The Lemon Orchard by Luanne Rice

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The Lemon OrchardThe Lemon Orchard. Finished 9-15-14, rating 3.5/5, fiction, pub. 2013

Unabridged audio read by Blair Brown. Approximately 8.5 hours.

In the five years since Julia last visited her aunt and uncle’s home in Malibu, her life has been turned upside down by her daughter’s death. She expects to find nothing more than peace and solitude as she house-sits with only her dog, Bonnie, for company. But she finds herself drawn to the handsome man who oversees the lemon orchard. Roberto expertly tends the trees, using the money to support his extended Mexican family. What connection could these two people share? The answer comes as Roberto reveals the heartbreaking story of his own loss—a pain Julia knows all too well, but for one striking difference: Roberto’s daughter was lost but never found. And despite the odds he cannot bear to give up hope.

from Goodreads

Julia lost her daughter and her estranged husband in one instant and the grief is still fresh after five years.  As she and her dog Bonnie start to heal in Malibu it is the lemon orchard’s manager that provide’s a connection to her daughter and the bond between Julia and Roberto is the heart of the story.  As Julia tries to help Roberto find peace she also comes closer to peace herself.

I liked this gentle love story and the setting of Malibu, but I found the illegal/undocumented immigrant aspect to be somewhat overdone.  Roberto’s story of crossing the border would have been enough to tell of the horror and heartbreak, but it seemed to go further than that at times. It also had a few extra perspectives in the story, family friend Lion the most prevalent and the most head-scratching. Julia and Roberto were the only stories I wanted even though Lion was a likeable enough guy.  I still liked the novel and Julia and Roberto and I loved the end.

A must read for those who are interested in the border immigrant story.

I won this from Elyse at Pop Culture Nerd last year.

Sundays with Gage – A day in the life of my 3 year old

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I’d been thinking about doing a post like this for a while and then I saw Trish’s and was spurred into action. I hadn’t planned on using so many photos but I loved her post so much that I was clicking my iPhone all day.  Hers was a day in the life of a mom and maybe I’ll do that too, but this is a day in the life of Gage.  It was last Monday. Gage has no typical day, each day brings different sessions or therapy or play time, so Monday was as good a day as any.

2 am-“Daddy!”  Mom comes in a stays til 2:40 when she sneaks back into her own bed.

7:05 am- Daddy got me out of bed, took me to the potty, helped brush my teeth.  Mom gave me breakfast (almond milk, cereal, strawberries) and let me watch a video from the library. It was Mr. Rogers.day1

7:41 am- Mom and I leave for school. I like to count school buses on the way. 12 today.day2

7:54 am School! See the cute girl in the cubby next to mine?  Snack was raisins, pretzels and juice that mom sent.day3

10:30 am Mom picks me up.  Mom hears how I “really like” Lila and how she didn’t appreciate my chopping her head with my hands.  Hey, I thought she’d like it!day4

10:47 am- We’re home and I get to play.day8

11 am-My friend Betsy comes to play and teach me stuff.day6

11:50 am- Mom brings lunch and visits for 5 minutesday7

12:35 pm-Betsy takes me outside.

12:42 pm-We come inside because I hate the sound of that lawnmower next door.

1:05 pm-Betsy leaves. (Session with Betsy was a little rough.  I tend to bite or hit after we’ve gone to BW-3.  They say their fries are gluten free but they are not.)

1:15 pm- Mom makes me try a nap. I try really hard.

1:40 pm- Light on!  Play time.

1:55 pm-Hit mom. Timeout.  I blame in on BW-3 and gluten. At least that what mom says.

2:10 Leave for Occupational Therapy

2:15- Arrive at OT and play with kids in the waiting room.He was nice but I like Max when I come on Wednesdays better.day11

2:30- Session with Myshl.day12

3:20 -Session over. I did a good job.

3:35- Arrive at the park for a snack.I wish Mom would quit taking pictures.day13

3:45- Nature walk/Scavenger hunt to the Community Center. I had to collect 6 blades of grass, 3 rocks, 2 flowers. 5 leaves.day14

4- Community Center/Kid Zoneday15

4:30- Leave Kid Zone (There were no other kids today.  I like it when there are other kids to play with.)

