Thebookdiva's Book Nook 2014 (pg.6)

Well, the black and white photo theme is over! This is a pic I took a few years ago when my family went to Gettysburg. We were on a huge hill looking over part of the battlefield and Dan and Birdy were walking on top of these big rocks. I crept inside on of the rocks and saw this crevice. I couldn't not take a photo of it, and thanked my lucky stars that I had crawled into that rock. It's looking over the Devil's Den.

For people that have never been to my thread, my name is Abigail. I am 18 and this is my first year with the 75ers. I am really into art, photography, and baking. I mostly read YA, graphic novels, and fantasy, but I also read paranormal, historical fiction, poetry, and plays. I like to talk about the artwork in books and how books compare to their movies or tv shows when reviewing a book.

Books Completed This Year: 228

Audio: 7
Books: 221
New Authors: 28
New Series: 17
Books in a Series: 202
New Reads: 171

Currently Reading:

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor
Fairy Tail vol.40 by Hiro Mashima GN
A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
The Martian by Andy Weir
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
Sword Art Online Vol.1 GN

TIOLI CHALLENGES:

Challenge #14: Read a book where the author has only one A in his/her name.

Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong

Challenge #16: Read a book where the author's first and last names end with a vowel.

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

Challenge #7: Read a book with a uniform on the cover

The Martian by Andy Weir

Challenge #19: Read a book whose author is from a country that competed in the 2014 World Cup

A Passage to India by E.M. Forster

Read in May:

1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
2. Sound and Sense by Laurence Perrine
3. Star Wars (Dramatized) by George Lucas (Audiobook)
4. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.1 GN
5. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.2 GN
6. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.3 GN
7. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.4 GN
8. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.5 GN
9. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.6 GN
10. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.7 GN
11. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.8 GN
12. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.9 GN
13. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.10 GN
14. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.11 GN
15. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.12 GN
16. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.13 GN
17. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.14 GN
18. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.15 GN
19. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.16 GN
20. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.17 GN
21. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.18 GN
22. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.19 GN
23. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.20 GN
24. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.21 GN
25. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.22 GN
26. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.23 GN
27. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.24 GN
28. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.25 GN
29. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.26 GN
30. Watashi ni xx Shinasai! vol.27 GN
31. Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs
32. Library Wars vol.11 by Kiiro Yumi GN
33. Night Broken by Patricia Briggs

Read in June:
1. Naruto vol.1 by Masashi Kishimoto GN
2. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
3. The Captive Maiden by Melanie Dickerson
4. The Merchant's Daughter by Melanie Dickerson
5. Black Butler vol.1 by Yana Toboso GN
6. Fairytail. GN
7. Blue Boods by Melissa de la Cruz GN
8. The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
9. Enchanted by Alethea Kontis
10. The 13 Clocks by James Therber
11. Cemetery Girl Book One: The Pretenders by Charlaine Harris
12. Bloody Cross vol.1 by Shiwo Komeyama GN
13. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Read in July:
1. Bloody Cross Vol.2 GN
2. Bloody Cross Vol.3 GN
3. Bloody Cross Vol.4 GN
4. Bloody Cross Vol.5 GN
5. Bloody Cross Vol.6 GN
6. 1/2 Prince vol.1. GN

Recently watched Movies&TV shows:

1. Scandal - Excellent TV Show- genre: Drama
2. Secret World of Arriety - Hayao Miyazaki Film: nuf'said
3. The Amazing Spiderman 2 - This was fabulous, totally stands up to the first one
4. X-Men Days of Future Past - Also good, but big question left unanswered
5. X-Men First Class - this was a lot better the second time around
6. Wolverine 2 - Epic Action+Hugh Jackman, do I need to say more?
7. Leverage - funny if not probable
8. Neo Angelique - This is an anime that i LOVED, wonderful characters
9. Pretty Little Liars - I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS SHOW. Just saying.
10. RED - better than I expected, funny
11. RED 2 - the first one was better
12. How to train your dragon 2-definitely stood up to the first one
13. Maleficent - MARVELOUS, a must see
14. Castle in the Sky
15. My Neighbor Totoro
16. Kiki's Delivery Service

Top TBR books that I want to read this year:

1. The Night Circus by Erin Morgentstern
2. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
3. Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin Currently Reading
4. Harry Potter Page to Screen Currently Reading
5. Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
6. Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor Currently Reading
7. Cress by Marissa Meyer
8. The Making of Star Wars
9. Starting Point by Hayao Miyazaki
10. Cleopatra, A Life by Stacy Shniff
11. The Illusion of Life by Disney Currently Reading
12. World War Z by Max Brooks
13. Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff
14. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
15. Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Happy new thread, Abby!

Thanks Katie! Here's Your Prize:



Coffe and Pastrys, Book Nook style.

Happy new thread, dear! I remember when you took your thread topper photo - loved that trip. That is (I believe) taken from Little Round Top and it is looking down on Devil's Den.

>10 Thebookdiva: - Oooh, thanks, Abby!

Abby.... did you notice that if Wednesday is Anti-Procrastination Day, then all the other 6 days you can procrastinate if you want to do that! I love it.

Happy New Thread Abby! That's a very dramatic photo of Gettysburg. Very cool you went off the beaten path to get that great shot!

Congrats on the spiffy new thread, Abby. Nice photo up top!

You have two of my recent faves on your >8 Thebookdiva: Top TBR list, The Fault in Our Stars and The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Both great.

>11 Crazymamie: thanks Mum! That trip was amazing, wasn't it? That sounds right, thanks for reminding me!

>12 katiekrug: haha, your welcome!

>13 maggie1944: lol, I didn't think about that till you said it, but that is too funny.

