Happenings in July

I am quite sporadic with blog posting, but I suppose writing is a work in progress.  It seems the most views on this blog are the mind wandering ones.  So I thought I would write about what I have been doing lately. 

Buck

I watched the beginning of the Olympics opening ceremony.  I thought it turned out well. One thing I will always remember is the Queen jumping from the helicopter. It wasn’t believable but it was cute.

It was exciting to see that Mexico placed second in Men’s synchronized diving. I especially love watching Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte swim, but what is up with Lochte’s mouth grill.

Cucumbers

I am usually not a fan of coffee, but I think that might be changing.  Sometimes when we go to Costco, in there food court they have the choice of a hot mocha for a dollar.  It hardly tastes like coffee, so I guess it must be the whip cream.  It’s still coffee though. 

I finished reading Karen Witemeyer’s latest book Short straw bride and loved it immensely. 

Sunset

At the beginning of July on PBS they had a Masterpiece mystery called Endeavour.  It is a 1960’s prequel to the Popular Inspector Morse series.  I think I need to ask the library to request a copy. 

Sunset

The month of August I will try to blog more consistently.  The sunset pictures are from two nights ago and the cucumbers are growing in the greenhouse. 

Leverage

It was sometime in college that I heard someone talking about the TV show Leverage.  I didn’t think anything of it. Then a couple weeks ago someone at the library I work with recommended the series.  She said that it is filmed in Portland Oregon and it is a really good series.  

I’m not great at watching the TV series at the library has because it takes a lot of time to watch 18 episodes in a short amount of time.   If you have not seen this show, you are missing out. 

This group, made up of five, are modern day Robin Hoods staging elaborate cons on the rich and powerful. They all have a different talent that works well with their team.   It is definitely a fun series that you should check out sometime.

Nathan Ford – Mastermind
Sophie Devereaux -The Grifter  
Alec Hardison - The Hacker
Eliot Spencer- The Hitter
Parker- The Thief

What TV show/s are you watching?

Fantasy dinner party

 I thought I would play a little game today.  If you could invite 10 people to your fantasy dinner party who would you invite? Here’s my list. 

Prince Harry – There needs to be some type of royalty at the dinner. 

Kate Middleton – She seems so down to earth and along with Prince Harry could tell stories about Prince William.

 

Denzel Washington – I loved him in Remember the Titans so it’s a given that he’s at my dinner party.

Taylor Swift – I like her singing and she would be fun to talk to.

Josh Groban – We will need someone to sing after dinner. 

Laura Bush – She was the First Lady.  I love hearing her speak. 

Michael Phelps – the London Olympics are right around the corner, there needs to be an Olympian. 

Ann Curry – She was the main reason I used to watch the Today Show. 

Ryan Gosling – Do I need to say anything? ;)

Ree Drummond – Her blog is one of the first I started to follow in 2008.  She would be the comedian of the group. 

Play along if you’d like.  Who’s on your list?

Shopping for shoes

Shoes, shoes, and more shoes. I’ll come out and say it, I have a big foot.  Usually, I wear a size 11.  I have been on the search for a new pair of shoes because the ones I have been wearing are starting to go downhill.

Eurostep

Last Sunday we looked briefly for some shoes but no luck. This last week Mom and I looked online at Famous Footwear and they seem to have quite a variety of shoes in the right size.  

We went to the Woodburn Company stores today specifically to the Famous Footwear store to see what they have.

I saw a pair of Eurostep shoes online and they were also available in the store.  That hardly ever happens. Now it was time to try them on and see if they fit.  

Last week I tried a pair and I felt like one of Cinderella’s stepsisters trying to force her foot into the glass slipper. :)  

When I tried them on they seemed big so I tried the size 10 and they were a perfect fit. That was the only pair I found at Famous Footwear.

Montrail tennis shoes

We walked down to the Columbia store where they were having a sale on shoes.  It was 30% and 70% off certain shoes. I bought a pair of tennis shoes which I haven’t had in a while. 

Columbia

There also were two pairs of shoes that would be perfect to wear with dresses and skirts and still be comfortable at the library.  

