Sunday, February 14, 2010

Sunday Salon: Shuttering with excitement


Good morning and Happy Valentines Day, my friends! I'm waking up slightly fuzzy after an evening of frivolity with my husband and friends, some great champagne, great wine and great food. (Hmmm...a similar recipe in 1999 resulted in my second child! But I am too old for that nonsense now!)

Well, we are week 2 into the bathroom renovation, and are still on pace to be finished at the end of next week. Roman tub, double shower...yeah baby! My only continuing complaint is that I don't have my personal space, and it is squelching my workout routine and my MOJO! It has been so freaking cold this week that most of my workouts have been forced onto the elliptical machine. However, I refuse to work out in front of the worker boys, so I am obligated to early morning and evening. Grrrrr...

I've also been working on outdoor projects, particularly mulching the back yard with the help of my dad (56 bags of mulch in the back of my dad's Suburban!). And cleaning up dust. And preparing for outside staining. As a result, my reading habits are not up to expectations. I've been reading the 236 page romance written by my mom's high school friend ALL WEEK, and I'm still not finished. This is really pathetic. Despite the hovering cloud of love and romance and euphoria from Valentine's Day, I'm not in a romantic mood. Maybe I have a black heart, and I am sorry. I hope to knock this one out within the next few days, pray tell. However, on the audio front, I've been productive. I finished Sarah's Key, my book club read for next week. I enjoyed the book, but it had some faults. It is a WWII novel, which does win a sympathy vote, but I can't overlook a plot that loses its lustre halfway through. Then I completed Shutter Island on audio, and holy crap. It brought me to my knees yesterday, while on the elliptical. I had to disembark and sit for a spell, thinking it through. If I would have had access to a Valium, I would've taken it. That is all I'm going to say for now. But I must see the movie on the silver screen, even if I have to see it by myself. Lehane is a master. I just ordered Mystic River on audio, thank you very much. If that is his best work, which is what some of you have said, then I'd better strap myself in for the ride.

My friend Mary from Scholastic did make my day by telling me that the University of Central Florida is sponsoring a BookFest in April, will have over 40 authors attending, and has free admission! I suppose this is my consolation prize for not being able to attend BEA in May. Heather (Zibilee) from Raging Bibliomania and I are planning on having some fun with this. Orlando is not the literary epicenter by a long shot, so this is real progress!

Today my son plays in his final football game for the championship. They are undefeated, so I am hoping for the best. Praise the Lord, this is the end of football season, which for us, started mid-August!!! I am also planning on cooking a luscious feast for my family for V-Day, black heart and all. The kids had this past Friday off from school (which involved alot of rain and The Lightning Thief at the movies) as well as Monday (Universal perhaps?). American Idol is in Hollywood with Ellen, Survivor has started, and Amazing Race begins tonight. Life is good.

Next week I look forward to my book club's discussion of Sarah's Key, and as usual, am excited for next month's choice. It is really a crap-shoot, because 75% of the members don't show up, so you never really know who is doing the picking, and whether they will be prepared to do the picking. What are the odds they pick something on my TBR list? Also, on Friday, my husband and I are taking our children to Universal studios for the weekend for their birthdays, staying on property at the Hard Rock Hotel. What this means is a fast pass onto nearly every ride in both parks. Our brains will be scrambled from two days of roller coasters, but it will be fun. I may be late on next Sunday's Sunday Salon!

Have a great Sunday!

23 comments:

Ana S. said...

A book festival! You and Heather will have a wonderful time for sure :D Have a great day, Sandy!

rhapsodyinbooks said...

I love local book fests! They tend to be much more accessible than those big blowouts. Last year, Josh Bazell was at the Tucson Festival and there were only 10 of us in the audience to talk to him - and 3 were his family members! (apparently his grandma lives in Tucson). So it was way fun!

Harvee said...

I love to hear about book fests! Hope you find some good books there! Picked up a good book from my local library, a genre I don';t normally read, but looking forward to it.

Nicole (Linus's Blanket) said...

I loved the Shutter Island audio. It was great til listen too and I can not wait for the movie to be out on Friday!

Jackie (Farm Lane Books) said...

I went to Universal studios when I was 15. I loved it! Have a fantastic time there and at the book festival!

