Hip Hip Hooray! I’ve finished up the timeline reading challenge (link here). So that means I’m on to the next NEW challenge. I’m pretty sure this one will take a decade or more to complete! Haha! But here goes…let’s do it! The Around the World reading challenge! I’ve decided that I’ll count books that are either set in the country or if the author is from that country.
READ AROUND AFRICA CHALLENGE (specific countries added below as I finish books)
READ AROUND ASIA CHALLENGE
READ AROUND EUROPE CHALLENGE
READ AROUND NORTH AMERICA CHALLENGE
READ AROUND OCEANIA CHALLENGE
READ AROUND SOUTH AMERICA CHALLENGE
And I might as well keep track of states as well!
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
If you have any recommendations, I’d LOVE to hear them!
Have a great day and I hope you do or learn something NEW today!
I realized I haven’t posted about my NEW reading challenge. This year, I wanted to join the “When Are You Reading” challenge. Below are the categories. I have a few more to fill in. Any suggestions?
The time periods are:
Pre 1200: Pope Joan
1300-1499: The House on the Strand
1500-1699: The Miniturist
1700-1799: A Girl Called Samson
1800-1899: Where the Lost Wander
1900-1919: Moloka’i
1920-1939: The Christie Affair
1940-1959: The Last Year of the War; The Book Woman’s Daughter
1960-1979: Necessary Lies
1980-1999: I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives
2000-Present: The Girl in the Glass
The Future: Illuminae
There are so many fun challenges. I’ve got 6 more to read for this challenge, and then I think I’ll start an Around the World reading challenge. As always, send any book recommendations my way! I’m always looking for wonderful NEW books to read!
Have a great day and I hope you do or learn something NEW today!
I thought it was time for another A-Z list of all the little miscellaneous NEW things I’ve been learning or experiencing. My first one was back in 2023, (how time flies!). I got the prompts from Deb’s World. Here goes:
Admiring: this beautiful fountain and the lovely gardens at Buxton Park. We spent a night in Indianola, Iowa, and after dinner, noticed a lovely park, so we got out and walked around. Now that’s my kind of after-dinner walk! It was very lovely. I took lots of photos of the flowers and this beautiful fountain. Then I changed the photo into a watercolor painting using the Waterlogue app on my phone.
Becoming: more adept at setting up and taking down our 5th wheel RV (named Stebi = Spending ThE Boys Inheritance). In the past, hubby has done the vast majority of the outside work, and I’ve taken care of the inside. However, I’ve helped out more with the outside lately. It’s a process! I haven’t touched the sewer hose yet, and I don’t plan to!!! :o)
Curious: about Narwhals. I just recently learned about them. How did I not know about this fascinating species earlier?! Do I live under a rock?!
Delighted: by these fun fishing poles my friend gave us for a retirement gift. She knows we’re not really big on fishing, but fishing is symbolic of retirement, right?! Aren’t they SO adorable?!
Excited: to visit NEW places and meet NEW people on our 4-ish month RV trip.
Feeling: like I’m gonna really miss my one-year-old granddaughter while we’re gone!
Going: to take an online landscape design course and maybe an online Master Gardener course. Any good recommendations?
Helping: the victims of the devastating Texas floods by donating to relief funds.
Imploring: people on both sides of the political aisle to “just get along”!
Joking: with my son, whose middle name is Geoff, by sending him this hilarious SNL clip!
Knowing: that computer algorithms feed me certain content, often one-sided content, is concerning. Any good ideas on how to remedy that?
Loving: it when we see awesome sunsets! This was taken in Laramie, Wyoming. I’ve never been to Laramie before. Well, I guess I’ve driven past it, but never stayed there. I love it when the sky says goodnight in such a spectacular way!
Making: my art journal needs to become a priority. Doing art in an RV might be challenging, but I brought a few supplies. Wish me luck!!
Next: phase of our life is beginning! Bring on the Golden Years! It’s gonna be GREAT!
Observing: the world’s largest train yard from the observation deck of the Golden Spike Tower in North Platte, Nebraska. The train yard is 8 miles long and about 2 miles wide.
Posting: more often (hopefully), because retirement = more time (again, hopefully). ;o)
Questioning: why my computer keeps spazzing out! Agh!
Reading: My NEW reading challenge is to read a book set in each of these time periods: Pre-1200, 1300-1499, 1500-1699, 1700-1799, 1800-1899, 1900-1919, 1920-1939, 1940-1959, 1960-1979, 1980-1999, 2000-present, the future. I found this “When Are You Reading” challenge HERE.
