blogging

a book enjoyed etc.

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I’ll start off with a book enjoyed. Sometimes our expectations don’t line up with reality. The result of this often is disappointment but sometimes it’s not. Not was what happened this time. It was an awesome surprise.

Basically, Dupree had a defining moment when he admitted he hated everything about his life. Suicide had a certain appeal, for an instant. In the end he walked away from that thought and then just walked away from his life.

Sometimes life’s greatest mystery is finding yourself
Adam Dupree is at a literal crossroad of life. Dupree’s life has become a living hell and it’s time to make a change. Turn right and end it. Or, turn left, break free, and see where life takes him.

That one decision sends Dupree on an epic journey of rediscovery as he attempts to understand the mystery inside himself. Moving down a literal and figurative highway, his life attains meaning by defending the weak, protecting the poor and standing up for what is right in an unjust world.

As he re-discovers the thrill of being alive, Dupree becomes a hero, victim, and healer. But above all, he becomes a man with a purpose in life.

From deep Southern California, up the Great Central Valley, through Oregon and into Washington. Along the way, Dupree meets a cross-section of America. Some good, some bad, some givers and some takers.

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One aspect of this book did not sit well with me, for some reason that is not easy to define. It had to do with the way he walked away. Not that he shouldn’t have. I can totally see why he did but there was something immature and maybe a little off about the way it played out. That uncomfortable impression showed up a number of times throughout the story.

The things I liked, though, far outweighed the uncomfortable bits. In many ways he was reborn and the people he met along the way and his responses to them brought about the changes.

This time, I was probably more aware of the writing (as opposed to being lost in the story) and I consciously had an appreciation for the scenarios the author dreamed up.

It wasn’t all sweetness and light but despite that a lot of cool things happened..

I think this is a book I will not soon forget.

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On the this-and-that theme.

After a very structured and productive work week, today was a bit of a shock. Productive is not a word I could use for it. Disjointed comes to mind and feels pretty honest. Oh well, I can’t expect to win every day.

At least it wasn’t a total loss. There were some fruitful conversations. I managed to get to the store for weed killer while shopping was still an option. My brother called for a catch-up chat. A good day all in all, just not what I hoped for.

I think I’m done, there will be some exterior painting done in a week or two and tomorrow we will try out the paint test patches to see if the colors work as well as we hoped. It’s 1:00 AM and my mind is mush so I’d better quit.

Maybe tomorrow we will have some books. Hopefully.

I’ll let you know.

Checking in

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Hey everyone,

I’m just checking in. I planned on posting everyday but it’s been sporadic lately. My mind has been focusing on other areas and without good book suggestions I’ve been coming up empty on things to talk about. Today is looking like that kind of day too. I figured a little something, anything, would be a good idea just in case I don’t get back here later.

The usual emails have no suggestions that interest me so that’s a bust. I’m almost finished the read I mentioned last night and haven’t looked to see what’s next. It isn’t a very long book and another hour or so should finish it but no time, I’m headed to work.

I have a big day planned. We will see if it works out. Fingers crossed. Usually when I plan a deep dive that’s the signal for emails to go crazy. Maybe I can fly under the radar for a while. That would be nice.

Tomorrow will be busy too. A painting company is coming to power wash fences, deck, and stucco in preparation for painting once it all dries out. Even if I don’t have to be involved just having them here will be a distraction. It will be great to have everything freshened up. This is the first time I’ve had this work done on this house. It turns out I should have been painting the wood every few years. Oops.

We won’t even talk about the yard. With all the rain and periods of hot weather the plants and weeds have gone crazy. My excuse for not getting out there is all the rain we’ve had. The soil is like clay and sticks to my boots in big clumps, an impossible mess.

The grass has just taken off and it’s fun to watch the birds in the back yard hunting for bugs. It’s like they are walking through shoulder high fields. The little birds are almost lost from sight in it. The guys are coming to mow today. I wonder if the birds will be sad.

If anything interesting shows up I’ll be sure to share it later.

Just to add a little color to the day, here is my current read.

It’s near the end, she’s figured out who killer is and she’s in his clutches. Will the authorities (her friends) find her in time? Of course they will, you don’t kill off the main character. Knowing that, the suspense is still great.

Have a good day, and Happy Reading!

Bargain books May 19, 2021

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I was looking for slippers and instead, found the third book in a series I’m following. I buy books so that’s what shows up in the suggestion strips when I’m shopping, I couldn’t be happier. Slippers can wait for another day. Besides, it’s getting too warm for them anyway. Books are way more important.

