Book Review: Keep Moving by Maggie Smith

 

Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change

by Maggie Smith

I have really enjoyed this book. If I didn’t need to write a review for it, it’s one of those books that I would have taken far longer to read, a little at a time, and mull over before moving on.

The physical format is a very satisfying thick, hardcover book, chunky and substantial in the hand. I like how the very short essays alternate with single page entries that work as a sort of meditation moment. The author says she wrote one a day to herself for some time to encourage herself.

There is much that is eminently relatable to me in this book of essays and affirmations, from the difficulties of motherhood post-partum, and the loss of sense of self, to my enjoyment of editing as a whittling down of words to a more “concentrated form.”

I really enjoyed her perspective of many ideas, from “commit to trying” to “what you are worth to someone else is not what you are worth.” I love the idea of looking at difficult times you are going through as your own superhero origin story.

She also provides, in one of her own experiences, a mention of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. I had never heard of the center but I’m looking forward to checking out their web site as a way to continue working on the ideas the author shares in this book. I suspect it will be very complimentary. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/

The one detraction that I feel I have to note comes from the size of the font on the essays and the color of the font on some of the short entries. The font is really quite small and while it is bold enough to generally read comfortably for myself, I have a feeling some people are going to find themselves squinting at it or getting a magnifying glass. A bigger font would have been wise.

Likewise, the light turquoise color of some entries is lovely, but on the smaller size font entries, it makes some words rather hard to make out on the white pages. In my humble opinion, the former was a choice which may lose some readers, the latter is quite simply a bad choice.

All in all, I am very glad to have the hard cover of this book on my shelf, and I think I will be going back to read it again.

Adventures in Home Learning: A Final Post

 

I was thinking more about the idea of getting my daughter to read instructions carefully, how doing schoolwork can prepare us for life, and how life can help us with schoolwork.

Recently we were at a local farm store where they were selling bagged cookie mixes. She asked if we could buy one and I agreed.

Now it occurred to me that the directions on the bag of cookie mix could be just what we needed to help her learn to read instructions more carefully and thoroughly. If you want kids to be invested in what they are doing, baking chocolate chip cookies seems like a really good place to start.

So, one day I announced we were going to make the cookies. (To be more accurate, SHE was going to make the cookies while I asked questions and kept an eye on things.)

To start, I asked her what we needed to do first? “Put on an apron,” she said. Well, I usually bake without an apron but it was a valid idea so I said, “okay,” and we found her an apron in the drawer.

Then I told her she needed to read through all the instructions carefully before we started. She read them out loud to me.

I had her tell me what ingredients we needed to gather to go with what was in the bag.

Then I asked her, “what should we do next?”

“Dump the mix out,” she replied.

Hmm. “On the counter?” I asked.

No. We needed bowls and utensils to mix.

Once we had that, she remembered that I usually mix the wet ingredients together first, then add the dry. (The directions on the bag were kind of basic.)

I tried to keep any suggestions in the form of questions, “what do we need to do next?”

She has already done a fair bit of baking with me, so she had some pretty good ideas.

In no time at all, we had cookie dough on tins ready to go in the oven.

Over all, I think it was a very successful first lesson in reading instructions carefully. And we got cookies out of it.

Finally, this will be the last entry in the Home Learning section of this blog. Most people are either home schooling completely and know what they are doing far better than I, or working with their schools..

Thanks for reading. I hope it has been of some help, or will be if you find it later on.

Book Review: It Calls from the Sky: Terrifying Tales from Above

 

It Calls from the Sky: Terrifying Tales from Above

Edited by Alanna Robertson-Webb

 

Though I love the show Supernatural, stories by Neil Gaiman, the Odd Thomas novels by Dean Koontz, and have even written the odd horror story or two, I would not say that horror is my genre. I’m more a fan of urban fantasy and murder mysteries that don’t go too deeply into the gore.

