Morning Meanderings…. Words Are Sometimes Not Enough

Published on July 18, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)39 Comments

I almost want to say, “welcome to the sad/depressing blog Book Journey. I may or may not talk about books. I will be your host today.”

Ugh.

I last posted on Thursday morning talking about the business of life even when the last thing you want to be is busy – the “to do’s” are still there. Shortly after I posted, I was making muffins to take to the hospital to see my friend Connie when I received the call.

Connie had passed away peacefully in the night.

There are moments in our life when the world seems to stand still. That moment would be one of them. Everything became quiet as I absorbed the loss.

Another loss.

Another big one.

Even though we knew it was coming, it is still difficult to take in. And suddenly – my busy post –

didn’t matter.

Instead I spent my day trying to help out the family where I could. Putting together a meal train, being available for whatever and putting to use what I have learned about grief these past few months into action. My son… and now my friend….

my heart stacks the grief on grief.

Left to right: Nancy, my son Justin, and Connie at last years Wine and Words event in August. It is so crazy to have two of the three gone.

Anyway.

I really do plan to talk about something fun one of these days soon. I have reviews to write, I have the Queen Event to share. Not all in my life is overwhelmingly sad, there are small breaks of happiness. Happy actually seems to strong a word. Maybe thankfulness is better… when I am surrounded by good friends, sharing what should be a good time, and knowing that I am surrounded by angels…

in Heaven as well as on earth.

Enjoy this weekend. We will be at a friend’s house this evening grilling and planning a trip in January that at this time I have no interest in whatsoever but trying to find a way to move a bit forward in the tiniest of ways. Tomorrow I will start working on the baskets for Wine and Words with my friend Gail,and then next week will be filled with things every day as I celebrate my friend’s life early in the week and by the end of the week take part in a two-day bike ride raising money for the non profit she loved, Camp Benedict in her honor.

Life keeps on moving. There is a new layer to me that sees how fragile everything is. Love unconditionally. See the good in everyone and everything. My friend Connie had that gift. So did my son Justin.

♥

Morning Meanderings… I Didn’t Mean To Go ______________________

Published on July 16, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)17 Comments

Good morning.

I didn’t mean to go….

what?

Away?

Awol?

Under cover?

I don’t know. I guess I just didn’t mean to go.

The past two weeks have been so out of my control that I am just doing what I have to do to get through the days. With two large events just around the corner I am trying hard to find balance. You throw in the mix my friend Connie, a big storm that requires clean up attention, commitments, people I ~~need to~~ want to spend time with, and my own grief….

and yeah.

Just trying to get through it.

And so – with all of that, I find I do not get here – HERE as much as I would like. I am still not firing on all cylinders which makes all of these things that I could normally handle feel heavy and hard to do just the easiest of tasks. I am so easily…

overwhelmed.

Yesterday and today I have tried hard to slow down. I have had things I had to do every day and I am feeling the strain on putting my grief to the side to get things done. For the record, I have discovered that does not work well… it exhausts me and leaves me pretty nonfunctional come the end of the day. Tomorrow my “to do’s” bump up again, the weekend is full of activity and next week…

I don’t even want to think about next week.

SO..

I do have posts to write. I have a couple of audio I have finished and just downloaded Armada this morning which I am SUPER EXCITED about. We also had the Bookies Queen event this week which took a lot of energy but I am so glad I participated. L♥ve this group of gals. I will write a post up all about that – maybe today.

Just a sample from the Tuesday Bookies Queen event

That’s it for this morning. I have a few things itching at the corners of my brain reminding me I need to do them… and I do, so off I go. Enjoy THIS day.

Morning Meanderings… Day 100. Really?

Published on July 13, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)22 Comments

Imagine taking all your emotions – everything you could possibly feel and putting them in a blender.

That’s the way I feel.

I can not even believe it has been 100 days since I lost my beautiful son. It is a crazy mixed up world we live in and I struggle daily trying to find my fit in it – the commitments, the want to’s, the things I say “Yeah! I want to do that!” when the old me peaks out for a second and then later I am horrified that I agreed to do something that I know is too much for me to take on.

I am up. I am down.

