TTT 092920

 

I'm pooped. Hard day today with lots of moving boxes and things. I feel as if I walked 18 holes in hundred degree heat and 90% humidity. Why I'm so late.

Favorite Book Quotes:

1. "The object of war is peace. Preferably a better peace after the war than before." Basil Liddel Hart Strategy.

2. "Behind every successful man is a good woman, and a surprised mother-in-law." Harry Truman Plain Speaking.

3. "You know, Satan has a bad reputation, but you have to say something good about someone who can control half of the world's population and all of the politicians." Mark Twain Tonight.

4. "Golf is a pleasant walk spoiled by a little white ball." Anonymous.

Rest in Peace

 

My mother the day she brought me home from the hospital. 1932-2020.

WC 092320

 

Favorite things to do in autumn.

Cottonwoods

Enjoy the colors.

Golf: No better time to hit the links. Winter too cold, Spring too windy and Summer too hot. Fall is the best weather.

Paako Ridge on the east side of the Sandia Mountains.

I broke my hand and wrenched my back in a fall four years ago and can't play anymore, real bummer.

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. Every year, until this one, we have the largest balloon gathering in the world. There are balloons from other countries as well as tourists from all over the world. Every day for nine days there will be a hundred thousand people for the morning ascension and another crowd for the balloon glow in the evening with fireworks after words. 

Taking walks in the morning. The air is crisp, not cold and the air is fresh. Alas the last few years smoke from forest fires have made this pleasant activity hit and miss.

Vacation. Since we retired we like to travel to visit family in Kansas and Oklahoma, or visit sites in New Mexico. This is a spider at White Sands, NM where we went last year. We stayed in Ruidoso, visited the sands. Drove through the Valley of Fire north of Carrizozo, which is a valley covered in lava. And spent time at the Very Large Array. Which is a radio telescope east of Socorro.

Apples: Orchards all over the state sell Champagne, Winesap, Jonathan, Rome, and Red Delicious varieties. There is nothing better than fresh apples by the bushel.

Hatch Chile. Red chile makes wonderful Carne Adovada or pulled pork marinated in it. Green Chile is great on cheese burgers. There is tourista that is mild up to fire eaters that will strip the paint off your car. Both make for great enchiladas, tacos, tamales, pasole, burritos, stuffed sopapillas.

Arts and Craft fairs. Many of schools in town and the State Fair Grounds hold them with all kinds of arts, crafts, food and you name it available. Alas, not happening this year.

For all the apple lovers out there. Free Ebook at Amazon. 09/24/20 through 09/28/20.

TTT 092220

 Today's topic is my fall TBR list.

Tony Roberts has a new Casca book coming out. This was his last one. 

He has another for his Kastania Series. This was the sixth the seventh is due soon. 

Lastly another installment in his Dark Blade series. He finished his Siren Series.

Also waiting for the latest installment by Joseph Badal.

Hospice

 Today I made the decision to place my mother in hospice. She's been ailing since the middle of August. She's moving in with my family, and I have ten days before having to have all her belongings moved into storage from her apartment.

All that I'm going to have to do when she's gone is staggering. I expected my brother would be able to came and help, but he's out of state and New Mexico has a 14 day quarantine. 

WC 091620

 

This week is a book or books where you had to look up the most words.

My college professor, Mrs. Carter, in American Literature cautioned us when reading Emily Dickenson's poetry that "She wrote with lexicon in hand." It wasn't hyperbole.

Each book in the First Man in Rome series comes with a glossary at the end. Read it first. So much of the terms and Latin words and town names are explained there. Even after reading the glossary while going through the story I would check on some words and town or province names.

A fellow Wayland graduate, a couple of years ahead of me. He was a professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and fired as too liberal when the fundamentalists took over. This was his response. Typical professor using a ten dollar word when a fifty cent one says the same thing.

This book is another one where the author is impeccably impressed with the longitudinity, magnitudnity and importnatudnity of his own verbosity.

I also hate it when the author writes pages on the nuances of a foreign language word by bloody word of a sentence. He makes his case on Socrates's reasons for staying and dying instead of going into exile. I always assumed it was to get away from Xantippe's nagging tongue.  

TTT 091520

 

Today's topic is about book covers.

There are some books I bought because something caught my eye on the cover.

