Sunday, July 14, 2013

Life: It Goes On - July 14


Good morning from sunny, hot Omaha. At least our mornings and evenings have been cool enough to enjoy breakfasts and evenings on the patio. There has been much reading on the patio this past week. I've posted, on Twitter and Facebook, pictures of what I'm reading and my cocktail of choice that evening. As a joke, I suggested that I should start a feature on the blog showing beverage and book pairings.

It's been a quiet week here at Chez Shep - we had absolutely nothing on the calendar. I did pick up a free ticket the other day to the U.S. Senior Open from the company I work for so The Big Guy enjoyed spending the day watching some great golf Thursday. Friday night there was a free blues concert downtown and last night we got together with friends and enjoyed dinner at a dive restaurant on the riverside. So relaxing!


Here's What I'm:

Listening To: I'm still listening to Henning Mankell's The Man From Beijing. I'm hoping to finish it this week. Next up, I think, will be Tom Perrotta's The Abstinence Teacher.

Watching: Under The Dome but I'm about to give up on it. I know there are changes that need to be made with adaptations and I know that King has approved the changes. But the changes have, for me, fundamentally changed the story.

Reading: I started The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau and will go straight from it into her The Chalice for an upcoming TLC Book Tours review. Philippa Gregory fans, this one's for you!

Making: Peppermint iced tea with the peppermint I'm growing in my herb wagon. So refreshing!

Our artist, bike-riding crazy-fun niece!
Planning: Dinner tonight with my niece who is coming into town to go to a concert with Mini-me. I love that my 21-year-old son and his 36-year-old cousin want to hang out together! She's getting ready to move to California so we're glad to get to see her before she takes off. Now I just have to figure out a gluten-free menu, something I've never worked around before. Any suggestions?

Grateful for: Air conditioning - this girl does not handle the heat well right now.

Loving: Fresh produce straight from my gardens. Banana peppers, cherry tomatoes, rhubarb, herbs - I can hardly keep up already with these.

Thinking: Summer should last longer. I love the longer days, the lazier pace (this is what happens when your kids are all grown up!), and the lighter eating.

Looking forward to:Book club this week - we get to Skype with our friend who has just returned from a trip to Africa. I'm thinking we won't talk very much about the book, though, which is a shame because we read Amor Towle's Rules of Civility which is such a good book.

10 comments:

  1. Have a wonderful week and enjoy the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.

    I'm with you on air-conditioning and fresh produce from the garden. I have my first ripe tomato that I get to have for lunch today.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm so jealous you have air conditioning! I'm reduced to closing all the curtains and occasionally leaning into the freezer!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ok--no need to respond about the TV series. So many people reading the book and watching that I couldn't keep everyone straight. After watching the first three episodes I think that I've finally reconciled the differences. Trying to keep in mind that King wants to keep us surprised. But it was HARD at first!!

    Can you believe my A/C isn't running right now? It's glorious. And yes, I think book and food/drink pairings sounds like fun!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Lisa,

    Sounds like you've had a busy week. I miss not having a veggie garden, but we have a lot of farm stands everywhere so it's okay.

    Hope this week is a good one.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Say "Hi" to Mari!! Sounds like a wonderful week to me, except for the heat! I don't mind 82 but anything higher and I start to get cranky!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. You've had a lovely week, that's great! I'd love to see your book and cocktail pairings. :)

    I'm still not sure what I think of Under the Dome. I'll keep watching for now. The crazy thing is that I'm almost watching it just to see what ELSE has been changed instead of watching it out of enjoyment. Hmm.

    Hope you had a nice dinner with your niece!

    ReplyDelete
  7. It is hot here! Coming from no air but a dry heat it's taking some adjustment. HA

    I really liked Rules of Civility, we need to talk about it... it's one of the better plots I have read recently.

    I pruned my garden yesterday and hope to start harvesting tomatoes next week. YUM!

    Have a great day

    ReplyDelete
  8. Air conditioning and fresh produce are two of the greatest joys of summer! I loved Rules of Civility... one of my favorites last year. Did you see that Towles has released an extended short story "Eve in Hollywood"?

    ReplyDelete
  9. I wish my days were lazy. I've had it with this hectic summer of mine.
    Dinner on the river sounds lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  10. It sounds as if you're having a varied, yet relaxing time. We've been enjoying the warm weather in both Italy and England, although England is more humid and we could do with an air conditioning system. Looking forward to your thoughts on the Mankell as I read it when it was first published and was interested in the setting, but disappointed with the plot.

    ReplyDelete