An anniversary and what I've been reading...

 

Hello everyone!  Hope you've all had a nice week or nice enough anyway.  We've been doing well here and managing through some awfully hot weather.  It's August though and that is not at all unexpected.  It was amazingly wonderful to step out early this morning for my walk and find the temps a bit below 70 degrees.  Wow!  We had a 'cool' front and I suspect this will be the only day with that lovely treat.  However, I'll take what I can get.  

My husband and I had our wedding anniversary earlier this week and we can't believe it's been 40 years.  Gosh, I'm old.  Ha!  The plan had been for a very nice trip, but that has been put off until next year and we'll hope to be able to enjoy it then.  We had a tasty meal and considered it a good enough celebration.  Otherwise, I've done all my regular things, had a couple of virtual meetings and read some good books.

I finished Sycamore Row by John Grisham and noted last week that it had been a really long while since I read any of his books.  Back long ago, I think my first book by this author was The Firm.  It was such a big seller.  I also read his debut book, A Time To Kill and liked it very much.  It was interesting that Grisham waited over 20 years to write again about Jake Brigance, his famous fictional defense attorney.  Sycamore Row was published in 2013, so it's not a new book.  The 3rd book featuring Jake Brigance, A Time For Mercy, is scheduled to be published in October.  

I attended our afternoon book group's virtual discussion of Sycamore Row and enjoyed hearing the thoughts of everyone that was able to attend.  This book features a man, Seth Hubbard, who is dying of lung cancer and who hangs himself after having left a new hand-written will.  In this will, he leaves almost all his estate to his maid, who is black.  His children are left nothing.  Jake Brigance is asked in a letter, also written by Hubbard, to be the attorney for the estate.  Lots of thought-provoking themes here and everyone seemed to like the book.  Many had read at least one book by the author, but there were a few who were new to his writing.  It was a good discussion.

   

I also read Memory Man by David Baldacci and the next book in the same series, The Last Mile.  Our mystery book group had read and discussed Memory Man last year, but I wasn't able to attend that meeting and put off reading it.  It was a good one to follow up the Grisham book and held my interest.  The 'Memory Man' is Amos Decker, a former NFL football player who gets injured severely in the first game (in fact, the first play) of his pro career.  His head injury causes him to have some curious brain changes - hyperthymesia and synesthesia.  The first condition means he can never forget anything, ever.  The second is that his senses experience life in a very specific way, especially with colors and numbers.  After Amos' injury and recovery, he becomes a police detective.  In the first book, Decker discovers his family has been murdered.  His life implodes for a long time, but eventually someone confesses to the crime and Decker is brought back in to assist in the investigation.  He comes to the attention of the FBI during this time and he's asked to be part of a special task force.

In the second book, The Last Mile, Decker and other members of the FBI task force unravel what happened when Melvin Mars' parents were killed.  Mars himself has been in prison for 20 years for the crime and is scheduled for execution. He's granted a reprieve and Decker and colleagues start at the beginning and gradually open up all kinds of secrets that someone doesn't want known.  Someone very powerful.  I really enjoyed both of these books and look forward to moving on in the series to #3, The Fix.

My latest book completed is Ruth Ware's The Turn of the Key.  My word, what a creepy book.  I'll wait and talk more about it in a couple of weeks.  It's the September selection for our mystery book group.  I do have thoughts about it and just want to say, I never want to live in a 'Smart House'.  Ever.  

Until next week, stay safe, wear your masks, enjoy your reading, and take care!      

New doggy friends and a bit about reading...

 Hello book friends!  So nice to be here again this week with a few pictures and things to talk about.  Hope you are all well and safe and content (as much as you can be).  For those who have kids where school looms or has started, hope all goes well in that regard - whether it's in the school, at home with remote learning, or homeschooling.  Also, those who have had some extra challenges lately, know that I'm still thinking of you and keeping you in my prayers.  

My pictures this week are of two neighbors that I've met over the weeks and months that I've been out walking in the early mornings.  Actually, I've met or greeted or waved to a number of neighbors that I only vaguely knew.  These two though - they are dogs and such fun to see each morning.  Oh, and also their 'Dad' who walks them faithfully.

  

This is Snoopy and he is a very well behaved neighbor.  He sits or explores a bit when I am greeting his 'Dad' and 'Sister'.  Snoopy doesn't bark or jump, but he sometimes looks like he's thinking 'I thought we were walking...aren't we walking?' - ha!

