Soundtrack for a Happy Day

Music is so powerful! Have you read Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks or This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel Levitin? I highly recommend BOTH!

Here are some cheerful selections to brighten your day:













Do you have any suggestions to add to the soundtrack? Please leave 'em in the comments!

It's been a Yoga Weekend. Yesterday, I went to a new-to-me studio with a friend who just signed up for classes. It was in a suburban office building, but they'd created such a lovely space, and the many windows look out over a lake, I really forgot I was in a building that shares space with an insurance company. Really, really pretty. It was mega-crowded and I was SUPER grouchy to start, but it all turned out really well! I might join my friend again.

Today, I went to a close-to-home place that I've been meaning to go to for ages. The Armenta Studio. It has a more organic feel to it, a little more down-to-earth and genuine feel. I really liked it! I was really nervous and anxious about going, but it also turned out great. I had a good workout and will prob go back again!

Chet the Dog

Our Business Card (No Divorce Work, Please)

I love this series (two so far) and hope you all go out and buy them both from your local Indie bookstore!

Here are a coupla links fer ya:
all about the first book, Dog On It.

And here's how to find an independent bookseller: It's easy and free!

Seriously, these are fun books. Here's a link to MY review of the second book, Thereby Hangs a Tail in Shelf Awareness.

books!

I've got a lot of books. A LOT. I just bought two more bookcases, so I can stop tripping over the (several) bags of books I've got. Of course, the bookcases are still hanging out where Mr Handsome and I left them a few days ago. Just randomly. I need to clean out the spare bedroom first, before I can move them in there. And that is going to be a HUGE job. I could have done it this weekend, as I had some time off. But I had too many books to read! Oh, the irony.
So, I've read the entire Percy Jackson series, both Hunger Games books, and something else... what was it... hmmm, can't remember. Anyway, I've read a few books this weekend and I should really do some housework. But, I won't. I'm going to read Wolf Hall instead!


see more dog and puppy pictures

Reading

I have a lot of books I haven't read yet. Many of them are advanced reader copies, books sent to us booksellers before they're final edition is printed. If we read them and recommend them as SOON as they're published, it's benefits everyone, so they send us these books for FREE! I get greedy. I take loads of 'em home, planning on reading them (really, I mean to!), but I just can't keep up.

I also go to the library a LOT for books I want to read but don't want to buy. I looooooove the library, it's a wonderful public resource. After work, I stopped by and got The Magicians, by Lev Grossman. Sort of a "fix" for those of us having magic-withdrawal, after Harry Potter. I had to FORCE myself to put it down to try to get some sleep, it's GOOD! I going to actually BUY this book, 'cause I think I want to share it around and I KNOW I'll want to read it again!

chores

Today is chore day. I just finished scrubbing the bathrooms and vacuuming the whole house. Man, this house is big. I mean, not for some people. For some people, it's just a cottage, I'm sure, but for me, it's big. It's a lot to clean! Ugh. And all I can see is what I haven't done yet. I don't get that satisfied feeling, like, "I just did a lot of work and I can tell and it was worth it!" Nope. There's always more to do. Which is why I'm posting a blog entry. heh.

I'm babysitting two kitties who need medicine and to be hand-fed. Twice a day I visit them. They are darling mews and I love them. It is time-consuming, though, because you just can't rush the meds. Cats and pills are not a happy combo. Poor kitties.

Tonight I've got book club and we'll be discussing Persuasion, my FAVORITE Jane Austen



book! I'm very excited about it! And nervous. What if the other women didn't like it? They do have a tendency to chose tragic, heart-breaking, depressing stories. ick. Well-written or not, I do NOT need help getting depressed by reading a book! There are SOOOOOoooooo many other choices out there! Well-written ones, too! We'll see how long I last in this book club. What I really enjoy, though, are the other women. They read the book, have pertinent observations to make, are not afraid to respectfully challenge each other or to give their real opinions. The discussion stays pretty much on topic, which is GREAT! And, of course, there is wine. And food!

Ahhhh... reading!

This is a GREAT idea!
"Grab a book and go outside
June 4, 2009 - 8:06 AM
MICHIGAN (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - Michigan's Department of Natural Resources is teaming up with public libraries for a unique summer program. You can stop by the library, check out a book and then check out a one-day pass to get into any state park or recreation area.
It's called Park and Read. Many of the parks will also have hammocks available for free to anyone participating in the program."

We have a hammock. It's never been used. This is a TRAGEDY! I'm gonna have to get that sucker set up somehow. We don't have a stand and I bought it to go between two trees at the Hobby House, but one of those trees had to be taken down, so now the hammock has nowhere to hang. sad. But I've GOT to figure SOMETHING out! Reading outside, in a gently swinging hammock is one of life's great pleasures!

I'm reading A Duty to the Dead, which is really good! A story set in 1916, about a British Hospital-Ship nurse who gets involved with old betrayals and murder! Neat!