Meanderings – Page 47

Morning Meanderings…. Spending Time In The Library

Published on December 7, 2013December 7, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)32 Comments

Good morning! Happy Saturday. Current Brainerd Minnesota weather -21. 😯 NO kidding… I just looked. No wonder the dogs were like “are you kidding me?” when I let them out this morning.

For today’s Saturday Snapshot, I thought I would show you where I have been this week and what I have been doing. 😀

This past week I have spent quite a bit of time in our local library. This week I spent time working on the display window changing it out to good December reading.

Last weekend a group of the Friends came in on Sunday when the Library is closed and decorated for the holidays. It was the first time I participated in this and it was a lot of fun. We put up three trees and decorations on shelves, greenery everywhere and wreaths too.

Yesterday I was at the library for most of the day. I went in the morning to drop off my lap top and pick out donated books to make a “book tree”. As usual, I underestimated the amount of time it would take to do such a project. After an hour of picking out the right size books, I left for a coffee meet up I had with a friend. Then I came back for a meeting on the Friends logo that we are working on designing. This meeting went 2 1/2 hours. Then I went back to work on my tree which took me about another hour and a half. I left the library at 5:20 pm. I neglected to take a picture of the book tree but I will try to capture that today.

Today is the Friends Of The Brainerd Public Library Open House. This is the day that we invite the public to come and check out the decorated library and enjoy a cookie and coffee or juice. I am excited to go and hang out with the friends from 10 -2 today. If you live in the area, stop by and say hi!

Morning Meanderings… An Audible time of year

Published on December 6, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)29 Comments

Another wintery morning here.

Huh.

I was kind of hoping I would wake up and it would all be gone. 😛

I was going to write this morning that this time of year I love to listen to audio books, and while that is true. I realize that I listen to just as much audio now as I do the rest of the year, the only difference is I probably listen to more audio this time of year in the house. In the spring through fall I take it outside with me while I rake, mow the lawn, work in the flower beds, garden, bike, etc…. Now, I listen to it when I get home from work and I am in the kitchen planning dinner, or working on laundry, cleaning, or playing Candy Crush on Facebook. (Yes yes.. I said it… do not judge. 😛 )

I love having audio cds to take in my car as I tend to travel quite a bit year around, but when it comes to audio I can put on my IPOD or phone, I use Audible.com. I love it a the audio books are reasonable, when you first sign up your first one is free then you can choose to get one or two a month, any audio you want!

I think the first year I used Audible I was on the one credit a month plan but by year two I loved audio so much I bumped it up to two. They roll over so you dont lose them. They also have great sales throughout the year like $4.95 sales where you can choose from hundreds of audio books for that price. I stock up!

I decided to talk about audio this morning because I love to encourage people to try it. I was not an audio book listener until about 4 years ago and now I probably double my book count each year because of it. I review a lot of audio here and below listed a few of my favorites if you are looking for good audio. I know many other book loving audio listeners could add to this list:

The Help by Catherine Stockett

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe

Into The Wild by John Krakauer

11-22-63 by Stephen King

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green

Backseat Saints by Joshilyn Jackson

One Second After by William Forstchen

A Grown Up Kind Of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson

The Last Original Wife by Dorothy Benton Frank

The Husbands Secret by Liane Moriarty

I could go on and on, but this should get you started…lol

In other crazy awesome news, just this morning I found out I won the KOBO giveaway at Alison’s Book Marks! I am so excited as I know when she received hers she loved it! I am very curious about this and will be sure to update once I have it and am using it. 😀

Morning Meanderings… Deadlines

Published on December 5, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)9 Comments

Good morning! As I sit here this morning well into that first cup of coffee, still in my p.j.s, contemplating this meandering… all I can wrap my head around are deadlines.

Today I have an 800 word article due to a local magazine about my friend Connie and Camp Benedict. I have a few details to tweak into the story so I reach my “time to go to work” moment I have a wee bit of “come on! Get ‘er done!”

I need to get registered for the Monster Series races yet this week. This is a series of runs that you sign up for as a group and there are some cool extras with that deal. This will be my gift for Christmas form my hubby and I am super excited about it as the Monster Series completion is on my bucket list. Of course… I should have done this a couple weeks ago, therefore now having missed early packet pick up…. egads…. (sorry Belinda but thanks for checking for me!)