 

This doggy neighbor is the active, jumping, greeting, straining-at-the-leash because she's so friendly and needs to know everyone - Eukie.  She's 7-months-old and is in training to learn to sit and behave when it's appropriate.  I wasn't able to get a picture of her face because she is constantly wriggling and wagging her tail and looking for the next sight to see.  You can tell from the blur of her head and tail what's going on.  She doesn't bark though.  

I've enjoyed getting to know these new-to-me neighbors and their 'Dad'.  After Eukie straining and straining morning after morning, he asked if I'd like to 'meet' her.  He and I were distanced, but Eukie and I were not - ha!  So now, every morning, we meet all over again.  I'm not much of a dog person, but Eukie reminds me of one of our granddogs, Cody.  I can just imagine what antics she and Cody could get up to.  

---------------------------------------

As to other stuff, like reading, I finished Sycamore Row by John Grisham.  I'll report next week on our afternoon book group's discussion of the book and what others thought of it.  It was longer than I expected.  I did a read/listen and the audio was over 20 hours long.  

Next, I started David Baldacci's Memory Man.  Our mystery group read and discussed this book a while back, but I was out of town and didn't read the book at that time.  I'm enjoying it now and will report on it next week as well.  Another long one.  I've been listening to Final Girls, a reread for me, and Riley Sager's first book.  I had commented to someone that I thought it was my favorite up to now of the Sager books I've read.  Decided I would listen to them all again.  Why not, right?

Not much else to tell.  Again, hope everyone is doing well.  See you next week!

Early morning skies and more new reading...

Good morning book friends!  I've got two early morning sky pictures to share with you today.  I'm really enjoying my early walks and trying to find beautiful things to capture on my phone.  These shots are what I have for this week.  I will say that I am still adjusting to Blogger's new way of composing posts.  It seems every time I work on one, something new has changed.  This week it was the placement of the pictures.  I know several of you have been frustrated with that.  Oh well.  I'll try to not let it bug me too much.  All is well at our house.  We got a little rain, which was much needed.  However, it is summer and we're moving into a drier period I'm afraid.  

My reading has been good and I managed a couple of books this week.  As I think I've shared, my audiobook listening has been books that I've already read in print.  I'm enjoying them, but am not feeling inclined to talk about them here.  The first book I finished this last week was Kate White's Have You Seen Me? - a standalone thriller.  I've read other books by Kate White and liked them.  This one was another that I liked, but didn't love.  I'm not sure what it is about her stories.  I do like them, but I probably wouldn't put them on any of my 'favorites' lists.  In this book, Ally Linden finds herself dripping wet at the door of her office and the company where she works - or so she thinks.  It turns out that Ally has not worked there for five years and she can't remember anything about the last couple of days.  Ally's quest to discover what's going on in her life now and what happened to cause her memory loss is the main focus.  Dissociative disorder plays a part, which I found very interesting.  There were lots of twists and turns, but it was a book that I finished and thought - well, that's done, what's next?

I also finished Jane Casey's newest Maeve Kerrigan book and I loved this one.  Well, I think I've loved all the books in this series.  The Cutting Place is the 9th book and we are again solving crimes with DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent, plus other assorted characters that we've come to love or loathe.

Maeve finds herself investigating a gentlemen's club after a body is found in the river and the story is very timely in many ways.  Women and choices, men and choices, immigrants and choices, domestic violence and choices, friendship, family, ruthless behavior, kindness and love.  All these appear.  Did I say that I loved this book and I love this series?  If you've not ever tried Jane Casey's books, the first one is The Burning.  A highly recommended series.

Our mystery group had our August virtual meeting last night and we talked about David Baldacci's Long Road To Mercy.  Everyone seemed to like the book and several had gone ahead and read the second book in the series.  The third book will come out in November and I'll be watching for it.  We also shared news of upcoming books by authors that we've loved and shared favorite mystery authors with a couple of newer members that requested that.  Each of us was happy to 'help' them out and add to their TBR list.  Ha!   

I'm currently reading Sycamore Row by John Grisham for my afternoon book club's August meeting in a couple of weeks.  It's has been years and years since I read anything by Grisham.  Not sure why he fell off my 'must read' list, but he did.  This book is the second featuring Jake Brigance, the lawyer that's a main character in A Time To Kill.  I'm liking it so far.  And I'll be curious what others in this afternoon group think of the book.  They mostly like to read more issue-focused, literary, sort of 'depressing-all-the-time' types of books.  I don't say that to be negative, but what is a good match for a lot of the members isn't necessarily a good match for me.  We'll see how it goes.  

