Tag Archives: Dee

Jan ’18 Book Posts

Posted on January 19, 2018 | Comments Off on Jan ’18 Book Posts

From Judy Kennedy:  Read a lot of good books while south of Trump’s wall, the best of which was MSNBC’s Chris Mathews’ new biography of BOBBY KENNEDY.  The good news is that it made me feel a tad better  — but only a tad — about the current political situation in Washington DC.  We’ve lived through very troubling, difficult times before as this book reminds, and survived.  Yet that’s the bad news too, as we don’t seem to learn much from our past experiences.

From Dee:  I loved A Gentleman in Moscow last summer (really delightful book about a count who is sentenced to house arrest in the poshest hotel in Moscow in the 1920s, and his life there), and right now am reading books for our upcoming Literary Women authors festival – so far, I liked To the Bright Edge of the World, by Eowyn Ivey (Alaska expedition in the 19th century),  History of Wolves, by Emily Fridlund, and Rise of the Rocket Girls, about the women computers at the Jet Propulsion Lab, and their role in space exploration.  

From Rocki:  One of my book groups is about to discuss The Last Days of Night, by Graham Moore, an (ahem) ‘electrifying’ account of the battle between George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison to take credit for inventing the lightbulb and controlling its future.  Nicola Tesla is a key eccentric character.  Very readable!

From Betsy:  We are discussing The Little Paris Book Shop, which is a great book..especially if you love France!

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2017 March, from Dee

Posted on March 14, 2017 | Comments Off on 2017 March, from Dee

Dee Abrahamse, March 2017
 …I attended Literary Women, the Long Beach women authors festival  – 800 women in the convention center…  Books I liked are:   Jill Leovy, of Ghettoside, a non-fiction book by an LA Times reporter … about the police who were determined to bring gang murders to justice, and support the terrified inhabitants of the neighborhood.  Cathleen Schine’s book They May Not Mean to But They Do is about aging, taking care of a spouse with dementia, and relations with adult children and their families, done with some Jewish humor and general warmth … and might be a good book group book:  http://www.cathleenschine.com/ .   Mia Alvar is a young writer whose short stories about the Philippines and Filipinos living and working around the world – fascinating for information, and excellent writing – I realized I didn’t know much about the Philippines at all. .  https://miaalvar.com/  I also liked Nadia Hashimi’s book When the Moon is Low, tracing and Afghan refugees family’s journey to Europe. She has written two other books about women in Afghanistan… Andif you like Anthropology,  Lily King’s book Euphoria, based on Margaret Mead’s romance with Gregory Bateson while doing research with her husband Reo Fortune in New Guinea is also a very good portrait/discussion of anthropology and the dilemmas of research on tribal cultures.  Here’s a link: http://www.lilykingbooks.com/ .  

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Dee DeFerranti Abrahamse Holiday Letter

Posted on January 28, 2016 | Comments Off on Dee DeFerranti Abrahamse Holiday Letter

Dear Friends,                                                                                     December 2015

Greetings from Dee and Allan for 2015. We’ve had a good year, especially since a lot of it involved time enjoying our grandchildren Genevieve and Aakash. We are grateful that we’re both still healthy and only a bit more forgetful than we were a year or two ago. Genevieve is now nine, and has become an accomplished young lady – a whiz on the computer, and a great cook. She found two recipes and made them for Thanksgiving with her father Paul and me assisting. She is in fourth grade in Michigan now.

Aakash, two and a half is a cheerful non-stop talker who loves trucks, curious George and animals. His parents Ben and Trina just bought a house and moved to the Boston suburbs. We spent time with them all in Boston, San Francisco, Long Beach and Vermont this year, and had lots of Skype calls. We’re happy that the converted Vermont barn we inherited from Dee’s parents now has a third generation of children enjoying it and our family times there together, now including Allan’s brother Dale and his family and Ben’s wife Trina’s parents.

