The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry

This is not a book I would have picked up to read.  Not that it sounds awful, it just did not sound like something I would actually enjoy.  But since it was a book club book, I HAD to read it.  And so . . .

I asked Ginny if I could borrow her library book, as she had already finished it.  After picking it up on Monday, I read the first chapter.  Huh.  It began with a commentary on an obscure book by a famous author, written by A. J. Fikry.  Then it launched into an introduction to A. J.  By the end of the chapter, I couldn't wait to see what happened next.

Avid reader I am not.  Fast reader I am not.  But give me an intriguing book and I can be both! And that is exactly what A. J. Fikry was.  Every chance I got, I picked it up, and by Wednesday afternoon, done.

And it has stuck with me.  I have not returned the library book yet, and I have found myself returning to look at who wrote the obscure books, or whether the tone of the book reviews changed, or how the people changed . . .

This book was a fun, well-written book with just enough mystery to keep me interested.  I can't wait to discuss it at book club.  It will be fun to see if everyone else liked it as much as I did.

Coincidence?

The older I get, the more often I see connections between actions, thoughts, and happenings.  So, here is my most recent "coincidence."

Wen I was young, my mother purchased a book of nine short stories by J. D. Salinger.  For some reason I was always intrigued by the book;  I guess I thought it was something I "should" read but never did.  But I kept the book, and earlier this spring I set it out as something to read in the near future.

A few weeks ago, while cleaning our bedroom, I put the book back on the shelf, since I still had not read it.  Epic fail.

Fast forward to our October book club book.  I had finished The Count of Monte Cristo and decided to pick up the next book, The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry.  I had heard it was a fast read.

The first page of the story involved a review of an obscure book in A. J. Fikry's store.  From then on, every chapter began with another review of a different obscure book, though I did recognize one or two of the titles.  Toward the end of the book, one chapter began with a review of "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," by J. D. Salinger.  I did not think anything about it because I was loving reading about A. J. Fikry's storied life and could not wait to see what happened.  And I assumed the Salinger piece was a book.

A day later, however, it occurred to me that maybe the Salinger review was not a book but perhaps a short story.  I pulled out my mom's book, and guess what the first short story is?  Yep.  "A Perfect Day for Bananafish."  I think it is a sign.  Needless to say, I now have to read at least the first of the nine short stories.

Ready, set, go!

Grammar Nazis

There are grammar Nazis and there are grammar Nazis. Most grammar Nazis notice an error and they might comment on it but that is it.  If the error is on a sign, it might be mentioned to the person who made the sign if it is easily changed.

But I have never seen this.

The above picture is from our book club book, The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry.  It is a library book from the Wichita Public Library.  Someone obviously was quite unhappy with the author's use of brought versus taken.  This grammar Nazi made one other correction in the use of lie and lay, and although the correction is accurate, it was unnecessary to write in a library book.

There are grammar Nazis and there are grammar Nazis.

Heartbreak Hotel

Maybe that should be the new name for the Willie.  It seems as if the Willie goes to all of the big football games that we don't win.  The Auburn game was the most recent.

Never have we heard so much noise as we did during the game.  I am grateful I had my earplugs in - I would have hated being there otherwise.

I was already losing my voice because of a cold, but the game put the finishing touches on it.  By Sunday, I only sounded a little like Lauren Bacall, but Friday was pretty grim.

The 'Cats had every opportunity to win but did not.  Between the surprise, being back with our tailgate friends, and good food, however, all was not lost, and by the time we returned home Friday night, we were able to put it all in perspective.

This trip was a great one, except for one thing.  My intrepid little traveling buddy was not by my side, and I missed her.  Although she has been gone a month, I still look for her when I come home.  I  know when we get a puppy that will help, but it probably will not be until the spring that we do that.  Until then, I just have remember the fun we had with her and be grateful we had her for 17 years.

Auburn Surprises

K-State fans had been waiting a long time for September 18 to arrive.  The biggest football game in several years was to be played that evening, and we were going to have a lot of fun!  The whole tailgate group would be together, Don's dad was going to attend . . . what was there not to love.

