January | 2015 | the start of a good life

Archive | January, 2015

Book Review – January ’15

Welcome to the first book review of 2015!!! How exciting!! On goodreads, I have a goal of reading 50 books this year. Seems quite reasonable to me, that’s only 4 books a month, right? Easy peasy. I mean, I’m currently reading 4 right now, with another one on the bottom of the stack to start whenever. My fellow book-lovers, that made perfect sense to you, I know it did.

Well, I’ll get right to the reviews!

Torah Rediscovered -by Ariel and D’vorah Berkowitz – This book shows how Jews and non-Jewish believers can honor the Torah. And also how years of neglect and abuse have muddled the difficult issues in the Torah, and clarifies them. You might recognize this title as I started reading it mid last year, but as I never finished it, I am starting it all over again and will finish it this time! It is such a well-written book, and written so that I can understand!
Happy Wives Club – by Fawn Weaver – One night, Fawn started a club to get women who love being married together and speak positively about marriage. Very quickly it spread like wildfire across the world – and Fawn traveled around it to speak with some of these women/couples in order to find the secrets of a great marriage. I have enjoyed reading this so far. I am reading it as a part of the Meaningful Marriage Study group that I am a part of on facebook. It is a light read and getting to ‘meet’ these couples has been a joy and through each couple something new stands out to me and makes me pause in contemplation. I very much recommend it!
Wildwood Dancing -by Juliet Marillier – Jenica and her sisters and father live in the Transylvania woods, in Piscul Draculi – a castle that hides a portal to the Other Kingdom. Every month, with her sisters and pet frog, on the Full Moon, they go through the portal and dance the night away. But at home, in their world, everything is changing, and soon, events will bring their two worlds together and change everything. Forbidden love – Unswerving anger over an act of betrayal – an enchanted frog – and the ultimate test of trust. I mean, really, can you get any better than that in a story?? Sigh of contentment. A friend suggested this book to me years ago and I now read it a few (or several) times a year. I am pretty sure I’ve talked about it here on SGL before too. If you like a bit of magic and fantasy, this book is for you. (for those of you that are not sure, let me also say that I don’t read very much magic/fantasy but still love this one) Plus, my OH surprised me recently with a copy of my very own!

Mrs. Mike – by Benedict and Nancy Freedman – A love story between a young Irish girl, Katherine Mary O’Fallon, new to the Canadian wild, and Sergeant Mike Flannigan of the Canadian Mounted police. I am only a quarter of the way in, in this book so cannot give it a full recommendation yet. I can say that the opening is fantastic – it sucked me in quickly. It did lose me a little bit as it went on though, with a drunken right-hand man and some other random scenes that I can’t quite recall. But, i give it a tentative review so far. Check back next month for a full review! ( this was a Christmas gift from a friend, and you can see the packaging in the back of the photo, I didn’t waste any time starting it!)
Lousia May Alcott : Her Life, Letters and Journals – Edited by Ednah Dow Cheney – This book gives an intimate look at one of America’s most beloved authors. It was originally published in 1889 (!!), just one year after her death. Combining her letters and journal entries with comments from a family friend (Cheney), shows how ‘faithfully and fully she performed whatever duties circumstances laid upon her’. I really enjoyed this book, even though it took me over a month to complete it. I talked about it here and still recommend it for any young/older woman to read as motivation to keep at our tasks of loving and taking care of our families.

And for the book that’s on my list to start in the near-future – Heal Your Headache by David Buchholzm M.D. – this book has the “1-2-3 program for taking charge of your health”. With answers to questions that nearly all headache sufferer asks, this book is a treasure-trove of information, based on ‘the breakthrough understanding that virtually all headaches are forms of migraine.’ “Step 1 – Avoid the Quick-Fix. Step 2 – Reduce Your Triggers. Step 3 – Raise Your Threshold” – I have owned this book for a few years now, after having been recommended to it for years by several doctors. While I have read bits and pieces of it, I haven’t ever read all of it. I highly recommend it to fellow headache/migraine sufferers from the bits I’ve read though.

Two boards for you to check out on my pinterest page – SGL (that way you’ll never miss a post if you don’t want an email!) and my quotes and books board!

Happy reading friends!

~Laura Starr

Tags: biographies, book review, books, christian book reviews, fantasy novels, happy wives club, jewish theology, marriage advice, young adult fantasy

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Poem by Louisa May Alcott

20 Jan

Hello again, friends, I want to share a poem with you by Louisa May Alcott. She wrote it in memorium of her mother in the late 1870s. I know it is not a ‘happy’ poem but it is so artfully written that I knew I had to share it as soon as I had read it.

