Chelle tries to keep up in 2017 (take 5)

Here is what is keeping me away from my books right now!!

I am Chelle, 35yo wife, mother of two and a police dispatcher. Hubby is an officer and between our two shift work schedules we share in all duties of house and child. I read at work when it is slow and after our daughter is in bed which doesn't amount to much reading anymore.
I used to read about 100-125 books a year but in 2016 I only hit 36, so it's quite a drastic cut!

This is going to be a busy year for me and at some point I am sure that I will be struggling to keep up, as has been the norm for the last couple years! We have another little one in the house to keep me busy so my reading has come to a halt.

July
52) Timeline by Michael Crichton
53) This Thing of Darkness by Harry Bingham
54) The Dead House by Harry Bingham
55) The Deepest Grave by Harry Bingham

August
56) Come Sundown by Nora Roberts
57) Down River by John Hart
58) The Last Child by John Hart
59) Redemption Road by John Hart
60) In The Woods by Tana French
61) A Nest of Vipers by Andrea Camilleri

September
62) Glass Houses by Louise Penny
63) The Likeness by Tana French
64) Faithful Place by Tana French
65) 16th Seduction by James Patterson
66) Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
67) Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
68) The Vegetarian by Han King

Books in 2017

January
1) The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King
2) The Whistler by John Grisham
3) A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
4) Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by JK Rowling
5) The Bat by Jo Nesbo
6) The Wings of the Sphinx by Andrea Camilleri
7) The Track of Sand by Andrea Camilleri
8) The Potter's Field by Andrea Camilleri
9) The Bone Collection by Kathy Reichs
10) the Age of Doubt by Andrea Camilleri
11) Aunt Dimity and the Next of Kin by Nancy Atherton
12) The Dance of the Seagull by Andrea Camilleri
13) Treasure Hunt By Andrea Camilleri
14) Angelica's Smile by Andrea Camilleri
15) Canada by Mike Myers
16) Game of Mirrors by Andrea Camilleri
17) Beam of Light by Andrea Camilleri
18) A Voice in the Night by Andrea Camilleri
19) Montalbano's First Case by Andrea Camilleri
20) Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Screenplay by JK Rowling
21) The Beast by JR Ward

February
22) The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters
23) City of Thieves by David Benioff
24) the Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
25) The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood
26) Going Postal by Terry Pratchett
27) A Darkness Absolute by Kelley Armstrong
28) Stone Mattress by Margaret Atwood
29) Countdown City by Ben Winters
30) World of Trouble by Ben Winters
31) Heartless by Marissa Meyer
32) Mort by Terry Pratchett
33) In A Dark Dark Wood by Ruthe Ware

March
34) Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King
35) Werewolf Cop by Andrew Klavan
36) Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham
37) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
38) Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson
39) Winter by Marissa Meyer

April
40) Talking to the Dead by Harry Bingham
41) Love Story, with Murders by Harry Bingham
42) The Girls by Emma Cline
43) Fire Lover by Joseph Wambaugh

May
44) The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
45) The Strange Death of Fiona Griffiths by Harry Bingham

June
46) Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
47) 14th Deadly Sin by James Patterson
48) 15th Affair by James Patterson
49) Cockroaches by Jo Nesbo
50) Camino Island by John Grisham
51) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling

Happy new thread, Chelle! Hope you have a great weekend with the girls and Nate. :)

Happy new thread Chelle my dear, hope you have a lovely weekend with Nate and your lovely girls, sending love and hugs.

Happy new thread Chelle, >1 ChelleBearss: your girls are both adorable!

Happy new thread, Chelle! And thank you for posting the adorable photos of your two beautiful children. I look forward to watching them both continue to grow and hearing about their exploits. Have a great weekend!

Happy new thread, Chelle and wishing you and your family a wonderful weekend!

Beautiful!

Happy new thread, Chelle.

Can only reiterate what our friends have said - your family is gorgeous.

Happy new one, Chelle. Just marking my spot.

Happy new daughter and thread!!

Happy new thread, Chelle, and I hope you all have a wonderful Saturday!

>5 MickyFine: Thanks Micky! We started the weekend off with Chloe being a tit at soccer. Very whiney and not participating this week. Not sure what the rest of the weekend will bring.

>6 johnsimpson: Thanks John! Hope you are well!

>7 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita! I think they look a lot a like!

>8 EBT1002: Thanks Ellen! I think life will be interesting with these two!

>9 lkernagh: Thanks Lori! Hope you have a relaxing weekend!

>10 drneutron: Thanks Jim!

>11 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul! I can only hope my girls grow up to be as beautiful, smart and well rounded as your girls!

>12 lit_chick: Welcome Nancy!

>13 Berly: HA! Nice Kim!

>14 karenmarie: Thanks Karen! If the rain holds off we may venture outside with the girls. There is Rib Fest in town this weekend and we have no dinner plans yet ... perhaps ribs on the menu!

Happy new thread, Chelle!!

Nice photos of your girls, Chelle!

Happy new thread and I love it that you are still checking in on us, even though your home life must be so busy :)

>17 scaifea: thanks Amber!

>18 kidzdoc: thanks Darryl!

>19 LovingLit: hi Megan! I've been very lucky to have some downtime while baby sleeps. It's nice having Nate home on paternity leave as he helps with both girls and cleaning! I'm rather spoiled 😀

Happy New Thread, Chelle!

Love the photos of the girls.

You're actually getting a lot of reading done, under the circumstances. It's tough when they're that young.

Hi Chelle! Happy new thread!

Hi Chelle!

How long is paternity leave? How fantastic for all of you.

Been on vacation for 2 weeks and just catching up. Congrats on your new addition - she is beautiful! I was lucky enough to have my husband take paternity leave for both sons - its a great way to get into the new swing of things!

Hi friends. Just popping in for a quick visit. We've had a couple tired days. Elissa has been a touch gassy and keeping us up a little longer in the night. Still not as bad as Chloe was but we are getting a little less sleep than last week. Tomorrow we have no plans and I'm looking forward to a relaxing day

>21 jnwelch: Hi Joe! I wish I had access to the ebook of my current read, but it appears that they didn't make the ebook version for Kobo and I can't read Kindle books on my ereader :( It may be a while before I finish another book but we are getting caught up on a LOT of TV that we have missed! We have fallen in love with Scandal and have been binge watching that

>22 norabelle414: Thanks Nora!

>23 karenmarie: Hi Karen. Nate is taking the whole summer off. He combined his scheduled vacation, some compassionate days and 6 weeks of paternity leave. He doesn't go back to work until September!

>24 rretzler: Hi Robin! Hope you had a good vacation!
Nate wasn't able to take paternity leave when Chloe was born because he was in the military and they refused to allow him the time off. We are enjoying the time together so far and he has recently bought a new motorcycle so while we nap he goes out for a ride.

It looks like I missed your new thread! Now, how the heck did that happen? LOVE those gorgeous toppers, Chelle.

Hope the family is doing well.

Hi Mark! Things are busy but good. Lots of doctor appointments and Chloe activities keeping us busy. Today we have no plans and the skies are grey so we may just stay in and relax.

I wish I could sleep like this child!!

Ah, to sleep like a baby! That's a problem I wish I had, Chelle. Does Elissa ever look like Chloe in this photo.

>28 ChelleBearss: Aw! Just look at that chubby cheek! I love it!!

Sweet picture, Chelle! She's absolutely adorable.

>28 ChelleBearss: SO cute!!! Wow, I didn't realize Nate had that much time off. Awesome! Enjoy your down time when you get it and TV is just fine. ; )

Hi Chelle, love the photos she is so adorable. Hope you are all having a good weekend my dear and send love and hugs dear friend.

>29 lit_chick: Hi Nancy! She woke moments after I took that photo and fussed for hours. She has been sleeping all afternoon though and granted me the rare afternoon nap :)
Elissa looks just like Chloe as a baby! And just like me and my sister as well!

>30 scaifea: Ha, Amber! You should see her squishy little chubby leg rolls!

>31 karenmarie: Thanks Karen!!

>32 Berly: Hi Kim! Nate is very lucky to get that much time off. Actually we are both very blessed to get so much time off. A few things about Canada that I love are our health care and maternity leave! Without the health care Elissa's heart surgery and all her doctor appointments would have sunk our finances!

>33 johnsimpson: Thanks John! I'm still waiting impatiently for the rest of the professional photos! We expected to see the proofs yesterday so I'm hoping she sends them through ANY TIME NOW!! lol

My copy of This Thing of Darkness is well overdue back at the library now and I've managed to get only 115 pages in (500 page book). I really like this book series though so I'm a touch disappointed that it's taking me so long to read.

Since I can't renew it, and can't find it to purchase on my Kobo I am now trying a free trial of Amazon Kindle unlimited. Does anyone currently use that? Not sure if I'll keep it past the free trial but I at least hope to finish this book before the 30 day trial is finished!! Sheesh!

Today is a gloomy day here, threatening rain. We are heading to Nate's parents for a BBQ with some aunts and uncles this afternoon. This morning the littles are cooperating and we managed a family breakfast of pancakes and some down time. I'm working on some thank you cards while I enjoy a semi warm coffee (only reheated once, so far!)

Hope everyone enjoys their Sunday!

Happy Sunday, Chelle. Sounds like you have a busy day. Good luck. How is the new addition doing?

Haven't tried the Kindle Unlimited, Chelle, so will be interested to see how useful you find it. Of course, what I really need is an unlimited number of books available on my Kindle. Oh, I bet the relatives will be delighted to see the littles today.

Glad to hear things are going well in your house, Chelle. We've got the cool, grey, blustery weather here today. Definitely a Monday. :P

>28 ChelleBearss: absolutely adorable!!

Happy Monday! It's gloomy and threatening to rain here. Thankfully it held off and Chloe got to go to her swimming lesson this morning. I have sent her and Nathen off on errands to the grocery store to get some quiet in the house. Elissa is still struggling with a touch of gas and we didn't sleep well last night. Thankfully she is sleeping soundly now and letting me have a late lunch.

