Mother's Day Gift Books

 

James surprised the heck out of me with his books choices this time because only one was on my wishlist which was Virginia Woolf’s Writer’s Diary.  The rest were:

J.K. Rowling’s The Ickabog which has some colorful illustrations through out:

“The kingdom of Cornucopia was once the happiest in the world. It had plenty of gold, a king with the finest moustaches you could possibly imagine, and butchers, bakers and cheesemongers whose exquisite foods made a person dance with delight when they ate them.

Everything was perfect – except for the misty Marshlands to the north which, according to legend, were home to the monstrous Ickabog. Anyone sensible knew that the Ickabog was just a myth, to scare children into behaving. But the funny thing about myths is that sometimes they take on a life of their own.

Could a myth unseat a beloved king? Could a myth bring a once happy country to its knees? Could a myth thrust two children into an adventure they didn’t ask for and never expected?

If you’re feeling brave, step into the pages of this book to find out…”

Richard Mathson’s What Dreams May Come with is Sci Fi/horror –

“What happens to us after we die? Chris Nielsen had no idea, until an unexpected accident cut his life short, separating him from his beloved wife, Annie. Now Chris must discover the true nature of life after death.

But even Heaven is not complete without Annie, and when tragedy threatens to divide them forever, Chris risks his very soul to save Annie from an eternity of despair.”

And book 1 in a  Clint Wolf mystery series by B.J. Bourg – But Not Forgotten:

“When a local businessman’s arm is found in the jowls of a large alligator, Clint Wolf and Susan Wilson investigate to find out how it got there. They quickly discover that the man was murdered, but thanks to a secret force working against them, solving the case will be no easy task.

A new dog comes into Clint’s life, and not only does it bring him hope after having lost his wife and daughter two years earlier, but it proves to be quite the guard dog when a dangerous stranger comes sneaking around.

As Clint and Susan dig deeper into their case, the body count begins to rise, and they soon realize that no one is safe…not even the law. Will evil prevail, or will Clint and Susan get justice for their victims? Read this chilling mystery to find out.”

Woot Woot! 

Merry Christmas!

 

BW25: Happy Father's Day

 

It's week 25 in our 52 Books Quest and this week, we are celebrating our dads. From the serious to the silly, from thoughtful to chatty, from gregarious to introverted. We honor those who we miss and hold close to our hearts.

Finished Nightwork and really enjoyed it.  Currently reading Hidden Salem which is #19 in the Bishop/Special Crimes paranormal series by Kay Hooper. 

 “Nellie Cavendish has very good reasons to seek out her roots, and not only because she has no memory of her mother and hardly knew the father who left her upbringing to paid caregivers. In the eight years since her twenty-first birthday, very odd things have begun to happen. Crows gather near her wherever she goes, electronics short out when she touches them, and when she’s upset, really upset, it storms. At first, she chalked up the unusual happenings to coincidence, but that explanation doesn't begin to cover the vivid nightmares that torment her. She can no longer pretend to ignore them. She has to find out the truth. And the only starting point she has is a mysterious letter from her father delivered ten years after his death, insisting she go to a town called Salem and risk her life to stop some unnamed evil. Before her thirtieth birthday.

As a longtime member of the FBI's Special Crimes Unit, Grayson Sheridan has learned not to be surprised by the unusual and the macabre--but Salem is different. Evidence of Satanic activities and the disappearance of three strangers to the town are what brought Salem to the attention of the SCU, and when Gray arrives to find his undercover partner vanished, he knows that whatever’s hiding in the seemingly peaceful little town is deadly.  But what actually hides in the shadows and secrets of Salem is unlike anything the agents have ever encountered.”

Middlemarch is still slowly in process.

In the Icelandic tradition - our Jólabókaflóðið - Christmas Book Flood

 

Merry Christmas 

I kind of went overboard this year.  You know how they said to shop early because product and shipping will be in short supply and take a longer period of time.  Nope, I think they fudged it.  I bought early and bought often. Hubby did the same.  Happy birthday, Jesus. We celebrated with lots of love and happiness. 

Right around Thanksgiving, Paul McCartney's memoir in music, THE LYRICS, was released and I immediately went to the store and bought it. Expensive, but well worth it. Hubby and I will get hours of enjoyment out of it. A couple years ago, hubby mentioned Dan Alexander Audio book and I saved it to my own private wishlist, nudge nudge wink wink, in hopes that someday it'd be available and the price would go down. Well, it became available but the price didn't go down, but I got it any way.  Hubby was surprised and amazed that I remembered something he'd mentioned so long ago.  Score! 

