Summertime and the Livin' Is Easy...or Not!

I realized yesterday, as I was driving back and forth, again, from Massachusetts to New Hampshire, that I have no life besides working---teaching voice, painting the house, cleaning my apartment, (the one that we just moved out of) moving, unpacking boxes, (the ones that have consumed our new "old" house), singing on the weekends, (so that involves driving all day on most Saturdays) band rehearsals, and working on trying to get MORE work for the fall.

As I talk to my students about their trips to New York, or Maine, or "the Cape", or even Cancaun, and their day trips to the beach or the mountains or to "the Cape", I realize that Bret and I are not going on a vacation this year, and I have not taken Aydan on one single day trip yet this summer. How pitiful and pathetic is that?

Ok, so I have taken him to the library three times----I guess that counts, doesn't it? But then I guess that I should admit that I fell asleep at the library yesterday, sitting scrunched up on the sofa, drooling for all the kiddies to see... (I can imagine their conversations with their Mom's later..."Mom, why was there a dead lady on the library sofa?" "Was she really dead, because I think that she had something coming out of her mouth!") Aydan, of course, was oblivious, as he sat reading his "Nate, the Great" books. (These are his favorites right now---so much adventure for a six year old!) Thank goodness that it took about 20 minutes for him to read a really long one, as I got a much needed rest, and then woke up to, "Wasn't that cool, Mom?" "Yes", I replied, "The best one that I've heard yet!" (I figured that he wouldn't quiz me on it, so I was safe...)

So, school starts in about 2 1/2 weeks and I still haven't done any of the things that I wanted to do this summer...

I wanted to go to Canobie Lake with Bret and Aydan,(it's an amusement park/park) go to the Art Museum with Aydan and Maryn, (we are now members of the MFA and they are having a great showing of "Americans in Paris"---oh, how I want to see this one!) take Aydan to the beach, at least, once, visit at least one other museum,(science would be fun) and then Bret wanted to go to the aquarium with us sometime...

Oh well, at least Aydan and I have gotten to eat out a lot this summer. (We don't have a kitchen...and I have issued the ultimatum to Bret that I am NOT cooking until I have a kitchen...we'll see how long it lasts...) So I am sure that he will remember this summer as the one that he got a lot of "happy meal" type toys. (Even though I despise McDonalds and try to go everywhere else that I can think of that is healthier---but they still all have kid's meals with toys)

And to think that this was the year that I wanted to go to Europe. I wanted to celebrate my birthday in style this year, seeing all the sights, roaming the English countryside, visiting London,(I am a BBC American, after all...) trying new fare at the open markets and restaurants, and checking out all the historical places that I have so much longed to see all my life...

I guess that I will plan this trip for next year... And I will save my money, do good deeds, be a perfect mother, never swear or yell, never talk badly about anyone, exercise everyday, eat only healthy foods and take Aydan to the beach four times next summer... Uh, huh,...that's just what I will do...

Hanging Out With Sting

I, seriously, had the most amazing dream last night! Or, rather, this morning, as I had to get my hubby up at 5:00, and then my youngest, Aydan, woke me up at 7:45, and then I finally got some real sleep in.

I don't know if it had anything to do with what I ate last night. I had some of that roasted chicken that I bought at Roche Bros. (pronounced "roach"----huh, you kiddin' me?) and a salad, and some popcorn, and oh, yes, I also stole two bites of my hubby's chocolate brownie ice cream. So, I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it, or maybe it was the fact that I have so many things on my brain right now and have been majorly stressed these past few weeks.......er....or months, and I really needed to have a fun adventure with one of my all time favorite crushes, Sting.

Yes, you heard it right....Sting!

For some odd reason, after one of my gigs, Sting came up and invited us to stay at his house for the night, as it was close to the venue. Wait a minute, that means that I must have been gigging in England, close to his castle. Alllll riiiight!! I told you it was a good one.

