I haven't had time to look at this thread yet. I hope to catch up later today. Kindle book on sale today - health/nutrition

Kindle book on sale today - memoir/humor

1. Baha'i 2. No, not discouraged from attending an event in a church or other worship building. Not discouraged from attending an event with alcohol. We don't drink, but there is nothing in our religion that states that we cannot attend an event with alcohol.

Kindle book on sale today - memoir - I saw him years ago when I attended the Arsenio Hall show and "Ghost" was being released.

Thank you, as always.

Robin, thank you for the update. So happy for you and your family!

Thank you for reassuring me about not being boring. I sometimes worry about that. Daphne - oh my! Cutest thing ever and those eyes! You have a Jack Russell also! What lovely dogs you have. I love dogs. Mine follows me everywhere I go. He's getting old now and I dread the day when he's no longer with us.

Love your autumn picture! You're right about the narrow street picture. Not sure if the lions are protected or not. I think that I remember reading something about how they've been protected, but now I can't seem to find it.

Robin, hoping that all goes well with the moving! I finished Sense and Sensibility - 4 Stars - In the past several years I have been struggling with classics like you wouldn’t believe and have had a difficult time focusing. It frustrates me since when my two children were small, I went through a phase for about a year or more, where I read and enjoyed classics galore. One would think that I should have struggled then, what with all the distractions, interruptions, and responsibilities. Now that they’re both young adults, it doesn’t make sense that I’m struggling now. Maybe it’s social media. Maybe it’s middle-aged brain fog. Whatever it is, it’s annoying, since I would love to read more classics and get totally blown away by them like I used to. In this case, it wasn’t the book. It was me. I would have to keep going back and re-reading paragraphs because of my lack of focus. Nonetheless, I managed. I got through it. It took me much longer to get through this than usual, but I did it and I’m happy that I stuck with it. My main reason for reading this book is so that we can watch the movie or the BBC adaptation. We’re not sure which one we’ll be watching yet. Maybe both! Although my reading of this book seemed to be going at a glacial pace, the story got better as it went along. On a side note, I loved Austen’s witty comments when she would put down characters that were mean and vain, but I digress. After being treated unkindly by their half-brother, the two sisters (Elinor and Marianne) and their mother move to a smaller house. Marianne and Elinor are complete opposites. Elinor is all about level-headedness, reason, and sense. Marianne is all about emotion and passion. Regardless of their differences, they are close. What me moved me the most with this story is how both sisters undergo change, how they both grow and become better people and learn to find a middle ground. When I was younger, I was more like Marianne, all dramatic and extremely emotional. Now that I’m older, I can relate more to Elinor and feel more balanced, or at least, I strive to be that way! My favorite quotes: “I wish, as well as everybody else, to be perfectly happy; but, like everybody else, it must be in my own way.” “I will be calm. I will be mistress of myself.” “If a book is well written, I always find it too short.” I can't remember which were the last vacation pictures that I shared. I guess that I finished with Barcelona. Now I'll share some from our first day in Granada and night visit to the Alhambra. I hope that I don't bore everyone. First Picture: We've never seen streets as narrow as in Granada. Cars would go through here and as they would approach, we'd have to squeeze into the doorways. Second Picture: The view of Granada from the Alhambra Third Picture: Courtyard of the Lions (Patio de los Leones) - originals from the 14th century

Now I want to go to England. I love all things English. It makes me nostalgic for when I used to live there. All of the things mentioned are great. I also love Crisps. Nobody does chocolate or crisps like the Brits, IMHO. Anything Cadbury's. They're all good. You really can't go wrong. Fortunately, where we live, we get quite a lot of it. Or maybe not, since I always need to lose weight!

Robin, what wonderful news and the pictures look lovely!

I love Bill Bryson! Many of his books have had me snorting with laughter and tears running down my face. Love Dave Barry also. Haven't yet read the other two. This one had me laughing so hard also. Loved it! I loved this one. Others that come to mind: Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron (not as funny as the others mentioned, but I loved it nonetheless)

I loved this book and I've loved pretty much every book that I've read by him. I can't wait to read more.

My ds loves these. I use them a few times a week also. I don't have acne, but I have enlarged pores. They're not cleansing wipes, however. They're excellent acne wipes. For some reason. we can never find them in most drug stores, but we get them from amazon. Wipes are generally not good, since they tug. Paula's Choice is wonderful for most things. Here are their acne products.

Me too! I wonder if the Kindle version is any good. They sometimes mess up with classics. The Kindle version is free, so it's not like I have anything to lose.

Kindle books on sale today. Castle of Water (contemporary fiction) Life and Death in Shanghai (memoir)

Yes, although we did it in reverse. After our stay in Tuscany, we drove to Orvieto, spent one night there, dropped off our rental car, and then took the train to Rome.