With all the “not so awesome” snow we picked up in the storm of the last couple of days… I also need to shovel decks this afternoon when I get home.

There are bookish things I could talk about… the Library Open House is this Saturday, I set the window for holiday reading last night and hope to build the book tree either this afternoon or tomorrow morning.

Ok speaking of deadlines… I must get ready for work. Any “deadlines” hanging over your head this week? And why do they call them deadlines? When you think about it – its a horrible name. 😀 I prefer…. opportunities for procrastination. 😉

Morning Meanderings… Book Lovers Have Book Wishes Too!

Published on December 4, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)23 Comments

Good morning! Happy Wednesday! We are half way through the week and I am looking forward to the weekend! Last week was so busy I feel the need to get in a bit of chill time this weekend I hope. 😀

Recently I read a blog post that mentioned how book lovers like us rarely get books for Christmas as no one would dare try to guess what we have and what we don’t and what we want to read and what we do not want to read. I apologize, I do not recall who’s blog I read this on. I do recall however, how true a statement I thought it was at the time. Days later, I am still thinking about it.

It is true that I rarely get a book for Christmas or my birthday , or any gift giving scenarios. And it is true for all the above reasons, people have no idea what book I would like to have. It is the very reason why I put a wish list on this blog years ago and it remains there today so friends and family could see what I is on my coveted list. 😀

I thought today I would post some of the new items that have hit that wish list…

My new found love for all things Moriarty has brought this little gem into my radar.

Ever since I first seen this in Shelf Awareness I can not get it out of my head.

I love foodie books and memoirs of chefs. This one looks delightful!

I adored Cinder and am looking forward to this one!

Ok, even though this cover almost seems to scream “self published!” it is not… and it is J K Rowling hiding under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, which makes me curious….

Any time a book is said to be “The next Harry Potter”, I am listening. As of this date, the only series that has even come close IMO is The Mortal Instrument series and even that does not compare to the sheer brilliance of the HP books…. but, I am always looking. 😀

It shocks me as well that I have not read this yet after I have heard such great buzz. Truth is, I have not picked it up yet!

When it comes to books, I could just go on and on and on, but this is a small grouping of books that are on my radar to read, but at this time do not own. Christmas… is coming. 😀

Readers, what books would you like to see under the tree this Christmas season? And even if you do not celebrate Christmas, what books are you hoping and wishing for?

Morning Meanderings… Books To Check Out!

Published on December 3, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)22 Comments

Mmmmmmm. Good morning. Our area in Minnesota was doused with snow the last 24 hours. Our first real snow of the season. We are in a winter storm warning, supposedly 8 inches has fallen so far and they expect a total of up to 14. 😯 Coffee. Now please.

Because of everything I just mentioned, I skipped the gym this morning and slept in a bonus hour.

In bookish news, while reading blogs Sunday and Monday of this week I found some particular books/audio that caught my eye/ear. 😀

Kathy at Bermuda’s Weblog caught my attention with this audio she recently listened to.

Book Riot had a great post on bookish gifts for the Holidays and this snowflake one has me thinking ….

Jo at Captured On Film posted about this book which really has me interested. I like memoirs and Sharon has had quite the life.

Carrie at Books and Movies posted about this one in audio. Now this would probably not be a book I would normally pick up but the raves I have heard, and then Carries review of the audio had me download it yesterday from Audible.com.

That’s what I found in my blogesphere adventures. In other topics of interest…. what if you forgot the last ten years of your life? Seriously. Take a moment and go back 10 years. Where were you? What was your life like then? Now imagine that you woke up this morning and your last clear memory is from 10 years ago. You think you are ten years younger. You are surprised at the age of your children, your spouse, and yeah…. you. Or what if someone who was in your life ten years ago, now was not?

Join me later today when I post the review of What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty. (Totally….. Sqqqquuueeeee worthy). 😛

Morning Meanderings… Creepy Experience and Great Reads

Published on November 26, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)21 Comments

Good morning! I am back! I believe I am back as my post yesterday evening stated. It feels good to want to write again. What was that anyway? Bloggers block? 😛

So last week I had went to the opening night of Catching Fire (woot! woot!) I went to the 9 pm and was home by 11:45 pm. I came in my house and dropped my purse and keys on the table walked into our bedroom to let the dogs out and came back out into the living room. A man in a suit was standing on our front deck tapping on the living room window. GAH.

