In 1860 London, Clara feels it is her job to protect her family, a heavy load for a young woman of her age. But if it were not for her totally misjudging the intents of her ex-fiance, her family would not be in the predicament they are now. But getting hurt in the way she was and her ex's recent actions has made Clara not just mistrust her ex, but she also has her guard up to every person who comes into their lives. As her ex spreads rumors of insanity in her family, Clara is kept on her toes trying to quell such stories even as her quirky family seems to be going out of their way to make it so. When her grandfather brings a total stranger into his clockworks shop as an apprentice, Clara's senses are on high alert and everything in her is screaming that it is yet another spy that her ex has hired to get evidence to prove the rumors he is spreading. The apprentice, Theodore Kingsley has grown up being told what a disappointment he is to his father and after the war which physically and emotionally damaged him, his father declared him dead. Coming back to England to try and start fresh he has changed his name to Arthur and hopes for that fresh start doing what he loves in Drosselmeyer's Clock shop where no one knows his past. He doesn't understand the deep disdain his new boss's granddaughter has for him. When Drosselmeyer disappears in an flying owl machine he invented, leaving only a small clue to Clara urging her to come find him and her dreams of adventure, both Clara and Theodore blames themselves personally for all this happening. Together, along with Clara's mother, they go in chase of the trail of clues that will lead them to her grandfather. But there are also others giving chase to find the flying owl for their own selfish purposes and the group find they not only need to figure out the clues but also stay one step ahead of those who wish to use the flying owl for nefarious purposes.
What a fun adventure this book was. Whimsical, funny, a sweet romance with magical realism it touches on some pretty deep themes of guilt, shame, acceptance, God's love, and redemption. The adventure is reminiscent of Around the World in 80 Days to my mind. The character development is well done and while frustrated with some characters at first, loved them by the end. I especially loved the quirky, animal loving activist of a mother that Mrs. Stanton was. I was thoroughly engrossed in this charming adventure of a story.
Welcome to Friday's Fave Five where we pause to be thankful to God for the blessings He gives. Please join us as we share five of our favorites from the past week.
~ weekend relax time ~ this weekend I actually found quite a bit of relax time for a change. There was lots of time to just have a cup of actual HOT coffee and sit with a good book. This isn't always the case so I was really grateful. And we all know coffee always tastes better in a cute mug.
~ birthday treats for a friend ~ Saturday I treated my good friend to a dessert place of her choice for her birthday. We spent a lovely couple of hours catching up over delicious sweets: tiramisu cheesecake for me and cookie ice cream concoction for her. I'm very grateful for her friendship and it was fun to celebrate her.
~ surprise hello ~ last night my son, who is an advance care paramedic in the big city, had a patient transfer to our city and after it was done, he popped in without advance warning to say hi as we live close to the hospital. He gave his mother heart palpitations though as he put on a flash of the yellow lights (not the emergency red lights), and all I saw through the half drawn blind was yellow flashing. As I got up to see what was happening on the street I heard a quick whoop of a siren. I was thinking "what on earth is going on?" as I headed to the front windows. When I looked through the window there was an ambulance sitting on our driveway. My head immediately panicked thinking something happened to our neighbors and they were using our driveway for access. So I ran to the kitchen to peek out the side window to see if they were indeed headed over there when I heard the lock on the front door opening. My brain still did not clue in, and my heart and brain were racing wondering how on earth the ambulance service got the combo to my front door. When I peeked out the window to the front step of course, I didn't see my son but another paramedic standing there and my poor brain was just not cluing in. LOL. Then in walks my son with a smirk. What a guy. Typical of his quirky sense of humor enjoying making his Mother's heart race. After a quick intro to his partner and a hug he was back on his way to the big city. In spite of the rise in heart rate, I am so blessed to have kids who still like come home and check in on their parents.
~ helpful Hubby ~ from kitchen cleanup help after supper to all the fix it jobs that crop up around the house to grocery runs, I'm so thankful for the blessing of help he is to me everyday.