Oh my goodness! We were in Spain in May and Italy last year. Both are beautiful. Have you planned any future trips? We seem to have similar taste! Frances. I understand. It is too much for a 10-day trip. I wouldn't be up for it either. I hope that your stress eases up soon. I think that Orvieto would be too far for this trip. Not suitable for 10 days when your starting point is in the U.S.

You mentioned Europe. I say that if you can afford it,. go! You mentioned staying in either a large city and taking day trips OR a smaller town/city and another city for a few nights. The climate in these places should be perfect in September. We usually go in May and the weather is fabulous. * Nice, France and Provence combine perfectly. We spent three or four nights in Nice and then took the train to Avignon. We spent a few nights in Saint-Remy. Provence is heaven on earth. Seriously. We were there in 2017 and barely a day goes by that I don't dream of that place. * Same goes for Italy. You could base in Florence and then head off to the countryside in Tuscany. We did that last year. 5 nights in Florence and 3 nights in Montepulciano. Another case of heaven on earth. OR You could do Rome and then head to Orvieto by train. Right outside Orvieto is this amazing place - Civita. * We've also loved Amsterdam and there are lovely places to go from there for a day trip. * Granada, Spain and Ronda are both lovely as well. We were there in May. The first picture is in Civita, Italy - just outside Orvieto and near Rome. The second picture is Ronda, Spain.

Robin, I hope that you feel better very soon. I'm slowly able to read again. Slowly getting back into it. Thank you all for your prayers and kind thoughts. I just received a book seat thing that I've seen on amazon and that a friend recommended to me. This has been one of my best purchases in the longest while. I wish that I'd gotten it sooner. I can read while lying down and I don't need to use my hands other than when turning a page, or touching my Kindle screen.

Happy Birthday Amy! Hope your day was a wonderful one.

Thank you. I'm doing lots of stretches and just received some books and DVDs that will hopefully help. I can't wait to be able to read again without feeling pain and numbness.

Kindle book on sale today - one that I cannot wait to eventually read!

Robin, Happy Birthday to James! Mumto2, your time at the library sounds like an absolute dream. I'm still unable to read for more than a few minutes at night. Melmichigan - thank you! Mel sent me a gift of an audible book. I plan on listening to it soon and can't wait. Bit of tech trouble at the moment, but hopefully my dh can get it up and running soon. Thank you so much! Thank you all so much for your kind thoughts regarding my pain. I had some X-rays done and saw a fabulous doctor. It turns out that I have cervical spondylosis (also known as cervical osteoarthritis or neck arthritis). He put me on meds for a little while and I just started them. No swimming, no lifting anything heavy, not too much cooking (Yay! A break from cooking!), lots of rest, stretching, and physical therapy (which I really don't want to do again). I have a long way to go to heal. I've had some very rough nights and it's hard to sleep because of the pain. I read that cervical spondylosis is very common and worsens with age. "More than 85 percent of people older than age 60 are affected by cervical spondylosis. Most people experience no symptoms from these problems. When symptoms do occur, nonsurgical treatments often are effective." I managed to finish Nine Essential Things I've Learned About Life - 4 Stars - This is the first book that I’ve read by Harold Kushner and I would love to read more. Any book that reminds me to trust in God is a winner. This was an insightful and comforting read. I would recommend it to anyone who is going through challenging times. I imagine that all his books are this way. I highlighted so many quotes that I loved and there are so many gems in this book. Here are just a few. The rest are below my review on Good Reads. “It isn’t God’s job to make sick people healthy. That’s the doctors’ job. God’s job is to make sick people brave, and in my experience, that’s something God does really well. Prayer, as I understand it, is not a matter of begging or bargaining. It is the act of inviting God into our lives so that, with God’s help, we will be strong enough to resist temptation and resilient enough not to be destroyed by life’s unfairness.” “God’s role is not to make our lives easier, to make the hard things go away, or to do them for us. God’s role is to give us the vision to know what we need to do, to bless us with the qualities of soul that we will need in order to do them ourselves, no matter how hard they may be, and to accompany us on that journey.” “The truth is, life is unfair, and we would do well to come to terms with that fact. Boorish people are blessed with athletic or musical skills that qualify them to earn more money in a year than many of us will earn in our lifetime. Saintly people are struck down by disease before they can use their gifts to help others. The task of religion is not to teach us to bow our heads and accept God’s inscrutable will. It is to help us find the resources to live meaningfully and to go on believing, even in a world where people often don’t get what they deserve.” MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars The book is fantastic. It’s not perfect, since no book is, but it’s definitely a favorite of mine. 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

Stacey, I am so deeply sorry. Praying for all.