Second score of the evening was the Sonic Encyclospeedia.  Once James opened that present, he was a goner for the rest of the evening. The one who'd had his hand out excitedly for gift after gift said "I'll open the rest of my gifts in a while." 

My book haul held a surprise from my brother. The entire Super Powered series which amounts to about 3400 pages. Hopefully like the Wheel of Time series, they won't take me several years to read. The rest all historical fiction. I look forward to diving in.   Oh, and did you notice the bookends. 

 

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not:"

for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'"

That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.  ~ Linus Van Pelt, A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Many blessings to all this Christmas season.  

Bookish Notes and Links - 200 Books that Shaped 200 Years of Literature

During my dinner break at work I was perusing the internet and decided to share the wealth tonight with more book lists.  So much temptation.  I discovered shopping early for Christmas in order to make sure things get here on time has lead to spending a whole heck of a lot more money, because I keep seeing one more thing, then one more thing. My guys are going to be spoiled this year.  

Have you seen Red Notice yet? Fun movie. Red Notice and the Art of the Heist books about heists. 

The Center for Fiction confabs to determine the 200 Books that Shaped 200 Years of Literature.

A list from France - 100 books of 2021 (thank goodness for google translator)

Now I'm meandering slowly (is that redundant?) through Tor's list of 100 Speculative Fiction Titles to Add to Your Reading List

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Song of Thanksgiving

(To the air - Portuguese Hymn)

Poems for Young Americans

By

Will Carleton 

We thank thee, O Father, for all that is bright--
the gleam of the day and the stars of the night;
The flowers of our youth, and the fruits of our prime,
And blessings e'er marching the pathway of time.

We thank thee, O Father, for all this is drear--
The sob of the tempest -- the flow of the tear;
For never in blindness, and never in vain,
Thy mercy permitted a sorrow or pain.

We thank thee, O Father, for song and for feast--
The harvest that glowed, and the wealth that increased;
For never a blessing encompassed thy child,
But thou in thy mercy looked downward and smiled.

We thank thee, O Father for all! for the power
Of aiding each other in life's darkest hour;
The generous heart, and the bountiful hand,
And all the soul-help that sad souls understand.

We thank thee, O Father--for days yet to be --
For hopes that our future will call us to thee:
That all our eternity form, through thy love,
One Thanksgiving Day in the mansions above.

**Copyright 1910 Every Where Publishing.

************************

Yeah. My head didn't explode from all the number crunching. Done with submitting all paper work for both the Workers Comp audit, and SBA loan annual review. Now I can relax and enjoy our Thanksgiving holiday.  We're having a quiet one to ourselves which means getting some honey do projects done.  

And because life is to short to read books that just don't hold my interest, I'm giving up on Wise Woman.  Too depressing.  I'm in more of a fluff mode at the moment.  Finished Darynda Jones second book in her Sunshine Vicram series with A Good Day for Chardonnay.  Why oh why though is it going to take a full year for the next installment to release?  Oh well. 

Happy Dance....   Nora Roberts newest came in -  Becoming, #2 in her Dragon Heart Legacy series. Absolutely love this word of wisdom when character talks about losing time –

“Time’s never lost, just spent on other matters.”

My new favorite quote.

Happy Birthday to me!!!

 

Because life is to short to read books that just don’t hold my interest, I’m giving up on Wise Woman. Too depressing. I’m in more of a fluff mode at the moment. Finished Darynda Jones second book in her Sunshine Vicram series with A Good Day for Chardonnay. Why oh why though is it going to take a full year for the next installment to release? Oh well.

Happy Dance…. Nora Roberts newest just came in – Becoming, #2 in her Dragon Heart Legacy series.

Gasp! What? No books.  My guys got creative this year for my birthday and went to the local antique dealer down the street.  Hubby cooked an awesome roast with yorkshire pudding.  Had long chats with my dad and one of my sisters.  Great day! 

BW19: Sunday's Book Babble - Happy Mother's Day

 

It's book week 19 in our 52 Books Quest and this week is dedicated to all mom's everywhere including our angel moms. She who rules the roost and goes by many names including ma, mama, mum, mother, mumsy, mamman, mutter, mathair, mor, madra, majka, maji, and the favorite one, mom.

