Finally! Time to Read: THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

Just before he passed away in 2004, the author, Stieg Larsson, submitted manuscripts to Norstedts Publishing in Sweden.  The first of the three-novel series and published in 2005, is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

What makes this a good read?  In a word, complexity.  One main character, Mikael Blomkvist, the 42- year- old writer and  publisher of  a Swedish financial magazine, Millennium,  has just been fined and sentenced to 3 months in prison for libeling a powerful businessman.  Shortly after, Henrik Vanger, a famous industrialist, contacts him to investigate the decades-old disappearance of 16-year-old Harriet Vanger .  Before making the offer to employ Blomkvist, Vanger has had the disgraced publisher vetted by Milton Security. The investigator who completes the report is Lisbeth Salander.

 Lisbeth Salander is a mysterious twenty-something private investigator who is brilliant, but unusual to say the least.   Years before, she had been designated as mentally incompetent by the state, necessitating the assignment of a government-appointed guardian.  She has learned to control her destructive impulses through a system she calls "Consequence Analyses" taught to her as a coping mechanism by her first guardian.  When he has a debilitating stroke, she is assigned a new, and totally different guardian. It is this guardian with whom she learns the true value of "Consequence Analyses".

The Vanger family itself is cloaked in mystery.  As Blomkvist tries to unravel the mystery of Harriet's disappearance, he meets Lisbeth Salander who is conducting her own investigation into his libel trial.  Both struggle to make sense of their own lives and, at the same time, they work together to find answers to the Vanger mystery. They  discover much more than they had anticipated, information on all fronts, putting them in extreme danger while juggling personal, ethical and moral dilemmas.

What reaction did this reader have on closing the book for the final time?  The desire to read the second in the series, The Girl Who Played with Fire, available now in paperback.  And finally to read the third novel of the series, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, published by Alfred A. Knopf in hardback this year.

We Have a Winner!

The Kanzius Cancer Research project ended the competition as first-place winner in the $250,000 Pepsi competition.

News reports credit social networking sites for fueling the Kanzius votes.  So we have had a small part in obtaining funding for this worthwhile project.  Some of us voted every day.  Thanks to those supporters and also to those who forwarded our request for votes to their other distribution lists.

 The lead researcher, Steven Curley, M.D., Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, worked with John Kanzius up until the time of John's death from leukemia last hear.  He has outlined plans for using the award.  Of the total,

• $120,000 will be set aside to "hire a molecular biologist specializing in cancer-cell targeting";
• $60,000 will provide funds to hire a "physicist for nanoparticle research";
•  $70,000 will be used for a "global communications plan" ( Erie Times - News, May 1, 2010,9B).

We have all helped this initiative.  Thanks to all of you who voted...and voted...and voted again!

Musings of Wise Women

Girlie Wisdom!
1. A friend of mine confused her Valium with her birth control pills... she has 14 kids but she doesn't really care.
2. One of life's mysteries is how a 2-pound box of chocolates can make a woman gain 5 lbs.
3. My mind not only wanders, it sometimes leaves completely.

4. The best way to forget your troubles is to wear tight shoes.

5. The nice part about living in a small town is that when you don't know what you are doing, someone else does.

6. The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat are really good friends.

7. Just when I was getting used to yesterday , along came today .

8. Sometimes I think I understand everything, and then I regain consciousness.

9. I gave up jogging for my health when my thighs kept rubbing together and setting fire to my panties.

10. Amazing! You hang something in your closet, for a while, and it shrinks 2 sizes!

11. Skinny people irritate me! Especially when they say things like...'You know sometimes I forget to eat!' .....Now, I've forgotten my address, my mother's maiden name, and my keys, but I have never forgotten to eat.. You have to be a special kind of stupid to forget to eat!

12.. The trouble with some women is that they get all excited about nothing -- and then they marry him.

13. I read this article that said the typical symptoms of stress are eating too much, impulse buying, and driving too fast. Are they kidding? That's my idea of a perfect day !

SEND THIS TO 5 EXTREMELY BRIGHT WOMEN YOU KNOW AND MAKE THEIR DAY!!!

LIVE SIMPLY.........LAUGH OFTEN....LOVE DEEPLY

Thanks to Wanda D. for sending this out and to Linda L. for forwarding it to us.

In Fashion or Not! Guess What I've Found.

