Thursday, already!! 8/30/2012...

Good Afternoon Friends,

Tomorrow is the last day of August!  Oh my!  Today is my granddaughter's birthday, she is 14!  It doesn't seem possible that those years have flown by already.  She sent me an email saying how much she liked her T-shirt I sent.  She is a big fan of the group One Direction (they sang at the closing ceremony of the Olympics).  One of her suggestions for a gift was a One Direction T-shirt along with the name of a store that carries them.  I appreciated that because it isn't some place I patronize!!

The picture above is from my day at the coast on Monday.  This is the Russian River where it meets the Pacific Ocean.  On the right hand side if you look close you can see a building on the side of the hill, probably a house!  At certain times of the year there are seals there with the pups.  It is quite a congregation!!  This view is from down the road just a little from the coffee shop that I stop at in the little town of Jenner.  It is a very small town.  I'll post that picture also.  I had to go look it up!  Jenner's population is 136, elevation 12'.  It is big enough to have a post office,  some tourist cabins, I think there is a B&B or 2 & a restaurant, maybe a small grocery store, the coffee shop a small gift shop.  I have friends that live north of there up in the hills.  Love going to see them.  By the way, the river was not that blue!  I've started experimenting with some of the different settings on the camera.  Have no idea what it was set on for this picture!!  The grayness in the background is the fog.

Cady, enjoy your time off.  I had to laugh at Mike & the kids destroying the house.  How well I remember that!  Now I have no one to blame but myself.  It sounds like you have a nice weekend ahead of you.  I always took my kids to school the first day, at least until they got older.  Eventually they don't like people knowing they have parents!!  I was happy to let them ride the bus.  School has already started around here.  I really do not understand why they start so early & get out in May!  It is warm here!  Not that it will be that cool nest week.  Looks like you have been enjoying some good books.

Mary, no books from the library!  If I look around when I  pick up a book I requested it seems there is always something else I need to take with me.  Enjoy the BBQ at your neighbors.  Sounds like fun.  You are right about birthdays in December being hard.  I may have mentioned before that my oldest daughter's birthday is December 28.  Right from the start I informed people that there would be no Christmas/birthday combined gifts.  Lucky for me everyone agreed & honored that.  It wasn't her fault that was the day she was born.  Some people we knew had a son with a birthday on December 25th, they celebrated Christmas in the morning then his birthday in the evening.  I thought that was a clever solution.

Just before I sat down at the computer I finished reading Robyn Carr's reissue of The Wedding Party.  A good read.  This was originally published in 2001 before I ever heard of her.  I'm glad they are publishing it again.  It was most enjoyable.  If you like her books I would recommend it.  The book is not part of a series.  It has some unexpected happenings along the way!




Is anyone else watching the RNC?  I've had it on as I wanted to listen to Ann Romney, she did well.  Last night I wanted to see what kind of impression Paul Ryan made.  The impression was only ok.  I liked seeing his kids, especially his daughter.  They all had the wave down!  I think the youngest son was bored but he was still well behaved.  That has to be hard on them to sit like that in front of millions of people.  Cady, do you had any comments on him.  I don't want a political discussion just whatever your thoughts are.

I have no plans for over the weekend.  I notice that since I am retired the 3 day weekends don't mean as much.  They are so welcome when you work .  I'm just glad all the tourists leave when the weekend is over!!

Okay, here is a picture of a good portion of the town of Jenner.  There is more up the hill on the other side of the highway!!  But not a lot!!

Have a good evening.  I have to decide what to read now that I am finished with The Wedding Party.
Donna M

P.S.  I sent an invite with a link to the blog to Sadhbh.  Hope she responds.

Thursday

Mary - Have you read the CS Harris book?  I am curious to what you thought of it.  I liked them, but there is something about the H that gets to me.  Have you made up your mind where you are going on vacation in September?  I can't believe tomorrow is September. 

DonnaM - Well, I guess it wasn't bad that your water got turned off as you had a very nice trip.  Congrats on the Little League team.  I have to admit, I am not sure I would have loved to have my kids gone for 28 days, but I guess that is what you sign up for.

DonnaH - How annoying that your daughter has to wait to get the results.  Hopefully, whatever it is, it is something that is workable.  The dress you did for your granddaughter is lovely and what a nice thing for her to say to you. 

Trudy - I am glad that Isaac went the other way, just read today that a dam in Mississippi may burst putting thousands at risk.  Glad it was just a bit of rain for you.

Amanda - Doesn't it always seem that work speeds up when the kids go back to school.  Not sure why, but it is like everyone goes - okay time to get back to work.  I hope Amelia likes her hip-hop class.  We signed Maggie up for a running class this fall.  Twice a week, they run and learn about nutrition, suppose to a be real confidence booster. 

Not much happening here, work was crazy Monday and Tuesday, worked until almost 7 on Monday and then didn't get home until 10 on Tuesday night.  I was planning on taking tomorrow afternoon off, but now am going to take the whole day.  The kids are going to go to daycare in the morning, so I will try and clean the house as they and Mike destroyed it while I was out and I was too tired to deal with it last night.  No big plans for the rest of the weekend - think I will take the kids to the pool tomorrow afternoon, this is the first time we made it all summer.  Then maybe a park or the zoo this weekend.  They start school on Tuesday, so I will take and pick them up that day, so it is a nice long weekend for me.  I have been reading up a storm




read those two from the libray and got this one free on my Kindle



The Michelle Moran book was a fast, fast read, but only okay.  My favorite by her is still Kleopatra's Daughter.  I enjoyed the Thompson one best, this is the second in the Gaslight series.  I liked the Ryan book, it is the first in another mystery series.  However, it had an odd tone to it.  There are only 6 books in the series and two are available from my library, the others I will have to buy from Kindle.  I guess we will see how much I like them if I buy them.

Hope everyone has a good Holiday Weekend.

Cady

Wednesday night

Hi guys!

Donna M--congrats to the Little League team. It sounds like they had a great home-coming. I am enjoying your pictures as usual. Don and I saw War Horse in the movies and really liked it. It was hard to watch what the horses went through. I thought the horse should have gotten nominated for an Oscar. He would look right into the camera at times! I remember reading a Jodi Thomas historical a couple of years ago and liking it.

Donna H--I will add my two cents about the party for your mom--go for it! We had planned a 90th for my late mil but she was in the hospital and we had to cancel. Never did get to celebrate and she died a few months later. Your granddaughter and the dress you made are very pretty. I will keep a good thought for you dd. Let us know what the doc says.

Trudy--it is hard having a Dec. birthday. My dd's is the 28th. We always made it special even being so close to Christmas. My twin brothers are the 20th so they were able to get one present before Christmas and a family party. I hope you have not had any problems with the storms.

Amanda--I have always wanted to do quilts. I still plan on taking a class one of these days. I would be sewing it on the machine. I have put borders on quilts I embroidered from kits using my machine but never made one from scratch.  I hope Amelia enjoys dance class. Lauren is going to continue with ballet and also take tap (combined in one class.) I think it helps build confidence and is good exercise. Karen took tap and tumbling and then when she got older she took jazz ballet and really liked that.

I read another book since I last posted entitled Secret Sins. It is an older book of Jasmine Cresswell's. I used to read her books and still have some in my tbr. It was good and a fast read. The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain is finally ready for me to pick up (at a different lib. from the one I volunteer at.) I will probably start that as soon as I get it, hopefully tomorrow. I did go to my library today to volunteer and did not bring home any books!

Any plans for the holiday weekend? We are going to a neighbor's on Sunday for a bbq but other than that no special plans. Karen and her family won't be home until Sat. from their beach vacation so they will be getting settled back in and not doing any entertaining.

I hope everyone is having a good week.

Mary

Tuesday afternoon, 8/28/2012...

