Quote for the week

Quote from "Before We Were Yours"

The love of sisters needs no words.  It does not depend on memories or mementos as proof.  It runs as deep as a heartbeat.  It is as ever present as a pulse.

Disney Princesses Reimagined

This morning's Houston Chronicle had a delightful article in the Zest section.  Graphic artist Matt Burt of Simple Thrifty Living has reimagined 13 Disney princesses as successful career women.  Snow White, pictured above, is a psychologist who uses the names of the seven dwarfs to pinpoint her clients' emotions.  "Feeling Grumpy today?  Let's talk about it."  Elsa and Anna are climate scientists.  No surprise there.  Rapunzel is a neurologist.  I love it.  These women can have their princes and careers too.  Why not?

What would you guess are the chosen careers of Belle, Ariel, Cinderella and the others?  To find out, Google Matt Burt.  Enjoy!

Mah Jongg

I am learning to play Mah Jongg.  I've even surprised myself--I've never had any desire or frankly any time  to learn this game, but everyone in my bi-weekly lunch group plays after lunch.  Some people play several times a week; some play almost every day. I've decided maybe I should play, too.

My mother had a Mah Jongg set and sometimes she and my sister and I would play a few hands.  Usually my sister won.  She still plays Mah Jongg and I imagine she still wins.

Because of that experience X number of years ago, I was somewhat familiar with the various tiles, but everything else about the game was lost in dim memory.  So I'm learning all over again.  Last week I sat in on my friends' game.  A few days later a fellow resident loaned me her old set.  I've ordered a card, a book on Mah Jongg for beginners and signed up at a website called Mah Jongg Mentor.  

Will I like the game?  Who knows?  Will I be a good player?  Again, who knows?  But it seems like a good idea.  We'll see.  Maybe when my sister and I are on vacation together next month, she will give me some tips...but that might cut into our vacation Scrabble tournament.

I will post again next month on the progress of my Mah Jongg journey.  

Books of May

Summer isn't even here but May was summery, too summery, so what better way to beat the heat than to stay in a nice air-conditioned space and read?  I'm still reading parts of long books so I only finished two books in May.  Here they are:

God Save Texas:  A Journey into the Soul of the Lone Star State
Pulitzer Prize winning author (The Looming Tower) Lawrence Wright takes readers on a journey through Texas, from the biggest cities to desert-like West Texas.  He says Texas is really two states:  AM Texas and FM Texas.  Find out which you live in by reading this enjoyable book.  Maybe you have to be a native Texan like me to really, really enjoy it, but anyway, give it a try.


Brother of the More Famous Jack
A book group selection.  The heroine is taking a course in philosophy when she happens to visit the quirky family of her philosophy prof. She becomes a frequent guest there, falls in love with the oldest son and the story goes on from there, from her years in Italy, her return to England and so on.  I personally didn't care for the book.  I found the family not just quirky but rude.  If my children spoke to me the way these kids speak to their parents, I'd put them out for adoption.