Sunday Salon

Yay, me! Another Sunday Salon post and it hasn't even been a month since the last one I shared. I'm on a roll! :) 

Let's catch up, shall we?

Reading:: I've just about made it to the last quarter of The Dog Stars (Peter Heller) and I'm so anxious for my husband to get some free time to read this excellent post-apocalyptic novel, which came highly recommended by a good friend. There was actually a point at which I was ready to call it quits, but as soon as I turned the next page, I was hooked! I haven't heard too much buzz about this book from other bloggers. Have any of you read it? I can't wait to see how it ends!

Finished:: Since my last SS post, I've managed to finish Ruth Reichl's novel, Delicious, and Donna Tartt's chunkster, The Goldfinch. I'm hoping to get my reviews written in the coming week, but since I'm still playing catch-up (posting reviews from August reads), I'm not going to worry too much if those don't get written until next weekend. In any event, neither of these two books wowed me, but I'm glad I read/listened to them.

Listening:: Since finishing The Goldfinch, I haven't been able to settle on a new audio book, which is a bit distressing since I've come to love audios as a way to help pass the time while performing mundane projects at work. I had hoped to listen to All the Light We Cannot See (which I loved in the print format), but my library's downloadable edition doesn't not allow for Apple products. Very disappointing! I'm currently downloading Something Wicked This Way Comes (Ray Bradbury), as well as 13 1/2 (Nevada Barr) and The Tortilla Curtain (T.C. Boyle). We'll see which captures my interest when I had out for my afternoon walk.

Ignoring:: Yes, I still have 11/22/63 (Stephen King) on my Nook, but haven't felt compelled to return to it just yet. I think I set it aside when I started East of Eden, and I definitely plan to get back to it. Just waiting for the right moment. Perhaps in a couple of weeks when I fly out to California...

Next Up:: I have a huge pile of books on my nightstand, but I'm hoping to continue with the stack I put together for my Top Ten for Spring list. That list was probably a bit too ambitious for me, as I'm easily distracted by the latest and greatest in new releases at work. I will have finished five books in that stack when I finish The Dog Stars and I'm really looking forward to diving into the remaining six books. Maybe it's time for some nonfiction... I've had A Homemade Life on my shelves for a such a long time and, who knows, maybe I'll get inspired to do more cooking from my cookbooks once I read her foodie memoir. Couldn't hurt!

Planning:: We're getting together for dinner with a friend at our favorite Mexican restaurant, so I don't need to worry about what to fix for dinner and can enjoy the afternoon, once I finish a little housework. It's a gorgeous day and I plan to head out for a walk before the rain arrives later this afternoon. I don't think it's going to be terribly warm (mid-60's), but the sun is shining and I'm anxious to see some of the pretty trees as I make my way down the bike trail. 

Anticipating:: Did I mention a trip to California? :) Yep, I'm heading out to San Diego & Manhattan Beach for a week! I'm super excited to finally meet my great-nephew...

Declan Jackson

(5 months)

... and spend some time with the rest of the family. A large group of us are gathering in MB for a cousins' reunion, which should be great fun!

I hope everyone is having a nice, relaxing Sunday. Time to head out for that walk!

Sunday Salon

Hello, friends! Yes, it's been quite some time since my last Sunday Salon post, hasn't it? More than six months, if anyone's counting. I took a short hiatus from blogging this summer, spending my weekends hanging out on the porch or deck, reading from my stacks and composing reviews for the huge back list of books that I read this spring and summer. With the exception of one final book, I am all caught up! It's such a good feeling and now I'm eager to start participating in some of the blogging memes that I've ignored this year.

I also want to thank all of you for sticking around and commenting on my recent book reviews. I don't remember who it was who said they schedule their reviews to post at midnight, but I decided to give it a try and I am pleasantly surprised with the number of comments I now receive. I'm not obsessive about my stats, but it is nice to hear from those of you who have been following this blog for the past eight years. Of course, I'm also getting a huge amount of spam and may have to change my settings to restrict anonymous comments, but that's an easy fix.

So, let's catch up, shall we?

Reading:: I'm over halfway through Ruth Reichl's novel, Delicious, and while I'm enjoying it, I'm beginning to feel like I'm ready to be finished and move on to something else. It's not that I don't care for it, but it's just not one of those books I'll raving about.