Staying: and traveling in our 5th Wheel full-time until about November. We’re thankful our son can keep tabs on our home for us while we’re gone! I’ve told neighbors to text me if the lawn isn’t mowed or if the weeds in the flower beds get out of control. Haha!
Trying: to remember that we’re actually retired folk now. Haha! This vacation we’re on is permanent!
Understanding: Spanish isn’t really getting any easier for me. I’ve been doing Duolingo for over 3 years, but I think I need a real, live tutor. Will that happen any time soon? Not so sure!
Viewing: fireworks from the soccer stadium. It was great because the entire family was able to attend the game together. Getting schedules to align like that rarely happens. Fun night!
Welcoming: the NEW technology of Starlink for our travel necessities!
X (Our choice): Extra hard finding a laundry mat in certain areas!
Yes: to playing MORE pickleball and racquetball!
Z (Our choice): People watching is a joy! Watching the young man on the riding lawn mower dance and jive to the music (I’m assuming) on his earbuds brought a smile to my face!
Whew! That was kind of time-consuming! But I’ll appreciate looking back at this post in a few years.
I hope you all have a great week and do or learn something NEW! Take care!
Read all books by a certain author (I think my best shot at doing this is reading all of Susan Meissner’s books).
Travel challenges:
I already have my travel challenges ongoing. Visiting 100 waterfalls and all of the National Parks. We’ll be doing quite a bit of traveling this year, so I’m sure it will be easy to add to these lists, but here are a few marked for this year:
Visit Acadia NP, New River Gorge NP, Indiana Dunes NP, Cuyahoga Valley NP, Shenandoah NP and Gateway Arch NP.
And of course, visiting Iguazu Falls is happening this year. Yay!
Physical challenges:
Do another (or multiple) 30-day steps challenge (might be easy as we’re hiking to waterfalls!).
Do a 30-day yoga challenge
Ride on 20 (NEW-to-you) bike trails.
And lastly, what am I into???
Junk journals and art journals! I LOVE looking on Pinterest at creative art journals and watching videos about making junk journals. I’ve got one of each started (one art journal and one junk journal). My plan is for the junk journal to be vintage looking and I’ll be answering questions from a book my son gave me a few years ago called, “Tell me your story, MOM”. The art journal will be more vibrant and I will do some decoupage, watercolor, digital art, and other types of art. I created all of the images in this post with AI (Midjourney). I will use the image above as a focal point in one of my collages. That might seem like cheating, but anything goes in my journals, haha!
That’s it for my 2025 plans. My interests might change next week and I might be into something totally NEW and different! I’ll let you know. Maybe sometime I should do a blogging challenge and try to update this site a bit more regularly, haha! Anyway, I hope you have a fantastic day and that you get to learn or do something NEW today! Take care!
I love the start of a NEW week, a NEW month or a NEW year! How about you? As Gretchen Rubin says, the calendar can be a catalyst. She even created a Calendar of Catalysts (link here if you’re interested).
I thought I’d blog about my goals for November. That will keep me accountable, right!?! I always try to challenge myself in a few different areas such as physical, spiritual, intellectual, social, emotional, financial, etc. So, here are my 3 November challenges:
Just this morning, I learned about the Action For Happiness site from Deb’s World blog. I thought this would be awesome, because as you know, I LOVE trying NEW things! Here’s their November Calendar. I’ll report back at the end of the month on how I did!
I’d better go and start getting some steps in! Take care and have a lovely day. I hope you get to learn or do something NEW today!
Happy Monday! It’s high time I posted (cuz it’s been over a month!) Yikes! I remember thinking if I paid for WordPress instead of having ads on my site, that would lead me to post regularly…to make it “worth” it! How’s that working for me?? I clearly need to be more intentional!
Nevertheless, here I am, and here’s some miscellany to share:
We had a family get-together and rode ATVs to this beautiful waterfall. So I’ll update my 100 Waterfall Bucket List!
Speaking of waterfalls…my ultimate bucket list waterfall to see is Iguazu Falls, and it WILL happen! We’ve booked our trip for early next year! I’m SO excited. Here are some Google images of Iguazu Falls:
Even more exciting is that I’m finally a Grandma! Yay! I haven’t asked permission to post any photos, so that will have to wait.
