Tim and Jen Live Here

HVA Academy – 3 Week Recap

jenifer — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:15:41 +0000

I’ve been to three of the eight Citizens Academy sessions offered by our local amublance service, Huron Valley Ambulance. The first week was a sit-and-listen week. The HVA president told us about the history of the service – how it came to be, how they’re funded, what types of metrics they use to determine their quality of service, etc. It was really interesting for someone with no previous ambulance knowledge.

Week two was postponed for weather, but we eventually gathered to learn CPR. I don’t think I’ve had any CPR training since high school, but some of it was still familiar. Class was definitely a workout, but I’m glad to have finally learned CPR for adults, children, and infants, as well as how to use those AED’s you see in so many places. Heimlich maneuver was also covered briefly. Definitely an informative evening!

Week three consisted of a visit from a local police officer and a fireman. We learned about how their departments operate and got to see a ladder truck while enormous snowflakes fell all around us.Then we got locked out of the building. Never a dull moment!

Tonight we finally get to see an ambulance.

Savannah Ghost Tour

jenifer — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:37:24 +0000

Tim and I headed to Savannah recently to spend a long weekend with his parents, who have rented a condo there for most of the month of February. The weather wasn’t as warm as one might wish for a mid-winter getaway from Michigan, but it was nice enough and we enjoyed plenty of time outdoors.

Savannah is a beautiful city full of history. Just walking around the squares and the city market area is enough to fill a few days. On one of our nights, though, we decided to take a look at Savannah’s bloody history through a ghost tour. We chose the Hearse Ghost Tours. Louis showed up at our door at 10:45pm in a modified hearse.
We jumped in, stopped to pick up two more couples, and we were off.

The tour was fun. Not overly spooky, since you never (typically, anyway) leave the hearse. But still, we saw much of the historic district and heard some fun stories. A photography tip – If you’re taking photos on a tour at night, try to take them without your flash. It’s harder to hold the camera still, but your photos will at least look like it’s dark outside. Here’s a haunted hotel. See any ghosts in the windows? The front door is partially open with no one in sight . . .

Maybe half way through our tour, the hearse died. Yeah, go ahead and groan at the pun, but it really did. The gas gauge hadn’t functioned in forever, and it ran out of gas. Louis got out to push us to the nearest (a few blocks away) gas station.

It was quickly clear that that wasn’t working well, so all four men on board got out to help. Here’s Tim running and pushing. Doesn’t it look like fun?

The tour was otherwise uneventful and fun. A walking ghost tour we took in Bath, England was much spookier, since you’re outside and right there in the haunted locations, even if you don’t get to go inside. Still, for entertainment value, I’d recommend the hearse tour, especially if a walking tour doesn’t suit your group’s needs. Here we all are, minus Tim who was taking the picture, when we arrived back to the condo after midnight.

And finally, my favorite photo from that night. Click to make it bigger if you like. Where does it lead? It has a house number.

Wintry Christmasy Stuff

jenifer — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:46:23 +0000

Christmas may have been a while ago, but it’s definitely still winter here, so I thought I’d share a few pictures I took over Christmas. A few of them you can click to see larger.

Tonight I begin an eight week Citizens’ Academy with our local ambulance service, so I hope to have something interesting to report soon.

Snow falling into a small stream connecting two lakes. This was a gorgeous day for a walk in the woods near my house.

Also in those same woods:

Ornamental grasses in my back yard. Not much is of interest back there this time of year, but these will be beautiful right up until things start blooming in spring.

I took quite a few photos during family Christmas celebrations. Not too many turned out great, but I love these two:

My nephew, Owen, almost 7.

Tim’s cousin’s son, Brady, 20 months.

And finally, Tabby. “No, mom. I wasn’t eating your flower arrangement. Why do you ask?”

Reading in 2010 – Classics Goal

jenifer — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 01:02:37 +0000

Just one goal this year. I’d like to read a few classics. My definition of classic is pretty loose – I’m just looking for books that have stood the test of time. I perused lists of classics compiled by others and chose 25 that I think sound interesting and that I haven’t yet read. They span quite a long time and include books for both children and adults.