However, I’ve been fascinated by the stories included in this book. I’m afraid the editor ran a little short on time because at least one story was sorely in need of punctuation and grammar editing. However, the story was engrossing enough that I enjoyed it anyway. Some of the stories are well-crafted but downright icky. Others are a little more science fiction with a touch of the horror.

This is a themed anthology as the foreword explains – “As humans we rely so much on what the sky provides; we trust in the sun and moon cycles to keep our plant life alive, and to keep the ocean tides at bay. We trust that the clouds will bring rain to nourish the land and our streams, and that storms will eventually pass. But what happens when the sky itself becomes our enemy?”

Or the danger approaches from the sky? Here we find alien invasions and angels that are no angels. Even rain carries horrors.

One of my favorite stories is Tenure by V.A. Vazquez which combines the good old-fashioned campfire stories of monsters with a Supernatural-esqe style of using knowledge of the old monsters, in this case a Penanggalan, to defeat them. Maybe. A thoroughly enjoyable story with good plotting and pacing, and excellent details. Beware things that smell of vinegar.

Thlush-a-lum by Rebecca Gomez Farrell offers an interesting story perspective starting from the fears of every child when things scratch at the windows. But then the story takes a unique turn, scary but lyrical and kind of lovely too.

Most of the stories end badly for the narrator or main characters. I mean, isn’t somebody supposed to survive? It was nice to have a protagonist win in Flying Home by Joel R. Hunt, at least temporarily.

Another of my favorite stories was Thorn in My Side by Chris Hewitt. A strong leading character with specialized knowledge of computer systems uses satellites and remote systems to get a good view of a sort of alien invasion. There are questions asked that aren’t thoroughly answered but they tantalize the mind and the satisfying story arc is achieved without a “happy ending.”

Storm Clouds by Sarah Jane Justice has a thoroughly unique feel and challenge set in a very short format. Lydia is trying to survive and, to do that, she must not be touched by the rain.

I would be remiss if I did not mention Faithless by M.A. Hoyler where a very unique monster is created through the melding of consciousnesses. A sad and well-wrought story that brings an historical perspective to a modern idea.

I can definitely recommend this collection.

Adventures in Home Learning: Episode 30

 

This morning I went through the papers that were graded by the teacher and returned for my daughter last Friday. Most were correct and good scores, but there were a few things that were incomplete or incorrect.

A few times in the last couple weeks she has told me “Well, the teacher didn’t say we need to do that worksheet.” Ah, but did she say you DIDN’T need to do the worksheet? If she didn’t specifically say you don’t need to do it, then you need to do it. I guess a few slipped by us.

I went over the returned work with her because there are some concepts that she needs to learn for the future, like latitude and longitude, or pronouns taking the place of nouns.

At the end of going over the worksheets, I handed her four that she didn’t complete. Only one had the teacher marked for her to finish, but I’ve asked her to finish the other three as well. I don’t know if the teacher wants to see them, but I want her to realize she needs to finish her work.

Three takeaways that I discussed with her were –

1. Always read the instructions carefully and ask questions if you aren’t sure what it means. 
2. Be as clear as possible in your written response. It may make sense to you, but would it make sense to someone else reading the response?
3. Always do a little more than you think is expected. 

I think that it’s not just the things that we learn in school that give us a frame of reference for interacting with and interpreting the world, it’s what we learn about doing schoolwork that can help us as well.

Book Review - What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism by Dan Rather & Elliot Kirschner

 

What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism

by Dan Rather & Elliot Kirschner

I’ve been deriving great comfort from reading this book. Mr. Rather has lived through a significant portion of the 20^th century, and is able to share his experiences and perspectives from time spent thinking deeply about what he has seen and what it meant. Rather gives you a true sense of how far America has come in that time, what has been built up, and what is at stake as we move forward. It’s a tremendously valuable book right now.

“I profess no great wisdom other than as a chronicler with the exceptional fortune of having had a front-row seat to much of our country’s history. The issues I will raise are too big for any one voice to handle, and I hope my words will spark contemplation and discussion.”

