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Review The people at number 9 – Felicity Everett
12 March 2023

Review The people at number 9 – Felicity Everett

In te book ‘The people at number 9’ it’s all about relationships with your neighbors. It can be extremely important to have a good one. And in the street where Sara and Neil live with their 2 young boys it’s just like that. Everyone gets along fine.

Across the street

Sara and her family get along even better than fine with the neighbors across the street: Carol and Paul. They, like them, are well off, like to give small dinner parties and keep a pleasantly clean home. They are just ‘regular’ people and quite content with that.

Lou and Gavin

Then Lou and Gavin, with their three small children, move in next door to Sara and Neil. When Sara brings them a casserole to welcome them to the neighborhood she immediately senses something different about this family. Lou and Gavin are not just normal people, they are both Artists. Gavin is a well-known sculptor and Lou is a filmmaker. No wonder their house looks like garbage, every penny they had went into the studio basement.

Children

Here art is their life. The kids are left to roam free, no rules, no discipline. This takes some getting used to, but Sara finds herself soon overwhelmed with the wish to become like Lou. Neil, also, is very attracted to the new couple’s lifestyle. It doesn’t take long before they become best friends. Much to the chagrin of Carol from across the street.

Jealous

All due to jealousy, the two couples laugh it off. If they want to keep their old fashioned lifestyle then so be it. Not Sara and Neil who are changing their way of life into a much more creative one. Sara decides to be the writer she always wanted to be. Neil adjusts his work schedule to drink and smoke till late at night and go to music festivals.

Home schooling

It may be even time to take the boys from school, where they are drilled into good little copies of their class mates. Lou decides they will be homeschooled. Sara enthusiastically agrees. Now they will have a say in a more creative upbringing. Sara works days and nights on her computer to find just that thing. While Lou seems to be doing nothing.

No worries

No worries though. Lou knows lots of people who know people. And they can all chip in with arts and crafts. And in the meantime she also happens to know a very influential author who can help Sara publish her book once it’s finished. Lou and Gavin support the other two in a very well-meant way. And that is just it. They mean well. So how come Sara feels more and more burdened with the care taking of all the kids?

Mistaken

She must be mistaken. Lou and Gavin do everything they can to help them being more creative. And of course they need time to do their own work as well. Lou has her film premiere coming up and Gavin needs to work on his show in Budapest. It just takes some more time to get adjusted to a carefree way of life. Sara doesn’t need to vacuum the house once a week, after all.

Film

Lou’s film is a great success. Every critic and person there loves it. Sara has no idea what the film is about. But she’d rather die than admit her ignorance about short literary films. Especially when her Neil tells her he ‘totally got’ the story and its humor. She keeps her thoughts to herself that when there was humor people would have laughed.

Recognition

There may not have been humor in Lou’s film, but there is definitely lots of it in this book. Have you ever been to an artist party where everybody gushes over the artists work with words nobody understands, least of all themselves? Let alone a literary book promotion? And have you ever been to a party where one person wants to be better than the next and makes a fool of him/herself?

Be yourself

I just know we all have people like Lou and Gavin in our lives. And there is no judgment. The great thing is that they believe in themselves. They are who they are. They are real. You can’t help but feel grudging admiration for them. It’s the people around them that want to be like them, or like anybody else, that need to wake up. The author finds a great way to address this, very common, sense of self.

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Boeken

Home
24 January 2023

Home

After living with roommates one way or another for years I can still really enjoy my little home. All mine. Well, mine and the bank’s but hey, I don’t have to share with anybody. I can totally do whatever I please. Be awake in the middle of the night, go to sleep in the middle of the day. Not that I often sleep during the day, but I could.

Stuff

My home is filled with stuff. Still I don’t really care much for materialistic things. I can do without jewelry, expensive furniture and upholstery. Everything in my house is filled with stories. Every item has its own memories. And at times I can just sit, look around and feel the richest woman on this planet.

Value

Its value is not monetary. Other people probably wouldn’t want it if I gave it away for free. ‘Nah junk!’ no thank you. But to me, it’s precious.  My home is small, so I can’t fit much more stuff in. That’s why I started to bravely discard some knick knacks I thought I could do without. Who needs 12 plates, right? And 24 cups? No, not me. My table seats 4 people at the most. Even when I throw a little buffet-style dinner party, not more than 10 people fit in my living room.

Throw it out

So, I decided I would throw anything I hadn’t used in over a year, out. It didn’t go very well. Every item told me its own story. ‘Have you forgotten, Ellen, how much fun we had once upon a time? And now I’m gonna end my days in the garbage can?’ No, couldn’t do it.

Exceptions

Of course there were few exceptions. A smudged glass I could never get to sparkle again. A broken plate. Burnt candles that maybe would give me another 10 minutes of light. Gone, all of them. One thing I noticed though, is that when you start to de-clutter, so many forgotten memories pop up.

Mom’s home

We’re emptying my moms’ home. She’s gone and we get to keep her life in memories. It’s probably the hardest thing I ever had to do. ‘Cause everything, literally everything, has its own meaning. But my house is filled. I cannot put anything else in there. My sister’s place is pretty much full as well. So we had to be strict.

Papers

Everything paper and writing supplies I have to still fit in. My sister takes everything to do with paint and painting supplies. My dad wrote tens and tens of diaries, I found a spot in my bookcase. A few photographs, calligraphy, pens, they are safe. An old (maybe even antique) letter scale found its way to my desk. And books. So many books.

Around

I look around. My house is my home. I love it. I feel very grateful and happy to be home. Home amongst all my memories. Now don’t think I’m this old spinster only living from memories. I plan to make many, many more each and every day. But as long as I have a base, a home, to come back to, I’m the luckiest woman in the world.

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Wonen

Care
22 November 2022

Care

My mom needs care. We, my sister and I and her grandchildren, try to give her all our love and more. But most of us aren’t nurses and we all have regular jobs as well. Now we gladly give up some of our busy schedules to take care of mom. But we’re also very grateful and happy that she gets professional help as of this week.

Home

The idea of keeping elderly people at home for as long as possible, instead of moving them into nursing homes, is a new thing. It’s brilliant. Mom has all her favorite things, photographs, quilts, furniture around her and feels like a queen surrounded by helpful hands.

Lady

The lady, taking care of mom, is a sweet person. She really cares. She is with mom 12 hours a day. Washing, feeding, dressing her. She’s doing her nails, helps her go to the bathroom, she even lights her cigarette. My mom is a smoker and has been for most of her life. Now she’s 86 and we’ve given up trying to convince her to quit. She’s made it this far in life, let her be.

Grateful

As Thanksgiving is only two days away I realize I’m so very grateful for this opportunity to have someone take care of her in her own home. My mom grew up in homes and it was her worst nightmare to have to end her life in one. Now she doesn’t have to. She gets spoiled and enjoys all the attention. Now her family can come visit her and spend quality time with her while the nurse takes care of her immediate needs.

Rough

It’s been tough. Emotionally and physically. But now we can let go. Now we can enjoy being with her in her last weeks and really enjoying our time together. We find some rest and peace now to go lay beside her and talk. She usually falls asleep often. But holding her hand and feel her squeeze mine while she tries to tell me how much she loves me is absolutely priceless. I will cherish these moments for the rest of my life.

Giving thanks

So for this year, I give thanks to my beautiful, wonderful, loving mom. For all the years she nurtured me, long after I grew up. She always took care of me. She was the one I could turn to when I felt glad or sad. We laughed and cried together. I hope she will be around for a while longer. But it’s quite safe to say she won’t be around for Thanksgiving 2023. So here’s to you mom! I’m happy and grateful to have you in my life.

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