4:40- Get back to car.

4:55- Back home for some snacks (crackers) and trains.

5:30- Sesame Street and fun.  It’s the pogo stick episode so we practice jumping and rolling 🙂day16day17

5:50- Daddy’s home early!!day18

6:25- Dinnerday 19

6:40-Timeout for spilling Mom’s drink all over the table.  No playground tonight 😦

6:50- Done with dinner. Crying fit over not being able to go to playground.

7- iPad and Daddy time.day20

7:45- Cookies and almond milk and books!  Tonight I chose Cat Heaven, Huff and Puff, and We Work at the Hospital.  We also read my Children’s Bible.

8- Brush teeth and change for bed.day21

8:06- Lights outday22

8:16- Asleep

 

For the more musically inclined quiz – guessing closed

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quiz I’ve been working my way through 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die  and am enjoying it.  This quiz is all about matching up the quote with the artist who made it.  Sometimes these quotes were made decades after they hit it big and f it’s a band, someone in the band made it and you don’t have to know who.  I know these will be guesses but I think you can do it!!

Take your best guesses, be entered to win a prize.  No cheating (using the web to help find answers) or copying.  All extra details can be found here.

Leave your guesses in the comment section until Sunday.  

Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi HendrixBob DylanPink Floyd: Musical Milestones - Reflections on the WallJoan Baez: How Sweet the SoundThat's the Way It Is [Legacy Edition]Help!Beach Boys: American Band / Brian Wilson: I Just Wasn't Made for These TimesBillie Holiday's Greatest Hits [MCA]Straight for the SunThe Essential Simon & Garfunkel

I just need the name of the band.

1. “Till death do us part.”   The Beatles, George Harrison, 1964

2.”Man I was tame compared to what they do now.”   Elvis Presley, 1972

3. “We got into the whole country thing-playing poker, drinking whisky, wearing cowboy hats.”  The Byrds – Roger McGuinn, 2003

4. “My devotion to…social change…will go on until I fall into the grave”  Joan Baez, 1993

5. “I have to change a tune to my own way of doing it”   Billie Holiday, 1939

6. “I couldn’t go on being the lone folkie out there, you know, strumming “Blowin’ in the Wind’ for three hours every night.”  Bob Dylan, 1978

7.  ‘I dreamed I had a halo.”   The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, 1990

8. “Let me live my life the way I want to.”   Jimi Hendrix, 1967

9. “Paul is a very creative artist but I’m more that thorough, meticulous, disciplined nut.”   Simon & Garfunkel, Art Garfunkel, 1990

10. “I don’t think I’m easy to talk about. I’ve got a very irregular head.   Pink Floyd, Sid Barrett, 1971

Answers to last week’s name quiz here.

 

Missing You by Harlan Coben

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Missing YouMissing You. Finished 8-1-14, rating 4/5, thriller, pub. 2014

Unabridged audio read by January Lavoy. 11 hours, 54 minutes

It’s a profile, like all the others on the online dating site. But as NYPD Detective Kat Donovan focuses on the accompanying picture, she feels her whole world explode, as emotions she’s ignored for decades come crashing down on her. Staring back at her is her ex-fiancé Jeff, the man who shattered her heart—and who she hasn’t seen in 18 years.

Kat feels a spark, wondering if this might be the moment when past tragedies recede and a new world opens up to her. But when she reaches out to the man in the profile, her reawakened hope quickly darkens into suspicion and then terror as an unspeakable conspiracy comes to light, in which monsters prey upon the most vulnerable. 

As the body count mounts and Kat’s hope for a second chance with Jeff grows more and more elusive, she is consumed by an investigation that challenges her feelings about everyone she ever loved—her former fiancé, her mother, and even her father, whose cruel murder so long ago has never been fully explained. With lives on the line, including her own, Kat must venture deeper into the darkness than she ever has before, and discover if she has the strength to survive what she finds there.

from Goodreads

I can count on Harlan Coben for solid thrillers, sometimes even stellar.  He always seems to have the latest cultural fad at the ready for his standalone books.  In this one it starts with online dating but goes much more up-to-date than that (I don’t want to spoil anything) and the results are very good.

