Book Journey

Good morning.  Two days of posting?  WOW!  Must be the coffee.  😉

In reality… I think it is me trying to reach beyond the grief.  I made a decision in mid August that I needed a season of investing in me…. good positive healthy habits.  I have been biking – A LOT.  I have been getting out more, eating right and all in all… feeling a weight of darkness lift off of me.  I know the grief will always be there, that underlying sadness I feel like a constant lump in my throat…. however by DOING and BEING I am trying to live the life I am supposed to live – almost for both of us….

How is that going?

Well… I have biked over 400 miles in the past 6 weeks.  I have stretched myself to go back to the gym to Group Power.  I have thrown myself into good community projects and working with good community people that keeps my mind active and while it is still hard to be out “there” I am doing it.

I feel….

good.

Last night, I went to the first of a new 2nd Mondays thing at one of my favorite venues in the area, Prairie Bay.  I love how they do community and Friends of the Library will be partnering with them as well next week (more on that awesome stuff) later.  Last night was the Game night.

Here is how it works.

From 6 – 9 pm you show up on 2nd Mondays to play a board game.  The game will be announced on their website and you do not have to know how to play before going.  Last nights game was Catan.  I did not know how to play.

This was so much fun!  Not only did I learn a new game, I hung out with friends and met new people too.  If you live int he area, I recommend you check out all the good that Prairie Bay is doing in our community.  They have excellent ideas of bringing people together.

Laughter… although painful at times…. is also an investment in me.

Ok… challenge is out there?  How will you invest in YOU today?

I am still here.

It seems like my days fly away before I even know what is happening.  It’s been a busy summer of bike riding, events, bookish stuff, and spending time with friends.  Good things. Things I need to do.  Things I want to do.

The bench.

Those of you who know me know I spend a  good deal of time working with our local library.  You also may know about the bench outside the library in memory of my son.  Can I say my heart runs over with love for all who had a part in this happening?

That bench.

Every time I pull in to the library parking lot I see it.  Sometimes there are things left on it… notes, flowers, a rock that says trust… What seems to take my breath away – is seeing people sitting on it.  Justin’s bench sits between two others.  To me… it feels as though it is used more and that makes me so happy and sad at the same time.  Does that make sense?  Happy because he would love this whole idea of a bench… and  that quote, and people enjoying it…..  Sad because… well hell…. why does there have to be a bench in the first place?

A few weeks back I walked out of the library and saw a man sitting on the bench.  I had this sudden urge to go over and hug him.  Of course then I think… how appropriate is that?  Scare this poor man sitting on a bench unknowingly being observed by the mother of the boy who the bench is dedicated to?  And define appropriate.  I honestly am not sure I know what it means anymore… my filter for where to draw the line is pretty much gone.  I live it true – I live it real.  So what if I scare someone on the bench?

But of course…. I don’t approach him.  I just take myself teary eyed to my car and drive away.

Then today….

I am leaving the library and I see a boy in his 20’s sitting on the bench.  My pace slows.  I look at him and he sees me and smiles.  That urge… that urge to go over and talk to him about who Justin was simmers right there… right at the edge of moving me that direction but instead…. I smile back..  My eyes fill…. I walk away.

Define appropriate…

Define….

me.

Today… working on a contract. Mowing the lawn.  Riding my bike.  Hopefully writing a review and breaking that seal on this site where I start to write and gush about books again.  I do miss it.  I do miss you.

WHAT are you reading?

Good morning all!

Look at that – I disappeared again.  DOH!  For good reason this time I think – I was swamped with Wine and Words 2016 stuff and pretty much everything went to the wayside the last couple of months including, reading, and audio.  *sob*

I am however over the biggest event of the year and while there is still detail work to do – deposits, thank you’s, certificates, etc…  Ahhhhh….

So a quick recap.  Wine and Words was wonderful.  Pictures will be posted on our website soon.  Allen Eskens was fantastic.  Helen Ross Klein a delight.  Brian Freeman always a win. Joshilyn Jackson cracked everyone up.  Laura Childs shared her early on writing storing.  Lorna Landvik.. what would I do without her?

And then in true me style, I stayed over night at Grand View Lodge with our authors, hurried home, tossed Wine and Words out of the can and camping stuff in and drove 3 1/2 hours to go to my cabin and hang out friends for a long weekend.  We just came back yesterday evening.

One of our Wine and Words pics…

Biking at the cabin….

A little book store stop in Ely…. I have plans for this book.  Stay tuned 😀

SO lots to catch up on today so I am off and running.  Have a super day…. by golly I hope to write a review this afternoon.

I am here.

Holy smokes I never planned that hiatus.  This summer has had an odd feel to it – not necessarily bad, but like I am moving in slow motion and things I need to get done… takes a lot longer than it used to.

My diagnosis of myself is… I think last year I ran so hard so fast to stay ahead of the grief.  I kept going, doing, blogging, events…  and then winter came… and I slowed down.  I had time to grieve and deal head on with the depression that I was out running.  There are crazy attributes to depression.  Low energy, lack of interest in outside things, and a desire to just stay home.  All of these attributes are still somewhat true and I fight them daily.  Yes I can get out and do things – and I am fighting through… but it a new and long journey still for me.

