Mainly in March - 2019 - The Sketchbook

I just sent off the next Sketchbook (Vol. 14) to the Brooklyn Art Library.  My first Sketchbook has been doing well.  At this moment it has been viewed online 742 times!  It has been checked out in person 6 times and favorited by 5.  I'm pretty happy about that.  You can see it here.

This Sketchbook needed to be postmarked by today, March 30, in order to be included in this round.  You all know that I've been moving into the new studio so I haven't had a chance to work on it (procrastination abounds since it was actually due in February (d'oh) but they gave us an extension, thank goodness).  Anyway, I worked like crazy and finished it this morning and sent it off this afternoon. 

The theme for the first book was "People I wish I knew."  The theme for this one is "City Streets."

I wrote the opening about the heart-shaped street we have in our town and the explosion in 2010 when a gas pipe erupted. 

 

These pictures are from our visit to the Haight Ashbury District in San Francisco a couple of years ago during the "Summer of Love" tour.  I couldn't get over the legs sticking out of the window and I love the Victorian houses.
                                                                                                                     





Really sad that we are not going to be able to see Bob Seger when he does his last tour.  We had tickets and then he had to have spine surgery.  When they rescheduled the rest of the tour, they left our area out.  Good thing we've seen him twice.

I know that the song Dancing in the Street has been done by a few people but I like Mick Jagger's version.








And, of course, my Journey!  Perhaps they were in Los Angeles but everyone knows they meant San Francisco in their hearts!

I thought this was an interesting quote by Virginia Woolf and it made me want to read more of her work.  I probably read some in high school but who remembers that?












Such a simple lesson.  Too bad we don't follow it more often.  Sweep in front of your own house and the streets will be clean! 

I've never been to Paris but I can imagine that the streets are filled with interesting sites.  

Herb Caen had some pretty good stories in his day.  I love the way the City looks at night.

This looks like so much fun!  Floating along the river while eating lunch or dinner. 









I've been down some old town streets like this.  They are usually full of great antique shops.  Could spend hours wandering up and down them. 

Another interesting place to hang out.  I can see I have to get out more!

This reminds me of the Farmer's Market in City Plaza that we used to pass when we were on the way to the Workers' Comp hearings we had to go to for my husband's back injury. 

Y'all know I love my gnomes!

It is fun to include Agatha Christie in my work. 

I was really happy to find this quote by Mariska Hargitay.  She has the right attitude about smiling! 

It's not perfect but I'm pretty happy with it.  Some pages I like better than others and I can see a couple of spots that I might have done differently but overall I'm pleased.  I'd love to hear what you think!  

There is another edition out now and I'm really thinking about doing another one but I have to get over the A to Z first.  We have until November to order and it is not due until February 2020 so I have some time.  This week they are offering the books at 20% off though so if you are considering doing one, nows the time to get it!  I can tell you it is really exciting to get an email telling me that someone has viewed my book or to see that the number of online views keeps growing.  I'm not going to make any "dough" from it but I might get some exposure that I wouldn't ordinarily get since I added my business information at the back of the book.  

(The "d'oh" and "dough" are added as part of Linda G. Hill's Stream of Consciousness Saturday)!

Observations in October - 2018 Read

Our day 3 prompt is "Read."

My first memories of reading is having my mom read "The Poky Little Puppy" to me.  It was a "Little Golden Book" and I just loved it.  So much so that I read it to my kids as well and still have a copy of it (or at least I thought I did until my daughter said she had taken it!)

Little Women is my all time favorite book and I just re-read it last year.  I love mysteries mostly and have some of the original Nancy Drew books along with some of the newer ones.  For a while I was collecting them if I saw them at garage sales and the like but I haven't gotten any in a long time. 

I also have a collection of Agatha Christie novels and I realized just recently that I don't remember reading some of them!  I love the look of book collections.  Sherlock Holmes is another favorite.   

For the past few years I've been trying to follow the PopSugar reading challenge.  I find it gives me the push to read something besides my standard mystery stories as I try to find different things to fill the categories with.  I had set a goal for 25 books this year and I've already passed that.  Pretty proud of myself there, especially since I only read at night before bed mostly. 

