhood to her blissful time as a doting new mom. From Thanksgiving through Hanuk­kah and Christmas to New Year's, Knit the Season is a novel about the richness of family bonds and the joys of friendship. A continuation of a group of women who came together, stayed together, knitted together and shared each others joys and sorrows.  This was an audio book and I enjoyed it, but not as well as the previous two books. Finished:  July, 2013

As we go about our lives, we always find some of those mundane tasks that we truly dread.  For me, grocery shopping is at the top of my "most dreaded" tasks.  And yesterday was no exception (in fact, it was very frustrating). I am fortunate because my hubby always goes shopping with me (I'm still trying to get him to go by himself, but no luck).  We have two hometown grocery stores and WALMART.  I usually try to steer clear of WALMART, but we needed a few things that I couldn't get at the grocery store.  So off to WALMART we went, with our list (and with hope that we would find what we wanted).  We went up and down the aisles picking up this and that - most everything on our list.  I have come to expect that if I once found a product I liked at WALMART, I would never find it again.  But, I was lucky and we found everything we needed. And then came the check out.  Just recently they have installed the "self check out" machines. ...

Goodread Summary:  "It's almost Christmas, but there is no joy in the house of terminally ill Jack and his family. With only a short time left to live, he spends his last days preparing to say goodbye to his devoted wife, Lizzie, and their three children. Then, unthinkably, tragedy strikes again: Lizzie is killed in a car accident. With no one able to care for them, the children are separated from each other and sent to live with family members around the country. Just when all seems lost, Jack begins to recover in a miraculous turn of events. He rises from what should have been his deathbed, determined to bring his fractured family back together. Struggling to rebuild their lives after Lizzie's death, he reunites everyone at Lizzie's childhood home on the oceanfront in South Carolina. And there, over one unforgettable summer, Jack will begin to learn to love again, and he and his children will learn how to become a family once more.   I always enjoy reading books by...

While we were visiting with Elsie in Branson, I took the girls by the fountain and then sat at a shady bench so Michelle & Elsie could chat.  While sitting there, two young women (18 & 22) came up to me and asked if I had time to talk with them.  I said "Yes" and they proceeded to ask me if I was a Christian and what denomination I was.  I told them and they asked what it meant to be a Lutheran.  I explained some of the basics of Lutheranism. They said they were with a young adult Christian group called The Navigators and they were sharing their faith with others.  They said since I was a Christian, could they practice their explanation with me.  I said that would be fine.  It was an amazing few minutes and I was very impressed with what they had to share and how they shared it. They were very sincere and dedicated. They asked me if there was any way they could improve their presentation and then asked if they could pray for me....

Goodreads Summary:   "I hope this letter gets to you quickly. We are always waiting, aren't we? Perhaps the greatest gift this war has given us is the anticipation..." It's January 1943 when Rita Vincenzo receives her first letter from Glory Whitehall. Glory is an effervescent young mother, impulsive and free as a bird. Rita is a sensible professor's wife with a love of gardening and a generous, old soul. Glory comes from New England society; Rita lives in Iowa, trying to make ends meet. They have nothing in common except one powerful bond: the men they love are fighting in a war a world away from home. Brought together by an unlikely twist of fate, Glory and Rita begin a remarkable correspondence. The friendship forged by their letters allows them to survive the loneliness and uncertainty of waiting on the home front, and gives them the courage to face the battles raging in their very own backyards. Connected across the country by the lifeline o...

Our girls' summer visit is over and the house is eerily QUIET.  Max walks around looking in every corner, smelling under the table and in every corner.  The busyness of the last two weeks is gone - I miss it.  I miss the chatter, the questions, the cuddling, the laughter and tears.  I miss showing them how to crochet and mix up the juice for the hummingbirds.  I miss reading the same book over and over.  I miss my girls - all three of them. But those last four days (after last week's slice) were fun.  We had a picnic in the park - the sirens sounds to let us know it was Noon and time to eat.  We went to Branson to meet with Elsie.  We saw the fish and wildlife at Bass Pro, we saw the fountains spouting, we played on some riding toys, we sucked on ice chips to cool us off. Even though it was very hot, the girls were great - they allowed both Michelle and me to become more acquainted with Elsie.  It was like meeting a friend that we ...

Goodreads summary: " “What are you reading?” That’s the question Will Schwalbe asks his mother, Mary Anne, as they sit in the waiting room of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. In 2007, Mary Anne returned from a humanitarian trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan suffering from what her doctors believed was a rare type of hepatitis. Months later she was diagnosed with a form of advanced pancreatic cancer, which is almost always fatal, often in six months or less. This is the inspiring true story of a son and his mother, who start a “book club” that brings them together as her life comes to a close. Over the next two years, Will and Mary Anne carry on conversations that are both wide-ranging and deeply personal, prompted by an eclectic array of books and a shared passion for reading. Their list jumps from classic to popular, from poetry to mysteries, from fantastic to spiritual. The issues they discuss include questions of faith and courage as well as everyday topics such as ex...