a road trip.

I've also ventured a little farther than my towering mountains to find respite from my less-than-ideal situation. A few weeks ago a friend and I drove two hours north to Promontory, Utah where we learned about the long ago meeting of the railroad.

In 1869 the nation was recovering from the effects of the Civil War, seeking to find ways to build the economy, bolster patriotism and take advantage of the scientific and mechanical advances being made like never before.  One side effect of all of this was a frenzy of railroad building on both coasts and an effort to literally unite the still-damaged country. The Union Pacific Railroad was coming from the east while the Central Pacific was building from the west.  They'd been getting money based on the amount of track laid and weren't being very judicious about it when President Johnson and others in Washington stepped in and gave them a completion deadline. The agreed upon point was Promontory Summit near the Great Salt Lake and on May 10 engines from both sides met and a symbolic Golden Spike was driven completing the world's first transcontinental railroad.

There's a visitor's center there now (it's a designated National Historic Site) but not much else. However, they bring out full-sized replicas of the trains (the originals were scrapped for parts around WWII) and have knowledgeable staff that share stories about the historic day.  There's also a gift shop, small museum, and several informational movies that run throughout the day. It was a surprisingly delightful place to visit.  Highly recommended, especially for train or history enthusiasts.

yes, my photo is touched up a bit (ala Instagram) but the colors were nearly that vivid in real life-the trains were truly something to see!

And then nearby at the Great Salt Lake is a famous art installation, Spiral Jetty.  Created by Robert Smithson in 1970 it's made out of basalt rocks from the nearby hills and is over 1500 feet long (the pictures don't do it justice.) Depending on the time of year it can be covered by the lake but we've had such low rainfall the past few years that the water was barely visible from the viewpoint/parking lot.  We walked down to the jetty itself and beyond where the salt from the lake had dried in such a way that it seemed as if we were walking on ice or marble (I imagine that it's similar to the famous Salt Flats where they do all the land speed testing, but I've never been there.) We poked around in puddles marveling at the designs and variations of the crystals, the different colors and shapes, the strangeness that makes up this world we call home.

the two dark dots you can almost see just below the mountains, that's about where the water line is-everything else you see in the foreground is all dry/salt

It was definitely worth the drive and the half day or so we spent exploring. Utah, a pretty great state indeed!

a road trip! Part 3

My favorite part of our trip was the time we spent in Lexington and Concord. The area is so rich in history and culture. It seems unlikely that such an amazing conglomerate of forward thinkers and revolutionaries could be gathered in the same space continually over the course of several generations but you can still feel the energy and influence years later.

The Minuteman-so called because they could be mustered for battle so quickly

North Bridge in Lexington

Concord grapes

Paul Revere (and others) left Boston on his fateful ride to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that the British were on the march.  Things came to a head the morning of April 19, 1775 with the "shot heard 'round the world" * fired on the Lexington Green and culminating (the initial battle, not the war, obviously) 7 or so miles away on the North Bridge in Concord.

On the eve of the anniversary of September 11th when so many of our freedoms were tested and shaken it's an interesting contrast to remember the volatile beginnings of this great country. We were born fighting and we've had to fight for everything good ever since.  There's a lot in this world worth fighting for and I'm grateful for those who've risked it all to make things possible for those to come.


*the phrase was coined by Concord native Ralph Waldo Emerson years later in his poem Concord Hymn

a road trip! Part 2

After Rhode Island we went north to Boston. We spent a few days wandering back and forth between the city proper, Salem, Concord, and Plymouth.

We started where it all started, with the Pilgrims in Plymouth.  We saw the Mayflower (replica) and Plymouth Rock (it says 1620 on it, I promise, the sun was shining in such a way that I could never get a good photo.)

We spent some time with the witches in Salem, ate some glass in a lovely little restaurant on the wharf (long story) and toured the house that was the inspiration for Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables.

We ended our day by wandering the shores of Marblehead, the perfectly charming coastal town nearby.

One of our evenings in the city included a visit to the north end for Italian, a not-nearly-as-long-as-it-looks wait in line for fabulous cannoli at Mike's, a stroll past the Old North Church and a stop at Fenway.

