The Help ~ LOVED IT!!!

I just read a great book over the weekend, "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett.  It's a very powerful novel about life in the South (specifically Jackson, Mississippi) during the '50's and '60's.  It follows the lives of three strong women, two black/one white, and how they came together, and how their lives were changed by their courage, strength and determination.  It was a real eye-opener for me to see the injustices some people endured at that time. It made me realize that the protective high-school life I lead in southern California during the turbulent events of the 1960's was so removed from theirs in so many ways -- we may as well have been a million miles away in a completely foreign country.  It shames me to admit that I knew so little of what was really going on with civil rights in our country at that time, and therefore, I did nothing to contribute to making things better for other people.

I grew to love some of the ladies in this book, and was so drawn into their lives, that I just didn't want the book to end ...... I really wanted to see what happens next with all of them!

Only 5 more letters to go.....

I just finished reading Sue Grafton's latest book, "U is for Undertow".  It's the 21st installment of Grafton's ongoing "alphabet mysteries" series of novels with female private investigator Kinsey Millhone as the protagonist.  I've read all of them so far, and am always anxious for the next one to come out. 

I really like Kinsey, even though we have almost nothing in common.  I guess that's what makes her so interesting to me. 

There actually are two random things that we have in common:

*  1st car-VW bug; 2nd car-Mustang

*  A weakness for McD's QP burgers!

This is the alphabet list:
"A" Is for Alibi • "B" Is for Burglar • "C" Is for Corpse • "D" Is for Deadbeat • "E" Is for Evidence • "F" Is for Fugitive • "G" Is for Gumshoe • "H" Is for Homicide • "I" Is for Innocent • "J" Is for Judgment • "K" Is for Killer • "L" Is for Lawless • "M" Is for Malice • "N" Is for Noose • "O" Is for Outlaw • "P" Is for Peril • "Q" Is for Quarry • "R" Is for Ricochet • "S" Is for Silence • "T" Is for Trespass • "U" Is for Undertow

Good day for a walk

Hubby and I went for a walk this afternoon around the neighborhood. Since the Chargers game was not aired locally (grrrrrr) I had to get out and vent my frustration! Better to go get some exercise than drown my sorrows in nachos!!!

A beautiful sunset

...sporting my new Chargers jacket.

Thank you, Joni!!!

Entering 2010 with a BLUE MOON!

Party planners take note. For the first time in almost twenty years, there's going to be a Blue Moon on New Year's Eve.

"I remember the last time this happened," says professor Philip Hiscock of the Dept. of Folklore at the Memorial University of Newfoundland. "December 1990 ended with a Blue Moon, and many New Year's Eve parties were themed by the event. It was a lot of fun."
Don't expect the Moon to actually turn blue, though. "The 'Blue Moon' is a creature of folklore," he explains. "It's the second full Moon in a calendar month."

Right: The full moon of Dec. 2, 2009, over Turin, Italy. Photographer Stefano De Rosa notes that the blue colors are cast by Christmas lights surrounding the pictured church.

Most months have only one full Moon. The 29.5-day cadence of the lunar cycle matches up almost perfectly with the 28- to 31-day length of calendar months. Indeed, the word "month" comes from "Moon." 

Occasionally, however, the one-to-one correspondence breaks down when two full Moons squeeze into a single month. December 2009 is such a month. The first full Moon appeared on December 2nd; the second, a "Blue Moon," will come on December 31st.

January 1, 2010