Here’s what I’ve been reading lately. And when I say “reading” I mean mostly listening to (on commutes to work)! My yearly GoodReads challenge is 75 books and I’m on track to reach that challenge. I’ve read some really good books this year. I’ve never really wanted to read everything from any particular author before, but I’ve decided I’ll read all of Susan Meissner’s books. Wish me luck…there are about 30. If I get tired of them, I’ll abandon that idea! :o)
That’s probably enough miscellany for now. The other stuff is too boring to share (the depressing process of getting decking bids…why is trex decking SO expensive?!) Travel planning is fun, but it’s hard to wait…I just wanna GO GO GO! The fires are making air quality not great. But I’m loving the beautiful summer flowers everywhere! I think I’ll go for a bike ride and enjoy the lovely yards in my area.
Have a great day! I hope you do or learn something NEW today!
I’ve finished my personal challenge of reading a book from each genre listed on the Goodreads search page. My final list is below. Now for my next NEW reading challenge. I’m going to start an A-Z reading challenge. I may or may not read them all in order, we’ll see. So many books, so little time! Let me know about any really great book recommendations that I should put on my ever-growing list!
Have a great day! I hope you do or learn something NEW today!
***Finished list of books read for the Goodreads genre challenge:
Art: Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon (3 stars).
Biography: Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers by Deborah Heiligman (3 stars)
Business: Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance (3 stars)
Chick Lit: Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks (3 stars)
Christian: Forgiving What You Can’t Forget: Discover How to Move On, Make Peace with Painful Memories, and Create a Life That’s Beautiful Again (2 stars)
Classics: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (3 stars)
Comics: Big Nate Nailed It! by Lincoln Peirce (2 stars)
Contemporary: Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid (3 stars)
Cookbooks: Magnolia Table by Joanna Gaines
Crime: I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara (3 stars)
Ebooks: (multiple books on this list!)
Fantasy: Six of Crows (3.5 stars)
Fiction: Homecoming by Kate Morton (3 stars)
Gay and Lesbian: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (3 stars)
Graphic Novel: Steve Jobs: Insanely Great by Jessie Hartland (3 stars)
Historical Fiction: Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill (3 stars)
History: The Vagabonds: The Story of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison’s Ten-Year Road Trip by Jeff Guinn (3 stars)
Horror: The Birds and Other Stores by Daphne de Maurier (3.5 stars)
Humor and Comedy: How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question by Michael Schur (3 stars)
Manga: Kung Fu Klutz and Karate Cool by D.J. Milky, Mark Seidenberg, and Erich Owen (2 stars)
Memoir: A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout (3 stars)
Music: Who was Johnny Cash by Jim Gigliotti (3 stars)
Mystery: Little Big Lies by Liane Moriarty (3 stars)
Nonfiction: The Tale-Tell Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Quest for What Makes Us Human by V.S. Ramachandran (3 stars)
Paranormal: The Custodians, Beyond Abduction by Dolores Cannon (3 stars)
Philosophy: The Little Book of Philosophy: An Introduction to the Key Thinkers and Theories You Need to Know by Rachel Poulton (3 stars)
Poetry: Three Stories and Ten Poems by Ernest Hemingway (3 stars)
Psychology: The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort to Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self by Michael Easter (3 stars)
Religion: A House Full of Females: Plural Marriage and Women’s Rights in Early Mormonism, 1835-1870 by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (3 stars)
Romance: The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams (3 stars)
Science: This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin (3 stars)
Science Fiction: Legion by Brandon Sanderson (3.5 stars)
Self Help: Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brene Brown (3 stars)
Suspense: The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (3 stars)
Spirituality: Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life by Dacher Keltner (3 stars)
Sports: The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance by David Epstein (3 stars)
Thriller: The Whistler by John Grisham (3 stars)
Travel: Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel by Rolf Potts (3 stars)
Young Adult: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (3 stars)
I’ve noticed a few #WOYBS What’s On Your BookShelf posts lately, so I thought I’d write an update on my quest to read a book from every genre listed on GoodReads (original blog HERE). I started this challenge/quest around the first of July.
Unfortunately, I haven’t read anything that has overwhelmingly WOWED me (yet!). Here’s hoping that book is right around the corner! Here’s what I’ve read/listened to so far, plus my GoodReads star rating (looks like A LOT of very average 3 stars!).
Art: Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon (3 stars).
