All Creatures Great and Small

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot

Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (August 1, 2004)
ISBN-10: 0312330855

Book Description

Delve into the magical, unforgettable world of James Herriot, the world's most beloved veterinarian, and his menagerie of heartwarming, funny, and tragic animal patients.
For over thirty years, generations of readers have thrilled to Herriot's marvelous tales, deep love of life, and extraordinary storytelling abilities. For decades, Herriot roamed the remote, beautiful Yorkshire Dales, treating every patient that came his way from smallest to largest, and observing animals and humans alike with his keen, loving eye.
In All Creatures Great and Small, we meet the young Herriot as he takes up his calling and discovers that the realities of veterinary practice in rural Yorkshire are very different from the sterile setting of veterinary school. From caring for his patients in the depths of winter on the remotest homesteads to dealing with uncooperative owners and critically ill animals, Herriot discovers the wondrous variety and never-ending challenges of veterinary practice as his humor, compassion, and love of the animal world shine forth.

This book is not a book you feel like you can’t set down.

This book is not a book you feel you have to rush back to.

This book IS on the graphic side.

This book IS about a young man becoming a country Vet. in the 1930’s.

This book IS comical.

This book IS sad.

This book IS…quite extraordinary.

Young James Herriot not only impresses one as a young man who totally loves the profession he has chosen.

He is not only a man who works very hard, and cares about the animals very much.

He also cares about the farmers and their families who need his help.

Young James is also a very rare man…

He is a man who continually, takes a moment to stop and smell the roses.  He just doesn’t look where he is going…  he notices every path, the trees, the stones, the beauty of the countryside.  He continually realizes how lucky he is to have chosen his profession   and how lucky he is to be working “in the fields”..with nature and animals.

“ At times it seemed unfair that I should be paid for my work; for driving out in the early morning with the fields glittering under the first pale sunshine and the wisps of mist still hanging on the high tops.”

Were we all so lucky to be able to love something that much everyday of our lives.

Were we all so lucky to be able to see what is truly around us and enjoy the beauty of it all.

I do see why this book became a classic.  I do not know why I never read it before.  I have ordered the second book he wrote: All Things Bright and Beautiful…. because I am amazed that a young person stopped to smell the roses, when most of us don’t realize we haven’t until we are old, and then realized how much we missed.

Like I said, this is not a book that will make you rush through it.  It won’t even make you rush back to each chapter… but it will make you read every word that he wrote.

Great things come in small Boxes!

OMG!.. so… I get this small box in the mail.

Kelly had already told me that she had a second IPod (since my first one went asta-la-bye-bye) and she would mail it to me… so, I knew it was coming!  And here it is!.. white no less!! (gotta know that I love white)

I had some difficulties with it but finally I managed to get the music from ITunes onto it and this morning John Denver and I had a nice little walk!  I started with Country Roads and ended with Rocky Mountain High.. and in that time I walked a mile.  *smirk* (just me in John walking in the dark *sigh*)

But….

unknown to me there was a second thing in this small box!

When I opened it I thought, “oh how nice! a book marker)

Then I looked closer… there was a theme to Kelly’s madness!!!

Now, just on the off chance you don’t know me well those hints might not tell you… so here’s a visual clue…

If you don’t know now.. then you REALLY don’t know me!!!

Gads I love my IPod and even MORE my book marker!!!!!  Although when not in use it will be displayed at all times :o)  .  I can’t thank you enough Kelly!!!!!!  Geez, I am spoilt rotten!

Newest Afghan…

I put the newly finished (or so I thought) afghan on the chair and immediately Boo jumped up to check it out.. he so seldom gets near me when the camera is out and so I snapped the photo…

After I did that though I decided to edge it with a seashell stitch, which meant that I took the top photo before it was *done*… and I also noticed that how I tossed it over the chair made the design look angled when it’s not.. so when I finished the edging I took the below shot… finished product.. no cat. heh. (but ya gotta admit.. the cat is a good touch!)

