This Week – School is in session

September 12, 20219 Comments

This week we started full day of school and we hired our last instructor (reading and writing tutor in addition to piano and speech) so everything is in place for the next few months at least, yay! In the first week there was only one meltdown with tears and I think I finally have a way to deal with it that should lessen the occurrence (hopefully). Being better organized has helped immensely.

We also went to the drive in for the first time in forever. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Three Rings and Free Guy was the double feature and Gage was thrilled to be out past midnight, lol.

Here was my earlier update and here’s what I’ve read since…

This puzzle was HARD even at only 500 pieces. I loved the fun shapes of the pieces, but this wasn’t a favorite. Usually I like to look at the picture of the puzzle and then put it away, not using it after I’ve started, but not so with this one. I had the picture right in front of me the whole time 😁. The guys helped a bit, but it was too challenging to be fun for them, at least til the end. Can’t wait to see what @completingthepuzzleofficial sends next!

I listened to the Bill Clinton/James Patterson collaboration The President is Missing while I puzzled. It’s been a long while since I’ve read Patterson. I thought this was a fun, fast-paced read especially if you like political thrillers. A President only has a small amount of time to stop a terrorist attack, but the opposing party is slowing him down. And he has to trust the very people who put the attack in motion. Nothing groundbreaking, but still entertaining.

Do yourself a favor and get your hands on this book! Infinite Hope: A Black Artist’s Journey from WWII to Peace an autobiography by Ashley Bryan is a wonderful first hand account of his time in the war with a little of his life before and after. Scroll through the pics. Each the drawings were sketches he made during his days in the military. He would send the hundreds of sketches home when he could and just brought them out for public consumption a few years ago. In addition to the sketches, photos, and commentary, he’s included some of the letters he sent home.

He was there on Omaha Beach working as a stevedore to get cargo from ship to Allied forces. His home was a foxhole he dug himself on the beach.

This hero is 98 and about to receive the Maine in America Award for outstanding contribution to Maine’s role in American Art.

It’s a story of war, hope, prejudice, and perseverance. If your child needs a firsthand account of someone in WWII or of racial inequality in the war this is a must read. It’s laid out so beautifully it’s sure to hold their attention. And, as an adult, I fell in love with it myself 😍

Gage and I used both of these week for our morning journal, finishing up both yesterday. I checked out both when I reserved the Ashley Bryan autobiography that I raved about yesterday. I love his illustrations.

The Night Has Ears, African Proverbs was a selection of very short proverbs, each attributed to a tribe, and a beautiful illustration taking up most of the page. A few we choose for our daily quotes…
“There is no one-way friendship.” Maasai
“No One knows the story of tomorrow’s dawn.” Ashanti

Sail Away poems by Langston Hughes and illustrations by Ashley Bryan was a nice, small poetry collection for kids, bite-sized really. I’m not a poetry person 🤷🏻‍♀️ but I do keep sharing it with Gage hoping he’ll pick it up better than I ever have. The jury’s still out.

It’s always good to read a book from my TBR piles. I get a lot of books from the library and get a few more from publishers or book tours, but that means that my pile of books to read just grows and grows.

The Perfect Girl is a thriller about 17 year old music prodigy Zoe, who was hiding from her earlier big mistake. She and her mother tried to escape what Zoe had done, but the past finally caught up to their new life.

This was told from multiple viewpoints, also going back and forth between then and now. This was a solid thriller with an ending that satisfied. I didn’t find any of the characters likable enough to care too much, but it works as a domestic character study with a twist.

It’s September?

September 8, 20217 Comments

So many things to juggle these past few weeks, so having a few minutes to stop and blog is a breath of fresh air. The glass of wine doesn’t hurt either! Gage has still not fully recovered from gastritis and that means extra doctors on board. We finally started full day school yesterday. And I’m planning a trip for us, which always stresses me out.

But I’m still on track with a book a day (barely ;)) Here are my daily updates from IG.

My September intentions! I read March, book 1, a graphic memoir that tells the story of John Lewis, civil rights hero. It jumps between the morning of Barack Obama’s inauguration and his childhood in Alabama and college days in Tennessee.

It’s very good.

