December Books

Blessing by Deborah Bedford -- a book I found in Damascus, Virginia, at a Little Free Library a few months ago. I had it on hand to possibly eventually read when I didn't have a library book checked out, and last week was that time! The kids were in town visiting for Thanksgiving and I just decided to read this one instead of browsing the library shelves for better selections. I say all that because this book was sweet, but nothing special. Uley foils the plot of a would-be murderer (so she thinks) and Aaron Brown is sent to jail to await his trial and probable hanging.

Come and Find Me by Hallie Ephron -- I like these novels of suspense by this author, and this one was good even though part of it took place in a virtual reality world. Diana deals with panic attacks and rarely leaves her house so she meets people through her online "game" and office as Nadia. She does eventually leave her house when her sister goes missing. A pretty good story!

The It Girls by Karen Harper -- a story featuring the Sutherland sisters, Elinor Glyn, a novelist, and Lucile Duff Gordon, a fashion designer. Pretty interesting!

The Dressmaker's Gift by Fiona Valpy -- an interesting story about three seamstresses in Paris, Claire, Mireille, and Vivienne, who meet where they work during World War II. Two generations later, Claire's granddaughter Harriet is in Paris trying to find out more about her grandmother and the two ladies pictured with her in an old photograph Harriet finds.  Pretty good story.

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman -- the other day I asked my Facebook friends about favorite books they read in 2019, and Niki recommended this one which I saw was available at my local library. I enjoyed this story about Eleanor and her coworker Raymond especially seeing life situations and people through Eleanor's eyes. Cute story.

The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine by Alexander McCall Smith -- Mma Ramotswe is reluctantly persuaded to take a holiday, but she finds herself drawn into the detective business.

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn -- Anna Fox is scared to go outside, but has built a community for herself online in the Agora platform and with a few professionals. Also she loves using the zoom on her camera to spy on the neighbors. When a new family comes to town Anna gets to know Ethan, the slightly-awkward but seemingly kind teenager, who has a controlling father, Alistair. A suspenseful book.

Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home by Nora Krug -- this graphic memoir (Andrew saw me reading this and asked if I were reading a comic book) was an interesting way to learn more about the author's German family and more about the Nazis and Jews

Keep Quiet by Lisa Scottoline -- I've read many of this author's books from the DiNunzio series, but this is a stand-alone novel about a dad and his sixteen year old son who make a fatal mistake when Jake allows Ryan to drive a short distance home one night.  A pretty good story.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah -- I've had this on my TO READ list for a couple years now as my friend Niki highly-recommended it. When I asked FB for favorite books, she mentioned it again so I decided to finally order it from the library.  Two sisters - Vianne and Isabelle - struggle in France during the German occupation and rule of their country. Vianne stays at the family farm with her daughter Sophie where they await their husband/father.  A German solider billets at their house - fun times. Isabelle, meanwhile, heads to Paris where she gets involved in secretive missions.  Great story!

Meg & Jo by Virginia Kantra -- "a contemporary retelling of Little Women;" if you like modern versions of classic literature then you might enjoy this book. It was just OK to me.

You'll Never Know, Dear by Hallie Ephron -- Lis and her mother, Miss Sorrel, work to solve a family mystery after a very-damaged portrait doll looking like Lis's long lost sister is brought to Miss Sorrel's doll-repair shop in answer to an ad Miss Sorrel runs in the paper every year on the anniversary of her daughter's disappearance.  A pretty good book.

Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok -- Amy travels to the Netherlands to search for her older sister who went to visit their grandmother before her death. Now Sylvie Lee is nowhere to be found. Pretty good story!

Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs by Caitlin Doughty -- "big questions from tiny mortals about death;" this was a pretty interesting way to learn more about death by hearing what children have asked the author. So, do you think your cat would eat your eyeballs?

Look Again by Lisa Scottoline -- While bringing in her mail, Ellen is startled by how much her son looks like a young child on one of those "Have you seen this child?" inserts, and she can't get it out of her head. The reporter in her wants to follow up, but what if her legally-adopted child was kidnapped?