I went to the door and opened it a crack. He said he was wondering if Al was available. I for one, explained to him that it was almost midnight. Two,my husband was home but was asleep and had been for hours. He said he had seen the lights on in our yard. “Yes,” I said, “I have just come home from a movie.” He said he wanted to talk to him about a judgement, apologized, and then went away.

A little shook up I went back to let the dogs in from our back deck, turned around and he was in the window again. Now… I was really annoyed. I went to the door again. He said his boss would not forgive him if he did not at least drop papers off with me for Al to look at. He had a wad of cash in his hand too and said that he was trying to pay for a judgement my husband had filed. I took the papers, not the cash and closed the door.

I walked into our bedroom and asked Al if he heard any of that, he had not. I brought him up to speed. I said it was creepy and unprofessional for someone to be knocking on our door around midnight. Al agreed. We own an excavating company and Al occasionally has to file judgements on those who do not pay.

The next day Al called the guy and found out he worked for some company where they buy judgements and then they go after the people who had it against them. Al said that this particular judgement was settled so they were out of date, and that we were not interested. So weird.

In brighter and funner (yes yes… funner is my word!) news, while traveling round the blogs this weekend I found a few books that really caught my eye:

At Tessa’s Reading Corner, she wrote a review on The Theory Of Opposites

At Library Of Clean Reads, there were several books that caught my eye:

The Rule Of Thre3, Landry Park, Dangerous. All look wow!

At Busy Hands Are Happy Hands, I seen a review for a book called Julia’s Chocolates that sounded scrumptious!

If you have some time, stop by and check these out. Have you read any of them?

Ok, I am off for now.. just home from the gym this morning and I need to get moving towards work. Stop in later for my review of Coreyology. It was …. 😉

Morning Meanderings…. A Little Project With Audio Appetizer

Published on November 23, 2013November 23, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)25 Comments

Good morning and happy Saturday! It is COLD here in central Minnesota and it has driven me indoors which is a bummer, but the up side is I love this time of year for house projects and snuggling up with great reads. Last weekend I had an opportunity to do both.

Our entryway to our home was a color that I no longer loved. For a small space it was to dark and the two doors in that area that I had painted were chipped and scruffy looking. In usual “let’s get ‘er done” fashion, I went to the paint store in the morning, had my paint picked out within minutes and that afternoon went to work. I am pretty thrilled with the results so for this weeks Saturday Snapshot, here is my entryway make over:

Yes, I am thrilled with the look. It fresh, clean and makes the area look bigger. As for the audio accompaniment, that would be The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty which I am loving right from the beginning. This one is a treat on audio – love the narration!

Pop on in to Saturday Snapshot and see what others are taking pictures of this week. 😀

Morning Meanderings… Join Me For Coffee!

Published on November 16, 2013November 16, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)16 Comments

Happy Saturday! I have a pretty nice wide open weekend here that I am pretty excited about. Lots of little mini projects I am considering: I have books to put away in the book room, a desk to set up in the office, paint to pick out for the front room and upstairs living room, reviews to write…

Recently I was picked to host a House Party for the Tassimo Coffee Pot. If you are not familiar with House Party, check it out. These are parties on products anywhere from books, to movies, to food, to beverages, to games, to projects. You sign up for the ones you are interested in and if you are chosen to host you are to invite at least 10 people over to share in the product with you. They can be a lot of fun and you are sent whatever you need to put on the party. In the past I have had two parties around books and one on a movie, this was my first branching out.

I wanted to host this party because I knew I would never buy a $165 coffee pot, which is what this model of the Tassimo is. Hosts received not only the coffee pot, but an assortment of coffee pods to use at the party. I was thrilled when I was selected.

I did have the party and it was a lot of fun. At first, I found the coffee pot to be a lot of work to figure out. I did not even get that the coffee pods that came with creamer was a pod you put in the machine after the coffee part to heat and foam the creamer and then the machine added it to your cup. It was one of my guests who pointed that out to me (thanks Brenda!)

As the evening went on, I actually found the coffee pot growing on me. I liked trying the different kinds and the fact that it brewed one special cup at a time. In fact, since the party, I have not used my regular coffee pot. For todays Saturday Snapshot (give it up for West Metro Mommy Reads!) I thought I would post a couple pictures from that event.

