"Ladies Who Lunch"

The other day I was wanting the opinion and advise of a friend. I thought about who to ask. I realized all my friends are book club friends. That didn't alter who I could ask. Their opinion was just fine, I didn't have anything to hide from them. It made me grateful that I had made so many good friends from what started out with four women , one of them my daughter, forced to go out of my fear and shyness. Now, I won't kid anyone, I don't know everyone as well as I do some, but I feel like I could meet anyone of them on the street and have a conversation. That's not bad for someone who lived and worked here for six years and didn't feel like I had a friend I could ask to lunch. Pathetic isn't it? Well, no more! I got it goin' on! I'm one of those women sitting in a restaurant surrounded with others laughing and it's somebodys birthday. I got in on the fun! The Book Club is for more than just reading. It can be a birthday, a baby shower, help when you're moving, a party for Christmas or ... men and mostly Ladies who Lunch.

"Serve it up?"

In case anyone should go looking for it - it's not there anymore. The Christmas poll. The "poll setting" gadget on this Blogger has a very cool built in feature that automatically sets the poll to run for a week. And it counts down to the hours left to go! I can't even cancel it before the week is over because I remember trying one time. So it ended with 7 people voting. 5 for Let's go ahead with the party at Lori's and 2 for Let's have a casual no meeting Holiday gathering at Panera Bread. That's the final poll Tally folks! Now let's see if Lori is still willing. She's such a good sport, I imagine unless a family reunion has decided to descend for the holiday she is still up to the task with a little help from the rest of us. Hey of they've all read the book, or not, every one's welcome , right?

Just for fun

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

"Bratty Cat"

I bought the book even though I didn't plan on going to the meeting. With two Saturday's already committed to Book Club, a third one makes my husband a little cranky, although I'm a little cranky at missing one. HHhhmmmm...., dare I ponder that? In The Woods by Tana French sounded so good I snagged a copy while doing a little Amazon shopping (no wonder Borders is hurting, hey everyone, buy your books at Borders so we'll always have a meeting place!). But I didn't get a chance to read it, Someone else got to it first and I couldn't get her to let it go. It must be good, it scored a 3.9 on the book scale, above average. Janet Elway has good taste in literature. Now I imagine she'll take a nap.

"Looking For The Light"

(Me, not On Chesil Beach....)

Anyone who knows me, knows I 'm a Drama Queen. I don't do light very well. I've been looking for "light" for almost a week and I can't find it. In a book. "Light" books are either children's or Chick Lit and they are a no go on our what we read list. So I keep looking for something and I'm finding so much I want you to read with me! Ian McEwan and On Chesil Beach, Enduring Love, Saturday, all excellent books, not really heavy, but not very happy story's. Colm Toiban, another great author, how can I let you miss out on these? I would be a bad organizer if given the chance to share these good books and I didn't....wouldn't I? I may be on to something. The hunt is on..... I'm off to Borders for a personal inspection of a possibility. You think maybe I take this stuff too seriously? What I really need is to find some light on this beach I'm standing in!

New Rant, Different Pony

Not book club related but time for a quick new Rant! Pretty Girl on Horse (August 25 post) rates higher than Mom who has made dinner every single Tuesday and Wednesday for three years! He cut off his pony tail! His foot long, two years in the making beautiful blond pony! The little red-headed "High Maintenance Miss Thing" asks him to cut his hair and he says "how short?"! He did memorialize it , as he calls it, and donated it to "Locks of Love" but still.... Now most Moms are probably wanting a nice reasonable haircut on their boy, but I loved the Norwegian Thug look it gave him. At 6'4", 210# it rounded him out in a nice way and he even looked great in a suit. Oh well, it's only hair, it grows, as does the love for Pretty Girl on Horse.

Rant and Rave? I'd rather Rock and Roll 'baby!

Every now and then everyone is entitled to do it. They have that right. They deserve it. They've earned it, one way or another, you can bet they have! A Rant! A Rave! Losing it! Going off! As my daughter refers to it. So I ranted a little and I raved a little and I lost it a little at the last meeting. Why? I got tired. Tired of having good intentions questioned. Questioned and doubted. If you don't think I don't research a book up and down and inside out you are very much mistaken. If I have decided to take a turn at choosing a book, which I haven't done since May 2007, our first book club choice, by the way, you can bet I've looked deeply into that choice. So you see, if I've picked something out, I don't want my selection doubted. You will see me rant and rave and lose it. So, those that didn't come to the September 19th meeting , missed it. AND I've retracted my book pick, my turn that never was. And it's okay. There are enough people in the group that need a chance to pick and I am fine with that. It would have been nice to have my thought respected. Ergo the ranting. But I'm over it. Let the book roll call continue with the next person up - pick a book and get back to me, as soon as possible please.

This is what I'm always talking about.......

It's Monday morning, Labor Day, and whether it's a holiday or whether or not I'm in a full body cast, what I'm doing is going to Estes as you've heard me talk about many times. I see my children. They live there. They finished High School there (Oh what I could tell you about the Estes Park School System and it's high number if ex-Administrative Employees who are now doing jail time!). They are old now. High School is over now. John on the left, is eighteen, Andy, on the right is twenty-one. You have met or seen pictures of my daughter, Lynsey, who just turned thirty. She may not want me to tell you that. So, Dear Book Club members, I have hit the tri-fecta. 18, 21 & 30. YIKES! I don't know how my kids got so old, when I stayed so young but somehow it happened. I digress. My point- John is hustling, and trying to figure things out in a hurry at the moment. Andy is a Hot Shot , a Wild Fire Fire Fighter, as he likes to say- he's out saving babies - from April through November and eventually wants to become a Smoke Jumper. But these are my boys. The children I go see (although Andy isn't around right now, the saving baby thing, ... ). Monday and Tuesday for as long as they are willing to have dinner with their mother, I will go to Estes. It can be a pain in the ass. Get groceries, gas up the car, get cash, pack a few things, take the dog, etc.. I may have other things I want to do. This is not a Book Club issue, but something I never shut up about in Book Club. I'm going to see my youngest baby boy today and tomorrow. No matter what trouble it takes to get there, it's still a "Yippee!" for me, and probably an "Oh boy, I get dinner!" for him....yous takes what yous gets sometimes, and be glad yous gets it!

"Girl On A Pony"...? Please, no!

This is part of my collection of what I call "Desperate Mountain Women" books. Not a great picture for which I apologize. As the Third Saturday group probably knows better than the others, I bring my personal life story into every meeting. These books and more that couldn't fit into the frame - it would take a very wide lens - represent a birthday, an anniversary, Christmas, usually a holiday of which my ex-husband thought a story of some poor, long suffering woman who lived a life struggling in a mountain cabin would somehow cheer me from my own lifestyle of cabin life where heating with green firewood (doesn't work), a bad well (not enough water) nary a TV channel nor a regular phone call could be had. I often voiced my displeasure. These books did not cheer me. They were good books. I read them all. They didn't make me want to continue to live in the mountains. They didn't even make me count my blessings (well, they probably did that) but the reason I am writing now is this. They were reasonably good books, and maybe there is one or two in there I really like and would read again, but would I ask the book club to read it? Life of an Ordinary Woman is somewhat of a Mountain Classic. He really missed the mark with Two Women, Two Model Ts, and the American West. It is not a book club choice. I have 56 books in my "Desperate Mountain Woman " collection and I could probably find a something in it that might appeal, but they are not in keeping with what I think are our good standards. They aren't bestsellers, well, maybe in their genre there are some in there. They are not award winners, there is probably an award winner in their genre I could go looking for as I have for other choices. They aren't written by authors we have heard of, or who have sold or written award winners . Most of all, as it says in the last sentence of our handbook, they probably are not going to have appeal to most of the people that have to read it. So my point for this Blog is to remember, as we usually do, to pick books most of your group in your opinion - and it is a difficult thing to do - will find readable and appealing.

