Good post Christmas type reading...

It seems to me that this is the time of year I like to read these kind of books.  It could be that this coincides with both a semester start up (four weeks pass by in a blur) and it is also post-Christmas and my mind is apparently full.

This is almost a typical addition to this series, except that it seems that Reacher is making a connection with a woman, that appears that it will extend beyond one novel, or in flashbacks.  This adds an interesting layer to the paradoxical drifter that dispenses rough justice as he weaves his way across America.

The story kept you guessing, and was truly fast-paced. I think I started to wane about 75% of the way through, and then it picked up again.  Some decent dialogue with Reacher and Chang, and zipping across the country.  The journalist could have been a little more fleshed out, however, in this story, I think the underlying story is the fact that Reacher is making a deeper human connection that may make him pause in a place longer than a week.

I have no idea what I expected, and in that, this one delivered

This is a book I enjoyed, and I would recommend with a word of caution I think.  It is totally different.  Like nothing I have ever read before... much like the first time you read one of Neil Gaiman's books, or even Tom Robbins... your perception of reality needs to shift by a few degrees to wrap your mind around what you are being presented with.

Especially after the Promise, I enjoyed this book.  This is an intelligent read that pushes a few boundaries.  Before reading it, I would like go read a few reviews and how folks respond to see whether or not it would be your cup of tea.  Some moments are brutal, it isn't for the faint hearted, and yet it does present a character arc that makes sense, and a satisfying resolution.

Worth taking a risk on.

Not quite up to expectations..

I seem to have found myself on a mystery kick again.

I have been waiting for this one for a while from the library (because I could) and looked forward to reading it for it's entertainment value.  Post Christmas, who needs to use my brain?

It was okay. It almost felt like this has been done before, with more heart, from this author.  Maybe I was in a "mood"... I normally like the banter between Pike and Cole... but this time it just wasn't working for me. It felt like this was trying to like a Jack Reacher kind of novel, but it missed for.

Decent, yes.  As good as earlier books in this series, not in my humble opinion.

Now this is the type of mystery that grabs and keeps my attention...

Books like this make me wonder how books like "girl on the train" or "the nightingale" get so popular and these ones are not quite so viral by not quite capturing the public opinion in the same way.  This was a far superior read.  I will admit to a bias, I enjoy Rankin's books.  I haven't read one for a while... and this one was true to form.

John Rebus is truly a character.  One I have enjoyed reading about, getting to know, learning about his Scotland. I must admit I stopped reading Rankin for a bit since Exit Music because I didn't really want to get to know a new character because I was being crotchety.  Serves me right.  Rankin is currently weaving a few of his main characters together, and it works.

This was a great crime mystery, and the plot worked.  Especially after reading the Stewart mystery.  Comparing the two... one feels like a fluffy beach read, and the other one feels like one you would read by the fireplace, tea beside you, enjoying the atmosphere. A fine start to the books I will dive in to this year.

And so a new year begins.

I think last night was the quietest NYE I can remember.  Somehow, it was truly suiting to how 2015 seemed to have evolved. This was a year of so many things.  Although I didn't do a polar bear swim, it feels like there is a symbolic break from one year to the next, and even the ritual of sitting down and crafting a few words on to this blog helps to mark the line that separates one year from the last.  I enjoy looking back, even if it is only once or twice a year to see where my head space was... and things evolved from there.

What were the moments that counted?  There were a few..

*Like B starting to play sledge hockey.  This was huge.
*C playing 3 on 3 hockey and seeing a change from what hockey 1 was and what hockey 2 could be
*Our time together at Beach Acres.  We love this place.
*The difference between kindergarten and grade 1
*The beaches along the Washington Coast line
*Seeing the whale at Salt Creek together
*Making fire and setting up a camp
*Becoming a manager at work
*Choosing a different path for my relationship with my mom - I appreciate the different awareness I have now, even if it really hurt
*Fort Langley Tour with V and G
*Watching the blood moon together
*Watching the meteor shower out at the lake
*Date night back in March
*How well the kids did in Science Alive
*Making socks
*The new adapted bike to borrow for B
*Everything working out to make both sledge hockey and riding happen for B
*Watching C dance
*Our Christmas tree - it is beautiful
*My dahlias survived and were beautiful
*parade and fireworks
*Star Wars, the force awakens.. they did it right
*Small acts of kindness that surprised me along the way
*My closest friends. I needed them in different ways this year and I needed to lean

I may have missed stuff.  So it goes.

