Sunday, October 30, 2011

My Sunday Salon...all kinds of stuff & the winner of my Literary Blog Hop!

Happy Halloween!  I hope nobody is snowed in or without power. A friend of mine and her family live in NJ and lost power late yesterday and are still without it. We got several inches of snow here which is already melting. Some areas in NJ and more upstate NY got walloped by a major snowstorm. The kind of snow was very wet and heavy and, as a result, branches and limbs broke off trees in many spots causing power outages and general mess and chaos. Sheesh! I hope this isn't a sign of what's to come for winter...the Southwest is looking really nice right about now! lol


My youngest and smallest cat, Lola, sat at the window yesterday just watching the snow fall. A few times she pawed at it so I opened it for her. Lola stuck her head out, pulled it right back in, shook and then looked at me and uttered this high-pitched, long, whiney & sad sounding meow - I felt guilty as if the storm was my fault! lolol By late afternoon, 3 cats were sitting around the window staring outside in disbelief that they still couldn't go out. As you can guess, my home is empty of cats today...the sky is blue, the sun is shining and warm and there's not a feline in sight!


I'll be happy to see October come to an end, though. It hasn't been the best month for me health-wise. I had a right heart catherization on Tuesday...what a looooong day it was! I have a fantastic, sweet as-can-be cardiologist who adores her patients and treats each of us like we're her only patient. She's also an excellent doctor. Of course, this means she's in high demand and always busy. As a result, I waited over 2 hours before I was even put in a room and prepped for the procedure and once I was ready and in a mini-OR (I hate those rooms) we waited for her some more...apparently this was partly due to a miscommunication from her staff of 4, all of whom thought the other one had let my Dr. know we were ready. (Grrrrr!). The procedure itself went fine but the results weren't great. I came home exhausted, a little stressed and down. My doctor contacted in the following days to let me know what medicine she had ordered for me and when it arrives at her office, I'll go in and they'll tell me all about it For the first few months of taking it, I'll have to have monthly blood draws etc. Ooooo, does the fun ever end?!! lol Her office is well-situated, since it's in Union Square, quite close to a B & N and, even better, The Strand! Wonderful retail therapy galore!


I think I was more stressed and upset than I realized because I had difficulty sleeping the few nights after the procedure. But I also had difficulty focusing so I didn't get much reading done either which irritated me! Then on Friday night, I fell asleep at 8:30 and woke up 12 hours later! Yay! I'm finally feeling good and well-rested and, most important,  back on track reading!


I had hoped to be, if not finished with, at least three-quarters of the way through Tatjana Soli's The Lotus Eaters by Friday for the readalong at Caroline's blog, Beauty and the Sleeping Cat but that didn't happen. It's taken me a little while to get into the book but I'm really enjoying it now. I'm about 5 pages from the end of The Leftovers by Tom Perotta, a very interesting book! I am three-quarters of the way through Don't Breathe A Word by Jennifer McMahon and having difficulty continuing with the book because it's half fantasy, faeries and the shadow people. This isn't the kind of story I really like unless it involves children playing which it does...sort of. I'll finish it to see what happens, hoping there's an explanation for all of it! I'm really enjoying Wings by Karl Friedrich which I'll be reviewing later this week. I have plenty of reviews to post and write, too! And, since The Jets have the weekend off, I don't have the excuse of football to distract me!

 
I realize I never posted who won my Literary Blog Hop Giveaway! Sorry about this!


The winner of a copy of The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar is Mama Munky of the blog, Babies Books and Signs. Congratulations!
Mama Munky was emailed with the good news & already sent me her address. Soone she will have a copy of this fantastic book which I hope she enjoys!


What book/books are you enjoying this weekend?
Have a great Sunday!

10 comments:

  1. Oh, I am so sorry to hear that your procedure didn't go well. It can be really hard when your health takes a turn for the worse, and there is nothing you can do about it but cope. You will be in my thoughts and prayers over there.

    I just finished reading Warm Bodies for Halloween, and it was wonderful! Now I am back to my Phillipa Gregory that I put aside, and I am hoping to blow through it in the next couple of days.

    I sincerely hope that you are feeling better soon, my friend.

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  2. I'm so sorry to see you're having such health issues. I'm glad you've got a wonderful doctor and I hope she can find a solution that works for you.

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  3. I'm amazed that you are here, writing away on your blog, just days after a major operation! Good for you.

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  4. I am sorry you have had health issues to deal with but I'm glad you're feeling well rested now!

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  5. Sorry to hear about your health stuff. We've had a rough health month at our house as well. Hope next month is best for all of us! Take care.

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  6. Sorry to hear about the frustration/results with your procedure. I'm glad you have such a great doctor... and the Union Square location is ideal :-) We didn't get the storm in our area, but drove right into it for Family Weekend at Twin A's college. Lots of events cancelled. Here's to a better November... Happy Halloween.

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  7. With all the health issues that you are dealing with, you are still one of the most positive people I know. That says a lot about you. Hang in there. Sounds like you have a wonderful doc. At least she is watching out for you!

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  8. So sorry you are having health problems. Hope you will be feeling better soon. I'm glad you have such a wonderful doctor. No snow for us, just cold rain which made the kitties want to snuggle.

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  9. Sorry to hear about your health issues. ((HUGS)) At least you could take comfort that books were nearby! Looking forward to your thoughts on The Lotus Eaters.

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  10. I can't believe you guys have had snow already! We have finally had our first really cold day. I need to get my mind ready for a long winter with a baby in the house :)
    I hope that your new medication can help some of your health issues and that they get the dosing right first thing :)

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