TUESDAY POTPOURRI: A MORNING WITH BOOKS, COFFEE, & THE DVR — FEB. 19

Yesterday was one of those stay-at-home days; because of the holiday, I didn’t even go to the post office.  Just the supermarket for supplies.

But today I’m getting an early start so I can mail things.  First I’m enjoying some coffee in one of my favorite mugs.  Note the stack of books ready to go out to giveaway winners.

In my restlessness yesterday (that’s what happens when I stay at home!), I did some more rearranging of the entry/dining area space.

In this photo below, note that the wicker loveseat is once again up next to the floor-to-ceiling bookshelf.  From the dining room, you can see the angled sofa table and the little dropleaf table where I pay bills.

Earlier I was blogging my Teaser Tuesday meme….and finding new books to add to my list.  But before that, I woke up in the middle of the night to keep reading Evil at Heart.  And then had nightmares when I went back to sleep.  EEEEK!

Now I’m going to finish watching my favorite TV shows that are on my DVR from last night:  Switched at Birth, The Carrie Diaries, Monday Morning, The Following, Deception, and Castle.  Yes…a lot of shows for one night!

I watched Dallas live.  Love that show!  Here are my thoughts about the show over at Chocolate & Mimosas, my “guilty pleasures” blog.

What is going on in your world on a Tuesday?  Busy things?  Relaxing?

 

TUESDAY POTPOURRI: WHAT CURES THAT RESTLESS FEELING? — DEC. 11

Feeling restless again, I changed up the blog header over at Rainy Days and Mondays. 

And, of course, I changed the header here, with a few more Christmas images, along with the one on the right that shows my Curl up with Books Reading Room.  Head on over to check out the giveaway!

Then I went over to Snow Sparks and changed everything:  theme, background colors and text, and header, too, of course.  This blog is dressed for the holidays.  Today I’m excerpting over there from a book I’ll be reading this week.  Check it out!  In Name Only is a story about a woman running from her past.  I’ll be reading this one near the end of the week.

 

 

Today’s read is Sugar Springs, an Amazon Vine read.

I’ve just begun, but it promises to be intriguing and different, with plenty of drama.

What are you reading or messing with today?  What do you do when you get that restless feeling?

 

SUNDAY POTPOURRI: WEEKEND CHANGES — SEPT. 2

Weekends can be quiet, with reading and movie watching, or, like this one, they can be busy with family/friends and background music or conversation.

Fiona came on Friday and spent the night and Saturday here.  She brought her guitar and strummed quietly as I went about my usual activities:  reading, blogging, etc.

We watched some movies, too.

While she was here, I realized that something was awkward in my living room arrangement, like my humongous coffee table that didn’t allow much room for navigating the space.

So last night I moved some things around, and ended up with this:

You may ask where the big and bulky table went:

Here it is in the office.  But this is not the final destination.  I really need something smaller and lighter.  For those times when I move the table so I can pull out the sofabed!

***

Later:  Just as I predicted, I wasn’t done.  I moved this wicker trunk from my bedroom and put the bulky coffee table in the garage.

 

 

And then, there is my scanner/printer story….sadly, neither is compatible with Louisa May, my laptop.  So off they went to the garage…and I must find something else.  Meanwhile, here’s my workspace.

I moved my Old TBR stacks onto the desk….As you can see, the stacks are much smaller than they were.

***

Now…back to reading and movie watching.

What are you up to today?  Some of you may be on the road, like my daughter, who is visiting her grandmother in Northern California.

I’m reading this today:

The Song Remains the Same, by Allison Winn Scotch.

Happy Labor Day weekend!

TUESDAY POTPOURRI: CARVING OUT NEW SPACES — JULY 10

One of the things I know about myself is that I like to change things around.  But in my office, the last Bastion of Things That Remain Unchanged, the change bug has finally attacked.

It all started when I got my laptop.  And yes, the laptop, by definition, requires no permanent place.  I have my little table/desk in my bedroom; the dining room table; the patio table….and now the actual office.

On the weekend, we removed the desktop.   There was a lot of huffing, puffing, and sweating…and then the components were gone.

Afterwards, I stared at what remained.  And didn’t like what I saw.

Hmm…what if I moved this table here and that cart over there?  The what-ifs led to more sweating, etc.  Switching the long table with the cart works for me!  Having the long table for my laptop and other work stuff makes more sense.  So here’s what the finished set-up looks like:

You can’t see the cart in this photo…it is to the right, and the printer and scanner now live there.  Below is a “before” shot, with the cart and desktop on the left, and at right angles, the long table.  Now they are reversed.

My muscles feel fine right now, but I’m betting they’ll be hurting tomorrow.

Now I’m going to read and/or watch movies.

A Map of the World, based on the book by Jane Hamilton, is sitting nearby.

What do you like to do when you’ve finished an exhausting project?

HUMP DAY POTPOURRI — CHOCOLATE & MIMOSAS — NOV. 9

On a Hump Day, we often think about beginnings and endings, and that spot in the middle…Wednesdays.

But today has been more about reflecting on Monday and Tuesday.  Yesterday I was feeling creative after my shredding/cleaning frenzy here on Monday.

Thoughts of quirky, guilty pleasures had me creating another blog (I know, I said I wouldn’t!); and from those feelings emerged Chocolate & Mimosas.

This new site isn’t just about chocolate, or even about mimosas per se:  it’s really about splurging and enjoying my quirky favorite things, including cozy mysteries.  I have chosen to enter my first challenge of 2012, and will document my progress on this site.  Cruisin’ with the Cozies.  Check it out!

