saturday 9

One Less Set Of Footsteps

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Jim Croce sings that "tomorrow is a dream away." What are you dreaming about today? an acquaintance of mine mentioned going on a Mediterranean cruise in June.  I'm intrigued.

2) He promises that his lover will soon hear one less voice a-talking. Who is the most recent person you spoke to? (Texts, e-mails and IMs don't count.) this morning was a Breakfast Club morning!  I sopke to my dear friends.

3) He admits that he and his lover have run out of things to say to one another anyway. Let's turn that around: Is there someone in your life with whom the conversation always flows freely? most of the people in my life, there's just one person who is not fluent in the fine art of conversation

4) He mentions the jeans hanging upon her door. Do you often wear blue jeans? daily

5) As a high school student, Jim Croce was not especially interested in music. During those years he concentrated on foreign languages, especially German. Say something to us in German. danke 

6) His focus changed when he got to college. That's when he joined a choral group that was chosen for a foreign exchange tour of Africa and the Middle East. When did you first travel far from home? Where did you go? in 1987 I went to Cork, Ireland, to attend University College Cork

7) In 1973, when this song was popular, Norman Mailer was atop the best seller lists with his controversial biography of Marilyn Monroe. When you curl up with a book, is it more likely to be fiction or non-fiction? fiction although I'm trying to read more non-fiction

8) Home calculators were innovative in 1973. You could choose a large desktop calculator that featured big keys and plugs into the wall, or a hand-held, battery-operated model. Today every cellphone and laptop has a calculator built in, so do you ever still reach for a stand-alone calculator? because we are phone-free at school, I do reach for a stand-alone calculator occasionally

9) Random question: Here's $100. What will you spend it on? snax 😏

finished reading

I truly don't know how Louise Penny manages to make each book better than the last, but I will keep reading and enjoying them. The previous two books were darker and more politically charged, which felt like a real departure from the comforting rhythm of Three Pines. Returning to the village I love so much in this installment felt like coming home.

All of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache's neighbors and friends step up to offer their signature support and quirkiness as he and his team set out to solve this murder. It is always a joy to spend time in Three Pines alongside characters who feel like old friends. Louise Penny once again balances a compelling puzzle with deep warmth and humanity. Incorporating a forgotten and shocking historical event and the titular Miss Wolcott's story, it's another fantastic addition to an extraordinary series.

From the publisher:

“There’s a body in Lost Nation.”

“Where?” demands Armand as he scribbles on the pad by his bed.

But the line goes dead before Chief Inspector Gamache can question the caller.

The head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec has no idea where Lost Nation is, or who woke him in the small hours of the morning at his home in Three Pines. What he does know is that the man was terrified.

And so Armand is thrust out of a deep sleep and into the surrounding forests in search of the mythical Lost Nation. And a body.

When he and his team of Jean-Guy Beauvoir and Isabelle Lacoste find both, the situation only grows more bizarre. The unidentified dead man appears to be from an era more than a century old. He’s lying in a long-abandoned cemetery, on top of a grave with a date, but no name.

Adding to the mystery, the early morning call appears to have come from Gamache’s friend and neighbor, Clara Morrow. While she denies any knowledge of it, it becomes clear there is some connection between her, the Morrow family, and Lost Nation.

Soon, Gamache and his team are faced with tracking down not just the legend of Lost Nation, but a lost ship, lost documents belong to an eccentric Victorian botanist, , and a mysterious plant not seen in a century, that might save, or take, countless lives.

As the murder investigation deepens, nightmarish spectres from the past begin to haunt the Sûreté officers, only heightened by the appearance of one of Gamache’s former and now disgraced proteges, with whom he must form an uneasy alliance.

As the ghosts begin to gather, Gamache, Beauvoir, and Lacoste, with the help of Reine-Marie, Clara, and the other villagers of Three Pines, realize that the body on the grave is far from the only death. To solve the crime and avert catastrophe they must look to rancid secrets and old lies no longer dead and buried.

three on thursday

 

One:  this has been a particularly rough week; I am very glad today is Thursday.

Two:  it's been a long time since I had a meltdown- but meltdown I did!  A class of entitled, arrogant boys mixed with blasting heat (it was above 80°), Capstone essays that were awful, colleagues wanting attention/advice, students in turmoil and seeking advice, the time change, detention duty with horrible miscreants, and a flu shot.

Three: but for as shitty as this week has been, I showed up and didn't take any of it out on my students. 

dona nobis pacem

 The world is uncertain.  I am putting peace into the universe.  Peace begins with me.

