tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89609887158737671452024-03-13T06:45:13.048-06:00About me, and other things.My husband says it is not always about me. I beg to differ.Riahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.comBlogger106125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960988715873767145.post-31574908632163725032023-12-21T19:16:00.004-07:002023-12-21T19:30:32.740-07:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh04Pjr9UAXvp6bP-ZtcBytIXfcIiPOoKfsrBWlrLrcmNdK0T10lHGaUqz8Z0RWhUJWWokuzOI9Pu1zszG9AjIPIOPXHxjhtRwsYXnHZREvglZ-t0KbJbAgMimJ-gLeZze-Gb1lzEbXoAiUPZs4V1AOEvKN8xlj422-f9Wmi14tBdBX6QplOQvza3NZXRpI/s1280/image.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh04Pjr9UAXvp6bP-ZtcBytIXfcIiPOoKfsrBWlrLrcmNdK0T10lHGaUqz8Z0RWhUJWWokuzOI9Pu1zszG9AjIPIOPXHxjhtRwsYXnHZREvglZ-t0KbJbAgMimJ-gLeZze-Gb1lzEbXoAiUPZs4V1AOEvKN8xlj422-f9Wmi14tBdBX6QplOQvza3NZXRpI/w200-h200/image.png" width="200" /></a></div> Greetings fellow earthlings!<p></p><p>Recently a good friend of ours turned six (as did his brother). At the party, he made an accurate prediction, and I said “you’re prophetic!” And just like Psych, he took it as an insult and retorted, “You’re prophetic!” Indeed I am. At the close of last year’s letter, I made these prescient forecasts: Jordan and Hailey would visit relatives in Vegas; she would snowboard and he would play indoors; Israel’s 75 th anniversary would be “interesting”; sports would profit a few; peace on earth would be dubious. Check, check, check, check, check … (tragically in some cases).</p><p>Looking back on the rest of 2023, here’s what happened. Brooke and Hannah planned a great Scandinavian adventure for the latter’s 30 th birthday, but back surgery for Brooke scuttled that. Then they planned a fall Broadway escape. A day before departure, Brooke got Covid, so Hannah enjoyed NYC alone. I’ll let you imagine how the elder sister felt about this sequence of events.</p><p>Maria and I visited Jordan and Hailey in western Idaho in April, visited nice places and ate out a few times, and then Maria got Covid. She blames me and Texas Roadhouse. Her case was mild, but after months of lagging lung capacity and elevated heartrate, her doctor welcomed her to “the long Covid zone.” This is a blow to her planned athletic comeback (she’d so wanted relive her little-league success at first base or try a 5k, but not now). She is also a bit of a hermit and wears a mask when she appears in public. If this seems extreme, recall that even the paranoid have enemies. She was brave enough to open our home to professionals who installed new cabinets (love them), countertops (like them), and appliances (hate them) in the kitchen. We handled demo (mostly).</p><p>Professionally, Brooke provides speech therapy for elementary school children; Hannah heads the state of Utah’s public art investments; Jordan and Hailey continue to work remotely from their three-cat-house, the envy of the apartment-renting sisters. John continues to teach “emerging young adults” at BYU-Idaho; he may be replaced at any moment by an AI-powered virtual tutor and mentor. He edited and contributed to a book that came out this year about religious liberty and the Latter-day Saints (that’s pretty close to the title if you want to buy it; no royalties for him). Maria is not getting paid but continues to provide high-end childcare for two kindergartners and one preschooler, a few times a week. She also reads and reviews dozens of novels, some of which she receives gratis as ARCs (advance reader copies), so she’s in the inner circle of the literary scene.</p><p>It's a been a mild summer and fall in our part of Idaho, but as I write the snow is gently falling. Last winter was unnecessarily cold and snowy, but John made the most of it by cross-country skiing. Maria also made the most of it by curling up near the fire with all those books. John took up disc golf this summer, which is so much less expensive and aggravating than actual golf. He also likes swimming regularly, though when the university shut its pool for seven weeks he had to get creative. Most of us enjoyed a few days in Park City this summer. John also backpacked the magnificent Teton Crest trail with neighbors and had several other great hikes in the Teton range. Some members of the family, most notably Maria and Brooke, do not appreciate the value of hiking, but look who’s healthy? (Hope that doesn’t come back to bite me.) We’re hoping there is enough snow to give our family a white Christmas when they gather, but not so much to complicate the gathering. Then we hope for enough snow that John can venture out on skis instead of annoying Maria, but not so much that he wears out his back shoveling. It’s all about balance, right? You can see our commitment to life balance by comparing the lines devoted to John’s recreation vs. those for pretty much everyone and everything else. With prophetic insight you may discern the balance.</p><p>No predictions for 2024, unless it’s the demise of the republic, the corruption of college sports, or something else along those lines. May your Christmas be merry and bright as you remember the Light of the world.</p>Riahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960988715873767145.post-28272503357457659282022-12-24T00:20:00.000-07:002022-12-24T00:20:24.273-07:00<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQpps-57Lj1V4VmFuFLFBpTwbLLRXzXKtZph5TRsKLSDBRWH-BPnfbf5ogKTy5ol6CLVkFn-9qIbX733hWFt7uEJ6lhm8szYMyWl3mbAT9wbjMGZRvnY8q3YnW-PW2b632TYyD9MSYHtkyqMqxekCo0SR4Tcz8dX_NTSWD5rfWODdGfO4C7n9NF4N4oQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQpps-57Lj1V4VmFuFLFBpTwbLLRXzXKtZph5TRsKLSDBRWH-BPnfbf5ogKTy5ol6CLVkFn-9qIbX733hWFt7uEJ6lhm8szYMyWl3mbAT9wbjMGZRvnY8q3YnW-PW2b632TYyD9MSYHtkyqMqxekCo0SR4Tcz8dX_NTSWD5rfWODdGfO4C7n9NF4N4oQ=w200-h113" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Christmas 2022</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-d137f2d8-7fff-2fe1-0326-2da15098502b"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gentle reader,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Say something funny, Uncle John,” commanded Anna, our pre-school neighbor. Typically a few words of nonsense will satisfy her, but Maria requires a higher standard, or at least half-baked witticisms in English. I wish I had something </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">really</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> funny or witty to say, but as our multi-millionaire athletes advise us (in their earthy wisdom), “it is what it is.