February Peace

It's here and it's brought warmer weather so I'm happy. I'm not foolish enough to think that the cold snap or #PolarVortex won't return yet for now I'm happy to see snow melting all around us. Drip Drip

(Sally's Baking Addiction)

I made cinnamon rolls for an event yesterday. Insomnia had me up at 5am  and I thought "I should get up and make rolls" for the state speech event we volunteered our time at yesterday morning. We didn't get to try the rolls as they were whisked off for the judges' break room and making them was super easy so I plan to whip them up again real soon. Just maybe not at 5am.

Last week was a crazy school week; we had school on Friday only. I was pretty lazy and did a lot of reading. Some cleaning (Maria Kondo on Netflix is great motivation) but mostly reading.  I have several books to recommend to you.

Heads of the colored people by Nafissa Thompson-Spires (2018): Excellent short stories that lifted me and educated me.  Nafissa has an amazing array of characters in these 12 well-crafted tales including two mothers who sling insults at each other through notes sent back and forth in the backpacks of their daughters, Marjorie, a woman who tries therapy because of her anger issues, Riley, a young man headed to Comic -Con, a young woman obsessed with men who've become amputees, and a young woman struggling with social media likes and suicidal thoughts. Here's a great article form Electric Lit highlighting these stories and an interview with Thompson-Spires. I enjoyed this book so much I'm going to order my own copy and probably give it as gifts this year. Thank you to Verda for bringing this book (and the next one) to my attention.

Black Girls must die exhausted; a novel for grown ups by Jayne Allen (2018): "The day I turned 30, I officially departed my childhood. Not the pigtail braids, devil may care, 'don't get your Sunday church clothes dirty' kind of childhood. At 30, I just knew it was the end of the dress rehearsal. I was officially grown."  So begins our journey with Tabitha as she navigates relationships with her friends and men, and the growing demands of her television reporter position and what it means to be the only one in the office with "black perspective" as she moves up into a lead position. I felt connected to Tabitha and held her pain throughout the book which most affected me when she  argued with her girlfriends and when she was pulled over by the police car.  The raw fear of what might happen juxtaposed against what actually happened was mind-boggling for me and for Tabitha. It made it very real and highlighted, even though her experience was pleasant, very easily can go the other way. good cops/bad cops situation. I loved this casual story and look forward to reading the second.

So make some cinnamon rolls and cuddle up with a good book as February brings us one month closer to Spring.