Well, it turned out that we were staying in part of the castle that was furnished with normal middle class house furniture, and we weren't allowed to go into the area where Sting and his family REALLY lived. So much for conversing with Trudi Styler.... Fast forward to the morning, as you know how dreams work. I, of course, have on a robe and no makeup and need to shower, and I am trying desperately to get into the bathroom to get ready before Sting comes down to breakfast and sees me looking like an English fishwife that just got off the fishing trawler. (This is a recurring event in all my dreams, by the way...I never have time to get ready, as people keep interrupting me. I know all you dream interpreters will have a field day with this one.)

So, as I am waiting for the bathroom, Sting comes in and starts to dance with various members of the band that I was in. Of course, they were all young girls, and gorgeous, and all HAD taken their showers and were flawless WITHOUT makeup. ( I don't know why my band were all girls, I haven't figured that one out yet... ) They were dancing the waltz (this must of been inspired by the episode of "So You Think You Can Dance" that I had just watched before going to bed) and I decided to join in.

Unfortunately, as soon as I decided to cut in, they all decided to play games instead. We went into the shabby family/game room, (it WAS shabby---as if that is how the Stings view middle class America) and sat around on the floor and tried to impress Sting with our beauty and our wit. As they decided what game to play, I quipped, "Let's play 'Pit'! To which Sting replied, "Never heard of it." "Well," I said, "It's loud and boisterous, alot like me!" Ok, so I stuck myself out there to be noticed, hoping that he would notice my great smile, my electric and fun personality, and not notice that I had no eyes or mouth because you can't see them without makeup on.

Well, it worked! He looked at me full on, with a big smile, and said, "Oh, that sounds like a FUN game and you sound like a really FUN person!"

Ok, so the rest of the dream got kinda wierd as we ended up going to the basement of his house that was really a scary amusement park area that a demon ruled. We all just barely made it through that alive. (Although, I don't think that the beautiful sweet young things made it,....I think we had to sacrifice them so we could live....poor things...)

All in all, two things came from this dream. I got to see Sting and he SMILED at me, and I realized that I could talk to someone without the crutch of makeup or clean body, or great clothes, and I could do it in front of perfect, gorgeous, young girls.

But, then again, I really wouldn't be able to do either of these things, and to think that I could....well,......you must be dreaming...

HappyTimes and Motherhood

I seriously gasped when I realized how long it had been since I wrote on this blog! How is it that time can fly so very fast and I NEVER have time to do anything about it?

I had my birthday a few weeks ago...
My husband had told me that he was working late and when he hadn't come home by 12:30, I thought, "Great...another all nighter..." Now, he does this periodically to finish a project that needs to be installed the next day, so don't be thinking that he is having an affair or something. There's no time for that!

But I was awakened in the wee hours of the morning, I guess it was about 3:30, by my husband. It was rather dark in our bedroom and I was still groggy...blame it on the Valerian that I take...
but he appeared to be carrying a small child, and my first thought was "Why did you bring home a homeless person, honey?" Then, I heard the person standing directly behind him say "Hi, Mom...surprise!"

It was my daughter, Hailey, and my two G-babies, from Utah... Wow! What a great surprise!

So, after I had gotten up and changed the sheets on my other daughters bed, and got everyone settled, Hailey told me that they would be staying for about 12 days, and going to Maryn's graduation, and that her husband, Ben, was even coming in to stay, in a week...

I thought that this was perhaps the best surprise that anyone could do for my birthday, and was very happy with it, not thinking that there would be any more...

Of course I fail to mention that Hailey hadn't been feeling very good for the last few months, as she found out that she was pregnant. Then, a few days before coming to see me, she had discovered that she was having TWINS!! So, she spent the days trying to get some rest, and I had to continue with my busy schedule and tried to squeeze in some fun times with my darling G-babies. They probably didn't have such a great time, but I was just loving having them around! (I only usually get to see them twice a year...)