I am mostly down.

After my last post about my friend Connie my emotional gauge has been off the charts. I do what I need to do to get through the day. I make the connections I need to and when the day is done I am home, exhausted physically and emotionally, a bundle of mixed feelings – glad I accomplished something… overwhelming sadness lying just under the surface, tired… so tired.

Connie, as of this morning is the same. I will stop by this morning and check on her. Yesterday we ran the Color Run for Justin. is team that he started working on in March. We finished it and 21 of us ran the 5k in Justins memory. As you can imagine it was an amazing and horrible thing all rolled into one. I am so thankful for his friends and mine, so glad that they pushed on to do this – and so sad knowing Justin would have been amazed at the friends who gathered to run for him. Ridiculous is the word that comes to mind… it is ridiculous that I am typing such a thing and he is gone.

Color Run St Paul, Shine, Book Journey, Sheila DeChantal, Justin DeChantal — The team before the run

Book Journey, Color Run St Paul, Sheila DeChantal, Justin DeChantal — The team after the run

Sheila DeChantal, Amy Price, Book JOurney, Color Run St Paul — My friend Amy and me

and then last night…. a big storm hit Minnesota:

I love this tree. I have a sweet pic of the boys climbing up in it when they were young. I think we can save part of it and I hope it will grow back again.

Still here.

Morning Meanderings…. I Am Listening

Published on July 9, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)18 Comments

Good morning.

Thursday already. I feel like this week has been a cluster of activity that fits in so many different areas of my life that I feel like it is a box of puzzle pieces that have been dumped on the table to sort, turn, and try to find their place.

Life.

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, my good friend Connie is in the hospital for what looks to be the last time. I have been spending time with her usually twice a day morning and evening. Between that I am working on my house projects, company, commitments, and ~~two~~ three events coming up fast – the Color Run, the Camp Bike Ride and Wine and Words shortly after. I definitely feel whelmed all the while with my own grief just bubbling below the surface.

I have been too tired to read lately although I do try. The same book has followed me from the bed stand to the living room several times throughout each day but I never get to opening it. I have been listening to audio while working in the yard, mowing the lawn, and writing addresses on cards I need to mail.

I am anxious for life to slow down again.

Movie: Jurassic World

Published on July 7, 2015July 7, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)11 Comments

On July 4th Al and I were keeping our day pretty low key. We stayed close to home and then in the afternoon decided to go and check out the movie Jurassic World. I grew up around the Jurassic movies and remember the excitement of imaging that such a park could exist and of course, the implications around having such a park exist.

We really enjoyed the movie. It was like the next generation of Jurassic Park. They were trying again to create the park that once failed all those years ago. Now they were trying to keep up with the ever changing demands of this world – not just wanting to see a dinosaur… but a bigger, scarier, dinosaur then ever seen before.

Super sizing is not always the way to go.

It’s actually a great idea and an apparent win (according to an article I read this morning the movie is well on its way to becoming one of the biggest movies of all time). Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are pretty amazing in their roles. Chris playing Owen, the “Raptor whisperer” with the smoking good looks and kick ass attitude, and Bryce playing Claire a stuffy over achiever who is all about her job and has little time for anything or anyone else.

If you get the chance – see this one at the theater for the BIG screen feel. We went to the 3D version (mainly due to the timing) and found it to be well done.

Morning Meanderings… Each Day Is Precious

Published on July 7, 2015July 7, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)18 Comments

What a weekend.

Originally I was supposed to go to the cabin on Sunday with my good friend Belinda and we were going to hang out and bike until Tuesday afternoon. I freed up my schedule and thought it would be a nice little break. When Mater had surgery on Wednesday the plans changed as I had “dog care duties” and instead I invited Belinda to come hang out with me here in Brainerd and we could bike around here, grill, and maybe have use the fire pit.

Sunday morning (my last meandering post) I was out delivering strawberry cobbler to the neighbors when I received the call. My good friend Connie had been struggling with her health all year and it seems that things were taking a turn for the worst. Friends and family were asked to come to the hospital to see her.

Life changes on the drop of a dime.

