Favorite Reads and Authors

I like to read but I am also busy with so many other things so I don't read a lot.  While I am anxiously awaiting a new book from a favorite author, I thought I would share some of my favorites. Maybe you can pick one up, read it, and it may be one of your favorites too.


Author: Lisa Genova
She has written two books that I absolutely love, Still Alice and Left Neglected.  The first book is about a Harvard Psychology professor that has early onset Alzheimer's Disease.  The book is written from her point of view.  It is amazing.  The second book is about a woman who suffers from a traumatic brain injury.  One side of her brain is neglected due to the injury.  This book will change your life.

Book: My Stroke of Insight
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is a brain scientist.  This is a story of her own stroke that she suffered one morning at her home along with her miraculous recover.  In my opinion, this is a MUST READ and MUST RECOMMEND to anyone that is affected by a stroke or the stroke of a friend.

Book: Don't Leave Me This Way
This book by Julie Fox Garrison is about her own massive brain hemorrhage and paralyzing stroke when she was in her thirties.  This an excellent of humor being good medicine.  The only thing I didn't like about this book is that it is written in second person.

Book: Season of Second Chances
This book by Diane Meier is a nice read about seasons of life and change.

Book: Saving CeeCee Honeycutt
This one is about a 12 year old and how she deals with life with her psychotic mother.  You won't be able to put the book down.  Then you will be sad when it is all over.  Oh, then you will want to visit or move to Savannah, Georgia.

Book:  The Help
Kathryn Stockett wrote this book that is full if interesting characters. Set in Mississippi in 1962, you will live through these characters and never look at chocolate pie the same.  The movie is a fabulous adaptation of the book.  Be sure you read the book first though.

Book:  The Last Lecture
This is truly the last lecture given by Randy Pausch on September 18, 2007.  He lost is battle with pancreatic cancer in July of 2008.  His lecture is titled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams." You can also watch his lecture here on YouTube.

Author: Mitch Albom
I have read four of his books and will now be getting The Timekeeper and reading it.  I enjoy all of his books and recommend them.  They are very thought provoking books and usually easy reads.

Book: Eat, Pray, Love
This book was read at the right time in my life.  Elizabeth Gilbert authored this book about a particular journey in her life to Italy, India, and Indonesia.  Slow start but a good read.  Don't compare the book to the movie.  I did not like the movie at all.

Book: Every 21 Seconds
Someone suffers from a traumatic brain injury every 21 second.  Brian Sweeney writes about how his life was affected by his own TBI. 


Speakers/Authors: The Women of Faith speakers
I have been to several Women of Faith conferences and I've loved them all.  The speakers, singers, and motivators that they put together for the conferences are outstanding.  I have books from years past and I highly recommend them if you are looking for a more spiritual read.

I am currently waiting for Lisa Genova's newst book called Love Anthony that is coming out late September 2012.  Here is a review.  I watched her book trailer on her fb page (Simon & Schuster) and I am sooo excited about the book.

Keep reading!

Grace

I just have to share about an old/new friend.  Grace was my typing teacher at Eastridge High School when I was a freshman.  I had her typing class for one semester, I think.  She taught typing and shorthand classes at Eastridge for many years.  She retired when the two high schools combined to make Kankakee High School in the fall 1983. I didn't have her for any other class, nor did I see her around town after she retired. While I was fairly shy in my younger days, I am very much a people person now.  I love running into former teachers and chatting for a few minutes when I am out and about.

Here are the pictures of her from my '81 and '82 Eastridge Yearbooks.

 

One of my co-workers is the chaplain for a local retirement facility.  Late last summer she talked about a couple of residents and that the husband was very sick.  He had been battling cancer for eight years.  Eventually she said the wife's name.  It was Grace!  I asked if she had white hair, glasses, slender build, and so forth.  It was Grace!  She mentioned how Grace and David didn't have any children and David was close to going home to Jesus.  I took a picture of my kids and me from Randy's wedding in June and wrote a note and sent it to Grace through Carol, my co-worker. Grace replied the next week with a note about her and her life.  You know, her handwriting hadn't changed a bit in all those years.  Then, in October, David died.  I found out through Carol that Grace never left his side in the eight years that he had cancer.  They would have meals brought up to their apartment.  She was right there with him through it all.  True love.

