I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read Sarah’s Key. Over the years I made sure that I was informed about the Holocaust; starting with the Diary of Anne Frank, onto Jean-Francois Steiner’s Treblinka and then Night by Elie Wiesel. I was also careful to watch shows that treated the subject with respect and truth; World at War, Schindler’s List and HBO’s 2001 undervalued Conspiracy come to mind.

From the first few pages I was soon to realize that like the main character Julia I knew nothing about the Vél d’Hiv roundup. As the book unfolds I found Sarah’s journey riveting and the modern day Julia’s story was well intertwined. Unfortunately when de Rosnay drops Sarah’s narrative and let’s the rest of it unfold through Julia’s research the book loses its substance. At that point Sarah’s Key takes on the veneer of a romance novel; the characters and scenes became banal.  The last chapter was positively Danielle Steelesque, so much so that when Julia reveals the name of her baby it doesn’t read as poignant but trite.

I do recommend the book as the first half is well written and devoid of melodrama; as France is now willing to face and apologize for the Vél d’Hiv this event needs to take it place in our consciousness. Which further reinforces that if de Rosnay had continued to write Sarah’s character into the second half of the book this would have been a truly great novel from beginning to end.

As for Duke he is back in his cornor of the living room fast asleep on his big soft dog bed with an extra blanket for padding and probably dreaming about spring.

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Post tags: dogs, Duke, Paris, Sarah's Key, Tatiana de Rosnay, The Midwife of Venice, Vél d’Hiv, winter

In 2010 Jill Crossland Coaching grew in the way that I had engineered, veering away from life coaching and taking on more business clients, an unexpected plus was working with male entrepreneurs. This works well as not all women like my direct and down to earth coaching style. As I said to one female client last month ”You don’t pay me to agree with you.”

TimeFinders Magazine is looking for a new name that better encapsulates its broad demographic with the common denominators of being a woman with a business, family and personal life. Contest details can be found at the bottom of the home page.

In 2010 I became part of  The Nuttermother online book club because I wanted to broaden my book choices; while I didn’t read every book the ones I choose took me  away from my usual genres. If you haven’t done so already I recommend that you read Little Bee and The Help before taking on the latest crop of bestsellers. Little Bee brings you face to face with the question what would you do in a life and death moment. While also looking at the possible actions of a significant other if they were there beside you.

The Help should be read before the movie comes out in August of this year. I am not convinced that Hollywood will do justice to the subtle nuances of both the characters and the time in which they live. I would have preferred to see the story brought to life through an HBO or PBS”s Masterpiece Contemporary production.  By the way if you were a fan of Upstairs, Downstairs new episodes are being broadcast in April.

Last years crop of  mainstream TV shows had very few bright spots apart from The Good Wife and Blue Bloods; both shows have a strong cast and well written story lines. For me The Walking Dead was just another zombie show only with a better cast and script then usually accompanies this type of entertainment. Whatever your entertainment preference is it is important to carve out time to relax. 

Every January I encourage clients to avoid the vicious circle of resolutions and instead we work on setting realistic goals and format a plan to find personalized solutions to problems. It is best to stay away from the one size fits all answers to life’s challenges. The National Post had another approach in their article “Instead of resolutions why not try solutions?”. The first thing that I have done was to purchase the new Blackberry Torch this weekend in the hopes of being a bit more efficient when out and about. Now to find the time to set it up to meet my specifications.

I haven’t mentioned the dogs in awhile. Mia is as lovely and easy going as always. She is enjoying the dog park that the town has finally opened. Neurotic Duke was really good  at the park for a couple of weeks but then suddenly started to be grumpy with the others dogs so we had to make the decision to stop taking him. That’s my boy, always a challenge no matter how old he gets.

I hope that you continue to drop by Life Deco and I will endeavor to stay current in my writings. Happy New Year!

© Jill Crossland for Life Deco, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Blackberry Torch, dogs, New Year, Nuttermother, PBS, tv shows

Today December 21st is Winter Solstice and it is steeped in female folklore:

Women and the Moon

Celebrating Winter Solstice is a bit long but interesting

As a coach I often hear women say that there is an emptiness or void inside of them and perhaps the key to filling that lies in a re-connection with our past. An untamed beach with waves crashing in powerful harmony speaks to my ancient Anglo-Saxon self. And is probably the closest to a spiritual experience that I have known to date.