There were many tough moments, and choices that were made along the way.  It wasn't easy watching the changes with my MIL, however, she is doing okay.  Not perfect, but holding her own. I am lucky for her, and for the weekends she spent with us. I am truly grateful for the time to know her differently and better that I would have otherwise.  Crazy stuff with my family.  Stuff I will never fully grasp or understand, and for much of that, it is a blessing.  Our cars aging, and not always gracefully.  I ripped another door handle off.  How does this happen more than once to a woman? Never seeming to have enough money and worrying about whether or not funds are going to clear, when they will appear, and what edges to cut. Wondering why holes appear so quickly in B's shoes and then realizing it has already been over a month since he got new ones...

Sometimes this seems like tempests in tea cups.. some days, I will admit to having felt so overwhelmed.

Other stuff, like the wind storm in the summer, and the earthquake a few days ago.

Watching Game of Thrones, Outlander, and Vikings, and all the knitting that happened as a result.

Reaching 50 books this year, with a few to spare.

KEEN helping us with purchase of B's shoes.  Amazing company to deal with.  Thoroughly recommend them.

Truly, by 2016 there are a few things I want.
-our finances to be better under control
-to have had another amazing trip to the Island for Easter
-to have camped at least 3 times this summer
-for the kids to have done Science Alive and at least one more week up at work this summer
-More hockey, more riding, swimming lessons for the boys
-to try stand up paddle boarding this year
-to actually lose that 10 pounds and see a number I haven't seen for a long time not the scale
-get some new fish for our tank
-see something new this year, or try something out we have never done before
-at least start the St Brigid sweater
-to enjoy SOTW and at least Billy Elliot
-to take our family to some kind of theatre event
-birthday parties for the boys
-Family holiday in November somewhere away from BC
-to see Bard on the Beach as a date night with K
-to read another 50 books by December 31
-make a phonebook (FINALLY) to start printing out and documenting some of the amazing pictures we take
-to do that plunge again next year... if the cards are right

I think more than anything else I want to keep my wits about me.  I think this can nicely sum it up.  See where this adventure leads and try not to have weeks or months where it seems like flies by and things are no longer so organized.

Rumbling....

Earthquake!

After all the years of living here and having trains shake our house... we had an earthquake last night about 11:40... So much for an almost early night after watching a few Vikings episodes...  (more knitting and watching a season of TV in the span of a week.. at  least there are only 10 episodes per season!!).

I was reading my book, and all of a sudden, everything shook in our room, and then stopped.  Everyone slept through it until I woke up poor K.. .a couple of neighbours came out... so I knew I wasn't nuts... rushed back in and you could see on the internet everyone's reactions.

A bit of a thrill!

Weird, especially given a few weeks ago, Ken talked in his sleep.. his only word.. Earthquake.  Very coincidental.

I guess 2015 shook a few things up - there is a bit of symbolism that could be read there.

Old school style suspenseful romance

This felt a bit like an Agatha Christie - a novel that harkens from a different time.  Perhaps a little simpler, little less over the top drama, and definitely for entertainment.

Who would want to read Shakespeare's Tempest and visit Corfu after reading a book like this?  It felt like I should be on my beach blanket, sun bathing, watching the kids and reading this book.

This is a decent suspense, sprinkled with a bit of romance.  It feels a bit far fetched, however it is well crafted ... maybe a little like a modern day Janet Evankovitch?

I don't really think that I am going to wax poetic about this read.

One foot in front of the other...

We watched Santa Clause is Comin to Town tonight... really and truly a Christmas classic that totally stands the test of time.  When I hear this song, I think of Brandon learning how to walk.  I also think about Change.  I think about making the decision to change, and how it really truly begins with a simple step.  Like many things in life, change is practise. It gets easier with practise, much like this whole business in the living of life. 

Put One Foot in Front of the Other 

Jules Bass and Maury Laws, 1970
[Speech]
Winter: I really am a mean and despicable creature at heart, you know. It's so difficult to... [sighs] really change.
Kris: Difficult? [chuckles] Why, why look here. Changing from bad to good's as easy as...taking your first step.

[Chorus]
Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you'll be walking 'cross the floor.
You put one foot in front of the other
And soon you'll be walking out the door.

You never will get where you're going
If ya never get up on your feet.
Come on, there's a good tail wind blowin'
A fast walking man is hard to beat.

