Friday's Fave Fives - 16/8/24

Susanne keeps us on track reminding us every Friday to think about our blessings from the week.  You can find out more/join in/read posts from others taking part here.  Thanks Susanne.

It's hard to watch the news these days with all the troubles we've had here recently but these seem minor when compared with what people in some countries are facing every day so I'm going back to basics this week:

1)  I'm thankful Hubby and I are in good health.  We may have our aches and pains and I'm having to be more aware of his hearing difficulties but they are all minor - plus we have good healthcare facilities should we need them.

2)  We have a roof over our heads and even if it should spring a leak we would be able to fix it.

3)  We can put food on the table and don't have to stress about when the next meal might be.

4)  We can cool ourselves down if it gets hot and keep ourselves warm when it turns cold.

5)  And on days when you receive upsetting news I can take myself for a walk around the lake and spot these two Egyptian geese in a tree!

Or check Mummy swan still has all 8 cygnets 

Not the best pictures but there are definitely still 8 cygnets!

And, apparently, according to my Fitbit I can even walk on water!

Have a good weekend all.

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 14/8/24

Wednesday's Hodgepodge is hosted by Joyce at "From this side of the pond".  Pop over to see who else is joining in the fun.

Well it's been a while since I did one of these but the weather is so hot here at the moment that blogging is preferable to trying to tick off anything on the to do list of chores etc.  So here we go:

1.What was the best (or one of the best) summers of your life? Tell us why. 

The summer of 1984 which was the year we got married.  Our wedding was in June and we had a lovely hot sunny day.  We took a honeymoon in Austria and then we started really getting to know one another - annoying habits and all lol.  That was 40 years ago now.

2. When you have a trip coming up do you make a list and check it twice to ensure you don't forget anything? Or are you a 'throw whatever you can think of into the suitcase at the last minute' kind of packer? When returning from a trip do you unpack immediately or leave the suitcase right where it lands? 

Definitely a list maker on a trip anywhere new but less so if I'm going anywhere familiar.  Although despite the list I can still be a bit of a last minute packer.  As for unpacking that probably depends on what time we get back and how long we've been travelling for.  Unpacking isn't something I stress over but I do like to do it sooner rather than later.

3. What's your favourite food or beverage made with lemons? Is that a flavour you enjoy? 

Favourite food - Lemon drizzle cake. 

I'm not a fan of lemon beverages - don't even think about putting it in tea!  Of course I drink lemonade but the sort we get from the supermarket here bears no resemblance to home made lemonade.

4. When was the last time you had to make lemonade out of lemons, figuratively speaking I mean? 

I've never made lemonade and I'm trying to think of a figurative example - probably when hosting a "ladies lunch" here and my glass casserole dish broke into pieces and I definitely had to improvise although I can't remember what we ended up eating.

5. Did you like school growing up? Why or why not? 

I did like school but not sure I loved it.  I was a shy child with a few close friends and always tried to please.  Thankfully I was never bullied though.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

The question on packing has reminded me that I need to make a list!  We're going away soon for our annual big family get together.

Book Review - Sing you Home - Jodie Picoult

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Apologies for a bit of a spoiler here.

This book is about Zoe and her quest to become a mother. Due to her own infertility issues and those of her husband, Max, they have struggled to have a child. Following successful IVF treatment they are finally looking forward to having a child when disaster strikes at 28 weeks and the baby is stillborn.

Max's response is to request a divorce.

After the divorce Zoe falls in love again, with Ness, a woman. They get married and plan to use 3 frozen embryos from Zoe's final IVF cycle to try for a baby. In the meantime Max has become a born again Christian and, greatly influenced by his Church, decides to contest this, planning to give the embryos to his brother and sister-in-law who have also had fertility problems.

A law suit follows.

I love how Picoult's books address a difficult issue and try to portray both sides of the debate. They usually seem well researched and have depth. Even a few twists along the way. This book has all of that and whilst I would feel confident on talking on one side of this debate (same sex marriage and children) I certainly don't have enough experience of the other side portrayed in the book (devout Christians) to say whether Picoult's portrayal of them is accurate. Because of that, and the time frame of some events I couldn't give it 5 stars.

The book was written in 2011. Hopefully the situation is better for same sex couples now but I fear it is not.

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Book Review - The Exchange - John Grisham

The Exchange: After The Firm by John Grisham
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What became of Mitch and Abby McDeere after they exposed the crimes of Memphis law firm Bendini, Lambert & Locke and fled the country?

The answer is in The Exchange, the sequel to The Firm, the blockbuster thriller that launched John Grisham's career.

It is now fifteen years later, and Mitch and Abby are living in Manhattan, where Mitch is a partner at the largest law firm in the world. When a mentor in Rome asks him for a favor that will take him far from home, Mitch finds himself at the center of a sinister plot that has worldwide implications—and once again endangers his colleagues, friends, and family. Mitch has become a master at staying one step ahead of his adversaries, but this time there’s nowhere to hide.

I usually enjoy Grisham's books and I particularly enjoyed "The Firm" so I was bound to enjoy this sequel wasn't I? Well I did enjoy the fast pace of the book, the complexities. It's definitely a thriller. But....it could have been written with any main characters. The linking back to events in "The Firm" were superfluous in my opinion and I was waiting for a big twist tying the two stories together which never happened.

You also need to accept that some of the events in the book defy reality and be prepared for some graphic descriptions of executions. Having said that I gave it 3 stars as I stayed up late into the night to finish it.

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