Working on my reading challenge and welcoming 2016

Well 2015 is coming to a close. I challenged myself (keeping track on the Goodreads site) to read 75 books this year. I am working on the 71 or 72 book- Furiously Happy. Funny, snappy, sad, clever.

Look at this crazy raccoon. Makes me smile. I don't think I will make my challenge. But oh so close. So next year, I will try again. I also had a challenge from PopSugar. And I managed to complete about half of that but I wasn't very good about keeping track of which books I used to complete the challenge. I think I will tackle the 2016 PopSugar challenge but will compile a group of books I want to read for the challenge. Maybe that way I can keep a better record. We finally had snow and wintry mix Monday night into Tuesday and then it just rained. It has gotten colder. A bit more typical weather for our area this time of year. My husband and I don't have any real plans for New Year's Eve. It is not my favorite holiday. I am pretty happy staying home, having a nice meal, watching a movie and then waiting for my kids to get home. We might go to an early movie just to do something. Wishing everyone a happy New Year. Here's to good health and lots of good books!

Merry Christmas 2015

Merry Christmas to everyone. Unseasonably warm in Connecticut for this time of year. Mid 60s the past week and obviously no snow. The tree was finally finished Christmas Eve day.

. We managed to take a photo of the three dogs sitting in front of the tree. Nellie, James and Maddie- all rescue lab mixes but who knows what they really are? Can't believe they sat long enough to get a picture.

. We never made it to Christmas Eve services at church- we were all too tired. After a peaceful morning we took a walk to the tower at the state park- Sleeping Giant. The weather is absolutely beautiful. The dogs loved the walk and it was great being outside.

. It is so wonderful to spend time with my children- love having the family around. This afternoon we will go to my brother's for dinner and spend more family time and maybe tonight we will watch A Christmas Story. On a reading note. I challenged myself (Goodreads reading challenge) to read 75 books this year. Last count- 70!! I lost a couple of weeks when in France but I have read some good books and am so close to achieving my goal. Have started Under the Udala Tree which so far is interesting but as I read at night my pace is a bit slow and I keep falling asleep! Enjoy this warm weather (we are all waiting for the cold)and the weekend.

Almost Christmas

So this is our Christmas tree. Six days until Christmas and it is still not decorated. It has been inside for a few weeks but somehow we just haven't gotten around to putting on the lights and the ornaments. Which actually might not have been a bad thing as the watering contraption (the liter bottle sitting in the green base with tubing) came out of the stand and basically flooded the mat and then the water (4 liters) dripped into the cellar. To clean this we had to get the wet/dry vac and vacuum the water out of the stand, move the tree, dry the floor and then let it dry for a few days. It was good there were no ornaments or lights on it. And the weather had been unseasonably warm for Connecticut and New England. So it is hard to believe that Christmas is six days away! Last Monday book club met for our annual Christmas party potluck dinner and Yankee swap. It was a really nice evening. Our host had decorated her house beautifully.

The food was fabulous. The swap gifts were nicely selected. Here is the group. We were missing a couple of people who regretfully missed out.

. I have been trying to read to meet my challenge on Goodreads. My challenge was to read 75 books in the year and I have read 68. Not bad. Some pretty good, some not, some long, some short. I keep adding books on the to-read list. I believe I am over 1000! Daunting.

Being Mortal

Monday night my book group met to discuss Being Mortal. What a great discussion. It was so relevant to all of us- each one of us could relate to the problems, lack of discussion regarding dying and planning on long term health care especially as we, and our parents, age. It was really good. Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. It is a favorite holiday of mine- no presents, no issues with religion, just a gathering of family (at least this year) and friends around a wonderful meal. Enjoy!

Being Mortal

Quick post. Tonight my book club meets to discuss Being Mortal. This was so timely for me to read. Having helped my parents in their transition to an assisted living facility three years ago, my dad's Alzheimer's disease and death, and the process of dealing with health issues of my husband and myself this book was so interesting to me. Very readable and insightful. Dr Gawande gives ideas and questions to promote an understanding of a person's health situation plus gives some guidance as to how to deal with health issues (mainly dealing with aging, grief and the onset of the final chapter of living). I truly believe that everyone would benefit from reading this book- medical and non medical. Everyone will eventually be in a situation - parents or him/herself- dealing with aging and end of life decisions. I know it is a very popular read right now. My church had a panel discussion using this book as a starting point at which Dr Gawande spoke (and I unfortunately could not attend!). I also know of several other churches reading it and a few friends in other book groups have selected it. I can't wait for our meeting tonight.

