November 2, 2015

Hello, It's Me...





Well, hello November. How did you sneak up on me? Has it really been four months since my last post? And, over six months since my last book review?! I hadn't planned to be away that long! I guess I always knew I'd return to this corner of my life or I would have posted a formal goodbye. I wasn't feeling pressured to blog, but spring rolled around and I got busy with outdoor life (although not to the extent I used to... I love a beautiful yard, but don't really care to spend too much time working at it) and travel (photos of three fun-filled vacations will be shared on Wordless Wednesday over the next few months). But things seem to be settling down now (says she who is about to dive into yet another season of holiday madness as a bookseller at Barnes & Noble!). Hey, I'll give it my best shot. As far as book reviews, I think I'll keep things simple. Maybe I'll share what I've read with a brief comment or two, much like what I now do on Goodreads. If I feel compelled to elaborate or include a lot of favorite passages, I'll go that route. In any event, I want to be back here, sharing my thoughts and photos and reconnecting with all of you. Thank you for being so patient and keeping me in your blog feeds. :)

I guess I'll start off with some photos from the weekend. We are enjoying some amazingly warm temps. 76 yesterday and 82 today. I know we're going to eventually get hit with some colder weather, so I'm enjoying the fact that I can still wear shorts and sandals, even though what little tan I had has long since faded.









We took a long walk yesterday afternoon, enjoying the fall colors and spending a little time wandering around our city's rose garden. We've ridden our bikes past this park on several occasions, but this was the first time we spent any time strolling among the roses. Most are finished for the season, but there were a few still blooming. Afterwards, we rewarded ourselves with an iced cold beer out on our porch. All in all, it was a great afternoon.

I haven't been reading much these days, but I decided to start The Boys in the Boat last night (unofficially, joining the Nonfiction November challenge). I've been eager to read this book ever since it was first released in hardcover, so I'm happy to have a gentle nudge to finally dust it off my shelf. The last book I read was Find the Good by Heather Lende. Oh, and I'm also listening to The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. (Yes, I plan to update my sidebar!)

And now it's time to go start dinner and spend some time working on my photos from my recent trip. My mom and I went on a river cruise in Austria, Germany and the Netherlands and I have hundreds of photos to edit!

I'll leave you with a question of the day: Do any of you actually like daylight savings time?


21 comments:

  1. I like Daylight Savings Time in the fall! Not when we lose an hour and it's impossible to get up. It always makes me laugh, though, when I think of the child I had two years ago who thought that Daylight was on sale. ;)

    I meant to start out by saying Welcome Back! I loved your photos from the trip with your mother, they made me so happy you were there and so lonesome for Europe.

    I really enjoyed The Language of Flowers which I had as a give away for World Book Night one year, and I LOVE Boys in the Boat! I've given it away as presents twice, and am still thrilled when I think about their courage and stamina.

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    1. I'm kind of fickle about DST. I like the cozy evenings, but really prefer longer days when we can be out and about (either on the porch or on the bike trail) until 8 or 9 pm. Love the way children think, don't you? Daylight on sale! :)

      I am back, but slow to get going here. I had computer issues, which kept me away from my laptop for longer than I thought I'd be. I can handle using my phone or tablet for almost everything, but composing/posting blog posts is not one.

      I liked The Language of Flowers, but didn't love it. I listened to the audio, though, so who knows... I've only just started The Boys in the Boat and need to carve an hour or two out of my day tomorrow so I can really get engrossed. 5-10 minutes at night just isn't working.

      Thanks again for the wonderful welcome back! I'm posting more pictures of Germany in the coming days and can so understand why you're lonesome for Europe. It was such a great trip! I hope to go again one day. The cruise was such a fantastic mode of travel. Loved it!

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  2. Welcome back Les, it sounds like you've enjoyed your away from blogging time. The pics are lovely.

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    1. Thanks, Diane. I hope to get busy and write a few short book "blurbs" (not reviews!) in the coming days.

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  3. It's cooler than that here but still pretty mild but we're having so much rain we're ready to start building an ark. They're calling for rain 8 out of the next 9 days and we just set a record for rain yesterday.

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    1. Kathy, it's quite a bit cooler today than it was last weekend. I won't mind it if we get rain. Just happy to keep the snow away for a few more months!

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  4. Ok wait--is DLS when we turn the clocks forward? Because I do like that--I LOVE it (except when I have to explain to the girls why they have to go to bed when Mr. Sun is still awake). In terms of moving the clocks back...ARGH. It's great for that Sunday when I have an extra hour (I really do because the girls did not get the memo that they can stay in bed an extra hour), but by the time sunset rolls around I'm totally over it. LOL! I will say it's made getting up and going this week much easier...but I know it's only a matter of time before we slip back into our bad habits of getting up 30 minutes later.

    Anyway, good to see you posting and I love the pictures! Ditch the sidebar--just one less thing you have to update. Tell us about what you're reading--or don't. My mini reviews have been more popular than my regular full-length ones. But, it's always good to know that if I don't see you here then you're still in my Insta and Facebook feeds. :)

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    1. yeah, i gave up trying to even have pics on sidebar of the books i was currently reading. i would start a book, go to all the work of finding a picture and labeling the 'gadget' and then i'd quit the book, or finish it and have to do it all over again. haha

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    2. As I mentioned to Nan on her blog (and to Bellezza up above), I'm a bit fickle about DST. I don't really mind the loss or gain of one hour's sleep, but I do prefer longer days when we can spend more time outside. But then, I do like cozy winter evenings, just not going to work in the dark and returning in the dark.

