Only loosely related, but,

Hey, I still have this thing!

Life has been turmoil-ish since my husband passed away almost 7 years ago.

But, as Mary Kay Ash said, miracles happen.

Just wanted to re-introduce myself. Hello world of Litsy!

I don't make #newyearsresolutions. My goal is always just to be kind. This year, after losing my husband, I withdrew even further into myself. I took way too many things to heart, stopped taking care of myself. I started taking many things personally, because I was already in such an emotional state anyway. I got my feelings hurt many times by things people said or did, that in times past would have been a momentary irritation.

"He was a man, take him for all in all; I shall not look upon his like again."

I always seem to turn to Shakespeare at times like these. On December 17, 2018, the man in this picture, my husband, my heart, my soul, took his last breath. My daughter and I are broken, and I think 3 months later still in shock.

An' flights of angels sing the to thy rest.

So it's been a few days. My husband had surgery last week (outpatient, diabetes complications, he's doing great now. ) and I have had a lot going on. Went to my first Mary Kay event in ages... since I got laid off a couple of weeks ago, the extra money I get from sales has been vital to us. I've been depressed, for obvious reasons. I have clinical depression anyway, so this has been a real hit.

My favorite (and only) cat Raven and I want to say congrats to @CoffeeCatsBooks on hitting 15,000! Here's to another 15,000!

My choice for #siblings in the #readingresolutions challenge is Little Women. I've read it multiple times, it is an all time favorite.

For #readingresolutions #trending I decided to choose this classic. I'm not sure how I feel about a new moving being made of this book, but I admit it has made me want to read it again.

I've been meaning to read these for years. After the tragic death of Sue Grafton, I felt like I needed to go ahead and dig in. Let's get started. #mystery

So February is almost over, and since I've just returned to Litsy, I thought I'd just jump in rather than trying to catch up. I picked up this book ages ago, not really knowing much about Chelsea Handler. I really found it hysterical. It's honestly been a while since I read it, so I feel like I need to pick it up again and reread it. I could really use the laughs.

1. Daughter has a sleepover. Teen overload!
2. 5'7"
3. 2 1/2 years
4. Various mgmt books.
5. My phone misbehaved. I had to splice.
#friyayintro @jesshowbooks

Color: Purple
Season: Whatever season we're in.
Genre: Just one? If I have to pick, Urban Paranormal.
Hobby: Reading and Crochet.
Snack: Grapes. Or cheesecake.
Favorite Drink: Diet Pepsi
Tagging @Librarianaut .

So. I've been gone for a little while. I've had an interesting few months since I last posted, including a shoulder re-injury that required physical therapy, more health issues for both me and my hubby, Christmas in retail, and then getting laid off from the job I'd had for 18 1/2 years. And then this week, my husband had eye surgery (Diabetes is nothing to play around with, kiddies, believe me.) So, here I am. Reading and crocheting.

Another catch-up post. This is my beautiful 6 year old girl Raven, who I wanted to show you for #internationalcatday. We've had her for about 10 months.
I admit that I know nothing about the book I tagged, but the title drew me in. Last August we lost our 16 yo cat Max, who was a rescue we'd had for four years. He was a force of nature, and when we lost him we felt like our hearts had been ripped out.

My pick for #anditsaugust #drinksoncovers is Bill Bryson's Neither Here Nor There. I haven't read it yet but I love this man's writing. First thing I ever read by him was I'm a Stranger Here Myself. I started reading it on a break at work and had go buy it so I could finish it at home!

My choice for #anditsaugust #quickreads is really anything by Thich Nhat Hanh. All of his books can be read quickly, and I find that I get something different with each reread. These are my go-to comfort books.

Still playing catch-up, my choice for #anditsaugust #unusualnarrators is Anne Rice's Servant of the Bones. The main character was a Hebrew living in Babylon. The Babylonian god Marduk befriends him, and this distresses his family. He is chosen as a sacrifice, to become a gold covered statue. The witch betrays him, and he becomes enslaved to the gold- coated bones of his mortal remains.

I've been away for a few days, sidelined with a shoulder injury. Playing catchup with #anditsaugust. I have not yet read Devil In The White City, but my husband raves about it so it's going on my to read list. This is my choice for #itshistory.

Today's subject in #anditsaugust is #comicsbywomen . While I am married to one of the biggest comic book geeks around and I am somewhat familiar with many of them, they are certainly a little out of my comfort zone. Persepolis is one that raises my interest and this prompt has been what I need to act on my curiosity.

