Death Comes as the End by Agatha Christie
Eric and I read this book together as we drove to Boston. We liked the book until the ending when we felt it fell flat. It's set in ancient Egypt with all the superstition and multiple Gods figuring in the storyline. It was interesting to read the family dynamics that played a large part in the book as the old widower father takes a young bride, the sons and their wives get jealous, and a newly widowed daughter tries to fit back into the family picture. I would recommend other Agatha Christie ones if you like mystery and intrigue.
The Vine of Desire by Chitra Divakaruni
This book is the sequel to one I reviewed earlier, Sister of My Heart. The story wasn't as good as the first, most sequels aren't in my experience, but I still had to read it in a couple days and find out how things end up. The Vine of Desire shows more how the two "sisters" Sudha and Anju adjust to life together in America with Sudha's daughter and Anju's husband who has a longstanding crush on Sudha. No matter what happens between them, Sudha and Anju are sisters at heart and love each other.
Reflections of a Scientist by Henry Eyring
A friend of mine loaned this book to me saying that it was a short, good read providing insight into Henry B. Eyring's father's beliefs. It is possible for a scientist to believe in God as Eyring shows: "Exact scientists are deeply impressed by the precision with which natural laws apply. Any explanation that ignores a Planner leaves this precision unexplained and is therefore unacceptable." These exact scientists are nuclear physicists and chemists like himself. Eyring's wit is great and I love how he expresses over and over again how he searches for truth as shown in the last paragraph of the book.
"So, I am certain that the gospel, as taught in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is true. It's a better explanation of what I observe in science than any other I know about. There are still lots of things I don't know, but that doesn't bother me. I'm a happy muddler. The gospel simply asks me to find out what's true as best I can and in the meantime to live a good life. That strikes me as the best formula for living there could be."
The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus
This was another book I just could not put down. The authors brought together their experiences as nannies in New York City and weaved them into the character, Nan, and her young charge, Grayer, son of Mr. and Mrs. X. I know it's a fictional book but I still couldn't believe how little one human being can care for another. Mrs. X treated Nan like a servant at her beck and call instead of someone raising her most important asset, her son. They are ultra-rich and spend thousands of dollars on kitchen appliances that are never used, name brand clothing worn maybe once, but can't find a minute of their day to spend with their son and pay the nanny far less than one pair of Prada shoes. And Mr. X is not in the family picture at all, he just works 80 hours a week and has an affair with a woman in the Chicago office. Needless to say, I have no intention on being a nanny in New York and am glad I can offer my children what they need more than the world's best private school--a mom and dad who love them and are there 24/7 (unless we decide to go on a date).
The little Munchkins
Elizabeth and Rachel keep on growing. Elizabeth got her cast off a week and a half ago and it's so nice not having to bathe her with a bag on her arm. She doesn't miss the cast one bit and neither do I. Elizabeth still loves baby dolls and had one more added to her collection from Aunt Lisa. She loves nursing them and putting them to bed and doing all the things I do with her and Rachel. At bedtime, the four books we have to read without variation are The Spooky Old Tree, C is for Clown, In a People House, and The Ear Book. We went camping on Friday night and Elizabeth kept on saying, camping! and scouts! with an excited voice. We're definitely raising outdoor children because Rachel loved crawling all around the grass and Elizabeth loved the fire and being outside.Rachel is just crawling all over the place now and standing up on all the furniture. She can even climb the stairs, under my supervision of course. Today she crawled up on the dishwasher door and didn't care that it was all wet. Rachel has started pulling all the books off the bookcase, all the toys from the toy bin, and the plugs from the wall when I vacuum or have anything else plugged in. She also loves shoes and will chew on Elizabeth's sandals like a dog. She definitely has to be where the action is and if I put her down after dinner and we're still at the table, she'll crawl around under our feet.
The bigger Munchkins
Eric and I have tried to keep busy ourselves. Besides taking care of the little ones, I've been busy reading as you can tell from above, cross-stitching (I'm almost done with my Christmas present mom), and trying to keep my garden alive. I'm just not having the luck with wildlife eating all my vegetables. I've seen deer hooves and I think they've eaten some tomatoes. The rabbits and squirrels are probably eating my lettuce and the japanese beetles are having a field day with my strawberry and bean leaves. Ah well, it's just a hobby anyway, the supermarkets still have all the food I need. Speaking of supermarkets, I've just found the joy of coupon clipping. We finally got the local paper (yes dad, we have the print version of news now, at least four days a week) with all the ads and coupons on Sunday so I am always on the lookout for great deals. I probably buy more than I would otherwise but I'm getting such good deals :)
Eric can probably give you more details on his activities but he's been really active with his scoutmaster calling lately and of course I keep him busy around the house.
