I'm so freaking slow . . . taggings and thank yous

I don't know if I'd have ever recovered from the heat and frustration, this week, if not for the spouse who very kindly took over my chauffeuring duties for two days in a row. So, I want to publicly say:

Thank you, oh delightful and handsome husband.

You can't see me, but I'm the one handing him a rabbit. What did the husband have to say about my afternoon routine, in the midst of all that driving, on the first day? "This is crazy. This is miserable. I don't know how you do it. All that back-and-forth, back-and-forth driving. There's no time to do anything, even if you come home." Bless you for saying that, Hubby.

And, onward to the awards for which I have been tagged and which I've delayed posting about.

This is always happening to me because I'm really poky . . . three people tagged me for a "Thoughtful Blogger Award": Bonnie, Chris, and Wendy . Each one said really, really nice things about me. I wouldn't be surprised if they'd all forgotten they tagged me or decided I'm not so thoughtful after all, I'm so slow. I meant well, really. Many thanks to all three of you.


And, Robin tagged me for a "Nice Matters Award". Thank you, Robin. I'm a little quicker on the uptake, on this one, but not by much.


Both these awards seem to have been around the block and back, since I dragged my feet. I hope I don't offend anyone by saying I think that every blog I read is written with thought and care and all my blogger friends are nice, nice people!!! So, I'm mass-tagging. If you haven't received either of these awards, consider yourself tagged. I love you all.

And, I will try very hard to keep on top of other taggings, in the future. Is there such a word? Taggings?

Next up are the latest challenges. It will take me a day or two to pile up the RIP II books and make a list of the Cozy Mystery Challenge books (already on my shelves - I may just set a goal and skip the titles), but I had to post quickly about this one . . . I am just ridiculously excited about Dana's Justforthehelluvit Challenge:

It's sort of an anti-challenge, really, to read some books you really want to read, in between all those challenge books. What a nice way to convince yourself, "It's okay to read something other than a challenge book, just because I feel like it." And, here I was, trying to un-challenge myself completely. Now, I'm signing up for three more challenges. Sick, sick book-addicted, challenge-weak woman.

I do, however, plan to continue to just list books to choose from and read only what grabs me from those stacks, during challenges. If I decide I'm not in a cozy or spooky reading mood, so be it. I'll photograph the spooky books for the post, since I know you all love looking at photos of stacks as much as I do.

Just finished: Blizzard by George Stone. Since it's unlikely anyone else will even find a copy of this 1977 disaster novel, much less read it, I'll probably post spoilers when I get around to reviewing. But, I'll be sure to add red spoiler warnings, just in case.

Now reading: Fever, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson (YA fiction about a real-life yellow fever epidemic).

I'm also reading the second chapter of my son's history book, which is tiresome, yet fascinating. He's supposed to be outlining this chapter and I think he's more than a little terrified.

Here's my favorite nifty book gadget, the "Book Chair" that allows me to continue reading while I stuff my fat face (photographed on the new breakfast nook table - please try really hard to ignore the windowsill, which lost a coat of paint when we removed the cat perch):

Also, I'm very pleased to note that my orchid is still alive, 4 1/2 months after I brought it home, and it even has a brand new leaf!! How cool is that? Just FYI, the key is apparently to spray the leaves with water daily and only occasionally give the plant a good drink, in imitation of morning dew and the occasional heavy rain that makes it through the rain-forest canopy.

Hope everyone has had a fabulous weekend.