Another Good Read: This Time Tomorrow

If it seems like my blog has become a lot of book recommendations, I’m sorry. I’m doing more reading than I have ever done. I suppose my desire to read comes and goes, but every book I have read lately has had something in the plot summary that peaked my interest. It’s been fun to read stuff from new authors, too.

I literally just finished This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub. She is not a “new” author in that she has written many other books. I did find it interesting to know that her and her husband own their own book store in Brooklyn, New York.

If you have followed my blog for any length of time, I have mentioned my love for time travel stories. The thought of being able to go back in time and visit some famous event or to the future is intriguing. The Back to the Future movies, The Twilight Zone, Time Tunnel, and even the short lived series Timeless will always be fun to watch.

This book has a bit of time travel in it (and coincidentally, so does my next read). Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

“What if you could take a vacation to your past?

With her celebrated humor, insight, and heart, beloved New York Times bestseller Emma Straub offers her own twist on traditional time travel tropes, and a different kind of love story.

On the eve of her 40th birthday, Alice’s life isn’t terrible. She likes her job, even if it isn’t exactly the one she expected. She’s happy with her apartment, her romantic status, her independence, and she adores her lifelong best friend. But her father is ailing, and it feels to her as if something is missing. When she wakes up the next morning she finds herself back in 1996, reliving her 16th birthday. But it isn’t just her adolescent body that shocks her, or seeing her high school crush, it’s her dad: the vital, charming, 40-something version of her father with whom she is reunited. Now armed with a new perspective on her own life and his, some past events take on new meaning. Is there anything that she would change if she could?“

What I love about the premise of the story is that even though she wakes up on her 16th birthday, she is very aware that she just turned 40. This is an important part of the story. It is kind of the “If I knew then what I know now” sort of thing. Tiny Spoiler Alert: There is a “Groundhog Day” feel to the story as she repeats the same day more than once. Knowing that won’t spoil too much for you.

The love story eluded to in the synopsis is not the ordinary love story. It is the love between a daughter and her father. That love is really what drives the story.

It really wound up being a thought provoking story. I could easily see this being something that would be a good Book Club read or even something that would make a great movie.

An Unwanted Headache

I’m going to beat myself up a bit. Why? Because I know better. I did a very dumb thing today. Here is my story.

Have you ever misplaced your cell phone? Sometimes you haven’t misplaced it, but the shot of total fear that you may have lost it will cause you to freak out. Right? I’ve done that countless times. Sheer panic! “Where’s my phone!?” You pat your pockets, look on the front seat of your car, pull laundry out of the washer (just in case it was still in a pocket of your jeans, etc. The panic is real. I only wish that it was my phone that I had misplaced, but it wasn’t. It was my wallet.

When I got out of work this morning, I was driving home and my wife had said the dog was up early to go outside. I told her that I would stop at Walmart on my way home and get one of those cables you can attach to her collar, so she could run out to the back yard without her having to stand there with her. I know that Walmart was the last place I had my wallet, because I did make the purchase and headed home.

Once I was home, I set up the cable and had the dog outside. I played with her a big and had her running around the backyard. I was throwing a ball for her to fetch and just playing around. Once she came inside, I took off my scrubs and went to bed.

Once I woke up, Sam told me that my new driver’s license had some in the mail. I opened the envelope and took it out. I had a cup of coffee. I looked where I normally put my wallet and it wasn’t there. So I figured I must have left it in the car. I took the dog outside with the kids. I looked in my car and it wasn’t there. When I came back inside, I checked my work bag and my lunch bag. Nothing. Now I started to panic even more.

By this time, it had been almost 8 hours since I was at Walmart. I tried to call there and the phone just rang and rang. I finally drove up there and asked if anyone had turned in a wallet. They asked a manager who came out (looking just thrilled to be there – NOT) and said that no one had turned in a wallet. She told me in a dull and drab voice that if it had been left in the store, an associate would usually be the one to find it and turn it in. If it was lost in the parking lot “it is probably gone.”

This poor excuse for a manager then told me that I was welcome to check all the trash cans in the parking lot near where I had parked and brushed me off. It was actually the gal at the service desk who offered to take my name and number in case someone did turn it in. For that, I was grateful.

