November was given over to taking care of my husband as he recovered from his hip replacement surgery (he's fine and back at work now). My regular routine was a bit changed, though the change was not unwelcome - having the hubster home, especially once he started to feel like himself again, was a treat.

Please accept my apologies for the awful errors in last month's review post - I have no idea how such an ugly post got through - I must have released it during a bout of insomnia or something. I hope that this one will more accurately reflect my ability to proofread.

Books read in 75 Book Challenge (103); Books Read in Chunkster Challenge (which ended November 15, 2009) (23). Pages Read in Challenge (36,253)

And so, on with the reviews. Enjoy!

( Reviews are Under Here )


My favorite in November was TESTAMENT OF FRIENDSHIP, and other highlights were AFFINITY and TALES OF THE CITY. I was disappointed by Jane Heller and P.D. James.

CR: Schindler's List, by Thomas Keneally

x-posted at various places

Back in the Day: 5 TV Shows You Loved As A Kid

* Looney Tunes
* Happy Days
* Bewitched
* Brady Bunch
* Little House on the Prairie


Who Would Be Your Leading Man/Woman?

* Dr. Sam Beckett (Quantum Leap)
* Captain Archer (Star Trek: Enterprise)
* Chandler Bing (Friends)
* Ricky Ricardo (I Love Lucy)
* B.J. Hunnicutt (M*A*S*H)

Wow: 5 TV Moments You Still Remember (And Probably Won’t Forget)

* The episode after Edith Bunker's death in All in the Family
* The final episode of M*A*S*H
* Love's Labor Lost - when I knew ER was going to be amazing
* The last sequence in the final episode of Six Feet Under
* hearing Peter Jennings say "I don't want to understand them; I want to blow them to hell" regarding the attackers, during his news coverage of the 9/11 attacks


"Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs": 5 TV Theme Songs You Know (and Love) By Heart

* I'll Be There For You
* Quantum Leap
* St. Elsewhere
* Homefront
* I Love Lucy (and She Loves Me)

Eh: 5 Shows You Just Can't Get Into

* Two and a Half Men
* American Idol, or any of the "talent" shows for that matter
* Gilmore Girls
* Buffy
* Dexter

The Starting Line-Up: 5 Channels You Go To First When You Sit Down to Watch TV

* Paramount Comedy
* BBC 4
* Bio
* History Channel
* Blighty

This Is An Environment of Welcoming, and You Should Just Get the Hell Out Of Here: 5 TV Characters You Could Do Without

* Billy Chenowith (Six Feet Under)
* Dr. Simon Brenner (ER)
* (can't think of another three - usually if I hate a character, I hate the show)

That’s What She Said: 5 Quotes That Still Resonate

* "The instrument has not been invented that can measure my indifference to that remark.” - Hawkeye Pierce
* "A mistake? Where did you mean to put it, in her purse?" - Rachel Green
* "Will Rogers never met you, did he?" Col. Potter
* "You're demonstrating all the efficiency of a one-legged man at a butt-kicking contest!" - Col. Potter
* "Ever since we said "I Do" there are so many things we don't." - Lucy Ricardo

Gimme More: 5 Shows You Can Never Get Enough Of

* M*A*S*H
* I Love Lucy
* Scrubs
* The Daily Show
* Stephen Colbert

It's been a while since I've spammed my friends, but I wanted to wait until it was worth it. We're having an enormous sale at When Love Comes In, in order to make room for new inventory. There are almost 40 auctions currently active, about half of which are scrapbooking items. Then there's some gorgeous jewelry, and a few other special treasures, all priced to clear just because, as nice as these things are, we just don't have room for them any more.

In addition to all of that, we've marked down about 70 in stock items and they are shown as sale pieces for your purchasing pleasure. Shop a lot, so that we can put in some new stuff for you to see.

When Love Comes In

Here are some nifty photos of the pretty things being offered

Wordworth published an article I've written about the treasures that appear in the "pre-owned" books I read.  I had great fun writing the piece, and I hope that others will enjoy reading.