Take care everyone and have a good week!  Wear your masks!  Be sensible!  I'll see you soon!    

New shoes and new reading...

Good morning book friends!  Hope you are all well and safe and wearing your masks.  I didn't really have a new picture to show this morning that included nature or cute creatures, so I decided to show my new walking shoes.  What do you think?  Ha!  I had walked until my previous pair was not as supportive as it could be and so I ordered new ones.  You may ask 'do they glow in the dark?' - it's possible!  I haven't tested that as yet, but they are certainly bright.  What I'm happy about is that they are comfortable and support my 'old' feet as I walk and walk and walk.  It's been quite warm, but I seem to be adjusting to early morning temps and humidity.  I sweat, yes, but I've decided that isn't a bad thing.

My reading has been going along well.  I've been listening to books that I've read before mostly, but that's been working in case I get distracted or have to take a picture of a fun creature.  Right now, I'm listening to Peter May's The Blackhouse, which I have loved in the past and am completely enjoying again.

I finished reading David Baldacci's second Atlee Pine book, A Minute To Midnight, and enjoyed it a lot.  Atlee and her assistant, Carol, go to her hometown to do further research on what exactly happened to Mercy, Atlee's twin sister.  When both girls were six, Mercy was taken, and no one knows the end of that story as yet.  While in Georgia, Atlee and Carol end up assisting the FBI and local law enforcement with identification and apprehension of a potential serial killer in the area.  The third book in the series,  Daylight, is scheduled to be published in November.  I'll be watching for it.

My next book was Michael Connelly's most recent Ballard/Bosch pairing, The Night Fire.  My husband and I had listened to about half of that book on our recent trip and will finish it on audio when we travel next.  However, who knows when that will be?  I couldn't wait, so I read the rest of it in print form.  I've only been reading Connelly's books since he created Renee Ballard (this is #3 of those), but I've watched all the Bosch seasons on TV, so I feel like I'm OK with knowing at least something about him.  The Night Fire begins with Bosch attending a funeral of one of his mentors at the LAPD, John Jack Thompson.  He finds that Thompson had taken a murder book home with him when he retired and the widow says that Thompson wanted Harry to have it.  Bosch asks Ballard to help him figure out some things and the two work together to solve not only this cold case, but a couple of other cases that might relate. 

The last book I finished this week was Katherine Center's new one, What You Wish For.  I read another book by this author last year, How To Walk Away.  I liked it quite a bit and decided to try this new one.  Center's books are full of 'heart' I think I would say.  They are funny and poignant and deal with some tough situations, but will make you laugh out loud at times too.  They have romance, but they also have sorrow and show a lot about how one might deal with adversity.  In this book, the theme is to 'choose joy, even in difficult times'.  I love that.  And it doesn't hurt that it's set on Galveston Island of Texas, includes a bit of history about Galveston, and features a school librarian as the main protagonist.  I thought this book was very good.  And I want to go back and read this author's backlist.

I'm glad that my reading has moved in a more positive direction.  Not necessarily with the themes being 'happy all the time', but just immersive and keeping my interest.  This morning I started Kate White's new book, Have You Seen Me?.  I'll talk about that one next week, hopefully.  Take care and I'll see you soon!            

Early morning walks, some mystery reading, and virtual book groups...

Hello book friends!  Hope you are all well and safe and content and I feel like I say the same thing with every post - ha!  Oh, I should say that I hope you are reading just the right amount for you.  Not too much and not too little - just right.  All is good at our house.  And not much is different.  The picture above is one I took on a walk early in the morning - two does and their two fawns.  They stood still for me, but the minute I snapped the picture, all four took off into the woods.  Guess I was lucky.  Spring and summer include lots of fawns in our area and those cute little creatures are fun to look at, but one has to be careful driving as they tend to run out into the road just like little humans. 

I'm happy to say that my reading has been good in the last few days.  I finished Outsider by Linda Castillo.  This is the 12th book in her Kate Burkholder mystery series, set in the Amish country of Ohio.  I always enjoy a visit with Kate and her special someone, John Tomasetti.  This particular book gave the reader more insights into what happened to Kate when she left home in her late teens and eventually became a cop.  Kate is now the Chief of Police in Painters Mill, Ohio, her old hometown, but an old friend/colleague shows up and things get very dicey.  Both Kate and Tomasetti have some tough ethical decisions to make in Outsider.  Now to wait for the next book.  Sigh.