At one point in the book, I felt a deep kinship with Rather as he enumerates questions. I often feel I have far more questions than answers. But it is that willingness to question and seek answers that lies at the root of patriotism when viewed as the goal of making the country you live in a good place to live for all. Identifying the good that needs protecting and the things that need to be improved is an essential part of stewardship anywhere.

“I have seen how a nation can pick itself up and make progress, even at divisive and dysfunctional political moments like the present when we seem to be spinning backward.”

That makes me think of the faltering steps of a baby learning to walk. The child even falls down at times, but it pulls itself up and, moves more steadily forward through trying again and again.

“Patriotism – active, constructive patriotism – takes work. It takes knowledge, engagement with those who are different from you, and fairness in law and opportunity. It takes coming together for good causes. This is one of the things I cherish most about the United States: We are a nation not only of dreamers, but also of fixers. We have looked at our land and people, and said, time and time again, “This is not good enough; we can be better.”

This takes dialogue, the willingness to engage, to disagree, and to debate the issues without throwing our hands up and walking away. We can’t agree to disagree, we have to find a common ground.

“From battlefields to segregated lunch counters, I have seen the cost of freedom and bravery. It is high.”

He talks about getting to know Medger Evers over the issue of the right for African Americans to vote. “He hated the system and the elected officials who manipulated it. But he saw most of his white neighbors as decent Christian people who were just horribly misguided on race. They had grown up in a system they never questioned and never really understood.”

That is an attitude we could use far more of in this country – not hating the people who vote differently, just considering them misguided. It would allow for far more dialogue to continue, at a kinder tone, and maybe we could find more common ground. Though, admittedly, it did not save Medger Evers.

Rather offers first hand accounts of the situations he talks about, along with a clear explanation of the forces in play, and there can be no better teacher than history, if we will only listen.

“When we live in a self-selected bubble of friends, neighbors, and colleagues, it is too easy to forget how important it is to try to walk in the shoes of others. Technology and social medica can be tools for connecting us, but I fear these advancements are in many ways deepening and hardening the divisions between us.”

I see this as well and I think it’s something we have to guard against.

I still have three chapters to read, but I’m already thinking about who I want to buy this book for, and recommend it to. The list is growing.

Adventures in Home Learning: Episode 29

 

Things are going reasonably smooth here for home learning so I thought I’d share a collection of thoughts on a variety of topics related to home learning and raising a pre-teen daughter.

Our library has a great page of resources for children at https://www.ssclibrary.org/about/departments/children/kids-resources/ I highly suggest checking out what your public library makes available from home. It can be a great resource for ideas and research from reputable sources.

I’ve just picked up a couple new books for the munchkin from our library, more anime. She’s been more faithful with her Japanese practice on Duolingo than I expected. She really seems to enjoy learning new words in Japanese. (Apparently the app also reminds her daily.)

We’ve also started slow with some art, at least coloring and free hand drawing. (Anime based drawing for her, no surprise.) She colored one of the mandalas in my coloring book, pictured above.

One area where we haven’t done as well, is in maintaining social contacts for her. I feel bad because she’s an only child and we’ve been home together here for a lot of the time. I think of Little House on the Prairie and how they at times lived very isolated lives, but at least they had siblings. We do play games with her and have fun together, as well as having her help with chores and cooking together.

I just feel bad that she isn’t getting any time with her best friend. It took a while to connect with her mother and get a good phone number, then the munchkin hasn’t seemed inclined to call. It’s now been over six months since they spoke. She did ask to do a video call with her cousin recently and we’ll make that happen but lining the schedules up can take some time.

The holidays are coming and that will be hard for a lot of people. My husband and I are homebodies, we like spending time here together, and won’t miss the family gatherings as much as lots of other people. To us, it’s just one year.

The munchkin and I have been talking about what we want to do for Halloween. I need to come up with a bit more decorations for indoors than we normally do, I think. She wants a pumpkin pie, I said that was fine with me. I want a good movie that is atmospheric, rather than really scary. I think we need to make a list of movies she might like that would be appropriate, and that are available on a streaming service.

