Saturday, Oct. (counts on fingers) 24: Yellow Leaves!

It's 35 degrees at 8:30 am, and even though it's pretty much overcast at the moment, the leaves are such a bright yellow that it seems the sun is out. October is here--late October is here--and we're living in that wonderful balance when outside is lovely and the inside welcoming. It's baking, hiking, nesting, knitting, walking, gawking time. Glad to have a moment to take a breath and soak it all in!

There have not been many breaths, however: I believe that my desire to move forward has led to a few too many "yes" statements for the kind of down time I love: I am up for recertification this year, acting as a mentor, helping to lead the new student council, leading MDIHS Readers & Writers, taking a School Law class that is driving me crazy, still a learning area leader for the largest department in the school, and that's just in my professional life. Outside, I'm still married and a mom and a daughter, involved in our church and committed to staying active and involved.  Yikes.

So. A quickish update here before I bake two pumpkin pies for the church supper, make pulled pork and bread for dinner, and, I devoutly hope, complete the first draft of my "best practices in regular ed." paper for School Law. Though I had a great time running in the Run for Shelter 5k in Bangor last Saturday (pic below), I am taking this weekend off from running since my knees have been a bit weird and going for a long walk instead. And I want to update my Goodreads, since I have read some good ones!

So, books: 

The Bones of Paris by Laurie R. King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a fantastic "listen"! My only regret is that Audible didn't make it clear that it was the second in the series, so now I have a pretty good idea of what the first one is about, without the pleasure of actually reading it. I'll have to decide if I want to read/listen to it.

Creepy, creepy, creepy, but also fascinating and detailed. Really interesting to read King writing not in the voice of Mary Russell--she seems to be having a wonderful time doing it! Her writing skills are top-notch, and her plot walks the fine line between different points and conversations that hint at the answer and keeping the tension going. The reader was fantastic, which truly topped off the experience.

Highly recommended, but not for the faint of heart.

The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Well, this Three Pines visit did NOT annoy me so much that I had to quit 1/3 through, as the last Penny I attempted did, so either it's a better book or my self-imposed Penny vacation did the trick and I came to this one with fresh eyes. It is a large, ponderous book, with a little bit of the nudge-nudge background plot line that can make a reader feel like a child in a gathering of adults, but though the midsection of the plot verged on the tedious (much like this sentence; sorry), the solution was tight and clear.

The narrative focus seems to be expanding to include Gamache's son-in-law and his next-in-command, which means Penny doesn't have to make Gamache quite so haunted or his neighbors so overstated, which is a relief. I'm afraid that the serial killer guy is going to become a theme in the next few books, however, so perhaps I'll go back into Penny avoidance mode. Still: I found this one good. I did read the actual book instead of listening to it.

Death and Judgment by Donna Leon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love Donna Leon as a general rule, but I didn't read much of her for a while and I remember wondering why I'd fallen out of the habit. I had a vague recollection of finding her books really dark and depressing, though I have found her more recent Brunetti novels truly enjoyable.

I reread (I am pretty sure I've read it before) Death and Judgment when I found it at a book sale, and now I remember why I thought her books were dark. It's got all the good Brunetti stuff I love: those lunches! That great family dynamic! All that local color! But by the end of the story, it's clear that the world is broken, the bad guys are essentially unpunished, and justice is not served. Somehow--and this is truly a recollection of my overall impression, so I may be incorrect--Leon's more recent books seem to present a less bleak view of the world. Maybe it's because Brunetti and his key team members have been able to organize themselves in the later books--I'm not sure. However, after reading Death and Judgment, I thought, "Man! This is pretty darn depressing--but I do love her stuff!"

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Friday, Oct. 9: Three Day Weekend!

A lovely day. It's nearly 11 and I am *beat* after a super-busy but generally good week. Will simply post the poems I wrote (and read!) for the Merging Forms project with Artwaves Bar Harbor, and toddle off to bed. Coffee and, apparently, sunshine tomorrow morning. Much fun and much heavy rain today.

Yessssssssss. 

A Sonnet to Hanging Laundry (8/18 - 19/2015)

Hot on my shoulders now the sun light falls, 

As at my feet the sodden laundry waits,

And all around me summer’s nature calls—

Cicadas, blue jays, doves that seek their mates. 

The laundry lines stretch empty, tight, and new

Against the posts’ now battered, darkened bark:

Dead trees, they well perform the task they do

And hold the harvest of my human work. 

Around me, as I bend and shake and fold

The living world exhales its summer sigh:

Leaves tremble in the breeze, the sunshine’s bold

Evaporation leaves the daily laundry dry. 

To do the laundry this way is no chore: 

It drains me only of my mindless stress, 

and modern-day obsession: faster! more! 

The sun, the clothes-line, laden basket: less? 

Such worthwhile work done here amid the trees

Leads sweetly to fresh laundry . . . and great peace.

Hanging Laundry Haiku (s) (8/19/2015)

I.

I fold dry laundry

As sweet air moves the wash line

And work becomes joy. 

II.

