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ribbon knotted twins curl close to my mother's heart do not dare die - Stay!

booksandabeat.com/ Teaser #1 "Paris was a human ruin. Where were the dogs, the cats, the flies? Where was everything?" Teaser#2  " It was part of the mechanism of genocide, to disorientate, slowly destroying any sense of belonging by depriving Jews of what they owned." I have read many times about the magnificent Art stolen from the Jewish people.  I am reading about this part of History again in Les Parisiennes by Anne Sebba. This time I am struck by a word or two used by the author. One word is " disorientation." Stealing precious Art pieces along with taking families away from neighbors and relatives led to emotions felt during senility or aging. A feeling of not knowing where you were, who you were must have come over them causing great grief. I should add the other word used by the author, Anne Sebba. This word is "dehumanization."  However, I am glued to the word disorientation. Perhaps, because I have seen people in the thr

Princess of the Wild Swans by Diane Zahler i s about hate and love in the land of fairy tales. I have loved reading this book so much. It took me aways from the world of stress and worry. I have decided to read the rest of the series. The tale begins with a queen cursing her stepsons. She changes the boys to swans. Their sister, the Princess, is heartbroken. Finally, there is a way to turn the curse. She must sew shirts of stinging nettles for each brother. Her hands become ugly and sore. On my fairy tale journey, I met many fun characters including the wicked queen, Orianna. At one point, she wore a ruby ring. That's the only time I wanted to get close to her. How big was the ruby?  I especially loved the governess, Mistress Tuileach. She's so kind to Princess Meriel who can not speak. She sends her thoughts to you. There comes a time when the old, cruel Queen will separate the two from one another. Along the way, I have fallen in love with swans. Also, a guy named Liam

Black is beautiful like swans slowly dancing by summer ballerinas

Hydrangea bushes~ rainbows surrounded by leaves eclipsed by glass skies

I had a hard time finding the cover for Life Studies by Susan Vreeland.  The other covers are easy to find. Not the cover of my stories. So, I'm showing a cover of an audio. I will also add the cover of the book on Susan Vreeland's website and on a book site. Are we beginning, to or have we always censored Art? Some museum sculptures have made me turn away with a bashful smile. However, this cover is one I happen to like, and I don't feel the apron strings of the Victorian Age tied around me. The lady shown on the cover is admirable. She is brave enough to sit comfortably in the style she chooses, naked, and read a book. Were her venetian blinds tightly shut? Did she pose for a painting and regret it later on after she started another chore? Her character leaves me guessing about her thoughts. What makes a woman so relaxed? And in what room is she? The robes are lovely. Her robes look like an expensive Japanese fabric. Her robes fall as easily as her body. Have w

a stained glass rose life cut by my father a time ago in summer

  Cora I felt worried. I wasn't feeling close to Cora. Now, I have changed. She is a strong woman I would love to have met and known. She never forgot her mother. Before her escape to freedom with Caesar, she has a special way of saying goodbye to her friends at Hob. Not with words, but with objects: "a comb, a square of polished silver...the pile of blue stones that Nag called her "Indian rocks." Her farewell. I do worry about that hatchet. When I think of a hatchet, I only think of agonizing cruelty done to oneself or to someone else. If this were a man carrying a hatchet would it seem less frightening? In other words, a woman may carry a basket and child but not a hammer, ax or hatchet. Why? Women are always thought of as emotional, hysterical, quick with their tongues and maybe with their hands too. Perhaps, these stereotypical thoughts make me feel afraid of Cora when she carries that hatchet. Just looked at hatchets. If a tree isn't near by to cut for

I always hate to read about the slave ships that crossed from Africa to different places. one of those places was the United States, etc. The journey for the people had to have been as emotionally painful as Colson Whitehead describes in his book. I never knew the exact location in Africa from which the people were taken at that time. So I quickly latched on to the name of the place 'Ouidah.' Then, I wanted to know more about that particular home of the people who would soon become the property of the people here and elsewhere. I was certainly shocked that the name Ouidah means procession of the serpent. Then, I came across Brazil in my reference reading. Coincidence? I need to ask Mr. Whitehead (smile). I bring up Brazil because most of us have our minds turned toward Rio for the Olympic games. Also, the serpents...did the people who lived in Ouidah think snakes had a magical or godlike power? Why the name Ouidah which means a 'procession of snakes?' It was

