Relax

Sit back, put your feet up, and try to relax
and enjoy your weekend!

Cold

While we haven't had any new snow of late, it has been plenty cold. Temps dipped back into the tens this week with minus windchills that do NOT motivate one to get out of bed in the morning, let alone do anything else. I've taken a ton of pictures since Christmas (have I mentioned how much I love my new camera?), but have only just gotten them uploaded to the computer. I promise to sort through the files and try to get some photos posted over the coming weeks, and back into blogging in general. Life and unwanted house guests definitely have a way of throwing one's life out of whack. Here's to getting back on track soon!

Teaser Tuesday 19: The Tao of Pooh

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read.
* Open to a random page.
* Share at least two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!

Now, scholars can be very useful and necessary, in their own dull and unamusing way. They provide a lot of information. It's just that there is Something More, and that Something More is what life is really all about.
(pg 31)

About The Tao of Pooh: Not all Great Masters of Wisdom are venerable graybeards. One is as familiar to us as that beloved teddy bear Winnie the Pooh. From the "how" of Pooh to the Tao of Pooh is a simple, effortless, joyous step...a delicious journey to Pooh Corner illuminated by the timeless teachings of the Taoist immortals.

Grandparents

While talking with an uncle and his wife at this weekend's memorial service, the subject came up as to how few photographs there are of Mom's side of the family. During this conversation I mentioned that I had never seen a picture of Grandpa Larson. "You don't have a photo of him?" My uncle asked. "Nope. Mom only remembered seeing two, one of Grandma and Grandpa together, and one of Grandpa in his Coast Guard uniform, but had no idea what became of them." "Just a minute," he said, and disappeared out the door. A few minutes later he returned and handed me the following photo. It seems my aunt was recently going through some things and happened upon this picture, which my uncle didn't remember having. He had it blown up to 8x10 and had multiple copies made to share with family. He believes it was taken on their wedding day. This is without a doubt one of the greatest gifts I have ever received.

Kenneth and Marie (Wagner) Larson, WWII

Memorial Collage 2

Another collage made for yesterday's service. Top: 1945, 1953. Middle: With oldest granddaughter in 1992, with Baby Sister in 1977. Bottom: With The Bug in 2006, Christmas 2007, With Dad, Younger Sis and BIL, Florida grandkids and their paternal grandparents. And yes, I know I am not in any of these--there wasn't one on my computer and the rest of my family pictures are packed away. (Click for larger view)

Memorial Collage 1

One of the photo collages I put together for today's memorial service for my mom. Top left and bottom middle are from 1952, top right 1953, bottom left 1945. Middle left is a group picture of Mom and her five siblings taken at Christmas in 1961. Right middle is Mom and Dad taken at Younger Sister's wedding in 1997 (Dad died in 2001). Bottom right is with The Bug, March 2006. (Click image for larger view)

A Thought For Today

Couldn't help chuckling over this one...

Sometimes, exhausted
with toil and endeavour,
I wish I could sleep
for ever and ever;
but then this reflection
my longing allays:
I shall be doing it
one of these days.

~Piet Hein
poet and scientist

I Want My Space Back!

I don't mean to sound unsisterly or uncharitable, but I am ready for someone to go back to Ohio where she belongs. Seriously. As if life hasn't been disrupted enough this month, I've had a houseguest the past two weeks. So much for routine. Simple rules of etiquette seem not to apply to her, either. When staying at someone's house 1) your host is not your maid and 2) it doesn't matter whether you are staying with a relative, friend or stranger, you do not invite guests over when you yourself are a guest. You just don't. Good thing she goes home on Sunday!

Teaser Tuesday 18: Catching Fire

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read.
* Open to a random page.
* Share at least two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


I've decided I'm going to be a rebel this week and post not one, but two excerpts from the same book, since I can't seem to choose between those I marked. I spent the past week reading The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, which means I have a long seven month stretch ahead of me before book three comes out in August. (Whimper) There have been a lot of excerpts and reviews on book one, so here's a little taste of book two.

I don't know how I dare to say the next words, but I do. "It must be very fragile, if a handful of berries can bring it down."
(page 22)


At some point, you have to stop running and turn around and face whoever wants you dead. The hard thing is finding the courage to do it.
(page118)

Books Read in 2009

(Meant to post this earlier this month, but as you all know--life happened.)

This year I had a goal to read 75 books or more, and I exceeded that goal. Yay me! I also had a goal to read at least four "classics" from my TBR stack. Here's a run-down of my 2009 reading habits. Feel free to copy and post to your own blog, adding or deleting questions to suit your own reading habits. Let me know if you play along so I can visit!