The Secret of Crickley Hall

The Secret of Crickley Hall by James Herbert

Paperback: 640 pages
Publisher: Tor Books; (July 5, 2011)
ISBN-10: 0765328887

 

 

 

Book Description

Would you stay in a haunted house for more than one night?

Would you live in a place where ghostly things keep happening? Where a cellar door you know you locked the night before is always open the following morning? Where hushed whimpering is heard? Where white shadows steal through the darkness? Where the presence of evil is all around you?

Would you? Should you?

The Caleighs did, but they had their reasons. They should have known better though. As the terror mounts, they begin to regret their decision. As the horror rises, they realize their very lives are at risk....and so is their sanity. For the secret of Crickley Hall is beyond all nightmares.

Darn! I had a feeling I should have saved this book for RIP but I read it anyway… What a good book!  I really enjoyed this one even though there was sadness in it. 

The author really knew how to take his time and build on a story and then turn it into a “thriller of a haunting”.  I really don’t want to say much more then the Book Description says above because too much would take away from anyone who picks it up to read!

I will say that at first it seems a bit slow going, but that’s only because I figured they’d jump right into the house being haunted, but instead they fill you in on the life of the family that rents the home.  It was an excellent build up to the excitement that builds oh so slowly and oh so smartly to the ending of the book!  At 640 pages, trust me.. nothing happens so fast that you will miss it!!

I would definitely recommend this to anyone that likes a good haunted house read!!  As haunted houses go…. this one is one  of the better reads!! 

I think I will search out other books by James Herbert!  And if you want a good book for RIP this would be one you should get! Oh, and dare I mention that it all takes place in and around Devon England? Oh well… it does.

A New Meme

Well since I haven’t had a meme in a long long time… and since my son Chris, saw fit to tag me… I guess I’ll give it a go!

This is how this one goes:

1. Post the Rules :

2. Answer the eleven questions that were asked of you by the person who tagged you
3. Make up eleven new questions and tag eleven new people to do the meme!
4. Let them know you tagged them!

 

Now the 11 questions Chris asked of me and the others:

1. What's the best book you've read so far in 2012?

     This is were I should say Dickens Great Expectations… however, for pure enjoyment I think so far this year it’s the book I am reading and almost done with called: The Secret of Crickley Hall by James Herbert.

2. What's your most anticipated book of 2012 so far?

    I am always anxious for books to come out from series I am reading and one series has not disappointed me..The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series by Michael Scott. This year, in May, it’s The Enchantress.

3. What's your favorite song or album of 2012 so song (doesn't have to be from this year)?

     Wow, this one is hard since I don’t really listen to music anymore. So I will dig way back and say The Best of Johnny Mathis, because in my mind I can understand all the lyrics and sing along to all of his songs…and the mere mention of “Chances Are” gets it stuck in my head all day long… like it is now! grrrrr.

4. What's the best thing to happen to you so far this year?

     Another rough one since it is so early into the new year.  So I guess I have to go with the fact that, although it’s nearly 3 towns away, I finally found a “real, OPEN” MRI, so that I finally had my lower back done in an MRI and now maybe I can get Epidurals to help with the back and sciatica pain! … oh, and the neatest thing to  happen would be to see and photograph the Armadillo!  That was really kewl!

5. What's the worst thing to happen to you so far this year?

     Finding out that George Lucas will be at a convention in Orlando and I can’t afford to go! oh and get this… even before I heard about the convention (one day after it was posted mind you) all the VIP seats were sold out! (but don’t forget… it’s early in the year for this question!)

6. What's the best piece of news you've heard not concerning you so far this year? This could be a political event, a news item that made you smile, something that happened to a friend, etc.

     It’s rare that a piece of news can make me smile, but here in Florida, on occasion, they find an injured Manatee or bird and doctor them up and then get to set them free, back into their natural environment… that always makes me smile.

