The Sunday Salon 23 May

Sunday 23 May, 2010 By 5 Comments

The Sunday Salon.com

Life: I am still sad I will not be at BEA and BBC. I will be missing out on making connections, meeting other reviewers, authors, publishers, publicist, etc, in person. I will miss out on hearing and seeing the newest ideas, releases, and missing some fantastic seminars. I cannot express how much it saddens me to not be involved. Yet, my family comes first, as it should.

Family Update: Tomorrow is my 19th Wedding Anniversary. We have a fun day planned then a small party with friends. Friday is my son’s big formal affair and I found a Little Black Dress, accessories and heels I need to learn to walk in. I am contemplating painting my nails. The last time I did was in the early 80s, so I am not certain it would go well. My oldest was in his first fender bender and hopefully it will be his last. Thankfully, no one was injured. There is an amazing amount of damage to my car. :( This is not going to go well for my insurance premiums. My iPad has not arrived, I have tried to get excited about it, so far, there has been no excitement on my end, although my family cannot wait. We experienced another rainy week and yet still managed to plant flowers in the beds and prepared hanging baskets as well as moved some shrubs around. Overall the yard looks much better than it did. Our neighbours are completely moved into their flat. We see them daily, but it is somehow not the same, yet still good.

What I did on Saturday Night: I spent Saturday night in a theatre watching Extreme Theatre 2010. My son and his drama friends had 24 straight hours (their work began Friday at 7:30 P.M.) to write, create, cast, memorize, build sets, work lighting, make costumes etc, for the live performance on at 7:30 P.M. We had a brilliant time and those teens are quite talented!

Read and Reviewed: Even with the loss of my glasses I did read and review 11 books. I could have done more but lost a day during the great glasses hunt. I shall, as usual, list all the reviews I read this past week on Monday with links. Do not want to wait until Monday? They are all up and as usual, I love comments.

So what will I be reading? I am getting delightfully lost in Helen Hollick’s Captain Jesamiah Acorne pirate series. Reviews will be coming, but for now anyone looking for a novel filled with action, adventure, suspense, strong women, pirates, wit and excellent writing, her first in the series is Sea Witch.

Happy Reading and please feel free to leave comments or suggestions.

Visit the The Sunday Salon.

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What Is Friendship?

Wednesday 21 April, 2010 By 10 Comments

“The friendship that can cease has never been real.”
- Saint Jerome

I have been pondering this quote, which has given me more questions than answers.

What is friendship? I am not asking a rhetorical question, I am quite serious. Does friendship thrive only in good times or is a friend some who makes time, be it in person, a telephone call, or a letter? Can true friendships (I am referring to adult friendships) end?

It seems to me that friends should mutually support each other in good and bad times, not just when it is convenient for one or the other. I may be naive. I may be too optimistic (not something I am usually accused of). I do know we are all busy, life is busy. However friendships are formed even when people are busy, so how is it then that friendships could be so easily discarded due to lack of time?

Sadly, I believe Saint Jerome may be correct, yet I desperately hope to be proven wrong.

Does anyone have any thoughts, wisdom, or insight?

*EDITED: While being domestic I thought more about this post and realised reason 1, 023 why I am not a writer, I assume people know what I am thinking.

1) This post is about my personal life outside my blog. The only drama I blog about is in my book reviews. I do not participate in blog drama, I find it useless, so please know this post is about my life outside Rundpinne.

2) I am referring to very long-time friendships, deep friendships where the people involved know each other secrets, dreams, fears, hopes, and disappointments. The friend that can be called at 3am just because.

3) It is rather unusual of me to post personal posts, so again, I apologise if I wrote this in an awkward manner. This is just a momentary blip in my book reviews, I have review that shall be up in 10 hours. :)

4) I truly am seeking advise, so continue commenting, please.

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Over the Moon!

Friday 8 January, 2010 By 14 Comments

I have a brand new header! What? Sometimes it is the smallest of surprise gestures that take my breath away. Amy aka Coffee With the Mrs. realised my header was lacking a book! I know, I know, I am never seen without at least one book. Take a look above to see what she made for me. Amy is a dear friend and recently became a new mum to a darling baby girl and her son is just too cute for words. Amy has been re-doing her own site, which looks fantastic! Pop by Coffee With the Mrs. and see what she has been busy working on, when not busy being a full-time mum of two and wife.

Thank you Amy, you made my day. Muah!

