Shortcake + Me, Muriel Juneberry Fahrion

Shortcake + Me, by Muriel Juneberry Fahrion

Last weekend I attended the BCAF Comic Con (Boise Comic Arts Festival) as a vendor, showing my altered and original art, along with my daughter Emily's illustrations. After we got all set up, and the convention hadn't opened to the public, Emily and I walked around to look at everything, and the very last table, I saw a bunch of Strawberry Shortcake art, which caught my eye. I looked up to see who was running the table, and there was Muriel Juneberry Fahrion, the creator of Strawberry Shortcake! I was not expecting this, and shame on me, I should have read the list of vendors but I was too busy getting prepared for the show I just glanced quickly. I was so excited--no, thrilled--to meet her! I had, and still have, all the original dolls as well as everything I was ever given pertaining to Strawberry Shortcake as a kid, so to meet someone whose art actually influenced my childhood was a major highlight for me. 

Muriel was kind enough to visit with both me and Emily for quite a while, until the convention opened, then of course, she was quite busy. She let us take a photo with her:

Emily, Muriel, and Me, 2024

She was selling original drawings of Strawberry Shortcake characters and oh did I forget to mention she also created all the original Care Bears and Get Along Gang? She was also selling little books called Shortcake + Me, which were autographed and illustrated, telling briefly her work history regarding Strawberry Shortcake and what she is doing now. I had to buy one, and it was a quick read, but full of adorable illustrations and photos of her life.

I also purchased a drawing right out of her sketchbook. She drew it in the airplane on her way to Boise. I am going to mat and frame it, and will cherish it forever! Isn't it cute?

Original drawing of Strawberry Shortcake by Muriel Juneberry Fahrion, 2024

I have to say, this was a very exciting moment for me. I have often been asked, if you could meet anyone in the world, who would it be? I have never known quite what to answer, but I am really glad I got to meet Muriel!

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Outlaw, Ted Dekker

Outlaw, Ted Dekker

Ted Dekker is one of my favorite authors because I never quite know where he is going with his stories until the end, and he always has a unique take on whatever message he is getting across. This one is no different, although I felt the story was quite a bit different from the others I have read.

This takes place on the island of New Guinea, which if you know anything about Ted Dekker, he was a missionary kid who grew up there. So we learn a bit about the ways of the natives in this book, their culture, and thought processes.

The story is about a southern young widowed mother in the early 1960s who has been shipwrecked and the horrible things that happen to her on this island, so many atrocities---I don't want to spoil anything so I won't go into too much detail---but the first half of the book, there is just one terrifying ordeal after another with just a few calms in between. 

The second half, I also can't say much about because it will spoil something important that you have to go through the first half of the story to understand. 

I will say, though, that this amazing story explores the identities we take on and how the only true identity is the one that we have as children of God and joint-heirs with Christ. All other identities come and go. And as a child of the true Chief, we are to show His love to those who have never been loved, no matter how much they may hurt us--just as Christ did.

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The Repurposed Library, by Lisa Occhipinti

The Repurposed Library by Lisa Occhipinti

I picked up this book at the Baker County Public Library book sale. As a creative person as well as an avid booklover and reader, this book intrigued me. I have to say, the thought of upcycling a perfectly good book horrifies me; however, I have a big stack of books that are falling apart or damaged beyond being able to be read, and I have thought about trying to find some way to give them a new purpose. There are a few ideas in this book that I could try. I do like that she starts the book educating the reader on what are collectible and valuable books, and not to use those. 

Would you like to buy me a book, or help keep my little free library stocked and maintained? You can donate here: paypal.me/AmyVanGaasbeck 

 

Your Fully Charged Life, Meaghan B. Murphy

Your Fully Charged Life, 

a Radically Simple Approach 

to Having Endless Energy 

and Filling Every Day with YAY, 

Meaghan B Murphy

I have always seemed to have a full plate and not enough energy to do what I feel I need to do, so of course I picked up this book. It's a simple concept, look at yourself and your environment, and make changes to your outlook, your diet, your health, who you hang out with, etc. and gives you ways to do it and information on why these things are important. And sometimes we need simple ideas because we have complicated things too much and need to go back to square one.

This book was written during the Covid shutdown and reflects that, but is still applicable to pretty much anybody. If you tend to be a pessimist, if you suffer from depression, if you live with difficult or chaotic people or have them in your life, if your job is stressful, or your life isn't happy go lucky all the time (nobody's ever is) then this book is for you!

