A Month in Summary - April 2019

Chehalis River

Montesano, Washington

April 2019

I didn't finish very many books in April, partly because I spent the first half of the month involved with activities other than reading (yoga, pickleball, Mah Jong, etc.), as well as prepping for our three-week road trip. Our evenings were also occupied with movies and TV series, so that cut into my reading time, as well. And yet, what I did read was very satisfying. As I write, we are wrapping up our last day of our camping trip, heading home tomorrow. It has been great fun and we both enjoyed discovering a couple of new campgrounds that have gone our list for return visits. We also returned to a few old favorites and I was able to get in some long beach walks and bike rides. The weather was glorious!

Books Read in April (click on titles for my review):

The Guilty Dead by P.J. Tracy

Felicity by Mary Oliver

Nanaville: Adventures in Grandparenting by Anna Quindlen


First Lines:

Gus Riskin sipped from a bottle of water as he surveyed Trey's living room. What he saw infuriated and disgusted him. The priceless Persian rug beneath his feet was filthy, pockmarked with cigarette burns and littered with the castoffs of a dissolute life: pizza and take-out boxes of indeterminate age now housed skittering colonies of roaches; empty beer bottles and martini glasses had drooled out their  meager remains, leaving crunchy spots on the expensive silk pile; drug paraphernalia and detritus were scattered around the room like grotesque confetti. Something somewhere was putrefying, or maybe the whole house was so fetid with human decay, both physical and moral, it had permanently saturated the air. None of this was his problem, but he still found it deeply offensive. (The Guilty Dead)

Things take the time they take. Don't
worry.
How many roads did St. Augustine follow
before he became St. Augustine? (Felicity)

Sunlight spreads across the checkerboard tiles in the kitchen, and so do many other things: wooden spoons, a rubber frog, Tupperware, a couple of puzzle pieces, some plastic letters, elements of the obstacle course of the active toddler. Did you know that the wheels on the bus go round and round, all through the town? They do, over and over again, sung by the robotic voice of some plastic magnetic thing on the refrigerator. Oh, and Old MacDonald has a farm. The hokey pokey? That's what it's all about. (Nanaville: Adventures in Grandparenting)


Movies and TV Series:

House, MD (Season Six) - Yep, still watching this (for the second time).

The Highwaymen - Not bad! I like both Harrelson and Costner, so this was entertaining.

Tea with the Dames - I adore Maggie Smith and Judi Dench, so I was really looking forward to this documentary, but it wasn't nearly as good as I had hoped. It left me wanting more... maybe less about their early acting careers and more about their personal lives.

Game of Thrones (Season One & Two) - Yes, we have finally joined the millions of viewers and are completely caught up in this series. It's one of the most graphic shows I have ever watched (both violently and sexually) and yet I can't stop watching. It's nice to have the DVDs so we can watch a few episodes at a time without having to wait a week for the next installment.

Book Event:

A friend and I went to hear John Larison talk about his novel, Whiskey When We're Dry, which my book club read earlier this year. Larison read several passages from his book, as well as speaking about how he came to write the story. He was very personable, articulate and funny, making for a wonderful evening and my friend and I both wished we could have invited him to speak to our book club.

Puzzlemania:

Finished in 24 hours!

 This was great fun and surprisingly pretty easy. 

 Another quick one, taking us only four days!

 We live near Astoria, so this was especially fun.

Travel:

We have been on the road for almost three weeks, camping in old favorites, as well as discovering a couple of new gems, in the Pacific Northwest. I hope to blog about each location, but until then, here are a few highlights.

Milo McIver State Park

Estacada, Oregon

Incredible view of the Clackamas River and Mt. Hood

Bike ride in beautiful Sequim, Washington

Boondocking

 Purple Haze Lavender Farm

Sequim, Washington

Front row view!

Point Hudson Marina & RV Park

Port Townsend, Washington

Lake Quigg
Friends Landing
Montesano, Washington

In Other News:

 The wedding plans have begun! 

We are so excited for these two.