Wordless Wednesday Birdbath, Frog and Petals

Frog in our pebble bird bath with plum tree blossoms. Quiet moments of beauty in these retirement days.
Linking with Wordless Wednesday

New books for me and retirement reading

Retirement has many things to recommend it and leisure time for reading is one of those things.
Last year I discovered my newest favorite author, Anthony Trollope, and in retirement I have time to enjoy reading his books, with plots which include love interests, the lives of humble people and nobility, people in love who are separated and yearn to marry, kind people and nasty people and many more themes. I read 9 of his books last year which is a real treat.
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I do buy books at a faster rate than I can read them, but it is a good feeling to stock up. Sort of like a squirrel gathering nuts.
Here are the ten books I added to our shelves within the period of a week. All are paper copies unless otherwise noted.
1-3.The first three books by Michael Dibdin, starring police detective Aurelio Zen. I read the first one right away, Ratking, which begins as Zen is a disgraced detective and is sent from Rome to Perugia to investigate a kidnapping.
4. Kindle book "Skywalker: Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trial" by Bill Walker. I think I got this free; today it is $1.99.

5. By Its Cover by Donna Leon. This is about no. 23 in her series about a police detective in Venice. Venice seems to be a character in these novels, and food too. Brunetti investigates rare books being stolen. I read this and it is excellent, like all the others in the series.
6. The Fleet Street Murders by Charles Finch. This is set in London in 1866 with the gentleman and amateur sleuth, Charles Lenox and is the third in the series.
7. Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson. Dark humor about her life and struggles with severe panic attacks. I am reading this one. Apparently her second book, Furiously Happy, reveals her mental health issues are even more difficult than what she shares here.
8. Ralph the Heir by Anthony Trollope. Folio edition with slipcase. Set in England in the 1870s, the owner of an estate wants to leave it to his natural son, but the estate is entailed to his nephew. Both young men are named Ralph. I think this will have humorous aspects. Trollope is my favorite author.
9. The Right Attitude to Rain by Alexander McCall Smith. An Isabel Dalhousie novel set in Edinburgh.

10. My favorite purchase is "ESV Daily Reading Bible: The Bible in One Year." What a wonderful approach to help people like me read the Bible in one year. It makes it interesting as each day has readings from the Old Testament and the New, and I spend only 15 minutes reading the day's Scripture. The Scottish pastor, Robert M'Cheyne (1813-1843) who set up the readings left us a great gift. He lived only to age 30. What a brilliant legacy.
Oopsie, can a person accidentally buy books?
Yes, I have all the signs of a bookaholic.
Since writing this post a few days ago I visited the library and got 3 more books. Oopsie indeed.
11. Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, about unleashing the creativity within us. I borrowed this book; the others were all purchased. I am reading this and it is rather disappointing.
These next two were purchased at the Friends of the Library used book store which is located in the library.
12. The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. The author is Swedish, and he tells the tale of a man who escapes from his nursing home and has adventures involving nasty criminals, Sonya the elephant and is a "laugh out loud debut" according to the book cover.
13. The Hog's Back Mystery by Freeman Wills Crofts. Written in 1933 by Crofts who lived 1879-1957, The British Library Crime Classics republished this one about a country house and mysterious deaths and disappearances.
Also, to let you know, I do not read all day. Ha ha. I keep busy outside the home, and write books and garden, attend women's Bible study, attend our Christian writers group, exercise at a health club 3 times a week, etc. but reading is a special quiet time for me.
I am signing up to volunteer at a nursing home. I will share more about this when I know more. Ah, the joys of retirement and choosing what we want to do, for the most part.

Wordless Wednesday Broken Heart Lily

This is the Asiatic Hybrid Lily "Broken Heart" which I planted this week. The photo is from Wayside Gardens which sells them.
I put her in a huge pot with one "Black Eye" lily bulb and look forward to their show later this year.
I didn't realize until I planted them that "Broken Heart" and "Black Eye" sound like a cry for help!
Black Eye is pretty, the center is black and the outer half of the petals is white. So I look forward to seeing them in bloom together, pink, black and white.

Wordless Wednesday Bird Bath

I saw this bird bath along the sidewalk while on a walk in our neighborhood this week. Can you read the sign? It says "Don't look, birds bathing". Maybe I will go back and take a more close up photo. It looks like they made the birdbath base with flower pots, which is clever.

Retirement, books, and other good stuff

My husband and I are retired and love it. One thing I have noticed since retiring is how fast the days follow one another. One day it is Monday and then oops all of a sudden it is Thursday. Soon the weekend occurs. No more tension on Sunday night, or any evening, thinking about work the next day.
Less hurrying to get errands done in a rush on weekends or after work.
One of the sweetest things about retirement is that we can choose our companions and embrace people who make us smile.
I can explore different activities and joined a Women's Bible Study group, which has 10 members. That is a great way to get to know people in a deep way. We always share things we request prayers about.
In April I bought a coloring book for adults called "Enchanted Forest" and that is a nice relaxing activity and change of pace from reading, writing and a bit of tv watching. We only watch an hour and a half of tv a day. I gave the same coloring book to my sister for her birthday and I gave "Color Me Happy" to my stepmother for Christmas.
Another plus for being a retiree is that I go the health club three times a week to walk on the treadmill, and sometimes exercise in the pool.
And reading remains a great joy for dh and I, some things do not change.
This past week I bought three books, "Homer's Where The Heart Is" by Marjorie McGinn, "Is He Popenjoy?" by Anthony Trollope and "Midnight Cabernet" by Elaine Ambrose.

"Homer's Where the Heart Is' is the second book in a series. I read the first book by McGinn, "Things Can Only Get Feta" and found that the author is talented and adds humor to her descriptions of their first two years in Greece, when she and her husband rented a house in a small village in southern Greece. They chose to become friends with the Greek people and not other expats. The second book which I am reading now, "Homer's Where the Heart Is" has a great chapter on Patrick Leigh Fermor (one of the world's great adventure writers who lived near them) and another chapter on a young Greek Orthodox priest they got to know plus plenty of funny antics by their Jack Russell terrier.
I haven't read the other two books I bought yet, though using my crystal ball as seen through my love of Trollope, I am going to enjoy "Is He Popenjoy?" With a title like that, it promises some humor and Trollope always delivers romances that face difficulty. I heard that a Marquis gets punched in this one. "Midlife Cabernet" promises dark humor about life after 50 and this author is new to me.
Anyone else have comments on being retired?

Notecards that make me smile from Diane

These lovely cards arrived in the mail for me in December as an early Christmas surprise in one large cheery yellow envelope, from my dear pen pal Diane, who lives in the Philippines. Cards/postcards shaped as teapots and tea cups, how cute they are. Plus the four little people can be used as bookmarks.
The photo below doesn't show them off as clearly as the first photo.
Here is a link to her blog:
Diane Wants To Write

Wordless Wednesday

I admire the sculptor, an appropriate sculpture for the wharf where I walked a few days ago.