This 'n That

 I haven't written much lately,  My friend Bob has given me a plethora of postings of pictures of the flowers around Ames right now.  I have spaced them out through Thursday. It is a good thing because I have not felt much like writing anything. The place is lonely right now.  Miles hasn't been over for a visit either so it is sort of like losing two dogs.  I am going with Friend John to HUA to look at dogs on Friday and may come home with a new companion. We shall see.

I finally finished the book I was reading.  Author Ann Patchett was on Steven Colbert and talked about her bookstore.  I went on line and found her website and ordered two books.  They came autographed which was a neat thing.  The first book that I read was Bel Canto and it was beautifully crafted and written.  The pictures she drew with her words will be with me a long time.  It took me a long time to read it for several reasons.  For one reason I have not taken the time to read lately and for another it was a book to be savored and enjoyed slowly.

This summary from BookBrowse

BOOK SUMMARY
Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country's vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of Mr. Hosokawa, a powerful Japanese businessman. Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening -- until a band of gun-wielding terrorists breaks in through the air-conditioning vents and takes the entire party hostage. But what begins as a panicked, life-threatening scenario slowly evolves into something quite different, as terrorists and hostages forge unexpected bonds and people from different countries and continents become compatriots. 

Without the demands of the world to shape their days, life on the inside becomes more beautiful than anything they had ever known before. At once riveting and impassioned, the narrative becomes a moving exploration of how people communicate when music is the only common language. Friendship, compassion, and the chance for great love lead the characters to forget the real danger that has been set in motion and cannot be stopped. 

Ann Patchett has written a novel that is as lyrical and profound as it is unforgettable. Bel Canto engenders in the reader the very passion for art and the language of music that its characters discover. As a reader, you find yourself fervently wanting this captivity to continue forever, even though you know that real life waits on the other side of the garden wall.Bel Canto is a virtuoso performance by one of our best and most important writers. It is a novel to be cherished.

 I took this picture tonight as I sat beside the Skunk River eating my supper.  I love the river and as I had some banking to do and letters to mail I stopped at McDonald's and got a sandwich and some coffee and drove out to the River to eat it.  After a lovely time there I read some of my new book (See Sidebar) and relaxed before I went to the Eastern Star Meeting.  It was very relaxing.

Saturday I went to see Mirror Mirror with Julia Roberts and Nathan Lane.  A retelling of the Snow White Story.  I do enjoy Ms Roberts.

It was a pleasant couple of hours of pure escapism. The other movie that just opened was The Hunger Games.  I have no desire to see it.  I think one of the most fun things was the Bollywood ending.  When we had the big Hollywood Movie Rental place I used to get movies from Bollywood.  I loved them.  They were a lot of fun,  This movie reminded me of them.

Other than that I have just been reading blogs and Facebook and trying to keep my mind occupied. I miss my little Buddy and am not really trying to replace him because you can never replace anyone that you love.  However something to fill the void might be nice. Blogging probably helps but I haven't felt much like writing so it was fortuitous that Bob sent me so many posts.

As I mentionedI have never seen so many flowers so early in the season.  We can still have cold and that could mess up the Apple Crop, etc.  Even the lilacs are all in bloom.  I may go out to take some pictures of my own tomorrow.