We had planned to celebrate my birthday on June 11th, as Maryn was graduating on my real birthday, and since all the kids have so much going on, we have to coordinate our birthday parties... So the big day came and since I'd had a late night gig the night before, I was tired, to say the least....soI napped while they got ready...

When I woke up, the dining room was decorated, and there was an enormous, delicious dinner of some of my favorites....trout being my absolute favorite, and fresh asparagus....ummmm...fantastic! After we ate, the kids were mysteriously hidden in Aydan's room, and I had instructions not to go in there. After a few hours, they took me out of the room, and had me close my eyes... I walked in, with Aydan and Mila (my oldest G-baby) leading the way. I could see flashes going off, through my closed eyelids, and sounds of a camera going off, so I felt like there was paparazzi...

After they told me to open my eyes, which I did, I saw the entire table and half of the floor was covered with presents! FIFTY presents, to be exact, all decked out in purple and green, and looking like something fit for a queen! Wow! My second amazing surprise! (If anyone knows me well, they know that I LOVE to open presents...I even order mail order just to get presents in the mail----oooo, does that sound selfish?)

So...as you can imagine, I was in heaven for about two hours, as I opened and oooohed and aaahed over each one, no matter how small or fantastic... I loved them all!

Such happy times... ALL of my children around me, my wonderful hubby, my darling G-babies, (with two more nestling in their mom's womb) and me, feeling like I'm 30, and hopefully, looking like I'm 40, and celebrating this milestone birthday with those I love! Definitely my BEST birthday ever!!

It's at times like these that you cherish motherhood and are glad that you endured to the end to raise four kids that turned into teenagers, and then into young adults, and lived through all those tantrums, and realize that you have one more that next year will be starting first grade...

Well,....that one is still taking some getting used to...

Oh, and I suppose you are wondering how old I am now?

You do the math...

Rain, Rain Go Away

We have been counting down about ten days of rain here in New England. The high temperature has been in the fifties and the lows in the low forties. Now, this rain has not been light sprinkling, spring rain...

No, its been a deluge of torrential rain. The type that feels as if buckets of rain are pouring all around you. Now, don't get me wrong,...I do love the green of the blossoms budding, and the spring flowers coming from the earth, but when you are so busy fumbling with your umbrella, or wading through the huge ponds in the parking lot, you don't seem to notice the beauty around you. Of course, I complain very verbally about it and my young son, Aydan, chastises me and says, "But, Mom, Heavenly Father made the rain so the plants can grow and the flowers can grow and the earth needs it. You can't get mad about that!"
Cheeky child... It's so easy to say when you are pint sized and EVERY puddle that you splash in becomes an adventure...

Then there are the leaking possiblities that happen in one's residence....

Aydan's room has such a ceiling. It only leaks if there are more than three days of rain. Of course, the landlord has sworn every time that it is fixed, but after returning home last week......very late, (we had our benefit for The Cannon Theatre Project----great fun!) we found Aydan's bed soaking wet, and brand new leaks and drips that weren't there before!

.....So we pull out every large bowl that we own (and we own alot, as we have every variety of "popcorn bowl" imaginable) and try to maneuver them strategically under the various drips. Ahhh, the sound of rain.......hitting each various bowl in a symphony of sound.

Now, the other dilemma that I face is the shortage of proper footwear or "wellies" as the Brits like to call them. Everyone knows that a diva must have her footwear match her outfit at all costs, and I only have two pairs of "wellies".
Black and hot pink. Therefore, I have to come up with outfits that have at least a splash of one of these colors. (notice the play on words...)

Its difficult to go back to wearing black again, as I have devotedly worn it for the entire last 9 months, so that leaves me with hot pink. So here I go, for the last ten days, (with only one day of sun, barely peeking through) going where no man or woman has gone before.....wearing my pink "wellies" every day. To make matters worse, I only have two rain coats...you guessed it, black and hot pink.... So, when I arrived at a flea market last week, after my husband and kids had already gone in, and began to pay for my admission, the lady at the counter said, "No, you don't have to pay...your husband already paid for you....he told us to look for 'the lady in pink'."