Books read in 2007: 30
Books read in 2008: 66
Books read in 2009: 85


New to me authors I read: Barbara O'Neal, Karen Rose, Lisa Gardner, Sheila Lowe, Kate Carlisle, JK Rowling, Laura Childs, Jennie Bentley, Elise Hyatt, Charlene Weir, Darlene Gardner, Greg Kinkaid, Lucy Lawrence, Wendy Lyn Watson, Elizabeth Lynn Casey, Elise Hyatt, Julianne MacLean, Karen Joy Fowler, Bernhard Schlink, Stephanie Dowrick, MH Clark/CH Clark

Authors I read more than once: Kay Hooper, Nora Roberts, Rebecca York, Lisa Gardner, Karen Rose, JK Rowling, Sheila Lowe (loved her forensic handwriting series), Jennie Bentley, Johanna Lindsey, Julianne MacLean

Authors I plan to read again: Barbara O'Neal, Rebecca York, Nora Roberts, Toni Blake, Charlaine Harris, Lisa Gardner, Karen Rose, Jennie Bentley, Sheila Lowe, Sheila Connolly, Johanna Lindsey, Elise Hyatt, Lucy Lawrence, Wendy Lyn Watson, Elizabeth Lynn Casey, MH Clark/CH Clark

Genres read: Romance, romantic suspense, mystery, thriller, classics, chick lit, literary fiction, nonfiction, childrens/YA. About the only thing I didn't read was memoir, LOL.

Best overall romance read of the year: One Reckless Summer by Toni Blake

Best overall mystery/suspense read of the year: This is a tough one. I really got into the Berkley Prime Crime books this year, always enjoy Kay Hooper's Bishop books, and also read a lot of older suspense books by Lisa Gardner and Karen Rose. Hmm... I think I'm going to go with Evil Without a Face by Jordan Dane. As creepy as Hooper's serial killers are, this book gave me serious chills.

Best overall read of the year: The Lost Recipe For Happiness by Barbara O'Neal.

Challenges participated in: I participated in two reading challenges in 2009: the Casual Classics--read at least four classics, which I completed--and the Christmas Reading Challenge--read at least three Christmas-themed books of any genre. I set a personal goal of ten and read twelve.

Classics read: Summer by Edith Wharton, 1984 by George Orwell, The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway, and A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote.

Most imaginative world: Charlaine Harris' southern vampires and JK Rowling's Hogwarts.

Weirdest read: 1984 by George Orwell

Most-read Author of 2009: Nora Roberts, Charlaine Harris, Lisa Gardner

Biggest confession: I had never read any of the Harry Potter series before this past autumn, though I have seen all of the movies to date (some enough to quote entire scenes). I know, I know...a decade late to the party, but at least I finally got there! Tree down, four more to go...

Reading goal for next year: What the heck, let's aim for 80 this year! I really need to peck away at the TBR pile, especially where fave authors are concerned. I have books piling up by long-time favorites such as Nora Roberts, Catherine Coulter, Iris Johansen, Johanna Lindsey, and Elizabeth Lowell. Some authors are just too prolific!

What about you? What was your year in books like? What was the best read? To see more of what I've read, or want to read, click on the "books" label below, or check out my page at Goodreads.com .


Last year's report

Mom

As some of you may know, my Mom has been in ill-health for a number of years, and experienced a crisis just before Christmas. She passed early Tuesday morning.

Thanks to all who have sent messages of support for me and my sisters, and for keeping us in your thoughts. It feels like I've spent most of my time this week on the phone -- and I hate the phone -- with very little time to check in with friends online. Please know how much your support means to me. The memorial service for my mom will be next Saturday (obituary to run in Sunday's paper and online at www.madison.com), so still much to do before then.

Will hopefully be back to more regular posts in a week or so!

~Heather

Teaser Tuesday 17: The Pioneers

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share at least two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!

Last week I was berated for posting a teaser of more than two sentences (as were others), even though the rules do not restrict you to only two -- meaning, one can post more than two, but no fewer. In order to appease this individual, I submit two -- and only two -- sentences this week, from The Pioneers by James Fenimore Cooper.

The whole scene had passed with a rapidity that confused the female, who was unconsciously rejoicing in the escape of the buck, as he rather darted like a meteor, than ran across the road, when a sharp quick sound struck her ear, quite different from the full, round reports of her father's gun, but still sufficiently distinct to be known as the concussion produced by fire-arms. At the same instant that she heard the unexpected report, the buck sprang from the snow to a great height in the air, and directly a second discharge, similar in sound to the first, followed, when the animal came to the earth, falling headlong, and rolling over on the crust with its own velocity.

