Paper pieced stars

On a visit to the quilt shop last fall, I picked up a book of patterns for paper pieced stars.  I set it aside with some fat quarters that I received from the board of the state quilt guild as a "retirement" gift after my term as president was up.  I worried that the blocks would look a bit washed out so I varied the background from neutral to periwinkle and set the blocks on point.  I added a little goldish brown to the mix and ended with a brighter periwinkle.  For the setting triangles I used foundation papers for 3" triangles which were much easier to make than the stars.  Once quilted, this will be a nice table runner, but unfortunately, it's now waiting in the closet along with several other projects.  I'll try to get a picture today.

I attended quilt guild Tuesday night and showed the Triple Barn Star quilt I made a few months ago. 

Also at guild, I picked up the last round robin quilt - Marie's - to work on, and I've been making friendship star blocks ever since.  It's red(ish), light gray, and blues, with a large pieced star in the middle.  I'm not sure what Marie plans to do with the quilt, but I do know she served in the Army during the Vietnam era.  Several of the rounds have been pretty plain, so the stars seemed quite appropriate to me.  But the quilt is around 48" x 48" so there are a lot of 4.5" stars to make.  I assume they'll take me a few days of solid work to finish.

Meanwhile, there are household and garden things to attend to.  The weather has been increasingly nice, so I need to get out and clean up the flower beds.  My knees have been giving me trouble lately, so I'll take it easy.  We have taken a few walks in the neighborhood, too, which has been nice after the long winter where we hardly walked at all.  

I finished reading Jennifer Chiaverini's latest book, The Patchwork Players.  It's very easy going which is nice after reading The Bullet That Missed, the third book in the Thursday Murder Club series.  The plotlines of those books can be very confusing with quite a few characters, but everything comes together in the end.  I thought our book group was planning to read the fourth book in the series next, so I thought I'd try to catch up before reading that one.  Instead, we're reading The Tokyo Express which isn't available on Kindle.  I'm reading a used paperback and hope I'll to finish before we meet next week.  We have a social week ahead with dinner out a couple times, so I'm not sure how much progress I'll make.  So far, it's moving along nicely, and I like the Japanese background.

Ready to dip into the greens

February's Rainbow Scrap Challenge color is green, and I can't wait.  I'm sick of working in blues although I have a blue and white quilt that will be coming back from Marie soon and will need a blue binding (all cut!).  I have plenty of green strings for the log cabin blocks and there are lots of green squares for "traffic stop," too.  I'll get to those in between continuing working on the map of Holland.  I'm more than half-way done with that, but it is tedious and difficult to fit together.  Still, I am determined not to create another longtime UFO.

Friday I finished binding the blue and white snowflake quilt which I will get a picture of next time I'm at guild.   The quilt currently being long arm quilted by Marie is the Triple Barn Star and measures 72" x 72".  She says she's having a problem with the long arm so it will be a couple of weeks before it's finished.  That's OK with me since I have plenty to keep me busy.

I finished reading the latest #1 Ladies Detective Agency book yesterday (it was good, not spectacular) and started on one for my mystery book group.  I'll take it with me today as I wait for Paul at the Retina Center.  Before we leave for Burlington, I'll need to get ready for the cleaning people by gathering trash, starting some laundry, etc.  I always change the towels in the bathroom when they come so it all looks fresh.

Yesterday I mapped out our March trip south, and now I'm getting excited about going.  We leave around March 10 and return two weeks later, more or less.  It all depends on the number of stops we make going home.  One will definitely be in Columbia, SC, to visit my friend Libby.  And we're contemplating a stop near Hershey, PA, to join cousins in the area.

Up too early

Do you like Daylight Savings Time?  I really do because it's lighter longer in winter.  Now it will be dark by 5 pm - ugh!  I tried to head off the change by setting the kitchen clocks - stove and microwave - before going to bed last night.   I expected my watch, cell phone, computer, and Alexa all to change on their own.  But no!  My watch wasn't synched to change with the cell phone by itself.  I woke up at what is now 3:30 am, made a cup of coffee, and noticed the actual time.

