3rsblog

  • Subscribe to our RSS feed.
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Facebook
  • Digg

joi, 11 iulie 2013

Setting the Scene(ry): New England, June 2013

Posted on 05:00 by Guy
I grew up on the Southern New England coast, and I remember the "triple-H"--hazy, hot, and humid--summers there. (I suppose they were good preparation for my family's move to Florida when I was almost thirteen--the Sunshine State wasn't as "hazy," but its summers were even more hot and humid...and felt like they lasted about three times longer.) What I didn't remember so well were the softness of the hills, the shore breeze, and the varied, lush greens across the land--probably because I'd never known anything different up to that point, and so I didn't know that they should make an impression.

Aside from a few brief trips to Boston, I've spent very little time in New England since my early teens, and I never did complete the circuit; although the region is comprised of six very small states, I'd only been to five of them. Checking the last one--Maine--off my list has been a goal of mine for a long time. I did that during our visit to New England last month, but since we really didn't explore much beyond the state's southeast corner, I'm eager to go back. But I'd like to spend more time in that corner, too, and see more spots like the area around Portland Head Light at Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth. I took these photos myself, but with such beautiful and iconic subjects, it's hard not to get pictures that almost seem too perfect to be real.



Portland, Maine was the third stop on our trip. We arrived after three days in Lincoln, New Hampshire, "basecamp of the White Mountains," and took the scenic route through the White Mountains National Forest to get there, stopping for a little while at Rocky Gorge. The Forest Service officially identifies this spot as a "scenic area," and although there's not much else to do there besides hike around and view the scenery, "scenic" it most certainly is. We'd have stayed longer to take it in even more if we hadn't been on our way out of the state, but it's another place I'd love to visit again.

Rocky Gorge, NH photo collage   www.3rsblog.com

I've been living in the partially converted desert of Southern California for eleven years now, and its stark mountains, dry heat, and the varied, dusty browns across the land have helped me learn to appreciate the more conventional beauties of my original homeland in the opposite corner of my country.


My photos, edited with Snapseed and collaged with Diptic
Text applied with TitleFX
Posted with BlogsyPosted with Blogsy
Read More
Posted in fotos, randomness, travel | No comments

miercuri, 10 iulie 2013

(Not Quite) Wordless Wednesday: Adventure in the Sunshine

Posted on 05:00 by Guy
There's a pretty slim chance you'd get me to do this, but ziplining was one of the activities that the rest of the family really wanted to try during our vacation. Unfortunately, we were on Loon Mountain in New Hampshire at exactly the wrong, between-seasons time--the summer activities wouldn't be open on weekdays until the week after our visit. But we drove by this place on Route 1 in Maine a few days later, and stopped off with just in time for Tall Paul and Spencer to be the last liners of the day!

Ziplining in Maine, June 2013   www.3rsblog.com
Ziplining at Monkey C Monkey Do, Route 1, Wicasset, Maine, June 2013
"Monkey C Monkey Do is Maine's first high-flying family adventure park with zip lines! Navigate through nearly 50 obstacles from 12 to 50 feet in the air then zoom along one of the SIX zip lines or our GIANT SWING and do it all over again! Our uniquely designed course offers multiple levels of difficulty, so no matter where your 'comfort level' lies, you are sure to have an experience you won't soon forget!"


An InLinkz Link-up

Posted with BlogsyPosted with Blogsy
Read More
Posted in fotos, randomness, Wordless Wednesday | No comments

marți, 9 iulie 2013

She Reads Book Club: THE FIREBIRD, by Susanna Kearsley

Posted on 05:00 by Guy
THE FIREBIRD, by Susanna Kearsley  via indiebound.orgThe Firebird
Susanna Kearsley (Facebook) (Twitter)
Sourcebooks Landmark (2013), Paperback original (ISBN 140227663X / 9781402276637)
Fiction, 544 pages
Source: Publisher
Reason for Reading: She Reads Book Club selection

Opening lines:

“He sent his mind in search of me that morning.

