WWW Wednesday – My Reading this Week

 

Each Wednesday at  “Taking on a World of Words“, we are asked to answer the 3 Ws about our reading.

Here’s a glimpse of my current reading life, over the past week:

What are you currently reading?

Each week I will be reading a chapter of The Magic Words by Cheryl B. Klein for a FB book study of this book.(we’re on Chapter 4)

I’m still reading:

A Thread So Thin,  the third book in the Thread series by Marie Bostwick, but haven’t finished it.

 Wish by Barbara O’Connor

Ms.Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson

I am also still reading (although nothing on these this week) : (and yes – I will finish them!)

Sixty by Ian Brown
GMC (Goal, Motivation and Conflict) by Debra Dixon
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

 What have I read this past week?

I finished Juliet’s Answer  by Glenn Dixon and really enjoyed this memoir.

I picked up Grace Grows by Sheila Sumner from a book bin – I liked the blurb and it did not disappoint. Loved the fact that her husband created the songs for the book and was even able to hear them at her blog. A most enjoyable book.

I read several more books by Sarah Morgan and loved them.

Midnight at Tiffany’s

Sleepless in Manhattan

Sunset in Central Park

 

What do you plan to read next?
I plan to read book 4 in the Bostwick Threads series

I still plan to read:

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Wenjack by Joseph Boyden
And finish (finally!!) The Hobbit

 

Slice of Life Tuesday

Today is Slice of Tuesday – the weekly writing teacher hosted at “Two Writing Teachers”

All this week my hubby and I are attending Cardiac Rehab workshops. Yesterday was a discussion of what CR is. Today was a look at CPR. Still to come – medications, exercise, diet and stress management. Lots of information and great follow-up.
It has been a scary time since Bill was hospitalized in November with pneumonia and then to be diagnosed with heart failure.
He still has less energy, which means less exercise. As a kidney transplant patient (13 years now with the kidney), he needs to drink a lot of fluids. As a HF patient – he needs to cut his fluids. So it is a challenging balance to get enough fluids, but not too much.
He had been slowly losing the fluids since November – from 268 lbs. in the hospital to 233 last week. But the weight has started to rise again – almost 10 lbs. in a week.
The transplant doctor we saw yesterday is looking into why his creatinine level (kidney function) has risen so much this past month and what is causing the increased fluid retention – heart or kidney?
So we will attend the workshops, follow the prescriptions, watch the sodium even closer and PRAY.
Please pray for us.

WWW Wednesday – My Reading Week

Each Wednesday at  “Taking on a World of Words“, we are asked to answer the 3 Ws about our reading.

Here’s a glimpse of my current reading life, over the past week:

What are you currently reading?

I will be reading The Magic Words by Cheryl B. Klein chapter by chapter for the weekly FB book study of this book. I am currently on Chapter 2.

I started A Thread So Thin,  the third book in the Thread series by Marie Bostwick

I picked up a pile of recommended MG books from the library this week and have already started several:

Wish by Barbara O’Connor

Ms.Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson

I am still reading: (and yes – I will finish them!)

Juliet’s Answer  by Glenn Dixon
Sixty by Ian Brown
GMC (Goal, Motivation and Conflict) by Debra Dixon
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

What have I read this past week?

I read A Thread of Truth by Marie Bostwick and enjoyed it.

I picked up a couple of books by Sarah Morgan and loved them. I hope to read more

Miracle on 5the Avenue

First Time in Forever

I also read an ebook I enjoyed: Music of the Heart by Kate Ashley
I read  a couple more  ebook fantasies – Thief and Hunter, both by Erin Bedford. I’m interested to see how an author takes a fairy tale and twists and turns the story to create something new. Erin had an interesting take on both stories.

I read a number of picture books this past week. My favourite was Cold Snap by Eileen Spinelli.

What do you plan to read next?
I plan to read book 4 in the Bostwick Threads series

I still plan to read:

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Wenjack by Joseph Boyden
And finish (finally!!) The Hobbit

 

WWW Wednesday – My Reading Life

Each Wednesday at “Taking on a World of Words”, we are asked to answer the 3 Ws about our reading.