7. What's the best thing you've cooked/eaten/best recipe you've saved so far this year?

     Hmmm, well I haven’t made a stuffed Turkey yet this year and that’s pretty much my favorite thing…but I also love my Chicken/ vegetable soup which I just finished so I will say Chicken Vegetable Soup!  (and my other favorite I will be making today Turkey Chili.)
  

8. What's your biggest goal for this year and how's it working for you so far?

     Cha! lol, probably waking up each day and so far so good! 

I love my mile walk I’ve been doing since “winter” came to Florida but it is rapidly heating up and the humidity is following, so the walking will end soon.. I wish it stayed cool at night / early morning so I could keep walking but that’s not Florida.  (and the local, and very nice fitness place nearby is too expensive. 50 to join, 30 a month..i guess that’s not really bad but it is when there’s a year contract they make you sign. Like most people, I am good at the beginning and then it fades and you have to pay if you go or not…which of course is how they make their money)

9. Have you discovered any new to you blogs yet this year that you're loving?

    Actually, I haven’t.  Generally, when Carl has Once Upon a Time and RIP I find more than one new blog to follow !  But until then I don’t really search any out.

10. What's your favorite thing you've seen on the screen so far this year? This could be a tv show/music video/movie/documentary, etc.

     Oh my! heh.. I am certainly hooked on Downton Abbey!  I also really like Harry’s Law, Castle, and..well… as for movies… the Star Trek movie (recently on tv) and Avatar are two I watch over and over again.

     

   

11. Do you plan on doing any gardening in 2012? Come on it's me...you knew there'd be some gardening in here :p

       I’m afraid not.. I am however awaiting your new home with the “guest house” in the back so I can move in and help with YOUR garden!… (maintenance only! too old to dig! lol)

Just a small place mind you.. way out back of your yard.. you’ll hardly know I’m there hidden in the trees! *snort*

 

Oh Man! Now I am supposed to tag 11 people!  I don’t know 11 people that haven’t been chosen already!  I will tag a few though..

1.  Cath: Read Warbler

2.  Kelly: My Gallery of Worlds

3.  Susan: You Can Never Have Too Many Books

Ummmm, those are the only people I know to tag that wouldn’t find me and kill me! lol!!

Oh.. I guess now I need 11 questions !  Geez Chris, you could have made this easier ya know! lol  Of course, I will begin with a book question.

1. What are your most favorite books that you have read more than once.(name at least two)

2. Who is your favorite male character from a book?

3. Who is your favorite female character from a book?

4. What is the last book that you read that is out of your comfort zone, and did you enjoy it?

5. If you could have gone on the movie sets of any movie and watched it being made, which movie would you choose, and why?

6. What food is your most guilty pleasure?

7. If you could travel somewhere (money is no object) where would you go?

8. If you could change one thing in our world, what would it be?

9. What is something that you’d like to accomplish this year?

10. What are 3 things that are very important to you?

11. If you could go back in time, where and when would you be?

ok I think that’s it folks!  If I haven’t named you and you are willing to do the meme let me know so I can come and read it!

…and don’t forget…

1. Post the Rules :

2. Answer the eleven questions that were asked of you by the person who tagged you
3. Make up eleven new questions and tag eleven new people to do the meme!
4. Let them know you tagged them!

Hiding is an art…

Where oh where can my Booboo Kitty be?…

Oh, where, oh where can he be?

 

Boo!

A Visitor in the Dark!

As I started out on my early morning walk (6:15) I noticed a shadow of a cat (at least I hoped it was a cat!)..ah yes, to my relief, it IS a cat! She/he ran across the path I was on but sat and watched me. Hmmm, I’ve never seen a cat out loose since I’ve been here nearly 3 yrs. …and what is she/he after?

… I looked around and then on the other side of the path I saw yet another shadow.. I stopped and watched… is that?………… could it be?……….. oh yeah! How quick can I get back and get my camera?!!!!

An Armadillo!!! What a pleasant surprise!…and he was so interested in digging in the grass he could care less that a cat was stalking him… and now, so was I!

