Season of Salt and Honey by Hannah Tunnicliffee

From the author of the “sweet, airy novel” (Publishers Weekly) The Color of Tea comes a resonant new book about a woman starting over following the tragic loss of her fiancé.

Frankie is a runaway bride. Or rather, she is running away from her fiancé’s funeral, the unthinkable event that has thrown her entire life into crisis. Frankie and Alex were high school sweethearts and each other’s first loves. They should have been together forever. But Alex died in a surfing accident, and now Frankie is walking away from her family, driving north and east, letting her body do the thinking, all the way into the Cascade Mountain range.

At Alex’s family cabin, Frankie can give in to her grief and think about nothing. There are no aunts trying feed her just a few polpette or just a taste of affogato, despite her lack of appetite; none of Alex’s family around to look questioningly at her left ring finger, no one there to perform for. Except for Jack, the cabin’s caretaker, who has been tasked with forcing Frankie out of the property that isn’t rightfully hers. And except for Bella, Frankie’s wild-child younger sister who deserted the family years ago only to reappear at Frankie’s lowest moment to dredge up painful memories from the past.

But Frankie learns she can’t hide—not from her family, not from the past, and not from truths about Alex she’d rather not face. The seasonal magic of the forest and its welcoming residents remind her that everything—flowers to bud, bread to rise, a heart to heal—takes its own time. This stunning novel, from the author of The Color of Tea, is a feast for the senses, with a message of forgiveness, hope, and the many ways to find and give love. 

See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Season-of-Salt-and-Honey/Hannah-Tunnicliffe/9781451682847#sthash.OaHMoDws.dpuf

1970 US Government Memo Says Women Can Wear Pant Suits to Work and Only 45 Years Later, and Hillary Clinton is Running for President!

When I read a blurb on Twitter this weekend about a 1970s memo from the Personnel Office of the US Government sanctioning the wearing of pantsuits to work by women, I thought, "Could it have been that recently?"

But, of course, it could.  And while I wasn't in the workforce in 1970, I was alive and I can remember just how many restrictions were placed on women at that time.  The old Virginia Slims ad comes to mind, "You've Come a Long Way Baby."  Liberating us while telling us to kill ourselves by smoking cigarettes.  Sort of an oxymoron, I'd say.

If there's one thing that "Mad Men" has brought back into the forefront (besides really cool chip and dip sets, I still have yet to find one that I like) it's the reminder that while we have "a long way to go," we have come a long way from the days when we weren't allowed to wear pants to work.

Or, have we?  Hillary Clinton sure gets chided enough about her power-suits.  So much so that she makes me want to vote for her based on the fact that she irritates so many men.

Seriously, though, some of us remember when men were paid more than women for the same job.

Wait a minute - that hasn't changed really, has it?

"A Window Opens" by Elisabeth Egan

Review Coming Soon

"A Window Opens" by Elisabeth Egan

"Happy Labor Day" - Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves!

You may be off today, like me, taking advantage of a three-day weekend.  In my case, I'm nursing a cold. Nonetheless, I'm grateful to have the day to get better and not have to use sick leave or PTO.

Which brings us to Labor Day.  

The strides that have been made, the steps we still need to take to make working in America, fair and just for all.  We've come a long way since the late 1800s when the first Labor Day holiday was celebrated in America, but there's much to be done.  

Women, by far, while still earning less than men on an average are doing jobs that back then we could only dream we would see being held by women.  Even the role of the secretary has evolved.  Yes, I said that. 

Wherever you labor, whether you're a 9 to 5'er, shift-worker, blue collar, pink collar, white collar or no collar, I hope you're having a fantastic day.  

It's Time for the Office Football Pool (AKA "Give Us the Money!")

While in the throes of being an "empty nester," I started watching football.  

It began with college football (a much more civilized version than the NFL) and progressed to the San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans, Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers (I can't pick a team).

A lot of this new enjoyment can be attributed to the "office football pool."   I might be inclined to be a bit of a "gambler."  

You see, around my firm, if you're a staff member, you either "play or get labeled."  Labeled as not one of the gang, labeled as a cheapskate, labeled as "un-American."  I tend to be a "pleaser," so I'll wager ten bucks here and there.  I'm sorry but I cannot give up my gourmet coffee fund for football.  I have not gone there yet and don't plan on it.

However, when someone told me today that I was guaranteed to win the first pool "7-1," I was ecstatic.  I have no idea how I'm guaranteed to win or even what I would win, if I was the winner.  Truth is, even though I've started watching football, I have no clear concept of the rules or how the game is played.  I do understand "touchdown."

And while we bask in 90 degree weather today, I must admit I'm looking just a little forward to football.  Between the office football pool and the Pumpkin Spice Latte, the Fall season has its perks.

The Rhythm of the August Rain by Gillian Royes

You still have time to catch up on your "Summer Reading."

New from Gillian Royes, creator of the Shad series, comes "The Rhythm of the August Rain"

Gillian Royes, Author

"The Rhythm of the August Rain" by Gillian Royes

"Shad Myers, the loveable bartender and town sleuth of Largo Bay, hunts down clues to a woman’s mysterious disappearance in this fourth riveting novel in the Shad detective series.Shannon, a photojournalist on assignment for a Canadian magazine, arrives in the impoverished but beautiful fishing village of Largo Bay, Jamaica. But she’s seeking more than a tropical paradise: She wants to know why a Canadian woman named Katlyn went missing there more than three decades ago.So she calls on Shad—“bartender by trade, investigator by vocation, and unofficial sheriff of Largo Bay” (Publishers Weekly)—for help. Together, they delve into Rastafarian life and history while preparations are being made for Shad’s wedding and the groundbreaking of his new hotel. But the deeper they get into the story, the deeper they get into trouble. And it’s clear that whoever wanted Katlyn buried all those years ago will do anything to keep the truth buried as well…As in her previous novels The Sea Grape Tree, The Man Who Turned Both Cheeks, and The Goat Woman of Largo Bay, Gillian Royes transports readers into a beautiful Caribbean setting where life is cheap but religion is strong, and one man is still trying to solve the island’s relentless questions."

See more at: SimonandSchuster

Available in bookstores everywhere and online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble

They're Back. . .The Return of the Cubicle

Just when you thought the role of the secretary had evolved - they're back.

I don't know about you but I sort of like the direction firms have taken over the past decade or so with open space desks.  I mean, granted you don't have any privacy, but did you really think your "cube-mate" didn't hear you on the phone with your roommate telling him it was time to shape up or ship out?

Cubicles give a whole new meaning to "faux-walls."  They're nothing but "perception." In reality, they're actually more confining and less "feng-shui friendly" than the desk you're sitting at right outside your boss's office.

I mean wouldn't you rather see him coming than have him sneak up behind you just as you clicked on "TMZ?"

Alas, there's nothing we can do because we just work here.

So, you might as well get those push-pins ready for next year's calendars.

The cubicle has returned and with firms making use of every single inch of space, I'd say they're here to stay.