I loved Kat as a heroine, what made her great as a detective also make her care about Brandon, who was concerned about his missing mother.  Everyone else had blown him off but Kat was willing to dig in and she already had a lot (too much?) on her plate since she was investigating her father’s death years before.  There were many storylines, but Kat was able to handle them and I liked her.

With that being said, I finished this a month ago and as I sat down to write this review I couldn’t remember a thing about it.  That says  a lot right? And not just that my memory isn’t what it should be!  After reading a few reviews I remembered but I admit that I expect more than that from Coben. I  can say with all honesty that I don’t think you can go wrong with any of his thrillers, but some are better than others.  This might not be one of the stellar ones (much like this review) but it was completely satisfying.

My mom bought this one and loaned it to me.

Mailbox Monday, Gage, and Football

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mmb-300x282Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.  

Only one book arrived on our mailbox this week and it was addressed to Gage and he thought that was very cool.  It came from Kathy (BermudaOnion) and it’s a sequel to the book she sent him last year that he loved (post here).  As soon as we opened it and saw that it was Lola he had to find the first Lola book immediately.  And then we sat down to read them both.    Gage is great at the doctor, at least until last week when he had to have his blood drawn and the woman just stabbed him and he screamed at the top of his lungs for about 10 minutes and then periodic outbursts of crying for an hour.  Not good.  So this book, which talks about Lola being nervous about needles and how they hurt, came at a great time.  Thank you, Kathy!

Lola Goes to the DoctorLola Goes to the Doctor by Marcia Goldman

lolalola2lola3Gage says “Read this book!”

Kathy is a Virginia Tech mom and I’m an Ohio State grad and we both love our college football.  On Saturday night her Hokies came to Ohio Stadium and whooped us.  Luckily, Jason and I were attending an annual Murder by the Falls fundraiser with some friends  and I only got home in time to witness our last failed attempt to score that resulted in an interception and touchdown for the other guys.  Congratulations to Kathy and her Hokies! It’s going to be a long season for Buckeye fans.

August’s movies

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It was a slow movie month for me!  I have not read The Giver and didn’t even know what it was about before we went to see it.  I think the book would be better but I’m not sure I want to read it now.

Now it’s your turn.  Add your 5 words (or less!) to mine and earn $1 for charity.  Once we get to $100 the person with the most reviews will choose the charity.  Click here to see the past winners, the charities they chose and the other reviews you can add to.  Anyone is welcome to join in at any time.

I hope that you will take a few minutes to participate when you can each month.  It’s fun for me and for everyone else who reads it.  I’m not looking for a critical review, just a few words about how you felt about the movie.  This is ongoing so you can leave your 5 words anytime.

We’re up to $54

 

Epic (2013 film) poster.jpgEpic, 2013 (Voices-Amanda Seyfried, Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Christoph Waltz)   Grade B

 Shrunken teen saves the world!

Not very epic. Expected better.  (Heather)

Only thing epic was title.  (Sheree)

Poor crazy dad finds redemption.  (Tony)

 

Get On Up poster.jpgGet On Up, 2014 (Chadwick Boseman, Nelsan Ellis, Dan Ackroyd, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer)       Grade B

Ambitious, hard man to like.

Interesting story; execution confused me.  (Kathy)

 

-The Giver, 2014 (Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Brenton Thwaites, Alexander Skarsgard, Katie Holmes, Taylor Swift)     Grade C

Like the idea and cast.

Great movie. Disturbing future concept.   (Michelle)

 

What’s in a Name? Quiz – guessing closed

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quiz  This week it’s all about names.  As I walked through the library and picked up books that had names in the title it only took me a few minutes before my arms were full.  These were all published in the last several years.

Take your best guesses, be entered to win a prize.  No cheating (using the web to help find answers) or copying.  All extra details can be found here.

Leave your guesses in the comment section until Sunday.  

