You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
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Great idea Janice! Well my days are being filled with researching each and every aspect of living aboard a narrowboat. Today I spent most of that research time looking in to toilets, chemicals to put down it, how to avoid (and fix) blockages and how to empty the tank once it's full! Nice! I think tomorrow I'll look at something a bit more pleasant! Maybe what wine I am going to buy for us to drink when we go collect the boat! Then I'm also frantically listing stuff on ebay which is such a drag but is so exciting when the bids start coming in! I've developed a bit of OCD with it and keep checking it every 5 minutes for new bids on our junk. A lot of 80s toys going to some new homes!I too have missed Marnie's presence. I wonder what she's up to!?!
This is nice! It's fun to get to know people a bit more :)I'm quite busy at work lately. I'm setting up a new study and preparing my first ever real lecture. And tons of other stuff to do.
Today I had a second meeting with a charity to become a language coach for war refugees, and I can most likely start soon with a guy in his late twenties who's from Iraq. And all that thanks to a book :)
And I'm not feeling so well today, very tired, a headache and dizzy, so I'm quietly spending my evening on the couch, crocheting (which actually isn't very different from most evenings)
Good luck with selling stuff Sarah!Had the cold weather started where you are in Canada, Janice? Didn't you have a bit of snow already? We had a bad and wet August, but September is very nice. We had 27 degrees last week, and for next they predict 24. In October! Incredible!
Settling to a new life in Northern Alberta. We had snow already but is now more fall like. Looking forward to minus 40 nights where I can put my feet up and read.
Yesterday was a very nice day. It was my 25th wedding anniversary. We went out to dinner at a sea food restaurant that has been in the same place as long as I've lived in Phoenix (since 1978), though it has been reincarnated from "The Fish Market" to "The Blue Water Grill." When the server asked if it was our first time there, I broke out laughing. We explained we had been coming there (the building, if not its current incarnation) for over 25 years. The server enthused about "loyal customers." (Since I only eat there about twice a year now, I felt a little bit like a fraud.) My husband and I reminisced about the good times we've had together, and it was just a really nice evening. The restaurant was one we went to often when we were dating, and the décor has not changed much, even if the name and management have.
I love this idea! I had an unexpected day home due to rain so I am spending it cleaning...not fun but definitely necessary. My kids are homeschooled (unschooled actually) and so I am usually off running around with my daughter taking her places. I love getting an unexpected day home, especially a rainy day.
Nearing harvest time so walking corn fields. Cutting stalks and chipping for whole plant dry matters and pulling ears on grain corn to check kernels for moistures and test weights. Trying to figure if plans were messed up with last week's frost. Today though is my sons birthday so its almost pizza and cupcake time!
Good idea! Especially my reading time is almost nil lately.i am slowly going insane... I may be in a padded cell soon. I just hope I get wifi there. :)
We have a big Expo next week so I am runnign around trying to get all my stuff done. And hitting roadblocks everywhere (just one of these weeks...)
I am also starting to prepare the yard for winter. :(
I am back in university for one class a night learning chinese. And stuudying (relearning to write, really) takes a chunk of my free time. I am still sttending bellydancing/african dancing classes and workshops.
ok... back to work....
Esther, I tried tribal belly dancing for a bit. Loved it but didn't persue it. I LOVE the costumes and the dances. So beautiful. I bet the african dance classes are very cool as well.
It's exciting getting to know everybody better. Each one of you is so unique!I miss the summer. Even though the weather was crap, I had more time for reading. In the beginning of this month I renewed my German courses twice a week in the evening and with writing homework, seeing friends and doing some sports, I have no reading time left.
But today and tomorrow I get to read at work :). I am a developer at a network services company, but 20% of my working time I work in operations. There we work in shifts and my lunch break doesn't coincide with the usual one. So I get to eat alone, quickly, and then I get half an hour of reading. I can lie down on a couch in the eating area when there is nobody around. It's so peaceful and relaxing. The perfect break!
I have just started a MOOC all about Hadrian's Wall and the Roman Frontier. I did another one over the summer which was about England in the time of King Richard III and enjoyed it so much that I had to sign up for some more. I love history and I love learning and these courses are perfect for me as you can do them at your own pace and they are easily broken down into little chunks. They are free as well which makes it even better! :) I have recently signed up for a third which starts in November which is called World War One: Truama and Memory so I am looking forward to diving in to that as well.I have recently gotten into watching box sets and have become addicted to 'Orphan Black' which is an amazing show. I watched another episode earlier so I am now almost at the end of Series 1.
It's starting to get colder at night here too. It's been pretty warm during the days for late September but the nights are really quite chilly. Time to dig the onesie out!
