|
|
Virginia Allain's Profile
Customer Reviews: 1116
New Reviewer Rank: 123
Classic Reviewer Rank: 265
Helpful Votes:
4503
Views:
52436
Helpful Votes:
191
Views:
184
Helpful Votes:
0
|
|
Guidelines: Learn more about the ins and outs of Your Profile.
|
Reviews Written by
Virginia Allain "(retired librarian)" (Poinciana, FL)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Trip Down Memory Lane, October 31, 2009
Take a nostalgic trip back to your childhood with these memories written by three sisters. They recall their Indiana youthful activities with many of the traditional games and some of their own invention like barrel-rolling. The pieces are arranged in categories like school days, playtime, family pets, the hungry palate, golden moments and potpourri.
They make very pleasant reading, though it lacks the tension found in some childhood memoirs. There is no alcoholic father, poverty, dying mother or racial discrimination that grip and tear at the reader. If your preference is for such a wrenching biography, try reading The Glass Castle. If you want relaxing reading for a summer day; one that jogs your own memories, then read Kaleidoscope Memories. The sisters make good use of dialogue to bring their memories alive in this collection.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lots Cheaper than a Root Canal and Crown, September 18, 2009
It seems that floss can't get into all the little crevices where food hides around our teeth. After learning that I needed a root canal and crown, I got serious about keeping my teeth free of anything that would cause decay and plaque build up. This little gadget fits easily into a purse or pocket, so that after lunch you can stop in the restroom and really clean out food residue.
It lights up so you can see what's going on in your mouth and there's a tiny mirror to help you see too. The sharp dental pick is short but does the job. Great little tool to have.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Best Corn Holders I've Ever Had, August 27, 2009
When I first got these, I thought they were a little expensive, but I didn't have time to shop around. Sure glad I got them. Other corn holders that I've had in the past end up with the metal rusting or with it breaking through the plastic handle. These are very sturdy and none have broken or rusted. They store neatly interlocking, so you don't stab yourself pulling them out of the drawer.
A couple of times the yellow sleeve has pulled off the plastic handle when I try to remove the holder from an ear of corn. I just slip it back on.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Happy Harvest
|
by Jeffery Farnol
Edition: Hardcover |
| Availability: Currently unavailable |
|
|
|
|
|
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Will Appeal to Georgette Heyer Fans, August 25, 2009
From the dust jacket:
Jeffery Farnol has made early nineteenth-century England his particular province. Beginning with the famous "The Broad Highway," he has demonstrated his genius for recreating freshly and vigorously the lusty, brawling, stand-and-deliver days of the past. In "The Happy Harvest" we meet some old friends, including the loquacious Jasper Shrig, and make some new ones; and find the romance of Oliver Dale and the lovely Clia spiced with humor, and given tension by a mysterious murder which is solved by the astute Jasper, who also, on occasion, plays the role of Cupid.
"The Happy Harvest" is fine Farnol fare, a tale of a courageous hero, of a mettlesome heroine, of forest duels and moonlight escapes. Few writers in any field have so consistently maintained such a high standard of performance.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Move Your Photos Up a Notch, August 23, 2009
I take photos, lots of them, of mushrooms, feathers, moss, and wildflowers. Even though I think I have a pretty steady hand, when I bring my macro photos up on the computer and enlarge them, some photos have to be discarded. They aren't crisp and sharp.
All the photo guidebooks recommend using a tripod to improve your photos. I didn't want to be loaded down with lots of camera gear while walking in the woods. When I discovered this mini tripod, I grabbed it up. Just the thing I needed. It's compact enough to fit in the pocket of my shorts and my Canon Powershot goes into the other pocket with some back up batteries.
Right away, I could see an improvement in my close ups. When I think of all the wasted shots, I sure wish I'd found this years ago. It's easy to screw onto the camera, has a multi positioning ball/socket panhead. The three section legs side up and down to fit different situations. A very useful tool for photographers out in the field.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
At Last.... Brownies, August 23, 2009
I spotted these in the grocery store (a lady had five boxes in her cart). How perfect for a thank you gift for a neighbor who has gluten intolerance! I made up the mix and was a little concerned to see how stiff the batter was, almost the consistency of thick mud pies. The box warned that the dough would be heavy, so I restrained my desire to add more liquid. Putting it in the baking pan required forcibly pushing it around with the spoon to reach the sides.
It came out of the oven looking like brownies, but I was still worried. When I gave them to my neighbor, he was ecstatic to have gluten-free brownies. His dessert options had been severely curtailed.
Later when he returned the baking dish, he raved about the brownies and how good they were. He froze some of them for later (and didn't share even with his wife).
He's going to be searching the stores looking for more Betty Crocker gluten-free dessert mixes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Inspiration and Guidance for Anyone Writing Family Memories, August 21, 2009
I've been leading a group this summer in writing their family memories. I was delighted to discover Charley Kempthorne's book, For All Time: A Complete Guide to Writing Your Family History. It was a busy time when I started reading it and I felt I didn't have time for a straight read-through. So I sampled a page here and there, but it drew me in and in just several days I'd devoured the whole book and even reread parts of it.
The book is packed with examples of family history essays and interspersed are SUGGESTIONS which really are exercises or assignments to get you going. He talks about journal keeping and oral history as aids to writing a family history. I particularly like his recommendation to look at your life as a series of scenes.
I'm inspired to keep working on family memories and trying to be more specific and work on engaging the reader's senses. I'll be recommending this to my fellow writers in our family memory writing group.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Will you use it enough to be worthwhile?, August 16, 2009
Here's what my neighbor had to say about it: "I use it some, but the cartridges are expensive and you never seem to have exactly what you want. I have not purchased the Sure Cuts A Lot software that allows you to cut any image and all True Type fonts without cartridges, but I am thinking about it. The main thing I DO NOT like is that when you cut a word (you can "weld" the letters together so it all comes out in one piece) getting glue onto it is really difficult. When I use my Xyron to apply adhesive, it leaves a lot of residue between the letters. My recommendation would be to set aside the $300 and use it to buy lots of Jolie embellishments and other premade items. Check out the SCAL Yahoo forums to see that software before deciding."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poor Reception, August 4, 2009
Here's my aunt's experience with this: "I'm giving up on magicJack. Sounded good (unlimited long-distance calling for only $20 or so a year). Apparently my "high-speed" wireless internet with TISD is not high-speed enough for good sound. Voices "break-up" like a bad cell phone connection. Then your computer has to be on for it to work, and my number is long distance for local folks to call."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Essays Worth Reading, August 3, 2009
One expects New England topics and an emphasis on nature in Willem Lange's pieces. He delivers some of those in The Three Bears (why he no longer hunts bears) and musing about Canada Geese. Then he surprises the reader with excursions to Texas, then to a village where 642 people were massacred in 1944 France. He remembers boyhood fun at YMCA camp and finds primitive campsites, long-abandoned near the Arctic Circle.
I find it best to pause before reading a second essay. Clear the mind by doing something else then return to reading. That way each gem of writing stands apart from the rest. Lange is a marvelous wordsmith, so you want to savor the flow of language that wraps around a topic to create a scene or a feeling.
Excellent summer reading or great for fireside reading in winter.
|
|
|
|
(Poinciana, FL)