Listening:: I've been listening to The Goldfinch by Donna Tart and I'm completely sucked into Theo's tragic story! The reader (David Pittu) is very good and I'm glad I decided to listen to this chunkster, rather than read the print edition. It's one of those books people either love or hate. I'm not sure which camp I'll wind up in, but at this point I'm thoroughly entertained.

Cooking:: Believe it or not, I'm making chicken soup for dinner. I've grown tired of the usual summer fare, grilling at least three times a week, and I'm more than ready for something a bit more autumnal. I got the recipe from my neighbor and not only is it one of the best soups I've ever tasted, it's also one of the easiest to make. I'll try to remember to take a photo so I can share the recipe next weekend.

Planning:: On this final day of summer, I hope to find time to sit outside on the front porch and enjoy our gorgeous weather. We hit 88 yesterday (after getting 1 1/2 inches of rain in the early morning hours), but today is much more mild. It's currently sunny and 74, with a gentle breeze. Pretty much perfect, wouldn't you say?

I also need to spend some time getting my house back in order. We had our carpets cleaned on Wednesday and I haven't finished putting everything back where it belongs. I'm kind of enjoying the minimalist look and may not put all my books back on the shelves. Maybe this is a good time to do a little book-purging.

Anticipating:: I looked ahead to the coming week and am happy to report that I have absolutely nothing on my calendar! I don't know about you, but I love that feeling, especially as my days at work become more and more exhausting as we head into the holiday season. I have some letters and emails to catch up on, but my afternoons and evenings are completely free. If the weather stays nice, maybe I'll get out on my bike for some short rides.

I hope you're all out enjoying this last day of summer. Have a great week!

The Sunday Salon

I'm procrastinating. It's so freaking cold outside and I really hate the thought of going to the grocery store. It's not the errand I dread, but getting back into my car after shopping for half an hour. I can warm up the car in my driveway, but that's not as easy when it's in a parking lot. Oh, wait! I have a husband... He could go with me. ;)

It's been such a miserably cold winter, but at least we haven't had to deal with quite as much snow as those of you to the east of us. We were supposed to get 4-8 inches yesterday, but all we got was a dusting. I can't imagine what Rod's book signing would have been like with the cold temps and snow. He signed for an hour and had a nice turnout, in spite of the frigid temps, so we were very pleased.

I'm finally feeling like I might just about be over with the terrible cold I came down with two weeks ago. Almost. I was so miserable; I pretty much stayed in bed for 48 hours straight. One of my sweet neighbors became concerned when she noticed my car hadn't moved for several days (and she hadn't seen me walking Annie in the afternoon), so after learning that I'd been sick, she brought over The.Most.Delicious chicken soup (and salad, bread and cookies!) for our dinner one night. I think it was the soup that cured me! I've got the recipe and plan to make it for dinner tomorrow night, so I'll try to get a photo and post the recipe next weekend.

I've never really been a big fan of tea, but after returning to work I discovered a delicious new tea and have since given up my second cup of coffee for a big mug of this bold blend. Suffice it to say, I will never drink Celestial Seasonings tea again!

But what about books, you ask? I have one more review to post and I'll be finished with 2013. Woot! But what have I read recently? Well, let's see. I won't go all the way back to January's list, but in February I finished the following:

Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen (quite good)
The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison (meh)
Iron Lake by William Kent Kreuger (very good)
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (loved!)
A Circle of Wives by Alice LaPlante (good, but not great)
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell (loved!!)

I'm currently listening to Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling) and have started reading On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle. I plan to read the Coyle mystery at work on my breaks and will attempt to focus on reading East of Eden by John Steinbeck during the month of March. Thanks for the nudge, Trish! 

Alright. Time to bundle up and get to the store. Have a good week, friends. Stay warm! Who's keeping your tootsies warm tonight?

The Sunday Salon

It's been at least a couple of years since I've participated in The Sunday Salon, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to catch up on a variety of topics, with hopes of rejuvenating my blogging mojo. If you've been a faithful follower, you might have noticed that the majority of recent posts have been photographs. While I haven't been reading nearly as much as usual, I still have several books to review. They are:

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (loved it!)

The Violets of March by Sarah Jio (not as good as anticipated)

Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler (wonderful audio book)

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (can't wait to read more by this author!)