We’ve tore the house apart. I have looked in my car more times than I want to count. I cannot find it. Deep down I know it is lost. I am such a dummy!

I have put locks on a couple of my credit cards and my bank debit cards. However, my FSA card is in there as well as another credit card I have never used. My old driver’s license, my health insurance cards, and much more. The biggest problem is – I don’t really know exactly what all was in there. There was no cash, but I am sure account numbers “rewards” cards from Bigbee, Tim Horton’s, etc.. were in there too. It just makes me vey angry.

Did I leave it at the self check out? Did it fall out of my pocket? Was a pick pocketed? I have no clue. I was probably too tired to know and obviously too tired to remember. My stomach is in knots just thinking about it.

I truly hope that if someone did find it (1) they didn’t throw it in a trashcan and (2) are honest enough to turn it in or drop it in a mailbox. Lord knows that the amount of honest people in the world is on the decline ….

Sigh. An honest person has it, right?

Thoughts on “The Maid”

I have an account on Goodreads. If you are looking for a book, they have many lists that you can browse. “Best books of the 20th Century,” “Best Thrillers of the Past Year,” “Books You Should Read at Least Once in Your Life,” Etc…

Every year they have a “Best of” list for the various genres and The Maid by Nita Prose was the winner for Best Mystery. I kept seeing it come up in my friend’s books as well, so I decided to have the library get me a copy.

I read this book in about 2 days. It was one that I enjoyed, but not everyone felt the way I did based on some of the reviews on Goodreads. Let me give you the synopsis and then I will explain.

From Goodreads:

Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.

Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.

But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?

A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.

Notice the first sentence? “Molly is not like everyone else.” I could tell right from the get go that this character might have been autistic. Some reviewers called her “neurodivergent.” This term was new to me. It means “differing in mental or neurological function from what is considered typical or normal (frequently used with reference to autism spectrum disorders); not neurotypical.”

The story is told from Molly’s perspective. The words “autistic” or “neurodivergent” are never mentioned. Molly is, well, Molly. She very well may be one of those things, but she never mentions it. The way she approaches the world, and her job is not in any way odd to her. To me, this is the biggest hang up that people had about the book. It didn’t bother me at all.

My oldest son is on the Autism Spectrum (Asperger’s). I know many people who are also on the spectrum. Because of the therapies and people I have come to know through Autism support groups and such, I found myself completely understanding how the character thought and how she reacted to situations. I didn’t find her odd in any way. As a matter of fact, her personality plays a key element to the story.

There were some surprises in the book and I found it to be a good read. It may not be for everyone, but I enjoyed it.

We’ve Gone to the Dogs!

We’ve talked about getting a dog for some time. Sam has always wanted a dog, but there were so many things that we needed to do first. We don’t have a fully fenced in yard, for example. We also were concerned with how the dog would react to the kids – not to mention our cat. We always knew that at some point, we’d be getting a dog. However, I don’t think either one of us thought it would be … well, today!

Here’s the scoop. Yesterday before Sam left for work, her sister texted. She asked if we would be interested in a four year old lab who is good with kids. The story behind this is that her friend’s daughter had diabetes and epilepsy. It was recommended that they get her a service dog. I guess the dogs didn’t really get along. So her owner wanted her to have a loving home.

Her owner said that if things don’t work out, she will gladly take her back and try to find a home for her. They obviously love this dog a lot. I think we both figured that it would be a trial run, but we knew pretty quickly that this will be her new home.

This is Maizy. Coincidentally, Maizey is also our cat’s name. She made herself at home after sniffing around a lot. The kids were MORE than excited to have a “puppy friend” of their own!

I guess by the look on my face, I was pretty excited, too.

The one thing I worry about is that when the kids are at my mother in law’s, they can lay on top of their golden retriever. They climb all over her and she takes every bit of it. I’m not sure Maizy will be as happy about it. So we have to tell the kids to be very careful with her and to use nice hands.

After she got used to all of us, we piled into the van and headed to PetSmart. We had to get food, food and water dishes, a lead for her to run around in the backyard until the fence goes in, and a pet bed. It was an expensive trip, but we expected that.

