Tag: Morning Meanderings

Morning Meanderings… Audio, A Trip, and Garden Party Wrap Up

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)21 Comments

Good morning!  😀  Hope you all are finding your Friday morning to already be delightful… the sun is actually out here so I am hoping for a lovely day which I need in order to finish our lawn 😀

This will be a rather sporadic post this morning.  I am usually off on Fridays but this next week while I am away is a big one for a kids camp that I usually help with, a big meeting that I normally do the set up for… BEA pushing back one week this year has put me where I am today – going into work to do some more prep work and hopefully I can be done by noon.  I have not packed yet, I want to get my nails done, prep some food for my hubby here, and pack for my bike ride that will take place right after I return from BEA – RIGHT AFTER as in that bag needs to be in my vehicle.  😀

In a completely random side ways conversation… my audio book order came in from bookcloseouts.com… Each of these was around $3.00 each:

YAY!!!  My summer listening is going to be AWESOME!!!

And finally, if you missed out on the garden party here yesterday for our read a long, Secret Garden, you missed some wonderful party conversations!  I, was late to my own party with a heavy schedule yesterday but caught up with all of you at the end and had a chance to chat with each guest so I feel it was a success.  I have not made it around to all the posts yet, but I will – later today. 😀

There were some winners from the Secret Garden read a long and using random.org while I sit my coffee this morning they are as follows:  

Winner of the Secret Garden DVD:

Ryan from Wordsmithonia!!!

 

Winner of the book, Little Lord Fauntlerot, also by Francis Hodgson Burnett:

Faith Hope and Cherry Tea from Tea Room

 

 the garden supplies:

Allie from A Literary Odyssey

 

and the $5 Amazon Gift Card goes to:

Robin from A Fondness For Reading

Winners please email me shipping info (no po boxes!) at journeythroughbooks@gmail.com.  Robin, I will email you your gift card.  😀

There is also a survey going on yesterdays post about what book I am going to offer up next for a June read-a-long, feel free to put your two cents in – I will announce that book and sign up info tomorrow morning.  See you all later – have a gorgeous day!  😀

Morning Meanderings… How Much Is Thay Doggy In The Window?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)35 Comments

 

Good morning!  Another overcast day… but I think the weather is supposed to break today…. *fingers crossed*  AND another day closer to BEA….. I really need to start packing…

You may recall that in April, on the 11 to be exact, my friend Kerri brought along a little friend to book club that night.  Normally I would be alarmed because this guy was REALLY REALLY hairy… and because we are a group of all girls…

however, he also had 4 legs, and was a stray dog, so he was allowed in. 

(Bailey our 13-year-old left.. Sam the “new guy” right)

The deal was that Sam could visit while Kerri looked for a home for him.  She had seen him running around for four days on the roads, all muddy and matted… no tags, no collar.  When she seen him on a hwy that fourth day she put him in her car.  She called all the local and vets and HART our local impound, no one had turned in a missing dog.

When she brought him to our house, I too made calls around….  no one was looking for him.  I took him to the vet and to the groomer.  They believe he is between one and two years old.  The way he loves to play, I think he is closer to that one year mark. 

When I would be on my laptop, Sam (as hubby named him) wasn’t too far away.

 

As time went on, Sam just fit right in. We discovered that he loves to be in windows.  We have a bench in out bedroom in front of a window and Sam loves to climb up in the windowsill and watch the back yard.  In the living room he will get up on hubby’s recliner and then on to the tall coffee table to be in that window.  I can see him when I come home – sitting in the window sill…. waiting.  He doesn’t hurt anything and it is so cute, we let him do it.  Although, I do occasionally refer to him as “cat-dog”

He really is such a good dog.  When I come home he launches himself at me like “I can not even believe you came back!”  We have a five-minute session where I get down to his level so he can jump and tell me how much I was missed.  😀  Everyone needs a friend like that!

