Pat's (phebj's) Idaho Reading Life--page 2

Welcome visitors! For my second thread of 2014, I’m going with a picture of Lake Pend Oreille (pronounced: pond-o-ray) in Northern Idaho. It’s a big, deep lake--43 miles long and 1,150 feet deep in some places, making it the fifth deepest lake in the United States. It’s mostly surrounded by forests and the majority of the shoreline is unpopulated.

During World War II, the south end was the home of the second largest naval training ground in the world. It was built as a result of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The lake is still used by the Navy's Acoustic Research Detachment to test large-scale submarine prototypes. The significant depth gives it acoustic properties similar to the open ocean.

Sandpoint (population 7,365 in 2010) is the largest town on the lake and in 2011, it was named the nation's "Most Beautiful Small Town" by Rand McNally and USA Today. We’ve stayed there in the summer and it was beautiful but it also gets a lot of tourists in the winter for skiing. Here’s a shot taken from Schweitzer Mountain Resort overlooking the lake:

Currently reading:

Weeds: A Farm Daughter's Lament (American Lives) by Evelyn I. Funda

Books read in 2014:

1. Norwegian by Night by Derek Miller
2. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
3. To Dare Mighty Things: The Life of Theodore Roosevelt by Doreen Rappaport
4. O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
5. Mr. Wuffles! by David Wiesner
6. Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett
7. An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris
8. Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers
9. Humans of New York by Brandon Stanton
10. Still Life with Breadcrumbs by Anna Quindlen
11. Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty
12. The Splendid Things We Planned: A Family Portrait by Blake Bailey
13. Summer House with Swimming Pool by Herman Koch
14. Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
15. The Diary of Edward the Hamster: 1990-1990 by Miriam and Ezra Elia
16. The Quick: A Novel by Lauren Owen
17. All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
18. Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain
19. Fear: A Novel of World War I by Gabriel Chevallier
20. Elizabeth Is Missing by Emma Healey

Beautiful photo of the lake. My family needs to take a road trip and visit some of these beautiful spots.

And I owe you a thank you. I couldn't remember who first told me about Norwegian by Night. It was you! Thanks, it was a great read.

ETA: I love your "Read SOON" tag. That's a great idea. I also want a "Buy SOON" tag, as my wishlist gets so long that it is hard to prioritize buying.

I'm so glad you liked Norwegian by Night. I'm really surprised I haven't heard much about it. You reminded me that I even have a "Read SOON" tag. I haven't looked at what's under that designation in a while.

Pat, that lake photo is gorgeous! And whew, that sounds incredibly deep! I used to do scuba diving, and of course you can't go much deeper than around 100-130 feet, so over 1,000 feet is almost unimaginable! As I was saying to you on my thread, I'm envious you get to read An Officer and a Spy for the first time! But then, it also made me want to read up on the Dreyfus case, and when I've done so, I'll revisit Harris's book for sure.

eta: corrected 'it almost made me want to read up on the Dreyfus case'... NOT what I meant!

Hi Ilana. I didn't realize you used to scuba dive. That's something that's never called to me.

One of the things I'm enjoying about An Officer and a Spy is learning more about the Dreyfus case. I know I read about it in school but nothing really stuck.

What a breathtaking view of Lake Pend Oreille! Just stunning! Oh I'm glad An Officer and a Spy grabbed you right away Pat. It's extremely accurate historically.

What a beautiful lake photo! Idaho definitely needs to be on my bucket list!

Hi Pat, nice new thread. My brother lived in Sandpoint about 15 years ago before moving to Minneapolis. We spent a week there in a lake house; it's a very scenic spot.

Hi Pat, beautiful pictures to start off your thread. My husband and I have often stayed at Sand Point over the years, it has a beautiful setting.

Gorgeous pictures, Pat!

Oh, that lake is lovely!

Happy New Thread, Pat!

Hi Bonnie. It was your five star review of An Officer and a Spy that made me pick up the book now so thank you. I read an interview with Harris where he said he researched the book for a year and then sat down to write it. He said his process is to write 1,000 new words a day. The next day, he edits what he did the previous day and then moves on to the next 1,000 new words. When he's done, he's done. There's no second draft. He wrote An Officer and a Spy after trying to convince Polanski to make a movie about the Dreyfus affair. Polanski wasn't ready to do that and in turn encouraged him to write a book. Next he's going to work on a screenplay for An Officer and a Spy.

Here's the link to the interview in case you're interested: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/authorinterviews/10336271/Robert-Harris.... Harris has lived a pretty nice life after the success of Fatherland and he's married to Nick Hornby's sister.

Hi Carrie! Let me know when you're ready to check Idaho off your bucket list. I'd love to show you around.

Hi Laura! I'm glad you've had the chance to spend time on Lake Pend Orielle. The other lake I want to visit, and maybe rent a house on, is Lake Coeur d'Alene:

Judy I think you and I are very sympatico when it comes to vacation destinations. I still want to go to the place you posted about visiting in British Columbia for your birthday (or anniversary). At the moment, I can't remember the name of the resort but it was beautiful.

Hi Roni and Amber! Glad you're enjoying the pictures of Idaho's highlights.

Hi Pat- Congrats on the new thread! Love the gorgeous topper! I requested An Officer and a Spy and should have it soon.

Mark you're in for a treat with An Officer and a Spy!

Pat, WOW!!! What wonderful opening images. Thanks!

Hi Linda! Am I enticing you to visit Idaho? Hope so. :-)

Pat, another thread with gorgeous photos! Also, my late visit to your old thread was enjoyable. Marvelous progress on your house! And Powell's looks awesome. Glad you had a good time at the meet-up.

Pat, My husband and I used to camp on Lake Pend Oreille every summer. It's a truly beautiful place. I've now added An Officer and A Spy to my list of next buys. Thanks for the tip.

Interesting details about the way Harris works on his books. Definitely a movie to look out for. I'll read the article soon.

I corrected what I wrote last time. I meant 'also' and not 'almost', which is quite different in the context of the phrase!

Wow! Lake Pend Oreille is awesome.

So, Pat! I met a guy at a party last Sat night - who is building a house in town. And guess what??? He used to live in northern Idaho. He and his wife biked from Vancouver to the Maine coast this past summer. Anyway, a really nice couple.
Oh, and the house they are building is going to be underground. Don't know how they are doing that... so much granite around here.

Ouch! BB! An Officer and a Spy. *sigh*

Yes, sympatico with vacation destinations (have I told you how much I wish I was going to Paris???)

BTW - That resort on Vancouver Island is called Point No Point.

Hi Terri! The house is going very well at the moment but other than posting a picture of pipes, wiring, etc. there's really not anything new to show this week. Powell's was awesome and I definitely want to go back. I hope you get a chance to go to an LT meetup some day. It was so worth it.

Hi Jan! I'm not a camper but if I was, I can easily imagine Lake Pend Oreille as a great place to set up a tent. I hope you love An Officer and a Spy as much as I do when you get a chance to try it.

Hi Ilana! Thanks for the clarification. Let me know if you find a good non-fiction account of the Dreyfus Affair. I'm enjoying reading things that are about France in preparation for my trip.

Hi Claudia! It's a small world isn't it. They sound like an interesting couple--biking across the country and building an underground house. I hope you get a chance to try An Officer and a Spy. I just started reading books by Robert Harris but I'm really enjoying them. They generally seem to be some kind of thriller and books I would have thought of as airplane books (and therefore something I wouldn't want to read) but I was obviously wrong about that.

Hi Judy! Thanks for the reminder of the name of the resort on Vancouver Island. I would have guessed something like Point of No Return. I need to get a new passport for my trip to Paris and once I do I'll be ready to look into checking out Point No Point.

Dropping by to admire the scenery. No books? Phew! I'm maxed out for awhile.

Hi Katherine. I recently finished O Pioneers! by Willa Cather and a couple of children's books which I'll eventually have something to say about. It's amazing when I go to write up my comments--my brain seems to seize and anything I write doesn't seem worth posting so I decide to come back to it another day (which may or may not come).

What a gorgeous lake!

