A rough day at the computer

OK...I should be happy. The sun is out and I am online. Troubles with printing from Microsoft Word. Did learn that I could be doing it better. Haven't learned very many things since I retired. Just getting along with the same old knowledge I had two years ago.

Heads in beds (book), by Jacob Tomsky. a tell-all expose of the hotel business. I probably won't be instituting any of his suggestions for better service because they all involve TIPPING and in a big way. Not really my frugal way.

Grandma Gatewood's walk (book) : the inspiring story of the woman who saved the Appalachian Trail, by Ben Montgomery. If I ever heard of her, I forgot. I liked the way she just set out to walk, alone, when she was 65 years old.

Easing on into the weekend

Don't know how I am going to fit exercise back into my life. Now that I have lapsed. Not too much time left over after I get enough sleep, get online and be with my friends.

Listening to Into the woods and a Joe Cocker album on Hoopla, the library borrowing database. Just saw the movie of Into the woods yesterday and Joe Cocker died this week. There is no connection between the two.

It is a rainy, gray, dreary day in January. I MUST plan a getaway...maybe drive my home-away-from-home? Need sun and warmth and blue skies.

Resolutions or to do list?

So, it is January 2nd and I haven't organized my January calendar pages. Nor have I made any New Year's resolutions. Maybe I should list ACCOMPLISHMENTS of 2014 first.

Lucky us (audio book), by Amy Bloom. Didn't really like this book much or was it the reader? A lot of weird stuff goes on during the era of the second World War. Not much thinking or describing, just stuff happening.

Sunny today, but a bit cold. Listening to the soundtrack of the new movie, Into the woods, which I plan to see later today.

Sunshine isn't all it is cracked up to be

I miss, miss, miss the sun....but when it came out, I realized that it blinds me when I am driving home near sunset, and reflects off of the shiny bits in my car and blinds me. So, maybe clouds aren't so bad! If we ever get sun in the winter, it doesn't last so long, anyway.

The man who mistook his wife for a hat (book): and other clinical tales, by Oliver Sacks. I read everything by this author, even though his themes are very wide-reaching. This is a book of essays, featuring stories involving the mind. So, I am glad I read it, but am going to give it away at our New Year's day book exchange.

Haunted (book) : a Hannah Smith novel, by Randy Wayne White. This is the third book in this series, by one of my favorite Florida writers. The character gets involved with quite fantastical people, confusing, I could say. Old deserted houses, far from civilization, witches and fortunetellers, strange druggie animal trainers, etc. A bit over-the-top.

Still working?

Boy, was it hard to get up and out today. Had to be in Camden to start work before 9 AM. Also, needed to do several errands on the way to work. To add to the misery, I was sick, had a TERRIBLE night and it was dark and cold. Well, now I am at work and it is quiet and peaceful and I am catching up on my computer work and sucking on cough drops.

This is what I hate about winter:
- the dark
- the cold
- the lack of sun
- the wearing of coats
- the wind

This is what I love about winter:
- the bare bones of the trees
- the pastel sunsets
- a tiny bit of snow

The zone of interest (audio book), by Martin Amis. This is a despicable book. I picked it up without much thought, thinking that Martin Amis was a good writer. I started off trying to figure out what it was actually ABOUT. I knew it was about some misogynistic men of the German persuasion. So, it is about men who work at concentration camps during World War II. Other unpleasant topics are suspected adultery, abortion, murder, torture. I couldn't wait for it to be over. Also, it was hard keeping the narrators straight.

Elizabeth and Hazel : two women of Little Rock (book), by David Margolick. Got this on loan from another library for a book club discussion. It is the story of an event, the integration of schools in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. More to the point, the story of a photograph taken on September 4th, 1957 of a black girl walking down the street surrounded by a crowd of angry white people. One face stands out, that of Hazel. The photo becomes an iconic portrait of America. The two women did get to know each other and even become friends later in life, but the raprochement did not last. The author examines the legacy of the Little Rock nine and the attitudes of the townspeople and the country in memory and in present time.

I have very bad luck with earbuds

Using my only set of headphones at the moment...ear buds I got with my new phone. I have only had them slightly over one month and only one bud is working. The ear buds my family gave me last Christmas have disappeared. The first time I lost them, I found them in my house, but the second time they have never turned up. OK, they were small, and in a small roundish case, but still. I have asked for more substantial headphones for Christmas this year.

Face off (book), edited by David Baldacci. Couldn't finish this book in the two weeks allotted for a NEW book from the library, but that was OK. Each story is written by TWO writers of thrillers. I wasn't a fan of most of the authors and wasn't even familiar with others, such as M. J. Rose vs. Lisa Gardner.
It was supposed to be a match up between their familiar protagonists. I didn't care for it.

The sun actually came out today....I can't believe that the sky is mostly blue. It has been cloudy for over a week and I really need a SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) light. Tried to take a bit of a sunbath today, but the sun wouldn't stay out for a solid ten minutes.

The sun is struggling to come out with not much success

We had a few hours of sunshine this morning. I should have taken my sunbath then. Now it is back to chilly and dreary, how it has been for the past WEEK.

Texts from Jane Eyre (book): and other conversations with your favorite literary characters, by Mallory Ortberg. OK, so it is a gimmick. But I didn't enjoy it. Maybe cause I am not really a TEXTER or maybe because I haven't read all of the books featured for parody.

I am glad I finally finished a book so maybe now I can get something a bit more enjoyable.