Transfiguration

Mysterious death! who in a single hour

Life’s gold can so refine,

and by thy art divine

change mortal weakness to immortal power!

Bending beneath the weight of eighty years, spent with the noble strife of a victorious life,

we watched her fading heavenward, through our tears.

But ere the sense of loss our hearts had wrung, a miracle was wrought;

And swift as happy thought She lived again – brave, beautiful and young.

Age, pain and sorrow dropped the veils they wore And showed the tender eyes of angels in disguise,

whose discipline so patiently she bore.

The past years brought their harvest rich and fair; While memory and love,

Together, fondly wove A golden garland for the silver hair.

How could we mourn like those who are bereft, when every pang of grief

Found balm for its relief In counting up the treasures she had left? ~

Faith that withstood the shocks of toll and time; Hope that defied despair;

Patience that conquered care ; And loyalty, whose courage was sublime;

The great deep heart that was a home for all ~ Just, eloquent and strong In protest against wrong;

Wide charity, that knew no sin, no fall;

The spartan spirit that made life so grand, Mating poor daily needs with high, heroic deeds,

That wrested happiness from Fate’s hard hand.

We thought to weep, but sing for joy instead, Full of the grateful peace That follows her release;

For nothing but the weary dust lies dead.

Oh! noble woman! Never more a queen Than in the laying down of scepter and of crown

To win a greater kingdom, yet unseen:

Teaching us how to seek the highest goal, to earn the true success – To live to love, to bless –

And make death proud to take a royal soul

~Louisa May Alcott

Thanks for stopping by, Laura Starr

Tags: Louisa may alcott, poetry, poetry for mother's death, transfiguration

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Starting out the New Year with a whimper, some tears and a Bang.

6 Jan

I have officially lost my mind. Apparently being on strong pain killers and playing video games the past few days does that to a person . I am, by nature, a disorganized, laid-back procrastinator. To mess with that though, I went and made a ‘life planner’. To help with growing this little blog of mine and with my writing. To help (hopefully) with cleaning and starting up menu planning. I also put in a ‘grocery price list’ to start tracking our grocery costs and help me find out where the best prices are for things. I am hoping it helps save some money in the food department! I love the idea of being organized, so maybe this will be the beginning of good things. Once I get it all together, I’ll share it with all of you!

first put-together of the planner!

With the beginning of the new year, and a possibly-over-positive outlook on how I’ll be feeling, I have filled up my calendar with blog and writing commitments. A six month series to a first draft for my historical novel i’ve been working on ; a creative group on google plus is starting up again ; a couple of book reviews; a possible collaberation with my brother on a novel, and I’m pretty sure there’s a few other things. Also planned a craft party with a few friends later this month that I still need to decide what I’m going to make! I’m contemplating these projects: winter cheeks stick , hair gel or a chapstick holder. But I am really leaning toward these storage boxes, where you cover cardboard boxes with burlap! I’m wanting to make some small ones for our closet – for my collection of scarves and possibly for my sweaters as well. Of course, if I do that one, I’d better start saving some boxes!

For the first time ever (I’m completely free…. you were thinking it, I just helped),I made almond milk this morning!! It was so easy and fun and I’m loving the fact that there are no chemical garbely-gooks in it!! Once I have played with the recipe and gotten it just so, you can look for it here on the blog! I do want to invest in a nut bag though, using cheesecloth worked but I had to be careful that i didn’t drop bits of the pulp back in the milk. Which reminds me of another reason I am loving this, and that is that there is absolutely no waste – you can use the pulp as well! As almond meal, or grind it up (once you’ve dehydrated it, of course!) for almond flour.

Another project I’m looking forward to has something to do with this :

That’s right – circular knitting needles. I am going to knit me some slipper socks! I have never used circular ones, and am at the lowest level of beginner in knitting, so I am hopeful that they are a good first-project to do. If not and if any of you wonderful readers are experienced knitters, do you have any suggestions for me? I would be so grateful to hear them!

My last post I mentioned that I have some new plans and series coming to SGL. One of them will be starting very soon – as soon as I’ve gotten my schedule figured out and the first post written – and that is focused on the virtues that I want to cultivate in my own life and to encourage all of you to grow in as well! The Lord has been urging me gently to start this series and I feel that I am finally ready. I also want to start a monthly short story sharing – or parts of my novel I’m writing because I am super excited about it! I hope that’s enough info to wet your appetite and bring you back!

Thanks for stopping by,

Laura Starr

*quick note, i do not normally play video games that much but with recovering from the holidays and traveling and now these blasted debilitating migraines, I’ve found they are good to take my mind off the pain and keep me on the couch =) just so you don’t think i’m always playing video games!