So I'm behind in my reading of this series ( apologies to author @KevinHearne ) but I'm so ready to dig into this one! This is my choice for @RealLifeReading 's #anditsaugust, Day 5, #sharp

A little behind here as I spent all day in one doctor's waiting room or another. ( I'm OK.) My pick for @RealLifeReading 's #anditsaugust day 4 #hairthereandeverywhere is this stellar book by Lorraine Massey. Having naturally curly hair, it can be extremely difficult to care for properly. This book helped me learn to accept and even love my hair, even when I wake up in the morning looking like an anime character gone wrong.

#20FactsAboutMe
1. I was the 1st person in my family to graduate HS. Parents and grands all quit before graduating.
2. I graduated from college, another family first. My parents were proud.
3. I am a coal miner's daughter.
4. I get my love of reading from my father.
5. When I started college I was so painfully shy I couldn't walk into a classroom if people were already in there.
⬇

My post for #tbrboost challenge (@Christyco125 )

1. You can blame @Librarianaut for me being here.
2. Usually Litsy, sometimes Goodreads.
3. For light reading my Simple Touch is fine. If it requires concentration I need a physical copy.
4. All the time. I work in a bookstore.
5. Never have, not sure why.
6. JR Ward's Lover Enshrined. Bailed on it.
7. Jenny Lawson's Furiously Happy.
8. I honestly can't remember, I get so many recommendations.
⬇

Oh my. Well, playing fair since I'd just done the #ForFontsSake entry, my closest book was indeed the Supernatural Book Of Monsters, Spirits, Demons, and Ghouls:

"If you died violently, especially in a way that mutilated your body, you might find yourself turned into an ekimmu." #lovelifeon45 #yeahnothardly

My entire family is a group of Supernatural nuts. I love the use of fonts on this cover, so it's my choice for #ForFontsSake in @RealLifeReading 's #anditsaugust challenge.

I'm taking a little bit of a different path for #anditsaugust day 2, #girlfriends . Bear with me. Mary Kay Ash is the founder of Mary Kay cosmetics. In the 60's she wanted to start her own company but no bank would give her a loan because she was a woman. Her husband had faith in his wife and used their life savings to start her company.

I love MK products, and the company donates a lot of money to cancer research and domestic violence causes.

I'm ba-aaaaack! I've been absent for a couple of months ( long story) but I'm back and intend to come back in full force. To jump right into things, let's get to @RealLifeReading 's August book challenge, #anditsaugust. My #augustmostanticipated actually came out a few weeks ago, but I haven't read it yet so I'm really looking forward to it. Eddie Izzard is my favorite comedian so I can't wait to dig into this memoir!

Playing catch-up for #MayBookFlowers. My pick for #supernaturalmysteries is Kim Harrison's Hollows series, starting with Dead Witch Walking. A coworker bought this book for me to cheer me up after I had a bad day.
Witch bounty hunter Rachel Morgan, her pixie backup Jinx and vampire roommate Ivy battle demons, vampires, and all manner of supernatural creatures. They all have movie titles, and the rest are Clint Eastwood titles.

For #MayBookFlowers #mexicanormexicanamericanwriters I'm ashamed to admit that the only author who came to mind was Sandra Cisneros. (I initially thought of Gabriel García Márquez, but although he died in Mexico, he's Colombian.) So, I did some research and Ana Castillo fascinates me. This is why I participate in these, to broaden my reading. Thank you, @RealLifeReading !

I have decided to put some of my work on Channillo. If you haven't heard of it, it's a website founded by Kara Klotz, and her intent is to bring back the art of the serial. You can read the first chapter of any work for free, and if you want more, there are three tiers to choose from. I chose the least expensive: you can read up to 10 serials a month for $4.99. Believe me, I have my hands full with 10 serials.

My #MayBookFlowers pick for a book set #inagalaxyfarfaraway is RM Meluch's Tour Of The Merrimack series, starting with The Myriad. Fun fact: the author attended UNCG.

My pick for #unreliablenarrator for #MayBookFlowers is ANYTHING by Poe. He has to be one of my favorite authors of all time. A favorite memory from my junior high school days was a trip we took to a university that had put on Fall Of The House of Usher as a play, and it was magnificent.

I feel like all the narrators are unreliable because the main character usually starts with, "You will think I'm crazy, but I'm not."

My pick for #sunshine for #MayBookFlowers is Hope For The Flowers by Trina Paulus. This book was read at my college graduation, and it to this day is one of my favorite gift books.