>14 Smiler69: Thanks! It was a fun shot to take.

>15 jnwelch:. Thanks Joe! Trying some new things with this thread to see how I like them. I can't wait to read them. I'm going to start The Fault in Our Stars soon, I just downloaded it onto my kindle. I got interested when I saw the trailer for the movie when I went to see Spiderman 2.

Happy New Thread. Looks like you have some good books coming up soon. :) Happy Wednesday

Happy new thread Abby, love the topper I remember that trip well. It was so interesting and cool.

Happy New Thread, Abby! I hope you're feeling all better now...

>17 Kassilem: Thanks Melissa, I hope I chose wisely. I also hope that your Wednesday went well.

>18 GeezLouise: Thanks Rae, that was one of my favorite trips.

>19 scaifea: Thanks Amber. I'm feeling a lot better now, if only I could get rid of the headache. My Dad looked at my ankle today and doesn't think it's broken-so yay for that! He says that I just did a number on it and should ice it regularly. So that's what I'm doing, and it just feels a bit battered; I'm sure that it will be back to normal in a few weeks. On the bright side, my tiredness, coughing, and runny nose are gone, all huge pluses.

I'm off to read in bed y'all, see you tomorrow!

Love the thread topper Abby. Lots of excellent books on your TBR list.

Great start to your new thread Abby. I love the photo of Gettysburg up top - very atmospheric.

>20 Thebookdiva: It must be so handy to have a Doctor Dad! My dad's a mechanic, which was pretty darn handy in itself for many years, until I moved too far away for it to be feasible for him to be our auto-mechanic...

Happy New thread, Abby! Love the Gettsyburg topper! I have not been there yet, but it is on my Bucket List! Hope the week is going well.

Hey everyone, had a late start to the day as I just got up. I decided to be a little luxurious and have a slice of my Dad's homemade blueberry cream pie for breakfast-it's very yummy. Then it's yoga time. Not much on the schedule today besides finishing Alice in Wonderland and moving onto Through the Looking Glass. I might also throw some frisbees today as my ankle is feeling better, though I probably won't go to ultimate frisbee just yet. Other than that it's just some laundry and some writing that I need to get done.

>21 luvamystery65: Thanks Roberta, and I'm glad to know that I chose well.

>22 PaulCranswick: Hey Paul, and thanks! It was a fun shot to take.

>23 scaifea: Having a doctor for a Dad is great. We hardly ever have to go into the office because he always knows what's ailing us. I can definitely see how having a mechanic for a dad would be useful. I bet it saved you quite a bit of money too.

>24 msf59: thanks Mark! I would definitely suggest going, it was a great trip. It was beautiful there, but so sad to think about the battles that had taken place. As we stood on some of the battlefields, I could almost see how it would have happened. It was a great experience.

Abby, I love your Gettsburg picture! I remember that being a very moving place to visit, with all the monuments around the battlefield commemorating the different units that had fought there.

Thanks Julia, I loved going to Gettysburg. I agree with you, it was a very moving place.

Well, I have finished my yoga and strength training for the day! I do 40 minutes of yoga and aerobics in the morning and then every other day I'm doing strength training. I'm going to start doing pool exercises as well. I like having more energy throughout the day when I'm exercising regularly. It's a good feeling.

Don't know what I'm doing for lunch, but I have just been informed that we are making ribs and baked potatoes for dinner- YUM! Today is a good day all around.

It certainly sounds like you started the day or—er, the right... foot, with that pie. And then very impressed with your discipline with the exercise. I need to take your example and get active too. It's just a matter of getting going, which is probably the toughest part of all, but I'll get there!

Enjoy the rest of what sounds like a fantastic day, Abby.

haha, the pie was excellent. You are definitely right, getting going with the exercise is the hardest part. Though I feel that way about getting out of bed in the morning as well. Once I start doing the yoga or walking it isn't bad at all-I actually really enjoy it. Thanks, the same to you, Amber.

Happy new thread Abby :)

Remember that you mentioned new pics of Mercy Kat...
I look forward to pics :) Not to nag or anything....

While I was at my daughter's house she introduced me to acrylic painting. I used to paint many years ago when I was your age ( or younger) I had no talent then either, but I enjoyed it :) It was even more fun painting with my daughter. So... I used my birthday gift card ( from my grand dogs ) and bought paints, brushes, an instruction book a table top easel and some alternative canvas panels ....

shhhh don't tell anyone! I expect to have fun plopping paint on canvas. I will pile them up in the attic, but it will be nice :)

>32 mckait: Thanks Kath. hahaha, I'll get right on that, promise. You will have the pics later today.

That is so cool that your getting back into painting. My skill with a paintbrush is 0, but it's still fun sometimes. Might I get to see some of your work?

Ok, Kath, here are the long awaited for Mercy pics:

Mercy loves to hang over the balcony and watch us from above.



My mum gave her the ribbon from a birthday gift and Mercy loved it.



Apparently it was delicious.



She got the ribbon got stuck around her middle and she walked around with it trailing behind her for a while. It was quite comical to see her try and get it while it was wrapped around her. She eventually gave up and plopped down on the floor.

Ahhhhhhhh so cute!!

Mercy is an absolute beauty! Lucky you / lucky her :)

Thank you for posting those! and LOL to sharing my pitiful art!

I love the pic of Mercy hanging off the balcony!

Mercy obviously has found a happy home, Abby. I love that one of her hanging off the balcony, too.

>35 norabelle414: haha, she has us wrapped around her little paw.

>36 mckait: Thank you, and your welcome. I'm sure it's not as bad as you think it is. Birdy says that I'm my own worst enemy when it comes to critiquing my own art.

