ten things tuesday

Ten random things:

1) I'm listening to the audiobook of Daisy Jones & The Six with a full cast narration that is absolutely wonderful!

2) My hair and I hate humidity.

3) Prepping for a girlfriend weekend away. Trying to figure out what to wear since it's going to be 90+ degrees.

4) Must remember sunscreen!

5) I think I've got the shoe situation covered--I'll wear Keds and ballet flats. They'll go with sundresses or shorts.

6) I've started thinking about school. 29 days.

7) I can't get over the progress I've made on my reading challenge!

8) No Amazon Prime purchases. The items on my list weren't really on sale.

9) I think that's about all I've got...

10)

finished reading

I highly enjoyed this romp of an adventure tale. It's a coming of age, in the 18th Century, when social norms were quite different for those born of the upper classes than those of us regular folks and there was a tremendous amount of sexual leeway and privilege to sleep with whom they wanted. Monty's love for Percy is almost a character too. I loved all of the secondary characters--they were fully fleshed out. The audio version is fantastic!

Memorable lines:
“God bless the book people for their boundless knowledge absorbed from having words instead of friends.”

“What’s the use of temptations if we don’t yield to them?”

“And then Jesus says, 'Well, watch this' - "
"Really? Well, watch this?"
"That's biblical language."
"If your Bible is written by Henry Montague.”

From the publisher:

Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits or waking up in the arms of women or men.

But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy.

Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.

currently

I am...

Reading: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

Listening to: a bird singing and chirping outside my window

Loving: I spent a lot of the morning chatting with my Virginia sister--good times

Thinking: about how I want to start the school year--I don't want to start with a lecture about rules, I want to engage them

Feeling: inspired, I've been reading a lot of professional articles

Celebrating: a girlfriend getaway this upcoming weekend--I'll be heading out of town with my bestie on our way to visit my high school bestie

Grateful for: life-long friends

Weather: currently 70 degrees but on the way to 78

Enjoying: every single thing

A quote I want to share:

self-care sunday

A day of rest.

postsecret

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard. I like to post one that speaks to me each week.

sunday stealing

(click the icon to play along)

Sad sleepy survey rambles

Have you ever been teased because of the things you like? I've always been teased because of the things I like--from my love of reading to knitting to pizza toppings

Do you hold grudges? no

Were there any classes you enjoyed because of the teacher? most of the history courses I had in college I loved because the professors were amazing (and humorous)

Was there a dress code at your school? there was a strict one at my high school

Have you ever been a bad friend? yes

Has a friend ever replaced you with somebody else? yes

Have you ever disliked something just because it was popular? yes

Have you ever watched a movie just because it starred an actor you liked? all the time

Are there actors/musicians you have met? when I saw my friend John's plays, he introduced us to fellow actors and I admit I was star struck

Do you ever judge people based on the music they listen to? not really

What about your top five music albums? Achtung, Baby by U2; Medusa by Annie Lennox; Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles; Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen; Pure Funk a compilation with various artists

Do you remember the first album you ever owned? no, I don't

Do you still use an mp3 player, or just your phone? I have an mp3 player but it's got audiobooks on it

Do you like Elton John? very much

Have any celebrity deaths hit you hard? Which one(s)? Robin Williams, Bernie Mac, Alan Rickman, and Princess Diana

finished reading

Change of writing partners in this 6th installment of the Fox & O'Hare series--I noticed a difference. The snap of the dialogue and the crazy secondary characters was there but the fast-paced plot was not. It was enjoyable, light summer fare but I didn't love it as part of the series.

From the publisher:

A stoner, an Instagram model, a Czech oligarch, and a missing unicorn. Nick Fox and Kate O'Hare have their work cut out for them in their weirdest, wildest adventure yet in this latest entry in the New York Times bestselling series by Janet and Peter Evanovich.