I'm making progress with This Thing of Darkness finally! I added the kindle app to my phone and am using the amazon kindle unlimited trial and am able to read on my phone. I made quiet a bit of progress with a half sleeping baby cuddled with me. I wouldn't have been able to do that with a book but thankfully I have an iPhone which is small enough to hold while cuddling a gassy baby in the middle of the night.

>36 msf59: Hi Mark! Elissa is doing well! Happy and content most of the time. Chloe is being a big helper but we need to work on her ability to be quiet while Eli sleeps! Not something she has mastered yet!

>37 ronincats: Hi Roni! I really like the kindle app on my phone and I like how Kindle unlimited was the only place I could find a copy of my current book. I'm not sure I'll keep it though as it's $10 a month after the trial and I have hundreds of books on my ereader and shelves that are free. I may keep it for a few months though since it is so handy to read on my phone right now

>38 MickyFine: Thanks Micky! We are having the same gloomy weather as you! Only 19c out though which is quite nice for a change!

>39 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Reba!

We got our proofs back from the photographer today! She did an amazing job!! We have to pick our favourites then she will edit them and we should have those back in a week.

I love love love these ones!!

GORGEOUS photos, Chelle! And hooray for getting some reading done - sounds like you have found the perfect solution for the moment.

Great photos, Chelle!

>41 ChelleBearss: How sweet, that picture of Chloe with her little sister Elissa, you found a great photographer, Chelle!

OHmygosh, those photos are so adorable!!

>41 ChelleBearss: Those are some adorable photos, Chelle. Have fun picking your favourites!

Oh, Chelle, the two proofs are beyond adorable! You and Nate are blessed with gorgeous little daughters!

I finished a book!!!! Yay! :)


53) This Thing of Darkness by Harry Bingham

I seem to have found a reading system where I use my iphone and the kindle app instead of holding a large book or eReader. I always have my phone with me and can grab a few minutes reading time here and there.

>42 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie! The new system seems to be working for now! Now I just have to figure out how to get some of the ebooks that I own onto my phone

>43 kidzdoc: Thanks Darryl! Our photographer was amazing

>44 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita! We were very happy with how the photos turned out!!

>45 scaifea: Thanks Amber!

>46 MickyFine: Thanks Micky! We got to choose 25 photos out of about 40, hard to choose!!

>47 lit_chick: Thanks Nancy! We think they are keepers :)

Congrats on finishing a book!

Congrats on finishing a book!!! Which one is that in the series? I am due to start the next Bingham sometime in August. I am pacing myself. LOL

LOVE the photos of your cuties. Great photographer. Course the subjects are adorable so....

Oh, I'm glad you figured out a way to finished This Thing of Darkness, Chelle. That may be my favorite in the series so far. I loved the way Fiona pulled together the disparate threads.

Lovely photos of the kidlings up there.

Hi Chelle, those are great photos of your gorgeous girls! Chloe looks to be the perfect older sister. Also great news on the reading front, I suspect my mother managed somehow to read and hold her babies as all three of us are big-time readers. :)

Wonderful adorable pics; of course it helps that the photographer had such great subjects to work with in the first place!!

I was going to suggest that you hang on to your copy of the Kindle Unlimited book by not connecting to wifi or the web until you finished it (even after the expiry of your trial). Then I realized you were reading on your phone -- whoops, not a workable solution! I tried Kindle Unlimited when it first came out, but realized that the range of books (not the number, but the variety) just wasn't there for me. If I were more of an indiscriminate reader, or had read less in the first place, or read less generally, it might have been fine. But I looked at what was available vs what I was likely to read each month, and how much of that would come from Kindle Unlimited, and the price tag just didn't make sense. In contrast, paying for Prime DOES make sense, with all the free video content and free music and some of the other perks they keep tossing into the mix. (Even though they now are starting to boost the price...) Even the free two-day shipping is a nice plus. But Kindle Unlimited should have been much more attractive than it was -- they just couldn't get enough publishers' backlists on there, and I still don't come across that many books with the Kindle Unlimited label to make me reconsider. Moreover, many of those books also are cheap to buy -- read for free or buy for $3/$4.

So, the Harry Bingham mysteries are must-reads??

Today I'm on my own with the kiddos! Nate took off at 5am on his new Indian motorcycle and is gone on an Iron Butt ride for the next 24 hours or so. I think he has to drive 1000 miles in under 24 hours. I don't see the fun in that but apparently he does, so off he went. I'm still waiting for his first text message status check to say where he has ended up.

>49 MickyFine: Thanks Micky! Not being able to read and watching this much TV was starting to drive me a little nutty!

>50 Berly: Hi Kim! That was book #4. I started #5 The Dead House yesterday and it's interesting so far. I think #6 is due out in September possibly. In Canada at least, it may already be published in the UK.

>51 jnwelch: Thanks Joe! I'm glad that so many people were saying great things about this series and made me check it out! Gotta love all the wonderful recommendations that we get here on LT!

>52 DeltaQueen50: Thanks Judy! I think I found more reading time when Chloe was a baby as I could read when she slept (if I wasn't napping too). But this time around I need to give Chloe more attention when Elissa naps so I don't find much time to read. Thankfully the iPhone book system seems to be working out

>53 Chatterbox: Thanks Suz! I doubt I will end up keeping the Kindle account after I finish the trial. I really only needed it to find the book that I couldn't find anywhere else. I think $10 a month for ebooks would make more sense if I was able to read a lot more than I do right now. Plus the fact that I have hundreds of books on my ereader and book shelf that are sadly waiting for their turn to be read.

I really enjoy the Bingham books. I don't know about must reads but they are enjoyable reads, for sure.

Hi Chelle!

Glad you were able to finish the 5th Fiona Griffiths!

Have you read The Lewis Trilogy by Peter May? It takes place on the Outer Hebrides and is as well-written and atmospheric as the Bingham books.

>41 ChelleBearss: Oh yes, yes, yes!!

Congrats on finishing a book and just keep enjoying those little ones.

>42 Crazymamie: - The photos are wonderful, Chelle!

Wishing you and your family a fabulous weekend.

Happy Friday, Chelle. Hooray for finishing a book. I hope this trend continues. Have a great weekend with the kiddos.

Happy Sunday!

I am a little sleep deprived today as our wee-est one has been fussy with a ton of gas lately! We've tried everything that the internet suggests and can't seem to get rid of the gas. We have a doctor appointment on Tuesday and I'm hoping she can suggest something for her.

One good thing with being up in the night with a fussy baby means a little more reading time. She just needed to fall asleep in my arms and if I put her down she wakes ... so that meant cuddles with a sleeping baby and some reading time for me.

I finished the next Harry Bingham The Dead House and started the last one The Deepest Grave. I think that is that last book that has been published so far.


54) The Dead House by Harry Bingham

>55 karenmarie: Hi Karen! No I haven't read anything by May. I'll have to check him out. Thanks!

>56 RebaRelishesReading: ha ha, Hi Reba!

>57 EBT1002: Thanks Ellen!

>58 lkernagh: Thanks Lori!

>59 msf59: Thanks Mark! I hope it continues too!

Morning, Chelle! I'm sorry that you're not getting enough sleep - I remember those days. Yeesh. I hope the doc can figure something out to help!

Morning, Chelle! Happy Sunday! Sending you slumbering vibes for tonight. I hope this works...

Morning, Chelle. Way to look on the bright side of snuggling with your wee-est. Hoping you get at least a nap today. I am on book #4 of Bingham's. August is looking pretty packed, but who knows!! I had to laugh at the term "Iron Butt." Hope Nate had fun. Happy Sunday.

Wishing you well on the sleep front, Chelle.

Hani has been sleeping very badly too and I am pleased to report she is presently and pleasantly snoring.

The photographs above are gorgeous.

Have a lovely Sunday.

Hi Friends

I am going to be absent for about 2 weeks. My cousin passed away on Sunday night and my family is grieving. He was hit by a car while cycling in Vancouver. My aunt and cousin have flown out there to support his wife and may do a memorial when they come home this weekend.

As well Nate and I are taking the girls on some day trips as we have two whole weeks without appointments! We are thinking of doing a couple single overnight trips to see how well Elissa does in a hotel room or cabin (without waking us all up!) and if she does well we may hit the road for a week. Nate would like to show me where he grew up but it's about 2000km (1200miles) from our house and would take us a few days of driving and site seeing.

Hope everyone enjoys their beginning of August and see you in a couple weeks! xo

>61 scaifea: Thanks Amber! The public health nurse think it is the switch over back to nursing from the formula supplements the hospital made us do (due to low blood sugar). They say it could take a couple weeks for her belly to even out. We will be getting a second opinion when we go to the paediatrician today.

>62 msf59: Thanks Mark! Your vibes worked, we were only up at 4am last night! yay

>63 Berly: Hi Kim! I am about halfway through The Deepest Grave and I haven't figured out the bad guy yet. Fiona is such a loveable weirdo though! Hope he writes more!

>64 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul! Hope things start to improve with you and Hani and that her sleep improves.

Oh Chelle, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. Sending good thoughts and virtual hugs for you and your family.

And good luck with the day tripping. Hopefully Elissa does all right for you. :)

So sorry for your family's loss, Chelle! I hope all of your trips go smoothly.

Hello Chelle! The photos of the girls are beautiful.

I'm so sorry to hear about your cousin.

I hope you have good travels and that both girls sleep for you. :) If Nate drives most of the way, take your pillow and you can sleep!

Chelle--so sorry to hear about your cousin. That's awful.

I hope your driving adventure turns out well--good luck!

Hi Chelle, so sorry for your loss my dear, sending love and hugs to you all dear friend.

How terrible about your cousin. My condolences to your family. I hope your travels go well so that you an get a little R & R. See you in a couple of weeks. (((Chelle)))

Sorry about your cousin, Chelle, my condolences for all involved.
((((hugs))))

My condolences for your cousin's accident, Chelle. What a shame.

I hope your time with Nate and the girls gives you some peace of mind.

Sorry about your loss, Chelle. Deepest condolences. See you when you are ready.

I'm so sorry that you've lost a family member, Chelle, and I'm also wishing you safe (and peaceful, baby-wise!) travels.

