Weather in the Tries:

This next week highs will go from 45 to 57, with lows from 27 to 43. We’ll start the week with patchy freezing fog. Can you say, “Black Ice”?  I’m sure we’ll get drizzle, a few drops of rain, and sunshine. Thursday will be 50 with a chance of rain—a good temp to avoid, stay in, and eat. 😉

Auntie Lenora’s Bookstore:

I decided to start a new feature this week: Auntie Lenora’s Bookstore. Come in, browse around, bring your cuppa, bring your snacks, buy books. Auntie Lenora’s Bookstore is never closed. Are you a night owl? The store is open at 2am. You can even come in your jammies. 😉 (please be quiet, ok? Auntie Lenora is a light sleeper.)

As you probably know, I have many friends who also write, and since the Winter Solstice, by whatever name you call it, is coming (oddly, it comes at the same time every year), I thought I’d give you some ideas for Solstice Gifts. Of course, they are books. I put a call out to the writers on my list and have some nice responses which you will see below. If you have a book you’d like to show, feel free to contact me. I see no reason why Auntie can’t operate her bookstore whenever a new book arrives, do you? 😉

My contribution to the National Day of Gluttony:

I’ve been invited to a friend’s home for dinner this coming Thursday. Because I have a sweet tooth, I am taking dessert. I am taking The BEST Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake in a 9×13 pan with a gingersnap crust and Plimoth Plantation’s Slow Cooker Indian Pudding. It isn’t as sweet as the cheesecake, I will have enough bourbon sauce for cheesecake and pudding, as well as enough whipped cream for both, so people can have their choice of toppings. I thought the Indian Pudding would be a nice tribute to the indigenous people, but guess what? It was made by the Pilgrims. They didn’t have as good a supply of wheat flour, so couldn’t make their beloved Hasty Pudding so they they used the local ingredients, cornmeal, and improvised. Yummmmm. Unfortunately, they didn’t go home when the meal was over, and are still here today. Since the uniform of the day is blue jeans and tee shirts, I’m going to wear my pink tee bought special for this occasion. 

My neighbor is doing turkey and dressing, and oh, does he do them well! Yummmmmm. And I know what his secret ingredient is. Between the turkey and dressing and desserts, Auntie Lenora will not go hungry. Honest. Trust me. And someone is bringing a pecan pie. No, Auntie Lenora will not leave the table hungry. Have you ever heard of the Groaning Board? There shall be one on Thursday to hold all our food.

Some more good news for a change: Oklahoma decided not to indulge in legal blood lust, and the Guv commuted Julius Jones sentence to life in prison. I do not believe in the death penalty, ever. Though I admit there was one man I wished dead and did not cry when he died in prison. In fact, he was trying to stay out of prison to die at home, but Fate and I intervened. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving chap. But, if states must have their blood lust, then why don’t they go back to the old-time bit of using a firing squad. It’s quick, and over before pain has a chance to register, unlike the modern methods of suffocating them in a gas chamber, boiling them in an electric chair, or burning them from the inside out with chemicals, or maybe or maybe not breaking their neck with a rope? At any rate, in this one case, Kudos to Oklahoma!

Entertainment:

TV: nada. Requires more concentration than I have at the moment. 

YouTube: I found a fascinating video, about an hour on Korean street food, primarily making dumplings, which I love. No talking, at least not much, and it’s in Hangul, so I couldn’t understand it anyhow (well, I did understand “Thank You,” (kam sa ham ni da) but that was all). Very entertaining. Makes me want to visit Korea. Not someday, but right now! Of all the Asian countries I’d like to visit—and I’d like to visit all, Korea is #1! I love dumplings and stuffed steamed breads (Hum Bao in Chinese).

Books: Remember, if I finish a book, I review it at: Rainy Day Reads

Their War —by Julie Pham, PhD. I saw Dr. Pham on a zoom discussion talk about her book and ordered a copy before the end of the show. It is primarily interviews with South Vietnamese military veterans and their recollections about the war and American participation. I found it fascinating to get their side of the story.

Started Murder at the Mission by Blaine Harden. A new history of Dr. Marcus and Narcissa Whitman and their mission near current day Walla Walla. A topic of fascination for years.

Also reading two books by Margaret Randall. One is poetry, Out of Violence into Poetry. The other is Thinking About Thinking — Not Quite Essays.

Got to a point in The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates where I had to stop. Pretty intense, especially considering Jim’s passing. I’ll get back to it. It is beautifully written and his debut novel.

Books require concentration, too, but easier to go back a page or three to reread.