Columbia

It was $260 worth of shoes for $120. It was a pretty good deal. 

What size foot do you have? Do you buy shoes online?

Happy Father's day

Happy Father’s Day! I hope everyone have treated their dads well on this special day.  My dad had to work today but we went and had lunch with him.

My Dad

Dependable – My dad is one of the most helpful people I know.  He is always willing to help someone, and you can always count on him. 

Creative –My dad is so very creative.  He has been working on making a bike trailer and it has turned out really well.

Loving – Dad leaves early in the morning to go to work but he always gives us a kiss and says “I love you” before he leaves. Happy Father’s Day dad.

I was talking to a coworker in the library that lived in Mexico and they celebrate Mother’s day on May 10 instead of the second Sunday.  I asked if they have a certain day for Father’s day instead of the third Sunday.  He said they celebrate it on the third Sunday of June. I was researching Father’s day and I found that Australia celebrates on the first Sunday of September. 

Randomness

On Thursday, as a family we drove about 4 hours across the state to Eastern Oregon to my grandpa’s farm in Madras.  

Dad had a couple of things he wanted to take care of.  One of which he used my help. He wanted to put air in some truck tires. He brought grandpa’s air hose along.  He built up air pressure, with my foot on the throttle, from the truck to fill up the air tank.

He then plugged the air hose connector into the tank and put air into the tires.  Dad had me get up in the driver seat of the truck and put my foot on the throttle and keep it between 1000 and 1500 RPM. 

He wanted the pressure about 90. The longer I had my foot on the throttle the easier it became.  It was fun. As I was doing that part my mom and sister took the hose and aired them up.  

Yesterday, the summer reading program started for kids and adults.  The first 100 adults who sign up will receive a black book bag.  

On Wednesday, a patron came in wanting to sign up.  I said it doesn't start until Friday. She said she could make it in on Saturday though. 

She was frantic because she would be working all day on Friday and wouldn't make it in and be one of the first 100 to get a book bag.   I said “Don’t worry, 100 people will not be signing up in one day.”

She came in today and I thought I would joke with her a bit.  I am never quick on my feet about joking with people but it just came to me when she came in the library.  I decided to tell her she was late and that 100 people signed up and she wouldn't get a bag.  

She said “WHAT!” Then I told her that she wasn't late and she would get a bag.  She couldn't believe she fell for my little trick.  I was also surprised she fell for it. 

The cedar wax wing birds have arrived and have been eating on the hot pokers.  They are definitely camera shy.  This is one of the few of the pictures I have captured of them. 

 I have always wanted to take reflection pictures and I finally found a partial reflection in the yard last week.  I hope everyone has a good week. 

Book Covers

One of my favorite parts of new books is seeing and absorbing the cover. Lately, authors have some of the most beautiful book covers.  I thought I would write some likes and dislikes about what I like on a book.    

I don’t like seeing the face of the main character on the front of the book.  Although, there are certain situations that seeing the main character is a plus. 

 If the book is part of a series I like to come to my own conclusion of what they look like.  If the book is a standalone novel, I don’t mind seeing the face as it is a quicker read and right away I will see what they look like. What I love about Deeanne Gist's novels is that you see part of their face.  

I like the historical novel covers the best.  They are always in some pretty dress.  One of my absolute favorite book covers is Karen Witemeyer’s “A Tailor-Made Bride.” I bought this one in the store just because of the cover.  I’m so glad I ended up loving the story.  This book actually goes against my first dislike as it is a standalone novel but it is such a pretty cover she can get away with it.

I dislike series covers if they don’t flow. A good example of this is Karen Kingsbury’s Bailey Flanigan series.  

The first two books are similar but the last two don’t seem to fit.  But the books didn’t flow so it I guess it works for the series.

There are some older novels that don’t have the fancy covers and there are some dramatic differences between the old covers and new covers.

 

A good example of this is Lori Wick’s “The Californians. 

The ones I have were being sold at our library’s book sale, so there is a lot of wear and tear in them.  When I went online there is a dramatic improvement on the covers.  The Californians

Do you judge a book by its cover?