The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King

Have you read this book yet? 

The Phoenix Pencil Company is a magical realism novel, written by Allison King. I don't know if I can adequately capture the absolute magic of this book, but I am going to try.  If you haven't read it yet, it is worth your time.  The themes of love, memories, and family ties existing across generations and time run throughout the book.  I found myself deeply attached to the characters and the story.  

The premise of the book is unique. I'm trying hard not to give away too much of the book, but I feel that the magical pencils are key to the story and what makes this tale so unique. In this world, magical pencils exist.  Pencils that can be reforged to bring back the memories they contain.  But - this is an important clause - not everyone can reforge the pencils.  Only those gifted with this power are able to reforge the memories. Not every pencil is capable of reforging memories, either.  Only those forged by the Phoenix Pencil Company.

There are several characters in the story.  Monica Tsai is a computer coder who is working on a program that connects strangers online.  These aren't just any strangers - they are related to each other.  Her grandmother, who currently lives in San Francisco, grew up in China and survived two wars before coming to the United States. Her grandmother, Yun, has been searching for her cousin Meng since she left China.

The computer program connects Monica with a young woman in China who is connected with her long lost Aunt.  The young woman sends Monica a Phoenix Pencil, which leads Monica deep into the past, where she discovers the secret magical power that her family possesses. 

I loved how the story gently moved back and forth in time - between Monica and her grandmother.  The author does not flinch when telling of life in China during the wars.  The pencils - and the role that the pencils played in the grand scheme of the war... I know the story is fiction, and yet I could see it also being very true.  Part of me wants to believe that this particular type of magic exists in our world, hidden away somewhere, deeply guarded and protected.

Does Monica's Grandmother Yun ever connect with her sister?  Can everyone come to peace with their past and make terms with what has happened to them?  What happens to Monica as she deals with the realities of aging grandparents?  You'll have to read the book to find out! 

Author Website: https://www.allisonjking.com/phoenix-pencil-company

Remembering Sept. 11

25 Years Ago Today.

Do you remember where you were?  I do.  I was discussing this with a young friend who had not yet been born earlier this week.

I vividly remember the day.  The sky was that beautiful blue that only happens in the fall.  It felt like you could see a million miles that day.  It is my favorite sky color in the fall.

At the time, I was working from home.  I was on the computer, when the screen changed and looked like it was melting. Think crayons running down a screen, with the black moving from the top down.  To this day, it remains the strangest thing I have ever seen in my life.

Just a week or so before, we'd had a train crash in one of the tunnels in Baltimore that impacted the telecommunications on the East Coast, and I remembered thinking that "Folks in New York at the Trade Center commented on how weirdly their computers were acting in the wake of that."  Keep in mind, the news stations had not yet picked up the news story that the Trade Centers had been hit.  

Since it looked like my computer would be down for a while, I shut it off completely and headed to the gym.  I was there, at the Y, watching the horror unfold.  We watched the fires burn.  We watched the horror continue to unfold.  We heard that the Pentagon had been hit, and we all looked at each other with an "oh sh--" look on our faces. I remember driving home, wondering how such a beautiful day held such absolute horror.

My Mom was living in Virginia at the time.  Her house was 18 miles from the Pentagon.  She felt the impact when the plane hit the Pentagon.  She said that the house "jumped".

The days that followed were so filled with sorrow.  We knew people who were lost that day.  The world was forever changed.

In place of pictures of the horror of 9/11, I am posting pictures that we took a few years ago in New York City around the 9/11 Memorial. 

Flee North by Scott Shane

Flee North, written by Scott Shane completely changed my world view and challenged some long held beliefs and assumptions. This book is a Non-Fiction History, written by a newspaper writer who has written for both the Baltimore Sun and the New York Times.

In this book, set in Baltimore and Washington DC, we learn the true story of some of the people behind the Underground Railroad in the Mid-Atlantic.  

Thomas Smallwood was born into slavery in Prince George's County Maryland in 1801.  In the 1830's, he educated himself and bought his freedom.  He moved to the Navy Yard area of Washington DC and opened a shoe repair shop. By night, he spirited entire households out of slavery and moved them north towards Canada. In his spare time, he wrote dispatches to an Abolitionist newspaper in Albany, New York, taunting the enslavers and police - using the real names of the enslavers and those who he helped escape.  Most notably, Thomas Smallwood penned the phrase "Underground Railroad" to describe how abolitionists were helping enslaved people to escape.

Scott Shane is a gifted author who captures the story of the men and women involved in this previously unknown story of one of the most significant players in the Underground Railroad in the Mid-Atlantic. 

I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone.  

