Goodbye 2017!

2017 flew by. This was the year that my husband and I decided would be boring- no health issues or surprises. Sadly that didn't happen but as I keep saying everything can be fixed!! So we had a lot to be grateful for this Christmas. We had a nice day with my family. My brother always hosts and both my nieces brought their newly adopted (rescue) puppies. So cute! My sister in-law made a fabulous dinner and it was pretty relaxed. My book group met for our annual Christmas Potluck and Yankee Swap which was a lot of fun. Delicious food, clever gifts and lots of discussions. I thought most of us enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant (or Elephant -silly autocorrect!).

Here we are taking a "mirror" selfie! Hard to get everyone with her eyes open and not making a face! Here is our annual group photo.

My husband and I had our usual early New Year Eve dinner last night. We are not big fans of going out on NYE so we try to have a nice, quiet dinner some where a few days before NYE. The restaurant served a complimentary glass of Prosecco which was a nice surprise.

And today it has been snowing since mid- morning. It is a very light snow so not much accumulation (maybe an inch or so) but it looks pretty. Helps with the extremely cold temps we are experiencing. Happy New Year to all!

My book club meets next week for our annual Holiday Potluck - Yankee Swap Party. Really looking forward to it. Finished Eleanor Oliphant. Slow to start but I got into it and in the end actually enjoyed it. I have met my Goodreads 2017 Challenge! Woot Woot!. Trying to decide what to read next. I did not finish Under the Banner of Heaven. It just got to be too much, too slow and after our last book club I lost all impetus to finish. Oh well. I did learn so much about the history of the Mormon Church.

As promised I am posting a few pictures of my trip to India with my son. I took so many and am still organizing. On my bucket list and so impressive and awe-inspiring is the Taj Mahal. Amazing.

Here we are at the Red Fort. Again another beautiful structure.

Sights like this always amused and impressed me- camels being herded on the side of the highway with motorcycles zipping by. Old and new together.

Water wheel using water buffalos. We had the opportunity to sit behind the buffalo.

Jain temple- again another beautiful structure. Just breathtaking.

Part of the City Palace in Udaipur.

Henna hands in preparation for the wedding that my son and I attended. A four day event- beautiful and colorful and just a once in a life time experience. We met so many wonderful people. Still can't believe we were there! So clearly not even a close representation of what we saw. Maybe sometime I will display a few more!!

November stuff

Well another month has gone by and I have not done any posting. Epic fail. But I do have some good reasons- maybe? My son and I traveled to India for a friend's wedding. We spent 6 days before the 5 day wedding celebration touring India and I finally got to see the Taj Mahal. This has always been on my bucket list. It is staggeringly beautiful. Amazing. We traveled to New Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and Udaipur before heading to Ahmedabad for the wedding. I will post some pictures after I get them organized but overall it was an incredible experience. There is nothing in the US like it. Book club met last Monday to discuss Under The Banner of Heaven. I still have not finished the book because I can only read it in small bites. I knew very little of the Mormon faith except for those Mormons who had knocked on my door with a copy of The Watchtower or what I gleamed from The Book of Mormon musical (which I honestly thought most of the references were fabricated! Not so!).I think it is safe to say that the group on the whole found the whole religion disturbing and a bit self serving on Joseph Smith's part. To think that it is still followed today is a little surreal. Thanksgiving was absolutely lovely. I hosted the family but it was a small group which was really nice. We elected to have a roast instead of turkey which truly simplified the cooking. My girls baked two pies, I bought one pie and make gingerbread cupcakes and everything was delicious. Easy this year. Pictures to follow!

End of October - already!

So my computer is working great but I just haven't made time to update the blog. Sigh. Back in September my book buddies came to RI for the annual book planning weekend. We spent Saturday walking the beach, visiting cute shops in Westerly, eating, and talking about books and life in general. It was a great weekend. It was a chance for everyone to slow down and relax. I picked out a fancy drink to try.

. It was pretty but was blah- granted I had to switch out the suggested flavored vodka for a different flavor ( the liquor store didn't have the one in the recipe)but still it was pretty boring. We also had a little wine tasting.

. Always fun. And our yearly picture on the steps

. And one on the beach

. We spent the evening reviewing book suggestions, making sure the calendar was complete and winding down. Last Monday we met for our October meeting to discuss Sense of An Ending ( Julian Barnes). I would say it was 50-50 for liking /not liking. I was not a fan but am glad I read it. I just didn't like the characters, would have liked a bit more background information and felt the ending was left hanging. I literally was "what? is that all there is?". An epilogue would have been nice. As it was close to Halloween the host made a fruity pumpkin

. It was a really good discussion- everyone had an opinion. Our next book is Under The Banner of Heaven. Should be interesting.