Find other peace bloggers here.

sunday stealing

 

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Another Sunday, Another Meme

1. Do you have a business card? If yes, what's your job title? Social Studies Teacher and Curriculum Leader (which is fancy talk for department chair)

2. What day of the week were you born? Friday

3. What vegetable do you refuse to eat? Beets

4. How many times have you stayed overnight in the hospital? once

5. Do you have more piercings or tattoos? Three piercings and six tattoos

6. Do you like to shop? Yes, I really need to curb it

7. How much cash is in your wallet right now? Close to ten dollars in my wallet but I have some loose cash floating around in my purse

8. Let's play MASH: Do you live in a mansion, apartment, shack, or house? apartment

9. Where are you in the family birth order (oldest, middle child, youngest, or only child)? youngest

10. When you were 5 years old, what did you call your parents? Mum or Mumma, and Dad

postsecret

 

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard. I like to post one that speaks to me each week.

saturday 9

I've Written A Letter To Daddy

Unfamiliar with this week's featured song? Hear it here.

1) This song is from Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, which was released on Halloween Day, 1962. Do you like scary movies?  I like psychological thrillers but not gory stuff

 

2) The "Baby Jane" of the title is Baby Jane Hudson. Jane was a child star, singing and dancing in vaudeville. She was so popular that Baby Jane dolls sold well at her shows. Tell us about one of your favorite childhood toys. my teddy bear was a constant companion and had several matching outfits (my mum sewed most of my clothing and always made us ensembles)

 

3) Baby Jane's career hit the skids when she hit her teens and audiences no longer found her cute. Adolescence can be a tough time for many of us. Did you ever go through an awkward phase? I feel like I'm still in my awkward phase

 

4) Meanwhile, Jane's older sister Blanche blossomed into a beauty and became a major movie actress. Her career was cut short when, at the height of her popularity, her back is broken in a car accident involving a drunken Jane. Most of the movie takes place in the mansion Blanche bought back when she was a star. Blanche is confined to a wheelchair and completely dependent on Jane, who is bitter, jealous, and well, bonkers. Very bad things happen. Can you think of another movie where scary things happen in a big old house? Psycho, The Amityville Horror, The Shining

 

5) As a (crazy) older woman, Jane convinces herself she can relaunch her career and recapture the love of the public. She dresses like she did as a little girl and makes up her face to look like those Baby Jane dolls that were sold long ago at her childhood performances. Then she rehearses this week's song. The result is so memorable that now, more than 60 years later, you can still find "Baby Jane" Halloween costumes online. Tell us about a Halloween costume you really enjoyed wearing.  one year I was a fortune teller with bells sewn into my skirt--my mum was amazing!  Another year I was a princess with a hennin that even had a veil streaming from it

 

6) Which kind of spooky movie villain do you find scarier: supernatural monsters (Dracula, Wolfman, ghosts, etc.) or human monsters (Baby Jane, Michael Meyers from the Halloween franchise, etc.)? human monsters

Questions inspired by Halloween ....

7) Orange and black are the traditional Halloween colors, with orange representing the autumn harvest and black symbolizing all things scary and mysterious. Are you wearing either color as you answer these questions? yesterday was Halloween and I wore black

8) Jack-o-lanterns originated in Ireland, though instead of pumpkins, they carved gourds. When Irish immigrants arrived in the US, they used pumpkins because they were more readily available. Did you decorate your home with a jack-o-lantern, or anything else, for Halloween? I have a few Halloween gnomes

9) Think back to your trick-or-treating days. Which candy were you happiest to find your bag? I was a major fan of Baby Ruth or Mr. Goodbar, neither of which I see very often these days

birthday meme

 

1. What is something you did at this age that your younger self would never have predicted? I wouldn't have predicted starting the retirement process at this age--I thought I would be older

2. What have you officially decided you are too old to put up with? uncomfortable shoes--I will spend for comfort

3. What are you definitely not too old for? pizza for breakfast

4. What small luxury has become a necessity? my car's heated steering wheel

5. What was an ordinary moment from this year that you wish you could bottle? sister time--particularly the feeling of rest I had in Virginia

6. What is something you’re proud of that probably wouldn’t appear on a résumé? my therapy journey

7. Which of your quirks has become more pronounced with age? not going out after dark

8. If this past year came with a warning label, what would it say? recalculating

9. What would you like more of before your next birthday? What would you like less of? more time for creative pursuits and less clutter

10. What if this is as good as it gets—and what part of your life makes that sound pretty good? I am looking forward to ending my teaching career on a positive note--this year has been wonderful so far (except for a couple of twerps)

three on thursday

 

One:  it's a good thing I have a bunch of holiday-themed clothing.  I've been able to celebrate Halloween all week!

Two:  my nail polish has chipped.  I hate that look.  Time to redo them!

Three: to go along with thing two--my nails have not crumbled this week!  They are getting stronger!  Fourteen years of continuous gel polish has destroyed my natural nails.

currently it's wednesday (again)

 I am...

Reading: Miss Wolcott's Ghost by Louise Penny and LOVING it

Listening to:  the Coldplay Mix on Spotify

Thinking: craving Reese's peanut butter cups

Feeling:  relaxed and happy

Celebrating:  this is my birthday week! 😀

Grateful for:  grocery delivery

Enjoying: my electric blanket, which is my birthday present to myself!

