What We're Reading Wednesday, and the Giveaway Winner

It's Wednesday, which is exciting for two reasons: it's a day to link up and talk about books with Jessica and all the other eager readers who visit Housewifespice for this weekly on-line celebration of the written word;

and it's the day I get to announce the winner of my latest giveaway contest (the prize being a signed paperback copy of my novel Finding Grace).

The names are all there in the hat (a dapper one at that, a straw cowboy hat with "ND" embroidered on the band, because every item of clothing my husband owns is a paean to his alma mater), so drumroll please...

And the winner is Rebekah Es!

Rebekah is an extremely talented writer who blogs at Rebekah's Web Log, if you haven't discovered her yet.  I am actually very happy to send Rebekah this prize, almost as a thank you, since she has told me that she's in the midst of reading my book already (and she's not even related to me!).  I hope by the time she finishes it, she'll still be glad she won another copy.

Rebekah, please let me know where I can send the book (by going to the "Email me" tab on the right).  And thanks for entering.  For that matter, thanks to everyone else who threw their names into the hat.  This was fun for me.

What isn't quite as fun is reading Michelle Buckman's Death Panels: A Novel of Life, Liberty, and Faith--but not because it isn't well-written and a page-turner to boot.  A novel set in America in the year 2042, it is reminiscent of 1984 and Brave New World; but because so much of the "that will never happen" aspects of those cautionary tales have become a whole lot less unthinkable in our modern world, it is that much more frightening. Given all that is going on in our country today (and I'm not going to go into details here, because I swore I'd keep this blog a happy place and there's no possible way to talk about politics or the state of our government and still be happy), it almost reads like a news story rather than fiction.  In Buckman's futuristic America, which has ceded its national sovereignty to a global entity called the UO (Unified Order of the World), babies born with abnormalities are routinely euthanized, women who dare to become pregnant after having two children are taken away for forced abortions, and patients are routinely denied care, depending on how the government perceives their worthiness.  Marriage is all but a dead institution, and Christians who are out in the world and haven't been banished to The Dome (a place where Christians called Dominians live together in poverty) must keep their religion a secret.  Each citizen has an ID chip that helps the state keep track of his every move--and even his every food choice.  The government controls every single solitary aspect of life, and its mantra is "For the good of the nation, for the good of the world."  Does any of this sound as if it's not too far-off in our once great nation, if we're not careful?

I'm not too far into Buckman's book yet, but I will say that there are heroes--among the Dominians as well as those living out in the world under the noses of the corrupt government.  And these people are willing to risk their own lives to save even one innocent baby born with Down's Syndrome from government-enforced euthanasia.  So even in what appears to be a very dark story, there is hope.  When I finish, I'll try to remember to post a more in-depth review.

Okay now, for more book talk, head on over to Jessica's.

Giveaway Reminder!

Today is that last day to leave me a comment (I love comments!) on this post, and you'll have a chance to win a copy of my novel Finding Grace.  See, it's just sitting there on my little desk, waiting to find out where its new home will be.

If you really like free stuff, and you really like to read, just stop by and say hi, and your name will be in the hat tonight when I pick the winner.

Good luck!

On Dying

I've read some Catholic blogs lately about dying.  I know that sounds depressing, but it really wasn't.  They were written by young Catholic wives and mothers who, if things go the way they should and normally do go, will be around for a long, long time.  But they pointed out, in their essays on the subject, that like it or not, no matter how young, fit, and healthy we are, we are ALL in the process of dying.  That is the end game for every human being; we all know that we will ultimately die (and no amount of exercise or Botox can keep this from happening).  The only thing we don't know is the hour or the day.

Just when I was thinking of writing a blog post filled with instructions for the type of wake and funeral I'd like my family to plan for me (no eulogies, please!), as these girls did here, here, and here, we got the sad news that my husband's uncle (the husband of his late father's sister) died yesterday morning.  He was in his late 80's and he'd been ill for a while, so it wasn't totally unexpected.  But it was totally devastating for his family nonetheless.

This uncle was a character if there ever was one.  A father of six (as well as a grandfather and great-grandfather), he had a sometimes biting sense of humor. He liked to shoo us off his property when he deemed it time for a family gathering to end, with a growl that would frighten away a Grizzly bear (or a shy woman like me who married into my husband's gregarious clan).  His sometimes crotchety demeanor, however, couldn't quite hide the softness of his heart, for he was a family man all the way.  The more I was able to see his soft side, the more I loved that guy.  I'll never forget how excited he was to show me the elaborate doll house he'd spent hours and hours putting together for his granddaughter.  It is only fitting that he was blessed to have his family gathered around him at the end, when he passed from this short life into eternal life.

