books — Page 163

I Caved

September 19, 2015 at 8:36 am by Claudia

I have been such a good girl lately. I haven’t purchased a new book in quite a while. Between the library and the eGalleys and advanced reader copies that I get in the mail or on my Kindle, I have more than enough reading matter to last me quite a long time.

My queue at the library includes Louise Penny’s newest, The Nature of the Beast. And I’m not all that far down the list. I told myself that I didn’t need to own the book, even though I had all of the other Three Pines mysteries on my bookshelves. Surely I would be just fine if I read the library copy. No big deal.

Then I stopped by the bookstore on my way to Target yesterday.

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I caved.

I justified this purchase with the fact that I’ve been sick for the last week and I’ve been sticking to my budget and I haven’t bought any new books in a long, long time and I’m on a diet from sugar and salt and I’m losing weight (thank goodness) and surely I deserve some sort of treat?

A resounding “Yes!” was my answer to myself.

Along with The Nature of the Beast, I bought Fahrenheit 451 because I have never read it. It’s shocking that I’ve never read this book about books and burning books and the need for words on the page. I’m going to remedy that.

And then I threw in Nancy Martin’s latest Blackbird Sisters Mystery, A Little Night Murder. Have you read any of the books in this series? They’re delightful and very well written. They take place in and around the Philadelphia area. As I lived there for five years, it’s fun to rediscover it all via Martin’s series.

We won’t even mention how many TBR books I have here already – both on my bookshelves and on the Kindle. We just won’t.

One of the things I had wanted to do this week when I went into NYC was visit The Mysterious Bookshop. Being sick put paid to that idea, so I guess I’m comforting myself in a way. Really, the fact is if I was given a big chunk of cash, I’d probably spend it on books. Not furniture, not clothes, not little things for the house, not shoes, not even food. (Maybe some miniatures…) No, I’d trot off to The Mysterious Bookshop and the Strand and spend, spend, spend.

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I’m about 90 pages from the end of The Girl in the Spider’s Web and then I’ll either start the newest Jan Karon (which has been waiting for me on the Kindle) or the Penny. Hmmm.

What are you reading at the moment?

Happy Saturday.

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A Parrish Sky

September 18, 2015 at 8:46 am by Claudia

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That, my friends, is a Maxfield Parrish sky.

Don called me over to the door, where he had been checking on Scout while she was outside, because that sliver of moon was so beautiful in the evening sky.

Lovely, simply lovely.

Still coughing, still feeling under the weather, but every day I feel a little less so. So that’s good.

We have a friend coming on Sunday to spend the night, so I’ve been cleaning. A little here, a little there, nothing too taxing. There’s nothing like an impending visit to make you see all the dust and crumbs and dirty grout, is there?

I’m still reading The Girl in the Spider’s Nest. Normally, I would have finished it by now, but I haven’t always felt like reading or concentrating for any length of time. This morning, however, I read a nice big chunk. It’s really well written.

I had been planning on working on the Top Secret Project when Don was in the city this week for auditions. Those plans were scuttled when I got sick. Darn it! So there’s nothing new to report there. I plan to find some time this week to do some interior painting and flooring.

I forgot to pick a winner for the Coercion giveaway. So sorry! The winner is Karen. Congratulations, Karen! I’ve sent you an email.

Must include a flower photo, as it won’t be long until I have no more flowers to share with you.

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My surprise hollyhock is still blooming. What a gift this plant has been! Hollyhocks aren’t annuals here and this one was self-seeded, so I’m not counting on seeing it next year. But who knows? Some seeds may find their way into another garden bed. That’s the wonder of gardening, isn’t it?

Happy Friday.

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The Repercussions of Trying to Beat Out the Rain & Other Things

September 13, 2015 at 9:06 am by Claudia

Do you ever play a game with the rain? I do it sometimes when I’m mowing. Yesterday, the clouds got increasingly dark and heavy. I knew rain was in the forecast. I was mowing the front lawn (after having mowed the corral and the lilac side of the lawn) thinking, “I’ll just mow the longer part of the lawn before it rains, otherwise it will get too long and will be difficult to mow.”

Don had given me strict instructions not to do too much, but little raindrops started to fall – just a few, here and there, and I immediately wanted to see how far I could get before I had to give up and flee into the cottage.

I managed to finish it all. Huzzah!

But, then again, I did far more mowing than I should have, which led to an allergy attack last night and into the night and very little sleep.

Crap.

That’ll show me.

I definitely feel under the weather, but I hope it’s all gone by the end of the day.

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I keep seeing daddy longlegs on the hollyhocks. After several sightings over the course of the last month, I can’t believe it’s a coincidence.

I googled ‘daddy longlegs and hollyhocks’ and saw several photos which look a lot like mine, so obviously others are seeing them, too. But I could find no explanation as to why they seem to gravitate to these flowers.

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Two flowers, two daddy longlegs. (By the way, I wondered if daddy longlegs needed a dash somewhere in the spelling, but the dictionary gave me this configuration, so I’m going with it.)

Another ‘by the way’; I saw birds in the birdbath a day or so ago: three catbirds and a robin. The robin, as usual, merely by his size, drove the catbirds away. But they stayed nearby and as soon as Mr. Robin left, they were back at it. I was so happy to see some activity there!

Finished Dishing the Dirt by M.C. Beaton, which is an easy read that can be done in a day. In fact, that’s what I did. I’ll be reviewing it this week on Just Let Me Finish This Page. Now, I’m starting The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz, the author chosen by the executors of the late Steig Larsson’s estate to continue the series. It’s had good reviews and I can’t wait to dive in.

The library is a wonderful resource. I reserved The Girl in the Spider’s Web and it didn’t take all that long for me to rise to the top of the queue. Another Huzzah!

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Yesterday’s morning glory.

Today is the last day to leave a comment on my book review. I’ll pick the winner tonight.

Okay. I’m off to cough some more and blow my nose and, hopefully, feel less yucky and start my book.

Happy Sunday.

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I Caved

A Parrish Sky

The Repercussions of Trying to Beat Out the Rain & Other Things

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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