YA Summer Continued: The Here And Now by Ann Brashares

June 28, 2014.Reading time 2 minutes.

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares is another great YA read, continuing the tradition of me being entertained by books written for teens :) Although I’ve never read The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series– Brashares’ best-known work– another of her books, The Last Summer (of You and Me) was a favorite of mine […]

Book Reviews: Dog Training

June 23, 2014.Reading time 9 minutes.

In honor of THIS DOG’s unleashed tour of the neighborhood yesterday, I thought I’d share about my recent tour of dog training books and resources. I’m proud to say that my response to yesterday’s adventure (sprint after escaped dog to recapture her by whatever means necessary, even if it means looking like a complete idiot […]

Bergie Sees The World

June 23, 2014.Reading time 3 minutes.

THIS DOG got loose yesterday. A man with a dump truck pulled into our driveway to deliver mulch. The truck made a loud jump forward that freaked us both out. But while I stood my ground, Bergie had the smarter, more honest reaction to having an enormous piece of machinery lurch toward you: She slipped […]

Book Recommendations!

June 20, 2014.Reading time 4 minutes.

Here are four books to add to your beach bag (even if you’re not on vacation and just keep your beach bag next to the couch to reach into on weekends!) Non-Fiction Fury: A Memoir by Koren Zailckas This book reminded me how good writing can be. Zailckas takes us through her years of figuring out […]

Reading idea: make it a YA summer

June 13, 2014.Reading time 4 minutes.

It is pouring BUCKETS outside right now. Sheets of pelting rain. Which makes this a PERFECT day to draft a fun plan for summer reading, because Mama told me there’d be days like this…and that one should use these days to read. A few years ago, Steve and I spent the summer in the Finger Lakes […]

A Blogger’s Dilemma

June 12, 2014.Reading time 5 minutes.

Sorry for being a blog no-show for the past few days. Life is good, great actually, in that, “SUMMER IS FINALLY HERE!” sort of way. I’m looking for excuses to go outside, rather than to hibernate indoors:) THIS DOG is progressing miraculously. This weekend, I took her up to see my parents. Because she sheds, […]

The Weekend (Featuring: SUN!)

June 2, 2014.Reading time 4 minutes.

What a weekend! Summer is finally here in New England. Last week was freezing cold and rainy, so I CANNOT DESCRIBE my delight in waking up to two sunny days this weekend. Honestly…there was GLEE! And the sunshine was just the beginning. Here are some other highlights: – I painted the dining room blue and […]