I guess this is good as I have plenty of things to keep me busy.  Besides coordinating the Light Up the Library event, I am putting together a genealogy series for January-February at the library, shopping and sewing for Christmas, sifting through and organizing the state quilt guild's history files, knitting myself a sweater, changing dentists, and who knows what else?  Still, I will probably fritter away the hour I've gained by looking at quilts online!

It looks like it will be another gloomy day today, so I will probably spend some time sewing, knitting, and reading a book I started yesterday,  I finished the lengthy mystery for this week's book group meeting - it was a doozy,  The group seems to enjoy big books, and The Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariane Franklin was agony until half-way through when it got very exciting.  It's set in the year 1171 and Franklin seemed to want the reader to know that she knows all about what went on in the Middle Ages.   I was glad to read it on Kindle so that I could easily get definitions of some of the words.  Today I'm glad to read the seventh book in a cozy mystery series I enjoy - The Secret, Book, and Scone Society by Ellery Adams.  It will be a "palate cleanser" before I start the new Louise Penny mystery.

In the sewing room, I'm putting together a sampler with 15" blocks.  I have three rows of four blocks sashed and now need to put those rows together and work on a border.  I initially wanted to make all 20 blocks in the "Optimism" pattern designed by Aby Dolinger, but "life" got in the way.  The result will be a nice throw for a child going into foster care via Bags of Love.

It's not the heat...

...it's the humidity, they say.  And it truly has been unbearably warm and sticky for at least a week.  In Vermont, a heat wave is not considered "official" until we have three 90 degree days in a row, but if it wasn't 90 out, it sure was hovering around 89 most days.  We have a heat pump which keeps it cool - sometimes too much so - downstairs, but on the second floor the air conditioner is in our guest/sewing room.  Our bedroom is cooled by a fan, which was pretty effective, but did make sleeping somewhat difficult some nights.  

Well, enough grumbling.  It's summer and very pretty outside.  All of the flowers are at their peak, and the sun has been shining a lot.  Last Friday night, we went with neighbors to a fun Gilbert & Sullivan operetta, The Gondoliers, at a little theater in the country.  We had a very nice pot luck picnic beforehand and managed to keep the bugs away for the most part.  Sunday, I had dinner with my son Chris which was a nice, cool way to catch up.

This week has been quiet, with a whole lot of reading to keep us fairly cool.  I finished How to Solve Your Own Murder which was quite complicated and fun.  I did a little sewing in the basement because our houseguest is still with us and may be here for several weeks more.  She is nice about eating whatever I concoct, and on hot days, that's mostly salads.

Today it is lovely weather - sunny and relatively cool.  We did some grocery shopping and picked up and dropped off more boxes for next week's library book sale.  Now I'm doing the laundry, catching up on online reading, and goofing off.  This afternoon, I'll head down to the basement for some more paper piecing.  I took stock of my progress with Double Date and have around 20 more blocks to make.  They're going to be set on point, so I've had to draw it out roughly on paper.   On-point settings always make me a little nervous, but I persisit!

Tuesday, Tuesday

Our weather has turned chilly again, so I guess we had summer last week.  I did manage to plant petunias between batches of rain over the weekend, and they look pretty good.  This year, I found "wave petunias," and I'm looking forward to not having to pinch them of dead blossoms all summer. 

Our shared garden looks quite good, thanks to neighbor Gale who works tirelessly there.  She moved a maidenhair fern from her old garden to our new one just because she knew I like them.  I must take her hiking in the town forest this year to show her the huge patch along one of the trails.   (I copied the photo below from the internet)

With gloomy weather, I spent quite a bit of time in the sewing room, and yesterday I put a small red and white sampler mostly together.  Paul and I had lunch with Ruth before I could finish putting the outer border on, but I got that done today.  It will sit in the closet until I can get it quilted.  

When we got home from lunch, I spent some the rest of the afternoon reading the last book in the Magpie Murders series.  I know there will be a PBS Masterpiece series and want to get a jump on it.  So far it's as intriguing as the other two, and I'm sort of sorry there won't be another.