My husband and I get nervous about canonizing people when they die, knowing that many of us will have to spend a bit--and maybe even a lot--of time in Purgatory before we see the face of God.  (Note to my family: Pray for my soul when I am gone!  Have lots of Masses said for the repose of my soul!  Don't ever assume that I've made it to the finish line when I take my last breath--I think I'm going to need lots and lots and lots of prayers!)

So I won't canonize my husband's uncle here.  But he was a good Catholic, a devoted husband, a man who took care of his brood and lived his life for them.  I like his odds, but I will pray for him anyway.

 Rest in peace, Uncle D.

Theme Thursday: Secret

It's been a little while since I joined Cari and her fellow shutterbugs for a Theme Thursday link-up, so I thought I'd hop in on the action today...I believe this is what is commonly known these days as photo bombing?

My #3 son is getting married in about two months, and I've been busy working on making flower girl dresses and addressing rehearsal dinner invitations--so understandably, I've had weddings on the brain lately.  And that led me to feelings of nostalgia, which led me to breaking out my own wedding albums.

Back in 1980, a wedding shoot was a whole different animal than it is today.  It was all very simple and straightforward, with not a hint of Pinteresty creativity.  The package we got from our photographer included about seventy proofs (4 X 6"), out of which we were allowed to choose twelve shots that were made into 8 X 10" prints.  There was nothing particularly artsy about most of the poses: aside from the pictures of everyone coming down the aisle before and after the ceremony, they were mostly of the wedding party lined up on the altar, and then the parents with the bride and groom lined up on the altar, and various other groups snapped in line-up fashion.

There is one candid moment that our photographer happened to capture on film that I find to be rather sweet, however.  There we were, kneeling side-by-side shortly after we'd recited our vows, and my newly minted husband leaned over to whisper something to me (I wish I could remember what it was!), and I in turn smiled at him like the deliriously happy bride I was (as I played with the new gold wedding band on my finger).  I love this picture, and I'll always be so grateful that the photographer happened to catch my husband in the act of sharing a secret with me on our wedding day.

Excuse me for a minute...I've got to grab a hanky...

Okay, then.  It's no secret that you'll find some interesting photos over at Clan Donaldson, so maybe you should head on over there...I'll just be here poring over these old albums...

Oh, and by the way: apparently the best kept secret is that I'm giving away a paperback copy of my novel Finding Grace.  If you're interested in winning a free copy, go to yesterday's post and leave me a comment!  :)

WWRW: Falling for Your Madness (and Finding Grace?--You Could Win a Copy!)

"What We're Reading Wednesday" is one of my favorite blogging link-ups, because reading is one of my favorite things.  So thanks, Jessica, for hosting this wonderful Wednesday celebration of the written word.

I just finished re-reading a book I thoroughly enjoyed the first time around.  It's a debut novel by Katherine Grubb (who blogs at 10 Minute Writer) titled Falling for Your Madness.  Ten pages into it, I looked at my husband and said, "This book should be made into a movie.  I can absolutely see these scenes playing out on the big screen."  Since many people would rather see the film than read the book, I hope it is made into a movie, because the story of artist Laura Adamsky's courtship with an eccentric (and possibly insane) Boston College professor named Dr. David Julius Arthur Bowles is one that would appeal to a widespread audience.

Ladies, if you're looking for a completely satisfying romance in which there is absolutely nothing R-rated involved, this is your book.  If you enjoy a great love story and sometimes wish you could go back to a time when men were chivalrous knights in shining armor who honored women and treated them with utmost respect--or if you just plain like to read books that are well-written and full of likable characters and witty dialogue--this is your book.  Falling for Your Madness is funny and heart-warming, and it'll keep you turning the pages long after you should have turned out the light and gone to sleep.

I'm not going to give away the story, because it's just too much fun to read--I mean, it is utterly whimsical and quirky and charming--and it would be so much better if you knew very little going in.  Let's just say that poetry-quoting, tea-drinking, dyed-in-the-wool Anglophile David is unlike any man Laura has ever been involved with before; he has strict "rules" for courtship that seem pretty bizarre in this day and age.  It's not easy being his sweetheart, and there are times when she wonders whether he might be just a little bit off his rocker.  But then again, she's never been in a relationship where she feels so safe and cherished...Is David crazy?  Or is he the best thing that's ever happened to her?

And that's all I'm going to say before I end up saying too much. 

Now, there's another book I'd like to tell you about--and maybe some Wednesday it'll be what you're reading (fingers crossed!).  It's my Catholic novel Finding Grace.

