Tidy Tidbits: Lost, Missing, Unforgotten

READING—SIOUX REVOLT IN THE WEST The Lost Wife by Susanna Moore This spare historical novel focuses on events leading up to the Sioux Uprising of 1862.  It is loosely based on a memoir by Sarah Wakefield who with her children was held captive for six weeks by the Sioux Indians.  In The Lost Wife, Sarah Butts, later Brinton, leaves an …

Tidy Tidbits: Reading & Viewing

RECENT READING Women in Sunlight by Frances Mayes With the publication in 1996 of Under the Tuscan Sun, Frances Mayes shone a spotlight on one of the lovely Italian hill towns in Tuscany.  Since then, “her” town of Cortona has become a tourist attraction, and she has milked the area and her life there for several other nonfiction …

Home in Florida: Book Notes

HOME FROM ITALY Our trip to Italy (Rome, Tuscany, and Umbria), was a wonderful break from our real world.  Lots of historic art and architecture, charming hill towns, more pasta, pizza, and bruschette than one should consume, dense crowds in Rome and Florence, great traveling companions, and a wealth of new places to discover.  After a week …

Tidy Tidbits: Book of the Week

FAMILY TIME Last week, the Chief Penguin and I spent several days in North Carolina.  The primary reason was to attend my niece’s wedding in Durham.  This was also a rare opportunity for a family gathering. Two young nieces participated as flower girls and loved their flower wands!  My three siblings and spouses were there as well …