I've spent far too much money on jeans from catalog buys:  some advertised as 'sits at the natural waist' when they really fit 3 inches below'; others listed as 'sits slightly below the waist' when they really defy the definition of 'slightly'; and those that do fit at the 'natural'waist but are so baggy (or tight) in the hip and thigh that they can't really be sized correctly!

Through the untold number of catalogs arriving in my mail, I've also been introduced to the 'Paris fit'.  For those who might not recognize the term, it is a new rendition of 'sits at the natural waist'.  By the way, the 'Paris fit' wasn't any more satisfactory than the ones I've already listed. 

Finally, I have found jeans that fit-and in an array of colors: sand, black, stonewash, dark blue, gray-even pale colors like yellow.  Where?  At Kohl's!

I've been in Kohl's only once before as I searched for a reasonably priced, nice looking red purse.  But this week I was on the hunt-once again-for jeans...and found them.  Made by Gloria Vanderbilt, called 'Amanda', and actually fitting at the 'natural waist' as well as through the hip and thigh...both straight leg and boot cut.   And that's just one surprise.  The other?  They were on sale.  It seems that almost everything at this department store is. 

Who knew?  Probably all of you!  But for me, finding jeans at Kohl's was a great experience-a great spring surprise!

Finally! Time to Read:Garth Stein's THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN

The Art of Racing in the Rain is a compelling story told through the eyes of - and with the all-consuming love of- Enzo, the family dog.

Sarah Gruen, who wrote Water for Elephants, describes the narrator of Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain:  "This old soul of a dog has much to teach us about being human."  She adds that she loved the novel.

 

I must admit I loved it, too!

Enzo believes that special dogs come back as humans in the next life.  He also believes he might be a special dog who will be able to give advice and transmit all his knowledge of people, racing and love that  he has gained in this life after rebirth as a person in the next.

This special dog lives with his racing driver owner, the owner's wife, and their little girl, Zoe.  The family goes through deep love, extreme trauma, and the depths of despair while always comforted by their compassionate and intelligent pet. He prvides comfort when they are sad, is joyful when they are happy, and admonishes them when they need it.

Wally Lamb describes the story as "a meditation on humility and hope in the face of despair."  Hope, faith, and desire to be a rock of strength for the people he loves, Enzo displays all of these traits. 

The spirituality of Enzo's narrative shows that people-or animals and people-who are destined to go through life together have souls that stay together, no matter what life or death may bring.

Thanks to Ann A. for recommending this book.

A Special St. Patrick's Day Gift

Some of us will be celebrating St. Patrick's Day in Key West, others in Pittsburgh, Edinboro, Erie, Philadelphia, and Ardmore, Pennsylvania;  Heathsville, Virginia; Shelton,Connecticut; Las Vegas, Nevada; Phoenix,Arizona: Scotty's Castle, Death Valley; and West Virginia. Wherever the celebration takes place, we hope these thoughts add to the happiness of the day.




May joy and peace surround you,

Contentment latch your door,
And happiness be with you now,
And bless you evermore.


May you have the hindsight to know where you've been
the foresight to know where you're going
and the insight to know when you're going too far.

May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light
May good luck pursue you each morning and night.

(Thanks to Rachel M. and Barb L. for forwarding this St. Patrick's Day gift.)

For All of Those Walking Enthusiasts Among Us

Many of us try to stick to an exercise schedule-with more or less success.  Walking seems to be one of our favorites, though.  For a tongue-in-cheek commentary on walking, take a moment to look at the following from Tom Z.

The Importance of Walking


can add minutes to your life.

This enables you at 85 years old
to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing
home at $7000 per month.

My grandpa started walking
five miles a day when he was 60.
Now he's 97 years old
and we don't know where he is.

I like long walks,
especially when they are taken
by people who annoy me.

I have to walk early in the morning,
before my brain figures out what I'm doing.

I joined a health club last year,
spent about 400 bucks.
Haven't lost a pound.
Apparently you have to go there.

Every time I hear the dirty word 'exercise,'
I wash my mouth out with chocolate.

The advantage of exercising every day
is so when you die, they'll say,
'Well, she looks good doesn't she.'

If you are going to try cross-country skiing,
start with a small country.

I know I got a lot of exercise
the last few years.
just getting over the hill.

We all get heavier as we get older,
because there's a lot more information in our heads.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

AND

Every time I start thinking too much
about how I look,
I just find a Happy Hour
and by the time I leave,
I look just fine.

(Thanks, Tom, for forwarding this to us.)