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some friends send us pictures of their family fun, more efficient than labored prose. So try to visualize something magical in this series of word-pictures: John snowshoeing up the Table Mountain face trail on a sunny February day, only to meet gale-force winds, a ground blizzard, and no view of the Tetons at the top. All of us visiting the gargantuan Kennecott open-pit mine (in what is left of Bingham canyon) to celebrate Maria’s birthday. The loving mother spending weeks of summer attending to Brooke after another sinus surgery, leaving John to pick, process, and distribute gallons of raspberries. Jordan growing hair to his shoulders and whiskers like a pirate. Hannah traversing Utah after she was hired as the state’s public art coordinator (she especially likes Vernal and Moab, but art is everywhere). Brooke working with sixty kids in elementary school as a speech therapist (where she’s certified as clinically competent, unlike the rest of us). Hailey leaving a company whose leadership needed more HR training to join a startup founded by HR colleagues from three jobs before, still working remotely. Jordan and friends playing board games and video games in Island Park cabins (so little to do outdoors). Maria and John sitting on the last row of folding chairs in the cultural hall at church, sometimes able to help stray children. Hannah bringing her cat to Mimi (her grandma) for therapeutic visits. Brooke driving to Rexburg to raise the level of educational engagement for preschoolers at our house. Hailey leading a choir, singing solos, and climbing rock walls. John holding forth about rotten Idaho laws at a conference on religious freedom in church history. Most of us joining a big Thomas reunion in Colorado in July, Maria very anxious there and at pretty much any venue where people gather and breathe, even though she spends hours each week in close quarters with three rambunctious germ magnets. Jordan running a company whose service the clients want without paying, cat on lap in his home office. John hitching a ride back to the car after a long one-way hike at Waterton, Alberta (contrary to law, they say). I remember best what John did (like teaching, hiking, swimming), but doubtless there’s more to everyone’s year, though our family is modest in size and in ventures. Also, Maria says I don’t listen that carefully, so there are probably some important omissions.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Next year will be bigger, right? The sisters talk of a European trip. I was thinking about some museums of Black history. Maria is most excited to be home. Jordan and Hailey will likely visit relatives in Las Vegas and she’ll snowboard and his posse will return to Island Park for indoor games. I note that the 75</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">th</span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> anniversary of the state of Israel approaches, so that should be interesting. Sports will continue to profit a few.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Peace on earth, good will to men? Let’s hope so. Whatever happens, may you find joy in the journey from this Christmas to next. Much love,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">John and Maria Thomas</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Riahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960988715873767145.post-16705573593287414762021-12-25T00:25:00.001-07:002021-12-25T00:28:00.196-07:00<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HjCrRw1WAXM/YcbGh_ddqvI/AAAAAAAAUQs/G7mktCRkzKAgpQ16F7rmMdixNk8FxXPRACNcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HjCrRw1WAXM/YcbGh_ddqvI/AAAAAAAAUQs/G7mktCRkzKAgpQ16F7rmMdixNk8FxXPRACNcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif;">Greetings! My dear
wife has asked me to write an upbeat Christmas letter to brighten December 2021.
I am thrilled for this opportunity and will set the tone by recounting a recent
exchange between the two of us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif;">John:
“Why did you marry me if you don’t like any suffering?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif;">Maria:
“Because I thought it would be so much better!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif;">Isn’t that lovely?
I hope you can visualize it. I teach students that context is vital to
interpretation, but we never know all we’d like to understand about the people,
circumstances, and purposes of words from the past. I note it happened shortly
after Thanksgiving; Maria would assure you that she only said that to make me
laugh; she seems to think those lines don’t fully capture the essence of our
relationship. I don’t really think she needs to worry about that. Do you? There
are other sweet communications at our house regularly, mostly as Maria interacts
with our little 2- and 4-year-old friends during the week, like, “Is Uncle John
here?” or “Auntie Ria, please come over so we can have another birthday!” (a
few days after the twins’ birthday). “Wait till you see this!” and “Get off me
you fool!” are other adorable expressions heard lately around here.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif;">First, some sad
news. You may recall that Maria’s dad died in 2020; then my dad died this year.
Keith was nearly 90, Paul not yet 81. Keith departed very slowly, Paul was
taken with unexpected suddenness, a couple of months after a cancer diagnosis,
and not quite six weeks into chemotherapy. I certainly felt regrets at missed
opportunities to be with and learn from Dad, but we had a very good funeral and
family gathering and Mom has borne her loss bravely, with help from Brooke (who
lives in her basement apartment) and Hannah (who lives twenty minutes away).
You may find it funny or poignant to consider that my dad’s last night of life
included a TV mix of Olympic games and Peppa Pig, where he learned how his young
friends, to whom he was such a faithful and friendly minister (even in
pandemic), had acquired British accents.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif;">This year Brooke
finished a Masters’ degree in Communication Disorders. She now has more letters
after her name: MS, CF-SLP. (Only the initiated can really explain their deeper
meanings). She recently had her first “enough” moment as a speech therapist at
an elementary school, chasing a first-grader who ran away from their session
before it really started. It took a few months after graduation for her to get
paid, but now she is a true professional. Like Brooke, Hannah is paid by
taxpayers in a smallish Utah city, and she has wondered how long she will enjoy
working for the art museum overseen by that city’s government. Nevertheless she
persists, perhaps so she can flash her business card and walk into other
museums across the planet. It’s unclear if Brooke’s extra letters give her any such
perks. Hannah has wondered about graduate school in Scotland or work in a
bigger city. She may want to leave the museum before Russian special forces descend
to recover a large collection of Soviet-era art that mysteriously migrated to
Utah in the wake of the cold war. Jordan and Hailey both work remotely, so the
home they bought in Nampa, Idaho could theoretically be traded for an RV with
good wifi. Hailey left her job in HR at a local manufacturing plant and found a
“techier” position with a firm based in Philadelphia. It’s been a better fit,
though the transition cost her a few days with the rest of us in Sun Valley
this summer. Jordan has moved from managing online commerce to coding programs
that facilitate and track online commerce. It is difficult to get a straight
answer about what he really does and who pays him, but his wife and cats seem
content. We visited them to watch Hailey perform in a community theatre
production of Evita, one of our rare ventures into public.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif;">None of our
grown-up children have their own children to say funny things, and the cats in three
of our four households say nothing, though they sometimes do amusing or
annoying things. Cats are not verbal, but they are communicative. Ours sits on
my torso quite a bit and stares intently when I am eating. She largely ignores
Maria, evidently vying with her for my loving attention.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif;">That’s our annual
snapshot of Thomas family bliss in turbulent times. If you envy us, pray daily,
go to church, and start your Christmas season when the Hallmark Channel does.
There are other ways to remember Him always, of course. Whatever you do, we
hope you will be still and find peace.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Riahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960988715873767145.post-75998018968469347022020-12-21T12:30:00.002-07:002020-12-21T12:30:43.152-07:00Christmas 2020<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XX0Mskc8rVA/X-D2Y6IK0zI/AAAAAAAAP38/BqapWQiVjt4kBZh2sfieyRGPu75OHsxVgCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="418" data-original-width="750" height="178" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XX0Mskc8rVA/X-D2Y6IK0zI/AAAAAAAAP38/BqapWQiVjt4kBZh2sfieyRGPu75OHsxVgCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <span> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">John keeps telling me that he needs to retire—from something. Since he can’t retire from his job yet he thought he should retire from writing the Christmas letter. We basically have this argument every year. He says he has nothing for the letter and I say I’ll do the letter for him and he can do all the rest of Christmas for me. In the end he writes the letter. But this is 2020; nothing is normal; so I let him retire. This is bad news for all of you since that means you are stuck with me this year, but since it is 2020, it kinda seems fitting. </span><p></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-3a6d84e1-7fff-aa45-9a29-aa762c9cb31d"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our year did not start smoothly, as I ditched my husband for New Years and went to Oregon where my dad was running out of time, while at home John looked into cheap and less invasive options for hernia surgery, back alleys excluded. Turns out to be cheaper in Utah, so that’s where we headed right after I got home. He convalesced for a few days at his parents before we returned to the frozen north. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After nearly six years of valiant effort, Hannah left her human roommate in favor of a feline companion. She adopted Sir Charles Sawyer Dibble after moving to Springville, which meant the added benefit of a much shorter commute to the Art Museum. A couple of covid tests for her but both negative. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On February 14 my dad passed away. In a last second decision, I left my Valentine and flew back to Oregon. I arrived a little too late but that was okay. Dad had been waiting a long time to join my mom and doing so on Valentine’s Day seemed appropriate. I spent time sorting files and preparing for the funeral. With a twist of fates, John and I both ended up speaking at the funeral on Leap Day. John had a dying tooth and could barely open his mouth, but a blessing helped him get through the talk and a little tooth surgery after getting home got rid of the pain. Covid talk was picking up, but our essential travel was completed before restrictions kicked in. Already I had said that 2020 was looking to be a year our family couldn’t wait to put behind us. By the end of March most of the world felt the same. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">John’s classes shifted to remote abruptly in March and continued so, though in fall he taught some “flex” courses that combine remote and classroom modes for “maximum distraction”. John says remote alone seems better, (with more to come in 2021), though “students’ frail attention spans are suffering further collapse.” Despite my refusing to take a vacation, John managed to squeeze in a couple wilderness hiking trips. His whole family gathered via Zoom to celebrate his dad’s 80th birthday in November. No Covid tests. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hailey got a new job in Nampa, so she and Jordan sold their house here amazingly fast and moved amid the pandemic lockdowns. Hailey, the social butterfly, felt 2020: no regular church meetings, no meeting the neighbors, no social outlets. Jordan, the social recluse, found heaven working from home and not having to deal directly with humans; he’s practiced for a pandemic for years. Zero covid tests for them. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brooke was scheduled for surgery on her vocal folds in April but Covid delayed it till June during the lone one week when U of U hospital allowed a visitor, so I got to be there. But just short weeks into her recovery she had complications resulting in a middle-of-the-night ambulance trip to the ER while I blissfully slept through the texts she sent us. Brooke will tell you that not being able to breathe is very unpleasant; she recommends we all mask up to prevent experiencing it with Covid. Also, calling for an ambulance is interesting when you have no voice. The ER got her breathing better and then Hannah drove her to SLC to see her surgeon. And since Brooke’s condition made speech impossible, Hannah was allowed to stay to be her voice until her throat cleared enough to speak. Tests indicated an autoimmune disease which attacks the nose and throat, currently in remission, but medication adjustments continue. Ironically, as she studies to be a speech therapist, she’s ended up in speech therapy herself. It is lovely to hear her voice again; also kind of essential for being a speech therapist. Between hospital visits and working in a skilled nursing facility for an externship this fall, Brooke is the champ of Covid tests. She’s had about a million. All negative, thankfully. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Things probably changed the least for me. I still tend three toddlers each weekday; John sneaks down to play when he can. My 2020 oddity has been working with my brother to settle dad’s estate. Amazing how slowly everything moves during a pandemic. I feel like we are working with sloths. No Covid tests. </span></p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We pray your 2020 wasn’t </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">too 2020</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and that you are happy, healthy, and feeling love from our Savior. </span></span>Riahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960988715873767145.post-4200271567509043122019-12-18T23:34:00.001-07:002019-12-19T22:56:01.405-07:00<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";"><br /></span></div>
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<img alt="beautiful christmas tree 7 hd picture" height="200" src="https://images.all-free-download.com/images/graphicthumb/beautiful_christmas_tree_7_hd_picture_170695.jpg" width="143" /> <span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">Hi
everybody! I’m accused of writing less-interesting letters these days, but art
imitates life, as they </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">say. Here is
Maria’s emergency email on 3 Dec. 2019, after reading my first attempt (which I
wrote </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">in the
afterglow of Thanksgiving): “Dad wrote a depressing Christmas letter that I
have rejected so </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">now he says
he would like each of you to send him a paragraph about your most memorable
moment </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">of the
year--good or bad, serious or funny.” I think the main problem is “grown up”
children: </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">accomplishments
are incremental and largely invisible to parents. There’s a reason people don’t </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">make family
movies at work, right? And so the weeks roll by in a blur of sameness. And the
parents’ </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">current
routine looks shockingly similar to rejected material from last year’s letter!
Some may think </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">it wrong
that our neighbors’ two-year-old twins—and their infant sister—are the most
interesting </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">element of
our lives, but just you wait and see. Consider what our own family members said
about </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">that
memorable moment of their year and then decide for yourselves what you want to
read.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">Riley
(taciturn son-in-law): Yet to answer the request. Enough said. No need for
quotation marks or </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">to place my
commentary in brackets. I nominate the ER trip after too much Tylenol for tooth
pain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">Hannah
(anxious, resilient daughter): “I drove to Chicago. I slept in my car
sometimes. Gas prices </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">were cheaper
in the Midwest. Driving in Chicago was terrifying for 2 minutes, and then I
adjusted </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">and became
really aggressive like everyone else and it was good. When I got to Chicago, I
ate lots of </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">food, went
to lots of plays, and made fun of Renoir. Is that anything?” [Well, is it? Most
people love a </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">good road
trip, I hear. She went solo, by the way, and it seems to be an extended
“moment.”]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">Hailey
(affable daughter-in-law): Free-rode on Jordan’s terse response below. Enough
said?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">Jordan
(laconic son): “Jordan went to China. Hailey works really hard and her career
is on the same </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">trajectory
as an 86kg projectile shot from a trebuchet.” [He doesn’t usually refer to
himself in third </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">person. He
did come back. Where did that career metaphor come from? Who even talks that
way? </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">Here’s what
I know: every projectile goes up and then down. So which stage of the
trajectory are we </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">tracking?
Meanwhile, did you picture many memorable moments there?]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">Brooke
(tender, tough, comparatively verbal daughter): “I guess one of the most
life-changing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">memorable
moments, or series of moments really, was getting and working with my very
first </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">speech and
language client. It was sometimes really difficult and exhausting, but overall
very </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">rewarding.
It was cool to see him actually progress! And then on the last day, he gave me
a gift and </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">card, hugged
me several times, and told me I was a great teacher. It was a very sweet and
rewarding </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">moment.”
[Did it rate a selfie, or is that against privacy norms for speech-therapists
in training?]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">Maria
(compassionate neighbor): “I can’t remember.” [I believe it; she sleeps too
little and relies too </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">much on her
phone to remember everything. She is compassionate to neighbors, nonetheless.]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">John
(fallible narrator): “Lying on the exposed concrete kitchen floor, having
finally mastered use of </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">the wrench,
I watched a little spray explode into a powerful stream of hot water shooting
from </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">under the
dishwasher across the floor. I yelled and screamed and desperately tried
(again) to close </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">the valve
under the sink. I yelled for Maria to shut off the main supply valve, then did
it myself. We </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">threw down
towels to slow the spread of hot water across the room.” [Such terror, rage,
and </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">impotence
crammed into a minute. But is it interesting? Liverpool 4-0 over Barcelona was </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">interesting,
but it also wasn’t really us—except that I yelled that time too, in dazed joy.]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">And look at
that! We’ve reached the end of the page. So, what do you think? Should next
year’s letter </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">simply tell
the stories of Neal, Glen, and Anna? To clarify, they are not our kin; they
have family of </span><span style="font-family: "bradley hand itc";">their own.