[Chorus]

If you want to change your direction,
If your time of life is at hand,
Well, don't be the rule, be the exception
A good way to start is to stand.

[Chorus]

Winter: If I want to change the reflection
I see in the mirror each morn...
Kris: Oh, you do.
Winter: You mean that it's just my election?
Kris: Just that.
Winter: To vote for a chance to be reborn? Woo-hoo!

[slowly]
You put one foot in front of the other, and
Soon you are walking
'Cross the floor
You put one foot in front of the other, and
[a tempo]
Soon you are walking out the door

Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you are walking 'cross the floor
Put one foot in front of the other
And soon...
You'll be walking...
Out the door!

Exceeded reading goal for 2015

#51!!! With almost two weeks to go!!

This was a solid, good book and reminded me of the books I used to read when I was younger (historical romances).  Granted, it was far better written than most of what I used to read.

I can see a familiar pattern after reading a few books, however, Kearsley delivers a satisfying read that gives you a hint of romance with historical details.  I like how a bit of earth magic is woven in to weave together the past and the present.  It seems to match my overall impression that life is not always what it seems to be and that there can be unexplained connections between people.

I want to travel to Scotland and Ireland again.  It may take a long time, but it is a place I would like to return to.  I enjoy reading books about the ancient spaces of both countries, and including England.  I do feel a connection to coastal areas, including our own. I think the one thing I could say about Kearsley's books is that sometimes the historical storyline dominates the overall stories, and I would almost like more of the  modern thread than what is given. Both stories pull me along and one seems to get less attention than the other.

My Christmas Boys - 2015

My Christmas Boys 2014

My Christmas Boys 2013 

Ten days before Christmas, and where is the spirit?

This whole year has been different. Some amazing highs and lows, and I think, lots of personal growth.  I have learned a few things this year, whether or not I wanted to, both personally and professionally. I truly look forward to a new year, and kick starting a new cycle.  I have been teasing the kids about doing a polar bear swim again this year... it seems fitting to wash away the old symbolically and starting out a new year.

It is hard to believe that Christmas is in 10 days.  I think I will even have Christmas Eve off and I will have an 11 day break from work. In this moment, that is  more exciting than the big event. I am hopeful to get off some Christmas cards in the next few days.  I want to print out the kids school pictures. I need to make a list of what we need to pick up, and we need to get the tree up.  I would really like to get some baking done, and maybe have the kids make a few crafts on Christmas Eve. We aren't doing as many gifts this year, and it feels right.  I would like to move more towards experiences we can do for each other for me and my DH, and even as a family.  The kids have lots.  It is a strange year shopping for them because they have a lot of toys. We are shifting in to more lego, more books, and video games.

I am not cooking either Christmas dinner this year - it feels strange, and liberating all at the same time.  I enjoy the craziness, but it is truly intense.  The last few years with work, and wrapping, and baking, and then the cleaning, and then two big dinners, and then fall down flat on my face.  Should make it a calmer year for all of us, and maybe even less expensive too! Typically, I can't wait for our tax return to get caught up on a few expenses... LOL

I think I will make a special meal for us for Christmas Eve. Then roll with it. Feels like a bit of a reboot.  We will also need to see Star Wars. Who knows what else we will get up to, but it seems to be coming mighty quickly. In this  moment, it feels like I have a bunch of stuff I would like to do, and the stuff I should be doing (like making cookies for the kids Christmas parties)... and I feel the urge to make some lists coming on...

Far more interesting than zombies...

The year of reading differently continues.  This was another one that the fabulous Jen recommended an eon ago.  Another great read. The premise behind this novel is definitely unsettling. So what happens if robots are completely integrated in to human lives, and artificial intelligence gets smart, and decides that humans need to go?  This is a teaser of what this novel is about.

It is smart, it is told through a series of vignettes by a group of characters over the span of about three years.  Event leading up to a war between humans and robots, and the events leading up to a climatic battle between the lead machine and surviving humans.  It is well told, and very provocative.  As a result of the structure, I wouldn't say that the book is most amazing literary novel I have ever read, however, it is a great book to read for the fact it isn't truly to be a lofty piece of literature and what it is... it is compelling, and it leaves you with a few different thoughts about AI and human spirit by the end of it all.

I think the more we can teach our kids to think on their own and not always need to be connected to an electronic device the better.  The flip side of that is that they will still need to know how to navigate through the machines...

