Friday’s Tale: Bluebeard

by Carol7 Comments
I had never really thought of "Bluebeard" as a fairy tale, but it does have a bit of magic, and it was included in Andrew Lang's Blue Fairy Book, which is the version I read. Lang in turn gives his source as Charles Perrault who first published the story in 1697. Bluebeard was a very rich man who was considered ugly due to his blue beard, an unnatural color. He has a neighbor with two beautiful daughters, but neither will marry him, not only because of his blue beard, but also because he has been married several times before and no one knew what had become of the women. Bluebeard takes the two young women, their mother and several of their friends to his country house for a week, where they did nothing but have parties, hunt, fish, dance and eat. It was a delightful week and the younger of the sisters decided that perhaps Bluebeard was nice man and did marry...
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Light

by Carol9 Comments
It has been cold and dreary this week. I'm sick of it. It just doesn't feel like April, or maybe it does and I only think April should be warmer. It's supposed to get up into the 60s and 70s later this week, though, which will make me happy. I was driving around Tuesday morning. It was gray and rainy, but McConnell's field looked so green, no cows yet, but it looked ready for the new season. Above it, there was a break in the clouds, letting some light blue sky shine through and it just seemed really pretty to me. The photo was taken through my car window. I did pull off to the side of the road, but my windows are broken and won't roll down, and I didn't want to actually get out of the car. It was cold, remember?...
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Review: Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie dePaola

by Carol1 Comment
(Suggested age range: 3 - 1st grade) I have to take a stack of books back to the library tomorrow, and as I was putting them in the car, I ran across this one. I read it several weeks ago, not long after St. Patrick's Day, but just never got around to posting any comments. To be honest, I tend to really like dePaola's books, but this one was just okay. The illustrations are his usual delightful, colorful, homespun style, but the story didn't charm me. Jamie O'Rourke is lazy, period. His wife does all the work around the house and in the garden until she hurts her back and is laid up. Jamie is sure he'll starve to death with his wife unable to get out of bed. Instead he stumbles across a leprechaun and catches him. The leprechaun talks Jamie out of taking the gold, and instead gives him a seed that is guaranteed to grow into the biggest potato in...
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Teaser from Caught by Harlan Coben

by Carol9 Comments
"Am I missing something?" she asked. "Like I said before." Grayson tossed the cigarette and never broke stride. "You don't have a clue." (pg. 212, Caught by Harlan Coben) Hopefully I'll have a review for this one up sometime in the next few days. Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along. The rules are easy and I only cheated a little. Grab your current read, open to a random page, and give us two teaser sentences. Remember, no spoilers. I borrowed my copy from the library....
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Short Story Monday: The Making of Mac’s by P. G. Wodehouse

by Carol5 Comments
"The Making of Mac's" by P. G. Wodehouse is a short story that made me smile. Mac's restaurant in Soho is popular, despite a lack of advertising and it being off the beaten track. The narrator learns that the head-waiter, Henry, had been at the restaurant since the beginning and asks Henry to tell him what gave the restaurant its start. Henry tells of Old Mr. MacFarland who started the restaurant, but died leaving a college-aged son, Andy, and adopted daughter, Katie. Andy comes home and takes over the restaurant, but shortly after Katie announces that she is going to dance on the stage. Andy forbids her, but she tells him good-bye and pursues her dream. She's a success and starts to bring the theater crowd to the restaurant for dinner in the evening, even though Andy totally ignores her. Mac's chef is delighted with the rush and cooks delicious food for them; Henry and his waiters provide excellent service; the...
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