Book Review: And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

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I have read The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns which I enjoyed both quite well. Searching in the blog titles you can find the write up for A Thousand Splendid Suns. I have the books for the first two but I borrowed, And The Mountains Echoed, from the library. I found I had a hard time reading this book. My pages would move on my iPad and when I would open it up again and start reading nothing made sense. I would then spin it backwards to find the spot where I left off.

The book starts out in a small village called Maidan Sabz. Another thing I had a problem with were the names of people and towns. This first chapter started in Fall of 1952. The man of the family was called Baba Ayub. He loved his wife and his many children. He was telling the children about div that came to the village and would take away a child, if they looked up… It was quite a story for sure. While writing this now it made me have a thought that this is the way they explain about the young children that come up missing. They have maybe an overabundance of young children and they sell a young one to people who don’t have children. Having this happen is an integral part of the book. The eight-year-old boy was very close to his 3-year-old sister. He was so heart broken and her whole life she had feeling that there was something missing in her life but could never put her finger on it.

There were so many characters in this book, if I would read it again it would be good to write them down so you know which way the story is going. It was not a bad story that would take place in different areas. It was quite confusing It goes from 1952 to 2010 with a lot of story.

I do want to say that I thought once, surely all these people come together and give a meaning to the book, and they do.

This is the first book that I managed to finish for 2026, I am planning to have more and have my next picked out. Oh and it is a real book.

Book Review: The Women by Kristin Hannah

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While we were on vacation in Michigan this past July, I was able to get a book read that was on my shelf. I have heard many comments about how good it was. I don’t know how many of Kristin Hannah’s books that I have read but none disappoint. I enjoy that she researches and speaks to the actual nurses who were in the war. The war that they were told that there were no women in Vietnam. So glad that she took this subject to say yes there were, approximately 10,000.

The story starts out at an affluent home in May of 1966, with Frankie who is 20 and is walking around sad because her brother is going to Vietnam. They have always been close, Frankie and Finley and she was feeling left out. She slipped into her father’s office where there was a wall devoted to their family’s history, it was “The Hero’s Wall”. Her father’s picture was not there as he had been labeled 4-F.Maybe all the hurrah about the heroes wall made Finley want to take up where his father wasn’t able to go or his father pushed it in his way to have one of his children be in uniform to go on the wall. One of Finley’s friend came into the office and were talking about the wall and he wondered why there were no women on the wall. she said it’s the hero’s wall, to honor those in the service of their country. He said that “women can be hero’s too”. Those words change the trajectory of her life.

Frankie had gone to college to be in nursing, and while in high school they had learned how to iron buttonholes and to precisely fold a napkin. Women were supposed to get married, raise children and keep a lovely home.

Well Frankie took her nursing degree to Vietnam and was put immediately to work. she followed her brother to war. She pushed herself in college by increasing her work load and graduated early with honors. She would write to her brother for the next 6 months getting amusing letters back from him telling about he and his fellow sailors aboard the ship.

The war was not portrayed correctly here in the states and America did not have a good view of what it was actually like. They were lied to.

While working in a small hospital after college she checked on a patient who tried to commit suicide. He talked about the nurse that helped him get through while he was at the 12th evac hospital in Vietnam. He had stepped on a bomb and lost his leg. It was a taste of what war was like. After that she had made the decision to volunteer. She wanted her parents to be so proud. She got something totally different.

Frankie went to basic training, flew to Honolulu boarded a jet bound for Vietnam, the lone woman at the front of a line of 257 uniformed soldiers. Women had to travel in their Class-A uniforms: a green jacket, slim skirt, nylons polished black pumps and a flat garrison hat. Beneath it all was a regulation panty girdle to keep her nylon stockings up.

She was met with explosions, red and orange and someone shooting at the plane. It took a couple of times till the plane could land. That was her welcome into Vietnam. The next part of the story is about what Vietnam was like in the evac hospital and how amazingly brave the nurses and doctors. There is so much that you just have to read it.

The last part of the story is when they come home and how they were greeted, by the U.S. and their parents. It explains how they overcame the horrors that they saw, and some were ok and other couldn’t shake it. It would take a long time.

I did not enjoy the Ken Burns documentary on the Vietnam War, or reading a book in college about it. It is all so sad as this book is too. It was a really good book and eye opening and needs to be read and I hope you do.

Oh the COLORS!

