Ten Books

I was asked to list the 10 most influential books in my lifetime.  Anyone that is a real reader knows this is impossible.  I stressed way too much over a facebook post.  I have realized I left out too many great books.  Ask me next week, the list will not be the same.  I did not list books from my childhood, or my children's childhoods.  There are several books I read to my children that mean so much to me.  Here is the list I posted, it is painful to look at it and not make changes.

1. Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck  - This classic would always appear on a list of influential books, To Kill a Mockingbird should have been on this list too.

 2. Tortilla Curtain, T.C. Boyle - This book opened my eyes to the plight of the people crossing illegally into California.  Well written and gives both sides of this terrible issue.

 3. The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb - I do not think any book list would be complete without a book by Wally Lamb.  His writing is amazing.

 4. Crazy: A Father's Search Through America's Mental Health Madness by Pete Early - This book opened my eyes even more to the plight of the mentally ill in our country.  Every person should read this.  Heart breaking!!!

 5. Hotel On The Corner of Bitter and... Sweet by Jamie Ford - This story give such a great account on Japanese Americans and what they faced in their own country.  Losing all their possessions, being thrown in prison camps.  It is so shocking.

 6. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch - An amazing man!

 7. The Bridges of Madison County, by Robert James Waller - This is the first book that came alive for me.  I ached in my heart after reading it.  I heard the door bang when the husband and kids went in and out of the house.  It was also the first book that was made into a movie that I was not disappointed by.  Loved the movie as much as the book.

 This is painful. I know I am leaving out important books.

 8. His Bright Light by Danielle Steel (this is not one of her fluff books) - This book was about Danielle Steele's son.  He was bi-polar.  I read it around the time my son was being diagnosed with mental illness.  The biggest impact it had was to remind me that no matter how much money a person has, fighting mental illness is horrific.

 9. We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver - I picked this book because the story was so tragic.  It was not real but felt real.  This book is not for the faint of heart.  Certainly not a feel good book.

 10. The next book I read and the one after that......

I could have added so many more.  I thought about The Hunger Games.  Because it opened my eyes to reading outside my comfort zone.  Really enjoyed the series.  Never would have read it if it were not for my book club.  Most books have an impact on me.  Unless they are just plain fluff.  I am a reader.  When I read I am in that story.  I feel the pain, the joy.  So almost every story has an impact.  Here are a few of the books I read my children that I love.

Alexander and His Horrible Very Bad Day - loved reading it to my son, to the kids I babysat, to my grand kids.  Love this book.  Did not have it when Jennifer was young.

The Elves And The Shoemaker - It was Jennifer's every night book.  Her go to favorite.  She really wanted the elves to be real.

Quick As A Cricket - This was Joel's book.  His every night, several times if possible.  I give it as a gift very often.  It was also special because Jennifer could read it to Joel.  That is special.

Where The Wild Things Are - Enough said!!

There Is A Monster At The End Of This Book - when read by my brother this book is awesome.  I can entertain kids with my reading but I am nowhere near as good as my brother.

Dean R. Koontz books.  Jennifer & I would fight over who would read it first.  Great to share my reading passion.

There it is.  A very short list of books I have loved and still love.

THE OLD LADY HAS LEFT THE BUILDING!!

Yesterday The Old Lady retired.  Just like she lived her life she did it quietly.  She only told a few people.  There was no celebration.  She waited until most people were gone, packed her desk, walked out with a friend.  Stood in the parking lot talking to a couple of friends.  That was it.  No fanfare.  I know that today there are many, many upset people.  Old Lady worked for the company 44 years.  She probably made 100's of friends.  They will be sad not to see her off.   It does not surprise me that she left without a party.  She is not a person that enjoys being the center of attention.  She is a quiet observer. 
The picture above is from a Relay Dance.  Easy Rider on the right is now in Arizona.  I'm in my candy shop, Old Lady is retired, and My Girl T just became a Mommy.  Many of Old Ladies people have left the department.  There was a time we had a large group of friends and co-workers and we had a good time working.  We did our jobs and really enjoyed each other.  So many changes now.  When OL started at the company women had to wear dresses, people could smoke at their desks, things were done on paper, not the computer.  When they put in the new phone system, OL told me she was done learning new things.  She did not want to anymore.  I get it. 
So friend here is to your new life!  I thank you for giving me so many laughs at work.  Your wisdom was appreciated.  The kids we worked with have grown up.  Most of them have moved on.  Your work there is done.  I know you will find something else to do with your time.  You do not like to stay at home.  (She never missed work!!!)  Before you jump into something new, take time for you.  Do something fun!  Come visit me at the sweet shop often.  Good luck to you.  Congratulations on an amazing career.  You did a good job.  You lived by your motto:  Get up, dress up, and show up!!!
I do not have to worry about saying good-bye.  We already have plans on Monday!
Love you Old Lady,
Alice

What Am I Busy Doing?

