It's Monday!



(photo from
MarthaStewart.com)

 Washington Valley:  This was the first weekend since October that we weren't hosting a party, going to a party or entertaining out-of-towner's.... whew!

As mentioned in the post just below this one, I spent the weekend getting organized (and I ran 20 miles... but more on that tomorrow).  I reorganized the laundry room and cleaned out the bonus room.  Now it's time to come up with a theme for the bonus room... and start decorating.  I'm interested in making a wrapping/shipping station, a place to store wrapping paper, boxes and more.  Don't you love this twine organizer?! 

After about five hours of work I brought my husband to the room to show off my work, he was so happy and responded with 'I think I will use that table to rebuild my airplane'.  ummm... he must not have read my post (HA). 

I will continue with my decorating/organizing up there... how long can it take to rebuild an airplane?

Let's talk books!

What I'm reading (hosted by Book Journey): Last week I finished The Odds: a love story. It's the kind of story that sits with you... sad yet hopeful.

A Real Book: I'm reading The World We Found (Umrigar).  I'm about 100 pages in and while I'm trying to read this one slowly, I am going on vacation on Wednesday and would like to finish it before my flight. 

As university students in late 1970s Bombay, Armaiti, Laleh, Kavita, and Nishta were inseparable. Spirited and unconventional, they challenged authority and fought for a better world. But much has changed over the past thirty years. Following different paths, the quartet drifted apart, the day-to-day demands of work and family tempering the revolutionary fervor they once shared.

Then comes devastating news: Armaiti, who moved to America, is gravely ill and wants to see the old friends she left behind. In the course of their journey to reconnect they must confront the truths of their lives—acknowledge long-held regrets, face painful secrets and hidden desires, and reconcile their idealistic past and their compromised present.


Listening to: I haven't had much time to listen to books recently.  Last year I enjoyed listening to books while running, this year I'm not interested.  So my listening has dropped significantly.  I'm listening to The Story of Beautiful Girl, I'm a third done (enjoying it very much).  I will have plenty of time to finish this book this week.

It is 1968. Lynnie, a young white woman with a developmental disability, and Homan, an African American deaf man, are locked away in an institution. Deeply in love, they escape, and find refuge in the farmhouse of Martha, a retired schoolteacher and widow. But the couple is not alone-Lynnie has just given birth to a baby girl. When the authorities catch up to them that same night, Homan escapes into the darkness, and Lynnie is caught. But before she is forced back into the institution, she whispers two words to Martha: "Hide her." And so begins the 40-year epic journey of Lynnie, Homan, Martha, and baby Julia-lives divided by seemingly insurmountable obstacles, yet drawn together by a secret pact and extraordinary love.

Do you have any exciting plans this week?  We have company arriving Monday - Wednesday and Wednesday evening I'm heading to Paris!