Tuesday, 7/31/2012...

Hi Everyone,

Nice to see all of you.  The picture above is not meant to be morbid but as I was walking along out to my "discovered" spot on the coast I saw this from a distance.  My first thought was it was something from a house that had been there a long, long time ago.  Well, much to my surprise it turned out to be a grave marker with two names inscribed on it both in the year 1874.  My guess is that at one time there was a home somewhere on this property.  I found this to be very interesting, certainly unexpected when you are out along an area that is mostly not developed.

My opinion on the opening ceremony for the Olympics is mostly positive.  First of all, you have to considered they are in England which is a different mind set & second you know they are going all out.  I loved the bit with the Queen & James Bond, both played it to the hilt.  I did not for a moment think the Queen parachuted out of the helicopter!!!  But it was certainly well done.  I thought her outfit was a bit overdone for the Olympics but here again, she is the Queen of England.  It is always fun to see the "young" royals at an event.  The fireworks, the lighting of the Olympic flame were very well done.  Some of the theatrics prior to that were a little long but not to bad.  I totally enjoyed Sir Paul McCartney's performance.  He is a total entertainer.  A friend of mine saw him perform a few years ago down in the bay area.  She said he was fantastic, never left the stage for 3 hours.  Last night was a difficult night for the USA Men's Gymnastic team.  I felt so bad for each of them when the performance was less than they wanted.  It has got to be so hard to spend years perfecting your skills then fail to do your best with the world watching.  I missed some of the events because the couple where I am house sitting had something programmed into their DVR which I would have had to cancel to watch the Olympics.  If I had known sooner I could have come home to watch!!  I am not a fan of Bob Costas, can't stand him!!  I'm not overly thrilled with the way NBC broadcasts the Olympics but at least they are on!  When ABC did them I thought they were much better.

Sandi, if that happens again with your hand I would think a visit to the doctor would be a good idea.  I'm glad you got the swelling to go down.  To me, that would scary to have that happen.  How frustrating to not be able to use your hand for the weekend.  I think you said that you post the book covers from Fresh Fiction which I also do except when they don't have the books that I am reading.  I do like using them over Amazon to post the covers.  How nice you got some goodies from RWA.  I wish I could have been there as it was on the west coast, but it just wasn't feasible to even entertain the idea!!

Mary, a day with the grand kids at a museum sounds fun.  I like museums as there are always things of interest even when you think there might not be.  The best dinosaur exhibit I ever saw was in Denver, CO.  It was a very well put together exhibit.  My first view of it was from a balcony upstairs where you could see most of the exhibit.  They had some of the flying dinosaur's suspended from up above.  It was very impressive as that huge room was literally filled with every dinosaur imaginable!

Cady, it sounds like you have a busy few days ahead of you.  Nice that you get to take some time off.  I think it is kind of funny that your boss didn't even know the Olympics were on.  He must not see much TV or   read a newspaper.  Not that that would be a bad thing.  When I'm away from home I have no idea what is going on in the world & usually don't care!!

My latest news is that my son in law will be having surgery on Thursday unless his insurance doesn't come through with the okay.  He has had problems with his back for years off & on due to hurting it on the job in 1989.  The surgery is to rectify the fact that his disc at that spot is completely gone.  His legs are numb which means he can barely walk, lack of feeling affects his balance.  I talked to my daughter earlier before I came here.  He is optimistic that the surgery will make a big difference.  She is dealing with the fact that someone in her family is having the 3rd surgery in 11 months.  I'll let you know how he does.

Well, I should get a bit more accomplished here then head over to keep the cat company!!  Usually there is a dog also but he took the trip with them this time.  It is kind of strange just having the cat there.  She is old & mostly sleeps!  Once in awhile she moves to another location, she has two favorite spots, then sleeps some more.  She did go outside for awhile this morning.

One last picture for today!  I'm pretty sure at least some of this is poison oak!  Somehow you just don't think of it as being pretty.  In the fall when it turns color it is beautiful!!

Have a good afternoon, evening.  Happy reading,
Donna M

Tuesday morning

Hi guys!

It is good to see it busy in here. I haven't been here for a few days so I had several posts to read. I have been watching the Olympics too. I saw all of the opening ceremonies and loved the Queen and James Bond and Paul McCartney! Don and I were very disappointed in the coverage last night of the men's gymnastic finals. They only showed half of the Americans events! I don't care if they didn't win I wanted to see them not the Chinese! What about family and friends of those young men who wanted to see them also? Sorry for the rant but that was not right IMHO.

As far as the Caprese salad recipe everyone has their own version but the basic ingredients are the same. We use the large mozzarella ball cut into slices and any kind of tomato you prefer sliced and the basil leaves torn into thin pieces. Then drizzle the olive oil and salt and pepper over everything. Some people like to chop everything up small but I like the large pieces to eat like an appetizer.

I finished an interesting book yesterday. It is called Firelight and is a debut novel by Kristen Callihan. It is the first in a series and does have paranormal elements. It has a fresh take on the paranormal which I like (no vampires or shape-shifters) and was pretty well-done for a debut author. I will be reading the next book in the series which I believe comes out today. I like some of these new authors--a good choice when some of your favorite authors are not writing as well as they used to. Not sure what I will read next.

Donna H--I hope you like all of the Angelinos books. The first was my favorite but I liked all of them.

Amanda--I guess it is time to admit the Phils are not going to the play-offs. We'll see what happens today as far as trades.

Donna M--as always I am enjoying your pictures. I am a couple of books behind with the Karen Rose books. Perhaps I will read one soon.

Cady--we are somewhat more hopeful about things at Penn State this week. There is still a long way to go as far as restoring their reputation but Penn State people are resilient. I was not a baseball fan either until recently when the Phils got better (except for this year) and we started attending games. I'm glad you liked What Angels Fear. I will be reading it soon.

Trudy--funny you should mentiong some of your glassware being made in western PA. We lived in Wash. County for 11 years and the glass companies were slowly going out of business by that time. Now they are gone. I had a good friend whose husband worked for the last one and he lost his job only a few years away from retirement.

Sandi--I hope your hand is ok now. Sounds almost like a gout or arthritis attack. I have the book Gone Girl on reserve at the library. I had heard it was a good read.

Don and Karen and I took the kiddos to the Reading Public Museum on Friday to see their dinosaur exhibit. It was very realistic and the noises actually scared the kids. Don loved it though. We visited all the permanent exhibits with the kids while he hung around the dinosaurs. The favorite room for me and the gks was the armor room where they had weapons from the middle ages and suits of armor. Lauren said she wished she could be a princess knight! Afterwards we went to Olive Garden for dinner which everyone enjoyed.

I hope everyone is having a good week.

Mary

DonnaM - I tried staying awake for the opening ceremonies, but feel asleep just before they brought the torch into the stadium.  Luckily, I dvred it so I watched it the next morning.  It sounds like you had a great time with your grandkids during your trip.

Trudy- I am sorry to hear about your antiques, but I loved the way Sandi put it, setting them free to be enjoyed by others, while you utilize the funds to make your life better.  I also love that your friend will let you buy some back when you get the funds. 

Amanda - So what did you think of Wuthering Heights.  I have not read that one.  I have heard it is tough to root for any of the characters, so that is my hesitation with it.  Sounds like you had a nice weekend.  It is always easier to have just one of the kids.

Sandi - Do you know why your hand swelled up like that?  Has it happened before.  I hope it is doing better now.  Sorry to hear about  your ipod.  What a drag.  So did you like Gone Girl?  I  have thought about reading it, but I need some type of happy resolution.  Is there at least somewhat of one?

Read a couple of books since I have been here last - Fiona Harper's HRomance "Always a Best Man".  I thought it was okay.  Then I read Sherry Thomas' Ravishing the Heiress (which I thought was a really bad title).  It was about an arranged marriage.  The h falls for the H immediately, but he is in love with another woman.  Now, it is 8 years later (the time they planned to consummate their marriage as she was 16 and he 19 and they decided to wait for a variety of reasons) when at the same time, his former love becomes a widow.  I found it a very interesting read, but not a real romance.  I would have liked a bit more of an ending, but since it has a follow-up book with another couple, I am sure they have a bit of follow up there, my only problem is I am not sure I liked the author enough to read it.  I will have to wait and see.  Now I am reading the next CS Harris book - When Gods Die,  it has definately pulled up. 