>37 rosalita: We were laughing our heads off because she had never stretched her legs out like that before! Usually she just pokes over her head or curls her paws over.

>38 jnwelch: We love Mercy so much, I'm really glad that she found us. None of us can ever be angry with her, even when she's being naughty.

Oh, Mercy!! Love the kitty photos, Abby! Have you read Longbourn? If not and if you are a fan of Austen's P & P, you might want to give this one a try.
Hope you have a nice weekend planned, filled with plenty of R & R!

Thanks, Mark. I have not read Longbourn, but my mum has and she loved it. She also has urged me to read it, and it is on my TBR pile for this year. I probably won't get around to it until the fall though, my TBR list is extensive.

Thanks, hope you have a nice weekend planned yourself!

Mercy is such a cutie! Love her little nose.

I have had my eye on Longbourn, but it has never quite made it to my TBR pile.. not yet anyway !

I am sorry I've not stopped by more often. I love your photographs and I know what you mean about exercise helping create more energy for the day. It does that for me, too, but I hate, hate, hate to admit it. I am so silly: I hate to be told what to do so the exercise class where she says exactly what to do is the one I get the most benefit from, and I have to talk myself into going. Last time I pretended she was training us to be cheerleaders. That helped. I think it would be fun to be a cheer leader for a high school, but I don't suppose they would let a 69 year old woman on the squad. What do you think?

Have a great weekend, and take care of your ankle.

>42 scaifea: Thank you

>43 mckait: My mum said that it was really good, so I'm going to give it a shot.

>44 maggie1944: I like to see you whenever you stop by. Thank you for the compliment on my photography. I feel the same way about exercise, hate getting into it, but feel much, much better after it's done. Your cheerleader comment had me smiling. The same to you, and my ankle is feeling loads better.

I feel like I'm going cry. We lost our photo library on the computer & I didn't have any back ups. That was almost every photo that I have ever taken. I've lost over 5 years worth of photos. Probably more. I'm really trying not to cry right now.

Abby, listen.. maybe a computer geek guy can find them somehow? My son is in computer forensics.. and if I understand correctly, things are hard to disappear for good. Maybe you can look into that?

In the meantime.. ((((Abby))))

Oh, really bad news! I am so sorry, but I agree with Kath (above). Look for a good computer repair place. There is a very good chance that they can recover some or all of what seems to be lost.

I am speechless for you.... I know I would be so unhappy if that happened to me. My MacBook Air reminds me when I've not done a back up in a while, and I got an easy to use "external hard drive" to plug in and do the back ups.... every 2-3 weeks, I think.

I am crossing my fingers, and holding my thumbs, that you will be able to find someone who can help you recover your photo library. Keep us posted on how things are developing....

>47 mckait: I really hope so. My mum is going to try and find someone to look at it I think. Thanks for the hugs.

>48 maggie1944: Now I know to not reformat my camera cards. A hard lesson learned. I will from now on buy new ones when my camera card gets full. I'm really trying hard not to think about it right now, since there isn't anything I can do. I did cry twice today over it, but I'm holding onto the hope that we can still recover the photos some how. I'll let you know how the situation progresses.

Went to Calloway Gardens today. It was beautiful and fun and I took lots of photos. We spent the whole day there and walked for most of it. My ankle is hurting from the exercise, but it was completely worth it. It was tons of fun to see everything (including a butterfly house!), and to get out of the house for awhile. I will probably post more about it tomorrow, I'm really wiped right now and am heading for bed. Night y'all.

Crossing all crossables for recovery of photos. Remember, a regular repair person might not be right for the job, you will need someone skilled in hard drive data recovery.... You have a Mac, right? I would start with asking the genius squad for a referral...

Sprained ankles take forever to completely heal. I am an expert, having sprained, badly sprained and then fractured ( x2) my ankles time after time. No fun. It seems like things are getting better than wham. I hope you can rest it for a few days...

Oh, that's lousy with the photos, Abby. I do think they should be recoverable. I hope whomever your mum finds has success. I like Kath's idea of checking with genius squad.

Oh dang, Abby. We lost a bunch of photos from the first couple of years of our marriage when one of our computers kicked the electronic bucket. I hope you can find someone who can recover them for you.

>51 mckait: Thank you, that is really sweet. I will mention the genius squad to my mum and see what she thinks. Yes, it is a Mac. We think that the photos were lost when the power went out temporarily during a thunderstorm. Nothing else was lost, thank goodness, just the photos. My ankle is feeling loads better today, and I plan on resting it the next few days before I start going again.

>52 jnwelch: I really hope that they are recoverable, Joe. I found out last night that we didn't lose absolutely everything, as I had some duplicate photos on my laptop. It's not much, but it's a start. I transferred all the photos from my laptop onto a USB drive just in case.

>53 scaifea: I'm really sorry to hear that you lost photos as well. It was horrible to realize that all of them were gone, I'm sure it was the same for you. Thank you, I hope so too.

Well, I have caught up (finally) on a few people's threads. I will have to get my laptop to post some pics of Calloway Gardens for you guys to see. Hopefully I will have those up later today.

Hope everyone has had a good start to their week.

As promised here are the pics of Callaway Gardens. It was a beautiful place with gardens, forest trails, lakes, a butterfly house, a charming chapel, and other wonderful things. My favorite place was the vegetable garden because it had so many hidden nooks and benches that would have been perfect for reading. I was longing for a book and a couple of hours the entire time we were walking in it. These are but a few of the pictures I took, and if you wish to see more I will be happy to post more. Just ask and I will be happy to oblige.

These are two of my pics that I took in a vast greenhouse where the plants reached the ceiling:





Here's the Chapel that had gorgeous wooden beams and stunning stained glass windows that covered the walls:







Technical error-trying to figure out what's wrong

Passing by and waving!!

