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"Since 1800, THE WHITE HOUSE has served as a residence for the president of the United States. The eighteen acres that surround the White House have been the Forrest Gump of gardens--an unwitting witness to history--a backdrop for Civil War soldiers, suffragettes, protestors in the 1960's and activists today."(Timber Press) http://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com

Have you peeked at my books on the shelf? This one has been there awhile. It called to me this morning. Its voice loud and clear. I had to answer it. Picked the novel up and started it. The writing style blew me away. Usually, a novel carries me from my world to another one. This one just led me back into a world of memories and into a Still Life painting I might have observed in a museum. Let me share a bit with you. www.edwardkelseymoore.com "I grabbed the water pitcher and saw a bowl of grapes sitting next to it looking cool and delicious...I sat down at what had been my place at the table for three decades and poured a glass of water. Then I popped a handful of grapes into my mouth and started to feel better." Suddenly I could see myself back at the dining room table eating breakfast, lunch or dinner with my family. I could taste the grapes or bananas eaten with my children on a trip to a beach. It all flew back in my mind as quickly as the birds fly back from the

It is  the first day of spring. I haven't seen one daffodil. That is why a bike ride is in store for me. My desire is to ride up and down the country roads. I will ride slowly. Watching the streets for the daffodils written about by William Wordsworth. Then, I will write a page in my journal like his sister, Dorothy. I wanted to go riding yesterday. It was impossible. I'm stuck in this asylum. This is where the voices speak louder than any squawking peacock. They say, "don't go! Stay here! Stay away from the unseen dangers created by haunted angels." I might as well obey. Is it possible to escape from walls built so high? There is a family story. Once a third cousin on a walk with hospital patients slipped away and into the woods. "Was she ever found?" This is the question I ask my mother over and over. She looks far away. Not one word comes from her lips. I hush. I will ask God tonight in my prayers. Mother has secrets. There is so much she refuses to

Will Tyson Steele and Hunter McKay give in to their feelings for one another? That is the question that needs answering in Possessed By Passion by Brenda Jackson. They met one another eighteen years ago. Now they meet again. Tyson Steele is one of five brothers. Hunter McKay is an owner of an Architectural firm. When they meet again, Tyson comes off as very aggressive. When I say he wants Hunter, I' am not kidding. The problem for me is that he doesn't say he loves her as much as he wants to take her into his bedroom. He's sweating her that's for sure. His approach smothered me. I think it smothered Hunter too. Besides, Hunter has been hurt. Brenda Jackson describes how painful a divorce can become by writing about Hunter's husband, Mr. Robinson. He stole all of her clients. That really made me sad. In Phoenix, she starts her business from the bottom up. It did surprise me when Nadine Robinson, Hunter's mother-in-law, showed understanding and kindness to Hu

I heard a minister talking to me this morning. His voice as clear as a lake. So clear I wanted to wash my face with his voice. The water should drip over my face like truths told. Then, I came to myself. There wasn't a minister talking. It was God. Fully awake, I knew now it was time to face what I didn't know. Face what I had searched for time and time and time again in my mind. Face the fact that there was trouble somewhere close. No happy ending, no straight path, no sweet lullaby by Brahms. I would need a hand to hold. An ear in which to whisper a word of thought. A borrowed handkerchief on which to wipe my tears. Now, I am wide awake. Something tells me I'm in a pity party. I'm looking through a glass half-empty. A sigh, whatever way my thoughts turn God is still there. Not blaming me. Not asking me hard questions. Just waiting with answers, His patience and His loving kindness. So, I have turned to a smaller Bible. One where the prayers are as close as a priest

The black and white cat is still. It watches through the bed of daffodils as the gardeners plant their bulbs and seeds and listen to the whistling chimes blow away the ghostly shadows of the night.(hn)

  My goodness, it's certainly easy to tell that women in earlier centuries, survived horrible troubles. Thought of as the weaker sex Marianne and Nora's future hangs in the balance. It is up to the men in the family to keep them and to choose when and whom they may marry. Whether they inherit is placed under a clause called entailment. Poor Marianne, worries about her sister, Nora. If their Uncle Horace chooses to marry her off too soon and to the wrong Mr. Right, her future will change for the worse. Nora is already unhappy after having suffered a fever and/or fall. While reading about these two women in Madeleine Hunter's The Wicked Duke, I had a chance to look closely at the lives of the women. So much drama! I was shocked to read about a serious attempt at suicide by one of the women. Also, reading about the weak turn of  one's mind was interesting. Really, really good is the life Marianne leads. To save money for her sister, she writes letters for the new