But it might make for a better letter. You decide. And you’ll never walk alone!</span></div>
Riahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960988715873767145.post-91168408292892120282018-12-20T08:00:00.000-07:002018-12-20T12:41:12.601-07:00Christmas letter 2018<div class="gmail_default" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
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<span style="color: #222222;"><img height="143" src="https://image.shutterstock.com/image-photo/closeup-tiny-baby-feet-santa-260nw-509141578.jpg" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" width="200" /></span><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><i>December is cold and dark at 5000 feet and nearly 44 degrees north of the equator in Rexburg, Idaho. </i><i>In summer it was warm and dry and smoky, as other places burned. Smoke in Glacier Park obscured </i><i>mountain views when Maria met John there in August, and friends in Paradise lost their home to </i><i>wildfire in November (with many others). Elsewhere hurricanes and floods wreaked destruction. We </i><i>endured comparatively little turmoil, but we did learn how to brighten your life: </i><b>borrow babies</b><i>. That’s </i><i>right; it turns out that parents with twins will typically welcome assistance. So now Maria wakes up to </i><i>“Baby Signing Time” songs in her head and hears phantom babbles and cries around the house. Our </i><i>weekday and Sunday mornings are livelier, thanks to time with the Anderson boys, Neal and Glen. </i><i>Maria hasn’t looked forward to mornings like this since she was a child; our life as pseudo-</i><i>grandparents (aka Auntie Ria & Uncle John) has been a lot of fun. Weary parents don’t mind the </i><i>break, and two medical miracles means we both get the play and affection we evidently need. </i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><i>I thought the letter should be an extended meditation on the year’s joys as auxiliary parents, but Maria </i><i>says to make it funny. This disappoints me, for I feel that I have so much more to offer through </i><i>thoughtful observation and reflection, and she just wants a jester for hire. I offer depth and humanity </i><i>and she wants glibness and snark. It reminds me of my life at work. I joke about my wife there too.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><i>So on to the snarky: Maria says that time with the boys makes her feel younger, but does it show? </i><i>She cheers poopy diapers, yet only I “can” change the cat litter (still). She has those songs on her </i><i>mind and lullabies the boys to sleep, but “can’t” go with me to choir practice. She has gigabytes of </i><i>pictures and videos of the twins on her Facebook page, phone, and laptop, yet lives for the 30-second </i><i>video their mom compiles at month’s end. Should our own children visit (in person or online), they see </i><i>signs of her true love everywhere. There are cribs in two bedrooms, and toys in the family room, along </i><i>with food and diaper paraphernalia. She arranges baby time for Jordan and Hailey (our local couple), </i><i>though it’s unclear that this will inspire the emergence of actual grandchildren anytime soon. And yet </i><i>with no direct familial legacy implicated in the boys’ development, we can celebrate happy milestones </i><i>and delight in silliness, but also laugh when they vex their overworked parents. I think it might not be </i><i>so easy to laugh at the struggles and fits of your own children’s children. You can now rent pets (ask </i><i>Hannah); is that what we are doing with the twins? I think we’re more invested.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><i>In fact I had more to say about them, but tradition (Maria) requires news about our grown-up family. </i><i>Neighbors took me backpacking in Glacier Park along the Continental Divide Trail—splendid. Maria </i><i>visited family in Oregon a few times; I went with her once to see them and to soak my battered feet in </i><i>the Pacific. She did a craft fair this fall and made more money than she expected, though not enough </i><i>to compensate her time. We sponsored a little family reunion in Salt Lake City in June, with “hikes” </i><i>and tours of gardens, aquarium, and candy factory, excursions to Golden Spike and Spiral Jetty, a</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><i>baseball game, a movie, and too little game time (for some). Brooke went back to school this fall for </i><i>graduate training in communication disorders. This will not qualify her to improve our family </i><i>interactions or people’s post office orders (she has illustrations), but it will prepare her to give speech </i><i>therapy in coming years. Jordan’s job in online retail outlasted the brick and mortar craft store when </i><i>its owners retired. Hailey moved beyond the “administrative assistant” ranks at her firm. Hannah </i><i>simplified her life by dropping one part-time job and gaining a full-time job at the Springville art </i><i>museum. Riley learned more of the ropes of the solar energy business. Jordan and Hailey went </i><i>camping in Idaho and touring in Montana; Brooke and Hannah took a winter holiday in Europe; Riley </i><i>worked like crazy and broke it up with marathon board and video games.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><i>None of that was very funny, nor was it very deep. If you want depth, read a book, a good one. Try the </i><i>prophets; they see irony but are not glib. Or play with infants. Most of all, remember the Redeemer. </i><i>He was once a little child, but look what He did. Happy Christmas and Peace to you.</i></span></div>
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Riahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960988715873767145.post-74855583642363609332018-11-12T09:52:00.001-07:002018-11-12T09:52:34.411-07:00<span style="font-size: large;">#TFBRC prompt for today is non-fiction</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I don't read a lot of non-fiction but one book I love and have read more than once is Corrie Ten Boom's The Hiding Place. Incredible story that Corrie shares about WWII and ending up in a concentration camp. She learns many great lessons including forgiveness, hope, and gratitude among other things. I loved it. </span><br />
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<img alt="The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320418824l/561909.jpg" /><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">#TFBRC #nonfiction</span>Riahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960988715873767145.post-600468053136688992018-11-06T20:47:00.001-07:002018-11-06T20:47:30.422-07:00<span style="font-size: large;">Today's TFBRC prompt is heartbreaker. The first book I thought of was Old Yeller. I haven't read it since I was a kid but I remember crying and crying while reading it. But more recently read, the first book I thought of was For Love or Honor by Sarah M. Eden. </span><img alt="For Love or Honor (The Jonquil Brothers #5)" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1498672311l/35530998.jpg" /><span style="font-size: large;">It is part of my beloved Jonquil brothers series. I teared up through much of the book and the tears spilled over more than once. It was hard for me to read because I don't like feeling sad or crying. It is a good thing it wasn't the first book I read in that series because I'm sure I wouldn't have continued with the other books. The book deals with the brother Stanley who has returned home from war broken in body and spirit. And it was #heartbreaking #TFBRC</span><br />