      Thanks for the warm welcome back. I'll probably ditch the sidebar until January. I like to use it as a way to keep track of what books I need to review, although I'm not going to say review anymore. I'm just going to write little blurbs about my thoughts on the book. Definitely trying to make this as stress-free as possible!

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  5. Well ... since you asked. I just wrote a whole blog entry answering your question!!! So happy to see you here again. Tom started the Boys book, and didn't care for it enough to finish. I read the Lende book and wrote about it, and the other two, here: http://lettersfromahillfarm.blogspot.com/2015/07/three-books-by-heather-lende.html

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    1. Loved your post, Nan! Thanks for sharing your thoughts about DST.

      Hmm, I'm hearing mixed comments about The Boys on the Boat. Some love it and some couldn't finish. If I get stuck, maybe I'll listen to the audio.

      I'll re-read your thoughts on the Lende book once I put together my own "blurb." I know you liked it better than I did. :)

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  6. Welcome back, Les! I've enjoyed following your travel adventures on instagram... the cruise looked like so much fun.

    Time changes drive me crazy and I always have a hard time adjusting. It's nice to
    have light in the morning again , but sunset before 5PM is the worst :(

    The Boys in the Boat was great on audio, but I'm not sure I would have made it through in print. My mom had a print copy and DNFd it.

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    1. Thanks, JoAnn! It's good to be back, more or less. Computer issues slowed my return down just a tad, but I hope to get back in the groove now that my wonderful husband has got my laptop up and running again.

      Yes, the cruise was A LOT of fun! I would love to go on another!

      Yes, sunset before 5 pm is just wrong.

      Hmm, you might have just convinced me to look for the audio of The Boys on the Boat. I'm hearing about too many DNFs for this one!

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  7. Well, we are fans of Daylight Savings Time here. I don't love it when we lose the hour in the spring, but it makes my hubby so much more happy when there is the daylight longer after he leaves work. This time of year - the turning back - he hates it. He leaves for work in the dark and gets home in the dark. And is Mr. Grumpy about it. LOL

    And as to the blog - well, you know - do it if you like or when you like and visa versa. Hugs my dear friend!

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    1. Well, just as I'm rejoining the Blogosphere, I see you are taking a break. I understand, as I know you are very busy right now. The nice thing about blogging is that we can come and go at our leisure.

      Your poor hubby. I don't think mine cares one way or another, once he's adjusted to that initial change with the loss or gain of an hour. ;)

      Hugs to you, too!

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  8. Pretty fall colors! So envious. It's been heavily overcastand, here, and no fall color at all. Still in the 70s-80s, also.

    I enjoyed Find the Good but absolutely could not get through The Boys in the Boat. My F2F group discussed it and I did attend the discussion. They made it sound marvelous, but it just bored me to tears. I think I'm in the minority on that one. Hope you enjoy it!

    As to DSL . . . I've never liked the time changes and now they've become a problem for both of us. While I used to just dislike falling back because it gets dark so early, here, *anyway* (without making it worse -- it's pitch dark at night before 6PM) it didn't throw off my sleep schedule for more than a few days. Now, it takes weeks for both of us to recover. And, the cats were not helping, that first few days. You know how cats get naughty when they're ready to be fed. They're okay, now, it's just the humans who are off-kilter.

    Glad you're back!

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    1. After a couple of days of running various scans and uninstalling and reinstalling a few programs, I think my computer is finally ok. Sure is nice having such a computer savy husband! Now to get on with my blogging!

      Sorry you guys don't have any fall colors. Ours are still going, in spite of the strong winds we had a couple of days ago. I thought for sure all the trees would be bare by now.

      Yikes. Another DNF for The Boys in the Boat. Since it's not calling to me, I think I better just move on to something else and find it on audio since I enjoy listening to nonfiction more than anything else. Find the Good was good, but not as good as her previous book.

      Hope you and the cats are getting used to the time change. Thanks for the welcome back!

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  9. Hey Les!
    Happy to see your post here! And I am all about non fiction so I am happy to see you reading that too!!
    Also, I wanted to ask you how your Mom was doing but you have told me that in the last part of this post!! A river cruise in Austria, Germany and the Netherlands? Sounds heavenly!
    Glad you are doing well, say hello to Rod for me! . I hope he is looking forward to the new Ron Howard movie that will be coming out soon!

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    1. Hey, Kay! Thanks for the nice comment. My mom's doing great. We had such a fun trip on the river cruise. Sure would like to do it again. Until then, I guess I'll just enjoy all the photos I took. :)

      Rod and I are both looking forward to the new Ron Howard movie. We've seen the previews and it looks very good!

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  10. I LOVE daylight savings time! I hate that it's dark by the time I get home from work - makes me tired all night. And it's dark when I get up still so I don't see the upside!

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    1. Hi, Lisa! Yeah, I really dislike driving to work in the dark, but fortunately, I get off at 3 (although a lot of the time I'm there until 3:30ish), so it's still light out when I get home to walk our dog. I do miss the evenings on the porch, though. :(

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