Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion
What are U doing today?
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What are U doing today? (Ongoing thread)
Joy, As I said we travel with our words but you are the faithful conductor that helps keep us on track.
Nina wrote: "Joy, As I said we travel with our words but you are the faithful conductor that helps keep us on track."Nina, I think it YOU folks who keep ME on track! LOL
Just ordered "Proof of Heaven," on my Kindle. It is supposed to be a near death experiencetype story. Sounded interesting and is our book for August book club. Have you heard of it?
Haven't heard of it before now, Nina. It DOES sound interesting! Thanks for telling us about it.Which of the following books is it?
Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife by Eben Alexander
Proof of Heaven by Mary Curran Hackett
It is about Eben Alexander. The prolouge made it sound intriguing. I once had a "little death" experience so am amxious to read it.
Thanks, Nina. I read the GR description of Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife by Eben Alexander. I find it hard to believe what it says.
I will let you know what our group says about it and what I think after reading it.
OK, Nina. I'd be interested to know how many believed what the author wrote.
PS-Nina, about the Proof of Heaven book, I'm inclined to accept the negative criticisms put forth in the following review by GR member, Jeremy:http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
You might mention a few of the criticisms at your group's discussion.
PPS-About the Proof of Heaven book, also see the following GR review (by Terri Lynn):http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Terry Lynn wrote: "Having someone who was in a coma write a book telling a made up story about a dream is NOT "proof of heaven". It is proof of dreams, maybe, but then again, we don't know he even dreamed it."
I am going to a grandson's wedding in a couple of weeks in ID and will probably have to read this book while there and we don't discuss it at our book meeting until July so I will wait until tht time to tell you what I and the others think of it. And I will read the goodreads reviews and add them to our discussion. In the meantime I am loving the book I was given by a friend for my birthday, "Gallway Bay" by Mary Pat Kelly. The descriptions are marvelous. It bothers me when I have actually been somewhere and I know the person wrtiing about it hasn't. This one definitely has.
Nina, here's the book you mentioned: Galway Bay by Mary Pat KellyYou are fortunate to have been to Ireland. The scenery there is famous for its beauty.
Have a good time at the wedding. What will you be wearing as grandmother of the groom?
Joy H. wrote: "PPS-About the Proof of Heaven book, also see the following GR review (by Terri Lynn):http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Terry Lynn wrote: "Having someone who was in a coma write a book..."After reading all of the reviews I am at least intrigued enough by them to be anxious to form my own opinion. When I had dangerous heart fribulations I was given an injection that stopped my heart. I was told later this treatment is called "little death" rather than a "near" death experience as I was actually dead, according to the cardiologist. I was supposed to ocme right back but for some reason I didn't do as planned. According to my husband who was watching the monitor when my heart stopped, the nurse ran out of the room and then he heard a voice coming over the loudspeaker,"She's coming back." He was about ready to pass out. Well, I can't rmember much except I was very much at peace and yes, I did see a light in the darkness; however, it could have been just seeing again the lights in the room. I then had to wear a heart monitor for twenty four hours. A couple of weeks later when I went to the cardiologest for my check up I mentioned that I was OK but very tired. He said, "When everything stops in your body it takes a while to get it all back again and that is why you are tired." I would just as soon not go through that again. It was a bit frightening to think I came that close to not coming back alive.
Most favorable reviews of Gallway Bay out number the unfavorable by almost ten to one. I almost always like a novel based on real family history of the author and this one seems to be no exception.
Jim, I thought you might be interested to know my daughter, Megan, found a large seashell in her KS pasture today. We have had lots of rain lately.
That's pretty wild, Nina. We have a lot around here, but they're all tied up in rock. Oceanic period, I believe.
Nina wrote: "... When I had dangerous heart fribulations I was given an injection that stopped my heart. ..."Hi Nina. What a frightening experience! Glad you came through OK!
When I was a kid (in the 1940's), I had a strange experience at the dentist. In those days they anesthetised you with a mask over your face. It might have been ether. I remember seeing a tunnel with a light at the end of it. Then I remember waking up to see the dentist and his nurse both leaning over me. I guess they were trying to wake me up.
After that, I walked home. I remember being a bit dizzy as I walked. (I had gone to the dentist alone because my house was nearby.)
