August Reading Recap

I read a lot in August, but didn't fall in love with any of the books I finished.  Unfortunately, with the exception of the scriptures, I read some very mediocre things last month.  Here is what I finished and what I thought about each book. 

In the Bible, I finished Malachi (last of the so-called "minor" prophets) and decided to read the "Wisdom" or "Poetry" section (probably because I always feel that I am in need of wisdom).  I started with Psalms and am now 25 Psalms in and loving it.  This is not the first time I have read Psalms, but it has been a while,  so if feels fresh to me.   You can see that I do a lot of annotating when I read scripture.  

We listened to the audiobook of Malcolm Gladwell's The Bomber Mafia when we went on our trip to Bryce Canyon and Cedar Breaks.  I thought this would be something we would all enjoy listening to, but it ended up being a disappointment to all of us.  

I gave the book only 2/5 stars **.  Here is my Goodreads review:

The Bomber Mafia is largely about the competing philosophies of air war of two generals during the closing days of World War II. It is well researched and documented, and the audiobook, which I listened to, had actual interviews and other audio.  I understand that Gladwell did the audiobook first and then the print version was derived from the audio.  The story is certainly interesting from  a historical perspective, but what I didn't much like was the moral philosophizing that Gladwell does - especially comparing the two generals involved, Hayward S. Hansell and Curtis LeMay to Jesus.  That whole comparison fell completely flat for me.  I learned a lot of WWII history and the air war against Japan, and even the two philosophies of the generals, but Gladwell's attempt to judge the thoughts and intentions of the two men made me not like this book much.  I like history more when I can draw my own conclusions from the facts that are presented.

The next book I read was the this Christian nonfiction by social media influencer and speaker Al Carraway called Wildly Optimistic.This book has a lot of great thoughts and Christian philosophy, as the author offers new perspectives for how to view and overcome life's inevitable challenges. The author is honest, authentic and faith-filled but I didn't care for her writing style. Al Carraway writes in questions. There were many paragraphs throughout the book comprised mostly of rhetorical questions. I wasn't crazy about that. The grammar in the book also makes me wonder if an editor looked at the book at all before it was published. Also, the author tells stories from her own experience, but she seems never to complete the story, and then refers to the same experience again and again and again. What I did like about the book can best be summed up in this quote from the final chapter:

"We are loved. We are wildly loved by a perfect God. A perfect, infinite God who is also personal."

This book proved to be overall disappointing to me, and I only gave it 3/5 stars ***.

My next book for August was this page-turner of a mystery - Not a Happy Family.  I liked it right up until the end, and for that reason, only gave it 3/5 stars ***.  Here is what I wrote about the book on Goodreads:

When Fred and Sheila Merton are violently murdered after a family Easter dinner with their three children, secrets of this affluent family begin to come out.  It seems that all three of the children have motive for doing their parents in, but they aren't the only ones.  This is a murder mystery with lots of twists and turns that keeps the reader turning pages up until the very end when the murderer is revealed.  But even when the guilty party is revealed to the reader, lack of evidence may mean that the murderer is never brought to justice and suspicions and accusations will tear this already extremely dysfunctional family even further apart.  

What I liked about this book was the nonstop plot action and short chapters.  Each chapter ended with a cliffhanger that leaves the reader up late at night wanting to finish the next chapter to find out the answer to the question left hanging at the end of the last chapter. 

What I didn't like, was that the author seemed not to know who killed the Mertons until she realized that she had to have a murderer to end the book. She takes the book down several plausible roads, and then finally reveals the guilty party as the person to whom she has given the least amount of motive.  It leaves the reader, going, "huh?"  

This book was interesting and entertaining but the ending was not as satisfying as I would have liked.

Next was this biographical book that I read for a book group comprised of mostly elderly ladies from my church congregation.  This is all I had to say about this book on Goodreads, when I rated it 3/5 stars ***.

This is a biographical story of missionary couple Willard and Rebecca Bean. It is interesting in parts. The Movie - The Fighting Preacher was based on the story of this couple. The movie is more interesting, but the book goes into much more detail. The book was written by a grandson of the couple and so it is written to portray everyone in a good and positive light, as one might expect, but I would like to know what this couple were really like and more about some of the personal struggles they may have had to overcome while serving as missionaries for almost 25 years. It seemed to me that a lot was left out of the story. There were some old, historic pictures included in the book that were quite interesting.

I have always been rather fascinated with Appalachia and the people who live in the Kentucky Hill country, so when I went to the library to pick up another book, and happened to see this one, which is set in Appalachia, on display, I just had to read it.  It was a fast-moving, albeit fairly short (just over 200 pages) mystery, which I found myself enjoying more than I expected to.  According to the cover jacket, the author is a screenwriter, and the book reads like a made for TV crime drama.  