I was surprised to see that Lqke Pend Oreille; unlike Boise is pronounced pretty much as it would be in French

I think I was about 27
years old before I heard from,
A Pacific Northwesterner
that Boise isnt pronounced
Bwaz

>30 rolandperkins:: we butcher a lot of French names in US cities/places. Des Moines, IA and Notre Dame University also come to mind.

Pat, it's absolutely amazing how many choices there are to make in a house. We redid a 12X6 bathroom several years ago, and I couldn't believe how many things had to be considered and chosen. I can't fathom a whole house.

Hi Joanne! Lake Pend Oreille is gorgeous and it's just one of a number of gorgeous lakes in the Panhandle of Idaho. Priest Lake is another one I'd like to visit. The northern end is only about 15 miles from the Canadian border.

Hi Roland! Thanks for the visit to my thread. :-) When I first moved out here, my pronunciation of Boise was corrected. I was pronouncing it "boy-zee" instead of "boy-see". One of our local artists, Ward Hooper, made a poster to reinforce this:

Picture isn't showing of the lake, Pat. I would like a good spot for an outstanding fishing vacation on those lakes.

Hi Laura. I always find local pronunciations interesting. They really separate out the natives from the visitors.

Hi Roni. About 4 years ago we redid the powder room in our current house. I thought it would be very simple but of course it wasn't. I was pretty apprehensive about building a house but so far it seems to be going well although there are days where it feels very stressful.

Roni, I tried another picture of Priest Lake up in post #33. Hopefully, this one will work. And from what I can tell, there's great fishing in these lakes. When I look for the images I always find someone holding up their catch.

Pat, you are doing a sterling job in trying to ensure that I don't detour Idaho entirely this year. EH may have made his end there but I am sure mine own would be transitory and enjoyable.

Congratulations on your new thread. The "house-finished thread" hopefully.

"boy-see": I learn something new here all the time!!

Hi Paul! If only you would visit Idaho. That would surely lure some other LTers here. Unfortunately, we only have very small independent bookstores that can't hold a candle to something like Powell's. They were working hard at the house today even in non-stop rain. I'm still very impressed with how fast it's going.

Hi Laura. I think it's because I'm tone deaf that I really don't hear the difference between boy-see and boy-zee. But I must be doing better with pronouncing it because my husband's cousins aren't correcting me anymore.

All caught up here, Pat. Lovely new thread with more gorgeous photos of Idaho - just so beautiful! I am looking forward to dipping into An Officer and a Spy which, as you know, I purchased recently. And now I know how to correctly pronounce Boise - I have been saying it wrong all this time!

Ah, yes, a lovely picture indeed now that I can see it, Pat!

*plumps pillows* I'll be here in the corner.

I've been pronouncing Boise wrong all these years! I will have to remember "Boy-see" not "Boy-zee" next time I go there! At least I wasn't saying "Boy-zed"!

What fine photographs..... so enticing. Yeah, I think I've always said boy-zee..... good to know!

The Vermont way to say our capitol city, Montpelier sounds not at all french but rather like this:
Mawnh-PILL-yer, but the nh is kind of swallowed back, more aspirated and most of the emphasis in the word is on the middle syllable. It's a dead give-away when someone says MONT-pell-yayer.

Oh, Boy-See, Idaho! I now have An Officer and a Spy at hand. I just need to transfer it to my iPod. I am currently swamped with FF books, so I probably won't get to it for a couple of weeks.

Pat, I usually keep better notes of where book recommendations come from, but somehow didn't do my homework this time. All this to say that I have two books on the Dreyfus affair currently on the wishlist (which may have been recommended by Kerry/avatiakh) but I can't be sure now). The first is The Dreyfus Affair: The Scandal That Tore France in Two by Piers Paul Read, and the other is The Man on Devil's Island: Alfred Dreyfus and the Affair that Divided France by Ruth Harris. I seem to recall Robert Harris listed one of the two in his bibliography, though I got that information second hand since I only had the audiobook version (no bibliography).

I used to Scuba dive, started in the late 90s and got my certificate. It was one of the things I loved doing most and I have great memories from dives I've taken, but I've always had problems with my ears and decompressing was always extremely painful. I had to abort a dive last time I went, so I'm not sure I'll be able to do it again, but I do feel sometimes like I was privileged enough to discover another world.

Hi Mamie. Hope you get to An Officer and a Spy soon. I'm really enjoying it.

Hi Roni. I'm happy to know my second picture of Priest Lake worked. It always confuses me when I can see a picture but others can't.

Hi Richard. You're just in time to see my list of purchases for my Thingaversary (see upcoming post). Thanks for the nudge!

Hey Judy. I'm glad I'm not the only one who was pronouncing Boise incorrectly although as I said to Laura it's not easy for me to hear the distinction between the right and wrong way to say it.

Hi Lucy. I would definitely have mispronounced Montpelier. I remember reading a book or article about someone who assumed a false identity and part of that was saying he was from Mamaroneck in Westchester County, NY. As you know, it's pronounced "Muh-mare-uh-nick" but he pronounced his supposed home town as "Mamo-ran-ack".

Mark you have a big treat in store with An Officer and a Spy. I'll be interested to hear what the audio version is like.

Ilana thanks for mentioning the two books about the Dreyfus Affair. I just checked Harris' Acknowledgements at the end of An Officer and a Spy and he cites both books as helpful but he gives the bigger shout out to the book by Ruth Harris. I'll have to see what my library has. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to try them both.

For some reason, I don't have any interest in scuba diving. I think I've seen too many stories of people who have gotten in trouble doing it but I'm glad it was so much fun for you.

So I wasn't going to order any more books for my 4th Thingaversary (February 8th) because I bought so many books at Powell's on February 1st but after some strong encouragement from Richard I reconsidered and just ordered the following 5 books:

How I Became Hettie Jones by Hettie Jones (recent recommendation from Darryl)
Independent People by Halldor Laxness (so I can join in the group read in March)
Fatherland by Robert Harris (because this seemed to be the book by Harris that most LTers liked the best)
The Sunne in Splendour: A Novel of Richard III by Sharon Kay Penman (discussed recently on Peggy's thread)
Widow Basquiat by Jennifer Clement (recommended in NPR's Book Notes email)

Nice Thingaversary haul!

Thanks, Lori!

Ooo! Good haul indeed, Pat.

Oooooo Independent People that is one of those amazing books..... it's tough and totally totally worth it!

Hi Pat -
Methinks you'll need to check the house plans and maybe add a few more built-in shelves to the equation!
Happy Thingaversary!
Looks like you are having great fun celebrating ;-)

I read a book about the Dreyfus Affair - but I can't remember what it was. It must have been before I was on LT, cuz I can't see anything in my library collection here. I did like it though and would like to read more about it. Officer and Spy should do it. The book I read didn't have much for background. It was mostly about his imprisonment, as I recall.

I'm glad you went ahead with more books, Pat. LT is well worth celebrating!

Glad you like the books I chose, Richard! Without your reminder that my Thingaversary was a "Holy Day of Obligation" they would not be winging their way to me. I'm getting near the bottom of my tin of book darts and will soon be ordering more. I was thrilled to discover that the bottom of the tin is lined in what looks like red velvet. I'm really loving everything about the book darts!

Lucy I just checked my LT record for Independent People. It's been on my wishlist for 3 years and my notes say you recommended it. I'm looking forward to reading it with Mark and Lisa.

Claudia An Officer and a Spy is a great book and I hope you get to read it. I must confess that I knew very little about the Dreyfus Affair before reading this book so it's been a good learning experience for me.

Judy so well said and so true--Lt is well worth celebrating!

Hi Pat, one more stop before I sign off LT for the day:

Thanks for stopping by Ilana and leaving me such a beautiful image. It makes me think of spring which is a good thing. :-)

I own Independent People Pat and would love to join in but I'm already committed to read The Last Chronicle of Barset (900+ pages) and Cather's One of Ours (500+ pages) as well as Sense and Sensibility and The Raj Quartet so I'll have to forego it.

I liked Fatherland but that was a long time ago. LT has changed the way I look at books completely so I wonder if I'd still like it. Hmmm.....

