Rain, Turtles and Orchids

Good morning my lovelies!  

My goodness this RAIN.  I'm so over it as I would imagine most everyone else is.  Plus we actually turned on the heat at the cabin this past weekend.  If this continues, as it is supposed to, the wigwam may be flooded yet again and we will be doing the painting thing at our cabin once again.  Oh well, a day at a time.

Wednesday was my "book club" or as they like to call it, "the restaurant club."  LOL!  We mostly eat at good eateries and talk a little bit about the book club.  It's great fun and we've been doing it for over 10 years now.  Amazing really.  It's whittled down to only 7 of us with mostly 4-5 ever showing up.  That's really a great number.  There's a lot of travelers in the group so we get to live through their stories of travel.  

My orchids, oh my orchids.  Honestly because I was in so much pain and didn't want to do ANYTHING for so long I thought they were dying.  But when I got home from the hospital B got rid of the dead stuff and watered them and Snicklefritz has watered them a few times and I have.  Imagine my surprise when I realized they were nearly all going to bloom.  They LOVE this window of diffused light from the south and north from the French doors.  I need to get some better photos of them before the flowers are gone to maybe paint some more of the orchids and glass series!!!

As I said we headed to the cabin this past weekend with Snicklefritz in tow.  The Hubby had to go early in the morning to meet the propane guy and I waited for Snicklefritz to get out of school to head out.  A few weekends before when The Hubby and Snicklefritz went to the Steam Engine show in Pawnee, he bought her a hat, much like his and he was insistent she bring it as they were going FISHING!  Fishing in the new/used canoe, upstream to Blue Hole for bait.  Alas, the weather was not really conducive for fishing and she didn't pack anything warm enough even though they went anyway.  I gave her one of my sweaters to wear knowing full well it would come back wet and muddy, I wasn't wrong.  HaHa.  That kiddo loves mud, minnows, worms, just nature.  Her fingernails are never without dirt under them because she is always playing around in dirt.  I love it.  She talked non-stop about her pet turtle she has at home in her backyard, non-stop!  We were able to sit out on the screen porch Friday evening with a little fire most of the evening and most of Saturday but later in the day, brrrrrr, I went inside. Good GRIEF, I posted on FB that "Mother Nature - whoever on your staff flipped the winter switch back to ON needs to be fired!"

It's crazy this stupid weather.  

 

On My Reading List

Thought I would share a couple of books/authors that I have been reading lately.  This morning I had to spend about 30 minutes finishing a book that I just could not finish last night as the Sandman interrupted.  If you have not found the author Kristen Hannah I suggest you find her and soon.  Man she is good.  I started her latest, The Nightingale and kind of took my time getting into it but this weekend at about 43% through I could not put it down.  It's about the French Resistance basically and the women involved in helping during WWII.  Oh, absolutely heartbreaking and beautifully written.  I also recommend her book Winter Garden.  That one stayed with me for a long time as will this recent book.  A fantastic author.  

Another fav of mine is Elin Hilderbrand who wrote A Summer Affair which I loved.  I love the beach books and hers are much more than beach books.

So some of my favorite authors:

Stuart Woods - Chiefs and Palindrome (the early stuff, FANTASTIC)
Kristen Hannah
Elin Hilderbrand
Mary Kay Andrews
Julie Hyzy
Tatiana de Rosnay
Greg Iles
Chris Bohjalin
Harlan Coben

There, that should get you started!

Time Keeps On Ticking

Time is clicking away...tick tock tick tock...

This morning I woke up early, as usual.  I could have slept in a bit but Oh NOOO, that is not happening as my mind won't stop.  I had to hit the bathroom and once my eyes are open the mind starts going, so up I am.  Dang it!  This week seems to be going by so slowly.  Surgery is Tuesday and the days are just dragging by.  Don't get me wrong I'm in no hurry to have stuff ripped out of me but I do want to just get it over with and start the healing process.  

Last night was my book club and we had a great time.  We went to another new place downtown called Sisserou's, a Caribbean style YUMMY restaurant.  I had a jerk chicken that was so moist!  Parking was a bitch because of some show at the Brady.  I pulled into the parking lot and there was a space but a guy was standing in it waiting for someone.  I rolled my window down and said, "Excuse me, I need to park there."  What a dirty look, but hey, my car was there first, so the spot was MINE!  We just finished the book Deadline by Sandra Brown and really enjoyed it.  It was suspenseful and a fast read.  Since my surgery is the first of May we decided to skip May and move on to June for the next meeting with a couple of books on our list.  The June read is Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter.  The second book was for July and has a bit of tooth so we're getting a head start.  It's supposedly a modern day classic, The Women's Room by Marilyn French.    Set in the mid 70's it delves into the feminist movement, fictionally yet with hints of French's life.  Should be very interesting.

Tuesday I went to art and was incredibly productive.  I started these two paintings a few weeks ago but finished them and put them on Facebook.  WOW, the response was incredible.  

"Egret" 11x14 oil on canvas

"Winter on Spring Creek" 18x24 oil on senso linen canvas

The winter scene hit an all time high for likes and comments for me and I may have it sold already!!!!  If not the original sold I can surely sell giclee prints of it.  

