"Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."

Thursday, January 31, 2019

January Books

Ghostwritten by Isabel Wolff -- I read a couple of her books last year and enjoyed them. My library only had the 2 so I put a couple more on my Amazon Wishlist, and I got those for Christmas. Jenni is a ghostwriter and she especially enjoys delving into people's lives as they write their memoirs. When asked to write for a client's upcoming 80th birthday, Jenni returns to a place in Cornwall where she went on holiday as a child. Something terrible happened and she never went back. As Klara tells her story of growing up in Java as part of the Dutch colonials who worked as planters on rubber plantations - and the terrible thing that happened to her family during World War II (the Japanese took over and imprisoned them), Jenni confronts her past. This was a good way for me to learn more about the civilians who were interred in camps during World War II as evil reigned in the earth.



The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner -- I'm continuing my crime thriller books this year so far, it seems. This one also features detective D.D. Warren of the Boston police department. In this book, newspaper reporter Jason Jones comes home one night and finds his young wife and middle school teacher, Sandra, missing. Their 4 year old daughter, Ree, is asleep in her bed, but Jason swears his wife would never leave their child alone like that. Of course, Jason is person of interest #1 in his wife's disappearance, but there is also that neighbor who proactively introduces himself to Jason knowing he, too, will be suspect. Who really is to blame here?



Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy -- Have you ever wondered about Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, the siblings made famous by author Lucy Maud Montgomery in her Anne of Green Gables series?  This author takes us back to when Marilla was a young teen growing up in Avonlea, her friendship with Rachel and John Blythe, her relationships with her parents and the community. A rather cute book.



Find Her by Lisa Gardner -- I believe the first book I read by this author featured vigilante Flora Dane. This book tells her story; of how she was kidnapped and held for over 400 days, and how later this influenced her to find other lost women. This book also features Sergeant Detective D.D. Warren as she and her Boston PD look for a couple of missing girls in the area. 




The Girl I Used to Be by Mary Torjussen -- A good find on the New Books shelf at the local library; Gemma owns her own real estate agency somewhere in England, and happens to meet up with a client at a conference several miles away. She drinks too much and ends up forgetting what exactly happened to her while there. A few weeks later, she starts receiving photos and messages and videos which frighten her. Tied into this are issues from 15 years ago when she was at a graduation party, got drunk, and fell asleep on her hostess's bed while waiting for her friend. A good book, and one that made me thankful that I don't drink alcohol or use mind-controlling substances.




The Romantic by Barbara Gowdy -- After her mom leaves, Louise is attracted to the Richter family. More specifically she wants to be part of it, and have Mrs. Richter love her. Later her attention shifts to Abel, the adopted son who is about her age. This book is part present day, part way back, and part what happened to her and Abel's friendship over the last years. An OK book.



Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce -- I found this on the New Books shelf the other day, and wasn't sure when I first started reading it because I found the Random Capitalized Words throughout the sentences to be a bit Distracting. But I soon got (mostly) used to that, and started enjoying the story of Emmeline (Em or Emmy) and her flatmate Marigold (who goes by Bunty) in London during World War II. Emmy has dreams of being a war correspondent, and thinks she is on her way there when she answers an ad for what she believes is a local newspaper. Ends up being the Woman's Friend magazine division and she's tasked with screening letters for the advice column. This was a rather cute book.




River Bodies by Karen Katchur -- This "thriller" was on the New Books shelf so I decided to give it a try. It was just OK; nothing terrible, but not great either. Becca notices suspicious activity from a relative of sorts as she jogs along the river trail one day. When she returns home (across the Delaware River to the Pennsylvania side), she learns of a body in the river. Not only had the man been shot, but he was gutted like a hunter does to animals.  A bit of a mystery, but nothing too thrilling.



Love You More Lisa Gardner -- Since I've read most of these books out of order, I was glad to finally read the story of Tessa Leoni since it was mentioned in other books I've read. Now I know why she was accused of murdering her own husband, and the story behind her six-year-old daughter going missing.



