A decade

It is hard to believe it has been ten years.

And we still love each other!!! 

Ten years. Two kids. A house in the burbs.  A minivan. An aging blazer and an aging cat.

I can't remember being selfish, or a good night's sleep.

I appreciate date nights so much more.

My wants have simplified.

I love you Ken!

Different and refreshing

Another blend of present and past

It looks like a new author I am slowly reading their canon of...

I am surprised by how enjoyable I am finding these books. They are well written, I am enjoying the characters, and I like the blend between the past and the future. Kearsley's older books seem to blend the details differently than her current novels, and I like them both.

This winter it seems the perfect combination has been some YA, some mystery, and then some historical almost romance thrown in for good measure.  A good foil for an intense period of time at work!

This was a different side of WWII.  It is amazing how many different stories there are to be told. I didn't realize that the British intelligence hired Canadians because they were subjects of her Majesty! Nor that there was a Camp X in Ontario to assist in training such folk. I couldn't imagine not reading, and being able to learning new things.

What happens to book 2 in a series???

This was okay. I must admit, I nearly turned back when I realized that there were four books.. until I realized that the fourth book is a prequel.

I am not sure when I will finish this series. I am just catching up on some books, and I have to admit although entertaining, this book really didn't leave a big impression.  I read one review out there and it said that this was a great idea, stretched in to three books. I can see that after reading the first two.  I like them.. I just can't say that I am totally engaged and racing to the read the third book to see how it all ends.

Those are the breaks?

Just over six weeks in to 2016, and it is amazing how every semester start up really and truly is a blur of about for weeks, and then a slow recovery. I can't say that I have a lot of answers on how to make it easier. For me, so much depends on what happens with my coworkers, and it seems, who is off at any given time so I have to absorb their work. It seems my kids don't know how to walk up stairs, or how to brush their teeth at night, or finish their nightly ablutions without supervision. I think it was Superbowl Sunday.. but we warned the kids about being wankers on the stairs... and it ended up C sliding down the stairs in to B's leg and causing some pain. Speed forward about 10 days... and the pain the leg wasn't going away, and it was more than just high muscle tone from a growth spurt. I decided it was time to see our physio and get her opinion.. and well, she sent us in the get it checked. I think I knew at that point.. but the second opinion helped. Several hours at the hospital later, and B has a fracture in his fibula and a half cast that he will need to wear for a few weeks. I can't quite say I feel guilty - I don't think I would have done anything differently. I guess after so many falls, this wasn't quite how I expected a break to happen - I guess this falls under the "preventable" category and how as a mom.. you feel like a nag, especially about the same things all the time (don't fight on the stairs, eat your breakfast, put on your shoes..." These are the rhythms of life right now. So... We now have crutches, and can retire the Yoda Stick. For now. I am sorting out my response, and well, life moves on. As they say, them are the breaks. On a different note, I had hoped to make myself some green socks before St. Patrick's Day.. and they are done! Next up, a pair for my coz. I am looking forward to getting away in March. I can't believe our 10th anniversary is coming up. I am hoping we can hit a beach or somewhere and take some family photos with our wedding dud's on ... 10 years, white hairs, and two kids later!!!

Running to the edge...

I will admit it, I wasn't sure. One of my favourite librarians recommended it.. and well... she was right.  We are trading titles right now, and keeping the pages turning. This is set somewhere in the future, after the Earth has been badly damaged, and it appears that highly gifted teenagers are  put through a series of nearly impossible tests to seek out desirable traits and resilience that is perceived to be needed to help humanity continue and likely rebuild civilization in a new manner.  Of course, you don't know who to trust outside of the "gladers" and once things start to happen, the known world starts to unravel pretty quickly. A version of a bunch of folks in a stopped elevator - who crumbles, what traits are desirable, who can work together, and who comes out as a leader.

Not really what I expected, and it is quite good.  Strange how it seems so much YA stuff is about growing up, and having to change the world since the previous order has been toppled or has failed.  This is a pretty quick read, and I finished my stack of books and I am waiting for more to come in.  So, on to book two in this series I will go.

Tried and true.

I like Connelly's writing and I have missed his character, Harry Bosch.  I have been reading these on and off now for years... and they are great.  Well crafted, well plotted, and I care about the characters.  It seems like I have been on a bit of a mystery kick lately - I am not sure if it is the time of the year (seems to me I read more of these at this time of the year than other times) or just what happens to have come up from my hold list, but this was a deeply satisfying book.  When I turned the last page.. it made me really hope and want to search out interviews to make sure that there will be more Bosch to come.  Dammit all for making our favourite characters properly age and mature through their books.

Now on to something completely different. I figure I have read so many of those angst filled YA series (Hunger Games, The Dark Materials, Twilight, Divergent, etc) it is time to crack and read the Maze Runner. January felt like a long month. It is hard to believe we are in to February now. We have been pretty lucky with such a mild winter. That being said, when we have a break in the rain, I love getting outdoors.

Lovely.

I really didn't think I have had that much time to read since Christmas... but apparently the days are warped - moving slow and fast all at the same time.

This was a lovely book.  I really enjoy Kearsley's writing, especially when I need more or less a historical feeling novel.  They are well written, and the stories grasp you.  For me, a blend of history and modern day that works.  I think I liked how things evolved better in the Winter Sea and the Firebird (or the convention), but this was a satisfying read.  It felt like the kind of book you want to read by the fire, with a cup of tea on a Sunday morning.

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...