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Tom and myself are on vacation this week. We have come to this particular place for six years and the flowers always just make me happy.
I don’t have any snapdragons this year so I am really enjoying these, especially this color.
Really love these zinnias too, so easy to grow, so many sizes and colors. How could they not be loved?
A glorious array!
Daisies
Yellow is such a happy color. I always put some in my paintings, in my stitching here and there and my quilts. Sometimes a little or a lot, just depends.
You may have noticed I haven’t had any new art posted recently. We have had much going on this summer and I haven’t felt too creative. I can tell when I am stressed because nothing interesting comes into my brain. To try to break that cycle I make a list of what I want to do. It takes awhile to get it started. First I think about it, like, I need to start a list. A few days go by, “I really need to start a list”, a few more days go by, I put a heading at the top of my cute notebook “it has cats on it , surprise, surprise. Things I want to make. Short, sweet and to the point, since it’s just for me. It’s nothing fancy but I can feel creeking cogs start to move in my brain.
It takes me around three days to destress. I have brought various things to work on an I opened up the watercolors this morning. I usually work with acrylics but watercolors are easy to pack. I have almost read a book. Another thing, I purchased an online class from Amanda Evanston that I have been listening to. I then have brought some fabric to do some needlework. If anybody has some ways that you destress and get Catherine creative juices flowing please leave a comment.
And if anyone knows what this is, let me know. Thanks.

?Today, Last Week and Next Week

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I want to say Happy 25th Anniversary to our niece Wendy and her husband Adrian. This was our Christmas get together and I love this picture of all of us. Our two families, they have three kids and we have two.
I also like to remember my Mom on her birthday as Wendy and Adrian were married on her birthday. She would have been 98 years old today. I am not sure of her age here, early 20’s I would think.
Here she is, Jean at a family reunion. She has the same nice smile.
I wanted to spotlight my friend Cathy, who opened my eyes to Arizona. She sews these felt animals together, and they are so beautiful. This she brought on her visit back here and it is a fox who is an artist. She has a beret, and a palette and also paintbrushes in her pocket made of toothpicks! I love the fine embroidery.
Here she has a raincoat with rain boots that can be removed, and she can read the Daily News. The pallete and the newspaper have magnets and the paw they attach to.
Two Christmas ornaments with bendable arms and legs.
A candle mat made of felt but if I would put it on the table some cats would find it for a nap. I have a perfect frame that I found to put it in.
Cathy also had been learning from her friend who lives in the same neighborhood to weld glass. This little tree I got and it sits perfectly in the Teddy Roosevelt shot glass I picked up in Vermont. After taking this picture, I realized how dusty the shelf was and I am happy to say it has been taken care of.
I also was the lucky recipient of this cat who hangs so nicely in my studio window. I really love his whiskers. She does quilting and is working on something with resin. Everything she does it turns out very well.
For Christmas I did a mixed media rendition of their house with her two dogs Bandi and Oakley.
Lastly this week from May 5th to May 8th I will be going to this gathering in Northern Kentucky. I am looking forward to this as I have been trying to go to a get together with Lori Siebert for years, and this one was happening at just the right time. Here is the link to it and you will be able to see the beautiful venue where it is being held. I have not been to Madison Indiana and people tell me that it is a very cool town. I hope to take many pictures and will share when I get back.

Cats n Stuff

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For the last two weeks I have been trying to find the time for a book review, I can see that people do love them by my stats. But, I had to buy a new shiny Epson Sure Color-P 700 printer. It came and I unloaded the box, connected it, and I couldn’t get a good print. It would start and do 3/4 of the print then stop. So I did a two day trial and error on my end thinking I missed something. I finally called Support and got Ray, and was on the phone with him (though we were working through some communication problems on my end) for three hours and at the end of that I had to change something on my computer. Then it was the weekend, and Support is closed at that time. On Monday I also was out and stopped at my Verizon store, I call it that because we have bought all our phones and other there, he was very helpful. There was the 5Ghz and 2.4 Ghz language and dual ports and if I could change something will my shiny new printer work? So, I was confident that I did figure it out and it still didn’t work right. Grrrrr! I called Support again, got Ash this time. (I am getting reference numbers now so that they can see what has happened so far) and we went through things and then she said that she had to speak with others about my problem and would call me back. It really make me crazy when my system doesn’t work. That is what I focus on and no painting or other fun stuff takes place. She called me back and said I need to get a certain usb cord so I can connect with my computer. I am thinking how can I get it the quickest. If I call each computer store in my area, which is time consuming, then drive there especially if it is waaay across town. The port on the printer is in a very unconventional place that I couldn’t even see. I had to send a photo of the area so the support person could show me. I was in the most obscure place. So I have been trying to ween myself away from Amazon because Jeff Bezos has us wrapped around his little computer fingers and he was standing up there with You Know Who. This was an emergency for me and I also realized that my auto payment for Amazon Prime happened on February 1st. I am going to access how I can live without this in the next year. So I got it the next day and it still wouldn’t work. Called Support again and got Ash, I found out what the problem was and now I can print beautifully. I would not have been able to do this on my own. I you have gotten to the bottom of this I am rewarding you with a picture of one of my cats.