I love event planning!  This is what I am a part of right now.  It was something I wanted to do.  I teamed with the new organization in Dwight and it is happening.  I am not in charge.  That is fine with me.  I just want it to happen.  I picked the music.  I am very excited about the group of people that are performing.  I was even able to get my friend, Marcos, to perform.  Since I am not one of the main planners, I should get to enjoy the event.  This should be a great time in our community.  Music, food, beer, softball, and entertainment for kids.  All in our beautiful park.  A town can never have too many music events!!!
I have been reading.  Quite a bit of reading.  That could be a reflection on not being busy enough at work.  Not a good thing.  My book club just read Aviator's Wife.  We read it last year in The Page Turners.  Still a great read.  Still a great discussion.  I think I picked up more about Charles this time.  Did not dislike him as much as I think something was wrong with him.  Maybe autism. 
I am reading, The Fifth Discipline by Peter M. Senge.  A friend and I are reading it together.  Having discussions about it.  It gets into organizing and practicing organization.  Finding who you are, what you should be doing.  The book helps figure out what your goals and potential is and how to achieve those goals.  Not a pleasure read!  It is very interesting.  I am starting to think women in their 50's are more confused about what path we should be on than any other time.  We have more freedom to do what we want, we just have to figure out what we want to do.  This should be a great self-study.  I was at Barnes with The Kid on Sunday.  I picked up a companion book for this study, Character Makeover by Katie Brazelton and Shelley Lamb.  All of this self-study was brought on by my friend giving me a quiz about myself.  It is hard to answer the most basic questions about how I felt, what I want.  That put me on the road to self-discovery.  Sure, I might have too much time on my hands.
That is not a pleasure read.  I am still reading books for pleasure.  Too many free books on kindle.  They are usually predictable, cute stories.  I will post about them another time.  Now, it is time to do some reading. 
What is everyone reading this summer?  Anything great???

A Shattered Village

Less than two weeks ago our quaint, little village was ripped apart.  A tragedy that has only happened maybe once many years ago, happened.  Two women were murdered in their home.  A mother and her adult daughter.  The daughter's boyfriend was wounded.  I know murders take place in our country daily. Not in our village.  I like to describe my town as Pleasantville.  People drive slow.  There is only one stoplight in town and it is a mile from main street.  Everyone waves.  Children ride their bikes and play flashlight tag.  The church chimes ring at lunch and at dinner.   Baseball and softball games dominate summer evenings.   It can be boring and I love that.
The town has crime.  Stolen bikes, often found thrown in the creek.  Cars get broken into.  Easy task when people do not always lock them.  Once in a while a business will be broken into.  There are drugs.  I am sure there is domestic violence.  We do not expect violence.  To have our Saturday morning blown apart with the news that two people were murdered in their home would never cross our minds.  As it spread through the town, people did not know what to do with the news.  In a small town if you do not know the people, you know someone that knows them, or you know someone in the family.  If on the off chance you have no connection at all, the town is small enough it is still going to be very upsetting.  It was like being punched.  I did not directly know any of the victims.  I have met and know some of the women's family.  Good people.  Family people.  People that teach school and coach sports, and help in church.  People that put their children first, always.  The only thing everyone can be thankful about is a child lived in the house too.  He was on vacation with his Aunt when it happened.  They got off the plane to horrific news.  That haunts me.  So much of what happened haunts our town.  It is the main thing people talked about for days.  People are still talking about.  The questions, are we safe, was it random, how could this happen here.  Always ending with thoughts of the child.  Thoughts of his Aunt and her family.  So many prayers.
The day after the terrible day my Pastor addressed the tragedy.  She is not from our town.  She does not know the families.  She knew we needed to hear something.  She said not all the powers in the world are good powers.  There is also evil.  I know you all want to know where God is when terrible things happen.  She said he is all around.  You will see his presence in so many ways in the coming days.  I pray that is true for the family.  I pray God has wrapped his arms around them every minute since their lives were touched by such an evil event.  I know how our small town works.  I know they have been surrounded by their family and friends.  Caring people will open their hearts and help in any way they can.
Will our village ever feel safe again?  I think so.  It will never seem as innocent as it was before.  In our lifetimes we will not forget that part of a family was taken in a brutal, senseless act.  We all want closure.  We want someone, unrelated to our town, to be found guilty of this crime.  That will not change what happened.  It would just make it easier to see a stranger and not wonder who they are and why they are here.  See a strange car and not want to run inside.  Check to make sure the doors are locked even in the daylight. In big cities murders happen often.  Most people do not have any knowledge of the families touched by the tragedies.  They go on with their lives knowing things like that happen.  Not here.  Not in our town.  We will see first hand how a family has to pick themselves up and find a way to live their lives.  Many of us will continue to pray for them, hold them in our thoughts.  We are still a small town.  Still a good town.

