Is it just me…?

Or is Madonna starting to look more and more like Zsa Zsa Gabor?

Happi Friday!

Just a quick note.  I really don’t have much to say today.

Had the day off and spent the day watching dvd’s and napping.   I had a couple of episodes of “Wire in the Blood” to watch.  That is the UK crime drama with Robson Green as the clinical psychologist Tony Hill based on the Val McDermid novels.  I love her as a writer and especially love the show, even though most of the episodes are not directly taken from her books.  I think they are up to season six now.  I hope the series keeps going.  It really is well done.

If you like creepy movies about serial killers, that is!   But I think they are good.

Chris came home from work and has gone off to the gym, good boy.   I don’t really go to the gym.  I know I should as I have a big boned or round frame, but sometimes I run out of energy and am not able to do very much after work.  I suppose if I did not have a round frame I would have plenty of energy and be able to jog and do all sorts of things but life doesn’t seem to work that way.   At least I am going strong with my new vegetarianism.  I am still eating fish and seafood for protein but am not eating anything that has feet.   I think it is a good start.  And I don’t eat seafood every day, maybe every third day or so.   And I am keeping up with it and I think it has been about a month now.   So I am doing well. 

 I did try to read a bit today but that wasn’t really happening. I am not sure whether it is just that I am not really into the book I am reading or that I have been reading too much lately and I feel like my head is going to explode if I try to suck in one more word.  I think it is more the latter.  I have been reading an awful lot lately.  Maybe I need to step back from it for awhile.   At least my conference will be over by the end of next week and I won’t have that to worry about.  Then I will just have the booktalks on the tenth and I am home and clear.    But I was not really reading all that much today.  And it was a good day for it, too.   Maybe I will read some before I go to bed.  Chris got some old Doctor Who episodes to watch and I will probably watch those with him.  I think we are going out to dinner as well, so my evening is quite booked.

And all this for a short post.  Sheesh!

Apology

I just want to apologize for yesterday.  I am not sure what planet I was on.  The post certainly seemed disjointed!

 I now know, however, where to look to see if  a video will allow you to use it or not, so I can be prepared for future posts.

But alas, I do not have a video today.  Just lil’ ol’ me.  I am feeling a bit tired.  I was able to sleep in for a bit but not that long so I should be well rested but now I seem to be drifting off unto the time when I really need a nap.

So, I hope you are all having a good week and are in preperation for a good weekend.  I have no plans other than work and church, and maybe going with Chris to play his role playing game on Saturday night.  That should be fun. It usually is a good time.  And it gives me something to do to get out of the house for a bit.     And I get to be off Friday so I have to think of some way to get into trouble.  A whole day off.  Really, I should stay in and get some reading done but that is so predictable and so like me.   But what am I if I am not like me?  So, unless I get a better offer, that is probably what I will be doing. 

And I also see a nap in my future!  But not tonight, kids. Tonight I stay up and work the desk of information.

So, until I see you next…

Leona Lewis (Actually, Duffy)

 Here is the video for Bleeding Love – The US release!   If you have heard about Leona, great!  She won the title in a show called X-Factor, I think it is the UK’s version of American Idol.   Anyway, I think the song is quite good and am hoping to pick up the CD.

Another CD I am going to get this week is the new one by the B-52’s  – Funplex.  I looked for a new video on Youtube by the group but haven’t found one.  But if I ever do, I will try to post it.

And I looked up a song by an artist called Duffy and that was quite good too.   So I have some shopping to do! I have had to include the video for Duffy because for some reason, the folks that upload Leona’s video do not want to share and have diabled the ability to embed.  So I have tried twice and neither video worked.  But I think Duffy should work fine.  Man, this is a complicated post!

Plus, I have a gaggle of books from the UK that I want to get! I have them all located on a wish list, but so far, I haven’t had a nibble.  (except for me, trying to remember what I put on there!)

Well, enjoy the video. I will see you on the flip side.

Update! I loaded that page and by the time it loaded the video was unavailable.  Drat. So I uploaded a new one. I hope this one stays put. If not, maybe you can find the video yourself. Pesky YOUTUBE!

Double Update!  Duffy it is!

Easter Wrap-up

I hope you all have had a pleasant Easter.  And if you don’t celebrate, I hope you had a pleasant Sunday.  Chris and I went to church, it was a wonderful service, the music was good and the sermon uplifting.   Then we headed off to the Nautilus diner for some Italian cuisine.   It made up a very nice day.  

