Authors

The other day, my oldest daughter and I were talking about authors. I mentioned how much I loved Hemingway as a writer. I liked how he wasn’t wordy and used just the right amount of words to convey his meaning to his readers. My daughter mentioned that she also liked Hemingway, and that is why she named her cat after him.

 

We both discussed if there were any present day writers around like Hemingway, Steinbeck, Fitzgerald, Tolstoy and some of those other great writers? Since our discussion I have been trying to think who I thought was a good present day writer. Granted, Stephen King is at the top of his game but not exactly in the writing class of a Hemingway, Steinbeck or Fitzgerald.

 

There are a lot of other prolific writers, who always seem to have their books on the best sellers list…like James Patterson, Jodi Picoult, Michael Connelly, Vince Flynn, David Baldacci and many others. I have read a number of those authors’ books and have enjoyed their books. Each might be in the top their game in their given genre. But they are still not Hemingway, Steinbeck or Fitzgerald.

 

The more I searched my brain for writers – I decided on three authors that I have read most of their books. They are Erik Larson, Kent Haruf, and Richard Russo. Those three have written a number of books.

 

Larson uses an interesting writing tool of intertwining two major stories within his books.  For example, he wrote a book centering on the Chicago World’s Fair, while a paralleling story was about a serial killer during that same time. In another book, he wrote about the hurricane that devastated Galveston in 1900 and the emergence of the meteorologist.

 

Haruf, who is from Colorado, writes his stories about the small town of Holt, Colorado, where he once lived when he was younger. It’s his characters, their lives, and their dialogue and interaction that raise his novels up to lofty heights.

 

As for Russo, he too is a master storyteller. His novels take place in the New York area, where he was born and raised. His stories are set in a small town and he brings his characters and their lives alive through his writings.

 

Maybe you have some favorite authors that you would like to share and the reasons why you read them…

Mary Coin

 

I just finished reading the novel, Mary Coin, by Marisa Silver. It is an amazing story written by an amazing writer. What made me read this book? I think the cover drew me to the book first. The cover is the iconoclast photo of the woman from the Depression Era…Migrant Mother.

 

In real life, the woman photographed was a 32 year old mother of seven. Her name was Florence Owens Thompson. The photographer was Dorthea Lange. This photo is one of the most famous photos of the Depression Era, showing the plight and hunger of the people during this time.

 

Even now, if you were to talk about the famous photo of the woman during the Depression or would Google it…the photo of Mother Migrant will pop up. It is as famous as the photo of the young Afghan girl ‘A Life Revealed,’ on the 1985 National Geographic covered.

 

As for this book, Mary Coin – the story is about three major people: Walker Dodge, the present day professor of Cultural Lit who shows the photo to his class - Mary Coin, the Migrant worker, and the photographer, Vera Dare, who takes the famous photo. Each character and their story are well developed. In the end, the stories all connect in a very satisfying way.

 

This is such a well written novel, that it left me thirsting for more, after I finished reading it. That was when I went to my computer in search of the picture and story of the Migrant Mother, Florence Owens Thomson and the photographer, Dorthea Lange.

 

 I definitely recommend this book and look forward to reading more books by Marisa Silver.

Boston Bombings

The end of apprehending the Boston Marathon bombing terrorists ended a few days ago with killing one terrorist and wounding and taking the other terrorist into police custody. This isn’t the end of a tragic story but really only the beginning. It is amazing that we are a free nation. What is more amazing is that there are a lot of people who hate America and its freedoms. Those people come to America or are born here and receive a lot of privileges and freedoms. They hate freedom but they want it badly. They take what they can from our land and in return we are made to feel that we are bad and evil.

 

To be free – there are many pitfalls. We, the people, are a great nation, filled with great people. Our Founding Fathers came to America for just those freedoms. There are many people and countries who hate us, and what we stand for.

 

From this day on, we must enjoy our freedom, but be vigilant and never let our guard down. The Boston tragedy should teach us a valuable lesson. Along with freedom comes hatred which is conceived out of jealousy. But this tragedy has also taught us that through the people and the first responders - two hateful men came to justice. Because it was the people who looked out for one another and came to the aid of one another.

 

To the people of Boston and especially the police force…I salute you!

