Morning Meanderings

Good morning everyone.  I am currently sitting in the Orlando Airport waiting for our 7:40 am flight, and yes, today is my birthday.  For fun – I thought I would list some facts about my birthdate.


I was born on a Thursday.


I share my birthday with Alice Walker – the author of The Color Purple

Top songs of 1967

To Sir with Love by Lulu Daydream Believer by Monkees
Windy by Association Ode to Billie Joe by Bobbie Gentry
Somethin’ Stupid by Nancy & Frank Sinatra Groovin’ by Young Rascals
The Letter by Box Tops Light My Fire by Doors
Happy Together by Turtles Hello Goodbye by Beatles

My birth flower is Iris.  My birthstone is Amethyst.


Movies

  • The Graduate, Bonnie and Clyde, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?, In the Heat of the Night, Cool Hand Luke

Pulitzer Prize

Fiction: The Fixer, Bernard Malamud


Popular Books Published in 1967:

The Outsiders by SE Hinton

The Chosen by Chaim Potok

Christy by Catherine Marshall

Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin

Snow White by Donald Barthelme

The Clue In The Crossword Cipher by Carolyn Keene

Rumpelstiltskin by Paul O Zelinsky

The Boxcar Children :  Houseboat Mystery #12 by  Gertrude Chandler Warner


This afternoon I will be back home.  I have a review coming up later for The Choice.


What great books were published the year you were born?

Morning Meanderings

Yesterday Al and I were looking at the Yoder Frey auction most of the afternoon.  For a special dinner last night we went with my cousins and my aunt to Texas De Brazil.  A totally new experience for us but one I hope to repeat.  We really enjoyed the amazing salad bar and the meets were delicious.  I didn’t get to try a lot of the meats because I did exactly what my cousin told me not to do – I filled up on the salad.

Tomorrow I am excited to be taking on the hosting of J Kaye’s It’s Monday! What Are You Reading meme.  I am honored to do so.  I hope if you have participated in this in the past that you will continue to do so, and if this meme is one you have not participated in, I urge you to give it a try.  I like it because it causes me to plan out some of my reads for the week.  Plus – I really love seeing what everybody else is reading around the world for the week.

Have a great day – hubby and I are visiting the Richie Brothers Auction today in Orlando.  We will not be here the actual auction so Al likes to look things over if he wants to bid on line.  It’s all a little over my head but he likes to tell me about the equipment and I don’t mind going along for the ride.  I am hoping to treat him today to his first Cracker Barrel experience!

Have a great Sunday everyone!

Morning Meanderings…

Today I am up bright and early to go to the auctions with Al.  Yes – this is my first time going.  We will be in Orlando all day and then tonight we will have dinner in Orlando with my cousins and my aunt who will be flying in today to join us.  Al has been so great this week taking me to book stores and to Disney World that now it is my turn to smile real big and do something nice for him.  The auctions we are seeing these next two days do not start until after we have headed back to Minnesota so Al is checking them out to see if there is anything he wants to put a bid on for online.

I am taking with me today Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter and Sweet.  This is our book club read that we meet to discuss on the 9th, the day we fly back.

What are you reading today?

Morning Meanderings…

Good morning!  Still here, still in Florida – and now two of my cousins are here Jarrod and Rob so that is cool!  🙂  No big plan for today, I have a couple reviews to write and later tonight Al and I will probably go try out a different restaurant.  He loves that…

Yesterday I found a link to this site called BookCloseouts.com.  There are a few good reads if you are willing to dig a little and they are priced no higher than 1.99.

Right now I am in serious need of coffee so I am off to say good morning to the Coffee Pot!

Morning Meanderings….

Late today….. we had a fun and busy day yesterday.  AL and I went to Disney World with the aforementioned Flat Stanley.  The sun was out and we had a good time walking through the park and ended by going to sit in the audience for an American Idol performance.  That was kind of cool – they had three contestants and after they all sang you voted for the best in your opinion.  That person would go on to the finals for that day at 7 pm where the winner would receive a ticket that would put them in the front of the line for any American Idol addition they were able to attend.

After Disney, we went over to our friends Dick and Adrienne who are from Brainerd Minnesota but spend their winters in Florida.  Dick and Adrienne own a bed and breakfast in Brainerd and I love catching up with her.  We never get to see them enough.  Adrienne is also a blogger and I love reading her blog as she is very crafty and comes up with neatest ideas for projects and in her cooking too.  We did not leave their home until 10:30 pm (I blame AL – he is soooooo chatty….LOL) and then made our way back to where we are staying which is an hour and a half away.  Yup, back after midnight and TIRED.  Thus, the late meandering this morning.

Hope everyone’s day is a wonderful one – I am putting the finishing touches on my review of dream HOUSE which will be up yet today.


Morning Meanderings…

Day 7 in Florida.  AND – today the sun is out!  Our plan is to go into Orlando and hopefully to Disney World MGM.  A friend of mine sent a Flat Stanley with us from her daughter Morgan.  If you do not know what Flat Stanley is, he is a paper doll that gradeschool kids all get.  The kids color him  and them mail him to a friend who they know is going on a trip along with a letter asking for Stanley to go with.  The object is for the said people (in this case – us) to take Stanley to wherever and take pictures of him there.  Then Stanley comes back and you give the pictures and Stanley back to the child.