Working in a bookstore has advantages in that I often get a heads up on upcoming books. Still I had a tough time deciding what I wanted to pick for my #MayMostAnticipated for #MayBookFlowers. After much thought I decided that it had to be Michael Crichton's Dragon Teeth, to be published posthumously later this month. @RealLifeReading

Ah, the last entry for #aprilbookshowers from @RealLifeReading . This has been a fun intro to Litsy and I'm looking forward to much more! My pick for #bestofapril HAS to be Jim C. Hines' Libriomancer. This has to be the best sci fi series I've read in a long time.

Hounded is my pick for #indiebookstores in #aprilbookshowers for two reasons. 1. The author loves and supports indie bookstores and 2. I met @KevinHearne at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, NC and he is AWESOME! The book is well written, and, BONUS, the author actually researches the pantheons he includes in his work.

I thought all day about #aneeyorekindofread for #aprilbookshowers, and I just kept coming back to this one. This is an amazing book that I'm certain helped keep me alive during some of my darkest days. She explains how our brains trick us, (especially those of us with chemical imbalances that cause crippling #depression) and how we can outsmart our brain and get it to, for lack of a better term, STFU.

I was tagged by @Librarianaut for this and decided to play along. Come with me! #10books

1. Mists Of Avalon (Bradley)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Austen)
3. Northanger Abbey (Austen)
4. Dead Witch Walking (Harrison)
5. Body Of Evidence (Cornwell)
6. Déjà Dead (Reichs)
7. Dark Lover (Ward)
8. Guilty Pleasures (Hamilton)
9. Hounded (Hearne)
10. Peace Is Every Step (Hanh)

When thinking of my pick for the #masked entry of #aprilbookshowers, I had to go with The Princess Bride. One of the few books that I've loved the movie just as much. This book is an absolute treasure.

My pick for #gardentitle in #aprilbookshowers had to be Sarah Addison Allen's Garden Spells. She is one of North Carolina's best authors.

My pick for #aprilbookshowers #unlikeablecharacters was an easy choice for me. I despise Emma. I had loved Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, so Emma was a bit of a letdown.

Still playing catch-up, here is my #shelfie for #aprilbookshowers. The bottom two rows are too messy to show you. 😱 The second shelf has Harry Potter keeping company with the likes of Dickens and Shakespeare ( and most of the Avengers, a Christmas angel that belonged to my husband's grandmother, and a statue of the Celtic Goddess Brigid. We're pretty eclectic.) The top shelf has my herbal references, more Avengers, and The Morrigan.

Time to play catch up. My pick for the #poetry day of #aprilbookshowers is Rainer Maria Rilke's Letters To A Young Poet. I'm pretty picky about the translations, but all in all I love his work.

A little late for the party again, but here is my pick for #aprilbookshowers #earthtonecovers . My focus was the Barnes and Noble Classics edition of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare, although I realize that the Harry Potter book beside it with no dust jacket qualifies too. And yes, those are tiny Avengers figures hanging out in front of them.

My pick for #aprilbookshowers #subtitles is Frankenstein, or, A Modern Prometheus. I encountered this book in an unusual way: it was a read in one of my psychology courses in college. (The monster goes through developmental stages. )

My #aprilbookshowers pick for #ruralsetting is Jane Eyre. I actually read this one during an independent study at Guilford College. Victorian women in literature was my theme, and I fell in love with this book.

My #aprilbookshowers pick for #dontrememberbuyingthis is DJ Conway's Advanced Celtic Shamanism. Most of my books I remember buying and I remember the reason I bought them or how I got them (gift, etc.) This one is just...here.

A bit late in the day for my #aprilbookshowers, but here is my pick for #localauthor day. Kathy Reichs is a North Carolina author that we are very proud of.

Yay insomnia. Can't sleep, so I thought I'd go ahead and post my pick for #aprilbookshowers #onthenightstand. This one will be a reread, but the author is working on a new book in the series so I want to refresh my memory. After this: Forced To Kill, Option To Kill, and Contract to Kill. (Do you sense a theme?)

Anything by Thich Nhat Hanh is #thoughtprovoking. This is one I turn to again and again when I need reminding to slow down and breathe. #aprilbookshowers @RealLifeReading

@Librarianaut got me hooked on Litsy, and so now I have ensnared...Er, I mean invited some friends along for the ride. Fellow Littens, allow me to introduce you to the awesomeness that is @DhammaKamala and @Time .