Our Little Secret by Roz Nay -- This book was a fast read, and pretty good although I didn't really like the main character ... which was probably the point. Angela is picked up and questioned for the disappearance of her high school boyfriend's wife, an Australian named Saskia. HP - the former boyfriend whose name is Hamish Parker if you wondered what the HP stood for - and Saskia had invited Angela to stay with them for a few weeks at one point. Such a weird relationship. But anyway, Angela is telling her story to the Detective throughout this book. It was ..different.


Becoming by Michelle Obama


On my November books post I noted this:

Note to self: put Becoming on hold -- 16th in line as of November 14, 2018; I want to see how long it takes me to get it from the library

And on January 14, 2019, I got the email that it was my turn to pick up this book from the library. I had noted just a day or two before that I was 4th in line, and wondered how I had jumped to ON HOLD status so quickly. Turns out my library system has 7 copies of Mrs. Obama's book. That's how!

Kind of neat to be reading Mrs. Obama's memoir on the day she turned 55. We were on our way to the beach on January 16th, and I was curious how old she was and Google informed me that her birthday was January 17th - the next day. I read her book while sitting on the beach and in the car on the way and back from the beach, and both nights when we were in our room. I did other stuff at the beach, of course, but it's darker earlier this time of year so while Andrew enjoyed cable TV channels, I read.  And I read parts of it to Andrew.  We were both amazed and interested about many aspects of her story.  I'm not really a proposal-of-marriage person, but I really liked theirs! Made me smile. I also liked how Mrs.Obama was there for her dad as he was hospitalized, and later how she tried to speak at graduations for colleges and universities that wouldn't normally get a FLOTUS there. Her outreach to children and women and people of color, her encouragement to others...I loved all that. Even her epilogue and acknowledgements were good.


and how weird is it that when I picked up the above book...there was this other 'becoming' story on the New Books shelf . . .

Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan -- the story of Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis, who became dear friends through letters and later met several times; These two ended up marrying which I guess the title gave away, and this book is fiction but based upon historical records and the author's interest in both of Joy and "Jack."



The Girl They Left Behind by Roxanne Veletzos -- A story that takes place during the time when Romania joined forces with the Nazis to get rid of Jewish people. A little girl was left alone and sent to an orphanage where she was adopted by a rich, young couple. This story was based on the author's mom's story. Her mom was the little girl left behind though she doesn't know the story about her blood relatives. However Anton and Despina from the book are her (true) adopted grandparents. And what an interesting story about their lives during this time and after when the Communists took over Romania. What a life!  This book was a little disjointed (for me) at times, but overall it was interesting especially learning more about Romania during this time in world history.



The Bride of Ivy Green by Julie Klassen -- book 3 in the Tales from Ivy Hill series; this book focused more on Mercy, who was forced to close her in-house school when her brother takes a bride and they come to live - and essentially control - life in the house Mercy grew up in and had her school in. Mercy takes a governess job, educating her former in-house pupil Alice, the daughter of James Drake who owns the area's large hotel.



The Union Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini -- I probably wouldn't have read this book at this time except that I brought it home from my mom's house the other day so I could return it to the library for her. I finished my other library book so I figured I'd read this one, too. This is part of a long series (Elm Creek Quilts) and towards the back end of it so there were a lot of characters and history there that I got in a very summarized form. This book focused on a group of ladies and their spouses in Pennsylvania as the men - except for Hans the pacifist - prepared to fight for the Union army and the women did their parts at home.



The Sweetness of Forgetting by Kristin Harmel -- Hope runs the family bakery on Cape Cod; her preteen daughter helps her as Hope did for her own mother and grandmother.  Mamie (Hope's French-born grandmother) has Alzheimer's, but on one "good day," Mamie instructs Hope to go to Paris to find out what happened to certain people on a list. Hope finds out Mamie's family was Jewish and most or all of them did not survive the Nazis. A good story.