A pro-chastity, pro-family, pro-life coming-of-age love story, Finding Grace is targeted at teens and young adults, but it has appeal for adult readers as well.  In fact, my publisher, Bezalel Books, has included it with some other titles in a Kindle group called "Women's Inspirational Christian Fiction."

Published in August of 2012, Finding Grace received the Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval that year and was a finalist for the CWG's 2013 Catholic Arts & Letters Award (CALA) for best Catholic fiction in the YA category.

I thought today, as a "WWRW" treat, I'd do a giveaway here at the old blog.  If you'd like to win a signed copy of my book, just leave me a comment at the end of this post.  Next Tuesday night, I'll write the names on pieces of paper, put them in a hat, close my eyes, and pick one.  Then I'll announce the lucky winner a week from today.

Good luck!  And now head on over to Housewifespice for more bookishness.

What I Wore Sunday (Volume It's Been a Long Time!)

Well hello!

Once again, it's been days since I checked in here at what I used to think of as a daily blog.  But I've been in South Bend, IN, and the house we rented for the football game weekend didn't have any WiFi (what?!).  I know I'm a day late and a dollar short here, but I thought I'd link up with the fine ladies over at Fine Linen and Purple on this Monday morning, something I haven't done in a dog's age.

In spite of the lack of Internets, our house was perfect--comfortable, well-appointed, and ideally located within walking distance of the Notre Dame campus...and also within walking distance of a favorite watering hole frequented by the Notre Dame 21-and-over crowd called the Linebacker...and somehow my husband's youngest brother (#8 in his family of 8 siblings) talked the two of us old fogeys into accompanying him to said bar on Friday night, along with another one of my husband's younger brothers.  We were there until the barkeeps turned the lights on at 3:00 a.m. and told us it was time to go already, standing in the middle of a crush of people who were for the most part a good three decades younger than we were, on the stickiest floor my shoes had ever come in contact with, singing along to "Sweet Caroline" and "Oh What a Night" like a bunch of crazy kids.  The youngest in our little string of four Pearls that night was 43.   We should have known better, but we didn't.

I texted our son, a 20-year-old junior at ND, from the Linebacker to tell him where we were, and he was quite amused.

So now, at the age of 55, I can say I went out and closed down a bar--something I never even did when I was a college student and it wouldn't have seemed so ridiculous.   And because of that, by Sunday I was still wearing thee biggest bags under my eyes that I've had in a long time (and that's saying something!).

For Mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, I wore a black denim skirt I found at Goodwill for $2.99, along with an Audrey & Grace short-sleeved cardigan (with Pearl buttons, of course) and some silver Nine West flats, both of which I acquired on a shopping trip to TJ Maxx with my baby sister a couple of months ago.

Just before Mass, I was thrilled to have an opportunity to meet and chat with Katrina and her adorable little boy while they fed the ducks at the lake across from the Basilica (which I know from her blog is a routine Sunday activity).  Katrina was absolutely charming (and she was wearing the beautiful glow of a young mother who is expecting her second child next month), even more so in person than on her blog.  After following Cedars and Tiny Flowers for so long, I felt as if I knew her.  What I learned on Sunday is that she was introduced to her husband, who played rugby at ND, by a young man whose father played rugby with my husband back in the day.  What a small Notre Dame world it is!  So I was wearing a big smile on Sunday along with my eye bags, because I really was quite tickled to meet this lovely young woman in person.

My husband and I had planned to catch a flight back home sometime on Sunday, but we found out that our son's inter-hall football team was playing against our nephew's team that afternoon, and we decided to stay an extra day so that we could watch the cousins' teams battle it out.  Our son, whose defense position is DE, was determined to sack his sophomore cousin, the QB for the opposition, before all was said and done.  He got burned once when he missed a big tackle on a QB keeper, but ended up getting the big sack he was hoping for before the game ended in a 0-0 tie.  So on Sunday our son wore green and his cousin wore gold--and they're still as tight post-game as they ever were.

The boys with their SMC cousin, who cheered for both sides.

Needless to say, we saw much better football on Sunday than we did the day before at the debacle against Oklahoma.  I really don't want to say much more about it than that.  It was too ugly for words.   Pretty much every Notre Dame fan alive was walking around with an "agony of defeat" expression on his or her face in the aftermath of that disaster--that look, that's what they wore Sunday.  But seeing our boy put on a helmet and football pads for the first time since he ended his senior season in high school three years ago was very exciting, and it helped to take the sting out a little.  My husband and I wore nothing but smiles during and after that experience.

Okay, one last tidbit about things that were worn on Sunday: check out these ND-themed sneakers my husband wore (or at least tried on at the campus bookstore before purchasing them).