I have never really been into the "Romantic" novels, although I do like the books like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.  Science fiction is not really my thing either, although I have been reading some books about time travel.  I also can't read more than one book at a time.  I don't know how people do that.  It is hard for me to stop reading a book I don't like too.  I don't know why that is but I'm starting to get a little better.  I give it a few chapters and if I really can't stand it, I'll stop.

My first job was working in the local library.  I was a "Page" which is what they called the person who put the books away after people returned them.  After a while I was able to help check out the books too.  Now it is all done electronically and you can do it yourself by scanning your card and the books.  Still need someone to put the books away though.  Maybe I should apply for that job again since my typing is slowing down.  Bet I could handle that easier than I did working at Michaels! 

I have also just recently decided that it is okay to "repurpose" books.  I wrote about making a "junk journal" from a book I got at St. Vincent de Paul's.  I read it first but then I actually took it apart and am using it as a place to hold snippets of different things like favorite quotes and cards.

At one time I would have thought that was sacrilege, but now I realize that I am just enjoying the book in a different way.   

I've participated in a couple of read-a-thon's this year and another one is coming up hosted again by Jay Cudney at Thisismytruthnow.  It is going to be a fun one I think because the topic is cozy mystery series.  Come and join us if you want!  If you go to his site now you can help choose the author/series.  It starts in November. 

Okay, that's my take on "Read."  What is your first reading memory?  Have a favorite book/author?  Would you take a book apart and use it for something else?   

Ali Edwards has a lot of different classes to choose from.  If you haven't checked out her site before, it might be fun to do so now. 

July-Jinks - 2018 #Sketchbook Project Road Trip

So very excited that my Sketchbook is going to be included on the road trip!

If any of you are in those areas, the Library Call Number for my book is 353.17-2, the title is "A Smile 4 U from Janet" and the theme is "People I Wish I Knew."  If it gets requested, I will get a notice.  That would be so exciting I must say!

Please feel free to pass this along to anyone you know in those areas!  I think that it would be a great way to spend an afternoon browsing all the different submissions.  There is some really terrific artwork there.  I am looking forward to contributing another one for the next edition.  Wish they would tour it over on this side of the country.  

If you can't get there, the link to my book is here.  I'd love to know what you think.  

Agatha Christie Readathon - 2018 - Book One - The Secret Adversary

James J. Cudney at This is My Truth Now has invited us to an Agatha Christie Readathon during the month of April.  I've never participated in a readathon or been part of a book club but I have really enjoyed getting to know Jay this past year through his 365 plus 5 blog series and I absolutely love Agatha Christie so I knew that even though I was already committed to doing the A to Z Blogathon, I'd have to give it a shot. 

Jay sponsored a poll to come up with four titles for the month and the first book chosen was The Secret Adversary.  This is the first in the series that features Tommy Beresford and Prudence Cowley (Tuppence to her friends) as the detectives, or Young Adventurers as they decide to call themselves. 

I've read a lot of Agatha Christie but I haven't read any in a long time and I don't remember this story so it was a fun one to start with.  The inscription on the dedication page is:  "To all those who lead monotonous lives in the hope that they may experience second-hand the delights and dangers of adventure."  Agatha Christie.

While I don't consider my life especially monotonous, I certainly don't get much dangerous adventure in it and I am delighted by Dame Agatha's treatment of the subject. 

I'm not going to give a synopsis of the story as you can find that on Goodreads and other places.  I will instead talk about my favorite parts.  Being a romantic at heart I enjoyed the interaction of Tommy and Tuppence and watching that love story unfold.  I also liked the way Agatha Christie took one character and put them into a precarious position and left them there for a bit while she went on to the other character and put them in a precarious position of their own.  It definitely made me want to keep reading so I could make sure they each came out of it okay.  In the end, even though I thought I knew who Mr. Brown really was, I was surprised by the ending.

In her autobiography, Agatha Christie had this to say about the idea for this story, "That, I thought, would make a good beginning to a story - a name overheard at a tea shop - an unusual name, so that whoever heard it remembered it."  Jane Finn.  Would that be a name that would stick in your mind?  Are you one who eavesdrops? 

