6 Days Back. 6 Days Forward.

Race

Race

Rest

Tough

Tender 

Test

Hill

Ridge

Dew

Concrete

Beach

View

Birthday, Baptism, Balloon and a Barn

It was a travel weekend where the most memorable items started with "b" (including the presents).  Hope you enjoyed the sunshine as much as I did.

Will Do

Some of the books I read are stalked for months and purchased when the price hits a sweet spot that I can no longer resist.  (I'm sorry authors; I know this isn't what you want to read, but I do work on a budget.)

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes was one such novel on my list.  Last weekend's flight schedules gave me ample opportunity for a three-day read.  This title was a NYT best seller and well-rated so I didn't feel I could go wrong with a $2.99 investment.  As I joked earlier, perhaps it was the sunny weather and the thought of a day off, but I lost myself in this book quickly.  I missed safety demos, in-flight announcements and the beverage cart.  Clark was an unlikely companion for Will.  In fact, the intro of our main character completely threw me off (which likely attributed to the "hook" of the story).

With a twinge of Fault in our Stars fated love, I read through the ending with long exhales and deep sighs.  Love, messy and forgiving, which occurs more often in print than in direct experience.  [At least the forgiving part; the messy is usually easy.] We all have limits with love and I've spent a fair bit of time thinking about that this weekend as a result.  (I've also made a mental note about triathletes that will make more sense if you read the book.)

This is a great book to purchase now and save for a spring or summer read if lighter material fits your fare.

Big Sky

I read two and half books this last week.

I think it's the weather.

Somewhere between Tucson and Phoenix
February 2015

Wires Crossed

Somewhere on the coast of New Brunswick
September 2011

A friend of mine and I went on a journey into New Brunswick from Maine and had it in our minds to find a lighthouse inspired by a little blue sign and an arrow.  As it turned out, we never found the lighthouse, but we had a really interesting drive along the coast and a lot of fun buying ice cream at a tiny gas station in a town whose name I can't remember.

Sometimes it's a good idea to bring a map.

Sometimes it's just good to have the ice cream.

Shiny Tree-ts

Sometimes life with no filter is extremely colorful and a little blurry.  Still it makes me smile.

O'Hare through the Windshield
Pre-Christmas 2014

Have a Ball

May your weekend be shiny and bright!

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

O'Hare International Airport
November 2014

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.

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

Circle, Column, Square

It's a small world after all.

Epcot
September 2014

Hope you've had a good week.

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.

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. 

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.

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!

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.

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.