The First Love by Beverly Lewis -- Maggie deals with the pain of rheumatoid arthritis and prays for her healing. An easy read from the New Books shelf.




Catch Me by Lisa Gardner -- Sergeant Detective D.D. Warren is called to a crime scene where a pedophile has been murdered. While heading back to her car, she sees a note on the windshield and a person fleeing - Charlene Rosalind Carter Grant aka Charlie. Charlie, a 911 operator outside of Boston, tells D.D. that she wanted to see the detective in action because in a few days, on January 21, she expects to be murdered just as her childhood BFFs had been murdered the last two years on that date. This was an exciting, good read if you enjoy detective/mystery books. I liked reading more about Charlie's job as well. 




The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris -- "based on the powerful true story of love and survival;" The story of Lale and Gita, Slovakians who met while imprisoned by the Nazis. Lale got a job as a tattooist, and he used that position to help others survive.  Here is a short (9 minute) interview from their son Gary Sokolov. They took the last name of Lale's sister's husband, a Russian soldier surnamed Sokolov, in order to fit in better with the Russians who took over their country after the war. The family went to Australia after some conflicts arose with the Soviet authorities. BTW, in the interview, the lady says Lale like "la lee" unlike how I was saying it "layl."



The Quilter's Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini -- So I decided to find the first book in this Elm Creek Quilt series and try out the series from the beginning. Since the last book I read (mentioned above) covered the Civil War, I expected this to go way, way back. I was surprised when it was a fairly modern (mid-1990s) story although I later found some familiar characters as Mrs. Compson told the backstory of her home, Elm Creek Manor. Mrs. Compson being the former Sylvia Bergstrom because some of them (Hans and Anneke Bergstrom) were mentioned in The Union Quilter's which I read a few days ago. Sarah and her husband Matt move to a small Pennsylvania town so that Matt can work as a landscaper. He lands a job restoring the gardens and orchards of Elm Creek Manor, and he invites Sarah along for the initial meet. The elderly Mrs. Compson soon offers Sarah a job helping her ready the inside of the manor so she can put it up for sale. Not super-exciting, but a decent, "sweet" book.




Friday, January 4, 2019

Joni




Three and a half years ago, our friend Joni told us she was in such pain that she went to the emergency room. Sadly, her diagnosis was stage 4 ovarian cancer. She took chemo, underwent surgery, and then had more treatments. At one time, she was in remission. Sadly, it was short lived.  Yet, she fought on, tried different treatments, kept a terrific attitude, inspired us all. She had these Cancer Conversations on Facebook.  I just looked for her last one. It was November 30.


Cancer Conversations #???
“How can I help?” 


This is such a great question to ask! Sometimes my answer though is going to be that I don’t have anything right now. Sometimes there are tasks that I only feel comfortable letting certain people do. That’s no reflection on you, it’s just I need to do what is easiest and most comfortable to me. Yeah, there maybe laundry that needs doing, but when my knickers are involved I don’t really feel like parceling that out to anyone who asks, you know?

So my exhortation is don’t be offended if I don’t have a task for you - your offer of help IS valued and I do keep it in my mind as future things come up.  <3 span="">



I also found this one from September 24, 2018


Cancer Conversations #24
The Club


There is so much about cancer that is different between the types of cancer - liver vs ovarian vs breast vs lymphoma, etc. But one thing is the same: when you get that cancer diagnosis you are inducted, unwillingly, into the Cancer Club. It's a fraternity (sorority?) most of us never think we will join, and that no one wants to join. 

Before cancer, I always thought that cancer was something that happened to other people, not to me and not to my family. Cancer was a "them over there" problem. I mean, I would have said that yes, cancer could happen to me, but when it comes down to what I believed, I believed it wouldn't happen to me. 