Prayers for Paris

Pictured is Notre Dame cathedral in Paris taken in September when my husband and I visited that beautiful city. Along with so many millions of people I feel for the people of Paris and France. These acts of terrorism made me sad, mad, depressed like so many. A feeling of helplessness followed. In church this morning we prayed for the people of Paris, the people of France. So disturbing this callous disregard for life.

Fall road trip- good times !

Another lazy Sunday. Yesterday some of us from book group took a little road trip to a brewery. Two of our members are beer aficionadoes and one suggested we visit Two Road Brewery (in Stratford CT). I am not much of a beer drinker but thought it would be fun to hang out with the "girls". It was a beautiful fall day. The fall foliage this year in CT has been spectacular.

This picture really doesn't do justice to the colors. When we got to the brewery it was pretty crowded and while we couldn't find a table we managed to snag 6 seats at the bar. I shared a flight as I knew that I would never be able to drink a lot of beer. We selected 5 different brews and they were numbered in the order to drink. We selected a pumpkin ale, a IPA, a Hefeweizen, a Saison and a raspberry wheat ale. My two favorites were the Saison and the Hefeweizen.

Here is our flight. I also tried an Imperial Stout which is a heavy dark brew. Not my favorite.

Here is a picture of most of the group with my friend's husband who was a designated driver. Here we are before heading home.

It was a fun way to spend a couple of hours. We all agreed that we should do more road trips and spend a bit more time with each other outside of our monthly meetings. Speaking of which, we meet tomorrow night to discuss Boys in the Boat which I just finished last night. Good thing as I am leading the discussion! I really enjoyed this book-loved the writing and was captivated by the boys' stories. I still can't wrap my head around how mean Joe Rantz's stepmother was and the concept that you could abandon a child on a mountain without money, food, dry adequate housing etc and assume he would be okay. Clearly times were a bit different. Curious to see how the group responds to the book. Now I just need to email a few questions to generate discussion.

Birthday present to me!

Last January my husband gave me a trip for my BIG birthday. My first choice was to go to India and visit the Taj Mahal something I have been fascinated with for years. My husband suggested we include Nepal as we were (relatively) close. I met with the travel agent, did some research and was just about ready to book a trip for the spring when Nepal was hit by not one but two earthquakes. Well that finished that trip. So, we did nothing about taking a trip. I love to travel and have lots of places I would love to visit and one is Normandy and the WWII sites of D-Day and have been intrigued by the idea of bicycling through the country side. Well one Saturday morning, when I opened my email, there was one from the Vermont Biking Tours announcing that there were openings left in the following trips and the first one listed was a Normandy and Brittany trip. Well my husband and I are not impulsive but he suggested I call and get more information and in about 30 minutes we had booked and paid for the trip. In full. We needed to wait for confirmation (of hotels) which came about a week later. Of course, crazy people that we are we needed to reacquaint ourselves with biking!! So for two weeks I rode the bike at the gym and figured out a 10 mile loop to get into shape. Of course we were walking 5 miles a day so that definitely helped. My husband suggested we spend a few days in Paris before the trip and a few after the trip. So with the help of my travel agent we booked hotels, etc and on Sept 15 away we went. The weather the first 8 days was not so great but we had a great time. Paris is, well, Paris and was beautiful and lovely and we walked every where.

We walked up the Eiffel Tower and then took the elevator to the top. We did a lot of touristy things as it was the first time my husband had been to Paris. We toured the Catacombs, the sewers, walked in the Tuilleries and the Jardins du Luxembourg, climbed the Arc de Triomphe, visited the Louvre, Notre Dame and Saint Chapelle. We visited Versailles and Giverny ( Monet's gardens). We left Paris and began our biking trip in Bayeux. The biking was really good and while sometimes I couldn't bike all the way up a hill I still got everywhere.

Here I am in action. Many of the roads we were on were similar to this one. Lovely vacation. Food was wonderful, nice group of people, well organized. We had a cider tasting, oyster tasting, saw Mont Saint Michel, Omaha Beach, the American cemetery, Saint Malo (the site of All The Light We Cannot See). We had fabulous guides. We would definitely do another with maybe a bit more prep time! I took one book to read and didn't look at it once. So I will post a few more pictures next time.

Another RI planning session and beginning our 17th year

Last weekend my book group came to RI to plan for the upcoming year. This is the 17th year we have been together. The sun came out right before everyone arrived. We had a great lunch and then went to the beach until the clouds rolled in and we started to get cold. Back to the house for showers and then a small wine and beer tasting. The big excitement was when my son's dog, Nellie, started to track a coyote and then started to play with it and ran off. One of the woman exhibited "dog whisperer" skills and got Nellie to come to her so we could bring her home. Little did we know that coyotes will play with their prey and then lead the prey back to the pack... Needless to say Nellie has lost her privilege of being off a leash. A bit scary. Once things settled down we had dinner. My son (at the end of the table) has mastered the art of grilling salmon on a plank and it was absolutely delicious. Again, lots of good food and conversation. A couple of people had to leave but the rest of us played scrabble. Had not done that in quite a awhile. Sunday morning we had a leisurely breakfast that my husband made and then we all packed up and headed home. Now I just need to enter the books and dates onto the calendar!

In memory September 11, 2001

In memory of those who died. Hard to believe it was 14 years ago. A day that changed so many lives.

Sunflowers

Today while driving home from our house in Rhode Island I came to a huge field of sunflowers.

I really like this picture because you can just see the tractor in the background.

More flowers. So pretty. Wonder what will become of them?

Regatta sailing

Yesterday and today I spent sailing with my son who was skipper, in the Leo Telesmanick Beetle Cat Boat Regatta. There were 23 boats registered and 20 participated. There were four categories- junior, women, men and ancient mariners (which is the largest group). The Beetle Cat boat is a wooden boat, single mast and made in Wareham, Massachusetts (Cape Cod area). It is a really pretty boat and very sturdy, not the fastest boat but dry, usually. The first day we climbed into our boat about 9:30 am and got out about 4:00pm. We sailed in 5 races- there was very little wind. Our first two races were not spectacular but we did improve the last three. Today there was a lot more wind. A lot. Not my favorite sailing conditions. I didn't grow up sailing as did my children so nothing about sailing is intuitive. And I am not comfortable with "puffs", gusts, and heeling. I warned my son that today was really going to test me and to be patient. He is a really good sailor-really good and was really patient even when I messed up at the finish line of the first race and cost a place in finishing. He sails better when there is wind (I think because you really have to focus and pay attention unlike when there is a little bit of wind and you get bored). There were three races today. We started at 10:00 and finished about 12:30. We did pretty well overall and even though we didn't win any "hardware" I feel pretty good about where we ended up.

This is a picture of my son sailing the boat early in the season.

This picture gives a better view of the boat.

This picture my son took after we were finished racing and heading home Saturday. Can't complain. Life is good.

Don't know where the summer is going

Can't believe it has been over a month since I last wrote a post. Not a very dedicated blogger I guess! Life has been busy but in a good way. My husband, son and I split our time between our homes in CT and RI. Our daughter who lives in Boston tries to get to RI most weekends.

We are so fortunate to have a quiet beautiful home on the water in RI. We spend most of our time in the screened in porch looking out on the salt pond and ocean. Most days we don't even get to the beach- it is just too nice and peaceful where we are. Sunday I usually walk with a group of friends and then share breakfast and talk. In the afternoon I crew for my son in the Beetle cat. Some Sundays we have good races, some not so good but I always enjoy being on the water with him. He is a very good and confident skipper.

Not to mention patient with me. I get lots of time to read, or sew ( usually hand sewing) or wasting time on the computer. Very relaxing. I had won Does This Beach Make Me Look Fat by Lisa Scottoline and her daughter Francesca. Very amusing- great beach read.

I had requested All The Light We Cannot See from the library. I was #245 for the book so I decided to buy it. I am so glad I did. It was beautifully written and I enjoyed not only the writing but the characters. It was a very interesting perspective of World War II and the bombing of Saint Malo. What made it a bit more interesting for me is that my husband and I are planning on visiting the WWII sites in France- Normandy etc. Now Saint Malo is definitely on my go to list.

When we go back to CT it is always a bit crazy to fit in everything I have or want to do- doctor appointments, visit with my mom, errands and house upkeep. I try to get together with friends for a few holes of golf, breakfast or drinks. This week I have a voting moderator's training session to add to the agenda! All good stuff. Life is pretty darn good.

Busy June

Well the past two weeks have been busy. First, my husband's birthday celebration with his "new" car and birthday dinner. The next day my husband, son and I drove to Boston to have dinner with our daughter/sister and go to the Red Sox game.

. I have only gone to a couple of professional baseball games and decided a few years ago to really start to follow baseball. I picked the Red Sox because my daughter lived in Wellesley (and now in Allston). Still learning about the game. Our neighbor in RI has season tickets which he couldn't use so we bought them. Fun to be with the kids but the game was boring. Both teams did nothing exciting and the Red Sox lost.

. I just enjoy Fenway Park with its history and because it is a relatively small baseball park. I love seeing the Citgo sign - always makes me think of the city and the team and the game.

. This past week I went to the Goodspeed Opera House, with my mom, to see Guy and Dolls, one of my favorite musicals. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The theater is small so you can see everything and be very close to the stage and the productions are always well done.

