I need someone to read to me while I rest......

Or it seems like I will never ever get through all the books I would like to read. I am working on "A Vintage Affair". Into the first 30 pages and I am liking this book. I was looking for a copy of the cover to show you and I found an earlier version. Actually I like this covershot even better than the current one. It is a story of fashion, friendship, regret and redemption. About a girl named Phoebe who quit her textiles job at Sotheby's to open a Vintage Clothing shoppe. Then there was "Water for Elephants". Another well written book for the sentimental heart. It too is a love story, mystery, drama, comedy and historical novel all rolled into one. "The Mermaid Chair" was another one that I flipped through the pages pretty quickly on. This story deals with the restlessness of a middle-aged woman who "should" be happy, but is not. Stifled by her conventional marriage, estranged from her mentally unbalanced mother and haunted by her father's death, she travels to the dreaded South Carolina barrier island of her childhood to confront her mother's bizarre behavior, and while she is there, she falls in love with a monk at the island monastery. (Hmmmmm)She is also the same author who wrote "The LIfe of Bees" which I liked. (Book definitely better than the movie - but I love the kitchen scene of all the girls singing together while they are cooking)In this book you meet Lilly, a young white girl who faces the realization that racism makes no sense, as she runs away from home and moves in with 3 black sisters amidst the beginnings of the days when black people were finally allowed to register as voters. Its really interesting to walk through this era from the point of view of Lily.I remember reading a book that found me utterring... "great story" while holding my heart. "What Remains" is a Memoir of Fate, Friendship and Love”. The story of a best friendship between Caroline Kennedy and Carole Radziwill. What do I have that is still waiting to be read? There is a stack on my nite stand that looks like this...
Reviews say: The Italian Lover is a beautiful meditation on love and the enigmatic relationship that exists between art and romance, and how cinema can act as a looking glass so that the past is laid over the future and the future is laid over the past. Blending the otherworldly beauty of his exotic setting, the author steeps his novel in Italian history, literature and culture; the story reads almost like a magical travelogue to the beautiful city of Florence.

We'll Always Have Paris is part auto-biography in telling the tale of how the author came from Australia and then LA to end up living in Paris. This part blends easily with telling tales of the history of Paris, the great places to hang out in Paris, and the way of life in Paris.
" The Flirt" Not sure how this one will go but I liked this author's other book...... "Elegance". So I will give it a try too.
Let me know what your fav's are... so I can see how high the stack will go before it topples over.

Ya know, Christmas is very near and I always remember that my dad would buy each of us some books especially picked out for each of our interests. He always went just a couple of days before Christmas because he would come home with the special bags. I think that's where my love for books and magazines started. Maybe that's why I keep buying them with the thought that one day I will have nothing to do but relax and read a good book. I've done it - but not often enough as testiment to the stacks of books and magazines piling up around me. Maybe reading and writing has been replaced by laptops and blogging?
Time is always there. It's just been re-arranged with the wrong priorities in first place. Perhaps.

I found this quote on books..... I like it.

I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.

~Anna Quindlen, "Enough Bookshelves," New York Times, 7 August 1991

So much Charlie - but I can't get enough. SHARING OUR FIRST WEEK WITH YOU ALL.

HE DIDN'T MIND THE GLASSES AT ALL....



SITTING SO NICE FOR A PICTURE IN HIS BACK YARD.



LETS GO FOR A WALK. WE'VE HAD OUR FIRST SNOWFALL.





WE ARE GOING TO THE DOG PARK TO MAKE SOME FRIENDS.



YOU MUST BE THIS HIGH TO RIDE !
ACTUALLY NO HIGHER THAN THE LINE OR YOU ARE TOO BIG OF A DOG TO ENTER...
BIG DOGS TO THE LEFT.



SUCH A PRETTY NITE. BIG MOON, BLUE SKY - BUT BRRRR COLD.



BREAKING THE RULES ALREADY. NO SLEEPING ON THE COUCH.
THIS GUY IS A SNORER.



NO PAWS ON THE TABLE EITHER. HE IS TRYING TO SEE WHAT HE WOULD LIKE TO BEG FOR.



HOW CAN YOU SAY NO TO THIS FACE THOUGH - REALLY. HE IS SO SWEET AND EASY.

It's a dogs life and I want it.

So this is what I have been thinking about.



This is Charlie. He's in a foster home. I like his face. He looks like a good guy.



These are weiner dogs. I have always wanted one. Maybe because they have thier own special look. I like that.



Get a load of this pack of ears flapping in the wind. Think of the pictures I could take!



And these sad eyes. Holy Hannah.. This one can sit on the couch if she wants. Really. Come on!

So I looked up reasons why you should get a dog. It's a very very good case.

• Loyalty. There are few creatures canine or otherwise that are as loyal as a good dog. These animals will give their undying affection to their owner for very little in return. A little food, water and a scratch or two behind the ear is generally all it takes to start forging a bond that will last a life time. It takes very little effort to gain a dog’s loyalty.

• Companionship. Along with loyalty comes a level of companionship that is unmatchable. A good dog that has been properly trained will go to the ends of earth and back with its owner. Some dogs simply like to go along for the ride, others like to run the rat race along with their owners. How much or how little companionship takes place will be up to the owner generally – the dog typically will take as much as it can get!

• Unconditional love. Most dogs will love their owners no matter what they do or what they say. Even a misguided harsh word will have very little impact on a dog five minutes later. They are very quick to forgive and they don’t seem to care how rich, how poor or how successful a person is. All they care about is pleasing their owners and getting a little love in return. If only most humans were as easy to get along with, the world would be a much nicer place.

• Protection. Even the smallest of dogs will go out of their way to protect their owners. Providing an early warning system for company, unwanted or not, and even a little brute force on occasion, dogs can be wonderful for ensuring a safe home. In fact, in many cases a dog’s bark is more successful at warding off burglars than an alarm system.

• Joy. The simple fact of the matter is that dogs can bring a lot of joy into their owner’s lives. There is something incredible about coming home after a long, hard day to a wagging tail and a happy face.


So why are there so many people who are not with a partner but with a dog? Re-read points 1 through 5.

I'm calling about Charlie. Gotta go. Don't tell me its a bad decision. I already fell in love.

And did I look up 5 reasons NOT to get a dog? No. Why spoil the enthusiasm.