Good Afternoon Friends,

Donna H, loved your pictures.  The dress you made for your granddaughter is very pretty.  How sweet that she said it was one of the best things about her graduation.  The cloud picture is very nice.  There is a lot to getting good sunset pictures.  I've started experimenting with some of the settings that can be changed on my camera.  Wait till you see some of the pictures I took yesterday!  A couple of them I forgot what setting it was on!!!  Live & learn, glad to know I still can.

The picture above is another one from my foggy morning walk at Healdsburg Ridge.  Once fall makes a real appearance I'll probably go do another picture taking walk.  I love it up there because there is some going up hill  so it is more challenging than just walking around town like I usually do.  I liked the little flower in this one among all the green grass.  One thing about photography is it makes you not just look but to really see things.  Nature is my favorite subject except of course for the grand kids or friends.

Trudy, I really hope that Issac doesn't bring you any devastating flooding or any flooding.  I emailed my friends that live part of the year in New Orleans.  Katrina did not do any real damage in their neighborhood, they were so lucky that time.  Hopefully it will be the same this time.  They are out here in California now, as they usually are, until maybe October.  Keep us posted on your status when you can.  Is the rain & the wind veering away from you now?

I think I mentioned that our water was being turned off yesterday for a repair.  That gave me an excuse to run away to the coast.  I took a ton of pictures, had a wonderful day despite the fog.  It never completely cleared up.  You will be able to see that when I start posting the pictures.  I haven't transferred them here yet.  As I mentioned above I played around with some of the settings on the camera which give you more flexibility when taking pictures.  All these features are on the camera so I thought I've had it long enough to start using them.  It might make me look better than I am!!  My first stop was at a little coffee shop that over looks where the mouth of the Russian River meets the ocean.  Seals hang out there with their young.  I did not see any seals yesterday.  After I got my coffee I drove up to Goat Rock which is not one of the places I usually stop at.  I've been there many times over the years but it isn't one of my favorites.  When I left there I stopped at Blind Beach which was pretty much blind due to the fog!!  In fact a couple of people that were walking toward the beach when I was walking away commented that he certainly was Blind Beach.  I think his accent was British!  My day was wonderful!  I hiked one of the trails which is 3 miles round trip with some extra due to the side paths I took to be closer to the ocean.  Most of the trail is all above beach level or even far enough from the cliff edge that you can't see it, especially in the fog.

The Petaluma Little League team had their home coming yesterday.  They were welcomed back in great style with a ride in a stretch limo, also police in both cars & on motorcycles escorted them into town.  There will be a parade for them this weekend.  That should be amazing!  They are real celebrities.  One of the boys that they interviewed said he was ready to be home as they had been gone 28 days.  I did not realize that when they won the regional here in California they went directly to Pennsylvania for the World Series.  At 12 & 13 I can imagine that home was starting to look real good.  They had to go back to school today as they have missed a week already.

Before I left yesterday I finished reading Welcome to Harmony by Jodi Thomas.  She is new to me.  There are more Harmony books which I will be reading.  Harmony is a small town in Texas.  A 16 year old run away from the foster care systems goes there hoping they won't find her.  It started out a bit slow but developed into a good read.  Have any of you read her books?  I think our library has some of them.  I found this one on paperbackbookswap.  It is great for these older books.  Although this one isn't that old, a 2010.



Good bye for now.  Trudy & Sandi I do hope that Issac doesn't create horrific problems.  Find time to read.

Donna M

Clouds at sundown

Donna M, you inspired me to try a cloud picture.  The coloring on this picture is nothing compared to what they looked like with my naked eye.  The edges of the clouds were the most brilliant hot pink I've ever seen, and the rays  from the top of the cloud were really strong, not the faint lines as seen here.  This was taken from right in front of our house, facing due west.  You can see the train crossing post in the bottom of the picture.  (I think that's a power post in the bottom left). 

I love those "leaf" pictures, especially the one taken with the "magic" filter.  The color around the edges of my clouds were about the same pink as those leaves in your picture.  Also love the pictures of the lichen on the tree trunk and the yellow flowers growing through the bridge railings.

Congratulations to your Little League Ball Team!!!  Third place in the world -- definitely nothing to shake a stick at. . .  {;-)

We don't watch a whole lot of TV, either.  And the few programs we do like to watch, we end up with interference so bad that they're almost impossible to watch, yet the programs we don't watch are as clear as day.  Go figure!  (we're seriously looking into getting a satellite dish, but it's not really worth it for the little we watch).

Mary, one of my sisters quilts.  She has a special pair of gloves she wears (fingerless) that give her hands and wrists support while she works.  They're fairly expensive, but -- according to her -- well worth the price.  My other sister wears the same kind of gloves for when she plays handbells.  They get them at the fabric store. 

Trudy, I'm glad you're staying out of the way of Isaac -- Issac? -- even if you are getting lots of rain.  Stay safe!

All our news casts up here are making sure we know where Isaac is, and where they think he'll go.  When they show the pictures of the devastation he's already caused, it just makes my heart turn over. 

I've been reading up a storm in the Bullet Catchers series by Roxanne St. Claire.  I've enjoyed every one of them so far, and the fact that I'm not reading them in order hasn't lessened my enjoyment at all.  I just finished First You Run, and now I'm over half done Hunt Her Down.  Considering each book has about 350 pages (give or take a few) I'm doing not too bad.  I had to read HHD now as it has to be back in the library before the end of the week.  The others I still have a couple of weeks to get them back.  Of course, I could renew them if I wanted to.  I looked for a Catherine Anderson book when I was in the library yesterday, but didn't find one.  I'll go online and see what they have that I can reserve. 

My daughter, Joy's, tests finally came back.  She got a call from the Dr's office yesterday to make an app't for Sept 10.  The dr is out on paternity leave but will come back on that day to discuss her results with her.  That's scary because you know that they found something you aren't going to like when they call you in like that. 

Now that I've remembered how, I'll sign off with another picture. . .  Okay, it didn't go where it was supposed to, and I have no idea how to turn it right side up.  This is my granddaughter's grade 8 grad, and this is the dress I made.  the bottom is pouffy with a sort of balloon effect at the hem, which is short, just above her knees.  She told me yesterday that the dress was the best part of her grad.  Made this grandma teary-eyed. . . 

Monday

I'm writing as an outer band of Issac which is now more than 225 miles to the west of Tampa, is dumping a ton of rain on us.  This is the way it's been all night and day.  The east coast of the state really got it, including tornadoes which damaged a mobile home park.  Issac probably won't make landfall at all in Florida but in LA on the anniversary of Katrina on Wed.  Just what they don't need!  Sandi, you still may get some of Issac as one computer model does run over east TX!

I packed up my dog and headed out to the causeway over the Intercoastal to escape the boredom.  It was sunny, until we got out of the car.  Then it was sunny again, until we got out of the car.  Once we made it to the sidewalk along the road.......  So much for that idea.

Donna~~Congratulations on your team becoming #3 in the world!  I hope they realize that third place is nothing to sneeze at.  It's like the bronze medal at the Olympics!

Did anyone watch America's Got Talent Wildcard elimination last week?  Lindsey Norton goes to my church and is such a sweet girl.  We're really proud of her!

No, my birthday isn't August 20; that's my grandson's, Mason Miner's birthday.  My birthday is Dec. 3, a really horrible time of year to have a birthday!

I'm reading a re-issue by Hannah Howell, My Valiant Knight now.  It's a medieval historical, no surprise there but she's the author who got me reading them and one of my favorite authors.  She's written some good historicals that have taken place in pre-Revolutionary America that I've read as well.  I do so love a strong heroine!

Sun's out already, can you believe it?  I hope that if you're in the path of Issac, you stay safe.

Trudy

P.S. Update...

Hi All,

I just wanted to let everyone know that the Petaluma Little League team won their game today.  They are now 3rd ranked in the world.  Today's game was against Panama.  The Tennessee team that beat Petaluma yesterday lost the world title to Japan.  Not to bad for a team from a town in Sonoma county California to be #3 in Little League teams in the world.  They are going to be picked up at the airport in the morning, have a police escort back home & a parade next Saturday.  I'm sure more details are going to be coming in.  These boys are never going to forget this.

Okay!  That's it!!  Thanks all for letting me share this.  It has been so fun watching all this unfold.

Donna M

Lazy Sunday, 8/26/2012...

Good Afternoon Friends,

I hope your Sunday is going well.  This is a close up of a tree with lichen growing on it.  I like the texture & the color.  Be prepared for more pictures because tomorrow they are cutting off our water so I'm leaving home!!!  It will probably be cool & foggy but I am still going to head to the coast.  Not sure what I will be able to see.  A while ago I realized I may get stuck behind a school bus if I leave to early.  The water is suppose to be shut off at 8 am but they usually shut it off around 7:45 which irritates me...a bunch.   I don't understand why they always do that.  The first time it happened I was caught in the shower all soaped up!!  Needless to say I was not a happy camper.  At least I didn't have shampoo in my hair.

There is a pre-season 49'er & Bronco game on.  I'm not really watching it but turned it on to see how the 49'ers are doing.  They are behind!!  I've only had it on for a little bit, sometime during the 3red quarter.  They are in Denver.  When my daughter lived in Colorado we drove by the stadium once, there is a big Bronco statue out front so I knew right away what stadium it was.  In the same general area is where there are a couple of other sports venue's.  Don't remember just which ones now as it was some time ago!

Amanda, may the weather Gods be with you at the shore today.  I can't remember if you said where you go.  Let us know how it goes.  I think your daughter will have fun in the dance class.  It gets them moving.  Dance is so upbeat no matter what type.  Since I am a big DWTS fan any dancing is to be encouraged.  I took tap & tumbling.  That was a very long time ago!!!!  Too bad you missed the 7th inning of the Little League game.  Despite the fact that Tennessee won Petaluma did good.  That 6th inning was just unreal, coming back from being 10 behind.  There is a great write up in today's paper.  Did you see when they showed Slide Hill?  That looked like fun.  There were sure a lot of kids & cardboard when they pulled the camera back for an overall view.

Last night I watched the movie War Horse on DVD.  Mostly it was good, a little dark, some of it hard to watch as the horse went through WWI but I had read most of that was computer generated so it was easier to watch.  They made sure when it came out that people knew no horse was ever mistreated or harmed in the filming.  The horse was a beautiful animal.

Speaking of animals, there was an article in the paper from an animal group unhappy because a black bear was shot somewhere in the Lake Tahoe area.  I know from news on TV & in the paper that the bears are a real problem there as they get into garbage cans, cars and even break into houses because development keeps encroaching on habitat.  I don't know if the bear was shot legally but hunting, if legal, can help keep the population of any animal in check so they don't over populate.  Jill Shalvis, one of my favorite authors, lives in the Truckee, CA., area where she has bears get into her garbage frequently.  She makes funny stories out of it but it is a problem for people that live in those areas.  Sorry I didn't mean to get on my soap box.  Glad we only have gentle deer & squirrels around here, no bears!!  That said, mountain lions have been spotted  in out lying areas.  Not often thank heavens.  It always makes me a bit leary as I am often out early but guess not early enough to make it a problem.

Guess I have rambled on enough for now!!  Here is a picture as I say good bye for today!  This turned out pretty good.  These little yellow flowers are just some kind of weed growing through the railings on the little bridge.  I actually studied the camera manual a bit today.  Now if I can remember anything when I take pictures tomorrow!!!  The manual is only on line which means I can't take it with me.  Probably one of the biggest reasons I've never tried more of the different options.  The photographers here at Google+ are inspiring me to try for better pictures.  

Happy reading to Everyone,

Donna M

  

Late Saturday night

Hi Ladies!

My birthday is January 7th.

Sandi - Cool gifts for your b'day.  Glad the kitchen seems to be moving along.  And I agree, organizing is rewarding and frustrating at the same time:)

DonnaM -- Love the pics, as always.  When I first saw the hot pink flowers, I thought some looked like butterflies.  Wouldn't that be cool to see?  And I love the deer.  We have plenty of them here in PA, unfortunately, I see more dead than alive ones.  They like to pop out on Route 1, and a main highway with a cement wall between sides is not a good place for them to be.  Occasionally, I see them in the park around the corner from me though:)  Really cool that your daughter made it that high up on the mountain.  No doubt, I am too out of shape to be doing that.  Bet the pics are awesome.  A shame you couldn't get them to post.  Oh, I watched most of that Little League game today, including the 6th inning.  Great game.  We were heading out to eat, and it was getting late, so we didn't see the 7th.  Couldn't believe the score either.  Williamsport is about 3 hours or so from where I am.

DonnaH -- Glad your weiner roast was a success.  I'm with you on a party for mom.  Enjoy it while you can!  Sorry your daughters problem is only half solved, but at least she knows a partial.  Definitely better than nothing.  I'm pretty sure carpal tunnel will be a problem for me down the road - sigh.

Mary --  When you mention sewing, it always makes me think of my mom and grandmom (dad's side), for different reasons.  Grandmom was an awesome seamstress.  I don't think i ever saw her in clothes bought from a store growing up.  She also hemmed my wedding dress for me.  It was funny - she came over at 10 am - did the measuring while i was in it, took it home, had lunch with a friend, did some errands, hemmed the dress (in which the beading on the bottom had to be altered) and called at 4 pm to say she was done can she bring the dress back?  This was January and my wedding wasn't until September.  It cracked me up!  My mom doesn't do clothes, other than hems/mends, but does quilts.  She's making one now - first time in years.  She doesn't use the machine, so it bothers her hands after awhile.  She's made me two, and one each for the girls:)

Trudy -- Glad to see you pop in.  Hope the rain doesn't ruin to much for you.  I've been watching it on the weather too.  Will keep my fingers crossed for you.

Margie -- Gavin should get better once he gets use to the people there.  Hopefully the meeting your sister has will go well.  I never understand why it has to be a fight to get help for children.

Cady -- Hope both days out this weekend go good for you, including the one in the crummy park.  I feel you in the work deal too - I have no ambition to be at my job either.  No doubt, the first couple weeks of school will be worse.  I just keep thinking "Christmas is only a few months away and then I get vacation (the company closes for the week)".

Its funny how all the states are different when it comes to start dates for kindergarten, and how they have all basically changed since we went.  I was the second youngest in my class.  I'd be in the middle now with the Sept 1st deadline.  My girls are both at the younger end, with May and June b'days.  What's funny, is I started K here, moved to Pueblo West, CO and finished there.  Moved to Colorado Springs the beginning of 1st grade, and they wanted to put me back in K because I was 5.  Mom argued that I had passed and no way was I repeating it. LOL  She got her way and I got good grades, so it obviously was the right way to go.

Didn't do much this week.  Signed Amelia up for a hip hop class.  She's been bugging to take a dance class, and since she isn't bowling anymore, I agreed to it.  We shall see how it goes.  Tomorrow we are going to the shore for part of the day.  It will be crowded as sin, no doubt, with Labor day next weekend.  Took the day off work the other week, but the rain kept us home.  Amelia has been bugging ever since.  Hopefully it will be a decent day there.

I have been reading.  I finished DC Dead by Stuart Woods and now reading Unnatural Acts by SW.  His new one comes out next month, so I'll be caught up.  I should be able to finish UA tomorrow at the beach:)  Not sure what I will pick up after that.

Ok, need to go to bed so I get up for beach.  Not leaving real early, which is a plus.  Hope everyone has a great Sunday!

Amanda

:-( 8/25/2012...