Beckett: a clean romantic suspense novel (Lantern Beach Blackout: The New Recruits Book 3)

Amazon quote:

When the daughter of a federal judge is abducted, private security firm Blackout must find her.

Psychologist Samantha Reynolds doesn’t know why someone is targeting her. Even after a risky mission to save her, danger still lingers. She’s determined to use her insights into the human mind to help decode the deadly clues being left in the wake of her rescue.

Former Navy SEAL Beckett Jones needs to figure out who’s responsible for the crimes hounding Sami. He’s not sure why he’s so protective of the woman he rescued, but he’ll do anything to keep her safe—even if it means risking his heart.

As the body count rises, there’s no room for error. Beckett and Sami must both tear down the careful walls they’ve built around themselves in order to survive. If they don’t figure out who’s responsible, the madman will continue his death spree . . . and one of them might be next.

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That’s it for new books right now. I haven’t been able to see anything else I wanted.

I haven’t settled into another book yet either so don’t have a current enjoyable read to share.

I checked to see how many I’ve started and kicked to the curb, there are ten in a row. Crazy. I want to read this newest book but maybe I’d better zip through those started books and send them on their way. Clear the deck a little.

It’s too close to lights-out to think straight. Tomorrow.

It was hot and muggy this afternoon when I ventured out to take a picture of the first buds on my sapling flowering crab apple. With so many clouds hanging around the lighting wasn’t good and it didn’t turn out. Maybe if it’s sunny tomorrow I can try again. That’s if there are any blossoms left.

They promised thunder and lightening today and it’s finally here. We could use the rain, it’s been so dry, but if it rains hard…

Anyway, tomorrow.

Happy Reading y’all!

I wonder…

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Sometimes I wonder, okay, often I wonder, what is going on with all the shouting and yelling I’m hearing these days?

It reminds me of a commotion a couple of years ago.

There is a drainage area running between my house and the one behind me, it’s filled with a layer of stones and the weeds like to grow in between them. I was out there cleaning things up one day and this bird starts making a terrible racket. He (I’m assuming it was a he) was making all this noise and then he starts with the theatrics. Down on the stones he’s flipping himself around, dragging one wing and flapping the other one wildly.

I’d never seen a bird do this before and I’m thinking What in the world? I’m looking all over and I can’t see a nest anywhere in the trees or bushes around me. I’m not seeing any other birds. He’s obviously trying to protect something but I have no idea what.

The memory of that bird reminds me of the shouting and yelling I’m hearing these day and makes me wonder all the same things. What in the world is going on, what is someone protecting?

I don’t know if it is appropriate or not, but the first thing that comes to my mind when I hear the frantic commotion – two names, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Swaggart. Those boys had somethings to hide.

Yelling usually means smoke screening. A dead give away someone cares about something.

Inquiring minds jump on things like this and start looking around to see what the fuss is about.

The first place my mind goes is to a movie with lovable funny man Tim Allen where he had all these wives and ex-wives and he kept adding more. Even worse, he involved his unwilling daughter in the cover-up and deception.

It all came crashing down when he was on a Caribbean island with a friend. Tim was having a good time romancing the locals until he and his friend went parasailing. Somehow his friend fell out of his harness.

Trouble started for Tim when his family was mistakenly notified of his death. The uproar between his known wives was bad enough but when unknown wives started showing up for the funeral, well…

This week one of the books I read was a stressful story where a well known, pillar of the community family, had a deep dark secret. Lots of yelling with fists flying.

In the end the secret wasn’t that this paragon of virtue had a wild temper and was abusing his family. No, the secret was that he had a mistress and was planning to kill his present family to be with his new family. He managed to murder his wife and one daughter while the other was rescued almost too late by her guard dog.

In other books the secret has been much bigger. A Hugh Heffner wannabe with a fabulous mansion filled with mistresses, a vast organization bringing in millions, and an off-shore bank account in the trillions.

When I think about it, the possibilities behind the yelling are endless.

Sometimes, it’s not just one bird squawking, sometimes a whole flock is involved.

One day there was a huge racket in the back yard. I looked out to see what the threat was, it was a band of kittens eyeing up the birds.

All the shouting makes me wonder. Will it be the guy with the mistress or will it be the Hugh Heffner wannabe?

For sure there is a secret. Smoke screens don’t happen without reason.

I wonder… do we need to be nervous?

So, the bird I couldn’t figure out?

As I worked my way through the weeds I went to move a cute little stone and realized it was an egg. Just sitting there on the other stones. Obviously that was what had his shorts all in a knot. What a crazy place to lay your eggs.

