I Am Here....

A few of you have inquired about my whereabouts this past week considering I am not usually absent from the blog world for long periods of time, and it does so touch my heart that there are those that miss me when I am not around.  But I do have a reason, sick.  Yeah, sick.  Just that nasty flu-like sick with coughing, sneezing, chills, fever, runny nose (oh my gosh the runny nose) and then after every sneeze and blow I felt the need to clean my hands, so now not only is the nose red and chapped from all that blowing, but the hands are as well, but they are germ free.  At least right at this moment. 

So instead of complaining about how I felt physically and more complaining  about this dang winter weather that refuses to leave (another 4-5 inches of snow last night) I just decided to back away for awhile.  The photography has been slim to none, just how many pictures can you take from your front window of the same snow day after day??  Taking a picture of the gallons of orange juice that I consumed didn’t excite me either.  And because I was sick I didn’t even go to Trader Joe’s for my weekly dose of flowers to add color to my world.  See now this is why I didn’t blog, I am having a pity party and that was not my intent. 

What I did do was read, nap, watch a little TV, read, nap and watch a little more TV.  I finished “The Girl You Left Behind”, good book – recommend.  Then I switched to something totally different, “The Bat” by Jo Nesbo a Norwegian writer dealing with crime fiction and a main character named Harry Hole.  Kinda gritty and unless you are into crime novels with some gore probably not what you would want to read.  Harry is from Oslo but is assigned to a murder case in which the victim is Norwegian in Sydney, Australia.  It does feature a fascinating take on the lives of Aboriginals in contemporary Sydney and is well written.  Now I am reading “The Rules of Civility” by Amor Towles a completely different story that begins at the end of 1937 and follows a young girl from the Bronx on her journey into the upper echelons of high society New York in the late 1930’s.  All the glamour and glitz of New York City, interesting story and great characters. A definite recommend.  As you can see, I am into variety, and I particularly like a well-written, character driven book.  

And speaking of writing, I have registered in another writing class at our local college.  It begins Wednesday and we already have homework.  If I come up with any good stuff or a "high five" from the instructor I might share....might.  I figured that if I didn't stimulate my brain somehow that it would begin melting unlike the piles and piles of snow.  

I came across a couple of great quotes today that I think are quite appropriate for this winter...

"May we all emerge from winter with our strength renewed and any unwanted pieces left under the ice"  ~  John Darnielle

and this one....

"At some point you just have to let go of what you thought should happen and live in what is happening."  ~  Unknown

Until next time....