Lifescapes

The Case of the Noisy Parrot

The talkative parrot who shows up near the end of A Plain Vanilla Murder has developed his own personal following, it seems. Maybe  you remember him from the book.

His name is Mr. Spock. China Bayles describes him as . . . MORE on my new BookScapes blog (Please note: I double-post here on TypePad for the benefit of new readers. If you will subscribe to the new Wordpress blog, your notification will take you direct to WordPress without a detour through this slower-loading site. The fewer clicks, the better. Right?)

BookScapes review: Heartland

Our Story Circle reading circle met yesterday to talk about Heartland, by Sarah Smarsh–-a lively discussion that spilled over into a second hour, with lots to say, lots to share.

For me, reading Heartland was a heart-breaking, evocative experience that brought back my childhood and young adult years, spent on a farm and in a small rural community on the plains of Indiana and Illinois in the 1940s and 50s. Smarsh’s memoir, subtitled “Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth” brought back my own personal memories of old, cold farmhouses on a windy prairie, weekly Fidelity Loan payments . . . MORE on my new BookScapes blog (Please note: I double-post here for the benefit of new readers. If you will subscribe to the new Wordpress blog, your new notification will take you direct to WordPress without a detour through this slow-loading site. The fewer clicks, the better. Right?)

Back Home Again

We’re back home in Texas after a cool couple of weeks in the southern Rockies of New Mexico. We love it there, with wonderful views of the clouds spilling over the mountains and cattle grazing in the valley below. It’s a long drive–almost 12 hours–but we have audio books to listen to and there’s always something new to see.

On this trip, we noticed . . . MORE on my new blog site. (While you're there, please follow it so I can let you know whenever I post.)

New Mexico Sunflowers

It’s late summer here in the New Mexico mountains, almost autumn, and the meadows are filled with the rich gold of sunflowers, accentuated by tall spires of mullein. We’ll be here another week or so, enjoying the warm days and crisp, cool nights–a big change from the uncomfortable heat and humidity back in Texas. The skies, too, are crystalline, and the stars at night . . .

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