Book 12: Green Darkness by Anya Seton

This is a tale of romance and reincarnation. This story begins in 1968. Recently married Celia Marsdon is unhappily hosting weekend guests at her husband Richard's ancestral estate. During a tour at a haunted manor house, Celia faints and later falls into a coma.

The second part of the book takes place from 1552 to 1559 through the reigns of Tudor Monarchs Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. Young Celia Bohun lives with her aunt at her family's former estate now owned by Sir Anthony Browne. Celia falls in love with Brother Stephen, a young monk who serves the Browne family.

In the 16th Century, Celia and Stephen's love ends in tragedy, as will Celia and Richard's in the 20th Century unless Celia and Richard can relive the events of their previous lifetimes.

I was intrigued by the book's description as a reincarnation story set in Tudor England. I had previously read two Anya Seton books, and decided to give this a try. The 1968 portion of the book wasn't particularly interesting; the Tudor portion was much better, especially the portions that dealt with the upheavals caused by the official religion changing from Protestantism to Catholicism and back again. 

Book 11: Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

Parable of the Talents is the sequel to Parable of the Sower. I loved both books. 

Lauren Olamina's daughter Larkin aka Asha Vere is the narrator. The novel includes excerpts from Lauren's journal, as well as writings from Larkin's father and her uncle Marc. 

Lauren's journals begin five years after she and her followers have settled and built an Earthseed community called Acorn on land owned by Lauren's husband. Things take a tragic turn when a group of  "Christian" invaders take over Acorn, enslave the adults and take the children away to be raised in "good Christian" homes." The Acorn community members were enslaved for over a year, escaping when a storm and landside render their control collars useless.

I cried as I read the novel's bittersweet ending. Lauren is eventually able to fulfull her dream of building new Earthseed communities. She is reunited with her daughter who rejects her and her teachings. Larkin seems to blame her mother for her own unhappy childhood, even though she is kidnapped at two months old. 

I have read three of Butler's novels; the first was Kindred. All three books were so good, I started rereading parts of them almost immediately. Butler is a wonderful writer. 

Update

Once again, I've neglected this blog for too long. I wish I understood why.

We've been back from Delaware and Maryland for a week. We finally had a little luck. We found two places that we liked. We've been doing research since then, trying to get a better sense of both areas, considering what work we would want to do to the bathroom in one condo, etc. I've been going back and forth on which place I prefer. Our Baltimore realtor sent us listings of six other places. There's one that will work for us and I hope we can see it next week. I think we'll be returning Sunday or Monday.

We finally caught up with a friend we hadn't seen in months. We talked, listened to music, ate some munchies, and drank some wine. It was a relaxing afternoon.

I had volunteered to work at the Merwinsville Hotel last Sunday. Unfortunately, I had a bout of colitis and had to cancel. I ended up sleeping most of the afternoon. My sleeping patterns have been a mess lately. I'm waking up in the early mornings and having trouble falling asleep again. It's been frustrating, but I'll muddle through it.

Back to Delaware

Tomorrow Jeff, Jace, and I are headed back to Delaware. We're seeing some new places and one we saw before. I didn't like the hallway; it gave me an eerie feeling.

We're hoping to find something we like. 

Mid Year Review

This isn't a fun post to write. It hasn't been a great year for me.

Let's start with the fact that I never put together a list of goals. Here's what I  used for the first quarter review.

Gym visits: I should have 75 visits to be on target for my annual goal of 150. As of June 30th, I have 62 visits (and 5 in July.) Not bad, especially compared to 78 visits for all of last year. I'm happy with my physical activity. I'm walking Jace about 1.5 hours daily. I usually exercise here for a half hour when I don't go to the gym. I have real biceps. I'm now working more on my left bicep so it will match the right. I notice muscles in my thigh that I never noticed much before. 

Reading: I've read 10 books this year. Parable of the Sower was the best. I reread two books: a Nancy Drew mystery and a novel about Anne Boleyn. The other night I picked up Dune when I headed into bed. I just wanted to read something that wasn't a magazine. I got three books at the library today, so no more rereading for a while. 

Blogposts: This is my 61st post. January through March I was writing over 10 monthly posts. Then I fizzled out. Not posting is part of a bigger problem--not writing. Journaling has also suffered. This is something I need to change. 

While I haven't written about moving as a goal, Jeff and still hope to move this year. We've spent a lot of time looking at condos and houses online and have made two trips to Delaware. I continue my decluttering efforts. We just need to find a place to live.

Book 10: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story by John Berendt

Overall, I'm disappointed with this book. Part One reads like an encyclopedia of colorful characters. I reread the jacket cover. Wasn't this a murder story? Oh yeah, that's Part Two. 

The author's insistence that this book was nonfiction, while changing names and descriptions of the characters annoyed me. It seemed disingenuous. 

I'm not sure what to read next.

The Last Night at Sedona Tap House

We had a final dinner at Sedona Tap House last night. STH has been in Norwalk for 10 years (the official anniversary would have been sometime in July.) Jeff and I were there for the first night as well as the last. We used to go to beer school and once a cider class. It became our favorite place.

We had about a month's notice before STH closed. Still, the closing snuck up on us. Jeff, Jace, and I went to dinner there on Friday and Monday, and lunch on Sunday. On Saturday, I went there with a friend for drinks. We are really going to miss it.