December 2024 Reading List

Nine books read this last month of 2024, including some new authors.

Taken and Threads of Suspicion are both by Dee Henderson, a new author for me. They were okay reads but not quite my cup of tea.

Here One Moment is the second book I've read by Liane Moriarty an author recommended to me by a friend in 2019. I 'rediscovered' her while looking through my authors list. I'm glad I did.

What Alice Forgot and Big Little Lies are also by Liane Moriarty. Her books are set in Australia and have a different style, but one I like. I have two more on my list for the next 'stock up on books' trip.

Moral Disorder and The Year Of The Flood are both by Margaret Atwood. These were the only two books of her's at my library that I had not read. It was time. The first is a collection of connected short stories. The second is one of her dystopian novels. I do not like dystopian works. They come too close to what I fear for our world. But Atwood is an excellent writer. The flood of the title is not water but a pandemic. 

Slow Dance and Landline are both by Rainbow Rowell an Omaha author also new to me. I decided to read some of Reese's Book Club picks and Slow Dance is one of those. Again, not quite my cup of tea.

That's a total of 85 books read this year, down slightly from 2023. I'm already looking forward to '25 - there are several books on my list by some of my favorite authors. Hopefully a few of them will be on the shelves in January.

Happy New Year - and Happy Reading!

The Year Pictured - 2024

Most years I choose one of my most liked photos to represent each month. These are my pick pics for 2024.....

January 10 - snow on the ground and ice on the trees.

February 20 - swans at Green Valley Lake! A first for me.

I sent my photo to WHO-13 and it was used during their weather segment.

And that brought a new friend into my life, my e-pal Leslie. 

March 21 - the earliest I had seen the Kingfisher at the pond. The willows were just beginning to green.

I couldn't believe it when I saw the first one in April, 2018. I never get over the excitement of seeing these birds. 

Adding them to my life list was something I did not believe would ever happen.

April 15 - violets have always been one of my favorite flowers. I began picking bouquets of them when I was a little girl and I still do.

I especially liked the composition of weathered boards, bright flowers and green and brown leaves.

May 7 - on my brother Ron's birthday, this raft of male wood ducks rendezvoused along the edge of our pond. I theorized all their mates were tending the nests.

June 11 - I was so surprised to see this large dragonfly sitting on the lamb's ears with its wings splayed flat.

That it was Grandpa Joe's birthdate gave it special meaning.

I'm doubling up on June because I could not choose between the two photos.

June 7 - the sky gives us so many opportunities to see something special and when I do, I am thankful to be looking up at just the right time.

Capturing the wavy iridescence of these clouds was especially gratifying.

July 22 - early a.m. A flash of blue and some red.  The blue a reflection on oak leaves.

The red the sun shining on the old black willow tree.

Do you see a dragon's head? Or a raptor's head and wings? I do. A flight of fantasy.

August 20 - the first supermoon of 2024; also a blue moon which generally means the second full moon of the month, but in this case was the third full moon in a season with four full moons.

It is generally referred to as the Full Sturgeon moon, but I prefer Full Corn Moon (Ojibwe), Flying Up Moon (Cree), or, new to me, Black Cherries Moon (Assiniboine) for when the chokecherries ripen.
 

August 30 - yes another bonus photo month, but not my photo.

This was taken by my stepson Mark when he and Juliet were visiting us from NYC.

It's not just the sunset or the cross, it is also the spider web and the little dot on the corner post. Altogether, very pleasing in my opinion.

September 16 - other than short trips here in town, I hadn't driven myself anywhere else this year. When you get older you start giving up some of the things you used to do without a second thought. But on this Monday morning I decided to try a short trip into the countryside. I ended up coming into Green Valley State Park from the west. I took several pictures along the way, but this one, with the sun sparkling on the water, was my favorite.

October 12 - family photos at Pammel State Park with just a few nature pictures thrown into the mix. 

I took a photo of a big black wolf spider in the leaves, but this isn't it.

Just a couple yellow leaves among the maroon ones.

November 11 - Armistice Day and another lovely sunrise.

I always love it when I get my photos uploaded and discover that there is a bird or birds in the picture. It feels like a bonus - some added natural elements I hadn't tried for.

