Reading again

As my plane was landing in Atlanta I realized I absolutely needed another book. I had been reading "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett, and finished it minutes before the plane landed. First stop is always the bathroom, but I knew I couldn't spend hours on a plane headed for San Francisco with nothing to do or read.

I had lugged The Help from home all the way to Tennessee and was hoping to finish it while I was there so I could leave it. I didn't get a lot of reading time. I thought of leaving it anyway and picking up a copy once I got back, but in the end I stuffed it in my carry-on bag and devoured the last 30 pages or so from Tri-Cities to Atlanta.

I was traveling alone, so the level of boredom was high. I guess I could have just as easily paid for a movie on the flight, but I knew that would only last for two hours max, and I had another 4 hours, plus a layover in San Francisco, plus that last leg of flight to Seattle.

I enjoy novels, but my reading moods come and go. My desire to read usually coincides with the amount of time I have to dedicate to a book. Sometimes I have one book on my nightstand, and other times I've had at least four, all with bookmarks sandwiched between the pages.

I bought "State of Wonder" by Ann Patchett when I landed in Atlanta. I quickly found a kiosk with books and had to make a hasty choice as I was on a short layover and had to get to my gate.

"State of Wonder" had just arrived, the girl at the checkout stand said. She didn't know anything about it, but for me it was the most appealing of the small selection. I don't read vampire books, I wasn't in the mood for a biography, and I wanted something completely different from "The Help."

I'm mid-way through it.  So far I am enjoying the characters and can relate to the women in the book. It's about a scientist who is sent to get information about the ETA of a drug being developed by another scientist in the Amazon. The last guy the company sent down to get information ended up dead.

"The Help" was not what I would call great literature, but it was definitely a fun read. It was fast, and I liked the way the story was told. The voices of each character were so clear for me. I haven't seen the movie, and I'm not so sure I want to. I've got my own image of each of those women and I don't think Hollywood can do it justice.

Last night I watched Charlie Rose with Robert Caro. I was intrigued by his information about Lyndon B. Johnson, and I plan to read his series of books. It was fascinating to listen to him talk about his research for the latest book in the series, "Passage of Power."

It's always a little awkward when I have been absent for a while. Kind of like showing up for class after skipping for a couple of days. You hate to overdo the explanation of your absence, but you feel that accusing glare as you take your seat.

Here are some pics of some of the things we've been doing for a couple of months.

We built a chicken coop and were still nailing the wire into place on Easter.

These little ones are the latest addition to the coop. Austrolorps and I can't remember what kind the red one is. These little ones have grown quickly. One of them is very social and comes right up to us. It likes to stand on our finger. One of them is a rooster. He doesn't know it yet, and I'm not sure if we're keeping him. We really only need one...

These were the first bunch of chickens. The golden ones are from the same batch and are Buff Orpingtons. The smaller one is a lavender Orpington, and turns out he's a rooster. The lavender ones are more rare, and he's the one we'll keep if we can only deal with one rooster. They've all grown quickly, and I'll ad some new photos soon. I can't tell the golden ones apart except for one that still has some baby feathers around her neck. She is kind of unpredictable, and I named her Juanita. Each one has a unique personality.
We hope to have some eggs by next month.

These guys showed up and worked on our property for quite some time. We logged a couple of acres of the land, and cleared some at the back to open it up for sun. We want a pasture and hope to have a couple of pasture animals in the near future. No cows, though. I don't want any large pasture animals. Too much poo.

Dave and Jewel graduated from college this year, and I took a short trip to Tennessee to be there for the ceremonies. It was so great to get away and enjoy some time there with family and friends.

On  my last full day there we took a little trip to the lake house to enjoy a day on the lake. It was raining when we headed out, so we stopped off at Brown's in Hampton to look around and wait for the weather to improve.

We brought the kayaks and met up with Dave and Grace, stopped off at Chik-fil-A for a chicken biscuit breakfast, and were on our way.

It turned out to be a beautiful day and perfect weather for a day on the lake. I had never been kayaking and I loved it. I am already shopping.

I love this little girl! I had so much fun spending time with her. She is so precious.

Dave and I stopped off for lunch at Applebee's so I could say goodbye to Jewel before he dropped me off at the airport. She had to work that day. I miss them all already. Can't wait to go back.