I do more chart reading and math in November than any other time of the year. (Yes, I met my goal for today. Time to sleep!)
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I only have 27,016. I still need 300 before I can go to bed. Yikes! See ya’ll later.
To find words.
My Grape Baby by Laura Bradbury
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’m sad that this is the end of the series, as far as I know. It has been fun to watch Laura in her college years, meeting and marrying Franck. I loved meeting her Canadian family and Franck’s French family. There is a bit of a feeling of traveling and living somewhere other than here.
In previous books, we met Laura and Franck’s first two babies. We enjoyed watching them flip a couple of homes and a wine cellar. And we read about food and wine, a lot of wine. The real estate and food I can do without, but in this book, it gets personal. And may I, without giving spoilers, warn you to have Kleenex nearby.
I wish Laura and her family all the best. Enjoy these books if you get the chance.
Popping around to play NaNo Avoidance. It’s a game I play every year. The only rule is to do anything but write on the current project. I try to baby that child, giving in here and there but imposing tiny rules of my own. Just 333 words in an hour several times a day still brings that daily tally
But I’m not the only one popping around.
Sammy played Pop Goes the Kitty to distract me:
He’s way too big for the kitty tree now but he manages to play in it with Shiloh sleeping on the top nest.
Gives me an idea for my next avoidance trick.
For the knitting, I’ll just use last week’s pic as I’ve done very little knitting.
A friend sent this to me. It has already helped.
I hope it helps you, too.
Laugh and Be Happy
Welcome to last night’s earworm (click the link in the caption– I couldn’t get it to embed.)
Sometimes energy
and words fly away.
Tomorrow I will do many sprints to get everything working again. Meanwhile:
An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Below are my first two reviews of this book. Nothing has changed in this third reading. I LOVE the OUTLANDER series, both the books and the television series. Diana Gabaldon is a super author. Davina Porter is the best narrator ever!
Below is my first review of this Audio version of the book. Nothing has changed. This is still my favorite Outlander book. It was great to read it as this season of Outlander streams. In fact, the scene from a couple of weeks ago —I had just read it the same day. Claire got sick. I’ll write no more about that without spoilers.
I took longer to read (listen) this time. Instead of knitting, I spend the listening time on Diamond Painting, a series of dragons. I can only devote an hour or so to that endeavor. So with the before-bed read and creative pursuits, I couldn’t read straight through. I am already set up to read book 8. It’s like I can’t remember what happened next, yet I remember and can’t wait to visit it all again.
***
This book may be my favorite of all the Outlanders. Maybe because of how I chose to read it nearly 24/7. After all, I had reached the skinny-mini underbelly of all streamings–teens or young people who look like Barbie Dolls going through the same-same life issues. Give me some older adults, women of all shapes and colors, real people, not Hollywood mothers, whores, or weaklings. Not enough streaming of strong women holding up half the world. So, back to reading —the only way I could. Audible.
Also, I was making scrubbies and washcloths while listening. That helped me ‘hear’ better.
By constant reading, I could stay in the story better. And family members came and listened with me on occasion. So it wasn’t a lonely process.
At any rate, I loved watching the cast of characters struggle with life, time travel, and historical moments. I especially loved the parts about Brianna and Roger at Lallybroch recovering letters from Claire and Jamie. And though I used to find Willy obnoxious, I think I clicked with him this time. And I grew more in love with John Grey. How nice to see good, honest, quality men portrayed.
I tried to find something else to read last night as my bedtime read, but couldn’t resist looking for more Outlander. Now I am listening to book 8, Written In My Own Heart’s Blood.
Time to lower my reading goal as I seem stuck in tome reading. I love it! I hope you get the chance to read these. Oh, and Davina Porter does so many voices so well. I still wish for more actual actors, for sometimes Bri and Claire sound the same, and all the children sound the same, and Roger, even with his sore throat, sounds like other men. Still, for one person covering so many people, Davina is fantastic!
Darswords 
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