The Thirteenth Tale

I just finished the book, The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, for my neighborhood book club.  It was a wonderful and refreshing book.  The story takes place in England, but it is difficult to identify the time specifically (one of the things I like about it).  A woman who loves books (her father owns a used-book store) and has written some biographies (only about obscure dead people) is contacted by the most famous female writer of the time to write her biography.  She has been very private so far, but for some reason wants this particular biographer to write her story.

In some ways, the story seems a lot like a victorian love story, but without the dryness of Jane Austen.  It is also a mystery and ghost story - very compelling, hard to put down.

I highly recommend this book, and am happy to loan my copy out if it's not already being used!

Julie

Hawaii countdown: 6 days

Hi again,

So, I'm now 10 weeks pregnant.  The nausea is beginning to subside, but it's still with me every morning and pops up for a visit every now and then thoughout the day.  I'll be glad to see it go.  Otherwise, things are going well.  Except I've hardly cooked in about a month because I can't stand the smell of the grocery store, and have no desire to prepare food - I'm hoping that goes away quickly.  I'm not really having cravings, but I'm hit or miss on what food I like or can tolerate on any given day.

Bring on the second trimester!  Speaking of which, that will begin while we are spending 2 and a half weeks in Hawaii, beginning next Monday.  I can't wait, but I have a lot to do.  Shopping, finishing assignments for this semester, figuring out which clothes will be comfortable as I expand my waistline, etc.

Friends have been very generous with their maternity clothes, and I got to go shopping with my mom and Granny this weekend in Macon.  That was very special.  I feel like I'm pretty well prepared for that.

I can't wait to post photos of Hawaii, some of which will be my first pregnancy photos.  So, stay tuned!

starting new things

Hello! I created this blog months ago, but felt that my first post should be something monumental, and I think that time has finally arrived. Corey and I are eight weeks pregnant, due around Thanksgiving. I'm sure there will be lots of pregnancy/baby updates on here in the future, but I plan to also most thoughts about my work/school, political and environmental issues, books I read, recipes/food I like, the puppies (formerly known as "the babies", but that term now has to be reserved for human babies), and life in general. Hopefully we'll get some photos up here soon as well.
Thanks for reading! Cheers.