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<br />Riahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960988715873767145.post-72436958709535788762018-11-05T11:42:00.001-07:002018-11-05T11:42:36.036-07:00<span style="font-size: large;">Today's Thankful For Books Reading Challenge is Did Not Finish. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I try to be a little picky when I start a book and avoid harsh language, sex or bad violence. And any of those things can make a book end up in my DNF pile. Occasionally a book ends up there for other reasons though and that is one I'll highlight today. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I couldn't bear to finish Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><img alt="Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1387740117l/417549.jpg" /><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I try not to be too harsh in reviewing books unless there is something I feel really strongly about. And this book got a harsh review from me and others. Some liked the book, probably because it was considered groundbreaking and "marked a defining moment in the emergence of the modern novel". But it only has 2.78 stars on GoodReads so I'd have to say not a big hit among the GR members of today. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This is the review I wrote on GoodReads about this book:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I forced myself through the first half of the book and then set it aside and never picked it up again <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818;">except to shove it back on the shelf. It seemed to me to be pages and pages about the merits of virtue and its importance to Pamela and then she unbelievably is suddenly in love with he that would have taken her virtue from her which included attempted rape. What? I found I could skip pages when the author once again expounds on the importance of virtue because there were many pages that repeated the mantra. I thought Pamela was an insipid character that I could not love pursued by a horrible man who I found unlovable. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. Unless of course you enjoy boring and insipid.</span></span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So yeah, sadly this book is on my most hated bookshelf.</span><br />
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#TFBRC #dnfRiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960988715873767145.post-66647783296394788422018-11-05T09:40:00.001-07:002018-11-05T09:40:28.975-07:00<span style="font-size: large;">The Thankful For Books Reading Challenge prompt for November 2 was classics and I missed it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My first favorite classics are always going to be Jane Austen books but I like other classics as well. I love Little Women and Anne of Green Gables. I always liked Huckleberry Finn until I listened to the audio book and then the racist language made me cringe so much that I am not as enamored with it anymore. Somehow listening to it said was way worse than reading it. I get that it was the time period etc but hearing it was just bad. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Reading challenge prompt for today is #goals</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My reading goals for this challenge are to try to make headway on the huge stack of books I have while not adding more than I read to my TBR list. Also to find a better balance between reading and doing things like, you know, cleaning, cooking, talking to my husband...that kind of thing. </span><br />
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<br />Riahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960988715873767145.post-16087482622054901532018-10-10T12:14:00.002-06:002018-10-10T12:18:00.362-06:00<span style="font-size: large;">#fallintobooks prompt today is a book you are impatiently waiting for. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm always waiting for the next Jonquil brother book to come out by Sarah M. Eden. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm also waiting for a long lost new Jane Austin book to magically come to light. Wouldn't that be awesome?!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">#impatientlywaiting</span>Riahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960988715873767145.post-17368726666463392472018-10-05T12:05:00.001-06:002018-10-05T12:05:32.537-06:00<span style="font-size: large;">#fallintobooks prompt today is #favoriteauthors</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My most fav is Jane Austen. I always say Pride and Prejudice is my fav book but on a given day I might say that one of her other books wins. </span><br />
<img alt="Pride and Prejudice" height="200" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320399351l/1885.jpg" width="129" /> <img alt="Sense and Sensibility" height="200" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1397245675l/14935.jpg" width="129" /> <img alt="Emma" height="200" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1373627931l/6969.jpg" width="129" /> <img alt="Persuasion" height="200" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1385172413l/2156.jpg" width="124" /> <img alt="Mansfield Park" height="200" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1397063295l/45032.jpg" width="129" /> <img alt="Northanger Abbey" height="200" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388201718l/50398.jpg" width="128" /> <br />
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I just wish there were more to fill up this space.Riahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960988715873767145.post-57729849098545237442018-10-04T22:18:00.000-06:002018-10-04T22:18:28.305-06:00<img height="267" src="http://www.iamareader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/thankful-for-fall-books-2.jpg" width="400" /> <br />
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I'm going to participate in this Thankful for Books reading challenge. This post is early since it doesn't begin until November but I need to post this to get started so..... </div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Lora, Georgia, Times New Roman, Times;">Here are links if you want to participate and perhaps win some prizes.... </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Lora, Georgia, Times New Roman, Times;">https://www.cleanwholesomeromance.com/2018/09/27/thankful-for-books-reading-challenge-sign-ups/</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Lora, Georgia, Times New Roman, Times;">http://www.iamareader.com/2018/09/thankful-for-books-reading-challenge.html</span></div>
Riahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960988715873767145.post-61736250811105248892018-10-03T09:28:00.000-06:002018-10-03T09:30:04.525-06:00<span style="font-size: large;">#fallintobooks prompt today is favorite literary couple</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have skipped a few days on posting these because I already owned the prize books that were up on those days. Without looking I can't remember which days I've skipped but I know one prompt was for what I'm currently reading. And at present that would be Long Journey Home by Sarah M. Eden. I read the first chapter last night and had to force myself to go to bed at that point. I wanted to stay up reading so much. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday's prompt was ebook vs print. I like both. There is nothing like having an actual book and if I really, really like the book I want to own the print book. But I also like ebook and actually use my Kindle more often. Since it has the text to voice option I often let my Kindle read to me while I'm working on other things. I can "read" while I weed the flower beds or clean the house or work on a craft project that way. The computer reading from the Kindle isn't the best but it still entertains me. Also I like audio books and so the Kindle is great for that as well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, today's thing is favorite literary couple. And I think I am a broken record on these because I always go back to my favorite books. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I love Darcy & Elizabeth of course. </span><img alt="Pride and Prejudice" height="400" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1461620558l/1886.jpg" width="261" /><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And I love all the couples in the Jonquil brothers series but I think my favorite of those is Jason and Mariposa. They crack me up. </span><img alt="A Fine Gentleman (The Jonquil Brothers #4)" height="400" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1486090959l/34105672.jpg" width="266" /><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And lastly, I love Anne and Gilbert. </span><img alt="Anne of Green Gables (Anne of Green Gables, #1)" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1486838076l/814060.jpg" /><br />
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#fallintobooks #favoritecoupleRiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960988715873767145.post-19116664799235967932018-09-29T19:16:00.000-06:002018-09-29T19:16:03.348-06:00<span style="font-size: large;">#fallintobooks prompt today is #unforgettable</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I guess the most unforgettable books are the ones I've remembered the longest and that would be my childhood books. </span><br />
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<img alt="Charlotte's Web" height="400" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1439632243l/24178.jpg" width="266" /><br />
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<img alt="Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Farm (Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, #3)" height="400" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1355890373l/769952.jpg" width="256" /><br />
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<img alt="Little Women" height="400" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388269517l/1934.jpg" width="234" /><br />
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<img alt="How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" height="400" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327958149l/113946.jpg" width="293" />Riahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960988715873767145.post-60215529125904449232018-09-28T20:04:00.000-06:002018-09-29T20:06:35.182-06:00<span style="font-size: large;">#fallintobooks #favoritegenre</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My favorite genre is clean romance especially when combined with humor. </span>Riahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960988715873767145.post-53003128248743594882018-09-27T12:18:00.000-06:002018-09-27T12:18:45.105-06:00<span style="font-size: large;">#fallintobooks prompt --- #wishlist</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I've had these two books on my wishlist forever it seems. I find Jen Turano books to be hilarious and have read every one that my library has as well as a couple ebooks but I haven't read these two yet. </span><br />
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<img alt="Finding Margo (Finding Home #1)" height="400" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1472426306l/30988868.jpg" width="258" /> <img alt="Caught by Surprise (Apart From the Crowd, #3)" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1525254963l/36536759.jpg" /><br />
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And I just saw that she has another one coming out in January so I'll add that to my list too...<br />
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<img alt="Flights of Fancy (American Heiresses, #1)" height="400" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1528232792l/40390188.jpg" width="258" />Riahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960988715873767145.post-77465950612624673382018-09-26T11:59:00.000-06:002018-09-27T12:19:38.695-06:00<span style="font-size: large;">Today's #fallintobooks prompt is #series.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Will I be a broken record if I say once again that I love the Jonquil Brothers series? Cuz I do. And it is always the first one I think of. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But here is another series I have enjoyed... </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I love Jane Austen books but there aren't enough of them because Jane died too young. But there are a whole lot of fan fiction books written based on Austen's book in some way. One of my favorites is the Cousins series by Jennifer Joy. You get a good "what if" change in plot for Darcy's story and then a story for each of his cousins, Anne de Bourgh and Colonel Fitzwilliam. I enjoyed all three of these clean reads. </span><br />
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<img alt="Darcy's Ultimatum (The Cousins #1)" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1436537598l/25196649.jpg" /><br />
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<img alt="Anne's Adversity (The Cousins #2)" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1432880285l/25623638.jpg" /><br />
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<img alt="Colonel Fitzwilliam's Challenge (The Cousins #3)" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1448706474l/28001526.jpg" />Riahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960988715873767145.post-13164713060199303932018-09-25T09:50:00.001-06:002018-09-25T09:50:35.197-06:00<span style="font-size: large;">#fallintobooks prompt for today is rereads. I know there are people who read a book only once and never pick it up again and I have done that with many books but there are some that I have reread so many times and will likely continue to do so even though I have a huge TBR pile waiting... I'm the same way with movies. If I like it, I can watch it over and over. So here are some of my favorite rereads. </span><br />
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<img alt="Thursdays Child" height="400" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1428977475l/42378.jpg" width="280" /> I adored this book as a kid and still love it though it has been a while since I read it.<br />
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<img alt="The Kiss of a Stranger (The Jonquil Brothers #0)" height="400" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1294070607l/10048521.jpg" width="268" />The entire Jonquil brothers series. Every time a new book comes out I read from the first book again all the way through so I get all the continuity for the newest one. So by default I've read the earlier ones the most. The Kiss of a Stranger, Friends & Foes, Drops of Gold, As You Are, A Fine Gentleman, For Love or Honor. I always look forward to the next in the series but dread it at the same time because I know she is running out of brothers to write about and then the series will be at an end. Could Eden possibly write books about their children to keep the series going? <br />
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<img alt="Little Women" height="400" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388269517l/1934.jpg" width="234" /> I loved this as a girl as well as an adult. I never tire of the book or the movie. <br />