March, Book 2, the graphic memoir by civil rights icon John Lewis. This covers his time with the Freedom Riders and his rise to chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee at 23, becoming one of the Big Six leaders of the civil rights movement. He was also the 6th speaker at the March on Washington.

I was so fascinated with this second of the trilogy. I loved getting a behind the scenes look at what was happening and my respect for the Lewis grew by leaps and bounds. His commitment to the cause is inspirational still.

A must read for history lovers.

I finished up the March trilogy, graphic memoirs by John Lewis, about his childhood and involvement in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s.

March Book 3 contained more of the violence against these non-violent protesters and much more about the politics involved as all organizations serving the movement were not always in agreement.

The trio of books need to be read together. He names names and brings to light the horrifying treatment and harassment of these Americans just trying to have equal rights. Especially the vote, many a protest was solely to get African Americans the right to vote, something they were routinely denied in the south. The blacks and whites pushing for change were beaten, jailed, and killed, often under the orders of the officials in charge.

Do yourself a favor and take a few hours to see the world through Lewis’s eyes. I am so thankful that there is so much heart and fact that came together for me to integrate these books into my knowledge of the time period.

Anyone who says it’s necessary to make it more difficult to vote is using the same playbook that’s always been used by those who want to stay in power and are fearful of change. So much has changed, but there’s still work to be done.

A must read when studying the civil rights movement.

I read and listened to #17 of the Jack Reacher series, A Wanted Man. I’ve been reading these in order, but accidentally read 18 before this one. 😱

I always enjoy the antihero Reacher (I’m really looking forward to the upcoming tv series!) but this was not one of my favorites. Hitchhiking his way to Virginia he gets caught up in a manhunt and faces dire consequences (yes, the dire consequences happen every book). It’s solid, but got a little too crazy by the end.

Yesterday was game day at our house and we each chose one. Gage chose Azul and he and I tied for the win. I chose our newest game, Wingspan, and kicked butt. Jason chose The River and Gage crushed us both.

These are all strategy games and if you’re curious about any of them drop a comment and I’ll show and tell tomorrow 😁

I read the delightful The Ocean at the End of the Lane. What a fantastic way to spend a few hours. Is it a fable? A fairy tale? A dream? A story sure to cause nightmares? Let’s call it all of these.

A middle aged man goes home to Sussex for a funeral and is drawn to his childhood home and the farm at the end of the road where magical things happened to him 40 years before. He had been only 7 and the story, remembered from that perspective, was frightening and real.

Loved this one! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

We’ve played Wingspan twice and love it. It’s suggested for ages 14+, but Gage is almost 11 and caught on easily. That being said, we play The River often and it’s similar in some ways so that helped. Everyone has their own board and is building their own sanctuary with birds from 3 habitats. There are 4 rounds and with the three of it took us an hour and a half the first time and closer to an hour the second.

The art on these cards (170 birds) is gorgeous. Each card tells you where the bird is found, how it nests, how big it is, and it’s habitat. It’s an easy gift for bird lovers. 🦅🐥🦉🦆🐦

There is also another way to play, solo, but we haven’t checked that out yet.

I looked through some picture books last night and settled on this one, How Emily Saved the Bridge, as being the best one about Emily Warren Roebling, the woman who was responsible finishing the Brooklyn Bridge. My book club read The Engineer’s Wife, a historical fiction novel about Emily and I was intrigued enough to want to share her story with Gage. This book covers all of important facts with fun illustrations.

We officially started full day 5th grade this morning (he’s having his weekly piano lesson now). We’re starting out with a more structured schedule so we’ll see how it goes. So far so good!

I chose the perfect day to read ADHD in HD: Brains Gone Wild. It’s written by a young adult with ADHD for kids, teens really, that also have special brains. The layout was very kid friendly and the stories/advice bite-sized so it’s easy to digest.

As a parent to a kid with ADHD this was a much needed reminder as our homeschool school year begins. I didn’t necessarily learn anything new, but I sometimes forget the struggle that goes into doing things that are typically easier for other kids. I tend to push when sometimes a hug will do just as well.

I think it’s a good book for early teens who have been diagnosed. I know that I will be sharing with Gage in a year or two. It’s a feel good book not an in-depth look into the science behind it.