Busy week here, Mags last game was rescheduled for tonight and then tomorrow, I have a big speech for my major funders.  Then on Friday night, Mags is having her bday party - a slumber party for 7 girls.  Luckily, I have a long weekend as her actual bday is Monday, so I am taking the day off to hang with her and Luke. 

Hope everyone is having a great day.

I think the covers are on the page, but I am not sure how well it worked.

Tuesday

Cady, a long time ago I read a couple of Virgina Kantra books. Then she did some with more paranormal in them, so I quit. When I saw Carolina Home by her I picked it up. I enjoyed it. Have you finished it? I get my book covers from Fresh Fiction and right click to get something that says save cover image, and then I import it using the picture icon here. How lucky was it to hit the car before the storm! Did you have fun at the zoo? Any news on the game?

Donna what did you think of the Opening Ceremony? I haven't watched any of the Olympics...unless I'm walking by something that has it playing. Yesterday one of my bosses said he didn't even realize it was happening now, because he had heard so much about it for so long before that he thought it had already happened. I get the feeling he's not watching either!

Trudy, I think I have to have someone come look at my AC! Mike tells me the fan doesn't turn like it should. I sort of hope I can put it off until one day next week only because I have to be home next week for the floor to be laid. Sorry you have to be selling things, but it's got to be nice to know you had some things that were more valuable than you thought. Also...your getting some good use from them, rather than letting those who wouldn't appreciate them benefit from what you saved. Think of it as setting those items free to be enjoyed by someone who will truly appreciate them for their intrinsic value, and not for what they can get by selling them to the firt person they meet.

Over the weekend I didn't get anything accomplished, and had such high hopes! I had been having some wrist pain, and woke up Saturday morning and my right hand was totally swollen. I got a lesson in what it would be like to be morbidly obese! I took an aspirin (as Mike said it was a blood thinner), drank a ton of water, sat with my hand over my head (they say when something is swollen raise it above your heart), and iced it for several hours...twice! It went down rather quickly, but was still slightly swollen most of Saturday, but by Sunday it was good to go! However, when it started to go down on Saturday I attempted to do some cleaning...it made it start to swell again, so I decided to just watch it for the weekend, and be sure that didn't happen again!

Several of my friends went to the Jack's Bar lunch at RWA. They brought me back an ARC of the Christmas Virgin River book, and a windbreaker that was given to all the fans! I'm super excited about that. Did you know that the original Virgin River books are being reissued? I'm not sure if the covers are up at Amazon or not, but they sure are pretty! I wonder how many people who already have the originals will buy the new ones because they need all the versions. I was lucky, and at Fresh Fiction yesterday they got a catalog that had cover flats of the new covers, and they let me take them home. Therefore I have the new covers and don't have to buy the books...not that I would have...I'm not that obsessive!

I read a suspense book called Gone Girl (it was featured on the first episode of Buy The Book... the show that I've shared a link with you a time or two). I read it for free at BN with my nook. It took a long time because a) I didn't go every day, and b) sometimes when I went it wouldn't allow me to read it, and I don't know why! I had thought I had been told something about the ending, but when I finally got to the end that's not the way it was! I thought it was pretty good. I would consider it a psychological thriller.

I also finished The Cowboy and The Princess by Lori Wilde. It's the second book in her Jubilee Texas series. I liked it more than the first, and am looking forward to the third which should be a Christmas story I think.

Then I read Delusion in Death. I didn't like it as much as I have the last couple. It took a bit more thinking and was just a tad more technical. I felt like it also veered away a bit from the interpersonal relationships, that I like to read about, and there was only one very small scene with Mavis, and even Nadine hardly figured! Now that I'm really thinking on it...I would say it was totally more about the deed, than any of the people in Eve's world.

I finished listening to Rainshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas, and Love in a Nutshell by Janet Evanovich. I wanted to delete both these titles, and when I connected my IPOD to the computer it crashed and I lost everything! I was so upset! I had a ton of library downloads and why they expire, once they're on the device they're good to go! I don't even really know what I had, but I'm goign to have to rebuild it over time as I'm limited to how many I can check out at a time. It was also annoying because I was listening to Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts, and it was a download from the library, and when I went to see if I could recheck it out it was already checked out and there were two people with holds on it. That means it would be awhile before I could get it! Fortunately a friend let me use her library card, and I was able to download it from her library, and pick up where I had left off. Also thank goodness I pay attention to where I am as far as which part and about how many minutes in.

I think that brings me as up to speed as I can think of.

Hope everyone has a great Tuesday!
Sandi

Sunday night

Good evening ladies!

DonnaM -- I watched most of the opening ceremonies.  And yes, you can find the Queen/JB on the internet - that's where I saw it.  Glad you had a good time with the grandkids.  Love the pics, as always:)

DonnaH --  I've been on ferris wheels, but I hate being stuck at the top, and that always happens.  As long as its moving, I'm good.  That's why the swings aren't a problem - they are moving the whole time in the air!  Scary about your tree.  Glad it went away from the house and tree itself didn't fall.  I have one right behind my mobile that leans way in, and if it comes down, it will take out my whole place - ugh:(

Trudy -- How was the dance?  Did you have a good time?  Let us know what the test results say.  That was sure mighty white of your sister to say to sell the stuff to your cousins.  Wouldn't it be nice to be able to pick your family sometimes?  Have you watched any of the Olympics?

Cady -- Glad the kids had a good time at the party.  Did they reschedule the game?  We've had last  games that hadn't been rescheduled - always a plus in my books.

I had a nice weekend.  Went to dinner Friday night, minus Amelia who was at her gf's all weekend, and Jen went with us.  That was fun.  Was out a bit Saturday, but mostly watched the Olympics.  I love them, so that will be all I'm watching for the next two weeks.  Watched a bit of everything today it seemed today, that's for sure.  Still reading Wuthering Heights.  I'm about 80% thru it, just have to finish the home stretch.

Hope everyone has a happy Monday!

Amanda

Saturday evening, 7/28/2012...

Good Evening,

Everyone must be busy!  Hi to you Trudy.  Glad to see you posting.
The above picture is one of my favorites from my day on the coast when it was sunny.  So far I haven't posted any from my day with the grandkids.  I think the water is so pretty in this one.   Looking at this picture makes me want to go back, soon!

I saw all of the Opening Ceremony for the Olympics.  I'm sure you can find the part with James Bond & the Queen on either the NBC network or on youtube.  It is probably all over the Internet!!  Trudy, you are due for life to give you something extra special good.  I'm sure the appraisal of your antiques was interesting.  It always is surprising to me what I learn when I watch Antiques Roadshow.  There are things that seem would be worth something but aren't & of course the opposite!  I hope you enjoy the dance.  I don't think I remember how!!  :-)

Today I ended up going over to take care of a cat just for the day.  It was a last minute thing.  Since I didn't have anything else planned I thought why not as the extra cash is always useful.  I have a couple of short ones coming up.  One starts on Monday then another short one later in August.  The couple are going to a wedding (the time in late August) just far enough away to stay all might as the road is twisty & not a road to travel if you have had a drink or two & not fun to drive in the dark.  I think they are so smart to just go for the festivities & stay.  They can relax & enjoy.

Here is the cover from the book I read, The Kissing Sailor.  It was interesting, very detailed.  This is a picture I am sure you will all recognize.  It is LIFE magazine's most famous photograph.



It isn't late but I was up late last night as the Olympic Opening Ceremony was not over until midnight!  Michael Phelps is getting ready to swim.  I must watch.