I'm spending time with Colson Whitehead. His new book is "The Underground Railroad." I'm striving to feel a close connection to Cora. It will come. It will come. In the meantime, I have discovered online a short story written by Colson Whitehead. Pow! The beginning floated me away into the world of Sag Harbor with people commuting back to the city for work and other duties. His story is so picturesque. I don't have a brother, but I could feel myself, a girl, curled up next to a brother while driving in the back of my parents' car. Just wanted to share a line or two. Immediately I catch the relationship between two siblings, brothers. "The trick of those early-morning jaunts was to wake up just enough to haul a bag of clothes down to the car, nestle in, and then retreat back into sleep. My brother and I did a zombie march, slow and mute, to the back seat, where we turned into our separate nooks, sniffing the upholstery, butt to butt, looking mo

I received this beautiful book from Barbour Publishers. I'm thinking about how to review it. While reading the " powerful" prayers inside the book, I realize these prayers can fit Cancer or any other health challenge. These prayers are also a way of knowing God more fully. I've read about His faithfulness and love. I want to also spend time reading about His " will" for us. I certainly feel reading these pages will bring a growth in faith. I think of the book as a cornucopia of prayers.

Stilled as in image, at dawn sliding into blue harbor, boats clang, where does he the man I imagine gripping several ropes return from. Is he conflicted, does he perceive the sky oscillating like a dimmer machine, a mouth, a war, language not declaring its most effective self, bellum grazing ever nearer to beauty, a possible apotheosis how what is left of sense is comfort. Not inebriated much anymore, I rented a lawn to stand in with you, crueler was always singing to our mutual forks, knives. Our translation of a subject drones on unblinking, something black for him returning, his forearms there laid themselves down, ships gone out another pale-plated night. poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/detail/57583 Today I discovered a new poet. Her name is Wendy Xu. I also have a new word for my vocabulary list, or for my Wednesday meme, Wondrous Words hosted by Bermudaonion . The word is "phrasis."  This phrase from the poem seems to fit the search I've done this mor

  Charles Lamb is truly a Humorist. Just an essay title by him can cause laughter. For example, "A Chapter on Ears" is one that is funny. Never have I thought about ears and Architecture together. He likens ears to Architecture by using the term "volute." Our ears are like spirals and we can liken these ears to Architectural styles such as Ionic and Corinthian. Now, I picture the ear as a seashell. Here is one photograph. It is an Ionic Pillar. I just want to add a quote from Mr. Lamb's essay.  "Mistake me not, reader—nor imagine that I am by nature destitute of those exterior twin appendages, hanging ornaments, and (architecturally speaking) handsome volutes to the human capital." buffaloah.com/a/DCTNRY/i/ionicord.html   grammar.about.com/od/classicessays/a/A-Chapter-On-Ears-By-Charles-Lamb.htm

I Samuel 16:7  This is a Non-fiction book about the WestLake family. "A Different Beautiful" by Courtney WestLake is about the birth of the author's second child, Brenna.  Brenna is born with Harlequin ichthyosis. The mother, Courtney WestLake, writes about how she discovered the importance of seeing the beauty in differences while living with her daughter's rare skin disease. In our world, advertisements can make us feel uncomfortable. People seem perfect. They are slim, good-looking and have beautiful skin and their lives are perfect in every way.  Through emotional ups and downs the lesson is learned that no one is perfect. All of us are uniquely created by God. Our differences are our blessings. I liked the fact that Courtney WestLake did not just write about harlequin ichthyosis. She also wrote about people she had met. For example, there is one mother whose child has Downs Syndrome. There are also blogs introduced in the book which I had never seen or r

I remember reading essays in school. However, I wasn't looking for those writings this morning. I just happened upon an essay about London by Charles Lamb . I had to laugh while reading it. It's rare to find an author of this period or any person during any era writing about their enjoyment of crowds over solitude. It seems more intelligent, more lofty, to talk about the delight in listening to the birds, looking at the clouds pass or walking slowly through a field of poppies thinking about your next painting. Here is the quote that speaks about this man's love of a crowd. "For my own part, now the fit is long past, I have no hesitation in declaring, that a mob of happy faces crowding up at the pit door of Drury-Lane Theatre just at the hour of five, give me ten thousand finer pleasures, than I ever received from all the flocks of silly sheep , that have whitened the plains of Arcadia or Epsom Downs." grammar.about.com/od/classicessays/a/London-By-Charles-

INTRODUCTION When we encounter the unexpected, one of the most commonly used phrases is, "My world was turned upside down." But when my husband, my son, and I welcomed our daughter into our family, our world was not turned upside down. When something is turned upside down, it falls apart. bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com/

