************* Despite my accident earlier this spring, I've been getting out for a walk most days. Perhaps the fact that I go more slowly (cane and all) has heightened my enjoyment of spring this year. Many days what I see on my walk becomes the day's poem (especially this April when I've been challenging myself… Continue reading Magnolia haiku
The Queen's Handmaid by Tracy L. Higley My rating: 4 of 5 stars Lydia, slave of Cleopatra, is not only lovely but also ambitious. Her artistic pottery is in demand and already she has collected a bag of coins against the day she can escape from the palace and start her own business. But the… Continue reading The Queen’s Handmaid – review
Earth Song They call me sod loam, dirt clay, turf, dust. In cahoots with rain, rocks and roots worms and grubs perforated by ants and moles aquifers and oil veined with lead, copper, gold and hiding diamonds and coal cables, wires and pipes I hold your huts and your tents your houses and barns anchor… Continue reading Earth Song
Evil’s Party (guest list) (after Mark 15) Sir Accusation Miss Envy Madame Bloodthirst (she usually brings a crowd) Count Rebellion & his brother Murderer Governor People-Pleaser The triplets Mockery, Teasing & Making Sport Mr. Violence & sons Hitting Spitting, Scourging and Crucifying Misses Gambling & Greed Sir Sarcasm & Lady Reviling Lord Blasphemy Queen Death… Continue reading Evil’s party (guest list)
On Monday Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect posted the Homophoem Poetry Stretch challenge (via J. Patrick Lewis). The task: write a two- to ten-line poem using at least one homophone. (Homophones, in case you've forgotten, are words that share the same pronunciation but differ in meaning.) I've been writing them all week! What fun… Continue reading Homophoems (oh groan!)
The Auschwitz Escape by Joel C. Rosenberg My rating: 5 of 5 stars Jacob Weisz is an unexceptional Jewish boy who lives in Siegen, Germany in the 1940s. He likes his quiet life with his parents, loves going to violin lessons because he might catch a glimpse—even a shy smile—from Naomi Silver, and is embarrassed… Continue reading The Auschwitz Escape (review)
How High Will You Climb?: Determine Your Success by Cultivating the Right Attitude by John C. Maxwell My rating: 4 of 5 stars If you need an attitude makeover, How High Will You Climb? is your go-to guide. Using the metaphor of attitude in the world of flight, author John C. Maxwell helps us analyze… Continue reading How High Will You Climb? (review)
Happy National Poetry Month. It's been over a month since I've posted here. My time away has had its events. Mid-February I went to northern B.C. to be with my daughter and help with the grandkids around the birth of her baby. Their lovely baby girl arrived on February 24th. Then on March 2nd (still… Continue reading Talking with a stranger
Appointment In Jerusalem by Lydia Prince My rating: 5 of 5 stars In December of 1926 Lydia Christensen was a successful 36-year-old Domestic Arts teacher in the city of Korsor Denmark. However, just before Christmas when her longtime friend and colleague Soren asked her to marry him, she couldn't answer "yes." She was fond of… Continue reading Appointment in Jerusalem (review)
Heaven's Prey by Janet Sketchley My rating: 5 of 5 stars The storm that 46-year-old Ruth Warner braves to attend her weekly prayer meeting is a perfect opening to Heaven’s Prey, a debut novel by Nova Scotia native Janet Sketchley. Ruth’s husband Tony can’t understand why she would go out on such a night to… Continue reading Heaven’s Prey (review)
Violet Nesdoly 