Illustrius & Most Worthy Post Original & Exalted Oregon Member

Meet Stacie! If you don't already know Stacie it's time you did! Stacie was our fourth (?) book club member back in the early days and I was ever so glad to see her walk into Borders! Back then Borders was unaware they had a book club meeting there every month because we met in the cafe or on the comfy sofas and I put out the MEETUP sign and hoped for the best. And the best always showed up. I made my daughter Lynsey come with me, the Devastatingly Beautiful Woman with Two Adorable Children(?), that's her, and another lovely lady that I still see on Facebook, Andrea, and Jean who didn't RSVP but came anyway, God love her. Then it was Laura, then Stacie, then Danine...No! Keri and Aaron, then Danine and she had a six week old baby then who is now a two year old! But Stacie came faithfully, driving from Broomfield and always adding her insight and confident in opinion. Sadly, she had to move to Oregon in a sudden career move and it was a happy surprise to hear from her just before I left for a brief trip to OR/WA to see friends and I got to add Stacie to the itinerary. She - get this - says "she has yet to find a passable book club in Oregon"! So I guess that means the LBC is the best book club in at least two states! And she is our first online member! Welcome back Stacie, and we hope to hear from you every month when you read our great book list and give us your thoughts and summary and don't forget to "rate the book"!

My friend Danine, Zippy & what gives?

This is Danine. We all know her in Third Saturdays. She is the one who first coined the phrase in reference to us "We Rock!". Actually what she really said is "We So Rock!". And we so do! Danine is one of the most creative people I will probably ever know. She hides it a lot at book club. I've heard her referred to as "the one who knits". She is a multi-tasker. She recently told me she makes copies of all the books we read. Not "copies". I'm talking about art. Cut out images of the covers. A cut out of fabric, or some such material, image of the girl on the cover of the Hedgehog book. That sort of copy of a book cover. Very creative. She has a two year old daughter, a husband, and another job besides those two and gets more done in a day than a team of ten. At book club she might be quiet, or make an occasional comment, but always knitting like a fiend. But read her Blog! Or her Facebook page, her book list puts most to shame. She sometimes lowers her standards and we lunch together. She is my therapist. Lucky her. Lucky me!

AT ANY RATE, she is the one who chose our book for September, "She Got Off The Couch......" the sequel to "Zippy" by Haven-oh dear I'm away from my desk, Haven something. What do we think of this book? I bought them both, was on Amazon, able to buy Zippy for an additional dollar or something, you know those deals, and so I did read Zippy first. Didn't have to read it, I do tire of always having to read only what is on the reading list due to the time between meetings. Both books, I thought, were the sort you can pick up and read randomly. I won't say much about them because that is what our meeting is for. But I did keep looking for what the book was about. When I decided to just enjoy it, I liked it much better. Was she neglected? She seemed like a happy child. What was the deal with that family? Where is the explanation? Perhaps like an art house film there isn't one, or maybe one of you can tell me, you are an insightful bunch.....

The Typical Blog Reader?

Here is a picture of the typical Blog reader and Blog poll voter. Nice person, good intentions. Now I really appreciate those of you that take the time to read my meanderings and have voted. But this is my daughter, and I guarantee you she hasn't read it or voted. She is no longer my favorite. Right now it's John. I can write that because I know she won't see this. Pretty bad, huh?

I've got a lot to blog about and don't know where to begin, so I'll just start with whatever is right off the top of my head which is usually where all my conversations begin and end. I see in the "poll box " which I love , by the way that the "No's" are winning. That is "No" to allowing new members in to Third Saturday. That means that the No's won with a total of 10 votes. Kind of a bummer for those that voted "Yes" I'd say. Also kind of a bummer for me, proving once again that no one is reading the Blog well, the 10 people that voted. Another reason it is so important to Blog daily. If anyone opens this page and sees that same bunch of tulips they are going to also know that there is nothing new on the horizon. So today I may try to blog more than once. I have a new poll I want to post - isn't it cool that the poll clocks itself? Right down to hours. Right now there are 13 hours left to vote. Kind of fun, I think. It's cut down on the emails. Maybe an email this morning - an outcry for votes in the next 13 hours. And watch this space for an import poll regarding a book choice vote. Coming up shortly!