My computer is home!!

Finally after two weeks I have my computer back. More memory, everything is updated. There are still things that I can't figure out how to do (like add the Pinterest button) but hopefully I will eventually get used to the latest updated computer program (Sienna). Sigh. Now to tackle updating my phone and posting some pictures from my book group's planning weekend in September. And updating the reading list.

September planning

My book group met last weekend to select our books for the upcoming year. It was a beautiful weekend- clear, crisp air, sun, and blue skies. We gathered for lunch and afterwards walked the beach. The water was shiny and sparkling. Then we drove into Westerly (RI) to check out the book store. We got sidetracked by one of the art galleries and then the shops. Another time for the indie store. Back at the house we had a "special drink" which was a total bust- no flavor just fizz. We switched to wine, beer and hard lemonade. We had a few appetizers while sitting on the deck. Dinner was lasagna with a couple of salads. And then dessert- pies and a cake. Yum! We then settled down to the task of selecting our reads for the year. This year I thought it was particularly tough. We had lots of titles however we seemed to be stuck on reading books about WWII. We decided that one was enough. Plus we always check the ratings on Amazon and Goodreads. Too many books to read so we didn't want to select those that received a poor rating. We finally settled on a list. Sunday morning we had a light breakfast- lemon ginger scones and pumpkin/pear/cranberry muffins with fresh peaches. By ten o'clock everyone was on the road. Lovely weekend with good friends (we are heading into our 19th year), good food, good conversations. Pictures to come (as soon as I figure out why my computer won't sync my phone- not enough memory I am guessing).

End of July

Another month has gone by. Spending a lot of time at my home in Rhode Island. Many sunny days, lots of walking, reading and relaxing.

This is a morning view of our dock that a neighbor took. How lucky am I to have such a beautiful place to relax and get rejuvenated. My husband took this picture of one of the many butterflies on a butterfly bush (we have 4) in our yard. Great photo!

Just finished What Alice Forgot part of the town library's summer reading program. It is COLOR- Celebrate Our Love Of Reading. There is a color wheel

and there are challenges for each section. Once each section is completed and colored you can participate in a raffle. Some of the challenges are pretty easy to complete- find the dinosaur footprint, pick up a flyer. Others take a bit more time- read a biography, take out a travel book etc. The object is to get adults more involved in the use of the library and to let people know what services the library provides besides taking out a book, CD/DVD etc. My library also runs a children's and teens' summer reading program. All three summer programs have a high level of participation. After reading What Alice Forgot which I really enjoyed and read quickly I was wondering what it takes to give a book 5 stars (out of a ranking of 5 being the best). I rarely if ever give a book 5 stars even if I couldn't put it down, loved the characters , the plot development etc. I guess I don't because I feel as if I might have missed something or I am not sure but maybe it could have been better? Anyway something to think about. I am currently reading a book by a local author Karen Olson (she lives in my home town) that is also part of the reading program. Fun, light, mystery set in New Haven so I am familiar with many of the local references. I had the opportunity to hear her speak in June and it is always fun to visit with an author. On my morning walk the fishing boats were out. Beautiful morning.

June potluck

Two weeks ago my book club met for our annual June potluck dinner and summer reading suggestions evening. As usual we ate very well- lots of delicious food. We have a couple of new members (one of our members moved to VA).

We had read Best to Laugh by Lorna Landvik. I think overall it was fairly well received and met the criteria we established in May which was something light, humorous, and not terribly long. I don't think it is one of Landvik's better books but it was enjoyable. What I found interesting was the journey of becoming a standup comic. I had recently taken my mom to her 75th college reunion in Maine and the Saturday night entertainment was a woman comic. Having read the book I could relate to the comic's presentation because of the timeline of the book. The discussion was not very lengthy which is what usually happens when we have a potluck. Oh well. I did manage to put together a short list of summer reading ideas. I finished Pachinko which I really enjoyed. Set in Korea as it was being colonized by Japan, it follows a family through several generations.

I found it very interesting as my knowledge of Korean history and its relationship with Japan is limited to say the least. After finishing that I read The Accusation, smuggled out from North Korea, written by Bandi who is residing in North Korea.This group of short stories is fictionalized from actual events in North Korea. Disturbing and interesting.

My current read is The Amazing Story of the Man Who Cycled from India to Europe for Love, a true story. Enjoying it so far.

So that is it for now. Looking forward to lots of summer reading.