Do you think that perhaps Stacy and Clinton would have suggested the black raincoat with the pink boots and not gone all out doing pink on pink?

Well, I can tell you that come fall when the rain boots are on sale, I am going to be purchasing at least two new pairs! I'm thinking maybe of something with a bold print or a plaid.....maybe in a purple or red?

The "lady in red" sounds so much more dashing and chic....

Zip Codes Don't Lie!

Boston, a beautiful overview...
The Charles River and the Mass. Ave. bridge...
Beacon Hill street...
Recently, as I was getting on to my MSN internet, (in my very FEW minutes that I have for such things nowadays, and only if I have to pay a bill) I noticed a headline for the new consensus about most expensive places to live, according to one's zip code. Naturally, since I am always bombarded with people telling me that Boston is the MOST expensive city to live in, in the United States, I was curious. So I clicked on to find the top ten...

AHA! Again I say: AHA! There it was in virtual black and white. Number one was Sagaponack, NY, (huh?) number two was in San Diego, CA, number three was in Newport Beach, CA, and of the following seven, all were in CA, except one more in NY and one in Miami, Florida. We were not even in the top ten!

So, I expanded my search to see if maybe we were in the top 25.

AHA!! AHA!! Once again, there was NO sign of any Boston area zip code. There was more NY, CA, and even NJ zips,...a place in Nevada was even number 20,...but not even close to Boston.

Now I got really serious...
I NEEDED to know with every fiber of my being just where Boston stood.

My heart started racing, as I went from page to page.... There was more CA, more NY, more NJ, more NV, more FL, some CT, some DC areas, some WA, some AZ, some PA, and the list kept going... Finally,....on page number 14...
THERE WE WERE!! NUMBER 365! A zip code in the Boston area fell into the top 365 most expensive places to live...

I took a big "sigh", looked for a few more pages, and only saw one more Boston area on there...and then smiled.

Zip codes don't lie, folks.... The facts are in...

NOW, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ONE MORE PERSON TELLING ME THAT BOSTON IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE PLACE TO LIVE IN THE COUNTRY!!!

There....I've said it. I got it off of my chest. Now I can truly enjoy Boston without so much guilt...

(Ok, ok, so Utah wasn't even in the top 500...but do you have the ocean, and the Charles River? I rest my case...)

Ohhh, to Sell, To Sell A House

New Hampshire house....before..... .......and after......
I have had no time to devote to my usual life, lately.

It's frustating, as I have no time to catch up on my Tivo, read any books, hang up my clothes, or even do any extensive e-mailing.....and I definitely don't have time to write on my blogs.

Why is my time not my own?

Well, we are trying to sell our house in NH, that's why...

Don't you hate it? I have watched every "how to sell your house" show on HGTV that they have, and I know all of the tricks, but I'm sure that it is sooooo much easier when you can have a team of professionals to help you. Not to mention the fact that we are on a VERY limited budget! We live, basically, hand to mouth as it is.

So, here we go again...driving up to NH....then plastering, mudding, plumbing, wiring, priming, and painting our way to the big sell. Of course, we have had to enlist the aid of some of our church friends, (or should we say, our angels of mercy...) the ones that we go to church with down here in Acton, though, not the ones up there in Bedford. We were never the favorite "service project" when we lived there, let alone being one now. (Even though, you would think that they would want us to sell the house, so we don't move back in...)

We really need to sell this house, as we want to buy a mill building in North Western Mass., for my theater, and our art gallery, and our penthouse apartment, and a small town. Wait a minute, did I say a SMALL TOWN? Yes, its true, I will be officially a small town girl....an hour and fifteen minutes from Boston..... Ohhhh, wait a minute,.....I'm hyperventilating as I write....I need to go get me a paper bag to breath into!................