I googled birds to see if I could find this guy and I think it was a Plover. They lay their eggs on curbs and other unlikely places on the ground. They protect their nest by making a big fuss pretending to be injured. It didn’t work on me although I did give that area a wide berth as I kept weeding. I didn’t want him having a heart attack but at the same time I can’t work in the yard on your bird schedule either, thank you very much.

They didn’t show up the next year. I guess they moved on to safer parking lots.

A little This and That

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Today’s edition of a little more of this and that.

A couple of thoughts have been rolling around in my head, provoking me for the last few days. Both of them raised in books I’ve been reading this week, and they aren’t letting go.

The loudest thought was expressed by a character in Charles Martin’s Water Keeper. A young woman exposed to drugs had been through rehabilitation a number of times and knew what was in store. Not fun. This time, because of a severe injury she was addicted to opioid pain killers and was desperate to find some way to make withdrawal survivable. Many years after the fact she shared with a friend how she did it.

She had become addicted to a new book series and as a distraction spent her time reading, desperately by the sounds of it. By the time she was past withdrawal she had re-read the first three books. in the series… twenty seven times.

I guess when she was finished she would just start all over again. In the end they were what helped keep her sanity.

That’s an amazing concept and I can totally see it working. It wouldn’t be easy, or a miraculous quick fix, but it could work.

Reading is my pain killer of choice, too, if I’m honest about why I read. That’s why I’m always on the look out for stories with the ability to transport me to another place. Whatever I’m struggling with is often forgotten, or at very least, in the rear view mirror, by the time the story I’m vicariously living is done.

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The next expressed thought to grab my attention will be with me for a very long time to come, I think. Probably because it is touching me on a deeply personal level.

I don’t remember which book I was reading but I remember the experience of those words.

One of the characters had an aging parent with dementia. As the disease progressed there was an ever increasing issue with displays of anger and it was causing problems in the care facility. They were threatening to expel the patient if the threat to other patients and staff couldn’t be addressed.

Discussing the issue with her friend, she couldn’t understand how a gentle loving man had become this difficult person.

Here’s the thought that arrested me. It’s not a direct quote, it’s what I can remember of the interaction.

All our lives we were taught manners and self-restraint. We could be angry with someone but it would be impolite to express the way we felt and so we were gracious.

When we fall into dementia those learned filters are no longer in place and unresolved anger comes out freely.

This is distressing food for thought, I don’t want to be that angry person if I fall into dementia. For now my filters are firmly in place and there are no temper flare ups, with people.

With inanimate objects it’s another story. Like with tangled hangers in the closet or with plants catching at my rake as I’m trying to gather up fallen leaves. The rage always surprises me and I am worried about where it’s coming from.

I can’t remember enough of the buried details of my abusive early life to have a meaningful conversation with a counselor, at least that is my opinion. On the other hand the root of this anger would be a good reason for a discussion with someone, while I still have filters.

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So those are the thoughts rolling around in my head these days.

There is an idea from a third book giving me pause but I’ll save that for another day.

**********

Our cold weather has become more than warm in the last few days. It was 27c yesterday and is supposed to reach 30c today.

Everything is growing like crazy. Tree leaves have been popping out fast enough to make my head spin. We are loving it.

Remember to read. It has great side benefits.

Read and enjoyed

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In the last post I mentioned my current read and shared about needing to take breaks from it to keep going. Well, somewhere along the line things changed. Maybe it was the story or maybe it was a uninterrupted healthy block of available time. I found myself hooked and couldn’t put it down if I wanted to. In the end I loved this read and gave it five stars. That doesn’t happen very often.

It was charming and at the same time, a deeply emotional journey.

In the beginning we were all just getting to know each other. By the end we were a team, had each others backs, cheering wildly for new victories. How can you not become part of a story like that?

Had to share the excitement now to have a hope of sleeping anytime soon, and since it’s midnight…

The Fifth Avenue Story Society

Five strangers get the chance to rewrite their stories… 

Executive assistant Lexa is eager for a much-deserved promotion, but her boss is determined to keep her underemployed.

Literature professor Jett is dealing with a broken heart, as well as a nagging suspicion his literary idol, Gordon Phipps Roth, might be a fraud.

Uber driver Chuck just wants a second chance with his kids.

Aging widower Ed is eager to write the true story of his incredible marriage.

Coral, queen of the cosmetics industry, has broken her engagement and is on the verge of losing her great grandmother’s multimillion-dollar empire.

When all five New Yorkers receive an anonymous, mysterious invitation to the Fifth Avenue Story Society, they suspect they’re victims of a practical joke. No one knows who sent the invitations or why. No one has heard of the literary society. And no one is prepared to reveal their deepest secrets to a roomful of strangers.

