Okay, who took my favorite blue Roller Ball pen? I don't care if you borrow the blasted thing for 2 months--but you should have the decency to return it! Now! When I need it, not tomorrow! It's my trusty pen when I'm writing down the facts on each book I put on the order sheets and, no, I don't want to use another one or I'd have done it by now!  So, what did I use the last 2 days when ordering books? I slashed my wrists and used a cotton Q-tip, quick-witted as I am, and, yes, I'm kidding but not about wanting my blue Roller Ball pen back.  It's used to me and I to it. 

I believe, absolutely, in the Spanish saying, "Mi casa, su casa" and prove it a lot by opening Dennis' side gate and mine so that Manny  (the-half-mine-German-Shepherd- I raised) can go back and forth and I am MOST generous in sharing my opinions and advice--BUT I WANT MY BLUE ROLLER BALL PEN BACK!  Ah, well--I'll concentrate on what a lovely day it is--and evening--and be grateful that I live in a delightful town, can enjoy my "outdoors" and have four good "dead body" books to read. 

Everyone's prayers, I'm sure, are with the people of Greensburg, or they should be, and do a little something to help whether it's giving money for animal shelters or, if you can, going to Greensburg and help with the clean-up. Our small towns are a large part of our spine, in this Midwest, a key ingredient of our development as a nation and our fondest memories from childhood or settling in one as part of a family.

My first Non-Fiction selection is about the land, a way of life, a farmer's stubborn conviction in planning to continue it---and his helpers, Greg, Swift, Gail, Fern, and Ernie--all sheepdogs.  "The Dogs of Windcutter Down; One Shepherd's Struggle for Survival", by David Kennard, has one reviewer saying, "Marvelously atmospheric, it is also a magnificent tribute to a laborious yet uncomplicated mode of life that has all but vanished." Now, the hierarchy of the dogs is definite, defined, and immutable. Fixed. Greg, despite his advancing years, was still top dog and when, in the mornings, they were lying on the ground, panting with excitement, waiting to get in the truck, next to Greg was Swift,"her eyes glued to her pack superior's every move", next stood Fern, waiting for a signal or movement from her beloved matriarch, and then came Ernie."Only Gail stood apart from the quartet, as ever making the point that she refused to fit into this pecking order."

There is Clare, the young daughter who loves to ride her pony, Minty, out to help in the fields with the sheep, and Nick, who was is five and increasingly interested in helping with the woolies. It is decided to have a sheep-dog demonstration and it is rather embarrassing because the dogs have never been entered in a trial and the chuckling over the end result does NOT help! A delightful book and very readable--come in and look it over--just don't EVER plan on getting a sheepdog and keeping it in your yard and walking it once a day (or maybe every 4 or 5!) 'cause you'll have a nutsy dog. They need to work at herding.the woolies--they're not "a nice pet" Don't believe me? Ask your vet but DO believe me when I tell you you'll enjoy this book. 

Peter Mayle is the author of eleven books on the area and town of Provence and lives there--he's great at using humor and observance and his new book, "Provence, A to Z" will be equally delightful for armchair travelers and those who like good food and wine. This book is not like an actual, rather dry book of reference--what it is is a selection of Provence that Peter Mayle" has found to be delicious, curious, and downright fun. He writes about architecture, Provencal characters, legends,the French Foreign Legion (I have a very good friend whose oldest son joined that interesting group for 4 years!), the museum of the Corkscrew (who else but the French and their love of wine would even have THOUGHT of such a museum?) and a bawdy folklore character named Fanny." 

Also, he writes about a cheese that killed an emperor, matchbooks, and tourists. I was rather startled upon turning a page and finding on of Mr. Mayles' sentences--"There are , in fact, 3 degrees of virginity"--and was hoping to be informed of all three when I realized that, indeed, we were discussing olive oil and he had dismissed the words "Extra Virgin" on the bottles as "the kind of thing an Italian waiter would murmur in the ear of a pretty customer while attending to her salad dressing."  Not so. It has to do with the quantity of oil in the bottle and below 3.5 percent is considered a fine oil and above it is "Vierge Ordinarire" but since "it is impolite to describe ANY virgin as ordinary, the word would not be on the bottle, merely the word Vierge--oil." I don't know that it's impolite to describe a virgin as ordinary--possibly amazing!? 

To continue-- the part about how the people in Provence feel about standing in line--which the author learned as a boy in England, to wait one's turn and don't push or shove and certainly don't try to do anything about it!--is that they don't like it and will adopt every ruse to remedy the situation. This one is for those who have been to France or are simply curious about on region of it. Mayle's description of the perfect siesta--the Summer one--was wonderful to read and imagine. So, come on in and check it out.

"The Power of Simple Prayer; How to Talk with God About Everything", by Joyce Meyer, is, simply put, just outstanding and it should be considering that she is the world's practical Bible teacher and has written more than 70 books on the subject. There are different types of prayer, of course and asks two interesting questions; "Have you ever really considered what prayer is and why you pray" and "Do you understand just how your life is impacted by your prayers?" Most people WANT to pray more effectively and we need to approach Him as children do us, as adults in their lives, with love and trust and simplicity.

She says she had the mistaken idea, early in her prayer life, that "short prayers were not good prayers" and so sometimes she would MAKE herself pray when actually the power of the Holy Spirit's energy had finished. "It is not the length of our prayers that makes them effective but the sincerity and faith behind them" and I think you might read that sentence over again. Sometimes we get so caught up, or tangled up, in expressing our prayers--in the actual words, if you will- that some of the power and force gets sacrificed--and there is no necessity of setting a certain amount of time aside, each day, for prayer. One can pray for two minutes or twenty and each is equal in God's sight (although some of my thoughts need some "explaining" to God and THAT can take a few minutes--I mean, if I don't explain them, how will he know what I mean to say--know what I mean?)

It is important, says Ms. Meyer, to treat and approach God with awe and respect yet also as a friend, not an acquaintance you must met (the waiter at the restaurant, your new paperboy) and "open up" and be open in return.  One last interesting thing she talks about--the prayer burden--in which she says if you have one, laid on you by God, you will be so uncomfortable that you will HAVE TO PRAY AND WILL FEEL NO RELIEF UNTILYOU DO. You may not even know, right then, whom you're praying for or why. You will  not come away from reading this book unaffected--I plan to order one for me. 

Vikings--my daughter, Bonnie, has always said she doesn't look like anyone in the family (actually, she looks like my beloved grandmother, "Foof") so she read where the Vikings came over to Europe and were responsible for discoveries, battles, and facts and fallacies attributed to them. ""The World of the Vikings" is a wonderful history of this peoples, their origins in Scandinavia, their ships, their helmets and swords, the Viking Age, funeral habits, and the semi-mythical Erik the Red.  Women shared in many of the big landmark experiences--even going into battle--they owned their own land and were buried with ceremony and honored in life. This book is really fascinating--beautiful pictures--about a people and their beliefs that is now gone.

Have a good week ahead--days in June are rare and lovely--and be outdoors as much as possible. Vacation time is coming up and steaks on the "barby" , fishing and camping, and take pictures of the family--then, be sure and put on the back of each picture the year and who it is.  BE careful of the fireworks and these  next 2 months are critical for watering your plants and yard--and don't forget the fertilizer! Final word--let's be known as the friendly town that its citizens know we are--but sometimes newcomers don't.  Smile at people and say "Hi, how're you doing?" or something brilliant like that. Can't hurt,might help, doesn't cost anything and may pay off.  Take care--bye!