Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Stop Complaining and Just Eat
Monday, December 29, 2014
Dave Barry Sums up 2014 Quite Well
I like Dave Barry and I enjoyed reading his article in the Washington Post. It was a recap of 2014 which I personally feel was an incredibly crappy year. He goes month by month and event by event. His humor in presenting the facts is the only thing keeping you from breaking down in tears.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/style/2014/12/28/davebarry-yearinreview-2014/
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Nora Webster

Plain and simple, this is the story of Nora Webster. The story takes place in Ireland in the late 60's and 1970’s. We are introduced to Nora right after the death of her husband. She is left with four children, two are away at school. The other two live with her in a small village in Ireland where everyone knows who you are. Her husband was a teacher and while he was alive they had a comfortable life but now with him gone she finds that she must step up to the plate and figure out how to take care of her and her children. It is a journey for her.
she faces challenges. She weighs her options and moves on with her life. It is not easy for her but she seems to manage. It is interesting to watch her find herself especially since this was in a small village in Ireland in the 1970's and women once they were married became homemakers and had many of their decisions made for them by their spouse.
For more information on this book, check out this link Nora Webster
Friday, December 26, 2014
Time Capsule found. How Cool!
Recently, I spent a couple of days in Philadelphia. We stayed at the Wyndam Old City which was the most perfect location at least that is in my opinion. Looking out our window I noticed an old cemetery which turned to out to be the old Christ Church cemetery. Buried here was Benjamin Franklin. Even though this cemetery is in the city of Philadelphia when you are there you feel like you are secluded from the modern hustle and bustle of the city. Sitting in that cemetery on a cold, wet, dreary day I could almost feel the spirits lying there. They seemed restless or maybe it was I who was restless.
I came across this article right after I came back from Philadelphia. Boston is another place where you can find history dating back to the early colonial days. If we created a time capsule with an iphone, a tablet, a copy of the Washington Post or New York Times a piece of the space station, what would people think about these items in say one or two hundred years. So I thought I would share the article with you.
To read the article follow this link Boston Time Capsule
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Monday, December 22, 2014
Sunday Notes on Monday




Saturday, December 20, 2014
Lucky Us

Wednesday, December 17, 2014
A Bright Red Ribbon

Monday, December 15, 2014
The Invention of Wings A Good Deal

Just in case you have not read this book yet, you may want to put it on your list especially if you have time off for the Holidays. The book focuses on the life of two women with very different stories but who curiously have a lot in common. It is based on historical facts. I have a blog post on this book on March 5, 2014. Amazon has this book at a special price that is well worth it. If you want more info on this book follow this link Invention of Wings
Saturday, December 13, 2014
The Divorce Papers

Thursday, December 11, 2014
A Nantucket Christmas

Monday, December 8, 2014
Sunday Notes on Monday
I had a fantastic
weekend. My daughter scored two tickets to the Meredith Vieira Show and asked
if I wanted to go. I could not say yes fast enough. There’s something so
exciting about watching a show being taped, and the guests were genuinely
interesting. The episode airs January 6th, and I’m eager to see how it all
comes together on screen. Spoiler alert, one of the guests was Jill Biden.
After the show, we
hopped on the subway and headed downtown to Union Square. Hard to believe I’d
never been there, especially since I grew up just outside the city. We had
lunch at Lillie’s—great atmosphere, cozy and charming.
Because I had a
lot on my plate, we went up late Thursday night and came back Saturday, but we
packed in plenty of fun. I drove, so I brought along an audiobook: Lucky Us by
Amy Bloom. Let’s just say—it’s different. I haven’t finished it yet, but I’ll
keep you posted.
Also, stay
tuned—I’ll be talking about The Divorce Papers in my next post.
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Working Stiff Kind of like Bones meets Ducky

Thursday, December 4, 2014
The Christmas Train

In the Christmas Train, Tom Langdon decides to take the train from DC to LA. Actually the decision is made for him since he has been banned from flying for two years. Long story read the book. Since he is a journalist, he decides to write about his train travel experience. Why not he is already experiencing it. Once he boards the train he meets a very interesting group of people and is very surprised when Eleanor the one that got away is on his train. Imagine that. Bam! The train ride has now become really interesting. In addition to the interesting characters, there is a thief on board and the train gets stuck on the tracks because of an avalanche So Christmas is a little different for those on board. But different is good right? Oh and there is a twist in the story, one I did not see coming but only because I wasn't really paying as much attention as I should have, silly me. I really enjoyed the book and would give it a Ho Ho Ho my highest rating for a holiday book. If you haven't read it yet give it a try. For more info on this book follow the link The Christmas Train
Monday, December 1, 2014
Sunday Notes on Monday
After spending a few days in Philly we hopped onto I95 North to New Jersey and spent Thanksgiving day at my parents'. Both of them were not up for cooking and for the first time ever we pre-ordered the meal from Stop and Shop. For all of you living in Maryland the Stop and Shop folks own Giant as well. Surprisingly the food was pretty ok. Not as good as home made but certainly good in a pinch. Then it was home again before the holiday traffic on the weekend.
Staying in hotels gave me some time in the evening to read especially since it was snowing in Philly on Wednesday and although we braved the cold and wet to go out that evening we gave up around 8:30. We were cold, wet and tired from our day of sightseeing. As promised, I finished A Sudden Light by Garth Stein and posted my blog this past Saturday. It was very different from another one of his books that I had read, The Art of Racing In the Rain. I finished two other books The Divorce Papers and Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner so look for those posts in the next week or so. I enjoyed both books.
And if any of you have any leftover cranberry sauce which we did, check out the dessert recipe I found to use it up or if you don't have any leftover perhaps you should get another can or make your own. Check out the recipe on Trying to Cook.
Not sure what I am going to read next. Once again the number of books sitting next to my bed is huge. So many choices. I will keep you posted. Have a great week.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Do Witches and Vampires get Along? Only in certain Cases.