Good Afternoon Friends,

The sad face above is because the Petaluma Little League lost the championship today.  What a game!  It went into overtime & those two teams played 3 hr. & 15 min. each playing their heart out.  The California team has nothing to be ashamed of in losing.  In the bottom of the 6th they came back from a deficit of 10.  It was really something to watch.  It was as exciting as any pro sport I've ever watched including the 49'ers winning any Super Bowl or even the Miracle on Ice when the USA team won the Olympic hockey game!!  These are all kids that are 12 & 13.  Not sure if any 11 yr. old can play on that team.  Little League is very strict on their rules.  Wow!  It has been a ride.

Doesn't this picture looks like fall is coming?  I love this color, yes I do believe it is poison oak.  It does tend to turn color early.  It doesn't seem fair that something that makes many people miserable should look so pretty.  My ex, both my daughters & I think all three of the grand kids get poison oak.  I don't!!  My mom did also.

We had another very cool, foggy morning but the sun was out before  the clock said noon.  I just love these days!  One of the vendors that I buy from regularly at Farmer's Market said that when she was out picking early this morning it was too cold!  They are out close to the river so I imagine it is cooler there than where I am.

After Farmer's Market I did a short walk to the post office & then also to Safeway.  The new walking shoes are feeling good.  Safeway is very close to where the Farmer's Market is held so I just park the car for Farmer's Market then go to Safeway if I need to.  Today I only got corn, tomatoes & a melon, oh, also a chocolate chip cookie!

Mary, guess it is a good thing I didn't guess how many books you would bring home!  I would have guessed more than 2.  I did have your birthday down!  Somehow I missed seeing it.  You have been sewing a long time.  When I took home ec. in Junior High I loved the cooking part but not the sewing.  I think one reason was the projects we had to do in sewing.  After I moved to California, had my second daughter that is when I got into sewing through a good friend.  She pretty much me taught me most everything.  After getting started we took some classes together for sewing on knits.  I loved it at the time.  After my divorce I simply did not have the time & the girls got old enough they did not like "home made" clothes.  Teens!!!

Donna H, I would have to go along with you for your moms 90th birthday.  Party while you can!!  Especially if you think she won't be around much longer which makes having the family get together even more important.  Maybe your daughter won't go to the specialist until all the test results are in.  I hope you like the rest of the Bullet Catcher books.  She started a new series this year which is a totally different type of book! I've read the first book, the only one out so far.  It was good.

Trudy, when I watch the news I pay attention to what they are saying about Issac.  I'm sorry to say it doesn't look promising for Florida.  On one newscast I saw someone from the RNC that said they do have contingency plans but did not say what they were.  One of the author blogs I was reading said she doesn't much care for the Republican party right now but they do have the right to hold their convention.  It seemed to me that Florida was a poor choice at this time of year.  That author happens to live in Florida but I'm not sure where.  Are you taking your computer back again so they can fix it right?  Sounds similar to my sister in law & her laptop.

Since there isn't a lot of TV that I want to watch most nights I've been watching more DVD's.  I watched The Great American Songbook over a 2 night period.  It was almost 3 hours long & there was a program on 1 of those nights I wanted to watch so I broke it up into 2 nights.  It was fun hearing the music beginning with composers in the late 1800's, the Broadway era in the early 1900's & on into the 40's & 50's.  Lots of good music.  Some great old movie clips.  If you like that sort of thing you would probably enjoy it.

Here is a picture to say good bye for now!  This is the same type of plant as the first one but taken with a "magic filter" that is on my camera.  I had never used it before, had no idea what it did!  I'm trying to learn more about the features on the camera as there are lots of them.  Love the hot pink color!!!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.  Happy reading,
Donna M

P.S. Again!!  Thank heavens it went into draft.  Not sure just what I accidentally hit that it did that.
I'm happy again!!!

Darn...

I just lost my whole post!!  Have no idea why.  Now I'm not happy so I'll come back to write another.

Happy reading,

Donna M

I'm not happy right now!!!!

Stuff

That's my sister's favorite title for her emails.  I guess it covers a lot of. . .stuff. . .  {:-)

Sandi, I just got the website for Fantastic Fiction from my librarian.  What a "Fantastic" place! 

Donna M, thanks for the titles for the Shelter Bay books.  I've got my name down for the #4 one, and I'll order the others from the library as soon as I get a couple more of the Bullet Chasers books finished.  I've got 4 more after I finish the one I'm on.  The one I just finished "What You Can't See" was a trilogy with 2 other authors.  Roxanne's book was -- can't remember.  Something about Believing.  All 3 of these stories were rather a lot more scary than I usually read -- demons, and that kind of thing.  Dark.  Isn't that the term they use for stories about the underworld?  Well it was dark all right!  Pitch dark! 

Thanks for the update on Trudy.

Mercy halt?!?  Up here our guys -- or the other team -- would beat the pants off the guys they're playing, and the higher the score, the better they like it. 

Cady, your birthday's on Easter next year? (and my hubby's)  I haven't looked that far ahead yet.  Thanks for letting me know.  Whoa!  Your mom's brave!  Had I waited that long before heading to the hospital, all my kids but one would have been born either in the car or at home. 

It's your library that gives out the coupons? -- okay.  It's still a good idea.  Maybe I'll have to give that idea to my library, too. 

Margie, Valerie's (Lots Of Cats) email is:  george544@juno.com  I did get her permission to give it to you.  Her oldest, Sylvia (Lil P), has speech problems, and she had to fight something fierce to get her into a program.  She can tell you all about it. 

Donna M, I'll have to see if my library has any Catherine Anderson books -- I mean, they'll have them, but will any of them be there waiting for me to borrow them -- that is the question. 

Trudy, good to see you again!  Even way up here we're hearing about your storm systems.  Our 60% chance of a rain shower pales in comparison!  So, is your birthday on Aug 20, too?

Mary, aw fiddle.  I missed the guess by 3 books.  {;-(

My daughter informs me that I misunderstood.  She hasn't gotten the test results back yet from the tests the dr wanted her to have, so she could still have fibromyalgia or any of those other things along with the carpal tunnel thing.  He also wants to send her to a specialist in Regina (2 hrs from us).  What kind of specialist he's going to send her to without the test results is beyond me.  Well, I guess it could be worse. 

We're going up to Edmonton again the end of Sept for my mom's 90th birthday.  My middle sister didn't want to do anything because mom's not well.  It's not like she's going to recover from what she's got, so the rest of us outvoted her and said party while you can.  It's not like we're doing anything big.  There will be 17 immediate family there, as well as 10 extra guests for cake and icecream in the afternoon, and a family supper in the evening.  We've got double that number (Hardy's family) for our family wiener roasts.  But then I'm not 90, either.

I was emailing my sister before I came here, and I told her it was time to sign off and go to bed as my brain had gone to bed without me over an hour ago.  Good night!  Have a nice weekend!

Friday evening

Hi guys! It is good to see so many of us here! For those of you who took a guess, I only brought two books home from the library. When Gods Die by C.S. Harris and Winterkill by  C. J. Box (I am reading his 'Joe Pickett' series set in Wyoming.) We were busy with shelving at the library--lots of books coming back from the summer reading program which is done now.

My birthday is the same as Donna H's--Jan. 25

Sandi--I have read a lot of Barbara Michaels books. I think my favorite is The Master of Blacktower which is very gothic. The school Lauren and Jacob attend is part of the Goddard Schools chain. They don't all have  a private kindergarten. Fortunately, this one does. They had to pass all the requirements for the Mid-Atlantic accreditation  that is what the public schools have here in PA. It is amazing that there are so many differences around the country.

Donna H--I do have a pretty good memory except for things like 'what did I come into this room for'? :-)

Donna M--I love your pictures. We get deer around our neighborhood also. We saw a lily pond last week at the nature center we went to with the kids. It was beautiful with all the lilies blooming and tons of dragonflies. I read some of Joann Ross' books when she wrote for Temptation. Congrats to the Little League team and good luck tomorrow.