The Nortons, however, were even more excited.  We had been keeping a secret for a long time - since we were in Portland in early August.  And today was the time for the final reveal, since Grandpa Moo was in the house.

Kenneth approached Grandpa Moo, and after greeting him, said, "Grandpa, how would you feel about being a great-grandpa?"

Grandpa opened his mouth, stopped for a second, and then, in his slow drawl, said, "Well, I guess that would be all right."  I think he was very surprised, as he had just been saying how he needed to just keep his mouth shut about whether Kenneth and Melinda would ever have kids!  Then he gave both of the kids a hug . . . and a big smile.

We had gone to dinner with the kids in Portland, which is when they surprised us with a dessert and the message, "Congratulations, Grandma and Grandpa."  But we were sworn to secrecy, as they wanted to tell Di in person . . . and they wouldn't see her until the Green Bay trip . . . and Grandpa . . . and they wouldn't see him until the Auburn game.  So we waited and waited.  And I made a big deal over the babies at the tailgate, moaning that I didn't think I would ever get a grandbaby!  One of Kenneth's friends noticed what I was saying and privately told Kenneth, "She can't be saying that!"  Of course, Kenneth just laughed to himself, because he knew what I was doing.  Deflection is effective when one cannot tell a secret.

Well, finally we can tell.  It is going to be a fun five months watching Melinda and Kenneth as they prepare for their sniglet to join them.  We are excited for them and their next adventure.

Nelson's Landing

It seemed like the natural ending to our road trip was a dinner in Leonardville, KS, at the restaurant of Jordy Nelson's parents - Nelson's Landing.  We invited our nephew Zach and his friends, though only one, Hannah, could join us.

The 30-minute drive gave us the opportunity to talk about classes, activities, Homecoming, and all sorts of things KSU.

When we walked in, we noticed that appreciably more Green Bay Packer memorabilia had been added to the display cases, and a life-sized Jordy picture now hangs on the wall.  We said something about being in Green Bay, and a woman chimed in that she had been there, too.

"Are you Mrs. Nelson?" I asked.

"Yes I am," she replied.

That is when I told her we would like her to sign our Green Bay pennant.  She looked at me askance, not certain she had heard correctly.  But when I explained that without her we would not have Jordy, and now she could tell him that she was being asked for autographs, too, she consented, and within minutes, we had two signed pennants.

As we were seated, we ordered our pies, as we knew they were the first to go.  Peach, blueberry, coconut cream, and chocolate peanut butter - four different kinds.  Then we ordered our dinners.  Because there was a large party in the other room, the dinners took longer to get to the table, but that was ok.  It gave us plenty of time to talk.  We were plenty hungry when the burgers, club sandwiches, and salads arrived, so it was pretty quiet for a few minutes.

Hannah had a Homecoming meeting at 9:00, and we barely got home in time.  But we made it.  Fun times in Leonardville.

Minnesota Family

One of the stops I knew we had to make was to see my cousin, Chris Gannaway, and his wife, Kim, in their beautiful new home in Cokato, Minnesota.  They had come to the cabin just before the 2013 fire, and after we had spent time with them, we knew we needed to go to their home . . . and this was the perfect opportunity.

It is never good when someone's address is not on GPS.  Luckily, Kim had given us great directions, and we arrived in time to partake in a delicious enchilada dinner.  Haven't had enchiladas like that in years!

I knew Kim was an excellent quilter, but I didn't know how excellent she is.  She even has her own laser-guided quilting machine!  I had no idea there was such a thing.  Her craft area is to die for.

The next morning, after a very tasty wild-rice egg casserole breakfast, complete with cranberry juice and muffins, we strolled outside to see the many gardens they have designed, the trees they have planted, the lake on which they boat.  It is obvious that both Chris and Kim have design talent, as everything they touch is gorgeous.  I can't wait to see the quilt garden they design.

We also got to meet Reilly, their Wheaton Terrier.  Ever since I heard about him, I wanted to see him.  What a cute dog!  He made me want a dog sooner than I know we should get one.

Before we left, Chris and Kim shared some raspberries from their raspberry bed.  Only a year old, it has yielded many, many berries.  Yum!

We had to leave for Manhappenin, but we didn't want to.  We had a wonderful time in Cokato, Minnesota!