Waving back!

Sorry guys, I can't quite figure out what is wrong with the photos not loading. I'll try again tomorrow.

"my TBR list is extensive." Join the crowd, my young friend. You have plenty of company there.

I agree with Mark. LibraryThing generates huge To Be Read books; and Wish List books! Huge, I say. Huge!! It is all LibraryThing's fault. I don't buy all those books.... nor do I put all those books on my wish lists. Not me. No sir-reee!

>60 msf59: haha how could we not on LT? Everyone is always throwing out great suggestions.

>61 maggie1944: It is LT's fault, but I love that. It's half the reason I like belonging to LT-all the great recommendations! I put everything on my TBR pile, I don't want to miss out on anything.

^Hint, hint, nudge, nudge...

>46 Thebookdiva: The thought of losing my images gives me the heebie-jeebies. I know the horse has already left the barn, but I would really suggest you guys look into one of the photo sites for off-siting your future pix (and your existing ones when you get them all back; being optimistic)

I personally love SmugMug. Its a paid service, but its unlimited storage/bandwidth. No ads, no real restrictions on file sizes. Of course you can always go Flickr or Picasa Web.

Its just now ingrained in my photo process. While I don't do any Photoshop (just a little tweeking with Picasa), pretty much as soon as I take them off the camera, I'm uploading them to my monthly SmugMug galleries.

Good Luck!

Hey everyone, sorry for my absence but we were on vacation! We went to Callaway Gardens, Columbus, some of us (not Rae, Mum, or I) went to six flags, and yesterday four of us went on a train ride. I will fill you in on all the juicy details a little later. Right now I need to catch up on some threads, including my own! I will also be trying to figure out the picture mess above.

Oh, I almost forgot, Mum and I went to the bookstore too, so I'll have to post my book haul later as well.

>64 mahsdad: Mark, I have downloaded the book and am just waiting to start it till I finish reading some of the books I've already started. I am excited to read it, and my Mum even bought me a The Fault in Our Stars bookmark that I found on our bookstore trip! I promise that I will read it soon!

>65 Thebookdiva: Thank you for the advice, I will definitely consider it. For now I'm not reformatting any of my camera cards, that way I have hard copies. That's a good system you've got though, I'll have to look into it.

_____________
News on the Photo front:

We are going to take the computer to a Mac store to get it checked out. Luckily only one photo library was knocked out, those on other files are fine. Unfortunately the one that was knocked out had the most photos. I have some of the photos taken down here in Georgia on my file (not all), and a bit of the ones taken in Indiana, but again, not a ton. I have my fingers crossed that the Mac people will be able to recover the photos.

Crossing my fingers for you!

Thanks Karen!

Ok, I am trying to post these pictures again. Crossing my fingers that it works this time.

Here are two pics of a giant greenhouse. The plants towered over our heads creating patterns of light and dark on the floor. There were water features that creating a gentle splashing sound and small geckos that skittered along the stone pathways. There were flowery arches and balconies that begged for their own Romeo and Juliet, and hidden nooks and benches that longed for the avid reader.

Yay! Wahoo! It worked!

These are pictures of a small Chapel that sat on a lake deep in the forest. The bird song mixed with the slow organ music to create a wonderful melody. The lake was glimmering with sunlight and the beautiful stained glass that made up almost all the walls of the Chapel were glistening. The wooden beams arched across the ceiling and the stone floor echoed our footsteps. What struck me most about this place though, was the feeling that you were utterly alone. The world was happening elsewhere as I stood still in this pocket of time. Everything was peaceful and serene.

Now for my favorite place in Callaway Gardens. The vegetable gardens.

You may ask how a vegetable garden could be my favorite place. There is one very simple reason: it was built for reading. There were benches underneath grape vines, tucked behind trellises, between flowers, in gazebos, and underneath tree branches. It was wonderful in this respect. I was dying for a good book and a few hours as we walked its paths. I suppose it was a good thing, because I would have been ceaselessly moving to find that one perfect spot to sit with my book.

Lastly, I saved the butterfly house. This would have been a gorgeous place even if it hadn't been full of butterflies, they just added to the wonder of it.

It was hot as we stepped inside the greenhouse, but that thought was quickly forgot as the sheer aww of what we were seeing swept over us. The butterfly's wings kissed our cheeks as they swept passed, they were a parade of oranges, reds, blues, blacks, and yellows. Vines hung from the ceiling and water flowed down rocks. The flowers smelled sweet, but the sense that this couldn't be real felt sweeter. The plants climbed to the ceiling and ivy clung to the walkways, and everywhere there were butterflies. They flew the air, clung to the plants, and hid in the trees. It was a wondrous sight that I won't soon forget.

If you wish for more pics of Callaway Gardens, just ask and I will be happy to oblige. I have a lot more.

I will post some pics of the rest of our vacation later in the week!

What beautiful photographs! I do hope that you post more, although I know it's a pain to get them posted here.. wish it was easier!

Once, years ago, my friend Karola and I went on a bit of a road trip.. one of the places we visited was The Natural Bridge of Virginia and saw the "Butterflies at the Bridge." So beautiful!

I'm glad to hear that you are having a good time !

ETA

Good choice not going to Six flags! LOL. I am not a fan of amusement parks :P

Nice job with the photographs. I've tried capturing the butterflies in a Butterfly House my own self and I know it is a challenge. They do sit still and you think you have time to compose and focus carefully, and then, dang it, they fly away and you have a picture of a leaf or two. (-:

I hope your Tuesday holds all the best for you.

