I Got Card-ed

It's my favorite day of the year:  the day I sit on the floor at my coffee table eating cake and drinking reading water writing Christmas cards.  It's nearly impossible to feel anything except gratitude at this moment.  I hope each of you are having a great December and I hope our paths cross soon over holiday travel.

December is our "bring your favorite" holiday piece to the club.  The reads are always festive and occasionally leave you with a little something in your eye.

Rocking the Boat

Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea.  This book was another that fell into the "I know how it ends, but I'm completely enrapt" category.  Gary Kinder does a fantastic job of bringing the California gold rush to life with the recounting of the SS Central America which sank off the East Coast in 1857.  My inner engineer has a mad crush on Tommy Thompson, a young man in the 1980s who set out to do a number of things no one had ever done before, including working in the deep ocean and using novel methods to find a hundred thirty year old wooden boat resting under 8,000 feet of water.

Now, sitting in the airport with a quick search to check a date, I've learned that the story is not quite over as Mr. Thompson has disappeared.  Considered a fugitive, he hasn't been seen for over two years.  Here's a link to the Columbus Monthly for this story.

I hope that all parties can still find a happy ending.

Have a Ball

May your weekend be shiny and bright!

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

O'Hare International Airport
November 2014

Musings

The phrase on repeat in my head is that sometimes you have to let something go in order to pick something else up.  The door opening and closing as some say.

I've been reading quite a bit more but writing a bit less here.  Instead, I've found myself penning postcards like mad with a bit of poetry sprinkled like a Southern seasoning here and there in pinches or handfuls, depending on the day.

I'm grateful this week for stamps, safe journeys, family visits, books, and songs that still make you pause, standing still in a public place.

Rainy Days and Sundays

It was a cold, rainy Sunday.  After another week of travel, this weather was perfect for tea drinking, napping, reading and/or watching movies.  Hope you stayed warm and a had a great weekend.

As a reminder, our next book up for discussion is The Newspaper Boy by Chervis Isom.  

Now You Sea Me

I'm working my way to the end of Seabiscuit and will be a little sad to let him go.  It's been an interesting look at the sport and to continue put a bit more context around the 1930s.  My next read will bring me a little closer to the present day with Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea by Gary Kinder.  This was a title suggested recently by a colleague after talking about The Boys in the Boat.  The lead character is an engineer. And there's buried treasure.  Sounds like a fun combination.

Turnaround...

Nostalgia sometimes rolls in like the first dark evening after the time change.  Despite the fact that you had felt it coming for weeks, it still catches you off guard the first time you leave work and it's there.

Today I ran with headphones outdoors for the first time in years.  The city has a fairly strict "no headphones" rule so I've learned to run in the rhythm of footfalls, nature, and mind chatter.  My route was a path surrounded by trees with changing, falling leaves, near a small creek.  It was a mostly yellow rain.

With the musical accompaniment, I remembered the first time I ran for twenty minutes non-stop; I had been on a similar trail.  I could recall when every song was added to the iPod (and to which playlist) and I got a little verklempt at Five for Fighting.  (Don't judge).

I ran by the semi-circle turnaround for the half marathon (which was held earlier this morning) remembering the only time I ran the race was alongside one of the best work friends I've ever had.  At that mile marker, we sang Bonnie Tyler and made airplane arms. I remembered our last runs, his relentless cheering at my first triathlon  swim, and the Monday morning I spoke to his wife when she told me he was gone.

Today I let myself run into the feelings and not away.  On my way back, a gentleman commented on four strangers side by side for one brief moment on the trail.  Someone said "serendipity" and we all kept moving forward, each in our way.

Horsing Around

Sticking with the same era, I've moved to Seabiscuit:  An America Legend by Laura Hillenbrand.  With apologies to both horses, trainers and the state of Kentucky, I've realized that prior to this book, I had confused some of the accomplishments of Secretariat with Seabiscuit.  (As you may have guessed, other than the Triple Crown races, I have not had a lot of exposure to racing.)  It's fun to read another novel from the same time period with historical context but the sport hasn't pulled me in like crew.  Tom Smith, the trainer, has been my favorite character.  His style reminds me a bit of Ulbrickson (UW coach) as shared by Daniel James Brown.  Men of few words, skilled in their crafts, nontraditional and a little grumpy.  I'm looking forward to the final races of the book.

Hallo

Hoping your Halloween not bland
and that costumes are nothing but grand
And if travel you do,
hope all on time too
and music is only the good bands.

Husky Finish

Four flights later, I've finished The Boys in the Boat.  I cannot recall the last time I felt such suspense and thought "what will happen" to a story to which I already knew the ending.  Hailing from modest beginnings, I rooted for the guys from UW like brothers and more than once, I found myself using a Delta cocktail napkin to guide away an errant tear.  I was proud to be wearing purple at the finish.

This evening, I can't quite find the words to give a proper review but it's the kind of book that will give you heart on a discouraging day and cause you to want to read all the reference notes at the end.

Well done, Mr. Brown.

To Live Crew

My current book in progress is The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Olympics by Daniel James Brown.  This title was a recommendation from a running friend last March.  I took a photo of the cover so I'd remember to re-visit and I'm finally working my way to reading it.

The book is fantastic.  I'm a little over the half-way mark and I'm completely absorbed with the characters and the small details about boats and rowing.  [I'm also enamored that the writer will make an appearance at The Whidbey Island Writers Conference.  I love that island.]  During my undergraduate degree, one of my fellow engineers was a coxswain.  At the time, I was not impressed but I have a tremendous amount of respect for her now that I have a little more insight into what she was doing.  

I'd recommend this book as an addition to your winter reading lists. It will inspire you.

On My Way to a Hotel in California

If a picture contains two words, is it still worth a thousand?

Grafiti, Somewhere between Carlsbad & Encinitas
October 2014

Hope your Friday is Super Awesome.

Monday to Sunday

I've been a bit off schedule this week with heavier than normal demands. [Work hours that rhyme with Katy, for $100, Alex.]  This morning, in my horizontal reading of news and email before coffee, I was happily surprised to read this NPR headline which made the rounds this week: 'As You Wish': Take A Peek At The Making Of 'The Princess Bride'.

As You Wish by Cary Elwes made its hardcover release on the 14th and this is a title I'll definitely need in book form.  It will take a slight re-arranging to get it to sit beside my anniversary edition of The Princess Bride but I'm always game for a challenge.

I've already shared that I'm fond of the book, but I honestly cannot count the number of times I've seen the movie or listened to Mark Knopfler's original score.  I'd put both in a Top 10 category.

Hope your weekend was restful, that you didn't need to use Bonetti's Defense, and that if you were scheduled to marry someone who didn't hold your heart, a pirate, a Giant and a dueling Spaniard came to your rescue.

Sundays to Mondays

Sundays and suitcases and selections for Kindle.

Coffee and cakes and watching time dwindle.