Good night, happy reading,
Donna M

Saturday Night

I'm glad to see that everyone is busy!  It's been a tough week for me.  I've packed up my grandmothers' and others' glassware and had someone come and appraise it.  Actually, it was quite interesting,  The man not only could tell what pattern it was, but also, where it was made!  Most of the glass dates from 1890-1930.  It was manufactured in western PA or Wheeling, WVA.  However...  I have an Union Pacific tea cup and saucer that he wanted to buy which is in perfect condition.  Also, I have a blue delft relish tray which had it not been chipped would be very valuable.  Finally, I showed him a pitcher that we found while out driving along in the coal strippings in Clearfield Co, PA, when I was a child, dates from 1860 and would have been valuable had it not been exposed to the light all those years and been chipped!  As I said, it was very interesting but it left me feeling depressed about having to sell these things.  At least my girlfriend will allow me to buy them back when this is all over!  My middle sister emailed me and told me that I should "allow our cousins to buy them as they didn't have the chance to buy anything when our grandmother died;" shows her concern for me, doesn't it?  I'm going to sell my high school ring next.

On Wed., I went to get my teeth cleaned and then I had a CT scan with contrast to see why I've had so many urinary track infections.  I get the results of that test on Monday.  The urologist gave me Vesicare to try also; people have told me that it's very expensive.

I missed the first part of the Opening of the Olympics.  I hope that I can find the Queen and James Bond on Ytube!  Did you all see it?

Have you been watching AGT?  Lindsey Norton goes to my church; she was voted off Wed. night.  Please vote for her for the wild card.  Lindsey is a great kid and deserves to be on AGT.  She did the solo acrobatic ballet Tuesday night.

I've been reading some Blazes that I've picked up here and there.  Some are new releases and some aren't.  You can only stay in the past so long.  I'm reading Lone Star Surrender by Lisa Renee Jones right now; I got it at my library.  It's pretty hot and pretty dangerous too, whew!  Then I'll go back to Julianne MacLean's Pennyroyal series; I won her backlist.  I really should finish reading Pam Irio's book which is non-fiction; she is our former mayor.

You people are so lucky!  We are inundated with negative political ads!  I understand that they are being run  only in the three swing states.  They are so sickening!  Just you wait!  I have four more months of this!  And the Republican National Convention is less than a month away; they are going to close down Tampa and St. Pete for it.  Great!

I agree with the rest of you.  I don't think it's right to punish the kids for what the adults did.  The fine, the bowl games, yes but stripping those kids of their wins, no.  The are other ways of beating Penn State into the ground without doing that.

Last week, we had so much rain that I thought we were turning into Ireland!  This week, the sands from the Sahara have dried us out to the point where there hasn't been a drop and the tropics are dead.  We've had temps around 90 and feels like temps around 100; of course, you all  have had real temps this summer around 100!  It's been one weird summer that's for sure.  I'm so thankful that my a/c seems to be fixed; I'll relax when it goes over a month with is running smoothly!

Now, I must go.  Another girlfriend is paying my way into a singles' dance tonight.  Maybe I'll meet Mr. Right?  Have a good weekend!

Trudy

T.G.I.F., 7/27/2012...

Hello to Everyone,

Here is a close up picture of lichen on the rocks at the coast.  There are some grasses in the front of the rock.  This shows some of the texture & life that thrives by the ocean.

Cady, that is pretty much what any Capraese Salad recipe would be.  I don't remember if any of the ones I have had in a restaurant have garlic!  That means nothing.  I'm a big fan of garlic.  Tomorrow at Farmers Market I am going to be looking for more tomatoes.  Yum!  Lucky you not getting caught in the rain.  It sounds like you & the kids had a nice afternoon.   Have they rescheduled the baseball game?  Somehow it seems unfair when it gets dragged out.

Donna H,  that is quite a process to camouflage a vehicle.   I don't think I would have the patience for that!!  You are a woman of many talents.  How scary about your tree.  I hope it doesn't have to come down either but it seems that might be a devastating blow.  Thankfully it did not go toward the house.  When I was still living at home we had a similar thing happen.  Daddy was out hunting so not at home to help.  A storm came through Medford, OR. where I grew up that was hurricane strength.  Not something you would expect in our area.  It was quite the experience.  Anyway, there was a tree on the property line that was between our house & our neighbors.  The big old Locust tree went down & literally filled up our back yard.  It was awesome.  Had it fallen more in one direction it would have hit our house.  If it had fallen another way it was have probably demolished the neighbors house.  Since Daddy was not there one of the neighbors behind us came over & used his chain saw so we could get out the back door.  Daddy was quite surprised when he came back home.  We also didn't know if he was okay or if the storm was as bad where he & his friends were hunting.  This was long before cell phones!!  

Yesterday I spent the day with the grand kids again.  By the time I took them home I was tired!  :-)  A good tired.  We didn't do anything special just stayed here in Healdsburg.  I took them to some of my favorite places & we ate at a local hamburger place that I like.  Boy does the price go up when you feed three!!!  I forget how it adds up!!    We did a short hike at Healdsburg Ridge where I like to go.  They had a good time the day before at the ball game but the Giants lost.  They said getting home after the game took forever!  Not surprising as traffic from San Francisco north is always busy & especially after a ball game.  That is a time when you really need patience!

I'm almost finished with a library book, more than ready to move onto something else.  More when I post about the book!  Someone mentioned trying to post a book cover.  If you go to Amazon or Fresh Fiction, right click on the book cover, click on copy, then come back to your post here, click on paste, that should get you just the cover.

Okay I best get myself in gear.  I have no energy or ambition today after two days of busy!!!  I want to finish my book, do some chores, go to the store & veg!!  Tonight I want to watch the opening ceremony for the Olympics.  I like watching but it is always too long.  Here is a picture to say good bye for now!  These were tiny little succulent plants that I discovered on this rock.  They were cute & very tiny!!  The rock was large!!

Enjoy your  weekend, happy reading,
Donna M

DonnaM- I hate when  you have several books on order at the library - waiting, waiting,  and then 5 come in at once.  I can never get them all done and usually one or two go back unread and then I have to remember to reorder them.  I hope the gks had a good time at the Giants game.  I use to not like baseball, but have found going to the games, makes it much more fun than watching on tv or radio.

Mary - I do feel bad about Penn State.  I was especially sad to hear that it may have been that JoeP knew about it and did nothing (I say may as since he is dead, we never get to hear from him).  The fact that men could think it was okay not to pursue and at least make sure that GS was reported, bothers me, but it was several men, not the university and your daughter and husband should still be proud to be alumni.  On a lighter note, I read What Angels Fear by CS Harris.  I really liked it.  I wasn't sure as I am not a big fan of wrongly accused, but I found Sebastian to be an interesting character and really like his sidekick - a young orphaned child.  I have already ordered book 2 from the library.  The book is a bit dark, but full of suspense without a lot of gore.

Amanda - I hope your computer is working now.  I was at a neighborhood thing last night and a lot of us were saying that it is harder to do roller coasters now.  We are just too old, vertigo, nausea, whatever, but many of us have stated we were done. 

DonnaH - I am sure someone else will likely have a better Caprese Salad recipe, but we just do, fresh slices of tomatoes, fresh leaves of basil and a nice mozzarella cheese (they recommend buffalo, but I just get what I can find).  Alternate layers, tomato, basil, cheese on a plate, top with salt, pepper and then I do a quick vingerette with balsamic vinger and olive oil - maybe a bit of garlic, lightly sprinkle on top and serve.  Scary stuff on the tree, I guess count your blessings, the tree went the other way.

Not much else happening here.  I had yesterday afternoon off, so I took the kids to the zoo, we hadn't been there since Memorial Day so it was fun.  Luckily, just at we got to the car after finishing, it started pouring.  Five minutes slower and we would have been soaked.  Unfortunately, that caused Mags game to get cancelled as the field was a mess.  We still had the end of season party at one of the parents house - swimming and fun for about an hour and a half.  So the kids enjoyed.  Truthfully, I am hoping they cancell the last game, but I am thinking no such luck.  I finished Where Angels Fear by CS Harris, it is a mystery series about a Viscount in the early 1800s.  I liked the first book enough to order the second.  Now I am reading Carolina Home by Virginia Kantra - my first book by her, so I will let you know what I think.  No big plans for the weekend - think we are going to my MILs on Sunday, but that is it.  Hope everyone has a great weekend.

