Books I Read In December

 Ten books read in December for a total of 97 for the year. 

My One and Only by Kristan Higgins is one I chose in order to have a paper back by the bed and because I have been enjoying some of her other romances. This one was a definite disappointment.

False Witness is Karin Slaughter's latest stand alone novel. It is as well written and finely crafted as all her other crime thrillers I have read.

Wish You Were Here is Jodi Picoult's newest novel. It is set in NYC during the early days of the Covid crisis. On the eve of departure on their dream vacation to the Galapagos, the boyfriend breaks the news that he has to stay because it is 'all hands on deck' at the hospital where he works. He encourages his girlfriend to go ahead because the trip is non-refundable. She goes alone and then finds herself stranded because of the pandemic.

I don't know how Picoult can write so beautifully about any and all subjects. I loved learning more about the Galapogos, their beauty and magic. This book had a twist that only added to its enjoyment. I won't spoil it for you.

A Darker Reality is the third in Anne Perry's Elena Standish series. I am really enjoying this series set in the 1930's between the two World Wars.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig was the Adult Book Club's choice for December. I wasn't planning on attending Tuesday's meeting (which was cancelled anyway), but I did want to read the book. It was about a woman who wanted to die, but ended up in the Midnight Library where she could choose any book which would give her variations of what her life could have been. I wasn't surprised by the life she finally chose, but it was an interesting read.

Leave The World Behind  by Rumaan Alam is a book I read after a conversation with a friend in Wisconsin. Kristina told me about her favorite bookstore located in a nearby small town. I visited their website and it does look like a delightful store, one I'd certainly love to visit. The website listed a number of books recommended by their staff. This was the only one of those that my local library had. It is not a book I would normally read - a dystopian novel about the end of the world. I found it disturbing because it is too close to my fears for our world. But the book was well written with just a tad bit of hope in the ending.

The Crossing and The Wrong Side Of Goodbye were the next two books in the Harry Bosch series by Michael Connelly. These books are like eating candy, once I start, I cannot stop. 

The Book Of Magic by Alice Hoffman is the fourth and concluding book of her Practical Magic series. As with some other last books in a series I have read, this one felt rushed, as in, "Let's just get it over with." I did not like it as much as the preceding novels.

And finally, Oh, William! by Elizabeth Strout which I just finished yesterday. I've been a fan of her writing since reading her Pulitzer Prize winner Olive Kitteridge. The narrator of this book offers her reflection on the nature of existence: "This is the way of life, the many things we do not know until it is too late."

I look forward to another year of good reading in 2022. I hope you do too. Happy New Year! 🎉

January to December - 2021 in Photos

 Nature, nature, nature, nurturance! 💚

January - Adams Street bridge at Lake McKinley.

February - A lovely Mourning Dove on a frosty morn.

March - They look like smoke signals but in reality are flint colored clouds over a pond partially covered in ice.

April - Always good to see the toad survived the winter. After all he/she is a symbol of fortune, prosperity and abundance. I've never given him/her a name. How about Teddy/Teddie the Toad?

May - Why are some geranium leaves multi-colored and the rest are just green? This one was eye-catching especially with the raindrops.

June - Grasses silhouetted in the sunrise at Green Valley Lake/State Park.

July - We called them thunderheads when I was a child. They meant rain, possibly a storm.

Cumulonimbus clouds are always dramatic. (From Latin cumulus, "heaped" and nimbus "rainstorm".)

August - And I was chasing butterflies, hoping for that perfect picture. I was pretty happy with this one.

September - Another little trip close to home took me to a park/lake I had never been to before - Nodaway Lake southwest of Greenfield. 

So much to see and photograph and choose from. This little yellow Jewelweed with the dew still upon it won out.

October - Morning sunlight on the Virginia Creeper climbing an old lakeside maple tree at Lake McKinley.

November - Sunset and dancing clouds of purple and pink over the pond.

December - The Full Long Night Moon setting in early morning clouds.

Bonus photo #1

In January we made a trip to the Schildberg Recreation Area near Atlantic to see the swans on Quarry Lake #4.

It was late afternoon before they came back from feeding in harvested fields.

What a joy to watch them flying in, highlighted by the setting sun. 

Bonus photo #2

On a lovely June morning I set off on a photo-taking tour in my home county. It was an enjoyable time and I only took a hundred pictures.

I don't think I ever walked home from our one room country school without stopping on the bridge and looking down on both sides to the little creek - a tributary to the 102 River.

It looks different now, smaller and with Eastern Redcedar trees crowding the banks.  I don't remember the Arrowhead plants there years ago but the mud looks the same. And the memories remain - throwing rocks into the water, scaring the pigeons out from underneath the bridge - even going there and catching bullheads with my mother and sister. 

