Coastal Horizons... books, beaches, and backroad adventures: Games

Showing posts with label Games. Show all posts

May 3, 2020

A Month in Summary - April 2020

Mt. Hood, Oregon
April 2020

I hope this post finds you all well as we move into another month of unusual times. Looking back on last month's summary, I see that we have gone from a worldwide count of over one million confirmed cases of COVID-19 to well over three million. The United States went from 200,000 cases to over one million (with over 65,000 deaths). Many states have begun to loosen their restrictions and it's only a matter of time until we see if there's a spike in the numbers of new cases. Personally, I plan to continue living my life as I have for these past 40-odd days and hope others will too.

I am happy to report that my reading slump is over thanks to Louise Penny and her wonderful mystery series. I still have a few more to read from her backlist before her next release in September, and it feels great to finally enjoy my reading time once again. All but one of this month's books were winners and so far, I'm off to a good start for May.

Books Read (click on the title for my review):

Option B by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant (5/5)

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (4/5)

The Sight of You by Holly Miller (3/5)

The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny (4/5)

First Lines:

The last thing I ever said to him was, "I'm falling asleep." (Option B)

Everyone in Shaker Heights was talking about it that summer: how Isabelle, the last of the Richardson children, had finally gone around the bend and burned the house down. (Little Fires Everywhere)

Joel, I'm so sorry. To see you again like that... Why did I get on the train? (The Sight of You)

Running, running, stumbling, running. (The Nature of the Beast)

Movies & TV Series:

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - I didn't think I'd like this, as I'm not a big fan of Tarantino's films, but I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Deadwater Fell - I love David Tennant, but this four-episode series was disappointing. I felt it was too predictable and I didn't care for any of the characters.

Unforgotten (Season One) - I really enjoyed this British series from 2015. Nicola Walker and Sanjeev Bhaskar are excellent. I'm anxious to watch the next season.

This Is Us (Season 3) - Yep. Still watching (and savoring) this one.

Puzzlemania:

We gave up on this one!

Games:

Danger Word

We've had more Zoom/FaceTime met-ups with friends and family, as well as one with my book club. I've gotten together with a few friends for walks or cocktails on the deck, and Rod has been able to practice his music with a couple of friends. Of course, we maintain a distance of at least 6 feet apart and stay outdoors in order to reduce any risk of spreading or catching COVID-19. As of this date, our county has only five confirmed cases, with only one needing hospitalization. We feel very fortunate to live in a rural part of the state, but it is a tourist community and once the state reopens, our little town will be filled with out-of-town guests. I hope we can continue to be safe...

Depoe Bay, Oregon

My heart goes out to those who have lost friends and family members to this awful virus. Stay safe, my friends.

April 4, 2020

A Month in Summary - March 2020

Little Whale Cove

Depoe Bay, Oregon

March 2020

We are living in strange times, my friends. As I sit here composing this post, our world is facing one of the scariest times in our history. Over 1 million people (worldwide) have been infected with COVID-19. The United States has over 200,000 infected citizens. Obviously, those numbers don't included the presumptive positive cases, which have not been reported to the CDC, as well as those who are sick but haven't been tested. The majority of individual states have implemented legal orders for citizens to stay at home/shelter in place, while a remaining few continue to hold onto their belief that social distancing is adequate. Reading all of your updates on your blogs, Facebook, Instagram and private emails, I know that I am not alone in my reading slump. I can focus on nonfiction, but novels require too much concentration. I am fortunate to live in a beautiful community and am able to get outside and walk along the ocean and in the forest, listening to podcasts and audiobooks, all of which provides me with much needed distraction from the news and updates. We cancelled our upcoming 2-month road trip (we were to leave yesterday) for obvious reasons, but I hope to continue to blog about our 2019 fall road trip, sharing some photos from the beautiful places we've visited. I've also added a "Monthly Summaries" link in my sidebar, after receiving a few questions about previously mentioned puzzles and movies. In addition to working on several puzzles this month, we have started playing some fun games. Rod's not a big fan of games, but he's a good sport, especially if we play during cocktail hour.

Alright. Back to books and reading. There were a couple of winners and a couple that were entertaining, but not outstanding.

Books Read (click on the title for my review):

The Janes by Louisa Luna (4/5)

Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore (4/5)

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger (3/5)

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle (3/5)

First Lines:

Meet our girl: seventeen, arrived here a year ago from a rough and dusty town in Chiapas, considered pretty by most standards because she is young, her face unmarked by scars or wrinkles, her body boasting the tender snap of fresh muscle. Our girl's brain, on the other hand, is at war with itself and others: with memories of her mother's worry and her father's pain, subtle with her own simmering meditations on sex and violence, with fear of all the men that come through the door with their eyes so stark and full of want it's like they've eaten her up before they've even selected her from underneath the butcher's glass. (The Janes)

Oona stopped trusting the mirror years ago. After all, it only told a sliver of the story.

This isn't me. I am not this woman. (Oona Out of Order)

In the beginning, after he labored over the heavens and the earth, the light and the dark, the land and sea and all living things that dwell therein, after he created man and woman and before he rested, I believe God gave us one final gift. Lest we forget the divine source of all that beauty, he gave us stories. (This Tender Land)

Twenty-five. That's the number I count to every morning before I even open my eyes. It's a meditative calming technique that helps your brain with memory, focus, and attention, but the real reason I do it is because that's how long it takes my boyfriend, David, to get out of bed next to me and flip the coffee maker on, and for me to smell the beans. (In Five Years)

Movies & TV Series:

Shetland - It didn't take long to get hooked on this show. We binged on the entire series and finished in a little over a week. Thank goodness for subtitles!