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.