Hi Chelle! I'm so sorry to hear about your cousin's tragic death. How awful. My deepest condolences.

Keeping you in my thoughts, Chelle, and I am so very sorry for your loss.

Wishing for you safe travels.

Chelle, so sorry to hear about your cousin. Enjoy your day (and longer) trips with Nate and the girls. I predict Elissa will be a stellar little traveller!

So sorry for your loss Chelle.

Adding my condolences Chelle as well as my best wishes for a good road trip with the children and especially successful hotel stays for Elissa. xx

Hope all is well with you and the family my dear on your road trip and hope Elissa is enjoying her first hotel stay, sending love and hugs dear friend.

I'm so sorry to hear about your cousin's accident, Chelle. My deepest condolences, thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family during this very hard time. *hugs*

55) The Deepest Grave by Harry Bingham


56) Come Sundown by Nora Roberts


57) Down River by John Hart

Thank you to everyone who stopped by. We had a great trip and we are home and completely tired out. Tomorrow we have a down day and I hope to write back individually and do some visiting (if the littles allow it!)

Hi Chelle!

I love John Hart's books - I've read 4 of the 5, only have Redemption Road tbr.

>84 ChelleBearss: Glad to hear the trip went smoothly. Hope the transition back to your regular home routine goes well!

Welcome back!! Hope you get a great night's sleep. I haven't read that Bingham yet, but I have been really enjoying them. I think I am on book #4.

58) The Last Child by John Hart

Thanks to everyone for keeping my thread warm. It's been a busy couple of weeks.

We ended up taking the girls and MIL up north to Killarney area to a cottage on the French River. I messed up when I made the booking and didn't realize that the cottage was over a kilometre walk from the parking area. When I say "walk" it was really a bit of a hike through the woods which wasn't overly hard, but it was rough walking with tree roots and muddy patches and was not stroller friendly. Thankfully I had bought a Boba wrap and got to try out wearing Eli through the woods lol. It was very buggy walk and we all got eaten by mosquitoes, but the bugs were much less once we got to the cottage clearing. Eli and I came out pretty unscathed by the bugs but Chloe and Nathen are still covered in bug bites despite the bug spray! Poor Clo's legs are a mess!

We all had fun but came home very tired! Sunday was my cousin's memorial and that took a lot out of me as well. Yesterday and Tuesday we cancelled appointments and just tried to relax and renew our energy levels!

On the reading front I am doing pretty good. I finished two books while away and one since we got home. Reading on my phone seems to be working for me! I'm halfway through Redemption Road by John Hart and that will conclude all of his books written. Hopefully he writes more soon!
The library has the newest Andrea Camilleri on hold for me! Hope to get to that in the next couple of days and then the new Louise Penny should be in my mailbox by the end of the month!

>66 MickyFine: Thanks Micky! Both girls did great on the trip and in the car. I couldn't have asked for better little travellers!

>67 norabelle414: Thanks Nora! Despite our hike the trips did go pretty well. I'm not sure Nate will let me pick the cabin next time though!

>68 nittnut: Thanks Jenn! Nate always does all the driving, he does not care for being a passenger (unless he has had a drink and then I get to drive :) I got to read while he drove, which was quite nice.

>69 Berly: Thanks Kim! Nate didn't get his big adventure to where he grew up, but we did manage to get quite a bit north and it was beautiful!

>70 johnsimpson: Thanks John! Hugs to you

>71 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Reba! My family is holding up and moving on as best that they can. As hard as it was at least we got to see some family at the memorial that we hadn't seen in years.

>72 FAMeulstee: Thanks for the hugs Anita!

>73 jnwelch: Thanks Joe! It was definitely great to get away and relax, even though travelling with children isn't that relaxing!

>74 msf59: Thanks Mark! I'm trying to make the rounds today. House is clean(ish) and one babe is napping while the other paints and watches some ridiculous kids show. Nate has escaped the mad house on a motorcycle ride with my dad for the day.

>75 scaifea: Thanks Amber! Both kids did pretty great. Elissa is still up in the night a bit but she sleeps well in her car seat or in the baby wrap. I was surprised at how easy she fell asleep when I wore her!

>76 karenmarie: Thanks Karen! My dad took it pretty hard but we are all doing well

>77 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie! The trip went well and we had no issues, thankfully!

>78 lit_chick: Thanks Nancy! Your prediction was correct and Elissa and Chloe were great travellers.

>79 SandDune: Thanks Rhian!

>80 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul! We didn't end up doing the little day trips and just rented a cottage instead. It was pretty great!

>81 johnsimpson: Thanks again John!

>82 cameling: Thanks Caro! It was tough but we got though it. My poor Aunt held up amazing considering she had to do two memorials for him, one with his wife in Vancouver and one with the rest of the family at home.

>85 karenmarie: Hi Karen! Once I finish Redemption Road (In the next couple of days) I will have finished all Hart's books. I think he is an awesome story teller and hope he writes more soon!

>86 MickyFine: Thanks Micky! We are starting to get a little bit of a baby routine going and it's very nice! Elissa is 7 weeks old now and I'm happy to be able to have a little bit of a schedule.

>87 Berly: Hi Kim! I have finished the Bingham books now. Not sure when the next one is going to be out? I think #6 just came out this year so I imagine that it will be a bit before we see a new one. I hate being caught up in an active series, but I can't not get caught up when I love them! It's a vicious cycle!

>88 ChelleBearss: Thanks Paul! Hope all is well on your side of the world

>90 ChelleBearss: Glad to hear things are largely good with you, Chelle. Mosquitos are so annoying. I managed to get a few bites this weekend while I was out at my brother's house (he lives on an acreage). I react pretty poorly to mosquito bites and had a few swell up to an inch or two in diameter. No fun. Glad to hear you and the little one were relatively unscathed.

Have a great Wednesday with your girls!

Hi Chelle!

Hmm..... might be time to pull Redemption Road off the shelves. I have loved all his books so far. I just checked out his website and he has a new one, The Hush, coming out Feb 27, 2018. His website is confusing, it says 2-27-17, but Amazon lists the book on pre-order for February of 2018. So does B&N.

Glad to see you posting again, and I do hope that things are settling down for you.

59) Redemption Road by John Hart

>93 karenmarie: Hi Micky! Sorry that you got eaten too! Chloe's bites turn hard and crunchy, it's kind of weird. She says they aren't bothering her and it looks like they are starting to go away now. I'm not sure how Elissa and I didn't get more than a few bites as I used more bug spray on Nate and Chloe than on myself.

>94 ChelleBearss: Hi Karen! I saw that on his website yesterday! I was very confused when it said 2017 release but my library didn't have it yet. I figured it out when I checked amazon. Whoopsie on their part!
I will have to get on the wait list for that one at my library when it comes out. I love his books

We got our newborn photos back yesterday and the photographer got some amazing shots. I won't bombard you with all 25 shots but here are some of my faves!
I made a collage with three of them because they were so cute together!

>97 msf59: Love the photos, Chelle. Such a beautiful family.

Hooray for John Hart. The Last Child was my first and I loved it. I have still not read Redemption Road. Good?

>97 msf59: So great, Chelle! Congratulations on the photos and having such a lovely family.

>97 msf59: Those are awesome!

Hi Chelle, what fabulous photo's you have posted on here and Facebook my dear, Karen was so taken with your darling girls and just looked at me, I replied that we are too old for anymore of our own, lol but we have a gorgeous granddaughter and Amy is getting broody so we should get to hold a little one again at some point.

Hope all is well with you and the family and we both send love and hugs dear friend.

Absolutely beautiful family and gorgeous photos!!

Just beautiful family/Elissa pics, Chelle! Wow! Glad you got some time away, in spite of bugs and a hike!

>98 jnwelch: Thanks Mark!
I enjoyed all of Hart's books and would recommend them all. I read Iron House first and loved it.

>99 MickyFine: Thanks Joe! I'm fond of them all, even the one refusing to sleep!! :)

>100 johnsimpson: Thanks Micky!

>101 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks John! Hope you get more grand babies soon! Babies are great, especially when you can cuddle them and then send them home and get a good nights sleep! :)

>102 lit_chick: Thanks Reba!

>103 ChelleBearss: Thanks Nancy! It was fun, despite the bugs!

Such gorgeous pictures, Chelle! I guess you've heard that before!

Wonderful pictures, Chelle!

>97 msf59: Those are absolutely precious!! I can't decide which one I like most. The trio is pretty darn cute. : )

Hi Chelle, hope you have had a good week my dear and wish you all a great weekend dear friend, sending love and hugs.

>105 ronincats: Thanks Deb! Glad to see you around!

>106 Berly: Thanks Roni!

>107 johnsimpson: Thanks Kim! I really like the fancy ones but really the goofy ones were an awesome surprise and the first ones that I'm trying to hang in the house!

>108 ChelleBearss: Thanks John! To you as well!!

I'm up very early today. I was trying something new with Elissa last night called Dream Feeding to try and get her up only once in the night to eat. Basically I'm supposed to feed her before I go to bed, while she is still asleep and that is "supposed" to reset her sleep and instead of getting up at 1 or 2am, she would then sleep a few hours longer. Well, that didn't work. She ate asleep just fine, woke at her normal 2am full of gas and kept me up longer in the night. So that idea was a bust. I'm tres tres tired this morning but for some reason could not get back to sleep. Coffee and thank you card writing at 6am. Weird morning!

Hi Chelle!

Wonderful photos, thanks for sharing here.

I hope you get a chance to take a nap today to catch up a bit from the Dream Feeding fail.

>96 ChelleBearss: - I actually sent an e-mail to John Hart with a snapshot of the date error for the new book release. I just went back to his website and it's fixed. I'd like to think that my e-mail got his attention, but probably not.... *smile*

Sorry the feeding schedule reset didn't work. Hope you manage to catch a nap today.

>97 msf59: Saw the photos on facebook first Chelle in one of my rare forays there! Really cute and you seem to have brought a wonderful little character into the world!

What a photogenic family!

Good try on the sleep feeding. Better luck next time!!

