December Report

This was one of the most unusual Decembers of my life. It started off with lots of plans for fun times with friends and family. One by one everyone cancelled on us for all of our social occasions in December except for one couple. The night we went to dinner with them (the 12th), we hit a deer on the way home. The deer was suddenly right in front of us. We hit it square on its side, and it rolled over a few times, jumped up, and ran off. The only damage we sustained to the car was a broken grill in front. (By the way, there are deer in our neighborhood all year long. We are on a constant watch to see them on the road, and when there is one, there are more. This was a strange experience.)

Then on the 14th, as I was cleaning up after a bridal shower for my soon-to-be daughter-in-law, I got a phone call from my dad that my mom was very sick. I drove over to their place, and we immediately took my mother to the hospital. We brought her home on the 17th and she died on the 18th. All of my siblings were able to make it into town on the 17th and we were all with her when she died. It was the perfect scenario for a hard situation.

My dad was anxious to get everything of my mom's cleaned out of their little apartment (they are in a wonderful assisted living situation). We were all there, so we quickly went through my mom's stuff, divided what we wanted to keep, and took the rest of it to Deseret Industries (like GoodWill). My brother and his wife left to go home, and my sisters stayed a few more days.

Christmas Eve we took my dad out to lunch. It would have been my parents' 58th wedding anniversary. They used to go out to lunch every year to celebrate. After lunch Ray and I delivered 65 gallons of cider to our friends and family. We started this tradition years ago when we lived in Washington. Pink Lady cider. It was so good! We've found a place here, Farnsworth Farms, that makes delicious cider, so we've kept the tradition here in Utah.

Christmas dawned bright and clear. We went to see Saving Mr. Banks, then had my dad over for the afternoon. We had fondue for dinner, and some delicious chocolate cake that I love.

The day after Christmas we went down to see the Hulmes. It was Jim's birthday, and their whole family was there, as were the Wests. I was feeling a cold coming on, and Ray wasn't feeling too great either, so we called it an early night and came home.

Since then we've mostly been in bed, sick. I read four books, and we watched both complete seasons of Sherlock (excellent) and the first two seasons of Psych (very fun). Ray slept through a few football games too. Yesterday we both ventured forth for a couple of hours, but collapsed at the end of the day. I'm hoping we both feel much better today.The kids start arriving today, and we will all be together for New Years Day. What a great way to start a new year!

In short, not the merriest of Christmas seasons, but it was filled with many blessings. The last few months of 2013 have been very intense for our family. I'm looking forward to good things in 2014.

The Supreme Macaroni Company by Adriana Trigiani

When I get sick I often think, "Oh good! An excuse to stay in bed and read." But if I'm in bed sick I don't usually feel like reading.

I spent the day in bed sick with a terrible, achy cold. And lucky for me, I actually felt like reading. So I read this book in a day. It's the third (I'm pretty sure it's also the final) book in the Very Valentine series. Trigiani knows how to tell a story. I feel like I know this family very well.

I can't really talk about the book without giving it away. And how I feel about it, and why I feel that way will give it away too. If you are one of my children, just know that the rule I apply to knowing about movies before hand applies here. If you are not one of my children and you read the book, we can discuss it after you've finished it.

Meanwhile all I'll say is that the second book, Brava Valentine, was my favorite of the three.

The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg

I hadn't picked up a book in over a week. My mind was not really been able to focus on much since my mom died. Finally I was in the mood to read, and I flew through this book.

So far, for me, Fannie Flagg never disappoints. This book was just the diversion I needed. It was a great story with fun characters. Also I learned a little history about World War II that I didn't know before - always a plus for me.

I appreciate how clean her books are, as well.

And doesn't she come up with great titles?

Saving Mr. Banks

Emma Thompson was great. Tom Hanks did all right too - although because I remember watching Walt Disney every week on TV when I was young, it was harder for me to project Tom Hanks as Walt Disney.