Just because I can, I'm using this book to fill the category of a book about a heist in my PopSugar challenge.  There was, after all, some stolen documents at the bottom of the whole thing. 

Unfortunately, the next book in the Agatha Christie Readathon is Peril at End House and I have been unable to get a copy of that one in time to start tomorrow so I've picked another one of her books, Hallow'een Party, since one of the categories in PopSugar is a book set at Halloween.  I won't review it for the readathon but at least I'll be reading with you in spirit. 

As for Mr. Cudney, he is an author himself, his first work being Watching Glass Shatter which is a little mystery too, along with some great family drama.  He is about to launch his second work, Father Figure, and I am excited to read that one also! 

It's not too late if you want to join the Agatha Christie Readathon.  Just click the link and you can get all the deets.  While you're there, check out the rest of Jay's stuff.  He's great. 

 

March Meandering - 2018 - Books, the Moon and the A to Z!

Here we are at the end of March.  Before we get to the April A to Z I just have a little more meandering to do.

I finished the book "Boys Will Be Boys" about the Dallas Cowboy glory years.  Unbelievable how much goes on that you don't know about, even when you think you know it all! 

My next book is The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie.  She is my favorite mystery author and when my blogging friend Jay Cudney said he was going to do an Agatha read-a-thon I had to join in.  You can too since we are starting the challenge tomorrow and reading four books through the month of April.  I am hoping I'll be able to finish them in that amount of time!  You can get all the details here.   

This is the first story with Tommy and Tuppence, two of her lesser known sleuths.  I don't remember reading it so I'm excited to start.  I just need to figure out which category I can use it for in my PopSugar Challenge.  

I have to give a shout out to the Silver Legacy Casino in Reno.  Hubby and I went earlier this month to celebrate my birthday and I had my camera with me to take some pictures.  The other day I was getting ready to take pictures for my A to Z theme and the battery on my camera died.   I am pretty methodical about where I keep the charger and extra battery for my camera so when it was not in either of the two places it usually is, I instantly thought that I might have left it at the Silver Legacy.  The battery and charger are kind of expensive for cameras so I took a chance and called the Lost and Found Department at the hotel.  I spoke with a really helpful gentleman who informed me that of the 1500 or so guests who check out of the hotel on a daily basis, about 300 of them leave something behind!  Most of the time it is charger cords for phones.  I was able to give him the room number and the date that we checked out and a description of the charger.  He looked in the computer and sure enough, one had been turned in for that day.  He said they are all kept in a box and he would give a look to make sure it was mine and call me back.  Less than 10 minutes later he called back and said that they did have it!  I was so grateful.  He directed me to the Silver Legacy lost and found website and I put in a claim to have it mailed back to me.  It is well worth the $16 it costs to ship it since the battery alone can be about $30 easily.  Side note, the Legacy sent us another comp card for two nights so I'm seeing another visit in our future.  

Tonight is the second full moon of the month so it is another Blue Moon.  It is the second blue moon this year (the first one was in January) and that will not happen again until October 31, 2020.  Unfortunately, I don't have the battery for my camera yet!  Fortunately, hubby has a camera and I'm sure he'll let me borrow it.  I took a shot with my phone the other night after work.  This is what I got:

Here are a few from tonight.  Magic this moon!

 Talk about zoom huh?

I love getting the shots through the trees.  Almost makes me think they are hands, playing with a ball.

Or holding on to a crystal ball, waiting to show me my future!

Susannah Conway is doing her April Love photo prompts again but I'm not sure I'll be able to manage it with the A to Z.  Here are the prompts if you want to try that one. 

  

Last but certainly not least, tomorrow is the start of the A to Z!  I know you are all anxiously awaiting my Michaels insights.  I do have to say that Tuesday will be my last working day there, since I turned in my notice a few weeks ago.  I got some really nice compliments tonight from a few of my coworkers who were in the break room as I was clocking out.  They were telling me that they really were sorry I was leaving because I was so nice and easy to get along with and such a good worker.  One of my supervisors really made my day though when she said that she "didn't have to learn to like me," she just did.  That is especially gratifying as I am easily old enough to be their mother!  I reassured them that I would definitely be back as a shopper so they would still see me.  They promised to continue to give me the employee discount!  That would be sweet.  