>74 mckait: Thanks Kath! I would be happy to post more photos here. I probably won't get around to it till tomorrow as I have the Marjolein drawing that I'm working on like a crazy woman. I have the final sketch complete, now I'm ready to ink and color it-yay.

Ugh, I am so glad that I didn't go to six flags. First of, I am terrified of heights. It's really bad. I don't flip out and go crazy, but my hands whiten on whatever I'm holding, and I have to think hard about breathing deeply. I had also spent a LOT of time in the car the day before and I had felt carsick the entire day. So getting up early and spending another 3 hours to drive to the amusement park when I knew that I wouldn't go on any in the air rides wasn't really an option to me. Instead I had an absolutely wonderful day hanging out with my mom. We went out and bought me some more shorts as the ones I had weren't fitting (we got them buy 1 get 2 free, can you believe it?!). And then we spent some time in the bookstore (fabulousness), and went out to eat at Applebees. After that we got Starbucks, went home, put our pjs on and read our new books. Also, I was able to watch my anime show on the television! I love anime but the rest of my family doesn't really watch it (especially the ones in japanese), so I try not to watch it out loud as not to disturb anyone. But I watched quite a few episodes of my current japanese anime on the tv and it was great. The perfect day.

>75 maggie1944: Thank you Karen; you are so right about photographing butterflies! Their constant movement makes it so difficult to capture them on camera. I did have a few pics of butterfly-less leaves. Luckily, some of them were polite enough to pose for the camera before flying away.

It should be a good tuesday with reading, lots of art, and writing on the agenda. Of course I have to finish my schoolwork first, but english never takes me long (my fav subject) and math is fine with only three lessons needing done. We are starting The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis today for english, and I'm hopeful that I really like it because the book is beautiful with nice paper, decal edged pages, and a cool cover. Now you know that I'm like my mom when it comes to a nice looking book. I hope that you have some fun stuff planned for your tuesday as well!

Been doing hair designs for an Alice sketch all day. Super fun, which is why I have more than 24 hairstyles to choose from now. Working on her wardrobe in the hopes that it will help me pick an Alice hairstyle. This project is turing out to be wonderful!

Here is the book haul from last Thursday:



Sea of Shadows sounds like it has zombies and other magical creatures in it, Enchanted is a retelling of the Frog Prince, and hush, hush was praised so much by the guy in the bookstore that I had to get it. I have already started Enchanted, and find the writing style quite amusing.

Happy Wednesday Everyone! I dearly hope it's Wednesday, because my days of the week got completely messed up on vacation. Oh well. Not much on the schedule today, basically the same as yesterday's actually. Today I will try and get a bit of writing in though. I will be sure to post more photos as well.

>78 Thebookdiva: Oooh, pretty!

I love when I find good looking books. The bonus was that the spines are pretty too; I like them to look nice on the shelves.

I finally got the WiFi established yesterday so now will try to catch up on LT. Love the photos of Mercy -- hadn't seen her in a while. Were you able to retrieve your missing photo file? I suggest you buy an external hard-drive (they aren't expensive) and always back your important files up. I lost my entire music library once. I still had the CD's I had ripped so it was possible to get it back but what a pain! I bought a hard-drive and keep photos and music backed up and keep the hard-drive off-site, just in case there's a fire or something.

Yay for the WiFi being up! Thank you, she's a great model. We have not yet been able to retrieve the photo library. We haven't found time yet to take it to a mac store. I have backed up all my recent photos on USB drives for the moment, and I'm not reformating any of my camera cards from now on, so I will be double protected.

Here are five more pics from our Callaway trip: (I will post train ride pics on Friday) The second to last pic is of Birdy zip-lining through the treetops. They had ziplines everywhere, even over the lake that was there. Dan and Birdy had a blast doing it, and promised each other to go again sometime.

Looks like a pretty trip, Abby. I particularly like that last photo with the entryway.

When we were in Australia a couple of years ago, our kids talked me into zip-lining, and it really was fun. I'd do it again, for sure.

It was gorgeous there, I loved walking around the gardens. Thank for the wonderful compliment!

I was too chicken to go zip-lining myself, though I said that I would consider it in future. The guys had a lot of fun. Right now they are trying to talk me into white water rafting...I'm not sure how I feel about it to be honest. It makes me feel better about zip-lining though since you liked it. I will have to do it next time we go to Callaway Gardens.

Hey Abby have a wonderful day, I love the photos maybe one day I will be able to take photos as well as you.

As you probably saw, Abby, it's pretty hard to screw up zip-lining. You hook-in, run a few steps and jump. Then you glide down and run a few steps at the end in landing - or land just right in one spot, not something I ever accomplished. :-)

>87 GeezLouise: Thanks Rae that's really sweet. And all it takes is practice.

>88 jnwelch: That's what the guys said. Somehow I know I won't be remotely as graceful as them. I have a huge heights problem.

Birdy is taking Dan, Rae, and me to go see this second installment in the dragon series today! The first one was so well done that we have high hopes for this one. It's bound to be fun; I love going to the movies with my siblings! We take turns picking movies and buying tickets. We don't have a particular order that we go in, it's just whoever sees a movie they want to go to. I took the guys to see frozen (only Dan and Birdy as Rae decided to have some alone time with the house), and Dan took us to see The Lego Movie. We usually see animated films with some humor in them. It's a great system that we are all happy with. It's really fun to just go out with my siblings for a few hours and do something that we all enjoy.

>89 Thebookdiva: Abby, I also have a huge heights problem. I think someone would have to push me off the cliff to get me started!

>91 rosalita: hahaha. If I went zipling they would have to push me off of the higher ones.

Well.............we only got to see about 10 minutes of the movie.

.......The power went out and we were asked to leave.......a bit of a let down.

.....They are refunding our tickets tomorrow, so we are going back tomorrow to see the rest of the movie.

...at least the first ten minutes were very promising....Off to go do some reading.

I love your Movie day idea with the sibs!

eta

the power loss thing happened to me when I was seeing a Harry Poter movie in 3-d...boo!

what a disappointment!! Hope it works out tomorrow.

>94 mckait: We got to see the movie yesterday and it was very good. It definitely stood up to the first film. Power outage during Harry Potter???!!! *gasps* how horrible! I LOVE the Harry Potter films.

>95 RebaRelishesReading: IT was very disappointing, but we did get to see it Friday. It was strange to see how little of the film we saw the first time around.

Oh, Abby!!! Big huge hugs to you!!! ((((((Abby)))))))

I've lost digital photos that can't be replaced before and know how hard that is! Please get your machine to an expert as quickly as you can and don't waste time with an amateur. That's my best advice. I know nothing, so get someone who knows what they are doing.

I love the Callaway photos. I'm definitely going to have to show Lisa some of these shots -- I love butterflies! I would love to go to the butterfly house if nowhere else on the property!

Tina!!! hugs back! (((Tina)))

Thanks for the photo advice! My mom is taking care of it and hopefully we will get the photos back soon.

Thank you, that is sooooo sweet! I really hope that Lisa likes them. The butterfly house was something else. I have never seen one that was that big.

Wimbledon has been on and so most of us at the Pecan Paradisio have been glued to the tv screen. So far all of my favorite players have made it through their matches! I support Murray, Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic. I don't watch a lot of women's tennis due to the high screaming of a lot of the players, and because all my favorites are men. I was over the moon thrilled when Murray won last year!

Anyway, I won't be on much because of my love for Tennis. I will still be posting updates on my reading and logging my books, but I won't be much of a presence for a couple weeks. Sorry guys!

I will try to keep up with posts on my thread, but I can't promise anything unfortunately.

Abby, I didn't know it was possible to be a fan of both Federer and Nadal. I'm Team Roger, myself. :)

We (my siblings and I) went to go see this yesterday. Three words: it was AMAZING. Angelina Jolie was perfect in the role as Maleficent, with just the right amount of hatred and vulnerability. It was a fascinating perspective on the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty (who holds a special place in my heart), that showed Maleficent in a different light. The viewer got to understand the complicated depths of Maleficent's mind and sympathize with her. It was heart-breaking and triumphant. The movie makers did a fantastic job with setting up the world, characters, and plot of this movie. I also loved that they gave Maleficent's crow a bigger part in this movie, as he is able to change into a man. The special effects were breathtaking to say the least, and absolutely glorious as the film ended.

One of my favorite things about the movie was the sound track though. It was magnificent. So much so, that I am determined to purchase it. They took the songs from the original Sleeping Beauty film and revamped them for this film. It was wonderful to realize that I was listening to the same songs that I had fallen in love with as a child. The best song was saved for the credits: Once Upon a Dream by Lana Del Ray. The song was hauntingly beautiful.

I urge any fairytale fans to see this movie.

>100 rosalita: Indeed it is! I love watching both of them. If I had to choose one, however, it would be Roger. He plays with a grace that the other players just can't match.

An update on my reading:

I am currently drowning in my currently reading at the moment. It has gotten completely out of control. I am focusing on one book at a time right now in an attempt to cut down the list.

Currently Reading:

Harry Potter Page to Screen by Bob McCabe
A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Castle Waiting by Linda Medley
A Bride's Story vol.1 by Kaoru Mori
Black Butler vol.2 by Yana Toboso
Crome Shelled Regios
Fairy Tail vol.39 by Hiro Mashima
Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix by J.K. Rowling
The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason
A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
The Secret Sharer and Other Stories by Joseph Conrad
The Mind Thieves by Lori Brighton
The Illusion of Life by Ollie Johnston
The Guardians by John Christopher
Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carrol
The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

Read in June:
1. Naruto vol.1 by Masashi Kishimoto GN
2. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
3. The Captive Maiden by Melanie Dickerson
4. The Merchant's Daughter by Melanie Dickerson
5. Black Butler vol.1 by Yana Toboso GN
6. Fairytail. GN
7. Blue Boods by Melissa de la Cruz GN
8. The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
9. Enchanted by Alethea Kontis
10. The 13 Clocks by James Therber

I will be back later today to review either a book or another movie. I haven't decided which yet.

That is quite a list in your Currently Reading pile. I have that problem, too. So I hide parts of the pile from myself by having them on my ereaders. Ha ha ha. They do not collect dust that way.

Best of luck in finding the best ones to read the sooner.

I know, it got completely out of hand. I hid my kindle from view and then forgot where I put it! luckily Mercy unearthed it yesterday from underneath a pile of drawings. Such a good cat. Thanks, I hope that I can start crossing off books soon.

Lots of good books up there, Abby. I hope you end up liking A Bride's Story. I thought Castle Waiting was good, too.

>103 Thebookdiva: - I'd dump them all and focus on A Passage to India. It's a favorite of mine :)

>107 jnwelch: Thanks. I have actually read A Bride's Story multiple times. I own all of the ones that are published; I just love the artwork. Castle Waiting is very good! My mom told me that you suggested it for me, which is actually why I'm reading it; great pick!

>108 katiekrug: hahaha. That was the most recently added, we are about to start it for school. I'm interested to read it. I have high hopes for liking it. I've been focusing on Twilight (a favorite of mine), and then I hope to finish Days of Blood and Starlight. I'm trying to whittle down the list until I just have Game Of Thrones left. Then I can focus all my energy on it. I did tell Mark that I would read The Fault in Our Stars as soon as I was done with my currently reading pile, so I'm also looking forward to that. I'll have A Passage to India done in a week though. I'll be sure to post my thoughts.

Revising my plan to do a review here due to the fact that I have plans to hang out with my sisters. I will try to get to it over the weekend. I will probably review Enchanted by Alethea Kontis or The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis, both of which were good reads.

>103 Thebookdiva: From the length of that Currently Reading list, I thought I had stumbled onto my own thread by mistake! Ha!

I'm eager for the Maleficent movie to come out on dvd so I can see it, although it'll have to be after Charlie's in bed - he's not at all a fan of that particular 'bad guy.'

hahaha, too funny. My list usually isn't that long. The problem is that everything is sounding good to read right now, I'm having a hard time not starting more books if you can believe it. I know that if I do though, I won't get anything finished! I might just have to put some books aside for now and go back to them later to have the pile a bit more manageable.

Oh, I just know that you'll like it. Why doesn't Charlie like Maleficent? Is it the horns? Fun fact: Angelina Jolie's own daughter is in the film due to the fact that she was the only child who didn't cry at the sight of Jolie in costume. She's really cute too.

I completed my first TIOLI challenge this month. I shared a read with my mom (The Thirteen Clocks), and it was pretty good. I plan to start doing more TIOLI challenges for fun, and to share more reads with my mom, who I have the best book discussions with. Mostly to have more shared reads with my mom though. We can discuss them over coffee!

Great spirit! young lady. Doing the TIOLI challenges on top of having a TBR pile which rivals the Empire State Building in height. You go, girl !

lol, thanks Karen!

>109 Thebookdiva: Ah, okay. I thought you had read A Bride's Story}, Abby! That explains it. I'm glad Castle Waiting is working for you.

I enjoyed Thirteen Clocks, too.

I just read another one you might like, called Solanin, by Inio Asano. It's about a post-college girl trying to figure out life and creativity in Tokyo. It can wait for you - sounds like you've got an awful lot of quality reading going on.

I will definitely look up Solanin, thanks for the suggestion! I sounds like something I could relate to.

I'm right there with you, Abby! I totally enjoyed Maleficent, too!! I thought it was spectacularly done!

Your words are so eloquent that I won't even try. ;0)

I'm so glad you loved it!

What I didn't realize??? I didn't even hear the music! I was so captivated visually, that I didn't notice the songs. I will have to see it again now to catch them! Thanks for mentioning that!

I'm so glad that you liked it! I completely agree with your assessment, weren't the special effects amazing?!

Thank you, that was very nice to say. ^_^

hahaha, I watched Sleeping Beauty so many times when I was younger that the songs are ingrained into my memory. She was always my favorite. I didn't notice at first either, it was a wonderful surprise! I'm happy to be of service.

Going to go pick up a new stove today, but I'm more excited about the trip to the bookstore that goes with it. Anyone who knows me, will know that I can spend hours and hours in a bookstore and be perfectly happy. I'm very much looking forward to it, and I hope to get a few bookmarks as well.

>112 Thebookdiva: I think he just finds her particularly scary-looking, and admittedly the end of Sleeping Beauty is not the most light-hearted thing in the world...

That makes perfect sense. I can see how she could be scary.

Happy July 1st Everyone! We got the stove no problem, which was great. What was even better was all the time I got to spend in the Barnes'n'Noble. My mom and I hung out in the bookstore for hours, it was wonderful. I bought two books, both GNs, (the bookstore had a whole row of manga, *sigh*) Bloody Cross Vol.1 by Shiwo Komeyama and Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Vol.1 by Yochiyuki Tomino, which has a hard cover, nice gloss pages, and some color pages as well. Gundam is a beautiful GN. I spent the rest of my weekend and yesterday reading, drawing, and watching Wimbledon. It's been wonderful.

Book Statistics for the end of June:

Books Completed This Year: 222

Audio: 7
Books: 215
New Authors: 27
New Series: 16
Books in a Series: 201
New Reads: 165

Read in June:
1. Naruto vol.1 by Masashi Kishimoto GN
2. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
3. The Captive Maiden by Melanie Dickerson
4. The Merchant's Daughter by Melanie Dickerson
5. Black Butler vol.1 by Yana Toboso GN
6. Fairytail. GN
7. Blue Boods by Melissa de la Cruz GN
8. The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
9. Enchanted by Alethea Kontis
10. The 13 Clocks by James Therber
11. Cemetery Girl Book One: The Pretenders by Charlaine Harris
12. Bloody Cross vol.1 by Shiwo Komeyama GN
13. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Favorite read of June: Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

This month I am going to do more TIOLI challenges (as I have a lot of books I've been meaning to get to on my shelves), so I will be focusing on fitting books into challenges today. Other than that, it's just writing, Wimbledon, and art for me today!

It sounds like a perfect summer day to me. Enjoy!

I hope so, thank you. I hope your day goes just as pleasantly as mine.

Glad to see that all is well in your world :)

GN's do not go our from our library. I made sure we had a couple, but no luck. I have never requested one from another library for anyone either. Of course most of our folks are old dodderers like me....

TIOLI = beyond me. I'm too moody and difficult to get along with. Even with books!

Yep, all is well. I just can't get enough of GNs, I am thoroughly in love with them. The trick is to find the right one for the right person. Then again, GNs aren't for everyone.

hahaha. I'm liking the prospect of the TIOLI challenges, I have a lot of books sitting on my shelves. Plus, I like the idea of sharing more reads with my mom. She is the best person I know to discuss books with.

Murray's out. *sobs into couch cushions*

Drawing Oc's, which is going well. Hanging out on couch in front of TV all day; not feeling very well. Super tired, might take a nap. Illness means no frisbee tomorrow - boo. At least Djokovic made it through.

