Reading when I ought to be doing other things!!

 This is by the author of The Ladies Auxiliary - a book I have recommended in the past - and it's a great second novel.  (The website said she was working on a third novel - something to look forward to.)  

Both books deal with daily life among Orthodox Jews - and the particular issues that culturally set them apart - but also bind them to the "family of man."  The author includes lots of "information" about Jewish life, but it's organic in the story, so you don't feel like you are being "taught" or something.

I recommend this one!!

My book group is reading this one - a haunting kind of story - set on the coast of Australia after World War I.  I can't say much or it would "spoil" the plot - but take my word for it - it's a page turner.  Very compelling.

When all else fails, I try another Ann Patchett novel - and I haven't been disappointed yet.  This story is tense - you keep waiting for the proverbial "other shoe" to drop - and in its own way it does.

If you haven't tried Ann Patchett - get started - every book has been great - and everyone has been different!!

You can choose from Bel Canto, The Magician's Assistant, State of Wonder, Patron Saint of Liars, and Run.  Let me know what you think!!

Happy 3rd Birthday to the lovely Miss Isla!

The lovely Miss Isla is growing up before our very eyes!!  She loves us all.  And tells us that too.  And no one can find more to love in the tiniest little objects than our Isla.  Just watching her delve into her little, tiny imaginary world of play is so endearing.

In the words of our dear poet Yeats, I want to concur and say, "I sigh that kiss you, for I must own, that I shall miss you when you have grown!"

Happy Day to you - all year through!!

Happy Day to Harry W.

This is a photo from Halloween this year - how did you guess?  The significant part is the sword - I sometimes think Harry missed his era - he should have been one of the Knights of the Round Table - he does love a good sword fight!!

Harry is certainly growing up right before our eyes!!  He is in kindergarten this year.  He said his part in the Primary program word for word - and didn't need any help.  He takes Karate lessons.  He's a good big brother.  He's loving and forgiving.  He's generous and kind.

When he gives up his signature "lisp" I'm afraid I will be sad to see a special childhood era go by.

But he will probably still love swords!!

Where were you on November 22, 1963?

When I noted to Matt that today would be the 49th anniversary of the assassination of JFK, he asked, "Where were you when you found out?" And I promptly replied, "In the BYU Library." And he said, "Everyone of a certain age can tell you exactly where they were when they found out." And it's true.

It doesn't seem to get the same kind of press it has in year's past - but it remains very vivid in my memory. You wonder if history would be different if it hadn't happened. You wonder lots of things.

I think it's important to remember!! After the seeing the Lincoln movie, I think we can say that JFK now belongs to the ages also.

Happy Day to Donna!!

I think I post this every year - but it is a lovely photo of our lovely Donna!!  And how appropriate that we are celebrating her birthday on Thanksgiving Day!!  We are all thankful for Donna - for her loving service to many, for her kind smile, her thoughtful gestures, her love of family, her loyalty, her perseverance, her willingness to explore new options!!

 We love you Donna and wish you a happy and a great year ahead!!

A great film!!

Hannah, Robbie, Matt, Eliza, Dad and I went and saw Lincoln on Monday night. It's not "action-packed" but very compelling - I found myself "on the edge of my seat" even though I knew exactly how it all came out! (I'm including these disclaimers for the benefit of all those who somehow thinks it's "a snoozer!")

It's a very fine film - ought to "compulsory" viewing for American History students - maybe even all Americans!!

And Daniel Day-Lewis really ought to win the Oscar this year - if he doesn't, I may give up on the Academy completely!!

Give it a "look-see" for sure - and let me know what you think!!

Happy Day to Matt!!

We are here at the Selander digs enjoying one another's company - so I even have a photo of Matt for my post!!

Matt is a great husband and father - and son-in-law I might add!! I have said it before, and I will say it again, I couldn't have done better if I'd picked him myself!!

His birthday is the 21st - but I don't know how to "schedule" when I blog on my iPad - and I don't want to forget - so here are some early wishes for a great day and wonderful year ahead!!

Hangin' with Miss Ida!!

Miss Ida is a pretty nice little companion - I must say!! And she will make you a peanut butter sandwich if you ask nicely!!

Gearing up for the holidays -

Enjoying our purchases at Theo's book fair - why do I always love a book fair??

At the State Regionals

Had a great time Saturday with Harry, Marjorie, Sarah and Donna as we cheered on Eve at the State Regionals. Eve does a great job!!

"Let's hear it for the boy . . . "

Our good friend and my colleague Kyle McClure was honored as Monrovia Teacher of the Year this year.  And then he went on to become Los Angeles County Teacher of the Year.  And recently he was named as a finalist for California State Teacher of the Year!

This week he was honored at an open house in his home and later the Monrovia School Board honored him at a board meeting.

Kyle is a great teacher.  I have watched him in action, and he has all the right moves!!

And he has a lovely wife and three beautiful daughters!!

We are proud of you Kyle - and glad to call you friend!

You CAN go home again! At least partway!!

