You'll just have to forgive me, in advance, for all the heat-related comments I'm bound to make. I can't help it. I was meant to live in a snowy , frigid, wear-thick-waterproof-boots environment. Or, at least one where it sometimes snows. You know, like more than every 7 years, on average. I'm not complaining. I'll take the snow when I get it. Now would be nice. Even some melted snow would help.But, okay, in lieu of snow . . . some wahoos:
1. Wahoo for the beautiful butterfly I spotted on Monday:
2. Wahoo for ice-cold, nicely portable, bottled water. And coolers. And ice packs. And, refrigerators. I love refrigerators.
3. Why is the Colonel smiling? Well, obviously he's feeling very wahooey. Plus . . .
a.) Nobody really wants to cook in this weather.b.) The temperature dropped! We'll just overlook the fact that it still got to 101, okay? And, that the humidity actually has gone up.
Wahoo for drive-through food and any kind of break at all in the weather.
4. Wahoo for a warped sense of humor that helps me get through the day:
5. In the "historical documents" category . . . Wahoo for parents who were a very good influence in many ways (cuddle-bunny dad, reading mom - Dad was an avid reader, too). This photo was taken a million years ago, on a vacation in Colorado.
Reading-wise: I finished Voyage by Adele Geras, a book that is so short it didn't even make it into my sidebar. Although, admittedly, the brevity probably doesn't have much to do with the fact I haven't been updating the sidebar, lately. Voyage is an Estella's Revenge review book with a cast of characters traveling in steerage on a ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean. I liked it. And, you know what I'm going to say next . . . I'll post a link to the review when the September Estella is up.
Speaking of that sidebar, all the other books in my "current reads" are mouldering on the bedside pile. I can only handle one at a time and it has to be light or short. I plan to get back to all three of the books I've set aside, but don't hold your breath.
And, what's up next? Oh, gosh. Want to hear a readers' horror story? I took two series books with me to school pick-up, today. While I sat sweating lustily in the heat of my car, I pulled out first one and then the other. The first was Shopaholic and Sister. I read exactly 3 paragraphs before realizing, "Oops, the only one I haven't read is Shopaholic and Baby." Sigh. That one went back in the bag and I pulled out Bury the Lead by David Rosenfelt. I read the acknowledgments (yes, I usually read those; I have no idea why) and the last sentence said thank you to those who have written to the author about the first two of his books. Okay, darn it. I've only read the first, Open and Shut. Back in the bag. My big basket of emergency books was removed to fit the two new chairs on Sunday. It's still in the living room. I'll figure out what to read after I soak. I definitely need to soak.
I should wahoo about this, but I'll just tell you that having an extra passenger on the drive to the pool can be rather fun. Among other things, our rider has recently said:
"My granddaddy promised me his Jeep when I was three years old. That was before he went blind."
"126 people have to die before I can become the Queen of the Isle of Man. I'm plotting. 120 of them are already dead."
This could be a very interesting year.
Off to soak. Hope to get some of the backlog of reviews done, tomorrow. Have a wahooey day, wherever you are!
Tell me your passenger didn't do in the 120 themselves.
ReplyDeleteIt's not the heat, it's the humidity.
You probably wouldn't have been too thrown off by #3 instead of #2 of David Rosenfelt's books. Which reminds me, I need to pick up the rest of them.
Carrie,
ReplyDeleteI don't think she's seen much of the world, so I'm guessing "no". ;)
Unfortunately, we pretty much have both the heat and humidity - except in January. I like January.
You know, I'm usually not really bent on reading books in order, but for some reason I felt like I just had to have the second book. And, I thought I'd picked up the right one. Oh, well. I'll get to it.
Oh, what a picture of your parents! I love it!! And, I'll trade February's snow and slush for August's heat and humidity ANY DAY. I feel your pain. Deeply.
ReplyDeleteBellezza,
ReplyDeleteThanks. I adore that picture. :)
Yeah, snow is better. It's a nuisance to drive in, but I love the cold. Even as a kid, I always wanted to move north!! Today, I almost bought a book about that plane that crashed in the Andes - SuziQ reviewed it, recently, but I can't remember the name - just because it was really, really cold in the Andes when they crashed. I thought snow thoughts would make good reading material. But, I decided I'd better save my pennies.