I thought for certain after we had our Covid-19 innoculations that our lives would be more normal and for awhile they were - once again being with family members and going shopping without wearing a mask. But the pandemic isn't over yet and I doubt it ever will be completely. I'm back to wearing a mask whenever I go out and shopping very early in the morning when there are few others out and about. Even with the booster shot I don't think I'm really totally protected. So 2022 will be another year of finding peace and contentment in, of and with nature. 

Perfect Balance

 I must have a hundred or more poems saved in my 'Poems and Quotes' folder. But they're not in any order, so when I go looking for a poem to use, which I have been because I haven't shared a poem for awhile, I have to look through them all. Yesterday I was looking for a poem about winter but gave up.

This morning FB gave me a post of the poets lost in 2021 with a snippet of a poem by each. I liked the stanza next to the last poet listed, Adam Zagajewski, and went looking for the poem it was from.  I found it was the last lines of his poem 'Balance'. 

Balance (Adam Zagajewski)

I watched the arctic landscape from above
and thought of nothing, lovely nothing.
I observed white canopies of clouds, vast
expanses where no wolf tracks could be found.

I thought about you and about the emptiness
that can promise one thing only: plenitude—
and that a certain sort of snowy wasteland
bursts from a surfeit of happiness.

As we drew closer to our landing,
the vulnerable earth emerged among the clouds,
comic gardens forgotten by their owners,
pale grass plagued by winter and the wind.

I put my book down and for an instant felt
a perfect balance between waking and dreams.
But when the plane touched concrete, then
assiduously circled the airport's labryinth,

I once again knew nothing. The darkness
of daily wanderings resumed, the day's sweet darkness,
the darkness of the voice that counts and measures,
remembers and forgets.

Books I Read In November

 Ten books read in November....

Life And Other Inconveniences by Kristan Higgins was a paperback I just grabbed to have a lightweight (both literally and figuratively) book bedside for nighttime reading. It turned out I enjoyed it so much I've been reading all her other books the library has.

the perfect match and waiting on you are #'s two and three in her Blue Heron series which I really like. They are set in the Finger Lakes region of New York and mention the nearby 'big' town of Corning, NY which was named for the same founder as our 'little' hometown of Corning, IA.

The Drop and The Black Box are the next two books in Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series. 

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles is my favorite kind of book - a novel based on a true story and about books! Based on the true World War II story of the librarians at the American Library in Paris, it is a story of romance, friendship, family and the power of books to bring us together. 

Mrs. Kimble by Jennifer Haigh is a book I found while sorting and clearing out my many boxes of books. I don't remember when/where I got it, nor whether I picked it up because of the name - the same as my grade school teacher, though spelled differently - but I had never read it. It was a winner of the Pen/Hemingway Award, so that probably influenced my purchase. The story was about a man and the three women he married, discarded, and moved on from to the next - three very different 'Mrs. Kimbles'. It was an interesting read

State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny went on my 'want to read' list when I first heard of it on CBS Sunday Morning a few weeks ago. I am a huge fan of Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, the most recent of which I just read last month, so this was like a bonus, although it mentions Gamache only briefly in passing. Just reading about the world crises a diplomat or secretary of state has to deal with, even in a novel, is eye opening. But I felt like they were very plausible due to Secretary Clinton's inside knowledge. I really liked this book and hope there are more collaborations by these two remarkable women in the future.

The Burning Room by Michael Connelly is the next in the Harry Bosch series. Old Harry is nearing the end of his career with the Los Angeles Police Department which got me wondering what he is going to be doing in the next seven books of this series. 

anything for you is #5 in Kristan Higgins' Blue Heron series. If I had to say why I'm enjoying these romances so much, it would be because the writing is good, the characters have a lot going on in their lives and the dialogue is believable. Or maybe I was just ready for some light reading. 

Family Ties

Between trips to the ER, the OR and PT, November and the last half of October have passed without much else to distinguish their days. (With the exception of all the November birthdays and anniversaries which were acknowledged by phone and mail.) But Thanksgiving at Preston and Shalea's on Thursday and a visit from Katrina, Rodney and Brynley Saturday afternoon helped make up for those lost days.

Ahh, family ties, family time, can anything be any better? 

I hadn't seen our youngest great-grandson since April when he was two months old.

And now, Louis is nine months old. I was especially happy to see him again. 

And get this great photo of him and his grandpa Preston. 

Ayden and Greyson keep getting bigger and older but they are still just as loving toward their great-grandparents as always. 

And they seem to like playing with their little cousin.

The younger ones got their plates first.

The little one on the left is Oakley, the son of Devin's fiancé, Jessica. 

