MONDAY POTPOURRI: ANOTHER DAY OF MUSING…

It’s time to muse!  Join Jenn and the gang at Books and a Beat.

Here are some topics:

 

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: What’s your most favorite “chunky” book? (over 500 pages)

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I finally started reading Flight Patterns, by Karen White, which I’ve had for a while…but for whatever reason, other books got ahead of it in the queue.

 

 

The New York Times bestselling author of The Sound of Glass and coauthor of The Forgotten Room tells the story of a woman coming home to the family she left behind—and to the woman she always wanted to be…

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Sometimes going home is painful, but it can also be a healing time.  I have always enjoyed Karen White’s books, since the very first ones I read a few years ago, the Tradd Street books.

Have you read her?  What did you think?

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Liberty is standing guard over my bookshelves….she is my mascot.

 

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HUMP DAY POTPOURRI: THE EXTERMINATOR IS COMING!

It’s Hump Day, and I’ve been visiting blogs and enjoying my coffee.  I’ll be vacating the premises soon, as the Exterminator is coming to spray.  Even though I only SAW two crickets in the past few weeks, I heard a chorus of them in the laundry room.  So…that’s it, guys!

He’ll arrive some time between 8:00-11:00 a.m., and then I will have to leave for a few hours.  Luckily, I have books to read….and an appointment with my stylist daughter, Heather.  The bear, below, sits at her station.  I haven’t named the bear, which I gave her for graduation….which is odd, right?  What does she look like to you?  Holly?

 

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On Monday, I got my carpet cover from Amazon.  It was delivered on Saturday, but since the post office closed at 2:00, I wasn’t able to retrieve it.  It was easy to move the stuff out of my nook and slide it in.  I am happily rolling around on the slick surface.

I’m reading One True Loves, by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and enjoying it.

 

 

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On Netflix, I am addicted to a series that is new to me:  The Last Tango in Halifax is a British show that I love.  The protagonist is played by Sarah Lancashire, who also starred in Happy Valley,  another engaging series.

I am on Season 3, with only four episodes left, and I’m already missing these characters!  Their lives are so messy, they are so flawed, but I love them all!  Except maybe the ex-husband to Caroline (below), who hangs around with hangdog eyes.

 

 

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This sweet couple (below) meet again after 60 years, and realize they never stopped loving each other.  But they also face many challenges.

 

 

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So now I must get ready to gather my things about me and vacate…once the exterminator arrives!

More later!

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A POTPOURRI OF CELEBRATORY MOMENTS

Welcome to our regular feature, Saturday Snapshot, our opportunity to showcase photos we or friends and family have captured.  The event is now hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads.

Today’s snapshots bring the Thanksgiving holidays to us.  On the actual holiday, I celebrated with my daughter, her BF, and his family.

 

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Our hosts had their Christmas tree up already!

 

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Then, on the weekend, I celebrated at a neighborhood restaurant with my second son, Brett; his daughter Aubrey; and two other grandchildren, Dominic and Fiona.  They each brought a friend.

Below…a collage of the two events.

 

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Then, in a Northern part of the state, my son and his wife celebrated…and here is a photo of him on the beach at sunset.

 

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Soon it will be Christmas…and even though I have my minimal decorations up, I’ll save those photos for another day.

What are you sharing today?

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FRIDAY POTPOURRI: BOOK BEGINNINGS/THE FRIDAY 56 — THE K-FROST CAPER

Welcome to some bookish fun today as we share Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and as we showcase The Friday 56 with Freda’s Voice.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Then give us the title of the book, so others can add it to their lists!

If you have been wanting to participate, but haven’t yet tried, now is the time!

What better way to spend a Friday?

Today’s featured book is a review book called The K-Frost Caper, by James Blakley.

 

 

 

Beginning:  (Prologue)

The late January sky melted into pink and orange air that flickered below increasing layers of lavender clouds.  When the last drops of daylight finally dripped into the Atlantic, the vast ocean shimmered like one big sapphire.

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56:  “Perhaps a demonstration of my harmonious blend of extra sensory insight and real world awareness will convince you, Ms. Nightcrow?”  Burroughs closed his eyes and reached for something unseen.