The Following

I have been watching the television series, The Following. It has left me with some mixed emotions. At first it was disturbing. The acting is okay and the writing is average. I’m still not sure about the writers or what they are thinking but that’s the way it is. The series is about a serial killer and stars Kevin Bacon, who seems to have been around since the beginning of television and is pretty much in every movie you could imagine.

 

In the series, Bacon is a retired FBI agent named Ryan Hardy. He is pitted against his nemesis, serial killer Joe Carroll. Carroll has killed 14 women and the count, keeps adding up. Carroll is played by James Purefoy, who is a Lit Professor gone bad.

 

Bacon, to add to the dilemma, had an affair with Carroll’s wife after they were divorced and while Carroll was serving time in prison. Now Carroll has two good reasons to hate Bacon; Bacon put him in prison and is banging Carroll’s wife, but Bacon really does love her. That will be a problem down the road.

 

Unfortunately, for everyone, Carroll has a minion of followers, who helps Carroll escape and takes him to a beautiful compound, where more of his followers are waiting.  My advice is that if you want to kill someone, do it on this show because the FBI and police are really inept. They can’t stop Carroll or save anyone, even themselves. So, be a killer, because your victim(s), a number of agents and cops will die. You, the killer will live and continue to kill, and the series will be watched by people with blood lust in their hearts and numbed brains.

 

As for Bacon, who is out of retirement and has a pace maker (spoiler alert)…just kidding. He will be captured a few times by Carroll’s followers, tied up and shocked enough to have kept the entire Pittsburgh area with power for a week. And amazingly, he survives…duh!

 

If a normal person sits back and thinks about this series like I have been doing, I am spending most of my time realizing, no matter how this is plotted out and acted, it is just plain fanciful. I’m tired of seeing evil triumph every Monday night as the body count piles up.

 

As for Bacon, kill him now, and get this dumb series over with. My Las Vegas bet is on Carroll to keep killing and the series will be renewed, since the ratings are sky high. Whatever else, find something better to do or watch on Monday nights…or just hang in there for  the return of Monday Night Football. Hope does spring eternal

Bee Delicious

 

I just finished a cup of coffee and enjoyed every morsel of the mini Guinness flavored cupcake with its sumptuous Buttercream frosting. I savored the ‘stout’ flavor of Guinness, while the Buttercream frosting, so creamy, melted away in my mouth. Then I took a bite of one of the Italian Pignoli cookies, Italian macaroons made of almond paste and rolled in pine nuts. The cookie made me think of all those cookies that my Italian grandmothers had made, years and years ago.

 

The cookie and cupcake was made by Lucy, owner of Bee Delicious pastries. Lucy had made pastries for my daughter’s bridal shower, as well as her wedding cake. Neither one disappointed me.

 

Everything that Lucy makes is from scratch. She uses the freshest ingredients – butter, eggs, vanilla beans, and imported spices, all of which enhances the flavors of her cakes and pastries.

 

Some of Bee Delicious most popular cake flavors and fillings are the Traditional Almond Cake with French Vanilla bean Butter Cream frosting, Buttermilk Chocolate Cake, Yellow Cake, Lemon Poppy Seed, Orange Citrus and Pistachio Cake, Red Velvet, Black and White, and Carrot Cake.

 

Her artistic and clever decorating adds a magical twist to her cakes and cupcakes like her castles, blocks, Mickey Mouse cakes and others. Lucy’s designs range from whimsical to elegant. But it is the flavors of the cakes and pastries that are superb; moist and simply delicious.

 

Lucy can and will make you anything you want or desire. Believe me – you won’t be disappointed. Besides, it’s always a pleasure to work with Lucy.

 

For more information – take a look at her website (www.beedeliciouspastries.com).

 

Now, having said all that – I have another Italian Pignoli cookie to eat.

Fairy Garden

 

A Fairy Garden is a garden where people believe in the magic of fairies. Besides being a magical place, it’s a special garden that can be designed and made in a smaller area of your larger outdoor garden. Or it can be a miniature garden in a smaller planter or wherever you decide to plant it. It can be brought indoors in colder months to enjoy, and kept outdoors in warmer weather.