Yet curiosity and loneliness bring them back week after week to the old library. And it’s there they discover the stories of their hearts, and the kind of friendship and love that heals their souls.  

“This captivating story full of heart, soul, and humor kept me turning pages until midnight to finish it. Rachel weaves the perfect amount of tension and opens possibilities to keep the reader pondering long after the story is over.  I loved it!” —Francine Rivers, New York Times bestselling author

“Rachel Hauck’s flair for inviting prose and well-drawn characters shines in this delightful story about searching for hope and healing within the most unexpected circle of people. Finely tuned themes of love, self-authenticity and discovering the benevolent hand of providence make this one sweet gem of a book.” —Susan Meissner, bestselling author of The Last Year of the War .

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I haven’t moved beyond this story far enough to think about what’s next. For now I’ll just say good night.

Or good …. whatever time of day it happens to be when you read this.

See you again soon.

Happy Mother’s Day

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Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

It’s a day to be grateful for Mothers, We all had one or we wouldn’t be here, that’s reason enough right there, to be grateful. Life is a precious gift.

Giving life is not an easy thing and wanting to do it more than once can seem like insanity. Those of us who are not firstborn are grateful Mom was excited about a new baby and seemed to forget the down side to the whole process.

If the pregnancy/giving birth thing wasn’t enough to discourage her, the terrible-two’s and potty training surely should have done it. That alone tells us why mothers need to be appreciated. For a week or more at least, never mind this business of only one day.

If we are truly honest, it’s a wonder some of us made it past childhood. You know who you are, don’t try to hide.

We are grateful for moms who gave us life and loved us enough to let us keep it.

Photo by Secret Garden on Pexels.com

Love you Mom!

Favorite book of the week

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This was my favorite book of the week.

Full Disclosure by Dee Henderson

Ann Silver is a cop’s cop. As the Midwest Homicide Investigator, she is called in to help local law enforcement on the worst of cases, looking for answers to murder. Hers is one of the region’s most trusted investigative positions.

Paul Falcon is the FBI’s top murder cop in the Midwest. If the victim carried a federal badge or had a security clearance, odds are good Paul and his team see the case file or work the murder.

Their lives intersect when Ann arrives to pass a case off her desk and onto his. A car wreck and a suspicious death offer a lead on a hired shooter he is tracking. Paul isn’t expecting to meet someone, the kind that goes on the personal side of the ledger, but Ann Silver has his attention.

The better he gets to know her, the more Paul realizes her job barely scratches the surface of who she is. She knows spies and soldiers and U.S. Marshals, and has written books about them. She is friends with the former Vice President. People with good reason to be cautious about who they let into their lives deeply trust her. Paul wonders just what secrets Ann is keeping, until she shows him the John Doe Killer case file, and he starts to realize just who this lady he is falling in love with really is…

*****

There were so many things to like about this book.

The characters were complex, interesting, and the principles very well developed. In the end many more were introduced, all of them needed to make the story work.

The events and situations were unique as well. In all of the books I’ve read I’ve not run across another story treatment even remotely like this one.

On the downside, there were a few segments that didn’t make sense. This book was published in 2012. I think with all of the recent digital changes we’ve experienced, if it had been more recently published some of the questionable areas would have played out differently. Tracking devices could have replaced stake-outs, that sort of thing. It would have made it more believable. Those bits were only annoyances, though, they weren’t deal breakers.

There were many twists and turns in the action. Just when you thought you knew where it was all going everything changed and suddenly you had no idea.

It was delightful that they were people of substance, full of surprises. They did things that made you stop and think a bit. I like books like this.

It did not end the way I thought, and it took all 480 pages to get to a conclusion I’d never have guessed.

The surprising part in the end was the sympathy I felt for the illusive killer.

I would read this book again, for sure.

This and that, one more time.

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This is one of those days when it’s taking a herculean effort to sit down and write, I think it’s the uncomfortable space I’m in that’s at fault. I’ll going to try for a this-and-that kind of day and see if anything worthwhile shows up.

I think it’s been a cluster of things that are getting to me, none of it bad though. Some of it is probably taking me out of my comfort zone and that’s the reason for the distress. Adding all the little things together, it does a number on me. The worst thing about it is that the physical response to stress is sidelining me. Frustrating. I wish I could just take a pill and move on. Wouldn’t that be nice.

Oh well, at least there were bright spots in my week.

This was tax time and mine has been filed, on time. (sigh of relief) There was even a small refund. (Awesome.)

