Have A Little Faith - Review (Sort of)

Mitch Albom is one of those authors that I've tried to avoid, just on principle. From the comments made by friends, his book seemed like they were going to be overly sentimental, not an area I go into very willingly. But I decided it was unfair to not even give him a try, so I downloaded one of his books from the library and dove in.

It was wonderful. He writes about two men of faith - a rabbi and a pastor in Detroit who works with the homeless - and about his relationship with them. The book was an examination of faith as experienced from two different directions, and I emerged from the reading wanting to know both of these men.

I'll definitely be reading more of Albom's books. Guess I should listen to people more often!

2014 Reading Challenge

In 2014 I am not challenging myself to read 100 books. I am challenging myself to read every book I select with more care. I am challenging myself to review every book I read, at least to make one or two comments about it. I am challenging myself to ready as many non-mysteries as I do mysteries. I am challenging myself to read one chapter of Dickens (I really like his books) a day. And I'm challenging myself to pay attention to the book recommendations of friends and family.

So what reading challenges are you making for 2014?

A Happy New Year to You All

This poor little blog has been so neglected. In the last months family news has pretty much been shared on Facebook, and I haven't had the energy to put my thoughts in order to post here. I think the original motivation for the blog is no longer there, or at least something has changed. Not sure yet. There's a good possibility that I'm going to let it go, but haven't decided yet.

But for tonight, I want to wish you all a wonderful, bright 2014. This year hasn't been the easiest for any of us, I think, but there's been a lot of joy in it. When all is said and done, we all came through pretty healthy and probably about as happy as we let ourselves be. I am so grateful for having a loving, supportive family - I've seen friends that aren't so blessed. So I treasure every memory and every word and every opportunity we've had to be together, be it in person, on the phone or via the Internet.

So celebrate the rest of the season and know that I love you all.

The Case of the Velvet Claws

Did the rest of you read Perry Mason books? I think I read my first one after I'd read all the Agatha Christie books I could get my hands on at the liquor store - my one source for buying books as I remember. They had one of those paperback spinners - I have no idea what other kinds of books they had in there - but I remember getting my mysteries there.

I have a special project going at the library right now - repairing and putting new covers on the Erle Stanley Gardner collection. It's been great fun going through them all. We don't have a complete collection, but what we have came from the author's personal library. His wife donated them after his death. They're pretty fragile, but they circulate regularly and we do our best to keep them glued together. Prices are astonishing - the cover price on one of them was $1. The covers can be pretty lurid, like old Police Gazette covers.

I'm always looking for new series to read, so I think I'll start this one to see if I still enjoy them. The Case of the Velvet Claws is the first, published in 1933. I'll let you know how it goes.

Jim Jones, Brother to Grandad Jones

I might be behind everyone else on this, but I think I've found Grandad Jones' brother Jim. The last story I heard was that he disappeared when their mother took off. If I have my links correct (and I'm pretty sure I do), he showed up in Oklahoma and married his stepfather's niece, Lena Mayfield. They were married for about 14 years and had five children. Unfortunately, he left Lena and disappeared, so after the divorce decree, I haven't been able to get any further. I'm going to do some more poking around in other family trees to see if I can find pictures, etc. If there's anything I'm missing, be sure to let me know.

June

Summer is here.  How do I know?

Tomatoes

Zucchini

Christian's Birthday

Happy summer, everyone!

A Week Well Spent?

I'm halfway through my "stay-cation" and figured it's time to evaluate. My original intention (ha, ha) was to tackle house projects: cleaning cupboards, sorting through paperwork - you know the kind of stuff. But has that happened? Oh, no. I've nearly finished a baby afghan, read some books, took naps. The house looks pretty much the same. I have come to the bottom of my seemingly endless book stash, which means a fresh start when I'm back to work. I am feeling better, so that says a lot.

But my major project of this week has been genealogy. The computer keeps beckoning, and I've found myself sneaking away while everyone else watches tv to do "just a little more." I found some organizing tips online, and slowly, but surely, things are taking shape. Ancestry.com is great, but it is so tempting to just follow the "leaves" without digging any deeper. My challenge has been finding ways to do the digging with any level of success.

I found that I wasn't getting any sense of what the lives of these people were like - no sense of getting to know them at all. Not being sure how to begin, I pulled out Shirley Miller's book. It's unbelievable how much she was able to accomplish. She told me once that she stopped using the Internet - too much junk came into her inbox to make it worthwhile - so it was all done with slogging.  I decided to take her book and make sure all of the info was included in the Ancestry files - her work might be helpful to others out there, and it's nice knowing it is available to people who might be able to use it. It's been enlightening for me, and I'm starting to get a sense of the family story - more so than by just following the "leaves." The book is nearly empty now, and I feel like I have a better start. I'm also getting the bug to go see some of these places. Who knows - there may be a field trip in the offing!