Another visit took us past the Boston LDS temple and to dinner at Armando's Pizza.  Did I mention we spent a lot of time eating?  And gained several pounds? We did, and we did. And every bite was worth it!

More to come but I'm afraid I have to pause now to drool a little and wish I was eating pizza and cannoli.

Happiness is...a good book (Summer Reading edition #15)

Grave Mercy
Author: Robin LaFevers
Published: 2012
Pages: 549
Age Range: 13-17
Genre: Historical Fiction/Fantasy
Cover Score: ****
Overall Score: *****
Rating: PG-13

First Sentence: I bear a deep red stain that runs from my left shoulder down to my right hip, a trail left by the herbwitch’s poison that my mother used to try to expel me from her womb.

Seventeen-year-old Ismae’s life has been one of extreme hardship. Mistreated by her father since she was tiny she has just escaped an arranged marriage to an equally cruel man and finds sanctuary at the convent of St Mortain. Here everyone serves the god of Death and they're trained as assassins to kill those who bear his marque. Eager to please and have a purpose in life she looks forward to exacting some justice on men in general, a group she assumes to be as cold and heartless as her husband and father had been.

Her first real assignment leads her to the high courts of Brittany where she poses as mistress to Gavriel Duval, step-brother to the duchess whose life and rule is in danger. She uses her feminine wiles to spy and gain information about the plots to assassinate the duchess and take over the duchy, while watching for evidence of the marque on those she comes in contact with.

She receives guidance from her convent but as she comes to know the people she is working with she realizes that some of the orders and decisions don’t make sense. She doubts their accuracy and worries that there is an ulterior motive or spy in their own midst. And then she has a visit from Death himself. Can she serve him the way she feels or is she losing her nerve and her heart?

Set against the reign of Anne, Duchess of Brittany in 1485 there is much history at work here but it is solely as a backdrop for Ismae’s story. There are stark differences between Ismae’s upbringing with its deep cruelties and her extreme wants and the lushness of the life she finds at court. The descriptions gently lull you into the time and setting, while you are being swallowed up in the intrigue of the plot.

There is a hint of magic surrounding the old gods and Ismae has some superhuman abilities including being immune to poison, otherwise it’s quite realistic.

This is a beautifully written book, the dialogue feeling authentic but not overly flowery or formal. Ismae’s progression throughout the story is believable and natural. I love that she was able to move beyond her past and refused to let others dictate who or what she should be. She took guidance and help when needed but learned to take charge of her own fate and decisions. And I appreciated the aspect of forgiveness and growth; too often the emphasis is on judgement and revenge, forgiveness being seen as a weakness. This passage shows some of her conflicting thoughts and what she must overcome:

“How did you sleep?” he asks politely.
I risk glancing at him, expecting to see a glint of amusement or a smirk. Instead, there is a hint of concern. It is this kindness of his that unsettles me most. I can dodge a blow or block a knife. I am impervious to poison and know a dozen ways to escape a chokehold or garrote wire. But kindness? I do not know how to defend against that. (220)

This is a great historical fiction for those who don’t like historical fiction. The touch of fantasy makes you forget that the bulk of the premise is based on true events. It’s a fun escape and the first of a trilogy so watch for more to come!

Happiness is...a good book.

It's been a busy week, full of work and church commitments, dentist appointments and fillings, Mexican food and Real Steel (gotta love me some Hugh Jackman), writing (!) and books. I gave a short presentation in my women's church group all about the powers of reading and literacy and sharing some of my favorite reads and figured I'd better share a couple of my latest faves with you all. (All, I say that as if there are so many of you out there. Are we even up to 8 readers yet? I think my goal should be to make it to the double digits by the end of the year. That shouldn't be too hard, should it? Come on, recruit your friends!) Okay, back to the books.

First up is a clever little gem sure to please young and old alike. Notice the subtitle. It’s an alphabet story set in pre-historic times and uses just one word per letter to tell its story in halting caveman-esque speech. An unwitting caveman falls into a series of humorous (albeit life threatening) situations beginning with his quest for an acorn. He gets chased by a bear and a dinosaur, frees an unidentifiable animal from a block of ice, gets struck by lightning and eventually falls into a well-deserved sleep. Clever and full of slapstick humor, fans of Ice Age will eat it up.