The Emerald Mile by Kevin Fedarko -- Andrew requested this book so I ordered it off Amazon since the library didn't have it. It's "the epic story of the fastest ride in history through the heart of the Grand Canyon," and Andrew, having formerly been a white water rafting guide in West Virginia, really appreciated this more than I. But I still was amazed by much of it even if some aspects were over my non-river-rafting-lingo head. Also, Andrew wants to raft down this river (the Colorado) one day, and after reading this, I'm like "why?" and "are you nuts?"

From Here to Eternity by Caitlin Doughty -- I got this book for Christmas from Amber, and in it, the author is "traveling the world to find the good death." I enjoyed her tales from other countries such as Bolivia and Mexico and Japan as well as a few stops in the US like Cullowhee, North Carolina!  A good book to end the year, right?

Old Family Pictures

I was sorting a few things at my parents' house today and saw these old pictures from an album. I thought I'd post them here.


My grandfather with five of his children: Ann, Henry, David, Jean, and Dorothy. The date on the picture says January 1957.

My dad and his brothers around 1961:  (I wish it were easy for me to rotate pictures here as it is on Facebook):

David, Henry, and Tom

November Books

The Art of Theft by Sherry Thomas -- book 4 in The Lady Sherlock Series; nice book featuring these clever characters! I just wish I could always remember what happened in previous books so I could enjoy the story more, but that's my fault for not retaining the information as well as I should. Charlotte, her sister Olivia, and Mrs. Watson along with a crew of men agree to help recover letters being used to blackmail Mrs. Watson's old friend, a maharani ( Definition of maharani. 1 : the wife of a maharaja. 2 : a Hindu princess ranking above a rani.)

The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection by Alexander McCall Smith -- Maybe it was because this book was a few pages longer than the previous books, but I had more causes to chuckle out loud (which I rarely do when reading). Mma Makutsi and Mma Ramotswe's discussion about airplanes and the government's control of the air was humorous especially when Mma M said pilots could see each other well enough to control the air by themselves and they would not fly through clouds, but drive around them. Cute conversation! Also, Chlorine...I mean Clovis Andersen visits the detective agency, Fanwell gets arrested, Charlie pulls a pretty good stunt (though it is criminal, but funny), the lady at the orphan farm fights for her job, and Phuti Radiphuti builds a house. Lots happening in this book!

The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict -- an interesting story about  Mileva Marić, who studied alongside Albert Einstein and a handful of male students in Switzerland and eventually married Albert. If he's anything like the book portrays him, he is not an admirable man IMO.

The Christmas Boutique by Jennifer Chiaverini -- Elm Creek Quilts novel; I recently read all of these books, but they were written over the course of 20 years (!), and the author had been contacted by readers missing the Elm Creek quilters. So...she wrote one for Christmas! Much of this book was a summary of the stories of the ladies - Sylvia, Gwen, Diane, Sarah, and so forth, but there were little bits of new things and it was a comfortable read. Like visiting old friends. 

The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon by Alexander McCall Smith -- Mma Ramotswe had to do some detecting on her own because Mma Makutsi (the new Mma Radiphuti) had a baby boy which they named Itumelang Clovis Radiphuti in case you were wondering.

The Flight Girls by Noelle Salazar -- pretty interesting story about American women doing their parts during World War II as they flew planes to bases; I enjoyed the characters Audrey Coltrane and her fellow pilots - Ruby, Nola, Carol Ann, and so forth.

All the Forgivenesses by Elizabeth Hardinger -- the story of life first in Kentucky then Missouri (I think) and Kansas as told from the perspective of Albertina "Bertie" Winslow, the oldest daughter and keeper-of-the-children after her mom just sort of gave up on life and her father was a mostly useless drunk. A good story.