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A Little Time Off…

Thursday 24 December, 2009 By 3 Comments
Merry Christmas Eve!

I shall be away for a few days, to enjoy the Christmas festivities with my husband and sons. I will be back posting and reviewing books a few days after Christmas.

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Faith ‘n Fiction Saturdays- Gratitude

Saturday 21 November, 2009 By 4 Comments

I have read Amy’s Faith ‘n Fiction Saturdays posts, but never joined in until today. I think I chose the perfect day based on the question.

Directly from Amy:

“With Thanksgiving coming up, I thought I’d keep it simple today and just ask what you’re thankful for this year. Every year is so different, and we learn to appreciate different things in different seasons of life. If you have a favorite Thanksgiving book or passage from Scripture you’d like to share with us as well, please do! Or maybe even just a photo. All I’m asking is that you take a couple of minutes and let the gratitude well up in your heart and onto your blog! :) “

My Answer:

I am so very grateful first and foremost to my loving and supportive husband and three sons. Their strength and love keeps me going. Being a stroke survivor is not easy nor is being in chronic pain, yet they truly help make my journey easier. I am extremely grateful for my Skype Sisters, even if they move on, they are sisters of my heart and I am blessed. My best friend Deb, who has always stood by my side in good times and in the darkest hours. Finally, I am grateful for finding “me” in the world of Book Reviewing and for all of the tremendous support and kindness that has been extended toward me. I pray I get to know each of you better in the coming year.

Thank you Amy for this fantastic prompt! I know that I need reminders to be thankful, especially when I am struggling.

So, what are you thankful for?

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Welcome Eliana!

Tuesday 20 October, 2009 By Leave a Comment

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Congratulations to Amy and her family!
Check out Amy’s Blog for updates and photos. :)

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Uncaffeinated and Migraine Brain Thoughts

Thursday 15 October, 2009 By Leave a Comment

I knew today was not going to be my day when I was taking migraine medicine before bed and they were not helping. Thankfully my sweet husband is preparing pulled pork in the crockpot for dinner tonight. He is wonderful that way. He is dreadful at painting, yet I could not ask for a more loving father and husband.

So what is on my pain-filled mind today?

  • My identical twins are finally coming into their own and developing separate interests and making separate friends. It only took 15 years! This may sound odd, but I am thrilled. One twin has always been more dominant and it makes me happy to see them on equal footing.
  • My friend Amy is due anytime time now and we are all very, very excited for her!
  • As a mum of 3 teen boys I am beyond frustrated with High School athletics. If you have teens, you may know what I am rambling about. If you do not yet, be prepared.
  • My shyest child, the non-dominant twin is not only involved in theatre, but crew and an independent play. This is his first year and I am so proud of him I could burst.
  • The painting in my home is gorgeous and progressing slowly. Some have asked what is taking so long (fair question as this may now be week three?). It all began with my neighbour (whom we view as a family member) offering to paint a wall red. I have red accent walls throughout the main rooms and forgot to place one in the family room and this had been bothering him. So, he began that then decided the kitchen colours had to go and well once in the kitchen, the hallways looked dim and the main bathroom, *shudder*. Still I hear people thinking, “3 weeks?”. Let me try to explain. He is offering his precious time, so I cannot actually force him to move faster. He is the full time care giver of a 91-year-old and her disabled son. They live next door, so he often has to check on them. He is a full-time caregiver, which means 24/7, so what time he devotes to us is truly limited and rather precious to us.
  • I will indeed show before and after pictures. For those interested in colours. The hallway is Light Sage with Snow White trim and doors, the main bathroom is Scandinavian Sky and White, The Kitchen is Butter Yellow and Snow White with two recessed accent walls in Heirloom Red.
  • My head is at about a pain level of an 8 or 9.
  • I have two book tours tomorrow that I am excited about and hoping my head lets up enough for me to write coherently. Please check back and see how well I did.
  • Finally, my oldest will be singing this Saturday evening at a charity function. This is the first time I will have ever heard my son sing by himself and I cannot wait.

A fresh carafe of coffee is waiting as are pillows, ice packs, and rice bags. I wish for my readers a truly wonderful day.

