End of July Already.

Doing a quick catch up here. Hoping to get out over the weekend as it’s going to be a tropical 15/16 degrees C. (60 degrees F). And the sun should shine a bit. 

BOOKS

I just finished the latest book by Elizabeth Strout, The Things We Never Say. 

The blurb: 

Artie Dam is a man with a secret. He spends his days teaching history to high schoolers, expanding their young minds, correcting their casual cruelties, and lending a kind word to those who need it most. He goes to holiday parties with his wife of three decades, makes small talk with neighbours, and, on weekends, takes his sailboat out on the beautiful Massachusetts Bay. He is, by all appearances, present and alive. But inside, Artie is plagued by feelings of isolation. He looks out at a world gone mad-at himself and the people around him-and turns a question over and over in his mind: how is it that we know so little about one another, even those closest to us?

And then, one day, Artie learns that life has been keeping a secret from him, one that threatens to upend his entire world. Once he learns it, he is forced to chart a new course, to reconsider the relationships he holds most dear-and to make peace with the mysteries at the heart of our existence.

What I thought of it:

I thought it was a good read but not as good as the Olive Kitteridge series she wrote. I thought the story was pretty good and of course I always love her realistic character development. I think she’s great with characters but the overall book I thought was a little uneven. But I would recommend it for a light read.

I’ve just started reading A Month in the Country  by J. L. Carr for book club and I am enjoying that so far. Our group meets next week to discuss that book. 

LIFE:

Sadly we lost another friend in the past couple of weeks. This month has been quite the month for sad news.  I hope we are finished with winter sadness. I am ready for spring happiness, if it ever gets here. 

PHOTOGRAPHY

Our photography group had a fun excursion last week. Ten of us went to the tip shop. A tip is a dump. A refuse centre. The tip shop is where people donate things they no longer want or want to recycle. It’s too good for landfill. It’s the last stop for useable items.

Our mission was to make photos that tell a story. We had some interesting photos. Everyone has posted their photos up on our club Facebook page and we’ll show them on the big screen at our next meeting.  On Sunday we plan on going down to the waterfront to get abstract types of photos. No doubt I’ll get distracted by scenery and landscape but I’m sure I can find some more abstract type of things. 

Next week is the big Bullock festival in Oatlands, about an hour’s drive from here. Not sure I’ll make it up there. It runs the whole weekend and the bullocks are amazing animals. The residents hold a big parade through the main road. 

Enjoy the photos and I look forward to seeing what reading you get up to. By the way, next week I will share the random Penguin book that came up this week. I need to read it first. Have a good week and weekend. 

From the tip shop-

Penguin loves a bargain.