Today, I stood in the kitchen with my laminating machine on the stove and laminated about 30 bookmarks made from my own photos. Why? It's therapy. I'm in serious need of therapy. Plus, I really like having a big pile of pretty bookmarks to choose from.Today, I changed my header and background colors several dozen times. Why? Veens thought my new frog header (at left -- turned back the way he really crawled) was creepy, so I decided to shoot for a fall theme. But, it's not really autumn, here -- it's still quite green and springy. So, I had to dig around in my photo files. I found a photo that was extremely autumnal . . . and looked absolutely hideous with my background colors. After about a squillion color changes, I decided to go with a photo that a bunch of people said they like, return the colors to normal and go back to reading. I'd like to get that hour back, really.
Today, I finished reading The Shack, which I bulldozed my way through because it's a borrowed copy and I need to give it back. I'm not sure I understand the furor over that story. I mean, it was nice and all, but . . . I don't know quite what to think of it. I'll have to ponder.
Today, I emptied out my Google Reader, but I admit to peeking in to see how much fun I missed out on. Chris looks really cute in his new shirt, don't you think?
Today, I'm about 1/2 way through that book about the library cat, Dewey (loving it -- cat addict, here) and 1/3 of the way through Just Jane (enjoying it, apart from one very, very minor complaint) and 1/4 of the way through Homeland Insecurity (fascinating). I haven't touched Random Passage (mesmerizing) in a week, but that's okay. I want to spread out the joy for as long as possible. It's Canadian, you know. Why? Duh. Love reading.Today, I'm thinking about what to read next. Why? Because there's a very intimidating pile beside my bed and I need to knock it down. I own too many books.
Today, I took a bag of books and VHS tapes to the library to donate. If I have counted right, it's the 7th bag I've donated in the past month. Why? Again, I own too many books. And, I've been finding treasures in the perpetual library sale corner for years. It's time to give back.
Today, I checked out a book that is on my wish list from the library. Why? Even with piles of books staring me down, I am hopelessly addicted and want to read everything, everything right now.
That was my day. What was yours like?
Since we moved to South Carolina (from Alabama) last year, we have fall again. Dewey is in my teetering TBR pile and I can't wait to get to it.
ReplyDeleteI love your new header photo. I think I said that when I first saw it up on your blog... Can't wait to read about Dewey the cat, myself.
ReplyDeleteBermudaonion,
ReplyDeleteYou lucky thing. I really miss living with 4 distinctive seasons (you know the Southern 4: Hot, Hot, Hot, and Outdoor Pool Closed). Dewey is fun, although it's not all about the cat; there's quite a bit about the librarian. I'm enjoying reading about her, too.
Jeane,
ReplyDeleteYou probably did. Quite a few people told me they liked that photo. Dewey is cool. His story makes me want to bring home a box of kittens. The old fur lady would object, though.
I read--or more accurately, read at--The Shack for our Sunday School class. I was less than overwhelmed, to say the least. I like my religion in not quite so much a hit you over the head repeatedly way.
ReplyDeleteLove, love, love the photo! You are so talented.
Haha...totally talked myself out of going to the library today...I know how you feel :)
ReplyDeleteTammy,
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I'll be speechless when the owner of that book asks me what I thought of it. That's exactly how I saw it -- "hit you over the head repeatedly". Or "in your face" would be another way to put it. I read it as fast as possible.
Thank you. I'm not feeling so talented, now that I've got that new photo blog. Ohmygosh, you should see what those folks can do with a camera!
Amanda,
I've been working on my Library Avoidance Technique, but if you're donating, you still have to walk in the door! Danger! LOL
Today I made it back home.
ReplyDeleteMy TBR stack does not intimidate me. I've grown used to the mammoth thing.
Love that header! LOVE! Fantabulous work, dearest. And it's still springy here. I'm ready for something autumnal or wintery. As much as we get in Texas.
ReplyDeleteMy day was busy as heck! But really not all that bad. I passed by the library today on my way to work and had this huge urge to go inside! But I didn't, because I have my own small library at my house called the TBR pile that really needs to start getting read!
