Family

I am thankful that I have such an amazing family.

Sunday was my fathers birthday, we lost him in 2007 and still miss him very much. We all have our way of honoring him whether it be pancakes for breaffast (yes i meant breaf not break), cherry pie, or a shot of crappy Canadian whiskey. I was lucky to get to see a lot of my siblings because we had a baby shower for my niece Z! This will be our third grand niece! Medora and her lovely partner have adorable twin girls!

Being among my brothers and sisters I can see so much of my Father. His humor - I think most of us at one time or another sing silly made up songs. His integrity - We all strive to be good people. His love of family- There were 3 generations at this baby shower all interacting with each other.

I know I can call anyone of my 8 siblings at anytime, for that matter anyone of my wonderful nieces or nephews. I wish that all the grandkids had gotten to know him better but I believe that older ones will share stories as well as us siblings. He was very important to all of us and taught us so much about being a good person.

Though each year it gets a little easier, I still find myself hit by this loss at unique times. Occasionally its watching my nieces or nephews do something or seeing him in my brothers as they talk. I was hit deeply by losing my Mother and my Fathers passing came too soon after. I count myself lucky to have had such wonderful parents and that they created this marvelous crazy family. I have 14 nieces and nephews and soon 3 great nieces, 8 siblings, 6 in laws and many cousins and friends!

My Father rarely was without a smile. He was the one who inspires me to Keep Smiling!

Keep Smiling!

Year of books..

I have decided to try an dread 50 books this year, spurred on by my librarian nice Madeline. I have always liked to read but the last few years I do it in streaks. It sort of is one of those things like workouts that you have to just schedule doing. The more you do it the more you want to do it.
My brother Greg probably easily reads 50 books a year. He is a voracious reader and loves to collect books. Aside from visiting my family my next favorite thing to do when I go to Fargo Moorhead is look at his book collection. He is extremely generous with his books and often loans special ones to me. He also sells books (a rarity now a days) so he often gets books from publishers. I try my best to but books from him whenever I visit. Since we no longer have the great Hungry Mind (Ruminator) in St Paul I go to the Common good bookstore(G Keillor owner). I will never order a book from Amazon and I will never use a e reader. I love the feel of books in my hand. You can't write in the margins of ebooks or fold back pages to mark great passages.

I am already a bit behind but I just finished my 4th book.
1 Absolutely true Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Sherman Alexie illustrated by Ellen Forney
Loved this book! Sherman is a great story teller and the comics added to the humor. Though the book does have some tough moments it is a hopeful and uplifting tale.

2 Empire Falls Richard Russo
The book is a Pulitzer Prize winner. While it is a good book it really never drew me in til the last couple chapters. I didn't connect with any of the characters and found them too passive. I was glad to finish it.

3.Red convertible Louise Erdich
Short stories Overall this was good and I like mixing in a book of short stories once in a while. I have a love hate relationship with Louise Erdich. There were a couple stories that just stuck in my head with their colorful strangeness and a few others that I couldn't wait to finish. Most of the stories had been published previously in magazines or collections.

4. Stolen Horses Dan Obrien
Dan is a friend of mine and I have always loved his books, most of which are nonfiction. This book takes place in a small Nebraska town that has evolved from a shrinking ranch town to a growing boutique town of transplanted west coasters. I enjoyed this book because of the detailed descriptions of the land and elements. I am a huge fan of hunting dogs and there are several passages describing one working a field. I felt like Dan portrayed the beauty of a dog doing what it loves.

I have pulled a book from my shelf to read next its older and I have had it for a while. Reservations Recommended by Eric Kraft who wrote an old favorite Herb n'Lorna.

Feel free to give me some recommendations.

Keep Smilin'