Louis had already had sweet potatoes at the table, but he was ready for nap time after lunch. 

Travis' eyes were on his son, but Louis' were on the camera. 

Louis isn't walking on his own - yet - but it won't be long.

Aunt Dominique was taking him for a spin.

Another favorite picture - Louis with Grandpa Preston and Grandma Shalea.

I hope it's not another seven months before I see him again, but that is a possibility. 

Saturday afternoon our youngest great-granddaughter, Brynley, her brother Rodney and mom Katrina came to see us.

Again, there's nothing like being around the little ones.

Brynley painted a picture for me and then colored this one Great-grandpa Bud drew. 

I didn't get a very good picture of Rodney. He was preparing to lift Brynley by her ankles. She had been teasing him about his girlfriend.

She may only be four, but she already knows how to get to her big brother. 

Family ties. 😍

Books I Read In October

Only seven books read this month, maybe a couple trips to the hospital (one unplanned, one planned) interrupted my reading schedule?

Life's a Beach by Claire Cook is a book I don't even know why I picked up - possibly because all my other choices were larger and I wanted a smaller bedside book for nighttime reading.

Echo Park is the next in Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series that I'm reading my way through.

The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny is # 17 in her Chief Inspector Gamache series. These books are always good and I'm always waiting for the next one to come out.

Sunflower Sisters by Martha Hall Kelly is #3 in her Lilac Girls series, though the first of her books I've read. I picked it up because the subject matter was The Civil War. 

The Overlook and Nine Dragons are the next two books in Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series.

Ocean Prey is the latest (#31) in John Sandford's Lucas Davenport series. This one crosses over with one of his other characters, Virgil Flowers. This is another series where I'm always waiting for the next book.

Perhaps November will be a busier reading month. I still have two and a half books left over from the last trip to the library and they are due Friday. Somehow I don't think I'll have them read by then.

Scary Halloween Stories

 

By now your Jack O' Lanterns have all been carved, or painted, and set on the front steps. Depending upon whether your town trick or treats on Beggar's Night or Halloween night, your kiddies are in their costumes and all ready to go trick or treating. Or if the kids are grown and gone, you're waiting to hand out treats.

At least the weather is cooperating this year and it looks like both nights are going to be pleasant for the little ones and adults alike. 

I've shared my Halloween memories in serveral blog posts over the years, but I haven't written about my memory of hearing my first Halloween story. I had to have been in third grade or beyond because Mrs. Kimball was my teacher. She had a practice of reading aloud to her students each Friday afternoon and once in awhile on other special occasions - like a holiday.

Was I aware of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow before she read it to us? Possibly, but with her ability to read a story that pulled you right into it, I never forgot the story after hearing her read it to us.

I don't remember what book she read from, but she always read the title and the name of the author.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving.

Ichabod Crane was the lanky, superstitious school teacher who had his heart set on winning the hand of Katrina Van Tassel. But she was also being wooed by the local town troublemaker Abraham "Brom Bones" Van Brunt. 

To me the scariest part of the story was when Ichabod started crossing the bridge and realized the Headless Horseman was behind him. Legend was that if he made it to the end of the bridge before the Headless Horseman caught him, he would be safe. 

I don't remember that hearing the story caused me any worries or nightmares, though I might have paused before crossing the bridge on the way home from school. I understood that it was a legendary tale written by one of our country's best known essayists and short story writers. 

It was a classic gothic story perfect for Halloween.

How Appropriate - October is National Physical Therapy Month

 

I didn't realize until a couple days ago that October is National Physical Therapy Month. How appropriate since today marks my first full week of physical therapy for my total hip replacement.

I had my first session one week ago today and have had three sessions this week. My therapist says I am doing great and I feel that I am doing very well. As my ortho doc said: "A hip is much easier than a knee replacement."

Surgery was on the 19th and I went home the next day.

Even though I have a 'fancy' walker I bought at a garage sale several years ago, I again borrowed a regular walker from the Eagles Club. 

Today was the first day I took the 'Porsche' to therapy. I'm glad I did! My therapist had me walking all over the hospital corridors. Much easier with the four wheel model.

Yesterday morning I exchanged the walker for a grocery cart and shopped my way through Hy-Vee. It really felt good to be out doing something as mundane as grocery shopping. 

My picture taking has suffered a bit due to the surgery and its aftermath.

Clouds dancing down the sun was shot the night before surgery. (Monday night.) 

The nearing full moon of October was taken the morning of surgery - about a half hour before we had to be at the surgical center.

It was very foggy Friday morning, the 22nd. just before leaving for my first physical therapy session.

Coming home from PT Tuesday, the 26th, Bud drove me past Summit Lake where I got a photo of all the water going over the spillway.