ReplyDeletePosting links to pictures of me, eh? lol...I found an old picture of you the other day when I was searching for your post on The Secret Lives of People in Love (which I reviewed by the way right before the read-a-thon...you can click on my 2008 books read link for the link) and I really think that you should post more pics of yourself! lol...you have a very peaceful look about you and you look so friendly!
I've been wondering about The Shack. I've seen it all over the place and was wondering what all the hype was about, but I've yet to read a review of it!
And I'm in love with your bookmarks! Especially that second on e with the lizard looking at the caterpillar. I've been on a bookmark kick lately :p
Oh, I forgot to tell you -- I sent you to get that library book since I can't get to one...
ReplyDeleteI just ordered a ton of new books while I have plenty of books here to read. I can't help it. Nothing is calling out to me. So I know how you feel.
ReplyDeleteI like the new header, too.
I love your photo, its my favourite yet. It pretty well sums up the weather at the mo here in the UK.
ReplyDeleteYour "today" sounded pretty darn nice!
ReplyDeleteDoesn't really feel fall-like here either...but in the other direction. Our trees are almost completely bare now, and our high may reach 44 degrees today.
Annie and I read Just Jane for school last year. Both of us enjoyed it. It was really the first historical fiction I'd ever read.
I have 3 overdue library books right now. I want to read but I have other obligations. I am tempted to return them without finishing but one of them is the first No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency which I am at least halfway through but I am not really into.
ReplyDeleteI love bookmarks. I have a collection from way back in childhood. These days I will use almost anything as a bookmark. I hate bent corners on my pages. :)
By the way I have heard a lot of people say there are theology issues in The Shack. I don't plan on reading it because it does not sound like something I would like anyway. :)
Carrie,
ReplyDeleteYou did more than just make it back home, but I congratulate you for that. LOL
I'm glad you can live with your TBRs. I'm still afraid of the uprising, in which the books kill and eat me. You just never know, although, of course, I do treat them with kindness.
Andiloo,
Thank you! And, yeah. You don't get a whole lot of winter, either, do you? I remember ditching the coat after a funeral in Fort Worth, one December.
Chris,
Good for you!!! It isn't easy to just drive past a library. I'm doing okay, except on days that I have to go in to drop things off. I checked out An Abundance of Katherines by John Green, but I didn't remove it from my wish list (because, honestly, I don't have time to read it).
Well, thank you. I don't post pictures of myself because I'm a very unphotogenic, um, cow. I need to lose weight, desperately. But, thank you. I am, in fact, quite friendly. But, I have to get used to you before the talkative side of me lets loose. I'm so glad you enjoyed Simon's book. If I recall right, Simon told me it's going to eventually be re-released by HarperCollins.
The Shack is the story of a man whose daughter is murdered, her bloodied dress found in a shack. Years later, the man is invited back to the shack by God. I had some problems with it, myself.
Oh, is it time for me to send you some bookmarks? Thanks, that lizard looking at the caterpillar -- that was such a great moment. The photo isn't very good (exposure-wise), but what's happening in the picture is so utterly cool. :)
Bybee,
ReplyDeleteI think the Vicksburg-Warren Public Library would frown upon sending a book to Korea, but maybe I just need to send you some of mine. I really do have too many.
Nikki,
Yep, sometimes you just have to go on a book splurge. I hope you don't have to wait too long for those books to arrive. And, thank you. :)
Leah,
Thank you. Having some dreary weather, are you? We're painfully sunny. I could stand an overcast day, but not the rain. People drive like lunatics in the rain, here.
Debi,
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't a bad day, in general, although this time of year I get gloomy -- which is so backwards because it's nice outside and I should be happy. It just happens to be the time of year that we moved here and reminds me another year has gone by.
Goodness, you already have no leaves? That's hard to fathom.
I'm really enjoying Just Jane. The further I get into it, the more I like it. I think after Just Jane, I'll have run through all of Nancy Moser's historical fiction. They're all terrific.
Brittanie,
Can you recheck your books? I know what you mean. I'm reading Dewey, but I shouldn't be, since it's a library book and I have so many others I need to finish. If I don't inject a "just for me" book, now and then, sometimes I'll just shut down and find myself unable to read the ARCs. That's kind of what happened last week. I was enjoying them, but I needed something just for me.