She is making herself at home and at one point curled up in front of me and fell asleep … and so did my leg!

The only one who is still not too sure about our newest family member is Maizey our cat. That hasn’t stopped her from sneaking up on her while she is asleep to check her out and make sure she is ok …

I laughed when I told Sam, “Well, one thing is for sure. We won’t have to worry about cleaning up food on the floor anymore ….”

We are all looking forward to having our new puppy friend living at our house!

Book Recommendation: Moonflower Murders

I just finished another of Anthony Horowitz’ books and I have come to really enjoy them. This is a follow up to The Magpie Murders, which has a similar premise. It’s a book – with a book inside. Does that make sense? It’s two murder mysteries for the price of one.

Here is the Amazon/Goodreads synopsis:

Retired publisher Susan Ryeland is living the good life. She is running a small hotel on a Greek island with her long-term boyfriend Andreas. It should be everything she’s always wanted. But is it? She’s exhausted with the responsibilities of making everything work on an island where nothing ever does, and truth be told she’s beginning to miss London.

And then the Trehearnes come to stay. The strange and mysterious story they tell, about an unfortunate murder that took place on the same day and in the same hotel in which their daughter was married—a picturesque inn on the Suffolk coast named Farlingaye Hall—fascinates Susan and piques her editor’s instincts. 

One of her former writers, the late Alan Conway, author of the fictional Magpie Murders, knew the murder victim—an advertising executive named Frank Parris—and once visited Farlingaye Hall. Conway based the third book in his detective series, Atticus Pund Takes the Case, on that very crime. 

The Trehearne’s, daughter, Cecily, read Conway’s mystery and believed the book proves that the man convicted of Parris’s murder—a Romanian immigrant who was the hotel’s handyman—is innocent. When the Trehearnes reveal that Cecily is now missing, Susan knows that she must return to England and find out what really happened.

Brilliantly clever, relentlessly suspenseful, full of twists that will keep readers guessing with each revelation and clue, Moonflower Murders is a deviously dark take on vintage English crime fiction from one of its greatest masterminds, Anthony Horowitz.  

When I read Magpie Murders the concept of the book within a book threw me. The way it all wrapped up was surprising and satisfying. With Moonflower Murders, it is very similar and it worked just as well. If there is a third book in this series, I will certainly be reading it.

Friday Photo Flashback

It’s been a few weeks since I have done one of these posts. I neglected to write about a pretty big event this week, so let’s go back 21 years ago.

My oldest son, Dante’, was born 21 years ago this week. It is so hard to believe that it has been that long. They say that when you have kids time moves a bit faster. I have four children now and I can tell you that the more kids you have, the faster the time goes!

This photo was taken at the hospital just after he was born. What is special about this picture is that my mom and my grandma are also in it. He was my mom’s first grandchild and my grandma’s first great grandchild.

My mom slept in the waiting room on very uncomfortable chairs waiting the arrival of my son. She refused to leave. We did not know the sex of the baby and mom was really sure it was going to be a girl. It didn’t matter that the baby was a boy, because she was madly in love with him at first glance!

She and my former mother in law were the first to see him. I was pushing him to our room in the rolling bassinette (seen above) accompanied by a nurse. My mom thought she saw me in the hall and the two of them ran to see. Sure enough, they both got a peak at their grandson.

I love the picture above because you can see the awe in my face. You can see the joy and curiosity in my mom’s face and the sheer happiness on my grandma’s face. I also love that my mom’s arm is around my grandma. The two of them didn’t always see eye to eye, but the birth of my son brought them together here.

Both mom and grandma have passed away. The short time that my mom got with my son gave her more strength as she fought those last years of her battle with breast cancer. No matter how much she hurt, no matter how sick she may have felt, she never passed up an opportunity to see him. He gave her a reason to fight harder. They had a very special bond.

All these years later, my son still speaks of her. I don’t think there has been a year that he doesn’t stop at the cemetery near her birthday or the anniversary of her passing. She would be SO proud of him.

