Saturday, November 17, 2012

Saturday Snapshot -- November 17th

Welcome to Saturday Snapshot which is hosted by Alyce At Home With Books. Photos can be old or new, and on any given subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don't post random photos you see on the internet.

During my visit to Denali Park last August I was surprised and amazed at the natural vegetation I saw even though it was the height of Fall.  Below are few examples.  

The first two are of a red leaf-berry (I forget the specific name) that are edible, but bitter. 


 According to my guide these purple flowers are the first flower  to bloom in the Spring.  Luckily, a few had    survived in Fall.
 I also learned that wild blueberries are indigenous to the area.   
         They are very tasty!

Monday, November 12, 2012

Mailbox Monday November 12th



Welcome to Mailbox Monday which is hosted this month by Bermuda Onion.  Still continuing my trend of cutting back so last week was another light one.

1) Collateral by Ellen Hopkins. Publisher's Summary. Meet Ashley, a graduate student at San Diego University. She was raised in northern California reading poetry and singing back-up in her best friend’s band. The last thing she ever expected was to end up a military wife. But one night, she meets a handsome Marine named Cole. He doesn’t match the stereotype of the aggressive military man she’d always presumed to be true; he’s passionate and romantic, and he even writes poetry. Their relationship evolves into a deeply felt, sexually charged love affair that goes on for five years and survives four deployments. Cole desperately wants Ashley to marry him, but when she meets another man, a college professor, with similar professional pursuits and values, she begins to see what life might be like outside the shadow of war.

2) Tilt by Ellen Hopkins. Publisher's Summary. Witnessing the fallout from the poor choices their parents make and the lies adults tell themselves, three teens are clinging to the last remnants of the secure and familiar world in which they’ve grown up. But the ground is shifting. What was once clear is now confused. Everything is tilting.

Mikayla is sure she’s found the love her parents seem to have lost, but is suddenly weighing nearly impossible choices in the wake of dashed expectations. Shane has come out, unwilling to lie anymore about who he is, but finds himself struggling to keep it all under control in the face of first love and a horrific loss. Harley, a good girl just seeking new experiences, never expects to hurtle towards self-destructive extremes in order to define who she is and who she wants to be.

Both thanks to Simon & Schuster!

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Saturday Snapshot

Welcome to Saturday Snapshot which is hosted by Alyce At Home With Books. Photos can be old or new, and on any given subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don't post random photos you see on the internet.


Here are a few more photos from my trip to Alaska this summer (I hope I'm not boring you too much, but it really was the trip of a lifetime for me). We were very fortunate on our first day in Denali Park to see an unobstructed Mount McKinley all day. Generally, the mountain is partially or fully obstructed most of the time. In fact, people have visited Denali for years and have missed seeing it. Here are a few photos from that magical day:


Here is a model that shows the side of the mountain that we were able to see.

It was a glorious, crisp day, perfect for viewing the mountain.





Monday, November 5, 2012

Mailbox Monday -- November 5th!



Welcome to Mailbox Monday which is hosted today by Bermuda Onion. Last week was a light week for me with only one book, but it is all good because it is one that I really want to read (and I will have to wait until my usually non-reader stepdaughter reads it first -- now how cool is that!):

1) Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Publisher's Summary. Standing on the fringes of life . . . Offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

Since its publication, stephen chbosky’s haunting debut novel has received critical acclaim, provoked discussion and debate, grown into a cult phenomenon with over a million copies in print, and inspired a major motion picture. The perks of being a wallflower is a story about what it’s like to travel that strange course through the uncharted territory of high school. The world of first dates, family dramas, and new friends. Of sex, drugs, and the rocky horror picture show. Of those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.

Personal purchase.