(I tried to add the book covers, but when I got the URL from Amazon, it was the full page, not sure how to just get the covers.)

Cady

OOPS

Oops!  That "rope" is actually referring to a RIPE tomato. . .

Very Late Wed Night

Well, it's been over a week since I've been here.  Talk about busy -- and I'm still not finished that silly little truck.  I'll start with the comments first, and take them just as I wrote them down while I was reading all your posts, so if they sound a little strange, it's because they're probably not relevant any more. 

Margie & Sandi, camouflaging a truck is like putting great big sheets of MacTac onto your car.  The camo material comes in 4' x 6' sheets of plastic on wax paper, and you need to cut it to the size of whatever you're covering -- for example, the door.  You'd need to cut several smaller pieces for a door because it has curves and ridges all which have to be covered with no air bubbles underneath.  It neither stretches nor shrinks, so has to be cut to fit, and if there are lots of curves you may end up with 2 or 3 layers, all cut in different places so that the painted surface is not showing through.  It's very finicky, time-consuming work, and you need lots of patience to do it properly -- and a very sharp knife. . .  Hardy says he can't understand how I can do it, because I don't have patience for anything else. 

Donna M, 30 degrees C equals about 87 degrees F.  A fairly gentle rain won't hurt the strawberries, but those gully-washers we've been getting will. (I wrote that down yesterday, and don't remember what your post said that I would make that comment. . .)  {:-O

Mary, yes, I knew Edge of Sight was #1 in a trilogy.  I picked up book #2, Shiver of Fear at the same time, but the library didn't have #3, Face of Danger, so I reserved it online, but wasn't careful about the author, so got one from the LIS line that I've got in my bookcase downstairs.  It didn't even dawn on me that there might be 2 books by the same title.  But the right one is on it's way to me now.  I sure hope it gets here soon!

Donna M, LOL!  Yes, I'll forgive you. . .  {;-)  I absolutely loved the picture of Zion that you put at the top of your Wed. pm post, and the one of the Sonoma Coast!  Fantastic!

Cady, this is the end of the early bloomers for strawberries, the everbearing ones will last a while longer, but they're not as nice as the early ones.  What we don't eat fresh, I freeze in little baggies just the right amount for making my breakfast smoothies.

Trudy, I hope this new lawyer can help you -- and not just with taking your hard earned $$.  I'm sorry that you had to miss your uncle's party -- 90 is a big step!

Amanda, you'll go on the swings, but not the Ferris wheel?  I'm just the opposite.  We used to have a double wheel here, and I loved it, but they discontinued it -- said it had too many safety issues. 

Sandi, So cool about renovating your kitchen!  Unless you're putting the cupboards in exactly the same place, and you know for a fact that they'll be the same size, I wouldn't put the new flooring in until the old cupboards were gone & I had an empty room to work in.  Sorry to hear that Elijah was not well, but very glad it all worked out okay.  I have no experience with croup, but from what I hear it's very, very scary!  Your boss has moved into your office?  I'm afraid if it were me, boss or not, I'd be telling him where to go in a hurry. . .

Mary, Well, you guys have convinced me to try some basil on my tomatoes.  We actually had one rope from the garden the other day.  What is caprese salad?  Recipe, please?  Thanks for asking about me.  All is well, just very busy! {:-)

Amanda, that picture looks just like a puzzle I have.  I'm not sure what the customer service policies are like where you live, but here in Canada we have the right to get help from someone whom we can understand, and they are not allowed to get mad or rude when we ask to speak with someone else.  And if #2 isn't understandable, you have the right to keep asking for someone else until you can understand them.

Donna M, Wow!  I like that picture of tree bark.  I thought it was a pile of stones, and that you had taken it for the light and dark contrasts. 

Whew!  That brings me to the end of the comments I wanted to make.  Now to catch you up on what's been going on around here.  Well, besides the fact that I'm still not done working on the truck. . .  Hopefully tomorrow!!! 

We've actually had some fairly decent weather here the last couple of weeks -- aside from a little shower here and there.  But yesterday, suppertime, Hardy was watching the news while I made supper, and a thunderstorm blew up.  Just as the lights flickered off and then back on again there was this horribly loud "CRACK" and immediately the thunder just boomed.  I screamed, Hardy yelled, and then he says, "that must have hit something close."  Little did we know. . .  This morning, just as we were ready to head into town, Hardy went to check the water level in the pond.  All of a sudden he gave a yell, so I went running.  The lightning hit our great big spruce tree that's about 30' from our house.  It literally exploded all the way down one side of the trunk, and there's chunks of wood and pieces of bark laying all over our lawn, some of them more than 30' away from the tree.  Once piece of wood is a good 6" in diameter and over 8' long.  The reason we didn't see it last night is because it blew out the side away from the house.  We're just hoping that the tree isn't going to die now because it is a magnificent tree, towering way above our house by at least 50', and we would hate to have to cut it down. 

Okay, that about does it for this epistle. . .  {:-) 

Wednesday evening, 7/25/2012...

Hi to Everyone,

It is late in the day for me to post, but I goofed off away from home today!  I had a couple of things I wanted to do so off I went, did a bit of shopping, dropped some books off for a library sale, picked up some books at the library here in town, went to AAA for a couple of things, also had lunch at my favorite little Mexican place.  Nothing exciting but it was a good day & I did get some things I needed.

The picture above is out at my "private" little spot on the coast.  It is a baby pine cone.  I think it would look on a Christmas card.

Since I was out playing around I didn't get a whole lot of reading done but a bit.  When I was at the library I found a couple of books on California that feature back roads & more unusual places to go.  I think one of them is not going to be to useful but the others have possibilities.  I have a travel urge but can't really spend much money.  I won't know until fall wether I can indulge myself.  I'm thinking about going down around the Monterey Bay area or up in the Sierra's.  The Sierra's cover a lot of territory.  I've seen a small portion.  It has been many, many years since I was down around the Monterey Bay area.   Whatever I do I will have my camera!!!  Thanks for the compliments on the pictures I post.  It is nice to have an audience.

Tomorrow I'm spending the day with the grandkids again.  Today they went to a Giants game.  They will tell me all about it tomorrow.  I'm not a baseball fan.

Mary & Amanda, I think the football players for Penn State are being punished for something two coaches did.  I really don't get that.  The fine I understand & removing the honors on Joe Paterno I get, but not all the other.  It is just amazing that there are those still willing to cover up the crime of child abuse is any form.  I'm sorry to say that in the bay area it seems a coach, priest, teacher or someone working with children get accused way to often.  There are times others knew but did nothing.  I just don't get it.

Amanda, I like your picture.  It is so country, in a good way.  I'm sure you will be happy when the computer problems at work end.  What a pain.  You do have several amusement parks nearby.  Nice to have all the choices.

Mary,  I'll be curious to see what you say about the Karen Rose book.  I loved pudding as a child.  Partly because it is probably one of the first things I learned to make in the kitchen.  The other thing Mom taught me was Chocolate Chip cookies, yum, after that I pretty much learned on my own.  Victoria Holt is an author I read when I was much younger, maybe in my late teens.

This is it for now.  I try not to be boring!!  Here is another picture to say good bye.  This is a close up of tree bark.  Maybe a pine tree that has been weathered by the wind, fog & weather at the coast.  There is also a form of moss on the bark.  It seemed interesting to me for the texture & patterns.

Good night, happy reading,
Donna M

Tuesday night

Wow, it was busy in here today.  This picture was on the way back from the deer farm we visited.   I would not mind living there - lots of space:)

Sandi -- I am with everyone on before/after pics.  How is Elijah doing?  Hope he is much better.  Sorry you have to share your office with the boss - totally sucky!  I've done that before, it is never fun.

Mary -- Hey, the Phils are on a role!  Did you see Sherman Hemsley passed away today?  They always come in three's.  I've been reading the Penn State stuff too.  Totally unfair to everyone being punished for it.  How can you take away the wins, not the losses, and for all the years after Sandusky was gone?  What is that?  The whole thing totally irks me.