Gage has read a few of the Hank series by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver. I had to decide if I thought these were up to snuff to read for schoolwork so I read You Can’t Drink a Meatball Through a Straw last night.

Interestingly, the books use the Dyslexie font that makes it easier to read for people with dyslexia. I had never heard of this before, but good to know if your child’s reading struggles stem from dyslexia or similar issues.

The story features Hank, who himself has dyslexia, and his family and friends. This one has a cousin visiting from out of town who is entered into a cook-off competition. Fast talking Hank somehow also becomes a participant. It was cute and had a feel good moment at the end. I’ve okayed the series for independent reading 😂

123 pages with a picture on each pages, mostly smallish for interest.

August Wrap Up and Favorites

September 2, 20218 Comments

A few days late, but I’m here. In August I read a total of 37 books and watched 3 bookish movies.

10-kids picture books (non-fiction)

6-adult fiction

5-thrillers

5-kids picture books (fiction)

3-romance

3-kids fiction

3-adult non-fiction

1- poetry

1-kids graphic memoir

Here are the few since my last update…

In Good Company Flora finds her husband’s first wedding ring, in the bottom of a file cabinet, a ring he had supposedly lost in a Lake years ago. What follows is the past and present lives of two couples and one daughter, each getting a chance to show their perspective.

I listened to the whole thing so it was at least that good, but I had a difficult time caring about any of the characters, except maybe the daughter. And the story, the way that it jumped around,didn’t help me get invested. I thought the end was well done. If you like books about complicated marriages (aren’t they all?) then this will probably appeal to you.

We watched Sarah’s Key, based on the bestselling book that I finally read last month. Alternating between 1942 and 2002 Paris it explores the French roundup of its Jewish citizens during WWII. I thought both the book and movie were good and I always like seeing Aidan Quinn onscreen 🙂

My book of the day is also one of my favorite books of August (the others are shown). Just Last Night looks like a cute romance from the cover. But even though there is some romance, this is more about friendship and loss and coming through stronger. It was not at all what I expected and I loved it! But beware I shed a tear or two in the middle.

FAVORITES

What was your favorite read of August?

Posts about this month’s books…

July & August Movies and Money for Charity

August 31, 2021September 17, 20214 Comments

I forgot to do this last month so this is two months of movie watching. I feel like I need to do a monthly post on what we’re binge watching too since we do as much of that as anything. What’s the last show you binged?

You know the drill, add your 5 words (or less!) to mine in a comment 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. Click here to see past movie posts.

What do I need to see in September?

We’re at $81 right now. Your charity could be next

Bounty hunter evades mafia and police

Bizarre boy escapes cult, government

Game Night, 2018 (Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler, Lamorne Morris, Billy Magnussen, Sharon Horgan, Jesse Plemons, Kylie Bunbury, Michael C. Hall) **Grade B**

Game night turns violent.

Game night has a dark side (Heather)

French imprison Jews during WWII

Time traveling to fight a future war.

So very many plot holes. (Heather)

Hugo, 2011 (Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Ben Kingsley, Christopher Lee, Sasha Baron Cohen, Emily Mortimer, Helen McCrory) Grade B

Hugo finds picture perfect ending

Playboy and young courtesan find love

Perfume, 2006 (Ben Whishaw, Alan Rickman, Dustin Hoffman, Rachel Hurd-Wood) **Grade C**

Serial killer with a picky nose

Ice Road, 2021 (Liam Neelson, Laurence Fishburne, Amber Midthunder, Marcus Thomas, Benjamin Walker, Holt McCallany, Matt McCoy) **Grade D**

How did this get made?

This Week – Finishing up school prep

August 28, 20218 Comments

So, we start full days of school this week and I’m still trying to make decisions about curriculum! The rest of my day will be spent doing the research I should have done already. The only decision left to be made is on the language arts curriculum so that I can call our new tutor and get her up to speed. Ohio raised the scholarship amount this year so, he’ll get 6 hours a week with a tutor for language arts, in addition to a weekly piano lesson and speech session. It’s all coming together, but still work to be done.