The Good House by Ann Leary (perfect reader for the audio)

It's been nice to have a lot of winners in the stacks, although I did give up on a couple, as well:

Run by Ann Patchett (couldn't get interested)

Slow Love: How I Lost My Job, Put on My Pajamas and Found Happiness by Dominique Browning (yawn)

I'm currently reading Sea Creatures by Susanna Daniel (author of Stiltsville). I loved her debut novel, but have yet to be sucked into this one. However, I'm holding out hope. I love the Florida setting!

I haven't been listening to very many audio books this month, as I've been on vacation since the 10th. (I typically listen to audios during the first two hours of my shift at the bookstore.) Yesterday, on my drive home from the Omaha airport, I started Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West by Hampton Sides. This non-fiction title came highly recommended after a good friend learned about my upcoming trip to New Mexico. I've only listened to a little less than an hour, so I'm anxious to get back to it and see what's in store for Kit Carson.

In other news, it is hot, hot, hot! And windy! We've been very fortunate this summer, enjoying lots of mild temps and rain, but August and September are typically brutal. It looks like we'll be in the upper 90s/triple digits for the next five days. I'm already longing for fall and, yes, winter.

In spite of the heat, I spent a large chunk of my day sitting on the porch with a cool drink and my current book. Our 11-year-old granddaughter was here for two weeks and flew back home yesterday morning. We had another awesome summer visit with this sweet girl and I was feeling a little lonely. She's such a smart, articulate, funny, and thoughtful person. I thoroughly enjoy her companionship and wish she lived closer! Anyhow, I probably should have run to the grocery store and done some housework, but I threw my back out on the last day of our road trip and I've been trying to take it easy, hoping it will feel better so I can return to work tomorrow! Hard to ignore all the dust bunnies and dog hair from the past two weeks, though. 

I plan to post pictures from our five-day road trip to South Dakota (Black Hills and the Badlands) later this week. We had a great time, with the exception of the last day. Not only was my back killing me, but the drive home from Valentine, Nebraska is long and boring. We were all happy to get home and sleep in comfortable beds!

If you've read this far, you deserve a couple of photos, don't you think?

Carhenge

Alliance, Nebraska

Beautiful granddaughter 

(soon to be in Middle School!)

Stretching our legs!

Needles Highway 

South Dakota

The Badlands

South Dakota

Smith Falls

Valentine, Nebraska

 
And now it's time to head out to the porch with my book and a glass of wine. I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Sunday Ramblings - March 18, 2012

Hello! Yes, I’ve been absent for quite a while now, haven’t I? I need to catch up on reviews (I have three in the works), but wanted to pop in and say hi. How are you all doing with the time change? It’s almost 7 a.m. and still dark outside. We’ve been having summer-like weather this past week, so I have all the windows open to cool things off a bit. (I refuse to turn on the air conditioner in March!) As I sit here, sipping my cup of coffee, reading some of my favorite blogs, I hear two birds (probably cardinals) chirping away, as if to say, “Wake up, everyone! It’s going to be another gorgeous day and you don’t want to miss a single moment.” And, I’d have to agree. With these warm days (we’ve been in the 80’s all week!), my garden is requiring quite a bit of attention. The daffodils are in full bloom, as is the Star Magnolia bush and Forsythia. Unfortunately, we’ve had very little rain (and very little snow – three storms this winter, which amounted to about 16 inches in all), so I spent some time watering the beds yesterday afternoon. I cleaned up one of the beds in the front yard and plan to do more work out there today. But I also want to get back out on the bike trail. I had my first ride of the year on Wednesday and it felt great! I convinced Rod to go for a short ride before dinner last night and I can’t tell you what a joy it was to be out on the trail just before sunset. I love this time of year and am looking forward to another week of beautiful weather.

Which brings me to the week before last. You might have wondered where I disappeared to. I ran out of time before my departure to say goodbye and let you all know I was heading off to Kauai. My parents have a time share in Princeville and invited us to join them for a week. My hubby wasn’t able to go, so I invited my biking partner, knowing she’d enjoy all the activities I was hoping to do. After three flights (Omaha to Dallas to Honolulu to Lihue), we arrived on Kauai in the middle of a thunderstorm and made our way from the airport to the north end of the island. It was a pretty intense drive, as it was dark & raining and I was not familiar with the road, not to mention I have terrible night vision. But we finally arrived and collapsed. It felt like we’d been up for days!

