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Peacefield

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Everything posted by Peacefield

  1. We land on 31st August and will be driving ALL over the UK and Ireland so you never know where we'll show up! Don't worry, I've been watching lots of YouTube videos
  2. It's very different here in the US since we have so many people living in rural areas, but I can see where a car wouldn't be needed if one lived in a big city like Chicago, NY or DC, where a person could go everywhere on the train. I've driven since I was 16 and am probably on my 6th car that I've owned. Where I live now is a small town out in the middle of corn fields and the only train by me is a freight train. If I wanted to go into the city, which is an hour away, I'd have to drive. Or at least drive to another town where I could catch a bus. I guess it's all about convenience for me, and the freedom to go where I want when I want. We were planning on taking the trains/buses in the UK when we visit in a couple of weeks, but realized it will be easier to get a car so we don't have to plan our itinerary around the transport schedules. Of course none of us have driven in the UK before, so FYI everyone, beware!
  3. Sounds like you all had lovely weekends. Talisman, what did you think of the GoT premiere? I met with my friends over the weekend so we could finalize all of our trip plans. All airline tickets, 10 hotels, and 2 car rentals are now booked. We just have a few extra things to get like tickets for Chatsworth, Eilean Donan castle, and exhibit tickets at the Dublin Natl Gallery of Art. We're very excited that there will be a ver Meer show going on while we're there :).
  4. Was anyone able to catch the season premiere of GoT last night? I mostly loved it, and the opening scene was the best they've done yet, IMO.
  5. Congrats on your retirement, Willoyd! Consider me extremely jealous! Lovely reviews, and I was especially glad to see that you enjoyed The Lady and the Unicorn. This is one of my most favorite books and one of the genres that I'm drawn to constantly. Creating tapestries really is an art!
  6. Gorgeous kitty! She looks very content Loopholes and book-buying go hand in hand! And absolutely acceptable
  7. Hey, guys! Happy Monday I'm on the home stretch of The Well of Lost Plots and am also listening to The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. That was is a re-"read" but I love it so much and I find that listening to books that I've already read works better for me while I'm working, since I have an idea what the story is. I went to a library book sale over the weekend and found Copper River by William Kent Krueger, Saints and Strangers by George F. Willison and a book I've been tempted to buy many times over, Bring Warm Clothes, which is a collection of letters and journal entries describing Minnesota's history since before statehood and after. Saints and Strangers is about the Pilgrims and their history in England before coming to the US and then once they land on Plymouth Rock :D. My trip planning is almost complete! I have booked our car hires for the UK and Ireland, and have booked B&Bs in Southampton, Derby, and York. Not to mention our stay at Melville Castle in Edinburgh! We'll be spending 2 nights in Southampton so we can explore all of the Dorset coast, and then in Derby so we can visit Chatsworth House (yay, Pemberly!). We also want to see the York Minster and the Major Oak in the Sherwood Forest. We have added the Island of Skye to our itinerary and will also be in Dublin for 2 nights right in the middle of the city. Lastly, before we fly back to LHR, we'll be in the counties of Clare, Cork and Kerry in Ireland. Those hotels/B&Bs are all booked so all that's left is the rest of our Scottish itinerary. It's all just too exciting!
  8. Hmm, my top 5 would probably be... 1. Little House on the Prairie - Laura Ingalls Wilder 2. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery 3. Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett 4. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret - Judy Blume 5. Black Beauty - Anna Sewell
  9. Wow, Talisman, that IS an excellent deal for an apt! I would love to visit Croatia one day and am looking forward to hearing how your trip went. We are going to be in England, Scotland and Ireland for a little over 2 weeks. Last night we managed to book our car hire in Ireland for 3 days, our ferry tickets from Holyhead to Dublin, and our airline tickets from Cork to Heathrow, which is the day before we come home. We are pretty much doing a big clockwise circle of travel. We still have most of the hotels to book, but have so far booked B&Bs in Derby and Southampton. Oh, and we booked rooms in Melville Castle in Edinburgh for a night! We're very excited! Have fun organizing your books, Athena, and you as well with the rubbish, Chesil! I hope everyone has a lovely weekend.
  10. Beautiful cross stitch, Noll, I love all the colors! I'm so sorry about not getting the study course you wanted. May I ask why you have to be unemployed to take it? Also, if you end up going the online/evening class route, do they have student loans in Ireland that you can take out? We have those here and don't have to pay them back until after we are graduated. Just curious!