I decided that I needed Grace in my life and she needed me.  Well, maybe need is a strong word but we could sure enjoy each other’s company regularly.  Carol provides a church service every other Sunday so I decided that I would visit on the opposite Sundays.  My friend and I go visit at about 2:00 and stay for a couple of hours.  We talk about all kinds of stuff too, movies, books, school, teachers, church, faith, my kids.  She loves movies and loves to read.  I found out that she used to be a counselor at UIC before coming to Kankakee.  She tells us about David and how he left so many journals that she has been reading through.  She is a sharp gal!  We hear about their trips to Italy, Israel, Paris, and Asia.  She has been all over!  We hear stories about how poor she was growing up and how she got oranges for Christmas and that was great!  Grace is a treasure! She loves classical music and orchestras.  We've taken her to hear Olivet's gospel choir, KVSO and KVYSO, as well as other orchestral performances.  We also went to Olive Garden for dinner (since we finally got one in Bradley).   This weekend we will be going to IHOP.  She loves Belgian Waffles.

I hope you enjoy these pictures of Grace.

 

I hope you are all staying cool and staying inside today!

Ciao!

Finally finished the bathroom!

We always struggled with the main bathroom in the house.  There were two red heat lamps that could be turned on with the fan that caused the little fairies eyes to glow in the wallpaper.  Creepy. We coped with it and just didn't use the red lights.  That didn't get rid of the fairies though.  Also, the vanity top was long with one sink bowl in the middle...it was blue with white swirls.  A few years ago we stripped the wallpaper and found a velvety wallpaper under that.  What a mess.  We were lucky that there was ceramic wall tile up to about the four foot mark so we were dealing with less than half the wall space. Anyway, we got the wallpaper off, spackled, and painted a khaki color.  We went for a beach theme and found a stipple roller and used a lighter tan over top.  We thought it looked alright at the time.  We also thought the ceiling would be cool if it had a sky/cloud thing going on.  That was just a bad idea all around because we painted it blue and then had clouds painted on that did not look like clouds.  Then we painted the blue over the bad clouds. It sat that way for several years.

 

I had always wanted a two bowl sink in there since Randy and Madi shared that bathroom.  I also did not like the blue and white swirled vanity.  Last summer we found a white two bowl vanity on freecycle with the faucets included.  We went and picked it up and then it sat in the garage for a couple of months.  A friend was able to come over and we installed the new-to-us vanity and got all of the plumbing hooked up.  So now we got rid of the blue sink but still had the sand walls and blue ceiling.  Baby steps, right?

Earlier this spring, maybe March, I bought a new ceiling fan and had arranged for a friend to install it for me. That worked well and got rid of those red heat lamps.  The only problem with that fan now is that it pushes out so much heat that we don't run it.  It has to be rewired: another project for another time.  We also had to sand down the lighter tan paint that we used for a sandy texture before we could paint the new color or the texture paint would show through.  I pulled out my Kirby vacuum sander attachment and Mindy and I took turns sanding.  Once that was complete she taped the trim and tile and I started priming the ceiling and walls.  It took four coats of primer to cover the blue.  Four coats!  The walls just took a couple because we sanded them pretty well and the color was lighter.  We purchased a new khaki paint color for the walls and got a couple of coats on there as well as white for the ceiling.  The bathroom was looking pretty decent by now.

Now it was time to accessorize.  We took a wall tile to Target to match up the blue swirl in the tile with a shower curtain.  We got this really pretty shower curtain that had a gradient blue that matched perfectly. We found a couple of nice floor mats as well at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  We accessorized the vanity with a bowl and some votives.   

 

We finished the bathroom up while Madi was in Africa.  We were quite busy when she was gone! We are pleased with the bathroom now.  No more glowing fairy eyes is a huge improvement.