The main character, Mick Hardin, is a combat vet, working as an Army CID agent.  He come home to Appalachia when he finds out that his wife is pregnant and about to give birth, something he did not know until his sister, the sheriff of the hardscrabble town, tells him.  As Mick tries to figure out his marriage, his sister shows up at the abandoned cabin where he is staying and asks for his help solving the murder of a woman whose body is found in a wooded holler.  As Mick puts together the pieces of the murder, he sees the pieces of his own life and marriage fall further apart.  This is a book of betrayal, family, and vengeance,  in a place where everything gets tangled up in a web of deceit as thick and hard to see through as the trees in the holler. It wasn't the best mystery I have every read, but it was good for a few hours of diversion on a weekend.   I would be willing to give this author another chance if I ever see another book by him.

There are some adult situations described in the book, but nothing explicit. There was also a small amount of language.  l gave this book 4/5 stars **** on Goodreads. 

What have you been reading? Any good books to recommend? 

Please share in the comments. 

Thanks for stopping by.

😊Deb💙

“… a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, 

if it is to keep its edge.” 

~George R.R. Martin

Simple Gratitude on a Sad Week

This week was heartbreaking, filled with bad news from abroad that seemed only to get worse. Sending thoughts and prayers for the families of those who gave their all trying to help Afghan families escape to freedom.  One of the young men was from Utah, and, in fact, was a graduate of a high school about three miles from our home. You can read more about this Marine who paid the ultimate price, here. 

With all that was going on, this week just got away from me. We wrapped up the second week back at school, and my bumped and bruised knees and arms from my fall last week are healing up, but Thursday night when I sat down to do my Friday Favorites post, I was just too exhausted (mentally and physically) to think. Now, here I am, at the very end of a busy week, linking up with Susanne and other bloggers over at Living to Tell the Story for a late day Friday's Fave Five. Here is what is going on in my world and what I am grateful for. 

New lights and more plugs - As our bathroom remodel project winds up, we had our electrician come to replace lights in both bathrooms.  I did not take a picture of the ugly florescent lights that were up, but the cam lights now installed look much better and provide better light. Also, I asked if we could get some more plugs in my bathroom, and I was so pleased to come home and find that I had not just one more new electrical plug, but two.  That will be a big convenience. 

Clear skies - After several of smoky skies, we had a couple of days of beautiful clear skies.  Unfortunately, the smoke from California wildfires is now coming back. 

Cooler evenings - There is a hint of fall in the air around here now.  We had a couple of nights when we had cloudy, cooler weather and we even got a bit of rain.  We will take all of that we can get.  

Morning beverage - As the weather cools off just a bit, I enjoy a warm cup of Pero and chocolate in the morning while reading the scriptures.

Golden sunrises - I am enjoying my new classroom.  One of my favorite things is watching the sun come up over the mountain in the morning from my classroom window. 

BLTs with garden fresh tomatoes - we had BLT sandwiches with the most delicious fresh tomatoes from my garden.   They were so good the first night, that I made them again the next night as well.  

Good reading - I had put several books on hold at two libraries, and then got a notice that three books were available on the same day.  I went to two libraries and got two books, put one book back for later and then found another book I wanted to read while I was browsing.  I have started reading The Killing Hills by Chris Offutt, which was the mystery I found while I was at the library picking up a book that was on hold.  So far, it is a pretty good page-turner.   I should be able to finish all of these books before they are due back in about a month. 

Hummingbird friends - I know I mention hummingbirds a lot, but I truly enjoy watching them in my garden. Friday night, I was outside talking to a friend on the phone and this little bird flew up to get some nectar from the hummingbird feeder and yes, this is how close he was to me. I think the hummingbirds are becoming accustomed to us over time because they fly close to use and don't seem afraid to feed when we are out in the yard.  I love seeing and hearing these sweet little creatures and will sure miss them when summer is over and they fly South for the winter. 

That's all for this post.  Even on rough week, there are positive things to be grateful for. Thank you for stopping by. Have a good weekend. 

😊Deb💙

"For those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, we are grateful that such men and women were among us. For those who continue to serve, we honor their commitment. For those who return to civilian life, we honor their service."~Steve Buyer

 

A Painful Weekend

Thursday before school, I was walking down in the hall at school when a student tripped me and down I went.  I hurt my knee, my back and my wrist.  In all honesty, I don't think that the student tripped me on purpose.  I think she was looking at her phone and turned around and walked into me.  I was in pain the rest of the day after the fall. I wrapped my wrist when I got home.  

