Posted in Charkie, Jessica, Mikey, pets, tagged animals, cat, Charkie, daughter, dog, Family, Jess, Mikey on July 30, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Okay, this may not seem like much to anyone else, but my beautiful daughter allowed me to take a few pictures of her. Mind you, I snapped fast before she could change her mind. These are rare!!
Charky, on the other hand, does not mind the camera.
And then there is my boy! 
Posted in Zoo, tagged animals, henry doorly zoo, Zoo on July 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
A local business sponsored a free admission day to our wonderful zoo. Henry Doorly Zoo is ranked in top five (#4 from TripAdvisor) and deserves this high number. I have mixed feelings about zoos. I appreciate the work they do in conservation, breeding and education but I wish there was not a need.
Posted in Gardening, tagged dog, flowers, garden, Maisie, Mikey, pets on July 16, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Posted in Gardening, tagged garden, herbs, vegetables on July 16, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Posted in Books, Reviews, tagged Books, quilts on July 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Cross-Country Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is not my usual cup ‘o tea as far as the type of book I read, but it was given to me with praise. It is a quaint book and possibly what I needed after the mind blurring time-traveling of my last book. The characters are sweet and I found myself wanting to find out what the small band of quilters faced during the year between meeting at quilt camp and their reunion. There were some very good descriptive sections concerning quilting and the story moved at a good pace. This is actually the third book in a series concerning Elm Creek Quilt camp. I think I would have possibly enjoyed this one more if I had read the first two of the series. Definitely a good read for those who enjoy stories of women and their struggles with their relationships (husbands, ex-husbands, children, children’s significant others), illness, their own self-confidence and how the female bond can create the strength to muddle through life’s curves.
Posted in Books, Reviews, tagged Books, review on July 12, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars
I stayed away from the computer and up into the wee hours to finish The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. This is the author’s debut novel and I must say, I am impressed. I am not a lover of love stories, but the abundant praise and upcoming release of the movie sparked my curiosity. I was obviously caught up in the often confusing and exasperating story of Henry and Clare. Their love was apparent along with their anger, fear and jealousy that arose from the fact that Henry would time-travel at any instance, for any reason and to any place in time. Their story begins when Clare is a child and blooms into her adulthood. The writing is beautiful and not corny. I am torn though. There a few contradictions in the story that I am having a difficult time ignoring. They did not effect my reading of this book but have played into my overall reaction now that I am finished. Did the book live up to it’s hype? Not for me. Perhaps I was expecting too much. Would I recommend this book? Absolutely!
Posted in pets, tagged cat, Charkie, dog, Lily, Maisie, Mikey, pets on July 6, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Posted in Reviews, tagged Books on July 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
My review
rating: 3 of 5 stars
I finished this today and am left with mixed feelings. Overall, I enjoyed my time spent reading the story. I struggle with the fact that I did not like the character Pi. At all. There is the line “I have a story that will make you believe in God.” From some reviews and from folks I have spoken with, I was expecting a story emphasizing faith and belief in “something” – personally, these ideas did not come through as I was reading the book. Perhaps it is a case of too high or different expectations. The saving grace for me, was Richard Parker.
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
My review
rating: 5 of 5 stars
I re-read The Old Man and the Sea. I am still recovering. This is a story of faith and perseverance written lovelingly with perfection.
“The fish is my friend too. I have never seen or heard of such a fish. But I must kill him. I’m glad we do not have to kill the stars.”
Posted in Holiday, tagged Fireworks on July 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