Beth F said...

Have a super, super time next weekend.

Mr. BFR (carpenter/builder) says he needs to carry a list of divorce lawyers and marriage counselors with him when he does bathroom and kitchen renovations. They are rough.

Hang in there!!!

And a book festival. I so wish I had a local festival to attend.

Julie P. said...

The Book Fest in April sounds wonderful! I'm going to BEA but I'm still jealous of that!

bermudaonion said...

Wow, you are one busy lady! I've seen the trailers for Shutter Island and I think I would have to read that book rather than listen to it. I can read lots of stuff that I can watch or listen to.

Heidenkind said...

A book festival?? Hooray!

JoAnn said...

I finished Sarah's Key the other day, too. Enjoyed it overall... but a few complaints. Our meeting isn't until next week. We'll see how it goes.

I *hate* having people working in the house...I feel your pain, but it will all be worth it when the project is completed. Good luck, Sandy!

Molly said...

Man you guys have a LONG football season!

I have heard such wonderful comments about Shutter Island that I think I need to get the book. I am afraid that I might be a bit "freaked out" seeing it on the big screen first.

I am so envious of that new bathroom. Total paradise for me would be to luxuriate in a full bubble bath with a glass of wine and a good book.

Florinda said...

I'm planning to attend our own local book festival in April - the LA Times Festival of Books at UCLA - as my "not going to BEA" consolation prize too :-). Last year, several book bloggers from the area met up and went together, and hopefully we'll be doing it again this year. Have fun at your fest!

The Bumbles said...

Soooo - did they remain undefeated or pull a Patriots?

Ti said...

I don't blame you for not wanting to work out in front of the worker boys. That would be a bit uncomfortable.

Our local book fest is coming up and a bunch of us bloggers will probably hook up again.

Susan said...

Mystic River is sooo much better than the movie.

I see in the sidebar that you're reading the new Iain Pears book. I'm interested to know what you think. I tried, really tried, to read An Instance of the Fingerpost on recommendation from a good friend, and forced myself through 3/4 of it, before I decided life is too short to dedicate any more time to something I never understood from page one. I could never keep anything straight and still didn't know what the hell was going on when I quit reading it!

Jen - devourer of books said...

My thought process throughout your blog post:
1) Oh my gosh! Did Sandy spell 'shudder' wrong? Shoot, and I'm so late to tell her!
2) No, silly, I think that's a play on words, it certainly has something to do with her remodeling project.
3) Ah, yes, "Shutter Island," now it all makes sense!

I read "Shutter Island," but I'd really love to do an audio reread to try to pick up all the clues I missed the first time. I knew the end would throw me for a loop, but I still wasn't expecting what happened.

Zibilee said...

Oh wow, you sure do have a lot going on! I bet you be beyond happy to have the bathroom finished, and I can't blame you! I also really really want to read Shutter Island and am thinking about buying it for the Kindle very, very soon. The movie actually comes out on my birthday, so I might go out and see it, but I want to have read the book first. And I am also excited about the new season of Survivor, I hope bad Rob get voted out very early on. I also hope that Rupert wins!! I hope you have a wonderful week and get back into the swing of reading!!

Iliana said...

Sandy, I'm surprised you have even gotten that much reading done what with all the other projects you've got going on. Hope your son's game went great!

Looking forward to your reviews, especially of Shutter Island. I've not read any Lahane books and need to know what I'm missing out on :)

Jenners said...

We went to the movies this past weekend and saw a lengthy preview for "Shutter Island" and it looks creepy and very scary ... but really really good. I read the book but for the life of me can't remember many of the details.

And woo hoo about the book festival! That is awesome!

And working with 56 bags of mulch counts for exercise I think!

I so hope you share photos after the big bathroom renovation. It sounds heavenly.

Serena said...

Wee, a book festival...fantastic!

Anonymous said...

I listened to Shutter Island on audio and felt the same way. Can't wait to take my hubby to the movie. Somehow I managed not to spoil the ending for him.

Anonymous said...

I listened to Shutter Island on audio and felt the same way. Can't wait to take my hubby to the movie. Somehow I managed not to spoil the ending for him.

Darlene said...

A book festival sounds like heaven. You and Heather have fun!