Day After Night by Anita Diamant

After World War II and the Holocaust, large numbers of Jewish survivors tried to immigrate to Israel.  They were considered illegal immigrants by the British and held at Atlit internment camp.  In October 1945, the Palmach staged a rescue of over 200 prisoners.  This novel is based on that true story.

From the back of the book:  "The story is told through the eyes of four young women at the camp who survived the Holocaust:  Shayndel, a Polish Zionist; Leonie, a Parisian beauty; Tedi, a hidden Dutch Jew; and Zorah, a concentration camp survivor.  Haunted by unspeakable memories and losses, afraid to hope, the four of them find salvation in the bonds of friendship and shared experience even as they confront the challenge of re-creating themselves in a strange new country."

This is my second book for the I Want More Book Challenge (the previous books I've read by Anita Diamant were The Red Tent (my review is here) and The Last Days of Dogtown (audiobook)).  I rate this book 4 out of 5.

Imaginary Trip to New Orleans - Wrought Iron

It's all over New Orleans, and it comes in the most interesting colors. I really liked this light fixture - and the finials on the fences. Just a few quick sketches to get the essence of it. Lots of fun!

And no, I'm not really in New Orleans - this is an Imaginary Trip with Laure Ferlita.

Imaginary Trip to New Orleans - Bourbon Street

I used Google Street View to wander around on Bourbon Street until I found this pub that I wanted to sketch.

Journaling reads:

"You can't go to New Orleans and miss the party on Bourbon Street. I had to try a Hurricane; they're made with fruit juice, passion fruit syrup or grenadine, and rum. I had it here, in the Bourbon Pub, on the corner of Bourbon St. and St. Ann St., so I could have it in a hurricane glass. If I'd wanted to take it outside, it would have been in a neon green plastic go-cup."

And no, I'm not really in New Orleans - this is an Imaginary Trip with Laure Ferlita.

Imaginary Trip to New Orleans - Window Shutters

"Just about everywhere we looked, we saw shutters on the windows. And not just decorative shutters, but working shutters for protection from storms and to keep out critters. Many had vents at the top for airflow. If the shutters were locked closed, we couldn't tell if anyone was home or if the business was still there.

"We only had a few minutes here, so I sketched quickly with pen and added a bit of color. We all agreed it would be great to have our very own KITCHEN WITCH!"

And no, I'm not really in New Orleans - this is an Imaginary Trip with Laure Ferlita.

Imaginary Trip to New Orleans - Canal Street Trolley

I'm taking another class with Laure Ferlita (have I mentioned how much I love her classes?). This one is An Imaginary Trip to New Orleans.

"I've always wanted to see "The Big Easy," and what better way than in a class led by Laure Ferlita? We took the Canal Street trolley today. Locals buy Jazzy Passes (magnetically encoded cards). I love that name. Laure says we'll be walking a lot - thankfully I only own comfortable shoes. It's going to be a fun time!"

Sketchbook Challenge - Spilling Over 2

This is my second page for the Sketchbook Challenge's March theme of Spilling Over. I sketched it with water soluble pen one evening (no pencil first) then added watercolor and journaling the next evening.

the curious incident of the dog in the night-time by mark haddon

Christopher, a 15-year old autistic boy, discovers that his neighbor's dog Wellington has been killed.  He is very sad about that because he loves dogs, so he decides to try to discover who killed Wellington.  The book is narrated by Christopher, who is very intelligent but can't stand to be touched and finds people confusing.  Christopher is really good at math, so when he gets overwhelmed, he works out math problems in his head.  When I first read about this book, I didn't think I wanted to read it, but I really liked it.  It was my book club's current month's selection and my 4th book for the New Author Challenge 2011.  I rate it 4 out of 5.

Sketchbook Challenge - Spilling Over

March's theme for the Sketchbook Challenge is Spilling Over. This was really helpful to put ALL of my watercolors on one page, so I can see how they compare to each other. I think I'll make a few changes to my everyday palette.

The journaling reads: "It all started innocently enough. I signed up for Laure Ferlita's online class - An Imaginary Trip Through Autumn - in 2009. I bought a watercolor palette from her with 22 colors in it. Then Glen bought me a few tubes from Hobby Lobby for Christmas that year. Gradually, I bought a few tubes for myself, then a few more, and a few more, and now I have 40 tubes - with more on my wish list!"

The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton

This is Jane Hamilton's first book, but the second book of hers that I've read.  Her first book that I read was A Map of the World, which I reviewed here.  This is the story of Ruth Grey, a neglected child who is trying to make sense of the mysteries of her life and the meanness in people's hearts.  An adult Ruth is the narrator, and she describes growing up in a dysfunctional family, marrying an unemployed crazy man, and continuing to live with her emotionally abusive mother.  It is a very difficult story to read, but it was well written (although I thought A Map of the World was better).  It was my first book for the 2nds Reading Challenge and my fifth book for the Off the Shelf Reading Challenge.  I rate this book 3 out of 5.

21 Days in February

Yes, I know it's March.  But in February, I took a class from Donna Mulholland, called 21 Days in February - Explore Your Creativity with Watercolor Journaling.  We were given daily journal prompts, and it was a lot of fun.  I completed 18 of the 21 daily prompts, and for some reason I didn't share them while I was doing them.  So rather than doing a separate post for each page, I thought I'd put them all together in this post.  It will make for a very long post, but I thought that would be better than 18 separate posts.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 7

Day 9

Day 10

Day 12

Day 11

Day 13

Day 6

Day 17

Day 14

Day 18

 

Day 16

Day 19

Day 20

Day 5

I posted these in the order I completed them, not the order that the prompts were given. Donna will be doing another class that I'll be taking in May - 21 Days of Gratitude with Watercolour Journaling: 21 Days of journaling prompts to cultivate gratitude. Online, May 5 – May 25, 2011 (21 days) $35.00 CDN.