Here’s what I’ve read this week…

Gage and I started half day school this month, although we missed the week he had two ER trips and last Friday when we had two follow up appointments. I read The Tale of Despereaux aloud over the last few weeks, knowing this my reluctant reader would never read anything this long himself. Thankfully, it was a hit! It was a fun one to read aloud with plenty of opportunity to ham up the characters.

A mouse, a rat, and a princess all end up in the castle dungeon, but the how and the why are the driving force of the story. Full of humor (not always nice, but we call those teachable moments), animals that had their own stories, and silliness earned two thumbs up here in Ohio.

I listed to Paula McLain’s latest, When the Star Goes Dark, while we puzzled. The stars are the only thing connecting the two 🌟

Anna has just experienced something traumatic, we get only snippets until the very end, and retreats to the town where she grew up. She’s a missing persons detective and an old friend needs her help. This takes place in the 1900s and contains real cases, like Polly Klaas, with the fictional.

This is a dark book, just like the title says. As a mother my heart still hurts a little. If you are triggered by child abduction or abuse then read at your own risk.

We have some great friends! Both @rhapsodybooks and @wheelmaker2 sent Gage books recently and we always love new books! Thank you 🥰. These are all for older elementary kids.

Let’s start with Whale Fall Cafe because it was our favorite. From the outside it looks like a silly story, but on the inside it gives you all of the details about a whales death and what happens once the carcass hits the ocean floor. It was fascinating, and perfect for kids who like their stories with a little bit of gross factor. Gage read this to me and got a kick out of my inability to look at the illustrations for more than a few seconds. Highly recommend!!

Little Leonardo’s Fascinating World of Paleontology was the opposite of Whale Fall. It had cutesy illustrations with just too much information to make it fun. But, the 6 experiments at the end make it worth a look. We’ve already done two and hope to do at least one more. We both thought the story was okay, 3 stars, and the experiments fun, 5 stars.

We read Desert Baths because we’re studying Nevada this week. It is fantastic.!! The story about the creatures who live in the desert was good and over half the book. It’s the 6 pages of facts and fun quizzes at the end that made this a big win for both of us. This is a perfect book for homeschoolers and school libraries or classrooms. Highly recommend.

Do you love the bees? Do you think they are aggressive pests out to cause you misery? Do you want to know and do more? Even if you answered no to all of these questions you should still pick up this book.

50 Easy Ways To Help Save the Bees 🐝 is a great read. We love the bees because we understand what they do for us. but even I learned new things. The first 23 pages are about the plight of the different kinds of bees which I thought was excellent. The 50 ideas were well though out.

I read this last night and shared things with Gage this morning. Our afternoon project is to go through the book together and choose 5 things to do this year. We received a pack of seeds last year from a save the bee campaign and threw them into out old bee container this past spring. They may not look like much now but we still get bees daily.

At 127 pages this is a must read. 🖤💛🖤💛🖤

Susan Elizabeth Phillips is an automatic buy for me (as are Harlan Coben and Sarah Addison Allen). She is a master of romance. While not a series, this is the 9th book she’s written about a member of the Chicago Stars football organization.

In When the Stars Collide Olivia, world renowned opera singer, and Thad, backup Stars quarterback must spend weeks together traveling the country promoting a brand. It’s not exactly love at first sight, but heartbreak and danger are close at hand.

Loved it ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Sauna time! I’ve been in here less than 10 minutes and I’m already sweating. I’m not a fan, but we’ve had the infrared sauna for years and the doctor we saw with Gage a few weeks ago told us we really needed to be using it twice a week. So, I sit here and sweat for my health 😅

Are you a sauna fan?

Okay, the book…The Last Thing He Told Me lived up to ALL of the hype! It’s so different from her other two books. It’s a thriller. One day a child knocks on Hannah’s door with a note, it’s from her husband and all it says is PROTECT HER. Bailey, the daughter. Comes home from school with a duffel bag full of cash that her dad had stuffed in her locker. Owen himself was missing.

That’s all you get. If you like thrillers this is a must read! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

This Week – Dog Days of Reading

August 22, 2021September 12, 202113 Comments

Sorry this is so long. It’s been a long, trying week and getting anything done, especially reading, has been a struggle.

