My January Book List!

It was a good month for reading. I set my goal this year for 55 books (I read more last year) and so far I think I’m on target. I don’t usually do book reviews but I wanted to share what I’ve read and recommend them…one and all! I write reviews in Goodreads and it’s in my sidebar if you are interested.

I read Queen of Hearts by Rhys Bowen. My rating, 7 out of 10.This is a new series for me and I loved the characters. I jumped into the series but now I will go back and start with the first book and read them in order. I love mysteries!

Mr. Churchill’s Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal. My rating 7 out of 10. I liked this mystery series too and plan to read all of them this year. Love the time and place. (a bit of fictionalized history)

A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny, 8 out of 10. I LOVE this author and had somehow missed #4 in this series. Now I’ve read them all and HIGHLY recommend them! I am SO in love with Inspector Gamache! Read them…you’ll LOVE them too but remember, I have dibs on Armand Gamache! heehee!

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabriella Zevin 8 out of 10. Such an interesting story. Not my usual genre but once I started it I could not put it down. Reminds me a little of a Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman 9 out of 10, that I read last year.

The Whole Town’s Talking by Fannie Flagg 8 out of 10. You just can NOT go wrong with a book by Fannie Flagg! Many of you have probably read or seen Fried Green Tomatoes by this author. Filled with interesting characters and LOADS of good humor! You will be laughing OUT LOUD! Very FUN!

So that’s what I’ve read this month. Do you have a good book you’ve read this month that you would recommend?

A True Mosaic for Mosaic Monday!

I was delighted to see this mosaic wall at the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens!

My mind started spinning…

thinking of all the fun photos to share.

Of course then I got a ‘low battery’ on my camera.

But it was hubby to the rescue!

He had brought his little Nikon Coolpix P300 in his back pocket.

So I ‘traded with him’! teehee!

I just kept walking around to see what else I could see!

And I can’t wait to go back to see what I missed!

I’m joining Mosaic Monday HERE.

A Day at the Ocean “Canaveral National Seashore”

As part of my birthday celebration, my sweet hubby wanted to take me to my MOST favorite place on earth, Canaveral National Seashore. The weather was in the 70s with light winds and abundant sunshine. So we packed a picnic lunch and headed to the beach.

There is something so calming about the sea…

everything about it!

It wasn’t crowded at all and there were plenty of seashells along the edge of the water.

We also drove to the Visitors center and saw some amazing sights on the Intercoastal Waterway.

Dolphins at play!

They were splishing and splashing and have a fun time!

Here’s a map to give you an idea of where it is.

Seagull

Brown Pelican

It was a fabulous day! Can’t wait to go back again soon! How many day trips do you think I can get out of one birthday? heehee!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.

Fall colors on a Winter Day in Summertime weather!

Ahhh…the joys of living in Florida!

We’ve had a beautiful winter so far with lots of opportunities to get outside.

So we’ll take another walk through Shalom Park today to see some Fall colors!

I laughed and said this looked like child abuse! This kid did not want to ‘perch’ in this maple tree!

So let’s keep walking!

Walking down this trail will take us under a beautiful tree with deep yellow leaves.

 

(maybe a butternut?)

Thanks for walking with me today! Have you had a chance to get outside this week?

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays

and Good Fences today!

Cutesy? Quirky? OR…downright SCARY? Let’s take a poll! UPDATED!!!

I miss taking polls! It seems like when I first started blogging a lot of the blogs had polls. Usually it was about decorating or trying to discover what interested us most.

But how about this? At the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens, we saw several gazing balls! And I really fell in love with them! And when I realized our reflection was in the ball, I thought it might make a cute button for my sidebar.

So I cropped it and resized it and it looked pretty good. But then I put text on it,

Step through the Looking Glass, Walk with us!

Does it look like we are asking you to walk into the Enchanted Forest or some place dark and scary?

So what do you think?

In the comments you can ‘give me a clue’.

A. It’s Cutesy

B. It’s Quirky

C. It’s Scary

D. You could care less about what I put in my sidebar and think I should spend more time walking than staring into gazing balls.

UPDATE : So HERE we go! Since I can’t stare into the gazing ball today, I’m working on the button for my sidebar! Thanks for ALL of the cutesy comments!

I liked Sam’s very first comment, “D lol Just kidding.”

But was that the most honest answer or was it Judith’s, “E, It’s Brilliant!”

And then Karen Ann said a softer border might look better! So that’s what I did. Oh and I added stars to the sky…less scary, don’t you think?

This was FUN! Now maybe I should do some REAL work today! (or pack my bag to go to the beach)

Enjoy your day!

Hope it’s cutesy or quirky (and never scary) !

Birthday Adventure at the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens

Thanks so much for all of the sweet birthday messages! We spent the day at the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens in Gainesville, FL. We packed a picnic lunch and some snacks and headed out for an adventure (it’s only about an hour drive from our house).

Now grab onto to this wild grape vine and we’ll swing over to my favorite garden.

“The Children’s Garden”

It was so whimsical and FUN!

Everywhere you looked was something cute!

We spent over 4 hours walking (some in the morning, most in the afternoon).

They’re NOT real, Vee!!!

And before we left, we walked BACK over to the children’s garden to look some more!

AMAZING!

What a FUN day!

Hubby planned it as a surprise so that made it even more special! Thanks sweet hubby!

I’m joining Mosaic Monday HERE.

Are these Birthday Birds? Answer at the end!

The weather has been so beautiful lately that I’m taking more neighborhood walks. It’s usually in the 70s at around 4 pm and several of my friends walk then too. A walk with a friend goes SO much faster!

So in between hikes with hubby, I’ve been walking around the neighborhood…which always takes me past the little pond.

Look at this gorgeous Little Blue Heron that has been here all week!

There were some clouds in the sky so there’s less glare from the water and you can see his true color.

What a rich blue!

And just when I turned to go home, a Red Tailed Hawk flew up into the tree near me.

So I snapped…

and snapped…

until some neighbors pulled up in their golf cart to see what I was looking at.

Then it flew. But how neat to see where it went and what it was doing. Maybe getting ready to build a nest for babies!

So are all these birds celebrating their birthday today?

Probably not.

But guess what!

I AM!

So hopefully I’m away from my computer for the day, having a birthday adventure.

I’ll visit you when I get back!

(and yes that’s me at 2 years old, riding my bike with one leg in the air, always the daredevil!)

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.