Sam has made a wonderful companion for Bailey.  Bailey has been so sad since we lost Elmo last fall… in a way, they think we all have been.  Sam brought a little life back into our home.  😀

As for today:

WORK!  Need to get done here and head in, lots to do with me being gone next week.

Tonight – depending on weather, I would like to go to Group Power and kick boxing but if it is nice, I may ride bike instead.  Later I have to get on the lawn… but that can wait until evening.. 😀

Enjoy your Wednesday!  😀

Morning Meanderings… Rain Rain… Go Away… and other annoyances

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)14 Comments

Our Minnesota weather is starting to annoy me.  😯

A week ago when College Son and I were at the cabin it was nice on Saturday, pouring/storming on Sunday and cold, and then nice on Monday.

Since then it has been rain off and on Tuesday, storms and power outages last Wednesday, Thursday rain all day, Friday overcast and cooler as the day went on, Saturday rain off and on and storms all night long, Sunday rainy in the morning and then suddenly cleared around 1:00 pm enough time for us to make plans to have friends over to grill, set up the deck and have a nice evening… then stormed all night again.

Monday, Memorial day the day started out nice.  I prepped for a picnic we were going on, bringing my baked bean side dish.  By the time we were at the event and ready to eat, it stormed and hailed (luckily we had the option to be inside).  Then the sun came out and I ran a few errands and went to the cemetery.  By the time I got home it stormed again, cleared and stormed again. 

This morning I am in the house with coffee cup grumpily looking at yet another overcast and gloomy day.  I would love to ride my bike a bit before I go to New York and time is ticking down.  I come back from New York and go into a 150 mile bike ride the same day so I really wanted to get in some ride time.

*frustrated*

On a happier note… I am going to BEA and leaving for the cities this coming Saturday evening and flying out Sunday morning.  Suddenly what I have been waiting for FOREVER… is now almost here and I am going through the whole, “What to pack?” “What is their weather like (hopefully better than ours)?”  “Who will I meet?”

Yesterday I posted about what to know when you head to BEA that first time.  I wrote out everything that helped me before I went as well as what I learned myself that would have been helpful to know prior to going.  If you know anyone going to BEA this year for the first time, direct them over… hopefully I can help them feel a little more relaxed going into the wonderful world of books…

Todays agenda:

Work until three (wow it is Tuesday isn’t it?  That bonus day off is going to mess with me all week!)

Pick up some parts for our lawnmower

IF the weather clears I would LOVE to take a bike ride

If weather doesnt clear I may read late afternoon and hit gym later yet

Late night – I am working on posts for this week and trying to prep some posts for while I am away….  does anyone know who heads up the Armchair BEA?  I have an idea….

Morning Meanderings… Sunday Salon

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)28 Comments

Good morning.  I am sitting at my kitchen table looking out on another gloomy rainy windy day.  GAH.  SO much for our weekend plans.  We were going to head to our cabin later this morning with some friends on motorcycles and stay over night and come back later tomorrow since we all have tomorrow off….

however in light of today… and apparently tomorrows forecast… that doesn’t look like it is going to happen.  The only two nice days we had this past week I was too busy to enjoy them… now that I am sitting on oodles of time… the weather is not cooperating.  😯

Our local movie theater is currently under construction while it is being made from Movies 10, to Lakes 12… word on  the street is better seating and concession stand.  I think it opens next weekend but I will not have time then as I am lifting off for BEA.  (SQQUUEEE!!!!)

So enough about the gloom…

here’s something that makes me happy – BOOKS!

Quite the assortment of goodies that came in the mailbox this week… I don’t think I requested The Meryl Streep Movie Club but now that it is in-house it looks interesting…. but I SSQQQUUUEEEDDDD when I seen A Night To Remember in audio.  Thank you Audio Jukebox.  You are my Jukebox Hero (and yes, later there will be a song!)

BUT… that is not all!  You may recall I went to some garage sales on Friday….