Hi Chelle. Stopping by to get caught up and very sorry to read your sad news about your cousin. Glad to see you had a great road trip with Nat and the girls. The one thing I love about living on the coast is the lack of mosquitoes. I was bit by a few of them while back in Alberta visiting family earlier this month so can relate to the bite woes.

>97 msf59: - Lovely photos, Chelle! Thank you for sharing them here.

60) In The Woods by Tana French


61) A Nest of Vipers by Andrea Camilleri

>116 msf59: Looking forward to your thoughts on this one. Your first French?

Happy Sunday, Chelle! Hope you and the family are doing well.

>110 MickyFine: Hi Karen! I had seen that on Hart's website and it was confusing when I went to amazon and saw that it wasn't yet published. I'll have to keep an eye out for that one when it comes out as I really enjoyed all of his books

>111 PaulCranswick: Hi Micky! We actually have a decent routine going now and Elissa and I are both getting about 6-8 hours sleep between 10pm and 8am. Can't complain too much :)

>112 DeltaQueen50: Thanks Paul! Once she stopped spending all her evenings screaming she started to grow on us! I guess we will keep her :)

>113 Berly: Thanks Judy!

>114 lkernagh: Thanks Kim! I scrapped the dream feeding and started putting her to bed at 8pm and letting her sleep until 2am, eat and back to sleep! Thankfully once we got a little routine going she started sleeping much better

>115 ChelleBearss: HI Lori! We don't have a ton of mosquitoes near our house thankfully! We did get overwhelmed with wasp nests this year though! I was surprised at the amount of bugs up north but I guess being in the middle of the woods I shouldn't have been surprised!

>117 ChelleBearss: Hi Mark! I really enjoyed that one, as much as one can enjoy a book about a murdered child. I have started the second one and I think I'll stick with the series if this one is good as well! It is my first time picking up one of her books. I'm sure the recommendation came from someone here!
Sad that I've, once again, caught up in the Inspector Montalbano series! Hope they translate another one quickly!

Who is excited for the next Louise Penny coming out this week!?! :)

Hi Chelle! Glad to hear that you and your family have a bit of a routine going on now. A new baby is lovely, but it is a big change too. I'm glad that Elissa is sleeping more!

As forThe Child, I quite enjoyed it and I hope you will too!

>97 msf59: love those baby faces!!! So good for a future birthday surprise :)

>118 vancouverdeb: Me, Me, Me!!!

Woohoo! A new Louise Penny! Thanks, Chelle ... gotta find this one!

Phew! I appear to be, finally, caught up on all the threads! If I missed you please let me know as I may have accidentally unstarred a post and I can't find which one it was.

This week I am continuing to read the Tana French series on my iPhone during baby care times. I am on book #2 now, The Likeness which is slow for me so far. Later this week I should be getting the new Louise Penny book Glass Houses in the mail and that will be my bath-slash-baby free time book, but I doubt it will last me very long as I tend to gobble her books quickly! I also have the new Kelley Armstrong book waiting for me when I'm finished the Penny book.

>119 LovingLit: Thanks Deb! Adding Elissa to the family was a big change but I think we are coping well with the changes. Chloe does get a touch jealous sometimes but for the most part she is happy to help out and loves to hold Eli and give her kisses. She even gave her one of her stuffed doggies which I thought was sweet.

>120 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Megan! I'm getting the three goofy ones printed for a frame. I just need to find a good place to hang it!

>121 lit_chick: Hope you love it, Reba! I'm sure I will!

>122 ChelleBearss: Nancy I preordered it with a gift card from Chapters and am hoping it gets here soon! It is released tomorrow but my online order says it should arrive on the 31st. I am hoping they mail it early!

Glad to see you've settled into a routine and that you've got some good reads coming your way. :)

Does Chloe start pre-school this week or next week?

>124 ChelleBearss: Thanks Micky!
Chloe's preschool starts the week after regular school. So I think her first day is Sept 13th. I am debating keeping her home anyway as the school is 30 mins away and driving that with Elissa twice a day, twice a week will suck. Especially in the new year after Elissa's surgery. Nate wants to keep her in for the social aspect but I am not sure.

Yay for a sleep routine!! And the new Louise Penny!! Life is good.

Hi Chelle!

Congratulations on settling down with a nighttime schedule. And the sharing of the stuffed doggie is sweet.

And I didn't realize the new Louise Penny will be out today - thank you for the info! - so just ordered it from Amazon and it will arrive on Thursday. I also broke down and bought Magpie Murders because I'm celebrating our house refinance, payoff of equity line, and soon-to-be-payoff of credit card. Gotta celebrate with books, right?

Hi Chelle, happy 5th wedding anniversary my dear, what a lovely family you are, sending love and hugs dear friend from both of us.

>126 karenmarie: Thanks Kim! Life IS good :)

>127 johnsimpson: Hi Karen! Elissa slept for 7 hours last night! Glorious! But that meant that I got just enough sleep that I couldn't get back to sleep after feeding her! Nothing like a little 6am house cleaning to try and make myself tired enough to go back to sleep ... didn't work lol
I've been seeing Magpie Murders around the threads but haven't picked it up yet. Let me know what you think! And congrats on paying down those bills!!

>128 ChelleBearss: Thank you, John! We spent the day with Nathen's family as his brother and his wife are visiting from Alberta.

Glorious sleep, how I've missed you!!
It's 1030am and Elissa baby is still sleeping. She slept 8 hours last night and then got up for breakfast and went back to sleep for the last 3.5 hours and still counting!!
I thank my chiropractor brother in law and sister in law as they have given Elissa chiro adjustments over their last two days of visiting and she has started sleeping longer and longer each night. It could be a fluke or just that she is more tired from three days of being social and visiting lots of family.
Whatever the cause is I'll take it!!

Now I'm off to read the new Louise Penny Glass Houses until she wakes up!

Morning, Chelle. Happy Friday. Hooray for Baby Elissa. Hope you are getting some reading in.

Look at you go, Chelle! And how very considerate Elissa is to sleep so wonderfully. I need to get back to that Tana French series - I read the first one and loved it, but I tried and failed several times to get into the second one. I am thinking I will just go straight to the third book.

I am glad you finally get a decent sleep, Chelle.

So glad to hear that Elissa is sleeping better and that you've got the new Louise Penny! I got it on Thursday but am reading The Killings at Badger's Drift now that we're watching Midsomer Murders. It's quite good. Glass Houses only one of 4 books that I really want to read right now: the others are The Luminaries, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, and Magpie Murders.

>116 msf59: Just noticed, Chelle. Which Montalbano did you read? The cover is A Voice in the Night whilst you have written A Nest of Vipers?

Have a great weekend whichever on it is!

>130 msf59: Hooray for sleep!! I'm going to start Glass Houses when I finish my morning internet session.

Happy belated new thread and more importantly, happy new baby!! Elissa is another precious stunner! Congrats to all of you!!

>131 Crazymamie: Happy weekend, Mark! I am able to read a little while Elissa naps. Nate and Chloe ran some errands so I had a whole hour to myself!

>132 FAMeulstee: Nice to see you, Mamie! I am struggling with the second book as well. It took me a good 20% to even get into it but I think I'm in now!

>133 karenmarie: Thanks Anita!

>134 PaulCranswick: Hope you enjoy it once you get to it, Karen! I'm in and loving it already

>135 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Paul! That's odd as the picture shows Nest of Vipers for me.
Hope you had a great birthday!

>136 Carmenere: Enjoy, Reba!!

>137 ChelleBearss: Thanks Lynda!

Happy Sunday, friends!
Last night Elissa was super fussy at bedtime and we ended up cuddling her longer and watching Game of Thrones well past her bedtime, but she rewarded our cuddles with a 10 hour sleep!! Whoot whoot!

This morning Chloe ran into our room with her arms full after she woke up! She had three stuffed animals and a heavy book of nursery rhymes that she proceeded to throw onto me and demand I read. So we started our morning with cuddles and stories!

Have you ever noticed how ridiculous some nursery rhymes are? And how some are really morbid?

Ladybird, ladybird fly away home,
Your house is on fire and your children are gone,
All except one,
And her name is Ann,
And she hid under the baking pan

Seriously?

Cuddles and stories -- nothing in the world beats that!! Have a great day.

Wahoo to a wonderful sleep, courtesy of Elissa, and morning cuddles and reading with Chloe. I hear you on the nursery rhymes, Chelle.

62) Glass Houses by Louise Penny

You know it's a good book when there are tear stains on the final pages.
If you have not read this series, you should. Like right now. Go!

Chelle--glad to hear you are getting SLEEP! And that nap times are you reading time. I think I am stuck on number 4 of the series. Getting caught up is beyond me!! : )

Today is Nathen's first day back to work since Elissa was born! His paternity leave and vacation have come to an end and I will be home alone with the two wee monsters today!
If all goes well we may venture out of the house to family day at my work. There will will be demonstrations from the canine unit and the OPP Golden Helmets Motorcycle Unit. Chloe loves to see Nathen leave on his motorcycle so I think she might like the Golden Helmets display
Wish us luck that mommy doesn't lose her mind today :)

>140 lit_chick: I agree, Reba! She started our morning out the same today, but instead of nursery rhymes she brought me Guess How Much I Love You

>141 ChelleBearss: Thanks Nancy! A little less sleep was had last night but still not too bad

>143 ChelleBearss: Hi Kim! It's not to late to go back to Three Pines! There are only thirteen books so you could catch up :)

Hi Chelle!

Congrats on devouring Glass Houses. It's sitting here staring at me, just waiting to be opened.

Good luck with the 'wee monsters' today.

Good luck today, Chelle!

I need to get round to the Penny series - I do have the first one on my shelves somewhere...

>145 scaifea: Thanks Karen! Have fun with Glass Houses! I was looking for excuses to go sit down and read it! I even stayed up past my bedtime last night to finish the last 75 pages!

>146 ChelleBearss: Give it a shot, Amber! But don't judge the series based on the first book. It wasn't the best but the series is worth giving it two books before judging!

Morning, Chelle! Hooray for Glass Houses and ten-hour sleeps! Yah!

>142 Berly: Glad to see you finished it and love your comment. Mine has tear stains too.