I also finished Long Road To Mercy by David Baldacci, which is our mystery group's discussion book for August.  It's the first book in his Atlee Pine series, which has the second already out and the third to be published this fall.  Atlee Pine is a FBI agent and she's 'watches over' The Grand Canyon from her single-agent office in Shattered Rock, Arizona.  Atlee is quite an interesting person and I also found this initial book quite interesting with lots of Grand Canyon info, among other things.  I did notice that reviews were mixed about some of the story line.  I liked it well enough to pick up the second book in the series, A Minute To Midnight, and start reading it next.  Agent Pine is a twin and when she and her identical twin, Mercy, were six years old, Mercy was kidnapped and Atlee was left without her 'other half'.  That particular story line is part of this book and also part of the second.  We'll see if it concludes in #2 or if it continues to #3. 

Otherwise, our mystery group met virtually a couple of weeks ago to talk about 'Award Winning and Nominated Mysteries for 2020'.  It was a good meeting and we seem to be managing well enough with this method.  Unfortunately, not all of our regulars are able to be with us but it's what we have for right now and at least the rest of this year.  We'll meet again in a couple of weeks to talk about the Baldacci book.  I also have attended the virtual meeting of my afternoon book group, though I decided not to read the assigned book right now.  It was The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai.  The discussion was very good though and I enjoyed listening to what other members experienced in their particular reading journey and what memories of life in the '70's and '80's and the initial time of the AIDS crisis it brought to mind.  Several told stories that included quite poignant times.  We all agreed that book groups do OK virtually, but we miss sitting in a circle in the same room and chatting.  One day, perhaps in 2021 - who knows?

That's about all I have for today.  Always enjoy hearing about what all of you have been doing, experiencing, reading, and thinking.  What would we do without our blogging friends?  Take care and I'll be around again soon.   

A Mystery Book Grab-bag...from the library of course...

Hey everyone!  Hope you are all well and coping and masking and being sensible and all those things!  I will admit that some days are easier than others, right?  Anyway, my topic today is the 'Grab-bag' that I requested from a local library.  It's not the Austin Public Library, but it's another where I normally volunteer to help with their new materials processing.  That's not possible right now, of course - the volunteering.  Anyway, I was conversing by email with one of the librarians and she thought I might like to try out their new 'Grab-bag' service.  Said that she knew I didn't need others picking books for me, but it might be fun.  And it was.

First of all, a patron needs to fill out a request document that has several queries.  Type of material (book, large-type, audio, video, etc.).  There's a 'wildcard' option to let the staff pick 5 things for you.  Otherwise, you tell them the genre where your interest lies - mystery, romance, non-fiction, cookbooks, sci-fi, fantasy, graphic novels - you get the idea.  There's also a question regarding what might disappoint you - a specific author or genre or books that are too long or too short or have profanity, etc.  Next is to let them know what you love by telling of specific authors or titles that you've already read and enjoyed.  And last, how many - 3-5, 5-7, 8-10.

I thought it did sound fun and decided to try it.  The questions did take a little thought, but I didn't want my answers, especially what I had enjoyed and already read, to take forever.  I also thought that I would love to be the person selecting the materials for a patron, based on their answers.  Wonder if they'd let me volunteer to do that?  Ha!  I sent in my form and a couple of days later was notified the books above were ready for pickup.  The staff only selects from materials currently available on the shelf.

As you can see, I got the books listed below:

Murder On the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Aunti Poldi and the Sicilian Lions by Mario Giordano
Aunti Poldi and the Vineyards of Etna by Mario Giordano
No One Knows by J.T. Ellison
An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears
All Is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

They actually did pretty well.  I've only read the first one and the last one listed.  I told them I had read all of Louise Penny, Deborah Crombie, and liked historical mysteries and psychological thrillers.  I asked for no military-style thrillers and no cozies.  Forgot to say I'd read all of Agatha Christie.

Have you taken advantage of a 'Grab-bag' situation at your library?  Is your library doing something like this?  Have you read any of the books and loved them?  Do you think it would be fun to select books for a 'Grab-bag'?  I think I'll let my librarian friend know that whoever picked for me did a great job.

Take care and I'll be back around soon...

It's July! And my picture today is....masks!