Hi Pat -- what beautiful photos here! I've been wanting to take a lake vacation for some time -- maybe we should consider Idaho.

I really loved Independent People when I read it several years ago. It is very rewarding, and I was so swept up emotionally in the book. I hope you love it! And good call to buy more -- you deserve it!

Oh lovely book haul, Pat!

Happy Sunday!

I also plan to join in reading Independent People, Pat. In fact, I am trying to get a head start on it now, as I have another major read pending for a RL project.

Book Darts are indeed the bomb. I've loved the heck out of 'em since discovering them in the Bas Bleu catalog lo these many years ago. Happy Sunday!

Now I want book dart... why? No idea, I don''t "need" them.
I am endeavoring to avoid book bullets, as right now, my reading is't working well.... so why
bother with books? They just sit there and make me feel like a big old FAIL. :P Maybe next month?

Hi Bonnie! I was going to try and read Cather's One of Ours soon but I had no idea it was so long. I think O Pioneers! was about 150 pages. It does sound like you've got your reading cut out for you for the next several months. I'll be interested to hear what you think of The Raj Quartet. I've never tried any of these year long reads but you must feel like you've accomplished a lot at the end of them.

Robert Harris is a new author for me and I'm liking his books so I'm looking forward to trying Fatherland. I know other people weren't that thrilled with The Ghost but I liked it.

Hi Anne! Glad to see you here and hope you're having a relaxing weekend. So you're another fan of Independent People! I never heard of it before LT and now I'm really looking forward to reading it. You must let me know if you ever make a trip through my part of Idaho. I'd love to meet you someday and, who knows, maybe I still will at a Denver meetup.

Happy Sunday to you too Amber! I need to check out your fast moving thread(s) to see how you're faring weather wise this weekend. I have this impression that you're constantly getting more snow. Today, finally, we're having a spring like day and can actually see some blue skies for the first time in weeks.

Hi Linda! I'm glad you'll be reading Independent People too. Do you know who is hosting the group read? The first time I remember hearing about it was in Powell's Bookstore when Lisa said something about it. I don't see it listed as a group read under either the 75ers or Club Read. I may try and get a head start too. My copy arrives on Wednesday.

Hi Richard! I have to say the Book Darts are one of my favorite things these days. I love reaching into the tin to get one and seeing which color I picked out and I also love placing them on the page because they slide on so well and are so precise in marking the right passage. Getting to the bottom of the tin and feeling the red velvet was a wonderful surprise!

Hi Pat! I'm just stopping by to wish you a sadly belated happy new year! Hope everything is going well.

I suppose it's a bit sad that I know exactly how satisfying that is...and the delight of being able to *pre*cise*ly* mark the desired passage without harming the book is my greatest pleasure in the little darlings.

Hi Callia! It's so good to see you. I figured you must be having a very busy year so far and if I remember correctly your Mom said you have a birthday coming up. Hope you have a wonderful celebration to look forward to!

Hi Richard. I don't think it's sad at all. There's a lot to be said for appreciating the little things in life. I find the use of Book Darts to be a meditative experience. :-)

um, I think I'm guilt of starting the Independent People talk. I could make a Club Read thread for it, but does anyone know where the group read wiki is?

We got a couple of pictures of the house on our dog walk this morning. Most of the work in the last two weeks has been indoors but they recently started to put up the siding which you can see on the left side of the house. We'll be painting it two shades of a green gray color. Because it's actually sunny out for once you can even see the mountains peaking out from behind the trees on the right.

And here's a picture of the interior taken from the doors into the sunroom. It shows the great room with the kitchen to the extreme right. The red, white, and blue pipes are for the sink and dishwasher that are part of the island. You can also see into the dining room with the arched window and out the open front door.

Hi Lisa! I'm afraid I can't help with directions to the Club Read wiki.

Pat - Love the progress photos. Are the contractors on time? When are they scheduled to handover to you?

Wow, so when are you moving in? looks almost ready! Put a couch and a reading lamp in there, and I'm totally happy! :-)
Lovely view too.

I just discovered Robert Harris in December with An Officer and a Spy, and remember you saying you liked The Ghost a lot. I followed it up with Fatherland and wasn't much taken with it. Hope you enjoy it more than I did. I was expecting something different from it. The next one on my tbr will be Imperium, one of two books on Cicero which Suz has strongly recommended.

The new house is looking really good, Pat. Excitement mounts! You have such lovely views. So when is the Open House for your LT friends?

>66 phebj:: oh, I'm afraid it's more than an impression - 4-7 more inches are predicted for tomorrow. Enough already! We haven't seen the ground since November! Sheesh!

The house looks great!

Looking good - in and out!
Love your view and the framing looks secure (lol - like I would know).

You must be loving the progress :-) Have you started packing yet? Need help?

Hi Pat- The house is coming along nicely. I hope you had a nice weekend. I can't believe Independent People is coming around soon. I might not be able to get to it, for a month or so.
Congrats on a good book haul. Admirable restraint.

Hi Paul! We meet with the construction supervisor each Friday and I asked him last Friday if they expect to meet the deadline in the contract (which is mid-April) and he said "yes". So they are on time which I wasn't expecting.

Hi Ilana! It looks like we'll be moving in late April which is sooner than I thought. I need to start going through all my stuff to see what I can toss.

I didn't realize you weren't that taken with Fatherland. Oh well. I also want to try his books on Cicero.

Donna we're planning on throwing a huge party at the end of June which will be a combination open house/25th wedding anniversary party. You and all my LT pals are invited! It's usually beautiful here at that time of year. I'll let you know when we set the date but we're thinking June 26th or 27th.

Hi Amber! I give you credit for not going completely crazy with all the snow you've gotten this year. I remember one winter when we lived in New York (1993/1994) when we had 17 snow/ice storms that started in early December and didn't let up until March. My brother moved to Tucson that summer and never considered coming back.

Claudia I have done exactly nothing on getting ready to move and I'm starting to feel the pressure to get started. Two months will go by quickly. The progress is fun to watch but I predict April will be a very stressful month.

Hi Mark! I hope you can bookhorn in Independent People. I'm looking forward to reading it. I have all my new books from Powell's stacked up on a nearby table. I was hoping to get my books all organized before the move but I'm not sure that will happen.

I remember when our house was built (it was on an estate but we bought it off plan so we saw all stages of construction.) It was started beginning of October but it wasn't scheduled to be finished until end of March. By Christmas it looked completed from the outside but apparently it's the inside stuff that takes the time.

Morning Pat!! Fantastic pics of your new home and what an outstanding location!

I love it when the "outside walls" start going up. Your house is looking good.

Rhian they did explain to us that while things were visibly moving quickly now there would be a period of time when nothing seemed to get done while they worked on things on the inside. Today they did most of the insulation so that was fun to see. The rooms are so much more defined now that you can't see through the framing.

Hi Lynda! We love how the house looks with nothing next to it but at some point they will start building our neighbors' houses which will be somewhere from 10 to 15 feet from our property line. That will be a difficult adjustment but I actually hope they get going on them soon so we don't have to live through too much construction noise.

Hi Lori! Thanks for the compliments on the house. So far we're very pleased with how it's shaping up.

Wow in about 2 months you will be moving in! It looks like a lovely location, Pat. Is that a lake or pond in the first picture?

Progress! Two months! That is so soon! Our snow might not even be melted by then.

Hi Judy! What you see in the first picture is one of the three ponds they put in for the first phase of the subdivision. The ponds seem to be a win-win situation for the developer because they use all the dirt they dig out of them to build up the lots and then they have lots with pond views to sell.

Hi Lucy! Two months is soon and we're so busy with last minute decisions that have to be made on the new house that we're doing nothing yet to get ready for the move. I certainly hope your snow is gone in April but I've lost touch with New England winters and how long they last since we rarely have snow here once February hits.

Hi Pat! My internet is up and running! I can't believe how fast your house is going up. How exciting!

Happy weekend *smooch*

Sounds like they are planning to build you a lovely setting for your new home, Pat. You will be able to have some nice walks around those ponds right in your own neighbourhood.

Beautiful, Pat! It must be so satisfying to see it go up right before your eyes. What a lovely location!

