Gather 'round…
Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman My rating: 5 of 5 stars Another homerun from Fredrik Backman. Wow. Britt-Marie Was Here follows Britt-Marie of My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry fame through the next stage of her life, and it does so with deep compassion and beauty. If you've read about Elsa... Continue Reading →
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman My rating: 5 of 5 stars This one was so good I couldn't wait until I was done. I wrote a little preview a few days ago. If you haven't read that, go here first: Book PREview: My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell... Continue Reading →
I don't know if I've ever caressed a book so much. ​ Rainy days rock 🙂 KJ
I don't know if I've ever written a book review before I've finished the book, and I certainly don't intend to start now. But I feel strongly enough about this particular book that it deserves some sort of a mention, right now, even though I'm smack dab in the middle of it. Fredrik Backman owns... Continue Reading →
I've been slowly making my way through Sig Olson's wilderness essays, Wilderness Days. They're gorgeous. I sent the kid up to the outfitting job with a copy, because where better to work through essays on the Boundary Waters than on the edge of the Boundary Waters? I don't know if she's had the time or energy... Continue Reading →
It's been a wild ride. But here I am, settling back into a normal, albeit new routine, and it feels good. Two weeks ago, we took kiddo #3 to Madison for the State National History Day event. We toured the Capitol. We ate Nepalese. And she, with her intrepid partner, did great, and had the 5th... Continue Reading →
The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce My rating: 5 of 5 stars If it is possible, Queenie's story is even more compelling than Harold's. This is a beautiful book. Harold's story, from The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, is told here from the perspective of the woman he is walking to... Continue Reading →
Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry My rating: 5 of 5 stars Confession: I've never read any Wendell Berry. So when I say I've been reading Wendell Berry, it strikes me as a very lofty thing to say. A dear friend called Jayber Crow the best book she's ever read. Another dear friend, upon hearing that... Continue Reading →
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce My rating: 5 of 5 stars Excellent Lenten reading, actually... I recently took up my priest's annual challenge to take a word into your heart for the year. Any word that gets you closer to The Word. Give. Or Love. Maybe Suffer. Then keep it close... Continue Reading →
My husband did not argue. I've been on a month-long dairy-free experiment these days, partly hoping to clear up a six-week plugged ear, and partly as an exercise in solidarity with my dairy-free fifteen-year-old. Dairy is one of those things that gives me cold sweats to consider living without. I love it. Cheese makes everything... Continue Reading →
I'll make up for my overly verbose last post with an abbreviated one today... I just saw my first tufted titmouse. Ever. Here at my own birdfeeder. Where the squirrels play. Yes, he was adorable. The slackline is up, the treehouse is swept out and in use, and the driveway is muddy. The first tree... Continue Reading →
Vern Libke is banging on my windshield wiper with a wrench the size of my arm. Libke's Auto Service sits here at the corner of Highway 47 and County J, just south of Woodruff, Wisconsin, in the same garage that has stood here since 1967, yet I don't remember it from a single on of... Continue Reading →
Tales From the Nexus 