But now I am in the club. When a friend is diagnosed with cancer, I can relate. I know the fear, the questions, the unknown, the hope, the side effects, the grace extended. I had friends who were, for me, the 'trail guides" - having been through cancer, even if it wasn't the same kind, and were the example of what living with (and after) cancer looked like. They showed that hope and joy are still possible, even with the Big C. Now, three years into my own journey, I am able to be that same "trail guide" for others.



We knew Joni was doing poorly. She'd had fluid build up and drained from her abdomen and lungs back in October. She told us in November that the chemo wasn't working. She was weaker, and tireder, and not around as much.


She was admitted to the hospital on Christmas day, the doctors were not able to place the G tube as the family wished (too many tumors in her stomach), and just the day before her death, her husband had let me know via Messenger that Joni was home, the hospice nurse had just left, and they were worried about her oxygen levels dropping.  What they hoped would be weeks, turned into an estimated 72 hours.


Sunset; Bryson City, NC



While recovering from chemo, Joni sometimes enjoyed painting. I posted the above picture on Facebook after a late June 2018 trip to Bryson City, North Carolina.   A few days later she told me she had used my picture as an inspiration and painted something that I could have if I wanted. Of course I did!

I am thrilled to own it!

a gift from Joni




I met Joni over 15 years ago. Although I chose not to have children, I always enjoyed baby names. When my first nephew was expected, I went on Babycenter.com, and made a name poll. I don't think I met Joni there, but eventually several of us who commented on the name polls formed a private group at Yahoo Groups. Later we had another group at Yahoo, and later still we switched over to a private Facebook group. We've discussed about everything over the years. Even those things "polite society" says is not good to discuss with friends.


Although I never had the opportunity to meet Joni - she lived near Seattle and I never traveled to the West Coast, nor she to the South where I live - she was a dear, precious friend. There are about 12 or 15 of us that met on those Babycenter name polls and have gotten close over the years. A few are in NC (I've met them), Maryland (met one), Georgia, New York, South Dakota, Ohio (met her twice when she lived in the NC mountains years ago), California, Massachusetts - even one in Ottawa.


Last night, about ten of us were chatting on a Messenger thread.  It was like we were on this vigil - so sad about Joni, yet still laughing at memories and conversation. JLNL in Ohio suggested at 10:00 PM EST we each drink a beverage of our choice as a toast to Joni. She was having wine.  Sassy (a fellow NC gal) posted soon after that she was at Food Lion picking out her drink (a pineapple margarita).  Taff in NY decided to eat ice cream. Cey (one of our Marylanders) was out with her daughter at volleyball practice in D.C., but she picked up some donut holes  - "munchkins" - and iced coffee. Sommer (our Californian) had ghost pepper tequila. Carmen (in Georgia) had hard cider. V (in Massachusetts) had cookies and a raspberry peach smoothie. Elsa (in South Dakota) had beer. Niki (also in NC) drank water and fresh-from-the-oven Pillsbury hot chocolate rolls. (Read her blog post here.)  I got up, opened a box of chocolate covered cherries, and ate one followed by a swig of 2% milk straight out of the carton.   (I rarely eat so late, but I had to do it in solidarity with the girls. Also Sommer told me a few minutes ago that she ate a chocolate covered cherry last night because I did!)






It was a sweet time. My first online "vigil" that I recall. I think Joni would be happy that we all spent time together, thinking of her, shedding a few tears, joking around, remembering things - celebrating friendship.


December 1974 - January 2019




Her husband posted about an hour after I went to sleep that she was gone (12:44 AM EST). I was sad to wake up to the news of my friend's death, and I've been crying off and on all day. But I have faith that Joni is healed and happy and one day I will meet her in person, for the first time ever.


Until then, I will think of you whenever I hike at Max Patch. I remember you told me one time that this was your favorite of the places where I went.


We won't forget you. Love you, Friend.