. The theater is on the Connecticut River and it is just a lovely setting. Have started reading The Vacationers for book club which meets in another week for our last meeting this year. I am finding it an easy read (definitely a good book for the beach) and I like the style of writing. Still early in the book so not sure where it is going but so far so good. Have done some work in RI and saw that our peonies were starting to bloom. They brighten up the table. And they smell really good.

Happy birthday!

Today is my husband's birthday. It was a pretty good day overall. Our son had found a classic car, a 1963 Thunderbird, very much like the one my husband had in college. My son did all the negotiating and had a deal. He then made sure the car was insured. He tried to register the car however my husband's signature was required. My son drove the car to my husband's office (just across the street). My husband came out and just could not believe that the car was his.

We then had to go to the DMV to register the car. That took 3.5 hours. We requested the "classic" car license plate. Was it a sign that the numbers on the plate were 243- as in (June)2, (19) 43- my husband's day and year of birth? We think so. Anyway,he is going to have fun with it.

.We went out to dinner to celebrate with a friend whose daughter is a baker and she make a wonderful cake and topped it with a car!

. Great way to end the day. Happy birthday to my husband!

Memorial Day 2015

Spending the long weekend at our home in Rhode Island by the water. It has been a beautiful three days and I am hoping tomorrow will be another sunny day. We have been cutting brush, putting down mulch and in general getting the house ready for the summer. I finished First Frost (Sarah Addison Allen) a book my niece won. I enjoyed it- it is magical, mystical fiction. I then started Dying in the Wool, a mystery which seemed a little bit familiar. After two chapters I checked my lists on Goodreads and discovered it was familiar for a reason. I had already read it! Frustrating. On to the next book- Neil Gaiman's The Ocean At The End of the Lane. So far,it's good. Saturday morning I went into Westerly to walk around Wilcox Park and view the trees with sweaters,an art display in a beautiful park .

. I didn't know that it was also the weekend of a huge crafts fair. Some wonderful items for sale. I have not taken the time in many years to walk around the park and I had forgotten how pretty and calming it is. There is a large pond with a fountain in the center and the gardens were in bloom.

.Walked yesterday morning with some friends and one suggested the Rick Atkinson trilogy on World War II. So add those to the list. Book club met last week to discuss The Chalk Circle. This is a book of "intercultural" essays. Great discussion, very interesting. It was great catching up with the ladies. Our next meeting, in June, is the last until September. For years we have had a potluck dinner and talked about summer reading suggestions. These books can be on a wish to read list or a have read list and strongly recommend. Book nerds always want recommendations. This year we decided to add a book to discuss and the group selected The Vacationers (Emma Straub). As it was a group pick I will probably get discussion questions from the back of the book or online.

Graduations, Mother's Day, a birthday and a new job!

Yesterday was May 10th. It was Mother's Day. It was graduation for my son from law school.

My daughter was (finally) offered a job. And my mom's 93rd birthday (Tuesday) which we decided to celebrate yesterday. A big day. It was hot and sunny. The law school graduation ceremony was inside and was quite nice. Good speakers with good advice. Very moving. My niece graduated the day before (with a Masters in Elementary Education) and my nephew finished his course requirements to complete his bachelor's degree in Sociology. Woot Woot!

The picture is of my mom, my son, my nephew and my niece . It was the usual family get together with lots of discussion and laughter. Good times. I kept it very casual- burgers and hotdogs, etc. Nice having family close by to celebrate milestones.

My daughter started her job search at the end of December. Finally after many interviews, second and third interviews she was offered a job. The picture is of my daughter with her puppy Madison and my niece.

So proud of my kiddos!

Spring!

Well another few weeks have gone by since my last post. Life does sometimes get in the way. Just busy day to day. Have been reading Whiskey and Charlie loaned to me from my niece who won it in a giveaway ( not sure if it was from Goodreads or another book site). Slow going for some reason. A story of twin brothers, one who is in a coma, and their lives. Just okay and I am inclined to finish it just to see how everything gets resolved. Busy with the gardens, weeding and mulching. The viburnum is in full bloom and has a lovely spicy scent. One of my favorite spring flowers. And the flowering crab has opened.

Just gorgeous.

One more picture of some of the bleeding hearts that come up and seem to be spreading. To finish posting the books I read while in Maui- here they are- Crazy Rich Asians, The Aviator’s Wife, The Serpent’s Tale, and The Good Lord Bird. Received my copy of The Chalk Circle the other day. This will be a very different read for me. A book of essays. Not my usual read. Which is why I wanted to be in a book club. Our group meets in two weeks so there should be enough time to read and think about these essays.