Science Fiction meets a bit of the X-Files...

This has been a year of some great reads.  Also some truly unexpected reads as well.  I can't remember the last time that I read so much science fiction.. and frankly.. I am enjoying it!

After the last book, this was a breath of fresh air and I devoured it in four days tops.  How to tell when you are engaged with a book.

This was great.  Some really interesting characters, some unexpected twists, it goes a bit Lee Child towards the end, and then provides a strangely satisfying, almost X-files type ending.

I enjoyed it.  More so because it was a book I found purely because it was listed under recommendations for those that liked The Martian...

A great and terrible......

I am struggling to not be harsh and say "a waste of my time".  There are some moments of brilliance in this book.. but they were fleeting.  I really struggled with this one.  It is considered to be YA.. and this one felt like a YA novel.  Although it deals with fantasy/magical themes... it didn't capture my imagination and it was all I could do to finish it. Alas, this will not be a trilogy I complete.

Now my big decision is whether or not to read The Fold by Peter Clines or Robopocalyse by Daniel H Wilson.  Actually I think I will go Fold and then Robots... and that will be 50 books this year!! This will be an ongoing goal for me each year to hit the 50 book reading milestone.  It is achievable and rewarding.

I have already starting thinking what are realistic goals to set for 2016... the last few years the goals I have actually achieved or come close to ... well... that is a mighty slim list!

Great book. This is a movie I look forward to watching.

This one surprised me.

I loved it.  This was fun, just about the right length.  Just about technical enough.  The narrator is great.  He isn't perfect.  He isn't arrogant.  He has pity parties, and then movies on.

This is book about resilience,  hope, and how humanity will strive to help humanity.

I have read some great different genres this year.  I look forward to compiling my top five books for the year when we get closer to the end of December.  This was a book where it lived up to it's hype.  I will read more books by Weir as they come out.

That being said, I have waited a while to watch San Andreas.  Not as much of a waste of time as Spy... but truly, a disaster flick, with the layer of cheese spread out really thick. This was a movie that didn't live up to my expectations.

Blackfish .. worth seeing

I had never heard of this one.  Ken brought it to my attention and we grabbed it for the weekend.  We have two extremely different movies to watch... this one, and San Andreas tomorrow.  A movie I expect to be moved by, and hopefully one that will entertain us.

This is a powerful movie.

Truly, it is a privilege to be able to see whales, dolphins, sharks, rays, turtles in their natural environment.  I feel a bit shameful for my 11 or 12 year old self that would have seen Tilikum in 84 or 85 at the Sealand of the Pacific.  I can say with meaning - I didn't know any better and at the time, I was just so impressed to see the whales, I didn't what else to think. I went to Sea World in 91, and then again in 2001.  I remember going in 2001, and feeling somewhat uncomfortable with it.  My attitude was already changing by then, and how we saw the Orcas perform didn't sit well with either of us at the time.  Most people didn't question these things back then, and I think many still don't.

I appreciate what places like the Vancouver Aquarium strive to do, and the teaching and educational components of their business, as well as their outreach and rescue programs.

I remember being enthralled by my Jacques Cousteau book, and with a desire to be a marine biologist (until genetics convinced me that this was not my life calling). I am grateful to have my diver's ticket, and I have had some amazing experiences in nature.  It is on my bucket list to get to Stubb's Island on Vancouver Island and do one of their orca trips.  I don't need to see them in an unnatural environment where their lives are a shadow of what they could be.

Watch this.  Think some big thoughts.  Change some of your behaviour about entertainment and these amazingly sentient creatures.

Decent thriller...

For some reason, it is never truly easy starting a new series, and trying to figure out if you actually like the writing style, and the main characters.

As I may have mentioned in reviews, Gillian Flynn is a good writer, however, I think she has a pretty dim view of humanity overall. I will admit to my rose coloured glasses, and I guess I like my stories realistic, but my view of humanity is a little more hopeful. In a nutshell, I am happy to report that the writing combination of Nicci French is not nearly so dark.

Enter this novel - this is a solid, good read.  It took me a while to warm up to the main character, but as the plot started to thicken, I enjoyed it more.  I was a bit worried about how the ends would get tied up.  There are some  great twists, and the end is satisfying.  I would read more from this series.  Reminded me a little bit of the Alex Delaware novels by Johnathon Kellerman that I used to read eons ago because of the psychotherapist elements to the story.

