The Dutch House

I got lucky when I rented The Dutch House by Ann Patchett from the cloud library. I was unaware until I started listening that the book is read by  Tom Hanks. I love being read to and being read to by Tom Hanks is even better. Most of the story is narrated by the brother who lived in the Dutch House so it makes sense to have it read by a man. I loved this book (and Tom's voice) so much I am going to listen to it twice before I have to return it to the cloud library

The Care And Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls

I was attracted to this book by Anissa Gray by the colorful cover and the fact that it was placed sideways on the library shelf. The Care And Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls was a quick and easy read. This story is about a family of four adult siblings. Each sibling has their own role to play in the family dynamics. When the oldest sibling becomes unavailable the family flounders because she was always the one in charge and directing others. This story demonstrates that the person in charge in a family isn't always the best leader nor the best decision maker. I liked this story because most of the characters understood family is important. They stepped up to help even if it wasn't convenient or their field of expertise.

MIA

Today I had some free time. The weather was too cold to be outside. So I went to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. As I walked four blocks to get into the building I remembered the time I brought Offspring #1 and his cousin there. I think they were three years old; possibly four. As we walked through the paintings and statues I heard them repeating the same word over and over, "Naked!" Here is a photo of a Reubens.

I think I could come here every day for two weeks and get something new out of the experience. Here is a Georgia O'Keefe. Every patron today was given a six inch red heart. We were told to place it by our favorite work of art. I put my heart by a statue of Eros; also known as Cupid.

This is a Frank Lloyd Wright chair. The Institute has a big showing now of Japanese and Chinese and Korean art. Today I also saw a Picasso, a Salvador Dali and Mondrian. Walking through the three floors of this art museum was a great way to spend a cold winter day.

Mountains Beyond Mountains

I borrowed this copy of Mountains Beyond Mountains: : The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World from Offspring  #2 before I left on my road trip. Now that I have finished this fine book by Tracy Kidder, I have more appreciation for the work and words of Doctor Paul Farmer. Doctor Farmer is a physician and a medical anthropologist. He is especially interested in severe cases of tuberculosis that do not respond to standard treatment. He worked mainly in Haiti, Peru, and Siberia treating the poor and the sick. He founded a non-profit organization called PIH (Partners in Health).  He travels around the world speaking, seeing patients, and raising money for patients who cannot afford to pay for their treatment. I am inspired to read about such a giving, hard-working scientist who manages to maintain a positive outlook despite the poverty he witnesses and the politics he has to untangle.

Crows Calling

In my new house I was disturbed by a murder of crows talking and talking and talking. These crows sounded so close. I looked out my bedroom window in northeast Minneapolis to find 25 crows in the tree. One crow to the north squawks seven syllables. The other two dozen crows answer in unison with 20 syllables. The one crow squawks again. The chorus answers.  

What are the crows talking about? Is one crow asking a question and the rest of the crows answer? That is what this sounds like to me.

Ayesaha At Last

Driving back from Savannah to Minneapolis I was able to listen to the book Ayesha At Last by Uzma Jalaluddin. The story seemed familiar although the two main characters did not. Ayesha is a Muslim high school teacher in Toronto. Khalid is a Muslim man working in technology support at a large company. Khalid is a conservative Muslim. He and Ayesha end up working together on a youth conference at their mosque. They really don't like each other or at least they appear not to like each other. By the end of the story I realized this is a reworking of Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice. I thought it was an interesting book though and it helped pass the miles through Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Iowa quickly.

Tybee Island

Responsibilities are calling me back to Minnesota. So how to spend my last day in the south?  At the shore, of course. I drove north and east to Tybee Island where every parking space on the whole island costs $3/hour. I parked by the lighthouse and walked over the boardwalk to see the Atlantic Ocean one last time. I listened to the surf. I watched the sandpipers, gulls, pelicans and other birds fly by. I think I might have seen a black skimmer. I kept my shoes on because the temperature was only in the 40's but I walked for 90 minutes along the beach.

I chose not to visit the lighthouse and accompanying museums. Spending the day outside seemed like the better choice.

I also visited the Tybee Marine Science Center on the other end of the island. They have a small menagerie including various fish, a ray, one loggerhead turtle. I got to watch the turtle get pampered with a betadine wash and anti fungal cream massage. This agency is devoted to saving turtles but also rescues birds and other animals. As I walked along the beach I kept looking for bottle nosed dolphins. I didn't see any bottle  nosed dolphins but I had fun loooking!