I woke up early (1:30 am!) Monday and spent time in the dark thinking about the Wensleydale quilt.  The red/white block is in the little sampler top I finished, but I have 59 more foundation papers left to play with.  It's the rectangular block - middle right below.

I kept sleeplessly ruminating on what color combinations to use.  Scrappy?  Not scrappy?  Later in the day I broke down and ordered a bundle of Tula Pink leftovers on etsy.  I'm hoping to do some fussy cutting for that central rectangle.

Because of waking up so early yesterday, I fell asleep at 9 pm, listening to the dulcet tones of the Boston Red Sox last innings.  Today I felt refreshed enough to get back to the little red/white quilt before aerobic walking at the library.  Because it's still cold to work outside, I went to the hardware store and got some impatiens and some compost/manure for someday when the sun comes out.

Blocks of the month

I worked on blocks of the month Sunday and had fun doing them.  The red one is for the guild lottery.  It will make a nice quilt.   The other two blocks are for me.  One is the guild lottery block but not on point, and the other is by Kristin Laura designs.   I bought (at a greatly reduced rate) a half bolt of the polka dots and am using them in every block and probably on the back, too.  I hope I have enough background to finish - it's black with tiny white specks.  Guess I can always dig out a plain black to go along if I run out.

Now I'm waiting for Aby's two March blocks for the Optimism quilt which should arrive on Saturday.  After working on the landscapes and all those hourglass blocks for Exploding Heart, I need a little break from quilting.  Besides, I still have to sew the binding down on the back for the Lily quilt.   I have an e-book due back at the library on Friday, so I'm spending more time with that.  Lula Dean's Library of Banned Books is rather poorly written with a silly plot, but I do want to find out what happens.

Moving slowly

 We've had some hot/humid days recently, so I've either spent most of them sewing  or reading with the AC on.  I finished the purple Barn Star Sampler quilt top and will take it to Marie for long arm quilting eventually.  Right now it's in a bag waiting.  If I take it too soon, I'll have too many UFOs to keep up with.

I still have a Christmas quilt to bind and will soon have a bargello Christmas tree skirt to bind as well.  The pattern is at left.  I thought it would be fairly easy but figuring out the order of the strips of fabric took quite a bit of time.  Paper plates came in handy to keep them all straight.  The binding will be cut on the bias and will be quite long.  I'll sew it on by machine.

I finished the last book in the Maisie Dobbs series the other day. The Comfort of Ghosts was a very satisfying conclusion to a great series with interesting mysteries.  Usually the murders occur "off screen" so to speak, and Maisie just happens upon them or is contracted by someone to solve them.  It has been great to grow old with Maisie and some of her characters, including her assistant, Billy, who has gained quite a bit of wisdom over time and exposure to Maisie.  I will miss her but know that author Jacqueline Winspear will most likely come up with new characters that are just as interesting.  I really liked the standalone novel about post World War II that she wrote a few years ago, The White Lady.  I have her memoir waiting in the wings.

Now I'm back to reading about Aunt Bessie, having read all 26 of her mysteries in the last year or so.  Author Diana Xarissa couldn't set her aside so is writing a "Cold Case" series featuring Aunt Bessie and friends.  It's a comforting, quick series that I was initially drawn to because the books are set on the Isle of Man, and I was making Manx quilt blocks at the time.

We are all bracing for the remnants of Hurricane Beryl to arrive this afternoon.  Having gone through a massive flood here exactly a year ago, everyone is preparing for the worst.  I'll charge everything I can in preparation for power outages, and I'll bring my lone tomato plant in its pot up on the porch out of the wind.  Luckily, we live up a long hill from downtown and also on a flat piece of land away from any landslide-prone areas.  Some of our near neighbors aren't so lucky.  Fingers crossed!

Two finishes!

Friday, I shopped for and added a binding to the white on white piece (about 12" square) I have been working on since the early 1980s.  Yes, that long!  I took a class on white on white quilting at the Vermont Quilt Festival when it was still just 10 miles down the road from me in Northfield.  One of the vendors sold printed squares, so I bought one to work on while traveling for some years until I started taking Dear Jane blocks with me on trips.