Cady -- I am probably a lot like your mom - not the most computer literate.  I hate it when I call CS and get India.  Why can't they just have it in the US?  How did your meeting go?

DonnaM --  Great pics, as always.  Too bad you don't have a closer amusement parks.  There are plenty here.  My fav is Dorney Park, which is an hour from me (in Allentown - as in the Billy Joel song), and Six Flags is a 1/2 hr away in NJ.  I haven't been there in a while because they were becoming all roller coasters, and even though I love them, I like variety in my rides.  There is also Clementin Park in NJ and, of course, the Jersey shore boardwalks.  We also have the St. Mike's Fair that comes in every year for two weeks at the end of June (its 5 min from my house).  Absolutely no excuse for us to never go.  I feel Dorney is also the best price wise, as you get the regular park and the water park for one price.  Now, if they could make the food cheaper, that would be awesome.

So, today I had my computer - sort of.  They switched out the tower, so I could do my work, but can't print anything, which is a pain.  I also can't figure out how to make MAS90 larger so I don't need a magnifying glass to read it.  I will be blind if I have to work with this too long.  Hoping for my tower, with all my stuff, back soon.

Ok, off I go.  Need to read some more of WH.  At least book club isn't until next Saturday:)

Happy Wednesday!!

Amanda

Tuesday evening

Hi guys! I have been reading all the posts the past several days but had trouble posting. Hopefully I can get all caught up with everyone tonight!

A lot of things going on in the news. Of course the shootings in Colorado. My heart just goes out to all involved and the community at large. Yesterday the news of Sally Ride's passing brought back a lot of memories. Karen was only 7 when Sally made history and I remember her commenting that girls really can do anything. :-) She was a great example for girls encouraging them to go into math and science. Karen and several of her friends went into engineering partly because of Sally Ride. The other news of course is the Penn State stuff going on. Most of you know we are a Penn State family and this has all of us feeling pretty bad right now. I won't go into all that has happened but suffice it to say that there are a lot of unhappy people. It is still hard to wrap our minds around the horrible things that were covered up. Who would have believed it? I have told Karen and Don that they should not be ashamed to be alumni. PSU is a fine academic university and is not just football. They did nothing wrong. Anyway enough of that.

Margie--good to hear that your cousin will be able to go on the trip too. And I love CLARKS also. Like Sandi they are pretty much the only shoes I wear.

Cady--Let us know what you think of What Angels Fear. I brought it home from the library last week as well! I like pudding too. It was more about making the pudding for the kids and putting toppings on than actually eating that much of it! The adults enjoyed the eating!

Donna M--thanks for more great pictures. It sounds like you had a great time with your grandkids. I agree about tomatoes and basil. Do you make caprese salad? We love it in our family. I have that Karen Rose book in my tbr. I love her books.

Trudy--hope all is well with you. I never got into watching Glee. I did watch Smash this past season and it was very good and very much an adult show.

Amanda--I used to love ferris wheels. They were my favorite ride. It has been many years since I have been on one. The weather was nice over the weekend but not today. I guess tomorrow will be less humid but then it will be back to the yucks.

Sandi--I hope that Elijah is ok now. From what I remember croup sounds worse than it is. Karen only had it once and it is scary. Good luck deciding what to do with the kitchen redo.

Donna H--hope all is well with you.

I did read a book since I was here last. I read On the Night of the Seventh Moon by Victoria Holt. Very old school gothic romance and very good. I used to love her books but had not read one for years. I am now reading The Line Between Here and Gone, Andrea Kane's new one. It is good so far.

I hope everyone is having a good week. I am looking forward to the Olympics also.

Mary

Tuesday afternoon, 7/24/2012...

Good Afternoon Everyone,

I'm so glad to see I have company here.  You have all had a lot going on.  The above picture is from my day at the coast by myself.  This dead tree branch had some interesting forms so I took a picture!!  You can see how pretty the water was on that sunny day.

Cady, two more games & you are done!!  You will be doing a happy dance.  :-)  Have a good time with your kids on Thursday.  Do you have any plans or are you going to just to see where the mood takes you?  Getting out to enjoy nature is great for the mind & the soul.  As you all can tell from my pictures I am big on the outdoors & the amazing creations of Mother Nature.

I mentioned that I finished a book by Karen Rose but didn't post a cover picture!  Here goes.  I guess I should have choose another site!!  I got this on Amazon.  After reading such an intense book with the crimes committed I wanted something on the much lighter side.  I picked up this book that I had from the library.



The Brad Meltzer book is fun to read.  I would recommend it for any one with a daughter, granddaughter, niece or a girl that you are close too.  He also has one for sons.  The books would make a great gift.

Amanda,  it has been a long time since I went to any amusement park.  We have two relatively close to us, Six Flags in Vallejo & Great America in Santa Clara.  I have not been to Six Flags since they moved to Vallejo.  They were at one time Marine World & located south of San Francisco.  We took our daughters there which was a fun day.  At that time it was just about the sea creatures & animals.  Now it is both the rides & the animals.  I don't think it is doing real well.  When I go over toward the central valley on the way to somewhere east of me I drive by there!!  Great America use to be lots of fun but the last time I went was the year my youngest turned 21.  She is now in her early 40's!!!  Would love to go back before I am too old for any of the rides.  It is so expensive & just far enough that after being on rides all day until late at night I don't want to drive home with all the bay area traffic after dark!!  It is about a 3 hour drive each way.  I love your pictures of the rides.  They all look so pretty after dark when the lights are on.  I don't care for the ferris wheel type rides either but I do like the one they have at Great America as you are enclosed & the view at the top is amazing!!  I'm sure it was mostly a fun trip.  Too bad you are having computer problems at work.  How can they blame you?  Makes no sense to me.

Sandi,  I hope that your grandson is okay.  It is so scary when they have breathing problems.  I'm glad to hear that you are going ahead with your kitchen remodel.  It will be hectic & crazy while it is being done but the end result will be worth it.  Take pictures for us, pretty please.  It is so much fun, I think, to see before & after.   I cannot imagine having to share space with a boss.  What a pain.  Sharing space with anyone is not easy but it would make me feel like someone was always looking over my shoulder to see what I was doing.   Do you think work will every not be crazy?

Right now I am reading another library book.  There is one more in, waiting for me to pick it up.  I think I mentioned I went a little crazy one day requesting books!!  When I finish the one I am on now I'll tell you more & try to remember to post a picture.  Thursday I am going to pick up the grandkids for the day.  We are just going to hang out around here, have lunch & I will show them some of my favorite places.  It is looking like it won't be to hot which will be good.  They are going home around the first of August but I don't have confirmed plans for them as yet.  Last year I took them home but I don't think that is happening!!!

One more coastal picture.    This is my view as I looked down from the cliff where I was sitting.  I never tire of watching the waves.  If it is hot where you are think how cool this water is!  The Pacific ocean in this area tends to be very chilly.

Have a great day.  Happy reading,
Donna M

DonnaM - How nice that you and the grandkids went on a nature walk.  We are all so do, do, do.  A nice hike in nature is a nice way to slow down your mind.  I am with you on the tomatoes and basil.  They are two of the plants I always grow. 

Trudy - Sorry to hear that your lawyer won't start work yet.  I am with you on the antiques, if your kids can't help you then maybe they will have to go.

Amanda - Fun photos, I haven't been to a straight amusement park in years.  We did Disney, but that isn't like Six Flags or the others.  Maybe next summer.  As for sports, one more game and then we are done and truthfully, I will be glad.  I am sorry to hear about your computer.  I hope it is running better today.  My mom's ipad locked (she uses that rather than a computer) and customer service was no help.  Luckily, my BIL and I were able to talk her through some steps and she got it running again.  She is not real computer literate, so it was a challenge.  She told me the CS rep she talked to was from India and was hard to understand, even more challenging when  you aren't techno-savvy. 

Sandi - The pudding is still waiting.  We had two baseball times on Sunday and bday party, had to work last night and now have to work tonight, so it will have to wait until Wednesday or Thursday.  Did they send Elijah home with an inhaler?  One of my kids got one due to croup.  You should take before and after pics of your kitchen.  I have some photos of my house, before we bought it and they are very interesting to look at.  Sorry about your office, I hate sharing.  I do it with my secretary, but she is only in 10 hours a week so it isn't too bad. 