The wash line stretches 

Through sunlit air. I fold dry 

Laundry. Is this work? 

III.

The clothes line stretches

Through green and sun-lit space. 

Laundry hangs, air-dried. 

 Meditation on Hanging Laundry (8/19/2015)

The morning sun warms my shoulders as 

I pin the wet clothes on the line, 

surrounded by woods, full and lush with summer. 

Two heat-stunned cats loll near me in the grass, my steady bend-and-straighten rhythm no surprise; our old dog chops a passing fly, 

then lies back down. 

I make my own designs on seven lines: today, all towels in back, 

then jeans and shirts, saving the fiddly pairs of socks for last. 

A blue jay calls above my head; cicadas shriek. 

The sun’s so strong the lightest shirts are nearly dry 

before I flip the empty basket upside down. 

I’m done; the clothes line bears its patterned load, 

each item neatly drying in the sun, held by old clothes pins darkened by past seasons’ rains that flawlessly perform their only task. 

In half a day I’ll come back out, reverse the process, fold and put away, and meet the same great beauty that rewards me now, 

turning this duty into ritual and joy. 

*****

Study in Contrast

Like/Unlike

Against/With

~Response to Jane's Painting~

You pause before you plunge ––

your human flesh, sun-warmed, 

pliant, tender, poised against

Nature’s plenitude ––

also in itself a contrast ––

cool water’s rippling liquid green and gold embrace

that laps the rough, unyielding granite’s upthrust strength. 

But most, this image, 

captured, calm, forever, 

creates one perfect balanced moment

held dear against the harried rush of endless time

outside the frame of our attention. 

Wednesday, Oct. 7: What?????

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

IGYTS is a remarkable book. I'm not sure who Nelson's target audience is, but I've been recommending it like crazy. Her writing is powerful, effective, and sure: I'd love to read the "real copy" sometime to copy out some of the passages that knocked my socks off as I listened. It's one of the only books with a non-traditional love angle (ahem; no spoilers here) that managed not to sound Like It Was Making A Statement. It's pretty explicit in spots--in ways that came right to the edge of being too much and in areas that might make people uncomfortable in general--so I've recommended it with cautions attached, but its depiction of family, of siblinghood, of first love/sexual love/lost love, of creativity, of art, of loss is memorable and affecting. I was rapt--and especially appreciated the long conclusion, where I *did* get to see how it all worked out, rather than being left to wonder about the people I'd grown so attached to.

I truly enjoyed this novel. I haven't read any other reviews, and I'm curious to see what other people thought.

As far as the audio goes, the female reader was top-notch, but the male reader was only okay, unable to manage a passable British accent for a crucial role. I still loved it, which proves its quality!


Ah! Been so busy. . . . not much reading, but the commute goes on forever! :) One more audio review coming up, but have to feed the hound.


The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is typical Georgette Heyer: fluffy fun, but a little more developed than her usual outing. Listened on audio: it was quite well read, though the narrator seemed to run a bit short on voice options, given the huge cast, and the father was particularly grating. Interesting to read an earlier setting than Regency England for Heyer; her historical details were enjoyable, though the situations, once again, strain credulity.

Read/Listen to this after a tough week: relax and enjoy!

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Sunday, Sept. 13: Gray, Cool and Rainy

It's beginning to feel more inside-y and more like we might eventually hit sweater weather––the fact that my hot flashes have paused for a while probably helps, too. We got heavy rain on Thursday night/Fri. morning, and now have a drizzly Sunday which slows everything down.

I'm working on a list for the fall, as I/we adjust to one son being an adult with a home/camp about 4 miles away and the second one established at his college 2 hours away as a sophomore. My course load is a little less crushing this semester, so I feel a little more reflective and a little less swamped, though I *do* start a School Law class on Sept. 21, so this state may be short-lived. However, I am working to fit some balance into my life. Therefore, some goals:

*stay off Facebook (mostly) during the week. Too much of a time-suck.
*Work a little each day on a project: Nate's long-promised socks (one done, one 3" in, as pictured below)

     or on the runner I want to make and have actually cut a few strips out for. It's so easy to feel that I can't get anything done during the week that my projects all come to a standstill, when, really, I do have pockets of time, and I am lucky enough to have a place to leave them out! 

*Keep in touch with my family. I call Mom once a week, and soon we'll be headed regularly to Bates to see Nate in plays and concerts, so we'll see Dad and Mom pretty often, but I do want to stay in written or phone touch with the rest of the crew more regularly. 

*Fit in some fun stuff during the weekends: I hope to go out to lunch someplace new in Bar Harbor next Saturday, for example. We'll see if that works. 

So that's my list so far. I also have a nice set of new audiobooks that I got at the Audible $4.95 sale, so I can keep "reading" even when I'm sewing or knitting something that demands my full attention––or even doing laundry, cooking/baking, or cleaning up! So much good stuff ahead. 

In the meantime, I think I'll make a cup of tea (my first in a long time!), call my mama, and write my sister. Happy September. 

Saturday, September 12: Hey! Life Goes On!

