Winter 's Passage

I am listening as I type to my favorite CD. It is Susan Boyle’s singing like an angel. I love her voice and her choice of songs is varied and done well. When I first heard her on U Tube, I cried for her success and for the beauty of her rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream”. And the reaction of the judges and the audience thrilled me. I’ll bet I played that spot from U Tube over 100 times.

Not only do I love the story of her success, but the fact that here was this gal staying at home taking care of her mother all of her life and the emerging like a butterfly from its chrysalis to becoming the most beautiful songstress of all. You go, gal. And she has went!!!! I know my grammar!

I recently read several books. I have read Julie and Julia by Julie Powell and seen the movie. Any resemblance of one to the other is purely coincidental. The movie was all about Julia Childs and the book had very little about her and was about the life of the writer. I do not recommend it.

I have also read again for the umpteenth time The Day before Winter which is about the Bennett families who live on this island near Nova Scotia and are lobster fishermen. I love these books for Elizabeth Ogilvie has written about the same families in a trilogy and then about other citizens of the island in other books but I feel as if I have lived there and that I know all of them personally. And I am a fisherman and I love the water.

Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg is a great novel. She brings her life as a teacher of creative writing to people who never have even thought of writing a word (even in a blog) and finds that each have unique strengths and insight.

For Christmas from my Republican son, I got a copy of Going Rogue by Sarah Palin and I read it. “But Mom, she’s a Babe!” That she is, but her book did surprise me somewhat. I did enjoy the look into Alaska and the things I learned about that state. I also thought it was interesting to see the backside of a political campaign and what life on the campaign trail was like. She has done and been a lot more things than just a mayor and governor of a little populated state. According to her account, she has traveled to Iraq and Afghanistan and Europe as a private citizen, of course, and served on a lot of committees and boards in the United States. Other than that I realize a lot of the book is self serving and perhaps not too accurate as to the differences she has had with various reports of her life. I find it difficult to believe her explanations. It is written in a defensive style throwing in digs now and then at her detractors. Let’s just say that she and Katy Couric will never be close, nor do I think she and John McCain will either. She is a master mud-slinger

I also received a copy of Dave Barry’s “The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog” . (I don’t know where my underlining icon went) This was written in his usual hilarious fashion and one could not put it down. I read it in one sitting. Lots of LOL’s in this one.

And last, I received “The story of The Other Wise Man” by Henry Van Dyke. This is about a man who was to join the other three Magi to view Christ’s birth in Bethlehem. He sold everything he had to buy three jewels to present to the new-born King. However on the way he had to use these to help others and so had nothing left to give Him when he arrived. All based on the Scripture which goes “Inasmuch as you have done it to the least of these, thou hast done it to me.” A very moving book.

Winter is soon over. Tho last night we had a snow squall that laid 7 inches down in about an hour. I am hating winter this year, but last night was so beautiful with all the branches and everything clothed in sparkling white that I could not help but be stirred by its beauty.