Thursday, February 12, 2009

6 Things That Make Me Happy Meme

Lisa tagged me for this meme and, boy, do I ever need to focus on the positive, today. I'm having a bear of a week. Note the kitty who is thinking positive, at left. I found this image online and it's not credited to anyone, so if anyone knows the source I'll be glad to provide the correct info.

6 Things That Make Me Happy

1. Space and Light -- I know, that's two. They go together. I need lots of both or I start to lose it. This is one of those weeks that I could definitely stand to have a big, empty room in which to paint, meditate, read, write or dance. Or, all of the above.

2. Books -- Yes, I suppose you knew that.


3. Critters -- All kinds. I love my cat. I'm quite fond of my kids (big critters, these days). I adore the little anole lizards that are absolutely everywhere around our house. I'm ridiculously infatuated with the hawks hanging out in our neighborhood and . . . shoot, I even like snakes. I just love critters. Except, I could really do without the loose dogs in the neighborhood and the insects that try to invade my house when the humidity hits. Books and critters together are also great, provided we're not talking critters who eat books. This critter is generally safe with books, apart from occasional knocking-over and pulling-off-the-shelf fits:

4. People who send or bring books to my house -- The mailman, the UPS guy, the FedEx dude, the guy in the yellow van. I'm very friendly to these people 'cause they make me happy. People who send books to me are way up there on my adoration list, too, as you might imagine.

5. Travel. Except to places where the natives eat, burn or are puzzled by books. My favorite places to travel have either phenomenal scenery, fascinating history or both. Good book shops are a bonus.

6. Long, hot, great-smelling baths. Fizzies. Bubble bath. Heaven.

7. Pickles. Because it would be boring just to follow the rules and write about 6 things, wouldn't it?


In other news . . .

Still battling sore eyeballs, but I'm reading plenty. Staying off the computer does seem to help a bit. You can see from my sidebar that I can't seem to settle on much of anything. But, I'm having fun with the books I'm reading. The Book of Unholy Mischief is heavy on the senses -- lots of food descriptions. Sometimes it makes me hungry. My friend Paula sent Shadow of Colossus to me (so, obviously, she's on my favorite people list -- actually, she's always way up there on my favorites list) and it grabbed me, immediately. Don't be fooled by the fact that two of those books, The Coasts of Canada and Fear in North Carolina, have been in my sidebar forever. I'm enjoying them; I just haven't been in a non-fiction mood.

I'm still working on the balance concept and if a book doesn't grab me I've got automatic permission to withdraw, so to speak. Fortunately, that's really not happening much at all -- I do have one DNF book to post about . . . just one. I've become a bit more selective when it comes to requesting advance readers and I'm mixing in plenty of other books from the library and my own shelves. 2009 has been a delightful reading year, thus far.


Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson arrived from Amazon on Wednesday and it's a quick, light read, so I whipped through it in an evening and plan to watch the movie (I ordered both book and movie, just for fun). Last night, I finished reading For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn. I'll try to get those reviewed as soon as humanly possible -- don't forget I'm having a drawing for 4 books about keeping the love alive in marriage. Almost nobody has signed up, so your chances are excellent.

For Women Only is really quite fascinating. My husband and I talked about some of what the author had to say about how men think and I admitted that much of what she discovered in her research was mind-boggling from a female point of view. Huzzybuns had trouble maintaining eye contact while discussing how he thinks, but in a cute way. He did a lot of nodding and grinning, indicating that the author did a good job of nailing what's most important to men. I'm going to read the companion book For Men Only and then attempt to coerce my husband into reading it, but he's kind of stubborn and everyone at work seems to be handing him books to read, lately.


Speaking of which, I'm also reading a math book my husband brought home, called Euclid's Window. I haven't added it to my sidebar because he keeps snatching it back, but it's tremendously engrossing for a book about math. The author has a great sense of humor.

I still haven't gotten far into A Lever Long Enough, but that's merely because I distracted myself by starting three other books. Silly me. I'm going to read a bit of Lever, after I get off the computer. Conan Doyle's Wallet is, thus far, making me wrinkle my nose.

On this day in Bookfool's Reading history:

In 1998, I'd just finished reading Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and was in the midst of The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini.

Completely forgot to tag anyone -- tag! If you haven't done the "6 Things" meme, I just hit you on the shoulder. You're it. Have fun!

23 comments:

  1. I forgot to add #4 to my list...I love those guys! I'm with you on #2 and #3 though! BTW - what a cute kitty! My kitties like to bite the corners of my books or play with the bookmarks, thus pulling them out and losing my place.

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  2. Anonymous10:29 AM

    I love that you included all of your delivery guys!

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  3. Amy,

    Yeah, gotta love those guys who deliver books. :)

    I think I'm fortunate with my fur girl. Our kitty has cat fits that involve pulling books off shelves, but she doesn't nip the books and she never pulls out bookmarks. It's really quite funny to see her pull a book off the shelf, but she can make a real mess when she does that!

    Kathy,

    I know you love your delivery guys, too. They bring us a lot of joy in little rectangular wrappers. :)

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  4. Anonymous2:33 PM

    I believe she's trying to choose your next book to read, or reread as the case may be.

    Aren't those delivery folks wonderful? Books come right to your door.