 

The Fairy Garden can be planted in any container or item that is water tight and has good drainage like a terra cotta planter, an old dresser drawer, metal containers or an old tin. Anything will do – just use your imagination.                                                                                 

 

Imagination and creativity along with soil and what to put into your garden is essential. You can use tiny flowering and non-flowering plants, miniature houses, miniature people and animals, and tiny outdoor furniture. You can add tiny fences, lights, swings, bird baths, stones, gravel, or anything that you want to make it your own special garden. There are hundreds of possibilities and even web sites about Fairy Gardens to get you started.

 

My goal this summer is to let each of my grandchildren indulge in their imagination and make their own Fairy Garden.

 

Besides checking out web sites, I intend to visit my old greenhouse, where I used to work, LMS on Wagner Road in Hampton. If you’re interested in a Fairy Garden – visit LMS and ask for Jane’s help. Or better yet, check out the website for LMS and sign up for Jane’s class in ‘how to design a Fairy Garden.’

Fairy Garden

 

 

A Fairy Garden is a garden where people believe in the magic of fairies. Besides being a magical place, it’s a special garden that can be designed and made in a smaller area of your larger outdoor garden. Or it can be a miniature garden in a smaller planter or wherever you decide to plant it. It can be brought indoors in colder months to enjoy, and kept outdoors in warmer weather.

 

The Fairy Garden can be planted in any container or item that is water tight and has good drainage like a terra cotta planter, an old dresser drawer, metal containers or an old tin. Anything will do – just use your imagination.

 

Imagination and creativity along with soil and what to put into your garden is essential. You can use tiny flowering and non-flowering plants, miniature houses, miniature people and animals, and tiny outdoor furniture. You can add tiny fences, lights, swings, bird baths, stones, gravel, or anything that you want to make it your own special garden. There are hundreds of possibilities and even web sites about Fairy Gardens to get you started.

                                                                                                         

 

My goal this summer is to let each of my grandchildren indulge in their imagination and make their own Fairy Garden.

 

Besides checking out web sites, I intend to visit my old greenhouse, where I used to work, LMS on Wagner Road in Hampton. If you’re interested in a Fairy Garden – visit LMS and ask for Jane’s help. Or better yet, check out the website for LMS and sign up for Jane’s class in ‘how to design a Fairy Garden.’

What Makes Your Spirits Rise?

There are a few things that raise my spirits up. Some of those things are seeing my children or holding and hugging one of my grandchildren, getting into the writing zone, going to the beach, or being pulled into a good book. But when I feel down or when the days are dark, all I have to do is go to a greenhouse and walk through it and my spirits soar.

 

I used to work at a greenhouse…LMS on Wagner Road in Hampton. My main job was planting all those tiny baby plugs that would come in at an endless stream. Sometimes, there would be trays filled with those baby plugs filling up one of the potting benches. It seemed like an endless task at hand. Once the cells and pots were filled with soil…the planting could begin. It was easy to bang out and plant a number of those trays.

 

What I loved about the greenhouse was that I would arrive on a rainy day or one of those snowy days in winter, get out of my car and walk into the greenhouse where everything was blooming. The beauty of the plants and the amazing flowers that were starting to bloom in a tiny plug, the size of tiny finger nails always made me catch my breath. The colors were dazzling:  brilliant corals, pristine white, majestic purples, and royal blues and more were a wonder to behold.

 

Of course there were the distinctive aromas of the plants, especially if I was working with the herbs, like the wonderful smell of basil, lemon balm, or Rosemary. Working with the herbs would always make my stomach grumble and then I would have to pull out a packet of peanut butter cheese crackers or peel a banana and eat it.

 

Now that I no longer work at the greenhouse, it doesn’t stop me from visiting it. I happen to have driven over to the place that I worked for recently and still found that I was filled with all those amazing feelings. I walked through a few of the greenhouses and could smell the earthy aroma of the potting soil and there in front of me were some of those tiny plugs that were in pots beckoning me to come over closer to them.

 

The pottery and garden items were all on display as were some of the garden statues. But what caught my eye was the new display of miniature items for The Fairy Gardens. But that is my next story.

 

For a while on a snowy day…I felt at home in the greenhouse, and my spirits started to rise. I made a few purchases and said goodbye to my old friends and left the store happy with the knowledge that the greenhouse still held all its magic and it still affected me in a wonderful way.