Scott Shane website: https://www.scottshane.org/

New York Times article about the Underground Rail Road: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/11/opinion/man-who-named-underground-railroad.html?unlocked_article_code=aT-JOE56I-XYNjVAR34FNCbfozz964z9f5SdOR2J6LIUlXAZPuA7ZoR4A0ZzSb_IrTe3-LF2XA4uMbAsVvOabWA1WxHF8xSEcWodmId7LsOt2uHXnv6WsrN6Gn8SlEHUAP-l5y-9DiGje4bPD44mNBQFbVvAPg6OdnTCinhq77l1O5Z2o_jNxIZw1pIbzhtRVclYjo5N8mShG4sm0C96NzcsIEXm0Lolvs1VaddsQa-TnqNAt9hGxC4YPDZ8DXx-HfGPaw4FzZoSYcsMEzgwgu3lK3BUpq5PyjivZocoxxd3BMcxf7pKwEslEGJLyWFkzSUx_CEYkYitTzd819kyPjor12q8h_5gX4P95Q&smid=url-share

Random Pictures

 Some random bits and bobs from this summer!

I hosted many library programs this summer.  It's summertime at the library.  For one program, I froze a lot of plastic toys in ice, and then the kids had to get the toys out of the ice.  In the picture below, you are looking at yellow building blocks encased in ice!  This was part of a larger Dog Man program.  This particular activity was entitled "Save the Town"! (If you've read Dog Man, you know.)

Bubblepalooza!

We found this old movie projector at a museum.  

It's a Kodak, and at one time, it was in a small movie theater.

Modern projectors are so large, this one kind of blew my mind.

Obligatory July 4 fireworks photo!

The welcome to the World Cup Games at the Kansas City airport.

I Ran Away for a Day

Okay, not so much ran away as "abdicated adult responsibilities for a day".  It was around my birthday.  My Mom passed away 2 years ago - 2 days before my birthday. So, I went out to visit the cemetery on the day after my birthday.  The cemetery is out in the mountains of Frederick County.  It's a lovely, beautiful spot.  I took a lunch with me, sat beside her tombstone and caught her up on all of the things that have been going on with me and the kids since the last time I was out there.

It was a gorgeous day!  When I was finished, I drove home the long way.  I stopped by a couple of orchards and picked up Apple Cider Donuts, and the absolute BEST peaches I've had since this time last year! 

When you drive home through the mountains of Maryland, you know you're going to have a great time!

Birthday cupcake!

View towards the mountains from the cemetery.

I stopped by the covered bridges on the way home.

2026 Goals - September Update

How is it already September?  How did this happen?  

BTW, Happy Birthday to my sister!

1) Lose 25 pounds.  Gain 10% muscle mass.

I changed this goal last month.  I am concentrating more on gaining muscle and worrying less about the stress of losing weight.  For right now, that goal is gaining 7 pounds of muscle by the end of the year.  

2) Visit 1 new to me state.

Hawaii

We thought about visiting a new to us state this fall, but we are going to take a staycation.  Prices are up everywhere.  Once we worked out the cost of hotels, airfare, car rental, etc, it was difficult to justify the expense for just 5 days.

3)  3 repairs/improvements to the house.

Project #1: Add surge protectors to the heat pumps and the house.  It's not a sexy fix, but it will definitely keep the heat pumps around for a longer period of time!  We've noticed an increase in the number of power surges we've had lately. The newer HVAC systems are very sensitive to power surges and they can damage the equipment. Honestly, who wants to spend to replace an HVAC system?  They are not cheap. I want them to last as long as possible.

Project #2: We are getting the basement waterproofed.  We've had leaks in the basement for a while now.  We currently have standing water in one corner. The contractor who remodeled the main floor was supposed to fix that, but ended up not doing it.  So now, another not so sexy fix.  But, it's important to the overall health of the house! 

4) 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge

It's been a while since I've done this.  You get 40 bags or boxes of stuff out of your house over the 40 days of Lent.  I did NOT get 40 boxes out over the course of Lent.  I got rid of 6 boxes.

I'm beginning to realize that I did this a little backwards.  My goal is to empty out the storage unit - and I'm making excellent progress on this particular project.  Once I get everything out of the storage unit and really begin purging things, then I will get the 40 boxes (and then some) out of the house!

Boxes out of the house during March: 6

Boxes out of the house during April: 4

Boxes out of the house during May: 2

Boxes out of the house during June: 6

Boxes out of the house during July and August: 21

Total to date: 39

Just 1 more box to go.  One of those is a box of shredding, waiting for shred day at our local library this fall.  Seriously, I've got a LOT more stuff that will leave this house over the next few months.  I think I'm going to keep tracking this number through the end of the year.  It reminds me that I am accomplishing things!  (Even when it doesn't feel like I'm doing anything!)

5) Organize old correspondence/letters

I found a treasure trove of old letters and notes from high school.  I have them in a box to sort through next month.  The bigger question is - what gets kept and what gets thrown out?  Do I really want to save any evidence of high school me?  Most likely, NO.

On the other hand... I was given a box of old papers from a historical organization that I volunteer with to organize.  I was in my happy place, organizing that mess!  Many of the documents were of historical value, and there were a lot of photographs.  The photographs have been placed into acid free albums and labeled to the best of my ability.  The documents were sorted and organized into binders in acid free pages.  The next step - for someone else - is to digitize those documents so that back up copies exist somewhere.

