They Get To Stay For A While!

All bits of the holidays are gone except for these guys.

Hmmm...and this guy, too.


But he is a buoy from Maine and he always stays.

And my Forest Of Pines gets to stay, too. For a while...





Candles are out of the windows...Santa flags outside are put away...we take down Christmas over two weeks because it's hard to say good bye to it all...the only exchange left to make is trading out all of the holiday mugs for our rest of the year mugs...we were too exhausted for that...Den will do it tomorrow!

We are ready for the next holiday!



Happy Saturday!

A Two Book Giveaway!

Finished this yesterday...a fun delightful YA book...the authors are clever and their books are fast paced and fascinating. This one is sort of a twist on MacBeth and teaches a few life lessons...especially why going along with others and not telling the truth when you really should is not the best choice in life.


And this one...much more serious...deals with a father's suicide and the discoveries his son makes after finding his dad's journal...really sort of sad and intense and hopeful...all at the same time. This was one that I didn't think I could read but when I did...I was so glad that I read it.


So...that's my giveaway thanks to Leyane from Merit Press...I had a 5 book package from her and I loved every book!

Just leave a comment and random.org will choose a winner next Friday...you will receive both books.

Happy Friday!

Sorta Want These...Now!

WANT...

Dinner tonight...it's baked polenta and sauce...pictures are from Joy The Baker...love her blog...love it!




The sauce is from Joy The Baker, Smitten Kitchen, and The Kitchn.



The sauce recipe...is so easy and so good...and an adaptation from Marcella Hazan.
I have made it before and it truly is delicious! Literally it's a can of really good tomatoes, butter and one whole onion that I let simmer away all afternoon. You toss the onion out...add salt and pepper if you want...fresh basil if you want...the sauce is awesome! Eating it with polenta is so comforting.

WANT...

My favorite outfit in the world is an oversized sweater...leggings or jeans and comfy Uggs...it's my signature outfit...this sweater is from Swell.



My WANTS come in threes.

WANT...

This Chan Luu bracelet for Valentine's Day!
I love Chan Luu!



Tomorrow?

Back to books with giveaways!

Two very yummy YA books...





Happy Thursday!

Bookish Thoughts?

Reading this...and it is...

so good that 100 pages slide by before I even think about looking up.


Private school...high school...and it begins with a mystery. This book just pulls the reader in to this world...these students...these teachers...this event...it's rather lovely. It makes you see the subtle cruelty that someone different is put through...hmmm...that's an awkward sentence. Why is it so hard to be kind to someone...to stand up for someone...I love books like this one.

This book is sort of being compared to Thirteen Reasons Why. It is sad but it's the kind of sad that makes this book so good and makes you read and read until the end.

I Think I Need All Of These...

I just bought these...the reviews said they were better than Botox...so I am counting on them to work. I am afraid of Botox. There is some part of me that tells me I will be the person who has a weird reaction to Botox or anything similar. I watch the Real Housewives...have you seen some of those faces? There are parts that do not move...I am a very expressive person...no Botox for me. On the other hand...I see my youth slipping away...sigh...Patty pauses a moment to wipe a tear away. I am trying them on frown lines first and then I am getting the entire series! There is one for every wrinkle...lips, crows, forehead...thank goodness! I will let you know if and when my youthful glow reappears!




It's rainy here...and Lucy and I are having a quiet day...reading, tidying, the usual stuff...I love when life is quiet...do you?




Happy Tuesday!

It's Foggy Here!

Perhaps it's because we live so close to the pond...but...fog creeps me out...
everything looks gray and ghostly...oooooooh!

Monday...not a big fan of Monday...too much to do...tidying up from the week end...deciding what to read...plus Monday is my Thinking Day...my thoughtful day...the day I make a massive list of everything I want to do...and spend the rest of the week avoiding my list. Our new island is still in the builder's garage and I have changed my mind about the countertops 87 times...if you saw my house you would not see chaos...everything is organized...but I think that's the problem...I need to mess it all up to reorganize it...and I don't feel like doing that...plus...I am bin crazy...it's far too easy to transfer something to a bin...label it...trudge it off to the basement and think about it later. Sigh!

I need to read these and I am excited to do so...












Happy Monday!

The Aftermath...

This time yesterday I lived in a happy blissful pre game house. We were hopeful, excited, ebullient and confident...until we weren't!




Yep..."our" dreams and hopes have been dashed to pieces. Our mood today is gloomy. We are incapable of understanding how this loss could have happened.




You realize I am using the our and we term loosely...I didn't even know who was playing...lol. Lucy and I alternately spent game time paying Luxor Mahjong on my laptop and reading. My boy toy was armed with phones. He talked to his brother in Denver who was at the game...talked about flying out next week to go to the game and remained super charged...until he wasn't any more.

So sad...he ate a brownie and was still sad.




He is still not over it. At this rate...I am not sure he ever will be!

But there is always next year!




Reading this for a tour...



More info on this later...



Happy Sunday!