Oh yeah, Happy Easter all!  

March Meanderings - 2018 - Reading Challenge Update

Well, February is done and March came in with a bunch of rain on and off for the next few days.  We have a trip to Reno scheduled for next week so I am hoping it calms down just a bit so we can make it through the mountains without difficulty. 

I finished the Sherlock Holmes book, How To Think Like Sherlock and, just as the reviewers noted, it was kind of fluff.  Mostly things like observation, clues for how to remember things and how to make deductions based on evidence.  There were a few quizzes to take and brain twisters, some of which I was able to decipher and some not.  Since I read it right before bed when my mind was not as sharp as it could have been, I'll keep it on the shelf for a while and perhaps give the challenges another try.

For my next book I'm going with Intrusions by Ursula Hegi:

It's the story of a female writer whose life as a wife and mother merge with the characters in the story she is writing.  Even though I am not a "writer" I am certainly familiar with the ways that being a wife and mother can intrude on my work since I work from home in my kitchen :)  I'm using it to fill my "Book about feminism" category on the PopSugar Challenge.  

I wanted to pick an easy looking book since I am about to participate in my blogging friend, James J. Cudney's Agatha Christie Readathon.  You may remember that Jay is the one who wrote such a wonderful review of my Etsy shop and the cards he purchased from me.  During the month of April he is sponsoring an Agatha Christie readathon of four books.  I've never done a readathon but I really love Agatha and think that this would be a fun thing to do.  I am hoping I can keep up since April is also the A to Z Challenge!

March is going to be a month of meandering from place to place in preparation for the April challenges.  Hope you come along and if you'd like to join in on the A to Z or Jay's Agatha Christie readathon, it would be marvelous to have you!  

My hubby and I had to meander the Streets of San Francisco yesterday for an appointment with the Workers' Compensation judge (things are looking good!)  On the way I saw this:

I thought it fit in very nicely with my post from yesterday about painting butterflies on the walls of our house.  I am a big believer in The Butterfly Affect!

And there you have it.  

December Reflections - 2017

Winding down to the last few days of the year!  I am looking forward to this week between Christmas and New Year when I can focus on getting my planners ready and start working on some new projects.  The 365 pictures has been a struggle these last few months and I'm not ashamed to say that it will be a while before I do that again.  I am, though, kind of excited to see if I can turn it into a slideshow this time.  Here are a couple of the more recent pictures:

#350 - My December selfie 

#349 - Dinner with some very good friends at 16 Mile House in Millbrae.  Most of this group has been together since high school and I always learn some new things about my husband's escapades when they get together.  Sometimes the memories are a bit confused, but I believe there is great love at this table. 

#354 - Our Christmas tree with just the lights.  We had a real one, not the Charlie Brown tree of the past few years, but I hardly decorated it at all.  Maybe next year I'll be more in the spirit.  

#353 - Book #22 Murder on the Orient Express.  One of my favorites.  I have not seen the new movie yet but will do so when it comes to DVD.  I am having trouble picturing Kenneth Branagh as Hercule.

#346 - My husband had to have a 24 hour holter monitor to check his heart progress.  Fortunately it was okay.  Hoping that 2018 is a better year health wise than the last few months of this year has been for him.

#351 - Our minimal outside decorations, lights along the walkway to our house.  We added another two strings to make it go all the way on both sides.  So much easier than climbing ladders to put it around the roof.  

#355 - Skyline on my drive to work one afternoon.  The picture doesn't really do it justice but I was sitting at the stoplight and using my phone through the windshield.  

#356 - Michaels is almost out of everything Christmas.  There are many shelves that look like this throughout the store.  Pretty soon I expect there will be hearts all over the place for Valentines Day and planners galore for those of us who are planner addicts.

#357 - The tiny tree in our break room.    

#360 - Another new flavor!  I drop one of these in my morning coffee...yumm

#359 - Christmas dinner with the family.

#358 - Our stockings.  

Just four days left to this interesting year.  Time to make my vision cards and get my planners ready to start 2018.  Next year our daughter will graduate from college!  Looking forward to more adventures, aren't you?