Book Review: True Colors

New York Times bestseller Kristin Hannah has done it again! She has created a beautifully written novel about three sisters, and the things that tear them apart, draw them together and keep them connected.

Sisters Winona, Aurora and Vivi Ann Grey have been raised by a cold-hearted, sometimes cruel father since their mother's death when they were girls. As a result, the three share a bond that seems unbreakable. That is, until an old friend and a stranger come to the town they call home on the Oregon coast. Jealousies, secrets and a competing desire to earn their father's love seems to tear the girls apart.

When a tragedy appears to finally do the trick the sisters learn about the gift and the power of forgiveness and how sisterly love is stronger than almost anything else.

I loved this book! Hannah is a writer I return to time and again. She paints a lush, colorful picture of women and life. Her characters are so real that I felt as if I knew them personally. As I finished this novel I was almost wishing there were a sequel in the works so that I could revisit these three women and see how they were doing. I'd recommend it to all women who cherish their relationships, be they sisters by birth, or sisters of the heart.

Sometimes it pays ...

I'm not one to verbally complain when I'm in a store. But today I wasn't in a very good mood. I've started going back to the gym this week to try to strenthen my bad leg and knees. The treadmill, the bicycle and the stair climbers were so hard, and I am in a lot of pain. This doesn't excute my behavior, but possible explains it.

So I'm in Safeway and looking at the steaks. Our anniversary is coming up and Stan and I decided we would have a BBQ steak dinner with the boys to celebrate. Safeway had steaks on sale and said they were sold in the family packs.

When I got there the family packs were packages of three steaks. I needed four, and thought that the most common number for a family is five, so what was Safeway thinking? So I complained, I guess a little loudly, to my boys. "This is so dumb!" I cried, and AJ suggested I buy the three and a single one to go with it. "No! That single one is over a dollar a pound more!" I put the steaks back in the tray and added, "I'm just going to go to Costco and get them there."

At that point a meat clerk, who was standing behind me (unbeknownst to myself) and asked what the problem was. When I explained he told me to pick out a single steak that I wanted and he would wrap the four steaks up and charge me the sale price for all of them.

"Really?" I asked. "Absolutely," he replied. "I'd rather not lose your business." Yipee!

I thanked him and as he walked away I turned to AJ and said, "I guess it pays to complain out loud, huh?" I guess so. Can't wait for our anniversary dinner!

Pineapple Cream

Here is another dessert recipe, from the 1920s. It's been passed down from my grandmother, and is easy to make (my sister used to make it when she was a little girl) and really yummy!

PINEAPPLE CREAM WITH SAUCE

2 cups milk

3/4 cup sugar

4 Tablespoons corn starch

Whites of 2 eggs, beaten until stiff

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shredded pineapple (crushed)

Heat the milk in a double boiler. Mix the dry ingredients together. Add them gradually to the hot milk, sitrring the mixture constantly until it thickens, and then occasionally until it has cooked for 15 minutes. Remove the cream fromthe fire and add the pineapple and the whites of two eggs. Mold, chill and serve with the sauce.

Sauce

1 cup pineapple juice

1 Tablespoon flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon REAL butter (no margarine)

Heat the pineapple juice. Mix the flour and sugar and add them to the hot juice. Cook until clear. Add the butter. Cool and serve with Pineapple Cream.

So True!

It's Just Like ...

I've discovered a television show that I am quickly becoming addicted to. It's "Whatever, Martha!" It so reminds me of sitting with my BFF, a bag of potato chips and a bottle of catsup and a couple of colas, and sitting and talking the night away.

Martha Stewart's daughter and her best friend watch old clips from Martha's myriad of shows and talk about them, make fun of them, dis each other and generally have a good time. As a result I have a good time when I'm watching it.

I'd recommend it to anyone who misses spending time with a good friend who is far away. It'll make you feel like they're there with you!

And Death Shall Have No Dominion

And death shall have no dominion.
Dead mean naked they shall be one
With the man in the wind and the west moon;
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
They shall have stars at elbow and foot;
Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
Under the windings of the sea
They lying long shall not die windily;
Twisting on racks when sinews give way,
Strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break;
Faith in their hands shall snap in two,
And the unicorn evils run them through;
Split all ends up they shan't crack;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
No more may gulls cry at their ears
Or waves break loud on the seashores;
Where blew a flower may a flower no more
Lift its head to the blows of the rain;
Though they be mad and dead as nails,
Heads of the characters hammer through daisies;
Break in the sun till the sun breaks down,
And death shall have no dominion

Dylan Thomas
Welsh Poet
1914-1953

A THOUGHT FOR THE WEEKEND

Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.

