kairilily says

Hi there! I got a book swap chain letter in the mail from one of my FrugalReader friends and I wanted to ask you if you were interested. Basically, you send a book that you've read, any kind, to the person whose name and address is on the letter. Then you send a copy of the letter to six people that you think will participate but with my address on the back (the ones your friends send out will have your address on the back). If it works like it's supposed to, you should end up with 36 books. All you have to do is ship out one book. I figured it would be best to ask my friends if they were interested so I wouldn't send out letters to people that weren't. Let me know so I can either send you a letter or find someone else. Thanks!

posted 5 hours ago. ( send a note )

avidreader says

Hi there Ms Reading OverAchiever! Did you manage to finish The Assassin's Apprentice? Um, I have a confession to make, I read your note and immediately went out and bought it to read myself :-) You'll turn me into a fantasy fan yet.

my cold is lingering, but nowhere near what it was like earlier this week. My main problem now is that my ears are plugged...plus it's ragweed season and it's bad this year so my allergies are acting up too!

Sounds like you've been on a book buying spree. I hope you like Mistress of the Art of Death, cause I'd feel bad recommending something you didn't like. I just ordered MM Kaye's Trade Wind and Shadow of the Moon - they both sound like me kind of reads.

Have you started to the Hughes book yet? I'm about half-way through, and I don't think I like it :-( I can't figure out where the author is going with the story. The blurb on the back cover makes the book seem like it is supposed to be a thriller or something, but I'm not feeling it so far. I'll keep reading though and hopefully it will get better. I wonder what Rob thinks of it?

I've started When Christ and His Saints Slept and love it so far!

Melissa
PS - We had a great time at the petting zoo! Regan was very impressed with the pig :-)

posted 17 hours ago. ( send a note )

booklady says

Good morning, Alicia!

I've missed writing to you for several days. Bad me! We finalized all the stuff for the new kitchen counters yesterday. But it will probably be about a month before all the work is done. I can hardly wait! We went with the granite instead of laminate. Clark didn't say a word about how expensive it was--frankly I would have agreed to anything so I could get rid of the ugly, ugly beige formica that's there now. I can't imagine why someone would choose that color, but then again, I can't imagine why someone would have pink window treatments in every window in the house! I'm being very unkind today, aren't I? ;)

I'm still not able to get into my boxes of books! While I was out, Greg and RJ stacked them 3 boxes high and then put the boxes with the Barbie dolls on top of them. I'd like to have a word with them, but I'll hold my tongue since they did do so much great work for us. RJ is going to Paris Island this weekend to begin his Marine training. He was supposed to go earlier, but that got cancelled because of Hannah. Now I wonder if that will be changed too, again because of Hannah. All they are allowed to take with them to Paris Island is the clothes on their backs and an address book. Can you imagine all these young men w/o their cell phones?! Greg and Robin are going to miss him so much, especially Greg I think because they got so close while RJ was living there.

Don't feel too sorry for me about my books. I do have all the books I bought while we were in the BFT in piles in the sewing room. So at least I have something to look at and go through. Clark finally has everything he says he needs to build the bookshelves. I just wish he'd get to it--I see no real need for him to do anything else, do you?! Sleep is highly over-rated! But every day I sit here and look at all the boxes of books that I can't get to--it's not good for a person!

How did your party go? Did you finish painting the foyer? Did you redo the flower beds? You are so ambitious, you make me tired just reading about it! I feel like I accomplished something if I just unpack one box!

posted yesterday. ( send a note )

dragonfly says

Finally, the swelling is almost gone and I’m not as red. I’m taking some antibiotics, just a week’s worth and that should be it. I’m a little sore but I hope it’s all gone by the weekend…just in time for Hanna…oh joy.

I never wear bug spray either, mainly because when I go inside for a break or for some water, the cats rub all over me and I’m afraid of them getting into it. Wow, did you see what bit you? Sounds like you annoyed someone! I always have bumps and scratches…you should see me after I work in my roses…bloody scratches all over my arms and legs…

Aren’t the hummingbird moths great? They aren’t b*tchy like the hummingbirds! I haven’t seen our hummingbirds today…I know it’s close to their time to leave…maybe they sense the storm(s) out there and are preparing to leave.

My mom feels the same about Robin Hobb and yes, I keep wanting to type Robin Hood! I believe my mom read the first 3 Assassin books, then the 3 Liveship Traders books, then the 3 Fool books…the Fool books are a continuation of sorts of the Assassin trilogy. My mom is not happy with Hobb’s latest series…I think it is something like the Soldier Son Trilogy…it’s not related to her other series. Carol Berg was good. You’ll probably like her but the flashbacks are a little much at times. I’m hoping the second book won’t have any or not as many flashbacks.