Pat Conroy

Yes, I know I have been MIA but we are still in limbo (baby) and having a hard time with words lately.  On a good note, I was invited yesterday to go to the Tulsa Town Hall to listen to author Pat Conroy speak.  WONDERFUL!  I have never read his books, and I know that is odd because I read a lot, but it's true.  A couple of his books:  The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini. Hey, I know those movies, right.  In fact The Great Santini is one of The Hubby's favorites, and mine.  Pat said he just finished writing The Death of Santini a few days before so I will be on the lookout for that.  I didn't know they were autobiographical books about his life.  Wow, I have already ordered and downloaded a few of them to read.

The auditorium was packed yesterday at the PAC.  I never saw so many grey heads bobbing around but I also saw several empty seats and I say this with a reason.  My friend C, who tends to be late and I knew was coming to the program was left outside without a seat and two $75 tickets in her hand.  I called her to see what she thought of the speaker last night and she told me she didn't get in.  "They" told her there were no seats left.  I said to her that was a flat out lie, that we had seats around us.  She said there were several people left out in the lobby to watch a TV screen with tickets in their hand.  She was livid and I don't blame her but I think what may have happened is that, when he started, the policy is no one gets in in the middle to interrupt.  They offered to give her the money back but she told them she didn't want her money back she WANTED TO HEAR PAT CONROY SPEAK!  I don't know if she got the money back but she didn't get in.  Sad.

I am sorry for her but I had a wonderful time and I also got to spend time with a lady I am trying to begin a friendship with.  Bev is the friend and high school classmate that The Hubby hooked up with his best friend and they've now been married about 3 years.  The Hubby's bestie lost his wife Gail my bestie 6 years ago and I've written about it many times.  Yesterday was great.  We had great talks, listened to the speaker and a fabulous lunch at Stonehorse where I bought her lunch in appreciation of the invite to the morning.  She is now in my book club too, so the path to a long friendship has started.

Book Club...

Recently I started a book club.  We've had exactly one meeting and this week will be number two.  Our first book was Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  It has been on best seller lists everywhere and it was one of a few books that we had NOT read.  This group of ladies seem to be very well read so finding one we had NOT read was a challenge.  It is a good thing.  This very first meeting, since we did not have a specific book to read, I decided to discuss Fifty Shades of Grey.  You need not have read that book to have an opinion, and opinions we had.  It was a great discussion group and got the ladies interacting when most of them did not know each other.  I have grouped a few ladies that are my friends but are not acquainted with each other, until now.  It's exciting and I'm hopeful we will continue for a very long time.

Back to Fifty...I have read the first two books in the series and have stumbled through the first third of the third book.  I have stopped, finally.  I am DONE!  They are not worth my time to read them, even for a discussion group.  I know, I know I am beating a dead horse here and this is my final say!

Addicted

I am addicted.  Yes, sadly I am addicted to buying books.  I thought getting my Kindle my addiction would slow down, I was wrong.  When the two local Border Bookstores closed down I just knew that would be the end of the addiction, I was so very, very wrong.  I seem to be buying more actual books and e-books on Amazon.  I don't know if I will ever be able to read all that I am buying.  

I love, love, love books.  I love real books but I love my Kindle too.  It's a scary addiction.  I'm reading as fast as I can but they publish so many books every, single day that I'm afraid I will miss out on something good.

I'm going to try,TRY very hard to stop, or at least stop unless I need to get one for my book club.  I can't borrow or check out at the library because I don't like to give them back.  I know it's a sickness.  I'm addicted to paper and words that are printed on it.  

One good thing is I actually took a huge pile to a used book store and sold them and I still have a pile in the garage that I'm offering to my book club members and the ones left will go to Goodwill.  That's good isn't it.  Maybe the addiction isn't too bad...

Friday And All Is A Wall Of Concrete

Good morning everyone this beautiful Friday morning.  My life is nothing but concrete lately, and I mean that literally!  The back outdoor kitchen/patio is very close to done.  I won't have any more pic's until it is done.  The stain guy is finished and will pull up the protecting paper and then that darned electrician (The Hubby) will finish his work.  The outdoor furniture is ready to be delivered and I'm pretty darn excited about that, but...The Hubby has now decided that the driveway needs to be replaced.  So while I was at the office yesterday he texted me and said, "They've started the demolition."  WHAT!  I went home and was forced to park in the street and then at the neighbors as they are out of town (thank goodness.)  It's a big dirt pile in our front yard and will be for at least a week as The Hubby is going to put in snowmelt under the drive.  That means no shoveling ice and snow!  YEAH!  That being said it also means a longer time to get the thing done so I will be lugging groceries up through the yard and through the front door.  Will this madness called construction ever end.  Yes, it will eventually.  On a good note the orange, seemingly permanent fixture, called the Porta-Potty is GONE!  It went bye-bye Wednesday just before my new book club members arrived!  Another WHEW!  

Last night we went to a friends 25th Anniversary celebration of being in business.  It was at the new Central Park facility on 6th.  Fun to see a lot of people we knew and a blast from the past.  A guy I went to grade school through high school with, plus I picked up another book club member!  

Have a great weekend everyone!

Pause

Pause...I'm hosting our new book club tonight...busy getting ready...more to come...