Archives for April 2018

Happy Monday: Coming out of our cocoon!

Hello Everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend. My daffodils are so vibrant and yellow just makes me smile every time I see it. With these warm temperatures arriving and our deck prepped, I feel like we are finally coming out of our winter cocoon! Spring is in the air or should I say summer is in the air over here. This past weekend we had great temps and tomorrow through the end of this week we are going to have seasonably high temps in the upper 70s, low 80s!! Since I knew this week would be warm, Leao and I took the time to clean out our garage and de-winterize our deck. It’s a three-season deck and in the winter we put a tarp on the sides to keep some of the blowing snow out and then we move all of the furniture and grill to the side and throw tarps over it.  So we spent all-day Saturday cleaning up the deck and re-installing all of the blinds.  I didn’t put the seat cushions out because I knew today would be rainy. But tomorrow, I will and will spend my work day on my deck. So from this point until early winter, I spend much of my time on our deck, working, reading, sleeping, eating and playing games with my family. So I am in such a happy mood because I look forward to being outside after a long and hard winter.

We hired our new landscaper to do a spring clean up and grass fertilization for our property and I have to say that it was truly money well spent. This time a year, I usually clean up the yard in phases. I do one side at a time and I have to say, I have never seen it this tidy when I have done it in the past. But my back is definitely so grateful that we hired help.  So now I can start planning my garden. I don’t think I am going to do any seeds in the house this year, I will direct sow some but will only work with plants for the rest of my garden. So the fun begins!! No planting yet, just planning as a “New Englander” I know you can’t quite rely on the sudden heat. We could have a frost any moment so I err on the side of caution and patiently wait to begin planting.

A major milestone occurred this weekend, Apollo surprised me and rode his bike for the first time on Saturday. Each year, I tried to encourage my boys to learn to ride and they try and then quickly lose interest after a fall. But on Saturday, when Apollo saw his bike in the garage while I was cleaning something just clicked for him. Then he sat on it and found his helmet (which surprisingly fit!) and said he would like to ride it. So as Leao and I were moving stuff out to toss in the trash, he zoomed by us on his bike. A little wobbly but all on his own. Wow! the moment you always dream about right before our eyes. It never gets old. Since I am one for not forcing them to do things that they express that they don’t want, there are some things they can not do just yet and bike riding is one. So this turn of events produced the biggest joy in my heart.  Leao took his bike to our rear driveway (where we don’t have to worry about cars) and let him try again and he did it! I am so happy for him because I remember how I felt when I learned to ride my bike. It was that new independence that came with it that made it so sweet. So bike trails are in our future. Yay! Well, I am off for now.

Have a blessed day!

Belinda

Well Hello: Girl’s trip, New York and Spring break

Hello, my friends! I sat down on Monday with all intentions of writing this blog post to reconnect with you and realized we were having server issues. The last four almost five months of posts on this blog were gone.  So I talked with my husband who managed to sort out all the details and restore my data. Talk about a panic attack, it was a big reminder of how much I rely on technology and assume it will always be available and functioning properly. So for those of you who subscribe, you might have received a few old posts in your email. I apologize for the confusion.

Ok, let’s catch up! First, I want to thank my son Apollo for looking at my blog this past Sunday and turning to me and saying, “Mom, you haven’t been very good about your blog. You haven’t written any posts in a long time.” There’s nothing like your kids keeping it real. Thanks, my little man!

The first photo is of my desk with a surprise gift from my husband… an Ember tea mug. A friend of mine recently showed me hers and I fell in love. The tea person that I am just had to have one. It is a temperature controlled mug. My office is on the second floor in our home and as you all know, I drink tea year round.  But I spend a great deal of time reheating my teacup because it has gone cold while I work. So this lovely is temperature controlled by an app on my phone. How cool is that? I can select a temperature and every time I sip, I am in heavenly bliss. I don’t know how I lived without it. Oh, and the tiny daffodils are from Trader Joes. I picked them up on Monday to add some sunshine to my office.Now, let’s see, what have you missed? I started off this month attending my annual  4-day girlfriend getaway. This was our 9th year so next year we are thinking we need to do something special.

I rode with my friend Ashley as usual and it was so much fun. Our friend Kathryn followed us in her car and we stopped for a yummy lunch at an organic grocer. We left so early that we were the first to arrive from our group of 13! Kathryn decorated the tables and had a goodie bag for each of us.I overindulged at breakfast every morning with no shame. It’s so yummy and I typically have oatmeal or smoothie for breakfast so this was a marvelous treat. I spent each night before bed and an hour before heading to breakfast reading my book in bed with the fire going. Truly paradise. I took my usual daily selfie in my bedroom mirror to send to Leao and the boys. I started doing this a few years back and have continued the madness.The following weekend, Leao and I rented a car and headed to New York to attend a baptism. Leao was to be the godfather of his friend’s daughter. The weather was fantastic when we drove up but the rain came in for our return trip home. We listened to and completed an audiobook on our journey.