Motherhood

by 

 Katherine L. Dykstra

Baby dolls and dinosaurs-

one that cries, one that roars

The pitter patter of little feet-

a bike race in which they want you to compete

Fruity Pebbles, pancakes, no wait! a pop-tart-

those daily moments that steal your heart

One throws tantrums, the other just pouts-

ahh, the joys of motherhood- what life is all about

Another birthday - two paychecks in all-

but, it is so worth it with smiling memories on the wall

From late night tears to early morning grumps-

through all the bruises, scrapes and bumps

The kisses and hugs, the encouraging words-

from nursery rhymes to the bees and the birds

The laughter, the memories, those looks in their eyes-

never trade it for anything - never compromise

The toys left out, the clothes on the floor-

these are the moments we mothers live for

For we are the ones who are there through it all-

to always make it better and pick them up when they fall

From kissing their boo-boos and making sure they're fed-

passing down stories while tucking them into bed

Through the weight gain, cravings, labor and more-

to that one special moment we spend 9 months waiting for

Eighteen years is what they say, but our work is never done-

a lifetime of tears, laughter, sadness and fun

Nothing in the world can even come close-

to the one special bond God made matter the most

A relationship only two certain people can share-

a mother and her child, nothing will ever compare...

******

Happy momma's day.  I'm reading Nora Roberts Blood Magick which I'm appreciating more the second time.  

We watched The Mask last night and James laughed and really enjoyed it.  Having fun rewatching all the older movies with him and rediscovering old favorites.  I finished my Virgin River binge watch and will have wait patiently for the 3rd season to come out.  

Happy to report my fur baby Melvin has gotten his appetite back, thanks to the Prednisone, and he's getting some of his old pep back.  Although it kinda reminds me of my college days and watching someone who just smoked a toke and has a case of the munchies.  😀 

Happy Easter!

Freedom In The Cross

by 

Olivia Lakis

Published: April 2017

There's something that occurred

on that evening at Calvary

that created such a lavish stir

in all of history.

Upon that old rugged cross

our Savior bared it all

and offered himself a sacrifice

to overspread humanity's fall.

The sacred blood that was spilled

wiped clean the sinner's slate.

Christ paid the price for everyone

and carried our weight.

A willing heart endured the pain,

and purpose paved His way.

He opened the eyes of every man

To whom He came to save.

Though the tragedy of that day

will be mourned by those around,

our joy is found three days later

when He arose from the very ground.

And through that selfless act of love,

we were given new life in Him,

set loose from our bondages

to experience true freedom within.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day, my lovelies. Do we owe it all to St. Valentine or perhaps to Chaucer?  Who knows.  It's a special day to let the special, and even not so special people in your life, know you love them.  My husband and I have the habit of saying I love you every day and every time one of us walks out the door, when we talk on the phone, and before we go to sleep at night. It isn't a secret that we love one another or love our son or our family members and friends.  I think it's a good habit and not to be saved for one special day out of the year.  Sometimes we get each other cards for Valentines, cook an extra special meal, maybe a gift.  But that's not so important as showing and telling each other every day how we feel.  Yes, we are mushy sometimes.  When events happen out in the world that makes us realize that life is short, it also reminds us to live each day to the fullest and appreciate each and every single person around us.   

Celebrate the one you're with today, because who know what tomorrow will bring. Sending out virtual hugs and love and kisses to all my peeps.  

Family Vacation: Pajaro Dunes

Pajaro Dunes

We have just returned from a fun filled week on the coast. We went to Pajaro Dunes which is a private beach community located between Monterey and Santa Cruz. We rented a beachfront condo and had fun in the sun, playing on the beach, whale watching, reading and relaxing. We celebrated our 12th anniversary and Father's 50th Birthday. Back in the 70's Father's family owned one of the condominiums and built House 55 so it was an walk down memory lane for him.

Pelican Point Condo # 20

Shot Father took of James on the balcony from the beach

The living room and our view

We had the most amazing time and most of the time we had the beach practically to ourselves. The first morning James and I got up and got to see dolphins and sea otters playing in the surf. They would actually ride the waves coming into shore.

The dunes is also a national Marine Sanctuary, so we saw tons of birds and we just had to go out and check them out. They were following schools of fish down the beach and feasting.




We went on a 3 hour whale watching tour through Monterey Bay Whale Watch which was actually James first time on a boat. Happy to report he isn't prone to sea sickness. We saw seals, sea otters, dolphins, humpback and blue whales. It was interesting to see the schools of krill swimming around and the whales surfacing to scoop up a whole slew of them. We also got to see jelly fish and moon jellies.