No Ocean Too Wide by Carrie Turansky -- I've read a few novels about orphan trains where US children in the east were taken west to families who either desired children for work on farms or other business, or to welcome as loved family members. This book is similar, only the poor and/or orphaned children were sent from England to Canada with varying degrees of success. This book followed Katie, Garth, and Grace as their mom was sick and they were sent to a children's home - and somehow ended up in Canada although their mom recovered from her hospitalization. Their older sister Laura, who heard about their departure too late, heads to Canada to find her siblings.

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson -- When the new-lady-in-the-hood Roux shows up at the neighborhood bookclub, she takes over the house, the drinks, the conversation, and eventually starts a game where each person reveals the worst thing she did that day, the previous day, week, month, and so on. If you lose, you drink. Roux collects secrets and Amy is on to her rather quickly. And then the blackmail begins. An interesting story; enjoyed it!

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms -- Three years go Amy's husband left for a business trip to Hong Kong and stayed gone. Now he's back asking for a week with the children, and Amy reluctantly agrees. She sees that there is a library conference in New York City, a place she loved as a young adult, so she texts an old friend about staying with her.  Talia is part of a fashion magazine and Amy gets sucked into a story about #momspringa, and finds out what all she'd been missing since being a single mom (and having children since that really limited her nights out as well.) 

Diamond in the Rough by Jen Turano -- second in the American Heiresses series; eh, not the best book I've read; Poppy is just too accident-waiting-to-happen (unrealistically) for my taste and the whole story was just OK.

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty -- I wasn't sure if I wanted to read stories about a young adult working the Cremulator at her first job at a funeral home in California. The author shares her story as well as interesting tidbits about the funeral home industry, her wishes for Americans to not look away from death quite so much, some interesting stuff from other cultures, and why she became preoccupied with death at age 8.  I'll quote one bit here:

"What is most surprising about this story is not that an eight-year-old witnessed a death, but that it took her eight whole years to do so. A child who had never seen a death would have been unheard-of only a hundred years ago.

North America is built on death. When the first European settlers arrived, all they did was die.If it wasn't starvation, the freezing cold, or battles with the Native people, it was influenza, diphtheria, dysentery, or smallpox that did them in. At the end of the first three years of the Jamestown settlement in Virginia, 440 of the original 500 settlers were dead. Children, especially, died all the time. If you were a mother with five children, you were lucky to have two of them live past the age of ten." (pg. 30)

Also, do you know when embalming became a big thing here in the United States?  during the Civil War ; families wanted their soldiers' bodies brought home and folks would "perform a new preservative procedure called embalming - right there on the battlefield." Also they placed "advertisements in local papers reading, 'Bodies Embalmed by Us NEVER TURN BLACK.'" (pg. 78)

The Handsome Man's De Luxe Café by Alexander McCall Smith -- Mma Makutsi is thrilled when the building she wants to rent comes through, and she makes plans to open a unique café. Meanwhile Charlie is fired from his job due to lack of funds so Mma Ramotswe finds some funds so she can hire him as an assistant detective or ... assistant secretary. Hmm.

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett -- A riches-to-rags story of sorts as told through Danny's point of view. Danny is young when his mother leaves the family, yet he has a loving, nurturing older sister, Maeve, whom he loves. When the siblings' father remarries, and then he dies, and the house and his company go to their father's new wife, they are stunned to find themselves homeless and mostly penniless, except for a educational trust. Maeve urges Danny to go to medical school despite the fact he doesn't want to be a doctor. Later he follows his dream (doing pretty much what his father did to get rich) and the siblings visit the Dutch House (well, they sit in the car and look at it from the street) to relive their childhood there.  A pretty good story. 

Blood Sisters by Jane Corry -- Alison and Kitty are half-sisters with a complicated relationship. Alison ends up teaching art at a community college and later gets a job in a prison system where she meets interesting characters (of course). Kitty meanwhile is in a home for people with traumatic brain injuries. A pretty good story.

My Ex-Best Friend's Wedding by Wendy Wax -- Lauren and Bree were BFFs from the time they were little girls. Only the forever part of BFF didn't last past Bree's change of mind when the two planned to travel together to New York City to live. Lauren went on her own while Bree stayed in her safe place on the Outer Banks. Years pass, both women are turning 40, and Lauren returns home because of her recent engagement and she figures her fiancé ought to meet her mother. Pretty cute story, and easy read, and I often find it interesting to learn more about the publishing world through this author (as I recall her books often touch on her characters writing novels and trying to get published.)

