1 IS 2 MANY

CHESTY

more chesty, the chewbaca. ok, i'm just a little obsessed!  even a dog needs a neck pillow sometimes!

Chesty, my little Chewbaka!

My friend Sheila and her daughter found a wee dog by the side of the road with no collar or chip. She asked me to take care of him until she found his owner.

I got him a bath and doctor check out, shots and heart worm meds...got him neutered...and lots of love!!! In return, he has given me lots of laughs and a wee puppy kiss or two.

When he came to visit (looks like staying to me), he was all black except for a white patch on his chest. Now he is getting a white goatee and bits of white all over. With his very short little legs, he often bounces about, rather than running.

We have figured out that he is half poodle and half shawcher.

Ok, now for the baby pictures (even though vet says he is about 2):

ok, i'm sitting but i'm ready to pounce over there!

do you think i'm cute when i try to snarl?

watching you type is so boring!!!

what? what? can't you see i was napping?

chewbaca? you want to change my name again???

you are just silly! i'm going to go back to napping!

see how smart i am? i've already learned how to do 'paws up'!

she's not playing fair...that lid is to the cookie can! I WANT A COOKIE!!

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

the voice does sound like that of a teen with all the angst of those years. add to that the paranormal and you will enjoy the ride. i love the ending but i am not going tell you anything more than it was a lovely complex one!

How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

great fun!

Bad Blood by Linda Fairstein
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I do like this series! Really good characters.

This time we start in the court room with a man Alexander want to prove killed his wife.

During the story, I learned about the law and spousal abuse; the history of what lies below the city, how the city gets water...so much more...and it will end under the city!

Artists in Crime by Ngaio Marsh
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

i just could not get into it...too english?

Bone By Bone by Carol O'Connell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

i feel like this book is probably a 4 or 5 with most mystery lovers. but i just can't! normally i like this author's writings. the book has all the things a good mystery needs, good plot, good characters and lots of twists and turns. i had great expectation, i thought for sure it would get at least 4 if not 5 stars. but it just never got there. i kept wanting to skip foreword but didn't as that is not fair to the writer. but from beginning to end, it just seemed to drag. i think mine will be a minority opinion so you may want to read other reviews or just read it for yourself to see what you think.

for country/western lovers merle & co

Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

it's paranormal. you know that by the first word in the title 'angel'. trust me when i tell you these are not the angels you see in paintings or hear about in church. next word in the title is 'blood'. who's blood...angels? vampires? yes. and more, there are humans and vampire hunters!
it's about love and hate, it's a thriller (well, its got to be with hunters and vamps)!

WAIT! that word 'thriller' turns some people off. let's think about it a moment. i think there are 3 levels...pg (the whole family can watch and read), pg (someone needs to figure out the maturity levels), and then there is the x rating (where there is so much violence and gore that you have to skip page before you can go any further or you just stop there because you don't want to throw up or have nightmares), i would give it a pg rating.

the narration is great! i had not problem following the characters as the different characters spoke or with the discriptives in-between.

New York Dead by Stuart Woods
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

do you remember tv shows like 'dragnet', movies like 'the thin man', books by j. d. mc donald and richard prather, and dashel hammit? the lines or text were short and crisp. the hero was tough. he might appear to be beaten down, but you knew he was determined solve the case! women were ladies or 'dames' and either could be a 'villan' or not. men could be thugs or gents, innocent or guilty.

so you figured out 'who done it', but you had to finish it to see if you were right or had been tricked into following the 'red herring'. you had to see what trials the hero had to go through to solve the mystery.

the mystery here is: could a woman fall from a great height and land of a pile of dirt and live? our hero saw it with his own eyes. the victim's body has vanished. was it murder or suicide?

i loved the different voices of the different male voices! the female voices are not as well done but after first hearing, are acceptable.

there are some words my mother would not like to hear me say but seems correct for the characters and the situations.

this is not a 'cozy' read but not a blood and guts thriller either. it's just a good mystery.