Ode to a Samsonite

Samsonite
2006-2014

Dear Samsonite red bag of courage,

You've been my trusty companion for nearly nine years of travel.  We've been through countless cities, you've helped me increase my checklist to 47 states, we've hit four continents, and you survived my most expensive airline ticket ever for the around the world trek.  (Sadly, our book didn't make it due to that unfortunate seat incident that involved Airline attendant extraction.)

You were wheeled through parking lots, security cues, gravel roads, snow, and puddles without complaint.  You were satisfactory for an overnight adventure but capable enough for a two week carry-on to Australia.  You lost zipper handles and had one unused pocket in the back (that had to be a design flaw).  Still you were with me.  You were my footrest for overnight sleeping in LGA and cat naps in DCA.  You handled the weight of my backpack tirelessly and somehow we made it through those tight little metal cylinders on the Chicago CTA.

You were content with repeat journeys and were alongside me for the  new ones which required fearlessness.  Even when stranded in Solvang, we found a way to make friends.  You weren't mocking when we arrived to an important meeting without suit pants (though clearly there was plenty of room to pack them).  You helped me build arm strength up and down stairs, lifting into overheads and carrying you over things that I couldn't wheel through.

You were unique, never to be confused with various plane-checked luggage and easy to spot on those few times you rested in the hold and had to be retrieved from a carousel.  You fit in every trunk or backseat.  You were never a burden, even when technology rapidly advanced to lighter weights and the wheels got a little loud at the end.

My relationship with you lasted longer than any I've had with a man.

I was a bit sad not to use you on yesterday's flight.

Thank you for memorable journeys and for keeping me safe.
LD

Sister Love

Last night at dinner a friend mentioned that she liked to read.  I said, "So do I!" (perhaps a little too nerdly emphatic) and we launched into a conversation about recently read books:  thrillers, biographies, sports training, and Scandinavian authors.  She mentioned she gets a lot of suggestions from her sister and of course, so do I.

This morning, my sister is on my mind and I'd like to give a special nod of appreciation to the older sisters who teach us, the younger sisters who sometimes act like big sisters, and the middle sis who always seems just so practical.  Special thanks for sharing all those books.

Bike-ause I Can

The great thing about being head of household is that one can decide that riding a bike on an October 75 degree day has more intrinsic value than mowing one's lawn.  Today was my first solo (non-racing ride) since I can remember (and possibly ever).  It took a fair amount of gumption to get out there on a course where obstacles weren't controlled by volunteers and I had a few observations:

• leisurely riding is fun
• kids on bikes are wildcards
• kids on BMX bikes are greater wildcards
• leaves, while pretty, can be slippery 
• have good posture; you might see your spin teacher
• beware of rocket scientists - they build items of mobile transport that look like a combination of a skateboard, bike, unicycle with wide turning radii
• it's a friendly town and people want to say hi.  Use ventriloquist-like skills to do this without opening your mouth.  Leisure riding on nice trails = bugs (and lots of people who want to say hi)
• have the best best posture ever because you might pass your yoga teacher (shoulder blades down)
• dogs on a taut leash > dogs on a loose leash

Above all, give up chores for outdoor play.  

National Poetry Day

October the 2nd, wouldn't you know it?
The day of course to celebrate a poet.
Rhymes, meters even haiku,
Ever memorize a poem or two?

In celebration of such a day
Our little GBC writer did play.
Casting a few lines here and there
Post reading water without a care.

So InKlined

Autumn begins for me when I start to hear the local high school band drum core in the evenings, when I want to run outside again after the breathless heat of summer, and when my reading lists shift to biographies instead of quick reads.  This evening I checked all three fall items.

For those reading along, our October read is The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Cline.    Ms. Kline will also make an appearance at the Southern Festival of Books on October 10th if you're in the area.

Circle, Column, Square

It's a small world after all.

Epcot
September 2014

Hope you've had a good week.

Grateful not Grating

Perhaps it takes the really hard, awful, long days to fully appreciate the early morning crispness of a dark starry sky, the wisdom from an older man solicited because you made the time, the arm around the shoulder in comradery from a fellow athlete, and the pause for a photo for a visiting stranger now friend.

At least this is what I'm thinking for Wednesday.  

Faster, Better, Stronger?

I didn't know that Annie Jones is the top competitive speed reader with a 2,246 wpm and 60% comprehension or that she has won the National Speed Reading Championship* a hefty six times.  This Guardian article was interesting for that piece of trivia and for the review of the speed reading app, Spritz.  Rob Boffard knocks out one of the Man Booker shortlist books in just under four and a quarter hours**.  I honestly don't know if I have the fortitude to sit that long with the intense focus that is apparently required when ramping up to 700 wpm.  I found the speed a little dizzying (and I don't think it was just the reading water).  There are some novels I'd love to spin through, but for others, I enjoy the time on the page, savoring the small effort and the time devoted to a simple pastime.  How about you?

*    I also didn't know there was a National Speed Reading Championship.
** This is shorter than the time to cook a turkey (old-school baked).

Know your Place

If this month had a subtitle, it would be "September from a Suitcase."   I downloaded Dark Places by Gillian Flynn just before boarding last weekend in the frenetic gate getaway.  I was both hooked and creeped by the story, changing my guess along the way for our culprit.  (I was wrong.)   This title is a fairly quick read and the story moves along nicely, however the ending crescendoed a bit too much for me and I felt the closing was almost too tidy.  (Was that just me?)  Still, it was a novel that allowed me to completely block surroundings and disappear from numbers into words for a little while.  I won't spoil the ending; she'll keep you guessing.

I'm saving Sharp Objects for a stretch of sunny days just to be on the safe side.

Light to Dark

Sunny late summer morning
A balcony
Two cups of coffee
A banana

Dark Places*
e-reader
Park tickets
Sunscreen

Hoping that this quiet morning of reading (or the coffee) gives me the courage for an afternoon water park. Have a great Sunday adventure.

* I'm not sure this Flynn novel was the right one to read in an unfamiliar dark room.

Unbind the Mind

For any of my fellow GBC members who have ever used a hot plate in a science fair (mine was to create a tornado), take a few minutes to read Alison Flood's piece in The Guardian, "Artist creates book that turns black as it is read."  Leproust's book to black in four hours is highlighted in the Unbinding the Book Exhibition as part of London's Art Book Fair.

Saturday Night's All Right

Reading, knitting, biking, baking.

Hope your Saturday has been filled with things you love.

The White City

Mid day swim
Pizza whim
Saul Bellows in my bag

Chicago city
Trying to be witty
A dress deal snag

Waiting on a train
Running in the rain
Wow, it is good to be back.

A little glass of wine
All is really fine
And always more than I lack.

I Wander

"Not all those who wander are lost.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

BNA
August 2014

I've been wandering more and writing a bit less.  

Reading more and talking a bit less. 

Walking with music more and driving a bit less.