December 17 - one of the most dramatic and colorful sunrise photos in an entire year of sunrise pics.

It is moody, striking, awesome, arresting, conspicuous and a whole bunch more adjectives I could use.

Once again, I was in the right place at the right time. When this happens, I have to think, "What about all the times I'm not looking. What have I missed?"

It is discouraging that I can't get out and enjoy nature and taking photos as much as I used to. Still...I'm grateful for what I still can capture. 

The Painted Drum

I try to read every book by Louise Erdrich because she is such a good author.

Have I read The Painted Drum? Most likely I have. Gibson Memorial Library does have it. It came out in 2005, before I started keeping track of my reads.

But it goes on my current to be read list because I recently read the following excerpt which motivates me to read it again.

"There is a beauty in the fragility of life, a sweetness to be savored in its fleeting moments of joy. For it is in the rawness of our experiences, both the joyful and the sorrowful, that we truly come alive. We are not meant to shield ourselves from the pain of life, but to embrace it fully, to let it shape us, to teach us, to make us more human.

So do not be afraid to love, to open your heart to the world, even if it means risking heartbreak. For the sweetness of love far outweighs the bitterness of loss. And when the inevitable pain comes, find solace in the beauty of the world around you, in the simple pleasures of life, in the memories of love and laughter. For even in the midst of sorrow, there is still beauty to be found." ~Louise Erdrich

 

Same Hill, Different Drivers

Chances of freezing rain and icy roads are in our forecast for tonight. I have a number of distinct memories about icy roads but the first I always think of is this:

Circa 1957 - Dad, Ronald and me in the car heading toward Corning on State Road 148. It was either a Saturday morning or the school buses didn't run because of the ice, but school was still open for town kids and country kids who could get there. I think the latter.

It was before 148 had been graded and paved - still the old blacktop. Going down the icy hill a mile and three quarters north of Vogel's corner, I started telling Dad he was going too fast; "Slow down!" I was sure we were going to go into the ditch. His response was something like: "It doesn't make any difference how fast or slow you drive on ice. You can start sliding either way."  I think he also said something about needing enough speed to get up the next hill. Either way, my dad enjoyed driving fast, turning sharp corners, taking chances. I believe most men do. 

Dad also really liked going to the car races. He never drove stock cars but I think he would like to have. After watching Jimmie Lynch and the Death Dodgers on the track at the fair grounds, he made several fast loops around the light pole in the barn yard when we got home. Whee-e-e! 

Different season, different driver: Mom's driving was the opposite of Dad's. Where Dad would keep his foot on the gas until moments before he turned off the highway onto the gravel a mile east of our farm and then hit the brakes, Mom would let up on the gas pedal as we passed Tracey's and coast the rest of the way to the corner before gently breaking and turning onto the gravel.

Circa 1955: Same hill north of Vogel's corner, but on the uphill side and during the summer. Mom with both hands on the steering wheel, traveling at or below the speed limit when suddenly she shouts: "Hold on!" and braked hard. There were no other cars nor loose livestock around and there was hardly time to brace before she braked. "What on earth?" There was a huge blacksnake slithering across the road. My first thought was she didn't want to run over it, then she told us that was the way to kill a snake on the road, braking and sliding across it. As I recall, the snake was still moving toward the ditch after we passed. She didn't kill it. Frankly, I was surprised she tried, because she never killed garter snakes, so it must have had something to do with the species or size of the blacksnake. 

Also, this might have happened earlier than '55 because I don't remember my little brother being in the car, just Mom, me and Betty. I drive like my Mom, though to be honest there were times in my life when I did drive too fast. And back to Dad's comment about driving on ice, I thought then, and still do, that if you lost control on ice it would be much better to go in the ditch or hit another car going slow rather than fast. 

On a totally unrelated topic, for the benefit of family members and friends who haven't heard --

Early this a.m., the venerable Red Star Mill was destroyed by fire. I cannot tell you how many times I have gone there to get feed for Mom's livestock as well as my own. A lot of memories for everyone. It looks like the Red Star Feeds building and office were heavily damaged too. Very sad. 

Late Autumn Saturday Sunset

 

Waxing New Moon 

Hope you are enjoying your evening.