Dolphins

There She Blows

Blue Whale

At a certain point, we gave up taking pictures and just enjoyed watching the whales and the boat ride. After the boat ride, we wandered around fisherman's wharf and had dinner at Isabella's Italian Seafood restaurant. Delicious and highly recommend it!

Beautiful Sunsets!

Took oodles and boodles of pictures to experiment with and will have plenty to share for wordless wednesday and a whole lot more, including a funny story to tell about James and encounter with a pelican.

Goodbye Ocean!

Celebrations: Welcome to 2008

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Welcome to 2008

It's going to be great

Family Life: Merry Christmas

Life is like a box of Chocolates

Merry Christmas to one and all. I have time to breath now. My final is over, the Christmas shopping is done, except for the out of town folks, who will receive their gifts after Christmas and friends who will be dropping by during the holidays. Okay, so Christmas shopping isn’t done. Look’s like I’ll be braving it with the rest of the folks at Borders this afternoon, before grocery shopping. We have closed the shop and Father is off through Wednesday for a well deserved break.

Yesterday, we drove up to Los Altos and had an early Christmas celebration with part of Father’s family. We had a delightful time and Father had fun instigating a round of who can take the best close up picture of nostrils. James cousin came in first. The joy of digital cameras. Grandma M is a wonderful cook and we feasted on beef tenderloin, scalloped potatoes and ginger carrots and english pudding. James and his cousin had fun and she introduced him to webkinz. I’ll be taking a tour of the site later and see if it is something I want to sign him up for. I’m always leery of any site that includes chat for children and tend to steer far away from it as possible.

The fall reading challenge is over and I will be posting a final report about my successes and failures a little later. I was waylaid by Nanowrimo, then working on the 2^nd draft of my story, and discovering Romance novels again. I hadn’t read a regular romance novel in years and decided that if my story is going to include some romance, well then I better do some research. I have fallen in love with Nora Roberts. She is an excellent writer and I am taking numerous notes and enjoying her books. Father is also enjoying the fact that I am reading romance novels for some inexplicable reason.

Christmas has been a little more laid back this year and our court hasn't been too crazy with cars. B's wife - our next door neighbor had twins and they really didn't have time to put out a whole lot of lights. E across the street has been dealing with a family emergency. His mother had a heart attack when they took her to the airport to go home and put out nothing. We just got waylaid by life and put out enough lights to cover our front patio fence. Such is life, but I don't mind not having wall to wall cars to deal with.

More later - life beckons

Family Life: Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving

The last few days have been quite busy. Wednesday was my 48th birthday. Father came home early and cooked a lovely lamb dinner. Father and James gave me Mary Poppins Movie, The Mary Poppins Companion book (which James picked out all by himself) and Father gave me the new Mercedes Lackey book. He really does know me. He saw it in the store and he said "that the one to get her." I had not mentioned I wanted the book, and I guess all the Mercedes Lackey books in my bookshelves stirred a memory. I was quite surprised. My parents gave me a very generous check and my sister gave me Scarlet by Lawhead and Self Editing for Fiction Writers.

I got myself in trouble as soon as I started to read Self Editing. I began editing my words as worked on "floating on the surface. " I slowed down to think about the structure, instead of the story. Slapped myself across the face a few times and reminded myself "NO EDITING. YET!" Things flowed a little better. The story is coming along and I have given myself the goal to finish it by November 30th. Then I will go back edit, flesh out the story some more and polish it up. Father wants me to submit it to at least three publishers and even if I get a reject letter, I would have accomplished writing a novel.

So, back to Wednesday night. Father stayed up late brining the turkey. I forgot to buy some bottled water and he spent the majority of time filtering water through the brita which took up a lot of time. The turkey turned out to be delicious. We had a quiet thanksgiving with just the three of us. I was able to work on my book, James played on the computer doing flight simulator and John finally finished his office. He threw out a lot of old equipment that had been gathering dust in the garage and cleaned up his office. It's usefull now, instead of being a catchall. Yeah!

Father's brother and his family came by for a visit Friday night. A fun time was had by all and we enjoyed getting together.

This weekend we will be working on putting up the christmas lights, I will be working on my story some more, planning next weeks lessons, and working on my class work.


Excerpt from Floating on the Surface

“Shall we say Grace?” he said reaching for her hand. She held his hand and bowed her head as he said a prayer over the food “Lord, thank you for this food and may it nourish our bodies, help Samantha feel better and give us both strength. Amen” Benjamin started to eat and Samantha just had to ask a question because she was dying of curiosity.