Me Being Me Is Exactly as Insane as You Being You by Todd Hasak-Lowy
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Well. Maybe, in honor of the book's format, I'll do a bulleted list of pros/cons/and observations.
1. I read the book in a few days, interested in finding out what the heck it was going to do/where it would go.
2. The format is an interesting one, but sometimes fiddly/unnecessarily confusing.
3. The book was sexually explicit in a weird way: almost as if an actual 15 year old boy had written it. I was not 100% comfortable with that. I wonder who would be. I don't think actual 15 year old boys would be comfortable with that, in fact.
4. The characterization in the book was extremely uneven: I couldn't really get a sense of many/any of the characters except Nate, the stoner brother. Darren was hard to read, and the pivotal character, Zoey, was even more confusing or underdeveloped--in a classic case of the author "telling, not showing," I could understand the events and conflicts, but I couldn't really feel them deeply.
5. Overall, I think this book needed less style and more developed content. It treats some serious issues shallowly and, therefore, cheats the readers a bit.

The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Stephen Briggs as a reader: Terry Pratchett as author: Tiffany Aching as main character: what's not to love?

This is not Pratchett's strongest outing. It IS his last, and it's a huge bonus in light of his diagnosis with Alzheimer's. There's an afterword that sums up nearly everything that I thought as I was listening to it, but the gist is as follows:
--this is Terry Pratchett's last book. It offers some poignant, funny, honest insights on life, humans, humanity, change, and death.
--there is a lot in the book: elves, trains, Ank-Morpork (sp), Vetinari, witches, goblins, and the Nac Macfeegles all intersect, but the novel is not the 500 pages it deserves (and wants) to be--Pratchett just ran out of time. Preston gets very short shrift, as does Vetinari! Unfortunately, the Wee Free Men are short-changed, too.
--I think each reader needs to decide if s/he feels it's worth it to visit one last time, even if the master is diminished, or if s/he would rather stick with the more complete and polished works.

Ultimately, "it is what it is." I'm glad I had a chance to read Pratchett's last--though definitely not his best--work.

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Saturday, August 29: Looking Back at a Fantastic Summer!

2014-15 was a brutal school year emotionally: while my teaching was the best it's ever been (yay!), the appreciation, support, sanity, work demands, and interpersonal work atmosphere was exhausting and draining. Nothing like working harder and more successfully than ever and having the School Board decide it's time to Take A Stand on the contract. Wow. Anyway: what a great time to have an absolutely transcendent summer. Truly. I did some school work, but not a lot; I went into school twice only, and I had a series of fantastic, fun activities that really proved that "a change is as good as a rest." I wonder if I can post a picture for each event! June 23: Andy and I went to see Keb Mo at Stone Mountain Arts Center.

What a great place, and what a great concert. 

A few days later, Nate, Andy and I had a wonderful week in Denmark with Silas and his family:

At Helsingor, Hamlet's castle, with our fabulous hosts

which we followed up with another great week in Norway with Camilla and her family!

Hiking at midnight in Molde with Camilla and Amalia

Even after we returned to the relative normalcy of Ellsworth, Maine, the fun didn't stop. We sailed the newly-restored "Fabulous" out of Sorrento Harbor: 

I went for several hikes with friends: 

On top of Dorr with Dawn and Cathi

went to the twins' first birthday, a Sea Dogs' game with Andy, Dad, and Ann, and spent three days in Rye with Julie! 

Big ice cream!

Whale watching! 

After all that, I ended my summer with a weekend in Brunswick with Ann and Sue. We added to my string of 5ks with the Topsham Veterans' Support Run: 

Post-race: matching tee shirts.

Post paddle. 

and we added Lynne for an afternoon of stand-up paddle boarding!

Back home, there was plenty of this: 

and we still have Labor Day weekend forthcoming. 

First week meetings were upbeat and cheerful, which was great––the magic continues! 

Unnatural Death: The Dawson Pedigree by Dorothy L. Sayers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a delight: I thought I'd read this one quite a bit, but discovered I'd been confusing it with another Miss Climpson story (the one where she meets with the seance people), so this was only vaguely familiar! What a pleasure to have an almost-new Wimsey. This one moves pretty fast, and has some unusual characters (I will say no more); it's fun to see Miss Climpson in her earliest stages, and Peter and Parker just beginning to set forth.

The 1969 edition is a true classic: acid green cover, tiny cramped font, and various typos/editing mistakes, including a few lines transposed on a page. Not easy to read in dim light, but certainly a vestige of a time when publishers were so sure people would read that they didn't woo their readers with attractive packages.

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Thursday, August 27: Finally, the humidity broke!

Paris, He Said by Christine Sneed
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I agree with many of the reviewers listed below--oddly, with those who say this is wonderfully written, *and* with those who say, "What the heck happened here?" Sneed's writing voice is compelling, clear, and elegant, but the book left me flat, and I almost deserted it midway through. I guess my issue is that the people in the story have no pulse. They have a lot of sex and live interesting lives, however.

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