You are the Beloved - Henri J. M. Houwen

Although raised in the Methodist Church and a constant church-goer until my junior year in high school, I do not consider myself Christian. So this book might come as a bit of a surprise as one I requested to review.

Set up as daily meditations on various aspects of life, I found them quite enjoyable. It was easy to replace some of the terminologies with a more generic meaning, or a meaning more suited to my personal beliefs. I also feel one shouldn't hold another's beliefs against them. They are valid to that person and as long as they aren't forcing them on me - blessed be.

Another reason I wanted the book is to forward on to a good friend of mine who is very interested in religion and is strong in her Christian faith. I think it will make a nice gift to pass along.

I enjoyed the quick read on a daily basis and they give you something to think about, regardless of your leanings.

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

Mandala Monday

Not a mandala, but I loved the tone this picture made when I put it through a filter with the Portra app. Despite some of the negative reviews, I didn't have an issue at all with it. The only problem I had was to stop playing with it on the pictures on my phone!

Personally, I think this picture conjures up a great book idea.

Week In Review - November 5 - 11

This morning I finally 'played' with the Portra app on my phone.  Don't pay any attention to the negative reviews, as I had zero issues with it. Other than wanting to go through all my pictures and play with it. 

I am behind on my NaNoWriMo writing. Don't understand it, as I was so jazzed to get started. But when it came time to actually put words on paper, wasn't happening. Part of it I feel is I need 'alone' time to write. I can't write at home if others are running around. But I can go to a coffee shop or the library and write. Go figure. Anyway, will attempt to play catch up this coming week.

I'm blaming this face for the problem with being behind in my writing. She was home for two days last week (and several the week before) with pneumonia. Not enough to make her feel bad and lay in bed, just enough to give her a cough and not being able to go to school and spread it around to everyone else. So selfish!

Part of Monday and all of Tuesday morning was spent making 120 mini-cupcakes with roses. A lot of damn roses and icing. But they turned out nicely and were appreciated by Savvy and Jensen Jewelers.

And with the onset of cold weather and snow, I have been feeding the entire sparrow population of Helena, plus a few friends. We have had seagulls and now crows came to partake of my stale bread I threw out. The snow has stopped and nothing in the forecast for any this coming week. It will give a chance for the rest of the snow to melt.

Otherwise this week...

• Potted up my amaryllis for my contribution to Christmas decorating. They are already starting to put out the stem and leaves...barely.
• Did a bit of Christmas gift sewing
• Some crocheting on my Corner-to-Corner afghan
• Bundled up a trash bag of scraps to move on
• Had my permanent crown put on my broken tooth
• Saw Murder on the Orient Express with a good friend
• Got a ton of laundry sorted and put up (mostly)

So for the coming week...

• Catch up on NaNoWriMo
• Clean plants out of bay window and put up window cover to help stop cold air leaking in
• Attend Orchid Society meeting
• More crocheting while binge-watching Midnight Texas. I'm hoping they didn't butcher it like they did her Sookie Stackhouse vampire series.
• Going to see Thor: Ragnarok at the movies Tuesday (discount day)
• Working the Turkey Challenge at our local library (taking in turkeys for the local food bank)
• Punch Class Saturday at Gulch Distillers
• Lots of reading (huge stack of books at hand)

But for now...

More coffee, some oatmeal, and fresh fruit salad for breakfast.

The Comic Book Story of Video Games

We are a gamer household. 

My daughters grew up on Zelda and the Pokemon games. I still think the first Bomberman was one of the best. My oldest daughter met her fiance playing World of Warcraft and we still play. We have owned and currently own, different platforms for gaming.

So, Jonathan Hennessey's The Comic Book Story of Video Games was right up our alley. Especially since graphic novels are also a passion in our household.

This was more a walk down memory lane for me as I remember going to the local 7-Eleven to play Joust. 

It was fun to read about how various games evolved and (cringing) how many I and my family have played over the years. 

In full color, even non-readers will love this book. However, it did make me sad to think about all the money I have spent over the past few decades on consoles and games.

This is a great book for the gamer in your life!

 "I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."