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Flowers, Prayers, Changes

Tuesday 9 June, 2009 By Leave a Comment

I am in a state of limbo at the moment and I thank all of my wonderful readers for sticking with me, as I am not posting my usual posts. My best friend’s husband is still in hospital and there is talk about moving him to a larger facility for more in depth neurological testing. While I personally think this is wonderful news, I know it is tearing my dear friend apart even more. It means a much longer commute for not only her, but her mother, son and her son’s friend (all of whom are very sleep deprived). I would like to thank everyone who has prayed, offered positive thoughts and well wishes to my dear friend John, his wife Debbie, and their son Zachary. I humbly ask for everyone to continue to hold them in your thoughts and prayers. I cannot convey in mere words how much these acts mean to Deb right now.

I would like to share with everyone my absolute delight with ordering flowers through 1-800-FLOWERS. I do not work for the company nor does anyone else I know, rather I am a just a satisfied customer. I place my order with them online and in slightly over 1 hour the flowers were in John’s hospital room.

I had a lovely birthday, well as lovely as one can be when one’s best friend is going through such a dreadful time. Thank you all the the beautiful birthday wishes they mean a lot to me. I have been very blessed with wonderful friends in my life and I do not say that lightly.

One of my dear friends, Jennifer (Speedy to some) has begun a second blog and I highly recommend checking it out as well as leaving a recipe. You can find Jennifer’s new site at The Speedy Gourmet and of course her completely awesome blog Eighty MPH Mom, where she is currently having a Summer Bash with fantastic giveaways! I have not had the time/energy to enter any contests, but hers are not to be missed.

Again, I want to thank each of you on behalf of my friend Deb and her family for the prayers, positive thoughts, and well wishes. The days are more like roller coaster rides and yet we are not giving up hope. She has not had a lot of time or energy to blog about what is happening, but some updates can be found at her blog, From A Creative Heart.

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My Heart Is Heavy

Saturday 6 June, 2009 By Leave a Comment

SkYesterday I received the most wonderful birthday surprises from my SS friends and I had planned to blog all about their love and generosity. I will, but not yet, they know I received the gifts and they know I love each and every one of them! I know they will understand my decision to wait to blog about the gifts. Amy, Andrea, Christine, Erin, Jen, Sky, Liz, and Toni, I love you all. Thank you for always being there and for thinking of me. I will share the photos of the cupcakes and the See’s Chocolate. I know you all understand why I am choosing not to at this time.

This morning, before I had time to blog, I received some devastating news.

My heart is so very heavy right now I can barely think. For those of you who have read my blog, I say over and over that life is short. It is. I see and read about people worrying about who likes who or who is doing what (mini dramas in the blogosphere) or those competing to look thin (there is a difference between wanting to be healthy and wanting to look like supermodels or actors on TV) and all I think is life is too short. Enjoy life. Live it to it’s fullest! Do not put off doing something, you may not get another chance.

Right now as I type, my best friend’s husband is lying in a hospital and they do not think he will ever regain consciousness. My heart is breaking. All I want is for him to wake up. For him to see his loving family. It is not looking very promising and I know doctors can be wrong and I am praying so hard right now that they are wrong. John is a fighter and I want so badly for him to pull through this. I feel helpless that I am not there to hold my friend. I feel angry that I did not think to phone last night and tell him the bird house he gave the boys is filled with wrens. I had planned to share that information today, but now it may be too late.

Please, please do not put off telling someone something, even if it is about a full birdhouse. Please pray (in whatever manner works for you) for my friend Debbie, her husband John, and their son Zach.

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The Giving of One’s Time, Talent, and Kindness

Thursday 4 June, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Life gets busy and I for one, do not always take the time to enjoy the simpler things of life, such as working in the dirt. As I mentioned yesterday, I had purchased a lot of flowers and had them crammed in three planters. My neighbour came over and spent the day dividing them into my backyard and creating my front yard. He wanted to do a red and white theme throughout the front, but I had too many pinkish colours, so those had to be separated out (or so I was told). He trimmed back shrubs, planted, and plotted. The following pictures are still a work in progress, but a rather jolly good start! It is amasing what can be accomplished when we give of our time, our talent, our passion.

The corner is still a work is progress.


A closer look of the unfinished corner.


I finally have window boxes!


Part of the front, which I cannot wait to see grown!


The other window box. I am told the Wave Petunias will cascade over the boxes!


My hanging basket, lovingly created by my neighbour.


The area for my beloved pink flowers.


I eagerly await the next projects! My yard is still a canvas waiting for more colour and finishing strokes. I have learned so much already and summer has not even officially begun. Now to pay it forward.

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