Savoring more and questioning a bit less. 

Dans ses mots

Normally, I'd send a note to GBC C@r0le King (not the singer) to ask her permission to re-quote but I've had a glass of reading water and found her description of the last GBC Meet impossible to resist.  Names have been edited for privacy but otherwise the text is hers...beautiful and leaving me homesick for book club and Paris in a short dress and high heels:

Edith Piaf was singing as we entered. The table was already laid, a pile of fresh spinach on each place, and then an array of dishes kept appearing — quartered tomatoes, sliced boiled eggs, goat cheese, tuna, potatoes and so much more — to be combined into a delicious, divine Nicoise. The wine flowed freely. That E--, she sure knows how to set the scene, doesn’t she?

And so began our evening "inside a pearl," picking over Edmund White’s gossipy memoir of his years in Paris. Some liked it; others found his descriptions a bit much, as in TMI (too much information!). But it was a lively discussion over many glasses of wine. (K-- and I thank you, M--, for bring the German with you. We’d like to meet that one again!)

And you know how we are, we even took the conversation on a tangent or two (or 3 or 4). We missed those of you who couldn’t make it and look forward to seeing you next month. Is this when we are finally discussing The Goldfinch? Get ready for a really good discussion, folks. I made notes (complete with page numbers on the back of the VISA bill envelope) and I know many of you have done the same, so it should be a rousing evening of opinions, insights, confessions and book-loving nerdiness as only the GBC can bring!

So let me end with dessert since E-- sent us on our way with such sweet remembrances…

Picture a decadent flourless chocolate torte. With your choice (try them all!) of fragrant strawberries, vanilla ice cream, juicy tart cherries and blueberries. Am I remembering this right, fellow bookies?* Did I miss anything? It was a lovely, lovely evening… a trip courtesy of the book and our generous, thoughtful hostess.

Thank you, E--, for filling our souls.

*This is how I think of us. Sort of like Trekkies, but we don’t do costumes. (Except, of course, when the occasion calls for Black Tie and the accessories are just too tempting to resist.)

Namaste

"The right means are just as important as the end in view."

- B.K.S. Iyengar Light on Yoga

Ten years ago I walked into a room with no concept of yoga and was introduced to the Iyengar style and methods.  I would be hard pressed to express in just a few lines how grateful I am for that class and that moment of pause during a time of storm.  Rest well, Mr. Iyengar.  Thank you.

It's a Buoy!

Just a reminder about our August book if you're reading along at home: Inside a Pearl: My Years in Paris by Edmund White.  My pearl from the day was an Ironman athlete and former instructor in the next swim lane who looked at me and said, "I didn't know you were swimming now!"

Here's to keeping this week afloat and to Paris in the summer.

A Novel Idea

You're still working on that 700 page novel (and it's really good) but you didn't want to carry it into your business meeting.  You innocently pack it in your carry-on knowing it will be with you.  You don't anticipate the following:

1) downtown traffic
2) airport traffic
3) the immigration kiosk queue (though you FINALLY took a decent photo)
4) the immigration line (you knew you should have enrolled in Global Entry)
5) the security queue (which you are entering precisely 30 minutes before your flight should depart)
6) running in heels (my personal fave)
7) making the flight (yay!)
8) the desperate gate-checked bag (yay again!)
9) settling into your window seat only to remember...

the book's in your other bag.

At least there was music.

Starry Night II

This morning I awakened a bit earlier than norm (not much because the alarm did start with a four) so I could stand outside and try to see the Perseids.  My backyard is a little sheltered from light pollution; the morning was cool and the sky dark.  My neck crane was rewarded and as I spun around gently under a cover of stars, I was reminded that this is an amazing universe.

Hope you have a great Wednesday.  

No Crossing the Lines

The cover caught my eye, so I asked GBC P@1ge about it.  Her side table book was The Interestings by Meg Worlitzer.  It's always fun to know what she's reading because frequently her books end up on my reading list (pending her review).

Hope you've had a great weekend full of music, books, and friends that make you happy.  

A Fly By

"It is a lovely language,but it takes a very long time to say anything in it,unless it is worth taking a long time to say,and to listen to." - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

Towers from a Cab
Toronto, July 2014

Hope your Friday is a great one!

25 is Alive

I really like this list of 25 Books to Read Before you Die (though I'm not crazy about the title) by Powell's Bookstore.  One of my favorites, Geek Love, made the list and GBC P@1ge would be pleased for a little Margaret Atwood.  The HHGTTG is there and so is Zinn's A People's History of the US.  (Every adult should go back and read this every few decades.)  Two of the titles sit side by side on my bookshelf:  Gilead and Never Let me Go, and there are a few that I am not familiar with at all.  I might suggest A Confederacy of Dunces as an addition to the list.  Any you think are missing?

It's a Cover Up

I loved this article in particular because of my recent discussion with 16 fourteen year old girls about the book cover to The Unwanteds.

In books, like wine, the label sometimes sells.

Peter Mendelsund (whose name was not known to me before today) has designed numerous book covers (including The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and is soon to publish his book What We See When We Read.   The NYT has the story.

Bring me a Dream Catcher

Driving out of the Exxon station Saturday, I saw a picture frame upside down in the drive.  It looked accidental so I stopped to pick it up.  A few minutes earlier, my receipt had not printed from the gasoline pump so I went inside to see the cashier.  On the way out of the store, I noticed a gentleman with a pickup truck full of a variety of items.  (It was the three stuffed deer heads that drew my attention.)  Forgetting any Southern manners, I yelled "HEY" across the lot to get the guy's attention and walking toward him asked if the picture could be his.  I held up the wood and he said, "oh, wow, did that fall?"  He took the frame from my hands and said as he dusted off the glass, "That's my home."  We both stood there for a few seconds in silence admiring the aerial photo of the farm house and the surrounding lands, both nostalgic for our ideas of home.  He offered me a wind catcher for the find and told me how much he loved them but he lost most of them driving along the interstate. (I declined his gift hearing that he had lost most.)   He said, "if you find one, pick it up.  It's the prettiest thing you'll ever see."

Today, I left yoga and walked through petals of crape myrtle trees falling like rain and I thought of his wind catchers, spiraling through the air, like petals.

It is Now Safe to Turn on Your Portable Electronic Devices (but we don't want to do so)

On the international flight home today, I was completely surrounded by people reading.  It was the quietest flight I have been on in ages.  The enrapt passengers were evidently hooked on their titles.  The most fascinating thing to me (besides this noiseless ascent to 10,000 feet) was that everyone was reading a paper copy.

Across the aisle, a woman was reading about altruism.  A woman at the window was skimming the latest issue of Cosmo.  I saw a book in Spanish, a book on math, and my little novel that I've carried around (despite the fact that I was also flying with five electronic devices*).  Just to my right, the woman who accidentally left a dozen banana muffins cooling on her stove** instead of packed in her bag was reading Jame Bowden's gem, A Street Cat Named Bob.  The scene was refreshing.