Saturday, November 29, 2014
A Sudden Light

Can a house be "alive"? Do its present and former occupants breathe life into this inanimate structure? Growing up I sometimes felt the energy of people who had lived there before. Well maybe one person that had lived there before, a woman. My Mom felt her presence as well and we named her Fifi. (pronounced feefee). We even knew what she looked like because there was a charcoal sketch of her in the laundry room in the basement. It was there from the day we moved in and was still there when we moved out. One I asked my Mother why she never took the picture down. She said because Fifi kept her company while she did the laundry.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Mr Miracle

If you are a Debbie Macomber fan you will probably like this book. On my Ho, ho, ho reading scale I give it a HO.
Monday, November 24, 2014
Sunday Notes on Monday

Saturday, November 22, 2014
Duck The Halls

Thursday, November 20, 2014
Chocolate Lovers Be Afraid, there is a SHORTAGE!
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Death With Dignity
A year ago my dog was diagnosed with inoperable cancer. He was our second child, our baby, our joy. As I watched him in pain and slowly losing his ability to be him I knew we had to make a decision. A few days after Thanksgiving I came home from work and found him under the table breathing heavily and in pain. I saw it in his eyes. I felt like he was pleading with me to make the pain stop. I gave him pain meds the vet had given us and held his head in my lap until my husband got home. We got him in the car and drove him to the vet. The vet told us he would only get worse and so my husband and I had the conversation on what to do. I made it easy on my husband convincing him that allowing our baby to die peacefully in the doctors office would be the best thing we could do for him. The vet had this room with a comfy couch and a fireplace and my husband, myself and the dog all shared the couch. It was so peaceful and he died knowing we were there and loved him.
I think those who choose this option are brave. It so goes against human nature. You want to fight for life and hope you can get better. The truth is sometimes you just can't. You fight as long as you can and as long as your quality of life is acceptable to you. After that it should be up to you. I ask myself if I was faced with this decision what would I do. Would I have the courage to make the decision. My answer is I don't know and I hope I don't have to be in the position to make the choice.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-brittany-maynard-effect-how-she-is-changing-the-debate-on-assisted-dying/2014/10/31/efc75078-5df0-11e4-8b9e-2ccdac31a031_story.html
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Cooking, No Recipe What a Blast
http://tryingtocookbysuzc.blogspot.com
Monday, November 17, 2014
Sunday Notes On Monday
For those of you who don't about my game here is how it goes. On Sunday one of the first sections of the Washington Post that I read is the Outlook section. It contains the book section. I go to the last page and read the Washington Bestseller list. I count how many books I have read and give myself a point for each. This week the bestseller list focused on paperbacks but it alternates between paperbacks and hardcover. The top ten books are spotlighted in each category, fiction and non-fiction. The rules of my game are to have read 30% of the books on the fiction list, ten are listed. So I get one point per book and I get a bonus point if I read any of the non-fiction. I guess it is just my way of checking to see if I am in touch with what other people are reading.
I have started the book A Sudden Light. The book is written by the author who wrote
The Art of Racing in the Rain. If you have not read this book I highly recommend that you do especially if you have ever owned a dog. It is a must read. For more info on any of these books check out my blog posts or click on the books.




Sunday, November 16, 2014
Ho Ho Ho
I have decided to create a rating system.
Ho Ho Ho means the book was really good
Ho Ho means the book was good
Ho means the book was ok.
Enjoy!
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Five Days Left

Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Adultry

Saturday, October 25, 2014
Still Foolin Them

I love Billy Crystal. Who can forget him in When Harry Met Sally, City Slickers, and Analyze that just to name a few. Even his voice is funny, he lends it to the character in Monsters Inc. That is why I couldn't resist this book. The book first came to my attention when Billy Crystal was paying tribute to Robin Williams on The View. I actually listened to the book on CD for the simple reason, he is the narrator and he is Marvelous. I was driving a lot the last week and I barely noticed since I was laughing so hard tears were rolling down my face. He also holds a special place in my heart because he is my home boy. He grew up one town over from where I grew up, just a little ahead of me.
Being as famous as Billy Crystal has more perks than just being recognized and loved which is what I found out listening to the book. One of the many stories he tells is about his beloved baseball. His first love was baseball. Actually growing up on Long Island and having the Yankees and the Mets so close makes baseball many people's love, but he actually played the game in school. He ended up acting but he never forgot his first love. For his 60th birthday he was signed by the New York Yankees to a ONE DAY CONTRACT. This was no joke or walk in the park. He played and had an at bat. I guess if I was famous I would like a one day contract to dance with the Rockettes in the Macy's Day Parade. Dreams are wonderful aren't they!
Anyway after he leaves the field he is told that the big guy George Steinbrenner wants to talk with him. Steinbrenner told him he was being traded for Jerry Seinfeld. The way he told the story was hilarious but when he talked about the trade I was laughing so hard I wasn't sure I could drive. It is a very funny book. If you decide to try it I recommend the audio book but reading it is good too. Enjoy! For More info on this book follow the link Still Foolin Them

Monday, October 20, 2014
Sunday Notes on Monday
Since work has been busier than I expected I have not been able to post twice a week which was one of my goals in the beginning of the year so I plan to at least continue to post every Saturday and if I end up reading another book I will probably post on Wednesday as well. I reserve the right to post anytime if there is something that I feel the need to share with you. So check here periodically but I will be talking about the Billy Crystal book next Saturday.
You can get additional info on these books if you click on book you are interested in.


