The Resurrection of Joan Ashby

Read it, read it now!

According to Good Reads, I've read 46 books so far this year. And Cherise Wolas' The Resurrection of Joan Ashby is front runner for my favorite book of the year.  

A friend got an advance copy and lent it to me.  I finished up some other books and then sat down with this and a big cup of coffee.  Once I started it, I could hardly put it down.  It made me want to get up early to read! [I got some semi-solicited advice that if I wanted to get up early, to start the day doing something I like.]

I've convinced a few other people to read it despite finding it hard to concisely answer the question: What's this book about? Well, it's about a writer, marriage, motherhood, being your own person, fitting in, family, drama, and, of course, writing.  Sprinkled through the book are excerpts from the writer's stories that I also enjoyed.

My only complaint about this book was that it wasn't published when I was in graduate school, I would have loved to discuss this book in a literature class.

A

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Barbeque

If you are ever driving and see a sign like this:

pull over immediately!

We were driving through Purcellville, Virginia, on our way to an architectural salvage place for My Heart's Desire when we saw Monk's in an industrial park after the smell grabbed us.

Barbeque is My Heart's Desire's favorite food, after all, he's lived in the South for more than twenty-five years. He got pastrami, I had the Sunday special, burnt ends (brisket), and Babyface ate smoked chicken.  The smoked Gouda mac and cheese alone is worth the drive. 

Sorry, can't write more, have to plan next trip to Monk's!

5 Things I Love About Summer!

1.  Babyface's birthday! Of course I love Babyface's birthday. We told him he could have anything he wanted for dinner and he chose Mickey Mouse chocolate chip pancakes from the Silver Diner.  He was bouncing off the walls from the excitement of his birthday and the gallon of chocolate chips in his pancakes.  
2. Longer mornings for me! I'm an early riser and love having sunshine in the morning.  (In the winter I often feel like I'm getting up in the middle of the night since it's pitch black at 6AM, so much so that I use this alarm clock that wakes me gently with light.)  If I want any time to myself (and you know I do), the only way I get it is to wake up earlier than everyone else.  I usually exercise, read books, blog, or work on projects. 
3. Summer fruit! Oh, how I love fresh peaches, watermelon, cherries, grapes and everything sweet from the garden! My Heart's Desire was only half joking when he said he was going to buy a second fridge just for all the cut up watermelon.  Babyface likes watermelon as much as I do so it doesn't stay around too long. 
4. Vacations and day trips! Babyface and I went to Colorado for a family visit and had a great time at the end of June.  We also celebrated Babyface's birthday early, which was nice.   My family also has gone to some smaller towns in Virginia for barbeque (My Heart's Desire's favorite) and fun (in that order).  We've also got some more local activities to do on our summer fun board.  I also planned my first staycation in ages, will post about that at the end of the month.



Denver Botanical Gardens

5. Fall is coming! Fall is my favorite season and I'm looking forward to it!  And this fall Babyface is starting public school.  It's a whole new world. 

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Grateful Thursday

Grateful today for my new coffeemaker (replaced the old one that My Heart's Desire was afraid would burn our house down), a little time to myself in the mornings, all our appliances work, ceiling fans, lighter traffic before school starts, one of my favorite authors has a new book coming out this fall, the calm app, a staycation to look forward to later this month, being able to laugh at my mistakes, cold water, watermelon, Babyface's face while he sleeps, and feeling at home.

Eligible

I was waiting for a number of holds at the library (okay, libraries, I’m kind of a library card collector) and Eligible: A Novel by Curtis Sittenfeld was available. I had lower expectations since I liked and American Wife but not so much Sisterland or  Prep and was very pleasantly surprised.  This modern retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice was smart, funny, clever, and enjoyable.

B+

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