*  The author acknowledges this does seem excessive.  
**Not to worry, her father will pick them up.

The Way We Were...Are

My plane rides are translating into very nice progress through The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope.  The characters are all interesting in their own way and I'm still having difficulty selecting my favorite.  The title is available free on the kindle, but I've rather enjoyed toting around the 800 page book around.  There's a comfort in the weight of it.

Climb Every Mountain

Humphrey's Peak, AZ
June 2012

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.”

― John Muir, The Mountains of California

Ratios and Highlights

It could be post-exercise elation or the caffeine, but I found this excerpt from The Guardian particularly amusing today:  Can the Hawking Index tell us when people give up on books?  It's a tongue and cheek reference to this WSJ article from Dr. Jordan Ellenberg, a professor of mathematics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Both are great reads over your morning coffee or afternoon tea.  

For me, it's not the Kindle reads I fail to finish.  It's the random library book or hard copy in hand.  Perhaps I could start a model of probability to finish a book based on its library shelf position.  I have 28 shelves containing books neither arranged by author nor title but loosely arranged by genre.  If I cataloged the read vs unread (and indeed read more than once), would I find anything interesting?    I might need to check yours as well to be statistically significant.

Have a great mathematical Monday.

In the Summertime II

I got hooked on volunteering a few years ago and have been fortunate this year to support a great organization called Girls' Inc.  This summer's project has included a book club for a group of 18 young ladies preparing them for next year's school session by completing their summer reading assignment.  Our book is The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann.  We will finish up the session this week (which means I have a lot of reading to do to catch up with them)!  

Have a great weekend!  

Rusty Nails and Marigolds

If you've got four minutes to spare, it's worth the time to listen to Linda Wertheimer's voice from Sunday's  Weekend Edition.  She interviews Ms. Fornari about her new book, Coffee for Roses: ...and 70 Other Misleading Myths About Backyard Gardening. My favorite snippet from a review is "it's an argument settler."

Happy gardening!

Choosing Hope

I hope everyone had a fantastic long holiday weekend and avoided sunburns, poison ivy and water-ski injuries.  I hope you laughed with old friends, made new friends, and enjoyed moments alone when you needed them.  I hope you had cupcakes and reading water as a splurge dinner while you made cookies (though this is not recommended as a nightly activity).  I hope car trips were filled with great shuffles of random bands and that all are safe and happy.

We're not far away from the July read The Beekeeper's Apprentice.  I hope you're making great progress.

Wait a Minute Mr. Postman

I'm in love

100 Postcards of Book covers from Penguin.  I can't even begin to describe how awesome these are.  (Okay, some are a little odd, but collectively, I can't wait to send these.)

Expect mail.

Have a great weekend ahead:  happy reading, happy writing, have a happy time with the ones you love.

Saturday Night Fractions

One-half frozen pizza
One-quarter reading water
One-third of a book

Wholly content.

Word Up

Postcards Near the Edge
(of my table)

Happy Friday!

The OED is adding new words to bindings.  Here's a fun little Guardian quiz to test your knowledge.  I hit seven out of ten so a few of my word choices are now validated.  (I'm not sure if that's a good thing.)

Two Ferns

The Kindle App is brilliant for the last minute flight with hardly any time to pack.  This scenario resulted in my starting We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Fowler.  I'm a few months later than the GBC with this one and am probably the only reader in the group who didn't guess where the plot was headed with Fern.  I'm just over the halfway mark and wondering what's happened to Lowell.  (Don't tell me.)

Since starting the book, I've also not been able to shake the title Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls.  It's another book turned movie and I think one of the earliest titles to make me cry from reading (and watching the film).

Icing on the cake

It's been a cake month.

Various celebrations have landed a number of desserts on my table (which means extra miles on my shoes). This NPR segment left me wanting cake for breakfast, for purely scientific research of course.

Happy birthday to you.

Grace Land

Walking in Memphis
June 2014

Summer in the south:  heat, the occasional lethargy, and the season I will add ice to beverages which include tonic.  The June book club was an intimate gathering and by all accounts, delightful.  As I'm enjoying breakfast for dinner with a side of reading water, the GBC meal of  roast chicken, stuffed eggs, and the assorted salads is awakening my appetite.  The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida was the book of the month and GBC P@1ge reports an interesting discussion.  The Beekeeper's Apprentice is next up for July.  

Hope you have great weekends ahead and find ways to escape the heat.  I recommend running through the fountains.

My Cup Runneth Over

One of the most awesome things about working for a multi-national firm is the turn of conversation for events which occur on a four year rotation.  For the last week instead of running, kids, and lunches, it's "the schedule".  Who is playing who and when and how and where are you watching?  Button downs are replaced with jerseys and everyone has extra coffee.  

If you've never lived with a soccer coach and/or don't understand the fuss about a ball rolling across a green field, here are a couple of books lists which might inspire your inner "goal.":

Top 5:  The best soccer books by Charles Boehm

The 5 Must Read Books on Soccer by Joshua Robinson

13 for 15

Thirteen weekend musings that may or may not be related to books or trips around the sun:

* Never underestimate the power of someone handing you a cup of coffee

* Full moons and Friday the 13ths are great combinations for good things

* If you find yourself without formal shoes for a formal dress occasion, wear the pink Converse.  

* Sometimes the best present is an impromptu off-Broadway performance of a recent film for a party of three in a foyer.

* Reading water is always a good gift.

* So are puzzles

* Even late planes are good planes.

* Croquet is under-rated.

* Cookies are a good gift

* Surprisingly, so are small painted pieces of plaster in a Ziploc bag

* My ipod will always select a David Gray song within the first three songs of a new shuffle

* If you play the piano, play it often.

* Sing

Hope you had a great weekend and made good progress with this month's reading!

Spot On

I love the photo included in this Guardian article remembering Eric Hill, creator of Spot the Dog, who has died at age 86.

Hill had said about Spot: "When he shows excitement on Christmas Day and cries 'Yippee', that's me in there. I love the character, he's my buddy and I'm at ease with him."

Thank you Mr. Hill for such a memorable character.

Be at ease today.

Star Bright

One of today's fun moments was trading favorite lines of The Fault in our Stars with GBC P@1ge and discussing traditional highlighter versus the electronic bookmark.  I can't wait to see the film.

She read the book in just over a day.  I think it took me a bit longer but it was a tender break during my Christmas holidays.

I hope you had a great weekend and got a good look at the stars.

The Band Elwood, The Band

The Ryman,
June 2014

This Friday photo brought to you by:

• a 10 person band
• hearing your name shouted across a parking lot five minutes after arriving to the city
• free parking as a result of the above
• one desperation hot dog, three reading waters, a soda, and caramel corn (though maybe not in that order)
• an opening act which reminded you of Hardly Strictly (without the Solvang Strand)
• feet with dancing blisters
• four hours in the car for four hours not in the car
• a 2:00 a.m. Hey Jude singalong and a 7:30 a.m. conference call
• choosing memories over spreadsheets

Have a great weekend!  Happy reading! 