My sympathies about the heat. Melbourne's summer was the hottest in years and I promised myself I wouldn't complain about winter, no matter how cold it got. Yes, cold showers, and soaking my feet or head in cold water worked wonders, and I couldn't focus on reading anything taxing at all.
ReplyDeleteThat butterfly photo, and the one of your parents, just gorgeous.
I loudly second your #2!!!
ReplyDeleteA warped sense of humour is good too! Hang in there with the heat!
And that's a great picture of your parents! :)
I understand about the snow. I so miss it. We moved from New England to Maryland three years ago. Okay, so we do get snow here, but it doesn't seem the same!
ReplyDeleteThat butterfly is beautiful!!
Give me winter anytime! My husband and I always claim that we will be the only two people in history who retire to Minnesota or someplace north ...
ReplyDeleteLC,
ReplyDeleteWe broke at least one temperature record set in the 1880s, so I guess this has been the hottest summer in a while. :) I never complain about winter!! We're all happy when it finally cools off, even thought it doesn't last very long. Funny how heat makes it difficult to concentrate, isn't it?
And, thank you. Since most of my flowers have succumbed to the heat, I was thrilled to see a butterfly near our house.
Nat,
Youngster stood in front of the open refrigerator, two days ago, and I thought, "There was a time I would have told him not to leave the door open, but he's probably helping to cool the house." So, I didn't say anything. LOL You should see inside our fridge. It's so loaded with drinks that hardly anything else fits!
Thanks, I just love that photo of my parents. :)
Heather,
New England to Maryland doesn't seem that far to me, but I'm pretty much a galaxy away from snow country. We did actually figure out that we've gotten snow (not just flurries, but snow that sticks) every 7 years, on average, since we arrived in Vicksburg 21 years ago. And, it usually lasts about 3 days, at most. I'll never stop missing the snow!
Isn't that a gorgeous butterfly? I need to find my butterfly guide and look him up.
Bridget,
ReplyDeleteI think we'll be joining you in your northern retirement. My aunt and uncle lived in Minneapolis for years and retired to Arkansas. I thought that was so weird. Why would anyone choose to live in Arkansas? But, they're happy. She's a quilter and they're apparently living in sort of an artists' community. Seriously, they can have it.
You know what I love about you? You keep a big basket of emergency books in your car. (I keep mine in a box in the trunk.)
ReplyDeleteIn that picture, for some reason your dad reminds me of a more handsome Danny Thomas. Nice pic.
Kookie,
ReplyDeleteWe're like twins who look nothing at all alike. LOL My basket is back in the trunk where it belongs. They fade in the car. Can't have that, can we?
My dad did look a little like Danny Thomas. And, he dressed like Mr. Rogers. Unfortunately, I got the family nose; but, at least I got a small version. My mother is still cute. I really wanted to look like her!
Voyage must be a young adult book, no? I love the photo of your parents, it looks like me and my husband sometimes, when he is trying to get me to listen to him. Like your Mother, I am completely immersed in my book. BTW, I ordered a discounted copy of Lesley Castle today - yeah!
ReplyDeleteTara,
ReplyDeleteIt's not labeled as such, but I do believe Voyager is a young adult novel.
My dad was always walking up and snatching my mother into bear hugs from behind while she cooked. He was such a cuddly guy. Yeah, I think that was kind of their dynamic - he grabbed her and she ignored. They were so cute together.
Yippee! I hope you love Lesley Castle as much as I did!!! I think the title story is particularly funny.
Just one question - how did you get your blog so prettiful? I did manage to get mine a lovely header but how did you manage all the pictures etc. on the side bar? help from a fellow confused book blogger!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great picture of your parents!
ReplyDeleteI don't mind about the heat related comments. It's finally getting better here in Illinois. It has been awful the last few weeks. Even when we were in Florida, the weather at home was horrible. The high today is only 85!! Now that is something to Wahoo over!
Amber,
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty easy, although I haven't changed my photos, lately, because there's been some sort of glitch that is stopping the photos from shrinking properly (see the photo that says, "Run, she's got the camera!" - I haven't been able to fix that stretched look).