Here’s a glimpse of my current reading life, over the past week:

What are you currently reading?

I finally received my copy of  The Magic Words by Cheryl B. Klein. I am taking part in a weekly FB book study of this book and have started reading Chapter 1.

I am continuing to read A Thread of Truth by Marie Bostwick

I started Juliet’s Answer  by Glenn Dixon, after picking this up at Costco (even after vowing NOT to buy anymore books this year!) But “Letters to Juliet” is one of my favourite romantic movies and when I saw this memoir, I had to buy it. I am enjoying it.

I am still reading: (and yes – I will finish them!)
Sixty by Ian Brown
GMC (Goal, Motivation and Conflict) by Debra Dixon
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

What have I read this past week?.
I finished and enjoyed – The Rainbow comes and Goes by Anderson Cooper and Gloria Vanderbilt
This past week I also read:
El Deafo –by Cece Bell. This was the first graphic novel I’ve read and it was excellent.
The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber
An ebook fantasy – Beauty and the Space Monster – it was okay – I’m doing a study of fractured fairy tales – and working on my own

What do you plan to read next?
I have added The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood to this list – I’m really wondering if this dystopian novel predicts the future of a Republican US?? I want to read it before the inauguration.
I am still planning to continue to read the Bostwick Threads series
I hope to read:
Wenjack by Joseph Boyden
And finish (finally!!) The Hobbit

Slice of Life Tuesday – Speak Out

Slice of Life Tuesday is the weekly writing challenge hosted at “Two Writing Teachers” – where we are encouraged to share a slice of our life.

The words that Meryl Streep spoke at the Golden Globes Sunday night are still resonating with me, two days later.

Her words have inspired me to start an art quote project for a weekly challenge in which I participate.

ABC Wednesday begins a new round this week and I’ve decided to create art quote cards that focus on speaking out – against prejudice, bigotry, bullying, homophobia, racism. If we don’t speak up we risk letting these hateful actions overtake a great country and even the world.

Here are my first cards (for A) (and my post on the challenge)

I also found an excellent article (here) that encourages Americans to speak out.

I may be Canadian and live in Canada, but I am not immune to what is happening south of my borders.

I leave you with a poem by Pastor Martin Niemoller, a Germany pastor imprisoned in 1937 (it is also in the article above)

 

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak-out because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak-out because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.

 

5 Minute Friday – CONNECT

The first theme for 2017 at 5 Minute Friday is CONNECT.

 

To connect – to feel a closeness with someone, to feel their similarity to you, to want to spend time with that person.

We all seek connections – the first, as youngsters looking for a BFF. Then, as we get older, we seek to find someone to love and who loves us, to share our lives and hearts with them. That connection though is like a thin thread, from one heart to another and is easily severed. We need to always work at keeping that connection strong.

Our connections can last a lifetime though, giving us much support and love through good times and bad. How fortunate to have a childhood friend who knows our beginnings and is always there for us.

I’ve known my closest friend fo over fifty years. We met in Grade 5 in a park near her house. She has been there for me so many times and I for her. I am blessed.

30 Words on Thursday – Snow Pal

Snow Pal

Wet packing snow

Packed into balls

One on another.

A little snowman

Perched up high.

Eyes of bark

Nose of red

Mouth, arms, hat

Warm weather arrives –

Now you’ve dissolved!

This weekly thirty word challenge by Erin at Tresori Trovati used to be a favourite of mine. But Erin stopped blogging some time ago.

I’ve missed this and so I decided, that with a New Year, I would resurrect this challenge. I hope you will join in.

 

30 Words on Thursday – some guidelines

1. Take a photo of something that grabs you.
2. Write just thirty words about it. No more. No Less. It can be a poem or a sentence but 30 words that capture the essence of the photo.
3. Link up each Thursday by sharing your post in the comments.
4. Be sure to visit others as well.

Easy- peasy.

 

#MustReadin2017

I have signed up for a number of reading challenges this year. My major goal is to read 400 books (I achieved that in 2016, so am pretty sure I can do it again)
Carrie Gelson of “There’s a Book for That“” is encouraging us to share our Must Read Books for 2017.
I have so many on my TBR list and so many books gathering dust on my shelves, I really must make a stab at reading them.

