Reading Maniac

Pictures - "Martina in a Box" $99.98 plus shipping and handling.

I am taking my splint off for about 50% of the day now. I am able to squeeze a ball and move my hand up and down a little. It is still painful, but it is getting better.

Warm weather this week! It is so nice out right now! Just like spring. The sidewalks are almost clear of snow and ice. That has been hard with the kids, walking to school with so much snow and ice on the sidewalks. I swear we and our neighbors are the only ones who shovel the sidewalks! I am not fooled though. I have lived in NY long enough to know that it is still winter. It will be cold again and we will probably still get some more snow.


I was a reading maniac this week! I read two books. Both of them great! I love when that happens.
Book #1 - The Believers, by Janice Holt Giles. This book was written in the 1950's by a woman who has written many many books with her husband. She died in 1979. They have a festival in her honor every year. Their house has been turned into historical site open to the public. Check out this website. http://www.gilessociety.org/
The book was absolutely excellent! It takes place in the late 1700's - early 1800's. It is about the Shaker development in KY. It follows a young couple through joining the shakers, living as a "believer" and tells of the joys and lots of sorrows and hardships. I have read a few books about the Shakers as I am very interested in learning about them. This was one of the most thorough and interesting books.

Book #2 - Hit By a Farm: How I learned to stop worrying and love the barn, by Catherine Friend. This was a hysterically funny book! I was laughing so hard one time I had huge tears rolling down my face, then I had to go to the bathroom from laughing so hard, and I sat on the toilet laughing for another 3 min! It is a memoir about two women who buy a farm in MN. Melissa had always wanted a farm and Catherine went along for the ride because it was her partner's dream. This is the story of two women learning and messing up while learning about how to farm! They decide to raise sheep by process of elimination (which is easier), they raise chickens for the eggs and the meat, and they grow grapes to sell for local wine. They planted 200 of one variety of grapes. Two weeks later they noticed the leaves were growing the wrong way; they had planted them upside down! On their hands and knees the pulled and replanted every one, only 8 of the 200 ended up surviving. That is just a sample! It was great and I read it in only two days!

Reading through the States -
1. California - Echoes, by Erin Grady
2. Florida - In Her Shoes, by Jennifer Weiner
3. Iowa - The Learning, by Ruthann Weaver
4. Massachusetts (Cape Cod) - A Year by the Sea, by Joan Anderson
5. South Carolina - Bastard out of Carolina, by Dorothy Allison
6. Kentucky - The Believers, by Janice Holt Giles
7. Minnesota - Hit By a Farm, by Catherine Friend

This time I am going to do a "Bottom 5" which means - the worst, in your opinion.
Bottom 5 foods (yucky!)
1. Mushrooms - hate them, always have, always will
2. Meat - never liked it as a kid, that is why I am a pseudo vegatarian
3. Black olives - I like olive oil though!
4. Artichokes - Got food poisoning on them once and that killed it for me forever!
5. Brown soda (coke, pepsi, Dr. pepper, etc) I only like 7-up, ginger ale and stuff like that.
What are yours?