Great books, great friendships

I love the book club I'm in. We called ourselves Free Spirits Book Club, because we didn't want to have too many rules. The first book club I was in had alot of rules, and I thought most were ridiculous.

We meet on the 1st Wednesday of the month, right now alternating between a member's house for dinner and eating out. We don't have books picked out for the eating out meetings, and it's fun to just catch up with everybody over dinner without discussing a book (although with a bunch of read-fiends like us, books inevitably come up anyway).

We want everyone to come, even if they didn't finish the book (even if they didn't pick up the book), which I'm finding out is unusual for a book club. I think the only suggestions we have regarding book selections is no blatant religious or political topics that might offend someone. Other than that, anything goes. Along with plenty of current fiction, we've read a couple of non-fictions, a play, and historical fiction. I can't remember anyone choosing a classic yet. We might get some moans and groans, but I think everyone would at least try. I've read some great things I would have never picked up otherwise. And it's just so interesting to hear different perspectives. Our ages range from 30's to 60's, all of us with diverse backgrounds and outlooks. The only things you have to have in common is a love of reading and an appreciation of female frienships.

Even though I knew over half of them before the club started, the women in the club have all become even more special to me. I know we're getting at least one new member this month, and we have two more possibly thinking of joining, and I'm looking forward to hearing what they bring to the discussion. I'm determined to keep going even after the baby comes. I would miss everyone too much, and my soul needs it.

October Book Selection: (Sue's choice) The Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble
Review: 430 pages and I couldn't put it down. I read it in 4 days, some kind of record for me (plus I have alot of time on my hands at the moment). I could identify with several of the characters SO MUCH. It's about a group of women who form a reading group, and the twists and turns their lives each take throughout the first year of the group.

Ready and waiting, waiting, waiting...

Everything's done. The nursery is ready. The clothes are washed and hung up, the furniture is all put together, the pictures are hung. The bag is packed for the hospital. I think we are finally prepared for this monumental happening that is about to take place. But all we can do is wait. The biggest change in your life, and you have NO control over when it happens. Wow.

Good old Stanley, posing. My Mom spray painted her old nightstand, and we found the waste basket on Ebay.

Our theme-two of my husband's favorite things, Snoopy and sports.

Fresh Air!

After the wonderful day of rain we had Labor Day, the air is so different outside. I have been enduring this summer for about as long as I can stand it, and for the first time this morning was able to open up every window (that works) and air out the house. I don't think I've done that since sometime in May. It feels so good!!!

I have a friend at work that claims her allergies are so bad that she can never open up any windows in their house, and rarely spends any time outside. I feel so sorry for her - but my very uneducated theory is that if she'd just spend more time outside, maybe her system would get used Texas air (she's originally from Illinois). I couldn't live that way. I'd feel like I was on an airplane all the time, breathing the same air over and over again.

We've already decided that next year's big money house project is to replace all of our windows. These original windows are kind of cool. They basically have three diagonal panes with two horizontal panes with screens between them, and open with a hinge. But there are quite a few panes with screen missing, and some hinges that are stuck shut. Plus the windows all leak all kinds of air, probably just because the house has settled so much in 40+ years. So I'm really excited about replacing them. We get to have even more ventilation when we want it, and less energy costs when we don't!

The Money-Hungry Dog Whisperer

I love watching The Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic Channel. I have learned so much about what I should have done to train my dogs better. Stanley's 12 and 1/2 and I don't think I see him changing much - and frankly don't think he should have to at that age. But I still have hope that we can remove a little of the dominance out of Molly. We are, of course, a little concerned about bringing a new baby home and how the dogs will react, and I saw a great episode about just that. In the show, Caesar used a special, new harness to get a dominant dog to start treating the humans walking him as pack leaders. It had one strap way up right under the dog's jaw, one farther back on the neck, and one strap behind the dog's shoulders. It was a really interesting show, because apparantly dogs automatically know once the baby is born that he is a pack leader also, being our offspring, albeit a very tiny one at first.

Well, we decided to try to find this newfangled harness and couldn't find one at Petsmart, or anywhere online. So I emailed the Dog Whisperer on his website, where they encourage questions of any kind, asking about the harness. I'm not sure what kind of help I expected, but what I didn't expect was finding THREE emails the next morning trying to hawk Caesar's books and upcoming video. This continued for a couple of days, and then I unsubscribed, even though I had never subscribed in the first place. I still like watching his show, I guess, but I've lost alot of respect for him now. And I still haven't found the blasted harness.