Woohoo, excellent that Glass Houses is a winner, Chelle! Hang onto your mind today, LOL.

>147 msf59: Thanks for the tip, Chelle. One of my very favorite series (The Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner) is like that, too - the first book, although good, is by far not the best.

>148 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Mark! The long sleeps didn't last, unfortunately!

>149 lit_chick: It was awesome, eh Reba! Too bad we have to wait another year for the next one

>150 scaifea: Hi Nancy! Yesterday was fine! I packed the girls up and took them to Family Day and Chloe did great and Elissa slept in her car seat! Today we are just chilling as everyone is tired out!

>151 ChelleBearss: Oh Amber, you mentioned another series!! Darn! Now I must scurry off and look it up!

Today we are very very tuckered out! There was not a lot of sleep had last night. Chloe and Elissa slept fine, but I was kept awake by my lovely husband. He could not sleep at the start of the night and then refused to wake up to his 3am alarm and forced me to listen to it on repeat until 4am! He is not very popular today!

We are relaxing today and not planning on leaving the house! Trying an enchilada casserole for dinner tonight and hoping to finish another book today. About 3/4 of the way through The Likeness by Tana French.

Congratulations on Elissa settling down into a nighttime schedule that enables you to get some sleep!

>139 RebaRelishesReading: - Some nursery rhymes do seem very odd for children to be chanting as they play. ;-)

For Chloe's birthday in May we gave out sunflower seeds and the fixings for the kids to plant their own at home. This is the result of Chloe planting hers! She got 6 flowers but this was the best and prettiest of them all

^Two lovely flowers...awwwwwwww.

>155 msf59: - Fabulous, both the sunflower and the lovely young lady holding it!

Wow, that's pretty impressive!

>155 msf59: Wow! Chloe has quite the green thumb!

Glass Houses was pretty good, wasn't it? Sad to have to wait for the next one now...

Wow, that sunflower! Beautiful!

And YES, you need to read The Thief series! It's so good!!

Good morning friends!
Last night I finished The Likeness and I got 8 hours sleep (In two stretches, but I'm not complaining!)
I'm trying to decide what to read next ... either start the next book in the Dublin Murder Squad series or start something new. I wish I had more stand alone books and less series on the go!

Today Nate's grandparents are visiting from Haliburton. They haven't met Elissa yet so I am happy that they have finally come down. Should be another busy couple of days of visiting but Friday Nate goes back to work and his brother leaves to head home to Alberta on Saturday so life will go back to it's boring normalness.

>154 ChelleBearss: Thanks Lori! We are still up and down with Elissa and her sleeping stretches. Last night she slept 8 hours and then went right back to sleep after eating at 5am and is still asleep (it's now 8am). But the night before she only slept in 4-5 hour stretches.

>156 lkernagh: Thanks Mark! Your lovely Angel is a bit of a sassy pants lately! Nate thinks it is hilarious! I was trying to get her to clean up her toys before my family came for a visit and I kept handing her things to put away (you'd be proud of the amount of books all over!!) I gave her a handful of books to put back on the shelf and she turned to me and said "you're bugging me today. Knock it off"! Perhaps she has heard me say that a few times, oy!

>157 drneutron: Thanks Lori! Chloe is a peach most of the time!

>158 Copperskye: Thanks Jim! She planted peas, pumpkins and the sunflower seeds inside and helped me plant the sprouts outside! She was pretty proud that everything grew. She has one pumpkin growing and it's pretty huge! We got about 30 feet of pumpkin vine and one large pumpkin. Nate was less than impressed about the vines!

>159 scaifea: Hi Joanne! Yes, I look forward every August to her next book and then read it so quickly and then get sad when I have to wait another year. If I didn't have a million other books waiting to be read I would go back and reread the series. So glad that LTers introduced me to Louise Penny!!

>160 ChelleBearss: Morning Amber! ok, I'll go find the Thief Series if you will give Louise Penny a shot! :) Deal?

63) The Likeness by Tana French

It took me a while to get into this one but once I got in I did enjoy it.

>155 msf59: What a lovely idea and Chloe's flower is fantastic!!

Chloe with her sunflower: beautiful! What a great idea, gifting seeds and planting-fixings to BP children!

Hi Chelle, the next Tana French that you will be reading, Faithful Place is my favorite one of the series. You remind me that I need to get back to Tana French. Beautiful picture of Chloe and her sunflower!

>161 ChelleBearss: Deal!!

And oof, the sassy-pants stage. Yoicks. Good luck, Momma.

Morning, Chelle! The Angel is being Sassy Pants? That is so hard to believe...grins.

I am glad you are enjoying the Dublin Murder Squad books. You still have some good ones ahead of you.

Hi Chelle!

Lovely photo of Chloe and the sunflower.

I started The Likeness when it came out and put it down. Perhaps it's time to pick it up again sometime this year. I have the first 5 of the 6 in the series, so if I like it this time I have some good'uns ahead of me.

Well, as expected I am in a post Louise Penny book funk! Nothing is good enough now. This will wear off, eventually. I picked up and discarded 4 different books yesterday before settling into Zone One by Colson Whitehead. It's a zombie novel so I am hoping the terribleness of it gets me out of my funk.

>163 lit_chick: Thanks Reba! We did a farm theme for her birthday so the flower planting seemed to fit the theme and Chloe was really interested in it.

>164 DeltaQueen50: Thanks Nancy! Chloe also planted a pumpkin and it's growing well and pretty big! I'll try and get a picture next time I'm in the yard

>165 scaifea: Thanks Judy! I'll try and go back to that series again next. I read the synopsis and it talked about Frank Mackey and I took a bit of a disliking to him in the last novel. I'll give it a shot since it was your favourite!

>166 msf59: Hi Amber! The sassy-pants stage isn't the best, but it is quite funny sometimes! It's really hard not to laugh at some of the things she says! I end up texting them to Nate so we can laugh later!
She was bugging me in the car about wanting to go to a park to play and I told her to stop whining about it and maybe we would go later once our errands were done. She said "I'm not whining, I said please!" OY!

>167 karenmarie: Morning Mark! Have you read all of that series?

>168 ChelleBearss: Hi Karen! It took me a while to get into The Likeness. I stuck with it and it did get interested after a while and I'm glad I stuck it out

I have now abandoned Zone One as it was quite boring. I am about a quarter of the way through Faithful Place and it's pretty interesting so far. I think I've found one I can stick with now!

Nate is on nightshift this weekend so the girls and I will be hanging around the house today and tomorrow. Both girls are pretty tired from two days of visiting lots of family and getting to bed late. Elissa was so tired that she slept 10 hours last night and went back to sleep for a nap after only being up for 30 mins! I think we all just need some down time
Sunday we may pop over to my parent's house for an afternoon BBQ.

Hope everyone has a happy Friday!

Have a great weekend with the girls, Chelle!

I hope the pumpkins all get baked up and converted to muffins, pies and other goodies!!

Sounds like you have fabulous weekend plans, Chelle!

Chelle, I have been away since before the news about your cousin but wanted to offer my very belated condolences. I know that was a terrible loss for your family and I am so sorry.

>155 msf59: Such a great photo of Chloe and her giant sunflower!

I'm glad you're finding some reading you can concentrate on with all that is going on in your busy life. I found The Likeness to be drastically implausible but I quite enjoyed it nonetheless. I've had Faithful Place on the TBR stack for eons but haven't yet gotten to it. I do plan to stick with Tana French. Oh, and I have the first in the Harry Bingham series on my kindle and I haven't gotten to that one yet either! I keep hearing good things about that series.

Have a lovely weekend. I hope you and the girls get that much-needed down time.

>171 LovingLit: Thanks Micky! You as well! Do you and boyfriend have many plans?

>172 lkernagh: Hi megan! Our pumpkin is not a baking pumpkin but is destined to become a jack-o'-lantern! It's growing quite big. I was worried that it would die off as the vine started to rot, but it has started to turn orange now so I think we are in the safe zone. It's quite cold here this morning or else I would run out and take a picture.

>173 EBT1002: Thanks Lori! So far, so good :)

>174 ChelleBearss: Thanks Ellen. I know you have had a lot on your plate right now! Hope you guys start getting a bit more sleep!

I also found The Likeness to be implausible but once I got past that I did enjoy the book. I am really liking Faithful Place now that I gave it a chance and I think I'll keep going with this series. I think I have two more of her books.
I think you will like Harry Bingham. He is quite popular and I really took to Fiona.

>155 msf59: I like sunflowers, Chelle, but Chloe completely outshines hers!

Have a lovely weekend.

>175 PaulCranswick: The Boyfriend has his daughter this weekend so we don't have a ton of plans. The three of us will be going to a corn roast hosted by my parents' church this evening. And on Sunday my mom and I are going to see the new Reese Witherspoon rom com.

I also found The Likeness to be completely implausible and couldn't finish it. And as much as I like In the Woods, I haven't read any of her books since. I do own a couple so I will eventually, though, I'm sure!

Happy weekend, Chelle!

64) Faithful Place by Tana French

I liked this novel much better than the previous from this series.
I have to finish a library book but then I will be coming back to the next book of this series

>176 MickyFine: Thanks Paul! I think she is pretty special, but I am biased

>177 Copperskye: Sounds like a good weekend, Micky! I've never been to a corn roast. Do you just eat mass amounts of corn or will there be other food there?

>178 ChelleBearss: Hi Joanne! I struggled with interest on The Likeness but the other two books of the series were much better and I would recommend them! Hope you go back to them

Hope everyone is having a good weekend and is safe from the storms and fires!!
We were supposed to go visit my parents today but I think we are going to have a down day at home. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night and I think the girls and I need to stay home and veg today.

Morning, Chelle! Happy Sunday! To answer your question up there- Yes, I have read all the Dublin Murder Squad books. Only, The Secret Place was a let-down but she rebounded with her last one, The Trespasser.

Have a good day with the family!

Hi Chelle and happy Sunday. A down day sounds good, even if you have to cancel on the parents. I hope you all have a calm, relaxing day.

I found The Trespasser by Tana French at a book sale, so now have all books in the Dublin Murder Squad series. Now all I have to do is start reading them again!