I still cry daily….  I prefer to stay home and there are days I do not leave the house.  I am trying hard to break that habit. And most days I write posts in my head that never make it to this site and I miss that very much.  My reading and audio are down… I miss that as well.  But know this – I am trying and I want to be back.

So – whats new and happening?

Well…next week is Wine and Words (EEP!!!) Today my big focus is detail work for that event.  I am working much with our Library which is always good and I enjoy being a part of that community.  Last week I helped with a Harry Potter event to celebrate the new book, Harry Potter and The Cursed Child.  The kids worked on trivia, coloring sheets, and we made HP glasses out of pipe cleaner (because that is how cool we are)  and then we all watched the first movie.  That part was hard as this was Justin and my thing… and darn it all JK for coming up with another book that I know he and I would be chatting so excitedly about.

And because I promised you burnt pop tarts…

As a kid I LOVED pop tarts… but then they went and ruined them by frosting them.  Anyone else agree?  YUCK!  I loved the plain old pop tart filled with strawberry or blueberry goodness and then recently – HUZZAH our grocery store started selling a strawberry one without frosting!!!

SO now to my next confession…. I don’t use a toaster enough to justify the counter space.  My kitchen is not huge and that counter property is precious.  I don’t like appliances sitting around that I rarely use….  (yes yes there is a coffee pot – don’t go crazy on me…lol).   Anyway, I use my over to toast the pop tarts.   turn it on low and set in on the grate, prep my coffee – and POP TART!!!!  Except a few days ago – the tart fell off the grate and to the bottom of my over onto the heating coil where I son saw flames in my oven….   oh good grief 😉  LOL  Maybe… just maybe… its time to get a toaster again.  ;0

Have a good day all.

Holy smokes… where does the time go?  This writing posts in my head is fascinating stuff bu t getting them here seems to be an odd challenge.  Life has been just day-to-day busy with writing projects, non-profit commitments, gardening, lawn care, home care, and get togethers, and …and…  that just surprise me how I blink and the day is gone and I have not posted here….

again.

I do – for the record – plan to break that nasty habit.

I missed Coffee Monday.

Sort of.

Meaning I actually went outside and took the picture with me and my snazzy new coffee cup (LOVE FUN coffee cups) Thank you Brenda :).

See my super cool new cup that says “There Is No Place Like Home?”  Ahhhhh…. that is so true.

Next week I hope to be a better hostess to the Coffee Monday so if anyone would care to join me for coffee please email me at journeythroughbooks@gmail.com with your coffee pic and I will add you 🙂

I did promise book room pics didn’t I?  I finally have cleaned up the Chicago BEA books and found a home for them.  Now the room is the creative work space of potential Wine and Words baskets so there is still a little craziness going on in the table area… but for the most part, it is back in peace giving mode. 🙂

There you go.  Not exactly to where I want it – but for this time of year that is about as good as it is going to get 🙂

Have a super day everyone 🙂

Hey all.

I wanted to put this post up on Saturday morning as we were camping all weekend with friends, however the location we were at would not let me upload my pictures… and really, this post requires a visual.  😉

First… I don’t really camp.

I did, many many moons ago when the kids were young and we would do the tent thing and those days of camping and fishing and camp fires make for great memories – they do.  Yet, and maybe some of you will agree here – when you get a certain age…. you no longer wish to sleep on the ground and wake up feeling sticky like you were wrapped in cellophane as you slept.

SO…. when this idea was first presented I was not excited about the idea.

Then I talked with our friends we would be camping with.  They all have RV’s (we do not).  Where they were staying had tent cabins you could rent so it was not exactly outdoor sleeping and it was not exactly sleeping on the ground.  It did sound like a chance for Al and I to get out of the house.  We are not big 4th of Julyers or really any holiday for that matter, but a chance to be with friends might be just what I needed.

The tent cabin (above) was not bad and the weather was perfect.

We went Friday afternoon and came home on Sunday evening.

Then we pulled into the camp ground and seen all the RV’s and tents packed into the space I thought, “Why would you do this?”  Why would you spend all the money on RVs and the food and necessities to do this for a little patch of grass and a whole lot of bugs?

As the day turned to evening I started to see why people did this.  While walking through the campground with Al and seeing all the groups of people gathering around grills and campfires, many RVs and tents in an area were groups of family and friends.  I told Al, “It is social.  People do this to hang out together. It’s low key, not a restaurant and not bowling or a movie.  They are cooking together and swimming together.”

We did have a nice time.  It was a group of about 20 but people were in and out with other things going on.  Al and I had planned on leaving Sunday morning…. and then that changed to Sunday afternoon, and in reality we begrudgingly left Sunday evening.

As for coffee Monday this week… it happened.  A few of you sent me pictures and thank you and I will post them now:

I am out… Library duties today 🙂