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Blurb:  A cold case heats up when Kelvin Frost, believed to have drowned in Alabama, returns from the dead to apply for more life insurance. Or has he? When a body-a dead body-identified as Kelvin Frost, turns up in Miami, murder complicates matters. Enter Luna Nightcrow, the insurance fraud investigator whose “smartphone never sleeps.” After recovering a valuable Cherokee relic, Nightcrow accepts Charmed Life Mutual Insurance’s offer of $50,000 to sniff out and close down the K-Frost Caper. But it won’t be easy with so few leads or clues. That doesn’t surprise Luna. After all, when is the last time anyone saw Frost … in Miami?

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What do you think?  I’m intrigued….I hope you will come on by and share your own features and links.

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NEW YEAR’S EVE POTPOURRI: A COZY EVENING AT HOME

I’ve brought home the snacks, I have gathered up some books and movies, and I am ready!

My quiet New Year’s Eve at home has begun.  Earlier I was watching shows on my DVR and reading a little.  I also spent some time on my blogs, creating pages for 2014 at Curl up and Read and joining another Challenge.

I now have signed up for two:  Mt. TBR Challenge and Southern Literature Challenge.  I also wrote my Year End Report, and listed my Favorite Reads of 2013.

Earlier in the week, I packed up the Christmas stuff and revamped my living space.

 

A New Look in the Dining Area

 

 

View from the Kitchen

Another View

 

Check out An Interior Journey to read about the first book of the year event, hosted by Book Journey.

In the next few days, I will be reading several books…but I’ll also be waiting for these books in the mail:

 

A Circle of Wives, by Alice LaPlante

 

 

Clever Girl, by Tessa Hadley

 

 

Golden State, by Michelle Richmond

 

 

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There are more, too, but I’ll share about them later.

What are you looking forward to in the New Year?  Books, getaways, resolutions?  What makes it all like a clean slate for you?

 

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MONDAY POTPOURRI: MUGS, DISHES, ETC.

Another mug of coffee today….nestled next to my Halloween/Thanksgiving decor.

Ever since I gave my Coca Cola dinnerware to my daughter, I have been rediscovering my other dishes.  Like the one above, which is Franciscan’s Apple.

I used to have Franciscan’s Desert Rose, but grew tired of it…and gave the set away when I moved here.  I don’t even have any photos of my set, but here are some images from online:

Here are some candle holders that I still have:

And these salt and pepper shakers:

Now that I see them…I almost regret giving them away!

But there are many colorful substitutes…and here’s something I like seeing in the mornings:

The matching mug:

Do you have favorites dishes, collectibles, or other potpourri that make your day cheerful?

TUESDAY POTPOURRI: INTROS/TEASERS — THE GLASS WIVES — JUNE 11

 

 

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, from Tuesday/First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by Should Be Reading.

My selection today is The Glass Wives, by Amy Sue Nathan.

Intros/Beginning:

Evie picked up a small, silver-framed photo and wiped away invisible dust.  The groom towered over the groomsmen, his hair windblown without any wind, his smile slightly askew, big blue eyes staring and pensive.  She knew it all too well, but the tug of familiarity was not deja vu.  Evie had been there before, decades earlier, with the same groom.  But in this picture she was not the bride.

No one noticed Evie put back the photo or swish her hand on her pant leg, pretending now to wipe off the nonexistent dust.  She walked through the crowd toward the floor-to-ceiling window.  No one noticed her do that, either.  Burgundy velour curtains tied back with thick, black tassels framed a six-foot, imitation pine tree.  Hallmark ornaments masquerading as heirlooms dangled from its branches.  Gold tinsel fringe and shiny red balls sparkled.  It all seemed out of place, yet Evie knew it belonged.  Probably more than she did.

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Teaser:  Laney saw the world in black and white.  Right and wrong.  Good and bad.  Evie’s life was shades of gray.  Like her hair.  (p. 6)

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Amazon Blurb:  Evie and Nicole Glass share a last name. They also shared a husband.

When a tragic car accident ends the life of Richard Glass, it also upends the lives of Evie and Nicole, and their children. There’s no love lost between the widow and the ex. In fact, Evie sees a silver lining in all this heartache—the chance to rid herself of Nicole once and for all. But Evie wasn’t counting on her children’s bond with their baby half-brother, and she wasn’t counting on Nicole’s desperate need to hang on to the threads of family, no matter how frayed. Strapped for cash, Evie cautiously agrees to share living expenses—and her home—with Nicole and the baby. But when Evie suspects that Nicole is determined to rearrange more than her kitchen, Evie must decide who she can trust. More than that, she must ask: what makes a family?

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I felt drawn to this book as soon as I first saw it on someone’s blog.  Soon I will be reading it!  What are you spotlighting today?  Come on by and share….