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Middle Grade Monday: A Place to Hang the Moon

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Title: A Place to Hang the Moon Author: Kate Albus. Read by Polly Lee Publication Info: Tantor Media, 2021. Original Margaret Ferguson, 2021, 309 pages Source: Library Publisher’s Blurb: It is 1940 and Anna, 9, Edmund, 11, and William, 12, have just lost their grandmother. Unfortunately, she left no provision for their guardianship in her will. Her solicitor comes up with a preposterous plan: he will arrange for the children to join a group of schoolchildren who are being evacuated to a village in the country, where they will live with families for the duration of the war. He also hopes that whoever takes the children on might end up willing to adopt them and become their new family--providing, of course, that the children can agree on the choice. Moving from one family to another, the children suffer the cruel trickery of foster brothers, the cold realities of outdoor toilets, and the hollowness of empty tummies. They seek comfort in the village lending library, whose kind

Photo Friday: Trekking in Nepal, Part I: Lukla to Namche

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Going over my photos, it's hard to see how I can do this trip report with anything like a reasonable number of photos, unless I do one day at a time (and even then it could be hard). For that matter, I could do a whole post on flying into Lukla! Here it is, though. And here are the other posts as of Jan. 6: Kathmandu Part II: Namche to Khunde Part III: Khunde to Pangboche Background: My second son (age 22) and I signed onto a group tour with Kamzang Journeys , a 21-day trek in the Everest region, with several days in Kathmandu on either end. Let me say right up front: Kim Bannister, Lhapa Dorji Sherpa, and the whole Kamzang crew were amazing, and it was a fantastic trip. It probably didn't hurt that they were all so excited to be trekking again, after a two-year hiatus due to COVID. Nepal has focused vaccination efforts on the main tourist areas, making the trek feel as safe as anywhere in that regard (honestly, the vaccination rate in the Khumbu--the Everest region--is far be

Non-fiction Review: Tigers of the Snow

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Title: Tigers of the Snow: How One Fateful Climb Made the Sherpas Mountaineering Legends Author: Jonathan Neale Publication Info: Thomas Dunne Books, 2002. 320 pages Source: Kamzang Journeys trekking library! Publisher’s Blurb: In 1922 Himalayan climbers were British gentlemen, and their Sherpa and Tibetan porters were "coolies," unskilled and inexperienced casual laborers. By 1953 Sherpa Tenzing Norgay stood on the summit of Everest, and the coolies had become the "Tigers of the Snow." Jonathan Neale's absorbing new book is both a compelling history of the oft-forgotten heroes of mountaineering and a gripping account of the expedition that transformed the Sherpas into climbing legends. In 1934 a German-led team set off to climb the Himalayan peak of Nanga Parbat, the ninth highest mountain on earth. After a disastrous assault in 1895, no attempt had been made to conquer the mountain for thirty-nine years. The new Nazi government was determined to pro

#WEP: December Flash Fiction Challenge

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This December challenge wraps up the year of artistic inspiration from some great works of art. The WEP is open to all, following the simple rules: 1. SUBMIT your name to the list below on December 1 thru the 15th . Add your link (URL) 2. POST your entry, put WEP is in the TITLE along with The Narcissus badge within your entry. 3. STATE feedback preferences and word count at the end of your entry. 4. READ other entries, giving feedback if requested. 5. SHARE THE CHALLENGE on social media. Tweets are ready on the WEP blog. PLEASE NOTE: ENTRIES CLOSE Dec. 15th @ midnight (NY Time - check WEP blog clock) ALL GENRES WELCOME except erotica - 1,000 words maximum My story for this month's challenge is maybe cheating a little--I didn't write it for the challenge, but I decided that the common understanding of Narcissus and narcissism fits well enough, even if the story doesn't relate to the painting. I wrote this while trekking in Nepal last month, highlighting a character w

Photo Friday: Kathmandu

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Nothing like getting home... and tackling the photo edits right off. Since everyone expects a show at Xmas, I can't procrastinate. That means I can start sharing photos here. I've finished edits on the Kathmandu section of the trip, and managed to select almost a reasonable number of pictures to share here. There's no coherent narrative here--I'm just trying to capture some of the feel of the city. Many thanks to Kim Bannister and Kamzang Journeys for enabling all of this!   Approaching Kathmandu by air. Not the mountains, but definitely the hills.     We arrived at the start of Tihar, the Nepali celebration of Diwali. Hanging garlands of bright orange marigolds on everything is an important part of the celebration (we even saw them on the necks of street dogs). Another part of the celebration is lights--everywhere, for a night or two. Climbing the stairs to the Swayambunath stupa. ... Also known as the Monkey Temple.   The stupa is on a hill, so offers some sense of t

Writer's Update: Maybe working?

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It should come as a surprise to no one, least of all me, that having just returned from a month of travel on the opposite side of the world, I'm not exactly back leaping into my writing routine. So why am I so surprised? Slow learner, I guess. Let's see: I got home Saturday afternoon. I spent Saturday and Sunday taking care of all the laundry and gear cleaning needed (boy, that trekker laundry was ripe! When a sniffer dog at the airport checked out my duffel, I was afraid it would drop dead on the spot). And napping. Monday I managed to get started on photo editing, with a nap thrown in. Tuesday was the day: I showed up for my writers' accountability at 9, set my goal, noted I had a dentist appointment, and took off. And... I achieved my goal! Okay, the goal was to print out the draft of my new novel, so I can start thinking about editing it. Still--I got it done, and it really did take all the extra time I had either side of the dentist, since I also had to go scrounging f

Home at last!

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Home, happy, and exhausted (and so jet-lagged it took me 3 days to get this post up)! With a few sneak-preview photos for you all who have continued to follow the blog during my absence. The Himalayas: damned big mountains. I need a nap! Approaching the Everest Base Camp area. This was the only place we had bad weather. Himalayan sunset. Crossing the Ngozumba Glacier to Gokyo. The summit of Gokyo Ri (17,580’) with Everest and Nuptse behind me. And that’s it until I get some photo editing done! All text and photos  ©️ Rebecca M. Douglass, unless otherwise indicated. Please ask for permission before using or sharing any content of this blog. Linkbacks are always appreciated!