We had 3.25" of rain on Sunday, the 24th and another 2.45" Wednesday through Thursday this week. 

Closer to home, I took this photo of the neighbor's tree Wednesday morning.

And this picture of my miniature yellow rose this morning. It is just blooming its little heart out. 

There are still several buds on it. I hope a freeze holds off for awhile.

I thought it was interesting that one of the old blooms has turned pink. 

I'm hoping for continued improvement with my new hip and some of those lovely late fall days in November so I can get back out on some trails, enjoying the outdoors and nature before winter really sets in.

Monday afternoon I see my ortho surgeon for my post op check up. We'll see what he thinks about any late fall hikes.

October Outings 1) For Family, 2) For Nature

 

Granddaughter Deise and her significant other, Zach, were in Winterset for the Covered Bridges Festival the weekend of the 9th and 10th, so we drove up to see them.

I hadn't seen Zachary since I met him at Kathryn & Travis' wedding two and a half years ago.

I'm not sure, but it may be that long since I've seen Deise. They live near Davenport.

It isn't that my 'birthday present' granddaughter has gotten taller, it's that I continue to shrink.

We did our obligatory 'sticking our tongues out' photo, but I'm not sharing it this time. 😜

It was just a short visit, but very nice to see the kids and my son and daughter-in-law. (As well as their recently renovated and newly sided house.)

Deise is a Dental Hygienist now and Zachary is a police officer.

The nature outing last Tuesday was to Lake Anita State Park in Cass County. I can't even remember the last time I was there. I think, as with many of the state and county parks, there have been many improvements.

I said that even though the weather was perfect, it was a 'fowl' (not foul) day.

There were two wild turkeys on the park ranger's lawn when we drove in, but this pod of pelicans was the first that I took photos of. Many photos - I was so happy to see them.

Next were the three swans wa-ay across the lake. Even with my zoom lens I didn't get a good shot of them. 

Then they flew away. Darn.

More fowl. Seagulls don't quite measure up to swans and pelicans, but I still enjoy seeing them. They aren't as numerous around here as on the coasts or great lakes so they are kind of special.

A bit of bright blue caught my eye - some chicory still blooming near the water.

For as long as I've had my current camera, I was not aware of its macro setting until a few days after this outing. If I had known I might have gotten the dew sparkling on these grasses which is what I was trying for in this photo. Even looking at it close up the droplets hardly show. 😞

We were so excited when a heron flew up into this tree and we saw that another one was already there. I have never seen two together before. They are always alone in water and hardly ever in trees.

It wasn't until I got home and transferred my pictures to the computer that I realized there was another heron in the lower left.  Was this a pair and their little one?

I had seen photos online of all the different colors of water lilies and lotus blossoms at Lake Anita so I was on the lookout for them. Unfortunately we were too late for the mass blossomings.

But this photo of the pads still reminds me of a Claude Monet painting of water lilies. 

This picture is from the opposite of the lake from the first one of the pelicans and not only catches a couple of them in flight but also the color and extent of the big bluestem on the hillside.

And we found the swans. They were in a backwater of the lake foraging and feeding.

I have no idea what that swan on the left had just pulled up from the bottom. I assume there was something in there that it found appetizing. 

Crocodile amidst the lily pads?

Tail sticking out, head turned to its left. 

Or maybe it's just an old stump.

This limb sticking out of the water was so far out that at first it just looked like black dots. Zooming in showed these four Cormorants. 

More evidence of a fowl day. 

The last time I saw comorants was four years ago when there were two on Lake McKinley October 16, 2017.

Continuing with the fowl theme - Turkey Buzzards soaring in the blue October sky.

So in total: tukeys, pelicans, swans, herons, cormorants, seagulls, ravens and a couple of small birds too far away to identify.

 

On the road out we also saw a couple of deer that were too quick for my camera.

The trees didn't have much color yet, just a bit of yellow here.

The paved path at the bottom of the photo is the hiking/biking trail that runs through the park.

There was the sumac with most of its leaves turned a burgundy; pretty against the blue of the water and the green algae.

The brightest tree was this maple.

Followed by this small ornamental tree which looks like it is red because of all the tiny red berries covering it. 

I have no idea what kind of tree it is.

But the morning was a huge 'out in nature' success.

We are referring to it as my pre-surgery outing. (One week before hip replacement.)

One last photo because my youngest wanted an updated picture with his mom when we were there the 9th.

He's been losing weight and it shows. I'm happy for him and proud of his success so far. 

I think we only have one grandson and one great-grandson that we haven't seen yet post-covid isolation. 

And, of course our west coast daughter and husband and east coast son and significant other. Hopefully in 2022. Maybe by then things really will be back to normal.