Just checking in, Pat - Happy Sunday!

Lovely picture of your blossoming new home! Also wishing you a happy Sunday!

I love the picture of Priest Lake, too.

Hi Jenn! Glad to hear you have your internet back. That must be a relief.

Hi Richard! Hope you've had a good weekend too. Ours was beautiful with spring-like weather.

Hi Judy! We're getting more excited about the nature preserve they're building. It's starting to take shape and it's looking good. I think it will provide some great walking.

Hi Anne! It has been wonderful to be so close to our new house and be able to see the daily changes. Ours was the first house they broke ground on on December 30th. Just seven weeks later, there are twelve other houses in various stages of construction plus the club house with pool. One of the houses will be in the Spring Parade of Homes so they're working hard to finish the clubhouse by then. They've also started to work on the infrastructure for the second phase and I assume they'll be selling lots during the Parade. From what I understand, most of the 46 lots in the first phase have been sold.

Hey Amber! Hope you've had a good Sunday too.

Happy Sunday to you Terri!

So here are some pictures from our walk this morning:

This is of the house facing east with a view of the mountains.

This is a picture of a new pond they're digging in what will be Phase 2 of the subdivision:

This is a picture of Rocky on the new greenbelt extension along the river behind our house:

And this picture I took because I was so surprised to see a whole row of old decaying cars sitting by the river as we got close to the end of the greenbelt extension:

The view with the mountains in the background is gorgeous! It looks like there will be lots of fun places for Rocky to walk around your new home.

Hi Pat- I love the photos! The one of Rocky looks like a painting. I hope you had a great weekend.

Great pictures, Pat!

94: the nature preserve they're building
Preserve? Building?
98: I was so surprised to see a whole row of old decaying cars
Hah. A nice shelter for some critter though.

What a beautiful spot you chose, Pat! I love your pictures. Rocky looks so cute on the trail. The scene reminds me a little of Toto in The Wizard of Oz, walking along the yellow brick road.

What a gorgeous setting. Your house is really starting to take shape now.

It's a house! And what a gorgeous view of the mountains. :)

There are areas along the river here where old cars where used for riprap to keep the banks from eroding, especially along a bend. A lot of them are being removed now.

Your house looks wonderfully exciting!

Such a lovely setting! Wow, I love the picture of the house with the mountains in the background.

Adding my own "wow!" to the pile - what a gorgeous setting for your house! Those mountains!!

What a lovely spot you have chosen for your new house!

Hi Carrie. We're getting excited about the walking near our new house. Rocky gets two walks a day so it will be nice to have some new routes.

Mark we had a great weekend. The weather was beautiful and it was nice to be outside for the first time in months.

Glad you liked the pictures Roni (and that you could see them)!

Hi Katherine. "Building" the nature preserve probably wasn't the best description. The land for the subdivision was a farm for over 100 years. The subdivision's website says that 40 acres of it will be "restored to its pre-1887 condition by {a} Boise River expert and environmental engineer." This new nature preserve "will include ponds, a stream for trout-spawning habitat, trails, and a one-mile extension of the Greenbelt."

Joanne your reference to the yellow brick road in the Wizard of Oz made me smile. I will remember that next time we walk Rocky on the Greenbelt.

Lori it really does seem like a house now. They're doing the taping of the dry wall now and the furnace is on so its warm inside. I'm tempted to bring up a couple of outdoor chairs so we can sit and look at the mountains.

Jenn when we moved to Idaho I had no appreciation for mountains but now I LOVE them. We have a good view in the winter but the trees will block a lot of that view in the summer. I'll probably be looking forward to the winters just to see the view again.

Janet thanks so much for that possible explanation for the cars on the riverbank. It makes sense since they seem to be so neatly and closely placed. Next time I will pay more attention to whether the river bends there.

Terri, Amber, and Rhonda--We really love the setting too and are glad we went with this lot since we won't see any houses behind us. It will be an adjustment though when they start building the houses next door. Right now it looks like there's nothing but open land all around our house.

What a beautiful location Pat! I can imagine what lovely walks you will be taking.

Thanks Bonnie! I'm really excited to see how the nature preserve turns out.

110: Ah, thanks. I somehow wasn't able to construct a complete sentence. I was mostly wondering whether it was existing or being created from scratch, and "restored" answers my incoherent question.

Great photos - very nice that there is a nature walk and preserve going in too. We used to have a few ancient junked bits and pieces of marvelous old vehicles sinking into the muck along our river - wonderful old wrecks - but they are deeply buried in sand from flooding.

Every now and then when we are hiking we come across a) the remains of an old still and b) junked cars of truly ancient vintage that you can't fathom HOW they ever got where they are! Ah Vermont!

I love all the photos Pat and it does look like you chose the contractors well.

Interesting and lovely pictures. I was imagining all the trees with leaves. Even though you will lose the mountain view for awhile, I'll bet it's going to be nice with the greenery and shade, too. So - each season will be a nice change.

Rocky is so sweet - off on a walking adventure! The house looks great... and, your sky is so BIG! I love living in the woods but I do miss an expansive sky.

I think you picked a good contractor - attentive to deadlines and including all the things that will make this a wonderful place to live: paths, ponds, etc.

Glad I was able to answer your question Katherine. :-)

Hi Lucy! The cars were surprising because they've done such a good job of cleaning up the riverbanks along the rest of the greenbelt. This is a new stretch so I'm assuming at some point the cars will go. The developer is the one doing the greenbelt extension and it's not supposed to be finished until June. In a way the cars are neat to look at and we have been wondering how they got there and how long they've been there.

Glad you like the photos Paul and good to know you think the contractors are doing a good job.

Claudia the big sky is one of the things I absolutely love about living here. In New York, we had so many tall trees that we often didn't see the sky and, consequently, rarely saw sunrises and sunsets. We first saw the lot in the summer so we know there is a small opening through the trees where you can still see a bit of the mountains at that time of year. Hopefully, I'll be able to place my chair in just the right location in the sunroom to be able to see it year round.

Hi Pat, swooping through trailing smooches

So, whatcha readin'?

Hi Richard! Always good to see you and especially when you're trailing smooches. :-)

Hi Lisa. I'm very behind in posting some comments about what I've been reading.

I recently finished:

To Dare Mighty Things: The Life of Theodore Roosevelt by Doreen Rappaport--a children's book recommended by Mark
O Pioneers! by Willa Cather--read for Mark's American Author Challenge
Mr. Wuffles! by David Wiesner--recommended by Linda and Amber
Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett--one of my Powell's purchases
An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris--recommended by Suzanne, Bonnie, and Ilana
Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers--a children's book recommended by Amber and Charlie
Humans of New York by Brandon Stanton--a photography book recommended by my brother-in-law

They were all good or excellent so hopefully I'll find time to say something about each one.

Last night I started:

Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris by Graham Robb--another purchase from Powell's

And I also recently started Anna Quindlen's new book Still Life with Breadcrumbs which was a birthday gift from a good friend.

They are making incredible progress on your house! I bet you can't wait to get settled in. Will you have built in bookcases?

I look forward to your review of Parisians, Pat, as I'm planning to read it soon.

Truth & Beauty is Patchett's first nonfiction, isn't it? I'll be curious to hear your review. I have An Officer and a Spy on my wishlist based on something you said about it earlier.

I really liked Truth and Beauty, and I'm glad it worked for you. I have The Story of A Happy Marriage on my pile for next month.

>121 phebj:: Truth & Beauty: A Friendship
Oh, that looks good. Tossed onto the wishlist.

WoW, Pat!!! what an amazing site you have chosen. Gorgeous mountains, the greenbelt is a wonderful touch and they threw in the cars for entertainment value. I'm tickled pink for the three of you. Hey! you've got one huge home there, I'll send Minute Maids so you can make time for reading!

I hope you like Still Life with Bread Crumbs as much as I did! And belated happy birthday wishes to you!!

Hi Pat - passing through and waving after a week away on vacation. Love the house photos what a pretty home and setting.

