Think Write Thursday

June 8, 2017 By Carole

The Think Write Thursday topic for this week is to write a summer bucket list.

Oh, summer. You are my favorite. And, as such, you tend to just fly right by. I’m hoping that by thinking of the things I want to do it will help it feel like you might last a little longer.

Go on a vacation with Dale. (happening soon!)
Eat lobster. Lots of lobster. (this ties in quite nicely with the first thing on this list.)
Visit Cape Cod. We’ve got our week in August booked but I hope to visit much more than that. I want to hang with Doreen and Mark and I want to shop at Eden Hand Arts and I want to visit Provincetown and so much more.
Hang out on the deck as much as possible. I love our bonus summer room.
Get a cover all on my Summer Book Bingo card.
Enjoy our raised vegetable beds. Eat fresh tomatoes and cucumbers and make pesto and jalapeno poppers and more.
Eat ice cream. I am not a huge fan of ice cream but there’s just something wonderful about it on a summer evening.
Knit for the new baby. A baby born in October is going to need a lot of warm things to get him through the cold that follows. Summer will be a wonderful time for knitting little woolly things.
Plan a couple of day trips. We haven’t been into Boston to hang out in ages. And there’s always Heritage Gardens and the beach.

What’s on your summer bucket list? If you wrote a post for today please share it below! If you want to subscribe to the Think Write Thursday weekly email (it’s the only way to get the weekly prompt) please click here.

An InLinkz Link-up

A Month(ish) of Reading: May and Early June

June 7, 2017 By Carole

We are just over a week into Summer Book Bingo and I thought I’d catch you up on what I’ve read since early May.

The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett
4 stars
The writing is excellent and the story is intriguing and I was really engrossed in the whole thing but the ending fell a little flat for me. I was hoping for a full circle moment and I didn’t get one but that’s just me. The rest of the book was wonderful and the ambivalent ending means I can make up my own to suit myself.

Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
2 stars
This book came highly recommended by people I respect and admire and I feel like I should be rating it higher because of that but honestly, there wasn’t much new here for me. Shame is bad, being vulnerable is good, experiencing joy in everyday moments is the goal. Got it.

The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova
3 stars
I enjoyed this book and the story, set in the present day and in the past, is entertaining. Honestly, though, the historical parts are far better and more interesting than the present day wild goose chase that is the set up for the whole book. Recommended for the history of Bulgaria and the heart wrenching story of Stoyan and his family but be ready to suspend your belief and accept a lot of unlikely coincidences.

The Sellout by Paul Beatty
4 stars
An amazing and biting satire on race in America. The writing is brilliant and funny and sometimes very difficult. An important and worthwhile read.

Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
3 stars
I enjoyed this memoir, even the parts about science. That’s saying a lot coming from a very non-scientific person. And now I want to plant a tree!

I finished 3 of those after 5/27 so they count as Bingo squares and here is my updated Bingo card.

Set in more than one time period: The Shadow Land
Recommended by a friend: Lab Girl (recommended by Vicki)
Prize Winner: The Sellout

My GoodReads reading challenge tracker (you can see if over there ==> in the sidebar) says I’m 1 book behind my goal for the year but I have a feeling Summer Book Bingo is going to guarantee that I catch up to where I should be and probably even put me ahead of the game.

What are you reading these days?

Weekending

June 6, 2017 By Carole

The major event of our weekend was Patrick’s graduation and the party that followed. BUT. You know that I don’t actually have photos ready of that, right? I will share some of the other highlights of the weekend with you today, though.

I picked the first basil of the season on Friday afternoon. I have to tell you that it smelled heavenly.

Friday night snacks. I have to laugh because I bump into people everywhere – the grocery store, on a photo shoot, at the library – who tell me how much they love our Friday night snack tradition and how great the food always looks. I agree that our weekly snack night at the end of the work week is terrific but the food? It’s mostly just cheese and crackers, people. Anyone can pull off cheese and crackers.

I made a flat bread pizza with local mozzarella, oven roasted tomatoes (thanks to Sean for talking me through that one) and our own basil. It was delicious!

I had a sweet one year old photo shoot on Saturday and spent the rest of the day in full blown party prep. Four dozen deviled eggs and fifteen pounds of potato salad. Not hard but time consuming. Dale did a lot of yard work to get things looking spiffy and by evening we were in good shape and had some time to relax.

That meant Mexican Train, of course. So fun, especially when I kick Dale’s ass.

Sunday was graduation and party day. As I said, there will be more party photos in the days to come but for now I can tell you that we had sangria.

And really fabulous chicken wings. Recipe link here.

And lots and lots of joy.

A Month of Photos: May 2017

June 5, 2017 By Carole

It’s early in the month and it’s a Monday and I had a busy weekend and all of that is just a way of introducing this photo mosaic for the month of May.

Look at all those selfies! It’s the LipSense, I tell you. (yes, I’m still selling and I appreciate those of you who have contacted me to order!) And also flowers and some knitting and, as always, lots of fabulous food. May was a terrific month in my world!

Onward to June, my friends!

Eye Candy Friday

June 2, 2017 By Carole

You know what’s a great distraction from the crap and politics and anxiety that is plaguing so many of us? Pretty flowers. I’m grateful for them every day.

I’m also grateful that it’s the weekend! We’ve got an exciting one headed our way as our oldest grandchild, Patrick, graduates from high school. I hope you’re doing something you’re excited about, too!