I've only seen a couple of movies this year. Christmas morning we woke up and Ray said, "Do you want to go see a movie?" I've wanted to see Saving Mr. Banks, so we went to the earliest showing. There were only 10 of us in the theater. 

I liked the movie. It wasn't really what I expected, although I don't know what I was expecting. It's the story of P.L. Travers' life as a young girl with her father, interwoven with the story of getting her to approve the movie Mary Poppins as Walt Disney wanted to have it. It's not a movie for children only because I don't know that they would enjoy the story so much. I thought it was very good.

Every Secret Thing by Susanna Kearsley (Emma Cole)

Susanna Kearsley, one of my latest author obsessions, wrote a book under a different name--Emma Cole. Who knew? I found out when I was looking her up on Fantastic Fiction. (in case the link doesn't work for you, the website is fantasticfiction.co.uk)

**Important side note here: Fantastic Fiction is an amazing, must-see website for serious and not so serious readers. It lists authors, and all their books. If there is a series by an author, it lists all books in the series in order!!  I read a lot of series, and I like to read them in order. This is an immense help. I also like to read other books an author has written, and this is a good way to discover those books. You can search by author, or by book title. Take a peek, and see what you find.

Back to the subject at hand. Every Secret Thing was originally written under the pseudonym Emma Cole. Now that Susanna Kearsley has made a name for herself, you can find this book under her real name.

The book is a mystery/thriller. Just what I like. Someone mentioned it had a Mary Stewart flavor, and I have to say that I agree. (I love Mary Stewart.)  Every Secret Thing is not like Kearsley's other books which often involve some kind of time travel/reincarnation. But I liked it just as well.

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

I read this for my book group. It is the story of a boy with a severe facial deformity who enters the public school system at middle school age.

The book is told from several of the characters' viewpoints, and I liked how that added depth to each of the characters. One of our local middle schools had every child in the school read the book--they've done this for other books in the past. Wonder is an excellent choice for that.

It was a quick, enjoyable, thought-provoking read. I highly recommend it.

Margaret Ann Fischer Orris

October 8, 1929 to December 18, 2013

My mother died last night. She had a quick illness - in the hospital last Saturday, and home under hospice care on Tuesday. All my siblings were able to make it into town, coming from Washington, Hawaii, and California. We spent yesterday sitting around her bed, laughing and talking. It was the perfect ending to her life.

My mom told everyone her maiden name was Fischer, with a C. She was proud of her German heritage, and used it as the reason for her quick temper. She was feisty, saw the world in black and white, and had a strong sense that the world should be run by what she felt was fair and equal. She was quick to make friends and had a loud, engaging laugh. She instilled high morals and integrity into all of us, and also a strong sense of self worth.

It's 6:00 AM and I did not sleep well last night (as you can imagine). My head is spinning, thinking of many things about her that I loved. That's all I'll write for now. I'll share more later.

Thanksgiving 2012

Bomb: the Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin

Excellent book on the development of the atomic bomb. I learned so much! I had no idea so many spies were involved in the process.  I'm such an optimist I hate believing those things really happen, although I know they do. I just don't like taking off my rose-colored glasses.

This is a Newbery Honor book, and is well deserving of the award. It is also written at the precise level that I needed to be able to learn and understand about the whole event!

Wedding Quilt

Our son is getting married in a month. It is a short engagement, and most of it is during the holidays. I knew I had to get their quilt done before things got too hectic. I worked on this at my quilt retreat, and it was wonderful to get the top done there. I quilted it and bound it this week. Now it just needs a label.

It's a simple quilt. The original pattern is made with charm squares. I wanted a big quilt so used two layer cakes instead. I also wanted it to be somewhat "manly" since it's my son who is getting it too. I chose Midwinter Reds by Minick & Simpson for Moda, because, well, because who doesn't love some good reds to cuddle up underneath? 