>122 Whisper1: Hi Linda! We'll have built in bookcases on one side of the fireplace (the cabinets on the other side will be for the TV and storage) and in the sunroom/study. It's so strange to think that we'll be moving in two months or less (eek!) but I am looking forward to living in the house. They are scheduled to start installing the kitchen cabinets and bookcases on March 17th so I should have some pictures shortly thereafter.

>123 kidzdoc: Darryl, I'll probably be reading Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris slowly since each chapter seems to stand alone. So far I've read about the Palais-Royal in 1787 as experienced by a young Napoleon Bonaparte and about the creation of the Catacombs. It's a very interesting way to learn about the history of Paris and I'm finding it to be a fascinating read so far.

>124 labfs39: Lisa, Truth & Beauty is Patchett's first non-fiction book. I loved it and will be looking to read Lucy Grealy's book The Autobiography of a Face soon to learn more about her friend. It reminds me of reading Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp a couple of years ago and then reading Let's Take the Long Way Home by Gail Caldwell about their close friendship shortly thereafter.

>125 banjo123: Rhonda, I'm glad to hear you liked Truth & Beauty too. Have you read Grealy's book?

>126 qebo: Katherine, I hope you end up liking Truth & Beauty. It's ultimately a sad book but I'm glad I read it.

>127 Carmenere: Lynda, thanks for sending over some maids! At the moment, it's pretty messy. They put the drywall up last week and this past week they've been taping and plastering. Thankfully, they covered all the floors first so I've got my fingers crossed it will clean up well.

>128 Copperskye: Joanne, thanks for the belated birthday wishes. I unfortunately started Still Life with Breadcrumbs at the same time I started several other books so it hasn't gotten the attention it deserves. And, at the moment, it's also competing for time with internet searches I'm doing for lights for the house and design ideas for our master closet. I'm looking forward to having the house done so I have some more time for reading!

>129 SuziQoregon: Hi Juli, it's good to see you. I've mostly been lurking on threads but was happy to see the opening picture on your new thread. It looked like an Oregon coast picture which always makes me smile.

Happy March!

>132 richardderus: Happy March to you too, Richard! I LOVE that picture.

Pat, I'll be eager to see your thoughts on Mr. Wuffles. Sometimes I really enjoy sharing wordless (or almost so) books with Haley, but I had trouble figuring out what those aliens (?) were saying… so we watched the 7-minute video as a follow-up. Still clueless, but Haley liked the book and that is all that matters.

I have fond memories of both the Patchett books about her friend Lucy. I tend to like her NF books better than the fiction but 'Breadcrumbs' sounds like a good one. There is a long list at my library so I will wait until later in the year to read it.

97: I think the Rocky picture needs to be framed and displayed in your new home. It sounds like you are into the fun stuff now picking out lights, etc. It's hard to believe you will be moving in two months from now.

Pat, I'm way behind. My life got crazy after our Portland meet up. I love the photo of Lake Pond Oreille. That is such beautiful country.

How is the house shaping up? I see that it is coming along nicely. And the photo of Rocky... well, you know I love the animals.

>134 Donna828: Hi Donna! I also struggled with exactly what was going on with the aliens in Mr. Wuffles! but generally really enjoyed the book, especially the last picture of Mr. Wuffles waiting for them to reappear. Have you read any other of David Wiesner's books? The only other one I read was Flotsam which I think was mostly wordless too. It's interesting to read books that way where you have to do the work to figure out what's going on.

I'm also enjoying Still Life with Breadcrumbs by Anna Quindlen but it's slow going at the moment because of so many last minute details with the house. Today we meet with the trim carpenter to decide the shelving etc in all our closets and I hadn't really spent any time thinking about this before so now I'm scrambling to take measurements of our current closets and figure out what else I might want to do. Tomorrow we have a lighting meeting and we have to finalize the paint colors. The list goes on! It's fun but more deadlines than I've had to deal with for years. I've gotten soft in retirement.

>135 EBT1002: Hi Ellen! Thanks for stopping by. I know your life is super busy at the moment and I can relate although I have to admit I'd rather have my reasons for being busy than yours. ;-)

You're rignt - it's an Oregon Coast photo from our weekend over near Pacific City in January.

>137 SuziQoregon: You're lucky that you're so near the Oregon coast. We actually have enjoyed our trips out there in January when no one is around.

Hi Pat, I've been waiting on Mr. Wuffles from the library for weeks now! It's obviously in big demand, but it's apparently on it's way to my local branch now. I 'read' Flotsam based on your recommendation in the summer of 2011 and then borrowed a bunch of other books by David Wiesner from the library, including June 29, 1999, Sector 7, Tuesday and Hurricane. I guess that's listed in order or preference.

>139 Smiler69: Ilana, you should love Mr. Wuffles! as a cat owner. It sounds like your library system needs to buy more copies. This being Idaho, I got it immediately. :-)

>140 phebj: Just checked: they only have 3 copies, so yes!

I think Still Life with Bread Crumbs is checked out at the moment. The title has me intrigued though.

The library finally got in my copy of Mr. Wuffles and I picked it up on Tuesday. I love the body language and picture walls! I've read it about 3 times already.

*wave*

Hi Pat, just strolling through after being away for a bit. Hope all things are going well.

Hi Pat, hope you're having a good weekend.

Good heavens! It's been awhile since I said "Hi!"

Hope your weather is great and you are out for a dogwalk grinning over the progress of your new home ;-)

>142 thornton37814: Lori, I'm loving Still Life with Breadcrumbs. I hope you get a chance to read it.

>143 ronincats: Roni, my favorite picture in Mr. Wuffles! was the last one where he's waiting for his favorite toy to re-emerge from the mouse hole. I need to take my copy back to the library soon but I'm going to read it at least one more time before I do.

>144 nittnut: *waving back* at Jenn!

>145 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy! Things are going well but I'm in the midst of last minute details and last minute decisions on the house so that's cutting into my time on LT.

>146 AMQS: Hi Anne! I did have a good weekend although I hate "springing forward." I really wish we could get rid of daylight savings time. Where we are in Idaho, there are wild swings in the daylight hours--in the winter, we have light from about 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and in summer, from 5:30 a.m. to after 10 p.m. It plays havoc with my sleeping hours since I normally will wake up when it gets light. One thing we will be doing differently in the new house is getting blackout shades in the bedroom since we often go to bed in the summer while it is still light out.

>147 -Cee-: Hi back at you Cee! Today was a rainy grey day but we got our dog walks in nevertheless. It almost never rains hard out here so it wasn't a problem. The house continues to progress. They got the drywall done last week as well as all the shelving, etc. for the closets. This week they'll finish the trim work around the doors and windows and start the painting. In two more weeks, they start putting in the kitchen cabinets and built-in bookshelves. I'm really looking forward to that!

Ooh! Built-in bookshelves for your future Folio collection? ;-)

Have a great week Pat!

>149 Smiler69: Ilana, you're an evil temptress! ;-)

Heh! I have a theory that you really WANT me to tempt you so you can blame it on someone else once you start and can't stop collecting them! :-D

>151 Smiler69: You may be right about that. What's stopping me at the moment from spending $190 to join the Folio Society is the change orders that are coming in for our new house for things we've gone over budget on. I can't in good faith justify the FS expense right now and will probably wait until the second half of the year to re-visit the whole issue.

I would say that is probably wise Pat. They've recently changed things and now one can buy books individually and buying 4 in the same year gets you automatic membership, but that may not be the case for the North American market. But yes, you're better off staying away completely, what with a new house to pay for! And you haven't even moved in yet. Yikes!

The electronic version of We'll Always Have Paris by John Baxter is on sale from Amazon and other sources for $1.99 today. Here's a description of the book (which I bought earlier today):

For more than a century, pilgrims from all over the world seeking romance and passion have made their way to the City of Light. The seductive lure of Paris has long been irresistible to lovers, artists, epicureans, and connoisseurs of the good life. Globe-trotting film critic and writer John Baxter heard her siren song and was bewitched. Now he offers readers a witty, audacious, scandalous behind-the-scenes excursion into the colorful all-night show that is Paris -- interweaving his own experience of falling in love, with a delightfully salacious tour of the sultry Parisian corners most guidebooks ignore: from the literary cafés of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and de Beauvoir to the brothels where Dietrich and Duke Ellington held court, where Salvador Dali sated his fantasies, and Edward VII kept a sumptuous champagne bath for his favorite girls.

Hi Pat- I thought I better swing by and check on my pal. I just started An Officer and a Spy and fell for it immediately. This is going to be a GREAT read.
How is Independent People coming? I hope to start it, later next week. I still have a ways to go in Suttree, which is also fantastic.

Oh my! I'm getting nervous and excited!
Did you start the packing yet?
They will no doubt be finished with ALL the painting in your house before I get 2 coats of paint on my living room ceiling. Well, they are younger and hard working...

Pat, I think my favorite picture is the photo op of the aliens and the insects!

I just brought back Mr. Wuffles! from the library today, yay! :-)

Stopping by - wow - your house moving swiftly towards completion I see!

Hi Pat, glad to hear things are moving along well with the house. I'm jealous of your built in bookshelves!

It would be so exciting to have enough bookcases for all of my books!

Hi Pat.
I'm chucking about all the talk of Mr. Wuffles! here. I have looked at it any number of times at the bookstore and thought about buying it for a colleague who just had a baby in January (no, the child is not yet reading but I believe in building up the personal library early!). Anyway, I've not purchased it, nor have I read it. I wonder if they would mind if I just stand there and read it in the store..... The cat on the cover looks SO much like my Abby!

Loved Mr. Wuffles! Made me smile the whole way through! On the other hand, Olive didn't work so well for me I'm afraid. I just finished reviewing it and I hope you won't take offence Pat, because I know you loved this book very much, as did many many other people in this group. But I did want to read it eventually, and now I have, so it's all good.

Every time someone talks about the children's section of a bookstore, I'm reminded of a trip I made to that section one day. Apparently, I was spending too much time in there and I had a tough looking employee out of nowhere come up to me rather brusquely and ask if I needed help. I can't really say why - but I really believed he was trying to get me out of there... as if I was stalking the children or something. Really, I was just loving all the books and trying to pick some out for my grandchildren who were coming for a visit.
I'm still traumatized.

I'll take a chance in the library and see if I can find Mr Wuffles. It does look good :-)

>164 -Cee-: David Wiesner is really brilliant Claudia. I've enjoyed several of his books, and glad Pat introduced me to him in the first place. This latest one is definitely worth seeking out.

Hi, Pat! I'm enchanted with all the pictures except maybe the derelict cars. What a great place you have chosen!
I would like to read Independent People now too, but I won't get to it. I believe that it's one of Lucy's favorite, or most significant, books. It will have to wait though.

Hiya Pat! Drive-by *smooch*

Hi Pat!

>148 phebj: Echoing Ilana's Ooh! Built-in bookshelves - one day I'm getting someone in to do some in our living room...

Oh boy, Independent People - it's one of those 'challenging' books like climbing a high peak. Good luck!

Hope you are doing well Pat and surely getting ready to move into your brand spanking new home? Updates and final pics?

I am going to be interested to see how you like Independent People.

Wow! I can't believe it's been so long since I checked into my own thread. I apologize for that. Considering all the legwork we did early in the house design process, I didn't expect it to be this busy now. We went up to the house this morning with my mother-in-law before we went out for brunch and I got a current picture. Things have been moving along and it's now supposed to be finished by April 30th. This will be a big week for the interior. They install our kitchen cabinets and the bookshelves and the tile work will start. I'll be back to reply to all the individual posts. Thanks so much for keeping my thread going in my absence. :-)

Beautiful, Pat! It must be so satisfying to see it go up right before your eyes.

>153 Smiler69: Ilana, thanks for letting me know that you don't have to buy all 4 Folio Society books at once. That's usually what stops me--I can't find 4 that I absolutely have to have. I'll look at their membership requirements more carefully next time I go to their site although I'll probably wait until after we move to actually take the plunge.

>154 kidzdoc: Darryl, thank you for the heads up on the Kindle deal for We'll Always Have Paris. I'll have to see if my library has the book since I missed it by a mile!

>155 msf59: Mark, I'm so glad you got a chance to read An Officer and a Spy. I really loved that book and even more so with the Paris connection. I only got a chance to start Independent People and then I never got back to it. I have a feeling I probably won't give it another try until after we move.

>156 -Cee-: Hi Cee! I wish I could say I had at least started to pack but, alas, I have not. We're planning to have the movers do the packing so it's not a crisis if we don't do it but I would like to go through things and get rid of stuff there's no reason to move. At least we went through that process seven years ago when we moved to Idaho so it's not as bad as it was in New York having lived in that house for 18 years.

>157 ronincats: Roni, I had to take my copy of Mr. Wuffles! back to the library but I did get a chance to read it one more time. There really is a lot going on with the pictures and I'm glad I read it again because there were things I missed. I focused more on the group picture of the alien and the bugs--very cute.

>158 Smiler69: Ilana, I still need to catch up on your thread. I'm sure you've read Mr. Wuffles! by now and I'm curious what you thought of it.

>159 sibylline: Lucy, the house really is moving along at a good clip. I do think it's partly because we've been good about doing our homework and we're generally available to meet with them whenever necessary so there haven't been any delays. I can't imagine how a couple who are both working manage to do this.

>160 markon: Hi Ardene! I'm very anxious to see the built-in bookshelves installed this week. I'm actually getting concerned I may not have enough books to fill them. I'm sure my husband would laugh quite loudly at this concern so I'm not saying a word to him about it.

>161 banjo123: Rhonda, it will be so nice to get my books off of the floor by my chair. I have about 5 stacks of books next to my reading chair because I ran out of space for them. It's possible I'll miss that though. It's kinda nice to just lean down and see all the newer books I have to read.

>162 EBT1002: Ellen, if I had a cat that looked like Mr. Wuffles! I would definitely buy the book! I hope you've had a chance to read it by now although there's a lot going on it and a quick read (which is what I did the first time through it) doesn't do it justice.

>163 Smiler69: Hi again Ilana! Well I'm glad Mr. Wuffles! was a hit and I'm sorry you didn't like Olive Kitteridge but please don't feel bad about that on my account. Reactions to books are so personal and I know what it's like to feel like the odd one out when everyone else loves a book I struggled with. For me, the most notable example was The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. Maybe I read it at the wrong time and maybe the timing didn't make any difference. I'll never know since I rarely reread books I love let alone those I didn't.

>164 -Cee-: Cee, that's such a bizarre story about being unwelcome in the children's section of the bookstore. Who do they think is buying the books for kids? I hope you've had a chance to get a copy of Mr. Wuffles! by now.

>165 Smiler69: Ilana, I had no idea I introduced you to David Weisner. That makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. :-)

>166 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! I first put Independent People on my wishlist after hearing Lucy rave about it. I wish I had more time to get back to it now. I was trying to catch up on some threads earlier and saw that you had finished Into the Silence and given it 5 stars. I'm really looking forward to getting back to that one now too. I started it just after Above All Things but then got sidetracked. That seems to be the story of my life these days with books. Of course, I could be a lot more disciplined and not keep starting books until I had finished something but there are too many books I'm tempted by that are easily available at the library.

>167 richardderus: Hi Richard! Thanks for the drive-by smooch. :-) Sending a return one back your way.

>168 souloftherose: Hi Heather! I'm hoping to have some pictures of the built-in bookshelves to post next weekend. Hope you get your wish to have them installed in your living room someday.

>169 sibylline: Lucy, if you consider Independent People to be challenging I'm glad I'm going to wait until my life calms down before I try it again.

>170 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul! Thanks for checking in with me. The house is going well but still has another month to go. I posted a current exterior picture up at msg #172 but unfortunately my interior shots didn't come out that well because the lighting wasn't good. Inside, they've finished the trim work, done most of the painting, and are almost done with installing the hardwood floors.

>171 banjo123: Hi again Rhonda! If you've made your way through my other comments you've seen that I've set Independent People aside for now so I'm just as eager as you are to see how I'll eventually like it. ;-)

>173 AMQS: Thanks, Anne! It's been so much fun to watch the house come together. We're over there at least once a day to see what's happening.

>172 phebj: Oh, the house looks amazing!

