Lonely Planet's Ten Best Bookstores

Although I've been to Paris, Rome and London (twice), the only bookstore I've been to on Lonely Planet's list of the world's best bookstores is City Lights in San Francisco.

Do you visit bookstores when you travel? Have you been to any of these distinguished bookshops?

have a potentially life changing Thanksgiving

It's safe to say not everyone looks forward to the holidays!

We're hitting the road for the central coast to spend Thanksgiving with my sisters' families. It's been seven years since we've had Thanksgiving together. Certainly there will be some drama and weirdness but this year I'm trying something new -- I'm going to make an effort to get to know someone better by really listening to her/him.

From Rowdy Kittens:

Rather than getting stressed out about about cooking and family visits, the upcoming holiday is the perfect opportunity to practice the art of listening. Listening is a key component of nurturing strong relationships. And building long-lasting relationships is the foundation of happiness. If you don’t listen to those in your life, relationships become weak and you’ll become unhappy.

So, in addition to local wines and a Just Desserts pumpkin spice bundt cake, I'm bringing an intention to make some time to really listen to someone in my family.

Wishing you a fantastic Thanksgiving!

Note: post title swiped, copied, stolen from coffee yogurt.

in the moment

"The one best moment is the one we occupy right now.
And now. And now."

Monday Movie - unforgettable

Julie Christie in Away From Her

This week's Monday Movie theme at the Bumbles Blog are those films in which memory plays a center role. These are three films I find unforgettable:

Away From Her

Fiona: I think I may be beginning to disappear.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Joel: Is there any risk of brain damage?
Howard: Well, technically speaking, the operation is brain damage, but it's on a par with a night of heavy drinking. Nothing you'll miss.

Memento

Natalie: What's the last thing that you do remember?
Leonard Shelby: My wife...
Natalie: That's sweet.
Leonard Shelby: ...dying.

it's different this year

Golden Full Moon Japanese Maple

We had a milder than usual summer this year and I wonder if that's the reason the fall color is so stunning. Besides being more vibrant overall, the yellow hues are much more prominent.

friday fast ones

• looking forward to book club tonight...it's been a while since I've been able to attend
• can't get the Just Desserts pumpkin bundt cake I saw at Costco a few days ago out of my mind -- may have to go back and get one to take with me to book club.
• the storm is coming in...it's dark & windy...a good day for reading & baking
• reading Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout..it's good.
• watched I Am Love last night, finally! It's a strange film. It felt more like an opera than a film (not that there was any operatic singing or any singing). It was light on dialogue and character back story and heavy with the drama. Plently of nudity and sex but I found it to be oddly nonerotic. But, maybe that's just me.

Monday Movie - the sweet hereafter

This week at the Bumbles blog films that address what happens after death get the nod. I give this theme a hearty two thumbs up!

Here are my top five:

• The Sweet Hereafter - Love the film and loved the book by Russell Banks even more. A look at the lives of people in a small rural community after a devasting school bus crash.
• Beetlejuice - One of the few films I've enjoyed watching several times. It inspired the song This House is Not For Sale by Ryan Adams. Gawd, I like this song.
• Ghost Town - Ricky Gervais is so dang funny. The scenes with his character interacting with ghosts are hilarious.
• The Lovely Bones - Although the subject matter is extremely sad, the vision it provides of the afterlife is comforting. Incredible special effects.
• What Dreams May Come - OK, I dumped on Robin Williams last week but here he is in the lead role. It seems I have a complicated love - hate relationship with Williams. At the time I saw this, I didn't like the romantic, lost love aspect of the film. But since then, I've often thought about some of the scenes of how afterlife is depicted. The sea of faces...the Matterhorn. Visually amazing.

true that

From today's Post Secret.

True in that acquiring things doesn't seem to create happiness --
only a need to declutter in the future.

The soul mate thing is a bit more complicated.
What is a soul mate anyway?
A rescuer?
Does it have to be human?
Is the rule one soul mate per life?
Do soul mates always recognize each other?

november

leaves on the back deck

party robots

I need this -- especially the cowbell solo & some coffee to get me going today.

Monday Movie -- Hated it!

This week, the Bumbles blog asks us to share the movie that did not please us -- not one bit. Truth is, some films not only do not please but go the extra distance of actually actively displeasing.


This was an easy one for me. I avoid seeing bad films because I'm picky. Because I'm particular, I take precautions like asking my daughter who sees everything and who is also picky (as you would expect of someone with a degree in film studies). So, it makes sense that when I watched the following stinker it was as a captive on a plane.



My most hated film is Bicentennial Man starring Robin Williams. To this day, I'm skeptical of watching a film if Mr. Williams is in the lead role.

I like the part

where he says, "What?"

a birthday surprise

My husband surprised me with a kindle for my birthday.

I tried it on a flight to Austin but on the flight back home to NorCal, I read an actual book I had picked up in Texas. Even though this latest version of kindle has a lot of great features, it's going to take a while until I get used to reading this way.