The following morning we awoke to a torrential downpour. I had heard it rained a lot on Kauai—it is the Garden Island, after all—but I had not expected such a deluge. The wind was blowing so strongly and palm tree fronds were flying everywhere. It felt more like a monsoon than a tropical rainstorm. We were finally able to venture out later that afternoon and walk along the golf course, only to get soaked in anther downpour as we headed back to the condo. The days are all a blur at this point, but suffice it to say, it rained all but two of the six days we were on the island. We were able to get out and enjoy the southern part of the island (delicious lunch at Brennecke’s in Poipu!) on Wednesday and spent most of Thursday morning in Hanalei. We took a long walk on a bike trail right along the ocean near Kapa’a and watched the sunset from the St. Regis hotel, overlooking Hanalei Bay. But by Thursday night the storm returned and the bridge out of Princeville was closed (the second time that week) due to either a mudslide or downed trees. The bridge into Hanalei had also been closed earlier in the week due to flooding. With an earlyish flight out of Lihue on Saturday, we decided to pack up and leave as soon as the bridge reopened. We made our way south to Kapa’a where we found a couple of rooms at the beautiful oceanfront Courtyard Marriott. The staff was more than generous with their discounted rates for displaced tourists and we enjoyed a delicious dinner followed by a wonderful hula demonstration by four little girls. I wish I had thought to get some of the show on video. The music was beautiful and the girls were adorable.

Saturday we flew home, arriving back in Nebraska Sunday morning. I’ve only taken a red-eye flight one other time (Nebraska to England) and I have to say the name is truly fitting. I was awake for more than 36 hours on that trip home. Add the hour time change and you can imagine how red my eyes were! Fortunately, I have Mondays off, so I was able to sleep as long as my body needed…13 hours!! It took most of the week for me to recover from the jet lag, but now I’m feeling back to normal. I sure wouldn’t want to do that on a regular basis. I can’t imagine what it’d be like to be a pilot or flight attendant!

So, do you want to know how much it rained in Kauai? I don’t know if you saw any reports on the news about the storm that hit the island, but the north shore (where we were staying) received 46 inches in the week we were there! 46! There was also hail, damaging winds, flooding, mudslides, and a tornado. Yep. If it weren’t for the palm trees and the gorgeous ocean, I would have started to wonder if I’d ever left the Midwest. ;) You can read more about the storm here.

You would think with all that time spent indoors, (as well as close to 32 hours of travel time) I would have read all the books I packed. Not so. I finished one book and read most of another, but that’s it. I wound up spending a lot of time catching up on my blog-hopping, which in my opinion is just a good as reading. And we did manage to get out and do quite a bit of walking between the rain showers. We weren’t able to bike down the Waimea Canyon or kayak up the Wailua River, but I did see a whale from our balcony. And several gorgeous waterfalls from a distance. And I had the most delicious Kona coffee and fresh ahi fish tacos I’ve ever tasted. And a few Mai Tais. J In spite of the rain, I was able to spend a week with my parents, which is always a joy. My mom and Bill are avid readers and it was cute to see them sitting side-by-side on the couch, each reading from their respective Nooks. I was also able to squeeze in a quick visit with my daughter and her boyfriend at the Grand Hyatt at DFW. They came out to have breakfast with us since we had such a long layover between flights. Love that D Concourse!

First morning at Alii Kai Resort
(Princeville, Kauai)

Kilauea Point

The Wai`oli Hui`ia Church
(Hanalei)

The ubiquitous wild chicken of Kauai

Sunset over Hanalei Bay
(from the St. Regis Hotel, Princeville)

Flooded Lower Hanalei River Valley

Flooded road in Hanalei River Valley

Mai Tais at Brennecke's Beach Boiler
(Poipu)

Poipu Beach

Well, I’ve rambled on long enough, so I’ll close for now. As usual, I took a bizillion pictures on my trip, so stay tuned for Wordless Wednesday.


Click on photos to enlarge.

Sunday Salon - October 30, 2011

It’s another beautiful day in Nebraska! I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been out biking so much this past month or if it’s been an unusual autumn, but I’ve definitely taken notice. The sky is so blue and the leaves on the trees are simply stunning. I’ll take these mild temps as long as the sun’s shining. We had snow in early October two years ago (and a terrible snowstorm in 1997), so I know how distressing an early snowstorm can be. I hope those of you on the East Coast didn’t suffer any terrible damage to your homes or vehicles and that if you lost power, it wasn’t for too long! Three million people without power is mind-boggling!