We’ll be doing Thanksgiving at home, and I’ll set up a Zoom with family for sure. Christmas will likely be the same. Being in a Polish family, gatherings are largely centered around food, a bit hard to do with masks on.

A little bit off the topic, but on topic for anyone raising a child these days. As the mother of a pre-teen girl, one thing I’m always concerned about is promoting a healthy body image. I emphasize strength over being thin, and eating a balanced meal over portion size. But I still wonder if there is something I should or shouldn’t be doing. I came across this article this weekend and it was both comforting and informative, so I thought I would share it.

How to Foster Healthy Body Image in Children by Lindsay Taylor, PhD

Good luck with your schooling adventure!

Book Review: Mycroft and Holmes - The Empty Birdcage

 

Mycroft and Sherlock: The Empty Birdcage

by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse

This is the third book in the series and I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every one. There is something intensely relaxing for me in a detective fiction book where you follow the detectives step-by-step. And yet, these books combine that sleuthing with the best elements of characterization, setting, and pacing of the plot. I really wish there were more of them to read. Alas, this is the last in the series, for the moment.

In this book, we find Mycroft about to undergo a simple operation to help his heart function better. It is not as invasive a surgery as what they do nowadays but there is strong risk in it considering the time period. He insists the surgeons wash thoroughly before the undertaking because of what he had read from Pasteur, and because he has the clout and money to insist upon it. Thankfully, he comes through the surgery just fine.

After a gap of some six weeks for him to recover, the story picks up again with the thorn in Mycroft’s side, his younger brother Sherlock.

A series of murders has taken over the attention of England, The Fire Four Eleven Murders. But what does it mean? Sherlock is supposed to be at Cambridge but he has every intention of chasing down the murderer, using his brother’s money, of course.

Young Sherlock seems a bit reckless and even vain, but he doubts his abilities to bring the case to justice at times. Luckily, he has the pragmatic, thoughtful, and intelligent help of Huan, Mycroft’s driver who hails from Trinidad.

Both the brothers are accused of some form of witchcraft in their turn but it is only their tremendous intelligence and deductive reasoning.

The older and more worldly intelligence of Mycroft requires the tempering of conscience that his friend Douglas brings. Mycroft knows what he is capable of, and it’s not always good.

Mycroft is bent on revenging himself upon an old adversary. Then he is begged to take up the cause of Deshi Hai Lin, or rather the fiancé of Ai Lin, his daughter. Her fiancé has disappeared. Deshi Hai Lin begs Mycroft to find the young man. A difficult proposition because Mycroft himself is smitten with Ai Lin. However, he agrees to help in the end.

The stories intertwine and then move apart to be pursued in alternating chapters by the brothers. There is a solid, brisk pace to the story. Not a break neck speed but brisk enough to keep one entertained. The details of the time period are perfectly situated to entertain and enrich the story. The characters are beautifully brought to life through description, word, and deed.

I can’t recommend these stories enough if you enjoy the diversion of a good period detective fiction. This is among the best of the genre, in my opinion.

Adventures in Home Learning: Episode 28

 

We are rolling along with school work here, adjusting here and there, but it has been going fairly smoothly on our end.

We started the school year online and were supposed to pick up worksheets every other Wednesday but that has been difficult for the teachers to prep in time so we are moving to every Friday. That doesn’t allow for a full four-day quarantine of materials but it’s better than nothing.

The munchkin is pretty good about doing her work, but she doesn’t like us to check it because we usually find something she needs to fix. We aren’t turning things in daily online anymore so we really do need to correct any problems before they get too far. If we wait until the papers go back to her teacher, she can be doing something wrong for a week or more before it gets caught. That seems like a bad idea to me.

We are getting assignments from Music and P.E., so that is good. The school had said there would be art but I haven’t seen anything yet so I’m going to start some art projects at home for her.

I have an older drawing book an aunt gave me, and one on coloring with markers, that might come in handy. I bought her a fashion coloring book where the figures are there already and she just needs to design the clothes, because I thought that might interest her.

