Summer Listening

I continue to search for, borrow, and purchase more books than I will ever have time to read. I suppose if reading is all I did, I'd finish them all. But that isn't going to happen. 

Reading is just such a wonderful pastime, isn't it?  I much prefer actual hard copy reading to audio or even Kindle, but sometimes audio books make sense.  On road trips, my favorite way to 'read' a book is to listen to it.

For our last road trip, I picked out three audio books and, after giving the other two a chance, my husband and I quickly narrowed it down to one. Louise Penny's The Long Way Home was the choice. I've actually read one other Inspector Gamache mystery (the first one) but because this particular audio book  (the 14th one in the series) was available at the library when I needed to grab a few books, it became the next Louise Penny book to read. Some would say I should be reading all the Inspector Gamache mysteries in order, but I'm not sure this was necessary in order to enjoy the book. Truth be told, we found the story a tad slow, although mostly intriguing. The narrator spoke very slowly, so it felt like we would never get through the book. In fact, we didn't! I had to return it before we actually finished it. We did lose interest in listening to audio once we returned home. Last week I picked up the hard copy for my hubby to quickly read, and he related the details to me, so we finally found out what happened to Peter Morrow! I can sleep peacefully once more ;)

For my next road trip, I've picked two books I can't wait to start. This time I'm heading out with my sister to Alberta, and we'll be spending a good 20 hours in the car, there and back, so I've chosen Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy and Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult. I loved Anne of Green Gables, so I'm really anticipating Marilla. And who doesn't enjoy a Jodi Picoult novel? We know it's going to start some good conversation!



Have you enjoyed any great audio books lately?

It's Thursday

"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"
"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"
"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet. 
Pooh nodded thoughtfully. "It's the same thing," he said." 

A.A. Milne

Yes, sometimes the most exciting thing about the week is the food! It's been one of those quiet, nose-to-the-grindstone weeks. Sometimes the days are predictable and  blur into each other, and sometimes there are little surprises along the way. I have seen more deer in our neighbourhood than ever before. They are not intimidated by people at all.

Out the back window. Helping itself to leaves and green tomatoes in my garden.

 The reason it's been so quiet is this:

and this:

going...

...going...

Gone!

Two of my young adult children have made big moves this month. One has left to explore the far reaches of the earth (that's the way I see it, anyway) in S.E. Asia and the other has packed up and moved to another province - new adventures for both! (all good things). 

But, yes, the house has been quite quiet lately. 

Good thing I have my little companion Enzo to keep me company throughout the day!

Going Away

When I go away for a few days or a week or two, it's usually to a place not that far from home. I have not travelled far in my fifty plus years. The furthest I've ever gone is to Hawaii.

My out of country experiences are limited to Mexico and the USA (Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii, and Arizona). That's it.

In my dreams, I would love to travel more, but I am not what you would call an adventurous person. I would need to feel secure or at least travel with confident (and patient) persons. I am not a 'WANDER WOMAN' by any stretch. I do love to see new sights, though, so in the right scenario, world travelling would be a blast.

I do love road trips. You never know what you might see or discover!

My latest excursion lasted 4 days and it was BLISS. A long weekend away to a remote, rustic cabin with three other women, two of them my dear sisters and one 'sister at heart'.  There is something about leaving home and doing something completely different. In this case, it was somewhere I had never been before, about 5 hours away. It was relaxing, scenic, quiet, and satisfying in so many ways. The biggest challenge was driving along a rutted, puddled, remote dirt road to our destination. I wasn't looking for more adventure than that!

Contrast that with my twenty-something daughter's preferred adventures and you might wonder if she and I are truly related?

Last Spring (for four months), she solo travelled S. America. Yeah. I am in awe of her determination to do what it takes to have her adventures. Yikes. In a few weeks, she leaves for SE Asia. In the planning stages now, but her ticket to fly out has been purchased! Oh the places she goes! Follow her travels here. 

Do you go away from home regularly? Would you rather travel the world or stay close to home, if you had the option? Would you prefer to solo travel, travel with a friend,  or join a tourist group? What destination is on your bucket list?