The weekend was good, Mags had baseball Friday night and Saturday afternoon, then some friends came over to dinner and brought their dog, which the kids loved, but just made them want one even more.  Sunday was trophy presentation time for both kids (all kids get one), which were of course at different times.  Each kid still has one more game - Mags on Thursday and then Luke has a game in August (it is on a little league field in the parking lot of our major league baseball stadium, which is why it is so late).  Like Amanda, work has been crazy, got a call this morning asking me to attend a meeting tonight, can do, but will have to bring my kids.  Luckily, the public hearing is first on the agenda, so I can speak and then leave.  Even better, I am taking Thursday afternoon off with the kids, so that should be fun.  Did a bit of reading - read Mitch Albom's Have a Little Faith, it was a nice book.  Up now, CN Lewis - Where Angels Fear to Tread. 

Hope everyone has a good Tuesday.

Cady

Tuesday

Margie, glad you worked out the reasons why your cousin couldn't take the trip with you. Hope it's not too hard on you to have to help her a bit. Enjoy your new sandals. I love CLARKS! It's almost the only shoe I wear. I have a heel spur, and since I started wearing the CLARKS my heels don't hurt. I also recently went bra shopping, but that's where I stopped!

Cady, did you get the pudding made? I remember my mom making it when we were growing up. I don't really remember eating it...I think making it was half the fun! I'm still working on the IN DEATH book. It's not as fun as the last one, so it's taking more brain power for sure! How did baseball end up?

Donna, so glad to hear you had a great time with the grandkids. I can't recall how or when I heard about the shooting, but it was really late in the day, because I don't do the radio in my car, and I was so tired from the early early morning I had that I don't think at work I was really paying attention.

Trudy, I'm sorry that your financial woes just keep coming and coming. Hopefully soon something can be worked out. I wish the lawyer would start while waiting for you to pay him. I know my lawyer worked on our case while I was paying him off.

As for the kitchen...it took a few days for me to decide to go ahead and spend the money, so I finally called the contractor yesterday, and am now waiting for him to call me back. I have some ideas I want to see if we can do, but my dreams may be bigger than my budget! In two weeks we are laying the new floor as they suggested getting it laid before the remodel.

I eluded to an early morning last week. I woke up about 12:30 Thursday night/Friday morning. Elijah was crying, and when he was settled he wasn't breathing well. Richard and I ended up taking him to the ER. The one we went to doesn't do pediatrics do they wanted to transport him. I couldn't do that as I was unable to get anyone to answer a phone to cover for me at work..so they went to the other ER and I came to work. He had croup, and transporting wasn't really necessary, but oh well! I picked up Richard about 9:00 and we went home, showered, went to lunch, and came home and crashed!

Work is awful! My boss has decided to share my office space with me. I can't do anything fun which is fine, but trying to find things productive to do is hard, as I have little to do when things are running smoothly! I was so bored yesterday!

Hopefully today will be better...another reason I don't like sharing space with him...he's as moody as Mike and I don't get a break!

Hope you all have a great one!

Sandi

Monday night

Hi Ladies!

This is a picture from Knoebels.  The "Giant Wheel" is the largest in PA at 110 feet.  I didn't go on it.  I don't mind the height as long as I'm moving, but you always get stopped on top and I hate that.  So, I just don't do them anymore:)  Always cool to look at though.

DonnaM -- What more can I say about your pics?  The one you posted in Sonoma is my fav.  Just wanted to transport myself there --- asap!  You are soo right that finance plays a big deal in seeing things.  One of my dreams if I ever hit the lottery is to jump in my car (or maybe an RV) and just go go go!  And I have to agree with you on your choice of roads -- twisty, back road ones are so much better than the main highways any day:)

Trudy --  Hope everything goes better with the new lawyer.  Doesn't seem like they get way too much money for such little work?  Totally unfair.  Glad the a/c is working, even if it is noisy.  Sorry I can't come visit now.  One of these days though -- and definitely not when the politicians are in town - ugh!  Sorry you can't make it to your uncle's b'day party.  Those darn finances again - the usual suspect.

Mary -- Glad you had fun with the grandkids.  Wasn't the weather great over the weekend?  So nice to open up those windows.

Sandi -- Glad you liked the pics.  I didn't think about it looking like a puzzle pic, but you are definitely right on that.  I love puzzles too -- the girls use to do them all the time when they were younger.  Miss those days.  Were the kids happy with the Dollar Tree purchases?

Margie -- Glad you were able to work it out so your cousin could go to Disneyland still.  The unexpected always seems to ruin the best plans.  Hope you are able to post some pics from there.  I'm glad you were able to find the DL dvd for Gavin to enjoy before going.  I have the one DW sent to me when we registered to stay there in 2006.  Can't seem to find a reason to get rid of it:)  Did you finish The Last Boyfriend yet?  I agree with Mary that it is a very sweet book.  Kinda  like the cream in the middle of an oreo.  Can't wait for the last one to come out.

Cady -- I know just how you feel about baseball season ending.  I always feel that way too when the girls are in any of the sports.  Even more so when you have to sit outside and the weather isn't as cooperative - lol!

Not real busy at home last week, but work totally sucked!  I just couldn't wait for the week to end.  Today wasn't so bad until 4:00 when the "FBI lockdown" spam came back (was w/o my computer a whole day because of it last week).  Even worse, its "my fault" its there.  Give me a break.  Like I'm downloading movies and video games at work.  Really?  I don't even do that at home.  We'll see how it goes tomorrow.  Hopefully it will be up and running again.

Still reading Wuthering Heights.  I'm about half way thru it.  I'm really involved in what happens, but I realize there is no one to root for -- at least not yet.  I want to pull for Heathcliff because of the abuse he dealt with growing up, but its hard.  We'll see what I think when I'm done.  Will definitely read something a bit lighter after this.

So this weekend the Olympics start - I'm so excited!  Love, love, love the games.  Too bad I'm at work all day and can't see everything:(   Opening night is always a grand performance, and I don't expect any different this time.

Another pic from Knoebels.  The swings at dusk.  This is a ride I always get on!
Hope everyone has a good week.

Amanda

Monday, 7/23/2012...

Hi!

Where is Everyone?  Whatever you are doing I hope all is okay.

The picture above is a little brook running through that place on the coast I discovered.  Since there are no other posts I'm just going to post another picture to check back later.

This one is right on the water!  If I moved the camera more to the right you would see the ocean.  I always love all the plants that thrive on the rocks adding more interest & color.

I hope you are all having a good day.  Find time to read,
Donna M

Saturday, 7/21/2012...

Good Afternoon Friends,

It is much to hot here!  I am trying to remember that wonderful cool at the coast.  The picture above is from the sunny day when I went by myself.  This is looking south down the coast.  If you look at the hills in the distance you can see a small line that is a private dirt road.  That road leads back to some homes up in the hills.  I have friends that live about 3 miles up that road.  They have a beautiful home that is mostly in the forest & a small view of the ocean from out on the deck.  I love going up there to visit them.  The road in the foreground in a tiny peek at the Pacific Coast Hwy. or Hwy. 1.

Since it is so warm I'm not terribly ambitious but I did go to Farmer's Market this morning where I got my first tomatoes of this season!  Yea!!  I also got some more corn, squash & basil.  If you have tomatoes you need basil!!  For tonight I think I will fix a tuna sandwich with tomatoes as it is much to hot to cook.  I want to fix an ear of corn but even doing that heats up my little kitchen enough to make me miserable!!  My fans have been going since around 10 this morning.  They are predicting another hot one tomorrow then cooling down some.  Thank heavens!  Beside getting fresh veggies at Farmer's Market I did do laundry, did dishes & that is about it!!  I finished a book, more on that below!