I've read about near-death experiences where they see a tunnel with a light at the end of it. I often wonder why I saw the same thing. I've read that under certain circumstances, the brain will see that sort of thing. Personally, I think it's just a chemical re-action in the brain, not a near-death experience.
Joy H. wrote: "...Personally, I think it's just a chemical re-action in the brain, not a near-death experience. "Mary Roach, the author of Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal, covers the tunnel thing in her book Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife & it does indeed seem to be a physical reaction. That was my least favorite of all her books simply because of the subject matter. Most of it was spent debunking a lot of confusing beliefs. In many cases, there's no proof either way. It's pretty hard to prove a negative.
Some of the stuff people have done was just unbelievably nasty in their search or attempts to sway others. Folks used to use gauze to simulate ghosts. Of course, people wanted to make sure they were the real deal, so would search for such things first. One woman used to hide something like 7 yards of gauze in her vagina! Pretty amazing cargo capacity. Others used to do horrible things to others looking for their souls while they were alive.
Has anyone read, Dan Brown's, "Angels and Demons?" I just watched the movie and the subtitles made a mistake; not that that is unusual. However, I am wondering if it was just the subtitles or Dan Brown, himelf, did it in his book. The mistake: they referred to a St. Theresa church in Rome and there was a bit about her and Bernini. They spelled the name wrong. There is no St. Theresa. I will check it out at Barnes and Noble next time I go.
Jim, I haven't read Spook but will keep it in mind. I like Mary Roach's style of writing.
Nina wrote: "Has anyone read, Dan Brown's, "Angels and Demons?" ..."Nina, in 2009 I posted the following at this group:
================================================
I tried reading the book Dan Brown wrote after (or before) The Da Vinci Code, but when I realized that it seemed to have the same endless twists and turns, I decided not to continue reading. I believe the book was Angels & Demons.
================================================
Let us know what you find out about the name you mentioned.
Because my name is Teresa and I am named after St. Teresa of Avila, I am conscious of the spelling of that name. In the book, "Chicken Soup for the Soul Cookbook," they spelled Mother Teresa's name wrong twice. Now, wouldn't you think at least one of the three author's would get it right; it is Mother Theresa in this book.
Nina wrote: "Because my name is Teresa and I am named after St. Teresa of Avila, I am conscious of the spelling of that name. ..."Nina, perhaps the errors in spelling which you mention are due to the fact that there are two saints with similar names:
Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582)
(aka Saint Teresa of Jesus.)
She was a reformer of the Carmelite Order.
Born in: Gotarrendura, Ávila, Crown of Castile (today Spain)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Tere...
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (1873–1897).
(aka "The Little Flower of Jesus".)
She was a French Carmelite nun.
Born in: Alençon, France.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%A9...
Joy, I know there are two saints but none with the spelling, Theresa. I think of all things they should get Mother Teresa's name spelled right. What I think is that people assume they know how to spell it and don't bother getting it right. It probably bothers me because my name is often not spelled right.
Nina wrote: "Joy, I know there are two saints but none with the spelling, Theresa. ..."Oh, I see what you mean, Nina. It's "Thérèse", not "Theresa", for Saint Thérèse of Lisieux.
After around 4:00 p.m. tomorrow, I'll be offline for about a week. On Monday, Barb and I are headed up to Fulks Run to visit family (and as usual I'll have very limited Internet access there); so this weekend, I plan to put my computer in the shop. (It's often very slow now in booting up to the Internet, so I'm suspecting some built-up malware issues. :-( ) But I'll be back sometime next weekend, and will be eager to catch up with you all!
Have a good trip, Werner!-----------
Baby wrens nesting in the grass muzzle, Rascal & Cutter wearing my hat.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...
Well, plans have changed slightly. We decided to give ourselves Monday as a catch-up day, to make a dent in all the things we have to do here, and head out on our trip early Tuesday morning. So I'll be able to wait until Monday evening to put my computer in the shop.
Thanks for posting, Jim and Werner.Loved the pics, Jim.
Have a good trip, Werner.
We were downstate at our first grandchild's H.S. graduation on Friday and Saturday this weekend. It's been years since we attended a graduation. It was a long drawn-out ceremony but it was a special time, a milestone in many lives. The weather was super and it was great to be with our family again!
We're home now... recuperating.:)
Thanks, Joy! And glad you two got to attend the graduation.
