John Adams - David McCullough

John Adams
By: David McCullough
Published: 2001
Audiobook Read by: Nelson Runger
My rating: Wonderful








After listening to Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow, I decided to set out to go through biographies of all or our presidents in chronological order. It is going to be a long process considering the vast number of other books I love to listen to but I think it will be very rewarding as well as greatly educational!

John Adams as president did not seem to be the most popular since he was voted down for a second term. However, his intense love for our country and undying zeal for freedom are a testament of where his heart was.

Adams spent much of his adult life in the service of our country, enduring hardships that would have brought a lesser man to his knees. As a diplomat to foreign countries such as France and Holland, he had to fight not only the view of America as a backwater upstart country with little chance of succeeding, but personal struggles with his health, loneliness, and the feeling of being cut off due to the length of time it took to communicate with home. Despite all the obstacles, he never gave up and was able to produce results wherever he was posted.

Never to be one that let opposition hold him down, he moved into the presidential office prepared for his opponents and ready to deal with the mountains of criticism his decisions would bring. In everything he did, he acted according to his own values and with a clear conscience that what he did was done for his country and not out of any hope for personal gain.

This has been an interesting experience for me. I must admit that I was never much interested in history and therefore did not pay attention in school. I have learned a lot about the founding of our country from these biographies that I should have already known! What has interested me most was seeing the same time period from different perspectives as I have with Washington's biography and now this one. It's the same time with the same activities going on but it looks vastly different through each man's eyes! I am starting to see that I will be getting a very well rounded view of our nation's history as I travel through the stories of each president!

I listened to the audiobook read by Nelson Runger. Nelson did a great job with this and I loved his choice of voice for John Adams. I got a sense of the good natured attitude that John had and could hear the good humor in the voice that Nelson gave him.

Overall, this was a well done biography of John Adams that kept me interested without sacrificing the historical accuracy. If you are looking for an Adams biography, don't hesitate to give this one a try!

The King Size Sandbox

I built a sandbox for my kids a few years ago.

A BIG SANDBOX!!!

When I was a kid we had a nice size sandbox and all of the neighborhood kids loved playing in it with us! My dad built it for us out of sandstone and it even had a little roof over it and everything. We spent many very happy hours playing in it.

So I wanted my kids to have that as well. But as in everything it seems, I had to make it BIG!! :)

Yep, I said big. 10' long, 5' wide and 16" deep.
Oh yeah, it holds 2 tons of sand!

So anyway, I built it several years back and got it filled up with sand but guess what? When kids play in a sandbox the sand seems to slowly disappear! So this year it needed a fresh filling, so Tammy and the kids shoveled what was left of the old sand out and got it cleaned up and ready for the first load.

It's hard to see but there is a little bank that makes
it interesting to get the truck up to the end this way!

Oh yeah, I have a really cool gadget called a LoadHandler! :)

So the first load is unloaded it's off to the gravel yard for load #2!

So while I'm off getting the second load, let me tell you about my back yard. From the back of the house there is about 40' and then a drop off into some woods. (That's the trees you see in the left hand side of the pictures. The small bank in these first pictures cuts across from the back corner of my garage back to the woods. At the other end of the house is another bank that does the same thing but is about 8' high and quite steep. (It's a bear to mow!)

Being the perfectionist that I am, (despite there being no room to move in the back yard on a bicycle let alone in a full size pickup) I had to attempt to get the second load of sand into the empty end of the sandbox so this is what I ended up doing to achieve that:

It took about 20 minutes of maneuvering to do this during which time,
Tammy was cringing every time I came within 3" of hitting the house!
(Which was quite often!)

Well, we got all the sand in the box where it belonged, got the truck out of the back yard and with the exception of a few tire tracks in the grass, there was no harm done!

And now we have a very happy little boy!

OK, make that two happy little boys!

I love tunnels! :)

So there you have it! One big sandbox, 2 tons of sand, some beat up trucks, cars, and other toys, and a whole summer of fun!! What could be better? Well, maybe the GIANT slip-n-slide I'm going to put up but I'll save that for another post! :)

In Which My 12 Year Old Daughter Becomes A Grandma!