As a New Year begins our ancestry may hold unexpected revelations about ourselves. The success of 2011 is in the soil between your fingers as you plant herbs, a mountain climbing expedition or returning to the religion of your childhood.    

With Your Biscotti & Coffee

1) The first written record of this sport dates back to 712. Cleaning Up Sumo by Hannah Beech/Saitama Sakae

Two Interesting Women

2) Dr. Hawa Abdi – Heroic, Female and Muslim by Nicholas D. Kristof

3) The perfume business is not all roses especially for perfumer Patricia de Nicolai, Scent of a Woman by Nathalie Atkinson

© Jill Crossland for Life Deco, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Dr Hawa Abdi, folklore, Patricia de Nicolai, religion, spirituality, sumo wrestling, winter solstice

Perhaps the standards have slipped somewhat but I must defend myself and say that it is May 29^th. What was that? You saw me out walking this morning. No, that was another woman with a chocolate lab and Australian Shepherd – couldn’t have been me!    

With Your Biscotti & Coffee

1) An Interesting Woman: India Hicks

She was recently intervewed by Nathalie Atkinson when she presented at the Canadian Fragrance Awards in Toronto.

Her website: http://www.indiahicks.com/

2) Lambeth Palace Library

If you are in England between now and July 23rd set aside some time to visit the Lambeth Palace Library. In celebration of its 400^th anniversary in 2010, the Library is showing its diverse collections of manuscripts, archives and books, some of which will be on display for the first time. Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

3) BP Oil Spill

LA GULF RESPONSE: “In the wake of the BP Oil Spill that is threatening our coast, local, regional and national conservation organizations are coordinating volunteers to assist in local, state and federal recovery efforts in Louisiana.

Our organizations – including the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program, the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, the National Audubon Society, the National Wildlife Federation and The Nature Conservancy – are established, active advocates for the preservation and restoration of coastal Louisiana ………..’”

Please visit http://lagulfresponse.org/home.html to volunteer or make a donation.

© Jill Crossland for Life Deco, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: BP oil spill, India Hicks, Lambeth Palace, Spring

Winter is slowly starting to wane in Alberta but the landscape has a dull, muddy look to it. Is it a midlife thing when we start to measure our life by the seasons?  I know that I need to break the brown monotony, with some flowers. This is actually my favorite time of year for flowers. In my dating prime I always thought that the man who really got me would have come to the door with spring flowers instead of those expensive roses. A bouquet of daffodils, some vivid iris and tulips, the scent of jasmine or a beautiful bowl of hyacinths would have delighted me. Add to this offering a leather bound copy of one of my favorite books and I would have ……… (insert own words).

Another measurable part of my time is the chunks of it that I spend R&Ring or doing Reading & Research. Finding information & resources for clients and my writing has me uncovering all sorts of interesting material.  I therefore thought that I would start to share with you some of the websites and articles that I come across in that process. Some engaging bits and pieces from around the world that will go well With Your Biscotti & Coffee

This week we have; ladies only trains, why acquiring water is still such a challenge in may parts of the world and an article on what may be happening between you and your best friend. Enjoy

1) Ladies Special
In countries where women are breaking with tradition and becoming the bread winners we are seeing some unexpected outcomes. India is now running women only trains. This came about because the women are tired of being verbally and physically abused on the regular trains. Another offshoot is women vendors who sell everything from earrings to hairpins to frozen yogurt to the female passengers.

BBC News: Joy of India’s women only trains

2) Water.org: Women Can’t Do Everything Campaign

Searching for water takes hours out of the day for women around the world.

Women can’t do anything video

3) The Myth of the BFF by Kate Fillion

Irene S Levine has a PDF version of this really interesting article that was published in Chatelaine Magazine, January 2010.

The Friendship Blog

© Jill Crossland for Life Deco, 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Australian Shepherds, BFF, dogs, India, Mia, Spring, water