She also loves watching videos on Kids Youtube where a young woman takes squishies and paints them, or sometimes even combines them before painting them. (The mention of squishies painting was greeted enthusiastically.)

After a little brainstorming, I turned to some friends for advice.

Home-schooling mom and newly minted author, Michelle Pointis-Burns, recommended 2 books -  

You Can Draw in 30 Days: The Fun, Easy Way to Learn to Draw in One Month or Less  – January 4, 2011 by Mark Kistler

Drawing With Children: A Creative Method for Adult Beginners, Too -  June 4, 1996 by Mona Brookes

“I've had this book for years. The other is new and I love it. Easy, step-by-step instruction for even the most reluctant artist.”

Check out Michelle's web site for homeschooling and writing https://www.michellepointisburns.com/ 

(Oh, and her first cozy mystery releases on October 24th so be sure to check out Say Cheese and Murder by Michelle Pointis-Burns! I’ve already read it and highly recommend it, if you like cozy mysteries.)

Author and home-schooling mom, Mattea Orr, gave this advice –

“We also have the Discovering Great Artists one and some kid-friendly art lesson/drawing books similar to the ones Michelle listed. Another fun one [a friend] gave us this spring is The Doodle Book by Taro Gomi---very low pressure, very fun, for the days when you're not up to a big project. We use all of those, but I try to make sure there's more doing than learning for the elementary aged kids. During the school year we usually have at least one art project centered around a holiday, one that's baking related, and some that align with a science or social studies portion that we're studying. For example, when my daughter was doing Ancient Egypt last year, she mummified an old doll, and turned a small-ish cardboard box into a sarcophagus complete with decorations/trinkets/coptic vessels. My younger daughter is easy, though. She'll do art every day no matter what. Lately, she's sketching faces from black and white photos of famous people. My older daughter prefers art that is a craft with a finished product she can use, or that tells a story, so we do a lot of book creation, photography, graphic novel, and fashion studies/creation these days. She's in 6th grade this year, so she also has an art book she works from. My son is only in first grade, so he usually tags along on the group projects and does what he can/has patience for. And I read him age-level art books and keep his projects tactile as that's what he loves.”

You can read more about Mattea and her writing at https://www.matteaorr.com/

I’ve ordered a couple books and I have some ideas. Time to make art.

For inspiration, I’ll leave you with Artist Transforms Coffee Stains into Mischievous Little Monster Illustrations from My Modern Met.

Book Review: Squeeze Me by Carl Hiaasen

 

Squeeze Me

by Carl Hiaasen

I haven’t read a Carl Hiaasen crime novel for a while but I always loved his sense of humor, sort of a lighter version of Elmore Leonard.

This one is no different. Hungry pythons set loose on a Florida town by none other than the former governor turned ecological avenger, Skink, feature prominently in the story.

As well as the bumbling criminals that I remember from his former novels. And the average Jill, named Angie, just trying to get by in this god-forsaken world.

There has been political satire in his other books but I’m not so sure that I’ve been as aware of it, because I think it often centers on Florida politics, which I know nothing about. For this novel, the current residents of the White House take center stage, hardly thinly veiled.

There are always fascinating characters, some that we love to hate, like the society matrons self-named Potussies, in wildly improbable situations. One of their members, Kiki Pew Fitzsimmons has disappeared, leaving behind her purse and a half tab of ecstasy. “Oh, she’d never do that!” Oh, but she would.

On the one hand it feels a little like all of those glittering society novels of the 80s but with the crazy criminal element married in.

And the wildlife, always the wildlife. Angie, a wildlife relocator, is called to relocate a very large python with a very large lump in its midsection.

No one seems to make the connection with Kiki Pew’s disappearance, until the next morning.

The details, the humor, the vitality in the romp. You might think you were reading an extended “Florida Man” article, but this is fiction. Okay, mostly fiction. Which is why I love this author so much. I highly recommend this book.

I think I’ll go back and read some of the other novels I missed over the years.