Would you like to buy me a book, or help keep my little free library stocked and maintained? You can donate here: paypal.me/AmyVanGaasbeck 

 

All Together In One Place, Jane Kirkpatrick

All Together In One Place, Jane Kirkpatrick

Growing up in Eastern Oregon, along the Oregon Trail, I have always felt like that's all you ever hear about here. Half the businesses in town are named after the Oregon Trail, and tourists come from all over for that Oregon Trail history. I think, and it's probably this way for whatever historical claim to fame one's region has, that it can do one of two things for the locals--they can either wholly embrace it, or just get tired of hearing about it. I have always been tired of hearing it. It wasn't that I didn't respect those who came over on the wagon trains, I just always got tired of it being pounded into my head that this was all that was important, IS important where I live...so I have always steered clear of books about The Oregon Trail. 

However, how can I turn my back on anything written by one of my favorite authors, Jane Kirkpatrick? She actually has written a lot about the general area that I live in, and although it hasn't always been my first choice of subject to read upon, each one of her stories helps me understand and appreciate the history of this land and the people in it. And so it is with this story, the first in a trilogy, about a wagon train that lost its men to cholera, and the women had to continue on without them. This story is based on a remark made by Ezra Meeker about eleven women on a wagon train whose men all died; the author has done an excellent job researching the time, location and details of when Meeker recorded this bit of information; unfortunately, there is no more information on who these women were, but in this book, there are a variety of women with different backgrounds---farmers, store owners, a woman running from her past, Asian mail order brides, and more, and how they deal with their loss as they work together to survive and move along to their destination in the West. 

I look forward to reading the next installment. Her work is always so good.

Also of note, I picked up this book at a thrift store, and it is autographed! That's always a bonus!

Would you like to buy me a book, or help keep my little free library stocked and maintained? You can donate here: paypal.me/AmyVanGaasbeck 

 

Lowe's Complete Home Improvement and Repair

Lowe's Complete Home Improvement and Repair

How do you eat a whale? The answer is, one bite at a time. And that's what I did with this whale of a reference book. I have been working on it for at least six months, and I was determined to read through the whole thing, even though much of it went over my head, as I am inexperienced with most construction. Sometimes I just took two pages a day, depending on the subject, so as to be able to retain it. 

This book is a must have if you have your own house and plan to do any repairs. It gives you step by step instructions for home improvement and repairs, troubleshooting many problems. After reading this, I know I will be able to pull it out and maybe try some things myself, direct my husband, or just say screw it, let's call someone to do it for us, this is going to be more than we can handle!

You can find this book at any Lowe's, and Home Depot also has their own version, very similar to this one. Definitely a good one to pick up and have handy, just in case.

Would you like to buy me a book, or help keep my little free library stocked and maintained? You can donate here: paypal.me/AmyVanGaasbeck 

 

Saving Fish From Drowning, Amy Tan

Saving Fish from Drowning, Amy Tan

Believe it or not, with my love of Asian-themed fiction, I have never read any of Amy Tan's work before. I have some in my TBR pile, but this was the first to surface, and I think it was a good one to start with. It's interesting how the other authors I have read, though not connected to this story at all, give background information that becomes relevant in this story. It's like reading this type of fiction can help you learn and retain more history and geography. 

Anyway, this book starts out with a foreword by the author, explaining how she came across a story written by a ghost and written down by a medium. (That could have put me off, but part of Chinese lore/beliefs is that when someone dies, their spirit stays around for a while before being released to the underworld/afterlife and they can communicate with the living at times. This was kind of along the lines of the book written by Lisa See, Peony in Love....so knowing that she was just using this as a literary device and it wasn't in fact how she got the idea for the book, I went along with it.) The book is written as a narrative by the ghost, Bibi Chen, and is about a trip to China and Myanmar that she was supposed to guide with her friends; however, she died right before the trip. She decided to tag along as a ghost anyway so she could watch over them.

Her friends go on this trip after Bibi's funeral, starting out in China and moving on to Myanmar (Burma) and there is one debacle after another, and eventually they all, except one, go missing.

This book shows how if you travel into another culture and you don't understand that culture, you can commit a lot of wrongs and offenses, and often, Americans do this, thinking that people think and act the same way that Americans do about everything...and they don't.

I don't want to give away the true meaning of the title. It literally comes from the story of a fisherman who says that by catching fish, he is saving them from drowning, being noble...but by the time he catches them all and saves them from drowning, it is too late, they have all died, so he shouldn't waste their bodies, and so he sells them for money so he can go out and save more fish from drowning.

This idea comes to fruition near the end of the book, I initially thought it would be about Americans trying to reform other cultures to progress in society, but has more to do with someone well-intentioned trying to save those he loves. I am going to leave it at that because I don't want to give it away.

I really enjoyed this book, and having traveled to another country with a culture far different from my own, I could understand how necessary it is to be considerate of the country's culture in which one is visiting.

I look forward to reading more of Amy Tan's books.

Would you like to buy me a book, or help keep my little free library stocked and maintained? You can donate here: paypal.me/AmyVanGaasbeck