snowy anticipation

The weather folk are in a dither about the winter storm warning we are under at the moment. The first flake has yet to fall. The kids are off to school. The temps are quite cold. The snow is expected to arrive around noon and last until 8:00 this evening. Projections for snowfall amounts range from 2 inches to 6 inches.  They just don't know how much is going to fall and for how long.

And all of this has them very excited. Nothing like a winter weather event, in the south, to justify their paychecks!

I think I will enjoy my morning, alone, as I fully expect that when the first flake is spotted on our side of Old Man River, schools will dismiss early and send the kiddoes home.  Several schools have already closed and several more have already announced they are closing at noon.  It would have been nice if our system announced early dismissal so parents could plan ahead, but they didn't.  So, off they go with lunches and band instruments, just like any other day.

I finished the Hannah Reed book and look forward to reading more from her.  Enjoyable cozy mystery. Up for today is my umpteenth attempt to read 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'....I've been 'draggin' my feet, or eyeballs, on this one.  I feel obligated to read it as I actually bought it at Target and paid full price.

Happy Snowy Wednesday!

queen bee mysteries by hannah reed

Several months ago I pulled a cozy mystery title out of the donations and brought it home with me. It has sat on the night stand ever since. I finally began to read it yesterday and have enjoyed every page. I'm about half way through and have to say that Hannah Reed does a marvelous job in her debut  novel , "Buzz Off."

'Story' Fisher is a recently divorced lady who owns a small grocery store and is learning to be a bee keeper. Set in a quaint Wisconsin town, the plot takes off quickly and never looks back. From the typical quirky small town characters to the simmering possibility of a romance between Story and a K9 officer from the neighboring town, several elements are a bit predictable, but Reed has a lovely writing voice and a deft hand in rolling out a well paced plot.

I hope to finish "Buzz Off" today as tomorrow the promise of another snow fall has me thinking that school might be called off even before the first flake hits the county.

Happy Tuesday.

rainy days and mondays

It is raining. It is Monday. The Steelers lost. The printer is offline. The list could go on and on. I can't do a darn thing about the first three issues, but I've managed to fix the fourth and I've resolved to not list any more problems today is presenting to me.

I could use a ray of sunshine, but Mother Nature is ignoring my plea. Guess I will have to create my own ray. With a smile plastered on my face, I'm going to dodge the raindrops and head out into the day.

Happy Monday....smile, smile, smile.

Flesh and Spirit by Carol Berg

I finally finished this book. It took me a long time, which is unusual for me. But, it seems to be a trend in my reading life. I still haven't finished the Dragon Tattoo book...I have high hopes for the months ahead though.

"Flesh and Spirit" is the first in a two book series about a rebellious mage who has bucked the system since childhood and is on the run from the authorities. He becomes embroiled in the political upheaval in his country. The book is a decent enough read, but it never grabbed my full attention. It was very easy to set aside and not pick up again for days. I have the second book and have skimmed a few pages in it. I'm undecided as to whether or not I will invest any more of time reading time.

I'm still waiting to hear from the library that the book I have on hold is available. I'd really love to sink my head into Karen Marie Moning's latest, "Shadowfever." This delay is making me regret deciding against plunking my $20 on the B&N counter and walking out of the store with my own copy.

It is Friday. Snowy weather is predicted for our region, but whether or not it gets to us is yet to be seen. I'd rather it stayed away. I'm soooo ready for Spring.

Happy Weekend. Happy Super Bowl. Go Steelers!!

step away from the books

I'm not going to the Library today. I'm going to step away from the books, at least for the day. I have plenty of Friends business to do here at home, including putting together the rest of the PR packet for the book club in a bag project.

We had a good executive board meeting yesterday followed by an informative general membership meeting. We learned the library is going to begin the process of getting e-books. Wow. They are going together with one of the other consortium libraries to start this service. I will be interested to see how it goes, who will use it and whether or not they decide to charge for the service.

Of course this new service will impact the funds available to purchase regular books. The money issue was stated over and over. I can see it coming. The big request for more funding from the Friends to supplement the $10,000 we already give them for materials.

As the average age in our group is well over 50, most of our members do not have e-readers and have no intention of having an e-reader. They will not be happy if the number of available titles for new releases drops because two e-books were purchased.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out over the next several months as the targeted launch date is in July.

veronica mars

A while back, October to be exact, the middle kid and I indulged in an afternoon of Netflix and became hooked on Veronica Mars. We watched the first five episodes that afternoon, but then fall break ended and we got busy doing other things. I happened to revisit the show one day when I had mountains of laundry to do and didn't feel like reading in between doing loads of wash.

I got hooked.  I've now watched all of season one and all of season two. I'm going to force myself to stop and let the girls catch up. They are on episode 18 of season one.

Veronica Mars only lasted three seasons, but a quick google search revealed the star of the show, Kristen Bell, who has moved on to other small and big screen roles, would finance a movie based on the show. Woohoo! The show has a cult like following and I can understand why.

This was a well written and well acted teen drama. Maybe it was too smart for its own good. I want to watch the last 20 episodes with the girls and savor each and every one.

Today is meeting day....executive board and then general membership. Ugh. Not looking forward to it at all. I have a new soup recipe to try for supper tonight. Our weather has turned substantially colder, a 30 degree drop, but we don't have the snow or ice the rest of the country is dealing with today.

All in all, it is a Wednesday. And that about sums it up.

brain cramp

I woke up this morning with a brain cramp. It might be one of those days when coherent thought takes a back seat to mindless routine.

It happens. Good thing I made the grocery list yesterday when I was motivated, sharp and ready to roll.  Up first is a trip to fill up the van with gas. Yep. Just how high are gas prices here in town? Hmmm. I usually fill up every two weeks or so. I wonder what prices will do as the governments in the middle east seem to be on the edge of teetering over. Watching what is going on in Egypt does make you think about lots of things....things much more important than the price of crude oil.

But, back to my brain cramp. I'm hoping the list I made yesterday is complete enough. I don't really need to come home with a bunch of things we don't need. I do need to come home with the things required to cook the next two weeks worth of meals.

Happy Tuesday.