“I was on the Tube, a half a minute out of Holland Park and in that muzzy not-awake-yet state that always bridged the time between my breakfast cup of coffee and the one that I’d have shortly at my desk. I nearly didn’t notice when his thoughts touched mine. It was a rare thing these days; rarer still that I would let him in, but my own thoughts were drifting and I knew that his were, too. In fact, from what I saw of where he was—the angle of the ceiling and the dimly shadowed walls—I guessed that he was likely still in bed, just waking up himself.

“I didn’t need to push him out. Already he was drawing back, apologizing. Sorry. Not a spoken word, but still I heard the faint regretful tone of his familiar voice. And then he wasn’t there.”

Book description, from the publisher’s website
Two Women.
One Mysterious Relic.
Separated By Centuries. 
Nicola Marter was born with a gift so rare and dangerous, she kept it buried deep. When she encounters a desperate woman trying to sell a small wooden carving called "The Firebird," claiming it belonged to Russia's Empress Catherine, it's a problem. There's no proof. 
But Nicola's held the object. She knows the woman is telling the truth.

Comments: There have been times that I've pushed up against a posting deadline for a blog tour or online discussion, and written a review before I finished reading the book. There have been a few times--not many!--when I didn't get around to reading the book at all, and posted a "feature" instead. I think this may be the first time I've posted about a book that I have chosen not to finish.

One of the (great) things about book clubs is that they can provide opportunities to read in genres that we might not explore on our own. Susanna Kearsley's novel The Firebird is the July selection for the She Reads Book Club; it's a blend of historical mystery and contemporary fiction with strong elements of romance and a seasoning of paranormal. The leads in the present-day story, Nicola and Rob, are telepaths, and they are trying to discover the true provenance of an artifact--a carving called "The Firebird," based on Russian folklore--by psychically tracing the women of the family who possessed it back through nearly three centuries, via their intense mental connection.

The Firebird is, in all honesty, a book I doubt I would have picked up on my own. I gave it about 150 pages before I set it aside, and I think that was a fair shot for a novel that I reasonably suspected would turn out to be "not my thing" in the end. I wasn't uninterested in the dynamic between Nicola and Rob, but I couldn't get into the story they were trying to uncover--their expositional "conversations" about historical context didn't help--and, eventually, I just didn't feel the desire to stick with the whole thing for nearly 400 pages more. I appreciated the opportunity to give it a try, though. Readers whose "thing" it is will probably appreciate The Firebird much more, and you can find their thoughts via She Reads’ July book introduction post.

Rating: DNF

ReviewShop Indie Bookstores Affiliate Marketing Links
Read More
Posted in fiction, reading, reviews, SheReads Book Club | No comments

duminică, 7 iulie 2013

Sunday Salon: Right here, right now, July 7

Posted on 08:00 by Guy
Time: Sunday morning, between 7 and 8 AM


Place: In bed. Tall Paul is trying to sleep in a little more, so shhh!

Eating: Nothing yet, but contemplating breakfast…yogurt with granola, berries on a shortcake biscuit, and tea instead of coffee today, I'm thinking.

Drinking: Right now, water from the bottle on my nightstand. After trying it out during our vacation, I've begun drinking Mighty Leaf Chamomile Citrus herbal tea in the evenings–best chamomile tea I've ever tried, and I think it may be helping me sleep a little better, too!

Reading: I have two TLC Book Tours this month, and am about halfway through The Exiles by Allison Lynn for the first of those dates…and that's it. It feels a little odd to be reading only one book right now. But I've kept current on my blog reading for the whole first week of the Post-Google-Reader Era, so it's been a good trade (although I suspect that the July Fourth holiday caused feed updates to be less than normal, and that probably helped). I'm still playing around with feed-reader apps on my mobile devices. I've reinstalled Reeder on my iPhone since it's integrated with Feedly now,
and I'm really liking Mr. Reader on the iPad–great integration with my favorite sharing apps, plus the ability to comment on posts without leaving the app. As a result, the iPad's becoming my favorite place to read blogs,

Watching: It's a slow time of year for TV, and we're using that break to start watching Supernatural on Netflix. Most if our “Netflix catch-up* recommendations come from my stepdaughter Kate, but we're open to other sources, so if you have any, please leave them in comments! (And the show doesn't literally have to be on Netflix–our Blu-Ray player connects to several streaming-video services, so just tell me where to find your show if it's on one of the others.)