Do you ever feel seen? I received a 2022 calendar from the Ocean Conservancy, an organization I wasn’t familiar with but is definitely within our donation wheelhouse. Can you guess what else they offered if we gave a donation? Did I make it too
easy for you? Gage and I finished this in less than hour, which seems like it took way longer than it needed to!

Gage is feeling much better today. Mornings have been rough this week, but for the first time this he woke up feeling good. Now we just need to get him eating more.

I have News of the World by Paulette Jiles in one of my TBR stacks and thought that Jason and I could watch the movie before I read it. The movie was…underwhelming? Tom Hanks and Helena Zengel were terrific and I loved the last 10 minutes of the movie. Hanks plays a Civil War soldier who travels town to town reading the news to people who have a dime to hear it (he was a newscaster before tv). When he takes on the responsibility of getting a girl who had been kidnapped by Native Americans home to her aunt and uncle every kind of possible trouble shows it’s face.

It was okay, but not necessarily what I needed to see at the end of this particular week. Not sure if I’ll be reading the book anytime soon now.

When I ‘discovered’ Virginia Hamilton earlier this year I fell in love with folklore and legends and mythical storytelling. This book has all of that. It’s shorter at just over 200 pages and is perfect for a young adult introduction into the genre and the time period in America, mid 1800s. I really liked the book and learning more about the Yemaya and Obatala legend and love how Kopacz imagined a new story for them.

Yemaya is a deity of the sea in the African Yoruba people religion. When she decides to follow her heart and love across the ocean as his slave ship heads to America, she makes the decision to transform from mermaid to woman so she can find him on land. She is welcomed into a Native American tribe, taken as a slave, and saved by a Quaker before finding her special powers and her way north.

I love the beautiful cover and want to thank @atriabooks for sending me a copy. I’m excited to have this one my bookshelf!

I loved this fast paced thriller with its slow reveal and twists and turns! Just what I needed to end this crazy week. Delilah has been missing for 11 years when she is suddenly reunited with her brother and father. What happened all those years ago? Told from more than one point of view and time period this one is a winner for thriller/mystery lovers.

Gage made pumpkin bread with chocolate chips yesterday. Don’t mind if I do 😁. His appetite still isn’t great, but he feels a lot better.

So, I listened to the audio production of this one and loved the performances of the seven so much! I could have picked up the book and finished it quicker, but preferred to listen for 14 hours 😀

I’m mixed on how I feel about this one. It started strong. A small African village was suffering from health problems because an American oil company was depleting their resources and leaving environmental damage in their wake. I loved hearing in first person from different villagers. Their stories drew me in. The plight of those villagers was compelling.

I don’t want to give anything away, but I will say that multi!generational story seems like it could have really happened. If you are in the mood for a story about how the powerful overpower the powerless then this may be for you. The richness of the storytelling made me glad I read this one, but it left me in a melancholy place.

Yesterday’s book left me a little depressed so this whimsical book called to me. This was just what I needed to lift the spirits.

Jess is still physically and mentally recovering from a near death experience when her ailing grandmother asks her to find an old family heirloom, a necklace that find’s true love. What she finds is a journey to knowing her roots and the stories of the women before her. There’s also a choice to be made between the safe and the risky.

This quote made me stop and reflect a bit, “There is is a philosophy that the way of soul mates is to come into our lives to challenge us, move us forward. It’s not the job of a soul mate to accompany us through our entire life or share every detail of our being. Once it’s purpose has been fulfilled, the soul mate is free to disappear.”

This was fun, especially for those who love old things, jewelry, genealogy, or want a story that will transport them to a more magical place for a moment. Loved it.

First, let’s talk about Milo. Milo is taking the subway with his sister and he likes to imagine the lives of the people he sees and draw a picture. He takes the train every Sunday and you find out at the end that it’s to visit his mom in prison. So many things to love ❤️ here and I loved them all, the story, the illustrations, the creativity. Gage and I will be trying something like this tomorrow at the park 😁

We’re learning about a different musician every week and it was Elvis week! Both of these were good, but we did prefer the claymation-like illustrations of the one on the left. Both had additional information and a real photo or two at the end. We’ve had a fun time listening to and watching clips of his performances this week. I wonder if we can still see those old movies he was in? I haven’t seen any of the 30 some odd movies he was in since I was a kid.

This was a fun summer read, that dealt with serous issues in an optimistic way. Letty arrived at her sister’s place in NYC to find her dead with her daughter standing there witness. She grabs her niece and high tails it south away from the bead news ex she suspects of the murder. They arrive at a small beach hotel and find acceptance there, but she’s still a fugitive.

I mostly listened, but did read the last 75 pages. I loved seeing Letty find a home, even if it took awhile with everyone, especially the ex, trying to track her down. Some twists and turns keep the action moving and make this a satisfying story.

This week has been the first real week of struggle in my 2021 book a day challenge. I sat down to start my book yesterday and just couldn’t do it. So, I picked up these two instead and my day was saved. So far this year I’ve read 275 books and watched 10 bookish movies.

Fatima’s Great Outdoors was released earlier this year and I loved it. Fatima is excited when her Indian family plans to do something as All-American as camping. She leaves her struggles at school behind and gets to have new experiences and learn things like how to put up a tent and start a fire. I love the memories that she cherished of that time with her family. Traditional Indian words and food are included into the story, which I love, but I might have loved it even more if a short page with definitions were included at the end. Big thumbs up from this non camping enthusiast.

The Great Bridge-Building Contest is a books for the older elementary child who is interested in American history, engineering, or West Virginia (our state this week). It’s taken from stories passed down in Lemberg Chenoweth’s family about how he, a furniture maker with a third grade education, beat out countless others to build what would become the bridge that would become the site of the first land battle of the Civil War. This full of interesting information.

Last month I read the novel Perfume and really didn’t like it. But when I was looking for a movie of a book I’d read this year this tempted me, so I suffered through the story once again. BUT, it turned out to be a better movie than book. Having Dustin Hoffman and Alan Rickman in the two big secondary roles helped. And not being inside the murderer’s head as much made it better too. I wasn’t sure if they’d go for the town square orgy at the end, BUT THEY DID. All I kept thinking about was how many hours and days those hundreds of naked people hade to lay on the ground and each other.

I’ll do a comparison of the movie and book soon.

This Week – ERs and sickness

August 14, 202121 Comments

This has been a week. I’m posting my reading week from my daily IG, but this morning’s Gage update is that he is feeling quite a bit better. Mornings have been rough and this has been the best one so far this week, so here’s hoping the rest of the day continues the healing trend!

The Devil in Disguise by Lisa Kleypas (Ravenels #7)
Sunday morning mimosa anyone? Don’t mind if I do! Some days opening a bottle of Korbel for one (okay, maybe two) mimosas on your deck seems like the only thing to do.

I really should be drinking whisky since the hero of the latest Ravenel book is a Scottish distiller. This book brings together the Ravenel family with her other popular series, The Wallflowers. I’m not sure you really need to have read any of the other books to enjoy this steamy historical romance.

Right from the get go hardworking Merritt and Keir feel lust and within days the widower and the Scot share a passionate night together. The trouble begins immediately as someone tries to kill him and almost succeeds.

This was a fun read. Kleypas is fast becoming my favorite historical romance writer. This one is hot off the presses and hot in the romance.

We finally finished our 500 piece Norway puzzle from Completing the Puzzle . It was harder than it looked at first but we all liked finding the Vikings around the puzzle.

I read the 400+ page Ocean Prey with Lucas Davenport (#31) and Virgil Flowers. I’ve read all the Davenport books (except last year’s, somehow I missed that one) and a few of the Virgil ones. Lucas has been a US Marshal for awhile and the case of murdered Coast Guard puts him in Florida.

I don’t want to say too much, but if you read this series you might get a little teary at something that happened to a favorite character.

Loved this one! I didn’t realize how much I’d missed these two.

Yesterday, we took Gage to the ER for some tummy/chest area issues. He’s better but still not great, but they ruled out heart and lungs and sent us home. He’s only been able to eat applesauce, rice, and pretzels. Even Honeynut Cheerios made him sick. We’ll get it sorted out but it’s no fun watching your kids feel yucky.

I remembered to grab the Nintendo Switch for Gage, but forgot a book for myself, so last night before bed I read him The Hill We Climb by the youngest poet to deliver a poetry reading at a presidential election. This poem is perfection and gave us so many things to talk about with all the things going on in this country.

