I may look like an avid reader. OK, I am and avid reader, but one with a poor memory as I have a tendency to skim reading. I track my books on Goodreads, this has a couple of advantages for me. If I'm in a book store and I think, now have I read that one…a quick look and I can know whether picking up that Clive Cussler or Lee Child book in a second hand store will be the next book for me. Admittedly, it is those two authors that this is the most handy of, but would work with the prolific author that you are into.
I also take part in the Goodreads challenge. This year I set myself the challenge of reading 35 books, I track the books on the site and build a great view like this of what I've been reading. Very handy when Susannah Conway then asks 'best book of the 2015' in her December Reflections, I can ponder my list.
I can ponder, but can I choose. There are books that link me to my very good friend Emma, such as The Summer Book, which I read in the NZ summer and added post-it notes of my thoughts and sent it to her to read in the UK summer. There there is the Ben Aaronovitch series which she introduced me to (one I would recommend) plus she sent me the gorgeous Principles of Uncertainty. Which was a wondrous, comforting read and I may well dive back into that book this evening.
Finally reading Brene Brown was a great part of 2015, I did connect with her and her ideas, I've put some of her ideas around leadership and feedback into practice and it started a wave of thinking in my mind that could take me on a journey in the coming year.
I read the story of the A303 while on the A303. Brought in London (with that said good good friend) and then read while travelling to Cornwall with the in-laws. Happy memories all round really (though my in-laws think I'm a bit odd for my constant reading). Relieving that right now, I read a lot while in Cornwall and it was a time I am very grateful for.
2015 also was the year I joined what seems a cult like following of the magical art of tidying up. Now parts are crazy, parts are wonderfully crazy, but my house is lighter and I feel better. I fold my socks and it does make sense. I'm nowhere near as sorted as she suggests. As we speak there is a huge pile of washing to put away that has been there for two days, there are yesterdays shppong bags strewn across the floor and let's not even talk about the bathroom. Even so, the book was great. Adam and I entered into the spirit of the clearing together and we have done well and feel better because of it.
So no favourite then, but happy memories, some good books, some OK books, some have been sent on, some will stay on the shelf for now.
Showing posts with label DecemberReflections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DecemberReflections. Show all posts
Day thirty. Thank you
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| I should have done a before and after shot but my garden was getting a bit crazy. In fact it was a meadow, rather lovely, but driving my hay fever mental. Which added to the challenge of cutting the grass. Hot sunny weather (not moaning) did send the hay fever crazy and then add in super long grass, what was I hoping for. I did a section - mainly to be able to see the vegetable patch if nothing else - found a dead rat in the long grass - nice - so knew this job was needed and soon. We casually mention to the neighbour and heh look…..we come home from work today and the grass has been cut. "Oh well", he shrugs, "who knows how many dead rats you have in there and I had nothing to do, plus my mower has four blades and yours only has two, so it was easier for me than it would be for you". Wow Beers on us then. |
Day twenty eight. Love is
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| Love is this man…building me a (not that straight forward) garden thingy for my vegetable patch on a hot and sunny afternoon. |
Day twenty seven. Silence
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| The Christmas decorations are down, the room has been cleared and cleaned. So I sit with the last of the advent candle burning. |
Day twenty five. Today is…..
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| Merry Christmas Today is a joyful wonder of mess. I am mightily impressed by how much mess two adults can make on Christmas morning. A sign of a blessed childhood methinks. Thank you all for the great gifts. |
Day twenty four. Gifts
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| My little tree is surrounded by gifts from far and wide. Plus some from very near. |
Day twenty three. Sparkle
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| While I do find it hard to 'get' Christmas in the southern hemisphere, I have been admiring photos of lights in windows, so that was it…off to the shops and entering Christmas land brought some rather lovely lights for the window. |
Day twenty two. Fragrant
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| The fragrant bounty of my graden. That 'well known' Christmas combination of rosemary, lavender and rhubarb. Home grown gifts for the staff at work. |
Day twenty one. Friendship
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| A symbolic photo. Taken with friends visiting NZ last summer. A lot has happened to friends in the UK. It's been a hard year to be away from dear friends. Making me wonder…... |
Day nineteen. Delicious
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| Our tradition of Christmas. Dinner with friends. Food and company. Delicious |
Day eighteen. 15 years ago
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| The most disturbing thing about wondering what I was doing 15 years ago is how much I have become dependent on internet sites to log my life, history and prompt my memory. I use Flickr to catalogue my travels and if it happened before Flickr, who knows. Then the blog came about, so pretty much everything I've been up to since moving to NZ has been captured. Where are the photos and the notebooks from prior. It worried me. So 15 years ago. 1999 right. The one thing I do know is that I worked the night shift on New Years Eve. We had everything planned for a complete breakdown of all systems. Nothing happened, well we had a great night shift, no disasters. Adam popped in to say Happy New Year before heading somewhere, though he can't remember what or where. Still. This photo has stayed with us and is in a frame in the hall, with a collection of other memories. Young (and thin) and with absolutely no idea of the amazing adventures that would come our way in the coming 15 years. |
Day seventeen. Triangles
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| The end of the day and I needed a photo, the cat was on my lap so I had to take what I could see from where I sat. When you look, you see. The bunting was a handmade gift a few years ago, sent to me from England and it is a joy to put up each year and think of the wonderful friend that sent it to me. |
Day sixteen. On the table
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| We gave up on a table earlier this year. Embraced who we were and decided that the number of times we ate at a table didn't make up for the space it took up in our little place. We have a trunk that is a table, we eat on cushions on the floor around the table. The trunk is set for soup, the day required bubbles, there is a bunch of white roses in honour of a dear friend who died suddenly this week and we seem to have a lighter for those candles. |
Day fifteen. My favourite camera
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| 2014 was a year I tried to learn a wee bit more than point and shoot. Adam brought me the cannon (influenced by Clive Cussler and the Fargos, but heh, that is also the reason I brought an iPhone, don't judge) and I love it. Then an amazing thing happened and I came second place in a photo competition and won the nikon - which is waterproof they tell me, though I am yet to be brave enough to test that out. Mind you, that iPhone is a bit of a well used (and well loved) camera. |
Day Thirteen. Comfort
Two photos today, because how could I show favouritism over the two cats, who make comfort a daily priority, no, a talent.
Day Twelve. White
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| As if by magic, this delicate crocheted snowflake decoration turns up in the post toady. A lovely gift from a best friends mother. |
Day eleven. Favourite photo of 2014
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| 2014 was the year I really made effort and progress with understanding and embracing photography. This photo was from a day spent crazily taking photos just because. I love the colours and the creation from nature. There were of course several contenders so it was a hard choice. It was a wonderful time looking back over a year of photos and memories. |
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