 

Weather:  41° and clear

A quote I want to share:

finished reading

I read this back in 2019.  It stuck with me enough that I chose it for my library book group--kind of a palate cleanser after Jane Eyre.  The characters are well-developed and seem like people I could actually know.  In fact, I kind of recognized Evvie's tendency to fix issues in some of my close friends.

It's a starting-over story for both of the main characters.  Their friendship is quick, but it's believable.  And the secondary characters are fun.  I want Monica to be my friend.

From the publisher:

A heartfelt debut about the unlikely relationship between a young woman who’s lost her husband and a major league pitcher who’s lost his game.

In a sleepy seaside town in Maine, recently widowed Eveleth “Evvie” Drake rarely leaves her large, painfully empty house nearly a year after her husband’s death in a car crash. Everyone in town, even her best friend, Andy, thinks grief keeps her locked inside, and Evvie doesn’t correct them.

Meanwhile, in New York City, Dean Tenney, former Major League pitcher and Andy’s childhood best friend, is wrestling with what miserable athletes living out their worst nightmares call the “yips:" he can’t throw straight anymore, and, even worse, he can’t figure out why. As the media storm heats up, an invitation from Andy to stay in Maine seems like the perfect chance to hit the reset button on Dean’s future.

When he moves into an apartment at the back of Evvie’s house, the two make a deal: Dean won’t ask about Evvie’s late husband, and Evvie won’t ask about Dean’s baseball career. Rules, though, have a funny way of being broken—and what starts as an unexpected friendship soon turns into something more. To move forward, Evvie and Dean will have to reckon with their pasts—the friendships they’ve damaged, the secrets they’ve kept—but in life, as in baseball, there’s always a chance—up until the last out.

A joyful, hilarious, and hope-filled debut, Evvie Drake Starts Over will have you cheering for the two most unlikely comebacks of the year.

sunday stealing

 

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The Grown Up Meme

1. Do you have a college degree? yes, a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education with a concentration in Social Studies

2. What was the amount of your last electric bill? $18.38 but don't get too hyped up, I had paid my last bill twice by mistake

3. Do you have life insurance? yes

4. Do you check your cholesterol on (at least) an annual basis? yes

5. Have you ever attended a high school reunion? yes, the 40th was a blast!

6. Do you have a will or estate plan? I have started putting it together

7. Do you remember when MTV played music videos? I was a big fan!

8. Is there a bottle of wine in your refrigerator? no, I don't drink

9. Have you been divorced? no

10. When you were 16, did you play music on vinyl, cassette, or CDs? mostly vinyl and cassette--I was renowned for my mixed tapes--they were epic

finished reading

I didn't know "revenge feminism" was a thing until this book. The three main characters: Jo, Harriet, and Nessa, are menopausal women coming into their own. While I could relate to their menopausal experiences, I found I didn't connect with them as characters. And it bothered me that the black character had second sight--that seemed very cliched. I think the book was too long, and the pacing suffered as a result. There were a few side stories that didn't move the plot along, making it feel a bit like a slog to get through nearly 500 pages by the time I crossed the finish line.

From the publisher:

Big Little Lies meets The Witches of Eastwick—a gloriously entertaining and knife-sharp feminist revenge fantasy about three women whose midlife crisis brings unexpected new powers—putting them on a collision course with the evil that lurks in their wealthy beach town.

In the Long Island oceanfront community of Mattauk, three different women discover that midlife changes bring a whole new type of empowerment…

After Nessa James’s husband dies and her twin daughters leave for college, she’s left all alone in a trim white house not far from the ocean. In the quiet of her late forties, the former nurse begins to hear voices. It doesn’t take long for Nessa to realize that the voices calling out to her belong to the dead—a gift she’s inherited from her grandmother, which comes with special responsibilities.

On the cusp of 50, suave advertising director Harriett Osborne has just witnessed the implosion of her lucrative career and her marriage. She hasn’t left her house in months, and from the outside, it appears as if she and her garden have both gone to seed. But Harriet’s life is far from over—in fact, she’s undergone a stunning and very welcome metamorphosis.

Ambitious former executive Jo Levison has spent thirty long years at war with her body. The free-floating rage and hot flashes that arrive with the beginning of menopause feel like the very last straw—until she realizes she has the ability to channel them, and finally comes into her power.

Guided by voices only Nessa can hear, the trio of women discover a teenage girl whose body was abandoned beside a remote beach. The police have written the victim off as a drug-addicted sex worker, but the women refuse to buy into the official narrative. Their investigation into the girl’s murder leads to more bodies, and to the town’s most exclusive and isolated enclave, a world of stupendous wealth where the rules don’t apply. With their newfound powers, Jo, Nessa, and Harriet will take matters into their own hands…

postsecret

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard. I like to post one that speaks to me each week.