We Had Traveling Beads

 For whatever reason Old Lady thought we needed beads for our travels. They were lovely and we received several comments about them.
Old Lady and I travel well together. We are both low key. Enjoy laughing. Very low maintenance. We were dropped off at Midway by a sweet friend. Within minutes of arriving in the airport we were separated by security. Old Lady was sent down a long,  curving hall. I assumed she was in the "you look safe, we do not need a body scan line." I hoped she would be waiting at the end of my security check. She had our gate info. Finally, I see her scanning the crowd for me. After almost jumping up and down she noticed me. I found out later she was looking for a lady in a turquoise top. I was wearing brown. To be safe she sent a text with our gate number in case she was not able to find me. It was the wrong gate number. At this point we realized we needed those wrist leashes parents use with toddlers. We were very relieved to get on the first plane safely. I learned quickly that I still hate to fly. New to my flying is I can no longer sleep on the plane I hate being on.
After a very long evening, two planes and a layover, we arrived safely. We were very proud of ourselves. Easy Rider picked us up and our first stop was In and Out Burgers. A yummy treat.
Old Lady and I stayed at different locations. She was with Easy Rider, I stayed with Arizona and her family. Arizona and I stayed up very late. She has a very nice, comfy home. Her older son was awake and ready for gifts. He wanted a giant lollipop. He was disappointed with the little one he received. That was because of his Mom. I was ready to go HUGE.
I had a large blow up bed that was very comfy. Also, very dangerous....
In the next installment you will find out why.

Have A Great Summer!

Today was my last day volunteering at the Grade School.  Sad Face!!  It has been a wonderful experience.  I was only in the classroom an hour a week and it was exhausting.  Mrs. R is already planning on getting Coco in her class so I can help her again.  I will see how my schedule is in the fall.  I might find time to help next year.  It is very rewarding.  Watching the kids start reading more quickly is wonderful.  I have been timing them since January.  Today most of the kids reached their all time best speeds.  Good way to end.  The downside to that is the kids that will struggle with reading all their lives.  I hope it is only reading out loud that is the problem.  It is unimaginable that people do not enjoy reading.  Though I live with a man that has not read a book since he graduated from College.  Unreal!!  Unless children's books count (and they don't).  He did read to our children.  He has even read to the grand children.  He likes to leave words out and shorten the story.  I love it when he is caught cheating!
I made special treat bags for my last day at school.  The class gave me a gift.  They had their picture taken holding up letters that spelled:  Thank you Miss Jane.  Made me very happy. The gift certificate to Cold Stone Creamery was a nice touch too!

Update on Grammy The Cat

I tried to put Grammy The Cat to sleep.  I deleted her off the front of my screen.  Just did not uninstall the program.  I am too far into it.  Seriously, way too far.  I have developed a relationship with her.  I came up with enough money to change her into a Siamese cat.  I always wanted a Siamese.  The bigger she gets, the more attention she needs.  That does not make sense to me.  Seriously, a grown cat usually sleeps most of the time.  Grammy the Cat needs more food, more attention, and sleeps in proportion to the other things.  Sometimes I ignore her for a couple of days.  She sends notes begging for attention.  If I do not bath her on a regular basis, flies start buzzing around her head.  I love that!!  I do it on purpose.  If I do not take her to the bathroom, she dances around holding herself.  Seriously, good stuff.  I'm wondering if I wait long enough if she will wet herself.  Might have to see.
In conclusion:  I have too much time on my hands.l