Book Ends

Since the last Booke Ends post I have done some reading and also worked on some book projects. I have made headway with the memory book I am putting together covering Jacob's first year.


It starts with Jen's baby shower.

Next comes Jacob's birth and then will go through his first birthday. I have enjoyed this, but am way behind in printing pictures to put in it. I stopped printing big batches at home because the ink is so expensive for my Photosmart printer and it eats it when when doing a large project. I need to get what I want on a CD and take them to be printed.

This is my parents Bible. I noticed today that it was printed in the very early 1950's. I inherited it. My parents never filled in the family tree pages, or the baptisms, first communions, confirmations, marriages, deaths, etc. I have slowly been doing this. I do not know why it feels so daunting every time I go to write in it. Perhaps I do not want there to be any mistakes when I write the information in stone.

I came across this dried red rose inside the pages of The Bible today as well. I have been through it many times before but never saw it until now. I am not sure what it is from. Nana or Nono's funeral I would guess. Ron and/or Deb maybe you can help me out. What do yout think? It had to be special for Mom to decide to keep it in the first place, press it and save it all these years.

These are the books I have read since the last Book Ends Post:

1) Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich - Jen loaned the hard bound copy to me and I have sent it on to her freind Dyan to read next. This is my all-time favorite of the series so far! There isn't much about Grandma Mozur in this book, but there are a lot of new characters related to Joe Morelli that are deliciously dysfunctional. The Lula and Tank storyline is fall off your chair hysterical! Four Measuring Spoons.

2) Bungalow 2 by Danielle Steel. What can I say? I have been reading Danielle Steel since the 1970's. I love the lady's novels and I like the woman herself. It never ceases to amaze me what a schedule she puts on herself to get so many books written and published each year. The time she isn't writing she is devoted to her large family. She never has seeken the limelight which made me respect her years ago. ANYway, back to the book. This is a story of a woman's journey from suburban housewife to award-winning screenwriter and all the joy, heartbreak and challenges along the way. As usual Ms Steel didn't disappoint me. Three Measuring Spoons.

3) Full House by Janet Evanovich and Charlotte Hughes. This is a new series that JE is writing with Ms. Hughes to please her Stepahnie Plum fans. I know first hand waiting for the next Stephanie Plum book to come out can seem like eternity. (Yes, I enjoy them that much.) This series is intended to come out between the SP books and are written in the Plum tradition. Full House is a lightly off center love story about a devious man, an uncooperative woman and a misguided genious. It has the same face-paced action, dysfunctional loveable characters, sex, suspense and lots of laughs as the Plum books. Not Stephanie Plum and her world, but fun and enjoyable. Three Measuring Spoons.

4) A Vineyard in Tuscany by Ferenc Mate. This is a delightful, intimate and hilarious memoir. We travel with with the Mates - Candace a painter and Fernec a writer through Tuscany to the ancient hill-town of Montalcino. They buy a 13th century friary on a hill surrounded by 60 acres of forest, olives and potential vineayrds. We experience their ups and downs of converting an abandoned ruin into a fairy-tale home and world acclaimed wine estate. The excitement of the first harvest followed by the thrill of wine making. The Mate wines received instant international aclaim. I found this book thoroughly entertaining, brimming with mouth-watering meals and memorbale characters that enriched my life, especially as a wine lover and Italy enthusiast. Four Measuring Spoons.

5) Funny, You Don't Look Like A Grandmother by Lois Wyse. This is a fun and delightful book that lets you know how to recognize todays active and interesting women who also find themselves at the age to be grandmother's. This is a collection of wit and wisdom and perfect for every woman who is a grandmother. Three Measuring Spoons.

6) Soapsuds by Finola Hughes and Digby Diehl. A friend gave me this book autograped. I did enjoy the read. The award winning actress wrote a novel about the world she knows well, the soaps. The book has passion, power, sex, betrayal and seduction-- all the things that make a soap a soap. I have to admit I was surprised I liked the book. I give it Two Measuring Spoons.