I took Friday off as a sick day because I was in so much pain.  My wrist and back were somewhat better by the end of the day on Friday, but my knee was still very painful.  I put my legs up and iced my knee while I read, which did help. 

You can see how bruised my knee was, even a couple of days later.  It was very tender and painful. 

Charly was so sweet and kind and got take-out pizza for dinner on Thursday because I was in too much pain to fix dinner. 

We were able to have pizza leftovers on Friday, which was also very helpful. 

The contractors came back on Friday and we had them lower one of the grab bars. I don't think they were very happy about it, because it meant taking out and replacing a couple of tiles, but they did it.  I don't currently use grab bars, but one never knows what the future holds and we want this remodel to last for a while.  I love my new little corner bench in the shower. The contractor had to look all over town, to find a bench block small enough for our closet-sized shower, but he found one and soon I will be able to sit down and wash my toes in the shower! We hope to have the same two guys redo our downstairs bathroom next summer. 

Saturday, I woke up and enjoyed watching the hummingbirds flying about and having breakfast in the backyard.  I enjoy watching those little birds hoover and fly about. 

I enjoyed my new favorite morning beverage - Pero with a spoonful of Stephen's Gourmet Dark Hot Chocolate.  

Charly and I went for a morning walk.  It is still somewhat smoky and hazy but at least you can see the outlines of the mountains to the east.  A little later in the morning, we ran some errands - specifically, we took a book back to the library, gassed up the car and went to Home Depot to get a new bathroom light/fan that the electrician will be installing next week. 

Saturday afternoon, I took a little nap, which was nice because I was on my feet too much in the morning and my injured knee was hurting.  When I got up, I completed a couple of lessons in the online history class I am taking.  Later, after dinner, I did another lesson, so I was able to accomplish my goal of finishing five lessons in the history class. 

After dinner, I washed both cars,  As I was completing the task, the sky clouded up and the wind began to blow.  It wasn't long and we had another downpour, complete with thunder and lightning.  Don't worry, though, the freshly washed cars were already safely under cover.  

Saturday, I had running text conversations with a couple of friends, Faith and Jeanine, who live on opposite sides of the country (one in California and one in New York) as well as my oldest son, Alex, who also lives in California.  I love hearing from friends and family via text, email  and Messenger. 

Sunday, I felt a little better, but I was still hurting from my fall.  I decided to take a morning walk anyway. It was another beautiful, sunny morning. I enjoy seeing the flower gardens in our neighborhood. They have been beautiful this summer.  We went to church, as usual, but I came home after our main service, and didn't stay for the women's meeting (Relief Society) because my back was hurting.  Charly and Josh stayed for the men's meeting (Priesthood).  Coming home and putting my feet up really helped. 

I rested a lot in the afternoon and even took a little nap, which helped.  I also did some indexing, then I fired up the grill for dinner and cooked some steaks for Josh (my meat loving son) and Beyond Burgers (plant based meat substitute) for Charly and I.  

I also made some homemade macaroni salad and we had fresh tomatoes from our garden on our Beyond Burgers. Charly and I both liked the Beyond Burgers and we will probably buy them again. 

Tonight, after finishing this post, I plan to get ready for bed, then do some reading.  These are the books I have been reading this weekend - all nonfiction and faith-based reads.  I hope to finish at least one of these books by the end of the coming week. 

Coming up this week:

Monday - plumber coming back to put on new matching fixtures

Monday - appointment after school

Tuesday - electrician coming to update bathroom lighting 

Wednesday - the new shower door we ordered should be installed.

Goals for the week:

• Finish five more lessons in online U.S. History class
• Finish one of the books I am currently reading
• Decide on and order a birthday gift for my daughter Tiffany
• Keep up with household chores

That was my weekend.  I hope yours was good.  Make the week ahead a good one. 

😊Deb💜

"Every day is different and some days are better than others, but no matter how challenging the day, get up and live it!"

~ Muhammad Ali

 

Best of a Rainy Week

There has been a lot of tragedy and sorrow in the world this week.  Bad stuff has been happening.  It's on week's like this, that it is sometimes most important to change our focus and see the small and simple things that have gone right.  So, again this Friday, I am joining with other blogging friends for Friday's Fave Five.  

First week of school - Monday, I began my 20th year as a teacher when students came back from summer break.  I started teaching in August 2001 - shortly before 9/11 happened. I will be honest, this first week with students back in school, had some stressful rough patches, which is all the more reason that I am grateful I made it through.  I am hoping that the more we settle into the new school year routine, the better things will go. 

