My reading for June

This month, I've tried to balance between following our summer school schedule, having some fun with friends, and getting ready for my trip. Although I felt very busy, I was able to read a few books. Here is the list:

1. The Linen Queen by Patricia Falvey

Falvey's second book was almost as good as her first, The Yellow House. I enjoyed her fun writing, the love triangle, and the growth of the characters. Sheila McGee hates her life at the mill and wants to escape her village in Northern Ireland, her mother, and her past. She tries to work out plans to leave it all and start anew, until World War I starts and her life is thrown upside down. As the story develops, we see Sheila trying to make sense of people and memories, and how she can better her life. A faithful friend, a Jewish American soldier, friends at the mill help her find happiness in serving others.

2. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

I read the first book of the series to my children for their book club. They remembered every story and wanted me to read them twice. I had never read them before, just heared Elijah read them to my kids. I really enjoyed the refreshing mood it brought as I read all the fun stories and remembered the sweet spirit being together as a family brings. Definitely a classic!

3. Journey from the past by Stefan Zweig

This was my favorite author for a long time during my middle school years. Zweig was a Jew who lived in Austria during the late 1800's and early 1900's. He was one of the most known writers at that time, and wrote very prolifically. His books include biographies of classical musicians, well known writers and world leaders, as well as marvellous short stories or novellas about the depth of human heart and emotion. Journey from the past is one of the last stories he wrote, and I really enjoyed reading it as much for its nostalgic emotion that the work from this author brings to me as for its power of analysis. I wish more people were familiar with Zweig's work, because it is so enjoyable and absolutely captivating in understanding human mind and heart.

4. Winter in Majorca by George Sand

I like George Sand's work and I thought I would enjoy reading about her time in Majorca with her lover at the time, Chopin. She writes well, but wasn't very kind to the natives about her comments of the island and its people. She sounded a bit of a snob and I could hardly finish it. Her other works show her to be a talented writer, but in this novel you realized that this great mind is also undisciplined, immoral, a snob, and always asking for attention. I didn't like it at all.

5. The immortal life of Henrietta Lack by Rebecca Skloot

This book received so much hype this past year that I really wanted to read and see what all the buzz was for. Regrettably, I have to say I was disappointed. I couldn't believe that the author did actually write a whole book about the case of the taken genes. I'm tired of always hearing about our past and the racial issues that involved that past. How many more books can I handle that have the same racial problems. Get over it, forget about the few little cells that were taken and used to save lives, and move on with your lives.

6. A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Niccholas Drayson

I was a bit skeptical about the title, but as I read on I really liked the story. After the style of Alexander McCall Smith, Drayson tells us an amazing love story between two quiet and sweet people, as well as the author's love for the birds of Kenya. A quick and delightful read.

May your July reading be fun and adventurous!

Bustling Days

We missed going to piano lesson the other day. It wasn't till today that I realized we had totally forgotten about it. These past days have seemed like a marathon of playing, cleaning, laundry, cooking, and packing. I am surprised I remembered to eat, or did I?

On Tuesday, I kept my promise to Jefferson and invited a couple of his friends to play with him. It was much easier taking care of the boys. They had very low demands and pretty much ate anything I gave them. In the evening, I invited my friend, Jenifer, and her son Jack to eat dinner with us and play with my kids, especially James. I enjoyed talking to Jenifer, and the kids had a wonderful time. I did some cleaning up when they left, read a little, and then Elijah came home from the temple. I had missed him a lot. I'm very spoiled to have him home each day at 4:00.

Wednesday was a long day for me. I spent three hours at the dentist office. They took care of my last three cavities and had deep cleaning done in my lower mouth. I had three shots and although my dentist is awesome and very tender, I didn't feel very good the whole afternoon. After dinner, Elijah offered to take care of the kids (again) so I could finish up with my shopping. He had spent the whole Saturday with them this past week so I could go and buy gifts and things that I needed for my trip, but I had yet to find some fancy, but comfortable shoes for my travels. This time I was looking for the perfect lipstick, and after many, many tries my Sephora girls, who had so much fun giving me a make-over, thought they had finally found my perfect lipstick. Alas, today I realized I don't like it either. What a hard-to-please person I have become! I don't like it at all.

Thursday proved to be crazy. We started our day by going back to the hair salon. I had taken Gillian there on Monday to have her hair cut in an A-line style. The lady did a horrible job. So, I called them back asking for a particular hair stylist to do the job better. It looks much better.


Last week we had a leak in one of the pipes that connects the shower. They had to cut a hole in Gillian's room to look for it. I had to empty out Gillian's very heavy book case and then pull it out of its place for them to use the wall. Well, we have been waiting for a whole week for the workers to come and fix the hole, since the pipes are taken care of, but they haven't come yet. I was getting sick and tired of going to Gillian's room and seeing books and clothes all over the floor that I decided I couldn't wait any longer. We cleaned both bedrooms, I felt much better.

It was time for the bathrooms and laundry. It was Gillian's turn to fold the laundry, and the boys each took care of the bathrooms. They cleaned the mirrors, washed the sinks, scrubbed the toilets, and mopped the floors all by themselves. And they loved it!!! They begged to do this again next week and not the laundry. The key to my boys enthusiasm for wanting to clean bathrooms: scrubbing gloves. They love wearing them and feeling all grown up.

While the boys were cleaning, I did some cooking. I made some banana bread loaves, and then two cheesecakes. I had been wanting to take something tasty to a couple of my friends to thank them for taking care of Charlton and James throughout the school year, but I have been so busy that time flew. But I always say it's better late than never. So, today I was determined to take care of business.

As I was cooking, my constant friend, Charlton, kept asking me to throw balls and play with him, which I did. We were very happy to enjoy each other's company undisturbed.

The cheesecakes looked good, and I hope they tasted good. After cooking, I did some general clean up. I noticed, however, that everybody was gone, so I went to hunt them down. Gillian was easy to find, always reading in her corner, Charlton and James together playing, and Jefferson, well, judge for yourself:

Today, my goal was to take care of my packing, as well as a whole list of preparations for the trip. Needless to say I was running around washing, folding dresses, wrapping gifts, deciding which shoes to take, and so on. The children were doing their own thing and seemed happy. At one point, Jefferson approached me and was asking a bunch of questions. I was in the middle of something and told him to find something to do. He replied that he had been doing something on his own for hours. I felt horrible. I was so happy when later on Elijah, although absolutely exhausted, took time to play with him. I have no idea how single mothers do it, but I'm grateful for my husband and the help he gives me. I'm grateful for the gospel that teaches us about families and eternal marriages. What a blessing!