Summer Dusk

Red clay
Seeds soon hay
Biking through the fields

Ear high corn
Cotton not yet born
Ground still not tilled.

Gentle breeze
Blowing through trees
My lips are sealed.

Sun starts to set
The clouds move west
This is how the heart heals.

Kiitos Tove

The headline of this Guardian article made me click immediately:  Tove Jansson should have won Nobel Prize, says Philip Pullman.  I own four of her books.  I have a Moomin paperweight sitting next to three Iittala dishes on my little shelf.  My spoon rest has a Moomin on it.  [It's likely this dish was not intended to be a spoon rest, but don't tell the Finns.]

Each of the books cost me hours sifting through paperbacks, testing the limits of my Finnish and being mistaken for Russian when I couldn't understand the question "paper or plastic".  [This was a compliment by the cashier in that my Finnish was passable.]   Finland was my first trek out of the US many years ago and I'd venture a guess that I'm the only person in this state that has been to Moomin World to have ice cream (or Finnish equivalent).

Jansson's books are for adults as much (or more) than children.  I agree with Ms. Flood in that the drawings were just as memorable as the tales.  Add the Moomin books to your reading list to share with the kids or simply to enjoy with a Midsummer reading water.

Raising the Bar

It's not my usual day of writing but it hasn't been my usual morning.

The week has been intense, tiring, the five hour a night sleep because I've pushed the boundaries of work, play, and Skype.  By yesterday afternoon, I was spent and the last thing I wanted to do this morning was to awaken at 5:00, gear up the car and drive an hour to try my hand at open water swimming with my fellow aspiring half-iron training group.  I wanted to sleep in not publicly flail.  My post-reading-water-and-a-movie self reasoned that an 8:15 barre class would be a good start to the weekend.  I have never been to a barre class but have heard it described and thought, why not?  Knowing that it had a reputation for being quite intense, I was beginning at the Y; I knew they didn't have a bar but instead use chairs and add in a few other exercises.

"Chairs, I can do that."

So this morning, I snoozed my alarm until 7:38, left the house at 7:45 and arrived promptly to the gym at 8:00 for the 8:15 start.  So far, so good.  I knew the instructor, and she and another student helped me with the set-up.  Oh, and no shoes.  With all the props and bare feet, I had the thought that it was like Iyengar yoga.  This would be removed from my brain with the warm-up set.  The instructor mentioned planks.

"Planks?  I do those every day.  I've got this."

"Will I sweat?", I asked the veteran student?  "A little," she replied.

And so it began.  At the beginning of the class, I was aware there was music but at some point the echo of my heart beat replaced all rhythm emanating from those little speakers.  I was sweating.  Not the dainty sweat of the rest of the class but the "I just ran 5 miles" kind.  My legs trembled in spots I didn't know had muscles.  As I sip my coffee, I'm still trying to forget the words "pulse" and "tiny movements" and "on your toes."   ON YOUR TOES.  Who knew such words would cause my hips to scream for mercy as we did the "double-time" set.

We started to stretch finally.  I was excited.  "Are we finished?" I asked hopefully.  No, she said, "we're only halfway!".  Oh my.

Enter stage left:  planks.  On gliders.  GLIDERS.  Elevated.  "Just 10 more."  These were the words that nearly brought spontaneous tears.  I won't write the words that went through my head like a mantra, but let's just say they were "Holy".

"Gliders can be put away."  Grateful.

Enter an ab ball.  Not grateful.

Now I've used a ball once in my life to the entertainment of my sister.  Now I was miraculously rolled on it with my "heavy" weight set dangling over my body.  First set, fine.  Second set, burn, but fine.  Change to the smaller weights?  Mine were out of reach.  "I'll just use these so I don't fall off the ball," I thought with assurance that I had made the right choice.

Weights above my face?  Change hand position while arms elevated?  I began a series of earnest prayers entitled "Please don't let me drop one of these on my nose" while my arms trembled overhead.  And raised bridge with pulses on a ball?  I wasn't sure I would make it.

With the remaining energy and a "dig deep" pep talk, I finished the class.  Apologies to the person who uses my blue mat as I forgot to wipe it down after.  This thought only occurred to me much later.  I hope you'll understand and have forgiveness for a newbie with trembling arms and legs.

Namaste.

I Play Chicken with a ...

“The train is a small world moving through a larger world.”

― Elisha Cooper, Train

Arm out window stopped at the tracks
Americana, IL May 2014

On this particular Saturday, I had two moments with a train.  The above was taken en route to a BBQ festival* and the other while stopping for a minute to sit along Lakeshore for a break during a run.  A gentleman stopped by, asked if he could sit with my friend and me and said he rode trains.  He had been in Birmingham (beaten by the police), Memphis (didn't like) and Chicago (his favorite).  "Look at this view" he said while sweeping his left hand.  "Just keep doing what you're doing" his parting words before stepping away.

*Nothing beats Southern BBQ.  Sorry, Chitown.

No Way?

I can hardly think of a better gift than an unexpected novel via post.  This weekend I devoted some time to a recent receipt:  The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope.  At 100 chapters, it is a significant carry-on item (versus my Nexus) but worth its weight.  True to my (OCD) form, I'm 100 pages in and yet to break the spine.  The characters each seem to have something slightly amiss so I've not yet selected my favorites.

This work was published in 1875 and I found this trivia via The Guardian:

Trollope, professional to his fingertips, often kept a calendar for the composition of his fiction. Before starting The Way We Live Now he made the following, slightly chilly, calculation: "Carbury novel. 20 numbers. 64 pages each number. 260 words each page. 40 pages a week. To be completed in 32 weeks."

But he was wrong. The "Carbury novel", begun in May 1873, took just 29 weeks, and ran to about 425,000 words.

How's that for six month productivity?

The title also seems to fit recent themes as two of my most recently viewed films have been The Way and They Way Way Back.

60 seconds

I hope you have a nice long weekend and have the opportunity to take pause for those fallen. The holiday dates back to 1868 with the idea to decorate graves for those lost in war.  Three p.m. local is the recommended time for a minute of silence by the National Moment of Remembrance.

Union Station, May 2014
Chicago, IL 

Starlight, Star Bright

A nod to anyone who has shared reading water tonight and discussed books, life, poetry, the Lakers or just looked up at the sky and been mesmerized for a few short moments.  I am thankful that our journeys have overlapped.

Raindrops on Windowsills and Water in Glasses

Yesterday was a gloriously rainy day.  The early morning training was canceled so I could sleep in a few more hours and then visit the gym late.  I could have tea AND coffee and catch up on correspondence.  I could finish errands in the afternoon and then sit quietly on the sofa with a glass of reading water and finish The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.  It was a good day.

