Peonies and stories about flowers

Martin put the cushions and cover on the swing.

Mischief is happy in her comfy place.

Sorry to inform her that I'm planning on spending time there reading.

The bearded iris are now blooming.

The mauve ones in the front are very prolific.

In the back there are small yellow iris, white iris buds, and amaryllis blooms.

We have been waiting on the peonies, watching their progress each day.

Martin got these from his mom's garden in Chattanooga.

They have bloomed in several places in our yards as we moved them with us.

He remembers his mom telling about her first peonies.

She was disturbed that ants were all over her peony buds.

So she put ant poison out to get rid of the ants.

Her peonies never opened.

She found out that peonies need ants to eat the covering on the buds for the flowers to bloom.

Sometimes we think we know best, when we really don't know the whole story.

I have read all my library books and the library is still closed.

Never fear I have some books that I bought that I haven't read.

Move over Mischief! I'm coming out to read.

Lots of reading going on here

Well, I have been reading but not posting for quite a while. I last posted a few days before my surgery. Then I was reading and recovering for several weeks. At the same time mom was having lots of health problems that required two hospitalizations and several weeks at rehab.

Mom had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure over a decade ago. She seemed like the energizer bunny, though. She kept on going and going. Finally her heart started failing.

She went to hospice on a Wednesday and passed peacefully in her sleep to her heavenly home on the following Sunday.

I still think about calling her about 4 pm at our regular phone call time.

I will continue to post her stories as I remember them.

Meanwhile as we all are quarantined from the coronavirus, here is what I've been reading.

The Blandings stories of P. G. Wodehouse -

The first magic bookshop mystery by Amanda Flower 

and a duplicate of a Wodehouse book.

The books above were found on Thriftbooks, a great book resale online store.

From the library I finally found Janet Evanovich's latest book. So funny!

And a new mystery series with a cat main character.

Also from the library, Rita Mae Brown mysteries with cat and dog sleuths.

I had read all of her books and took a break. Surprise! She has been busy writing more.

These last two are new to me. I thought a mystery solved by 'granny' might be fun.

We will see. I have 3 and a half new books to read. Hopefully the library will reopen by the time I finish reading them. 

Or I could order more from Thriftbooks.

Hope you are staying safe and well in these days of quarantine. 

Find some good books to read.

December - January Reading

Recently on Britbox streaming TV I watched a series based on P. G. Wodehouse's Blandings Castle and other books about the family of  Lord Emsworth. I checked the library and found a couple of the books, read them, then bought some more titles from Thriftbooks.

I need something light and silly right now for a distraction from health concerns - mine and moms.

So if you are looking for silly stories, I recommend these.

As I am dealing with worry and uncertainty I started back to writing in the notebook on the left.

I didn't want to share all my random thoughts on this blog but needed a place to write down things to get them out of my head and onto paper. It has helped me gain perspective on the things that are going on with my cancer diagnosis and all the anxiety surrounding that. I write down Bible verses that mean something to me and questions that I want to ask the doctor.

I opened Mere Christianity to the page that I last read and started to read and meditate on the enormous ideas C. S. Lewis explains so well. This has helped me so much with my anxiety. I have underlined parts that speak to me. I see the importance of slowing down and taking time to think on God and why we are here and why we need to be connected to Him.

Surgery is a few days away. I am asking for prayers for me, Martin, my family, and the medical team. I am hoping for cancer to be gone after the surgery but also know that there could be another plan for me. Asking for peace of mind whatever happens.

Love.

Free Books from Conference

I haven’t posted all the free books I got at the International Literacy Association conference last month in NOLA. I bought a few books but this post is about two books I just read that are great for upper elementary through middle school readers.

Both have magic bookshops and strong girls as main characters.

Malamander reminded me of one of my childhood favorite books, Half Magic.Two orphans meet and have an adventure in a seaside town. There is a talking cat, a magic bookshop, and a scary, watery ghost. Some of the adults were helpful and others were menacing. There may be sequels.

The Bookshop Girl has an orphan who has been adopted and lives in a bookshop. There is a cat and a mystery. The main character doesn't know how to read even though she lives in a bookshop. The family wins a contest and move to a magnificent book emporium and the troubles begin.

I found lots of similarities in these two books. Both are good reads for boys and girls.

Memories of playtime

The other day when I visited mom she was looking at photos.

This one reminded her of the games her mother, Corona, taught them to play outside.

First, they used the steps to play 'Button, Button'.

They sat on the lowest step (first grade) and the 'teacher' passed a button secretly to one person.

Questions were asked and answered and they moved up the steps to second grade, third grade, etc. 

They used the sidewalk to play a tag type game called 'Devil in the ditch'.

The devil had to stay on the sidewalk and the others stood on each side of the walk in the grass.

They tried to cross the sidewalk without being caught by the devil.

If caught, that person became the devil.

In the summer they played board games on the porch. The concrete floor and short side walls were cool in the hot weather and gave some relief from the heat in the days before air conditioning.

In the photo above mom, Helen, is the baby sitting in Corona's lap. Her twin brother John is sitting beside the puppy and big sister Bettye. The laughing boy is Kenton and the boy next to him is Joe.

This must have been in early 1926 since baby Helen and baby John are sitting up without assistance. A close look at Corona may hint that Becky is expected in a few months.

Summer Reading - No List Required

Just looking at this blog I realized I did not post anything in May. It was a busy month.

Here are some of my recent book finishes.

The one on the left is about a librarian and the one on the right is about a book seller.

I recommend both.

A few years ago I printed a list of Susan Wittig Albert's books and set out to read them all.

Since then she has written two more. Her books are great reads. I like this series because she includes information about herbs and medicinal plants. 

May included retirement parties at Jun and Lifei's home and at MMS.

It is still hard to comprehend that I am retired.

ESL teacher friends gave me a gift card to a garden center.

I bought some plants for my doll bed planter and a bell for the yard.

Pottery cream and sugar bowl from teacher friends.

A gift card for Barnes and Noble from my hall mates.

I guess retirement will hit when the yellow buses start picking up kids in August.

Until then it feels like a regular summer break.

April Recap

First, what I have been reading this month.

Library Lover's Mystery by Jenn McKinlay.

I am enjoying these mysteries set in a coastal town in Connecticut.

Since the library did not have the whole series, I bought a couple of them in paperback.

I am almost finished with the next-to-last book.

I have 4 weeks left of school this year. Four weeks left of a teaching career that began in 1972.

The photo below is one group of my middle schoolers.

Sweet kids. 

Two more of my middle schoolers.

Soccer players headed to high school.

Don't you love my storage closet classroom?

Last week end I attended a festival at the Hindu temple.

My goal was to get a henna design.

I was first in line and here is my design.

This week end it is almost gone. I love the idea of a temporary work of art.

Here is another temporary work of art.

Beautiful peonies and dutch iris. Here today. Gone tomorrow.

What are you reading?