Wordless Wednesday: Baby olives

Our olive tree has olives on it. It's a miracle because it needs a buddy to pollinate. Of course they didn't get any larger. Too bad.

Trip to Kansas City

Last week ET & I drove to Kansas City. Yes - DROVE - all 590 miles in a sweet, cruise-control, Malibu (rental). We had a lovely time: seeing friends, hanging at the library & getting a haircut (moi), and enjoying the city of fountains. Here are a few pictures ...

The view from our room, looking towards the Plaza.

My friend Anna from the library, I miss her so!!

Houston's on the Plaza. This is pre-haircut.

(Imagine these two pictures next to each other. I don't know how to do that yet!)

At our friends' house for an amazing Greek dinner. Go Theo & Deb!

Yiamas!

Wordless Wednesday: The Mostly We Drink Bookclub

St. Louis, MO

My maternal grandmother ...

Sarah Amelia Thompson Ribble was born on this day in 1911.



Daughter of Victor & Lizzie Thompson



Sister to Oren, Jim, Harry, Henry, Freddie, Toad (Victoria), & Harley



Wife of Jesse


Mother of Tom, Bob, Bill & Judy


Grandmother to 12.


Great-grandmother to 20 (if the math is correct).



She is truly missed.

Wordless Wednesday: Angus

Who doesn't love butter?

Veterans Day

To all members of the military ... THANK YOU!

Especially ...

my brother

picture here

my father

my uncles

my step-father

and my love

America's 10 Coolest Libraries

I know I keep writing this ... I am a dork ... for sure ... no turning back, EVER.

I receive a daily email (Library Link of the Day) which provides a link to something about libraries. How cool is that! Everyday a little email telling me about something in library-land. Yahoo!

Now I admit, not every email is very interesting. But again everyday an email about what I love!

Yesterday's email included a link to MSN's City Guide: America's 10 Coolest libraries. Check this out! (Don't skip the slide-show.) Amazing pictures of libraries! Heaven!

For follow up reading see if your local library has Heart of the Community : the Libraries we Love.

A fantastic book of 80 libraries nominated by their communities. It includes beautiful pictures, great stories & histories of libraries and my #1 favorite library - JCL in OP, KS.

Don't wait. Run to the library. Check out this book. Or better yet take a picture of your library and post it to flickr. If you are in Missouri join this group: Missouri Libraries, Librarians, Events, etc. Flickr has other states too (at least Kansas.)

Wordless Wednesday: Simponsized Jane!

Yes - it is officical. I'm a dork. Most who read this blog already know this.

Simpsonize your own picture at http://simpsonizeme.com/

Woohoo!

I walked 3 miles Monday afternoon. Perhaps I should have added that to my SHS list. Will I do it again? We'll see ...

October Book Review

Most everyone who knows me knows that I am passionate about books. I love books. I love fiction books, biographies, non-fiction, and most any type with the exception of short stories. I mean really what's the point of a short story. I like devoting time getting to know the characters & their dilemmas, etc. But this post isn't about my thoughts about different literary mediums; it's about what I read the previous month.


I read a lot. I count listening to an unabridged audiobook as reading too. I usually average about 12 books a month. Remember no kids, pets & a SO who works out of town for 14 days a month leaves you a lot of free time. So at the beginning of each month I will post about the top three books (in no particular order) I read during the previous month. Please let me know if you've also read these picks or have other suggestions. I am always looking for something new to read.


This month I read 13 books. Mostly fiction there were only two non-fiction titles.


Cover the Butter by Carrie Kabak

I listened to this book. The narrator was Kate Reading. She is a great reader, very good with accents. This is a story takes readers through Kate Cadogan's life from her controlling & manipulative mother, Biddy, to her lonely marriage with Rodney. She devotes herself to creating the perfect home and raising her beloved son Charlie. At times I wished she would stand up to her parents and live the life she wanted but overall I thought the story was engaging and enjoyable.

Girl's Guide to Witchcraft by Mindy Klasky

This book was chosen by my book club. I didn't think much of it until I began reading. The main character is Jane & she's a librarian. Well, who doesn't want to read about themselves except that's as far as we are similar. She lives in a cute cottage behind her library and accidentally transformed a cat statue in her basement in to a flesh & blood familiar. A very fun read about Jane's escapades of discovery the realm of witchcraft in Washington D.C. and her new found powers. The supportive characters are great too.




Devil Bones by Kathy Reichs

I really enjoy this series about forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. This is the eleventh novel. This series inspired the television show Bones. In this installment Tempe encounters voodoo, Wiccan, an old love, the return of a newer love, the violent death of a colleague and falling off the wagon (she's an alcoholic). Reichs really explores Tempe's frailties, revealing all of her demons and making you love her even more for it.

Smart Habit Saturday

“Day by day in every way I am getting better and better!”
Emil Coue, Self-Mastery through Conscious Autosuggestion

I know, I know today is Sunday, not Saturday. Somehow the day escaped me ... not sure how because I certainly wasn't all that busy. A few errands and a trip to my favorite place - the library!

On to habits ... again I borrow this idea from the Lazy Organizer. I've been working on some habits before I began the blog.

Flossing nightly - almost perfect; I have only skipped because I didn't brush my teeth or do the nighttime ritual altogether.

Getting in bed by 9 p.m. - I am very close on this one. I have usually begun the evening routine by 9 p.m. and am actually in bed by 9:30 p.m. Yes, it takes me about 20 minutes to wash my face, brush the choppers & take my vitamins. I'm slow, probably because I am listening to an audiobook on my iPod. Then I walk around the house making sure there aren't any dishes in the sink, the doors are locked & the blinds/drapes closed and other random crap. Then I read for about 30 minutes or till whenever I can't keep my eyelids open. ET will tell you I prefer to read until the wee hours of the night but I haven't done that since I began waking at 5 a.m. So I'd like to be in bed by 9 p.m. thus needing to begin the nighttime ritual 30 minutes earlier. This hasn't occurred yet. I seem to be easily distracted: the internet, a new DVD from the library, I must finish this one row on the afghan I'm crocheting or something else as trivial. Maybe I should do this in smaller increments ...

Wash blender daily - Sounds pretty silly, eh? Well, every morning I have a CINCH shake (which I love!) made in the blender. I am usually running late, I prefer rushed, in the morning and often don't wash the blender but leave it in the sink rinsed out. Don't ask me why I can find the 30 seconds to rinse the thing out but not another 30 seconds to wash it! I'm weird this way. When I come home I always wash it right away which is fine during the weeks ET is gone. (He is on the road for work 7 days and is home 7 days.) Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, ET could be known as Mr. Clean. He is a Virgo and boy - they are orderly. I have learned some good cleaning habits since being together and of course there is always room for improvement. So I am trying to change my habit of leaving the blender in the sink needing to be washed to doing it immediately after drinking my shake in the morning. I'll let you know how this goes.

I'm not going to add anything new this week. ET wants me to start exercising again so I could add that but I have no motivation. I understand all the benefits and perks but I guess I am just lazy. Perhaps I could try something simple like ride my bike two days this week. I mean gee-whiz my dad who's in his 70s rides his over 5 miles daily you'd think I could too. (Don't hold your breath.)