My review of the novel will have to wait since it's an upcoming August GBC read and I'm a believer in "no spoilers".  I do feel after having finished it though that I should revisit parts of the beginning as there are a few threads which still are not yet clear.

A reminder to sprint to the finish for the May reads: your choice of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen or Death Comes to Pemberly by P.D. James.

Green Goddess II

Any fool can get into an ocean
But it takes a Goddess
To get out of one.
What’s true of oceans is true, of course,
Of labyrinths and poems.

Opening lines from "Any fool can get into an ocean" by Jack Spicer.

Gulf at sunset off the coast of Tampa
May 2014

Happy weekend - happy reading!

Take a Dip

Amazon provides many wonderful deliveries.  In 85% of the small Prime boxes, I receive paper items but there's a solid five percent devoted to the art of swimming:  goggles, fins, caps, and today, a swimming metronome.  The first time I swam with a metronome, I had flashbacks to seventh grade piano and a teacher who kept tempo with a pencil.  Now I'm much more relaxed and swimming is more akin to waltzing through the water with the occasional fox trot to jazz things up a bit.

With swimming on the brain and a soft spot for childrens' books, this NYT review caught my eye: Suitable Swimming:  ‘Queen Victoria’s Bathing Machine’ and ‘Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas’.  The Queen and an elephant seal will give you a mid-week lift.

See you Later Alligator-ade

Some events happen in slow motion; dry Gatorade powder falling from the top of a refrigerator does not.  One appreciates the full thrust of 9.82 meters per second square as the canister slips just out of your reach onto the floor.  At this point, a cloud of dust (orange in this case) will rise like a summer storm enveloping your kitchen space only to fall gingerly, slowly, encompassing regions you never even considered with a grainy powder.  It's worse than glitter.

As a nod to anyone else who has vacuumed themselves as their last departing act for a Monday morning, First in Thirst: How Gatorade Turned the Science of Sweat Into a Cultural Phenomenon by Darren Rovell.

Week End

This week has gone by in a blur of multi-state travel, excel spreadsheets, a Field Day, and a wedding.  [I think every manager should have to instruct groups of K-5th graders to create a circle quickly.  This was test one's ability to vary communication to an audience.]

I'm still making progress on The Goldfinch.  Hope you're having a good weekend filled with things that make your heart happy.

I'm on a Boat II

sometimes days run from 7 to midnight and there's no time to read
you manage a morning paper and a few lines from social feed
evening boat with wind in your hair and water's good deed
lucky yet, a view for a sunset succeed

Tell Me About It

With the sun making its slow drop across the sky and perhaps your evening reading water in hand on the porch, this interview with Lynn Barber is just the thing to hold the Sundays at bay just a bit longer.  Decca Aitkenhead had me laughing more than a few times with her piece.  Barber seems like just the woman we would love to have at a GBC meeting.  Her second memoir is out this month:  A Curious Career.  

From Sea to Shining

...
I leave, imagining myself on the stern of a ship
nosing into Ellis Island, looking back at
the green lady, looking back, back at the sea.

from Ellis Island by J.R. Solonche

Looking back at Ellis Island
April 2014

Type A, Much?

I don't know when I became such a fan of letterpress, but I can't imagine life now with out it.  Bison Bookbinding (distributed via Parnassas) is awesome and tonight in perusing their site I found this gem and I'm even more im-"pressed".  Bison, I didn't know we shared a mantra.  Cheers!

Thunder and Lightning

It was a dark and stormy night and you have the choice of three books to bring into your tornado storm shelter.  Which items do you choose?

Keep in mind that all reading will be done with the frequent siren interruptions of your brand new weather radio* purchased four hours** before the first sirens.

Oh, and you had that bright idea to install a tornado app on your phone.  It's slightly out of sync with your weather radio so you get double the random warnings.

In the event of power outage, you have three sources of light:

• Flashlight #1 with batteries that may have been replaced (were they???) once since the 2007 gift.  You have one spare battery.
• Flashlight #2 purchased day 0 of impeding storms.  You will only realize later that because it's cute and LED, it will only give you 1.5 hours of light on the three batteries.  You have one spare. 
• One LED bike light which you never got around to installing on your bike from Christmas 2012.  It is the most fun because it pulses but reading with it might be a bit of a bear seizure.

Your safe room is hot because of course it's not ventilated.  Between the noise and the heat, concentration is a challenge.

Luckily, there is room for one tiny chair so you don't have to sit on the floor.  

In two hours, you've been able to leave the safe room for a period of 45 minutes (not consecutively) but you managed a quick dinner thanks to Boca.  

What do you choose?

*Health note:  I think one should have to have a heart test before the purchase of one of these radios.

**Consumer note:  If you've been through one of these before you will pay up to 200% markup...so I've heard.

My selections:

• Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (electronic version at 95% battery) that I began during my last weekend trip.
• State of Wonder by Ann Patchett which is still in progress because I didn't want to carry a book on the plane.  
• Mosby's Memoirs and Other Stories by Saul Bellow a lovely treat sent from a friend, hard copy, not started.  

If I have time to read all three, please send reading water.  

Be a Part of It

Happy Saturday to our half-marathoners, yogis, wedding attendants, and readers! Hope you have a wonderful day!   I plan to see a lady about a little Liberty.

Lolly Lolly Lolly, Get your Adverb Here

Discovery of this article literally figuratively made my day.

'Literally' figuratively destroyed by program to remove the word's misuse: A new browser plug-in displays all instances of the much-abused adverb as its traditional opposite. It's a figurative blast via The Guardian

Download Me

Two out of Three Ain't Bad

One of the few acceptable reasons for a 3:30 am alarm is an extra night in Chicago.

An upside* to a middle seat is the warm comfort of two strangers surrounding you while you read The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber.**

A consolation to an indirect flight via Atlanta is the book and cafe shop in Terminal B called Cafe Intermezzo. Surrounded by walls of various paperbacks, little wooden tables and chairs fill up the interior. It's my favorite place for an au lait or cappuccino and a croissant if you have an hour to spare.

* I'm stretching for this one. There really are no consolations to a middle seat. None. Unless you are giving either the aisle or the window to your love as an act of unconditional devotion or as a trade-in for a foot rub.

** Let's be realistic. The book is 32 pages. That's enough reading for the ORD tarmac territory if you're lucky.  It's a good read, but a tiny bit short.

I Didn't Hear a Peep

"For Children: You will need to know the difference between Friday and a fried egg. It's quite a simple difference, but an important one. Friday comes at the end of the week, whereas a fried egg comes out of a chicken. Like most things, of course, it isn't quite that simple. The fried egg isn't properly a fried egg until it's been put in a frying pan and fried. This is something you wouldn't do to a Friday, of course, though you might do it on a Friday. You can also fry eggs on a Thursday, if you like, or on a cooker. It's all rather complicated, but it makes a kind of sense if you think about it for a while." 