I am still working on the bookes I mentioned in the last post.  I did finish the novel by Cara Black so I am ready for the author talk next Monday.  I have also started the new novel by Benjamin Black called the Silver Swan.  Benjamin Black is the pen name of Booker prize winning author John Banville.   He decided to write a crime novel and wrote the first called Christine Falls, and luckily for us he has written the follow up with the Silver Swan.   It follows the character of Quirke, a medical examiner who was at the time hard drinking but now on the wagon in the second novel.   In this particular story, Quirke is approached by a former college friend about the death of the college friend’s wife, an apparent suicide.  But the friend does not want a post mortem done and wonders if Quirke can arrange it.  Quirke agrees to try, opting for a visual scan of the body, and then he sees the puncture wound on the arm…

Quite good and very well written for those of you that want your mystery to be a little more literary.  I am not that far along but I am really enjoying it and I think it will definately make my yearly crime picks for my favorites.

Some of my upcoming titles to read are Denise Mina – Slip of the Knife and John Harvey – Gone to Ground. I am sure you will hear all about them.

Incidentally, my dog tried to kill me last night.  We were heading through the laundry room to let her out when she came to a dead stop, causing me to trip over her and land on my side on the laundry room floor against some really hard cornered object.  I probably have a bruise.   It was awful. Chris heard the thump and had to come rescue me. 

But I couldn’t stay mad at Lola for very long! 

Oh, the Madness

Just to let you know, I am currently reading FOUR books at once.   And three of them are for assigments so I have a deadline.  Sheesh.  To let you know what I am doing:

 I am reading a mystery by Cara Black.  Cara Black writes novels set in Paris, and she is also coming to the library to do a talk.  I am hosting the program and want to read one or two books by her so I can be better informed.  The even is on March 31st so I have about two weeks.  I am almost done with the first one.  I like it!

I have a wonderful committee that I have to read children’s books and the year for that is almost over.  But for the first week in April I have to moderate a discussion group so I have to reread the four books that are in my group.  I am two and a half books done.  One of them is non fiction and is a little slight, so I can read that one quickly.   But read I must.

Then for my personal learning plan at work I wanted to read more non fiction, especially biographies.  When a customer asks me for a good biography I am always at a loss for what to give them.  So, I am trying to read one a month and the month of March is almost over.  And I have over 100 pages to go.  I might have to do double time this weekend.

Of course, on top of all of this madness I am listening to a book in my car.  It is a Phryne Fisher mystery set in Australia in the 1920’s.  It is the first one that I have read in this series (well, listened to) and it is quite good so far.

Oh, and I almost forgot, on April tenth a group is coming to the library and I have to prepare some fiction booktalks!  Egads!  

No wonder my eyes hurt and I have a crick in my neck.  No wonder I am lax in posting!  The job of a librarian is never done!

Spa

I think it is time for me to make an appointment with the spa.  If it is true, and if we get 300 bucks back from the government, that is what I am going to do.

I think, if they can use a hot rock treatment, maybe they can straighten my neck out, literally.

It is giving me pain again today.  It was much better this morning and then around four it really started to hurt. I have been applying heat and trying to relax it to no avail. I took some advil.  I hope that will begin to work.  I will hate trying to sleep if I am in pain.

Maybe I need a chiropractor!

Well, I am not going there right now. I think a good shoulder and neck massage will do the trick.  I was searching around the internet today and looking up neck pain sites, and it seems that it is more of a proble if my arms and hands tingle.  Then my neck might be out of line.  But my arms and hands are fine, just the neck.

I am sure you are all quite tired of me talking about my neck, but as for now, it is what is on my mind.  So, that is what I am going to talk about.

Hopefully something more enlightening tomorrow!

I think I went on Hiatus

I just realized that it has been a long time since last I blogged.

I haven’t been doing anything, honestly!  I just haven’t had much to say.

I made a nice dinner tonight.  Garlic potatoes and seasoned green and wax beans.  Yum.  I might still have a salad.  I think the potatoes really turned out well!

I have been having some trouble with my neck.  I think I am sleeping on it wrong because I wake up and it hurts terribly.  I have decided that one of my problems is that my pillows are old and somewhat flat.  Well, in actuality they are really flat.  Almost two dimensional flat.   So, today I ordered two new pillows.   I hope they will be fluffy and fluff up my head.  I got them on Overstock.com so the shipping was just $1.00.    Yay for $1.00 shipping!

It has been a busy week at church, what with Palm Sunday and Easter coming up.  And in order to be confirmed I needed to go to downtown Baltimore and have a teaching day with the Bishop.   Episcopalians are not Catholic but they have a similar church structure with a Bishop and he will be the man that will be at my confirmation.   I enjoyed meeting many people there and have really decided that it is a good fit for me.  There were several gay and lesbians present, even a member of the clergy and it was all very welcoming.    So, it is time I dusted off my Christmas decorations and start going to church again.   I know some of you are not religious and that is fine, too.   I just needed something in my life and I think I found it.

