Archives - Weekly Update

First of all, thanks to the dozens and dozens of you who wrote last week about my mom’s passing. I am reading each note and responding. I took a break from answering to write this newsletter. And to those who donated to First Book in her name, thank you; notes will be coming to you as well. (In the last newsletter, I failed to share that her name is Sylvia Cicetti for those who wanted to recognize her with a donation.)

Yesterday I said a sad goodbye to my first fan, my mom, who passed away at the age of 93. She had fallen a few weeks ago, and from there it was a really slippery slope. She was an elementary school teacher for more than 25 years, and from an early age she instilled in me a lifelong love of reading. Trips with her to the library and the bookmobile were a regular part of my growing up. She was a voracious reader, and through the last 26 years of The Book Report, one of my joys was when she would read a book that had been featured and share with me her thoughts about it in an email or a phone call. She belonged to a book group and loved suggesting books for her group to read based on my recommendations or our reviews, and then sharing her group’s reading list with me.

Yippee! The air conditioner on the one side of the house is working again. I was able to stop being a nomad in my own home. My laptop and I were working all around the house on Monday and Tuesday. And I think/hope/pray that the brutal heat wave has ended, and we are able to stop watching flowers wilt. So many flowers and plants dried out, despite being watered every other day. We definitely need to get some fertilizing going. Anyone with ideas for what to do for reviving hydrangeas whose growth is stunted and have not flowered well for two years, I am all ears. Also, now that I have the air conditioning back on, you can plan on temps in the 80s in the New York area.

Well, there is nothing like one of the hottest weeks of the year for the air conditioning in my home office to zap itself out of commission. Yes, the unit was 31 years old, but come on, could it not hold out until September? I have been told that the new system will be quieter and more efficient…when it gets here on Tuesday. But wait, this at least assures me that I will not have a dewy glow for our “Bookaccino Live” event on Wednesday (more on that later). That brings me some relief. I also may have lost some water weight.