Lovin’ the delicious feeling right about now!  What guilty pleasures do you enjoy?  What are your favorite indulgences?

HUMP DAY POTPOURRI — JULY 6

EVERY JOURNEY HAS ITS OBSTACLES

 

Hump Day is one of my favorite days of the week.  It reminds me of my years in the trenches, when it felt as though reaching that “hump” in the week was like getting my second wind.

Nowadays it’s a lot different.  For one thing, my life as a writer/blogger has different milestones.  Today, for example, there’s an interview with me over at Dames of Dialogue.

 

All month long, there will be snippets about me, my books, etc.  Like last Friday, my first chapter of Web of Tyranny was featured at DOD.

This Friday, stop by to read the first chapter of Miles to Go.

Hump Days are also my mani-pedi days…yeah, fun!  Every other week, that is.

My manicurist comes to my house.  Isn’t that great?  So early mornings on those Wednesdays, you’ll find me cleaning house.  Since I don’t really think about doing that too often, it’s good to have a reason…LOL.

Later on, I’ll be curled up doing this:

 

 

What do you like to do on Hump Day?

THE BIRTH OF A PHENOMENON — A REVIEW

From the first few minutes of this fantastic film, I could not stop watching. Not only because I am one of those people now obsessed with the Facebook network, but because it seemed too incredible for words that something this great could be created almost by accident.

Jesse Eisenberg’s portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg and Justin Timberlake’s Sean Parker were spot on.

This film is described as the stunning tale of “a new breed of cultural insurgent: a punk genius who sparked a revolution and changed the face of human interaction for a generation, and perhaps forever.”

Unfolding in flashbacks and fast-forwards, this tale chronicles the creation of the Facebook phenomenon, while at the same time depicting the legal battles over ownership.

At the end of the day, despite these difficulties and obstacles, the last ones standing (Zuckerberg, et. al.) are “accidental billionaires,” with Zuckerberg dubbed the youngest billionaire in the world.

If I could give more than five stars for The Social Network (Two-Disc Collector’s Edition), I would. But five stars it is.

SATURDAY SNAPSHOT — HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

Good morning, and welcome to our first Saturday Snapshot of 2011, hosted by Alyce, At Home With Books.

Today, I’m sharing another one from my eldest son Craig’s repertoire of European images (Berlin Photographer). This photo of a street lamp resonates with me, as I conjure up all kinds of metaphors for it, like “lighting the way” in the New Year.

LIGHTING OUR WAY....

 

I hope you all have a wonderful New Year, and please stop by and share your own links.

THURSDAY POTPOURRI — DEC. 9

 

Today, as I click around the blogosphere, I am amazed at all the Christmasy sights I see.

And that’s why I posted another holiday spotlight on Christmas, my Scrooge-like history, and my “home for the holidays” decor over at Creations by Laurel-Rain Snow.

I loved the holidays as a kid and then as a young adult.  When I had small children, I reveled in their anticipation and joy.  But then I realized one day that I wasn’t looking forward to the holidays.  They annoyed me, even.  I made fun of them.  I became The Scrooge.

So check out what happened to me over at my linked site.

Then, on Rainy Days and Mondays, I chose to spotlight a book I’m eager to read soon.  And a memorable chat between the author and Oprah.  Yes, I know, it’s not about the holidays.  But it is about the wonder of bookish moments.

Then I spent some time changing out my “buy links” on these two sites, updating them.  Hope you’ll check them out.

 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS….FROM LAUREL-RAIN SNOW CREATIONS

MONDAY POTPOURRI — A QUEST FOR BOOKSHELVES — DEC. 6

SEARCHING FOR A HOME FOR THE BOOKS....

 

Sometimes when a problem presents itself, the solution is not at all what we expected.

I found this to be true yesterday when I went looking for bookshelves.  As some of you know, I have huge TBR stacks, but I’m working my way through them.  However, I have no shelf space for the ones I finish.

What I’ve been doing up until now is stacking them in various places, including on the bottom shelf of a cart that stands behind my TBR stacks in my bedroom.  It looks pretty messy, even though they’re neatly stacked; it actually makes the TBR piles look worse, if that’s possible.

Meanwhile, in the hallway where I have two full bookshelves, I have lots of old books (and not the collector kind!) that I know I’ll never read again.  Some I even got at yard sales or used bookstores.  So why are they taking up shelf space?

So when I went out looking for shelves and couldn’t find any I wanted to buy, I ran into a woman who told me about donating books to a charity.  When I went home, I took another look at those shelves and started filling a box.  When I was finished, I had four freed-up shelves just waiting!

Now my newer books have pride of place in the hallway shelves, with more space available.  The shelf on the cart has been promoted to a spot for new magazines.  Where I can notice them and read them.

Amazing what a different direction a shopping event can take.  And the serendipity of meeting a stranger with a great idea.

It’s not that I hadn’t thought of that idea before, but the unsuccessful shopping trip had spurred me into action.  And now I’m feeling reenergized.

Next, I should do something about this stack of books in my office cubbyhole!

Overflowing Office Nook

As you can see, some of these books are actually on a shelf, but others are stacked atop a filing cabinet.

My rationalization has been that it’s cozy and looks unique.  I started out putting ARCs there, but then kept adding other books.  I told myself that I would host a giveaway, and I tried that.  But I didn’t end up decreasing the stacks by much, and then I added more.  Mostly they are paperbacks, which don’t mesh well on the other shelves.

I had solved one problem, only to discover another one; not to mention the stacks all over my office.  But those are TBRs, so they don’t count.  Right?

Like Scarlett O’Hara, I’ll think about it tomorrow.