Hello book friends!  No, I didn't disappear on you.  I'm back around to say 'Hi!' and also to share what we've been up to.  Don't get too excited - it's not much.  Ha!

We actually spent a week out in Ruidoso, New Mexico, taking care of some things and getting a bit of mountain air.  Not that life was much different for us there than it is here in Central Texas.  My husband wasn't working, but was on vacation, which was nice for him.  Lots of golf in the cool mornings.  While he was golfing, I was walking up and down the hills around and also enjoying the nice temperatures.  So different from home, though the altitude makes you work a bit harder when you are walking up a steep slope.  It was lovely though and I saw some nice mountain creatures on my walks - elk, deer, and bunnies.  I also saw two snakes and the black flies were annoying and biting.  I came home with itchy spots, but they will go away before long. 

I didn't take any pictures, but I'm sharing my mask collection with you above.  Cute, huh?  I actually have one more that's in my car - it has pine cones on the fabric.  So, while we were out of town and on the road, we were sensible and smart to wear our masks if we went into any store or restaurant.  We got take-out mostly and did all our other sensible things like hand washing and social distancing.  Actually, for the most part, life was the same as here at home.  It was really good for my husband though and he had a very relaxing time. 

Now we are at home and he's back to work here at home (and will be working from home for months to come).  This morning the temp was 80 degrees with 84% humidity at 6:30 a.m.  Kind of like being outside with a damp cloth on your face.  Needless to say, I went back to the rec center to walk on the track there - yes, I love air conditioning.  I will say that I am beginning to get used to a mask more than I was at first.  I think I'm better at adjusting it to work with my glasses (I hate when they fog up).  If I feel even slightly annoyed about it, I think of my daughter and her co-workers at the hospital and I know that my discomfort is not a big thing at all. 

I don't have much to talk about book wise, but I'm hoping to do a few reviews as I begin to read more books that are new to me.  I've been doing a lot of rereads in the past months and just haven't felt compelled to share, but today I started Linda Castillo's latest Kate Burkholder mystery, Outsider.  I love the series and have been waiting for this one.  I've got a few others that I'm excited to read and so, look for some book thoughts in upcoming days and weeks.  I've been reading your posts, but my commenting has been nil.  Hope to change that a bit in the future. 

Take care, please!  I know some of you have been dealing with some stressful situations in your lives and know that if that is the case, I've been thinking of you.  We will get through this - one day at a time.  One book at a time.  Big hugs to all!   

July is coming...and things that make you go 'hmmm'...

Hello book friends!  Hope all is well with you guys and you're managing with our very odd (and certainly frustrating at times) year.  Who would have thought that 2020 would be so strange in so many ways?  So, the picture above is from my backyard this morning at about 6:45.  I've shared photos of deer and smaller creatures here now and then.  I've mentioned that we've been 'visited' by feral hogs from time to time.  This 'visitation' is new.  I looked out the back windows as I walked from one part of the house to another and there they were....cows....8 of them.  Just hanging out.  Eating the grass, resting, pooping, and the 3 calves were partaking of their 'mom's' milk now and then.  We do live in a more rural setting outside of the Austin area, but it's a regular neighborhood.  There are ranches with cows near us and obviously there's a fence down somewhere.  These 'friends' have wandered around for a while and then disappeared into the 'woods' at the end of our street.  The local authorities showed up as well as some wildlife people and so, hopefully, the cows will make it home today sometime.  Ha!

Not much new to report here.  We've been sticking mostly close to home.  My husband is likely going to be working from home for many months to come.  I did have a second haircut yesterday and it worked much the same as the previous one.  We had our daughter and son-in-law over for some fajitas and queso last weekend and it was very nice to see them face-to-face.  We hadn't since early March.  It was a 'socially distanced' meal, but they stayed for a couple of hours afterwards chatting.  She's still very busy at work as babies will come on their own timeline.  Otherwise, we've walked, golfed, done virtual meetings, picked up 'curbside' dinner, and talked about what things might change permanently and what things might go back to 'normal' - whatever that is.  I am, of course, reading and going to book group meetings online.  Looks like those will continue through this whole year and maybe into next year.  Guess we'll adjust, right? 

