07/30/20
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Ann @ 9:22 am
I hope all my readers are safe and well. What a crazy summer! The riots in several American cities just go on and on. Meanwhile, the rest of us just keep on doing what we do and hope for the best. Oh yes, and we’re still dealing with the contradicting messages from those in authority about Covid-19: wearing masks while maintaining social distancing.
2020 will definitely be a year we all remember! Our church is still closed for services. I miss seeing my church friends, and feeling the love and acceptance of our community of faith. BUT on a brighter note, life does go on. Our grandson and his wife, both active duty Air Force, are now stationed at Elsworth Airforce Base in South Dakota, AND they are expecting their first baby, due January 2, 2021! We are over the moon excited! He will be our 8th great grandchild, and we LOVE babies!!
Yard and garden work continues to demand several hours of my attention every week as does walking our dog. He is now fourteen and a half years old, comparable to 101 years in human years! My husband often complains about his age, he is getting up there. But I always remind him that our dog is still much older than him!
My writing friends and I are making real progress on our novel project about 3 sisters. We are all enjoying it and having a ball! We settled on meeting outside every two weeks around a picnic table to maintain our social distance. So far the weather has been cooperative.
I have read a few good books this month, in no particular order, they are:
The Rent Collector by Camron Wright. Fiction. 2013. Shadow Mountain Publishing. This is a unique story of a community who manage to survive in the massive city dump in Phnom Penh, Cambodia after the revolution. And even there, they had to pay rent to stay in the hovels they pieced together from other people’s trash. It s a story of hope, second chances and the luxury of learning to read. It is a an easy to read thought provoking novel that supports the age-old concept: Life isn’t fair.. I highly recommend it!
Side Trip by Kerry Lonsdale. Fiction. 2020. Lake Union Publishing. This is a fun summer read that offers readers a break from the terrible news we are forced to hear every time we tune into a radio or tv station. And trust me, sometimes a fun read is just the escape we need! The protagonist, Joy Evers, plans a Route 66 driving trip, form California, across the USA. She’s fulfilling her deceased sister’s bucket list. Joy soon discovers life doesn’t always come or conform to directions.. It is a heart warming love story between opposites who fall in love somewhere between Flagstaff and Chicago. You won’t regret reading this unforgettable, well written story. Many plot twists and great characters. I highly recommend it!
28 Summers by Elin Hildebrand. Fiction. 2020.Little Brown Publishers. A summer escape beach read by a master story teller. Even includes Covid-19, plot twists galore and wonderful likeable characters. It is loosely based on the movie, Same Time, Next Year. But remember, books are always better than movies. I highly recommend it!
Resistance Women by Jennifer Chiaverini. Historical Fiction. 2019.Harper Collins Publishers. This is a complex novel with several protagonists. it is well written and with many likable characters living during the time of Hitler’s rise to power and then WW2 Berlin. The unthinkable becomes the new norm over and over until normal becomes hell. The brazen bravery of the lead characters is laudable, even though we already know the outcome is near hopeless. It is a fantastic journey through tyranny and deception. I also recommend this novel.
The only movie we have seen worth mentioning is a 1 hour documentary, Alive Inside. Social Worker, Dan Cohen uses music to unlock memory in nursing-home patients with Alzheimer’s Disease. Well known neurologist, Oliver Sacks assist Cohen to transform the quality of life for the afflicted. By using headsets and I-pods, loaded with music form the patient’s primary music days, it awakens something in the brains of people who hadn’t spoken a word in years to where many were singing along to songs buried deep in their brains. It is an uplifting video of hope, it made us cry. Even so, I highly recommend it. We rented it from Netflix.
Till next time, keep reading my friends.
Later, Ann
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