Sunday, May 1, 2011

Sunday Salon ~ May Already?!

This week disappeared in the blink of an eye! I had to spend almost two full days in the city for doctor appointments and a procedure. One of my doctor's offices is near a great used bookstore. It's actually part of a library. I found some great books, such as Family Album by Penelope Lively, In Praise of the Stepmother by Mario Vargas Llosa, and Death in Venice and Seven Other Stories by Thomas Mann, as well as a few other goodies! It's a good break from the waiting around.

Days that I have doctor appointments or some kind of procedure can be long and slow. And usually there's a wait involved! I always have a book or two with me, figuring that if I have to sit in my doctor's waiting room for a while, at least I can pass the time reading. No matter how long the wait is, I never managed to read that much! There are always distractions sitting in a doctor's waiting room. Inevitably, there's at least one yapper, talking loudly to anybody who will listen (actually whether anybody really listens I don't think matters!) to all their medical woes. They seem to miss the fact that most of the people in that room are patients with their own medical problems! More likely, they don't care! There's also always at least one person, regardless of how many signs are posted prohibiting cell phone use, either making or receiving a call on their cell phone while sitting in the middle of the waiting room. Not only do they disregard the signs, but they don't have the decency to go out into the hallway! Can' you tell I've been sitting in doctor's waiting rooms for years? I'm not complaining, though. Most of the time, it's pretty entertaining and interesting. And, I don't get a lot of reading accomplished!






I've been working on a blog for the cats and have started visiting other cat blogs to let them know about it. I still have some additions to make and things to figure out. I used Wordpress for the cats blog because Blogger has been giving me so many problems. Anna from Diary of an Eccentric gave me a lot of great information and hints about using wordpress. The blog header picture is Bob and the username for comments comes from our vets nickname for Bob, "BigSexyBob"! I haven't figured out exactly how to switch between accounts and usernames, so if anyone sees "BigSexyBob commenting on a post, it's just me not some strange person with weird ideas! When the cats blog is completely set up and working, I plan to post a link on this blog in case anyone wants to visit Bob and the other felines!

I'm reviewing A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz tomorrow and Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende later in the week. My reading has slowed down a little bit in the last week, I've been feeling fatigued and not very enthused about anything. I think it's probably adjusting to the warmer weather and allergies. I'm reading Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro which I'm enjoying but I'm not sure what else to read. I received my Persephone catalog and will be ordering a few books next week. I might pick up Rosie by Anne Lamott. I received Skinny from author Diana Spechler which interests me. I also have several more reviews with TLC Book Tours in the next few months so I can always start one of those books....
Maybe I'll lie in the sun and get a start on a tan today!

I hope you enjoy your Sunday!

25 comments:

  1. I hope you are starting to feel better after your procedures and that your books and your sweet kitties are bringing you some comfort!

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  2. I hope the procedures went well. Waiting rooms are never fun!

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  3. Amy, hope all went well with your doctor's visits. I have to agree that your Bob does look a little like our Niles (Frasier the cat also disappeared a few years earlier. Niles was more buff color than orange.

    Have a great week.

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  4. I know what you mean about waiting rooms. I was waiting and heard a husband and wife lamenting about their son being sexually active. Not a waiting room conversation!! Hope all went well for you. Looking forward to your new blog.

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  5. I hate waiting rooms for the very same reasons that you mention. Whenever I want to sit and just read my book, there is inevitably some loud talker who wants to share his woes with the world. Also, the doctor's office always has the music on and the television on at the same time, and it's distracting! Couldn't we just have one or the other, or better yet, how about a little silence. Ahh, I feel for you waiting around those places. It bugs the heck out of me!

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  6. Looking forward to the kitties' blog. I hate waiting rooms, too. I always take something to read and try to ignore and block out everyone else. Hope all went well with your appointments.

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  7. I've never been able to read much in doctor's waiting rooms either. Got back from Florida late last night, so I'm trying to catch up today :-)

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  8. The other day, when you commmented on one of my posts your comment ended up in my spam folder because of "BigSexyBob." I thought... hmmm... an alter ego of some sort?? LOL. But then I remembered your cat's name AND I recognized the email.

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  9. I always have a hard time reading in waiting rooms. I need some silence to get into the book and that can be so hard to get!