October 1997
Lincoln, NE

October 2009
Lincoln, NE

I’m having a great week with regards to my reading. I finished Off Season by Anne Rivers Siddons (review to come hopefully before 2012!) and dove right into three (!!) books, all of which are calling for attention. I started listening to Faith by Jennifer Haigh and find myself looking for any reason to grab my Nano and listen to another chapter or two. I didn’t think I’d ever read anything by Haigh, but I just remembered that I read Mrs. Kimble. It must’ve been sometime before 2006, though, since I can’t find a review for it on my blog. I know I have Baker Towers on my Amazon wish list and will have to look for a copy of The Condition, as well.

I decided it was time to pull something from my shelves, something I’ve been meaning to read for a few years, and my hand fell upon The Little Friend and The Secret History, both by Donna Tartt. I wasn’t sure which to choose, so I read a few paragraphs from the former. I was immediately drawn into the story, so I set The Secret History back in its place and continued to read The Little Friend. So far, so good.

The third book I started is one I had not planned to read at all. Haruki Murakami is an author who has never appealed to me. I’ve read a few Japanese novels, but nothing that has impressed me enough to venture any further. However, Bellezza has mentioned Murakami on her blog many, many times and her enthusiasm for his latest novel, 1Q84, piqued my interest. I decided to give it a glance one day at work and before the week was over, I’d read the first three chapters. Wow! I need not have worried about a complicated or confusing writing style; I’m already talking it up to my coworkers, regulars and husband. I’m so curious to see where Murakami leads me that I decided to download the 944 page tome to my iPad. I wish I could spend the entire week curled up on my couch with this intriguing tale. If I were a more patient reader, I’d set it aside for my long flights to Kauai next March… Nah.

Friday, I posted a review for another Jacqueline Winspear book and I have three more reviews to compose and post. Who knows, maybe I’ll finally get caught up for the year. If the weather turns nasty, I won’t be riding my bike quite as much. I was able to log 70 miles last week and hope to get a few more long rides in before the temps drop below freezing. I suppose walking on my treadmill will give me more opportunities to listen to my audio books, though.

I’ve been an Amazon Associate for several years and while I don’t make a lot of money, I do get a little something every month or quarter. I happened to click over to the site this afternoon and decided to take a look at my recent reports. I’m always a bit amused by the variety of items ordered via a click-thru from my blog. Usually the purchases are limited to books, and recently I’ve seen a jump in e-books, but today I noticed that someone had recently purchased a Schwinn Recumbent Exercise Bike, of all things!



I never know who buys what, but I’d like to say thank you to everyone who visits Amazon from my blog. It makes the little bit of extra effort to create links all the more worthwhile. Now to figure out how to get someone to buy a car or boat… ;)

By the way, did anyone notice the similarities in the cover art for 1Q84 and The Little Friend?

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

Sunday Salon - October 23, 2011

I didn’t get much reading in this past week, but I did have a wonderful visit with my parents who were here from Oregon. I decided to work on putting together some photo albums, so we spent the afternoons sorting through stacks and stacks of old photos, laughing over some, tearing up over others. I’m all for digital photography, but there’s nothing like reminiscing over a pile of pictures. Sitting in front of a computer monitor just doesn’t cut it.

My mom is a voracious reader and kindly brought us a lovely stack of books, which I plan to share in a separate post later this week. Stay tuned!

Speaking of books, it feels like such a long time since I posted a book review, but I only have three more to write and then I’ll be all caught up. A few days ago, Nan wrote about book reviews and blogging and I found myself nodding my head in agreement. She said:

I don't always want to do a long book report. Sometimes I want to state 'just the facts,' with only a brief explanation of the book and how I felt about it. Once in a while there just isn't that much to say, but yet I want to write something because I use my blog as a book journal.

This is exactly how I feel, especially when I’m reviewing an audio book. So, things may change a little bit around here.

It looks like it’s going to be another beautiful Sunday, with temps reaching close to 80! I’m getting ready to head out for a bike ride with a friend and it’s not quite 40 degrees, but it shouldn’t be too bad since there’s no wind. I’m sure we’ll warm up after the first mile or two. I hope everyone is having a nice, relaxing weekend. Congrats to all of the Read-a-Thon participants. Maybe I’ll get a chance to participate next year. I could use a full day devoted to nothing but reading. Ten minutes before bed just isn't enough time to really get involved in a book, is it?

Sunday Salon - October 16, 2011

There are fewer than three months remaining in the year.