She looked at him “With as much” she stopped feeling herself blushing again, “um, passion as you seem to have for” she hesitated because she was going to say me but decide to be safe “for life, how on earth did you ever think of becoming a priest? I can just imagine the poor ladies in the congregation having to go to confession weekly because they would be lusting after you in mass.”

Benjamin cracked up laughing and Samantha started to eat, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. “Oh, this is delicious” she said after taking a bite. Benjamin agreed and they concentrated on eating. After a few minutes Benjamin spoke “So, you really think the ladies would have been lusting after me in the pulpit?”

Samantha had just taken a drink and nearly spit out the soda all over the table. She started coughing and he patted her on the back. When she had recovered, she looked at him incredulous “Have you not looked in a mirror lately?”

“Yes, but..” He looked truly perplexed and she couldn’t help but smile."

Family Life: Halloween

Up, Up, and Away.

It's

Superman !!!!!!

Celebrations: Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween

Family Life: Happy 48th Birthday, Father

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday, dear Father

Happy Birthday to You

Family Life: James 8th birthday

James 8th birthday is coming up and boy is he excited.

James 8^th birthday will be on August 5^th. He has been working on his birthday wish list for the past month. The first draft (yes, the first draft) contained practically all Godzilla movies. We told him Godzilla was banned for a while, so he worked up a 2^nd, then 3^rd and now final draft. At least I think it is final. He adds to it daily.

James wish list

1. Apollo 1 dvd
2. Apollo 7 dvd
3. Apollo 8 dvd
4. Apollo 10 dvd
5. Apollo 14 dvd
6. Apollo 15 dvd
7. Apollo 16 dvd
8. Apollo 17 dvd
9. Apollo Soyuz dvd
10. Project Mercury dvd
11. Project Gemini dvd
12. Challenger dvd
13. Herbie the Love bug (old version, not the remake)
14. STS-26 Return to Flight
15. Apollo Lunar Surface Journal
16. Apollo 8 special package
17. Must have it all combo package ( at $800 I don't think this one is a possible, but James ask me to list it anyway)
18. Larry boy and the Bad Apple Video Game
19. Dora the Explorer summer explorer dvd
20. Ratatoulli
21. Toy Story cd game
22. A Dog (no..no..no)
23. The Magic School Bus Catches a Wave Dvd
24. Madame Blueberry - veggie tales movie
25. Gammara Toy
26. The Cape: A history of the Florida Launch Facilities
27. Space Shuttle First Flights
28. Mercury Redstone Collectors Edition

Do you see a pattern taking place here? I have already told him he will only be getting 2 or 3 items from the list, and not every single one. Do you think he is interested in learning everything there is about the space program?

Family Life: New addition - Luna

We have a new addition to our household whom we acquired yesterday.

Luna

Yes - Luna, after Luna the moon from The Bear in the Big Blue House. We were having difficulty deciding on a name because James wanted something Japanese, Father wanted Furhead and I simply couldn't decide. The previous owner said they had been calling her Luna after Luna the moon and it struck a chord with us. Father always loved Luna the Moon, so we all agreed on Luna. Of course Father says it should be "Luna moon unit furhead".

Luna is 7 weeks old and the runt of the litter. She is adorable with the most remarkable markings. She bears a striking resemblance to the pure bred bengal cat that I had wanted but was too expensive. Luna was given to us by a gal who works at the coffee shop by our business.

We decided to keep her in our bedroom until she gets adjusted. As soon as I got in bed and turned out the light, she started mewing and then suddenly there she was by my side. She had managed to climb up the bedspread. So we have a new sleeping buddy - she just isn't allowed to sleep on my pillow.

News of the day: Thunderbirds are Go!

The skies of Sacramento have been abuzz this weekend with the sound of aircraft engines racing around. The California Capital Airshow is being held this weekend at Mather Field.

My son called me at work yesterday (Daddy Day) very excited because he and Father had just been outside watching the Thunderbirds practicing in the skies over our neighborhood. Father was all excited because he also saw an f-22 airplane. They neglected to get pictures, so I will be out there this afternoon to try to catch the buggers as they fly by. Hopefully I will have some pix to post later.

We went to the airshow last year. It was fun but......they didn't anticipate how many people would show up and it was a mess getting in and out of the airfield. We won't be going this year. We will just enjoy it from afar as the planes buzz our neighborhood.