Wooing Cadie McCaffrey by Bethany Turner -- a cute, light book to read over the Thanksgiving holiday; Cadie works in the accounting department at an all-sports network, and she is dating Will. Dating, and dating, and dating for years because the man won't propose marriage. So, she decides to break up with him since the relationship is going nowhere. 

Pearl Monroe

One of our local news people posts a lot about his family on Facebook. I've been following Chad since before he and Meredith married, and since then they have added two sweet girls, Carson Parry who is 5 and Pearl Monroe who is 3. He frequently posts cute videos and pictures of his family which I enjoy

.

Well, this morning I looked at Facebook and was shocked to see that little Roe Roe was diagnosed with leukemia last week! Chad posted a very faith-filled message and pictures.


His message begins:

"We all will have storms in life. It’s not “if” but “when” we will have them. This is the storm of this season and we know God has this.

Our beautiful, spunky Pearl Monroe has leukemia. After a few doctor visits for aches and pains she was diagnosed last week and started treatments immediately. 

It’s been a whirlwind the past few days with surgery, medicine and getting use to our new normal. The GOOD NEWS, — this leukemia is highly curable but it’s going to take several years of fighting."

 


Take a look at the rest of his message if you want, but more importantly, please pray for this family if God brings them to your mind. They have strong faith in God, but this is hard for them especially on the little one having to undergo treatment.

Also, the family is expecting a little boy in the spring so I'm sure it's extra-hard on Mama Meredith at this time.

*sniff*

DNA Update November 2019 Edition

This is the second time my DNA Origins have changed since I submitted my saliva to Ancestry.com and got my original results back in August 2016. Back then I was stunningly Europe South at 35%, but since then I had a more realistic update which made me quite a bit more English and only 18% Italian (which was in the former Europe South category.) Now I'm even more English (53%) and less Italian (12%).

My dad, however, stayed with the surprisingly high Italian (his #1 all three times).


ORIGINAL
1. Europe South -- 47% 

SEPT 2018 UPDATE
2. Italian -- 47% and Greece and the Balkans -- 5% (refined from Europe South)

NOVEMBER 2019 UPDATE
3. Italian -- 48% and Greece and the Balkans -- 4%


I'll post our updates below so I can keep track of how they've changed. The biggest change I saw in my family was with my nephew Michael whose 2nd result (2018) had France as his highest at 37%. This time: France is a mere THREE percent.  I do like how the Indigenous Americas is being broken down more now and is reflected in his results.



Also, Andrew, whose original results had him thinking he was royalty with 81% Great Britain...well, now he's just 66% English, etc., and become a lot more Irish or Scottish (his original had him at only 3% Irish).


Here are our latest updates as of today:

Me (3rd result)

My nephew, Michael  (3rd result)

My dad (3rd result)

My mom (3rd result)

Andrew (3rd result)

My aunt (2nd result; she just took the test this year)

Edited to add my brother's DNA. He just had his tested in September and already has an update. He was nice to put it side by side for comparison purposes.

Daniel:

A couple pictures

One of my cousins shared this picture just now on Facebook, and I wanted to save it here.

My dad with his father and siblings. My dad is the glum looking fellow. 

here is another though it is sideways...fun.  My dad with some of his siblings, a couple cousins, and his grandparents (the ones who raised him after his parents divorced.)  My dad is the one half-hidden behind his cousin, Cat.

October Books

Living Lies by Natalie Walters -- an OK book about Lane Kent and her battle with depression. She meets former military-now-police-officer Charlie Lynch just before Lane discovers a body in the woods. Not my favorite, but I do like that the author tries to portray the needs of those with PTSD and depression. 

The Heart of a King by Jill Eileen Smith -- "the loves of Solomon" ; This book reminded me yet again how much I despise polygyny and don't admire Solomon or his father David very much.

