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Ear Candling-Do You Do It?

Years ago, while living in Denver, Colorado, one of my dear friends candled my ears. It was cool and felt good. For years I’ve been candling my children’s ears. I candled both children’s ears tonight as per their request. They ask for it when they feel stuffed up or ear waxy. Luckily our small organic store still carries ear candles-though they come at a price. I’ve heard and read lots of negative about this practice but as of yet we’ve never had a problem. We only do it maybe twice a year. My kids have never had any ear infections or even get sick that often (knock on wood) so I consider it to be just a bit of preventive medicine. We can’t get around the fact that our ears feel better afterwards. Right now is the perfect time as we took a long road trip, the weather is changing and we are running on low energy-all factors which contribute to getting sick.

Have you ever had you ears candled? Would you?

Bookclub Discussion

Some of us started discussing our pick for November, My Abandonment by Peter Rock even before we’d filled our plates (the food was delicious) or accepted a glass of wine from the hosts. This is what happens when a book is well-written but controversial. What was the author’s purpose for leaving us dangling so much? Had Caroline been kidnapped or was she this man’s daughter? After his death why does she continue to live on the fringe of society? We tossed the questions around, snapping answers back and forth but with no real answers-we just all had our own opinions. Some never once thought about a kidnapping scenario and one couldn’t stand the father character, even though she believed he was the real father. If she had been kidnapped, why didn’t the social service agency who worked so hard to get them settled on the farm, ever come up with this evidence? Why is Elizabeth Smart thanked in the back of the book? I love when a book brings out so much passion!!

If you’ve read this book I am interested to know your thoughts. My idea is that Peter Rock purposely leaves us dangling and questioning their relationship. I’ve searched other blog posts about the book but didn’t find any further insight. I’ve moved on to Elizabeth C. Bunce’s A Curse Dark as Gold, which is good but thankfully, is not as thought-provoking.

Here is a great video of Peter Rock describing his inspiration for the story:

My Abandonment

by Peter Rock

(2009)

I finished it yesterday which gave me some time to knit and start the third book I brought on our trip to Oberlin. My new book is A Curse as Dark as Gold by Elizabeth Bunce. I am reading it for my long distance book club and it is on my reading from my own shelves challenge, which I am wayyyy behind on.

My Abandonment is still twisting around in my brain, which I always take to mean well-written-the characters are often still poking me. I do think this is a literary story but I am left with questions.

Good Reads Synopsis:

A thirteen-year-old girl and her father live in Forest Park, the enormous nature preserve in Portland,Oregon. They inhabit an elaborate cave shelter, wash in a nearby creek, store perishables at the water’s edge, use a makeshift septic system, tend a garden, even keep a library of sorts. Once a week, they go to the city to buy groceries, attend church, and otherwise merge with the civilized world. But one small mistake allows a backcountry jogger to discover

them, which derails their entire existence, ultimately provoking a deeper flight.

My thoughts:

I enjoyed Caroline’s narrator voice and the in-the-present-moment telling of this tale. The father obviously has had trouble fitting back into society after his soldier experience. He is paranoid and has taught his daughter how to stay below the radar in any given situation. I’m torn as to whether this is really his daughter. Rock has left it up to the reader to decide and I feel like I’ve fallen into a paranoid trap by thinking automatically that she has been kidnapped. Why do we assume the worst? It is perfectly logical that a father, having experienced war at it’s worst, would lose his daughter to a foster situation but then still want her back. When the police do pick them up they must run her picture, right? If she truly were a kidnapped child wouldn’t it show up then.

Beyond these questions my heart felt a deep sadness for Caroline. She wants a friend and liked thinking about a regular life (riding a bike is a big one) she misses out on making choices for herself. I do like how she is changing her path by the book’s end but she will always be on the perimeter, always having a difficult time forming friendships and trusting. I will recommend this book, can’t wait to hear what my book club has to say about it tomorrown night and would love to know other’s thoughts on whether this is her father or not?? Read it.

Oberlin, Part Two

We took a fascinating tour focused on Oberlin’s history with the Underground Railroad. Groovy Girl is sitting on a bench donated by author/poet Toni Morrison Society Bench by the Road Project. The walking tour given by the Oberlin Historical Society was filled with good information and was made even more enjoyable by the beautiful summer-like weather. We spent tons of time outside because it was so gorgeous but G. Girl and I did fit in some shopping while the boys went to a Yeoman vs. Allegheney Gators football game. We had fun shoppiing for yarn, used and new books.

One Room Ungraded School for Girls on Underground Railroad Tour

Main St of Oberlin is a cool hot spot of chic boutiques, an old movie theatre and interesting eateries plus a large Ben Franklin with a used book store inside. Ben Franklin fun finds on one side and high shelves with so many used and new books on the other side was a little bit of shopping heaven for me and the girl. She found a stuffed saddle horse and I found a used book to buy. We had a great time browsing there as well as the Oberlin Book Store, the official college book seller, with an excellent children’s section. I heard author, Lynn Powell read from her new book, Framing Innocence; A Mother’s Photographs, a Prosecutor’s Zeal, and a Small Town’s Response. She was very interesting to listen to but we had to leave before I had a chance to buy it or have her sign it.