These Chuck Taylor-esque beauties are a brand new item, on sale at the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore for the very first time this weekend.  They're made by a brand new company called Row One--and what's really exciting for us is that Row One is the brainchild of one of my husband's ND roommates.  This Class of 1980 alum has ten NCAA teams on his roster so far, and that number will grow with time to include many more.  So be on the look-out for these awesome kicks, sports fans!

Okay, folks--that's all she (and they!) wrote  wore.  Now head on over to FLAP, if you haven't done so already.



Barbeque, Bugs, a Busy Baby--and a Brand New Blog!

I know I haven't been around these parts too much lately.  But I'm still a blogger...I mean I'm pretty sure I am; it's just that I'm also an accidental jet-setter who's been to Memphis and Denver since we last talked, and now I'm here in Colorado Springs with the three cutest wee lasses west of the Mississippi (my granddaughters--and I know you might think there's some bias involved in that statement, but believe me there is not).

My husband and I didn't PLAN to go to Memphis on Sunday, but flights out of Boston to every single city that would provide us with a connecting flight to our final destination were seriously overbooked (as in, even paying passengers were getting bumped off of them).  It was a grim reminder that when flying stand-by, there are no guarantees that you'll get where you want to go, when you want to go.  But being able to take trips to see our granddaughters without paying for the airfare is such a marvelous privilege--and a job perk that I know lots of people would give their eye teeth for--that I hate to complain about the inconveniences we sometimes encounter (although I just did that, I guess).

Anyway, on Sunday there was only one flight out of Dodge that had plenty of seats on it, and that was to Memphis; and as it turned out, a flight from there to Denver the next day was wide open, too.  From Denver, we could rent a car and make it to Colorado Springs by dinnertime.  Okay then, we decided--Memphis here we come!

The best thing about our quick visit to Elvis's hometown was the lunch we had at the airport before our flight on Monday.  We decided to partake of the local cuisine and stopped in at a branch of Jim Neely's Interstate Barbeque for some sandwiches--pulled pork for my husband and turkey for me--and I've got to tell you, it was out of this world.  The barbeque sauce was so delicious (I could practically drink it straight up, no lie) that we asked if they sold it and sure enough they did, so we came away with one bottle--along with a brochure for ordering cases of bottles to have delivered to our house way back east.  Turns out we'd just stumbled upon a famous Memphis eatery--a Memphis tradition since 1980, in fact--that was named by People Magazine as the #2 place to eat barbeque in the whole US of A.  Maybe our unplanned detour to Memphis wasn't such a bad deal after all, we thought.

Since arriving in CO Springs on Monday night, we've been hanging out with a trio of cute little buggers.  Here are twins Bonny Babe and Cutie Pie, dressed up in their ladybug and bumblebee Halloween costumes, watching a little video about...hmmm, what do you know?  Bugs.

Those costumes, which their mommy picked up Wednesday morning at a huge consignment sale that she went to with the baby while Papa and Grammy stayed behind with the twins, are going to get a lot of use, it seems.  They are apparently the perfect attire for eating breakfast as well as watching nature shows.



The twins, now almost 28 months old, are incredibly bright--talking in complex sentences and using four-syllable words, singing songs, reciting their storybooks verbatim, and asking endless questions.  They pronounce "TH" as "B," so when they hear a strange sound they'll ask, "What's bat moise?"  They pronounce "N" as "M," so when they drop something they'll say, "Oh, mo."  Papa and I hope they never learn how to pronounce those sounds properly.  We could listen to them chatter in their inimitable style all day long.

 

Their younger sister Little Gal has become a very, very busy little bee.  She's 7 months old now and doing the Army crawl all over the place.  She's a petite one--only 14 pounds--but incredibly strong for her size.  She pretty much cranks out endless push-ups during tummy time and seems to like hanging out in the "upward dog" position, making it look effortless.  She's also the happiest baby I've ever seen--it takes almost nothing to make her smile and laugh.

Time sure flies when you're surrounded by all this cuteness.  It seems like we just arrived, and already we're getting ready to leave.  We will be flying out of here tomorrow morning, bright and early, headed for a football weekend at the University of Notre Dame (permanent home of the Fighting Irish as well as temporary home of our own baby boy, who's a junior there).

 

Before I sign off, I just wanted to let you know the latest buzz in the Pearl household: my second oldest son just started a blog of his own.  (He joked that he's in the family biz now, since both his mom and his older brother's wife are bloggers.)   My darling boy is a 28-year-old high school math teacher, a young man who cares deeply about faith and family, and a funny guy who's always been a great storyteller.  If you'd like to check out his brand new baby, Pearl's Musings, I think you'll enjoy it.

 

Hopefully, I'll be checking in with you again from beautiful South Bend, IN.