Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
For those of you, who like me, are totally turned off the the normal Christmas music our media plays constantly from mid-November on, I highly recommend the album “Chanticleer’s Christmas” by a group named Chanticleer. Excellent sounds and voices and good for contemplation! It’s available for download on both iTunes and Amazon for those of you who buy music online, or you can buy the CD from Amazon.
Did you know that our GNID classmate Joy Rice Grover is an excellent artist? I spent part of an afternoon with her in Portland in mid-November. We ate, chatted, and made a visit to the Portland Art Museum because we’re both interested in art. The home Joy shares with her retired husband, John, displays a number of her paintings and, of course, lovely artifacts from India. The house is perched on the side of a mountain with an outstanding view of the river and city, but driving the switchback streets up to it reminded me of the narrow lanes of Mussoorie. Joy's daughter, Hillary, and her husband were visiting for a few days at the time I was there, so I got to meet them, too.
Here are a couple of photos in front of one of Joy's paintings—one of Joy with her adorable, articulate grandchildren, and one of Joy and me.
Esther