The book I’m reading now is really, really good…In the Woods by Tana French. Kind of an Irish police procedural…it’s told in first person which is unusual for police procedurals...the main characters are great.

Yeah, I’m sure rob is overwhelmed with excitement at the thought of gardening camp!! LOL

posted yesterday. ( send a note )

rob says

you have a new assignment, should you choose to accept it...we're unmercifully nagging melissa to make sure she reads the first two in the Penman trilogy before November so she can join us on our read...this is a take-no-prisoners strategy...

(glances down and grins smugly) you know...I didnt get a single, solitary insect bite this summer...

...I wonder why that is...

(scampers off chortling evilly...)

posted 3 days ago. ( send a note )

dragonfly says

Btw...can you take a wild guess where on the back of my leg the bite was...up...up...up...oh, three inches down! It wasn't quite on my bum, but close. Just what I need...a butt enlargement!

LOL!

posted 3 days ago. ( send a note )

dragonfly says

Why can't we have an edit button?! Among the many typos, make that "bite/sting" not "bite/stung!"

I even copied and pasted my note from Word...ugh.

posted 3 days ago. ( send a note )

dragonfly says

I just got back from the doctor…I swelled up even more Sunday afternoon and had to take Benadryl. I woke up with a horrible stiff neck that is just going away today. Apparently, that’s part of an allergic reaction to an insect bite or sting. We had a little family get together and a couple of my family members looked at my bite/stung and told me to see the doctor…they were convinced it was Lyme Disease! Apparently a giant red rash that resembles a bull’s eye is the tell-tale sign…I had a huge red splotch and a lot of swelling but it wasn’t a rash nor was it a bull’s eye. Of course, as soon I got home, I Googled Lyme Disease and surmised that it wasn’t what I had. The doctor agreed…said you have to have the tick on you for 24 hours…I saw nothing and felt nothing…he agrees with my mother that was probably a spider. It was weird. I was happily working along and I just started to itch like crazy…never felt anything bite or sting me. Within an hour, the spot was the size of my hand. Monday, when I went to wash the pants I was wearing, I found a yellow stain near the bite spot. Then, I found a dead bumble bee in the garden…it’s stinger was missing…but I’m sure I would have felt it if a bee had stung me…it’s a mystery…I have to pick up some antibiotics tomorrow just to be on the safe side. Fun times. Fire ants…grr…had them crawl over my foot and ankle a few years ago…I finally got the garden hose and tried to drown them! Gardening can be dangerous, that’s for sure!

My mom is crazy about Robin Hobb, well, except for her latest series…she said it wasn’t nearly as good as the Assassin books or the Liveship Traders series, both of which are set in the same world. The Carol Berg book, Son of Avanor, was good but there was an awful lot of flashbacks that really got on my nerves a bit…she is a good writer and I liked her characters and the story, but she could have spent less time going backward and more time going forward. There are four in that series.

The hummingbird moths are really cool…they love the petunias on the back porch and you can stand right next to them and they don’t care one bit. Those hummingbirds are insane…we have one guarding the feeder and he (it has to be a male!) chases the others away if they dare come near the feeder. They’re nuts!

I’m reading In the Woods by Tana French now…needed to feed my mystery craving…so far, so good

posted 3 days ago. ( send a note )

kibbles says

Alicia!!! *hugs* It was the best summer...EVER!!!! And no, I'm not ready to face the little devils, but a girl has to earn an honest paycheck, right?

Which bulbs did you order? *envious* Never heard of a bulb popper, but it sounds interesting! When we plant bulbs, we dig up an area to a certain depth and just broadcast the bulbs out as if they were seeds. That way, they're in a random pattern and look somewhat natural. Then we check each bulb to make certain they're right-side up and then cover them with soil. I can't imagine digging a hole for each one!!! You must have the patience of Job! :D

I need to find an area to prepare a new bed for my soon-to-be-transplanted irises. I can't decide on the right location and our yard isn't overly large! LOL

Hope you are well! I missed you over the summer. *hugs*

posted 4 days ago. ( send a note )

rob says

(grins) very good! you guessed the right holiday...but it's not right on Halloween, it's the 30th...Mischief Night...fitting, yes?

lol, Lauren was the one who took me trick-or-treating...she dragged me all over the damn town til I could ahrdly walk, and she's the one who usually had fun dressing me up...they had long since outgrew it by the time I started going out, but they lived it vicarously through me...my dad was the o