The Calling by Suzanne Woods Fisher -- book 2 in The Inn at Eagle Hill series; this continues the story, but focuses more on Bethany and Naomi instead of Rose. Bethany really wants to meet her mom who abandoned the family when Bethany was little. Also, her brother comes back to town, and the Inn takes in a youth pastor, Geena, who is between jobs.

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith -- these books are just sweet and make me chuckle. In this book we finally learn the name of the younger apprentice to Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni and the fate of the tiny white van that has molded to Mma Ramotswe's traditional build...she loves it so!

The Words Between Us by Erin Bartels -- Robin Windsor is forced to live with her grandmother in Michigan after her powerful father, a US Senator, is arrested and convicted of treason. She invents a new identity for herself as she gets to know kids in her new high school. This book went from "then" to "now" as it told some of Robin's story with her friend Peter, and her bookshop. It was decent; nothing special.

Lady Killer by Lisa Scottoline -- I'm nearly finished the original Rosato & Associates series; this one dealt with Mary revisiting some Mean Girls from her high school past as one of them Trish comes to Mary begging for help from her mobster boyfriend.

Family Tree by Barbara Delinsky -- I got this book in a little free library and picked it up the other day when I was out of library books. It was a very fast read; some books are just like that for me. Anyway, Dana and Hugh are excited about their first child's arrival, but are stunned when her skin color is much darker than their own. Hugh's family can trace their heritage to the Mayflower so Hugh wants Dana to investigate her biological father's side of the family to see where this African-American blood comes from. Because, ya know everyone is asking if the baby were adopted or if Dana had an affair - oh man!

Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris -- another story by this author based on a girl whom Lale (see her previous book) told her about. A story of a Jew from Czechoslavakia who ends up in a Soviet gulag near the Arctic Circle not long after the Russians liberate the concentration camp where she was held for three years. This is her story of life in the camp prison - and it's not as brutal as the Germans made their camps, but it's appalling nevertheless!  Oh, I just looked online to see if I could find a picture of the real Cilka, and found this story about some controversy with her husband's son.

A Perfect Silhouette by Judith Miller -- my mom read this book and said it was OK, nothing special, but I decided to go ahead and read it since one of the very minor characters is named Mr. Fuqua! Ha! I've never seen our last name in a book like that so that was pretty cute. Mr. Fuqua was an overseer of a division at Stark Mills somewhere in New Hampshire where Mellie Blanchard worked after her family (herself, sister, niece, and nephew) fell upon hard times. She meets a mechanic in the mill while doing her part-time evening work -  Scherenschnitte or paper cutting.  A decent, if not predictable book.

The Revealing by Suzanne Woods Fisher - the final book in the Inn at Eagle Hill trilogy; this one focuses a bit more on Naomi, the sister of Galen King, and Tobe as he returns home after an ordeal 

Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center -- some things about this writing style - or maybe the character telling the story - annoyed me, but overall it was a cute story and an easy read. I enjoyed learning more about the life of a firefighter/paramedic especially from a woman firefighter's point of view. Good reminder about forgiveness here as well.

Think Twice by Lisa Scottoline -- I've finally finished all the Rosato & DiNunzio books that my library has! This one had Bennie and her evil twin, Alice, in it. Also, Mary was wondering about making partner at the law firm. A fast-paced book!

The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted by Robert Hillman -- pretty much a story of how losing your family and enduring the horror and aftermath of World War II drove this Jewish woman, Hannah, to the brink of madness. Hannah travels to Australia where she eventually meets and marries a farmer/mechanic Tom Hope whom she hired to fix up her bookshop. An OK book; a bit weird.

The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith-- another great story which made me chuckle in places; Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi travel to the Delta region as part of their investigation in finding a safari guide.