I finally gave in and ordered a replacement for a completely destroyed vacuum cleaner hose. I’d taped it together many times until it was finally hanging only by a thread. Even then I just held it together as best I could to limp through a cleaning. The hold up was insecurity about ordering the right thing.

It should arrive in the next few days so we’ll see if I made the right choice. I hate doing things when I don’t think I know what I’m doing.

Life is ironic sometimes. Between my house and my job, I’ve had to do more than a few things I’ve never done before. Especially in the last two years, and we’re not done yet. I have to say though, once I’ve done and conquered, I’m feeling pretty happy about myself.

There is another chore I’ve been putting off. If I want to keep them, I need to put chicken wire around some plants the neighborhood rabbits keep eating. I don’t mind them eating the grass but I wish they’d leave the plants alone. Wishful thinking on my part.

I’ve been hoping the rabbits would be a predator’s lunch one day but so far it hasn’t happened and they are getting big, maybe too big now. My neighbor tells me the eagles like to swoop in and grab lunch but so far these guys have managed to escape those clutches.

There’s more swirling around in my head but for your sake I’ll quit here. Maybe save it for another time.

I have to say writing this has been therapeutic for me and hopefully not too boring for you. 🙂

Currently I’m reading the book I promised in the last post. I’m loving it. One thing about longevity in writers, they can build on their experience to come up with increasingly complex characters and situations. That’s why I’m loving this book so much. I’m glad I grabbed it yesterday because it was a small window of opportunity, it’s not a bargain anymore. Even at full price it’s worth it though.

Full Disclosure

Ann Silver is a cop’s cop. As the Midwest Homicide Investigator, she is called in to help local law enforcement on the worst of cases, looking for answers to murder. Hers is one of the region’s most trusted investigative positions.

Paul Falcon is the FBI’s top murder cop in the Midwest. If the victim carried a federal badge or had a security clearance, odds are good Paul and his team see the case file or work the murder.

Their lives intersect when Ann arrives to pass a case off her desk and onto his. A car wreck and a suspicious death offer a lead on a hired shooter he is tracking. Paul isn’t expecting to meet someone, the kind that goes on the personal side of the ledger, but Ann Silver has his attention.

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Thanks for listening.

Enjoy your Saturday.

Free book April 23, 2021

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BookRune has a FREE suggestion for us. This author is on my favorites list and I’ve recently read five of her books. I’m looking forward to this one too.

When I Come Home Again: A Big Prairie

Amazon quote:

A tragic fallout drove them apart. When a family crisis calls him back to his small hometown where she still lives, will forgiveness lead them to a second chance?

Brenna Blaum had been sure of three things in her life—her brother, her running, and her dad’s star receiver. But in a matter of a year’s time, everything she’d counted on fell apart, leaving her devastated. Seven years later, she’s stable again. She has a supportive boyfriend, fulfilling career, and close friends. She keeps her past heartache where it belongs—in her rearview mirror. Until the man who broke her heart finds his way back to Big Prairie.

Craig Erikson had it all—popularity, success, and the love of his high school coach’s daughter. But after a year of mistakes that ended in a tragic accident, he’d left Big Prairie—the place he’d thought to always call home—hoping that without his antagonizing presence, Brenna would be able to heal. Now his mother desperately needs him, as do two young boys in her care. Craig has little choice but to return for good.

Unsure that she can forgive him, Brenna does her best to avoid him. Irritated that she ignores him as if they’d never meant anything to each other, Craig becomes determined not to allow it.

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That’s all I have for book suggestions at the moment but if anything else shows up I’ll let you know.

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Yesterday I shared pictures from family, of springtime in south western British Columbia, Canada. I was thrilled to see them mainly because we used to live there, within a few blocks of this actually. Spring is beautiful and looking at this picture brings back many pleasant memories.

In some ways I wouldn’t mind living there again but…

I have no reason to live there. That makes all the difference, I’ve found.

Without a reason it’s just not the same and it all falls kind of flat. There are a few places I’ve had reason to live more than once and it was different each time. The river of life moves on. I will treasure the memories I have of my time in Victoria and appreciate the new memories I’m making in this – my chosen spot, for now.

Speaking of my chosen spot, it is chilly out there. Last week we had storms and snow. This week the new snow is nearly gone and the weather is supposed to warm up, or so we were told. This morning I went out with the garbage, coat-less. Looking out it seemed like a hoodie should be enough. Not. The wind was bitter and it turned out to be -1c, feels like -8c.

Chatting with my neighbor for a few moments was a shivery affair.

Fickle, fickle weather.

One thing I do love about this place though; once the sun comes out it is always hot wherever it hits no matter what the real temperature is. Good job it shines often.

Happy Reading y’all.