On Sunday night, I read The Happy Hollisters , being that it was published in the year I was born (1953), a category in my 2015 Reading Challenge . The Happy Hollisters was the first of the 33 titles of the Happy Hollisters series written by Andrew E. Svenson, under the guise of Jerry West. I had bought the book several years ago at our local thrift store on a whim, because I was born and raised in Hollister, California and now living in Hollister again. As a kid, I remember seeing the series at the public library, but I bypassed the Happy Hollisters for the Nancy Drew series. If I had known that the Hollisters solved mysteries, I may have become a fan way back when. I like the Hollister kids, from 4-year old Sue, to 6-year old Holly, 7-year old Ricky, 10-year old Pam, and 12-year old Peter. Each character has lots of positive energy and common sense.  One of the things I like about the Hollister kids is how they feel bad after doing something wrong, apologize, and seek to mak

Lola Julia was my grand aunt. And, a grand aunt she most definitely was. (Lola means grandmother in Ilokano, the Mama's language.) Lola Julia was a one-of-a-kind woman. Once, the Mama said that I was like Lola Julia.  That's one of the best compliments I have ever received. Unlike most Filipino women of her generation, Lola Julia had a career. Her father encouraged her to get an education. She became a nurse. During World War II, she worked at a hospital for mentally ill patients. When the Japanese solders took over the hospital, she and the other nurses pretended to be patients.  By the 1950s, she was in the United States working as a nurse, first on the East Coast and then on the opposite side of the country. In the 1970s, Lola Julia retired from a supervisory nursing position for a San Francisco hospital. Lola Julia married late in life. She was in her late 40s or early 50s when she married Uncle Sam. She knew him when they were youngsters in the Philippines. They

Can you tell I'm looking through a church door? It's a small, old wooden church in my town. I've always wanted to go inside and look around, but peeping through its door is the closest I can get for now. When I took this photo, I did not expect to get any reflections. I was totally surprised to find double reflections -- me taking the photo and a a close-up of my face and camera. The photo is a little bit spooky for me. Want to see other photos of reflections? Come join me at Weekend Reflections .  

Molly the Cat is up on the roof of the shed, scratching her pretty little nose against the apple tree branches. "It's what I like," said Molly. "Purrrrrrrrrr." Molly and I are hooking up at Camera Critters . Click here to join us.

Today is The Weekend in Black and White . Click here to check out B&W photos by bloggers around the world.