We harvested Chloe pumpkin today! I needed to clean up the extra vines and I realized that the main vine was damaged. So we have moved it to the porch to finish ripening and we were able to clean out all the weeds and vines from the gardens!
Chloe is very proud of herself. She planted all the seeds herself in the spring and grew one large pumpkin, 6 sunflowers and a whole bunch of peas.





>181 karenmarie: Happy Sunday, Mark! Glad to hear you liked most of the series! I'm reading a James Patterson fluff and then I'll be back to the series

>182 ChelleBearss: Hi Karen! The parents didn't mind me cancelling once I sent them a picture of Chloe in which you can clearly see the bags under her eyes! My sister was disappointed as she wanted us to go to a local greenhouse and get our porch decorations for autumn but that can wait another week

Enjoy your day of puttering. Congrats again on the sunflower crop and now the pumpkin!! Good job Chloe!!

Oh, yay for growing things! That's a great looking pumpkin!

>184 scaifea: Thanks Kim! Chloe is quite happy but I think I am happier about the pumpkin. It's the best one we've ever grown!

>185 ChelleBearss: Thanks Amber! Growing things is fun, eh! I wish our yard was big enough that we could put in a big veggie garden like we had when we lived in Nova Scotia, but Nate doesn't want to give up all our yard

Today we are tired again. Chloe seems to be just fine but Elissa and I are still pooped.
I went to bed at 11 last night as I was reading 16th Seduction by James Patterson and relaxing with my popcorn in bed.
Elissa had me up from 1am-2am to eat. Taz (our sick cat) woke me & Chloe at 5am when she was standing on the stair landing meowing forever for no reason. Elissa was up from 6-7 to eat and Nate woke me when he got home from work at 730. Finally Chloe got me up at 830 for the day.
There isn't enough coffee!!

Unfortunately I have an appointment this afternoon to have our cat put down. She is 16.5 and has had some kidney issues. She is a cranky old cat and has started urinating on the floor instead of her litter box. I will be quite sad as I have had Taz for almost half my life but it's time.

Beautiful photos of your little gardener with her harvest, Chelle! So sorry to hear about Taz. Hugs.

>180 msf59: Our corn roasts usually have corn and baked potatoes plus an assortment of sweet treats. It's always a good time.

>187 lit_chick: I'm so sorry about Taz. Even when it's the right choice, it still hurts to let go of a fur baby. Big hugs!

Sorry to hear about Taz, Chelle, big hugs!

Love the massive sunflower! What a proud little gardener. :)
I am so glad that you are getting more sleep, some of the time.

Sorry about your Kitty. Sending you hugs. It's so hard to do, even when you know it's for the best.

I'm so sorry about Taz, Chelle! We always know when it's the right time, but sure hate it when that time comes. Hugs to you all.

Cute pics of Chloe, thanks for sharing. And that pumpkin is impressive.

65) 16th Seduction by James Patterson

Usual Patterson fluff. Everything nice and tidy by the end.

>190 nittnut: >191 karenmarie: >192 ChelleBearss: Thanks Anita, Jenn & Karen! I'm pretty sad but I know it was for the best. It's a lot quieter in the house this year with only Jackson around. Chloe is doing her best to fill the house with noise!!

Elissa had her two months shots yesterday (and then slept 11.5 hours last night!!!!!) and Nate is working today so the girls and I are hanging out at home today. My goal is kiddo snuggles, a little cleaning and working on Chloe's Halloween costume. She has requested to be a butterfly so instead of buying a store bought one where the wings attach to her back and aren't functional I have decided to try and make her large flappable wings. I may have bitten off more than I should be chewing right now, but we will see how it goes. I found a pattern online and I have all the materials (and it looks pretty easy, just time consuming)
If all goes well it should look like a smaller version of this once I'm finished. Once Halloween is over she can add this to her play bin. In a couple months she will have a large play room to use as we are converting our fourth bedroom into a playroom and getting rid of all the toys from my living room (YAY!!)

Chelle, I am so sorry to hear about Taz. Big hugs. Such a difficult thing to do, even when you know it is time . wow! Lovely pictures of Chloe and her sunflower and pumpkin. Take care and have some easy days.

LOVE the butterfly costume idea!! My very favorite things to sew are Charlie's Halloween costumes. Have fun!

Wow that butterfly costume looks amazing. I can imagine she'll enjoy playing in it long after Halloween is over.

Morning, Chelle! Sweet Thursday. Hope the week is going well and you are getting in some reading.

Chelle, I can't wait to see how that butterfly costume turns out - so clever. And thanks for sharing the pumpkin and sunflower photos - fabulous gardening on Chloe's part!

I was sorry to hear about Taz - keeping you in my thoughts.

Today we have a relaxing day planned. Yesterday was full of appointments (speech therapy for Chloe and Cardiologist for Elissa) so we won't be going far from home today.
Cleaning, groceries, a trip to the fabric store for butterfly headband making supplies and some more painting on Chloe's halloween costume. We are almost finished! Just need to touch up the front and fill in the colours on the back now that the front is dry.
I let her run around with it yesterday for a bit and she was very excited. I even found her a sparkly black dress to wear with it.



>197 scaifea: Thanks Deb! We will relax today and tomorrow we have a BBQ for Nathen's work. Should be a low key weekend. Perhaps even some apple picking on Sunday if the weather stays nice

>198 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Amber! I am not that great in the sewing department, I actually had to unpack my sewing machine to make this costume. (It's been packed since we moved here May 2015!) I don't usually sew the girls halloween costumes but I couldn't buy a costume like Chloe wanted so I thought I'd give this pattern a try. I think it worked out pretty well! I really wanted to make Elissa a caterpillar costume to go with Chloe's but I can't find this one anywhere now and it's well above my sewing skills.


>199 msf59: Thanks Reba! Chloe loves to dress up so I'm glad this can go in her dress up bin after Halloween

>200 Crazymamie: Thanks Mark! I'm working my way through Good Omens right now. About halfway done. Nate is on nightshift tonight so I should get a good chunk read after the wee beasties go to bed!

>201 ChelleBearss: Hi Mamie! I'll have to come visit your thread and see how you made out this week. Since you are online that makes me think you made out pretty well and have power and internet, yay!

Hi Chelle!

I'm impressed with anybody who can sew, but this goes above and beyond! What a wonderful costume.

Wow, those are beautiful butterfly wings and the sparkly black dress sounds perfect!! Good job!

Beautiful butterfly wings! You are so talented, Chelle!

OOhh! Gorgeous butterfly wings, Chelle! Great job! The caterpillar costume is so cute! I can barely sew on a button, so my poor kids had to make do with store bought creations. Of course, both are boys, so I'm not sure if they cared ;-)

Wow, those butterfly wings look amazing. You should give yourself a huge pat on the back for being so creative and for getting them done so quickly! That caterpillar costume is so cute so fingers crossed that you are able to find one somewhere.

Love the butterfly wings--great job! And Good Omens was a hoot. So sorry to hear about your Taz. How amazing that you spent half your life together.

My sympathy for your loss of Taz, Chelle. The butterfly wings are gorgeous!

>203 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Karen! There wasn't too much sewing involved, thankfully! More cutting and painting. I let Chloe do some of the painting with me today.

>204 lit_chick: Thanks Reba! I think Chloe is more excited about the sparkly dress! She is going through a bit of a "party dress" stage and asks every morning to put a dress on

>205 vancouverdeb: Thanks Nancy! I forgot how much I like doing crafts like this (but usually on a smaller scale!)

>206 DeltaQueen50: Thanks Deb! Nothing wrong with store bought costumes! This is the first year that Chloe has picked her own costume or else I would have bought her something cute and fuzzy to wear!

>207 Berly: Thanks Judy! I found a couple caterpillar costumes but they were too big or kind of ugly. I don't really want to make one so I will still keep looking. I have some fleece that I "could" make a costume if I wanted to ... I just don't really want to and am not sure if my sewing skills are enough for something like that

>208 ronincats: Thanks Kim! 16 years is a long time to have a pet. Chloe still hasn't figured out that Taz didn't come home so I don't really know if I should bring it up at this point. Taz really wasn't a friendly cat and Chloe never really got to play with her much. I'm wondering if I don't say anything if she will just forget that we ever had a cat .... or is that shoddy parenting right there??

>209 ChelleBearss: Thanks Roni! I love your kitty pictures and just want to cuddle them!!

Chloe's Costumes

Caterpillars and butterflies;
Earthen bound is
Transformed via chrysalis
And reaching to the skies.

Have a lovely weekend, Chelle.

>211 ChelleBearss: Beautiful! Thanks for stopping by with your lovely poem, Paul!

Hi Chelle, hope all is well with the family my dear, sending love and hugs to you all.

I can't get enough of the cuteness over here and on FB. Chloe is quite the gardener. The slugs around here love to eat sunflower sprouts so I've never had much luck with them. You have the most photogenic daughters ever! Chloe makes an adorable butterfly and how proud she must be to have had a hand in painting those wings.

Chelle, I'm a little jealous you have the new Louise Penny book already. I am on a longish list at the library. I wish people would read faster! I am so impressed you can concentrate on reading with a new baby in the house. It sounds like Elissa is a very good sleeper. I don't think my daughter got a good night's sleep with any of hers at that age.

Hi Chelle!

My daughter's first Halloween costume, age 2 months, was a UNC TarHeels onesie. Her second costume, a beautiful little black fleece dress with pumpkins and cute ghosts on it, white tights with pumpkins going up the sides and an adorable headband with a pumpkin on it, never got used on Halloween because for some freak-of-nature reason it was 91F that day here in central NC, USA, and I didn't want her to get heat prostration wearing it. Sigh. I forget what I dressed her in, but I was traumatized. She didn't care, but I certainly did.

Personally, I'd wait to see if she asks about Taz and then deal with it.