Alright, I'm back. I can handle this,......after all, I handled living in Claremont, California, and that usually took two hours to get to LA.

That said, if anyone is in the market for a "lovingly restored" historic house, built in the early 19th century, with 5 bedrooms, 3 full baths, a study, formal dining room, formal living room, family room and a future kitchen, (It isn't finished yet, but we are giving the person buying this house the opportunity to pick out their own kitchen and Bret will put it in...) we have it all for you! All on an acre and a half with a barn, a huge garage, and an attached carriage house!
It's got the white picket fence and everything! Come live in one of the only states that has no state tax or tax on things that you buy! Get all the seasons that anyone could want, and a great school district to boot!

Ok, ok, so I am getting carried away now.

But, seriously, it would be for a GREAT cause!

I Carry Your Heart With Me

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)
i am never without it (anywhere i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet)
i want no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

e.e. cummings

Yesterday was my wedding anniversary to my wonderful hubby, Bret. It was our ninth year of marriage and ten years that I have known him. I will not say that it has been ten years of bliss, but definitely ten years of laughter, tears, tantrums, trauma's, stress, love, respect, quiet moments, crazy moments, and lots of moving! Some people think that I "wear the pants" in this relationship, because Bret is so quiet and reserved, and I'm,....well....we all know that I am a loose "cannon". (couldn't help the play on words)

But the truth of the matter is that we are an equal team.
We make decisions together, even though one may be stronger on one decision than the other, and each of us have respect for each other's strengths and weaknesses to know when to let the other shine.

Bret is my love, my calm in the middle of a stormy life, my cornerstone that I cling to when my foundation is threatened, my best friend that enjoys gossiping once in a while, my business and "artistic vision" partner, my cheerleader when I'm down, my other half....

The poem above is one of my favorites, and it describes how I feel about him...perfectly....

Here's to another ten.....and on to infinity....

Time For Creature Sightings

I don't know if you have noticed that it is that time of the year again. The tulips are starting to appear, struggling to come up through the hard earth. The birds are returning from their southern migration and beginning their nesting, awaiting the warmth of spring. Everywhere you look, you see new creatures emerging from their cocoons, or their burrows.

It is at this time that an interesting phenomenon takes place among the human of the species. As they shed their parkas and their heavy boots and wooley hats, a new creature emerges. This creature is decked out in their latest caps, shirt and short sets, wind-breakers, and paraphenalia of their favorite sports teams.

Everywhere you look, you see these creatures. Big ones, small ones, fat ones, tall ones. It is a veritable feast for the human eye, sporting colors and logos from every baseball, football, hockey, and basketball team imaginable. They are, literally, covered from head to toe in these logos, proudly strutting and preening for all to see which sports team they are supporting....or giving their life's earnings to.

I marvel at their creative ability to mix and match their "sports wear", sometimes wearing the logo's on every piece of clothing that they wear and one has to wonder if their underwear is also sporting a logo. Fashion sense has long gone out the window and I can imagine their ancestors rolling in their graves as they witness this mismatched, unattractive display of loud colors, and yes, numbers, that their progeny wears.

I felt that it was my duty to interview one such creature. The following is the interview as it happened. In order to protect her family, I have chosen to name the interviewee "Madge". (I will be "the fashionista" for the interview---well, that is pretty self-explanatory)

The Fashionista: "Hey Madge, great to see you around again! I haven't seen you in all winter!"

Madge: (laughing) "Yes, well,.....you might say I've been busy, preparing for the warm weather."

The Fashionista: "What were you doing? Storing nuts?"

Madge: "No, silly, I've been gearing up for the new sports season! I've got baseball right around the corner and I've been shopping for my new entire wardrobe of Red Sox t-shirts, socks and caps to wear... Don't they look great?"

The Fashionista: ....."Right........hmmmm....well,.....that large number across your chest in bright blue and white certainly stands out against that RED
t-shirt, and the accessories that you chose----that baseball cap, and those socks.... with small "red socks"......all over them, is certainly fetching...."