Trudy, I would imagine with all those thunderstorms it has been humid & yucky!  Such an official weather term!  It is nice to hear that the Celtic Thunder guy is out of the hospital.  I hope he will soon be back to his normal.  Life needs to give you a break.  I don't think I would feel to bad about selling the family antiques if no one else seems to care.  I'm just sorry you have to part with them.  Do you ever watch Antiques Roadshow?  I love that program.  Some of the things that are valuable boggle my mind.

I mentioned finishing a book.  This book was intense with murder & mayham!  Yes, there is a HEA.  There were a lot of threads, a lot of characters, despite the sometimes grim parts I loved the book, it is No One Left to Tell by Karen Rose.  I love her books, you know it will be a ride when you pick up one of hers.  She is a favorite author.  Now I need something up beat & light.  I need to get started on my latest library haul!!

This should catch me up for now.  Here is another picture from last week when it was sunny at the coast.  This is where I stopped that led me out to a nice little place on the cliff that I had all to myself.  It was lovely.

Have a good weekend.  Happy reading,
Donna M

Friday night

Earlier this week I tried to post a pic of the concert; didn't work; I'll try again when I'm using the laptop the next time.  Yes, George is the bald, older guy with the deep voice.  Note to all:  just found out that Damian McGinty won't be back on Glee=me not watching Glee; never cared for the show anyhow.  Ryan Kelly is now out of hospital and will hopefully be touring in the fall with the rest of CT.

Did I tell you that I won Julianne MacLean's backlist of The Pennyroyal series?  They came a week ago and I can hardly wait to read them.  The fourth book is out now in e-format but won't be out in paperbook, alas, until fall.  I've read her Highlander Trilogy and loved it.

I remember going to Disneyland as a child.  It's a fun park but nothing like Disney World which is huge in comparison.  Poor George got the two mixed up; we set him straight in a hurry!  I do think I'd take Disney World over Disneyland unless I had no choice but it is so very expensive.

I'm reading Karen Ranney's The Scandalous Scot at the moment.  Found it at Target and snapped it up; she was thrilled to her that.  I like historical romances, this one's pretty good for not being specific to an event.  Takes place in the Highlands and is light-hearted so far.

My HQ reading is limited to Blaze, HH, MIRA, and Desire, and those only of my choosing.  In a way, I miss the Reading Challenge because when I read, I think, "Oh, I want to say this or that about this book," and then I remember that we don't do that anymore.  Plus, what I read is not what you all read.  I do read Lindsey McKenna though and like her books, for those of you who were talking about her books.  You know, so many people put down HQ but many of today's best-selling author's got their start there, like Nora Roberts, for instance.  I read recently that between HQ and Mills & Boon, their UK label, they sell a book every 4 seconds somewhere in the world!  HQ must be doing something right with those kinds of numbers;  I didn't read this from their website.

Amanda~~Bummer, that you have to do all the work and don't get to come to Florida!  Of course, if the move is occurring at the end of Aug., you don't want to be anywhere near Tampa as it's hosting the Rep. Nat'l Convention.  It'll be a nightmare here!  I would have loved to have met you though.

I was invited to my only uncle's 90th b-day party in York, PA Aug. 4, but I can't go because any money I have has to go towards my new lawyer's fees for re-filing my bankruptcy.  Hopefully, he'll also protect me from this predator who's coming after me.  I gave him some money today but I have a long way to go before he's paid off and he won't do anything until then.  Tried shaking down my family by threatening to sell all the family antiques but no response from anyone; so they were warned.

Yesterday was the first day in 13 days that it didn't rain here.  I thought that TS Debby was bad, and it was awful!  But we've had T-storms like you wouldn't believe last week and this week.  Wed., it was so dark all day that you'd swear it was nighttime!  Of course, today's feel like temp was 100 which is highly unusual for us.  They tell us another tropical wave will be crossing over us by Monday so I guess enjoy the sun (and hear) while we can.

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Trudy

T.G.I.F., 7/20/2012...

Good Afternoon Everyone,

Here is a picture from my day on the northern Sonoma coast last week.  It was beautiful & sunny, a little breezy.  Since I was escaping from the heat inland it was perfect weather for me!  This is one of my favorite spots to stop & just absorb being on the coast.  As you can see there is a lot of color and blooming plants.  More to follow!!!  Eventually I'll take us back to Zion.

Cady, nice that Mike got to join you for dinner then had an early night after a long day.  You do have a busy weekend.  I can imagine how glad you will be when baseball is over.  Having two with two different schedules takes some juggling.

Margie,  how generous of you that you could help your cousin take the trip to Disneyland.  You will all have a ball.  It isn't possible to have a bad time in Disneyland in my opinion.  Don't forget the sunscreen.  I'm glad you found some good sandals.  Sometimes buying shoes can be frustrating.  Buying bras & undies is no fun, just necessary!!  Maybe you will get a chance to read The Last Boyfriend over the weekend.  It was a quick read, I thought, but very good.

The grand kids & I had a lot of fun yesterday.  The weather was very different than when I went by myself the week before.  The weather did not stop us at all.  The fog never cleared from the coast but we could at times see some blue sky inland.  We went to Salt Point State Park, Gerstle Cove.  It is a very interesting place as it is rocky, there are tide pools to look at.  We took a walk that included climbing all over the rocks, my grand kids mugging for the camera, trying to catch the breaking waves, seeing creatures in the tide pools, seals on the rocks, while we just enjoyed time together.  We stopped at an old general store to order deli sandwiches which we ate sitting on rocks taking in the view.  Later on after we finished our adventure along the coastline we drove further south then inland to stop at our favorite little place for milkshakes.  I don't allow myself to indulge in that very often so I enjoyed every sip.  I was tired last night as I ended up driving somewhere around 200 or so miles on mostly twisty, winding roads which is way more fun than the freeway.

If you have heard the news today then you are aware of the terrible tragedy in Aurora, CO.  I cannot begin to imagine what the families of the victims & wounded must be going through.  Incidents like this make me wonder about the mental health of people here.  I can't imagine anything that could make me do something like that.  Not to mention I wouldn't know how.  Those people will be in our hearts & prayers for many days to come.

I will leave you with a picture from yesterday.  Look at the difference in the weather.  On later posts I will include some pictures of the grand kids!  They are mostly silly pictures!  Lots of fun memories.

Have a good weekend.  Happy reading,
Donna M

Wow, it has been busy in here.  Luke and I had a nice time Friday night, but Mike ended up getting out of work early and meeting us at dinner.  But since he had worked such a long day, went to sleep early, so just Luke and I watched Star Wars.  The past week has been busy workwise and I have to say I will be glad when baseball is done next week.  We have tournament this week, Friday, Saturday and maybe Sunday, plus a bday party for a friend's child.  So it will be a busy weekend.  Read Sandra Byrd's Secret Keeper, it is a book about Tudor England, it was okay.  She is a christian writer, which is fine, but you can see she is anti-catholic, which is bothersome as I am catholic, so that ruins my enjoyment of her work.  Up now, I have a Mitch Albom book - Have a Little Faith and a new author CS Harris - What Angels Fear (it is another historical mystery)

Margie - I am so glad you were able to get things resolved for your cousin.  I am sure you will have a great time at Disneyland.  I would love to go, but don't see that in our picture anytime soon.  What a great idea showing Gavin the video, I am sure that will help get him excited for the trip.

DonnaM - I hope you had a good day with your grandkids from Oregon, did you go anywhere fun or just meet for lunch?

Sandi - How is the design going for the kitchen?  Hopefully, you are having fun with it.  I am looking forward to the new In Death, what did you think?

Mary - Pizza and Pudding, yummy.  My kids aren't big pudding eaters, but I love it.  Maybe I will make some this weekend.  Yum

DonnaH - Wow, you are picking strawberries now, are they late-bloomers or is your season just starting?  Or season is mid to late June, so I doubt there would be much now.  Do you make jam or just enjoy them?

Amanda - bummer, that you don't get to go to Florida.  It would be nice to see your work in action - so to speak.  Which events are you looking forward to watching of the Olympics?  My daughter is looking forward to Opening Ceremonies. 

Trudy - Is George, the older bald gentleman of CT?  I liked his voice. 

Hope everyone has a great weekend. 