177 Thanks, Amber! We're excited about it.

Oh Pat! Your house is beautiful! I think you've made great choices thus far and no doubt they'll carry into the interior as well. Gorgeous sky for a backdrop!

Pat, your house's completion seems so close and so far away! I wouldn't worry about empty shelves--I shouldn't imagine they would stay that way for long!

Hi Pat,your house is beautiful and I'm amazed at how quickly it went up. A little more than a month and you will be getting ready to move in. Yikes!

Oh yes! Everything is beautiful. And to think, the sky is free!

You have a beautiful new home, Pat! You must be so anxious to move in!

Pat, I finished Independent People a few days ago, but haven't sat down to write a review yet. I can say that it was wonderful. It felt at first like it would be challenging, but that feeling went away quickly, once I got caught up in the story and the characters. By the end, I didn't want it to end. I think you will love it when you get to it!

Sounds like the important things (bookshelves) are going in! Your house is gorgeous on the outside!

Beautiful house, Pat! You must be so excited!

>185 thornton37814: Indeed!

>184 Linda92007: As opposed to Linda, I have struggled to not give up on Independent People and am still not done. I don't find it difficult in the sense of material, but the main character is horrible, and I'm finding it hard to enjoy the writing because of him. I look forward to discussing it on the group read thread, Linda, so I hope you post your review there!

Thanks for sharing a new house pic, Pat! How exciting!!! Can't wait to see pictures of the bookshelves.

Hi Pat- The house looks great. You guys must be getting very excited. I only have a 100 pages left in Independent People. I hope you can pick it up again. It is a one of a kind novel.

The house is looking great! I admit that I am looking forward to seeing those bookshelves go in. :)

Wow! The house! Can't wait for a photo of the bookshelves --- and then I'll be waiting for the photo of the bookshelves full of books!!!!

I'd say it is sensible to let Independent People wait until things settle for you a bit.

>172 phebj: Wow! Exciting times for you and the husband, Pat!

>175 phebj: "I'm actually getting concerned I may not have enough books to fill them"

I'm sure with some gentle encouragement we can help you solve that problem...

Hi Pat, what a lovely house. It is so exciting settling into a new home, especially one designed just for you. I'll be interested to hear what you think of Independent People. I have read so many rave reviews but just couldn't get into it.

Just wanted to stop in and thank everyone for the comments on the house. It's been absorbing more and more of my time lately. My DH has had his fill of details and I'm someone who needs time to make my decisions so I've been the one pouring over things on the internet to pick out stuff like cabinet hardware, bathroom accessories, and furniture.

I will try and post a picture of the bookshelves in our sunroom tonight. They've installed most of the cabinetry and the granite and the tile work was started late last week. We're about a week or so behind schedule because the builder has a home that needs to be ready for the Boise Parade of Homes (a tour of new homes held every spring and fall out here) at the end of the month. We often drive by the Parade home on the way to check out changes in our house only to see the workers parked outside that house instead of ours. We've waited so long to see these finishing touches that we've become somewhat impatient.

In reading news, I've fallen into the bad habit of starting books but not finishing them. I'm about halfway through This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett which is very good. I also started Hellhound on His Trail before getting distracted but it was excellent. I decided to bail on The Divorce Papers a new book by Susan Rieger. I also have a book out of the library called Shotgun Lovesongs which is a debut novel by Nicholas Butler. I just started it and am not sure if I'll keep going or not. I'm reading at night after spending too much time on the internet looking at house stuff and if nothing grabs me right away I give up.

Well, I guess that's all for now. I'm hoping to get around to all my starred threads soon!

Can't wait to see the bookshelves!

At long last, here is a picture of the bookshelves in the sun room--30 shelves! I actually am concerned I don't have enough books to fill them.

They'd be filled and then some at my house.

Oh, you'll make short work of those, Pat!

Looks great :-)

Hi Pat, just think of all the fun you will have filling those shelves!

>196 phebj: Pat, they're beautiful!

What lovely shelves! I could spend many blissful hours in a room like that.

>196 phebj: Wow!

>196 phebj: gasp ... that's fabulous.

Oh! How awesome! All your books in a beautiful home in one place! If you find there is more room than what will hold your current books...well, you know the solution to that!
What's that saying? "New home, new books?" or something like that. Ha!

>196 phebj: Nice!

>196 phebj: 30 empty bookshelves! Envy!

Sorry to hear about the delays on your home Pat, but in the meantime you've certainly got a very nice set of shelves to start filling up.

I predict, famous last words will be: "I actually am concerned I don't have enough books to fill them" when you start wondering why you didn't have twice as many put in. ;-)

Beautiful shelves! If you do have extra space, another trip to Powells should take care of that.

Oh Pat, I love your bookshelves! I envy you the chance to start filling them -- all clean and everything. I think you may be surprised at how many books you do have -- and don't worry: pictures, travel souvenirs, and plants can fill the space until you do have more books, which could well be soon. Enjoy!

>196 phebj: Handsome shelving! And remember, all properly managed collections have space for new books to join the old.

>210 richardderus: all properly managed collections have space for new books
Does the floor count?

Hey Pat, yup I've got bookshelf envy! Your tomes will be quite content in their new home as you will in yours. So happy for you guys!

drooling over your bookshelves

>196 phebj:- I LOVE those bookshelves, Pat! They are gorgeous! I am glad you are enjoying the Patchett and I hope you can get back to Hellhound on His Trail. It is also excellent.

Lovely, lovely, lovely! I'm sure the delay is frustrating, though.

Wow, what great bookshelves!

>211 qebo: I was thinking the same thing!

drooling over the bookshelves

Beautiful house! Beautiful shelves! What a luxury to have plenty of shelving for future purchases!
As to starting and not finishing books right away ---- it's supposed to be fun! I'm certainly a skipper!

Oh shelves, beautiful shelves!

>196 phebj:: *Gasp* What gorgeous bookshelves. I hope you post a follow-up pictures when your books find their new homes on them. I love that green color, too.

Pat, I'm glad you are liking This is the Story Of A Happy Marriage. I loved it. A book of entertaining essays is probably just the thing for you right now with all the house decisions, etc. on your mind.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, Pat!

Happy Easter, Pat! I loved catching up with you - your house is coming along nicely! Loved seeing all the photos and those bookshelves made me drool.

Happy Easter Pat!

Bet you're going slightly mad with moving preparations, but dropped in to say have a delightful spring and a much-easier-than-expected move!

Hi Pat, you must be busy busy with new house stuff. Looking forward to an update and wishing you well! xx

Hope you had a nice Easter, Pat! We MISS YOU!

Wow, you guys are the best! I'm afraid to even look at the last time I posted on my own thread but what a great surprise to see all your lovely posts.

The new house is really keeping us busy--so many details to keep track of. I don't know if I mentioned that we fired the designer the builder provided. It literally took weeks for her to return our calls. We eliminated that headache but took on the smaller one of trying to coordinate things that would have been her job. The house will probably be done sometime next week but it looks like it will take the bank about 2 weeks to get ready to close so we're looking at a mid-May move. Unfortunately, we're often exhausted at the end of the day and have been very bad at packing up the stuff in our current house so I predict a very busy early May as well.

I'm also in the midst of making plans with the 3 friends I'm going to Paris with. There's so much we want to do and so much information to research on the internet that that has turned into a major time sink too. Right now, we're planning on the Louvre, the Musee D'Orsay, the Musee Cluny, a day trip to Monet's home and gardens in Giverny, a boat trip on the Seine, a walking tour of the Islands with visits to Ste. Chapelle and Notre Dame, the outdoor markets, and some shopping. And . . . I'm going to meet Darryl on June 17th! He's making a stop in Paris in between his stays in London and Barcelona.

The house is somewhat is disarray these days because there are so many different subcontractors in there finishing up their work. I should be able to get some good pictures to post next week after the cleaning people come in. We're both really looking forward to moving in and starting to get nostalgic about our current house.

I hope everyone has been doing well. It will probably be awhile before I can catch up. I have no reports on my reading because it mainly consists of Paris guidebooks and internet searches. Life has been good but busy and I'm looking forward to some down time this summer.