First of all, allow me to let out a WHOOP
because this is my 100th post!!
That's right, 100 posts under my belt!
So go ahead, have a glass of bubbly on me!
It's a celebration!!! :)

o-o-o-o          o-o-o-o          o-o-o-o          o-o-o-o          o-o-o-o

Now, back to the original purpose of this post!

Last weekend, my daughter, Cheyenne, played the part of Grandma Josephine in our school's production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! It's funny, I'm not even a grandpa yet but she is a grandma! Something just doesn't seem right here! :)

Anyway, without further ado, here is what you are dying to see!

Cheyenne with her husband, Grandpa Joe

All the grandparents in the big bed

Willy Wonka welcoming all the winners into his factory

In the chocolate room standing by the chocolate river

Riding down the chocolate river in Wonka's private yacht

The Oompa Loompas

Willy telling Charlie that the factory is his

And one more of Cheyenne looking really old.
That's Grandpa George next to her.

Cheyenne had a great time and had a lot of fun but was very glad to get the makeup and gray hairspray washed off when we got her home! All the kids did a great job and worked very hard.

This production was directed by some of the high school students and was completely produced by the students. There was one teacher who kept an eye on things and acted as an adviser but otherwise it was students only! They deserve a lot of credit for making it happen! I can't wait to see what kind of program they do next year!

And now I will return my daughter to the role of little girl and hope for many years to pass before she is actually a grandma!

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
By: Douglas Adams
Published: 1979
Audiobook Read by: Stephen Fry
My rating: SPECTACULAR





Entry from the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy:
     Earth: Harmless

Arthur Dent is quite fond of his home. He's lived there for a long time. The council wants to knock it down to make room for a bypass. Arthur is not going to let them. Besides, what's with the bypass anyway?

What Arthur doesn't know is it doesn't really matter. His house and belongings are about to be destroyed anyway by the Vogon Constructor Fleet to make room for the new hyperspatial express route. Oh yes, they'll destroy the entire earth along with Arthur's house. So, Arthur might just as well go along to the pub with Ford to have a pint or three.

Now Ford Prefect was one of Arthur's best friends and hailed from a small planet in the vicinity of Betelgeuse. He has been stranded on Earth for the past fifteen years. Of course he has used the time wisely to update the entry on Earth in the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy since that is his job. Arthur doesn't know all this about Ford and just thinks of him as a rather strange person whom, for some strange reason, he rather likes.

However, Arthur was now quite disliking Ford for coaxing him away from lying in front of a bulldozer to go to the pub, since the bulldozer had now quite knocked over his house! Before he knows what he's doing, he discovers himself running down the road towards his demolished house and ending up on a spaceship headed for who knows where! (A spaceship!?!? Where did that come from?) (Oh yes, the Vogon Constructor Fleet.) (What is a Vogon anyway?)

To say Arthur was having a bad day would be putting it mildly. His house has been bulldozed, (along with the whole rest of the Earth), he's muddy and sore, has been nearly killed by bad poetry, (not to mention being thrown out an airlock by a shouting Vogon), lost both legs and one arm, been subjected to a long walk with a manically depressed robot named Marvin, and to top it all off; he doesn't even know where his towel is! Yes Arthur is having a bad day. So imagine how it felt to be told that mice have been running the Earth! (MICE!?!? What on earth have mice got to do with anything?) Let's sum up how Arthur feels right about now: "Look, would it save you a lot of time if I just gave up and went mad now?"

This was an awesome book chock full of so much crazy off the wall fun I am very tempted to just turn around and listen to it again right now! I loved it!! I have never laughed so much at a book before. The complete absurdity of it was great! Maybe it's an unfortunate testament to my mental state but I just don't care! :) Douglas Adams is the top of the list in my book for having the most amazing imagination and the greatest sense of humor! I suppose if you are looking for a deep and meaningful tome filled with wise sayings and philosophical wonders that explains the answer to life, the universe and everything, you'll probably be disappointed. Oh wait, this book does tell you the answer to life, the universe and everything!! You won't like it but it's there! :)

I listened to the audiobook read by Stephen Fry. I loved Stephen's performance just as much as the book itself! He obviously had fun with it and did an absolutely superb job bringing it to life!