Unexpectedly, I'm still here. Both Barb and Deborah have come down with flu bugs; the former doesn't feel like traveling, and we're not sure we should leave the latter to handle four kids by herself. :-( So, I'm back to work today, so as not to lose vacation days to no purpose (though yesterday wasn't wasted). We'll take it one day at a time, and see if the bug passes quickly or if our vacation has to be re-scheduled.
Bummer! Hope they get better soon, Werner.
Werner, that flu bug is terrible. Hope you don't get it. I wish both Barb and Deborah a quick recovery.
Thanks, Joy! It's official now: we're going to postpone our vacation until the week of July 8 (I'll take July 9-12 off from work). That puts it awfully close to the already-scheduled vacation the week of July 22, but we can't do much about that.Yes, this flu bug is a pain. I'm normally very sympathetic to wildlife, but I wish that particular virus was endangered, or extinct. :-)
That's a drag, Werner. Sorry your plans got wrecked.We had our oldest, James, over yesterday afternoon & evening. It was a lot of fun. It's nice when they get some age on them (It would be nicer if I didn't.) & have an appreciation for all the landscaping & such. He & his girl friend own a house in RI, so we chatted a lot about home issues & such.
We took a ride, of course. He rode Erin's horse, Topaz, bareback while I was on Chip & Marg rode Speedy. James & I jumped a few things & did some haring around. Marg & Speedy didn't, but we all had a great time.
We left Rascal loose, so he came with us for the ride like one of the dogs. He was kind of a pain & kept getting close to Chip's hind end. Chip kept warning him off, but Rascal was oblivious. As soon as I got off him, Chip ran right over & bit Rascal. He didn't leave any marks, but certainly showed he wasn't happy with him.
Thanks, Jim. Glad you guys got to have a good visit with James!
Jim wrote: "... We left Rascal loose, so he came with us for the ride like one of the dogs. He was kind of a pain & kept getting close to Chip's hind end. Chip kept warning him off, but Rascal was oblivious. As soon as I got off him, Chip ran right over & bit Rascal. He didn't leave any marks, but certainly showed he wasn't happy with him. "Jim, do you think Rascal learned a lesson? :) I think he was probably well-named. :)
Werner, I hope July will be a better month for you and yours health-wise.
No, Rascal didn't learn anything. He's like a puppy, full of energy & not particularly concerned about getting into trouble. He's fast enough to get out of most of it.;-)
How old is Rascal, Jim?
I guess 4 is young for a horse, eh? They live longer than dogs. Hate to see our Romeo turning 8 this year. Seems he was just a puppy a short time ago.
Yes, 4 is pretty young, maybe 18 in our years. Horses generally live into their mid-twenties, to 30. Ponies generally a decade more, but it varies a lot.
So Rascal is a teen-ager. :) Jim, I must tell you that your posts have made me more interested in horses these days. Now when I see a horse (or horses) in a movie, I pay more attention to them. I never like to see horses made to fall down in a movie scene. It seems cruel to me but I guess they are trained to do that. Doesn't seem right though.
You're seeing horses as the individuals they are, Joy. TV & books make them all into caricatures.The squash is coming in fast, so we're getting creative on how to use it. Today I made up squash lasagna, mostly zucchini with some yellow, & zucchini bread. The lasagna just substitutes the squash for the pasta. The bread is like a carrot or pumpkin bread. I had the zucchini bread for dessert last night. It was great, even though I swapped the amounts of backing powder & soda. (What's the difference between the 2?)
We'll have the lasagna tonight with Erin as she's coming to visit. I cooked it for about 20 minutes, so warming it back up in the oven for another 20 should cook it fine. I always like it better the second night when the flavors have had time to mix & settle.
It's real simple.
Frizzle up a pound of ground beef & drain, mix it with 32 oz of spaghetti sauce.
Slice up a couple of medium squash thin with a knife.
Layer them with a pound or so of ricotta or cottage cheese & top the last layer (1st & last should be meat sauce) with a pound of mozzarella in a pan. Cook it 30 - 45 minutes.
Jim, that sounds delish! I will send the post to Eddie. Maybe he'll try making that "squash lasagna". It might be especially good for those people who can't tolerate the gluten in the usual pasta.
Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group
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Yes, Nina, we do seem to travel around the states here, including your state, Kansas! I think we have a wonderful core group here. Thanks to you all!
PS-Don't forget VA! (Werner lives in VA.)
PPS-And Omaha (Mary JL) and several more...