July 2010 Book List

29. Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper

Gwen was content living with her two cats, Scarlet and Vashti, and when her vet called to ask her to adopt a two-week-old blind kitten, she was pretty sure she was going to decline. Still, she felt she had to see the kitten in question first. As soon as she saw the tiny, black kitten, so willing to love her without reservation, she knew she had to take him in. She named him Homer, after the blind storyteller of The Iliad and The Odyssey.

Her goal in raising Homer was to love him and keep him from harm, but she quickly learned this kitten, though blind, was fearless. He climbed and jumped and played rough, often to the misery of the other two cats. He amazed everyone who met him with his astonishing capacity for love and affection, as well as feats like catching flies in midair and identifying tuna cans in cabinets.

I fell in love with Homer almost immediately and laughed out loud (and shared with Billy) about his escapades. Reading this almost made me want to adopt my own blind kitten.

Gwen Cooper has a blog where she updates readers about Homer and her other cats at Homer's Odyssey.

This was the first ebook I've read. I downloaded it from my library onto a Sony eReader that Billy gave me several weeks ago. I like being able to do that because I can check out certain books without having to go to the library and I can easily take several books with me at once. The only downside to downloading them from the library is that they're only available for 3 weeks, then they're not accessible anymore. There is no renewing. I'd have to download the book again if I didn't finish reading it through the first time, and then there's the possibility that someone else might have downloaded it and I'd have to wait. There aren't unlimited copies of it just because it's on a computer file.

30. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

I have to admit, I've been sorely disappointed by Christian fiction. The plots of so many of the books have the same thread, and many of their covers picture women in simple bonnets. I know, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but seeing that everywhere I turn isn't appealing. Thankfully, the cover of Redeeming Love isn't quite like that.

I read this book primarily because it had come highly recommended by a former student of mine. Several of her friends commented on a Facebook thread that they loved that book as well, many of them saying it was their all-time favorite. That said, I had to give it a try. I figured if I didn't like it, I could always put it down.

Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. Rivers retells the biblical account of Hosea and his prostitute wife Gomer, set in the mid-1800s in gold-crazed California. Sarah, aka "Angel" and "Amanda", loses her mother and is sold into prostitution at the tender age of 8. Knowing no other way of life, and having hardened her heart to any kindness shown her, she is caught off guard when Michael Hosea rescues her from her prison - even after she'd rebuffed him and mocked him several times. Determined to make a life of her own, she leaves Michael, only to be trapped into resuming her old way of life. He tracks her down and brings her home, only to be left again.

Much to her disappointment, "Angel" finds herself drawn to Michael and depending on him more and more until she looks to him as her savior. After she leaves him the last time, circumstances cause her to turn toward the Lord as her savior and she finally finds peace and happiness in life.

I've read other books by Rivers and have been impressed with her style. She has several other books out that I haven't read, but I'm more than willing to give them a try.

There's possibly a movie based on the book in the works: Abba Productions: Redeeming Love Movie. I'll be interested to follow this and see how things progress. I think it'd be a wonderful movie with the right leading.

31. Sisters by Danielle Steel

Four sisters in different lifestyles live in various places around the world. Still they find time to come home to be with their family three times a year. The Fourth of July picnic seems to be the biggest family celebration, or maybe that's because Thanksgiving and Christmas are so close together and July seems so far from them. Regardless, they all drop what they're doing and gather at their parents' home to spend some quality time with each other. Without warning disaster strikes, leaving their mother dead and one of the sisters in critical condition.

Their father loses himself in grief and the three other sisters make big sacrifices to live together again for one year to help Annie, their newly blind sister, come to grips with her life.

Several years ago, I couldn't get enough of Danielle Steel; then I burned out and didn't want to read anything else of hers for a long while. Sisters was an okay book to pick back up on. The story was good and brought me to tears a few times, but it's not one of her best. I was disappointed in the way the father was treated by his daughters. And as I read the story from a Christian perspective, I kept coming back to how hopeless the whole scenario was and how it could've been written so differently. Overall, I liked how the sisters are so different in their appearances and their personalities, since I see that in my own family.

