Reading variety

I used to read only one book at a time. In the last few years, though, I've changed that habit. I listen to books in the car (currently a mystery), read on my Kindle when I'm out of the house (currently a romance, plus occasional snippets of Self-Reliance by Emerson), and typically read paper books at home (just finished a fantasy novel). Yeah, that's most of the genres I read. Throw in a little biography and sometimes general fiction.

The fantasy, by the way, was Ravenous, first in the Dark Forgotten series by Sharon Ashwood (library classifies it as romance, but I really think of it as fantasy). A witch and a vampire team up to defeat a demon - with help from werewolves and hellhounds. Yeah, NOT my usual fare. But I read about the series on a blog I frequent, and started with the third book - Unchained. I liked it a lot and so now I'm reading the rest of the series. Now on to the next book on my vast to-read pile!

By dawn's early light

I really do like walking at dawn. Even though there are inconveniences (like I need to take a flashlight and why did my tiny flashlight disappear over the summer so now I have to carry a honking big one?). And even though it was raining today (which made it darker than usual at this time of day).

But the streets are mostly empty and the streetlights make the scene prettier.

And there's always the chance of seeing some animals that are nocturnal or crepuscular (though not today). But the sky did turn pink. No, the sky doesn't really look pink in this picture, but it really was, and the street reflection kind of shows how pink it was.

And yes it was raining. I didn't take a long walk, but I did enjoy going out and seeing how the light changed and the reflections on the wet streets.

Doubly grateful

Ok, so obviously I'm not going to manage a daily post. The last post was a little weird. The ubiquitous 9/11 hype was annoying me, and I didn't want to mention it. But the post did have to do with some of my feelings about the event and .... never mind, I don't want to go there.

Anyway, I'm still going to try to post, but I'm going to give myself a break by not expecting it will be every day.

Since it's been a while - or just because I feel like it - today is a two-fer. The first thing is that I love the light rail. I wish I lived closer to the line. I'd like to ride it more often. If I move to another city that has a subway/light rail, I'm going to try to find a place to live close to a station. As it is, I usually have to make an occasion to use it, as I did today. I did a little shopping at the Mall of America, then took the light rail to Franklin Avenue and walked to Mezzanine for a haircut.

(I tried to get a picture including the train, but the phone was slow to respond and I missed the shot. Good thing I'd taken this one as practice. I also like that you can see downtown in the background.) By the way, today was the first time that I have been asked for my light rail ticket. I was actually happy to see them checking.

Today I am also grateful for Carly. She's been cutting my hair for quite a few years now - 7 maybe? I've followed her to a couple of different salons, and introduced Jason and Karis to her. I really enjoy chatting with her. I can tell her things I haven't told anyone else. It was a relief to talk to her today. Plus I got a great haircut, and it gave me an excuse to ride the light rail!

Thank you, Mr Jefferson

Today I am grateful for the words from the Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I bought a book some months ago called The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew - Three Women Search for Understanding. I'm reminding myself that I should read the book, and embrace and celebrate the differences between us.

It was hard to think of a photo to illustrate this post, but I decided on this one taken from the steps of the Capitol.

Playtime with dogs

Today, I am grateful for agility, and particularly for the CPE organization. There are many different "venues" in which to compete in agility - AKC, NADAC, USDAA, etc. I'm only competing in CPE. I like it because everyone makes such a point of having a good time, not stressing too much about competition, and celebrating achievements, no matter how small. Everyone has been welcoming and helpful. Also, there are 7 different games, so a lot of variety.

This is a photo from today's trial. The little white dog at the far end is a Papillon belonging to my trainer. This particular game is called Jackpot. The setup here is more difficult than what I am working so far. This is the end of the game where the handler has to stay to the left of the yellow line while guiding the dog through 4 obstacles. I need to work on my distance handling...

Another way to read

Much as I love "real" books, I now do a lot of my reading on my Kindle. To me, the biggest advantages are that I don't need reading glasses (I can just increase font size if necessary) and that when I finish a book, I have a lot of choices of what to read next. Also when I fall asleep reading, I don't lose my place.

This is my setup when I read at work during lunch time. Propped up on my purse, it's at just the right angle. And I've dressed it up with a pretty decal and a purple cover.

Books and bookshelves

On design shows, you always see bookshelves with a lot of art objects and a few books. Um, excuse me? They're called BOOK shelves. They're meant to hold as many books as possible. As you can see, this one is stuffed and I had to use the top surfaces as well. I've got a few more shelves and a bunch of books in boxes and drawers. My ideal would be a library with one of those rolling ladders.

Or with less space, maybe I could have a bookshelf stairwell like this one:

I mean, why waste that space? I could get used to always making the first step up with my left foot. 

PS I found the bookshelf stairwell online at Apartment Therapy.

My hero!

I expect Russ will appear often in these posts, but today I am grateful that he is willing and able to tackle the dirty jobs I really don't want to do. Like dealing with dead animals. Thanks, Russ!

Morning indulgence

Occasionally I like to treat myself to hot tea on my way to work. Thank goodness Starbucks still has Awake hot tea.

Lark - Happy Birthday!

Lark is 22 today. I am grateful for all that he taught Karis - and me, too. He was the first horse I ever owned, and he'll always have a special place in my heart.

Roses and walks

Took a walk to the rose garden near Lake Harriet today. I'm grateful for the variety of colors and the sheer mass of flowers in the garden.

Libraries

I love libraries. And particularly this one, with its openness and soaring beautiful ceiling. It's not the biggest library in the area, but I'm thankful that I can reserve books online and visit this beautiful space to pick them up.

Leaving early

On the last work day before a holiday, we get to leave work early. I'm grateful for that one extra hour off!

365 Grateful

I recently ran across a project called 365 Grateful (http://365grateful.com/). The idea is that every day, you record something for which you are grateful. You can  do it in a variety of ways, but as with the creator, photography was the medium that spoke to me so I decided to try it on this blog.

I'd actually been thinking about this concept since I listened to Notes From A Small Island by Bill Bryson while I was traveling with Karis in California. In one section of the book, he talked about the British capacity for making the best of things. I think of this concept as "Ooh tea! Lovely!". (That might not mean much to you if you haven't read the book.)

So in no particular order, here goes.

I'm grateful for a freshly groomed Bravo, with his gorgeous fluffy tail and wide smile, and what Russ refers to as his "ascot".

New camera!

So yesterday I got a new camera. My old one that was small and traveled with me most of the time had developed an issue where every time I turned it on, it wanted me to set the date. Perhaps I could have gotten around that, but I used it as an excuse to replace that camera. I spent some time thinking about what to get - DSLR? Small camera with longer zoom than the 5x I had? In the end, I decided that I might not carry a DSLR often enough.

So I got a Canon Powershot G12. It's small, but has a larger sensor than many point-and-shoot cameras. Still only a 5x zoom, but with 10MP, I can crop on the computer for a closer shot and not lose too much. And it has tons of features. Hopefully I will take a lot more pictures and get better at going beyond the basics.

Here's an example of the "Color Accent" feature: