THEN
NOW
Today is also my Aunt Barbara's Birthday! She is my New Jersey mother, keeping me in line from the Garden State. As a fellow oldest child, only a generation prevoius, we have lots in common. She is an avid quilter, cook, and baker amongst other things. Hopefully I'll get a chance to see her in Indiana in November, and I'm looking forward to it! Happy Birthday Auntie Barbara. I hope you have a great day!
We read this novel for August's Book People meeting. It was amazingly well written for a first novel. Had I not known any better I would never have guess it to be a first. This piece of historical fiction takes place in rural Canada during the 1870's. It starts with the murder of a local fur trader and the disappearance of a 17 year old boy, Francis Ross. Obviously Francis is the key suspect. The novel continues as Francis's mother goes off into the Canadian wild in search of her son in the company of another suspicious character. The Hudson Bay Trading company becomes embroiled in the scandal as they attempt to ensure that justice is served. It was an interesting book, with a fair amount of detail. There were some pieces of backstory that we were interested in knowing more about, and our character analyses found several to be quite unique. All in all, it was a rough time and place and I wouldn't have wanted to have been caught up in it
This was a book that I picked up based on the name. It just sounded interesting. It was the haunting story of a Russian woman working as a docent at the Hermitage during the siege of Leningrad during WWII. The story is told in flashbacks as Maria is visiting with family and traveling for her granddaughter's weddding. She is falling vicitim to Altzheimers, and is often confused between the present her her life back in Leningrad. During her stay at the Hermitage her lover joins the Army and she if forced to live through horrendous conditions. Her memories of the museum are breath taking. Meanwhile, the loss of these memories as she succombs to Altzheimers is incredibly sad. This was a good read, although I think I need to re-read it since I think I missed a few detials.
On the way back from Houston I picked up this novel. My cousin Abby had mentioned it to me, as we had both enjoyed Packer's previous work. I give Ab kudos for the recommendation! It details the friendship and lives of two Californian women, Liz and Sarabeth. They grew up across the street from one another in Palo Alto, until Sarabeth moved in with Liz's family after mother's suicide. The book deals with their lives as adults and the intricacies of their lives. Liz has a picture perfect life as a housewife with two teenage children while Sarabeth is still a free spirit, single and living a carefree life exploring her artistic side. They carryover a friendship that is more of an unbiological sisterhood, despite San Fransisco Bay lying between their lives both physically and emotionally. They are shocked by the attempted suicide of Liz's daughter, and their friendship and their individual lives undergo a series of trials. Some reviewers did not enjoy the book, calling it boring. I still enjoyed it as I saw it exploring the friendships of women and how we lead our lives versus the view from the exterior.
This is no novel, but rather a true story. The first thing I say is, read it. Really, you should. It was a great book. It told the story of two men who grew up with distinctly different lives - and how the actions of one woman changed them and the people of the city of Fort Worth. Ron grew up in TX, in a middle class home. He worked on his grandfathers farm and made his way into college, falling in love with Deborah. After their marriage he became an investment banker, eventually moving into the world of high class art dealer! While living the high life of the upper crust crowd Deborah decided that they needed to do God's work. Volunteering at Union Gospel Misson Mr. Ron and Miss Debbie met Denver, a homeless man with a story. Denver grew up share cropping in Louisiana. It was a horrible time and a horrible place to be, but the black sharecroppers knew no better - their property owners denied them access to education that would make them aware of the current state of affairs. Eventually Denver left for TX, where he survived as a homeless man - a plight far better than his life in LA. Miss Debbie's work brought them all to God and has shined a spotlight on the homeless. I highly recommend this book, which chronicles the lives of these three individuals. It was so hard to believe it was reality and not a novel - no one can be ieve that this is the way things were. It moved me. 
I returned from Houston just in time to prepare for our late friend Gustav. While in Houston I watched a lot of news, concerned that the Hurricane would hit Houston and I would have trouble getting home – or that it would hit here and I would have trouble getting home.
After surviving Katrina I have learned a lot of lessons about hurricanes. I battened down the hatches and spent Labor day awaiting Gustav’s arrival. I turned the AC waaaaay down while waiting for the power to go out. I also made sure to have stock in bottled water and canned goods. I even remembered to get fill the dog’s water jug up since a power loss would lead to boil water orders. Luckily the storm didn’t hit too hard. Unfortunately it was my first experience on the east side of a hurricane. We had 10.75 inches of rain over the course of 3 days, as well as 50+ mph winds and tornados. My yard gained a few limbs and sticks that needed to be cleaned up. On Wednesday I came home to a tree in my yard! The neighbors across the street had a 60 ft.-tall oak tree blow over in the wind. It was lying across the street and partially in my yard. We are all incredibly lucky that the tree didn’t take out any power lines or fall towards their house. The county came out and removed it, nice to get to see my tax dollars used for something! The good thing that came out of this – all of the rain filled our subdivision lake!
Here are some pictures of the damage. By the time I got the camera on Thursday afternoon the tree was gone, but you can see the 'leftovers' in my yard and the stump in the neighbors yard.
Unfortunately, now we are waiting out Ike who looks posed to potentially follow a similar track right now. After Gustav I didn't fully go off of hurricane alert since it looked to be coming. 
The Mars Rover - You saw it here first!
Saturday morning Nikki and I headed over to the Houston Downtown Aquarium, which also happened to be across the street from the Hard Rock. The Aquarium was smaller than the Shedd, but well put together. Very cute! Plus we caught a nifty little presentation where a diver was in their Gulf of Mexico tank and talked about the fish in there and the advantages that oil rigs can bring to the aquatic community.
I also got to see a big yummy Red Snapper!!!
They had a cool Shark Tunnel too! It reminded me of one of the Jaws movies... although not nearly so large, and we were on a trolley.
Saturday afternon we took a tour of the park and saw another game. I don't really get why the Houston Ladies like Hunter Pence so much. He needs to learn what type of product is best for a curly mop like his! Sunday I grabed a flight home, read a good book (more on that later) and made it home just in time to prepare for the storm.