Because I am a sucker for book related lists I had to jump on the bandwagon (along with Paul and Karen) and find out my favourite books that I've read that were published in every year since I was born. I was surprised to see the amount of Stephen King novels on my list and the amount of children's books that we read to Chloe that were published around the time that I was born!
1981: Red Dragon by Thomas Harris
1982: The Gunslinger by Stephen King
1983: Christine by Stephen King
1984: Thinner by Stephen King
1985: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
1986: It by Stephen King
1987: Beloved by Toni Morrison
1988: The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
1989: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
1990: Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell
1991: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
1992: Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
1993: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
1994: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
1995: Kiss The Girls by James Patterson
1996: Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
1997: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling
1998: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling
1999: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
2000: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK ROwling
2001: Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
2002: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
2003: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling
2004: Going Postal by Terry Pratchett
2005: The Book Thief by Markus Zusah
2006: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
2007: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
2008: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
2009: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia
2010: The Passage by Justin Cronin
2011: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
2012: Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
2013: Allegiant by Veronica Roth
2014: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
2015: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
2016: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay by J.K. Rowling
2017: Glass Houses by Louise Penny

>213 Donna828: Hi John! All is well here, thanks!

>214 karenmarie: Thanks Donna!! Elissa is doing pretty well in the sleep department. She is ranging between 8-12 hours now. Last night was only 8 but she had some tummy issues so I don't blame her for wanting to be awake and cuddled.
I am struggling with reading a bit this week. My eyes have been very sore (combination allergies and being sleepy) and I've been struggling to get through Good Omens. I'm enjoying it but I'm also struggling to want to read it. It's quite the conundrum.

>215 ChelleBearss: Hi Karen! Chloe's first Halloween costume was as a cabbage patch kid! My mom made her a hat that looks like baby hair and I put her in her stroller which I made into a cabbage patch kid box. We didn't even leave the house as she was too young for trick or treating, it was purely for my own amusement :)

Hi Chelle and happy Tuesday to you.

I've read 23 of your 37 years-worth of books!

You're so creative! Cabbage Patch Kid. I was glad when daughter wanted to just be a vampire or ghoul, starting when she was about 9 or so. Black gown, lots of weird face makeup. I was good at weird face makeup! Thank goodness she stopped, of her own free will, when she was 12.

I'm sorry about the sore eyes. It definitely makes reading harder. Do you ever abandon books? Struggling to want to read a book is the primary reason I abandon a book.

Some of my favorites on your list too. I can't even imagine trying to do it for myself though -- that would be one lo-o-ong list :)

>218 RebaRelishesReading: We must have similar reading tastes, Karen!
My mom thought of the cabbage patch and made the hat/hair. I clearly had too much free time while on maternity leave with only one kid lol


I do abandon books sometimes, but this one I am enjoying. But for some reason I am struggling to want to sit down and read it. I do find it funny and I'm almost done, I just have to make time to sit down and read the last quarter of it. It's odd, I guess I just don't feel like reading.

>219 ChelleBearss: Hi Reba! It didn't take me that long to do. I used Karen's idea and used Goodreads best 200 books per year page.

66) Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett

A humorous approach to the apocalypse. Quite funny in spots and worth a read. Took me a while to get into it but I was glad that I stuck with it and finished it.

Today we are all pretty tired. Elissa has had some belly issues and constipation that has been getting us up in the night again. I feel worse than when she was a new born. It's amazing how getting a week's worth of sleeping through the night can mess me up so bad when she stopped sleeping through the night again.

Today we are going to relax and tonight Chloe has her first dance class called "Teeny Tiny Ballerinas". She does not want to go and has informed me that she already knows how to dance. I'm sure she will like it once she is there but she is a very timid little girl at first and is just scared of new things. We are slowly trying to break her of that and bring her out of her shell a little.

In other news, I finished a book YAY! Good Omens wasn't as good as I was expecting it to be but I did enjoy it. Trying to figure out what to read next. Nate is home tonight and tomorrow so I may not start a new book until Friday as we have a Game of Thrones to watch tonight (The last of this season, sad)

>222 RebaRelishesReading: Sorry about the tummy issues - - hope for all of you that get resolve themselves soon. Hope Chloe has a wonderful time at dance class It's good you're starting early with encouraging her to try new things.

>216 ChelleBearss: Only one book is also on my list Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
The Book Thief almost made my list, but ended second for 2005. I have read 10 of your list.

This list is doing well in the group!

We are busy here too planting seedlings. the supermarket is running a promotion where you spend $40 and get a free seedling kit. So far we have 8, and the kids have loved seeing what we get, and then planting them. They come with a soil disc that expands when you add water, it is amazing!

Hi Chelle!

Sorry you're all so whupped. I didn't realize Chloe was so shy and timid either.

I hope you can get back on a good-energy schedule soon.

>216 ChelleBearss: This is great! Good job. I love seeing Red Dragon top the list, along with so many King and Rowling books. '85 is perfection, although '04 stings a bit. Sorry!

Morning, Chelle! Sweet Thursday. Hope your week has gone smoothly.

>223 FAMeulstee: Hi Reba! Chloe liked dance class and told me afterwards that she was happy that it was all girls. I don't know why she is afraid of boys but at least we found something that she likes with no tears. She even requested a leotard dress like one of the other girls had so we bought her a purple one to wear next week

>224 LovingLit: Hi Anita! The list is very popular. I'm sure there were a couple books that missed being on the list but I used the Goodreads top 200 for each year lists thinking that nothing I loved would be too obscure as to not make that list

>225 karenmarie: HI Megan! That sounds like a great promotion! Does the disc come pre-seeded or do the boys have to plant them? What have they grown so far?
Our growing season is finished as winter is approaching, but we may try and find something to grow in the house this winter. Our house could use a few nice house plants

>226 msf59: Hi Karen. Feeling better today. Elissa slept 10 hours last night and went down for a long morning nap. We have an appointment this morning and then home for a relaxing day and perhaps some room clean up

>227 ChelleBearss: Morning Mark! Not a fan of Pratchett? My second favourite from 2004 would have been Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis. I'm a big Chili Peppers fan and had a crush on Kiedis when I was younger (or maybe still a bit now too ;)

I like Pratchett just fine. I was kidding about the title. Smiles...

>228 msf59: Will there be photos of the purple leotard dress in dance class?

>229 RebaRelishesReading: Ahhh, I see Mark! Funny fella! Mama almost went postal yesterday! Your little angel was showing her horns a touch

>230 ChelleBearss: Hi Reba! The parents are not allowed to watch in the room and have to wait in the hallway. I guess it keeps the kids from focusing on parents and helps the teachers maintain control. I peeked through the door window a bit and did get a couple photos. I'll be sure to try and snag a photo next week in her dance dress!

I'm not very good at being a social mom. Thankfully I had Nathen with me as he is a social butterfly. Waiting outside in the hallway/arena lobby means 6 parents all forced to either make small talk or ignore each other. I think I did pretty ok chatting with two of the moms but I would have preferred to sit and read my book. Nate told me not to be so antisocial and maybe try and make a friend. Bah!


(Chloe is in the blue dress on the left)

Delighted Chloe enjoyed her dance class, Chelle! Oh, you cracked me up with her and Nate's lines:

Chloe: She does not want to go and has informed me that she already knows how to dance.
Nate: Nate told me not to be so antisocial and maybe try and make a friend.

I'm with you! NOT a social butterfly in the least and would also much prefer to sit and read a book, LOL.

Aw, adorable ballerina!!

I'm with you on the anti-social bit. The parents at Charlie's ballet class are nice and quiet so I can knit or read, but when he was taking gymnastics, they were obnoxiously chatting with one another about the most inane topics. So I took to bringing my headphones and listening to music while reading, so that I could drown them out. I am not ashamed of my actions.

>232 scaifea: I'm glad I'm not the only one who would prefer to sit and read! I mean, it's 30 mins of sleeping baby and occupied toddler! It's perfect for reading. I can understand what Nate means as I don't have any friends in the town we live in other than a few work acquaintances, All of our friends live in the town I grew up in which is 40 minutes away. I'm sure he would like more of a social life but with two young kids and shift work there doesn't seem to be time for extras right now anyway

>233 ChelleBearss: haha Amber, that's amazing! I wouldn't have the guts to wear headphones to drown out the chatter.
I'm sure once Chloe starts school and I get forced into volunteering then I'll meet some parents and be forced into being friendly, but I'm not really there yet!

I was reading Annihilation last night and came across this quote and giggled thinking of my thread right now.

"They weren’t my friends, not really, but also I wasn’t in the habit of engaging in small talk, nor in broad talk, as I liked to call it. I didn’t care about politics except in how politics impinged upon the environment. I wasn’t religious. All of my hobbies were bound up in my work. I lived for the work, and I thrilled with the power of that focus but it was also deeply personal. I didn’t like to talk about my research. I didn’t wear makeup or care about new shoes or the latest music. I’m sure my husband’s friends found me taciturn, or worse. Perhaps they even found me unsophisticated, or “strangely uneducated” as I heard one of them say, although I don’t know if he was referring to me. I enjoyed the bars, but not for the same reasons as my husband. I loved the late-night slow burn of being out..."

67) Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer

Very interesting, quick read. I supposed it's classified as science fiction, but it could be horror or fantasy as well. An expedition to explore the no man's land that is Area X finds more than they could ever have imagined.
This was the first of a trilogy and I would like to continue with this as I am curious as to where this could be going.

>216 ChelleBearss: Read six on your list, Chelle and liked them pretty much other than The Handmaid's Tale which I struggled with in an emasculated way!

Have a lovely weekend.

>235 PaulCranswick: Glad you liked this one and that you will continue with the trilogy. Each one has a different tone.

Morning, Chelle. Happy Sunday. I hope you can find some R & R through the day.

The Angel has horns? This is soooooo hard to believe. Grins...

>236 msf59: Morning Paul! Handmaid's Tale has become popular all of a sudden thanks to The Trump administration (and the TV show that was produced last year)
Hope you had a great weekend!

>237 ChelleBearss: Hiya Mark! The Angel is being good so far today. She has been very tired lately so the good behaviour has gone out the window around supper time for the last few days. It's too bad that she won't nap any longer!
The heat has us trapped inside today. It's supposed to hit 32c again! Poor Nate is stuck working a checkpoint at a land dispute in this heat! I feel bad for him and I'm sure he will be rather grumpy when he gets home tonight. Glad that you have the day off!