It's funny you should mention Marnie, I was also thinking just the other day that it's been a while since we have heard from her. Hopefully she will be back soon.
Tasha wrote: "Esther, I tried tribal belly dancing for a bit. Loved it but didn't persue it. I LOVE the costumes and the dances. "...And the veils and sword... :)
Not tempted to start again?
Tempted, always. I don't like to be in the spotlight and the group I was learning with does appearances so that was one reason. Time is another. :)
Peggy wrote: "Today I had a second meeting with a charity to become a language coach for war refugees, and I can most likely start soon with a guy in his late twenties who's from Iraq. And all that thanks to a book :)
Toda..."
Awesome idea...
Scott wrote: "Settling to a new life in Northern Alberta. We had snow already but is now more fall like. Looking forward to minus 40 nights where I can put my feet up and read."I didn't realize that you lived in Fairview!! We're practically neighbors. Not only that, but your birthday is Dec 4 and mine is Dec 6. Next time you come to Grande Prairie, send me a PM and we'll meet up for coffee.
Casceil wrote: "Yesterday was a very nice day. It was my 25th wedding anniversary. We went out to dinner at a sea food restaurant that has been in the same place as long as I've lived in Phoenix (since 1978), th..."Happy Anniversary, Casceil!
Esther wrote: "i am slowly going insane... I may be in a padded cell soon. I just hope I get wifi there. :)"...and no straight jacket. It's a little hard to type on a keyboard. I may join you.
Scott wrote: "Settling to a new life in Northern Alberta. We had snow already but is now more fall like. Looking forward to minus 40 nights where I can put my feet up and read."Wow, Scott, didn't you live on the east coast in New Brunswick? Quite a move and now you are up there with Janice and my son-in-law (He lives in Edmondton).
Happy Anniversary, Casceil!I loved your intro, Janice. Too boring and TMI, LOL!
I was thinking about Marnie too!
It has been cold and rainy here in NW Oregon this week. It was sunny for a few hours this morning, but it looks like we are into fall/winter weather. I have lots of yardwork to get done before it gets seriously rainy.
I have a vacation day off from work tomorrow but I am still going attend a going-away luncheon for a co-worker. I may drive over to the book store and see if there is anything I want to spend my recognition money on. If we get "recognised" from a co-worker or someone within the company for going above and beyond our regular work, we get money (10 to 25 dollars) paid into a company debit card. I have gotten several recently but have not spent the money yet. I need to buy a birthday present for one of my the grandsons.
Lisa - your class sounds very interesting. I would like to know more about Scotland after listening to Outlander.
Happy Anniversary, Casceil! (hope you don't mind the echo.)Lovely to get to know people. Much more fun with friends.
The weather is finally cooling off for us here in the south. We had a lovely weekend camping in the mountains last weekend, but alas we have to bring the camper in for some repairs. But if we do it now we should get it back in time for the beach in December.
I am up too late tonight but tomorrow is another work-from-home day so I can stay in my jammies a little longer. Kind of in a lull at work but trying to take advantage of it as I know it won't last long. (And the sooner I can quit making business process maps the better!)
Hey! It's officially Friday here! whee! Guess that means I should really go to bed. Hope everyone has a great night!
@Peggy - I remember you posted some pictures of your crochet creations a while ago. What's your new project?@Cascil - Happy Anniversary!
@Travis - How old was your son? And hows your little daughter now?
@Cherie - nice one for earning yourself some extra pennies at work - that's a great idea - more companies should do that for their employees. Looking forward to seeing what you buy!
Wow lot's of people are studying in their spare time! Some great topics too! And some great hobbies! Talking of hobbies, I'm off indoor climbing this morning which is my first time in about 2 months because I injured my finger. I can't wait to get back to it but I'm a bit nervous too - I don't want to hurt my pinkie again!
My son turned 4 which means kindergarten next year already. My daughter is doing great. Starting to talk and picks up words like you wouldn't believe. Her comprehension is amazing . took a while to get her to decide to walk but she was pushing her brother around on a toy car on the carpet the other day. 15 months old and by 2 years we expect much crying... From her brother since she will probably be beating the snot out of him regularly. Still on the small side but I swear she can eat as much as I do so she's bound to shoot up sometime I suppose. Thanks for asking.
That's good to hear Travis! So your son will be old enough to drive a tractor soon then so he can help you out?!? My partner drives a tractor and his dad used to collect vintage tractors and as far as I can tell my partner learnt to drive from a very early age on those bits of machinery!
