I am a fan of HGTV and have been enjoying Fixer Upper for some time now. I knew that Chip and Joanna Gaines went to Baylor because a friend of mine shared the alumni magazine where they were featured with me, but it was a short article, so when I found The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gains, with Mark Dagostino, I snatched it right up! Here is how they met, and what they were doing before Fixer Upper. I like that they are just what we see ... a happy couple, a happy family, who work hard for their success.

Bellevue. Funny farm or nearby city? Well, both, of course, but for this blog, it's the hospital in New York. Bellevue: Three Centuries of Medicine and Mayhem at America's Most Storied Hospital, by David Oshinsky, is the history of an amazing institution. It's seen plagues, epidemics, disasters ... been on the cutting edge of medicine as well as behind the times ... it turns no one away (filling the hallways with beds, if necessary). The idea for the ambulance started here (and when the car took over, the horses were retired to a nice pasture, but the drivers to a low paying job). With so many people dying from Yellow Fever many bodies were going unclaimed, but the body could only be kept for so long, so photographs were taken ... these eventually led to mug shots. It boasts the first professional school of nursing, and the use of surgical gloves ... just so much! The book gets a bit intense, given the subject matter, but it's a good read.

Reading Hermit With Dog