Victor Hugo

French Poet and Novelist
1802-1885

Fruit Dip

I keep hoping spring will come to stay, but here in Colorado Mother Nature seems to still be making up her mind what season it is. Anyway, the sweet spring and summer fruits will soon be here, and I am sharing a wonderful recipe. This is for a fruit dip that my family loves. Serve it with a big platter of freshly cut fruit: bananas, apples, peaches, grapes, etc. and dip in this for a lovely warm weather dessert.

Mallow Fruit Dip

1 8-oz package of cream cheese, softened

1 7-oz jar marshamllow cream

1 Tablespoon orange juice

1 teaspoon orange zest

Beat all ingredients on medium speed until well blended. Refrigerate. Serve with fresh fruit. Makes about 1-1/2 cups.

My Nephew in Jordan

Some of you may know that my nephew, Neal, is serving in the Peace Corps in Jordan. He teaches in a small village there (pop. 400) and is having quite an experience. In his mid-20s, he is an excellent teacher with a good heart. His time there will end this July and he has had many wonderful times. He wrote an article for the local paper in his hometown in California and sent it to me. I am posting here a small part of his article. I was so moved by his words. If you want to read more I can post more. Here is a picture of Neal and one of his students.

I am very proud of all of the students I teach at my small school. However, last year I was particularly pleased with the progress of one in particular, a shy fifth-grader named Ahmed Ali. When I first came to the school, Ahmed Ali was one of the lowest-performing students. He never raised his hand to answer questions and would often stare blankly at the wall or absentmindedly doodle on the pages of his school book during lessons. He, along with several other weak students, had pretty much been written off by most of the other teachers who would openly call him "stupid" and "very bad". Even my more sensitive coworkers expressed skepticism of his ability to ever improve.

Nevertheless I tried to encourage Ahmed Ali whenever I could. I would call on him to answer questions in class, even when he hadn't raised his hand, gently correct his mistakes, and praise him on the (unfortunately few) occasions he would answer a question correctly. Yet at the end of the first semester he still ended up with a final grade of a meager 34%.

Undeterred, I redoubled my efforts once the second semester began. I not only looked for ways to better Ahmed Ali's grasp of English but also for opportunities to make him a more active and responsible member of our class. He along with all of the students was at one point our Student of the Week (a concept my counterparts and I introduced to the school), charged with making sure all of his classmates were prepared and quiet for class each day. His face lit up when tasked with leading the other boys, which he excelled at. I would ask him to help me with special projects such as designing posters for our room; he particularly liked drawing a small picture of himself as part of a poster about ordinal numbers. I also congratulated him for his excellent efforts on assignments like our alphabet handwriting charts (a side project I created where each student had to completehandwriting charts for all the letters of the alphabet, their progress charted on a classroom poster to encourage friendly competition).

Before long, Ahmed Ali began to show more signs of improvement. He started raising his hand and participating during lessons, coming to me outside of class to ask for help, and he seemed to be in higher spirits throughout the day. When we had our second semester mid-term exam, Ahmed Ali scored a mark of 55%, a vast improvement over his previous exam. We were so proud of his accomplishment that my counterpart and I wrote a note home to his parents (an unusual step at our school) praising Ahmed Ali for his hard work and encouraging more of the same. He continued to show improvement throughout the remainder of the semester, and I was very happy to find that Ahmed Ali's final grade for the second semester was 68%, exactly double his score in the first semester.

Was it worth it? Two years of my life and thousands of taxpayers' dollars to help Ahmed Ali and his handful of classmates at a tiny school nestled in the mountains of northern Jordan? It's not an easy question to answer until you've experienced it for yourself. For my own part, I consider it an honor to have served in the Peace Corps and I would do it all again in a heartbeat….though maybe without the centipedes next time.

A THOUGHT FOR THE WEEKEND

If of thy worldly goods thou art bereft

And from thy slender store two loaves alone to thee are left

Take one and sell and with the dole

Buy hyacinths -- to feed thy soul