6710 Grand

Something AWFUL happened this week. It's not your typical tragedy.  But a tragedy just the same. On Monday, I learned that I had a Tuesday meeting in Scranton.  What's the big deal?  You might say.  Well, Monday's are "Sanctuary Days". Days I spend on site in Dalton to manage meetings with my team, visit the animals and otherwise stay connected to the mission.  Tuesdays are NOT days where I do that.  But on rare occasions where I need to be in Scranton for 2 days in a row, my amazing husband often suggests that I stay overnight in Clarks Summit to avoid the drive and get a little "me" time.  I relish these moments.  I'm afraid to hope for them.  But they are glorious. I have a specific hotel that I frequent.  It's not fancy.  It's not glamourous.  But it's mine.  It's the Hampton Inn in Clarks Summit.  Along the "strip" in NEPA (past the "notch" for those who know), lies a simple, clean, efficient hotel.  I'm n...

I love books. No big secret there. I've been an avid reader for as long as I can remember. I would always pick the big books--the ones with 4-500 pages so I could dive in and stay a while. I've never been one to read a single book at a time. Even now, there are 8 or 9 on my "currently reading" shelf. I love real books--I love the smell and the feel. But I'm not one to pass up an audio version either. I have the Kindle, the iPod, the personal library, the library fines--all the signs of a book lover. I do not appologize for this. One of my most memorable birthdays was when I was nine or ten and my dad took me to B. Dalton and gave me free reign. Pick 10, he'd said. Ten! Ten new books! There were a few series I'd picked out--Sweet Valley Twins, The Babysitters Club, stuff like that. But the one I felt most excited about was the Tell Tale Heart and Other Writings by Edgar Allen Poe. I still have that book. It's a bit worse for wear, and mi...

It’s 4:33 and the sunrise alarm clock that is supposed to wake me up naturally is blaring orange light into my bedroom.  I have no idea how to turn it off because the 946 page instruction manual remains unread in my “to read” folder.  But it doesn’t matter.  Ike is crying and it’s time to get up anyway.  I pry myself out of bed, throw on my gym clothes and head downstairs.  The coffee pot is brewing.   I debate having a cup before my run but as I diaper my baby and snuggle him back to bed I know it’s not a smart choice.   One cup leads to seven and that means my morning run won’t happen.   And it MUST happen. Baby is back down for at least another hour so I head to the basement where my office and gym are waiting for me.   I’m immediately reminded of the things I meant to finish last night but didn’t and am momentarily tempted to tackle them now.   No.   You MUST run.   I open the windows in the gym and turn on two fans. ...

 I’m reading a book about life lessons.  The lessons themselves aren’t really memorable.  I can’t even think of one of them.  Of course, I’m only halfway through the book so maybe it gets better.  In one of the chapters, the author is talking about growing up in a far north part of the world.   It’s cold.   It’s dark most of the day.   He describes how a cat’s greatest worry in winter is not being run over but rather finding a nice warm engine of a recently driven car, falling asleep there and waking up too late after the driver decides to make another trip.   Yikes!   He talks about the dangers of driving on cold, slippery roads.   At one point he describes a sign that reads: “Be Alert…the world needs more lerts.” I read this and laughed.   A big belly laugh.   A laugh that required me to throw my head back.   It’s not that it’s really even that funny.   But it’s totally something my dad would say.   ...

I've been trying to post for days.  Something keeps getting in the way.  A grant deadline is moved up to get funding out to non-profits faster (good!).  An unexpected sunny day means working outside (good!).  Ike falling asleep eating his lunch and nap time comes early (not really good, but definitely funny!).  Iris needs help getting some strange app that is suddenly required and my tablet is the only place she can get it (not good.)  I'm sidetracked by the latest report on COVID-19 (not good.)  But finally now, it's quiet and peaceful and I have sometime to write down what I'm thinking and feeling...and I find I just don't know where to start.  At the start (for me) I was annoyed with 2 weeks at home with my kids but tried to look on the bright side and actually though I'd get a lot of reading done (um, no.).  But now two weeks has stretched into 6 (at least) and I'm not only missing my usual birthday hoopla but also Easter, spring break,...