YAY right?  I think these will all go to my book shelf to the cabin, which this last weekend when I was there felt it could use some more books.  😀  The top one “Haunted Lakes” is just the type of fun books I like to keep there anyway – I like a good mix of books that anyone can pick up – quite a few about Minnesota, I picked up a couple about birds this week too and forgot to add them here….

Last weekend Justin looked at the three books I brought with me to read.  “Do you have anything less chickie?” he said.  I pointed to the shelf and he found himself a good mystery that he sunk into.  I love that.  😀

So that’s the books in-house this week… I need to go get ready for church and then come home and write-up a couple of reviews while we decide what we will do with our day.  I hope your weekend plans and the weather is cooperating for you…  I can always dig into a book this afternoon.  A few, as usual, are calling my name… and I really need to finish Jane Eyre.  😀

Morning Meanderings… Only In Minnesota

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)55 Comments

Good morning!   Saturday morning here and I am enjoying my coffee this morning and contemplating my day.  We are due for rain today… but currently the skies look they could go either way. 

Last weekend my college son and I took a trip up North to our cabin, I thought for Saturday Snapshots (Hi Alyce!) I would give you a few pics from that trip…

Ship on Lake Superior

 

Duluth, Minnesota

 

The bridge that rises to allow ships through on Lake Superior
The bridge in action!

 

The small town of Finland has a pizza place that was having a sock hop. This we had to see. The population of Finland is 603. Justin (College son) participated in the limbo contest.
Shopping in Ely Minnesota, this is a locally made cereal.

 

From the window of the Blue Fin Bay restaurant in Tofte, Minnesota

 

and just for another little twist of “only in Minnesota”, my friend Heidi and I were hitting a few garage sales yesterday and on our way back from one on a side road, we seen this in the road in front of us:

…as I passed them.

 

Thankfully, before they got to the main highway, they turned off on a dirt road….

 

So a full week of fun events AND my best purchase of the day yesterday was this awesome patio set for $55.00:

SSSQQQQUUUEEEE!!!!

 

Ok…. now you know too much about me….LOL.  For more pics from around the world… stop over to Alyce’s at At Home With Books and check out Saturday Snapshots.

Morning Meanderings… A Real Friday!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)9 Comments

 

Good morning!  😀

I am excited this morning for many reasons…..

1.  It is not raining!  The forecast called for rain all weekend long which is such a downer as it wipes out visions of bike rides, and reading on the deck.

2.  I think I will go to garage sales this morning as that is what I used to do on Fridays and would like to do a bit more of that.  I forgot until I was at the cabin last week that my moose dinner plates, my moose salt and pepper shakers,the books on the shelf, the pictures on the wall, the board games, the fun decorations in the bedrooms from cardinals to greenery were all from garage sales.  I practically put that house together other than furniture, towels and bedding, from garage sales.

3.  I do not work again now until Tuesday!  That could mean so much – a movie, books, writing, biking (if the weather holds), getting prepared for BEA(ooh I could actually start packing!!!)…

4.  The SUN!  It has been gloomy and overcast since last Monday and I like the sun so much better than the gray clouds. 

And hopefully – I can catch up on blogs this weekend too.  It seems like there is just not enough time these days (of course falling asleep last night at 7:45 pm was probably not the most productive use of my time – but it was a crazy week and I think I was exhausted).

How about you – any fascinating plans this weekend?  Share!  😀

Morning Meanderings… BEA (Book Expo of America) Countdown

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)29 Comments

Good morning!

BEA is less that two weeks away and while it seemed to take FOREVER to get here… now I am all like really, two weeks???   Actually, two weeks from today I will be on the last day of the Expo.  I am flying to New York on Sunday June 3, and returning to Minnesota on June 8th and going right into the MS 150 bike ride on the 8th – 10th and then back home here to Brainerd.

Crazy and exciting!