I found the white on white piece a couple of years ago at the bottom of a bin and have been taking it to work on now and then at monthly Calico County Quilters meetings ever since.  After I finished quilting it, I soaked it in warm water to get the blue lines out.  They faded but were still visible, so I washed it in hot water with new Dawn dish soap and some Oxy-clean.  That did the trick and also removed some of the stains acquired over 40 years of dragging it from meeting to meeting.  

The binding is a cream-on-cream that contrasts just enough.  Eventually, I'll hang the nameless piece on the wall after taking it to guild for show and tell.   I finished it at our Calico County meeting Saturday and also worked on the Sashiko I started on vacation in March.  I'll take the Sashiko along to Colorado next week as it's small enough to fit in my suitcase.

Over the weekend, I also pieced a back, pin basted, and quilted the Manx/log cabin quilt.  I used my walking foot and echoed the barn raising setting.  The binding is the same cream-on-cream.   I noticed that when I spritzed some of the quilting lines some of the red centers ran.  Ugh!  I'm not quite sure what to do now - maybe wash in the machine with color catchers and Oxy?  I'll ask folks at guild what they recommend.

Funny how, whenever I finish a quilt, I need to take a break for a day or two before working on anything else.  I spent quite a bit of the day yesterday reading Paper Cuts, a new installment in the cozy mystery series, The Secret, Book, and Scone Society, by Ellery Adams.  I enjoy this series set in a small town with the main character being a former librarian who owns a bookstore and offers a bit of bibliotherapy to her customers.  Could be my alter-ego!

Finishing books and projects

Now that the collage is finished and hanging on the wall, what should I work on next?  I always have to take a little break after finishing an intense project or after reading an intense book.  Both happened yesterday.  I finished quilting Birch Street and hung it up in the front hall.    It's a narrow space and difficult for photography, but perhaps today I'll take the quilt outside for a photo shoot.  I folded and sewed the outer border over to the back as a facing and made a thin hanging sleeve which I sewed on by hand.   I think that will be "it" for collage quilting for me.  

I spent most of yesterday reading Go As A River, by Shelley Read.  It's set in Colorado, between 1949 and 1970.  Victoria meets a charismatic young man on a street in her small town, falls in love, and bears the consequences.  It's an adventure with coming-of-age, very exciting in parts, and also quite heartwarming at the end.  Beautifully written with very strong characters, it's a book I will remember for a long time.  I enjoyed Victoria's love of nurturing the peaches her family grew.  Colorado peaches are delicious.  

Feeling the void of a project and a book finished, today I'll work on getting some projects together for our trip and start a cozy mystery - palate cleansers!  Tomorrow we are heading to Bellows Falls on an errand for the historical society, and Tuesday I'll have a pedicure and go to Burlington to give Pauline her placemats.  I'd like to get my taxes done before we leave next week, too.

Freezing!

It has been at or below zero for nearly two weeks, and I can't be the only one who's sick of it.  I have plenty to do in the house - sewing, reading, closet cleaning, etc.  - but I can't help feeling a strong case of cabin fever coming on.  The long range forecast seems better, thank goodness.  I have had to cancel or not go to several activities, so the cold has really disrupted my life!  I did venture forth Tuesday after New Year's Day because we needed quite a bit of food.  It was 25 below zero!  Then today, with negative digits and brisk winds causing a wind chill of 25 below, we went to a funeral.  Soup was definitely on the lunch menu, and casseroles have great appeal every night.

I just finished Jennifer Chiaverini's latest book about Ada Byron Lovelace, daughter of the British Romantic poet and acknowledged by some to be the first computer programmer.  Enchantress of Numbers paints a somewhat sad portrait of a Victorian girl whose parents separated early in her life and who was raised to focus on science and math over poetry.  Her nurses and governesses were told not to tell her fairy tales so that her imagination wouldn't become stimulated.  Now I'm on to something a little different - Amy Stewart's Girl Waits With Gun, a mystery set in 1914 in rural New Jersey.  So far it's intriguing and, I hope, diverting.