Brenda and I were fascinated watching it brew

My overall thoughts: I like the Tassimo and yes I would recommend it. They sent in the package 40% off coupons for my guests if they wanted a Tassimo Coffee pot as well as some yummy brunch recipes. We had a great time!

Pop on over to West Metro Mommy Reads and see what other people are posting pics of this weekend. It is deer hunting season here in Minnesota, my Facebook friends are saturated in pics of family members with their deer (what an odd tradition, to pose with your deer….) LOL

Morning Meanderings…. Caution Required When Listening to Patterson’s Audio Books

Published on November 14, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)8 Comments

Mmmmm…. good morning! I am enjoying a delicious cup of coffee from my new coffee pot the Tassimo, thanks to House Party. It took a bit to get the hang of it but now… I may be addicted.

SO feel free to nickname me absentee blogger, that’s the way I feel lately. I am seriously hoping to get my mojo back and my hope lies in the winter months when life tends to slow down a bit for me and I hate the cold and wet and snow so I tend to spend more time indoors doing bloggy type things.

You may know I have a weakness for Patterson’s audio books (go ahead, insert your own groan here). Particularly the Michael Bennett series… the one about the cop with the ten adopted kids… I know a bot crazy but I love the story line. When recently offered the latest in this series for review that was a hard YES! One of the things I love about these adios and they are excellent at sound effects.. not cheesy ones… but good ones and set up for the right time. Gun shots, etc… A few years back when I started listening to these books while driving I had a time when a gunshot was on the audio and I seriously thought I was being shot at.

In central Minnesota…. can you imagine? 😯

SO now I am listening to this new one and I am at the grocery store pulling out of my parking spot when the audio makes a crashing noise. My heart stops… I am sure I just hit something….

Egads…. GOOD audio!

I am looking forward to a fairly mellow weekend. There is a 5k opportunity this weekend that I am not signed up for but kind of considering… maybe maybe not…. but books are definitely on the upcoming weekend agenda.

Questions to ponder… do you like audio (Laurel…. be kind! 😉 ) AND do you like sound effects in your audio? Also… what are your plans this weekend. I had an idea for a fun meme to start off the new year with that I am kind of excited about implementing… stay tuned… I will post about it in a few weeks 😀

Morning Meanderings… A bit like a “picker”

Published on November 10, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)18 Comments

Good morning everyone! I hope your weekend was (and is still) FAB. I had a pretty sweet Saturday with a little adventure with my hubby. If you do not know, we own an excavating company. My hubby recently won a bid to tear down an old cabin that was condemned. I had heard that there was some old furniture in the cabin and I tagged along yesterday morning to go and salvage (pick?) what was savable. We left yesterday at 6 am, the cabin is about an hour away, and then went cautiously inside as the roof has caved in, the chimney had fallen through and there was a big hole in the middle of the large entryway which was probably once a cool three season porch.

The sight of the cabin was actually a little sad as by the looks of all the dishes in the cupboards, papers on the table, etc… it clearly looked like they had intended to be back. A sign hung outside the shed that said “Olson’s Oasis”.

Everything for the most part was in really bad shape. There was an old gate leg table that had warped and split because of the rain that has drizzled on it for years. A few of the key pieces I pulled out were:

20131109_082502 — This is possibly my favorite find. The table was covered with a plastic cloth so did not become damaged like the other pieces. The bottom needs a little work and of course a whole refinish job but my mom and I used to work on antiques together and I am kind of excited to have the opportunity to do this again.

20131109_074837 — Not sure what I will do with this but it was worth cleaning up and not being demolished.

20131109_074622 — I think this could be fun to put some love back into as well.

This is some of the highlights. There were a few other lamps, some dishes, chairs, etc… might be something to work on this winter or early spring.

This would normally have been a great post for Saturday Snapshot (which I am linking to anyway even though I am a day late 😀 ), but of course I was out “picking” yesterday morning and didn’t want to wait to post until next Saturday. With my life, you never know what might be new and exciting next.

For those who want to know, I did inquire about the family who once owned the home. Apparently there is only the wife still around and she is in a nursing home out of state. I am hopeful that by perhaps breathing life back into some of these pieces in a way it brings back some of the love they once had.

Enjoy your day! I have a full morning and lots of house cleaning projects to do this afternoon. The weather looks decent – I may try to get a run in as well. And I am reading the book club book, Ladies Night by Mary Kay Anderson and really enjoying it.