The Perfect Husband by Lisa Gardner -- several months ago I found this author at my library, enjoyed the book I read, and kept reading more. Some were better than others; some I liked a great deal while a few were just a bit too dark or creepy, but still they were interesting.  My library just recently got two books by this author that they had not had despite this one being first published in 1998.  I thought it was great since I had heard some of this person's (Tess) story referenced in later books, but never found the book that told how she got there. Anyway, this book was terrible! I didn't like the mercenary character, former Marine J.T. at all. I know he tried to play the cruel - yet deep down heart of gold - drunk hiding sadness in his past, but I was not very sympathetic to him as told in this story. I just never warmed up to him, and even Tess wasn't all that great (though she was fine in later books.)  This book just was a near-total dud in my view, and I'm thankful it wasn't the first Lisa Gardner book I read or it likely would have been my last.

When We Meet Again by Kristin Harmel -- Emily Emerson receives a painting of a young woman who looks like her beloved grandmother who died not too long ago. While researching her grandmother's past, she finds out more information about German POWs who labored in Florida. A pretty good book.

The Choice by Robert Whitlow -- I found this at the Damascus, Virginia, little free library. It deals with the issue of abortion rights. The book begins with Sandy, a 17 year old high schooler, who finds out she's pregnant. She decides to put her baby up for adoption. Over thirty years later, she is teaching at her former high school when a student confides in her that she's pregnant. The school counselor strongly favors abortion while Sandy hopes the student will follow her step. Social liberals would probably not enjoy this book.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford -- Henry and Keiko were the only Asian-American students "scholarshipping" at a white school in Seattle circa 1942.  One would think they'd be natural allies against the racism, and they were, but there was a problem. Henry was Chinese, and Keiko was from Japanese heritage. And Henry's ultra-nationalist father despised Japan and the Japanese in the United States because of what "they" did to his home country. Henry and Keiko met while working in the lunch room and became friends much to Henry's parents' disappointment and downright hate on his father's part. Anyway...this book switched from the 1940s to about 40 years later when things from the Panama Hotel were brought out - things which some Japanese families had left behind when they were interred.  A pretty good story.

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith -- I have to keep reading these stories which are so good to break up the toughness of other books. Does this book finally have a wedding in it (the title hints at this anyway)? Who could be getting married...hmmm?

The Last Train to London by Meg Waite Clayton -- This wasn't the easiest book for me to follow, but I enjoyed the story pretty well. It dealt with a real-life character Truus Wijsmuller, a Dutch lady who traveled to Germany and Austria to save Jewish children from Nazis. I admire her so much. I was particularly struck by parallels to then-and-now refugees. While I don't believe Central American refugees are facing concentration camps and mass extermination at the same level that Jews, homosexuals, the disabled, and others were under the evil that was Germany under Hitler, I think many Germans were (or claimed to be) surprised and shocked that such things were going on then.  So maybe I am like those ignorant Germans and more is going on in those countries than we are lead to believe. I do hear of gang and drug/gun violence there which is tragic. Anyway, a decent book with some good, thought-provoking stuff for me. I wish I were so brave as Tante Truus.

There Was An Old Woman by Hallie Ephron -- I enjoy this author. Evie gets a call about her alcoholic mother. Her sister Ginger is tired of being the go-to daughter so Evie agrees to check on her mom. The house is a wreck and her mom is worse off this time than in the past. The next door neighbor, 91 year old Mina, keeps an eye on Evie and on the neighborhood. Such a charming character Mina is. Good story.

Never Let Go by Elizabeth Goddard -- a little too much "I've got to protect her" (ok, a LOT) for my taste, but I did finish this book about the genealogist detective Willow who teamed up with her ex-boyfriend who is now ex-FBI Austin McKade in order to track down a girl who was kidnapped 21 years ago. A few twists kept my attention and I might read the next book in the series...eventually.  Then again, maybe not.

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware -- I enjoy these suspenseful books! This book starts with Rowan writing her story for an advocate whom she hopes will represent her as she's in prison for the death of a child in her care. She was a nanny in the Highlands to a couple of architects with a house that is half Victorian/half glass-and-steel, and completely bizarre since it's a smart house without a normal light switches.  Good story especially to finish up on Halloween!