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  5. Carrie,

    That very well could be. She's been helping me read, today. It's not a stretch to think the cat is also happy to help me choose the next book. :)

    I love delivery people! One of ours was arrested for popping a dog, this week -- basically, he gave the dog a black eye when he was threatened. He'd been bitten before. The newspaper made the poor guy sound like a villain, but the two dogs hovering around his truck were trained guard dogs, unchained, unfenced. Ridiculous.

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  6. DO watch the spec features on the Miss Pettigrew movie - if it's the same as the one I saw, then they interview the author's son and I loved all the fun info on his mom.

    and I just put the Euclid's Window on my wishlist. Guess what: I've been hired to tutor an extremely bright kid in Trig this summer! Apparently his HS doesn't offer it. FUN!

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  7. My delivery people are in and out before I can get to the door!

    I'm big on space and light, too. Books? Oh, yes, I assumed that books and critters were things that make you happy. :)

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  8. Care,

    I don't even know what, if any, features the movie has. But, I usually do watch everything. I love a movie with extra . . . stuff, I guess. I think we'll watch that tonight. It seems like a good movie for Valentine's.

    Very cool about the tutoring! I haven't managed to wrestle Euclid's Window away from my husband, since he discovered I was sneaking it away to read. Guess I'll have to wait my turn.

    Jenclair,

    Mine, too. But, I was reading on the porch when the UPS man brought me a book, a few days ago. He said, "You're reading?" and I told him, "Yes, I actually read all those books you bring me." And, then he was gone, whoosh. They do move fast.

    I'm not getting enough space and light, which means I need to do some clutter removal. Clutter kills my will to live. I had a sneaking suspicion people already knew about the books and critters. ;)

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  9. So glad you are enjoying the book Nancy! I may have to get to it myself someday. ;)

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  10. Nice stack of books you have there. I loved The Mirror and Alas, Babylon. I need to get a copy of The Mirror so I can give it a second reading for my Time Travel endcap!!

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  11. I so agree with the space and light. I would add solitude and peace. I discovered years ago that I had SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder. I've always had a compulsion to open curtains, blinds, whatever first thing in the morning. I wish I had more south facing windows. Heck, I wish I had lots more windows everywhere!

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  12. Paula,

    I'm probably going to have to set Colossus aside because I fell behind, this week (and have three book tours during the coming week -- ack), but I'm really enjoying it. I wish I read about 3 times as fast. You should definitely read it, too. Then, we can talk. :)

    Les,

    That's actually my RIP stack from 2007 (I dug in the files)! I've read most of them, but The Mirror didn't grab me. I got my copy from Paperback Swap. Someday I'll get around to it! I loved Alas, Babylon . . . but you knew that, of course.

    Booklogged,

    I've always known I desired more space and light, but it wasn't till recently that I realized I really do have a problem with dark, dreary days and require lots of light. Boy, do I wish I'd known that when I bought the house in which we live. I do exactly what you do -- I go around throwing open windows, first thing in the morning. When it's dark, though, we just don't have good enough light in this house. We need to work on that.

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  13. I'm sorry to hear about your eyeballs hurting, and sorrier yet to hear that you ordered Miss Pettigrew from Amazon. Please send me the coupon from Persephone so I can straighten that out for you, and order what you'd like.

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  14. I love that kitty/lion pic!

    Thanks for a much needed laugh!

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  15. Bellezza,

    I'm feeling much better after a few days of making myself put the books down a wee bit earlier and just go to bed. Don't worry about Miss Pettigrew! I discovered I had it in my cart when I went to order an exercise tape, last week, and the price had dropped. So, I figured I'd just go ahead and grab it for fun. I've sent you the coupon and a brief note -- it should get to you, this week. :)

    Michelle,

    Isn't that the cutest? I think I need a copy of that one for my desk. :)

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  16. Wasn't Miss Pettigrew a fun read? I hope you enjoyed the movie too!

    I love item #4 on your list. Hadn't thought about that but so true! :)

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  17. Iliana,

    We still haven't gotten to the movie, but the book was a hoot. I can't wait to watch it. Things keep getting in the way.

    Gotta love those delivery people. ;)

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  18. Great list. I don't like to follow the rules with memes either. And I'm quite surprised books made your list! ;P

    --Anna
    Diary of an Eccentric

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  19. Anna,

    Shocking that books made my list, isn't it? LOL

    It could be that some of us are tired of rules in everyday life and just enjoy bucking the trend a bit. I think that's my deal. I don't even like doing weekly posts that everyone else seems to do, just because I'd rather go my own direction.

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  20. I love the delivery guy love! lol. I think it's perfect!

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  21. Lisa,

    It's certainly apropos. :)

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  22. I love Miss Spooky's little white toes (ok, I guess technically they are her paws). A bath sounds absolutely wonderful--I don't think I've had one since I moved from Lubbock over 2 years ago! Too much work to clean out the gigantic garden tub at our current place before hopping in.

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  23. Trish,

    Toes, paws, whatever. I agree with you -- they're adorable. I'm so impressed with how white she keeps her bib and socks. I can't even get my husband's shirts that clean. Gigantic garden tub? Cool. Except, yeah, the cleaning part would be a bear.

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