Beginning of summer

The past few weeks have flown by. We celebrated my mother's 95th birthday, with almost the entire family, with a catered dinner. It was really nice, and my mom was really happy surrounded by kids, grandkids and even great grandkids!

One week my husband and I drove from McAllen Texas (about 5 miles from the Mexican-US border) traveling through twelve states in six days. Why? Well my husband bid on a car on an online auction site and "won". Actually the trip was sorta fun despite the fact that we had couple of incidents with the transmission not working well. It was a pretty drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway. In several states we stopped at a quilt shop so I could continue to collect fabric for my 50 states quilt. We stopped at the Great Smokey Mountains National Park and did a short hike which was calming and beautiful. Needless to say once home we had a mechanic go over the car and fix the little transmission issue and the car runs beautifully. When we started it had 35000 miles on it and we drove over 3000 to get back to Connecticut.

My book club met in May. One of our members was in the process of selling her house and moving back to Virginia. This development opened a discussion on how our group would be changing in the coming years as some of us would be retiring or moving on to a different career. Not sure what the group will be in five years. Last night the Democrats in my town held a presentation by Alyssa Mastromonaco who has published a book Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? about her time working for President Obama (even before he was president). She was funny, witty, smart and very friendly. Clearly she was used to being in the limelight. Afterwards she autographed her book and took pictures with everyone. Well done by the Dems.

Book club meets next week for our annual June potluck dinner and (hopefully) book discussion of Best to Laugh. Always a good time. Before I close I am going to share several pictures of flowers from my gardens. This year the rhodies and iris are especially beautiful.

And lastly a double rainbow that appeared while my husband and I were eating dinner in Westerly, RI last week.

May day

Epic fail in the blogging world. My last post was in April. No energy or real news. Every day there is something but at the end of the day I (usually) wonder what the heck did I accomplish or do all day? Sometimes I have an answer, most times, not. I have been on altar guild at my church for the month of April. This means setting up, on Saturday, for the Sunday services and then cleaning up after them. I always go to the early service which is nice because I then have time to relax for the rest of the day. This year Easter fell in April so it was a bit busier that normal. I hosted the family dinner and we had almost the entire family in attendance. We moved the furniture around a bit and with three tables had everyone sitting in one room to eat. It was unusually hot but better than rain! Here is a picture of almost the entire family.

I asked my niece to make one of the desserts and she made a sunflower cake using peeps. My dad loved marshmallow peeps so we always try to have some to remember him.

So this coming weekend we are celebrating my mom's 95th birthday. Her real birthday is May 13th, coinciding with Mother's day. But having every one for dinner was easier the weekend before that holiday. So, we will move the furniture around again and fit everyone in one room. My mom liked the idea of not eating at a restaurant and so I am having it catered and served buffet style. She also requested an ice cream cake for dessert. So I only had to clean the house and make a couple of appetizers. Hopefully everyone will like the menu I selected. And I hope it doesn't rain like today. Pouring and on the cold side.... please no rain! There will be 3 dogs and 3 kids under 12 and we need the outside space! Reading the sixth book in the Maggie Hope mystery series. I should really get going on our next book club selection- The Underground Railroad. Will get to it eventually.

April already?

Wow I can not believe it is April already. We were away in Maui from the end of January until early March. Lucky me. Lots of reading and beaching. Some hiking, lots of walking. It is a good thing I keep a list of all the books I read because I can't always remember. I did finish the The Bronze Horseman trilogy. I think I liked the first book the best. I read some mysteries, chick lit. I always try to take several books that have been lingering on my shelves to read. I did read one book that really creeped me out that my niece loaned me. Behind Closed Doors- extremely creepy and scary. I made my husband read it and then I passed it on. Everyone agreed- definitely creepy. No other word for it. But good. My husband and I totally relax and enjoy time passing slowly. At night we usually latch onto a series to watch. This year we watched House of Cards. At first I wasn't sure I would even continue to watch it but after the third episode both of us were hooked. Evil, greedy, self serving politicians. Life imitating art or art imitating life? Not sure. Then we moved on to The Crown. And then Grace and Frankie (still have a couple of episodes in season two). I only missed one book club and will read that book (Just Mercy) as soon as it is available at the library. My book club met last week to discuss Ordinary Grace which everyone had read (and finished!) and overall seemed to like. My book, A House in The Sky, is the April selection. Very interesting. I hope I can make it a good discussion. A couple of pictures from Maui.

Heart shape opening in the rock at the Nakalele Blow hole.

Sunset at Haleakala National Park.