Connie Statz, Sheila DeChantal, Book Journey — Connie and I at a banquet fund raiser

I went to the hospital on Sunday and my friend Belinda who also knows Connie met me there. I was there two hours holding Connie’s hand and just being with her and her family. Yesterday I went in the morning and again in the evening. This morning I plan to go again.

Connie has been an amazing part of my life these past 5 years. I learned much from this strong-willed, big-hearted woman and wish now I could take away all her pain.

The weekend clearly did not go as planned, but what really does? Instead Belinda and I offered a place for people to gather and stay if they wished as they visited Connie because my home is about 3 miles form the hospital. We cooked, we cleaned, we hung out on the deck talking with friends.

Today Belinda heads back home. I have my lawn to mow. A little audio listening. A mailing to finish. perhaps a little flower planting project I have my eye on. 2015 has been a hard year for many. I am emotionally exhausted in my own personal grief as well as my grief for my dear friend.

Fat Chance by Nick Spalding

Published on July 5, 2015July 5, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)8 Comments

Once you listen to this audio sample you know that this book is going to be a funny take on losing weight as a middle age couple takes a challenge (and journals all about it) for a chance to win $50,000. Truly brilliant and fun. ~Sheila

Zoe and Greg Milton were quite the good looking couple. Zoe the stunner turned heads wherever she went. Greg was toned from all the rugby he played.

Of course…

that was many years ago.

Decades later Zoe has added 5 stone (70 pounds) to her frame and Greg more than that thanks to a more relaxed lifestyle, good cooking and many beers.

When Zoe’s best friend Elsie who works at radio station tells Zoe about a competition they will be sponsoring called Fat Chance, Zoe is appalled that Elsie though of her and Greg. When Zoe hears that the winner “biggest losers” of the competition win $50,000… she is not so appalled; after all she and Greg did need to lose some weight….

And so begins the 6 month competition that Zoe and Greg journal (part of the competition rules)…. through thick and hopefully thin, through bad diets and poor work out choices…. to the final weigh in.

I had read somewhere that this audio was hilarious. Listening to the audible sample, I had to agree. When you take a couple who have become quite stagnant in their ways and offer a nice prize package to change the habits… life can get interesting. I loved the personal journal entries from Zoe’s funny results with the Cabbage Soup Diet to Greg’s hilarious attempts with work out fads.

Fat Chance is a fun story line with realistic weight battles. It was a lot of fun to listen to. I admit, I had to look up on-line how many pounds equaled a stone and the answer is 14 pounds. See? I learned something. Bring on Jeopardy.

I really enjoyed this listen.

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 8 hours and 38 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Audible.com Release Date: October 7, 2014

Morning Meanderings… Strawberry Picking

Published on July 5, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)17 Comments

So…

We made it through the 4th.

I knew the 4th was going to be a rough day so I had plans to lay low and not over commit. The only commitment I had made in fact was to go strawberry picking in the morning with my cousin. I have not been strawberry picking since the kids were young…

So…

I went.

Getting at one with nature seems to be my thing this year. It keeps my mind busy.

We went out and were given a row to pick in. We each took a side and chatted away while we crawled through the hay between the rows picking berries staining the knees of our pants berry red. Two buckets each.

The owner, Roger, came and went through my bucket. as a “newbie” he pulled berries out that he told me I wouldn’t want, over ripe and would not be good. He told me I should be eating them s I went to know what the god ones looked like. He was a nice guy and gave me a discount as he was worried about the state of the berries I had picked. 🙂

So now, I have a pile of berries to deal with. Yesterday I saw a recipe for cobbler on line that I would like to try. I picked up some blueberries and plan to make a couple of these there this morning, one for my aunt and one for a friend who both recently went through surgery. I will make one for us tonight as I believe a friend is coming form the cities to hang out with me the next couple of days so we are going to grill and either hang out by the fire pit or watch movies – or both.

Looking forward to it.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Stay safe.

Weekend Cooking – A Little Different Take On This One

Published on July 4, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)16 Comments

My good friend over at Beth Fish Reads hosts this weekly meme for all of us to share what we are cooking and how to make it for yourself. It is a great meme and I have picked up some tasty recipes over the years.