Overall, if you want an irreverent, absolutely hilarious look at humanity and the insignificance of our existence, this is the book for you. (But please cut Marvin some slack, he's depressed.) So in the words of Zaphod Beeblebrox, president of the galaxy, "OK baby, hold tight! We'll take in a quick bite at the Restaurant At The End Of The Universe."

Updated Entry from the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy:
     Earth: Mostly Harmless

Death Of A Celebrity - M. C. Beaton

Death Of A Celebrity
By: M. C. Beaton
Published: 2002
Audiobook Read by: Graeme Malcolm
My rating: Wonderful








I have come to love hearing about Hamish MacBeth's antics as the constable of Lochdubh! This time he finds himself under the scrutiny of a television show host who has no scruples about digging up scandals and causing someone else pain if it gives her the ratings she wants! As she is about to bring his dubious career down around his ears she is found dead! Fortunately for Hamish he escapes being a suspect but now he is faced with the possibility that someone he knows and likes might be a murderer! As he goes about his own brand of investigation he discovers a disturbing connection to the local horoscope columnist, Elspeth Grant. He also discovers he has a disturbing attraction to this same person and decides it's better to be rude and cold than to fall in love. He fails to maintain his hard demeanor and ends up spending quite a bit of time in her company. Fortunately for Hamish, she is a very astute young lady and helps him immensely as he struggles with the seemingly unsolvable case! Unfortunately for Elspeth, she realizes Hamish is never going to give himself over to her advances and she resigns herself to the fate of all of Hamish's many lady friends!

This is yet another wonderful tale in the long series of Hamish MacBeth mysteries! I have now gone through several and each one is just as fun as the rest! I love the way Hamish is willing to sacrifice his possibility of advancement in the police force in order to stay in Lochdubh. He loves his village and his people and cares deeply about what happens to each and every one of them. I also very much enjoyed the escape from CI Blair who is on holiday and is replaced by a much more likable CI Carson. Hamish is finally recognized for his skills as an investigator and if he isn't careful, might just find himself promoted!

I listened to the audiobook read by Graeme Malcolm who, as always, is absolutely wonderful with these books! I love his accent and am looking forward to many more hours of enjoyment as he narrates other Hamish books!

Overall, this is a wonderful book in a wonderful series! You won't go wrong with them!! :)

The Martian Chronicles - Ray Bradbury

The Martian Chronicles
By: Ray Bradbury
Published: 1950
Audiobook Read by: Scott Brick
My rating: Interesting







If you've followed me for a while you may have seen that I was totally blown away by Ray's book Fahrenheit 451. I decided to try some of his other work and being a Science Fiction nut I thought I'd go for this one. I must say, it was very odd and not at all what I expected!

We all know that Martians are little green men with six arms and eleven eyes looking all around them at once, don't we? Well, maybe not after we reach the age of 12 but definitely before that we are enamored by daydreams of what a Martian might be like. Ray has painted a picture that flies in the face of any imagining I ever had of Martians by his portrayal of them as quiet, cultured beings of grace and beauty. As the story progresses we see the impact of human colonization on Mars and how in a very short time we as humans manage to ruin thousands of years of culture and replace it with our own warped morals and misguided opinions! Each new wave of explorers, adventurers, and settlers brings with it more and more of the disintegrating culture of Earth which is exactly what many of them are trying to escape! In the end, they find that no matter how hard they try to escape, there is nothing they can do. The destruction will follow them and pull them back every time!

This was a study of the decline of our societies and a picture of the destructive path we, as a race, are walking. Ray is attempting to show the error of our ways in this book and points out the fact that running from it won't do anything but spread the poison of arrogance we seem to be so prone to. As far as a plot goes, the story on it's surface is mildly entertaining at best, but looking deeper is pretty dark and disturbing. I found the technology amusing since it is based around 1950s ideas and is often behind today's advances instead of being innovative as I'm sure it was when Ray was writing this. The book's message is quite clear and just as relevant today as it was 60 years ago; We as a race are heading for a destruction of our own making!

I listened to the audiobook read by Scott Brick. I have enjoyed his work on other books but this one was a little disappointing for me. He used a very melancholy voice and it kind of droned on and on in a sing song style that I didn't enjoy very much.

Overall this was an interesting book just for the odd ideas of space travel and what Mars might be like but it isn't something I would rush out to get by any means.