View all my reviews

The Bone Doll's Twin by Lynn Flewelling
book 1
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

i just finished this one and found the other 2 are also available. so my next step will be to snarf them up as fast as possible!

why? because it is a cliff hanger with wonderful writing and a really good narrator!

normally i dislike series books that have to be read in order but this is one is worth it! it has all sorts of .... weirdness (for lack of a better word). when the region is ruled by women, things are generally run well. when it run by men...different story. want to guess the sex of the ruler. you're right, a king! and things are not good.

the king has a married brother who becomes the father of twin...one boy, one girl. a things are really bad as the king and new uncle has seen to it that girls who would be in line for the crown are dying.

attending the delivery are a witch and 2 scorchers. the girl child must be protected if there is ever to be good new in the land...but how?

listen to find out for yourself and meet ghosts and warriors and people who go a bit batty. if you don't, you're going to miss some great lines that will give you a giggle, some emotions you will understand with just a bit of thought provoking ideas.

yes, i do highly recommend this book (AND two following it)!

The Oracle's Queen by Lynn Flewelling
book 3
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

what did i think?

i think people should buy all 3 books at the same time and read/listen to them in tandem!

why?

because this 'triad' should be read or listened as one long, flowing, enjoyable book!

i'm just glad i got them from audible.com because i didn't have to wait until the next time i could get to the store or library!

i am not going to write review of each part because i have tried and i cannot do it without giving spoilers!

Hidden Warrior by Lynn Flewelling
book 2
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

what did i think?

i think people should buy all 3 books at the same time and read/listen to them in tandem!

why?

because this 'triad' should be read or listened as one long, flowing, enjoyable book!

i'm just glad i got them from audible.com because i didn't have to wait until the next time i could get to the store or library!

i am not going to write review of each part because i have tried and i cannot do it without giving spoilers!

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

i just finished this one and found the other 2 are also available. so my next step will be to snarf them up as fast as possible!

why? because it is a cliff hanger with wonderful writing and a really good narrator!

normally i dislike series books that have to be read in order but this is one is worth it! it has all sorts of .... weirdness (for lack of a better word). when the region is ruled by women, things are generally run well. when it run by men...different story. want to guess the sex of the ruler. you're right, a king! and things are not good.

the king has a married brother who becomes the father of twin...one boy, one girl. a things are really bad as the king and new uncle has seen to it that girls who would be in line for the crown are dying.

attending the delivery are a witch and 2 scorchers. the girl child must be protected if there is ever to be good new in the land...but how?

listen to find out for yourself and meet ghosts and warriors and people who go a bit batty. if you don't, you're going to miss some great lines that will give you a giggle, some emotions you will understand with just a bit of thought provoking ideas.

yes, i do highly recommend this book!

Did You Know

"Stewardesses"
is the longest word typed with only the left hand


And "lollipop"
is the longest word typed with your right hand.


No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.


"Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt".


Our eyes are always the same size from birth,
but our nose and ears never stop growing.


The sentence: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" 
uses every letter of the alphabet.


The words 'racecar,' 'kayak', and 'level' 
are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left (palindromes).


There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous


There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: "abstemious" and "facetious."


TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.


A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.


A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.


A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.


A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.


A snail can sleep for three years.


Almonds are a member of the peach family.



An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain. 
(I know some people like that also)


Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age.


February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.


In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.


If the population of China walked past you, 8 abreast, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.


Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.


Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite!


Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.



The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing. 


The cruise liner, QE 2 moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.


The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. 
(Good thing he did that.)



 
The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid.

 
There are more chickens than people in the world.

 
Winston Churchill
was born in a ladies' room during a dance.

 
Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

 
Bonus!! All the ants in Africa weigh more than ALL the Elephants!!


Now you know (a little) more than you did before!!

The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The end of my marathon listening is both happy and sad. Happy to see what Ayla and her family are up to but sad because at the end, I want more. I want to know more of their adventures. Yes, there is an end but I love them and want to see them go on having adventures and grandchildren...ok, I'm greedy!

I've tried to come up with a good summary without giving away too much. Finally, I decided to share a bit of a publishers summary:

"...Whatever the obstacles, Ayla’s inventive spirit produces new ways to lessen the difficulties of daily life: searching for wild edibles to make delicious meals, experimenting with techniques to ease the long journeys the Zelandoni must take, honing her skills as a healer and a leader. And then, there are the Sacred Caves, the caves that Ayla’s mentor - the Donier, the First of the Zelandonia - takes her to see. These caves are filled with remarkable art - paintings of mammoths, lions, aurochs, rhinoceros, reindeer, bison, bear. The powerful, mystical aura within these caves sometimes overwhelms Ayla and the rituals of initiation bring her close to death. But through those rituals, Ayla gains A Gift of Knowledge so important that it will change the world.