- Douglas Adams, Salmon of Doubt

Author's note: I had a fried egg on a Friday.  I think I'll think about it for a little while.

Queue for a Read

I'm starting to build my book list for spring and need to catch up on the GBC reads in addition to a few that I've been gifted.  Here's the latest queue in case you've missed it:

APR: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron

MAY: Your choice of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen or Death Comes to Pemberly by P.D. James

JUN: The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida (translated by KA Yoshida and David Mitchell)

JUL: The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King

AUG: The Goldfinch (start early, it's a big book!) by Donna Tartt

Have a great week!

A Running Joke

3 weekends, 4 races, 1 photo

Last year I said I would never again run two consecutive half-marathons.  It was tiring, it was mentally draining and I didn't have much fun.  Also, it was tiring.  (That point needed a second mentioning.)  I ran one more race after the last half (a hot 10k) and then tried my legs at water-skiing only to find that after a few times up, my legs still weren't warmed up enough for a side split.  

[Pause for physical therapy]

When I started running again, I found myself surrounded by the most amazing group of people who didn't care how long it took me to run a mile or four.  They knew my emergency contacts and talked me through breathing exercises as I began like I did in 2006, one step at a time barely moving.  

[Winter interlude and a crazy girls' trip with a half marathon]

I was running and laughing.  I found that time wasn't the focus, it was the friendships.  Slowly over the odd beer and training runs, I found my March and April heavily scheduled and I spent more time at home, running with people I loved and admired.  I had already selected my goal race, but under the influence of reading water and friends who are Iron Athletes, I signed up for a few more races.  "Training runs" they were called. 

I ran the first "training run" in the pouring rain side by side with a pacer so I wouldn't go out too fast.  With a mile to go, I felt like I had a little left so I ran ahead and when I had crossed the finished line, I saw that I had beat my best time (PR) by one minute.  I had not set out to do this but I suppose the lure of getting rid of the soaking wet shoes was too great.  

I ran my HILLY goal race with the sole aim of beating my 2013 time.  I did this by nearly five minutes and shaved another minute off the previous weekend.  With the help of one of my dear friends pacing me, I have a new PR.

So this weekend's agenda was back to back races for a 32.6 mile challenge.  Saturday morning I was excited but Saturday afternoon I did reflect that racing decisions made over reading water are perhaps not the most sound idea. I finished both, pacing a friend yesterday to her first half in a year, and scoring a rather nice beer stein for the accomplishment of dual racing.

This morning, I'm still riding a little runner's high.  I don't feel terribly bad, just extremely thirsty, after the three week adventure.

I'm not a "race report" kind of girl, but my point, in writing this, is "never say never" kids.  

You are stronger (and crazier) than you think you are.

Running Down a Dream II

It's a double race weekend for me which means there is a fair amount of napping and hydrating today before the final morning jog tomorrow.  [Feet on a pillow has never felt so good and I want to hug the person who invented compression sleeves.]

Tomorrow afternoon I'll have a date with a book, some reading water and a cheeseburger.  See also: long nap.

Hope your weekend is a great one!

Seize the Today

Happy Friday from the Poetry Foundation and Billy Collins:


Today
Billy Collins

If ever there were a spring day so perfect,
so uplifted by a warm intermittent breeze

that it made you want to throw
open all the windows in the house

and unlatch the door to the canary's cage,
indeed, rip the little door from its jamb,

a day when the cool brick paths
and the garden bursting with peonies

seemed so etched in sunlight
that you felt like taking

a hammer to the glass paperweight
on the living room end table,

releasing the inhabitants
from their snow-covered cottage

so they could walk out,
holding hands and squinting

into this larger dome of blue and white,
well, today is just that kind of day.

Bottle of Red, A Bottle of White

It was a treat to spend part of Saturday sharing glasses of reading water with GBC P@1ge and GBC K@y.  A planned outing and an impromptu meeting made me feel just as home as the song with a different state in its name that European strangers frequently try to sing to me while traveling.  (Who knew Lynard Skynyrd had such an international following?)

This week has been mainly talking about books but not reading, eating great food but not sleeping, running lots of miles but not swimming,

Here's to planning the next adventures while not losing the present.

Love in a (Grain) Elevator

Most especially if you are from a small place whose name makes use of the word "Shed", "Duck", or any other four letter noun followed by either "town", "ton" or "ville", take a few minutes and read this NYT book review on Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolaus Butler.  Jonathan Evison and the accompanying video that is absolutely worth three minutes three seconds of your life will get you to add this title to your reading list.  Wisconsin gets a special nod.

Piping Hot

A few weeks ago, I was lost in Space (Center).  Hope you find yourself lost (in a good way) this weekend.

"Like most astronauts, I'm pretty sure that I can deal with what life throws at me because I've thought about what to do if things go wrong, as well as right. That's the power of negative thinking.”

Chris Hadfield, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth

Space and Rockets
March 2014

Primed for Amazon

Sunday evening post-ride, post reading water, and post hop scotch [who knew a three year old and a centipede chalk drawing could bring on the wrath of the knees and quads?], I was ready to settle into the next read (with elevated feet).  I grabbed the first book on the shelf at arm's height (see previous comment regarding knees) that I had not tackled and now I'm a monstrous ten pages into State of Wonder by Ann Patchett.  I did not remember that I had an autographed first edition and was pleasantly surprised to see Ms. Patchett's neat script.

It is so nice to hold a book again after the last few e-reads.

Field of Diamonds in the Sky

Friday photos on Saturday.  Welcome to the dry weather after the half-marathon deluge.  I knew I'd stay with my pacer when she asked me about the last two books I read.

Hope you are having a great Saturday!

Sunday, Monday, Happy Days

It's a month packed full of birthdays including one of our very own GBC tomorrow.  A Wednesday mantra with good wishes for a year of blessings:

Let yourself be drawn by the stronger pull of that which you truly love

- Rumi 

The Bike is Right

Matt* seemed like a really nice person.  He grabbed the bike beside you in spin and you guessed that during the winter he would occasionally be mistaken for Santa.  Gentle white beard and hair, jolly posture, and a smile.  You were a bit tired; you had given up some sleep this weekend for more play.  He said something about being there because of the bad things he ate over the weekend; you mentioned a cheeseburger.  You both laughed.

The spin instructor is a substitute.  She's wearing a West Point sweatshirt.

The music started.

It was a short warm-up today but you were okay with that because your legs felt like lead.  (You would later change your mind as you moved into the three-minutes "on" and three minutes "off" section of the class.  Hello, West Point?!)

A song plays during the three minute break.  Matt asks you about the band; you say "Santana" and you think as the younger, you're educating him a bit.  He says "That is correct," and your stomach drops for no particular reason.

Work set.  "Do you feel that cheeseburger now?", he asked.

Work set.  "Never let them see you sweat."

