YOU CAN'T HAVE TOO MANY BOOKS!

I just can't go on a cruise without enough reading material. I have begun making some choices on what to take with me to read while relaxing on my balcony or sitting in a deck chair. When I travel I like to take books that are somehow related to the places I am visiting. I also prefer light reading when I travel as I sometimes read when I am tired, or need a book that I can put down easily.

A no-brainer for me to read while in or near Venice is one of Donna Leon's mysteries, which include such wonderful descriptions of life in Venice. Commissario Guido Brunetti is the solver of crimes in her novels. My good friend Lynn was way ahead of me on this one and when I visited her on Maryland's eastern shore recently there were several Leon novels sitting on the night stand in the guest room. The one I chose is "Death and Judgment".

Again my friend Lynn and her husband Jeff rose to the occasion with their extensive library collection and actually found two more mysteries in their collection, one by Robert Harris, "Pompeii", and one by Jason Goodwin, "The Snake Stone". The latter takes place in Istanbul and the former speaks for itself. Both of these authors are new to me, so I will really enjoy getting to know them.

Another book that Lynn and Jeff loaned me is "Michelangelo and the The Pope's Ceiling" by Ross King. I plan to read this before I leave for the cruise as it is definitely not "light reading" and I want to learn all I can about the Sistine Chapel ceiling to better appreciate what I am looking at while I am there.

I think a good plane read is "The Man Who Smiled" by Henning Mankell. The PBS series "Wallander" with Kenneth Branagh is based on his books. Anyway, as you can see I believe that picking reading material for my trip is just as important as choosing shore excursions, etc. When Sun and I went to the Dominican Republic a couple of years ago I managed to read five books while lounging on the beach. Anybody out there have any good reads to recommend?

MAN OVERBOARD!

HOWARD'S END - CAPE MAY, NJ





Or I should say "women overboard". I got a very sad email the other day - Melissa and Alda Mandell have had to drop out of the cruise. Sad, but true. We will miss them.


I have had such a busy summer that I haven't had much time to think about what is it like to be a retiree. I traveled to Watertown, NY at the end of June for a graduation party for Ryan Kenyon, Graham and Rena's son. BeVard parties are always a lot of fun. I stayed an extra day to travel further north to Ogdensburg for nostalgia sake. Then spent a fun evening in Syracuse with family.

I headed down to Lewes, DE the third week of July to pick Hannah up from Field Hockey camp. We spent a couple of days in Rehoboth Beach, driving to Assateague Island to see the wild ponies, spending a couple of hours at a spa getting massages and pedicures, and riding bikes all around town. (It is true what they say about riding a bike - I had not in many many years, and got right back on and took off like a pro - well maybe not like a pro)

On Saturday the 25th we got on a ferry and ferried over the Delware Bay to Cape May, NJ and met up with the rest of the family for a week at the beach. We all fell in love with the house we had rented and didn't want to leave when it was time to go home. Jillian, Brett, Peter, and Aaron joined us from VA, Courtney from NY, and the Kelly's and I from PA. It was a fun week of relaxation and bonding with family. I guess I should mention here that my second attempt at bike riding was not so successful. I ended up laying in the street between two parked cars with multiple cuts, bruises and strains. I did, however, get up, get back on, and ride around for about half an hour just to say I did. Then I nursed my wounds.

On the way home I stopped in York, PA to attend the graduation party for Hope, Don and Doris' daughter. Then the day after I got home I drove to Syracuse for Maleka's baby shower hosted by Amy and Laurie. More pics on facebook for those of you who indulge in that recreation.


I was home for only four days, then headed to NC to visit Stephanie and Ruthie. Ruthie is leaving to live in France for a while to improve her foreign language skills and to experience a different lifestyle. We will miss her, but at the same time envy the wonderful experience she will have.

I had the added pleasure of renewing a relationship with Milan and meeting his son Lars. The five of us headed to Morehead City, NC to spend a couple of days with Bob and just hang out and have fun. Again, more pics on facebook.


From NC I drove to Northern VA to attend a surprise birthday party for an Arlington colleague of mine, then spent a few days with Jillian and Brett and the boys. Later in the week I drove to the Eastern Shore to my friend Lynn's where we spent a couple of days seeing "Julie and Julia" going to the spa, and just enjoying being together. While shopping at the outlets I bought a travel purse and a billfold that will hold my passport, credit card, money, etc. (Always thinking about the cruise!)

I am home again and have said adieu this morning to the French students and chaperone who have been visiting Tunkhannock for three weeks. School will start soon and I will know what it feels like for the first time not to be there!