Not Quilting: Book Olive Ketteridge and on the East Coast!

I just finished reading the most depressing, but well-written book.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

It really several short stories that are only linked together by the character, Olive. In one she is the seemingly uncaring wife with a husband about to wander (but doesn't). In another she helps someone get care they need. In the saddest she is a mother of a boy marrying someone who doesn't care for Olive and then later her son divorces that women, marries again and doesn't tell his mother. She is left out of his life, misunderstood and there isn't anything she can do about it. Getting sad or angry doesn't help.  Even changing the way you think doesn't change things, just helps you focus on other things.

I got the book at a wonderful library sale in Newport RI. My friend and the librarian both remembered as being a great book. To me each of the chapters ended in sadness, sorry, missteps, misunderstandings. Olive is a strong character who in the end seems to have worked thru all the unhappiness, but well it was a sad, sad story and I don't recommend it unless you want to be sad and dragging your feet and wondering if it will happen to you!

In other news, I'm on the east coast again! Yippee! I have had a wonderful couple of days.

- Worcester visiting DHs WPI at an alumni event - a social event at the Higgins House. Beautiful and nice. We saw a brief presentation on Bioengineering at WPI.

- Hartford to see the Mark Twain House.

- Waterbury to see Holy Land USA and friend who happened to also be in town from Colorado. Nice meal and time.

- New Britian Museum of Art for the Quilt Exhibits (no photos allowed).

- Rhode Island to see wonderful friends and their new home!

- Providence to see Waterfire - very pretty then had a delicious meal on Federal Hill.  A day of light shopping and walking (where I got the book), great pastries too. Yummy seafood. Relaxing morning before driving to

- Wincester.  There I went thru the boxes we left two years ago at their house.  I pulled out two long sleeved shirts and a mouse scanner and intend to return to mail things back to us - it's taking forever to find a place to get here ourselves.

- Cambridge.  Out for nice meal friends then to Charles Hotel to DH.  I got so happy again once we were here.  I walked in the evening to the CVS and to Flat Patties to get things to help DH.

DH is ill so our plans are changing now.  Today we had breakfast at S&S Deli and then I walked around a new complex called Assembly Row but didn't go on the subway myself so I could bring some food back to DH.  Finished the depressing book and now will move on to a different book that I also got in Newport.....

Seeing lots of designs in buildings.  Will post some later on...