Unexpected Literary Treasures

Stay tuned, because soon there will be an article from the same publication wherein I offer tips on how to plan a wedding and still love one another after the confetti's been swept up.

(Edited to fix link.)

October was a busy month, and I didn't require a lot of demanding reading of myself.  I spent a good deal of time in hospital waiting rooms and on buses, so I didn't want to haul around giant tomes.  Because everything was so "light," I finished ten books during the course of the month, but it was quantity over quality, I'm afraid.  

Books read in 75 Book Challenge (92); Books Read in Chunkster Challenge (21) Pages Read in Challenge (32,406)

October was a busy month, and I didn't require a lot of demanding reading of myself.  I spent a good deal of time in hospital waiting rooms and on buses, so I didn't want to haul around giant tomes.  Because everything was so "light," I finished ten books during the course of the month, but it was quantity over quality, I'm afraid.  

Books read in 75 Book Challenge (92); Books Read in Chunkster Challenge (21) Pages Read in Challenge (32,406)

I was out of the country when September turned to October, and I'm still somewhat jetlagged, so bear with me.  Even as I was travelling, I kept reading, mostly due to the fact that several of the books in my luggage were earmarked for friends I was meeting on the road.  It wasn't the most literarily exciting month, but it had its moments.  I did meet the 75 book goal that I set for myself at the start of the year, and added two more chunksters to my book pile. 

I gave up on Wuthering Heights, which I was reading on DailyLit - the characters were so loathsome that I canceled the subscription to that title.  The Moonstone is waiting for me when I'm feeling more awake. 

Books read in 75 Book Challenge (82); Books Read in Chunkster Challenge (19) Pages Read in Challenge (29,043)

Due to my US adventures, I missed the actual week in celebration of reading all things targeted by jerkfaces, but for me, every week is Banned Books Week.  I'm hard pressed to think of a favorite title, from Huckleberry Finn to The Grapes of Wrath to To Kill a Mockingbird, that hasn't been challenged by some doofus who wants to dictate what others read just because all their own books require crayons for complete enjoyment.  (Passionate about the issue?  Me?  What gave you that idea?)  

In any event, this interesting list showed up on book_memes  and I've been looking for time to make a post on it for myself.  Today is the day, you lucky things. 

Bold the books you've read & liked or loved
Strike the books you've read but didn't enjoy
Italicise the books you want to read
(optional: any books on this list you feel ought to be challenged? Tell us why!)

The whole post is image-heavy, so most of it is under a cut - please click to see the wedding-y goodness.

I can't believe how quickly the time has passed.  I woke up today remembering all the dear friends:

( Photos of Wedding-Day Friends )
The laughter:
( Wedding Day Silliness )
And, most of all, the love
( Wedding Day Love )
This was the ceremony I had dreamed of since I was a little girl playing dress up.  

I had a few hopes for 10 October 2007:  

There was to be nothing that appeared in every other wedding I'd attended (no Ave Maria, no interchangeable, cookie-cutter gown, no unity candle - everybody does those things; I wanted our day to be unique). 

I wanted my guests to be participants, not viewers.  Thus they blessed our rings and had vows of their own to give. 

I had to be comfortable.  I wasn't going to spend the whole day saying "I can't breathe" or "my feet are bleeding."  

It had to be FUN. 

Thanks to the man I chose for my lifemate, and the friends with whom I am blessed, these hopes were the easiest thing in the world to fulfill.  Our day was infused with smiles, downright silliness, and deep, abiding love.  That this was only the first of our two ceremonies gave us a great idea of what to expect for our Scottish wedding (stay tuned on 9 November for remembrances of that day).  Little did I know that that glorious day was only the beginning of wondrous times for me.  Counting my blessings requires math skills that are quite out of my reach. 

For all of you who might not have been on my FList back when history was made, here's a link to all the photos - we tried to make a storybook out of it, including the vows, readings and other memories, so that those who couldn't attend could feel as if they were a part of it. 

And one final thought: