walking through fallen leaves...

one of my favorite things about autumn is the sound of walking through fallen leaves. i love that crunchy sound. the tree in my front yard has dropped most of her leaves in my driveway and the little strip of yard. i know the landscapers will come through and remove them all soon, so i'm enjoying them as much as possible.

the colors of autumn found their way into my art journal for this weeks Book of Days spread. i'm really enjoying this form of documenting my days each week. plus, it helps me with building my art skills as i'm spending more time arting. :-)

Debra asked me what book i was reading in yesterdays post, so i thought a current reading wip photo would be good. the book from yesterday is Cerridwen by Kristopher Hughes.  i'm currently reading from all in this stack except The Morrigan and Put Your Anxiety Here.  i tend to read non-fiction very slowly. (i don't know why) A Spell in the Wild is broken down into monthly sections and i started reading it thinking to read each month during the particular month, but... :-)

what i'm really loving is Moonlight Graditude.  it is a book of nightly gratitude practices/prompts to ruminate on at bedtime.  i keep it beside my bed and love reading each night.

so that's a little snippet of life for today. hope you are having a great day.

thanks for being here...

love & magicks

~*~

 

a favorite thing - books...

I love books.  I have always loved books.  When I was little, I was most always hiding somewhere with a book, avoiding my mean (and not so mean) cousins, or doing my chores.  I loved to read.  I have always loved to read, to get lost in the worlds that words can create.  That is my happy place.

And while I do very much like my e-reader, I really prefer to hold a book in my hand, to be able to turn the page, to feel the paper.

Before I became so ill that I couldn't work, any money I had after paying the mortgage and taking care of my babies (3 cats, 1 dog) was spent on books.  I was a regular at the big box book store that came in and replaced my local small book shops.  I had stacks of books everywhere, bookcases lining just about every room in the house with books shoved and packed in as tight as I could.  

When I was taken out of work, my income went to nothing (literally for 60 days no income) then to less than half of what I'd been receiving, so book buying had to stop.  I've had a library card since I was seven years old and began to use it with great frequency as reading was the only thing keeping me alive.  Seriously, it was the only thing I could do, other than sleep, that did not exacerbate my headaches.  Therefore, reading became my lifeline.  I was making trips to the library at least twice a week and would pick up as many as I could possibly get my hands on.  I had to start carrying a couple of tote bags so I could get them all in one trip.  

Then an odd thing happened.  I started noticing that the smells of the books was making me sick to my stomach.  The paper started to look gross and scary. Odd stains seemed to grow as I noticed them, dead bugs mushed between pages, what looked like dried mucus sometimes.  After a while, I stopped being able to handle the library books.

Enter the e-reader.  It saved my sanity, if not my life.  I could download lots of books and read them without the heebie-jeebies the library books were giving me.  Plus, I could borrow from a state-wide library, not just my local one.  

I have no idea how many books I've read since I got sick. I have no idea how many books I've given away during various moves.  I have no idea how many books I'd read before I got sick.  

What I do know is that for the past several years, reading has become very difficult.  Where I could read a book in a day, now it takes two or three at the least, sometimes much longer.  Words swim on the pages and jump around as if they were dancers on a stage.  I read a line or paragraph and as I move to the next, I realize I have no idea what I just read and must go back and start again.

The last time I saw my neurologist, it had mostly just started (a few months prior) and I mentioned it to him.  He said it was to be expected, that with the type of pain I have and the intractability of managing it, my cognitive functions would decrease more rapidly than if I wasn't sick.  

That was almost two years ago, and it has become much worse.  But, I still love books and I still love reading.  So I'll take my time and keep going.

I'm back to buying books again.  Not a lot, mostly just things I know I'll love from authors I'm addicted to.  Although, I recently ordered a recently released book online that I have been waiting to read for about two years and was sorely disappointed.  I'd not been able to get it from the digital library and had waited and waited, but decided to just go ahead.  Such a disappointment!  That one will be headed to the stack for the used book store.

Since I love books, and they are one of my favorite things, I'm thinking about doing some book reviews from time to time.  If I remember correctly, I did a couple many years ago when I was blogging heavily and I miss doing them.  I think it will encourage me to read a little more.  Over the last year, I've mostly been re-reading books, over and over, as it seemed easier and I didn't have to focus as hard.  But I miss reading different stories, finding new authors.  

I'll warn you now, my reading taste is very eclectic.  Who knows what I'll come up with to review.  :-)

So what are you reading lately?

thanks for stopping in for a read...
love & blessings
~*~

ps...I've tried audiobooks, but the whole sound - headache thing just doesn't work for me, plus I couldn't get past the woman trying to imitate an old man's voice in the one I tried.  Maybe I'll try another, it would be nice to be able to sketch or knit while listening.  :-)


 

a favorite thing...

Since my blog title has my favorite things as a part, I thought I'd share with you one of my favorite things today.

I love to read.  I've always loved to read.  Whenever my family couldn't find me, they new to look in the darkest corner of the room furthest from where everyone else was, and they'd find me there with a book.  I'd sit on the floor with my back to the window to get as much light as I could to see the words on the page.

I read everything I could get my hands on.  When I was working, I'd read on breaks and lunch hours.  Even walking to the break room to get a drink from the soda machine, I'd have my nose buried in a book. (Until it was commented on that I should probably not do that as they were paying me to work, not read.)

When I was taken out of work and put on disability, reading was what kept me alive.  I couldn't watch much tv or movies, or listen to music because the sound and flashing screens would send my pain over the edge.  But I could read.  

I submersed myself in stories that I'd wanted to read for years and had never taken the time, or stories I wasn't sure about but what the heck, right?  I would push through the pain to take a quick trip to the library and bring home close to 20 books each time.  Thick books, thin books, it didn't matter.  All I did was read.

The one caveat was that it had to be fiction.  I have a very hard time with non-fiction books.  Mostly I get bored.  I don't know why that is but it is very rare that I can pick up a non-fiction and actually finish it.

So fiction it is... I still read alot, but not like I did.  The constant pain and numerous medications over the years has done something to my cognitive function and I can't process as well as I used to.  I read much slower and it takes me longer to get what I am reading.  Now I seem to stick to the same authors and even re-read the same series over and over.  

That was a long and rambling way of telling you that I love books.  My most recent new read was one I didn't even know was coming until release day.  I saw someone post on Instagram that they were getting read to start it.  I went to the book store the next day and bought my copy.  I so rarely buy books anymore, but I knew this would be a keeper and be re-read often.

Alice Hoffman takes us back for a visit with the Owens family, in her newest book, The Rules of Magic.  This time we learn about the aunts from Practical Magic, Frances and Jet, and how they became the women we loved.  I read this in less than 24 hours and went through the full run of emotions.  I loved this book and can't wait to read it again.

If you haven't read Practical Magic, I highly recommend that you do.  If you have read it, but have yet to read The Rules of Magic, may I suggest that you get right to it.  If you've read neither...what are you waiting for?

Both books are full of real life magic (not the made up kind Hollywood likes) and raw emotion, with realistic concerns that everyday people go through.

To me, Ms. Hoffman is a master storyteller and I am so grateful that she shares these stories with the rest of us.

Seriously, go read this...

That's all for today.  I hope you are having a good one.

thanks for stopping by!
love & blessings
~*~

ps...top picture from the archives, bottom from my Instagram - still can't find that danged cord.  xoxo
 

 

The fun starts tonight...

It has been a long day. I had some problems at work earlier that really got under my skin. But the good thing about today? I start my knitting class tonight! I'm very excited! Finally I will understand what all those abbreviations mean and be able to look at a pattern and know what to do. And I'll be able to knit something other than scarves! Yay!

I need to run by B&N to pick up a book for a book club that I'm in. I have to have "The Four Agreements" read by next Wednesday. Supposedly it is a small book and hopefully a quick read. I need to get that and The Lakota Way and also Julie Garwood has a new book out I want to read.

Anyway, last night was mostly cleaning and getting the trash to the street. I also did some laundry and watched some of the bcs championship. It really wasn't much of a game!

I was just watching the movie Slither, and let me tell you...it sucked! Literally! I couldn't even watch it I thought is was that bad. I am mailing that one back to Netflix having only seen about 20 minutes of it. Ick!

Next up is Monster House. It looks cute! Well, I'm going to run. I need to get some work done and I need to leave by 4:30 so I can get home, get the kids all squared away and then get to knitting! Yay!

Blessings,
~*~