You only need to give me 2 names per book, the one missing from the title and the author’s first name.  Since I think these are tricky they are all worth 10 points 🙂

names quiz

1 Julia/Ann   2Willow Frost/Jamie   3Stephen Mercedes   4Lisette/Susan   5Noa P Singleton/Elizabeth   6Benjamin Franklin/Sally   7Claudia Silver/Kathy   8Amy/Jincy   9Stella Bain/Anita   10Worthy Brown/Phillip   11Maya/Isabel   12Scarlet/Marissa   13Mrs. Dimple/Mignon

Answers the last week’s Robin Williams quiz here.  Leaderboard here.

Tuesday Quizzes are moving to Wednesday!

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I have library time every Tuesday afternoon when I drop off Gage for play group and since I often use this time at the library picking up books or trolling for quiz ideas I am making my life a little easier by changing quiz day.  I still like making the quizzes. It forces me to use my brain on a creative and educational task and I hope it does the same for you 🙂  See you tomorrow!

Mailbox Monday – September 1

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mmb-300x282Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.  

monday mailbox

Heroes Are My Weakness by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (purchased – she’s one of my few hardcover buys)

He’s a reclusive writer whose macabre imagination creates chilling horror novels. She’s a down-on-her-luck actress reduced to staging kids’ puppet shows. He knows a dozen ways to kill with his bare hands. She knows a dozen ways to kill with laughs.

But she’s not laughing now. When she was a teenager, he terrified her. Now they’re trapped together on a snowy island off the coast of Maine. Is he the villain she remembers or has he changed? Her head says no. Her heart says yes.

The House We Grew up In by Lisa Jewell (sent by the publisher)

Meet the Bird family. They live in a honey-colored house in a picture-perfect Cotswolds village, with rambling, unkempt gardens stretching beyond. Pragmatic Meg, dreamy Beth, and tow-headed twins Rory and Rhys all attend the village school and eat home-cooked meals together every night. Their father is a sweet gangly man named Colin, who still looks like a teenager with floppy hair and owlish, round-framed glasses. Their mother is a beautiful hippy named Lorelei, who exists entirely in the moment. And she makes every moment sparkle in her children’s lives.

Then one Easter weekend, tragedy comes to call. The event is so devastating that, almost imperceptibly, it begins to tear the family apart. Years pass as the children become adults, find new relationships, and develop their own separate lives. Soon it seems as though they’ve never been a family at all. But then something happens that calls them back to the house they grew up in — and to what really happened that Easter weekend so many years ago.

A Sword Upon the Rose by Brenda Joyce (purchased – it’s her latest historical romance)

A bastard daughter, Alana was cast away at birth and forgotten by her mighty Comyn family. Raised in solitude by her grandmother, she has remained at a safe distance from the war raging through Scotland. But when a battle comes close to home and she finds herself compelled to save an enemy warrior from death, her own life is thrown into danger.

Iain of Islay’s allegiance is to the formidable Robert Bruce. His beautiful rescuer captures both his attention and his desire, but Alana must keep her identity a secret even as she is swept up into a wild and forbidden affair. But as Bruce’s army begins the final destruction of the earldom, Alana must decide between the family whose acceptance she’s always sought, or the man she so wrongly loves.

Risen:The Battle for Darracia by Michael Phillip Cash (sent by Red Feather Productions)

The Autism Book by Dr. Robert Sears (purchased – a must read for parents with kids on the spectrum)

 

Anything fun arrive in your mailbox this week?

 

Sundays with Gage- Back to School

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Gage is back in school and thriving!  He operates very well on a set schedule and the fact that he has the same teachers has been a gift.  When I picked him up after the first day his teachers told me what a great day he’d had, but he was in tears in the car.  He missed his old friends.  Last year our school district did a nice thing and let us start Gage in the public program at 2 instead of 3, so as the rest of his older classmates moved to different classes he will stay in the 3 class again and these will be the kids he goes through school with to graduation.  Now he just needs to make new friends.

The speech therapist tested his speech on Tuesday and he is in the above average range for his age group.  It lets me know that all things are possible 🙂

This summer was a rough one for many reasons and some of that frustration came out in last week’s post.  I almost didn’t post it, but sometimes it feels good to show the gritty side of motherhood and I think there is value in that.  I can happily say that school is back in session and that makes a happy Gage.  And a happy Gage makes a happy mama.

 

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