A pretty face in uniform, a space epic with sailing ships in dark matter. I've read six of them so far and waiting for the seventh. The face is what caught my attention.

What caught my eye on this one was the color.

I bought this  one because I like the title.The cover made me wonder what it was about.

I also blog with the author.

Sometimes some cleavage sells me the book. The subject matter interested me too.

Sometimes book covers get updated. They can be quite different. Which one would you buy?

Some authors have a theme going on in their book covers.

My worst nightmare

 

WC 090920

 

Topics I never get tired of talking about.

 

Hmmm, I taught history for 27 years. World history, U.S. History, New Mexico history, military history. I write historical novels. My wife rolls her eyes and tells anyone around us if history comes up and says, “Don’t get him started.”

 

Books: Why I love Top Ten Tuesdays and Wednesday Challenge is it’s all about books and talking about them. In fiction there’s: children’s books, young adult, science fiction, fantasy, murder mystery, thrillers, horror, romance, erotica, historical and more that all of us share our likes and dislikes.

Non-fiction: the topics are as endless as topics people are interested in. I like history, science, psychology, sociology, how to, gardening, and others as they pop up and catch my eye.

 

Faith: I’m willing to share my faith, if asked or the topic comes up, but I don’t force my beliefs on others and resent when someone tries to force theirs on me.

 

Here’s a tip to all the women who wonder, “How do you get a man to talk to you and share what’s on their mind?” My mother told this to my wife, and I wish she hadn’t? Mom told her to, “Put a paint brush in my hand, and while we’re painting the outside of the house or the inside, I’ll talk my head off.”

Do you have any idea how many times we’ve painted the house in the last forty years? It would have been so much cheaper and less time consuming if she’d said, “Pick a topic, ask a question and let me pontificate.”

TTT 090820

 

Books I wish I'd read as a child? 

This one stumped me for some time. The only children's books I can think of is Dr. Seuss.

Green Eggs and Ham, The Fox in Sox and the others I read to my kids and grandkids. They're great, but if they were around in the early 50's, my parents didn't read them to us. I vaguely remember The Cat in the Hat in grade school, but it didn't make that big of an impact on me.

Three children's books that came out as I was older that I like:

The Velveteen Rabbit

The Little Engine that Could

Alexander and the No Good Very Bad Day.

Mom and Dad read to us plenty. When we would take long rides Mom would start a story, Bruce (my brother) would continue it and Dad would finish it. It helped pass the time.

 We had fairy tales and a children's poem book. I looked up the one I remember most:

This Is the Way the Ladies Ride

This is the way the ladies ride,
Tri, tre, tre, tree,
Tri, tre, tre, tree!
This is the way the ladies ride,
Tri, tre, tre, tre, tri-tre-tre-tree!

This is the way the gentlemen ride,
Gallop-a-trot,
Gallop-a-trot!
This is the way the gentlemen ride,
Gallop-a-gallop-a-trot!

This is the way the farmers ride,
Hobbledy-hoy,
Hobbledy-hoy!
This is the way the farmers ride,
Hobbledy-hobbledy-hoy!

 My backyard flowers:

Gladiolas before blooming.

Zinnias

Fox Glove

Gladiolas in full bloom

Two planters with various flowers

WC 090220

 

Topics that make me stop reading.

These are some things that make me put a book down.

 

1.     Gross descriptions. If it makes me want to throw up, forget it.

2.     Gore. Why I avoid most horror stories.

3.     Excessive description of clothing, flora and fauna, food, furniture, etc.

4.     Repetitive sexual encounters. It spices up a story, but if there are multiple episodes it gets boring. Doesn't apply to erotica.

5.     Gratuitous violence. There doesn't need to be an excessive body count. A person's death need to have emotion about the person.

6.     Excessive internal dialogue. Someone thinking things though for pages and pages before asking a question or answering one.

7.     Angst. Pages and pages of self-doubt, guilt, recriminations.

8.     Rant books. Someone going on and on about how they feel life is so unfair and how hard they have it.

9.     Historical novels with faulty history. Know the time period. Do your research.

10.  Formula. Every detective gets suspended just when they're about to solve the case. When in a small space someone has to have claustrophobia and flips out. Splitting up in a haunted house. False scares.