Update on this: the letters are somewhat sorted.  I thought I would put them in binders and shove them away somewhere.  Some of them have been organized and put into binders.  This is a much bigger task than I originally anticipated.  I'm not certain I'm going to get this finished this year.  This might be a 2027 project.

6) Big backyard garden project.

I want to put in some sort of shelter for the local pollinators.  I've been searching through the garden catalogs for just the right thing.  I saw something when we were in England a couple of years ago that really tickled my fancy!  I have thoughts.  I just need to make some things happen!

I found the first part of my thoughts on this while in Old Ellicott City last month.  Once the weather cools down a little bit, we're going to look at finding a way to install this in the backyard.

7) Finish the cross stitch project I've been working on for 3+ years.

This is finished! Well over 3 years after I started, the project is finally finished!  I need to block this out and get it professionally framed later this year.  

From the end of February.

End of March

Finished!

8) Transfer Dad's slides to digital.

See my post here about transferring the slides!

9) Put those images into an album.

See my post here about the album.

10) Fill my America 250 Passport with lots of stamps!

Gettysburg - the Battlefields and the National Cemetery.

We went and heard the Lincoln Brigade play taps as the sun went down one Friday night.  No, I didn't take any pictures.  The moment felt sacred, and I wanted to be present.

11) Clear out the storage unit.

Done and done.  4 years after we started clearing out the house to get "a little" work done, we moved most of our possessions out to a storage unit.  And now, almost 2 years after the work was finished and we moved back into our house, we finally got all of the detritus out of the storage unit. Much of what was left went directly to the dump.  Rodents had been all over what was left, and there was mouse excrement everywhere.  It's all gone now. 

Being perfectly honest - there is still some stuff laying around on the carport.  Okay, a lot of stuff.  And no porch pirates have bothered to relieve us of our miscellaneous junk.

12)  Do one totally irresponsible and fun thing each month! 

I took a basket weaving class!  Oh my goodness, that was so much fun!  

13) Go see Falling Water. (Frank Lloyd Wright) 

This is a Bucket List item. 

14) Visit 12 new to me bakeries.

I think I'm falling behind on this.  I need to put in a concerted effort to rectify this sad situation!

        1) Eli Mochi Donut

        2) The Reister's Daughter

        3) Leonard's Bakery (Honolulu)

        4) Tour les Jours

        5) Paris Baguette

        6) The Bake Shop - Williamsburg, VA

        7) Raleigh Tavern Bakery - Williamsburg, VA- not new to me - it's a lifelong favorite!

What I Did This Summer

Do you remember writing these essays back in the day?  I do!  While I have a lot of content in here about random things that tickle my fancy, I don't think I've honestly tackled what has been going on in the Real World. 

We went traveling at the beginning of summer.  We went to Colonial Williamsburg.  We visited Yorktown and Jamestown. I love visiting those historic sites and understanding how we came to be where we are now.  We went to Kansas for the 4th of July.  Not only did we get to see the fireworks, we were there in time for several World Cup matches.  We did not attend the matches, but we did enjoy a watch party, and we had so much fun meeting people from all over the world.  The breakfast area in the hotel lobby was a very fun place to be!

One of our children has gotten engaged! They have chosen a venue!  I got to go to the tasting with the caterer, and soon I get to tag along for the dress shopping.  I did not have a wedding planner back when I got married, I did all the work myself and forgot many things until the very last minute.  These kids have the benefit of having a dedicated wedding planner who is helping them out with all of the details big and small.  I enjoyed planning my own wedding, but my gosh, a wedding planner makes such a difference.

Bulgogi-Mushroom Bowl from the tasting.

We emptied out the storage unit - onto our carport.  Most everything has been sifted and sorted.  I now have several very large empty plastic bins that I need to deal with.  I'm honestly not done yet.  Now that we are about to deal with the water in the basement, we are going to have to clear out the basement.  OK - at least pull everything 5' away from the wall. So... I might be packing up stuff.  AGAIN.  I still have stuff down there that I have put off sorting through the first time.  Before all is said and done, we really will have significantly downsized.

We've been to see a play: Mean Girls.  Which, in some ways, reminded me more of being a mom of young children in the hyper competitive world of children's soccer than my high school. Don't get me wrong, my high school definitely had those cliques, but this band geek was completely out of the loop of that drama.  

We've been to a couple of free outdoor concerts this summer.  My favorite summer activity is taking a picnic dinner out to some outdoor venue and listening to free music!

Picnic with Banana  Pudding!

I've worked a lot. Too much.  I'm trying to work harder on work-life balance.  It hit me this summer that I don't have that.  I really need to improve that!

I've worked out a lot. The front desk staff at the gym knows me by name now.

Oh, and I've had a couple of incidents where I've been sick this summer.  Once with Heat Exhaustion (that wasn't fun) and once with food poisoning. (also not fun)  I have to say, both times, the cat has decided that she is my mother in those instances.  She comes over, runs her paws through my hair and grooms me just like a mama cat would with a kitten.  It's both very sweet and very disconcerting!  

How was your summer?