David and Bathsheeba--what a scandal!  I'm reading yet another Max Lucado book, Facing Your Giants .  It's a detailed journey through David's life as runt of the litter, chosen by God, giant slayer, fugitive, king and yes, general sinner. Now, I love Max Lucado (big shock) but in this book he said something that really  got to me.  Hours later, I'm still annoyed.  Here it is: We've gone through most of David's life, past the Goliath thing, past the running from Saul, past the death of his best friend.  I feel like I really know David at this point.  We're now up to his perhaps most famous temptation--Bathsheeba.  She's another man's wife.  So here Max is describing the scene, Bathsheeba taking a bath.  that's really all we know about what she was doing .  But David is enamored.  Max describes what must have been a beautiful woman (at least in David's mind).  A servant is summoned who tells David who she is--Uriah's wif...

Fall.  It's FINALLY here!  It's grey and gloomy, damp and a bit rainy, colorful, crisp--just PERFECT!  These are my absolute favorite days.  The kind where I want to curl up with a cup of coffee and a good book.  What better books to read in October than Halloween themed books!  I started one last week called Fundraising the Dead .  A mystery about a development director?  WHAT???  So perfect for me!  Or so I thought. Humph.  Not so much.  I'm just about a quarter of the way through and I'm not sure I have the stomach for it.  First, the main character is having an affair with the executive director of the museum she fundraises for.  Um, bad idea.  He might be (as described) gorgeous and suave but let's just not go there.  Maybe I have my head in the sand and this happens a lot.  I hope not. But the real kicker for me is her attitude about fundraising.  She specifically refers to it as "beggi...

I'm always optimistic about camping.  I love the idea of disconnecting for the weekend.  I love the thought of slowing down, enjoying nature, exploring the outdoors.  Mostly I love the fire.  The satisfaction of building it, of stoking it, bringing it to life and watching it consume log after log.  Cooking over it is fun too.  It makes me nostalgic for my days in the Girl Scouts.  We camped a lot and I always loved the romance of it.  Sleeping outside (sort of), foraging for wood (in addition to what we brought with us), being one with nature (ok, not really, but you get the idea). The girls love it too and for all of the same reasons (maybe not so much the fire or the being disconnected).  We camped a few times in Phoenix and had many disasters, including Iris's first camping trip which ended maybe six hours after it started but that's for another post.  It was harder there because you couldn't reserve a space and the drive to where t...

I really love books.  It's actually kind of ridiculous.  I don't buy a lot of them (well, sometimes I do).  Other people give them as gifts but I get a lot from the library.  It's caused a bit of strife in my marriage because they're just...EVERYWHERE!  I generally read three or four at a time and try to finish at least two books a week.  But I have sort of strange requirements when it comes to books.  I like to have hard cover books for the treadmill.  It's easier to prop them open while I run.  I use binder clips and rubberbands to hold my pages.  I like to have a large paperback up in my room because I like to read while I'm drying my hair in the morning (it's a lot of hair).  A big enough paperback will hold itself open and I don't have to resort to a balancing act with my phone or the nearby candle.  I'm not above doing this but it has resulted in at least one broken candle and near misses with my phone in the toilet. ...

"Why are you reading that?"  Nick asks, looking at my book. I frown.  His question is completely ridiculous.  "It's about coffee.  Why wouldn't I read it?" Now, this isn't Howard Schultze and his building of the Starbucks empire, it's Cleo Coyle's Coffeehouse Mystery series.  THIS is my kind of book!  Not at all the dreaded Twilight series or that horrible Husband's Secret .  Don't get me wrong, it's not winning any literary prizes but it combines two of my great loves--coffee and reading.  GREAT!  Sign me up!  I'm working my way through the series via my library and am on book 8, I think:   Espresso Shot.  The only troubling thing really is that the series's main character, Claire Cosi, seems to find her way into a disturbingly high number of murders.  She's the owner of a coffeehouse (a very famous one in the book--no idea if it's a real-life reference) and yet somehow murder seems to follow her around.  It...

I'm reading this book, the Husband's Secret .  The jacket cover was so compelling!  A woman finds a letter addressed to her from her husband that she is to read in the event of his death...but he's still alive! Somehow, this letter affects not only her, but two other women that she barely knows.  Wow!  What a premise!  I have to read this! Um, no. Sadly, these characters are completely unsympathetic.  I don't like the woman who's daughter was murdered 20 years before.  I don't like the woman who's husband has left her because he's fallen in love with her cousin.  I don't mind the woman who found the letter but I don't really care about her either.  The only person I can identify with and feel defensive towards is the daughter-in-law.  She's a career woman who has a wonderful opportunity that will move her and her family from Australia to New York.  Her mother-in-law is angry because she's taking the grandson away.  Sorry, l...