Back home!

We got back to hot Corpus Christi, TX last night. Today it was 99 degrees F. That's quite a shock after the lovely weather in WA State.

We had a wonderful time, which I will relate when I download pictures and have washed all the clothes (and completely unpacked).

Thank you for prayers for our sister-in-law Chris. Please keep them coming. There is good news about Dennis--the surgeon removed ALL the cancer when he cut out half of Dennis' liver.

And now I want to recommend these books that I read on our vacation:

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

This takes place in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960's when the civil rights movement was gaining momentum in the USA and just before women's lib grew into consciousness. The voices of two black "help" and the Junior League ladies they serve, with one new college graduate wondering where she fits in contrast the attitudes prevalent at that time. This is excellent!

How to Be Good by Nick Hornby

This is a silly, but provocative, book about a female physician in London in a strained marriage with two children. Her husband has a spiritual conversion, and she struggles with his pious giving as she wonders what "being good" is. Is one only "good" in comparison to others? Is it necessary to have those "more" good or "less" good to gauge one's worth?

I Am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak

Since I loved reading The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, I got this book for our vacation. I read it after MJ and devoured it. It is very easy reading, but is thought provoking. After a failed bank robbery, Ed becomes the messenger, recieving messages of his next mission via aces. Through acts of kindness to those around him, Ed is being led by the hand through a journey of self discovery and sometimes is helped with the advice of pie eating hit-men. The ending is unexpected.

The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill

I gave this book to my son BJ for his birthday in April, but he never wanted to read it. He brought it along on our vacation trip for me. It is the first book in a series of mysteries about a Laotian doctor who is 72 years old in 1970's Laos, after the Communist takeover. It was interesting about the locale and time period, as well as good character development of the various people involved. I am going to read the four other books in this series.