Caveman: A B.C. Story
Author: Jane Trassler
Pages: 32
Age Range: 4-7
Published: 2011
Genre: Picture book/concept book (alphabet)
Cover Score: ****
Overall Score: ****
Rating: PG (some comic violence/peril)

Next: Told completely in dialogue and with richly simple illustrations this story is subtly subversive and wickedly irreverent, perfect for older readers who are honing their complex thinking skills. Bear has lost his hat. He goes calmly about the forest asking all of the creatures he meets if they’ve seen his hat but all deny any knowledge of it. (Though attentive readers will notice the rabbit is wearing a hat as he adamantly does so.) When questioned, the deer begins to ask questions of his own (what does it look like, where was it last seen) that spark the bear’s memory and he returns to question the rabbit again. The final spread shows the bear wearing his hat again while taking his own turn at being questioned. “Rabbit? I would never eat a rabbit,” he declares! Younger readers may not catch the implication of his final statement and more sensitive readers may cringe, but those who like a bit of dark reality will most likely be amused.




I Want My Hat Back
Author: Jon Klassen
Pages: 32
Age Range: 4-7
Published: 2011
Genre: Picture book
Cover Score: ***
Overall Score: ****
Rating: PG (allusions to violence)

And finally this is lovely little story. Ten year old Ha begins her new year in Saigon, her beloved homeland which is torn by vicious war. Her father has been missing in action for months and her older brothers and mother argue about whether it’s better to stay and remain true to their heritage and wait for their father or leave and try to make a new go at life. Eventually their uncle convinces them that life will be better in America and the family leaves nearly all of their posessions and makes the perilous journey out of Vietnam hidden in the hold of a ship and find safety with a sponsor family in Alabama. But here Ha finds cruelty and discrimination and a sea of unknowns where nothing at all is familiar. By the next new year she has come to understand herself, her family and the world around her just a little bit better and finds hope and friendship in unlikely places. Told in spare verse, the story focuses on Ha’s feelings and the emotions surrounding her circumstances more than the circumstances and events themselves, making it simple yet powerful and appropriate for a younger audience but still valid for older readers. And just a shout-out to the gorgeousness that is the cover, so beautiful! I would have picked this up based on that alone (and would not have been disappointed!)



Inside Out and Back Again
Author: Thanhha Lai
Pages: 262
Age Range: 10-12
Published: 2011
Genre: Historical Fiction/novels in verse
Cover Score: *****
Overall Score: ****
Rating: PG (violence and intense situations)


Give them all a try. They are definitely worth your time. (And then don't forget to tell me what you think!)

Now for a quick update on my WFMAD progress. Here are my contributions so far:

October 3: 15 min
October 4: 30 min
October 5: nothing
October 6: 25 min
October 7: 15 min
October 8: 45 min

Not too shabby if I do say so myself. I've gotten into the spirit of things and it's definitely easier to focus for a specified time period than to try and reach a goal of a specific word or page number. Which brings me to my moment of panic for next month. I decided to do the math and see how my efforts were comparing and preparing me for what was to come...in order to write 50,000 words in the month I'll need to get down an average of 1666 words/day, which comes down to about 2 1/2 pages of writing (Times New Roman 12, single spaced.) Today's efforts produced about 1/3 of that. Which means I'm looking at about 3 hours of writing a day! Yikes! So, trying not to psych myself out too much just yet I need to remember that there's not supposed to be a lot of pre-planning, editing or polishing going on. The goal is to get it on the paper. It also helps that my current WIP (work in progress) requires some background knowledge and historical research and that's where most of my snags come in...not having done the research yet. The idea I have mulling for next month is pure fantasy and will require very little of that sort of writing so hopefully I'll be able to just get the story out and worry about the technical details later. We'll see!

Anyone decide to join me for either challenge? I'd love to hear how your work is progressing this month. I'd also love to have a buddy to check in with every now and then next month. Let me know! Until then, keep reading, writing and finding happiness in all you do!