A taste…
“Scripture tells us to envision that:
‘Everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree,
And no one shall make them afraid.’
If we’re to live up to our own time, then victory
Won’t lie in the blade, but in all the bridges we’ve made.
That is the promised glade,
The hill we climb, if only we dare it:
Because being American is more than a pride we inherit-
It’s the past we step into, and how we repair it.

We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it,
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.
And this effort very nearly succeeded.
But while democracy can be periodically delayed,
It can never be permanently defeated.”

The force that would shatter our country rather than share it is alive and well still. May Gorman’s words give us all the resolve we need to make sure our democracy remains strong for our children.

Monday- ER. Tuesday- power out morning until early afternoon. Wednesday- a second ER trip and now our power is out again after a storm. Please tell me this week will get better!

Gage was pretty sickly this morning. Back in the ER they gave him fluids and ran bloodwork. And sent us home with nothing but give him Miralax, Pepcid, and Zofran and hope that in a few days he’ll feel better 😟. So, anyone out there who would like to say a prayer or send some positive energy that would be appreciated. I sent jason and gage to grandma’s to enjoy her electricity while I’m here trying to enjoy some de-stress time in the growing darkness.

Last night before bed we read this beautiful picture book about a mother preparing for the birth of her child. Loved learning more about the Inniniwak and their traditions. The illustrations and story were just what this mama needed last night. A sweet book for a mom-to-be. I Sang you Down from the Stars by Tasha Spillett.

Thanks for your positive vibes and prayers for Gage yesterday. Keep ‘me coming, he’s still feeling bad and can barely tolerate food 🥺. I’m hoping we can get him over the worst of it soon.

After we got back from the ER yesterday Gage and I finished this gorgeous double sided puzzle. So fun and happy, something we both needed yesterday. Now we’ll take it all apart and do the other side. Stay tuned!

After the electricity went out and the guys went to grandma’s house for TV I sat outside and finished this wonderful book. Seriously, it’s way more than I thought it would be. It’s Texas history told in relation to her own personal experience and the the history of the country. I learned so much! By sharing the history we never hear about of blacks and Native Americans as Europeans first made it to this land the picture of our country becomes clearer. The emphasis is on Texas, but even as an Ohioan I was drawn in by her storytelling.

Juneteenth by Annette Gordon Reed. It’s only 148 pages and I highly recommend it. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Gage is pretty much the same as yesterday. Rough morning, little to eat, but was able to tolerate some potatoes with chicken for dinner. Baby steps.

We’re studying Kansas this week and I read these three yesterday and let Gage choose one to read today. This week I have allowed way more screen time than necessary, but there has to be some upside of being sick, right?

All three of these are longer picture books for the older elementary crowd and about real people.

Sharice’s Big Voice: A Native Kid Becomes a Congresswoman is the story of Sharice Davids, one of the first Native American women to hold the office and the first LGBTQ congressperson to represent Kansas. It’s a good story for kids, that no matter what people say you can or can’t do, it’s you who decides your fate. Inspiring story of her childhood and heritage. It just came out in June.

Fieldhouse is another autobiographical kids book, this one a graphic memoir that I found a little busy, but Gage loved (I knew this would be the one he picked!). Dreaming of playing for the Kansas Jayhawks, Scott Novosel made his dream come through with perseverance.

No Small Potatoes: Junius G. Groves and His Kingdom in Kansas was my favorite. Junius was born a slave in Kentucky but was still a child when freed. He headed west, stopped in Kansas and got a job working on a farm. He was such a hard worker he was soon overseeing it. He held firm to his dream of having his own farm and through sweat and sacrifice became Potato King of the World, in 1919 he had over 2,000 acres of his own land. Loved this story and the illustrations.

Still reading books published this year, so if you have one I should read let me know!

This Week – School in back in session (sort of)

August 7, 202117 Comments

August 1st brings a new month of reading possibilities. I’ve never been driven to read what’s new. Unless it’s a favorite author I prefer to let the dust (and my expectations) settle first.

For August I’ve decided to read only books published this year. I went a little crazy at the library and here they are, my intentions for the month. Sammi was excited to check them out too!