Madge: (loudly) "GOOOO RED SOX!! I can't wait for the first game!"

The Fashionista: (covering my ears) "Wow, I just noticed that you also have a Red Sox watch with blinking 'go red sox' lights on it, and WHERE ever did you find those earrings to match---are they battery operated or something?"

Madge: "Yeah, aren't they great? I got them at the same store in the mall that I bought my Red Sox comforter and throw pillows!!!! You should come and see how I've decorated!"

The Fashionista: ....."Uhhhh.......................
(recovering) I'd REALLY love to, but I've got to stay at home tonight and catch up on my 'What Not to Wear'.... Great seeing you though! Gotta run!"


.................No, even I didn't see the "sports decorating" coming.
It blind-sided me.
I think that I am terrified of many things, but perhaps,...........being invited to a "sports enthusiast's" home is now at the top of my list.

One Pill Makes You Sleepy and One Pill Makes You Small...And Then There is That One Pill That Doesn't Do Anything at All...

Now before you go out and call the police....thinking that I am abusing drugs....let me explain...

I have noticed that there are so many substances that we (or, rather, I) take into our bodies now that have the word "herbal" after the title, so we feel that it's ok for us to take it....

I just started taking another diet-type herbal formula, one that doesn't have any caffiene in it, so I'm not bouncing all over the room any more than I usually do, which to some, is quite disconcerting as it is.... This one has "herbs" to curb hunger, and "herbs" to speed up one's metabolism (since mine has come to an earth shattering, screeching HALT!) It also has several vitamins and essential minerals that are good for the body, and was recommended and tried by a web site that tests all these type of products for consumers....

So far, so good...

But....it got me to thinking...which is always dangerous for me, I assume. (refer to previous blogs) Are all these so-called "herbal" supplements ok for our bodies and have we gone overboard in trusting these remedies? I had to see a doctor about a month ago----remember, the headaches.....and of course, they asked me what prescription medications that I was taking.... Well, there was only one...imitrex for my migraines....once every three months or so...but I wonder if I should have mentioned that I take 1000 mg. of valerian, an "herb" for sleeping, every night, or I can't sleep a wink... Or that I shoot straight zinc into my nose at the first sign of a sore throat/cold... (Zicam---what did I do without you before?) ....And what about all the other "herbs" that I have tried for various health problems? Do they ever list the other "herbs" on the bottles that might be fatal if mixed with the herb that I'm taking?

Something to think about....

As for me and my weight pill....I feel quite optimistic that I will lose the extra 15 pounds....and DON'T give me that "You should eat right and exercise everyday" crap....I DO....I think that I explained my metabolism earlier....and I don't want to hear "Well, you must be at the right weight that your body wants you to be!"

......It's just that I don't have the money for a whole new "larger" wardrobe...
You see.....I'm spending it on important "herbs".....

To Read Or Not To Read...

A few weeks ago, I went on a field trip to an Armory with my son's kindergarten class. There was armor from the 3rd century up to the 16th century. Now, this Armory was started by a man that had devoted his life to collecting antique and unique weapons and armor. Fascinating! It made me feel like I had stepped back in time...viewing armor that looked more like art pieces than used for fighting, and seeing armor from different countries, also...

So, of course, I immediately thought...."wow, I need to read about this era..."

Now,......you have to understand... I go through periods of "research" where I get into this "exploratory" mode. My children can tell you that I have had some very strange ones....reading about every mass murderer, and trying to find information on "castrati's" being several of them...

But,...as I got onto www.half.com, one of my favorite sites to find used books, I felt that thrill and rush of the search...trying to find books that I can read up on the era or person or event that I don't yet know that much about. I realized at that moment how much I LOVE books and how they have changed my life...

It sounds crazy, I know, but I spent my early childhood buried deep in books...
My mom threatened to take them away for punishment for not doing my chores....and I don't remember very much of the actual junior high and high school days, as I wandered in a daze, still totally absorbed in the book that I was reading at the time...