Happy Street Finds

 

As you know, HD has long been bringing me treasures found on his walks. Often they are coins, rocks, beads, something shiny.

But this plastic offering he picked up last month had me stumped.

It is small, 3" x 2-1/2" and was very dirty. He found it in the street down at the end of Golden Shores.

If it wasn't for the words on the back - Have a Nice Day and Sheriff Harry Lee - I never would have figured it out. As it was, it did take awhile searching the internet before I found that Harry Lee was the long-time (1980-2007) sheriff of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.

I couldn't figure out what had been in the hole until I saw online that it was a magnet.

But from Jefferson Parish (Greater New Orleans area) to Creston, Iowa? How did it get here? Had it been attached to a car and fell off?

Further searching showed that there were a number different Harry Lee refrigerator magnets. (I counted ten.) Apparently Lee threw them from floats during Mardi Gras parades. This street find ranks high on the unusual list.

Totally unrelated, I know, but while the Happy in the title of this post could refer to the smiling Sheriff Lee, it actually refers to this bottle of Clinique Happy perfume which granddaughter Deise gave me on Thanksgiving.

I don't know if she remembers when I used to wear this fragrance all the time or if she just thought I might like it. It has been years, but I do still like this fragrance described as having "vibrant notes of red grapefruit and bergamot with sensual ones of Hawaiian wedding flower and spring mimosa."

Wearing it again brings back memories.

Thanks Deise. 💛 

Thanksgiving 2024 In Pictures

 

Let us begin with the oldest and the youngest. Grateful Great-grandma Ramona is always ready to hold the sweet baby if there's one around.

Henri changes everytime I see him.

He's so stinkin' cute and always in a good mood. I don't think I've ever heard him cry.

My youngest - son Preston - already watching a football game and petting Miss Kitty. 

Our family does have a thing for black cats.

The newly engaged couple - Zach and Deise.

I'm looking forward to having another grandson-in-law.

I always look forward to seeing these two. Ayden was giving Greyson kitty ears and when I told him I didn't want those in the picture he gave himself horns.

In past years, these two, especially Ayden, would not try my raspberry/pineapple/cranberry salad topped with a mixture of sour cream, cream cheese and sugar. Ayden asked if it was whipped cream and I told him it wasn't, but it was sweet. 

Nope if it wasn't whipped cream he wouldn't eat it. This year he said he would try it - and he liked it! As did Greyson. I took that as a big win. 

Cousins Louis and Ayden playing some games after lunch.

Should have had Preston in this for a four generation pic.

Me, Kathryn and Henri.

When did I get so old? 

(But very grateful to still be around.)

I love this picture of Deise gazing at a sleeping Henri and Kathryn looking lovingly at Deise.

These two are only fifteen months apart and did not always get along well while growing up.

Great-grandsons Louis and Henri with me and their Aunt Deise.

Louis was trying to put one of his transformer toys back together and I was no help at all! (I tried.)

I think Henri knows when the camera is pointed at him.      

Grandpa Bud, grandson Ki, Granddaugher Kathryn holding great-grandson Henri, Grandma Ramona and granddaughters Deise and Dominique in front.

Grandpa Bud and Grandma Ramona with the grands and great-grands. Back, l.to.r., Bud, Ki holding Ayden, Louis, Kathryn, Henri, Ramona with Greyson in front of me. Front, l.to r., Zach, Deise, Travis, Dominique and Ian. 

Taken through the windshield on the way home - a surprise sun dog - Mother Nature's way of nicely puncuating the end of a lovely, loving, day. Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. 💖

November 2024 Reading List

 Eight books read in November....

The Mapmaker's Children is by Sarah McCoy and was sent to me by my epal, Leslie. The timeline alternates between 1859 New York and 2010 West Virginia; between conductors of the Underground Railroad and a 150 year old house that may have sheltered some of those escaped slaves. I like books that link different eras, especially when they are as well written as this one.

Tell Me Everything is Elizabeth Strout's latest novel featuring Olive Kitteridge. I have long been a fan of this author.

The Husbands is by Holly Gramazio, a new author for me. I just could not buy the premise of this book, an unending supply of different husbands - seemed pretty far-fetched.

The Mighty Red is Louise Erdrich's latest novel. If you want to read a really good book, read this one - or any other of this author's books. She never disappoints.