On The Shack -- I had trouble with it and I think you might, also. It's one that's been passed around by a woman in my Bible Study group (who used to be a missionary in India). I wanted to read it, but I didn't really know what it was about. I nearly gave up, halfway through, but I decided to just plow on. The theology is really heavy-handed.
I love your bookmark idea. I prefer to have pretty bookmarks around to use as well, instead of just any piece of paper. Your pictures, I'm sure, make great bookmarks. Your new header - when I first opened blog today (after 1 1/2 weeks away from blogging world) I thought you put up a picture of a painting and I thought "aw shucks she took down her photos" but then I really looked at picture and realized its a great photo through the rain! Cool! Library thing - I am on a self imposed ban against library as well. I just have too many purchase/acquired books and school books to read. Good luck on your mission to stay away from the shelves.
ReplyDeleteBree,
ReplyDeleteI sometimes use any old piece of paper (in desperation situations) but I do love a pretty bookmark. And, thank you. :)
I'm glad you like that header photo. It was taken with my phone camera when I was bored, waiting for the kiddo to be released from the hallway, after a tornado warning. I always use my own photos in my headers and sidebar, so there will always be some colorful critters on my blog!
It's so nice to know I'm in good company on the library avoidance thing. I love the library, but I really do have to knock down the stacks. Good luck to you, too!
"Even with piles of books staring me down, I am hopelessly addicted and want to read everything, everything right now. "
ReplyDeleteSigh, same here.
I love your new header! The colours are lovely, and plus it looks a little like an impressionistic painting.
Nymeth,
ReplyDeleteMiserable, isn't it? There are worse addictions, but man . . . I'm about to be buried, here!
Thank you! That's what everyone said when I originally posted the photo -- that it looks like an impressionist painting. That hadn't occurred to me, probably because I knew it was just a neat effect caused by rain on the windshield! :)
Well, I fondled hundreds of books today, but none that I own. Busy, busy at work. Just the way I like it. :)
ReplyDeleteThe Shack is quite the popular book. I haven't read it, but it sure sells well. Dewey's been selling very well, too.
Me, I'm reading Garden Spells. It's great and I'm anxious to log-off this computer and go read for a bit. Between work, blogging, photo blogging, emails, walking Annie-Dog, and cooking,I don't have much time left to read, let alone review my books! Need a day off mid-week! Or 4 more hours added to my day.
BTW, love your new header. I'd changed my template, but who has time?!
Les,
ReplyDeleteYou're making me yearn to work in a bookstore, again. Stop that.
I think you would *hate* The Shack. Note what Tammy said about it being "hit you over the head repeatedly" religion. I agree with that. In fact, I'm not going to bother reviewing it. I'm trying to be a little selective and only review some of the books I read, just to save time.
I actually just finished Dewey. I liked it, but it's as much about the librarian as it is about the cat. Not sure I cared for that. I'd call it an average read, but enjoyable enough that I don't regret reading it. Of course, I sobbed at the end because the cat died.
You know, that's exactly why I haven't gone to a 3-column blog, like most people. I just don't want to spend the time. I'm fine with a slightly outdated look. The headers are easy to change, so that's all I usually do -- headers and maybe a color change, here or there, if I feel like it, plus sidebar updates on what I'm reading and sometimes a change of photos in the sidebar.
My stack sometimes overwhelms me and often intimidates me. If I choose this book, then the rest are not getting read, AND the stack keeps growing. Too many choices.
ReplyDeleteLove the bookmarks. I never have one when I need it and am too lazy to get up and get one. When you read more than one book at a time, you need a big supply. What a great idea to make them from you own wonderful photos!
Jenclair,
ReplyDeleteExactly. It's hard just choosing a book because so many others will have to wait.
Thank you. I'm sometimes too lazy to get up and fetch a bookmark, too (not often). Right now, I'm keeping several bookmarks near my favorite reading spot, just because I switch from book to book and never know when I'm going to start a new book and need one more bookmark.
Oh, yes, and I need a supply because my son runs off with them, too! LOL