If you’ve got favorite classics that aren’t on my list (or that are on my list and that I should read first) I’d love to hear them. There’s always next year.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1595) William Shakespeare
Don Quixote (1605) Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Arabian Nights (1704) Antony Galland
Robinson Crusoe (1719) Daniel Defoe
Grimm’s Fairy Tales (1812) Grimm Brothers
Frankenstein (1818) Mary Shelley
Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe (1843-ish)
The Count of Monte Cristo (1844) Alexandre Dumas
The Three Musketeers (1844) Alexandre Dumas
Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) Harriet Beecher Stowe
The Woman in White (1860) William Wilkie Collins
Black Beauty (1860) Anna Sewell
Les Miserables (1862) Victor Hugo

Alice in Wonderland (1865) Lewis Carroll
From the Earth to the Moon (1870) Jules Verne
Through the Looking Glass (1872) Lewis Carroll
The Tales of Uncle Remus (1881) Joel Chandler Harris
Kidnapped (1886) Robert Louis Stevenson
The Jungle Book (1894) Rudyard Kipling
The Time Machine (1895) H.G. Wells
War of the Worlds (1898) H.G. Wells
The Call of the Wild (1903) Jack London
The Secret Garden (1910) Frances Hodgson Burnett
Buffalo Bill (1920) William F. Cody
All Quiet on the Western Front (1928) Erich Maria Remarque

Reading in 2009 – A Summary

jenifer — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 01:39:29 +0000

I summarized the first half of 2009 here, but I thought a full year tabulation sounded like fun, so here goes:

Books Read – 67
Books Listened – 69
Books Not Finished – 3

Highlights from the second half of 2009 that I haven’t already covered in the New Author Challenge posts include:

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella – I gave up on her Shopaholic books after the first few books because I just couldn’t handle Becky’s whiny irresponsibility, but I’ve liked Kinsella’s stand-alones quite a bit. This one was as fun as all the others, and I loved hearing about such a fun era.

The Last Detective by Robert Crais – I’ve enjoyed all the books in the Elvis Cole series as well as two stand-alone novels, but this one was the best so far. Forgotten Man is up soon in my to-listen queue, and I can’t wait to get back to my favorite smart-ass detective.

Catch of the Day by Kristan Higgins – I think I still have one more of her books to enjoy so I hope the new one comes out soon, but really, it’s hard to beat a romantic comedy with dogs and families at the core.

Stand By Your Hitman by Leslie Langtry – I loved all four Bombay family books, but this may be one of the funniest books I have ever read.

T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton – The best Kinsey Millhone book in quite a while. This one grabbed my heart strings and nearly made me cry!

2009 was also filled with lots of Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Suzanne Brockmann, and Anne Stuart. Hard to complain about that mix.

NAC 2009 – A Summary

jenifer — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 16:29:03 +0000

I’m afraid I give up on discussing each new author I read this year. I made it through number 35, and the rest I’ll cover briefly here before moving on to 2010’s challenges. On the plus side, I did meet my goal of reading fifty new-to-me authors last year.

Summary of authors numbered 36 through 50:

Johanna Lindsey – I read Hearts Aflame. I’d never before read a book set in the time of Vikings, but I enjoyed this one quite a bit.
Karen E. Olson – The Missing Ink – A Tattoo Shop Mystery was a fun mystery set in Las Vegas. There were a couple details about it that pulled me out of the story, but I still enjoyed it and I’ll look for Pretty in Ink when it’s released in March.
Linda Howard – I read Mr. Perfect and found out after the fact that opinions are pretty divided on this book. I was in the camp that didn’t love it – I thought the main characters’ response to the main mystery was just unbelievable and couldn’t get into their world. But, I liked the writing enough to definitely try more of her books.
Louisa Edwards – I loved Can’t Stand The Heat and am anxiously awaiting the sequel. Food and romance naturally go together in my mind, and this book delivered on both fronts.
Vicki Pettersson – Scent of Shadows is the first book in the Sign of the Zodiac series. I’ve got the next two in my TBR pile. They’re dark urban fantasy, and this book totally sucked me in.
Loretta Chase – Lord of Scoundrels has made so many “best of” lists that I finally had to read it, and I’m glad I did. I loved this book and will find everything else by Loretta Chase ASAP.
Diana Gabaldon – I finally read Outlander and loved it. But these books are LONG. It’s probably going to take me a while to get through the series, but I’ll be reading book two soon.
Barry Eisler – I read and loved Fault Line – a stand-alone novel and have just started reading Rain Fall, the first in his John Rain series. Great books!
Marilyn Brant – Another author that I discovered because of the wonderful Pamela Cayne. Marilyn’s According to Jane is a wonderfully fun read, especially for anyone who loves Jane Austen’s books.
Victoria Dahl – I can’t believe I didn’t read Talk Me Down sooner. It sat on my bookshelf for most of 2009, but I finally read it in November. This is one awesome book! I followed it up with her e-novella The Wicked West written by the main character of Talk Me Down. Now I’m reading and loving Start Me Up so I can hurry on to the copy of Lead Me On that I won recently. Then it’s on to Ms. Dahl’s historicals!
Chuck Palahniuk – I read and didn’t care for Haunted, but a friend encouraged me to try something else by him, and I’m glad I did. Lullaby was creepy and weird, but also really, really good. I’ll definitely be checking out the rest of Palahniuk’s backlist.
Harry Dolan – He’s an Ann Arbor author who wrote a mystery set in Ann Arbor. Bad Things Happen is definitely a fun book, made extra fun because it stars my home town. It’s also set in the world of literary publishing, which isn’t something you get to read about often in fiction.
Laurie Halse Anderson – I think I read Speak because Collen Lindsay mentioned her books on twitter. However I came to read it, I’m glad I did. It was an excellent YA book.
Audrey Niffeneger – I finally read The Time Traveler’s Wife because I didn’t want to see the movie without having first read the book. This is an amazing book, and I’m really looking forward to the movie even though I’ve heard it doesn’t come close to doing the book justice.
Roxanne St. Claire – I’ve also finally gotten around to reading the first book in the Bullet Catchers series, Kill Me Twice. I loved this book and can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