Straight arrow FBI Agent Kate O'Hare always plays by the rules. Charming Con Man Nicholas Fox makes them up as he goes along. She thinks he's nothing but a scoundrel. He thinks she just needs to lighten up. They're working together to tackle the out-of-bounds cases ordinary FBI agents can't touch. And, their relationship? Well, there hasn't been so much explosive chemistry since Nitro was introduced to Glycerin.
Next on the docket: The mysterious disappearance of the Silicon Valley billionaire, known as the Big Kahuna. Kate's been assigned to find him but no one seems particularly keen on helping. His twenty-six year old adult actress wife-turned Instagram model wife and his shady Czech business partner are more interested in gaining control of his company. For that they need a dead body not a living Kahuna.

The only lead they have is the Kahuna's drop-out son, who's living the dream in Hawaii - if your dream is starting your day with the perfect wave and ending it with a big bowl of weed. To get close to the Kahuna's son, Kate and Nick go undercover as a married couple in the big wave, bohemian, surfer community of Paia, Maui. Living a laid back, hippy-dippy lifestyle isn't exactly in Kate's wheelhouse, but the only thing more horrifying is setting up house with Nick Fox, even if he does look pretty gnarly on a longboard. If they don't catch a break soon, waves aren't the only thing she's going to be shredding (or bedding).

saturday 9

Bonanza

1) Bonanza ran on NBC for 14 seasons. Today it's rerun on Me-TV and TVLand. Were/are you a fan? I watched it but at the end of it's run

2) The show centers on The Cartwrights, who lived on a massive ranch in Nevada. License plates in Nevada read, "The Silver State." What's on your license plate? Vacationland

3) Ben Cartwright made his fortune as a cattle rancher. What's the last beef dish you ate? Steak Peppercorn from Freshly (let me know if you would like a $40 off code)

4) Patriarch Ben had his eldest son, Adam, with his refined, bookish first wife, Elizabeth. Unfortunately, Elizabeth died in childbirth. Still Adam inherited her love of the written word. What's the last book you finished? The Big Kahuna, part of the Fox & O'Hare heist series--so funny

5) Ben's second son, Hoss, was born to his second wife, Inger, who was killed as the family traveled West by wagon train. Hoss inherited her open, friendly manner and her way with animals. Are there pets in your home? well-trained dust bunnies

6) Ben's youngest, Joe, arrived after Ben married a third time to the passionate Marie, who died in a riding accident when her son was only five years old. Little Joe inherited her impetuosity. Do you consider yourself more spontaneous or predictable? I think I'm predictable

7) Samuel Clemons was a reporter in Virginia City at the time when the Cartwrights would have been there, and a fictionalized version of Mr. Clemons appeared in an episode of Bonanza. Without looking it up, do you know Samuel Clemons' famous pen name? Mark Twain!

8) Hair was a big deal in the Bonanza dressing room. Three of the original four stars -- Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts and Dan Blocker -- all wore hairpieces. (The fourth, Michael Landon, began dying his hair while still in his 20s because he was going prematurely gray.) Have you ever worn a wig or a hairpiece? I have never worn either--but because I have baby hair, which is pitifully thin on top, I have considered it

9) Random question -- Tell us the story behind one of your scars. there is a scar in my philtrum from where I fell on my face on a gravel driveway, I had a huge fat lip, the entire left side of my face had "road rash" and I still have a few faint scars, but the one above my lip is most prominent--thankful for wearing glasses or I would have lost an eye

will wonders never cease

I made a phone call on Alexa today. Holy moly! I had no idea that was possible.

the friday 56

The Friday 56

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
(If you have to improvise, that's ok.)
*Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it)
*Post it.

I'm reading the The Mother-in-Law.

I pull up to the traffic lights and glare at the enormous stuffed teddy bear on my passenger seat. Tom had bought the ridiculous toy, obviously, and as if that wasn't bad enough, he insisted that I be the one to take it along to the hospital to give to Lucy.

"What on earth for?" I'd said to him on the phone. "It's not like Archie will be playing with it in the next few days!"

"It's our first grandchild," he'd replied. "Besides, Lucy will love it."

three on thursday

Click the image to play along!

Thing One:

Thing Two:

Thing Three:

reminder

unraveled wednesday

Join Kat @ AsKatKnits for some fun!

Knitting away on Paris Toujours, which I did unravel and begin again and listening to The Big Kahuna (Fox and O'Hare #6).