New classroom - A positive thing about the start to the school year is my new classroom, which I really like.  Student chairs came last Sunday as promised, and by Thursday, all of the new technology was even working. 

Bathroom project nearing completion - the bathroom remodel project is nearing completion. We noticed a problem this afternoon that may delay final completion as some tiles may have to be replaced, but we are getting there. 

This is primarily my bathroom and it is small. In removing the old tile, we found out that this shower actually used to be a linen closet when our home was first built.

We are well pleased with the tile work. We have small rectangular tiles on the ceiling and the floor. 

The bathroom floor is tile that looks like wood. We really like all the tile we picked out, as well as the quality of the tile work.  It will be good to have this bathroom fully functional again.  

Rain - We got much needed HEAVY rain on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  This picture of the back patio was taken when it was really pouring.  Some areas  around here got up to four inches of rain in a day. We also got hail and a couple of ski resorts got snow!  Cedar Breaks, the wonderful national monument area where we went hiking earlier this month got seven inches of rain from Tuesday to Thursday. 

I do like having windows in my classroom so I can see what is going on outside.  I took a few minutes at lunch one day to watch it rain.  I actually have quite a nice mountain view from my classroom when the clouds and smoke aren't blocking it. 

All things red in the garden - various shades of red was the color of the week in the garden - beautiful flowers, strawberries, tomatoes and of course our delicious grapes.  

A postcard from a friend - I got the nicest surprise in the mail this week - this postcard from my good friend Faith, over at Gold in the Clouds.  The scene is of a beautiful lake in the Adirondack Mountains.  There was such a sweet note on back.  I am using the postcard as a bookmark, so I can think of my friend every time I open my book to read. I truly treasure relationships I have with blogging friends.  People who blog are some of the nicest people anywhere.  

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by.  Have a good weekend and remember to be grateful for simple blessings. 

😊Deb💜

"A grateful heart is a magnet for miracles."

 

The Weekend Before

This weekend was the final few days before the beginning of the new school year. 

Friday, teachers had the day to work in our classroom getting things ready for the new school year.  These pictures show what my room looks like now.  It is still a work in progress.  Student chairs were supposed to arrive today.  I don't know if they did.

Saturday morning after Charly and I took our morning walk, we went grocery shopping.   We were low on a lot of things.  Charly usually does the shopping during the week, but with the bathroom remodeling going on, he has had to be home with contractors working in the house.  

We got some of these "Beyond Burgers" which is plant based meat. I have been wanting to try them, and it was great that we found two packages on "Managers Special".  

After shopping, Charly came to my classroom with me and helped assemble some of the new teacher furniture that had just arrived.  He is good at assembling furniture, and his help is so very much appreciated. 

Saturday afternoon, I was so tired I decided to relax and read - something I don't usually do until evening.  I finished this mystery book, which was interesting, and quite a page turner.  I didn't much like the ending though.  I will give more of a review of the book later in my reading recap for August. 

Also Saturday afternoon, we harvested some of the grapes that have been growing in our backyard and enjoyed them after lunch.  Honestly, these were the sweetest and most delicious grapes I have ever had.  

Sunday morning, I got up and enjoyed watching the hummingbirds playing and eating from the feeders on the back patio. They hoover and get nectar for a while, then fly after each other like they are playing a game of chase.  After I ate breakfast, Charly and I went for a walk, then we were off to church where we have been asked by leadership to mask up again.  Members of the church are also being strongly encouraged to get vaccinated.  I am grateful for good counsel and now just hope that people will do it!

After church, I was so exhausted I took a nap.  I slept for about an hour, which is rare for me, but it sure felt good.  When I got up, I indexed military records and Liberian census records.  I hit my indexing goal for the month. 

Dinner was beef cooked in gravy in the slow cooker with mushrooms onions and potato slices.  This is one of my favorite meals.  I have loved it since I was a kid.  The house still smells good from dinner. 

Sunday was another smoking day - more fire smoke from California as well as a new fire that started not far from here yesterday. 

This was Sunday's smoky sunset. 

Coming up this week:

Monday - Students come back to school.  I begin my 20th year of teaching. 

Monday - Contractors will start installing the new tile in the bathroom.

Tuesday - I have a meeting for a "community day of service."  I have been asked to be our church congregation's representative at the planning meeting. 

Friday - Hopefully, our bathroom will be finished. Fingers crossed.

Goals for the week:

• Finish required online district policy classes for school.  This will be easy, I think - the classes aren't long. 
• Finish five lessons in the online history class I am taking.
• Get a birthday gift for  my sister.  I plan to get it through Amazon.

That's it for this weekend.  Thanks for stopping by. Have a great week.

😊Deb💖