Biography: Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers by Deborah Heiligman (3 stars)
Business: Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance (3 stars)
Chick Lit: Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks (3 stars)
Children’s: TBR
Christian: Forgiving What You Can’t Forget: Discover How to Move On, Make Peace with Painful Memories, and Create a Life That’s Beautiful Again (2 stars)
Classics: TBR
Comics: TBR
Contemporary: Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid (3 stars)
Cookbooks: TBR
Crime: I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara (3 stars)
Ebooks: TBR (although I’ve read multiple books via Ebooks!)
Fantasy: Six of Crows (currently listening to)
Fiction: Homecoming by Kate Morton (3 stars)
Gay and Lesbian: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (3 stars)
Graphic Novels: TBR
Historical Fiction: Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill (3 stars)
History: The Vagabonds: The Story of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison’s Ten-Year Road Trip by Jeff Guinn (3 stars)
Horror: TBR
Humor and Comedy: How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question by Michael Schur (3 stars)
Manga: TBR
Memoir: TBR
Music: TBR
Mystery: Little Big Lies by Liane Moriarty (3 stars)
Nonfiction: The Tale-Tell Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Quest for What Makes Us Human by V.S. Ramachandran (3 stars)
Paranormal: TBR
Philosophy: TBR
Poetry: Three Stories and Ten Poems by Ernest Hemingway (3 stars)
Psychology: TBR
Religion: A House Full of Females: Plural Marriage and Women’s Rights in Early Mormonism, 1835-1870 by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (3 stars)
Romance: TBR
Science: This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin (3 stars)
Science Fiction: TBR
Self Help: Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brene Brown (3 stars)
Suspense: TBR
Spirituality: TBR
Sports: TBR
Thriller: The Whistler by John Grisham (3 stars)
Travel: Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel by Rolf Potts (3 stars)
Young Adult: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (3 stars)
And that’s it! Feel free to recommend any great books in the genres I still need to read.
Have a great day and do or learn…or READ something NEW!
Happy Monday! It’s been a while since I brain-dumped some miscellaneous NEW stuff, so here goes.
Miscellany #1: It was fun to see some wildlife on our hikes in Grand Tetons National Park. There were quite a few of these little guys running around! A grandpa pointed to one and asked his grandson if he thought that one was Alvin, Simon, or Theodore. I really doubt the little boy knew what his grandpa was talking about! Haha!
This guy wasn’t fazed at all by the attention he was getting!
Look very close. That’s a bear across the lake. I need a better zoom lens!!!
Thanks to Google, I believe this is a Western Tanager. Again…Santa, I need a zoom lens for Christmas! Haha!
AND, what do you think of this “wildlife”?!? He (or she) is livin’ the life!
Miscellany #2: What I’ve been reading lately. I’ve already hit my GoodReads 2023 Reading Challenge goal (my goal was 52 books, and I’m already at 62…). So I think for the last part of this year, I’ll make a goal to read a book from every genre that GoodReads list on its browse page. I figure that’s one way to read NEW and different material (I hope to learn LOTS of NEW stuff!). Here’s the genre list.
AND lastly, miscellany #3. I learned something NEW recently. I showed my friend at work my photo from the Tetons and she taught me that these yellow flowers that were everywhere are called Mule Ears. She had been to Colorado that same weekend and noticed a lot of them there too! Here’s more from our trip to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. I’m taking her word for it (so I hope she’s correct). It’ll be an easy name to remember (I hope).
That’s it for today’s NEW miscellaneous stuff. Have a great day and I hope you do or learn something NEW today!
I love to visit my bookish friend’s blogs when I have time and see what reads they are recommending. Two of my faves are Book Club Mom and What Cathy Read Next. Often, Cathy will participate in #WWWWednesday hosted by Taking on a World of Words so I thought I’d join in today!
The Three Ws are:
What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next?
So, here’s what NEW books I’ve been reading (snapshots of the covers are above):
I’m currently reading The Midnight Library by Matt Haig for my neighborhood book club next week. At first, I thought it was basically the same concept as the movie It’s a wonderful life, (and I really like that movie!) but it’s turning out a bit different. I’ll try and remember to rate it after I finish it.
I just recently finished reading The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner. This book was pretty predictable but I enjoyed it. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads, but my son tells me I’m a tough rater, haha!
What I think I’ll read next is what Book Club Mom recommended recently: Thunderstruck by Erik Larson. The audiobook was available at my library, so I snagged it while I could.
As for other updates…because I have REALLY gotten out of the groove of posting, but I’ll just have to get back INTO the groove, cuz quite a lot is NEW these days! But in the meantime, I hope you have a great day/week and I hope you get to learn or do something NEW soon!
Explore Newness 