Margie--hopefully Gavin will like preschool better once he gets adjusted. I believe it is harder for boys. I know Lauren will love the fabric I found. I have been sewing since junior high school. I am one of those girls that took home ec. and it stuck when it came to sewing. My mom's sister taught me a lot as she was a great seamstress but mostly I am self taught.

Cady--I'm glad you enjoyed the first Gaslight mystery. I just finished the next one and it was good too. It is funny you mentioned being in a funk at work. Karen is going through the same thing and is also hoping she feels better after her vacation. Hope some time off helps you too.

Our farm markets are full of veggies and fruit right now. We live just up the road from Lancaster County which has some of the best farmland in the world. (It is the original  Amish country.) My brother and Karen get produce from NJ which is also great.

I finished reading Murder on St. Mark's Place by Victoria Thompson and enjoyed it. Not sure what I will read next but I have lots of choices.

Trudy--good to see you here. I hope the hurricane misses you or is at least not so bad. I haven't seen the new middle school. I hope your gs does well and likes the school.


Have a good weekend everyone.

Mary

Friday

I'm back!  Computer not fixed right, Issac chasing me and RNC coming too but here I am!  Missed you all terribly too!

Just about finished with Tara Road by Maeve Binchy, the Irish author who died recently.  I really don't care for it.  Very sad, scattered, covering many years and two countries.  I hope her other books are better.

Saw on FB that Moncia MacCartry's new Highland Guard book The Recruit is available.  I've read all the rest and I'll have to get that one too!  Set in the time of Robert the Bruce, she makes the stories come alive and they are historically accurate.

Mason Miner, my younger son's older son, turned 12 on Aug. 20 so we have many birthdays to celebrate that day!  Congrats to the both of you too!  Mason will be going to the new middle school in Sinking Spring, Mary.

I had carpal tunnel surgery many years ago.  It was no big deal and it helped a lot.  If your daughter needs it, tell her not to be afraid of it.  I also had cubitital tunnel surgery at the same time (elbows).  I didn't have pain but my hands went numb.  Still, the surgery is much improved from even when I had it done if you get a good surgeon and I had the best.  I hope this helps.

The gov. is giving us an update on Issac now; at first, it was moving to the west but now, it is coming back to the east.  Whatever happens, we are on the east side which is the WET side where all the rain and tornadoes are.  It won't be a direct hit which is good but it will be a real exciting experience!  Issac will be the third tropical system to hit Florida this year.  T.S. Debby nearly flooded me out and I've lived here 22 years.  This week, we've had torrential rains all week long until today and the ground is saturated.  Where will the water go?  Everyone is hoping that Issac gets ripped apart over Cuba but the water in the Gulf is 90 degrees and it could explode.  Beware those of you who live in NC b/c Issac is coming your way too!  Sandi, there is one lonely model that takes it to TX.  And then there's the RNC coming to Tampa in the middle of it all......

Have a great weekend!

Trudy

T.G.I.F. 8/24/2012...

Good Afternoon Friends,

The above picture is another one from my walk yesterday at Healdsburg Ridge.  This is at Fox Pond, there is always something interesting about this little pond that draws me.  I was thrilled to see water lilies blooming.  The water is reflecting the gray of the morning.

Margie, I'm surprised you haven't heard anything about the Little League Team.  All the news I see comes out of the bay area.  No matter which channel I have on this is probably the #1 story right now.  What is fun is to see how enthusiastic the newscasters & the sportscasters are about this.  Maybe you don't watch the news or you get yours from another source.  It has been fun following this story.  To bad that Gavin doesn't seem to be enjoying preschool.  Maybe once he knows some of the other kids he will be more happy about going.  When my youngest was preschool age I sent her as there were no children near where we lived.  She needed to be around other kids before starting kindergarten.  We had friends with kids just no one that was close for her to play with.  I'll keep my fingers crossed that he gets the speech therapy he should have.  Keep us posted.

Cady, the northern states seem to really suffer when it comes to fresh fruit.  My in laws were in Michigan which was similar especially back at the time we visited.  The grocery stores there were a revelation to me as they were nothing like what I was used to in California & Oregon.  One thing that amazed me that most of the fruits & veggies at that time were prepackaged.  I hated that!  It may have changed as that was a long, long time ago.  Our Farmer's Market is big on both fruits & veggies.  The last few weeks I have been getting melons, peaches & nectarines along with all the veggies.  The melons are so good.  I love the small variety of watermelons that I can get.  They are great when we hit a hot spell.  Enjoy your long weekend when you have it.  Labor Day!  Time flies!!

One of you mentioned the white nectarines, those are my favorite as they are so sweet.  We also have both white & yellow peaches & several types of melons similar to cantaloupe.  Pretty soon we will be seeing pumpkins & other more late harvest squash.  Yum!!  However, it needs to cool down before I start fixing those as I usually do them in the oven.  I think I have been over loading my system with tomatoes!  My mouth was a bit sore from the acid.  I try to stick with the orange & yellow tomatoes which have less acid but I have been eating them a lot!!  Yummy!

Donna H,  I tried to put one of my daughter's pictures on here but it was a no go!  I'm going to have to ponder another way to go about it.  Sometimes it takes me a while to find the right way.  If my granddaughter was here she could help me with it!  She said to call her if I need help!!!  Right now she is a little bored as her brother went to Seattle with a friend for the weekend.  They went by train.  I thought that sounded like a fun experience for them.  They go up to stay with his friends grandparents.  It is a nice change for everyone.  By they way, since we were talking about authors I was wondering if you have read any of Catherine Anderson's books?  She is another author that I love her series.  She writes both contemporary & historical but they are mostly all inter connected somehow.  Her fictional town is in central Oregon near Bend where I had family for many years.  I still have friends in Sisters which is about 20 or so miles from Bend.  She also has some stand alone books if you need or want any titles let me know.

Margie, thanks for posting your birthday.  We only need Amanda, Trudy & Mary.  Did I miss Mary's?

This morning I took a walk in my new walking shoes.  I buy this brand most of the time because they tend to fit me well.  By the end of the walk, which was shorter than normal, they felt pretty good.  No beginning of blister just some spots that where the shoes are a bit tight because they are new.  I'll see how the next walk does.  I took a shorter walk because I didn't want to cause any blisters!!

I finished reading a Blaze, Once a Hero... by Jillian Burns.  It is one of the Uniformly Hot! series.  I enjoy all the military stories.  This one was about a doctor in the Army that was having mental problems because he couldn't save everyone.  The story takes place in Hawaii.  Of course he meets a girl but does not want to be attracted!!  One of the things I like about the Blaze books is that they are always a quick, easy read but very enjoyable.  Often times that is just what I need.  Then I'm ready for a more in depth read!!



One more picture from by walk yesterday morning.  The moss hanging from the trees makes me think of the south because you often read about the moss on the trees there.  There was just enough breeze to make this moss sway a bit.  Could be ghostly!!

Have a great weekend,  Happy reading,
Donna M

Margie - I wish our Farmer's Market had fruit, unfortunately, the only thing there last week were apples.  A lot of the markets in WI are only WI products, which unfortunately often don't include a lot of fruit.  I want to read the Andrea Kane's books, but need to get them from the library.

Mary - I enjoyed the first Gaslight book.  You could tell she was building characters that need to be fully developed.  I have requested the next two from the library. 

DonnaH - Hardy's birthday is on Easter next year.  With that late March birthday, I have done a variety of Easter bdays myself.  Actually, when I was born, my mom started labor during Easter dinner - waited until it was done before going to the hospital. 

DonnaM - Congrats to Petaluma.  What a great accomplishment.  I haven't read Joann Ross before, will have to look for her.