Who Are You to Yourself?

You Are Proud of Who You Are

You see yourself as a creative and expressive person. You're very artistic. You think other people see you as kind, gentle, and cooperative. You try to be helpful. You want to see yourself as ingenious and clever. You'd like to be a quicker thinker. You identify as a compassionate and accepting person. You pride yourself on being forgiving.

Who Are You to Yourself?

Blogthings: Free Quizzes for Everyone

Sorry...

No Thursday Thirteen again this week due to family issues. I had hoped to be back with a holiday recap, but my Mom has been suffering health problems the past month and took a bad turn this week. She looked good last Tuesday and seemed to be doing better, but the past week...not so great. She developed pneumonia yesterday (Tuesday) and it had worsened so much today that they have transferred her to Hospice Care, where it looks like I may be spending a great deal of time (sitting idly doing nothing) through the weekend. Book...check. Journal...check. Stitching...check. Okay, maybe not so idly. I hope to be back to my regular schedule again soon!

If at first...

From my page-a-day calendar for today:

If at first you don't succeed,
Try, try again.

Then quit. There's no point in being
a...fool about it.

W.C. Fields

ROFL...I love it!

Teaser Tuesday 16: Mistletoe Murder

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share at least two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!

The holidays and Christmas Reading Challenge may be past, but I thought I'd knock one more Christmas-themed book from the TBR pile anyway. Besides, everything I have lined up for this month is thick and heavy, and I wanted something a bit slimmer and lighter for this week. So, I picked up a mystery by Leslie Meier, Mistletoe Murder. This one has actually only been in the TBR pile a year. Not too far into it yet, but as it is first in a fairly popular series, I am hoping it does not disappoint.

As the following four sentences come early in the book and set up the premise, they are not a spoiler. Lucy Stone works the late shift for a local mail order catalog company. Orders being slow one night and not wanting to get hopped up on caffeine so late, Lucy steps outside for a five minute break to try to wake herself up, only to make an eerie discovery...

As she drew closer to the row of parked cars, the noise of the humming engine grew louder. It came, she realized, from Sam Miller's BMW. The navy blue sedan with the SAM-I-AM vanity plates was covered with snow just like all the other cars. The only difference was that the engine was running and a black rubber hose neatly capped one of the twin exhaust pipes and snaked around the car to the driver's window.

Monday Movie Meme: Game On

Share on your blog those movies that address the wide world of sports and link back to The Bumbles. Don't forget to visit your fellow participants! I tried to pick a few movies not on Molly and Andy's list.

* The Cutting Edge (1992) ~ Two words: "Toe pick!"

* Remember the Titans (2000) ~ Integration of a high school football team, based on a true story. Yes, I know I've mentioned it before, but it's an awesome movie! Though it received no Oscar nominations, it was nominated for and won many other awards.

* Necessary Roughness (1991) ~ An aging Scott Bakula is recruited to play QB for a floundering Texas football team.

* Cool Runnings (1993) ~ "Feel the rhythm! Feel the rhyme! Get on up, its bobsled time!"

* Million Dollar Baby (2004) ~ Thought-provoking and controversial ending, but I dare you not to cry. This movie more than deserved its four Oscars (and was nominated for three more).

* Hoosiers (1986) ~ Gene Hackman as a washed-up Indiana high school basketball coach. Loosely based on a 1950's team.

* Chariots of Fire (1981) ~ The true story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics.

Christmas Reading Challenge Update #3

A final update for the 2009 Christmas Reading Challenge. I managed to knock another four books off the TBR mountain. My goal for this challenge was ten books; I read twelve. Yay me! I would have liked to add a couple more to that total, but despite being home over the long, stormy Christmas weekend, I was busy finishing up Christmas presents needed for New Year's Eve. And, since one of these was a 2-in-1 collection, the total is technically five books, not four.

This batch was all romances (contemporary and historical) with the exception of A Cold Christmas, which was a mystery. Though this book was actually from the middle of a series, it read well as a stand-alone -- there was very little backstory needed to follow along and was good enough that I may try to track down earlier books in the series.

Hooper's "Holiday Spirit" was a pleasant surprise. I know she wrote romance before her popular psychic FBI series -- I've even read most of them -- but did not know she has written historical romance. I loved it! Maybe not as much as the Johanna Lindsey, but it was really good.

For more on any of these books, simply click on the covers below. Though I managed to clear twelve books from the Christmas pile, a towering stack remains. I may need to do a "Christmas in July" reading challenge to clear away a few more. *wink*