Just go to your dashboard and hit the "layout" button on the right. You've probably seen the layout for your blog, when you did that gorgeous header (wow!!!). You should have some buttons that say "add a page element" in your sidebar. Hit one of those and then hit the "picture button" and you can browse your photos or downloaded images to add whatever you like to your sidebar.
I haven't tried to replace any photos for a few days, so maybe Blogger has fixed that stretching problem, by now. If not, resizing might help - I haven't had time to read up on resizing and give it a try, yet, myself. Hope that helps!!! And, thanks for visiting my blog! :)
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteThank you!
A high of 85 sounds terrific. We were at 75 before 7am. I know because we had to run to Walmart to buy an emergency calculator for kiddo's math quiz! The humidity was 90% at that time, according to weather underground, but I can tell you it still feels terrific by comparison with three-digit heat. We're just supposed to hit 94, today. Fine. I'll take it. :)
I can handle the heat, but not the humidity! I don't know how you survive!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I've nominated you for an award because I enjoy your blog so much. You can check out the award at:
http://fondnessforreading.blogspot.com/2007/08/nice-matters.html
Bookfool: "I haven't changed my photos, lately, because there's been some sort of glitch that is stopping the photos from shrinking properly (see the photo that says, 'Run, she's got the camera!' - I haven't been able to fix that stretched look)."
ReplyDeleteBookfool, because of your post on that stretched look, I knew what to do when it happened to me. One of your commenters said to turn OFF the "shrink to fit" box. I did, and the picture looked normal. I don't understand it, but it really worked.
What a lovely picture of your mom and dad! I wonder what she was reading?
ReplyDeleteStay cool! :)
Robin,
ReplyDeleteThis time of year, I stay indoors a lot. I can't say I like it, but heat and humidity make a killer combination.
Oh, wow, thank you! You're too kind!!
Bonnie,
ReplyDeleteThat worked on the book images, but I've tried doing it with photographs and what I get is a portion of the photo stretched to the size of a bookmark! Ack! So, I'm just leaving poor Della in the sidebar all stretched, for now. At least you can see the photo. It could be that my photo files are just too large, now, for some reason.
Les,
Thank you. And, on the book . . . I know, isn't it awful not knowing? I've been wishing the cover of that book was showing so I could try to enlarge it enough to see. She reads a lot of history and historical fiction. Both my parents were history buffs; Dad had a minor in history.
Poor Nancy! I wish I could make the weather cooler for you.
ReplyDeleteThat butterfly really is lovely. I love the coloring on her wings.
And I always read the dedication and acknowledgements in the books I read. It's a must for me. :-)
I hope the weekend is cooler for you, Nancy.
No butterflies like tht in the snowy areas!
ReplyDeleteI understand that series horror story because I agreed to review a book that was the THIRD in a series, and then it got lost in the mail, and only arrived yesterday late in the day. And the review is due MONDAY. I just read all the wikipedia articles about the first two books, but it's still a strange experience to jump into the third book in a series like this.
Wendy,
ReplyDeleteWe've finally dropped below the 100's, thank goodness. I was beginning to really lose it, if you know what I mean.
I can't find my butterfly identification guide!! Isn't it gorgeous?
Funny that you also read the acknowledgments/dedications. I feel like I'm missing something if I don't.
Dewey,
Okay, so the butterflies are a plus (if you can get them to sit still long enough to photograph). Next year, I'm going to plant some serious butterfly-attracting plants and maybe actually even water them (ahem - I sort of quit when my plants needed me most).
That's definitely a horror story, having to jump in on the third in a series. I'm slowly realizing that very few series books stand well on their own. The history of the protagonists is often too important to miss. Best of luck on that review!
I think I read the first two Shopaholic books and gave up on the rest.
ReplyDeleteI say 'wahoo!' for the rain this weekend. It's been unbearably (at least for me) since I've got back but the last 2 days have been quite nice. Nice enough to enjoy a cuppa hot tea while surfing.
Indigo,
ReplyDeleteI've spaced the Shopaholic books out pretty widely. I think Becky would get on my nerves if I didn't.
We had rain, last night, too! Wahoo! But, that also means the husband didn't get to mow, boo hiss. Our yard is looking really scraggly. It's not quite cool enough for warm drinks. I usually drink my water at room temp, but I'm still chilling it in the fridge and we bought iced coffee, yesterday, while browsing the bookstore in Jackson.