 What’s the deal with the black & white saddle shoes?  Click here for the story of our farm in Greene County, Iowa. Here's looking at life at Simple Serenity Farm  Carla’s sister & brother-in-law Chris and Tony Woods, of Des Moines, were at the farm on Sunday, August 22, helping Carla do the lawn mowing and other yard work that we’ve struggled to keep up with lately, with all our medical appointments. The Woodses brought along their 18-month-old granddaughter Ari, who was a delight watching all the action from the porch with Chuck, catching up on her reading and then getting a moment on the lawn tractor seat! Click here for larger format Earlier photos in this series Iowa Hall of Pride netINS, Inc. Butler House on Grand B&B Sam's Barber Shop Douglas T. Bates III, Attorney KMA Radio's ''Chuck & Don Show'' Barack Obama story & coloring book The Monks of New Melleray Abbey RELATED LINKS About Offenburger.com Biographies Want to Reprint? Want Updates? ARCHIVES Chuck Offenburger's columns Christie Vilsack's columns Carla Offenburger's columns Carla's book reviews Jared Strong's columns Guest Columns The Simple Serenity Farm columns Farm Photos, 2006 - 2008 Our Iowa News Digest Along Our Way 
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What's Carla Reading?
“Organizing the Good Life: A Path to Joyful Simplicity,” by Celia Rocks (2001) I like reading self-help type books – books that talk about managing time, money, relationships and other such things. Even though I’ve read books like this hundreds of times before, it seems each time I read something that is supposed to “guide” me in making my life better, simpler, or calmer, I do indeed find something useful. Many times it’s simply hearing things in a different way, or being in a different position in my life can make something that didn’t concern or interest me earlier, seem relevant all of a sudden. All that made it easy for me to pick up Celia Rocks’ “Organizing the Good Life: A Path to Joyful Simplicity – Home to Work and Back.” Rocks dedicated this book to her sister-in-law. She writes, “This book is dedicated to my sister-in-law, Veronica Rocks, who, upon learning that she had cancer, immediately shut down her law office. ‘I don’t want to spend one more day doing what I am not happy doing,’ she said. May she inspire you, as she has inspired me, to ask yourself these questions: ‘Why am I doing what I’m doing? Am I really happy with my life the way it is? And if not, how can I change it to make it right?’ ” Because my husband Chuck has recently been diagnosed with “treatable, but not curable” non-Hodgkin’s follicular lymphoma, we probably have been looking at things a little differently. And that’s always a good thing. So, I liked Rocks’ dedication and I liked the questions she was inspiring me to ask myself. Perhaps I should have stopped when I was answering those questions in her dedication, pretty easily and without doubt. The book, overall, was hard for me to keep reading. Because, as I said, self-help books tend to help us differently at different times in our lives. “Organizing the Good Life” just had me shaking my head. Rocks has good suggestions on many fronts. Her chapters include “Show up”; “Be highly ethical”; “Pinpoint what matters most”; “De-clutter and energize your environment”; “Choose quality”; “Delegate everything you can – and hire the best”; “Give privileged time to those you love”; “Develop a healthy relationship to money”; “Dig in and enjoy where you are – or move”; “Slow down, play and take care of your emotional health.” And yet, she tells it from a perspective of someone who seemed always to be in a position of power when it came to making changes in simplifying her own life. For example, she has her own successful business. As is the case with many who write such books, Rocks’ advice seemed to continually be filled with “I did this, so can you.” But Rocks seemed to be ever aware that she is well off, and some things seem to be really easy for her to do. For example she is very much able to buy “quality” and “hire the best.” She talks about expensive handbags she buys and other items of clothing. While she may be right in that quality lasts longer, it’s unrealistic for many of us to spend hundreds of dollars on a handbag. In fact, I think it’s ridiculous, even if buying one would somehow simplify some part of my life in the long run. Same goes for other things she mentions. And her chapter on “Delegate everything you can – and hire the best” is also unrealistic for those of us who don’t have the resources to hire someone to do our daily errands (prescription pick-up, dry cleaning, bank deposits, groceries, etc.) like she does. It’s also an unrealistic suggestion for those of us who live in small towns, where all such errands take a total of 30 minutes or less, especially if you can park on the square and walk to most of your “weekly errand” shops. I’d love to hire someone to clean my house – and it’s the first thing I’d do if I thought I could afford it. And Rocks would highly recommend I do so, but I could also rearrange my time better, commit the time it takes to clean the house (even read a book about how to do it most efficiently), and then put the $75 or so it would cost for each cleaning to better use – like paying off my debt. When she talks about giving privileged time to those you love, her example is how she made the decision to take her kids to their music lessons rather than pay her errand runner to do this. Say what? To simplify a part of her life she chose not to pay someone to do what most of us can’t even imagine doing in the first place – paying someone to drive our kids to music lessons. And by the way, her children weren’t just taking piano lessons from the organist at church, they were at an area music academy. Of course, in her defense she also gives the practical advice to eat as a family and enjoy the quality time of dinner together. She also says being in debt is always a detriment to so many areas of trying to simplify our lives. And that getting out of debt is one of the first things we should accomplish on our way to truly simplifying our lives. But we all knew that already, didn’t we? So, while I enjoyed bits and pieces of Rocks’ thoughts and anecdotes, overall, I felt frustrated. It seemed like she was talking to a select group of female business owners who can choose to take the time off jobs they control, and who can easily afford to do many of her recommendations. The truth is, many of us aren’t in such positions and we need more realistic ways to find our “path to joyful simplicity.” - Carla Offenburger Now reading“Prayers for Sale,” by Sandra Dallas (2009). Most recently reviewed Novelist Debbie Macomber’s “Cedar Cove Series.” These novels are quick and easy reads, done in a series of stories that begin with good characters and just keep getting better. “And Ladies of the Club,” by Helen Hoover Santmyer (1982). I highly recommend you literally find the strength to pick up this book. I think you’ll also thoroughly enjoy all 1,176 pages. “Home: A Novel,” by Marilynne Robinson (2008). Robinson has a poetic, thoughtful way with words, and that in itself makes reading her a peaceful experience, even if her characters are struggling to find that experience themselves. “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society,” by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows (2008). Sometimes the words of a book just jump off the page and sing to you. Really. That’s what this book did for me. “The Girls from Ames,” by Jeffrey Zaslow (2009). Be sure to read this one. It’s my story, and it’s your story and it’s the story of the girls from Ames, too. Comment from you readers Carol Johnson, Pomeroy, Iowa: “Enjoyed your article on your trip (to the Cedar Cove Days festival in Washington state). My sisters and I also read every one of Debbie Macomber’s books and look forward to them coming out. I got into the series late, so got to read about six of them right away and now don''t like having to wait a year for the next one. Sounds like you had a wonderful trip and thanks for sharing with us.” i>You can write me with comments on my reviews or your own thoughts on books at carla@Offenburger.com.
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