Dee began the year with a sibling trip to South Africa with her sister Katie, brother Dave and sister-in- law Margot. We were fascinated with what we got to see about the history and diversity South Africa today, and, like everyone else we know, loved the countryside and wildlife. One special mission was learning more about our paternal grandmother, who grew up and met our grandfather there in the late 19th century before immigrating to Australia. We were able to find quite a bit, visited a school she attended and even met a distant cousin. In November we had a fall trip to Washington DC and New York, where we visited family, reconnected with old friends, and managed to see Hamilton in New York – up to the hype, and The Gin Game starring James Earle Jones and Cicely Tyson, a stunning performance by two legendary actors older than we are. We also loved the new Whitney Museum, and heard a concert by Dee’s former choir, Long Beach Camerata Singers. Dee did some lobbying with the Friends Committee on National Legislation in Washington.

Dee continues with the Public Library Foundation and Human Trafficking Task Force and sings with a group for hospice patients. We are both active in our Quaker meeting.

(Ed Note:  Dee’s book suggestions can be found in “What We Do”/Great Reads)

Like the rest of you, we can only wish for some sanity and compassion in our country in 2016 .

Dee Deferranti Arahamse and husband AllanDeePhoto2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Conway Mini-Reunion 2014

Posted on August 20, 2014 | Comments Off on Conway Mini-Reunion 2014

Seven gorgeous women enjoy the New Hampshire sunshine.
Left to right: Carol Sweeney Benson, Dee Deferranti Abrahamse, Barbara Freeman Douglass, Judy Marshall Kennedy, Diana Diggin, Sue Wheatley Carr, and Marian Strong Moore.  You’re not getting older;  you’re just getting better!

Conway Group

Classmates- Debbie Holden Franz saw Carol in Come Back Little Sheba at
Quarryworks this summer while visiting her son in Essex, VT. Jean Austen also
visited Carol and they went to King Arthur Flour in Norwich, VT but missed Diana Diggin.  No surprise, her co-workers sang her praises.  Carol also said that
Chris Hollister Hila had reconnected with an old friend and was enjoying his
company.  Carol had a good season at her local theater and is really looking
forward to next summer when she plays the evil Moriarity in Baker Street and
will reprise her Trip to Bountiful.
Reunion- We were lucky to have the two reunion chairs, Sue and Marian,with us.
They asked us to imagine a blank slate and then say what we really want at
reunion.  Spending time with each other, classes and tours/discussions of new
programs, buildings were most important.  There was a lot of discussion about
ways to cut costs and to be sure everyone can come.  One saving could be
costumes, with us bringing more as we did with the shoes at the 50th. Another was to simplify meals, which may not be possible since offerings are pretty much
controlled by the college commissary.  We also discussed whether the booklet is
needed or could be electronic instead of printed.  The consensus was that it was
important. Another suggestion was that we all read the same book before reunion, perhaps with an alumnae connection.
Which is a segue to books: some that were recommended were Gone Girl, Orphan, All the Light You Cannot See, and Hope Against Hope.  Marion’s book group is reading the latter, written by Sara Carr (note last name) and describing success stories of new Orleans schools.  Students at Tulane will have this book as a campus wide read.
Dottie Smith Mann visited Judy earlier this summer and posed an interesting
question: “If you were Obama, what one thing would you try to do?”  Great topic,
with discussion about immigration, gun control, taming special interests, and a
fascinating political maneuver suggested by Maureen Dowd that Obama either resign or accept impeachment after initiating executive action on the programs he cares the most about and allow Joe Biden, the ultimate political maven,to finish the term while Hillary campaigns for 2016.
Other thoughtful questions were how to contribute in retirement?  “How can I
make a difference?” “What would you like to do as your senior years get more
senior?”  “What’s meaningful to you that surprises you?”  “What are things I
dreaded but now welcome and love?”
In answer to the last, some suggested public speaking, finding our voice,
improving listening.  For making a difference, Marion explained her church’s
“Pay It Forward” where an individual is given $50 and then reports how that made a difference.  Carol has her own “Abigail’s sister”, based on her role as a
homeless woman in Open Me Last.  She puts a $5 bill in envelopes, brings them to the food pantry, and tells them to distribute as they see fit.  One recipient
said, Wow, do you know how many bananas I can get now?
I can’t think of a better way to spend an afternoon, getting energized by this
group of wonderful, active, caring women.  How lucky we are.

Barbara Freeman Douglass  (I apologize that I can’t italicize or underline.  Aargh)

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