The Summer of Hamlet

I have been working hard on my life story. I'm up to 2003, the year our oldest son went off to college.  The summer before he left, my friends and I sewed Scottish outfits for ourselves and our kids, and we went to the Scottish Highland concert. We had our annual Mad Hatter’s Un-Birthday Party,…

Remembering Lynette

Today is my first baby's birthday. She would have been thirty-six years old. Even after all these years, I still miss her. She is just as much one of my children as the ones who made it and lived. She was alive, she moved, and she responded to us. Then at seven and a half…

Happy Father’s Day

Happy Father's Day to my foster father, Gardiner Smith. Gardiner and Fay were a young couple with two small children when they felt inspired to move to a village in central Alberta, where he began to teach science at the local school.  One day the teachers had a staff meeting, and a social worker told…

Back By Sunrise

Book Review:  Back by Sunrise, by Justin Sloan When Brooke’s dad is deployed and later killed in action, she and her family must deal with their grief. Brooke can’t understand why her dad had to leave. But then she finds a magic necklace that her dad left her. When she puts on the necklace, Brooke…

The Magicians of Caprona

Book Review -- The Magicians of Caprona, by Diana Wynne Jones Once again, Diana Wynne Jones has thoroughly impressed me, this time with a wonderful story about a boy who lives in the Italy of one of the Chrestomanci worlds. The only magic Tonino Montana can do is talk to cats, and that is not…

An Ensign of Liberty

In the New York Harbor stands a lady with her torch held high, lighting the way for millions who have come to America seeking peace, liberty, freedom to worship, and the opportunity to live, work, and grow here.  In the other arm she carries a tablet inscribed with the date of the Declaration of Independence,…

Dogsbody

Book Review -- Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones The Dog Star, Sirius, is falsely accused of murder. His sentence is to be reborn on earth as a dog until he can redeem himself by finding the Zoi. Unfortunately, Sirius (or Leo as he is now known) has no idea what a Zoi is or how…

Just Between You and Me

I started to read two books at the same time. Both were written in first person present tense (have I mentioned how annoying that is?), and both started with similar plots: a woman with some major psychological scars who is busy with her career suddenly inherits someone’s child and has to make some major changes…

The Playground

As a child, one of my favorite places to play was at the playground at the end of my street, not far from my house. It was a corner lot with a merry-go-round, a swing set, a curving slide, a sandbox, and a large grassy area. The merry-go-round was divided into triangular sections with a…

Beep, Beep!

One of the things I love about children is that they are endlessly imaginative. Today my grandson and I took a cardboard box, some tape, and a pillow, and we made a car. We had a glorious time racing around the house. He pushed the bolt in the center of the steering wheel, saying “Beep!…