The Power Of Presence by Neil T. Anderson is a true love story about a husband and wife. It is a book which is very thought provoking. When the author's wife becomes ill with dementia, their whole lives change. All of a sudden he must care for his wife, Joanne, in the smallest of ways from feeding her to helping her rise from a chair to combing her hair. What helps Dr. Anderson get through it is the awareness of God's presence. It's very interesting to read about his ability to find beauty and purpose in silence. He looks at a football game with the volume turned down. He remains silent to listen to her words which are out of order, one thing becomes another thing and her dreams are, well, who can understand a person's dreams? Much worse are the dreams of someone who is to put it gently losing touch with reality gradually. While reading their story, what touched me the most were the small conversations between the two. The times when she did come bac

  This is a wonderful WWII Christian mystery by Mike Hollow. When I met the victim, she was already dead. Still, I cared about her. Felt very concerned about why someone would murder her. It proves our character or reputation lasts longer than our fleshly life whether good or bad. Besides, now I know about the Fifth Column. Why was I shocked? These people rise up during the horrors of war to protect themselves in any country. Fifth Column by Mike Hollow has put me in the mood for more spy novels, and I would like to know more about WWI, The Great War. In the meantime, there is so much World History in this World War II mystery novel.  kregel.com/fiction/fifth-column/

How does a family get use to the idea that their father, son or brother is working far away in a foreign country with explosives? They must worry constantly. This is the job of one American who is written about in Fire In My Eyes. I'm writing down his whole job title, or I would never remember it. It is US Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) officer . When I think of dangerous explosives, I am reminded of Princess Diana. One of her concerns was unexploded explosives lying in residential areas, on beaches where children, teens and other people might walk not expecting to meet their death. I also think of a fictional character in The English Patient. He did the same kind of dangerous work. Since Fire In My Eyes is a true account, I am looking forward to learning more about the lives of these heroes. The setting is Afghanistan.

I received an inspiring book this week. It is a courtesy copy from Barbour Publishing . It is about illness in a family. Their struggle to help their baby deal with a terminal illness. The cover shows the love for the child. There when the baby was born and growing as the life tender moment continued. When I read about the struggles of other people whether families or single people I learn how to become less complaining in my own struggles. These lives strongly help growth in the area of perseverence, never giving up and love. This book and its synopsis are a reminder of a Pastor's words from the scriptures a week or so ago as America traveled through the days of Black Lives Matter. For a long time, it's been my favorite scripture discovered during days at my childhood home and brought into the times of trial during marriage, motherhood and aging. The scripture helped me keep going. What helped this family go on? One of the worse scares I would think is having an infan

rosecityreader.blogspot.com "The Anderson shelter had guarded his life for another night, but it felt like a grave. Only the thin sheet of corrugated iron at his side separated him from the cold earth in which he was lying. He drifted in and out of a restless, shallow dream."

going for grapes with ladder and pail in the first slashing rain of September    rain steeping the dust in a joyous squelch   the sky standing up like steam from a kettle of grapes at the boil    wild fox grapes wickedly high    tangled in must of cobweb and bug spit going for grapes    year after year    we two with ladder and pail stained with the rain of grapes our private language Maxine Kumin  english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/g_l/kumin/onlinepoems                                         1980

This short story by Langston Hughes is rich in History. What does Langston Hughes leave out? Nothing. The short story takes place in Georgia. Bert is born to the White master of the plantation. His mother is a Negro or Black woman who is Norwood's mistress. Of all the children born to him, Bert is the lightest one. So many issues to discuss and think about all relevant to how Black people socialize with White people and how Black people interact with one another now, today. Of course, this is not new knowledge. All of us know about miscegenation. It's just that the scars of our History must never become raked aside as old knowledge versus new knowledge. History helps us know ourselves better. The better we know ourselves, the better we will treat one another. Also, love between different races is beautiful. The problem is many people hate it, feel shame and hurt other people for choosing to love someone from a different culture. It breaks my heart to read that Bert wasn'

I am not good at understanding war battles. However, I picked this book with the thought of learning more about the Yankees and their fight in the Civil War that divided a nation. Along the way, I found myself deeply involved with picturing the firing of guns at Fort Sumter. I always find it interesting that one state, South Carolina, decided to secede from the Union.  In "Friends Of The WigWam,"  the author, John William Huelskamp, writes Historical Fiction so descriptively. There is the wonderful dialogue between young people. There are Civil War letters and the fictional voice of Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln and Grant. There are photographs, paintings and other historical helps. There is no table of contents which felt strange. Not surprisingly, there is the ugliness of war; bloodshed, the death of young men . I will end with one of the most important characters to me along with Abraham Lincoln. friendsofthewigwam.com/ Ely P

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