Wrap up of 2015 finally

Well I figured it was time to wrap up my reading challenge for 2015. My goal was 75 books and I read 72. Not bad. According to Goodreads my total pages read was 24,415. The shortest book was The Ocean At the End of the Lane - 181 pages.

All the Light We Cannot See was the longest book with 530 pages.

The book that was most popular was Gone Girl.

The least popular book I read was The Chalk Circle.

. So for 2016 I set my goal to 75 books again with the hope that I can accomplish that. So far I have read two, and working on a third by Jane Austen.

2016 A new reading challenge

2016 got off to a rough start for me. December 31st I developed a migraine which put me to bed early in the afternoon. I spent all day January 1st sleeping. Really missed Friday. Saturday I felt marginally better but still not great but I did manage to read The Nightingale and I actually finished it Saturday night. I really enjoyed it. Historical WWII fiction. One of my favorite genres. I spent today Sunday (my birthday) taking it easy.

. My husband and I walked the Tower trail at our local state park- Sleeping Giant. It was beautiful. A little football ( not so beautiful- The Patriots lost). Then I spent some time trying to upload the 2015 Goodreads Reading Challenge to the blog without success. However I did manage to get the 2016 "widget" installed to the blog. Hope this works.

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.