~ cozy cover ~ found a steal of a deal on a really nice duvet cover. I've needed a new one for a while but was biding my time until I found just the right one. Love when I can be patient enough to find the deal on something I need. Now sleep time is super cozy and comfy again.
In 1932, Odie and his brother are orphans that have been sent to live at the Lincoln Indian Training School, a residential school, even though they are not of First Nations descent. Odie hates it there and he frequently is at the receiving end of the superintendent's wrath. For silly "crimes" and rebellion he is often locked in a shed where his only friend is the rat sharing the space. When something tragic happens when Odie is trying to escape punishment yet again, he and his brother Albert, along with Odie's best friend Mose, break free along with a little girl whom the superintendent wants to adopt. Heading to St. Louis, where they think they have an aunt who will take them in, the four runaways go from Minnesota's Gilead River to the Mississippi in a stolen canoe in the hopes it will be harder for them to be tracked if they are on the water. On their journey they run into a variety of folks from desperate farmers to faith healing evangelists who either help them or hinder them. Who to trust becomes a challenge they must overcome even as they learn to trust themselves and their friendship is tested to the limit.
This book came highly recommended to me. Set during the Great Depression, the story is told through the eyes of 12 year old Odie, who along with his older brother, find themselves sent to a residential school after their mother and father have both died because there is no where else to place them. Odie's life is not easy at the school and there are many portions that were hard to read due what he and other children endured at the hands of the school administrators. Once they leave the school, their lives are up and down as they struggle to survive during their journey. There are many heartwarming moments of friendship and coming of age and also many ones of suffering as they learn some hard lessons along the way to find their aunt. There are many deep things and issues of the time woven into the story that makes the reader think. Odie struggles throughout the story believing in a God who would let these bad things happen and this plays into the story throughout different parts. Character development was excellent and I came to care for and really hope for all the main characters. The story is very atmospheric and the author's description of the areas takes you right there. It is a longer book at 444 pages and though I did like the story, I did find myself starting to skim in parts and wishing it would wrap up. So while I'm not loving it as much as others seemed to love it, it is a good book that drew me into the lives of the four young friends trying to find healing for hearts and a place to belong.
Whew, it has been a week. So busy with all sorts of commitments. It's a good thing we have this little space that reminds us to slow down, take a breath, pause and look for blessings from the past week. Having a busy week like I did, it's so easy for me not to even take note. The blessings become a blur as I'm rushing onto the next thing. Which starts me seeing more of the negative than I do the blessings. The older I get the more I see how important being intentionally thankful is. Please join us by sharing your favorite 5 blessings from the week.
~ birthday celebrations ~ Friday we celebrated my sis in law's bday. We had a wonderful evening at our favorite Italian restaurant. Great meal, great conversation and the opportunity to celebrate a special lady.
~ leading study ~ this week I was asked to lead the lady's study I am a part of. I was a bit nervous, as it's been about 4 years since I stopped leading a study group. But all went well, we had some great conversation with everyone participating. I'm thankful that I was able to get out of my rut with the opportunity. It made me realize how much I missed having a group of my own.
~ new show ~ well now that Monk is no longer available on the streaming channel we have, Hubby and I needed to find something else we could watch together. We found House of David on another streaming service we have and have been enjoying the episodes so far.
~ body butter ~ my hands have been so dry lately, especially the knuckles. Probably something to do with the 1000 times a day I have to wash my hands while working with preschoolers. I found a nicely scented body butter that seems to be doing the trick to soothe it.
~ ice cream ~ had to make my list this month as my favorite local small batch ice cream shop had two great feature flavors this month: Chocolate dipped strawberry and Grasshopper Pie. Oh my, both were so delicious! Made even sweeter with the purchase paid for by a gift card I received for Christmas.
What were you're favorite blessings from your week?
Welcome to Friday's Fave Five. We are looking for our blessings of the past week and being thankful so that we do not take them for granted. In the happiest of times or the darkest of days, there is always blessings from God if we take some time to notice them. Sometimes they are obvious and sometimes we have to get past the clutter to notice. Weekly taking the intentional time to do that helps us to develop grateful hearts. Please join us. Guidelines are linked in the sidebar if you've never joined us before.