Spellbinding drama, meticulous research, fascinating detail, and superb narrative skill combine to make The Land of Painted Caves a captivating, utterly believable creation of a long ago civilization that serves as an astonishing end to this beloved saga."

I hope you will become as much involved in this epic of the evolution of mankind with Ayla as the carrier as have I. For those who are interested in the archaeological finding put into story form, this is a series for you. For those who enjoy an epic story of survival in a hostel land, this is a series for you. My final hope is that I have stirred your curiosity enough to peek your desire have your own marathon.

The Shelters of Stone by Jean M. Auel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Again, I got this audio from Audible.com. In this 5th installment, the couple with their horses and wolf, have finally arrived at his home. It is here she delivers their 1st child. As is their way, the couple teaches the tribe what they have learn from experience as well as the stops they have made with various clans they stayed with along the way.

Ms. Auel has been criticized for repeating parts of earlier books. If you, like I, picked up the books as they came out, you know how long it took for each book to be released, so you might have appreciated the refresher bits as it meant you did not have to reread the preceding books before starting this one. Also I am sure she realized that some readers might pick up a first book out of order, so she made their adventure much easier by filling in the back story.

Years ago, when I read the books, I was sorry there was not another book in the series. Can you imagine my joy at when I found out Ms. Auel had written another book? Finishing the listening of this book brought me up to date on the whole series. now it was time to start and finish the last book of the series in my marathon listening!

Tea at Trianon: Priest Holes in English Houses

We interrupt this blogging about Jean Auel's series to send you over to Tea at Trianon: Priest Holes in English Houses.

You know how I love history from different times and places and blogs about them. Thus it will come as no surprise that I stumbled across this blog and fell in love...and I haven't read one of her books yet!

Wait till you see the travel tea case Marie-Antoinette carried!

For those of us who a) will probably not be going to England or b) probably would not have the time to visit and see all the priest holes, you have to read the entire posting (it will take you to another) where you will see not only stills but videos of them as well as get some good historical information along the way!

Go quickly my friends and enjoy yourselves as much as I!

The Plains of Passage by Jean M. Auel

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

They said:

Ayla and Jondalar set out on horseback across the windswept grasslands of Ice Age Europe. To the hunter gatherers of their world--who have never seen tame animals--Ayla and Jondalar appear enigmatic and frightening.

The mystery surrounding the woman, who speaks with a strange accent and talks to animals with their own sounds, is heightened by her control of a large, menacing wolf. The tall, yellow-haired man who rides by her side is also held in awe, not only for the magnificent stallion he commands, but for his skill as an artificer of stone tools, and for the new weapon he devises that makes hunting less perilous.

In the course of their cross-continental odyssey, Ayla and Jondalar encounter both savage enemies and brave friends. Together they learn that the vast and unkown world can be difficult and dangerous, but breathtakingly beautiful and enlightening as well.

I thought:

I should see what others have thought about this book. Boy howdy, was I surprised by some of the comments! One comment was about her repeating things from an earlier book. Stop a moment and look at the different publishing dates. If you read the first one and then had to wait for the next one, you might appreciate the repeats so you remember what was going on from the last one. An then there are people like me who might find one copy but it is later in the series...those retells would put you right into the story without you having to go back to the first book to find out what is going on and who's who.

Sex. Yes, and people what to know about what might have happened in the past and if everyone is in the cave, everyone knows what is going on. So how did they handle the situation. How was the act different among the Clan than the Others? What we might consider rape today, might have been normal for one group. That's one of the things you are learning about as Ayla grows up and moves from one group to another. It is not gratuitous or even as graphic as some writers might have made it.

Wonder Woman and Superman? Ayla and her lover are compilations of the Others. The Clan shared a common memory and did not like change much. The Others did not have the memories so were more adaptable to change and building on one another's ideas and sharing for the good of all. She was both a shaman and a healer. I want to know what they used for medicine, did they ever do surgery, how did they deal with wounds? So all information and advancements were attached to Ayla. Many people of today are have the ability to pick up languages quickly...but there remain traces of their original accents, just like Ayla. Of course she is alway gathering things...they were 'hunter/gatherers. It was important that she find fresh food and well as food that will store well for winter and many of the foods that she ate while living with the Clan would not be available from one territory to another. She would have to find out what new things were safe to eat in the new areas. The same thing would have to be done with her herbal medicines...some she would figure out for herself but some she would find out when they visited in different camps.

Written or spoken, I really like this series!