Listening: I started on a piece of recent history during the week of Independence Day: The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel, read by Orlagh Cassidy–I'm about halfway through and expect to finish it this week.

Blogging: I'm still contemplating the next-to-last season of Mad Men, two weeks after it ended, and want to make some time to record those thoughts soon. I'm also working on a few more little photo essays on places we visited on our vacation to New England. Between those, several book posts, and Wordless Wednesdays, I think the July blogging calendar is pretty well covered.

Pondering/Planning: A massive book giveaway, including ARCs read and unread, books I've finished and don't foresee re-reading, and the "regrets” collection–that is, books to be liberated from TBR Purgatory because I've regretfully decided that I probably never will read them after all. The catch is that they'll have to be claimed in person. Details will be announced here and on Facebook once I know what they are!

Promoting: Much as I'd love to, I don't think I'll be able to swing the trip upstate for Beth Kephart's memoir-writing workshop in Corte Madera, CA in September, but if you can go, I think you should!

Enjoying: Ending a four-day weekend that hasn't been overly busy with a day that has no plans at all yet.

Anticipating: Making some sort of plans to get out of the house today–it looks like another one that will be too nice to spend inside!–and doing some reading while I am inside.

Gratuitous Photo of the Week

Portland Head Light, Maine, June 2013

How's your weekend going?

 

Posted with BlogsyPosted with Blogsy
Read More
Posted in randomness, Sunday Salon, thinking out loud | No comments

joi, 4 iulie 2013

Pictures from the Revolution: Historic Boston

Posted on 05:00 by Guy
The 237th anniversary of this country's birth seems like the perfect day to share some of the historical sites we photographed in Boston last month.

One of the remarkable things about the Boston cityscape is the juxtaposition of old and new architecture. The Old State House wasn't old--or surrounded by glass-walled skyscrapers--in 1776, but it was already the center of Massachusetts colonial politics, and of revolutionary ideas.  In one of the first acts of colonial rebellion, five men were killed by British soldiers outside the State House in 1770 in what became known as the Boston Massacre. After the Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia on July 4, it was first proclaimed publicly from the balcony of this building, and a new country was born.

Old State House, Boston MA   www.3rsblog.com
Old State House, Boston MA   www.3rsblog.com
The Old State House is 300 years old this year!
(My photos, edited with Snapseed and collaged with PicFrame)
Boston's North End is the oldest part of the city today, and as the Freedom Trail makes its way from Boston Common, it passes by the Old North Church, where two lanterns hung in the steeple on April 18, 1775 told Paul Revere to ride out and give the word that the British soldiers were advancing on the city by boat. Formally known as Christ Church, it originally opened in 1723 and is still an active Episcopal church. And Paul Revere still rides--when we saw him in June, he was supporting the city's commitment to "Boston Strong"...and the hometown Bruins as they contended for the Stanley Cup.

Old North Church/Paul Revere Statue  www.3rsblog.com
Old North Church/Freedom Trail/Paul Revere statue
(Original photos by Paul Vasquez, collaged with PicFrame)
Faneuil Hall has combined commerce and politics for much of its 270-year history (although the big business happens in the Marketplace just behind it, site of Quincy Market). The first floor of the building has been occupied by shops and vendor stalls since it opened, while many of the debates that led to colonial independence took place in the second-floor meeting hall. A statue of statesman Samuel Adams, a key figure in those activities, stands in front of Faneuil Hall. (Adams is better known to some today as the patron saint of microbrews.)

