The Talens' Tales

I have read a book that I want to recommend to everyone. The Diplomat's Wife by Pam Jenoff is a fantastic book. It kept surprising me and I didn't see the end coming at all. The story takes place just at the end of World War II. The story connects with Jenoff's first book The Kommandant's Girl (which is also a very good book), but is not necessary to read TKG to understand Jenoff's later book. A Jewish woman who worked with the resistance is liberated from a German prison when the war ends. She then finds herself working with the British monetering the Soviet Union as communism sweeps Easter Europe. This was a great story. I actually finished the book in one day. So pick it up. It is well worth the read.

I really do enjoy cooking and baking - when I have the time to do it. And the summertime is the perfect time to try out some new food and remake some old favorites. Our supper last night - Shrimp Pasta Alfredo. Spectacular, but heavy on the garlic. It is a good thing I am home alone today. Strawberry Rhubarb Pie - It boiled over like crazy in the oven, but the good taste certainly makes up for that. Cinnamon Sugar Rhubarb Muffins (can you tell what is in season right now?) - basically the same recipe as the Rhubarb Bread that I like, but in muffin form so they bake up a bit better.

The Hour I First Believed is an addictive book. I really could not stop reading it. The story took turns and twists that I never saw coming. I could relate to the characters and feel their joys and sorrows. It was an extremely well written book, but not one that I will probably ever read again. Unfortunately it had a lot of explicate stuff in it. I don't think it was for effect, but to show how broken these characters are. Part one of the book was really tough to read in that sense, but part two was much better. I wish it were legal to make an edited version of a book. I would do that in a heart beat and read this story again and again.

So I will admit it. I was a huge fan of John and Kate Plus 8 . Notice the key work in that last sentence -was. Now of course I had heard about the scandal and controversy as the media accused John of cheating on Kate. Fine, they have chosen to live their life a bit in the spotlight and I can handle that. They had to know that things like this would probably happen. And I honestly don't care all that much if he cheated or not. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23 But after watching just a little bit of the season permier last night, I am finished with this show. One of the things I appreciated about JK8 was their commitment to their faith and marriage. There were episodes of them going to church and just last season they renewed their marriage vows in Hawaii. And yet, when they were interviewed in the last episode, it basically sounded like their marraige was over. There was no mention of it being tough, but we are going to make it through. W

Setting: A lovely, mild, early summer evening. The time is after church. The wind is barely blowing. Characters: A young couple, just finished with another year of teaching and ready to celebrate summer. Wife (on the way home from church): You know what it would be a great night for? A bonfire in our backyard. Husband: That sounds like a great idea After the young couple arrived home from church, they did some dishes, changed clothes and watered the garden. Wife (while husband is lighting the fire using his wonderful fire making skills learned in Scouts): What would you like to eat? Husband: Do we have stuff for S'mores? Wife: Yes! I just bought it this week. The stuff was all on sale. The young couple sits down by the fire with all of their stuff and enjoy the nice evening by the fire. Husband: Shall I roast a marshmallow for you? Wife: That would be great. I will get the rest of the stuff ready for our S'mores. We have the good brand of graham crackers because they were the o

I have read three books since Monday. Now, don't get to impressed yet. When I go to my different teaching conferences, I always learn about these great books, but most of them are for young adult or middle school readers, so I never get the chance to use them, or have a real reason to read them. Well, I decided that there is no reason for my not to enjoy them, I checked out three young adult books from the library on Monday, and they were all great. They all have the highest recommendations. Rules - A fantastic story of a girl and her autistic brother. A wonderful look at what it is like to live with a sibling who has disabilities. The Willoughbys - A fun and fanciful book that attempts to be a bit old fashion. A great way to introduce kids to some awesome vocabulary like "ignominiously" and "obsequious." The Wednesday Wars - Written by an English professor from Calvin College, this book is hilarious. It weaves Shakespeare, life in the late 1960's and a

The thermometer at the bank read 92 degrees F on the way home from school today. It could be a long, hot summer.

I wish I had a picture of this for you. This weekend we were on our way to some graduation parties and we decided to take a different route that led us through a little town we had never been to before. This area of the country is full of this little villages that are named, but are nothing more then a few houses put together in a formation that resembles city blocks. Maybe there is a church, a school, a small store or gas station, but not much else. We were touring around this little village, which didn't even have all of the streets paved within the village limits. We ended up on this dead end road. As we looked down the to the end of the road, we realized that the road ended at the gates of a cemetery. It was a dead end in more then one sense of the word.

Now that summer is almost upon us we have started up two of our favorite summer activities - reading (well, that is mostly just my favorite activity) and watching movies. Last night we watched Vantage Point which was a fantastic movie. It is one that you don't really get how everything fits together until the end. You basically watch the same events from several different people's point of view and each time you see it, you learn a little bit more. There is a bit of violence and some "strong language," but we highly recommend it. I have read two books already - Water for Elephants and The Time Traveler's Wife. Both are very engaging stories that are a bit fanciful and unique. For the most part, I enjoyed reading both. But, I don't really recommend either of them. They both had a bit of explicate language and content that makes me not feel comfortable as a Christian reader recommending them. I hope that makes sense. I did enjoy them, but I would never reread

The wind. We have been under wind advisories for the last few days and I really don't like the wind. It hurts my plants, my windows rattle, it sounds like the roof is going to blow off of school. I really don't like wind. But it always blows here. There is nothing to stop it. Nothing to block it. I think this stems from the fact that I have contacts, so when dust (or a leaf, small pebble, garbage bag.etc) blows in my eyes, it causes some major problems. I have also seen the destruction wind can do to stuff after some major storms growing up. My husband can't really understand this fear that I have, but I really don't feel safe when the winds blows forty miles per hour. But, my wonderful husband did do one thing to help my fear be alleviated a bit. It is a little project I have wanted him to do since we moved, and he did it yesterday! We have a really nice porch swing on our front porch, but whenever the hurricane force winds blows through our neighborhood, it would bang

I have time to do all kinds of things, like: 1) Blog! This should make my mother extremely happy, since she has been waiting all week for my latest note. Here it is mom! 2) Bake! I have been fascinated with a few baking blogs as of late. My favorite is Bakerella . She makes this super cute cake pops, which are a little too labor intensive for me. So, I decided to just do the basic cake ball. They are extremely good. Here is the finished product. 3) Read! Since I read two books this weekend that I own, the library is calling my name once again. I will probably blog a bit this summer about the different books I read. 4) Garden! It is a little to early to actually put much of anything in the garden yet, but I decided to try to start some plants inside this year. I tried pepper and tomatoes. The peppers have yet to show anything, so I am pretty much giving up on them, but the tomatoes have done great. Here are the top two that will find their way into the garden soon.