The ceremony was beautiful and what a pleasant surprise when baby Kasieobi who was meeting Leao for the first time went right into her new godfather’s arms. She eventually fell asleep. It was the sweetest thing to see. We all went out for lunch after the ceremony at the Cheesecake Factory and yummed it up. The ride home I wanted to catch this cool tunnel but the rain blurred the picture. Leao is my favorite person to travel with so if I was going to do this drive it would be with him. The conversation is always lively and also because I like being the passenger!!Last week was spring break for the boys so we staycationed it. No far away trips just hanging out at our home and visiting family. I love how they both will still squeeze into a chair with me. It fills my soul!!I believe we are all caught up and I will resume a “regular” posting schedule again.

Have a blessed day!

Belinda

Belinda’s Book Nook Review: Obama: An Intimate Portrait, Deluxe Limited Edition: The Historic Presidency in Photographs

Hello, my bookworm friends! I thought I would share another book review

Title: Obama: An Intimate Portrait, Deluxe Limited Edition: The Historic Presidency in Photographs
Author: Pete Souza
Copyright: March 2018
Genre: non-fiction, biography
Format: book
Pages: 352

Summary (from Goodreads):

This is the definitive visual biography of Barack Obama’s presidency, captured in intimate, unprecedented detail by his official White House photographer.
Pete Souza began photographing President Obama on his first day as a U.S. senator, in January 2005, and served as the chief official White House photographer for the President’s full two terms. Souza was with President Obama more often, and at more crucial moments, than any friend or staff member, or even the First Lady–and he photographed it all. Souza captured nearly 2 million photographs of Obama, in moments ranging from classified to disarmingly candid.

About the Author (Pete Souza):

Pete Souza is a freelance photographer and assistant professor of photojournalism at Ohio University’s School of Visual Communication. He has worked as an Official White House Photographer for President Reagan, a freelancer for National Geographic, and as the national photographer for the Chicago Tribune based in their Washington bureau.

My Thoughts:

I was just out of the recovery phase of the flu and visiting the library with my son and the children’s librarian ran over to me and picked up this magnificent book and told me she just finished it and I should read it. I hesitated because I had already gathered 3 other books to check out for myself and this book looked like a chunker to carry out of the library. But then as we talked, I told her this book might just be what I need.

Boy was it ever. This photographer did an amazing job of capturing much of President Obama’s presidency. Each photo was accompanied by more information. So much I never saw before and I was often moved to tears.

I will definitely be purchasing a copy for my personal library.

For these reasons, I give this book 5 butterflies!


Happy reading!

Belinda

Belinda’s Book Nook Review: Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

 

Hello, my bookworm friends! I thought I would share another book review for the Literary Voyage Around the World Reading challenge.

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Title: Maisie Dobbs
Author: Jacqueline Winspear
Copyright: May 25, 2004
Genre: fiction
Format: book
Pages: 309

 

Summary (from Goodreads):

Maisie Dobbs isn’t just any young housemaid. Through her own natural intelligence—and the patronage of her benevolent employers—she works her way into college at Cambridge. When World War I breaks out, Maisie goes to the front as a nurse. It is there that she learns that coincidences are meaningful and the truth elusive. After the War, Maisie sets up on her own as a private investigator. But her very first assignment, seemingly an ordinary infidelity case, soon reveals a much deeper, darker web of secrets, which will force Maisie to revisit the horrors of the Great War and the love she left behind.

About the Author (Jacqueline Winspear):

 

Truth walks toward us on the paths of our questions. As soon as you think you have the answer, you have closed the path and may miss the vital new information. Wait awhile in the stillness, and do not rush to conclusions, no matter how uncomfortable the unknowing.”

– Jacqueline Winspear

While looking up Ms. Winspear’s information online, I came across quite a lot of wonderful quotes from her. If you don’t know it, I am a quote hoarder!! I love writing quotes in a little book and in my journal. So I thought I would share the one above with you.

Jacqueline Winspear was born and raised in the county of Kent, England. Following higher education at the University of London’s Institute of Education, Jacqueline worked in academic publishing, in higher education and in marketing communications in the UK.

Jacqueline found her inspiration in the ordinary people of wartime from her grandfather who was severely wounded and shell-shocked at The Battle of the Somme in 1916, and it was as she understood the extent of his suffering that, even in childhood, Jacqueline became deeply interested in the “war to end all wars” and its aftereffects.

My Thoughts:

I have been collecting the books in this series prior to reading this first book for some time from thrift shops. I love the covers and I liked the premise of the story so I was hoping that I was investing in a good series. Now that I finally read the first book, and I now know I am happy I have been collecting them.

The first book provides readers with Maisie’s backstory. Some critics say that it spent too much time on her backstory but I found it both interesting and helpful for me to understand her character. It helps to develop the reader’s investment in the character. It also provided us with a mystery to keep things interesting.

The story is told alternating back and forth in time and I kept coming back to see what next was in store for her.  I liked that Maisie was such a strong and independent character throughout the book and it was great to watch her confidence grow as the story develops.

Being an avid reader, I have come to the realization that not everyone’s first book might wow you but quite often if you stick with an author, you get to witness them grow and you connect more with their stories. I feel this way with this book. I enjoyed the story and I switched back and forth between reading the printed edition and listening to the audiobook. Which also provides a different experience. I love series because I always feel like with each book you are visiting a old friend. The beauty of starting this series so late is that I believe there are already 13 books in the series so I have plenty more to explore. I look forward to tagging along with Maisie in her next case.

For these reasons, I give this book 3  1/2 butterflies!
Happy reading!

Belinda

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