Music: Have you heard The HU? They are a Mongolian heavy metal band, and a lot of fun. I love Wolf Totem and there are English lyrics. Surely there is a Native American heavy metal group out there someplace. I think it would be great fun to have a video of HU and Lakota meeting. They also incorporate the Mongolian throat singing into their music. There is another group, Hanggai, that plays more traditional rock and Mongolian fused together that I was just introduced to.

Auntie Lenora’s Bookstore:

If you have a book you’d like promoted here, please let me know. You may email me at my personal email, or use the Contact Me form if you don’t have it.

by Diane Helentjaris:

Poems of forging an American life. In 1910 Anastasius, in defiance of his father, immigrates from Greece to the United States. Diaspora speaks powerfully of the aftermath. Poverty, wars, miscommunications, new roles for women emerge. The family struggles to bridge the challenges of time and distance in the age before modern technology knit the world together. The word “diaspora” comes from the Greek term for “to scatter.” Today new immigrants scatter across the globe. Diane Helentjaris, in her debut chapbook, shares the story of one of the many immigrants who went before them. Poetry lovers – teens and adults – with an interest in family, justice, immigration, women’s history, and modern Greece will enjoy this strongly themed collection.

Here’s one of the five star reviews:

This year, 2021, is the bicentennial of the Greek War of Independence, and what better way to celebrate it than with poetry about Greece.

These poems touched me to the core, and I enjoyed reading every one of them! They evoked strong images in my mind of the poet’s Greek past, as she shares nostalgic memories of her family members. Each person in the poems felt so alive.

ASIN: ‎ B08YXZDLQ

ISBN:   9798721584541

Diaspora is available on Amazon as a paperback or in an electronic version (Kindle). Signed copies are available for $10 which includes shipping and handling.  To buy a signed copy, message me through my website www.dianehelentjaris.com. 

by Mark Fleisher:

Each book is $15 plus $3 for s/h if ordered from me (signed copies, of course). The books are also available from the giant behemoth retailer whose name is that of a very major South American river. Copies will not be signed — unless Jeff Bezos is available.

Reflections: Soundings from the Deep

ISBN: 9781940769905

“Narratives weaving no-nonsense poetry and prose tales while at times throwing readers a stream-of-consciousness curveball.”

Intersections: Poems from the Crossroads 

ISBN: 9781940769547

“Hammers home the futility of war while tenderly exploring family and relationships with a lyrical, image-filled style.”

Moments of Time

ISBN: 9781940769295

“Recalling youthful years in New York City, the horrific inhumanity of Vietnam, a major personal loss, and finding new life in an unfamiliar place.”

Mark’s emails are: markfleisher111@gmail.com & markflleisher333@gmail.com

by Mary Freericks:

I have an M.F.A. in poetry from Columbia University.

I have four volumes of poetry memoirs.  They are self-published and available on Amazon.

 “Blue Watermelon,” “Cheer for Freedom,” “Furs for a Vegetarian,” and “Green Eyes.” The last two were published 2020. 

“Furs for a Vegetarian” focuses on her artist mother, Sonia Avakian, who studied with Kandinsky in Moscow. She escaped starvation and the communists through marriage and her move to Iran. After Papa’s unexpected death she took a Victory Ship with her two sons and daughter to the U.S.A. 

Price:  $15 paper back plus shipping of $4.00 if ordered from Mary.

ISBN: 978169385512.

“Green Eyes” is a love story set on the East Coast joining together of an American-German heritage civil engineer with an Armenian-Russian graduate in the arts. They share love, raise sons, travel, till tragedy strikes. The poetry is joyful, sensual, heart rending.

Price: $15 paper back plus shipping of $4.00 if ordered from Mary.

ISBN: 9798649872775

If you would like a signed copy please contact Mary at maryfreericks@yahoo.com

I think it goes without saying but all prices above and shipping/handling are for the USA. If you live overseas and would like a copy, you can probably order it from that certain large company named after a rather large South American river–and get it from your country or area.–Auntie Lenora

Quotes of the Week: 

“You see, bookshops are dreams built of wood and paper. They are time travel and escape and knowledge and power. They are, simply put, the best of places.” —Jen Campbell

“I love walking into a bookstore. It’s like all my friends are sitting on shelves, waving their pages at me.” —Tahereh Mafi

And there it is. Another week come, another week gone, another Coffee Break Escape, and the Winter Solstice (and all the marvelous holidays associated with it) gets closer and closer–you know, like it does every year. Sammy Brave Dog is ignoring the whole thing. He really prefers foods on time and a warm bed to snuggle in. He’s happy.