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<img alt="Pride and Prejudice" height="400" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1461620558l/1886.jpg" width="261" /> I never tire of reading Austen's works either. P&P is my favorite of all but I love all her novels. Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Emma, Mansfield Park, and Northanger Abbey. I love all the books and the movies. I only wish Austen could have lived long enough to write many more.<br />
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#fallintobooks #rereadsRiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960988715873767145.post-82637893729601984132018-09-24T12:32:00.000-06:002018-09-24T12:32:03.750-06:00<span style="font-size: large;">#Fallintobooks prompt today is favorite bookstore. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My husband and I both enjoy browsing a bookstore. When we were young marrieds, in school and had no money we would trade babysitting with friends and go walk around the local bookstore for our date nights. Rarely bought anything since we were too poor but enjoyed the night anyway. It was actually a funny date night because he usually ended up in the PoliSci, or History section and I always gravitated to Parenting, Child Development or Fiction. Every so often one of us would seek the other out to show a find but that part of our date night was often individual. Ha ha. But we loved it. </span><br />
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<img alt="Image result for bookstore meme" src="https://pics.me.me/walking-around-a-bookstore-with-no-money-ill-come-back-11639971.png" /><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Nowadays, we usually have money to go do things so we don't often do dates in a bookstore and I have gotten lazy in general so I end up buying most books on Amazon. </span><span style="font-size: large;">The other day we were in a bookstore though and my husband bought a religious book and I bought a children's board book. So things haven't really changed much in 30 years. </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My husband likes to shop a used book store, Benchmark Books in Salt Lake City when we travel through there so that is probably his favorite. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Riahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960988715873767145.post-2218230223752190652018-09-22T00:16:00.000-06:002018-09-22T00:16:30.704-06:00<span style="font-size: large;">#fallintobooks prompt for the day is tear jerker.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I suppose I've read any number of tear jerker books. Think Old Yeller... Or The Hiding Place.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Most recently I cried over one of the Jonquil brothers books For Love or Honor by Sarah M. Eden. The other books in the series were more light hearted I think but this one was really emotional for me. This is taken from my Goodreads review of the book. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">While One Fine Gentleman made me laugh through out, For Love or Honor was the emotional opposite. This book is so much harder to read than the others in this series. I had tears in my eyes through most of it and those spilled over more than once. If I had read this book first, I'm not sure that I would have read the rest of the series because this was emotionally so taxing. Stanley was such a broken spirit it was just heart breaking. And even though it was killing him, he still sought to give what he could to others. Because that is what Jonquils do.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I loved the book but it was emotional. So this one was a tear jerker for me...</span></span><br />
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<br />Riahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960988715873767145.post-23056270129232050942018-09-21T12:18:00.001-06:002018-09-21T12:18:56.174-06:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">#fallintobooks prompt for today is bookmarks. I find this topic boring as I tend to use whatever scrap of whatever that is closest to me. I've had a number of bookmarks given to me so if one of those is within arms reach I use it but I don't care enough to get up and go find one. The one exception was a bookmark given to me by a friend. It was a wire shaped into a flower. Super cute. But I've misplaced it and it hasn't turned up. So I was sad about that one. Other than that I just don't care. I do however, own this mug...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Riahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960988715873767145.post-77760425578322256222018-09-20T12:33:00.001-06:002018-09-20T12:33:27.011-06:00<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">#fallintobooks prompt for today is #TBR. I can't even begin to share my to be read list. But the general overview goes like this...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sitting next to my reading chair - 8 novels</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In the office - an entire shelf of tbr</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Kindle - I'd estimate 250+ waiting to be read</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Written list - No idea. These are the books or sometimes just an author that I don't have but are what I will read when I get through these books I already have. hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Like I'll ever get through this... I might be able to read a book a day. Maybe. But I keep adding books on my kindle. To get through everything I would need to never look at suggested reads again.... And speed read. </span><br />
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<a href="https://scontent.fboi1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/41399506_1025081344337686_1113730769844436992_n.png?_nc_cat=107&oh=5879f186cedf70ae369bb4afa1b4bc57&oe=5C5F774C" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image may contain: 1 person, text" border="0" height="280" src="https://scontent.fboi1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/41399506_1025081344337686_1113730769844436992_n.png?_nc_cat=107&oh=5879f186cedf70ae369bb4afa1b4bc57&oe=5C5F774C" width="400" /></a> and Kindle....</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Riahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8960988715873767145.post-47230158709495427872018-09-19T09:58:00.000-06:002018-09-19T09:58:26.305-06:00<span style="font-size: large;">#fallintobooks prompt for the day is happy endings. I could list books for this all day because I tend to read books with happy endings. I don't like unhappy endings so I rarely read them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I love Sarah M. Eden's Jonquil brothers series. I'm the first to admit that the plot lines are somewhat formulaic but I just love those brothers so much and wish the series would never end. In every book one of the brothers meets the woman he should be with, can't be with her for one reason or another but it all ends happily. Because I love them all so much it is hard to choose a favorite but I have a soft spot for Corbin so I'm going to choose his book. </span><br />
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<img alt="As You Are (The Jonquil Brothers #3)" height="400" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388072333l/20319486.jpg" width="265" /> <span style="font-size: large;">Corbin is kind and good but also so shy he can hardly speak to his family much less someone he doesn't know or in a public setting but he is able to overcome his social anxiety enough to be the hero to Clara and her children and it is so sweet to watch. I often (yes I've read it multiple times) finish this book with a big satisfying sigh...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">#fallintobooks #HappyEndings</span>Riahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08253993760256045916noreply@blogger.com0