I started with Own It: The secret to Life by Diane Von Furstenberg and I hope this is not an omen of the rest of my book choices. Set up like a dictionary with with trite thoughts about them, this book failed in almost every way for me. The few bright spots were the short stories that she attached to some words. If the whole book had been that it would have been fun. As it is you get advice such as this…

PINK. Pink is what white does to red. It is the most feminine and flirtatious of all colors.

PURPLE. Purple is what blue does to red. It is a color we either love or hate.

LOSER. I sometimes feel like one, and then I remind myself, only losers don’t feel like losers.

At least it was relatively short.

Hairpin Bridge started off strong with a twin sister trying to find the truth behind her twin’s supposed suicide. It ended on the same day after lots of action, storytelling, and revelations. It read fast and had a solid suspenseful idea. It lost momentum in the way it kept going back and forth, but managed to surprise in the end, which is always nice.

We took our first half day of school on the road to Penitentiary Glen, about 30 minutes from us. We decided to take the book on a bit of our hiking trail.

We took Yang Warriors with us on our morning walk to Shadow Lake. This 40 page, beautifully illustrated book tells the true story of a group of children in a Thai refugee camp. The author lived at the camp with her family when she was five. Her sister was part of a group of children who snuck out of camp to gather fresh food for the weak and sick younger kids, giving them all hope of better days. Those kids were, and still are, viewed as heroes in the eyes of those they fed at much risk to themselves.

It didn’t explain why the kids were there or even what a refugee camp was so if reading this with your child it would be helpful to talk about that before reading the story. Otherwise, it was a great book with kids providing inspiration to other kids. Bravery has many faces and it’s important that kids see as many of them as possible.

My mom loaned me How Lucky telling me it was different. I agree and that’s what I really liked about it. Confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak, Daniel lives in Georgia near his best friend since birth who makes sure he has a social life. Daniel sees a girl kidnapped and tries to do the right thing, even if the police are not especially helpful.

There was the mystery of the disappearance, but it was the story of his life with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, past and future that kept me reading and interested. He was a great character and I loved his relationships with friends.

I picked this up purely for the fun cover and had a fun time hanging around Hampstead Heath. What Abigail Did That Summer is #5.3 in the Rivers of London series, but I had no problem jumping right in to the world of the talking foxes and the fae.

Abigail is still in school and must pass Latin before her uncle will let her begin training in magic. She spends the summer with a new friend investigating strange disappearances.

It was mostly light and fun and Abigail was a hoot.

I loved this sweet throwback story. Rosetown Summer is 84 pages about friendship and family in a small Indiana town in 1974. Ten-year-old Flora doesn’t like change, loves quiet, and has many anxieties about things out of her control and I think any child who fits that description would probably like this one.

This is a sequel to Rosetown.

We started half days of homeschool this week, each day a different park to explore. We hiked, enjoyed swings and playgrounds, and still managed to carve out some book learning at picnic tables. This is our August plan and a great way to ease into 5th grade.

I is for Immigrants was recommended to us and counts as a new book since it was just released. We both had fun going through the alphabet picture book full of words that describe the immigrant experience. So much great discussion. Recommended.

Journey: Based on the True Story of OR17 The Most Famous Wolf in the West. A recent news story told in a fabulous way alternating between the wolf’s journey and a 10 year old following his path. Great facts pages at the end. Highly recommended for older elementary kids who love animals or nature.

Apples to Oregon: Being the (Slightly) True Narrative of How a Brave Pioneer Father Brought Apples, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Grapes, and Cherries (and Children) Across the Plains. This is told as a tall tale with fun illustrations sure to appeal to the plant and tree lover.

How was your week? Have any new books to recommend I read this month?

Paris in July Wrap Up

July 31, 202115 Comments

This will be a long post, but you can scroll to the end if you want to see my July favorites 🙂

In July I read 31 books and watched 3 movies. 24 were Paris related, 2 were Gage read alongs, 2 were for homeschool, 1 devotional, and 1 for a book tour.

Here’s a link to my Paris in July posts 1 2 3 4 5 6 I’m so thankful to Tamara at Thyme for Tea for hosting such a fun event!

Here’s a rundown of what I’ve read this last week…