Work set.  A series of "Who is this band?" and you don't know anymore if the sweat is from the bike or the barrage of questions which is starting to feel like an oral exam.  (You have a flashback to Materials class.)

You start glancing at the clock a little more often and wonder if you will make it.

You waver on The Beatles to close things out but you manage a smile and back slowly away on the stretches.

Today's Spin lesson:  Don't judge a book by its cover (unless they are in fact wearing West Point, because you will hurt a little.)

*Matt is not his real name but it rhymes with bike.  

Man, I Feel Like A(n Old) Woman

I still have yet to start the next book.  I had a block of time this morning but used it to maniacally finish a baby blanket.  I can't describe the feeling I had when I finished the pattern only to read I needed to CROCHET the edges.  I had one crocheting lesson about five years ago and I had my mom's old crochet hook.  Not much in the way of assets but paired with a few you tube videos, it happened.

[It is at this point that I would like to apologize to my mother for all the clothing patterns I selected and asked her to make for me when I was younger, saying "This looks easy. I'm sure you could do that."]

The baby blanket looked easy but I'm now having a glass of reading water as a reward.  It was a brutal last hour and let's just say the pattern was tweaked a wee bit in order to reduce the amount of hand-cramping from crochet.  Egads.

Hope you have had a great weekend!  I am happy that I got to spend time with GBC P@1ge.  There's no one else in the world with whom you'd rather prep last minute for a party.

Ring in Spring

This week I have said "yes" to every opportunity.  It's made me exhausted, but wow, what a fun week it's been.

Happy Spring!

Try new things.

Play, Paws

If you'd like to read a story about a cat, a man who recovered from addition, or just need a pick me up for Tuesday, you should read about A Street Cat Named Bob in the Guardian.  Sophia Evans' lead photo is beautiful.

Amazon readers (alleged avid cat fans) give the work a 4.7/5.0.

a Run, a Drive, a Dance, a Twist, and a Song

I wish I were a better writer so I could adequately capture the emotions around weekend events and convey them with sequenced letters to assemble words into pictures so that you could see them too.

A hill that was steep but you managed it.  The woman, your mentor, who said she heard your breath "rattle" which you normally associate with death in the South so your mind drifted early to the memorial hours before you would attend.

The woman who wore red instead of black and you thought it was a much better sentiment and that if the moment comes and you should wear black, perhaps you would want to wear red because that is her favorite color:  the color of nails, toasters, cars and who knows how many dresses.

The elderly woman listening to Irish music who kept tapping her feet while she sat beside her friend.  You suggested that she had a dance in her and she told you she was busy dancing with ghosts.

The teacher who moved your spine into a twist of epic proportions while you held your foot with one hand.  

The collections of voices raised into song that makes your list of unexpected beauty in a town not known more for rockets than music.  

No books.  Five stories.  

1 in 942,642 will be a winner, baby

It's Pi day so I'm posting cake.  It's round.

King Cake - Seaside, FL
February 2014

Because we like math and are slightly geeky, two of us in the group. tried to calculate the odds of cutting into the King Cake baby on the first cut.  After a nice discussion about surface area, volume and pi, we had cake.

She found the baby with the first cut.

Have My Cake and Eat it Two

The day seems to whiz by in three hour blocks.  Awake and at the gym, mid-morning call, late lunch, the afternoon hurdle when the office is so warm you want to nap, post-exercise laundry, and then the time when I should be sleeping but I'm warming up dessert instead.  (Let's be clear:  the only reason to exercise twice in one day is cake. Some might argue that it's triathlons, but it's really cake.)

Books are creeping by in 10-20 page segments.

Knitting is stalled.

Reading water glass two.

Though only Wednesday, it has been a week of endings, but I've had news today of one special beginning.  The Universe always manages to find its balance.

Here's hoping you do too.

Swing Spring

I'm slowly making it through The Wolf and anticipate the story is soon approaching its end as the arrests have begun.  

We're only just over a week or so away from the March GBC and Nashville city-wide read We are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Fowler.  I know GBC P@1ge is making good progress and I hope to manage a good chunk after all the indictments are handed out above.  

My current challenge is the weather.  These warm days with hints of spring have me wanting to run or bike and sit in the backyard with a warm* G&T wondering how exactly I could engineer a hammock.  

Hope you have a great week ahead!  

*Time to start making ice again.

EmergenC

After more than a week of excessive Vitamin C dosing, it is clear that the cold is winning.

On the upside, zero chance of scurvy.

After a long day, I've postponed workout plans until tomorrow morning so I could don my moose pajama hot-pants* and read before retiring at the hour of most 80 year old women.  In case you've missed this news, there's a limited edition print run of I Could Have Painted That by Miriam Elia which has been in the news.  It's irreverent satire so fits along well beside the Wolf.  Here's a link to a visual on the book and the related news about an unhappy Penguin.  If you remember the Ladybird books, you might especially find a smile; it was hard for me to pick a favorite of the pages.

*Special nod to Mel for the gift of amazing PJ couture.  

Lude-acris

The Wolf of Wall Street.  I'm over the half-way mark and we've moved our domestic money, prostitution, drugs and NASDAQ to the international markets.  When I first starting the work, I thought the book was a bit too far-fetched to hold my interest.  As it turns out, I have continued reading in pursuit of some noble aspect to our main character, Jordon Belfort. (I haven't found one yet.)  Thus far, one of my favorite characters is the limo driver, who only nods and does not speak to Belfort.  I'm also convinced his assistant was under-compensated for her efforts.  While the book is long, the vocabulary is not varied.  Expect the frequent interjections of expletives and the word "luscious."

And despite the above, I will keep reading.  I find the book to be a bit like Kitchen Confidential  We know that bad things are happening in areas we don't want to contemplate, and these guys are bringing it forward.

Coast-ing

Book. 

Beach. 

Run.

Nap.

Nails.

Fun.

Pool.

Perch.

Sun.

Sunset.

Sunrise.

Won.

Table with a View

Friday reminder to celebrate moments of relaxation and 4th birthdays.  Best wishes to our growing youngest reader and hope you all have a happy Friday!

Pura Vida
Costa Rica, February 2014

Stock and Barrel

Sometimes there are a series of events that come together to select your next read:

• Super early alarm
• Icy roads
• A new entry into your top 3 scariest cab rides of all time (and the only one without heat on a 9 degree morning)
• Super long security line
• No coffee
• Super long screening line
• Have I mentioned coffee?
• Train ride to the farthest terminal
• Five minutes before boarding and you need water and breakfast 
• Still no coffee and I would not recommend the Greek yogurt protein bar
• Two minutes before boarding and connecting to free Wifi
• One minute before boarding and selecting the first three books that were <$6.00 on the Kindle suggestions for you (well, actually you select three of the four; not quite sure how that 4th one made the list)

The Wolf of Wall Street is underway.  Thus far I'm relatively certain my business program would not have selected this as required reading.