I hope you feel better very, very soon. Holiday on the morrow.... you need to have some fun!

Thanks Karen. Still feeling yucky today, but it's mostly a headache and sleepiness, so nothing too bad.

Have a delightful 4th of July and I hope the sickness goes away soon.

thanks Rae, I hope so too. I don't think we have any plans - besides pjs and the possibility of Dan dancing.

Got a bit of reading, 5 GNs completed, but no hard literature. I've been feeling quite unwell and couldn't bring my state of mind up to a level of reading higher than that of my precious manga. I took a bath today - which was wonderful, and also watched a few episodes of Say Yes to the Dress. Yep, I am soooooo girly. Now I'm in my pajamas and ready to have a relaxing evening. I may watch some more tv...we'll see what happens.

I'm so sorry you are feeling under the weather, Abby! I hope the manga and the girly TV work their magic and have you up on your feet again soon.

Oh, dang, Abby - I hope you're already feeling better! The bath and pajamas bit sounds lovely, though.

Happy Independence Day :)

Feel better :)

Happy Holiday, Abby! It sounds like you guys are stuck in a dreaded heat wave! Keep cool, stay in the pool.

>135 Thebookdiva: Ooh, I love Say Yes to the Dress! Though I've told my mother in no uncertain terms is she allowed to say anything other than "That's beautiful" if/when I get married and go dress shopping. Hope you're feeling better soon and continuing to enjoy Wimbledon!

Have a fun Fourth, Abby!

Hope your 4th was a good one, Abby!

>136 rosalita: They did help a bit, I'm feeling a little better today. I'm even considering going to ultimate frisbee...we'll see.

>137 scaifea: Thanks Amber, they were lovely! There is nothing better than wearing pajamas all day long when one isn't feeling well.

>138 mckait: Thanks Kath! I hope you had a good Independence Day, we just hung out around the house in the pool. A very relaxing day.

>139 msf59: Thanks Mark, the heat has been bad. It feels a little cooler today, but I can't be certain. We have been enjoying the pool.

>140 bell7: I love it too! I can't believe some of the things the mother's say to their daughters! I mean, hello, who's wedding is it? I'm only taking my mom with me when I go dress shopping, I know that she will tell me I'm beautiful no matter what. Wimbledon was fantastic! The men's championship was some of the best tennis I've seen, I was very happy with the outcome.

>141 jnwelch: Thanks Joe, it was pretty fun!

>142 DeltaQueen50: The same to you Judy!

Ugh, Mondays. The start of another week. The day coffee is not wanted but absolutely needed. The day where pjs are wanted but can't be had. The start of more exercise.

Not a big Monday fan.

Well, now that Wimbledon is over it's time to get back to business. Back to yoga, frisbee, exercising, and eating healthier. I also need to get a move on with more reading. I have been getting done quite a bit of art (I'll share some sketches on my next thread), but have neglected my writing with only a grand total of 10 pages for two weeks time. I need to get cracking on some reviews as well. As I am feeling a bit better, I am considering going to frisbee with Dan. If I don't go today, than I will definitely go on Thursday. All in all, I have quite a bit to do and no will power to do it because it is dreaded Monday.

On another note, I hope that all of your Independence Days were full of fun and good beverages. We didn't do much here, just hung out, got in the pool, and watched Seinfeld. A pretty good day all things considered.

I'm sorry you've been feeling under the weather, Abby. I hope you are back to your typical level of energy soon!!! :)

Hope your Monday was better than you thought it would be! :)

Well, yeah, what The_Hibernator said. Are you feeling better? Is the heat getting you down? I think it takes some time to adjust to living in a place where the heat can be oppressive. A good book, and a long soak in a comfortable bath tub of bubble bath can help, in my experience any way. Let us know what is up with you.

>146 TinaV95: I am feeling completely better today!

>147 The_Hibernator: My monday went pretty well actually, thank you. I did go to frisbee, and although it was very hot, it was also a lot of fun.

>148 maggie1944: I am feeling loads better now, thank you for asking. The heat wasn't too bad yesterday, thank goodness, so I didn't die of heat when I played frisbee. The shower was very nice when I got home though. Oooohh, I love taking baths. It is one of my many weaknesses. Today has past pretty quickly for me. I got up, had chicken salad for breakfast (I know, very strange), played a video game for a few hours, and then have been reading ever since. So far a perfect day, especially since it was conducted entirely in pjs.

I must protest: There is nothing about bathing which indicates "weakness" in the bather. It is an old, traditional, and well honored way to relax and maybe get a little clean in the process. You love you bath, live long, and prosper, young lady.

I like perfect days, especially those which allow for PJ wearing all live long day!

Glad you're feeling better, Abby! Now crack those books ;-)

>150 maggie1944: hahahaha! All right then, I will bath with pride from now on. Today has been almost as perfect, though I conducted it in clothing. I completely agree with you about the PJ wearing!

>151 katiekrug: Thank you, I am trying my best to get back into reading like a maniac. It's not going so well so far, I am not very motivated. Oh well, I will try again tomorrow!

Just got back from frisbee. It was very, very fun due to the fact that we had more people and it was raining. We stayed cool the entire time. I really had a good time, and chatted more with everyone. I got some helpful advice on some plays and throws, which was awesome as well. Hoping that next Monday is as fun as it was today!

Howdy sweet Abby. It sounds like you are having a very nice summer despite a few glitches. Stay cool and get to feeling better.

Roberta! Lovely to see you! A very nice summer indeed, thank you. I hope you are having a nice summer as well.

The new Book Nook is up, come on over!