I finished quilting the string scrappy quilt and am on to quilting the Storm at Sea one.  That is going fairly well although I am mainly working in the ditch along the curves at this point.  I'll do some echo quilting when it's all  anchored.  I'm using a variegated medium-to-light blue thread although it doesn't make a lot of difference.  

I find quilting is great for thinking... mostly about future projects.  On my spring agenda are two quilts for Paul's great nephews who are graduating from high school.  The wrestler will get a t-shirt quilt, and the more science-oriented one says his favorite color is gray.  That should be interesting and offers some real "modern" quilting possibilities.

A baker's dozen of good books

When I review the the books I liked best in 2014, I see that many were light and involved women, some of them "of a certain age," finding their ways.  Here's the list:

Under the Wide and Starry Sky - Nancy Horan.  Amazing fictional biography of Fanny van de Grift and Robert Louis Stevenson, ranging from France to California to Samoa.

Longbourne - Jo Baker.  Pride and Prejudice as seen through the eyes of the servants.

A Single Thread - Marie Bostwick.  First in the "Cobbled Court Quilts" series.

The House at the End of Hope St. - Menna van Praag.  The house only appears to those who need it.

Lost Lake - Sarah Addison Allen.  Another mystical family story.

Through the Evil Days - Julia Spencer-Fleming.  Latest in the series featuring Claire and Russ, set in the middle of an ice storm in a remote area of the Adirondacks.

Sweet Expectations - Mary Ellen Taylor.  A young woman returns to the family bakery in Alexandria, Va., to keep it going.  (I also read The Union St. Bakery)

Goodnight, June - Sarah Jio.  Story about a Seattle bookshop run by a friend of Margaret Wise Brown.

The Care and Management of Lies - Jacqueline Winspear.  What were the women doing while the British men were off at WWI?

The House on Tradd St. - Karen White.  First in a four book series set in ghost-ridden Charleston.  I gobbled them up, one after the other.

The Long Way Home - Louise Penny.  This mystery does not disappoint a long-time fan.  Probably the best book of the year!

Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good - Jan Karon.  A welcome reunion with the Mitford characters in Karon's wonderfully funny style.

Still Life with Bread Crumbs - Anna Quindlen.  Wonderful story of a middle-aged photographer finding love in unexpected circumstances.

A bunch of blocks

I guess I have sewed the whole day today, and I'm not complaining.  It's been fun on this gloomy day.   We've had a lot of gloomy weather lately - either rain or drizzle.  My daffodils are finally out in the front of the house, and the lilacs are beginning to get leaves.  Spring is slow but IS coming.

I made a bunch of fall-colored nine patch blocks this morning for a swap.  I have a few more to make, but I wanted something easy to wake me up.  Then I moved along to the Loyal Union Sampler block of the week, which was a bit difficult at 6" (finished size).  I made it at 12" for the Cornucopia of Thanks last year and remember it as a little tricky due to inset seams.

 

 

This week's Austen Family Album block was quite simple, but I made the center square a little more decorative.  Just because!

Now I'm going to sit down and start a new book.  Yesterday I finished Mansfield Park after about a month of slogging and got a batch of books from the library as a reward.  I don't remember ever finishing this Austen book before, and I have read all of her others at least two or three times each.  Don't know if I'll ever tackle it again! 

Family Estate (or whatever)

I always have trouble naming my quilts.  The pattern for this is in a book called Friendship Strips and Scraps by Edyta Sitar.   There's a bed-sized quilt and a small one block hanging, both using the houses with applique.  The wallhanging is called "Family Estate" and the quilt has another name.  This is a cross between the two, with just nine blocks instead of 15, so it's a 36" x 36" wallhanging.  Where I'll hang it is still a mystery to me since we have so little wall space.  But I enjoyed working on it and am looking forward to quilting it.  It's all basted, and the binding is ready to go whenever I finish.

I took this photo before I started pinbasting.  It's a bit dark due to the gloom of the day, but that is, of course, a perfect day for such jobs.

Today I also made four six-inch block lotto blocks for Lou. 