Jesus Wept

John 11:35 says:
"Jesus Wept."
That's it, just two little words. The shortest verse in the entire Bible but when you stop to think about it, it is loaded with wonderful meaning!

Let me set the scene for you. Jesus has arrived in Bethany after hearing that Lazarus has died. Martha and Mary have both told Him that if He had been there, their brother would not have died. Jesus, seeing their tears, is deeply moved and sheds tears Himself.

Now, a couple of things cross my mind as I think about this:

1. If you look back to verse 11 you see that Jesus tells his disciples that "our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up." (NIV) Jesus knew He was going to raise him from the dead!
2. If you go back farther to verse 6 you see that Jesus intentionally waited two days before He set out for Bethany. He knew Lazarus was going to die and was not in a hurry to get there because He was planning to perform miraculous works to bring glory to God.

So I have to wonder, if Jesus knew He would be raising Lazarus from the dead then why did he weep? If I was an all powerful being with the ability to perform any miracle in the book I'd be feeling smug and thinking, "they're in for a big surprise when they see what I've got planned!"

So why did Jesus weep?

Here's what I think: Jesus loves us so much that even though He knows He is going to take care of all our problems and see us through all of our trials and tribulations, He still feels our pain when we hurt. When we feel like our heart is breaking, His heart is breaking too. When we fall down and get hurt on the road of life, He hurts right along with us!

He is all powerful God with unlimited power and authority to create or destroy universes yet he will put His loving arms around us and cry right along with us until the pain is gone. He is our best friend and like a true friend, He is never going to turn His back on us when we are down!

So the next time you feel alone and imagine that nobody cares or understands what you are going through, remember this little verse, and know that Jesus is by your side, matching you tear for tear as His heart aches with the pain you are going through! But unlike any earthly friend we have, He is also able to carry us through that pain if we just put our lives in His capable hands.

The Vile Village - Lemony Snicket

The Vile Village
By: Lemony Snicket
Published: 2001
Audiobook Read by: Tim Curry
My rating: Delightful








Rule # 72,319 clearly states: "No orphan with the name of Baudelaire may have anything good happen to them."

It's a good thing the Baudelaires are experiencing so many unfortunate events because the penalty for breaking the rules in the Village of Foul Devotees (VFD for short) is burning at the stake! Of course with so many rules to follow it is a given that eventually they will break one of them, so burning at the stake is virtually inevitable! The children find themselves in this distasteful village through a new government program for orphans that follows the motto: "It takes a village to raise a child." Unfortunately, VFD has a different definition for "raising a child" and Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are subjected to yet another round of misery! Of course this misery includes Count Olaf in his most ridiculous disguise yet as well as having to do a lot of chores. The only bright spots in this new experience are their new friend, the town handyman, Hector, and the discovery that the Quagmire triplets are right there in VFD waiting to be rescued! I think we all know by now that nothing will go right for children but we also know that nothing will stop them from trying!!

This was another fun book for us filled with all kinds of interesting albeit improbable events. I love the imagination that went into this series. I have to laugh at the completely far-fetched ideas the children come up with that in real life wouldn't even come close to working but for them succeed perfectly! There should be a warning on these books that says, "Do not try these things at home, they WON'T work!!" Don't get me wrong, I love the craziness in these stories, that is why I keep listening to them!! :)

We listened to the audiobook read by Tim Curry. What can I say that I haven't already said? Tim is the absolute perfect choice for these books! We love him!!

Overall, this 7th book was just as good as the rest. I have been impressed by the consistent quality of the series and am looking forward to the rest of them!!

Soulless - Gail Carriger

Soulless
By: Gail Carriger
Published: 2009
Audiobook Read by: Emily Gray
My rating: SPECTACULAR









Here is another book that my friend Valerie recommended and has stood up to that recommendation very well for me! I absolutely loved it! Thank you so much, Valerie!!

Alexia Tarabotti is your average spinster in the making. Already 26 years old with a very plain face, a very forward and assertive personality, and worst of all, an Italian father, she has accepted her fate as gracefully as possible. Yes, Alexia is a very average, quite uninteresting girl, unless you count the fact that she has no soul!