Does anyone know how difficult it is to know if this small animal is in the “picture frame” of your camera in the dark?.. heh, let me tell you.. I got more “partial shots” than I did whole shots! I mean… it was still dark out folks!

It was this dark out…..

Take a look at those nails!!! Gotta love those ears ! …and the pink nose from rooting in the dirt , too cute!

I must have taken a dozen shots just to get these few! First off just getting him in the frame was not easy and then he kept rooting in the grass and almost never brought his head up!

But I did get these few photo’s and I am thrilled!!! I hate to say it but even in the 13 yrs I lived in Florida years ago and the 3 more now…the only Armadillo I’ve ever seen were in the road with buzzards around them. I almost hated to continue with my walk! But I did and by the time I got around the pond again he was gone… bye Mr. Armadillo… be careful where you go!

Numb Tongue

The past few days, I guess, have been kinda Trekkie…

First I found the double wide magazine piece celebrating Treks 25th Anniversary that De had signed…

Not wanting to roll it back up and hoping that soon it may sell for 200-250 ..I thought I’d display it for a while…

…and then…

…just because..

… “numb tongue” always makes me laugh … once because Urban and Pine do the whole sequence so well … and twice because I know, deep in the pit of my stomach that De would have LOVED to do that sequence with Bill…

Because of that..

..and because it was on yet again last night..

You guessed it… I watched it again!

… and I laughed again…

..and I pictured De and Bill doing it, every bit as well ad Urban and Pine..

…and then laughed harder..

..and then just a short time later, the special effects in the scene of Kirk and Sulu “free flying” down to the “drill” is so well done that it always, always.. looks real and scares the doodoo outta me!

May 17, 2013 feels like an awfully long time to wait for the new movie. *sigh*

The Movie Should Count..

I know that Carl’s Sci-Fi Experience is (as always :o)  ) reading sci-fi books… but the last Star Trek Movie was on last night, and I think that should count!   

I didn’t even realize the movie was going to be on until I was flipping thru the cable “tv guide”.  It had begun already so I thought, ok I’ll peek, after all I own the movie and have watched it a number of times without commercials.

Peeking is quite similar to trying to eat just one potato chip!  In other words, It ain’t gunna happen!  *sigh*

The instant it came on I knew to give up and toss the hand control away.   This is the first Star Trek, of them all, that makes me feel as if I am watching a creation of Gene Roddenberry’s that was meant to be .

Were there faults.

I think so.

But there was ohhhhhhh so much ..right.

Each actor owned their part…. but they stayed true to the originals just enough that my mind flipped back and forth.  I’d see the new actors but somehow they were the originals.  To quote a certain Vulcan, “Fascinating”.

The length of the movie is over in a blink of an eye. 

But…but… but… isn’t there more? (yes, the Beetle wants more!)

My mind encompassed each of the new actors. (not really new anymore) but my heart said I was watching Shatner, Nimoy, and Kelley.   Scotty couldn’t have been more “Scottish”, Chekov couldn’t have been funnier while being as cute as ever, Sulu could have still torn off his shirt and branded a sword, and Uhura was as beautiful as ever.

They just couldn’t have been more right in their choices for the cast…

…and I cannot wait for the next movie to be released in the theaters!

I will never really know why the Original show bore so deeply into me and refused to go away…  but I will forever be grateful that it did. 

If I could, I would thank each and everyone of the actors for taking the leap of faith and keeping the Original Star Trek alive. 

And “Dammit Jim, this is a movie not a book!”…but it certainly deserves to be included in Carl’s Sci-Fi Experience!!

(woo hooo! never thought I’d contribute..but I think I finally did!!!)

Long …Long…ago…..

Well.. I did something that I won’t do again for another X amount of years!  Of course I thought I’d enjoy seeing the old posters I used to collect and I did enjoy seeing them, but trying to lay them flat (they are kept in tubes) and take pictures of them turned out to be an overwhelming chore!