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  10. Hope all the tests went well Amy. I have a hard time reading at the doctors office too. Too much going on and plus I really hate sitting in the waiting rooms so I have a hard time concentrating. I'm looking forward to checking out the pet blog!

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  11. I bring a book to the doctor's but usually wind up 'people watching'. You're right -- it's so interesting!

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  12. I imagine that visiting the doctor near the bookstore helps take the edge off of having to go to the doctor and whenever I have appointments, I try to go early to sneak in some reading. Of course, I don't have to go as often as you.

    And I love that you are starting a cat blog!!! Have fun with it. And Wordpress is pretty stable and easy to use once you get the hang of it. I was so happy to leave Blogger behind.

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  13. AMUSED: Thank you so much! I'm doing well! The cats and books are a great comfort and so is the book blogging community.

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  14. AMY: Everything went well, Thank you! I agree that waiting rooms are never fun. Sometimes they're interesting or occasionally amazing...some of the people, anyway!
    Thank you for visiting!

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  15. DIANE (Bibliophile by the Sea): It just occurred to me that your Frasier and Niles were named after the characters in the sitcom, "Frasier"! It's one of my favorite sitcoms, so intelligent & funny. And those are great cat names! It's very hard when pets disappear. I want our cats to be indoor kitties but they're too used to the street, having come from there. Maybe one day, I hope!
    Thank you for your comments :o)

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  16. NISE': How strange! lol The conversation you heard in the waiting room is exactly what I mean by sometimes it's interesting! It's as if people don'y realize they are in a confined space close to strangers who can hear everything they say. Maybe they don't care! But the conversation you heard sounds awfully private! I've said before I should write a novel using the people I've seen over the years & the things I've over-heard!

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  17. ZIBILEE: Ugh! The loud talker who wants to tell everyone & anyone there problems really grates on my nerves...especially when they interrupt a good book! Silence is good...or why not 2 different waiting rooms especially the doctors who make you wait a long time. The other thing that annoys me is the cramped spaces used for waiting rooms. My pain management specialist's waiting room provides no room for wheelchairs! It's ridiculous! The doctors should be made to wait in their own waiting rooms for a couple of hours when they are packed with patients and noisy to see what it's like! lol

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  18. SWEET VIRGINIA BREEZE: I'll put a link to the CAT'S blog on my sidebar soon, I just need to fix a few things! I'm so glad you're interested in it. I've learned that the best books for me to bring to waiting rooms are fast-paced mysteries that hold my attention or lighter type reads so that if I'm distracted I don't miss too much. I have to have a book with me in a doc's waiting room!

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  19. JoANN: I'm behind in responding to comments & visiting blogs, as usual! I'm glad you're back and will stop by to see how your vacation was. I'm sure it's nice to be home but sad to be finished with vacation! Thank you for visiting!

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  20. TI: LOL I'm so glad you remembered it's one of my cats names. I'm not computer proficient at all & am SLOWLY learning how to control two blogs without having any problems such as the wrong user names popping up! I know now to be sure I am logged out of one blog when usuing the other. I'm still wondering if it was smart toi have "BigSexyBob" as a user name! If a blogger isn't familiar with it, I understand thinking it's a weirdo...but if you know it's the nickname for a big orange tabby cat it's cute. lol

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  21. KIM: I can totally relate to that! I've learned that lighter-type stories, short stories or fast-paced mystery/thriller type books are best for me to read in waiting rooms. Thanks for visiting my blog!

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  22. DARLENE: Thank you! So far, so good! Waiting rooms definitely aren't conducive to reading. I try to schedule doc appts. I know about around the same time just to get them all over with it! I'll be linking to the cat's blog soon and plan to review books about animals - cats and dogs and more. I hope you'll let me put a picture of adorable Sammy up as the cat's internnet "pal"!

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  23. KATHY A: In Manhattan there's some good people watching especially in doctor's offices! But interesting people turn up everywhere so I'm sure you've seen some characters! I always have a book with me, though - I feel almost naked if I don't!

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  24. JENNERS: And doctor office near a bookstore is preferred. I don't mind going to those docs if I can go to the bookstore after...before & after's even better! lol

    Thank you for the support with the cat's blog. It's taking me a little time to figure out widgets etc. but I like Wordpress better. I think I'm going to switch my blog to wordpress soon. Blogger's driving me nuts lately. lol (I might come to you for advice so beware...! lol)

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  25. Hope the sun is helping you feel better :)

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