Well, I guess that's all for now. Rocky is reminding me that it's walk time!

Great to hear from you Pat. It does sound like you're a very busy lady indeed, but it seems your time is taken up with pretty exciting and positive stuff, which is great. Look forward to the pics.

Moving Day must be just around the corner, Pat, and it sounds like everything is going well. BTW - I can't think of a better way to spend some time than planning a trip to Paris!

Glad for the update, Pat! I can imagine how swamped you must be.

Glad to see the update, Pat! I hope the move goes smoothly.

Hi Pat -- wow, what a lot you have on your plate. Hope you have a chance to breathe and take care of yourself during your very busy upcoming weeks.

>229 phebj: I made my train reservations yesterday, so I'll be able to meet you in Paris on June 17th as planned. I'll post a detailed PM on your page shortly.

Beautiful shelves, Pat! My husband said "you'll never fill these" when we put in a wall of floor to ceiling bookshelves. Later that evening after unpacking some boxes that had been stored all this time, he shuffled off and placed an order for two more. ;-)

Hi Pat, those shelves look great! And if you don't have enough books, that means you can buy more! Good luck with finishing the house and moving. Moving is always stressful, so don't worry about posting words, just post some pictures :)

Hey Pat! what an exciting spring you're having. Can't wait to read and see more of your house. It's going to be so terrific!

I am sure that those wonderful bookshelves are stocked by now. Looking forward immensely to seeing the finished interior.

Have a lovely Sunday and a great Mothering Sunday.

Happy Mother-of-furkidz Day!

Hi Pat - Just thought I'd check in and say hello. I'm sure between the new house and getting ready for Paris, you are crazy busy. But hope it's a good kind of busy!

^What she said.

Ditto.

A Paris meet-up? And a new house? You are living the good life, Pat. No wonder you aren't posting much. No worries, we'll all catch up with you when your life in the fast lane slows back down to normal speeds. In the meantime, just enjoy this busy time.

Checking in! Enjoy Paris!

Thinking of you enjoying your new house and, of course, Paris. Enjoy your summer, Pat.

Pat, hope all is well and you are in the house enjoying it.

*waving at you in Paris*

Bonjour! Hope your enjoying your new home and travels abroad.

Too bad Darryl wasn't able to make the LT meet up. I hope the railway strike isn't effecting you too badly.

Although I'm sorry that we couldn't meet up I'm glad that I made that alternative plan to fly from London to Barcelona last Tuesday, as the TGV train from Paris to Barcelona that I was supposed to take was cancelled, as were many of the intercity TGV trains.

I hope that you have already left Paris, since the French air traffic controllers began their planned six day strike today:

French air traffic control strike: passengers face 14,000 hours of delays

I'm having a blast in Barcelona, and other than not meeting you I don't regret missing Paris one bit.

Have I missed your new thread? Where are you?

>253 nittnut: I was wondering the same thing . . .

I think she's enjoying that new library of hers way too much. ;-)

She posted to FB the other day, so at least we know the bookshelves didn't fall on her...

>256 nittnut: That's reassuring to know!

>256 nittnut: hahaha. Trust that you are wallowing in the comfort of your family in your lovely new home. Thinking of you this holiday time.

Pat, I just thought I would swing by to say hello and wish you all the best in your new home this holiday season.

*waving* at Pat

Happy holidays, Pat! My best to you and yours.

Merry Christmas Pat - Just in case you turn up here one of these days. ;)

Hi Everybody!

I was just doing a quick check of LT before heading out for some last minute Christmas shopping and was shocked to see my thread with comments. I don't swing into high gear until December 15th each year and then I always scramble to be ready. The curse of being a procrastinator!

I will post more; probably after Christmas at this point. We're having our traditional Christmas Eve dinner for Mike's family--about 20 people this year so the likelihood of having free time is not high until after that is over.

I really appreciate you guys stopping by since I've been very bad at keeping up. Every once and while I try to catch up on threads and then fall hopelessly behind again.

We absolutely love our new house and I wish we hadn't waited so long to build our own home. The unexpected, but great, thing that happened with being in a new subdivision is that everyone that's moved in has been so social so we now know about 20 people we had never met a year ago and we get together more often than I would have thought.

Somehow my life sped up in May when we moved and I still don't have the time I used to for LT but I'm hoping to change that in 2015.

Love and miss you guys and hope to be back soon!

Pat

>262 phebj: There you are! Your thread is so old all the images were gone from the cache and had to reload. Figured you were OK since Rocky has made appearances on Smiler69's thread. (I'd love to see photos of the new house... perhaps when you are settled into 2015.)

Pat!! It's great to see you around. Have a very Merry Christmas and we'll see you in 2015. :)

Lovely to see you posting Pat and so pleased you are enjoying your new house and new neighbours. Happy Christmas to you and Mike!

It's great to hear from you!

Merry Merry Christmas, Pat!

Boy, do I understand about the procrastinating until the 15th - it takes about the middle of the month for me to find the Christmas spirit and get moving on stuff.

May your days be merry & bright!

Nice to hear from you, Pat, and I'm glad things are going so well. Have a wonderful holiday!

Glad all is well, Pat, and Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Pat!

Merry Christmas, Pat! Thanks for checking in and giving us a quick update. We miss you. Hope to see you more in the New Year. Hugs!

Merry Christmas, Pat! It's great to see you back on here. I know what you mean about real life speeding up - the same thing's happened to me this year but I am hopeful I'll be back a bit more next year.

Nice to see you Pat. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

So good to hear from you, Pat. It sounds like you're having a great time at your new house. Have a merry Christmas!

Happy Christmas, Pat!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Christmas Pat!

Yay! Pat came back!!! (And I don't wait until the 15th because I'm a procrastinator - which I am - but because I love my Christmas short and intense!)



Merry Christmas, Pat, and a joyful Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas, Pat!

Dear Pat, best wishes to you for a very Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Pat! It's great to see you back here. One of my biggest regrets of the year is not being able to meet up with you in Paris in June, but hopefully we can get together sometime in the near future.

Thank you for all the beautiful holiday wishes. Hope everyone's thoroughly enjoying their celebrations! We had a great party last night but it was an exhausting day getting ready for it. I need to rethink my modus operandi of waiting until the last minute to get things done.

I'm about to start reading Deep Dark Down by Hetor Tobar about the 2010 Chilean mining accident. NPR's Morning Edition is doing a sort of book club starting with this book (http://www.npr.org/2014/12/11/369409338/join-the-morning-edition-book-club-were-reading-deep-down-dark) so I figured I'd give it a try. Basically, you print out their little reading guide which is a place to record your impressions of the book. They're having a show with the author on January 20th and you can submit questions for him ahead of time. I figured I'd see what it was like and if it turns out to be a good experience I'll consider reading along with some of their other selections.

I'm really looking forward to being more active on LT next year. Here's a Currier & Ives print from 1863 of Skating in Central Park. It's pretty cold and blustery here today but we actually got a dusting of snow last night so we woke up to a White Christmas!

Great to hear how well things are going for you, Pat! A white Christmas--fun!

Happy Holidays, Pat! Glad things are going so well.

Well, I lost you entirely this year, Pat, I'm sorry to say. I've skimmed this thread for the high points (I think). Grand that you're in the new house and loving, and finding the neighbors congenial. I hope you'll find time to make a new thread for 2015, and that I'll find time to follow it! Happy New Year!

Dear Pat,



Happy New Year from your friend in Kuala Lumpur

Wishing you all the best in 2015, Pat!!
I completely understand life being too busy for much LT but I do hope you're able to stop by occasionally in the new year.
Take good care!

Thanks for the New Year's wishes everyone. 2014 was a busy but good year and I'm not sure I'm going to be able to top it in 2015 but I'm going to try.

I plan to set up my 2015 thread over the weekend. After being off of LT for awhile, I'm rusty on all the special coding I used to know by heart. It's also been awhile since I've transferred pictures from my phone onto LT so I expect some trial and error in getting my thread set up. I'll post a link here when it's done.

Hope you all are enjoying the holiday!

Finally got my 2015 thread up -- http://www.librarything.com/topic/186004. Hope to see you there!