Sandi - I did know that Elizabeth Peters had a couple of other writing names, but didn't know what she wrote under them.  Good luck on your kitchen.

As for the reading coupons, I wish I could say it was my thing, but it is our library that does it.  It partners with a bunch of community and business partners and offers things like a free kids admission to the zoo or State Fair.  The kids like it.  Their favorite is the free pan pizza from Pizza Hut.  I guess we will try and get that one soon.  :)

Read the first Gaslight mystery haven't read anything else since.  Not in the right mood I guess.  I am with Margie on being glad for the weekend.  I have been in a funk at work.  Just not motivated, which is not good, but hard to get out of.  Next week, we are crazy busy through Wednesday and then slowww down, so I am taking off Friday for me and then we get Monday off (Labor Day) and then taking Tuesday off as it is the kids first day of school and I like to take them and pick them up from school.  Hopefully, that long break will put me in a happy frame of mind. 

We are picnicing this weekend, Saturday is Mike's work and Sunday is Mike's Mom's family picnic.  Sunday is a real drag as the park is really crummy and it is 2 hours away, but Mike's Mom wants us to go.  Saturday is usually a lot of fun for the kids, his company often has bouncy houses and other stuff, so they have lots of fun.  Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Cady

Hi Everyone,

Belated Happy Birthday Sandi!   You got a lot of nice gifts.  I checked out your cabinets and they are really nice.  You can never have too much storage.  I'm still trying to organize all our stuff.  Our kitchen cabinets are awful.  I've been watching Big Brother.  It was pretty dramatic tonight with the double eviction.  I am glad Mike Boogie is gone. I do like Frank but I don't like his hair!  It is so weird on him.  I am kind of hoping Ian goes far.  He is nerdy and kind of sweet. 

DonnaM, I'm sorry you lost your pet friend Maxx.  I haven't seen anything around here about the Little League team.  I'm glad they are doing so well.  That is really exciting.  Keep us posted.  I also like Carson for his funny ways and you could tell he was trying so hard.  It will be interesting to see who gets voted on.  I love your nature picks of the deer.  So pretty.  Congratulations to your daughter for her climbing success. 

Amanda, $25.00 for parking is crazy.  I can't believe they actually charge more.  I love best friend romance.  Those are some of my favorites. 

Mary, Thanks for the book info.  How many books did you pick up at the library?  I went the other day to pick up a couple of holds and grabbed a book off the shelf.  It is by a new to me author and I can't remember her name right now.   The butterfly material sounds cute.  I know I've said it before but I am jealous of your sewing skills. 

Cady,  I have also been going to the Farmers Market every week.  Mostly for fruit.  The white nectarines are so sweet.  The strawberries are really good too.  Gavin won't eat vegetables but he loves fruit and almost finished the nectarines all by himself.  It is interesting how the age to start Kinder is so different depending on where you live.  You have turn 5 by early or mid December to start K in September.  Gavin is a February baby so he will be an older Kindergarten.

DonnaH,  I'm glad your daughter is feeling better.  I know it is so frustrating when they can't figure out what is wrong.  It can cause so much stress.  I hope that the treatment for the carpel tunnel will help and that she's finally got the answer to what is wrong.  Your wiener roast sounds like it was so nice and relaxing.  I used to love when we had get togethers at my parents house on warm summer nights.  They had a pool and everyone would just hang out talking or in the pool.  Just having a nice time.  My birthday is Oct 4th so it is coming up soon.

I finished the Andrea Kane book,  It was good but I think there may be too many characters or something.  Not sure. 

Then I read Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost.  I love her Night Huntress series.  She started a spin off stories of some of the side characters from the series while continuing to do the NH series too.  She is taking this side character, Vlad, and starting a new series called the Night Prince series.  I really liked.  I am seeing the main character, Vlad, as Maxim from DWTS.  Just with longer hair.   The guy on the cover kind of looks like him and the character so sure of himself that he reminded me of him too.

Now I am reading Julia Quinn's newest book A Night Like This.  I love her humor.

 

Gavin started preschool on Monday.  He was not a happy camper.  They said he cried for about 40 minutes on Monday/Tuesday and a little less today.  He is there 3 hours a day in the afternoon.  My sister is going to try again to get him into speech and has a meeting Monday so I hope it all goes well. 

 

I'm glad it is Friday.  I need the weekend!  I hope you all have a good Friday.

Margie :)

Update!

I think this is so exciting!  The Petaluma Little League game with Texas was stopped when the score was 11-1.  They called it a "mercy halt" or something like that.  I know the word mercy was used.  Those boys must be beyond excited.  They will play again on Saturday (I think) & it will be broadcast locally so those in the area can watch it.  The town is planning a parade & celebration when the team returns home even if they loose.  I'm just so excited for them & their parents that I had to tell someone.   Updates are on the news every broadcast & it is the top news story during the sports segment over all pro & college teams.

:-) 

Donna M

Thursday, 8/23/2012...

Good Afternoon Everyone,

This is what morning looks like these days, it is typical for August.  The sun does come out later.  When I woke up this morning I didn't feel like walking around Healdsburg like I usually do.  After I got dressed for a walk I decided to take the camera for a "nature" fix up on Healdsburg Ridge.  It is open space set aside in an area that is an upscale housing development.  Personally, if I paid what people paid for those houses I would not want my neighbors to be so close!!  This shot is looking east toward the Russian River which does not show up in this picture!  One thing that is nice is this is no more than a 10 minute drive from where I live.  By the time I got back home, showered, made my coffee, etc., the sun was out.  I love these cool, foggy mornings as they make the warmer days bearable.

Donna H,  here is a list of the Shelter Bay books in order starting with number one:
#1.  The Homecoming
#2.  One Summer
#3.  On Lavender Lane
#4.  Moonshell Beach
Since you love the Virgin River books I think you will also like these equally, I do!  I could learn to live in Shelter Cove except for the fact that it is fictional.  They did a great job on the covers of these books also.  The Oregon coast is very beautiful.  I got to see some of it last year with my daughter & family.  I just never get tired of it.  I hope you will post your sunset pictures.  I've only been able to get a few.  The way our building sets we don't see the sunset so I forget to go outside to look.  The Roxanne St. Clair Bullet Catcher books are ones I also enjoyed.  I have all of them.  Do you get the impression I love the series or connected books?  :-)  For some reason I'm very drawn to those types of books if they are well done.  By the way I think the reason we have wildlife is because of the park next door, the closeness of the river & the fact that although this is a densely populated area there is also a lot of open space & natural environment.  I worry about the deer because they get out on the busy roads but everyone seems to be watching for them which is good.  The traffic stops to wait for the deer.

Sandi, it sounds like you are getting your organizing taken care of.  I hate starting a project like that but love the feeling of accomplishment after I do it!  I just need to do it more often.  Did I mention I picked up the new release of Robyn Carr's The Wedding Party?  I'm looking forward to reading it.  If I remember correctly I am missing the 1st three books of the Virgin River series.  I think I got one of the second 3 as a freebie which is what got me started reading her.  I got the first 3 at our library.

One of you asked if I could post any of my daughter's pictures here.  I'll give it a try sometime.  Meantime I took a bunch of pictures this morning to keep you all entertained!  By the way, I appreciate all the comments on my pictures.  It helps my confidence because when I look at the photographers here on Google+ that post pictures mine are so amateur!!  Still I do have fun with it.

The Petaluma Little League is just starting their game now.  This is a semi-final game today.  Needless to say I am cheering for them to win even though I can't watch the game.  They are playing Texas tonight.

Our water is going to be shut off on Monday morning!  I just hate it when they have to do that!  I'm seriously thinking of getting up really early to have my shower then heading over to the coast for most of the day.  Every time they have to fix a units shower the water has to be turned off!!  My biggest complaint is that they always shut it off earlier than the notice says which irritates me a lot!!  Okay no more complaining!!!