During my first marriage, I found that I looked forward to when my husband would travel, so I could stay up and read almost all night. People ask me what my favorite authors or types of books are, and I have to say that it depends on my interest and my mood. I'll read about anything, and if it interests me, I will enjoy it immensely! It's so wonderful that we have so many to choose from and that someone has done the research for us to learn about history, events, the mind of others, people's lives, other parts of the world, science and even the arts.

As for SOME of my favorites:
(and believe me, it was very hard to decide, as I have so many favorites...)

*"Cold Mountain" by Charles Frazier
-----Great writing...I still re-read the paragraph where Inman lies dying on the cold ground....the writing is so beautiful...
*"The English Patient" by Michael Ondaatje
------love this book...so mysterious, tragic, but a fantastic story...
*"Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens
----still my favorite of his books...
*Good Night, Mr. Tom" by Michelle Magorian
-----actually a teen book, but so worthwhile...gives insight to the British "rail" children during WWII...
*"A Passage to India" by E.M. Forster
-----this story is so fascinating, bridging the gaps between class and country...
*"Alias Grace" by Margeret Atwood
----a mystery, but most of all, this book delves into human nature, and the history of psychcology...amazing...
*"The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck
----awesome story about depression life in normal middle America....
*"The Crucible" by Arthur Miller
----such a great story about human paranoia, and how far some would go to protect themselves...
*" Drowning Ruth" by Cristina Schwartz
----delves into the psychcological mind of women...also, a mysterious death...
*"To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
-----one of my early favorites and still such a great story!...
*"Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck
-----still one of my all time favorites....so tragic...
*"The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton
-----the story touched me so deeply when I was a pre-teen and still has a strong message today...
*"Nectar From a Stone" by Jane Guill
----a Welsh story about a young woman's exodus after murdering her husband in self defense----in the 14th century...
*"An Indecent Obsession" by Colleen McCollough
-----a love story, but also tragic...
*"The Weight of Water" by Anita Shreve
----she has written many great books, but this is my all time favorite, love the parallels between the past and the present....brilliant!
*"The Music of the Spheres" by Elizabeth Redfern
----a marvelous book about astrology and music,....so good....
*"Rose" by Martin Cruz Smith
----mining in the 1800's...great!...
*"Enemy Women" Paulette Giles
----neat story from a womans point of view of the Civil War as it was ending....
*"Life and Death in Shanghai" by Nien Cheng
----I've read many biographies and autobiographies, but this was supreme!...
*"Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl" by Kate McCafferty
----such an interesting page in history...never knew that the Irish were sent to Barbados in the 1600's to be slaves....
*"Fingersmith" by Sarah Waters
--- riveting look at the classes and pickpockets in London, with a mystery to boot...
*"Five Mile House" by Karen Novak
-----a haunted house, and several twists and turns...scary....
*"Stones From the River" by Ursula Hegi
----WWII from the vantage point of the Germans....not the Nazi's...
*Resistence" by Anita Shreve
----another great book by this author...WWII Germany again...
*"Sweet Thames" by Matthew Kneale
----about the history of cleaning up the Thames, and how it coincided with a major cholera epidemic in England...
*Year of Wonders" by Geraldine Brooks
----a riveting book that takes place during the black plague...
*"How to Murder a Man" by Matthew Kneale
-----explores the history of even further Irish intimidations, during the 1800's as they fear the "Ribbonmen"....

Ok, ok....so I have gone on further than I should have...

I have so many more, and get so excited when I find a new one....

But, for now, this will have to do.... As for what I found to read after I looked for medieval books....I'm reading "The Illuminator" by Brenda Rickman Vantrease...a novel about the Oxford cleric John Wycliffe, who first translated the bible into a language for the common man in the 14th century....

What is an illuminator?....you may ask....
Well....its a man who uses art to....hmmmm....maybe you should go found out for yourself....