Last night Scott and I saw some people we haven’t seen in real life in several years but who we correspond with annually via Christmas cards. One gentleman said he really enjoyed keeping up with us each year through our letter and thanked us for doing it. Then he asked me what was new with the book club. I was stopped in my tracks and really took a minute to recover. First I wondered, do I talk about it every year in our letter? If so, what do I say? Then I thought for a minute about all the things he could have asked me about in my life and he chose that? I gathered my thoughts and told him what we were reading this month and we talked books for a minute and then went on. [Read more…] about Musings on the value of book clubs
2014 Cruisin’ Thru the Cozies wrap-up
Goal: In 2013 I made Level 2 by April, so I’m going for broke and trying for Level 4 this year!
Level 1 – Snoop – Read at least 6 books
Level 2 – Investigator – Read 7-12 books
Level 3 – Super Sleuth – Read 13 or more books
Level 4 – Sleuth Extraordinaire – Read 20 or more
I made it to Level 4 by July so I am a Sleuth Extraordinaire! Yes, I like cozy mysteries. They are fun to read and quite relaxing, so this is a great challenge for me. Thanks to Yvonne at Socrates’ Book Reviews for hosting. [Read more…] about 2014 Cruisin’ Thru the Cozies wrap-up
2014 Color-Coded wrap-up
This is my second year for this fun challenge and I’ve finished it up. It’s a fun one and thanks to Bev at MyReadersBlock for hosting.
- A book with “Blue” or any shade of Blue: Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly
- A book with “Red” or any shade of Red: Rose Harbor in Bloom by Debbie Macomber, A Wilder Rose by Susan Wittig Albert, The Rose Garden by Susannah Kearsley
- A book with “Yellow” or any shade of Yellow: The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles, by Padraic Colum
- A book with “Green” or any shade of Green: Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier
- A book with “Brown” or any shade of Brown: The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
- A book with “Black” or any shade of Black: Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield
- A book with “White” or any shade of White: Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan
- A book with any other color in the title: The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
- A book with a word that implies color: Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt
Lassen Volcanic National Park
On our last day of fun stuff on vacation, we drove from Redding to the north end of Lassen Volcanic National Park and went to the small museum and bookstore. I got my National Parks passport stamped and the weather was low 60’s and overcast, so a good day for hiking. We walked the Lily Pond Trail that started across the road. It’s an interpretive trail that winds around for a mile with markers to explain the trees and plants, which is good for me because I’m a flower person, not a tree person. [Read more…] about Lassen Volcanic National Park
Redwood National Park
On Day 17 we were in California and still progressing down Highway 101. We passed through Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park and on down 101, thus bypassing the drive through the tall trees. Oops. We stopped at Kuchel Visitor Center and discovered our error. So we took the park map they gave us and went up the scenic parkway through Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. 
[Read more…] about Redwood National Park