By the way, I got an email from Trudy, she is having computer problems.  There is a tropical storm heading toward Florida that might turn into a hurricane.  She said even if it stays a tropical storm & doesn't hit them directly they will still get a lot of rain.

Here is another picture from my morning walk.  I just love all the shapes in these oak trees.  This one got my attention.  There are signs of fall that were very noticeable while I was out for the walk.  More pictures in other posts will show you what I mean!

Have a lovely evening.  Happy reading,
Donna M

THURSDAY

Cady, I think this is a pretty safe place to come and be gripey, annoyed, whatever you want to call it. Sorry that the Brewers didn't win when you went to the game. Once when Richard was playing little league we went to the Rangers game as a team. Our one teammate's family had never been there when the Rangers won, and we had never been to a losing game. Unfortunately that was so long ago I don't recall the outcome of that game, or whether or not we even stayed for the whole game!

Donna, again I look at your pictures and think some of them would make wonderful jigsaw puzzles. You have a real talent! What an accomplishment for your daughter even if she didn't make it to the top. Do you think she'll try again? Will you be able to share some of her pictures with us? How sad about Maxx. That is a long time for that breed of dog. We thought we were doing good to have Sally for the 12 that we had her as she was a German Shepher Mutt.

Mary, that's great that there's a private Kindergarten willing to take Lauren. What she's doing wouldn't work here in Texas...she would still be considered too young for 1st grade. She'd also have to do private 1st, but then could go into public school for 2nd grade. A friend of mine's daughter had to do private K and 1st, but then got into public schol 2nd, and graduated the same year Brian did. She's super smart, and it's so funny because I recognized it in her, and didn't in Brian until after we got him on the ADHD med!

Donna, I don't know if it would work, because I wasn't going to spend the money to check, but if you could find shoe boxes that are like drawers I would try that if you want them covered. I had that thought after I bought the regular type. We'll see how I like all this long term, but for the moment it's pretty cool! I hope the splints work for your Daughter. How is your shoulder?

Cady, in Texas the birthdate is Sept 1. Richard and his best friend in elementary school were a full year apart as Christopher was born on September 1 and Richard having been born on the September 4th had to wait. So I experienced both ends of the spectrum...Richard being about the oldest and therefore one of the first to drive, and Brian with his August 12th birthday being one of the youngest, and the last to drive!

Does everyone know that Elizabeth Peters is also Barbara Michaels who writes amazing Gothic Stories. Shattered Silk is my favorite. I don't think there are new books by Barbara Michael, but I loved the ones I read.

Mary, so how many books did you bring home? I really liked Roxanne's new contemp...Barefoot in the Sand.

Donna, that last Deer picture almost looks as though he were posing just for you!

Today I had another appointment for another estimate on the kitchen. He also is going to estimate the repair of the laundry room wall. Then I ran to Walmart and returned a bunch of stuff I had bought for the organization I'm attempting, and found I couldn't use, becuase of the size. I also returned some stuff to The Container Store, but ended up giving them back my refund plus an additional $2-3.

Did I tell you that my sister sent me a box of Hot Chocolate for my Keurig? Not only was it the Hot Chocolate, but she also sent me a necklace that has my name, a watch with interchangeable bands, and a bunch of hand sanitzer from Bath and Body Works.

It was probably me who said that they were reissuing the VR books. I ended up buying the Grace Valley reissues because they were so pretty, and the ones I had were beat up, as I had gotten them used. I won't be buying the new VR books, but they sure are pretty.

Fresh Fiction might be a good place to find out the books in a series. I know we're certainly working on making sure that all the books are listed as to what series they're in and which number they are in the series. Another place to check is Fantastic Fiction.

My work day is almost over. I came late today, and have about a hour left until we close. I've been working on this post off and on for a few hours. So I'll close here and hope to be back soon!

Sandi

This and that

Wow, I think this is a record for me to be here this often in a week.  {:-)

Mary, do you ever have a good memory!  That was years ago when I told all that on eH.  I'm loving the Roxanne St. Claire Bullet Catchers series.  I just finished "What You Can't See" which is a trilogy with 2 other authors.  These three stories are about demons and returning from the dead, so they're fairly dark (to me, anyhow) but riveting enough to make it hard to put the book down.  The rest of the series -- at least the 4 books I've read so far -- are just your regular good guy vs bad guy mystery, but very good so far.  I hope you enjoyed the library today.  My guess is you brought 5 books home with you. . .

Donna M, you've got wildlife right outside your laundryroom door?  Cool!  I thought I lived in the boonies but I sure don't see stuff like that out my door. . .  {;-) I took a picture of some clouds tonight.  They were so neat, all outlined in a brilliant hot-pink, with wisps of grey-blue shooting out from them.  As soon as I load them into my computer I'm going to try and post one here, but I wasn't too happy with how they looked in the camera.  I hope the computer is better at picking up the brilliant colors.  Do you have the titles of the rest of the Shelter Bay series?  I wish my library would include series names in with book titles, but they don't.  It sure would make book searches easier.  How you feel about Shelter Bay is exactly how I feel about Virgin River.  I wrote the book title down, but if it's part of a series, I'd like to start at the beginning if possible. 

I've got 11 out of 16 of the Virgin River books on my keeper shelf.  Someone said she's re-issuing this series with different covers.  I could care less what the cover looks like, but I'm sure going to grab my missing 5 as soon as they're out. 

Hmmmm, coupons for reading in the summer. . .  I think that sounds like something I should do for my grandkids.  A little late for this year, maybe I'll have to try it next summer. 

Well, I've got another physio session in the morning, so I'd better hit the bed as it's almost midnight here.

Wednesday, 8/22/2012...

Good Afternoon Friends,

Earlier today I went to pick up my mail at our mail boxes, had a nice long chat with a neighbor & then followed the sidewalk back to the building!  There were deer feeding in the area not to far outside our laundry room.  I ran upstairs to grab my camera thinking they would probably be gone before I got back down there!  I was wrong!  They were so busy munching that they were not letting the humans bother them! I had fun taking the pictures but none of them are very spectacular.  Since they aren't still for long & I didn't want pictures of just the rear end I just snapped off a picture when I could!!  These deer live somewhere in the area.  We are right next to a park & through the park you can go down to the Russian River.  They keep the jasmine & some of the other plants trimmed for us.   :-)   There were 3 deer, a mama, a bambi that still had a few spots & another deer which might have been born last year.  They are so beautiful.  Several of my neighbors were taking pictures or just enjoying them.  There was also a squirrel chattering away but that picture did not turn out as it was too dark.

Mary & Donna H, how fun that you two share the birthday date!  Lauren & my oldest daughter share December 28.  Small world or it is amazing how among friends there are things in common that we did not expect.  I have no idea what the date is now in California for starting kindergarten.  When Cindy, my oldest, was little I believe it was December 1st.  I always felt it was to her advantage to be a little older when she did start school.  Shannon, my youngest, was the same as her birthday was not until February 22.  It definitely was better for her.  Since my girls were in school much has changed & not all of it for the better in my opinion.  I'm glad not to have to be concerned about that anymore.  Although the students now going to school need a good education.  I do care about that.

Cady, how fun that the kids get coupons for reading in the summer.  I think that is so important for kids to read.  All my grand kids read when they were younger but don't as much anymore.  I think my oldest gets enough reading when he is taking classes at the JC so he doesn't read much for pleasure anymore.  My Mom's birthday was March 31.  She was almost an April Fools baby as she was born close to midnight.

I know that none of you have been following the Little League World Series but our Petaluma team won again yesterday & will playing again tomorrow in a semi-final game.  It is really so exciting here for people in this area.  There is something about the team or the players everyday on the news.  It has been fun to follow this.  Tomorrow they will play Texas or Tennessee.  The Tennessee team is the one they lost to on Sunday.