So… since I did this, and do NOT plan on doing it again.. you get to see all the things I took pictures of!  (lucky you!).  You will note that many of the posters are by Drew Struzan.

This first poster from Indiana Jones is a prime example..

..dang but he’s good!!

The next poster is from one of my favorite movies… Medicine Man.  I love this movie and never tire of seeing it… such a hopeful movie. (and of course Connery is easy on the eyes!)

…another Drew Struzan poster of the *gorgeous* George Lucas..*sigh*

Ahhh… Ron Perlman from Beauty and the Beast!.. One of the all time best tv shows ever!

… oh lookey!  Another George Lucas poster, imagine that! lol (and no that’s not an autograph on it, that’s part of the poster)

Here’s an old piece that used to be at movie theaters , I believe it’s called an insert… I have this because DeForest had a small part in the movie but his name isn’t on this .. but Edward Dmytryk is the director… and since DeForest did westerns for Dmytryk I found a book on him once called, Odd Man Out,  that is very interesting! (he was one of 12 men thought to expose the corrupting presence of communists in the entertainment industry and, they were to be barred from further employment in Hollywood )(and I actually met him once in a Pancake House in Sherman Oaks CA lol)

Ohhhh… now then.. Sean Connery!  loved this little movie… loved Julia Ormond in it too and Richard Gere of course.. the only thing I found wrong with this movie is it was too short!

Ummm, ok so .. Connery and Ford are two actors I really like ok?  Just wanted to get that out of the way ..heh.. Mosquito Coast.   To many, not Ford’s best movie.. but I like it!..and more to the point when he was interviewed a long time ago on tv he said it was a movie he was very proud of… so there you have it.

…I guess I need not mention Star Trek huh?  This poster was put out for the 25th Anniversary and knowing how I love our space program and the moon… need I say more?

hmmm,  another Indy poster. surprise, surprise…

Ahhh Kevin Sorbo!  I loved the Hercules tv show and then loved him in Andromedia too!… and then… when I lived in Jersey, I got to sit by him and help him during an autograph show… broke my heart, but ya know… someone hadda do it! (a really nice person!!)

Another movie insert.. this one from a Tarzan movie when Gordon Scott was Tarzan. I got to be friends with Gordon when I lived in Sherman Oaks and helped him a number of times too… oh, take note who was in this particular movie… Sean Connery! lol

This one is one of my favorite Inserts… sure wish it didn’t have rips in it I’d try to sell it…  I love Turhan Bey! ..and Merle Oberon was a huge star!

Ok… that ends the posters that I still have tucked away ..have no idea what I will ever do with them now that I live in such a small apartment…

Rolled up with them was this drawing of me below.  I used to do clown work to help raise money for the Special Olympics and the art teacher at Indian River Community College, Helen Terry, had me sit for an adult art class and she drew this of me..

I also found two rather large pictures of DeForest rolled up…

This very young “head shot” from when he first started out as an actor…

..and this one below I think you’ve seen before.. a photo I took of DeForest in my back yard picnic..

..then I got the biggest shock of all!    I thought I had sold any of DeForests autographs I had that weren’t signed “to pat”… but I found this double paged magazine ad that I remember De giving me … thought I had sold it!

…he had a beautiful signature didn’t he?   It’s too bad this is only on a center page of an old magazine and not a nice photo of some sort… oh well…I’ll probably keep it since I don’t think it would sell for very much not being on a photo…

………..and last …but NOT least!

I found this poster… and I have to tell ya’ll (and ya’ll know I read a lot)… but IF I didn’t read a lot…. this poster would certainly make me go out and get a book to read!!!

By the way… I will probably NEVER take those posters out again!… that was toooooo much work!!

(I apologize for the amount of photo’s in this post..but it turned into such a chore that there was no way I wasn’t going to post them all!)

