Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Sunday afternoon bike ride.

92 degrees and windy!

(Heat index 102)

Wordless Wednesday

Big B, Little B, What Begins With B?

 

 

 

 

 

For more Wordless Wednesday photos,

 go here.

 

 

Click on photos for larger view.

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - Amanda Soule

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Sunday Salon - August 28, 2011

Good evening! I hope all of you on the East Coast survived Hurricane Irene and if you’re without power, I hope it’s up and running quickly. I’ve been thinking about my friends and family in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and New York and hope everyone is doing alright.

Our weather was a bit cooler this past week, so instead of reading after work, I got out on the bike trail and went for a few long walks and one very long (33 miles!) bike ride. I visited Lincoln’s Sunken Garden and will share some photos of that outing later this week.



It felt so good to get out of the house while the plumber was here working on our broken pipe issue! We are finished with Phase I of this mess and now have a beautiful new pipe running from the upstairs bathrooms down to the basement sewer line. Phase II involves having the huge opening in the drywall repaired and re-painted. The house is a mess and will remain so until the drywall is in, but at least our basement is dry!

I haven’t made much progress in my current book (Beachcombing for a Shipwrecked God), but I did manage to get one review posted on Thursday. If you haven’t had a chance to read Before I Go to Sleep, I urge you add it to your list. It’s a terrific debut and I’m eager to see what S.J. Watson has in store next. I also learned that the film rights have been acquired by Ridley Scott’s production company, Scott Free, with Rowan Joffe to direct. (Go here for more information.) I have a feeling this is going to be a sensational film! Hmmm... I wonder if Daniel Craig is interested in a leading role… ;)

The weekend was full of the usual chores and errands, flying by far too fast, but my husband and I managed to have an “unplugged” afternoon. We went for a leisurely ride (first time out this year for Rod!) on one of the pretty bike trails in our community and ended the evening with a visit to our favorite ice cream shop, Ivanna Cone.

Photo from website

I love summer.

Links to the books mentioned in this post can be found by clicking on the cover art in my sidebar.

Family Reunion

We're heading out to one of my favorite locations for a mini-family reunion/belated 80th birthday celebration. See you in a week.

While You've Been Blogging...

I've been hitting the local bike trails on my trusty Trek.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Yep. That would be corn.

Halfway mark.
Time to turn around and head back home.

Game day. Go Huskers!

In one month, I've logged 240 miles in less than 16.5 hours.
I hope to ride until the snow falls.

Summer Solstice 2010 (belated)

I'm still here!

I didn't mean to take a bloggy-break, but as usual, this time of year is pretty busy for me. We were out of town the second weekend in May (hanging out with good friends in Missouri), followed by a lovely visit from my mom and stepdad the day after we returned. The following week we escaped to beautiful San Diego to spend four glorious days with my brother and his family over Memorial Day Weekend. Throw in a several birthday celebrations, a high school graduation party, book club meetings, sleepless nights (thanks to Mother Nature and some pretty intense storms), and many, many hours of gardening and you have a picture of my life for the past month of so. But amazingly enough, I've found time to read! I just haven't had much time for blogging (posting on mine or visiting yours!). I have three reviews to post write and hope to get to them before another week disappears. My dad and stepmom arrive next week and before I know it, it'll be July and I'll be heading back to California for my 30th high school reunion. And then we'll be off to Virginia Beach to play in the sand & ocean with our granddaughter!

But for now, I'll leave you with some images from our trip to San Diego. Beautiful, beautiful, wish I were there!

:: From Mark & Ana's avocado grove!!


:: More from the Jackson estate!


:: Fruit from Ana's garden. Delicious!


:: Mine, mine, mine! ;) Great beer in Seaport Village.


:: Beautiful view of the San Diego Harbor (and the Coronado Bay Bridge) from the top deck of the U.S.S. Midway.

And now it's time to head to work! Happy Summer!!

A Year in Review (in Photos)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Summer Solstice

It's the first day of Summer!!

Summer afternoon,
Summer afternoon...
the two most beautiful words
in the English language.
~ Henry James

The Dog Days of Summer

Summer's Almost Over

Summer's Almost Over

Summer's almost over and I'm crying but I don't know why
Sentimental old fool, weeping for this blue, blue sky
And the way the cat is sleeping and the way the garden grew
Wagging dogs who lick my face and the way I feel for you

Paddling in the kayaks, with my sister, through the quiet creek
Moon upon the water and the river breeze upon my cheek
And the way my Father shuffles with his courage and his cane
And the way September bluffs and feints till autumn falls again
Oh summer's almost over and I'm crying but I don't know why

A party for my birthday and a tractor for my 50 years
Swallows at their bird play spin and dive above the new mown fields
And a week in Colorado reading books with my best friend
And the thing I knew I couldn't do and now I know I can

Who could help but welcome autumn and the promise of the winter snow?
Still there's something sweet and wistful
as I watch this lovely summer go
But the sun is sinking sooner and the weeds have won at last
With the berries on the bushes and the crickets in the grass
Oh summer's almost over and I'm crying but I don't know why

Words and music by Cheryl Wheeler

Go here to listen or here to purchase.