  11. I'm interested to hear what you think about this one, Lau-Lou. A few of my family members are crazy about DD and might like a fun read I was about to read quite a bit of The Well of Lost Plots this weekend, so am about halfway. I also started to listening to the audio book of Shades of Grey (also Jasper Fforde) while working. Enjoying both immensely~
  12. Morning, all, and happy halfway-to-the-weekend. It's very warm and humid here as well, and is currently thundering and lightning outside but not raining, curiously enough. I was at the cabin this weekend and came home yesterday in time for my town's firework display. I enjoy celebrating the Independence Day holiday, mostly because it's a personal thanks to my ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary, Civil, and World Wars, because without them I might not be here posting on BCF I'm off to the cities tomorrow for an appt and then a trip planning session with my friends. We are finalizing all of our B&B bookings and car rental, so that's exciting. I can't believe the trip is less than 2 months away! We've been planning on this the last year or so. Hope you all have a great rest of your week and that it cools off!
  13. Have you ever read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Noll? I listened to the audio book recently and it was about a girl who wrote fan fic for books similar to Harry Potter. Shipping was the name of the game with that book!
  14. I haven't read Sophie Kinsella since Shopaholic and Sister but this thread reminds me that I need to get back to her. Between my 'heavy' books I like this type of read. Thanks also, Chesil, for posting the Jenny Colgan books. I will definitely have to take a look at those as well!
  15. The term 'ship' is popular in the world of fan fiction, too. There are also some people out there who may or may not me have boards on Pinterest dedicated to some ships...
  16. I have offended myself this morning to see that I apparently never posted in this thread! Appalling, really I'm a coffee person all the way, although I'll have tea quite often in the summer because when my sister comes to visit she makes it constantly and is always offering to bring me a cup. I'm pretty basic, just PG Tipps, milk and a bit of honey. As for coffee, I'll drink any brand as long as it has cream and sugar in it. Nothing flavored though, unless it's chocolate . I have a coffee shop near my new house and the other day I had a blended iced coffee with espresso and dark chocolate in it, oh my!
  17. If you have HBO, Muggle Not, you should be able to watch them on HBO Go or On Demand with your cable? Thanks for the Longmire suggestion! I shall add it to my watch list I finished Lost in a Good Book over the weekend and am now into The Well of Lost Plots. I also listened to Ready Player One and The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane on Audible. Both of them re-'reads' of mine but I loved both so I could do that multiple times :). I have firmed up my trip itinerary and now am busy trying to book B&B/Inn stays. We will be in Dorset, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dublin and Cork, with many stops in between I'm sure. We also plan on taking day trips because my 2 friends and I have decided we're going to drive . Watch out, people!
  18. Perhaps they mean a relationship between two characters that the reader hates but can't stop reading about? Kind of like a train wreck/toxic romance that you just can't look away from?! I don't know, that's what first came to my mind. With that being said, now I need to go and have a think if I know any book couples like this, LOL.
  19. I finished Lost in a Good Book over the weekend and last night got a few pages into The Well of Lost Plots. Love me some Fforde!
  20. Thanks for the tips, you guys! That reminded me that I need to find a good rain jacket before I go, and I love packing layers - more choices of outfits I'm meeting my friends/traveling companions tonight for dinner and a planning session so I'll relay the info. It's cooler here today as well, and the sun is out. Currently it's just 60 degrees.
  21. Finally saw La La Land last week. Best part for me was all the excellent jazz, otherwise I enjoyed the movie but not as much as others did.
  22. It's been perfect here so far this week, sunny and in the 70's. My favorite! My boss lives out west though and right now they are at 100+ (45c). No thank you! I'll be in the UK/Ireland the first 2 weeks of September, you guys. What kind of weather should I pack for? I figured light layers, but normally I'm warm so I think I need to bring plenty of light stuff.
  23. There are different forms of fasting, and that's exactly right, Shirley, every individual is different and has things that work for them. I usually do the 16/8 method of 'intermittent fasting,' and eat strictly between the hours of 10a-6p every day. I don't really concentrate on calories, but rather on ratios of protein, fat and veggies at each meal. I'm trying to lose a good amount of weight before my trip at the end of August so I'm being very strict with myself and do not eat carbs. I've been off them for 2 weeks and I feel great so I just want to keep going.
  24. Thanks, you guys! My friend's dad was way too young, just a couple years older than my dad when he passed away. But then again there's never a good age to lose a parent The HBO series was very good, Athena, although not better than the book. It was set in Monterrey, California and I thought they did a very nice adaptation to the story. I'm glad I read the book first!
  25. Tornado sirens are somewhat common here during the summer months, but they are always disconcerting! Whenever we have a run of especially hot and humid weather, you can put money on the fact that it will end with severe storms. Methinks I've lived here too long... Today is just plain old hot. But the sun is out and I have AC so no complaints!
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