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd is the only book of her's I had not read. And even though I have been re-reading her books, I almost didn't read this one. I didn't care about reading a book set in first century Galilee. But she is such a good writer I gave it a try and, of course, really liked it. I guess the lesson is, if the writer is good, the story, most likely, will also be good - regardless of the setting.

Resistance Women by Jennifer Chiaverini is the last of her books at my library. If its size looks daunting, that's partly because it was large print and close to a thousand pages long. But I like all her historical novels because they are based on real people. This one, set in the years leading up to and during WWII, was especially hard to read. I will never understand how a society looked the other way while the lives of their fellow citizens were ended. This book is about the women who did what they could to help.

Rose in a Storm by Jon Katz was loaned to me by my son Preston. It tells the story of a widowed farmer, his border collie Rose, and the sheep and other animals on his farm. The story is told through the personification of Rose. I have been intrigued by border collies and the way they herd sheep most of my life. The second dog we had when my children were young was a border collie mix. And I have raised sheep, so the entire time I was reading this book I was remembering that experience and imagining where we lived at that time as the setting.

The book begins with Rose noticing a change in the weather presaging a big winter storm. It arrives - a blizzard lasting for days. I expected the storm to end at some point and even though the book wasn't a long one, I didn't see how the entire book could be about the storm. But it was until the last few pages. And it held my attention all the way through. I don't recall reading any Jon Katz books before but I really liked this one. 

The Housekeepers by Alex Hay is the first book I've read by him. Set during early 1900's London Mayfair society, a housekeeper, suddenly dismissed from her position, recruits an eclectic group of women to join her seeking revenge and settling scores. Something of a fun read, but not realistic.

My favorite read this month was The Mighty Red.

Saying Goodbye To My Flowers

 

Of all the Oak trees around here, this is my favorite. It is on the dam of the pond about twenty feet from another one almost just like it. Almost because while this one is still attractively clad in its fall finery, the other one has already lost its leaves.

As blustery as it has been and still is, you would think this one would be bare, too. But every year, it is like this. Maybe that is why it is my favorite.

This photo was taken when the morning sun was shining on the tree earlier this week. I think the color is gorgeous.

I can't remember a time when the November weather has stayed so warm this late in the year.

The flowers are still blooming, though I expect this is the last day for them. Temps tonight are forecast to be in the mid 20's.

That won't affect these lovely red roses HD gave me for our anniversary, of course.

But it will affect my yellow roses that have been blooming so profusely.

It fascinates me that as the blooms begin to fade and whiten, they then have highlights of pink.

Super surprising is that the delicate Impatiens are still blooming even though we have had a couple nights when the temperature was 32° or lower.

I assume the reasons are because they are underneath the Rose of Sharon bushes and next to the cement patio.

Even the straggly ones in the papa bear, mama bear and baby bear pots still have a few leaves and some flowers on them

There are two blue petunia blossoms hanging on.

And these luscious volunteer snapdragons which have been a real bright spot all season. I hope they reseed and come back again next year.

I think they must really like being in Great-grandma Matilda Means' old iron bean pot. 

Call them Dianthus, Pinks or Carnations, I had four pots of these this year - all slightly different colors.

I have had these over-winter in the past, either setting on the patio or in the unheated garage. 

I hope some of these might do the same this winter.

 

This is the fourth pot. I'm sure they would all look more attractive if I was better about pinching the spent blooms. 

Geraniums are favorites of mine. 

Especially salmon and pink ones. Add some sprengeri fern, aka, asparagus fern, and you have one of the prettiest pots on the deck. 

By the way that pot of hen and chicks on the left and the sedum on the right, will set there all winter and next spring green right back up for another year.

The end of growing season is always bittersweet - the sorrow of an ending versus the pleasurable anticipation of "next year".

On an entirely different note - Bud was doing a long walk for his birthday this morning when he called me from Lake McKinley to tell me there were a lot of white birds on the water. 

I thought they might be pelicans; instead it was a flock of Herring Gulls. This photo was taken from the east side of the lake.

And this one from the west side. It was a nice surprise to see them.

FYI - Jonathan Livingston was not among these gulls, because, you know, his passion was for flight.