Saturday morning I met up with two friends from high school, and we set out to walk around Granada Hills.  We weren't exactly sure of every place we wanted to go, so we started out by walking to our old elementary school.  Some aspects were quite different - mainly the strong fences all around, and the missing pepper tree in the middle of the playground - but our old classrooms were there, and the lunch area looked as foreboding as ever!!

 

We walked to the homes of other old friends to see if they looked the same.  They mostly did not look the same, but we felt like we were evoking another time by talking about how it used to look, or how we remembered it, or specific memories we had of the various locales.

 

After we headed to the junior high - which was a HUGE disappointment - we wandered around some more until we came to our old high school.  (The disappointment in the junior high was mostly due to the fact that there were no buildings there now that were there when we were there!  We definitely had to use our imaginations!!)

But the disappointment in Patrick Henry Junior High School - now known as Patrick Henry Middle School - was more than offset by the joy and pleasure we found at the high school.  GHHS was there and didn't appear to have changed much at all.  And lucky for us, some kind of band competition was going on, so the campus was open!!  

It was so great to wander into the girls' gym where a group of cheerleaders were practicing, to find our old lockers, to visit classrooms that still seemed to house the same subject matters we had had 50 years ago, to sit in the lunch area that had new tables, yes, but everything was in the same place it had been 50 years ago - even the vending machines - although now they were housed in vandal-proof cages!!

The above photo is an outdoor stage where we met up every morning before classes started to check in with each other, lament the scope of last night's homework, see if there was any news or gossip of note, and get ready to face another day in the trenches.  (All three photos are from GHHS.)

We used the girls' restroom  and swore that the floor tiles and stall doors were original!!

We started at GHHS in February of 1960 - and that was the first day of GHHS - we were the first graduating class to go all the way through.  (It was a 10th through 12th grade high school.)  Since the school was brand new, the trees were pretty small and new too - and that's the biggest difference we noted.  After all, 50 years of tree growth is pretty significant!

My high school years were happy years, so it was quite satisfying to wander about the campus and relive old memories, talk about teachers we had, kids we knew, dreams we had, crushes we cherished.  Maybe everyone wouldn't enjoy this experience, but we did.

Afterwards we walked down Chatsworth and headed back to my mom's house, where we had met and started out.  Walking down Chatsworth and noting where things used to be was a delightful "Memory Lane" kind of experience.  When we got back in to the residential areas, we found more homes of friends and more memories.

We ended with lunch at Brent's Deli in Northridge - and plans to get together in February for more reminiscing anyway!!

Maybe you CAN go partway home again - at least sometimes!!

Thank you veterans!

Joseph Ambrose, a veteran of World War I, shown in 1982, attending the parade for the dedication of the Vietnam Memorial.  The flag he is holding covered the casket of his son, who died in the Korean War.

A photo is indeed worth a thousand words.

"If you give a mouse a cookie . . ."

We broke down and joined the 21st century by getting a flat-screen TV.  I asked Harry how long we'd had the other one - I'm pretty bad with dates - and he said 15 or 20 years! 

We don't watch a lot of TV - mostly movies, General Conference, World Series, and basketball games - and we watch PBS on Harry's laptop mostly.

But now we don't really like how it fits in the existing space that housed the other TV.  So that means we shuffle things around, maybe tear out some more of the shelving, maybe hang it on the wall (my idea), then have to find places for all the gazillion books on the shelves in that room.  (Harry's Little Free Library will be getting a truckload of donations if they don't watch out!)

What do you want to bet we finally get a new roof on the family room?

This is probably why we haven't bought a new TV for 15 or 20 years!

Happy Birthday to My Dad

My dad and my sisters have had a big influence in my life.  (Hence the photo choice - I think I post the same ones every year and thought I'd add some variety!!) 

My dad did a great job of "enduring to the end" and left a fine legacy for us to emulate.

Election time always makes me think of my dad - since he always told the story of how he was born the day Woodrow Wilson was elected president of the United States.

And I always remember him driving us to seminary very early in the a.m. and then sleeping on the back seat while he waited to take us to school when we finished.

I feel like I have an inordinate number of memories of him laying floor tile!

I also remember him helping me letter and do the drawings for a project/poster I did on the life cycle of the bee!! I don't even need a photo to see it in my mind!!

I remember him saying how he was glad his girls didn't wear mascara - after I'd been wearing it for 3 or 4 years!!

And I recall being moved at the way he would become emotional when he spoke about his mother - she obviously left an important impression on him.

Happy Birthday Dad!!

Weekend News!

Leslie and Tom have been here for a brief visit.  I went out Saturday and saw Leslie.  We were all going to get together yesterday, but it didn't happen.  I'm just glad we had a few hours together anyway!!

On Friday, Tom, Leslie, and Donna went to the taping of Jay Leno - they met up with Harry for dinner too.  The photo at the top is Leslie outside the Nokia Theater - for the Leonard Cohen concert - the reason they came.

We were going to join up with them at Phillipe's, but that didn't work out either.  Fate seems to have been conspiring against us.

But we have email, texting, Facebook, blogs, and regular old phone calls - glad I at least got to have a nice visit with Leslie!!