Morgan will then get to put a pin in the large world map as to where Stanley has been and then do a show and tell story with the pictures.  Morgan asked us to take Stanley to Disney World (I LOVE DISNEY WORLD!)  So that is todays plan and as much as I have loved hanging out here while Al is at the auctions, this will be a fun time.

With a little luck we will be able to meet up for dinner with friends we have from Minnesota who spend their winters here.

Flat Stanley

Have a great day everyone!  Yes – a book is going with me (Dreamhouse) and yes, I have a review coming up today of Home Is Where The Wine Is.

Morning Meanderings…

Good Morning all!  🙂  Day 6 in Florida.  We have had a lot of rain (even now it is raining) and the weather has been a bit cool but coming from Minnesota I am not complaining.  🙂  Al is at the auctions for the day in Orlando and I have a few things I want to do around my cousins home as he should be joining us late Thursday or early Friday morning.  Other than that, the book Home Is Where The Wine Is, happens to be calling my name and that is my afternoon plan.

One bit of exciting news – on a few different occasions I have shared my favorite all time books.  There are an armful of books that I just love the storyline so much I could read again and again.  One such book is not a book, but three books.  It is the Nora Roberts Three Sisters Trilogy that starts with the first book being Dance Upon The Air.  Now before you are in shock that a few of my favorite all time books are written by Nora Roberts – this is not typical Roberts.  These books I found to be different and I recommend them to everyone.

So – on to the news… In December I took part in the Bookworm Carnival where we were asked to share what we consider to be our comfort reads.  This was a perfect opportunity for me to gush about The Three Sisters Trilogy.  Here is what I had said:

“These three books are favorites of mine and are always a “go to” series if I need to just sink into characters that are like old friends to me. Even talking about them now makes me want to go visit them between the pages of these books.”

Yesterday I seen over at Ms. Bookish, due to my gushing about these books, she is making her way through Dance Upon The Air and has called her post, Reading My First Nora Roberts.  What I love, love, LOVE, about this is that this is exactly what I enjoy about blogging.  Sharing books and learning about books and then – picking up a book you never dreamed you would – and falling in love with it.  It has happened to me, I hope it happens for all of you!

Here is my Blast From The Past Post about these books.


Do you have any such books?  Any book that was recommended through another blog or by a friend and due to that recommendation you read the book and LOVED it?

Morning Meanderings…

Happy Sunday and day 3 in Florida.  Yesterday Al and I had a laid back morning….  I thought we looked funny, each of us at the kitchen table on our lap tops, he exploring the equipment auctions and I writing a review.  We went into town in the afternoon exploring the area picked up a few things at the Super Target, had a wonderful dinner at Red Lobster, then stopped at Penney’s and lastly, a place called Books A Million.

Pause for effect.

I had never heard of a Books A Million before and my husband, heart of gold that he has, stopped and patiently waited for me while I browsed, touched, and yes – I bought.

Today I wanted to share with you what I have decided to call:

FLORIDA FINDS

Yes!  Evermore!  I have yet to read this author and I am anxious to do so!

Bargain book and I love a good mystery!

I have seen this one on so many blogs and looks like a good one!

Ok – I never said that my Florida Finds had to be all about books.  I needed a pair of casual sandals and I found these little babies!

I am always looking for a pair of tall black shoes…  I love them and my two pair I own are so worn out because I can not find ones I like.  Yesterday – I found these and I am super excited!

*giggle*  Yup – these are my kind of tennis shoes and these will be the shoes that I am wearing around the house today!


Today Al is at the auction.  Tomorrow I will be going with him because Tuesday I need to be here all day for the phone guy to come out.  It looks a little cool and dreary outside today and that’s ok.  I have a book I am dieing to finish and some wrap up things to do for the end of January!  Tomorrow I announce winners of the January.comment giveaway winners AND introduce you to my plans for February! 

Of the above 6 items… which one do you like?

Morning Meanderings…

Day 2 in Florida!  There is only an hour difference between Minnesota and Florida but I believe I am still on it.  🙂  According to “Florida”  I slept until 9 am today!  9 am!  LOL

Here is my funny story.  At home, when my coffee gets cold in my Coffee Cup, I dump the coffee into a near by plant and get a new hot cup of coffee.  I had learned a long time ago from a friend I used to work with  that the coffee provides nutrients for plants.  My plants at home are greener than green so who am I to argue? I do this all the time – I never throw old coffee down the drain.

HOWEVER – when you are a guest in someones home and late at night you take your cold coffee and feed the fake plant with it…..  not so cool.  😉  I am just saying…. LOL

Today we will venture out together and go exploring.  I am excited… I hope to find a local book store….. maybe just to browse…. but maybe to buy.  I will be taking a book along with me of course for the road trip… planning to have a review up later today!

Where we are staying in Florida

Morning Meanderings…


Good morning from Florida!  How nice it is to wake up without snow!  Al is off this morning to check out the equipment auctions in Orlando and I am at my cousins home in Deland, Florida.   Alone.  Solitude. Oh yeah.  🙂

Cousins House in Florida

Al doesn’t get this.  He kept telling me, “You realize I will be gone all day.  You will have no car, no way to venture out.”

What he has trouble understanding is that this is perfect for me.  I like nothing more than the occasional (and oh so rare) days of nothingness.  Life lately had been running from one commitment to another…. trying to juggle home, two offices, phone calls, appointments…  here I have none of that.  Today is going to be a day of books and catching up with my bookish friends on their blogs.

How about you?  When you are given the rare opportunity to have a day of “no commitments” what do you like to do with it?