Happiness is...a good book. (Summer Reading edition #37)

Bird in A Box
Author: Andrea Davis Pinkney
Pages: 278
Age Range: 8+
Published: 2011
Genre: Historical Fiction
Cover Score: ***
Overall Grade: ****
Rating: PG (some violence)

Three kids find themselves brought together thanks to boxing champ Joe Louis. Hibernia, Willie and Otis each take turns narrating chapters of the text covering the year from June 1936 to June 1937.

Hibernia is the daughter of a single father preacher. Her mother left just after Hibernia was born to pursue her dream of singing. Hibernia has never known anything more about her but inherited her mother’s gift for song. She has a formal sort of relationship with her stern father, which progresses and improves as the story unfolds, and he allows Hibernia some freedom to practice her singing and begins to answer some of her questions about her mother.

Willie, though he’s not actually an orphan, has found his way to Mercy Orphanage. His father, Sampson, is a no-good drunk and after he’d beat Willie and burned his hands practically to stumps, his mother told him how to find the place and made him promise her he’d stay there safe until she could come get him.  He’s a boxer at heart but doesn’t know what he’ll do with his damaged hands and broken heart.

Otis recently lost both of his parents in a car accident. He finds that the easiest form of communication for him comes through the riddles his father used to tell him. Leila, one of the orphanage’s overseers, and the new boy Willie understand that and the two boys become fast friends. They push and support each other in the right places without really knowing that they’re doing it. They also tune into the small radio Otis inherited from his father to listen to the fights, following their favorite, The Brown Bomber, most closely. And later, when Hibernia’s church choir gives a performance at the orphanage, Otis is smitten and the three find their lives overlapping.

Each child is somehow swept up in the boxing contagion that gripped the nation during the Great Depression. The world needed something to cheer about and boxing somehow fit that need. The black community was doubly proud of their hometown boy becoming not only a national hero but eventually the world champion.

I really enjoyed this little book. I have to admit I went into it thinking it was about something else completely and was pleasantly surprised even after I realized it was primarily about boxing (a sport which I loathe and can find pretty much zero merit in.) The voices are well-done, each being unique and having just a flavor of dialect adding some authenticity without making the text hard to follow. The scene is set perfectly. The time period is clear and acts as a backdrop without heavy-handedly taking over the story. There’s a bit of harsh reality mixed in but it’s primarily a story about fighting when you’re down and persevering despite the odds. There’s hope and humor and a feeling of pride and optimism that easily balances out the darker moments.

There’s also an extensive author’s note at the back that gives a brief bio of Joe Louis and why he meant so much to the country and notes about the radio commentary found throughout the text (which is taken from actual broadcasts.) Other fact vs. fiction moments are discussed and there are brief biographical sketches of other famous people and places mentioned in the story (Ella Fitzgerald, The Savoy Ballroom, Max Schmeling etc.) to give some additional context for readers who may not be familiar with them. The author also explains how many of the stories were based on things that actually happened to members of her family.

This is a great little peek into the time period, full of heart.  Highly recommended!

Happiness is...a good book. (Summer Reading edition #32)

Running with the Horses
Author and Illustrator: Alison Lester 
Pages: 32
Age Range: 6+
Published: 2011 (first published in 2009 in Australia)
Genre: Historical Fiction/Picture Book
Cover Score: ****
Overall Grade: ****
Rating: PG

Inspired by the rescue of the Lipizzaner stallions from Austria during WWII, this is a good book that was almost great but missed the mark by not being quite as accurate as I’d hoped. Never does it claim to be anything but ‘inspired by’ it was just my own hope for a little more history than fiction that left me disappointed.

Nina is a young girl whose father works for the Royal Academy of Dancing Horses. Her mother had been a rider/dancer with their own troupe before she died and her father had found a more secure lifestyle for himself and his little daughter while still working with the horses he loved so dearly. But war is moving through the city and Nina and her father will be leaving to drive the horses across the mountains to the safety of her grandparent’s farm. Just before they are to leave Nina finds Zelda, an old cab horse, abandoned in the street and is determined to save her too.

During a desperate race through the city the old mare leads the group down dark streets and alleyways away from the smoke and gunfire and eventually out to the safety of a hillside. When daylight comes both horse and girl are a bit worse for the wear but also determined to go on. When they all come to a stone bridge Nina’s father urges the horses to cross but Zelda pushes past them driving them back off the bridge. When the moonlight shines out from behind the clouds the gaping hole in the bridge becomes visible. Zelda has saved the band again.

And finally as they cross the mountains the snow becomes so deep that even the strong horses struggle but the brave old mare stumbles and at first refuses to get up. Only after the strongest of urgings and physical pushing/lifting does she stand again and is able to make the rest of the journey to the safe house.

The tale is truly heroic and inspiring and there is an author’s note at the back that explains the inspiration behind it, but again I wished it was a bit more fact-based. As an adult I can Google information to my little heart’s content, but kids aren’t going to do that, or possibly even realize that it was a true event that they might want to know more about. A little back-matter, some additional information, timelines etc. could have added a whole new dimension and made it even more powerful.

The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous. There is a mixture of photographs (the city streets, some of the mountain scenes and images of what I assume are the Winter Palace/Riding School in Vienna) and watercolor scenery cunningly combined in a sort of layered collage making it impossible at points to tell what is real and what is drawn/painted. The characters of the girl, her father and stable hands and the horses are all rendered in black and white pencil sketches, contrasting beautifully against the deeply colored backgrounds.

Read it. Marvel at the beautiful images and be inspired by the acts of bravery. And then go learn about what really happened.

Try this site or this one.

And if that's not enough, take a look at this video with a little bit of the history as well as the horses themselves in action. Beautiful!

Happiness is...a good book. (Summer Reading edition #30)

Happy Tuesday!  What? It's not Tuesday you say? Well, let's see what we can do about that. (Cue wiggling fingers of illusion and appropriate time travel music).

                                                    *    *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Ah, my friends!  Welcome to Tuesday, July 26th. I'm so glad you could join me. I have a lovely book to review for you today. Are you ready for this?!

Wrapped
Author: Jennifer Bradbury
Pages: 309
Age Range: 12+
Published: 2011
Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery/Young Adult
Cover Score: ****
Overall Grade: *****
Rating: PG

Agnes Wilkins is an unusual 17 year old girl about to debut into 1815 London society. Her father is a government official and her mother is determined to see her only daughter engaged to their charming and wealthy neighbor Lord Showalter before the season is out. While Agnes knows her duty and is somewhat excited at the prospects she's also loathe to give up her opportunities to continue her education to settle into a life of bland domesticity. (She speaks 10 languages, longs for adventure and loves the romance in the newly published A Lady's novels, particularly Pride and Prejudice, and fancies herself finding a Lizzie Bennett/Mr. Darcy type relationship full of banter and passion.) 

Her first social adventure is attending a mummy unwrapping party in Showalter's garden. As she cuts into the linen wrappings she's equally enthralled and disgusted. She's fascinated to see something very few have from a place she, as a proper English lady, will probably never visit but feels that the relics, ruins, and artifacts should remain in their places of origin rather than be desecrated by people for entertainment's sake.

As she unwraps a small jackal's head in the bindings there is a disturbance and insistence that the party stop so the mummy, supposedly switched with another during shipping and unloading, can be returned to the British Museum. For some reason Agnes finds herself pocketing the iron head and witnessing a few odd exchanges before the party comes to a chilling end with the murder of one of Showalter's grooms. 

By morning talk of ancient curses has spread throughout the city with several of the party goers being attacked or having their houses broken into. Agnes scoffs at the talk of curses but is sure it all has something to do with the jackal's head hidden under her pillow. Throughout the course of the book she goes behind the scenes of the British Museum, unlocks a code with the help of the Rosetta Stone, dresses as a boy, uncovers Napoleon Bonaparte's dastardly plans to conquer Britain, meets a handsome and vexing young scholar, learns to shoot a gun and more.

There's enough fact and history interwoven into the story to make it all sound very credible and give it some substance. There's also an author's note at the end separating fact from fiction and giving a bit of additional information about the historical setting and customs. It's lightly flavored with turns of phrase that remind you of the time period and keep it from sounding modern yet it's highly readable.  Agnes is a spunky heroine eager to buck the system that keeps her confined and locked into a particular role and future, both likeable and relatable. Like a watered down combination of Jane Austen and Elizabeth Peters it begs to be read during afternoon tea in the garden. I thought this book was thoroughly delightful. It was the perfect blend of smart and fluffy. The perfect easy escape for my crazy weekend, I highly recommend it (particularly to fans of either of the aforementioned authors!) 




Hope you enjoyed your short journey to Tuesday.  Can't wait to see you all again tomorrow!

Happiness is...a familial connection.

My mom is pretty big into genealogy. It started years ago when my grandfather started to trace his ancestors back to England and everything ran aground after only one generation when he ran into his oh-so-creatively-named grandfather, Henry Brown. She (and others in her family) have worked with professional genealogists, spent countless hours in the local family history library and even traveled to England to hunt down clues about him and his family. We did finally find him, the details of which could be an entire book of its own, but suffice it to say, because of the constant activity and mom's natural inclination to be more talkative than dad, I've always had more of an interest in and known more about my mom's side of the family than my dad's. I had little pieces of the puzzle thanks to our obviously Scottish last name and passing comments made by my grandparents but nothing really concrete to build on.

Well, this past year for Christmas my dad gave all us kids folders filled with stories, journals, newspaper clippings, and charts detailing some of our family history and I've absolutely loved learning more about my paternal ancestors.  My proud heritage includes pioneers who crossed oceans and plains for their beliefs, members of the ill-fated Martin Handcart company, settlers and school teachers, missionaries and hard-workers in many fields. Reaching out and touching the distant past gives me a greater appreciation for the present, all that I am and all that I have. 

But the greatest joy has been in coming to know my grandfather a bit better.  Relations in my dad's family have always been a little strained and we've not had the chance to be as close as we'd like, so being able to read his own words and hear about his childhood has been fascinating.  I feel as if I've come to know him as a person instead of just as 'grandpa'. Born on the cusp of the Great Depression, he lived the life I've read about in so many of my books, at once both hard and idyllic; winter sleigh rides, summer baseball games in the pasture, and hours spent listening to programs in front of the radio. This got me reminiscing about my own adventures listening to the radio.

When I was young there was a radio station that would play these old radio shows at night.  From 9 until 10 when I was supposed to be in bed asleep I would turn on my alarm clock radio and get lost in the worlds of Fibber McGee and Molly, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, The Great Gildersleeve and the Twilight Zone.  (You ever want to be truly terrified? Forget books. Screw movies.  Turn off the lights and listen to chilling stories told by someone with a horribly creepy voice and strategically placed sound effects. It's amazing what your imagination can conjure up when it's not got anything else to do.  I spent months sleeping with my lights on or with my dolls locked in my closet after particularly scary episodes.  My mom finally but the kibosh on my listening habits...which of course inspired me to turn the volume down really low and put the radio right next to my pillow.  Readers aren't the only ones with clandestine nighttime activities!)

In his history my grandpa mentioned listening to Amos and Andy specifically and I decided to see if I could hunt down some version to see how it compared to the other shows I was familiar with. I checked out a comedy collection from my local library (aka my home away from home) and have spent the last several weeks in the company of some of the greatest comics in history. The Great Gildersleeve wasn't as funny as I remembered it being and I didn't love Amos and Andy (sorry grandpa!) but I can totally understand why George Burns had such a long and lustrous career.  Opting for listening first thing in the morning rather than late at night, I often had to stop applying my mascara or curling my hair for fear of jabbing myself in the eye or dreaded forehead burns from giggling too much at Red Skelton, Jack Benny and Abbott and Costello. Laughing out loud....what a fabulous way to start the day!  And what a simple, yet powerful way to feel just a little bit closer to my grandfather.

My challenge for you this week is to make some connections of your own.  Dig deep into your family history and learn something new.  Talk to your parents or grandparents and ask them their most cherished memories. Make a few memories of your own. Try a recipe from your native homeland.  Watch your grandfather's favorite movie. Plant your mother's favorite flower. Tell their stories, keep them alive, make them real. And I guarantee you'll find a bit of happiness along the way!