Hopefully the next Danielle Steel book I choose will remind me of why I found her books so hard to put down once upon a time.

32. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

The third and final book of the Millennium trilogy picks up right where the second one (The Girl Who Played with Fire) ended. Lisbeth Salander and her father Zalachenko have both been rushed to a hospital with life-threatening wounds. Mikael Blomkvist is being held at the site of the attempted murders by a bumbling police officer who is more concerned with wielding his power than getting to the bottom of what happened at Karl Axel Bodin's (Zalachenko's) estate.

Thus begins a tale of political espionage, corrupt government police, and the lengths they'll go to to keep themselves a continued state secret. Salander's list of supporters grows ever longer as more and more details of the secret police agency and their cover-up become known.

Just like Larsson's other books, this one was hard to put down. I'll admit there were a few boring parts, filled with details about political history. I tended to skim over them, and apparently didn't miss anything crucial to the story.

There's a rumor that Larsson was writing a fourth book (300+ pages already written) about Salander and Blomkvist before he died of a heart attack. Whether or not that book will be finished and published remains to be seen.

Menu Plan Monday - June 21, 2010

Last week was crazy, and with the boys out of town for most of it, I didn't bother planning a menu. This is another busy week, but I've got a few things in mind.

Monday
Black Bean Quesadillas
Southwestern Style Rice (from a frozen Bird's Eye package; we'll see.)
Chips w/ Fresh Guacamole, Salsa, and Sour Cream

Tuesday
Black Bean Burgers
Sweet Potato Fries
Fresh Fruit

Wednesday
Spaghetti Squash (first time!) with Grilled Chicken, Garlic Butter, and Parmesan
Caesar Salad

Thursday
??? - My in-laws will be here, so I'm not sure if we'll go out or pick up something quick.

Friday
I'll be out of town taking a wire jewelry class with my mom, so it'll be a fend-for-yourself kind of night.

Saturday
sandwich night - It's our home group night, so we'll just eat something quick before we go.

Sunday
I don't have a clue! The boys will be out of town for the next week, so who knows what Billy and I will find to do?

For more menu plans, check out I'm an Organizing Junkie

Time for a Change

I liked my old page design, but I don't know how long I've had it. When I logged onto my Blogger account this morning, there was a large banner proclaiming some new template designs. After looking through them, I thought, Why not? So here is my new design. I'm really into reds, oranges, and golds right now - comforting warm tones.

That's the color scheme through my house, too. I've moved away from blues and greens (though I still have some warmer greens). Years ago, I had an Italian villa/grape theme in my kitchen and my other colors were primarily green with some blues and plums mixed in. After we relocated to Dallas, I kept some of the Italian theme and everything else was just a mish-mash of things. Since we were renting, I didn't want to put any money into redecorating. Why do that when you don't know what the next place will be like?

he kitchen in the last place we rented (for 3 years) had terra cotta/burnt orange counters. At first I hated it, but it started growing on me. After a short time, I started liking the warmer tones. When time came for me to get a new comforter for the master bedroom, I went with oranges and golds. I loved the change, but I didn't want to fully commit to redecorating since we were still renting and had no idea how long that would go on.

Last fall we were able to buy a house again. The colors were neutral and my leanings were to give up the Italian grapes for something new. I decided on flowers, mainly sunflowers, for the kitchen/dining area. From there, the reds, oranges, golds, and browns just flowed through the rest of the house.

Most recently, I bought curtains for the boys' room - in those same colors. They have bold stripes, and they don't look feminine. The boys love them. Ever since Billy hung them last weekend, they've kept their curtains closed because they like the darkness. The sun shining through seems to make the room glow.