Two years ago when I first went to BEA it felt like there was more of a buzz around the internet about it.  I remember a group of bloggers all wrote posts about BEA – what to expect, what to make sure you do, what to wear…  I ate those posts up.  I remember sitting with my laptop and a pen and paper handy.  Every tip (bring your own bottled water and snacks to the Javitz) I captured on paper (wear comfortable shoes). Those tips were invaluable to me.

Last year I wrote such a post, and this year – hopefully at some point over the next few days, I plan to write one again.  That first year I was a nervous wreck.  I had never been to New York before, I had never met my roommate Reagan Remmers (Miss Remmers Reviews)… we had just connected through our blogs and emails because we were both from Minnesota.  My friends thought I was nuts to go and stay with people in a hotel room that I had never met.  They said things like “What if Bobbi from Bookish Adventures is actually a big hairy dude?”  Ok ok… they didn’t exactly go that far…. but I did have my fears… 😛

Anyhoo…. are you going to BEA this year?  I would love to meet you if you are – and I would love to meet up with you again if we have already met.  The hanging out with fellow book lovers is a huge part of my love for this event.  😀

Morning Meanderings and A Giveaway you will not want to miss!!!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)58 Comments

Good morning and happy Wednesday! 

Looks like it will be a rainy gloomy day here today – sky is hazy gray….

I wanted to announce that I have a new giveaway!  I reviewed The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty last week and so enjoyed it!  Now I have been told that I can offer a SIGNED copy here of The Chaperone – and that my friends is SSSQQQUUUEEEEE worthy!  😀

Here is what is being said about The Chaperone:

  • “It’s impossible not to be completely drawn in by The Chaperone. Laura Moriarty has delivered the richest and realest possible heroine in Cora Carlisle, a Wichita housewife who has her mind and heart blown wide open, and steps–with uncommon courage–into the fullness of her life. What a beautiful book. I loved every page.”–Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife

  • “What a charming, mesmerizing, transporting novel! The characters are so fully realized that I felt I was right there alongside them. A beautiful clarity marks both the style and structure of The Chaperone.”–Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Ahab’s Wife and Adam & Eve

  • “The Chaperone is the best kind of historical fiction, transporting you to another time and place, but even more importantly delivering a poignant story about people so real, you’ll miss and remember them long after you close the book.”–Jenna Blum, author of Those Who Save Us and The Stormchasers

  • “THE CHAPERONE is the enthralling story of two women… In this layered and inventive story, Moriarty raises profound questions about family, sexuality, history, and whether it is luck or will – or a combination of the two – that makes for a wonderful life.”  –O, the Oprah Magazine

  • “A fun romp” –Good Housekeeping

  • Laura’s fanpage

SO what to do to enter…..

1.  Leave a comment here telling me when you were a teen, what your “Big Dream” was for your life.  If you are a teen, share what the dream is for your life.  😀

2.  Leave a comment on my review of The Chaperone, and if you already have just let me know here. 

That’s it.  I will draw a winner on the last day of May!

 

Have a super day – I am at work, and hopefully a workout and a meeting tonight….but this ends my evening commitments for the week and I am THRILLED about that.  😀

Morning Meanderings… Events the past couple of weeks

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)46 Comments

Good morning!  Happy Saturday!  😀 

The past two weekends I have had bike rides, and in honor of Alyce’s Saturday Snapshots I thought I would post a few pics I took from these rides.

This is us pulling into the Ironman bike ride on May 6th. The weather was a bit gloomy….

 

The first thing we have to do is go in and let registration know we are there, get out wrist band and then we are free to ride. This ride was a 17,30,50,68, or 100 mile ride

 

Myself (left) and my friend Amy prior to the ride.

 

I let Amy choose what route we would take – the weather was supposed to storm all day. she chose: 50!

 

At the lunch stop we could gather around this little baby…. I love it! It looks like a cauldron and makes me think of Harry Potter!

