Oh, The Horror!

FindiT Key Finder

If you've ever we experienced the horror of lost keys, this Key Finder by FindiT will ease your mind that it will never happen again! I own two other key finders that purport to be simple. After struggling through the blue tooth pairing and the battery insertion, I would consider them anything BUT simple. This set, however, is a no-hassle, no set-up, no configuring pair of devices.

You receive in the box two items. The first is a thin, credit card sized transmitter. The second is a palm-sized receiver on a key ring. You simply turn on the transmitter (which will then display a small red light on the edge) and press the marked button. The receiving unit will then light and beep. I'm not just talking about a minor bleep", I'm talking about a loud-enough-to-be-effective beep you will most certainly hear. Pressing the button on the receiver will turn it off.

The transmitter is the perfect size to fit in a wallet, so it's never obtrusive or in the way. The receiver is also small enough not to be burdensome when it's attached to your keys. Five big gold stars from me for a product that worked out of the box and did the job it professed to!

Note: I received a discount on this set in exchange for an honest review.

I Love These Curtain Panels On My French Doors!

 Ellington Home Thermal Blackout Window Curtain Panels

These curtains are EXACTLY what I'd been searching for--grommeted panels in a rich brown, long enough to cover my French doors.

First, the grommets are large, polished and slide easily over any rod. The fabric of this panel is listed as polyester, which means that these can be tossed into the washer and dryer with no worries. It's also uber soft! All seams are well stitched--even and straight with no loose threads, and the seam under the grommets is double stitched for reinforcement. As you may see in the video, I didn't press these out of the package, but within two days every wrinkle had fallen out. The deep, gorgeous brown matches my rugs perfectly as well.

Five big gold stars from me! I received one in exchange for an honest review and once I saw the amazing quality, I purchased another for my French doors. Highly recommended!

The Unreliable Narrator Exemplified--Charlotte Bogan's The Lifeboat

The Lifeboat

I read this with some hesitation. I had perused several of the more negative reviews and wondered if it was worth the investment of time. I am so glad I made a leap of faith. I will admit that for the casual reader, this piece might very well fall short. The characters are one-dimensional, the plot is focused to the point of tunnel vision and the action ebbs and flows in unpredictable waves of disconnect. Closer examination, however, reveals that the perceived shortcomings are exactly those things that make this novel a masterful look at the mind of a narcisist engaged in looking back through a lens of indignation and entitlement.

Grace's troubled childhood, defined in her mind by her father's suicide and her mother's subsequent break down, has taken its toll by the time she finds herself stranded on the lifeboat, and it is only after her rescue that she tells the story of her humble beginnings as well the events that led her to be adrift in the sea. When detailing her past, Grace's sense of immediacy in terms of escaping the life of relative poverty into which she was thrust when her parents "checked out" leads her to Henry. Henry is of wealth, and it is through coverage of his activities in a local newspaper that Grace first "sees" him. She knows at once that he is her ticket to the life of privilege to which she feels entitled. While her sister is a *gasp* "working girl" (making her way as a nanny), Grace sees herself as being above that and instead hatches a plan pulled straight from a popular fairy tale to ensnare the wealthy Henry. If we are to believe Grace, after the initial deceit is wrought she actually does fall in love with the man. There, however, is the rub--are we to believe Grace? Did Henry fall in love with her and pledge his everlasting commitment? Did he eventually, as her husband, lead her to a lifeboat, making a mysterious deal with the devil along the way? Was Grace completely in the dark as to those details? Were the two truly married? Her story is full of veiled pleas to take her at her word, and we, as readers, must make the decision to play along if we are to appreciate the enormity of her seemingly depthless self-deception. It is difficult, however, to decide whether or not even Grace believes what she puts forth as "gospel". Is she trying to convince us...or herself? Once the reader realizes that he has the ability to see beyond Grace's portrayal of her reality, the read becomes an exercise in discerning truth from fiction and separating what Grace would have liked to have happened from what truly happened. The realization that the entire piece is a diary of events presented to her lawyers (trying to exonerate her for events that took place on the lifeboat)gives us an "ah ha!" moment that will have you rereading in an effort to unravel what truly occured.

For me, the events in the lifeboat itself are secondary. While one could make a case for "man against the sea", for me it read more like a psychological case study into the mind of a woman desperate to come out looking more human than she had been. The circumstances are harsh, but the author doesn't dwell on those, and instead relates them dispassionately through Grace's recollections, which are full of "intent".

If you are looking for rich character development and a plot you can sink your teeth into (pun intended), this probably isn't the book for you. If, however, you are looking to think as you read--if you are ready to be challenged in an effort to understand the truth, then this is a MUST read.