I know I am very proud of him. He is officially a MAN now. I worked on his birthday, and I am hoping to be able to get together with him to share an official “toast” to him. I had to laugh because he went to Olive Garden on his birthday and he had his first glass of wine. I asked how he liked it. “Eh, it was ok. It was a bit much.” I told him, “Well, you can’t drink it like you drink milk or water, you have to sip it!” He told me, “Yeah, I found that out the hard way.”

Ella wanted to wish him a happy birthday and so we made sure to video chat with him on his birthday. She said, “You’re gonna be 21!” Dante’ reminded her that he was now 21 and she just repeated herself. She loves her big brothers.

It’s been quite a journey for him and he has come so far in his 21 years. He will continue to grow and mature. He is going to do great things. He is one of the kindest and loving people I know. He is funny and loves to laugh. I see a lot of me in him. Sometimes, when I hear him talking to me, I actually can see myself talking to my dad. It’s crazy.

21 years …. wow. Happy Birthday, son. I love you!

Phone Upgrade Headache

A while back, my phone’s screen cracked despite having one of those tempered glass screen protectors on it. I called Verizon and because I had insurance on it I was able to get a replacement. Sadly, the replacement they sent was a refurbished one that really never seemed to perform like the one I had.

Within the last couple months, it has been getting slower and slower. At times it would just turn itself off and reboot. It has a turbo charger on it, but lately that worked only sporadically. We really did not want to increase our cell phone bill any more, but the phone was becoming unreliable.

Knowing I needed to get a new phone, I did something I rarely do. I went online to the Verizon site and ordered a phone without seeing it first. I’m weird that way, I suppose. I want to hold it in my hand. I want to ask questions. I read a bunch of reviews and went off of those.

The phone arrived today and I began to set it up tonight. In the past, I have been able to just log back into my Google account and then restore from a back up. This time around however, we were running into trouble. Because the account was connected with my old phone, the set up wasn’t going like it should and I actually got blocked by my Google for too many attempts to get in.

I was able to go online and “chat” with an “expert” who walked me through countless things to try to get things rolling. Eventually, we were able to finish the set up. I called the phone and it rang. Text messages were coming through. It seems as though all my contacts are in place. The only thing that it didn’t do this time was load the apps that I had. So I had to go into the Play Store and reinstall them. Time consuming, but I got them all back.

The issue I am having now is that there is a notification that keeps popping up on the top of the screen that says, “To finish set up, click here!” If I click on it, it tries to walk me through all the stuff I have already done. I don’t want to do that. I went back and “chatted” with another “expert,” who told me that I’d have to call back and talk to a tier 2 person about this.

Urgh. Such a pain in the behind. You would think that as often as people upgrade their phones, they’d have come up with an easy and hassle-free was to go from old phone to new.

(As sarcastically as I can muster…) I can’t wait to be on hold with someone later today to try to figure this out ….

Side note: My wife has been wanting me to switch to an iPhone for years. She gently joked that if I had one, the transition from phone to phone would have been easier.

I doubt it.

Spring Scooter!

Ok, not THAT Scooter!

Sam went to the store today and saw that the had scooters on sale. These were the ones with two wheels in the front. She couldn’t pass up the deal and grabbed one for each kid.

I woke up a bit early this afternoon and it was such a nice day we all went outside and the kids showed me their new modes of transportation!

Ella, of course took right to it.

It took Andrew a little bit, but he learns fast!

Ella decided that she wanted to take a walk and for the first time in what seems like forever, the entire family got to stroll around the neighborhood before dinner. It was a beautiful day and it was some much needed family time.

Yesterday was nice, too. Sam and I have decided to get rid of the trampoline. We haven’t said anything to the kids yet, but I let them get on it yesterday for a sorta last hurrah. Watching them play on it, I am almost sad to get rid of it.

Speaking of trampolines – our local police Facebook page posted one of the funniest pictures I’ve seen in a while. This was tooling around Flint this morning ….

I am sure this is TOTALLY safe!!!

Happy Spring!

The End of Tupperware?

As a child who grew up in the 1970’s, I was surrounded by Tupperware. I’m pretty sure my mom probably hosted a Tupperware party more than a few times. For younger readers, a Tupperware party would be pretty much the same as a Essential Oils Party or Pampered Chef Party today. EVERYONE I knew used Tupperware! However, word is that they company may be going away for good.