She chose spools, which was fun because I had toyed around with choosing that last month when it was my turn.  I put the pattern in my Loyal Union Sampler box, just in case I want to make one to go in that quilt.  I'm waiting patiently for that new book by Jennifer Chiaverini coming in September, joined an online group, and have a box of blues and grays waiting.  I have plenty to keep me busy before it comes, though.

Today we also picked a batch of green beans which I will freeze tomorrow, and a zucchini which is destined for zucchini bread for the freezer.  Or maybe it will be more chocolate zucchini cupcakes which were a big hit around here.  Now I'm going to sit back down with The Dry Grass of August, a novel about the south in the 1950's, sort of like The Help, which I loved. 

Another quilt for the etsy shop

I finished this last week but didn't get around to taking pictures and listing the quilt on etsy.  Here is my Disappearing Nine Patch Kitties quilt!

I love the pink batik binding, but I don't know that I'll ever do a Disappearing Nine Patch quilt again.  It's too hard to get the colors spread around the quilt in a pleasing way.  I spent forever rearranging them!

I haven't done any sewing today - just errands, laundry and reading (The Light in the Ruins, Chris Bohjalian's latest).  In a little while, I'll head to Sandy's for our Monday afternoon get-together, and then I'll go to the Websterville playground for a neighborhood meeting to plan the new equipment.  Tomorrow we hope to give the dog a bath, I'll clean house a bit, and then there's a meeting to plan the Democrats' summer BBQ.  Maybe I'll get some sewing time in in the afternoon, although there's a terrific sale going on at my local quilt shop...

A busy week

I am looking forward to the weekend and next week when my life won't be as busy as it's been (I hope).  Tuesday night, I went to quilt guild which was quite fun, with four different workshops going on in the corners of the room.  I also showed off my Cornucopia of Thanks.

Wednesday night was the Greater Barre Democrats meeting, followed by a public forum on the Decriminalization of Marijuana.  This was the second of three informational forums with speakers who offer pros and cons of issues before the legislature, followed by questions and answers from the audience.  We have not taken positions on the issues (the others are Death with Dignity/Physician-assisted Suicide and Health Care reform) but feel it's important to inform ourselves and the public.  I happened to be the moderator Wednesday night which worked out pretty well.  We had 18 people attend, and several were people I didn't know.  Guess our publicity is working.

Thursday afternoon, the Central Vermont Quilt Show committee met at the Old Labor Hall to get a feel for the space since it has been renovated slightly since our last show in 2011.  Our show is scheduled for April 26 and 27, so that is soon.  We have a lot to do, especially encouraging more entries.  Tuesday night we got a few, but we can use more.  I entered a second quilt, my recently completed Licorice and Lime (warning - the photo is lousy).

I still need to sew a sleeve on it, and today I offered to sew a sleeve on a friend's quilt since she is in Florida tending an ill 99 year old mother and doesn't know if she'll make it home before the show.   After our meeting, we all went out to dinner at the restaurant in the old firehouse which was fun.  There was live music, an extra bonus - not too loud, folk/rock oldies - just our style.

Today, after my stint at the Vermont Historical Society, I went to the hospital for my annual mammogram and then visited Joann Fabrics for a few things.  I treated myself to an afternoon on the couch finishing up a good book, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  It was on all the "must-read" lists last year and, while the characters were not at all likeable, it was a page-turner.  Happy Easter, everyone!

In a funk!

I haven't sewn anything quilty in a few days, even though I did quite a bit of fabric shopping Saturday.  On Sunday Lisa delivered my queen-sized lime and black quilt (as-yet-unnamed), and I did trim it on Monday.  It's looks lovely spread on the bed.  I have the fabric out to make the binding (black "Dimples" fabric), but the sheer size of the quilt keeps me from working on it.  I need about 400" of binding!

Tuesday, I procrastinated by sewing Chris' curtains which I had been procrastinating on for ages.  I got some kelly green fabric with black tractors in an auction last spring, and I thought it would be nice trim for the black curtains he wanted to block out the sun.  Living on the 3rd floor with tall windows, his place can get hot in summer.  It took Chris a while to measure,  and I needed about 10 yds.  So I waited until Joann Fabrics had moved into the new place to buy that quantity of polyester blend fabric with a 50% off coupon.  Then I found other projects to divert me, but Tuesday I couldn't delay any longer.  It didn't take too long, really, and he is happy with them.  I don't know why making curtains is such a chore.  Maybe it's just that they're dull?

