Happy (and Haunted) Halloween, Mrs. B.

So, last week, I was in Long Beach and I found this guy:

And a wonderful, haunted old cruise ship:

Of course, there's nothing like coming home to my spooky little cat:

And my own haunted house:

I'm going to read some of my favorite frightener books today and just hope for fewer tricks than treats. 

Happy Halloween, Mrs. B 

(and to all of the Halloween Babies out there, Happy Birthday)!

Pride, Prejudice, and my Passion for Austen

Okay, perhaps not so surprising, but I have a deep and abiding love for the works (and derivative works) of Jane Austen. She has so many great characters, but Elizabeth Bennett is one of my favorites.

So, of course when I found out about this, I watched every episode I could:



(Beware, Mrs. B. These are ridiculously habit forming)

Adventures of Normandillo: July, Part 1

Hello Mrs. B.,

Normand reminded me I'm still very behind in telling you about his adventures this summer.

In July, Normand joined my SO and I on a trip northward to visit my family for the 4th of July. Immediately, Normand found the best seat possible.

As we found out, he isn't just an armadillo, he's a navidillo and he insisted on charting our course from the cushy seat of the Garmin's pillow. .

He seemed really excited to go that far north -- within sight of the Canadian border -- as he'd never been. Apparently, he thought there would be snow. He was disappointed, but only briefly. There were too many friends to make, things to see, and exciting things for him to do.

He spent several lovely evenings along Lake Champlain.

Point Au Fer, New York, Lake Champlain

Cumberland Head, New York, Lake Champlain

 With ducks,

Normand with Bill the Duck

New Friend!

 Having drinks,

It's a big glass for a small armadillo.

A tea party

He even saw a small seamonster:

Not Champy. Actually, I think it was a baby otter...

It being the 4th, he got to see how a small town does Independence Day. 

Parades:

Parties:

and Fireworks:

But even with all of this, Normand was still up for more, so he came with us to the Finger Lakes....

To be continued....

Not a Quitter, but....

So, I've been working on this one "old" book for a bit now, with the hopes of continuing the trend of "this was part of the box of books I don't know whether to keep or not," I think this one will be a "not."

I'm not sure why I'm not getting into it. It had a lot of things going for it. It's about mythology (one I'm not familiar with, but hey, I love a good archeological story!), it's set in DC and I love books set in places I've been, and it's a romance. Seriously, this should have been a whole lot of fun.

And yet....

I'm just not ...

Honestly, I don't remember whether or not I finished it before either.

So, on to a new book. I've already read about half of it this weekend. I'll report back next week, but I really liked the one the author wrote before this one so, already a lot of win.

More later.

Have a great night,
-OA

Transformations: What a Girl Can Do When She Goes Out of Her Comfort-Zone

Hi Mrs. B.,

I just finished reading an excellent book which actually put me in mind of another excellent book. The point of both was the idea of transformation. That how we see ourselves and how others see us can be changed without us even realizing it's happening.