I learned to drive standard transmission at 7 years old. I think most farm kids are starting to drive at 7-8 years old. You don't let them have the run of the place but its good to have some supervised training that young because when they get a drivers license at 16 or 17 they really only have to learn road laws not how to operate the vehicle. With any luck by the time he is 7 or 8 we have the new barn with robot milkers up and running. Maybe maybe not. That is about a 1.2 million dollar project and its a bit scary thinking about spending that much. Still have much planning before we pull the trigger on that venture.
Sarah wrote: "@Peggy - I remember you posted some pictures of your crochet creations a while ago. What's your new project?@Cascil - Happy Anniversary!
@Travis - How old was your son? And hows your little daug..."
Happy Anniversary Casceil!
Peggy, your charity work sounds amazing! What a worthwhile thing to be doing!
Travis, I am so glad to hear that your daughter is doing better now.
Sarah, enjoy your indoor climbing! I hope your pinkie survives! Is there any way you can keep it protected?
Cherie, there are no courses about Scottish history currently being offered on the site where I am doing my courses but new ones are being added all the time so if one comes up, I can point you in it's direction if you want?
Sarah wrote: "@Peggy - I remember you posted some pictures of your crochet creations a while ago. What's your new project?I made several more in the meantime, like a giraf, cat, chicken, sloth, and some smaller ones. And a bag! Right now I'm working on a bunny. My sister asked me to make one for a friend of hers who is expecting a baby girl in November.
Speaking of learning to drive early, my husband's family owned a construction co when he was little so he learned to drive on all the equipment. We just had our first family RV trip last week. We spent 3 nights at an RV park in Williamsburg, VA and spent 2 days walking around Williamsburg and Jamestown. We rented the RV (30 ft) and my husband loved it so much he wants to rent one of those big RVs next, the ones that look like buses and expand to a nice size at the RV park, hahaha! Learning how to drive early and with big equipment really has made him comfortable at most any type of wheel...not me! He knows he has to drive the entire trip. ;) Those RV parks are actually pretty nice! I was pleasantly surprised!
@Peggy, I used to crochet, especailly when my daughter was young. I am learning how to knit these days. I"m going to check out your creations in a sec.
@peggy, I love those animals! Expecially the sloth. I feel a bit inspired now to check out my amugurami (sp?) books...
@Cascil, Happy Anniversary! My husband and I celebrated our 19th on 9/23.
Tasha, we have a 30 ft camper and my husband always drives! It makes me nervous sometimes even to be a passenger. This is a relatively new camper and we haven't taken it on any really lengthy trips yet. Our old pop-up went with us across the country a couple of times, but even so I only drove with it once for an hour or so and it was nerve-wracking!(Of course, hubby is a control freak and ALWAYS drives. I've learned over the years to just enjoy the ride.)
Peggy, I crochet too sometimes... it's sort of an off and on thing with me, right now it's off. :( I love your little critters though - they're adorable! Maybe with the weather turning cooler I will be more inspired to sit with a lap full of yarn.
I know what you mean, sitting in the front seat (or even the back looking out front) is nerve-wracking in those things!
I woke at 4:30 this morning and was trying to fall back to sleep. But the cat kept running into the room, jumping on top of me, and then tearing back out of the room. So much for going back to sleep. I got up, checked her food and water dishes, and her litter box. Nothing amiss there. I'm now fully wide awake, and the cat is sleeping.
Cats trying to tell you a storm is coming
It is raining. The pitter patter is lulling me back into a sleepy state. I think I'll go back to bed.
Big weather changes make things go crazy with animals. There'll be cows coming into heat and freshening like crazy when big changes are about to happen.
We had a little present from one of our cats this morning. Two dead mice and a hairball! Nice!Peggy, I love all of your creations, especially the cat! He is so cute!
Love your critters Peggy especially the sloth and giraffe. @Lisa - unfortunately there's not much I can do to protect my finger - it was a tendon injury which has repaired itself although I still get the old twinge. I had a very good climbing session, took it easy and it was good to be back!
That is the downside of cats - they do like to bring in gifts. And disturb sleep!
I can't imagine driving one of those huge RVs - it would scare me to death! I'm really worried about driving our boat when we get it. Just booked on to a course to learn.
My friend's cat would always bring her presents. She'd get up in the morning and find a line of dead critters beside her chair at the breakfast table. @Travis. I guess she was trying to tell me that it was raining outside (as if I couldn't hear). She's settled down now. I was able to go back to bed for an hour of sleep. She's still there. I tried to jump on her (hands on bed beside her pushing up and down) and all she did was meow in protest.
I'm pretty exhausted, so have been following all night but no energy yet to respond to all things. Few important comments before bed.Peggy - The chicken is AMAZING!
Re RVs, I'm guessing these are huge north american sized ones? Your cars scare me in size, I'm not touching them.