Downside of being a working mom, volume #1

When your kids get sick, and are miserable, it sucks when you have to go to work.

We were lucky today that my DH had the day off, so he could stay home with our son.

It is hard hugging them when they are crying because they feel like crap, and you know you have to leave and you have rubbed them with Vicks vapour rub and applied all home treatments that you can but your magic wand is out of juice. You still have to go to work and you know they are in the best hands they can be. They frankly don't understand or care you have to go to that work place.  They don't have to care at their age, but it is a kind of hurt when you have to hug them, and love them, and put on your professional face and leave.

Leaving isn't easy.  We don't always talk about that, except in the sense of 'leaving' someone in a relationship.  What about all those little moments, every day when we are in an act of leaving? Those moments you drop them off at daycare, and their faces crumble.  Those moments they really just want to stay home, and you tell them they have to go to school, "it is good for them".  All the while knowing you would just love to play hookey as well and just have a fun day.

It is equally tough when you have very little vacation time to use to cover your kids' sick days, and then when they happen, the shuffle that has to take place, and the work you know that is waiting for you. Sometimes know you not being there is going to cause issues for your coworkers. It is nice to have vacation days for a vacation and not to cover daycare, sick days, and appointments.

It is a tricky balance - multiple responsibilities, being present both as a mom, and as an employee, then as a spouse, a friend, a daughter, a coworker.  Maybe even being present for ourselves.

Now this is a strange ramble.  Moments like this build character for all of us (in the rose coloured glasses sense of the world) and it makes me appreciate that sometimes the best thing that you can do is get off of the routine, no matter how important it is most of the time. It is also important when your kids are truly sick to not be at work (which we do, no questions ask when it is serious). This almost sounds like whining, but it is also the way it is. Sometimes it helps to acknowledge those moments, and then you ultimately move on.  Usually with a hug and kiss and you do the best you can.

When to let things go...

"You gotta know when to hold'em, know when to fold'em, know when to walk away, know when to run... " I love this song.  It reminds me of being a kid, and my folks liking country music, and I love that it is one of the few songs (outside of Christmas songs) that I know all the words to and was one of the few songs I sang to my kids as babies.

My mom and I went to the Little White Tea House in Fort Langley yesterday, and for the most part, it was lovely.  Maybe the conversation could have been easier at times, but the food was good, and it was good to spend time together, for the most part.  I also said the things I needed to say, and I also gained some really important insights along the way.  Hence the song.  I think we are in a better place as us, and I am in a better place for me.  I needed yesterday, even if I didn't think it would be as it was. Reflecting, I feel a few different emotions about it all, but mostly, just moving on.  It is high time, and I choose different.

The truth doesn't always set us free, but it does bring a release, and it hopefully can also bring awareness of what is our mess, and what is someone else's mess, and what is your responsibility to deal with.  I feel good about where I am at, what I have said, and where my family unit is at as well. It feels good being able to move forward, and I think this will be a turning point to mark things differently.  I know my head space is different, and if nothing else, that is the real gift.

This also comes around to other 'gifts'.  We are going to do Christmas gifts for the kids, and for us adults, gifts of time.  Movies, or fishing, or going to plays.  We have enough stuff, but it is the time you spend together that is truly a gift.  That or homemade things that are chosen and crafted with love.  A little more simple, and less extravagant, and way more flush with meaning.

Totally tubular!

I am on a mission to learn a new knitting trick.

This is where youtube rocks.

I am learning how to do a tubular cast on for a hat I want to make myself.  With the weather turning... I want a nice hat for me.  Then if the boys want a new hat - so be it.  Then maybe some socks, and some dishcloths again. I haven't knitted since I finished my last baby blanket... I think I am now starting to miss it again.  The hat is called "Columbia Gorge" and I found the pattern on www.whiletheyplaydesigns.com.

Maybe 2016 will be the year that I actually knit myself the St. Brigid sweater that I have been coveting for fifteen years. I think it will be an epic project that will likely take me at least a year to knit.. but I suspect that once done, this will be one that I will wear forever.  Literally.  I am still wearing the Irish sweater that I bought in Blarney in 1995... so I really don't rule this out.

I think I am distracting myself from learning this new task. I am blogging, cruising through sweater patterns, and patting the cat instead of learning how to do this cast on technique. The joys of teaching this old dog new tricks.