Faneuil Hall/Samuel Adams   www.3rsblog.com
Sam Adams remains a fixture at Faneuil Hall
(My photos, edited with Snapseed and collaged with PicFrame)
Please celebrate safely, my fellow Americans--July 4th isn't really about the blowing stuff up--and wish our country a happy and hopeful birthday! 


Read More
Posted in fotos, randomness, travel | No comments

miercuri, 3 iulie 2013

WW: Cheers for the Red, White, and Blue

Posted on 05:00 by Guy
The 13-star "Betsy Ross" flag, first flown in 1777, as seen in Boston, Massachusetts in June 2013 

13-star "Betsy Ross" flag, flying in 2013   www.3rsblog.com

Happy Fourth of July (a day early!)

my photo, edited with Snapseed

An InLinkz Link-up

Posted with BlogsyPosted with Blogsy
Read More
Posted in fotos, randomness, Wordless Wednesday | No comments

marți, 2 iulie 2013

From across New England: Hello, it's me!

Posted on 05:00 by Guy
Tall Paul got some decent pictures of me as we wandered around New England, so I thought I'd share a few with you.

photo collage of Florinda, by Paul, June 2013   www.3rsblog.com
All photos by Paul Vasquez; collage made with PicFrame

Top left: On the steps of the Rauner Library, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
Top right: Off the Kancamagus Scenic Highway near Lincoln, New Hampshire
Bottom left: Outside the New England Aquarium and Simons IMAX Theater, Long Wharf, Boston, Massachusetts (and yes, we did see Star Trek Into Darkness there, again!)
Bottom right: Inside the New England Aquarium, at the Tidepool Touch Tank
 
I'm working on a few more posts--editing pictures, and even writing up some words to accompany them--on the "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" theme, but Tall Paul had already done all the editing on these.

Posted with BlogsyPosted with Blogsy
Read More
Posted in fotos, randomness, travel | No comments
Postări mai noi Postări mai vechi Pagina de pornire
Abonați-vă la: Postări (Atom)

Popular Posts

  • Book Talk: *The Forgetting Tree*, by Tatjana Soli (TLC Book Tour)
    The Forgetting Tree: A Novel Tatjana Soli St. Martin's Press (September 2012), Hardcover (ISBN 1250001048 / 9781250001047) Fiction, 416 ...
  • The BlogHer14 Highlight Reel, Part 1
    I was at a big convention-type gathering this past weekend...and it wasn't San Diego Comic-Con. I attended my third BlogHer Conference ,...
  • (BlogHer) Book (Club) Talk: *The Fault in Our Stars*, by John Green
    The Fault in Our Star s John Green ( Twitter ) ( Facebook ) Dutton Juvenile (2012), Hardcover (ISBN 9781101569184 / 1101569182) Fiction (YA...
  • On Book Blogging: Really, Positively Enthusiastic
    I think that when most of us can freely choose what to read--when there’s no obligation or assignment--we’re usually going to pick books we ...
  • Book Talk: THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKRY, by Gabrielle Zevin
    The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry: A Novel Gabrielle Zevin   (Twitter)   (Facebook) Algonquin Books (April 2014), Hardcover (ISBN 1616203218 /...
  • WW: Shelved!
    We've got a "wild card" week in our Wordless Wednesday linky group , so I thought you might like to see what we did with our d...
  • On Book Blogging: An Authentic Opinion is Priceless
    Today's BBAW topic is a deceptively simple question : “What does book blogging mean to you?” Short answer: Book blogging means thought...
  • Featured at Book Bloggers International: Me!
    Today's one of those days when I invite you to see what I'm doing somewhere else! So, what is Book Bloggers International exactly a...
  • Always Have a Backup Plan: a "Learning Experience"
    There are so many things I like about blogging, but one that I don't talk about all that often is the technical side. Maintaining a blog...
  • Sunday Salon on Monday: Various Updates Without a Clever Subtitle
    I'm writing this post on Sunday, so technically it's not late, but it's not posting until Monday because, as of right now, I...