Ye Ol’ Cardboard Box…

‘Nuff said…

The Bronte Myth

The Bronte Myth by Lucasta Miller

Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Knopf;(January 13, 2004)
ISBN-10: 0375412778

From Publishers Weekly

Even in their lifetimes, the Bronte sisters—Charlotte, Emily and Anne—were remarkable figures whose literary reputations were often shrouded in a web of myth and lies that to some degree still endures. In this volume, Miller, a literary critic and former deputy literary editor of The Independent, presents a markedly intelligent "metabiography" that sorts through these half-truths to give a fresh, original portrait of three exceptional writers. Celebrated by some of their 19th century readers as literary heroes and castigated by others as reckless and immoral, the Brontes defied conventions even as they tried to live within them: "revolutionizing the imaginative presentation of women’s inner lives" even as they cultivated the social persona of "the modest spinster daughter." Miller traces the trajectory of their careers, particularly Charlotte’s, from their childhood games to the stunning success of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Drawing on a wealth of letters and scholarly works, Miller succeeds in carefully revealing how the rumors that portrayed the Brontes as gothic creatures, saints and martyrs became more important than the women’s novels, "covering and supplanting," as Henry James said, "their matter, their spirit, their style, their talent, their taste." Miller touches on everyone from Elizabeth Gaskell, whose famous Life of Charlotte Bronte (1857) "marked the birth of the Brontes as cultural icons," to Ted Hughes, and thus illuminates not only the lives of the sisters, but the significance and import of their work. Ultimately, such literary reclamation is what Miller is after: to clear up the clutter of history, to bring to light the genius and artistry of the novels and to let the Brontes speak for themselves.

I’m afraid I can’t say that this book impressed me.  

True I did learn some things about the Bronte’s..but that is fairly simple to do since I know nothing.  However……………… with every 30 page chapter I read I swore I was going to quite reading…but I would try one move just in case.  Slowly I go thru the book.

There are many fascinating things you might learn about the Family of the Brontes..and you will undoubtedly find some of that in this book.. but I have to tell you that I feel as if this book was written to get everyone to read Mrs Gaskell’s biography of Charlotte called “The Life of Charlotte Bronte”…I think that title was quoted 2 or 3 times on every page of this book! 

And so… if you want to know about the entire family of the Bronte’s my advice is to find another book!

Please don’t get me wrong… I did learn things of their lives, but I couldn’t get over the overwhelming feeling it was written to get people to read the very old Biography written by Mrs Gaskell’s.  It was either that or it was just that every piece of information in this book was retrieved from Mrs Gaskell’s book!

As for me.. I am glad it’s over !   It may take me a while to read Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights even though I have the books. 

Name of the Star

Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile; (September 29, 2011)
ISBN-10: 0399256601

Book Description

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.
Soon Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

Maureen Johnson has written a YA thriller.  I would lie to you if I didn’t say the format of the book, being double spaced and easy reading wasn’t a blessing to these clouded eyes!  The book read quite quickly and it was, to be sure, an enjoyable read. 

I will say though, that I came away from the book not really feeling as if I knew the young people all that well.  I’m not sure why. I just wouldn’t call the characters “unforgettable”.   However, I always enjoy when a book that  mentions things we feel we know a little about. (re: Jack the Ripper)  In this respect Ms. Johnson did her homework and any information that came out about Jack the Ripper was most likely spot on.    This was a good way to bring “old London” into new London, and I always get reminded that I am glad I wasn’t there during that time (even without being a prostitute!).  All anyone has to do is see “the killer” and you know in the pit of your stomach that you will be someone he will come after!  (not the greatest feeling I am sure). The instant this happens my mind went, “oh chit”! lol I especially liked how Ms Johnson explains away Rory’s new found “ability”, of which I won’t speak so that you get to enjoy finding out for yourself.

To me the book reads as a stand alone book, but if she wanted I am sure Maureen Johnson could bring Rory back to help with another murder.

As I said, I enjoyed the book.. but I think I would have enjoyed it more had I not just read a Dickens book before this one.  I think it made it seem simplified because Dickens books are above my level lol.  I may even try her next book whenever that comes out.