Browsing at Oberlin Book Store

400

Posting tonight on my continued effort to blog everyday in November I will have written 400 posts. I’m feeling good about that-I love writing and sharing but I try not to get too crazy/obsessed about it because it is just a hobby. But 400 posts is cool.

Parent’s Weekend has just begun and we’ve been to a Wine and Cheese party with a steel drum band playing away, we went to a great little diner for dinner (I had the Sunshine Salad) and we watched an improv troupe do their funny thing. Tomorrow there are many events planned but for awhile we are just going to relax at the hotel. No bed bugs so far. Woo hoo!

I am on page 98 of My Abandonment by Peter Rock, which is told from a 13-year-old’s point-of-view. It is well-written and I’m fascinated enough to keep reading along because I keep thinking there is going to be a major revelation-that and the writing is good. I am enoying the character, Caroline but I’m not sure how I feel about her dad. I think his intentions are good but feel like his fear of the outside world is shutting out choices for Caroline. I do enjoy how well the author can speak through a young female character.

Watch this video of Peter Rock discussing how the story, My Abandonment, came to be.

***My baking experience this morning (see yesterday’s post) was great. I was up early and my friend, Barb, and I made wheat bread, sweet bread, blueberry muffins, iced some scones and rolled some sugar cookies in pink sprinkles. It was a really fun two hours, spent working, baking and talking. We did sit and have some Chai tea and scones before my family picked me up. What more can you hope for when spending time with long-time friends? It was a quick but blissful visit.

Cheers to 400 posts-even if I’m just at the party myself!!

Oberlin, Ohio

(The Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies)

     We’re on the road again, headed to our first college Parent’s Weekend for daughter, Kaylee. Last Spring we spent time in Oberlin for a quick weekend initial visit and we loved this little town. It has a book store, knitting store and great little restaurant within walking distance of the campus. And the campus is beautiful and very eco-friendly. I’m listening to the train whistle outside of Chicago, in a small town called Hobart, where one of my closest friends live.

     Early in the morning I’m going to get up and help her make bread at her bakery, Marilyn’s and by 8:00 we’ll be heading to Oberlin-a mere four (or so) hours away. I have a guest teacher doing my job tomorrow-so all day I will feel a little like I’m playing hookey! I finished rereading Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins on the drive and start My Abandonment by Peter Rock as I crawl between the sheets. Happy Reading everyone!

Om Baby-Green Books Campaign

by Shamet Horsfield

2010

This is a bright and colorfully-done book with a small, elfin-like, one-eyed creature. “Hi, My name is Om Baby. I am an Om Being from a small community called Omville. I have only one eye because I see the world and all beings as one.” Om is the Sanskrit word and symbol meaning “all that is.” The book has a beautiful fluidity to it, with each picture accompanying simple text.

Om Baby is peaceful.

Om Baby is kind.

Om Baby believes in the power of his mind.

I like what Horsfield was going for but I wanted more. Even the youngest reader can understand so much more and I felt she was just touching the surface of this one-eyed beings feeling toward the earth and the world around us.

I loved this one:

Om Baby eats his greens.

Accompanied by a picture of a green garden, growing carrots, sunflowers, radishes or beets, corn, pumpkins with a sun blazing down. Om Baby is shown eating his greens-like arugula!

Check out Shamet Horsfield’s interesting website. You can sign a petition for peace while you there. She has a good story to tell and as someone on the outside edge myself, I can understand her need to create a book that represents her philosophy. I hope she continues to create, pulling more peaceful ideas into a deeper story.

This review is part of the Green Books Campaign. Click on Green Books to find the list of 200 books being reviewed by participating bloggers today.
This review is part of the Green Books campaign.

Today 200 bloggers take a stand to support books printed in an eco-friendly manner by simultaneously publishing reviews of 200 books printed on recycled or FSC-certified paper. By turning a spotlight on books printed using eco- friendly paper, we hope to raise the awareness of book buyers and encourage everyone to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books.

The Little Piano Girl; The Story of Mary Lou Williams, Jazz Legend

Written by Ann Ingalls and Maryann Macdonald

Illustrated by Giselle Potter

2010

From the very first page you can tell this is going to be a fun book to read. Mary is riding on a train and is clapping and singing along to the sounds she hears. The author’s don’t just tell us that, they show us, “She sang the sound of its whistle, ‘Chug-ga, chug-ga, chug-ga…Toot! Toot!’ The train went faster, leaving home behind. ‘Clackety-clack! Clackety-clack! Clackety-clack! Mary clapped and sang softly so that Mama and her sister, Mamie, could sleep.” (1)

There seems to be a whole new genre of biographies in fiction format, making them perfect read-alouds. Authors Ingalls and Macdonald wrote this with such a good rhythm that the words practically POP off the page. Everything snaps together while we learn about Mary Lou Williams and how she learned to play sitting on her mother’s lap at the age of three. The illustrations by Giselle Potter (The Boy Who Loved Words) are bold and evoke an early era.

5/5 picnic basket rating

Buy The Little Piano Girl from an Indie Store

or The Boy Who Loved Words

Three Unusual Titles are all overdue!

The Bog Baby (2008) by Jeanne Willis and Gwen Millward. When two young sisters go fishing in a magic pond, they find an unusual pet. They take him home, feed him cake crumbs and sneak him into school. But the Bog Baby started to get sick, wouldn’t eat, didn’t jump up and down anymore and the sisters didn’t know what to do. Guess who helps them solve the Bog Baby problem…their mom, of course. The illustrations are gorgeous and the story line magically simple. Click on both of their names above and explore their beautiful websites. Doesn’t the cover just make you want to open it up!

You? (2009)by Vladimir Radunsky; translated from dog-ese to English by my learned dog, Tsetsa. An owner-less dog and a dog-less girl are watching the people and dogs pass by in separate areas of a park, hoping to be noticed. Eventually the stray dog and the girl find each other. All the dialogue is told through thought/speech bubbles and this would demonstrate point-of-view to students. In the author note, Mr. Radunsky says, “I love dogs; big and small, with spots and without. I love dogs with chubby cheeks. I love dogs with long noses. I love dogs with bushy tails or no tails at all….”

Palazzo Inverso (2010) by D.B. Johnson: Inside this quote resides; “I don’t grow up. In me is the small child of my early days.” M.C. Escher. This book demonstrates Johnson’s love of Escher’s work. Mauk’s master is building a grand Palazzo and something happens to turn the building upside down. Master blames Mauk but all he does is sharpen the pencils…Kids will love turning this book around as they discover what really happens. One reading will easily turn into “one more time” just so everyone can understand how things got mixed up.

My daughter smiled and her eyes glowed as we explored each of these titles from our public library. Isn’t that what we really want for all children-a simple love of literature that makes your face light up! Now I have to rush them to the library as they are several days overdue!!! What picture books made you light up this week? Me: I was overjoyed that each author featured had a brilliant website! I love when that happens.

Me and the Pumpkin Queen

by Marlane Kennedy

(2007)

181 pages

What a perfect chapter book for any season but especially fall and spring when pumpkins would be a focal point. Mildred’s dream is to grow the perfect giant pumpkin to win the Pumpkin Show. She’s been infatuated with this idea ever since her mama passed and her daddy has regaled her with stories of how much she loved walking past the giant pumpkins at the harvest festival.

What makes this a perfect chapter book for elementary students?

1. Easy characters: 11-year-old Mildred, her father, the veterinarian; her Aunt Arlene, a bit bossy but loves Mildred; her best friend, Jacob;and Grover Fernhart, the gruff neighbor who relctantly tells Mildred how to grow a giant pumpkin. At one point, Mildred is forced to take a trip to visit other relatives and meets her cousin, Amanda. Amanda is described as girly but she turns out to have some surprises up her sleeve, making her a perfect companion for Mildred.

2. Grief plays a small role in this story. Mildred is not torn up with grief, she loves her father and their life. She talks to her mother and wishes she were still around but Mildred is happy. She does show frustration as her attempts to grow a giant pumpkin fail but she continues to try. She doesn’t give up.

3. Growing up/maturing is talked about as Aunt Arlene takes Mildred shopping and buys several new bras for her. It is touched on just briefly but not in great detail.

The opening:

I don’t think I’m abnormally obsessive. I mean, Daddy hasn’t taken me to the doctor or anything to find out for sure, so I prefer to describe myself as focused. A lot of kids my age are focused. Like Arnie Bradford. He is focused on basketball. Every time we drive past his house on our way to town, he is his driveway shooting baskets. Even in the middle of winter. Then there is Gloria Mathis. She is all the time blathering about this teenage actor she is in love with. She cuts his picture out of magazines and plasters them all over her school notebooks. But truth be told they are focused on the usual kinds of things that kids all over the place are focused on. Like there are probably hundreds of thousands of fifth graders into basketball and popular actors. It just so happens that my thoughts are consumed with something out of the ordinary. Daddy isn’t worried about me at all. Aunt Arlene sure is. (1-2)

It has an easy-going rhythm and the chapters are short, making it a quick read-aloud. Howard Dill’s Giant Pumpkin Seeds are just what Grover recommends to Mildred and they really exist. Students could have a great time researching and growing their own. Mildred, playing on the computer at her father’s office, is on bigpumpkins.com-which also really exists although you have to become a member to explore. Find author information here at Marlane’s website.
Book Trailers for Readers has a cute video about this book.

My Rating:

(how do we like the rating system my techy son created for me?)