I just don't feel like starting any sewing projects, probably because I have that darned binding to make.  So, the last couple of days, I've been busy at other things - making granola, doing laundry, going out to lunch, working on paperwork for the Central Vermont Quilt Show and the Green Mountain Quilters Guild - meeting minutes, budgets/spreadsheets, etc.  I've also been buried in two good books by Sara J. Henry - Learning to Swim and its sequel A Cold and Lonely Place.  They're mysteries set in the Adirondacks and very involving. 

OK, now that I've said it, guess I'll go cut 10 strips of 2.5" fabric for binding...

The Grapes of Wrath

The first book of my own "Classics Challenge" (read 50 classics in 5 years) was one that I never got to, perhaps because the story was fairly well-known.  The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck follows the Joad family from the Oklahoma dustbowl to California to find work during the 1930's.  It's a story of trial and tribulation, some humor, and a lot of anger.  Why don't the "haves" help out the "have-nots"?  How can we allow our citizens to live in hovels and on very little good food?  The Joads are ever-hopeful for a break, but they are beset by their fellow Americans at every turn and, finally, by nature.

Young Tom Joad leaves prison after several years of having three square meals a day.  He runs into Casy, a former preacher, on his way home, and they both arrive just in time to accompany three generations (and another on the way) of the Joad family on a sad trip west.  Death, hunger, and deception follow them at every turn.  When they do find work picking fruit or cotton, the prices get consistently lowered by greedy landowners who know how hungry potential workers are.  If the workers try to strike, there are others hungry enough to take their places.  Organzing has little effect, yet seems the only solution to a situation spiraling out of control. 

The family tries to stay together, with Ma Joad becoming the strength they need and Pa just puzzled and trying the best he knows to do what the situation requires.  It's a sad story and still relevant today.  Jim, visiting here from Alabama this week, mentioned that parts of that state have no electricity or phone service.  Public schools, he says, are lousy and those who cannot afford private schools (blacks, Latinos, the poor) receive minimal educations.  Property taxes, which would pay for education, are kept low, but sales taxes are high and even cover food and clothing.  This is shocking in an age when many of us have so much.  The Grapes of Wrath certainly offers much to think about.  I'm glad I read it!  I even liked the format:  one chapter plot, the next a poetic riff on the situation.

Reading quiz

I saw this today and thought it would be fun to include:

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack:   I try not to, but it happens.  Wine and cheese would be my favorite, but cookies are nice.

What is your favorite drink while reading?       Most definitely a cold glass of white wine.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?  I don’t like to see writing in books.  If I mark anything, it is with a sticky note.

     
How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?.  I have a drawer devoted to bookmarks and if one isn’t handy, I use a slip of paper until I can find one.  Paul leaves his books open flat which I am always amazed at.  But he knows what he’s doing (too).

Fiction, non-fiction, or both?  Fiction for sure although I’m trying to read more nonfiction lately.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?  I try to stop at the end of a chapter, or the end of a section.

Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you? I don’t throw books anywhere!

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away? I try to figure it out from the context – or I ask Paul!

What are you currently reading?  The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

What is the last book you bought?  The Grapes of Wrath.  I also just placed an advance order for the latest books by Louise Penny and Jennifer Chiaverini, coming out soon.

Do you have a favourite time/place to read?  After I make dinner and before we eat, I do like to sit in the living room and read until dinnertime.  I can't get on an airplane without a book, either.

 Do you prefer series books or stand alones?   I don’t care, but it is fun to gulp up a good series.  I did that with the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear recently.

 Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?  Louise Penny, Sue Grafton, Barbara Kingsolver, and an old saw The Land of the Burnt Thigh, about women homesteading in North Dakota.

 How do you organize your books? (by genre, title, author’s last name, etc.)  I gather books by the same author together and also have some arranged by topic.  Paul and I have “his and hers” shelves.