Cady

It's been super quiet here.  Everyone must be busy enjoying the Summer.  It looks like it it going to be a really beautiful Friday here.  The last couple of days have been too windy to enjoy the day but it looks like things have cleared up. 

DonnaM, I love that road pic.  It is so pretty and I can't believe they actually put a stone boarder.  It looks so much nicer than those metal guard rails. Who is the new to you author you are trying out?

 I didn't get a chance to doing any reading so still just at the beginning of The Last Boyfriend.  We decided to go get sandles at the outlets.  I found a really comfy pair at Clark's.  Then I decided I should get some new bra's too.  I hate bra shopping but I got lucky and found two and, since I was getting bra's, I figured I'd get undies too. 

Gavin got a haircut.  It's so short.  More buzz cut this time and he looks so grown up.  I think t's a bit too short but his hair grows so fast.  We had a bit of an issue with our trip.  My cousin and her two kids are going with us but she told me Wednesday they couldn't go.  This messed up everything.  I was upset and sad too.  Her & I were to share expenses for our room which I've had reserved over a month.  My sister and another friend are sharing the connecting room.  I was going to have to cancel my room and sleep on a rollaway in their room.  But we also wanted my cousins daughter to come but she couldn't.  She is 7 years old and so good with Gavin.  She's his buddy.  After talking to my cousin some more, we found out it was a financial issue that had popped up on her and we arranged to help her out with that so they could still come. 

I hope you all are having a good Friday.
Margie :) 

Wednesday pm, 7/18/2012...

Good Afternoon to Everyone,

Here is another view of Zion.  Seeing these pictures is just bringing back the awe I felt & wishing we could have stopped every 2 seconds!  If we had done that we never have reached the visitors center & the parking area where we could start walking to really see everything.  A few hours there on one day was just not enough at any of them.  But, as I've said before I am so glad I got to see everything that I did.  It would be so easy to spend 2 weeks in this area as there is so much to see & do.

I did get my errands done or at least most of it!  Anything that I decided to put off can easily wait for another day.  When I picked up the mail after coming home there was a book waiting for me that I ordered through Amazon.  It is a new to me author that I'm looking forward to reading.  Guess it will be awhile since I have all those library books!

Mary, it sounds like you had fun with the grand kids.  I have a day with my two younger ones tomorrow.  We are going out to the coast for the day.  I'll have more to tell after that happens!  Shopping after your mammogram is a good idea.  I really don't mind having them but treating myself after by shopping seems only right!  I'm glad to hear that you liked The Last Boyfriend, me too!  I've looked the inn up online.  Would love to visit that area.

Margie, cars are expensive to keep up but it is pretty hard to be without one unless you live in a big city.  When my youngest was 4 or 5 we went to Disneyland.  She was not happy in The Haunted House if I remember right.  I was fascinated by it.  It will be interesting to see what you think of The Last Boyfriend.

Sandi, glad to see you here.  I never have understood why the dealers have to be so expensive when doing maintenance & repair on cars.  It seems they would have more business if they kept the prices a bit lower.  I took mine to the dealer for awhile after I bought it but finally went back to my reliable auto place.  Not that they are cheap!  But I trust them & they do good work, stand behind it.  They are also backed by AAA which I like.  Yes, I did take pictures last week when I went out to the coast.  I will get them on here eventually.  I'll probably take some more tomorrow.

Donna H, I am so sorry!  Yesterday I totally forgot to say congratulations on the good news from your doctor.  At least I think I forgot!  I wish I could look back at posts.  My memory just isn't as reliable as it once was.  I trust you will all forgive me if I repeat myself.

I think this is all my news for the day.  As you can see there is nothing to exciting!  I'm still reading the Karen Rose book.  The more I get into the story the better it gets.

Here is another picture from Zion.  As you can see it is diverse.  Look at that beautiful blue sky & so clear as it is not near any big city.  There is a faint jet trail over those formations.

Have a good evening.  I'll probably skip dropping by tomorrow as I have no idea what time I will be home!
Happy reading,
Donna M

DonnaM, I know what you mean about the book holds.  I am always putting holds.  I hate when they all become ready at the same time.  Then I am overwhelmed!  I hope you have time to do everything you need to do while you are off. 

Yes, we are getting excited about going.  We've been showing Gavin a Disneyland DVD to get him ready.  It is really cute.  My aunt gave me the video she used to show her grandkids.  I was afraid it was going to break with all the rewinding I was doing.  Gavin loved it and is constantly asking for it "again".  So I looked into finding a copy of our own.  I was surprised to find it online at WalMart in DVD format because it is from the late 80's early 90's and it was less then ten dollars.  It's a musical with kids and the characters running around the park to music.  It starts with the characters getting the park ready for guests on Main Street and shows a bit of the rides and different lands. At first he was a bit scared when they do a song in front of the Haunted Mansion.  It has an ugly green faced witch and spooky trees and ghosts.  He is okay now after watching a million times.

Mary,  Butterfly sounded so familiar so I checked and I read that and really enjoying it.  You did sould busy.  I need to go shoe shopping.  I really need some new shoes. 

Sandi,  That was a good investment in the car.  You can never tell if you are putting money into a car that will just die but sometimes there are no other options.  I got this car from a friend for a steal and she took good care of the car.  Hopefully it keeps working for a few more years.  Lucky you to get to read an advanced copy of the In Death.

Finished the Singh and I liked it.  I'm going to be starting The Last Boyfriend tonight.
Have a good evening.
Margie :)

I really am still alive!

Amanda, your trip sounds like it was just one adventure after another!  I felt like it sounded quite exciting, and I’m not sure if that was good or bad!  You certainly seem to have taken it all in stride!  I’m so far behind in posts and posting that I hope I get to the point where there are pictures!

Donna, did you take pictures on your journey north?  How cool is it that you just get in your car and go exploring!  I don’t really do that much anymore.  However, I’m not sure that within a hour or so of Dallas I wouldn’t just find more city!  I know we have some lakes, but the cities I think encroach on them, and I’m not sure  how much nature is left around them.

When we lived in Iowa we had a rather large kitchen.  I just didn’t realize how much junk it really takes to run a kitchen.  I have tried to narrow it down, but it’s still a lot!  I don’t think we’ll get the laundry room done, but at least I’ll get more space in the kitchen!

Donna, isn’t it amazing what lamps cost!   It took me two years to find lamps I liked at a price I was willing to pay when I was having to get rid of mine.  Then those were still in really good shape, but I was redoing some things, and found beautiful Tiffany lamps that cost a fortune, but Mike said I could splurge, so I did!  Travis has knocked a piece of glass out of one, but I still love those lamps, and they go so well with the dining room fixture!

Cady, how did the sleepover go?  How was date night with Luke?

Trudy, hope you get your legal issues worked out soon.  I’ve tried calling my lawyer a couple of times recently and he’s not calling back.  I’m taking that as no news is good news!  I didn’t realize you had a dog.  What kind of dog is he?  Oh, and as for the rain…we would gladly take it here!  How could you got to meet another CT!

Amanda your pictures are amazing.  The last one especially looks like it could be a jigsaw puzzle scene.  I have jigsaw puzzles on the brain because our school age class is jigsaw puzzle crazed!  They asked me for some harder ones, so I had to make a trip to Dollar Tree yesterday to fulfill their wish.  I spent a fortune!

Donna, how do you camo a truck?  I bet if Brian knew about that he’d want to do his car!  He loves camo!

Margie sorry to hear about the car issues!  A few years back I was taking our SUV for the annual inspection and the check engine light came on while I was going there.  Needless to say no inspection that day (can’t be done with the check engine light on).  The dealership wanted $1200 to fix it, but I found a place I could get it done for $400!  Mike really wanted to trade it in, but I knew we’d get nothing for it with the engine light on, and I wanted it for Brian.  Since he’s still driving it I’d say it was worth the $400!

I listened to Call Me Irresistible by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and am almost done with Rainshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas.  I read the last ever Beverly Barton book…Don’t Say A Word.  Now I’m working on the new Robb that will be out soon….Delusion in Death.

Hope everyone has a great Hump Day!

 Sandi