Our mystery group will be discussing 'award nominated or winning mysteries' for July and then go on to David Baldacci's LONG ROAD TO MERCY for August.  The afternoon book group will be talking about Rebecca Makkai's THE GREAT BELIEVERS for July and August is 'to be determined'.  Have you read read either of those?  We'll see how I like them.  Otherwise, I've been considering doing some 'nostalgic' reading, otherwise known as reading favorite books again.  It's comfortable for me.  Take care everyone, hope your July 4th is good, and I'll be back around in a couple of weeks to update again.     

Summertime....and what's going on....

Hello bookish friends!  Did you know that it's June?  Bet you did.  Ah, summertime.  So, I'd love to be sitting in one of those chairs on a balcony in coastal Oregon right now, but I'm not.  We did have a trip to Oregon planned for July of this year, but we have postponed it.  Not completely sure what this summer will include after all.  However, I'm going to be reading (of course) and walking (naturally) and getting with friends and family a bit either virtually or actually in person (sensibly).

I have taken some 'new' steps in the last couple of weeks.  I've gone back to the rec center to walk on the indoor track.  It's quite warm outside and very, very muggy most days.  The rec center has opened with lots of new rules and a reservation system.  It's working well from what I can see.  I went back to a local library to renew my card and spent a little time selecting a few books in print.  I don't check out all that many actual print books (usually I do e-books), but I prefer them for graphic novels and sometimes this smaller library will have a popular book on the shelf when the Austin Public Library has a huge hold list for the e-book.  The library had rules (of course), but was very quiet and hardly anyone was there.  I enjoyed a few minutes to just wander and look at the shelves.

We've had one family birthday party in a backyard (it was hot, but OK) and we spent a few minutes yesterday with some old friends chatting.  My husband was helping them with a ceiling fan issue and we enjoyed seeing them and their son and daughter-in-law.  We're hoping to get to have a meal with our daughter and son-in-law in the next couple of weeks.  She's feeling about ready to be with family for a bit, but has been very conservative with that because of her job at the hospital.  She's said it was for our protection, for her protection, and for her patients.

Our virtual mystery group meeting this last Wednesday evening went well.  We discussed Where The Crawdads Sing and it was good to see and hear everyone's thoughts on that book.  Most liked it very much and I think everyone was glad they read it.  As there is no indication when we might be able to meet in person again, we're planning on our July meeting being handled the same way.

I'm not sure how often I'll be posting in upcoming days.  I'm not going to take an 'official' break, but I may be a bit (or more than a bit) sporadic in my posts.  We'll see.  I do enjoy getting around and reading what all of you have shared.  Hope each of you has a good weekend and rest of June.  As our country, our world, our society struggles with so many issues right now, I hope that we all are being kind, thoughtful, and treating others with love and respect.  Take care...

And another week goes by...June is almost here!

Hello book friends!  I thought I would post this great chalk art picture because it kind of said 'June and summer!' to me.  I took this last fall at the Kerrville Chalk Festival, which I wrote about here.  I had such a good time at that festival and hope to get to attend again.  This year?  Who knows?  However, I'm certain that it will come around again when the time is right. 

I don't have much to tell other than to relate that another week has gone by.  You knew that, right?  Ha!  I did get my haircut last Saturday and it went very well.  Masks were worn by both of us.  She didn't even need to shampoo my hair as I had just done that.  She sprayed it with water, cut it short (very short at my request), did not blow it dry, we chatted a little, I paid and made an appointment for 4 weeks from now, and I went home.  It was lovely. 

Otherwise, I've been continuing my walking and yoga.  I've actually improved my 'time per mile' quite a bit.  Didn't really try to do that, but it's a nice benefit from walking every single day.  I'm usually pretty drenched in sweat by the time I get home, even on the cooler mornings.  I did notice that my rec center is open by appointment for use of the walking track and workout equipment.  It just became available this week.  I won't be going in quite yet, but I might consider it as summer advances.  What I can't conceive is walking/jogging with a mask on - I'll have to think about that.  Maybe early mornings outside would be OK even if they are muggy and warm.

Our mystery book group is going virtual for now or we'll be attempting to do that in upcoming days.  We're having a trial run this week to see how it goes and then will do a discussion of Where The Crawdads Sing the next week.  As the host, I'm a little nervous about it, but my husband will be around to help me if I need him.  Quite a few of the group have indicated that they will try to attend (we're doing invitation only).  I've attended the afternoon book group that I'm part of virtually and it went well.  It's not the same as sitting in a circle and sharing, but it's about the best we can do right now.  Who knows when libraries will be allowing meetings again? 

Hope everyone is doing well and has a good weekend.  Take care!