Geese

Geese
Originally uploaded by csgebhart
We had 53 geese on our pond today - more than we've ever had before. I'm sure it has something to do with the weather - it snowed all day yesterday. But still - it was impressive to say the least.

Art Hearts for Haiti 3

Art Hearts for Haiti 3
Originally uploaded by csgebhart
Laure Ferlita of Painted Thoughts is collecting hearts for a fund raiser for Haiti. This is one of my submissions. See here for more information.

Art Hearts for Haiti 2

Art Hearts for Haiti 2
Originally uploaded by csgebhart
Laure Ferlita of Painted Thoughts is collecting hearts for a fund raiser for Haiti. This is one of my submissions. See here for more information.

Art Hearts for Haiti 1

Art Hearts for Haiti 1
Originally uploaded by csgebhart
Laure Ferlita of Painted Thoughts is collecting hearts for a fund raiser for Haiti. This is one of my submissions. See here for more information.

The Shack by Wm. Paul Young

This is my book club's current selection.  I stopped reading on page 114 (of 248).  I usually read the books for book club, but I really couldn't get through this one.  It is a poorly written evangelical Christian story, and I'm not a Christian.  I was surprised that a book like this was the selection for our book club.  It would be different if it was well written, or if the book club was sponsored by a church.  But my book club is sponsored by my local public library.  Doesn't that imply that it is open to anyone, of any faith (or lack thereof)?

I haven't decided yet whether I'll go to the meeting when the book is discussed; if other members like the book, I might say something that someone would find offensive, and I wouldn't want that.  But I am curious what others thought of it.  Of course, I also realize that someone reading this entry might take offense.  I'm sorry if that's the case.

The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

My son gave me this book for Christmas.  He knows that I like retelling of ancient myths and Margaret Atwood, so this book was a natural for me.  The subtitle is The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus.  Penelope remained the faithful wife while Odysseus fought the Trojan War for 10 years and then took another 10 years to return home.  During those 20 years, she maintained their kingdom, raised their wayward son, and kept over 100 suitors at bay.  When Odysseus finally returns home, he kills the suitors and 12 of Penelope's maids.  The narrator is Penelope, alternating with the maids who form a chanting and singing Chorus.  It was a very enjoyable read, and I rate it 4 out of 5.

Art Hearts for Haiti

Laure of Painted Thoughts Blog is collecting hearts on Artist Trading Cards.  I think it's a wonderful idea, so I'm going to participate by painting a heart and sending it to her.  You can read more about it here and here and here.  I don't know what my heart will look like yet, but I'll work on it tomorrow.  I do know that it will be watercolor, and probably have some lettering too.  I'll post it when I finish it.

Tangelo

Tangelo
Originally uploaded by csgebhart
I hadn't done much in my journal in 2 weeks, so it felt good to finally paint something. I realized I was a little out of practice!

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See.

Serena, from Savvy Verse and Wit, just reviewed the book Shanghai Girls by Lisa See.  Not only that, but she's giving away 2 copies of the book here.  It sounds like a great book; I've already read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and loved it, and Peony in Love is on my To Be Read list (both are also by Lisa See).  I reviewed Snow Flower and the Secret Fan here.  Serena also interviewed Lisa See, which you can read here.  It's a really good interview.

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

I read this book several years ago, but it was the current month's selection for my book club, and it was a really good book, so I decided to read it again so that I could discuss it intelligently.

Kabuo Miyamoto, a commercial fisherman, is on trial for the first degree murder of Carl Heine, another fisherman.  the story unfolds slowly and deliberately and is primarily about prejudice and racism.  There are many parts to the story:  a childhood romance between Kabuo's wife Hatsue and Ishmael Chambers, the owner of the local newspaper; the internment of Japanese Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor; the cheating of the Miyamoto family by Carl Heine's mother during World War II, which might be a motive for murder.  It was very well written.  I rate it 5 out of 5.

Birthday

Birthday
Originally uploaded by csgebhart
Since it was my birthday yesterday, I decided to sketch a couple of my presents from my DH.

The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde

This is the first book in a new series by the author of the Thursday Next Series (The Eyre Affair, Lost in a Good Book, The Well of Lost Plots, and Something Rotten).   Detective Inspector Jack Spratt is head of Reading's Nursery Crime Division.  He is investigating the murder of Humpty Dumpty with his new Detective Sergeant Mary Mary.  It is a witty and enjoyable read, but not as good as the earlier series.  I rate this book 3 out of 5.

New Years Day

Page reads:

"Roz Stendahl blogged about her New Year's Day Ritual on Dec 31 2008 and referred to it in today's post: "A very wise artist friend told me years ago that she tried to do a little bit of everything she loved on New Year's Day. This set her intention for doing those things repeatedly throughout the year. . . . It works much better for me than resolutions (there are no recriminations or regrets)." This sounded like a really good ritual, so I decided to do it myself. Of course, it was probably noon before I read this . . . we slept in late after hosting our annual New Year's Eve party last night. But I still accomplished a lot - and it feels great. Here ---
are some of the things I did today. THANKS ROZ!"

As always, you can click on the pictures to see them larger - it will take you to flickr, and if you want to see them really large, click on All Sizes on the flickr page (above the picture and below the title).