According to CBS news, “The Orlando-based company said it had ‘substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern’ in a press release and securities filing.” It’s also considering selling some of its real estate holdings or cutting other parts of the business, which it termed “right-sizing efforts” in its press release.

This is sad. I can’t tell you how many glasses of Kool Aid I poured from the Tupperware pitcher.

You can bet that the Kool Aid was poured into Tupperware cups, too!

I wonder how many leftovers were sealed up in bowls or canisters with the ridged Tupperware lid during my childhood?

One Tupperware staple that I will forever connect with my mom was the sugar “bowl.” It had a matching creamer container that went with it.

My mom always used a lot of sugar in her tea. I remember her pouring it out of that container like it was yesterday.

I guess Tupperware had a resurgence a few years ago with Covid. More people were staying home and cooking, and their sales were up a lot. Word is now that there are may issues the company is dealing with and it is more than likely that the company will close up shop for good.

Sigh, another piece of my childhood to become a memory …

Easter Weekend Recap

I hope your Easter weekend was as good as mine. It seemed like we were constantly on the go, but it was filled with many wonderful moments.

I worked Friday night, so I came home and went right to sleep. Sam’s mom and dad were hosting Easter dinner on Saturday afternoon. I grabbed a few hours of sleep and got up to get ready for the day.

When we got there, many of the family were already there. Ella is always excited when she gets to be with her cousins. It didn’t take long for them to head outside for the Easter egg hunt.

The weather was perfect! Loads of sunshine and decent temperatures. It had rained a day or two earlier and the back yard was a little muddy, so the hunt was done in the front yard. Parents were out making sure that each kid got their fair share of eggs!

The kids sure did have a blast looking for eggs.

Sam’s mom changed it up a bit this year and we had a Mexican feast for dinner. Tacos, Nachos, and a TON of desserts. It was nice and easy, and somethings the kids all enjoyed eating.

There was a lot of outside play after dinner. They had sidewalk chalk, Barbie dolls, bikes, and more. My nieces are in gymnastics. One of them said to me, “Want to see something impressive?” So I said, “sure.” She did a one handed cartwheel and some move where she flipped over backwards or something. I told her that was awesome and asked if she wanted to see me do something impressive. She said yes. So I sat down on the grass and then got up. I said, “Your 52 year old uncle just got up from the ground without any help! That is really impressive!” My mother in law chuckled out loud at that, but my niece looked at me like I was nuts!

Before my brother in law left, the kids thought it was cool to sit on his motorcycle.

Both kids fell asleep on the way home. All that outside running around must have really tuckered them out. It was still sort of early and we want to color eggs when we got home. This was “fun.”

We took an old comforter, grabbed some of the shirts that were to small for Dimitri and let Ella and Andrew wear them. My Facebook status read: “Colored some eggs tonight. Coincidentally, we also colored the blanket, the kitchen floor, Ella’s legs, and Sam and Andrew’s hands.”

When the kids went to bed, Sam gathered up the stuff for their Easter baskets and I started making footprints. Yeah, Sam bought a bunny footprint stencil. You put it on the floor and sprinkle baking soda on it and it makes footprints. So I had footprints going from the door to their baskets. Andrew walked out and immediately started spreading the baking soda all over the place! Ella thought it was cute.

This year we bought them new baskets. Really cool ones we saw at a local boutique. They were loaded with candy and prizes.

Sam’s dad came over later in the afternoon and helped me finish up the wall of the nook we are building. For the most part, the hard stuff is done. We need to sand the end of the bench and then paint. I will post pictures when that is finished.

The weather today was nicer, too. Warmer! It was a no brainer to get outside today. The kids spent lots of time in the sandbox…

…being silly ….

… and despite the look on her face in the above picture, she actually asked to push her brother on the swings…

It was a weekend full of many happy memories. I have to remind myself to enjoy every second because time moves so quickly. Tomorrow my son, Dante’ will be 21! I have no concept of how that happened so fast!! I can tell you this, though, the more children you have, the quicker time seems to fly ….