Driving on farms: sounds like properties here Travis. A lot of kids can steer cars by the time they're. Not us city kids though.
Cats are evil, especially when they sleep while you're awake after they wake you.
Many other things. Loved hearing about all your days. I shall come back more coherent tomorrow :)
Rusalka, yes we have a 30-foot trailer which requires a big honkin' pickup truck to pull. Even though I consider it huge, there are many larger rigs out there. No matter where we go or how stressful it turns out to be to drive there and get parked, I almost always see something bigger and bulkier once we get there. My dog dances when there is thunder at night and keeps us all up. (She's 65 pounds of neurotic dancing fur.) If I'm home the next day I return the favor and make sure to wake her up if she looks like she's getting comfy.
@Peggy, I love the little bee! I can't believe you did those, they are amazing! I wish I had a touch for activities like that...
My son and his wife recently bought a 30ft fifth-wheel, and then went touring in the mountains. They ended up with a broken fan blade in the truck and had to have the whole rig towed! It was a pretty expensive holiday. I'm feared to drag my hotel room around behind me, so will willingly stay at a stationary one.The cat is sleeping on the bed right now. I was about to shake the bed and disturb her rest. But then I thought better of it. If I wake her, she'll want to join me in the office and then we'll fight. Once she gets comfortable on top of the piles of paper I'm working on, she will hiss, spit, and even bite when I try to reach under her. Nope, best to let sleeping devils lie!
My husband and I bought a little camper van just a few weeks ago. It's used but new to us. We're just back from our inaugural trip. Went camping on pretty river only about 45 miles from home. Thought it better not to get too far from home our first overnight trip out. It's small size suits us well. I feel comfortable driving it, too. My nephew in KL who I went to visit in April turned 6 a few weeks ago. I sure wished I could be there. He's my only nephew or niece, but that's due to change in about 5 months as brothers or sisters are expected then - 3 of them!!! Imagine going from only child to having 3 brand new baby siblings. Everyone reeling from this news in our family and circle of friends.
Peggy, your animals are too cute! I love the bag. I need to drag out my knitting again. It will keep me busy while I listen to all the audio books. The puzzles have lost their appeal. I had a great day off from work. The luncheon was fun. I did not find the books my grandson wanted, but I did not leave empty handed. My rewards actually paid for my new Nook Samsung tablet! They were having a sale and with my B & B membership
continued... I spent the afternoon figuring how to use it and listening to Dragonfly in Amber.I defiantly don't like their GR app!
Yes, to the class, Lisa! I'm going to try the Internet option next and look up Jacobites. :D
Peggy wrote: "I made several more in the meantime, like a giraf, cat, chicken, sloth,..."Somehow I missed this message! I like them all - especially the giraffe. I have a friend who uses the bee as her signature (Deb-bee). That bee would make a great Christmas present. I'd have to hunt for my crochet hooks, buy a pattern, and some yarn.
My sister is busy crocheting wash cloths. She made two for me when we were both home last weekend. I don't think she made them for me, but I whined convincingly enough to convince her I should have them.
I didn't question why the wine cork was on the floor when I woke up. I have kids and a dog random objects are always being left around. 10 minutes later as I eat my breakfast. Pop! The second bottle of wine blows its cork. The cork missed me but I jumped in my seat a bit with random sound of explosion. Before I have time to figure out what's going on I have a crotch full of wine. The wine rack is directly across room from me. Cork blows shoots wine across room under table directly on to me. Yup it's always me these things happen to.
Oh dear! Perhaps you need to drink all the remaining bottles of wine tonight so it doesn't happen again ;-)
Travis of NNY wrote: "I didn't question why the wine cork was on the floor when I woke up. I have kids and a dog random objects are always being left around. 10 minutes later as I eat my breakfast. Pop! The second bo..."What a bizarre happening. Is it homemade wine?
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You'll love this one...!! A book club & more
Books mentioned in this topic
From Baghdad, With Love: A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava (other topics)From Baghdad, With Love: A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava (other topics)
From Baghdad, With Love: A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava (other topics)
Dog on It (other topics)
Suspect (other topics)
More...
It's cold today and dark! It's noon and I have the lights on... and a hoodie. Hmmm... that's kind of boring. My days this week have been filled with working on my ex-husband's company's books. A friend commented this morning, "So that's why you're grumpy." Grumpy?? It's enough to make me apoplectic. Hmmm... headed into too much information territory.
I've been thinking about Marnie lately and wondering if she's been sequestered for good! I know she was doing jury duty, but we haven't heard from her in a while.
Okay, well, you get the idea... chat up a storm.