This week I made something a little different… It was easy, healthy….

and quite honestly for the dogs.

Yes, I made dog treats.

I had mentioned earlier this week that Mater had to go to the vet and had surgery. While waiting in the lobby I was flipping through a magazine (vets have pet magazines as opposed to people magazines at our doctors, I find that awesome). While doing this I found a recipe that was easy to make, low cost, and good for your dogs health and fur.

Salmon Carrot Bone Oats

(originally published in Everyday Dog February 2015)

* a few tweets made by me from the original recipe

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup quick oats

1/2 cup canned salmon

1/2 cup carrot (grated or shredded)

1 egg

2 tsp oil

3/4 cup water

In a medium/large size bowl add the flour, oats, salmon, and carrot and stir together. Add the egg, oil, and water and mix well. (*if dough is to stiff add water slowly until you have a workable dough)

Preheat oven to 250. Roll dough in to 2 inch size balls and place on a cookie sheet and bake for 3 hours. (Yes I did this and the cookie never became hard, just perfectly baked). It is said that you can also do this at 350 degrees and check the cookies after an hour in the oven. You are looking for them to be dried out, a biscuit like quality.

Results: The dogs really enjoy them. I found these to be easy to make and cost effective. The only item that cost a bit was the salmon and even that wasn’t bad, I paid $2.19 for the canned salmon and used it is double the recipe.I store them in a Rubbermaid seal-able container. Overall, these are a healthy treat cost less that $4 to make a double batch and made about 40 cookies.

Stop by Beth Fish Reads to see what other people are cooking this weekend. More than likely, they are making people food. 😉

Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident by Donnie Eicher

Published on July 2, 2015July 2, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)8 Comments

1959. Nine excited college students planned to hike the Russian Ural Mountains and reach Ortorten, a challenging trek. All 9 in the party (7 boys and two girls) were experienced hikers and used to mountain expeditions. They had trained, and planned, and envisioned victory. The group left on January 27 with plans to communicate once they reached Vizhai which they believed would be around February 12th, but perhaps a little longer.When February 12th came and went, there was no panic. however when February 20th came around a rescue team was sent out to look for the nine hikers.

On February 26th the rescue team found the camp site of the hikers where the tents had been partially torn down and cut open with knives from the inside. Inside the tent were also the shoes of the hikers. Tracks could be seen of stocking feet as well as bare feet around the site and the rescue team followed. As they searched the area all nine of the hikers bodies were found in different states of dress, looking as though they had abandoned the tents in a hurry. But why? What would cause this experienced group to venture out into the cold snow without their shoes or jackets? What would cause them to destroy their tents from the inside? What were they trying to escape?

While it was believed they died of hypothermia, some of the hikers had extreme injuries, blows to the skull, chest fractures and one was even missing his tongue.

Photo footage and journals found left by the hikers showed that the communication ended on February 2nd. Yet all of these years later, a solid answer to what happened has never been found.

Once again I embark on a read that I have no idea about. I admittedly had never heard about the Dyalov Pass or about this extreme tragedy. When browsing the audible.com audio sale this one caught my eye as I seem to be drawn to unsolved mysteries. At around 6 1/2 hours of audio listening this was a doable listen. I tend to like my audio to be around that 6-9 hour mark if I have no relationship with the author or narrator to cause me to invest more time.

Donnie Eichar plays many roles in this audio. Not only is he the author and narrator, he is also telling the story not as a third person observer – but as first person, as Donnie was part of a team that followed in the tracks of the hikers in 2012, trying to bring in new answers to an old mystery.

I did enjoy this listen. It was very interesting to learn about the hiking group, listen to parts of their journal and discoveries, and try to piece together what may have happened.

While this book will not give you a full out positive answer as to what did happen, it does go over many theories which Donnie Eichar will tell you why some theories hold merit and others do not. In the end, Donnie will also give you his thoughts on the mystery that surrounds the Dyalov Pass tragedy.

Other stuff: A movie is 2013 called Devil’s Pass is about 5 filmmakers who retrace the steps of the 1959 hikers.

You Tube has an Unsolved Mysteries video with good insight and pictures of the hikers: