I keep a reading log in a generic, unexciting composition book. In the past I have tried to keep a reading journal with quotes and an analysis of each book, but it started to feel too much like a tedious school chore. Now I write the book title and author's name. This year I wanted to read books from around the world, so I noted what country the book was from. That way it was easy to review the list and see what place I wanted to focus on next. Just having the title and author written down is helpful to me, because if I want to recommend a book to someone, I can do a quick review of the list to jog my memory about the title and author. Also, it helps me have a better idea about how much I'm actually reading during the course of a year. I do sometimes run across a quote I want to remember, so I've been writing those down in a document on my computer. Easier for me to search and find that way.

Purple Hibiscus, by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche. The River Between, by Ngugi wa Thiong'o. This Kenyan author has written a lot of other books too. The Dark Child, an autobiography by Camara Laye about growing up in western Africa. Guinea, I think. Songs from the River's Edge: Stories from a Bangladeshi Village, by Katie Gardner. Written by an outsider, but the author actually spent several months immersed in village life. It was a very detailed account of life and attitudes in rural Bangladesh, at least as it existed in the 1980s. Animal's People, by Indra Sinha. This novel is about a young man who suffers from physical deformities as the result of a Bhopal-type disaster. There is a lot of sadness here, but also a lot of love and devotion among the characters. This book may be a bit more gritty than what the original poster was looking for. I'm just mentioning it because even though it has been a few years since I read this, bits from the book still pop into my mind from time to time. The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney. This book is for kids, probably intended for about middle grade readers, but worth reading by anyone. The story takes place in Sudan. The Queen of Water by Laura Resau and Maria Virginia Faranango. About an indigenous girl from Ecuador. I believe the story is fictional, but it was based on the life of Ms. Faranango. Maybe these are all rather heavy, but I thought they were worthwhile for the window they offered into the lives of others. I love the No. 1 Ladies' Detective stories too. The author is from Scotland I think, but he did live in Botswana for quite a while. These aren't particularly mysterious mysteries, but it is like meeting up with old friends every time a new installment comes out.

Home Fires. It was a British series set in WWII. The 2nd season ended in a cliffhanger when an airplane crashed into the village. It would have been nice to know what happened to everyone by the end of the war.

I'm learning Esperanto. Not just to read, but hopefully to get to the point where I could correspond with someone in Esperanto one day. I'm a pretty extreme introvert, and I guess I'd rather write to people than actually talk to them! The grammar in Esperanto is relatively simple. I plod away at Spanish too, but not in any organized kind of way. I've definitely expanded my Spanish vocabulary and have read some kid-level books, but I would have a long way to go before I could say I really had any meaningful level of mastery in Spanish.

My dad was from Nebraska and he salted his melon, but then he salted his beer too, so I thought it was just a quirky thing he had about salt. Didn't realize so many other people liked to put salt on their watermelon!

I haven't been on the boards much lately, but just checked in today and saw this. Even though I only know you from your posts here, Rosie, this news made me go all teary. Big cyber-hugs to you!

I would probably cook it too, unless it smelled funky. Agreeing with a previous poster though that I would probably cook it more toward the well-done end. Sometimes when I have had freezer-burned or questionable meat, I have cooked it really long in the crockpot and mixed it up with kibbles for the dog. The dog loves this and hasn't keeled over yet! If you think it is too iffy for human consumption, you might try doing that if you have a dog, or give it to someone who does.

I used to buy appliances from Sears, but not any more. I had a dryer they could not seem to fix. When we moved we ordered a refrigerator from Sears. I gave the salesman our new address, then called customer service to make sure my account was updated with the new address, gave them directions, cross-streets, etc for the new house. The delivery person wen to the old address and never bothered calling my phone number (which was the same). I didn't find this out until later in the day when I called to see what was up with the delivery. After the fridge did finally arrive at the new address, there was something wrong with it. Sears couldn't even give me a half day block of time when the repair person could come out. I just had to be available for them the entire day and of course, they didn't show up until late in the day. I just got disgusted with Sears. I don't buy anything there any more. I think there are repair places that are more responsive than Sears. Ask around locally. A contractor friend recommended an appliance repair place in town and they were at my house within an hour of when I called about a problem. Sometimes parts need to be ordered, but that seems like a really long time to be without a stove.

I experimented with wearing makeup as a young adult, but I've just never had much interest in it. I'd rather spend my money and time on other things.

My dd was getting ahead of my ability to help her with higher level science. I started to put together a plan for high school chemistry but she ended up taking it at our local high school while we were still homeschooling. Honestly, I think she learned much more taking it at the school than she would have in doing chemistry at home. She liked the class interaction, all the lab equipment that we couldn't afford, and she was able to get a lot of help from her teacher outside of class. I'm more of a lit and history person and I don't think I would have been able to answer all her chemistry questions, at least not as well as her teacher did. She decided to just go full-time to public high school her junior year. Some of her classes there also give her college credit - at no cost, which is a big deal for us since her dad is disabled and my job is not full-time. Also, in the upper grades, the kids in the more advanced classes tend to be more dedicated students, at least that seems true at her school. She has had no problem finding like-minded nerdy friends. The other thing is, my dd worked much harder for someone who isn't me. We were fine during middle school, but as she got older she was becoming more stubborn at times about getting her homeschool work done. Her being at school lessened the tension between us and I think she's learned things and had experiences that I could not have provided for her.

My daughter started reading this book at 11 or 12 and couldn't get into it. I had her try it again at 14. At that point she blazed through it and regards it as one of her all-time favorites. If your 11 year old is feeling ambivalent about it, I'd put it away and bring it out again in a couple years. I felt like this was one of the most worthwhile books we've read, but it is a bit heavy and not every kid is ready for that at 11. Definitely save it for when they are ready.

When my dd was attending public school they were cutting back on P.E. classes, as well as on recess time at her elementary school. Not sure when those poor public school children were getting all their exercise. An acquaintance of ours has commented to us (more than once) how dd is at a disadvantage because she won't be able to learn how to deal with bullies. Apparently bullies don't exist in the real world -- only at school. Perhaps school bullies should organize and try to get some compensation for providing this valuable public service to school kids.

I try to brush my dog's teeth every night. When I forget I give his teeth a good brushing the next morning. My last three dogs have been greyhounds and they seem to be more prone to bad teeth than other breeds I've had. One of my greyhounds had truly rotten teeth no matter how often I tried to brush them. She was not a fan of chewy toys though either, so maybe that was the difference. My current dog has never loved getting his teeth brushed, but so far they continue to look pretty good and his gums are not red, so I think it is helping to make that daily effort.

I think some kind of alcohol is usually available at evening social events in my circle of friends, but booze is not the center-piece of the get-together. Some people drink and some don't. No one is pressured to participate in the alcohol consumption. I have a couple friends who have been known to get rather tipsy, but they both have husbands who don't drink, so nobody is driving home inebriated. My husband's family is Mormon, so there's no alcohol at those events.

I don't know either. This didn't work for me, but then my ex unilaterally decided he wasn't going to work so I admit I had rather a bad attitude about it. He wasn't doing the typical homemaker stuff either, so there was plenty of resentment. My current husband had some friends in another state who had reversed roles and it did seem to work for them. Wife was highly successful in her field, so money was not an issue. The husband did eventually go back to work after the kids got older. I do think some people can work this out. Since we are talking about daughters here, I hope if mine ever hears the words "kept man" uttered by any guy she is seeing that she will immediately head for the hills and not turn back.