Now, everybody knows that vampires and werewolves are generally well behaved individuals who despite one or two eccentricities are respectable citizens. Imagine Alexia's surprise then, when for no apparent reason she is attacked by a vampire at a party and is forced to defend herself in a most unladylike manner. Good thing she carries her trusty parasol everywhere isn't it? Unfortunate that she killed the poor fellow, though, she really hadn't meant to but now, one of her best wooden hair pins is absolutely ruined! Well, when Lord Maccon of the Bureau of Unnatural Registry shows up to investigate she really is inconvenienced! Despite being a very well put together specimen, and despite his two hundred or so years of experience, and despite being the Alpha of the Wolsey Castle werewolf pack, Alexia just can't abide him! Everyone knows that the Scottish are such neanderthals and behave in such uncivilized ways, can you just imagine, wearing a smoking jacket to dinner! No self-respecting lady in London society would be caught dead with a Scottish werewolf and here she is, forced to spend an entire evening with him!

Well, it turns out that insane vampires are just the tip of the iceberg. Had Alexia known that killing that one vampire was going to force her to spend so much time with that repulsive Lord Maccon, she just might have let him bite her instead! It might have been fun to see what would have happened, her being soulless and all. Oh well, whats done is done and now she is in a whirlwind of scandalous activities, trying to uncover the truth about the strange events that are wreaking havoc on her social standing! And to make matters worse, that beastly Lord Maccon can't keep his paws to himself! Well...maybe it isn't making things worse, but really, why does he have to be Scottish?

This was a very fun book! I love the way Gail has created a world where the supernatural and natural mix in polite society. All the way through there are hilarious references to fashion and polite behavior that clash most absurdly with the typical thinking on werewolves and vampires! The mystery is well thought out as well but not so deep as to require you to focus on it. The story of Alexia's personal life is very entertaining as well! It's a beautifully written work that blends the best of proper fashion and etiquette of 19th century London with the mystical world of the supernatural and adds in a great big heaping helping of fun! There is a healthy amount of romance and some sexual situations but they are tastefully written and though a bit explicit at times, were not offensive to me and even added to the fun most of the time.

I listened to the audiobook read by Emily Gray. Emily was wonderful and I loved her performance. She isn't the best at doing a male voice with an American accent but I think that added some to the fun of her performance!

Overall, this is a SPECTACULAR book. If you like vampires and werewolves dressed in stylish waistcoats and cravats, you'll love this book!

Still Life - Louise Penny

Still Life
By: Louise Penny
Published: 2005
Audiobook Read by: Ralph Cosham
My rating: SPECTACULAR








This is yet another book that came to my attention through the wonderful reviews of my friend Sam. I am so glad to have found Louise Penny and her wonderful Chief Inspector Armand Gamache!

Armand Gamache loves his job and is well loved by those who work with him. When he is called out to investigate the suspicious death of an elderly retired school teacher in Three Pines, a town so small he can't seem to find it on his map, he has no idea of what a truly strange case it will turn out to be. Despite a surprisingly annoying rookie on his team they all work flawlessly together to uncover the truth about this death. As he leads his team in the investigation he begins to fall in love with this little lost village and the people who live there. Sitting alone in the early morning, he watches the town awake and realizes that there really are wonderful places of peace and tranquility left in the world. As long as you don't let a little matter of murder bother you!

I absolutely loved this book! Thank you so much, Sam, for turning me on to it! I loved Inspector Gamache. He is a wonderful person, full of kindness and compassion, ready to go the extra mile for those around him. So often, authors feel the need to make their detectives eccentric at the least and often arrogant and egotistical. Louise has given us a very different kind of detective, one who values the opinions of his team and is willing to listen to anyone who seeks his attention. He truly cares about the victim and those left behind and would never consider dehumanizing the crime.

The mystery itself was very engaging and kept me guessing all the way through. I loved how each new development was revealed to me just as it was found without trying to keep the mystery more mysterious! Louise has a style that keeps the story moving along nicely, throws in a pleasant smattering of humor, and provides characters that are very realistic and easy to relate to.

I listened to the audiobook read by Ralph Cosham. Ralph gave a bit of a monotone performance when it came to the narrative itself but did a pretty good job on the voices. Not my favorite reader but I won't hesitate to listen to other books he does.

Overall, I highly recommend this book! If you like a good mystery with a highly intelligent detective on the case, you'll love it!