(and this is only 2 shelves out of 7 bookcases!)

So this challenge is a good one. I have a bad habit of buying books because they appeal for any number of reasons (genre, fav. Author, theme, recommendation). Then I start reading it and ignore the ones already on my shelves. I also get lots of books from the library. Right now I am juggling five books – from non-fiction to MG to novel.

For this year, I have a fairly long list I really want to read.
MG to YA
Ice Fire by Chris D’Lacey
The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman
Making Bombs for Hitler by Marsha Forchuck Skrypuch
The Hobbit by Tolkein
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Adult Non-Fiction 
On Writing by Stephen King
Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Into the Abyss by Carol Shaben
In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Adult Fiction 
Emma by Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Outlander by Gil Adamson
Plus – finish series by Sue Grafton (T to W)

I hope to read many more from my TBR list but this will be a good start, with some variety.

What a re you planning to read this year??

WWW Wednesday – My Reading Life

This will be the first post in almost a month and the first in 2017 for WWW. Even though I didn’t post, I continued reading – even surpassing my 350 goal at Goodreads. It was a very good year for reading. I’ve signed up for a number of reading challenges – makes reading a bit more interesting and more of a challenge. (check here for my post – you might be interested in the challenges)

Each Wednesday at “Taking on a World of Words”, we are asked to answer the 3 Ws about our reading.
Here’s a glimpse of my current reading life – I read some, but not as much as usual:

What are you currently reading?
I am still reading: (will I ever finish these??)
Sixty by Ian Brown
GMC (Goal, Motivation and Conflict) by Debra Dixon
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
I am halfway through – The Rainbow comes and Goes by Anderson Cooper and Gloria Vanderbilt and enjoying it.

I started a new series by Marie Bostwick – I had already read the first one A Single Thread a few years ago. I am now reading A Thread of Truth

What have I read this past week?.
This past week I read more of the series by Emily March. I’ve read:
Reunion Pass and Mark – The Callahan Brothers
My first book of 2017 was Poke the Box by Seth Godin. Good advice to follow – to keep trying and trying.You must show up on a regular basis!
I also read a number of Christmas ebooks over the holidays:
Last Christmas by Talli Roland
Christmas on the Last Frontier by J. H. Croix
Mistletoe Magic by Stacey Joy Netzel
The Christmas Secret by Jeannie Watt
Once Upon a New Year’s Eve by Kait Nolan (lat book of 2016)

What do you plan to read next?
I plan to continue the Bostwick Threads series
I hope to read:
Wenjack by Joseph Boyden
And finish(finally!!) The Hobbit

Slice of Life Tuesday

Today is Slice of Life Tuesday – a weekly writing challenge hosted at Two Writing Teachers.

 

It has been a while since I participated in SOL – and I have missed it – for the writing yes, but more for the community of writers.

Now, with a new year, I knew it was time to return to this weekly challenge – to encourage my writing and to reconnect with others.

Many have been sharing their OLWs. I have already done that – here. (at my art blog, as there are art components). My OLW is CULTIVATE.

What I wanted to do was to look back     – something that so many people encourage us to do. I for one, am certainly glad to see the end of 2016. There were some difficult times throughout the year, especially in regards to my husband’s health. He is seeking cardiac rehab now and the new doctor is a gem. I have hopes he will help Bill

It was also a year that saw little real writing. I felt blocked and just couldn’t move forward. Already this year I have written a short story and gotten several ideas for new ones. A big YES!

There were a few great yeses last year:

The engagements of my daughter and of my youngest son, a anew baby on the way.

A trip to Georgia in July for a writing retreat.

Lots of reading – over 400 books read.

Lots of time with family and friends.

This morning, I read an article in our local paper by Neil Pasricha (author of The Book of Awesome) and it really resonated with me. Even though 2016 was bumpy, we all changed and grew. Here’s a link to the whole article – it is well worth the read.

So, when I look back, yes there were bumps but yes, I can see that I did get stronger, did have many yeses. So bring on 2017. I am glad to be here and eager to write and have a year of many more yeses!