I just think this picture is so funny! This is Pookey Cat and we don’t know if his back feet were hot or what. I reminded us of the Wizard of Oz and the red shoes sticking out from the house. So back to the book review, my book that I borrowed from the library, returned. I like to have the book with me so I can refer to things I am reviewing. I promise I will do the review in the future.

This is my cat Pavel, named after Pavel Datsyuk, the Hall of Fame Red Wings player. I was really showing the card my friend made for me and he happened to be in the background. It’s a fabulous card. By the way our Keurig Coffee maker quit working and I have to go out tomorrow for physical therapy (I am working on getting my right part of my body from the hip down stronger. I walk unbalanced.) I will be into week two. So I will do my research to find one in town.

This is Pavel Datsyuk HOF cat standing up and posing. He follows me around and is near me most of the time. He is a quiet guy for sure. The next thing I want to talk about is upcoming posts. I will be showing my new art of course. But while trying to find a certain picture I thought to myself that I should share these other fabulous pictures I have taken while moving them to my external hard drive. I will do that once a month and it will make me do this moving, there are a lot from my phone and cameras.

This here is Mr. Whiskers, I took care of him outside for two years and we were pretty friendly with each other. Then a big cold snow storm was coming and I picked him up and put him in the garage on a heated mat. I then decided that he needed to be checked out at the vet so he could come inside. He had FIV and at that time they recommended that he not be around other cats. They used to have them euthanized as to not spread the disease and I believe that thought process has changed. But anyways he is living with Sam and Kevin and is living his best life.

This is Miggy, actually Miguel Cabrera because he is a polydactyl and has extra toes. His paw is as big as a baseball mitt. You can kind of see one of his extra toes there.

Here is Lily, she walked over the rainbow bridge in November 2024. My heart still isn’t over it. She was such a unique lady.

A few years ago I used that picture for “Lovely Lilys Flower Crown”.

Till the next time friends.

Where Did November Go?

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All through October I participated in Birdtober, which the artist took the prompts given and painted, or drew, whatever your art genre for 31 days. It was a lot and I usually don’t do these kinds of things because I cannot keep up. But surprisingly I did, but that was about all the art I made in October. It was very good practice to work on different birds, ones that I may never have considered before. I have painted a goldfinch many times but never a bunting and liked the way it turned out for something that was quickly created.

Then November seemed like it just flew by with doctor’s appointments and sporting events, watching IU basketball with friends or going to Detroit to go to watch the Lions and then also watching on TV. It is so fun being a Lions fan. We became season ticket holders when they were 0 and 16. It was fun then but it is so MUCH more fun when they win! I worked on a painting for my annual Christmas card which I will show at another time because I ordered them last night, which was pretty good for December 1st. These two paintings will be in the Fort Wayne Artists Guild members show at the downtown library. The gingko’s and bunnies was another painting in November I got finished up for the show. I had the canvas sitting on my easel with the background on it for approximately three weeks. The I would get the ol ah ha moments to move on with the painting. The show goes through the end of December at the Jeffery Krull Gallery. Then two important holidays, our son Sam’s 33rd birthday and Thanksgiving. Then we are into December.

Well you know, December is a whirlwind of activity. Tomorrow, December 3rd, I will be dropping off 15 paintings to hang at the Georgetown Branch Library for December and January. I plan to change some out in January to make it seem all fresh. Then decorating for the Holiday. Phase 1 is done, with the tree and mantle. I will not lie, this is from another year, but it is still the same tree and the paintings on the wall are different now also, but otherwise you know….. Phase two will be the nativity and santas and snowmen. Phase 3 is planning baking and also gifts but that is also in phase 1 and 2. Tom and I have a Lions game, also the 4 of us will do something for my birthday. I will get together with my gal pals this month too. Then Christmas will be here and the New Year. Like I started with, what happened to November?

Frankfort Michigan

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In July we took our yearly trip for a week to Frankfort. One of our favorite things to do is watch for a pretty sunset. This was our first night and the light came on at 9:25 p.m. There were also many boats watching for the sunset, you can see those dots on the horizon.
While at the Oliver Art Center I found these cards by Katie Lowran, her rendition of the Frankfort Light.
The sun dropping from the sky into the water. People walking on the breakwater to enjoy it up close and personal.
When I saw this card I just had no idea about where it was at.
When we were taking the boat tour on the West Bay of Traverse City, the guide pointed out this red buoy with an eight on it. It meant it is only eight feet deep, I had my answer. Now it is early August, the kids are going back to school and it has turned a bit cooler, but just for a few days. This weekend I will be doing Bloom Fest and the weather is supposed to be between 70 and 75. Wow! 140 booths, it’s gonna be a good time.