~ spring bird song ~ the last couple of days the birds have been singing their spring songs. It so nice to hear them and it's an immediate mood lift. The woodpeckers with their "laughing" song, the robins, and several others that I don't know to name, they all joined the chorus throughout the day. It was heaven to my ears.
~ mud dried up ~ finally, finally the mud under my lawn has dried up. This makes me so happy because I don't have to deal with said mud on the boots and clothing of 6 kids on the daily.
~ open windows ~ though it's been quite crisp temperature wise we have been able to open the windows for a short time each day. So nice to have that fresh air coming into the house again.
~ relaxed Sunday ~ I really hate the time change both spring and fall. It just takes my body so long to readjust. I'm not a morning person to begin with and this just makes it that much harder for me to get going in my early morning wake ups. So Sunday we decided to just let ourselves sleep in and spent a relaxing day. I cooked a nice lunch, took the dog for a walk, read and had coffee and got my house tidied and cleaned. It was a huge blessing to be able to do this knowing I was coming up to a week of kids out of sorts from the time change as well.
~ a great read ~ every once in awhile I hit upon a book that just hits right and becomes an all time favorite and this last weekend I closed the last page on one of those. The Borrowed Life of Fredrick Fife by Anna Johnston just got me in all the feels. I'll be reviewing it soon. But highly recommend. It's a blessing to read and to be able to have such easy access to so many great books at our libraries.
What are your 5 favorite blessings from the last week?
Friday has rolled around once again and it's time for looking back and taking note of the blessings God has gifted us with over the past week. The practice of being grateful to God for all his good gifts, large and small, can powerfully change our hearts, our minds, our outlook, our perspective and even our lives. Let's develop a heart of gratitude as we go about our busy days. Please join in as we share five of our favorite blessings from the last week.
~ another lunch treat ~ Hubby treated us to lunch once again this week, this time from Chopped Leaf. We tried their new Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese along with our fave salad, the Bangkok. Both were delicious. We had enough left for supper so it was a double blessing in that I had a lunch treat and I didn't have to cook supper.
~ several beautiful walks ~ last weekend's weather was absolutely stunning and it was a real gift to get out into the sunshine and go for walks. On Sunday it was so nice I even dug out the capris and just had to wear a light hoodie. The dog was so happy to get several walks in on the weekend as were we.
~ first grilled steaks of the year ~ We decided we couldn't pass up the opportunity the glorious weather was giving us and pulled a couple steaks out of the freezer for grilling for Sunday's lunch. I'm always nervous on the first grill of the year as it's almost like getting back on a bike after not riding for awhile. But the steaks turned out perfect. Good thing we took advantage of the lovely weather because the next day the weather turned to cold and gave us a dose of wet rain/snow the next day.
~ time with a special little friend ~ I had a special afternoon with my little friend who is a former dayhome child. We always have a lot of fun together and I really enjoy her. We went and saw Paddington in Peru and then went to the pet shop. While she liked the show, she was in her glory in the pet store. There was an employee there showing everyone the animals and birds and talking about them. It was actually his day off but was there with his friend and just rolled with the interest the kids were showing. You could really tell it was his passion. A lady had brought her pet chinchilla in and let my little friend hold it. She was beside herself and her smile was ear to ear. And she actually pushed past her fear and touched the big ol' lizard another employee had out and was showing the kids. Took her a solid 10 minutes but she did it. We had so much fun. Bonus was the pet store didn't cost a dime and was the best part of our outing.
~ dishwasher ~ Sometimes big blessings are just practical that help alleviate the load of work in one's day. At my house, there is always lots of dirty dishes. Between ourselves and the dayhome there is always a full load to run on the daily and that doesn't even include the pots that hubby so helpfully washes by hand. So thankful for a hard working dishwasher (and hubby) that gets them clean and shiny for me.