 

We finished that 50 mile ride without a drop of rain on us.  No idea how that happened – we just missed it. 😀 

 

Then last Saturday I drove to meet us with my MS team for a 50 mile ride in the Cities.  This time the weather was awesome!

These are the girls I rode with: Me (Left), Belinda, Sheila, and Diane

 

One of the pit stops on this ride

 

I did not take a whole lot of pics on this ride -f or some reason when I rode I felt awful – I ached, my neck, my legs, my arms…. the total opposite of the weekend before when I felt great.  A friend (ex -friend) of mine said, “Well Sheila, as we get older our body does not recover as quickly….”

*fingers in ears*  LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA

LOL.  So that is what I have been doing these past two weekends when not enjoying a good book.  😀 

 

This weekend, my College Son and I are heading up to our cabin on the North Shore.  We are both looking forward to this.  It is about a 3 and 1/2 drive from our home. but we will stop in Duluth for lunch, maybe Barnes and Noble… and then continue on up. We are planning some biking, hiking, board games, movies…  and we are not coming back until Monday afternoon. 😀 

 

Stop over to Alyce’s At Home With Books and see what everyone else is posting for Saturday Snapshot!  😀

I do have posts prepped…. so please stop and see me – I will totally catch up with ya all early next week 😀

Morning Meanderings… Ladies Night Out Happenings

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)8 Comments

Happy Friday!!!!  Looks like it is going to be a gorgeous day and I can not wait to get in it!  😛

Last Night is what our happy little town calls “Ladies Night”, and it’s actually, from this first time participants perspective – a brilliant idea.

How it works:

Prior to the event you stop at one of the participating businesses to pick up a card that will later be stamped by all the businesses.  Then, between the hours of 3 and 8 pm, you go and visit each of these businesses on this given day – that day was yesterday, and myself, and my friends Amy, Laura, and Kerri all rode together to the 27 stops to get our card stamped.

Many of the stops had additional giveaways you could sign up for, spa packages, gift cards, oil changes, discounts, catering, etc…. and many of the stops had snacks:  hor duerves, cupcakes, cheese, wine, bottled water, pizza, slushies, fresh fruit…

For every stop you go to, you get a stamp and at the end of the event you turn in your card for a ticket per stamp – that ticket then goes into a huge box with the other participants tickets and then this morning, on a local radio station WJJY, at 8:15 they announced the grand prize winners which were for:

A $300 pair of ear rings from EL Menk

A $500 spa package out at Craguns Resort

and the grand prize, $1000.00 cash

Last night was a lot of fun – not only just hanging out and running into these businesses and getting the stamps with friends but there are a couple newer businesses in town that I had not been in before that really caught my eye and I must go back in there.  Honestly, the idea to do this is brilliant – these businesses just brought TONS of women traffic in their door, they usually gave you a gift certificate for a nice percentage off if you come back and purchase within the next couple of weeks… and they have time to shine….

we  were on a deadline so we did not have time to stop and browse and as we discovered that it does actually take quite a bit of time to get around to all these businesses which are stretched out between two towns we made a little list of sort of rules:

1.  No longer when we see people we know do we have time to say hi and chit chat…. just wave and role on by….

2.  No browsing!  No matter what you see!  (We were slowed down by purses, jewelry, chairs and plants that we wanted to know more about….)

3.  And finally, and this one is my bad… no asking the Jewelry store owner if they fix music boxes and getting caught in a conversation!  We are on a deadline people!  😯  😛

SO this morning, I had to sit in my garage and listen to the radio at 8:15 am….  I do not have a radio in my home and I could not figure out how to make it work on line.  😀

None of us won the big prizes.

However, I am sitting here this morning smiling because I had a wonderful time just running around and being silly with three girls who are not only all in my book club…. they are all my friends. 

Today… I have some reading to do and some prep work for weekend posts.  I am thinking maybe a bike ride this afternoon now that I have finally finished the lawn and gardens.