December Christmas Party

My book group met last week for our annual Christmas party- Yankee Swap- book discussion. Lovely, fun time. Food was, as usual, delicious and plentiful.

The Yankee Swap was a lot of fun and the gifts were thoughtfully chosen and varied. Our discussion of Educated was not too long but clearly the book had an impact and we also related it to our previous selection The Great Alone. Very interesting discussion. Our next book is Killer of the Flower Moon, my pick. I have yet to read it (next on the list) but all the reviews and comments have declared it to be very good. Have been busy reading- Lethal White (very good), This Pen for Hire (okay, funny, easy read). Right now I am finishing Dear Mr Knightley which is pretty good. I have only been keeping my "read" list on Goodreads. I usually enter all read books in a notebook so I guess that is something to add to my "to-do" list. A list that doesn't ever seem to get shorter!

A few of us got together and went to the movies last week. Can You Ever Forgive Me starring Melissa McCarthy in a bit of a change from her usual roles. The story of the literary forger Lee Israel who forged over 400 authors' letters before getting arrested. Very good movie. And then we went for pizza!

Post Thanksgiving

Last month (November) the selected book was The Great Alone by Kristen Hannah. Set in Alaska in the 70s it was really well received and generated some really good discussion. I think it is safe to say that most of us agreed we could not be homesteaders! We discussed how it would be turned into a movie and who would play the leads. In October we read America for Beginners which I really enjoyed and I think most of the group enjoyed it as well. Mid-September my husband I drove across country. We first stopped in Ohio and visited Cuyahoga State Park and did some hiking. A beautiful park and the trails we were on were beautiful. We spent a day in Holmes county, populated by the Amish. We moved on to Cleveland and went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame which was just great! Both my husband and I really enjoyed it. Little did we know we were so close to the home of the Cleveland Browns NFL team and they had won their first game, in 2 years, the night before! We went to a Boston Red Sox- Cleveland Indians game that night and even though we were up high the seats were right behind home plate. We had an amazing view. Very nice ball park. We continued on to Chicago to see our daughter and attend her white coat ceremony for medical school. Then we drove west through Wisconsin to South Dakota. We viewed the statue Dignity in Chamberlain SD. It depicts a Native American woman. Very powerful.

We came upon two actually right out of Bonanza cattle round ups!! Wranglers, border collies, etc gathering the cattle together and moving them to another site. Pretty amazing.

We stopped at Custer State Park for the annual buffalo round-up. It was snowing and so cold..... but pretty cool to (finally) see all the buffalo being herded into the pens for counting, treatment etc.

We continued to Yellowstone National Park and spent 4 nights there. It was amazing. We saw a grizzly, loads of buffalo, trumpeter swans, deer, elk.

And we really only saw half the park. The last two nights it snowed. We then drove to the Grand Tetons and took the gondola to the top of one of the peaks- about 10,000 ft! The gondola can hold 100 people (even with snow wear and skis!). The views were amazing. We did stay in Jackson Hole but can honestly say it wasn't our favorite stop. We headed home. There is A LOT of wide open space and we were just dumbfounded by the openness. We stopped at the Jolly Green Giant statue, Wall Drug, the Badlands, Mt Rushmore- there is so much to see.

September annual planning weekend

Ahhh, another planning weekend in Rhode Island. The weather suddenly got cool, unlike the past few weeks of high heat and humidity and was grey with a few drops of rain. We had a great time. We walked the beach after a simple lunch of cold cuts, fresh tomatoes and a quinoa salad.

and then we went to Grey Sail brewery for cider and beer.

. Then back to the house to watch some of the tennis. Very interesting. Noshing on cheese and crackers, sampling rose wine. Starting to select books for this coming year. My stove/oven wasn't working (tried to use the self cleaning mode and it locked itself and I couldn't get it to reboot or whatever) so my husband grilled the salmon which came out even better than using the oven.

A nice selection of desserts too.

. There was a lot of discussion and reviewing of books and we finally moved inside where it was a bit warmer! Lots of laughs, great companionship with these ladies. We have been a group for just about 20 years. Only a few changes - people come and go but basically the same core group. I think we are all pretty satisfied with our choices for the coming year.

Signs of Fall

Looking at my last post it was all about the heat and humidity. Well for weeks it has been hot, dry and humid. I can remember having that combo for a few days but not weeks! Luckily my husband and I put in small AC/dehumidifier units in our home last fall. They have been on all summer. They really help with the humidity inside the house, no more musty smell, no mold and mildew and at night we are cool enough to get a decent sleep. I have tried to walk every morning before it gets too hot, usually about 6:30 am. I have found some lovely flowers and a pretty cool looking mushroom on my morning walks.

There are days when it is too hot to go to the beach until late in the afternoon. The water has been great although currently there seems to be quite a bit of seaweed. So far no red jellyfish which have a painful sting. The farm that I walk past didn't have as many sunflowers this year but these rogue red ones was on display for a few days amid the yellow flowers.

