Sunset beach diamond painting is nearly finished. Just a little piece of sky. (Why did I suddenly hear Yentl in my head?) And I sealed the smiling turtle. As soon as I can I will hang it in my bathroom.
My fingering weight socks are coming along. Not very fast as thin needles and skinny yarn take more caution, time, eye-strain, nimble fingers.Guess who got a new watch? I’m still learning my way around it. I haven’t figured out how to capture my stationary bike time, distance, or levels. But the work should get reflected in other health numbers.
My new air plants found pinecones for homes.
Some things like the bike are hard to show progress. But my feelings about the tasks should be the quantifiable attainment. The gold star sticker is the happy accomplished feeling.
I’ve been working on “Shilo” on the piano in honor of
Shiloh. She and Sammie find their places in Dar’s Dabbling Den at practice time. I like their company as I stumble through 4 or 5 pieces a day. Once I’m bored with a song it goes by the wayside. But sometimes a song challenges me to the point of playing itself in my sleep.
I keep a practice journal and some pieces shine with my own praise of how well it went, others I actually draw faces sticking out the tongue in raspberries. I keep promising another ‘warts and all’ session. Stagefright keeps stopping me. Soon.
Duolingo is still fun for me. I do it while on the bike as the 11AM local news plays. I think movement while learning helps.
This series is so fulfilling. Each book sees the character, Maisie, and her life progressing within a well-researched historical England. Equally, life continues as do illness, death, or personal conflicts. All of this kept me in another world, exploring life at another time. I hated leaving the book to go to sleep. I felt I could reach out and chat with the characters; that’s how well Jacqueline Winspear writes.
Orlagh Cassidy narrates in such a way that there is no confusion between characters, which helps increase the story’s realism.
If you get the opportunity to read this series, please give it a try. I highly recommend the Libby audiobook version. My friend, Kay, recommended it to me, and she rarely leads me to dull books!
I was fortunate to borrow this audiobook from Libby. And unfortunately, I didn’t quite finish before it was due back. And people were waiting to read it, so I had to let it go back. I put it on hold to finish the read. But I think I have read enough to review the book.
Surprised. I was surprised that I liked the book as much as I did. I felt I learned new things in many different areas of Mr. Clinton’s life, and how history played a part in our story. He wrote about his family life in ways that were remarkable, loving, and full of pride. I expected a lot of political jargon and boring, dry subject matter. I look forward to finishing the book later.
I nearly forgot that Steven Weber (narrator) easily and naturally lent his voice to President Clinton. I think this was a good choice. I’m sure the president’s voice would have been acceptable, but it might not have held up to the constant reading.
As I said from the beginning, I was surprised at how I liked this book. I thought I would be bored or lost, but I felt educated by the time I returned the book.
This series took me a while to read. A South African monster slayer, post-apocalypse, still in college in a time when monsters now roam. Kat Drummond is a ghost-inhabited student just trying to get by. She can be sassy, but mostly a new adult full of the normal insecurities we all have in our late teens and early twenties.
This was fun, if not downright bloody. The gross scenes were vivid and not the best for a bedtime read. But before long, the characters grow on you, and the story holds up over the scarier or grosser parts.
I can see young adults and new adults loving this series.
The coolest part of this book was that it took place in South Africa. It is a nice diversion from the usual books we can access here in the States. This is a fun series if you can handle monsters to learn about how real people operate in less than the best circumstances.
There’s a bit of month left over but by meandering through the alphabet I’ve hit Z. No more letters And…
Zero stitches to knit on Chris’s birthday socks!
A quick review of my favorite sock pattern:
Turkish cast-on starts the toe. Increase to width of foot. Work width until nearing the arch. Rib the arch. A couple inches of width-knit. Then start Fleegle Heel. Knit width of ankle for a couple of inches. Then rib desired cuff length. Jeny’s stretchy cast-off finished the sock. You can research this site or YouTube for each of the identified bits of the Chiaogoo Two At A Time Socks.
Now on to the other socks I started earlier but had to put away for the birthday socks. Yay!
It’s time to teach more new tricks to the yearling pup. We’ve finally let him leashless around inside the house. He’s barking is less. We’re getting better sleeping at night.
Four adults make sure rain or shine that Milo gets lots of walks leashed in the yard.
Still, we’re working on him not pooping in the hall, even when the job’s been done moments before outside.
But he responds to his name and ‘come’. But so much more training needs to happen.
Thank you, Linda and Stream of Consciousness for the remainder to teach him to ‘shake’. It should be easy. Another way to bond with this cuddle-bug.
(W)hy is there an X for the 24th day of the month?
(W)ouldn’t it be easier to leave the letter out? Then it would be the ex letter. But then our exes won’t exist? No more xylophone? Ah, that would be a loss.
Wondering why so many Ws? I hadn’t hit that letter yet. Wander with me just don’t miss the exit!
Working on my series: Haven.
Doodler (zendoodle.com)
Music major: voice and piano
Mom of four great adults
Reiki II practitioner
I have been on disability/retired for 10 years now from depression, anxiety and fibromyalgia.
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