My final list of authors read during my 2009 New Author Challenge:

NAC 2009 – 32 Through 35

jenifer — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:03:08 +0000

I didn’t do such a hot job keeping up with my thoughts on each of these new authors as I read them this year, so I think it’s time to sum up. In this post I’ll cover authors numbered 32 through 35.

32. Libba Bray

I’m not a huge fan of gothic-style novels, but I still enjoyed A Great And Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray I liked it enough to want to read the other two books in that series . . . someday. But before that, I’m really excited to read her book Going Bovine. The premise – a 16-year-old boy diagnosed with mad cow disease sets off on a road trip with an unlikely assortment of companions in order to find a cure – just sounds amazingly, ridiculously quirky. I love it, and I’ve head nothing but good things about this book from people who have read it.

33. Andrew Grant

As I already mentioned I read Andrew Grant’s Even partly because he’s Lee Child’s brother, and partly because he was recommended by his agent, Janet Reid. I really enjoyed this book and anxiously await the next David Trevellyan book. This one was fast paced with a fascinating storyline. I’d like to get to know David better.

34. China Mieville

I listened to The City and the City by China Mieville after hearing him mentioned repeatedly on Mur Lafferty’s podcast I Should Be Writing. This is another one where the premise really drew me in. Two cities occupying the same physical space. Very intriguing. I went through various concepts of what this actually looked like as I began reading before understanding just how the setup worked. It took some time to get into the story, but once I was invested in the characters and the world, I thought the whole thing was very enjoyable.

35. David Guterson

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson is an oldie but a goodie. I had the paperback copy on loan from my in-laws forever and finally gave it back to them when I stumbled across it while cleaning out my book stash. For some reason, even though I’d heard so many good things about this book, I could never bring myself to read it. So I finally just listened to it.

The audio version I got from the library was read by George Guidall, which certainly didn’t hurt things any. He’s one of my favorite audiobook narrators, perhaps second only to Jim Dale, who reads the Harry Potter series for US listeners. I wish I hadn’t waited so long to read/listen to this book. I loved every minute of it and often just sat on the couch listening to my book so I didn’t have to stop so soon.

NAC 2009 – Lois Lowry

jenifer — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:51:58 +0000

My mom recommended that I read The Giver by Lois Lowry and I fell madly in love with this book. I picked it up this morning to read the part about choices and read a few pages. Then I started sobbing. Yeah, I guess it pulls at my heart strings to consider the idea of giving up everything good so that we can also avoid mistakes.

That it would be considered dangerous to allow a baby to choose between differently colored toys because he might make the wrong choice – not so important there, but what if later he chose the wrong job or spouse???? – is just so awful. Anyway, writing this has made me realize that I really need to sit down and read the whole book again. And pick up the other two in the trilogy.

NAC 2009 – Jeffrey Siger

jenifer — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:43:59 +0000

I read Jeffrey Siger’s Murder in Mykonos because my sister-in-law recommended it. It was definitely a great murder mystery with a gorgeous setting and interesting characters. I’m looking forward to book two from him – Assassins of Athens – coming out next month.

NAC 2009 – Barbara O’Neal

jenifer — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:42:01 +0000

Barbara O’Neal is also Barbara Samuel and Ruth Wind. I’ve got a Barbara Samuel book on my shelf to read, but I picked up O’Neal’s The Lost Recipe For Happiness this summer and wanted to read it right away. It’s the story of a professional chef who’s offered the opportunity to have her own kitchen at a new restaurant opening in Aspen. She and her dog make the move and she takes charge.

This book made me hungry, was a fascinating look inside of a professional kitchen, and made me want to go to Aspen. I loved everything about it, including the secondary characters. Especially the dog.