I still have more to do in the decorating area. I just need to get a few pieces of furniture, which is just a matter of actually going out and looking for something. The main thing is artwork for our walls. I don't want to buy something someone else did. Since Billy and I love photography and have quite a collection of various things we've photographed, it's just a matter of deciding what to print and where to hang it. I think we've decided on a sunset picture Billy shot in Greece for the boys' bathroom. I want to use flower prints in our bedroom, and I have tons of those. I need to take the time to go through them all and decide which ones will carry through the colors I like. I also need to decide if I want one large poster-sized print to go over the bed or if I just want to arrange three or four coordinating prints... Decisions, decisions.

I feel my house is both comfortable and comforting, and I hope others feel that way when they're here. The same goes for my blog.

Television

I wish I didn't watch as much television as I do. During the summer months, when all my favorite shows are showing reruns or on hiatus, I'm more likely to be found reading a book. But during the regular season, there are too many shows that I like to watch, including reruns of canceled favorites like Seinfeld and My Name Is Earl.

The funniest show on television right now has got to be The Big Bang Theory. Some would argue that it's The Office, but it doesn't make me belly laugh as often or as heartily. I think The Office ranks third, behind My Name Is Earl.

There are several other sit-coms I like to watch, all of them only in syndication now: The Andy Griffith Show, Leave It to Beaver, Happy Days, Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, King of Queens, The Cosby Show, etc.

The best drama ever, hands down, is LOST. I can't think of any other show that held me captive the way that one did. We started watching the first season on DVD shortly before the fourth season aired - and we caught up in time to watch all those episodes as they were shown. Now that the show has ended, I want to go back and watch all the episodes again, in order and without all the loooonnngg time lapses between seasons. Knowing the end, I want to see the show from a different perspective.

Other favorite dramas, past and present, are ER, CSI, CSI: New York, Chicago Hope, Three Rivers (which only ran for half a season before it was canceled), and Homefront.

As for the so-called "reality" shows, which are more like unscripted game shows, I've watched The Amazing Race, Survivor, and American Idol in the past. The only one I still watch is American Idol, and depending on who replaces Simon Cowell as judge, I might not watch that one anymore, either.

Then there are the documentary-type shows like Dirty Jobs, Mythbusters, and Deadliest Catch that catch my attention. I like seeing all the variety they have to offer.

With all the channels available now through cable or satellite, I can almost always find something to watch. Almost. It's hard to believe that even with all that, there are some times when there's nothing good on. Thank goodness I always have a book handy.

Velvet

I don't like velvet. It makes me feel like I'm smothering. I don't know how long it's had that effect on me, but I remember wearing velvet dresses when I was a little girl.

I don't understand why I still feel the urge to run my hands across velvet when I see it. Knowing how it makes me feel, you'd think I'd run the other way when I see it - especially when sometimes just the sight of it makes me start taking deep breaths. Maybe I'm just curious to see if it still makes me gasp. It still does. And I'm sure it will the next time.

The Welcoming Bark of a Dog

It's hard to imagine the welcoming bark of a dog when you live next door to Buddy. Most of what I hear from him is whining, and it's not welcoming. At all. It makes me want to run the other way. Actually it makes me want to contact the neighborhood office and complain, in hopes that they'd tell the neighbors to control him or get rid of him. Thankfully I haven't heard him in quite a long time. I don't know if that's because he's learned to shut up or he's content with the warmer weather or if they actually did get rid of him. He'd probably be better off since they rarely took any time with him. *grumble, grumble, grumble*

There's another nuisance related to barking dogs that makes me not think of them as welcoming. Every time I open my back door to go outside, all the surrounding dogs start barking. Excuse me, but it's my back yard and I should be able to go out and enjoy it if I choose.

I want a dog whistle or another high-pitched instrument that I can use whenever I go out back that would make them shut up and let me enjoy my yard. Then I might find the occasional bark of a dog welcoming. For the time being, though, it's just annoying.