Categories

  • 'riting
  • #BBBSys
  • #DailyBookPic
  • #GenFab
  • #JustOneParagraph
  • #JustOneParagrpah
  • #photoaday
  • #readchabon
  • 24-Hour Readathon
  • a bunch of books
  • announcements
  • Armchair BEA
  • ArmchairBEA
  • Audiobook Challenge
  • audiobooks
  • Banned Books Week
  • BBAW
  • BEA12
  • BEA2014
  • blog tour
  • Bloggiesta
  • Bloggiesta2012
  • BlogHer
  • BlogHer Book Club
  • blogs elsewhere
  • book bloggers
  • Bookkeeping
  • books and authors
  • CA12
  • CBSLA Best of LA
  • contests and giveaways
  • E-Book Reading Challenge
  • Ebook Reading Challenge
  • ebooks
  • family
  • fiction
  • food
  • fotos
  • Friday Foto
  • guest post
  • holidays
  • indie authors
  • Indie Lit Awards
  • JustOneParagraph
  • links
  • Memorable Memoirs Reading Challenge
  • metabloggery
  • mostly true stories
  • NaBloPoMo
  • nerd factor
  • news traffic and weather
  • nonfiction
  • pop culture: movies
  • pop culture: music
  • pop culture: TV
  • randomess
  • randomness
  • reading
  • retrospective
  • reviews
  • roundup
  • ShelfAwareness
  • SheReads Book Club
  • So Cal
  • SoCal
  • Sunday Salon
  • SYJ Book Awards
  • TellAStory Thuesday
  • thinking out loud
  • Thoughts From My Reading
  • Throwback Thursday
  • travel
  • Weekend Cooking
  • Weekend Review
  • Wordless Wednesday
  • work

Blog Archive

  • ▼  2014 (114)
    • ▼  iulie (16)
      • The BlogHer14 Highlight Reel, Part 1
      • Book Talk: THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKRY, by Gabr...
      • "I should be folding laundry..."
      • Book Talk: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTS, by Christopher B...
      • What's What in the Sunday Salon, July 20, 2014
      • Shaking the (Blogging) Family Tree--Throwback Thur...
      • Wordless Wednesday: Blue
      • Book Talk: GOLDEN STATE, by Michelle Richmond
      • What's What: July 13 (Sunday Salon)
      • The Empty Spaces: Picturing A Life Without Bloggin...
      • Celebrating 3 Decades of Chris (Not-Quite-Wordless...
      • Book Talk: BRUTAL YOUTH, by Anthony Breznican
      • What's What (Sunday Salon): Mid-2014 Bookkeeping G...
      • Book Talk: THE POSSIBILITIES, by Kaui Hart Hemmings
      • Big Bang BOOM! (Wordless Wednesday)
      • (Audio)Book Talk: SELF-INFLICTED WOUNDS, by Aisha ...
    • ►  iunie (16)
    • ►  mai (15)
    • ►  aprilie (17)
    • ►  martie (18)
    • ►  februarie (13)
    • ►  ianuarie (19)
  • ►  2013 (201)
    • ►  decembrie (14)
    • ►  noiembrie (16)
    • ►  octombrie (19)
    • ►  septembrie (17)
    • ►  august (19)
    • ►  iulie (23)
    • ►  iunie (16)
    • ►  mai (17)
    • ►  aprilie (16)
    • ►  martie (13)
    • ►  februarie (14)
    • ►  ianuarie (17)
  • ►  2012 (185)
    • ►  decembrie (14)
    • ►  noiembrie (15)
    • ►  octombrie (18)
    • ►  septembrie (14)
    • ►  august (14)
    • ►  iulie (16)
    • ►  iunie (16)
    • ►  mai (15)
    • ►  aprilie (20)
    • ►  martie (31)
    • ►  februarie (12)
Un produs Blogger.

Despre mine

Guy
Vizualizați profilul meu complet