Quilt Pattern: Garden Lattice by Amy Gibson of Stitchery Dickory Dock  (modified to make it large)
Fabric: Midwinter Reds by Minick & Simpson for Moda
Size: 88 X 88 inches

Christmas Tree Skirt

I recently went through my sewing room and organized it pretty well. Audrey was here and we always make a good team for doing that. One of the unfinished projects I unearthed was from two years ago. I went to a quilt retreat/seminar on free motion quilting at Lake Tahoe given by Jill Schumacher, and this is one of her designs. I thought I had quite a bit more quilting to do on it, but it turns out that it was all done except the binding. (!!)

Last week I sat down at my machine and got that binding on. Now it's under my Christmas tree. Except when Elizabeth grabs it and pretends she's an angel. I included the pictures of her with it on not just because she's cute and she's my granddaughter, but because it shows off the quilting pretty well. 

That is not a stain. It is a shadow.

A Walk in the Woods - Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

Every December each of my book groups goes to lunch or breakfast instead of meeting and discussing a book as we usually do. Part of the tradition is to bring a gift-wrapped book. Then we do a gift exchange and everyone goes home with a new book. When the book that we brought is opened, we explain why we like the book, and why we gave it. It's very fun, and I now have some books I never would have purchased otherwise that I've really enjoyed.

A Walk in the Woods was one of those Christmas exchange books. I got it a couple of years ago and just now got to reading it. I really enjoyed it. It had many elements that I enjoy in a non-fiction book.

1. It was well written. Bill Bryson has a great vocabulary that is not at all pretentious. He can paint a clear picture with just a few words. And, he kept the story moving right along. Here's the biggest compliment I can give a non-fiction book: it reads like a novel rather than a text book. Perhaps Bill Bryson won't like that, but perhaps he might. At any rate, fiction or non-fiction, I liked the writing.

2. It was informative. I learned a lot about the Appalachian Trail in particular, but also about some of the geography and history of the east coast (which I am woefully under-informed on).

3. It was funny. Not the whole thing, but parts of it. It made me giggle. I laughed right out loud a few times one morning at the gym while I was on the treadmill and reading this book. There are a couple of parts that I still think about and they still make me giggle.

Okay, three elements might not be many elements, but those are the only ones that come to my mind at the moment. The bottom line is, I enjoyed the book. I highly recommend it.

November Report

Wow. This autumn has flown by. October was gone in a blur of grandchildren and worry. November was just the blink of an eye, although it felt much calmer and less anxiety-ridden. Things are settling down with Katherine, and thus with all of our emotions. She is not out of the woods yet, but things will be fine.

Audrey and family have been and will be here very often - probably at least a couple of days a week. I'm finding a balance between "normal life" (actually I'm convinced there is no such thing), and life with extra loved ones here. As my mother would say, "variety is the spice of life." So true.

November in a nutshell:

1. First Things First: I am managing to hold my own on these goals for the most part. I really want to make these happen first, before anything else (hence the name of the goal). Obviously I need to constantly pay attention to this or I wouldn't have to always have it as my goal. I think it's a lifer as far as goals go.

2. Photo Organization/Scanning: although I've gotten quite a bit of scanning done this year, and a have a large pile I want to get done in December, I feel like 2013 was a lost year for organizing photos. Maybe next year!

3. Household Organization: my goal for this month should have been hang on for dear life and hope to keep the house in order. That is for sure my goal for December.

4. Projects: luckily I was able to go to a quilt retreat for three days at the beginning of November. I finished the tops of two large quilts while I was there. Then I came home and finished one of them completely--quilted and bound. I also finished Katherine's quilt. So I am quite satisfied on that front.

I hope to have a relaxed December. We have some good friends coming to visit next weekend, and some fun evenings planned this month. I'd like to do some Christmas related activities that require more participation than preparation and enjoy the season. Whatever I get done, I get done. That's how I want to finish out the year. (Then I'll make plans for next year.)