The only downside to the Bishop’s teaching day was the enormous number of teenagers present.  I guess that is natural, as you get confirmed as a teenagers usually, but there were a few adults in the mix and we felt kind of outnumbered.  And the teenagers were without parents so they were giggly and silly as teenagers are.   And at the end of the day we had a service and they made fun of the poor priest the whole time.   But he managed to hold his own and let it just go by him as he continued on.  At the library I would have personally escorted them all out.

I also discovered that at the Diocese center where the Bishop has his offices is an Episcopalian bookstore, and I love that.  It was closed by the time I got to it, but I know it is there now and the center is really close to my house.  And I just love a bookstore, so I am most happy with that find.

So  my next major holiday is Easter. I am going to be here with Chris, we are not visiting family so it will be a low key day.  And we are no longer eating ham anyway, so Easter dinner would be out.   I guess I can make some mashed potatoes and color a hard boiled egg, or two.   That would give me something to do!

Anyway I am back now.  Hopefully I will have the drive to write more frequently.  We shall see.

Calling all Vegans!

Just to let you know, if you should come to Baltimore, I have the perfect place for you to eat!

It is called the Yabba Pot.  I had heard about it but had never eaten there until this week.

It was awesome!

They have a selection of five vegan dishes every day, and you have to go and see because the dishes change day by day. I had a wonderful bowl that had seasoned kale,  chick peas and potatoes in a curry sauce and BBQ tofu.  It was delicious. They also have a selection of wraps and then a whole variety of juices that they make in a juicer in the back.  I had a wonderful lime ginger juice.  Just a little sour and I probably would get it again but order a small, I think.  But it was good. I will definately travel back there to eat!

Chris and I have been working on our vegetarianism this past month and it has been going well.  It seems to be much easier now that we are supporting each other and staying away from places like fast food stands that are primarily meat.  We have been going out and getting more Chinese, Indian and even Mexican and have found some good places.   We are not vegan, we still eat eggs and cheese, but we are doing well.  I think I actually feel a bit better and I am sure my cholesterol is going to go down.  And it is not that hard.  I had been veggie for about eight years so I know I can do it again.  Now I have to just dust off one of my cookbooks and I will be ready to go!

The other vegetarian place I found is called One World Cafe, and they are also very close to my house.  They have some vegan dishes and some with cheese so you can get either but they are very good.  I had franks and beans there, the franks being tofu, and cole slaw and fries.  Chris had the mac and cheese and a salad and it looked very good.  I can’t wait to go back and try something else from the menu.  The trouble with One World is the parking.  (i.e. there isn’t any). You have to find something on the street and that is very hard, almost impossible to do.  We tried to go back to get something else but had to go elsewhere.  It was raining and we didn’t want to be a mile away!

Anyway. Happy Monday, Y’all.

Dewey and History

If you know me, you will know that I am not much of a history buff.  I don’t really read non-fiction, although I feel that I should read more.

But I love me some period pieces!

And I have discovered the Tudors!  It is a ten part Showtime series with lavish costumes and drama and sex.   It is about the life of Henry the VIII and his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and his dallience with his next wife, Ann Boleyn.   The acting is very well done, the scenery is gorgeous and the plot is fast moving.  Chris sits with me while I watch and I think he is interested even though this is not really his thing.  I have watched the first six episodes so far, and am dreading when I get to ten because I will have to wait for season two.  I am wondering if they will keep filming until they manage to get through all six of Henry’s wives.  That is a long period in time and I am not sure about the legnth of the run of the series.   But if you get a chance, please watch it. It is available on Netflix and at your local library.  (I know, because we have it at ours!)

The other thing I am reading about is Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitane.   This is because I am reading a mystery novel called the Serpent’s Tale by Ariana Franklin (and I love me some Ariana Franklin).  In this case,  poor Rosumund, Henry’s lover, has been poisoned by a death cap mushroom and everybody is quick to blame Eleanor because she really hated Rosumund.   But if Eleanor is blamed, she might turn Henry’s sons against him and cause a civil war and that is to be avoided at all costs.  So, Adelia Aguilar, the heroine of the piece, is called in to solve the crime.  She is an early forensic examiner and a doctor in a time when women really were not allowed to practice medicine, so she must proceed with caution.   And she does!  It is a great addition to the series. But start with the Mistress of the Art of Death for an introduction.  Then move on to Henry II.   I have ordered a book on Eleanor of Aquitane because I have become fascinated by her and I will let you know. It is non fiction, and you KNOW how I feel about non fiction.  But I will have some great info about the English royalty and you have but to ask!