This Weekend

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It has been such a long time since I have made a blog post and I thought I would give you a heads up about new paintings that I have made. This weekend I will be showing my art at Freiman Square in downtown Fort Wayne. It will be a two day event called Art in the Park. It will be on Main Street on Saturday 10 to 7 and Sunday 10 to 5.

The four paintings that I am showing here are my most recent. The top three I have the originals along with prints and cards.
King of the Garden original sold but I will have prints and cards. I don’t know my booth number yet, many times I am on Main Street, but it is a different year and also there is a new director. I will send out a Facebook post when I know.

Book Review: Home Front by Kristin Hannah

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Setting is Washington State in April of 2005. The book starts out with Jolene Zarkades and it is her 41st birthday. The backdrop is the Olympic Mountains and Liberty Bay. She has two girls, five year old Lulu and twelve year old Betsy and husband, Michael who is an attorney. Jolene enjoys running in the mornings, is a very organized person for her family and is a helicopter pilot for The Guard. She enlisted in the army when she was 18 years old and had qualified to flight school helicopter-pilot training.

She had a mother and father who drank and fought and eventually died when she was 17 years old. She did not know what she wanted to do after graduation and decided to enlist in the army. She met her best friend Tami when she was 18 and their love for flying brought them together and they had a strong, bonded friendship. They lived next to each other, got pregnant at the same time with their first child and they went from the army to the Guard when marriage and motherhood made active duty difficult. Twice a week they would go together to practice flying the Black Hawk helicopter, each taking turns at the helm.

Earlier in the morning, when she had gotten back from her run she was getting the girls ready for school and asked where their dad was, he already left. Since it was her birthday it was disappointing that he hadn’t stuck around to at least wish her happy birthday, oh well he probably has something special planned for tonight. She always likes his strong work ethic and seems to make excuses for him.

She deals with 12 year old Betsy’s trying to fit in with the cool crowd and not thinking that her mom is neat, like many twelve year olds. She has a wonderful mother in law who owns a garden store and is very helpful. Michael is in practice with his father but he passed away unexpectedly and is having a hard time dealing with it.

Jolene and Michael speak later in the day and apologized for forgetting her birthday and she said it’s fine as long as we are together. He said he would be home by eight and she said they could have a quiet meal together. He didn’t get home until midnight.

He was having thoughts about what is ahead, what his life could have been if a different path had been taken. Things were becoming rocky at home. Michael has never looked upon the Guard as important, something she really loved. Her daughter doesn’t want her to come to school in her flight uniform. She has asked Michael to come to a birthday party that the group is having for her and he doesn’t want to because they are “her” friends and he has nothing in common with them. Eventually as Michael thinks about his life, he decides that he needs to tell Jolene that he doesn’t love her anymore.

Michael is also taking on a case where a 25 year old murdered his wife. His wife that he adored and they were planning on starting a family. This young man was a model person, had never gotten in trouble and everyone loved him. He had been in Iraq though.

Jolene and Tami got the calls that they were being deployed. She had to break it to the girls, to Michael and her mother in law. Most met the information with disdain. Jolene spent the next weeks preparing the family to take care of themselves. Making a notebook with all the information that she could think of down to what meal to prepare for what day. Her heart is broken over her broken marriage but her sense of duty is strong and she has to do this.

The book goes on and tells the story of what goes on in Iraq and describes what the days are like. She tries to not let them know how bad it is and always tells them that she is not in the fighting, but she is.

The coming of Michael preparing and researching his upcoming court case makes him realize so much. He also has to be there for his girls which took him awhile to realize and to get it together. Then, a horrible accident happened during a flight in Iraq. He and Jolene had limited contact while she was over there and he never told her anything before she left. He was very selfish and wasn’t proud of her and didn’t try to understand. Her problem was that she didn’t depend on him and always was controlling. Both were at fault and had to learn hard lessons.

I whole heartedly recommend this book. It helps the reader understand what being in a war is like, getting injured and the long road to recovery along with the family side of it too.

Glo Magazine

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I am thrilled to say that Glo Magazine has chosen my painting “The Blue Vase” for their March Cover. To read the magazine online follow this link. The magazine is free and will be available at many businesses and to find one when they come out click on Newsstand locations.