I have been reading some. I think one of my favorite books this summer was Educated, a memoir of a young woman growing up in a family whose father believes in conspiracy theories and the Apocalypse. I seem to be gravitating towards more WWI and WWII historical fiction again- Somewhere in France and currently In Farleigh Field. I had the opportunity to hear authors Lucy Burdette (Roberta Isleib) and Rhys Bowen speak. Very interesting and a good dynamic between them. And my husband and I are still following the Red Sox who are having an amazing season. One last picture. The Quonnie pond that we look at from our home- I love the mirrored boats with such still water.

Coming soon is my book club's annual RI getaway. Can't wait to learn of the suggested books for our group for the upcoming year. The past two days have been cooler so I guess summer's end is getting close.

Summer

Struggling with this heat wave for the past several days. Luckily we finally installed AC/dehumidifier units in our home in RI. We are in the (very slow) process of updating and renovating our home. The kitchen and one bathroom were done in the past 1 1/2 years and we are now replacing all the windows. It's a process to be sure. My book group met in June for our annual potluck and summer reading suggestions. There were many and I have a group of books to choose from if I run out of ideas. I finished the latest Maisie Dobbs book which was very good. I read a YA book (Red Berries White Clouds Blue Skies) which I found to be very timely as it was about a young Japanese-American girl in CA at the time the US is bombed by Japan (Pearl Harbor) and the government rounded up all the Japanese in CA considered to be threats to US security. The similarities to the current madness were disturbing and distressing. I am now reading White Chrysanthemum a story set in WWII Korea (occupied by the Japanese) and present day Korea (Seoul). I am walking very early in the mornings, to beat the heat. I usually walk about 5 miles. The last few mornings have been very foggy which burns off by late afternoon.

The local farmer was busy yesterday baling hay. The same morning this little fellow crossed my path.

And I usually see a bunny or two. My lilies have survived! Chicken wire to the rescue and so far the deer, bunnies, woodchucks, and chipmunks have left them alone!!

This morning after walking, and breakfast, I decided to finish cleaning our teak chairs. We have 10 and they all needed to be cleaned ( washed, cleaned with teak cleaner, rinsed, wiped with teak brighter and rinsed again). Very exhausted right now. Plus with the heat- Phew! Stay cool!

June musings

Spring has been speeding by, summer fast approaching. May was a celebratory time for my family as my daughter was married. The wedding and reception went off with out a hitch and everything was beautiful, food was delicious.

. My book group met to discuss Before We Were Yours which led to a good discussion. One person really didn't like the book but the rest of the group enjoyed it and felt it was a good read. Surprising to all of us was the fact it was based on a real person and events. Have been trying to put together a summer reading list. I think among the to be read will be Educated

Radium Girls

Map of Sea and Salt

and East of Eden

. East of Eden has been on my bookshelf for years so it is about time to read it. I also have started to think about the September planning meeting. I need to get some ideas about what book to present next year. Also looking for advice about a good book or books about the Royals. Have been watching The Crown and want to know more about Elizabeth and Margaret!

April

Well another month has gone by and I haven't kept up with the blog. Our book group met last Monday to discuss Telegraph Avenue

. This is a book I have struggled to read. I can read about 10 pages and then I need to put it down (or fall asleep). But I did find our discussion Monday night to be quite helpful. It clarified the writing style, and made the storyline clearer to me. Most of the group had not finished it- it is pretty long- but overall I would say we are glad to have included it on our list this year. Our next book is Before We Were Yours which I read while in Maui. I really enjoyed it and was astonished that was based on a real person and real events. Sad story but with a happy ending. In Connecticut the public libraries are sponsoring a Passport to Libraries month. So far I have visited 14 (one was closed the day I visited). I find it interesting to see how other libraries display their collections and what programs are offered. And Spring might have finally arrived in New England.

March

Well I missed posting anything in February. Spent the latter part of January and the month of February in Maui-relaxing, reading, beaching, walking. Hoping to miss most of winter but that was not to be in New England. Had a storm this past week and another winter storm in predicted for the middle of next week. Missed my book club meeting in February. The book was The Gentleman in Moscow. I had started it last year and got to page 178. I even wrote it down because I thought I would someday return to it. But not yet. I got the impression from talking to one of my friends you either loved it or hated it. No in-between. The next book, for March, is mine. The Pearl That Broke Its Shell. It is set in Afghanistan and is the story of two young woman, separated by a century, who dress as boys (bacha posh) to help their families survive. I enjoyed it and learned something new from reading it. Not sure how my group will respond. Just a couple of pictures from Maui. Still catching up.

This is Big Beach in Makena that we like to visit. The downside is it takes about an hour to get there- island living!

On my morning walk I pass by a couple of these statues.

Just one of the many beautiful sunsets my husband and I enjoyed during our stay.

January

My group is supposed to meet tomorrow night. But. Snow is predicted so depending on when it starts we may have to postpone until the following week. Something I learned about myself, which really isn't surprising, I don't really like to reread a book. I remember really enjoying Lilac Girls (the first time) but I am struggling this time. Maybe it is because I have so many things to do and not feeling any great sense of accomplishment because my list is never ending? Anyway, not sure I will finish the book. May have to cheat and look up a couple of reviews!