Donna H, I'm sorry your daughter has carpal tunnel but at least now they can follow a course of action in helping her get better.  We all do so many repetitive things through out our life that I don't know how you avoid having that problem.  I so admire you for going back to school when you had a large family while also tackling a male dominated profession.  Kudos to you.

Yesterday I finished reading a good book that I hated to see end.  When I read a book like that it is always so hard to decide what to read next.  The book I finished was Moonshell Beach by JoAnn Ross, the most recent Shelter Bay story.  I have loved this series as it is set on the Oregon coast.  Each book has been so well written that I wanted another one to read right away!  Sadly she has to have time to write the next one which will be out in January 2013.  Yea!  One thing that was very interesting in this book was her mention of the Columbus Day storm in 1962 which I remember very well.  I think I have even mentioned it before in posts.  Medford, OR. where I grew up is inland by at least 100 miles (I think!) so we don't get that intense coastal weather.  This storm was hurricane strength that far inland so I can only imagine what it must have been like in coastal towns.  I highly recommend this series by her if you have not read them.   If you like Robyn Carr or Nora Roberts I think you would enjoy JoAnn's books.



This catches me up for now!  I'll leave you with another picture of the wildlife here in our neighborhood!  This is one of my favorites.

Bye, happy reading,

Donna M

Wednesday morning

Hi guys!

Donna H--I remember you telling us about becoming a carpenter--you did the finishing work, right (that men don't like to do?) Going to school when you are a full time housewife and mother is so hard. It is also not easy working in a profession that is predominately male. I struggled just having one child and working part-time. Belated happy birthday to your sons. Are you enjoying the Roxanne St. Clare books? Our library has most of them. Perhaps I will try some of her earlier books since I liked the Angelinos so much.

Going to the library this afternoon. Any bets on how many books I will bring home? :-)

Hope everyone is having a good day!

Mary

Close Birthdays {:-)

Wow, I think just about everyone in my family is close to someone's birthday from here. . . 

Cady, Hardy, my husband's birthday is March 31.

Mary, that is so cool!  I didn't know we shared that special day.  {:-)

Amanda & Donna M, my boys' birthdays are Aug 5.  Darren is 45, Alvin is 36.  The first and the last, the oldest and the youngest. 

I don't remember actually hating school, but I sure didn't love it enough to go any longer than absolutely necessary.  I graduated age 18, married age 19, and was a mother at ages 20, 21, 24, 28, & 29.  Then at age 35 I went back to school, took adult education:  carpentry.  I was the only woman in a class of 8 men, 9 counting the instructor.  I graduated second in the class with an average of 96%. 

Tuesday evening

Hi guys! Two days in a row for me too!

Donna H--Good to hear your dd got a diagnosis and is being treated. I also started kindergarten at age 4 (I share the same birthday as you.) I don't know if there were any deadlines then. I managed to do well in school. In my graduating class there was actually one person younger than me. (his birthday was Jan. 31) I am the eldest of my siblings and was always mature for my age. I guess that helped. Karen also started at age 4 because the cut-off was Dec. 31 back then and her birthday is the 28th so she just made it. She had no problem. By the end of 1st grade she tested into the gifted program. Jeremy too and he started at 4 also. I always loved school as did Karen and now Lauren. Guess that's why I became a teacher. Jacob says he doesn't like school but he does well.

Cady--that is funny that you picked up the Gaslight book. Let us know what you think after you read it.

I am reading the second Gaslight mystery and enjoying it. Today I went to Jo-ann Fabrics because I needed supplies which I bought. I checked out new patterns for pjs for Lauren and had only intended to look but I found a pattern I liked that I will be able to use for years and some really pretty fabric for pjs. It is dark pink with butterflies and I think she will love it.

I hope everyone is enjoying their week and reading a good book!

Mary

Two days in a row :)

DonnaM - Sorry to hear about your friend's dog.  Last year, the woman watching our kids had to put down her dog while my kids were with her - devasting for everyone.  Congrats on your daughter climbing 11,000 feet.  I know that is farther than I could make it.  I imagine the views were amazing.  As for Irish Fest, we do go every year.  This year, we just went once, which for us was unusual.  However, it is pretty expensive, so we normally go Friday, when they have a reduced admission and Sunday, when if you go to Mass it is free.  Since we had free tickets for the Brewers Game, we decided to do that instead. 

Mary - How funny you mentioned the Gaslight series, I picked that one up from the library last week.  I haven't started it yet, but it looks interesting.  I also haven't read the Vicki Bliss books by Elizabeth Peters, I am still reading the Amelia Peabody books by her, I think I am on book 13 in the series now and I believe there are 20 in the series, so it will be a bit before I get to Vicki :).  Our school is like yours and requires the Sept 1 deadline.  Maggie is an August birthday and is one of the youngest girls in the class (there is another August birthday with her).  It is odd as her best friend was born at the end of September and so they are almost a year apart. 

DonnaH - Glad to hear that your daughter is doing well.  What a pain to have to wear the guards, but if they relieve the pain, I imagine they are worth it.  My birthday is March 30.

Took the kids to the library to pick up their reading bonuses (if you read so many books, they give you coupons to different attractions)  We already missed the State Fair, but will use some of the others I imagine.  Still reading the Elizabeth Peters book - The Golden One, it is a longer book (about 600 pages).  Hopefully, I will finish it up today.  Hope everyone has a great day.

Cady

Daughter is fine

Thanks, everyone, for the good wishes for my daughter.  Her dr's app't was today, not tomorrow as I had thought.  She saw a different dr (partners) today as the other one was gone.  He read all the reports, then asked her if Dr. V had tested her for carpal tunnel.  She said she didn't think so, so Dr. R did.  She almost went through the roof.  He said all the other tests had come back negative, so that was the only thing left.  He gave her a prescription for splints (I think that's what they're called) on both her wrists.  The pharmacist fitted them for her, and before we were even home she said her shoulders felt better.  She still needs the massages, and has to wear the splints 24/7 for the next several weeks, and then just at night.  She was complaining that pretty soon she'll be going to bed in full body armor if this keeps up.  This is the same daughter who had trouble with her neck a few months back and now wears a $400 piece of plastic in her mouth every night.  At least these splints only cost $40 each, and she does have medical coverage. 

Sandi, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!  I LOVE the idea of shoe boxes for soup cans.  I've been looking for some way to make my pantry hold more.  I think I'll have to try that.

Donna M, wow!  That picture of Kolob Canyon is beautiful!!  I love the contrasts, and the colors.  Sorry to hear that one of your sitter dogs is gone.  That's hard, especially when he's been around for so long.  And I'm assuming you looked after him for some time, as well.  {{{{HUGS}}}} 

Mary, in Saskatchewan you have to be 5 by Dec 31 in order to start K in Sept.  Which means you could be 4 for several months after starting school.  In Alberta, where I went to school, at that time there was no such thing as K, but you had to turn 6 by the end of Feb of the next year in order to start Gr. 1 when you were 5.  With my birthday being in Jan, I was 5 and in Gr. 1 for several months.  I don't remember any difficulty in the earlier grades, but by the time I hit high school, I was struggling as by then we were in Sask, and I was a full year younger than most of the kids in my class.  So I took my Gr. 12 in two parts.  Half the subjects one year, and the rest of them the next year, which meant all the kids I graduated with were the same age as me.  It was worth it as my Gr. 12 marks were higher than any marks had been since about Gr. 8. 

So, Amanda, Cady, Margie, Mary, & Trudy, when are your birthdays???? {:-) 

I'd better sign off for tonight as tomorrow we're going over to a friend's place to pick apples and plums.  If my shoulder will stand it.  Today my physiotherapist used ultrasound on my shoulder and it wasn't nearly as sore as when he didn't use it last week.  He also gave me a new exercise to add to the 2 previous ones.  Let's see if it helps.  I have to see him again Thurs.