I’ve only finished 28 books.

I can’t remember ever having such a slow reading year as this year.

In 1999 I read a total of 42 books. That was my worst year on record.

In 2003 I read 88. That was my best year.

Even in the black year of 2005, I managed to finish 57.

I’ll be lucky if I read 40 in 2011.

So what gives? My house isn’t any cleaner. My yard hasn’t won any landscaping awards. However, we took some wonderful vacations (Colorado, California, and Oregon) this summer and we’ve had lots of visitors, as well. But the main distraction has been my obsession with cycling. I used to be a fanatic about running, but after over 30 years of pounding the pavement, my knees called it quits. I bought my new bike last spring and have tried to ride as often as possible. The summer heat and aforementioned travels limited my riding time, but September and October have been fantastic. Since April, I’ve logged just over 500 miles, with my personal best of 60 miles in one day. My new goal is to ride 100 miles in a single day. Oh, and to never get bitten by another dog! Yes, I was bitten two weeks ago while riding with a friend out on the MoPAC trail. And, since the dog wasn’t current on its rabies shots, it wound up in quarantine for 10 days. The good news is it wasn’t rabid. And I’m now current on my tetanus booster.


If our fall weather continues to be as lovely as these past few weeks, I might actually hit 750 miles before winter arrives. But more than likely, I’ll be back inside, curled up on the couch with Annie-Dog and a stack of books.

Life is good.

When the spirits are low,
when the day appears dark,
when work becomes monotonous,
when hope hardly seems worth having,
just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road,
without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.
-- (Sir) Arthur Conan Doyle (author of Sherlock Holmes),
in the January 18, 1896 issue of Scientific American Magazine

Sunday Salon - September 11, 2011 (Part II)

I took a break from the Sunday Salon last week since it was a holiday weekend and I was busy catching up around the house, tackling housework I’d been ignoring due to traveling and house guests, and getting outside for a bit. Priorities, ya know?



I’m also now a day late, but I wanted to leave yesterday’s remembrance post up by itself. So hard to believe it’s been ten years. Like most of you, I remember exactly where I was on September 11, 2001. I don’t think I’ll ever forget those images I saw on CNN that day and for the many days after…

Our weather has been so lovely. It’s really beginning to feel like fall is not too far off. I’ve noticed more leaves on the sidewalks and the tips of the sumac bushes along the bike trail are beginning to show off their pretty red hues. And the hummingbirds have finally discovered the feeder & hibiscus bushes in the backyard. Maybe it was too hot for them earlier this summer; I’d about given up on them! We’ve had our windows open all week and even wore sweatshirts on our evening walks with Annie-Dog. I just wish this weather would last more than a month or two. I sure hope our winter isn’t as miserable as last year’s…




With all this nice weather, I’ve gotten back in the biking groove. I rode every day last week, starting off with a long ride with a girlfriend on Labor Day. We headed south from my house and rode on the Rock Island Trail (paved) until we reached the Jamaica North Trail (crushed limestone), which quickly turns into the Homestead Trail (crushed limestone). We turned around at the county line for a grand total of 41 miles. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and we had such a good time that we decided to do it again this weekend. We rode with another friend and went took the same route, only we went to the end of the trail for a whopping 44.8 miles. I had hoped to go 50, but we ran out of trail and I wasn’t up to going further once we got back to town. I was worn out!



I haven’t been reading very much, since my afternoons are filled with outdoor activities (and a terrible new addiction known as Pinterest), but when I do settle in for the evening, I’ve been reading The Arrivals by Meg Mitchell Moore. This is a wonderful “domestic/family” novel, which I’m savoring and looking forward to reading every night.

I finished a couple of books since my last Salon post and need to start composing my reviews before too much time passes. Beachcombing for a Shipwrecked God turned out to be wonderful novel and I find I’m still thinking about the three main characters, wishing I could return to their lives (and boat!). I was also very pleased with Jacqueline Winspear’s The Mapping of Love and Death. After a few disappointing installments in her Maisie Dobbs’ series, this one won me back over! So much so, I’ve started in on Among the Mad. Yes, I realize I’m reading these two out of order, but I’m not going to worry too much about that. The books are great entertainment while I’m working in the morning and I know I’m going to miss listening to Orlagh Cassidy when I finish the series. What a marvelous reader!

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

Sunday Salon - September 11, 2011 (Part I)

September 11, 2001
We will never forget

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.