10/31/24
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Ann @ 11:34 am
Happy Halloween to all my “Blog Friends’. Again, I’m amazed at how quickly another month has slipped by. The weather’s been extraordinarily gorgeous, frosted pumpkins at night, clear beautiful blue skies almost every day. Perfect autumn weather. Though the trees on the hillsides are now mostly barren with naked limbs. When the sun doesn’t shine, it looks bleak and cold. Knowing what’s coming, I have an appointment to have my winter tires installed on the van next week. My gardens are all prepped for winter, there are a few more leaves to rake; still, I know it won’t be long until I’m preparing Christmas decorations.
We’ve had to deal with more family illnesses this month. But I prefer to focus on the positive. I love the visits, emails, phone calls and text messages from my children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews and the pictures of their darling babies and young children. Last weekend my 9 year-old great grandson asked me, “Who is this grandpa everyone keeps talking about?” I asked if he meant Grandpa Texas? He nodded. I told him that he was my dad, and he’d died 10 years ago. A.J. looked at me in total shock, “He never even had a chance to meet me!” I hugged the sweet boy and smiled through my tears. Well, that’s the way the cookie crumbles…
I received my professional Registered Nurse license in the mail last week. It makes me feel more secure to have it, just in case… and a bit proud. After all I worked very hard to get it.
Our son came to visit yesterday and he’s phenomenal, so full of energy and ideas.He hung Christmas lights across the front of our home and then installed green fencing around our shrubbery and bushes to prevent deer damage. While walking the dog, I noticed a neighbor had done this fencing last winter and it seemed to be quite affective. In previous years I’ve wrapped them in burlap and decided the burlap was too ugly as well as too much work. I’ll keep you posted. about this new concept.
I hosted Book Friends this month. It’s always nice to get together with this group of intelligent lively ladies who after all these years have become special friends. The Shipping News by Annie Proulx, (1993 Fiction - Pulitzer Prize winner.) The discussion was interesting with comments reflecting a variety of perceptions. Amazing how the same book can mean so many different things to different readers. It was a sad and disturbing story with a cast of resilient original characters set in a fictional village on the coast of Newfoundland.
This month I’ve also read:
What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty. Australian Fiction. 2009. I’ve come to realize, a reader can’t go wrong reading a novel by this author. She’s witty, upbeat, smart and develops great characters. She also writes realistic family drama. This novel has likable characters from three generations of Alice Love’s family. Alice falls and hits her head at an exercise class at her gym. She wakes up with amnesia and believes she’s 29, pregnant and madly in love with her husband. She’s shocked that she fell while exercising, because she hates to exercise. In reality she’s almost 40, in the middle of a nasty divorce, and has three children who have a hard time believing their mom doesn’t remember them. It’s a fun read and leaves readers with much to think about, like how much our life experiences influence who we are. I definitely recommend this novel.
No One Will Know by Rose Carlyle. Australian Fiction. 2024. This novel is in a class by itself. As one reviewer said, “This gonzo thrill ride kept me riveted and guessing, and every time I thought I knew where the devious plot was headed, I was dead wrong. I loved it and you will too.” It’s the most complicated story I’ve encountered in a very long time. Rose Carlyle is in class of writers by herself. A twisted and suspenseful plot. A desperate young woman and a manipulative wealthy couple will stop at nothing to ensure their dreams will come true. Set in luxury on a tropical island with an endless stream of secrets - but if it seems too good to be true...maybe it is. Another excellent book I highly recommend. It was my book club’s choice for November.
We’ve been streaming reruns. We finished All Creatures Great and Small. We’re anxiously awaiting the new season set for January on PBS. Now we’re watching The Lincoln Lawyer. My husband enjoys this one too.
Till next time, keep reading and stay well.
Later, Ann
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