68) The Vegetarian by Han Kang

I picked up this book as I thought it was a Booker Prize winner but I was slightly incorrect in that it's actually a Booker International Prize winner (Which I didn't know existed)
Either way, I loved the book from the opening line "Before my wife turned vegetarian, I'd always thought of her as completely unremarkable in every way." I loved it until the final page which I had to read over again to ensure I didn't miss something. Perhaps the author was trying to be too deep but I found the ending unsatisfactory.

Today was one of the last days of the high heat weather so Chloe decided that we should spend it outside in her baby pool. She played and I sweated!! It hit 31c and I was forced to get in the pool too :) Chloe had fun though!



I'm still working my way through the Tana French books. I'm on Broken Harbour now and it's flying along quickly as I'm really enjoying it. I also have my bath book Who will Run the Frog Hospital and it is pretty interesting so far.

Such a sweet photo, Chelle! I can sympathize with the heat woes - it is 91F (32.8) here right now, and going to be even warmer tomorrow. I miss a traditional Fall.

You are reminding me that I need to get back to Tana French!

Hi Chelle, Catching up and wanted to say how sorry I am that you lost your cat. 16.5 is a good long life for a kitty but I know it's sad to lose them when they've been such a part of your life for so long.

Chloe's photos are all so charming. I love her beautiful butterfly wings!

I was never very good at the whole socializing thing either but I really did love helping out and being involved when my son was in elementary school. Fun times!

>241 Copperskye: Thanks for visiting Mamie! Our heat wave is about to break, yay! It's only supposed to hit 27c (80f) today and then for the next week the high should only be around 19c/66f. I think Chloe got her last pool day as normal fall temps are here. (And thankfully tomorrow we should be able to turn the air conditioning off and open some windows! :)

>242 ChelleBearss: Thanks Joanne. I will miss her but I don't think we will ever get another cat. I love cats and kittens but I've found that they have a tendency to become assholes over time. We've just had too many that decide not to use their litter box and pee on the floor.
I'm looking forward to when Chloe is in school. With shift work I should be able to do some volunteering at the school and meet some other parents. She has dance class tonight and she is very excited to wear her new dance dress

Really cute photo of Chloe! I think we're in the same heat-wave area as you and I too am really looking forward to tomorrow when we're supposed to drop to 60 degrees (16c). I can't wait!!

Hi Chelle!

Very cute photo of Chloe.

I loved volunteering while daughter was in school. I was glad to stop volunteering when she graduated from high school. I took a 5-year break from volunteering, then got on our local Friends of the Library Board and a year later, this past July, became Treasurer. Just enough to keep me involved, not enough to keep me away from reading and other laziness associated with being retired.

>243 RebaRelishesReading: Yes about cat problems when they get old. Our dear Kitty William, 18, still uses the box properly, but yowls when he gets lost in the house (he's getting blind and deaf) and if I'm within 10 feet of the kitchen he thinks it's time to be fed. But he's keeping me company right now, sitting on the towel on the printer, keeping warm because the lamp is on and hopeful for a bit of human breakfast once I decide to eat. I will be very sad when we lose him.

Hi Chelle, lovely to have some high temperatures before the cool ones set in, sadly here it got no higher than 64f today and with rain forecast for tomorrow they are looking at it being down to 61f. I must say the autumnal colours are lovely though so that is some compensation for us. Sending love and hugs to you all dear friend.

Morning all
We are a touch stressed out here today. Elissa's tummy troubles are continuing and she is starting to show signs of being bothered by them so we are heading to our doctor today. She was up a bunch in the night in discomfort.

We also heard from our cardiologist this week and Elissa was approved for her heart surgery which is great. However, instead of the 6-8 month range as planned they are possibly going to be taking her around 5 months. That's only two months away!! So possibly sometime in December I'm going to be a touch stressed (and by a touch I mean OMG STRESSED!)

But in good news I am still reading a bit and am really enjoying Broken Harbour by Tana French. I'm very glad that someone recommended this series as it has turned out to be quite good and easy for me to read with my poor broken new mommy brain.

>244 karenmarie: Thanks Reba! I'll post another below of her in her new dance dress. She was very excited to wear it and very excited to go to dance class. This is the first activity that we have put her in that she goes happily without tears.

>245 johnsimpson: Thanks Karen! Yes, losing a kitty is hard. Like dogs they all become part of the family. I miss Taz but she did quite a lot of damage to our house, to the point that we are spending thousands of dollars to rip out carpet that smells of cat pee and install laminate flooring. We would have done this at some point anyway, but her peeing on the floor forced our hand sooner than we would have liked.

>246 ChelleBearss: Hi John! Sorry you've had such cool weather. Our heat wave has finally broken and we are back to normal fall temps of highs near 15-20c and lows around 5-10c at night. We have shut our A/C off and opened windows and it's lovely!

Chloe in her new dance dress from last night's class. She is enjoying it and going to class with no fuss, which is a lovely change!

So glad Chloe is enjoying dance. It's good exercise and can be a wonderful outlet I think. I didn't like my first dance class when I was 5 or 6 and my mother never made me go back, a fact I regret to this day. I can imagine you're stressed at the prospect of Elissa's surgery. I'm sure I would be but the up-side is getting it out of the way so you won't have to be worrying about it any more. Here are a bunch of hugs in the meantime (((((Chelle)))))

I liked Faithful Place more than some of the others too. Just great character development.

LOVE your baby pictures. And you sure do have a lot on your plate. Best of wishes with Elissa's health.

Our daughter loved dance class for years and years, then, bingo. Done. After that she did several martial arts and fencing. I loved the dance years, though.

Hi Chelle, lovely pictures of Chloe enjoying her dance class, reminds me of when Amy used to have dance classes. I can only imagine the stress levels you will have at the prospect of Elissa's surgery but as others have said, getting it done soon and out of the way can only be good and so you will not be worrying about my dear. Sending love and hugs to you all especially those two gorgeous girls from both of us dear friend.

Sending Elissa best wishes for her surgery. I'm not surprised that you expect to get very stressed.

Ha! If I need a smile (and who doesn't?), I just stop by here to see photos of Chloe, Chelle.

Sending you lots of positive thoughts for Elissa. It's tough as a parent, I know, when your kid has serious health issues. It sounds like your doctors are doing a good job of staying on top of them.

Of course you will be very stressed by Elissa's surgery, Chelle. That said, it would be wonderful if it was behind you just in time for a lovely family Christmas.

Chloe looks sweet in her dance dress. So glad she likes to go!

I'm allowed coffee again, YAY!!! This is the best news I've gotten in a while! Elissa's doctor confirmed her constipation is most likely not caused by my morning cup of Joe and I can resume normal caffeination tomorrow. Yippee!! I do have to cut down on dairy though, which is a bummer but not as bad as cutting out coffee.

Both kids in bed and hubs at work so I'm heading off shortly to read until I fall asleep :)

>248 sibylline: Hi Reba! I'd love for Chloe to find something that she can do for a long time. If that's dance then great, if she ends up liking a sport then awesome too. I never had an activity that I stuck with other than reading and music. I played many instruments from grade 7 through to grade 12 but then I dropped them. I don't think I could even read the sheet music now if I tried.

>249 johnsimpson: Hi Lucy! I think that Broken Harbour has been my favourite so far. I'm about half way and really enjoying it.

>250 SandDune: Thanks John! I'm trying not to stress but Chloe has been a three-anger the last couple of days. Off to have a relaxing night with a few hours to myself before bed. That should help :)

>251 jnwelch: Thanks Rhian. The weeks after the surgeon gives us her date will be rough for me but Nate and I will get through it. Thankfully we have lots of family nearby ready to help with Chloe and doggy sitting too

>252 lit_chick: That's sweet, Joe! Glad the photos make you smile! She is a cute kid (most days!) Tonight she urgently called me after bedtime "MOOOOM I need you!!" I rushed up there and she pointed to her stuffed rabbit that she had placed nicely on a pillow and said "Look how I put bunny to sleep on this pillow. Isn't he cute?" Ugh, ya, Super cute Clo lol.

>253 ChelleBearss: Thanks Nancy! I am kind of hoping that they don't call her until January. I'm sure she will have some big recovering after the surgery and I'd love for us to not have to worry about doctor appointments and her healing during the holidays. Probably a little selfish of me but I would much prefer to wait that couple weeks. Plus if they call in January Nate gets 4 days of paid time off to go to Toronto with us but he won't have that this year as he already used them for her birth.

Hugs about the stress of Elissa's upcoming surgery. I confess I'd be just like you, worrying . I know worrying is for nought, but easier said than done. I've found a series that I am am really enjoying and if it is at your library, you might like to take a gander. The first in the series is A Killer in King's Cove by Iona Wishaw. I'd never heard of the series until I read about her third book in the Globe and Mail and thought I 'd a chance. I'm now reading the third book in the series, one after another. They are historical mysteries that take place just after WW11, in small town B.C, near Nelson B.C . A plucky young protagonist who served with the British special forces tries to escape her past in a hamlet in Canada, only to find that murder abounds! Lots of interesting characters.

It's a cold, rainy morning here and our house is quite chilly. Sweaters and coffee are making it cozy in here!

>255 ChelleBearss: Morning Deb! Thanks for the series recommendation! I'll try and find her at my library. Sounds like something I would love and I'm always up for finding new awesome Canadian Authors! I still need to get to Joseph Boyden's last The Orenda. I put it down last year when I couldn't get into it right away but I need to give it another chance as I loved his other books.

Morning, Chelle!

We haven't gotten to cold and rainy yet; we're probably a couple of weeks away. I actually love that kind of weather - sweaters and coffee are A-OK by me.

I'm allowed coffee again, YAY!!! Ha! Congratulations! That makes for a Happy Friday right there.

>257 ChelleBearss: Hiya Joe! I don't mind the cool fall temps and even a touch of rain in the evenings is nice, but raining a lot during the day makes it hard for me to go to appointments with the kids (without me looking like a wet rat after getting two kids in car seats in the rain! LOL) A hot coffee on a cool morning is lovely though!