Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Hmmm

So it seems to me that since I've been busy/distracted/sick/out of touch that if I'm not actively reading and commenting on other blogs there is nobody reading and commenting on mine.  Which I get.  I'm not the only person with a life, I realize.  Just seems very lonely here.  I must make more of an effort to be aware and friendly, and hopefully more people will visit.  It's kind of like my situation with my Dad.....two weeks will pass, then one of us will call and we'll be "You didn't call"  "You didn't call either"......*sigh*  Life.  It goes by pretty fast, and we may just miss it if we don't stop and look around once in a while.  I learned that from both my Mom, and Ferris Bueller.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Dusty In Here, Isn't It?



Spring has sprung, and the world is being renewed.  At least, in the northern hemisphere.  Our friends in the southern hemisphere are in the beginnings of fall.  We are seeing more and more leaf buds, blossoms and blooms.

April is National Poetry Month, so to celebrate I thought I'd clear my cobwebs away with the help of a little stab at poetry.  But which type?  Haiku, Limerick, Epic, Sonnet?  The choices are vast.  Here is a site, one of many on the internet to help us learn more.  For now, I'm thinking haiku.  *Attention, big news contained within.*

Spring is in the air.
When Fall comes around this year,
I will be Grandma.
 
Haiku are fun to write.  The trick is making the syllables work.  Go, have fun with poetry!  What's that you say?  Why yes, thank you for noticing, I am going to be a grandma.  Late October, as a matter of fact.  This is one of the things that has been happening in my life while I neglected my poor blog.  Also, I had a bit of a health scare, but it turns out that nothing serious is wrong, and life instantly became much brighter.  After all, 39 shouldn't be so eventful, even if it is almost at an end.  I'm declaring 40 to be my year.....which actually is making me look forward to it.  
OK, enough talk about life, let's get to at least one of those books I was babbling about weeks ago.  

Ah yes, I have the perfect one.  If you will recall, in a previous post I told you about Maureen Johnson's 13 Little Blue Envelopes.  Well, she has written a sequel entitled The Last Little Blue Envelope which I   recently had the priveledge to read via digital galley (advanced copy) through a site called NetGalley.

The Last Little Blue Envelope picks up pretty much where the first book left off.  If you've read it you know that Ginny never got to read the last letter from her late Aunt Peg as her bag was stolen in Greece.  (If you haven't read it, for heaven's sake go get it and read it!)  When Ginny discovers that someone has found the letters it sparks another European adventure, and allows her to spend Christmas with her Uncle Richard in London.  Many surprises are in store for Ginny.  She will revisit a few places from her first journey, see old friends, make new ones and have a whole new set of experiences.  The last letter sets Ginny on the trail of a work of Aunt Peg's art that is in three pieces, in three separate locations around Europe which must be obtained and assembled.  This final 'mission' is challenging to say the least, but proves to be well worth the effort.  The emotions once again run the gamut of funny, frustrating, exciting, heart wrenching, and happy.  Happy being the best part, but the journey to happy is what makes life, and stories more interesting.  


Maureen Johnson is a wonderfully talented writer with a terrific sense of humor.  I fully intend to read more of her books, including The Name of the Star, out later this year (September).  The Last Little Blue Envelope is out this month (April).