Are you one?

 

I am!!

Practical Gill win's out every time!

Over the last couple of days the practical side of Gill (Gillian) has won over the "I don't care/fun side" of Gill!

Let me explain.  We went to look over some new homes; no we are not moving, it was more a research thing, for someone else.  I dragged hubby along with me and went in with "I know these aren't suitable for us" attitude.  How wrong I was there....LOL  I loved the homes, BUT and it's a very big BUT, they are townhomes/terraced homes, so not hugely fond of that aspect, but could live with it. Also, despite you actually owning the home, you don't actually own the land it is on.  We did that in our last house.  Here's the kicker though with this subdivision, unlike with our last house, where the water, all garden maintenance and house insurance and roof replacement (when needed) was covered by the monthly fees, this one NOTHING is covered and you still have to get board approval for any changes made outside.  Also for the lot's we liked (not backing onto another house) you were required to pay between $750 to $850 per month rental fee, for the land.  So practical Gill kicked in and said a firm no to this situation and I am glad about it!

Then yesterday it was a humid dreary day.  Hubby said lets go to the casino.  We can each spend $20 and see how we do.  Have a bit of fun.  So off we trot and I went through my first $20 pretty fast, so ended up putting in another $20 and here is what I won:

That is a 212.5% win on a 66 cent bet.  I did my three back up spins (as per Brian Christopher Slots!) and ended up winning some more.  I cashed out at $160.10, as practical Gill stepped in.  Between us we walked out with I think $135 in profit.  We could have stayed longer, we were there for an hour, but we knew there was a good chance we would end up losing it all..........as the casino always wins!!!

Passed a gas station on the way home and filled up the car with $50 worth of gas from our winnings.

So despite being annoyed that "Practical Gill" always wins, in both these cases it was the right thing to do.  It's been a few months since we have been to the casino, it's not a thing we do very often.  I was looking back to the last time we went to the casino and it was in March and I posted about it here.

Are you a very practical person?

Halloween Cross Stitch.........

In the past 40 years I have been doing cross stitch, I have never done a Halloween Cross Stitch.  Do you remember when I did the Christmas Cross Stitch sew along last year?  You can see the results on this blog post.

Well Durene Jones Cross Stitch is having another sew along which is Halloween themed.  It's not very big only 7 1/2 inches square and only 3 colours.  What's not to like about that.  It is a 4 part weekly pattern release and best of all it's free!!!  You can read more about it here. (It is a Facebook link)

Books I read in August.......

 The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

Kim Edwards’s stunning novel begins on a winter night in 1964 in Lexington, Kentucky, when a blizzard forces Dr. David Henry to deliver his own twins. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy, but the doctor immediately recognizes that his daughter has Down syndrome. Rationalizing it as a need to protect Norah, his wife, he makes a split second decision that will alter all of their lives forever. He asks his nurse, Caroline, to take the baby away to an institution and never to reveal the secret. Instead, she disappears into another city to raise the child herself. So begins this beautifully told story that unfolds over a quarter of a century—in which these two families, ignorant of each other, are yet bound by the fateful decision made that winter night long ago.

This book took me a while to immerse myself into.  However, I am so glad I kept reading as the more I read it, the better the book got.  Well worth the read.

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

I reviewed this book on this post here.

She Didn't See It Coming by Shari Lapena

When a beloved wife and mother disappears, a luxurious condo building transforms into a potential crime scene, and the investigation begins: Can the detectives find her before it's too late?  Bryden and Sam have it all: thriving careers, a smart apartment in a luxury condominium, supportive friends and a cherished daughter. The perfect life for the perfect couple.

Then Sam receives a call at his office. Bryden—working from home that day—has failed to collect their daughter from daycare. Arriving home with their little girl, he finds his wife’s car in the underground garage. Upstairs in their apartment her laptop is open on the table, her cell phone nearby, her keys in their usual place in the hall.  Except Bryden is nowhere to be seen. It’s as if she just walked out.

How can she have disappeared from her own home? And did she even leave the building at all?  With every minute that passes—and as questions swirl around their community—Bryden and Sam’s past seems a little less perfect, their condominium less safe, their friends, neighbours and relatives no longer quite so reliable . . .

This book was quite a page turner, with many twists and turns in it.  I felt another book could be written to finish off the story of what happens next to a couple of characters.  I picked up a damaged copy of this book at a big discount that is why I bought it.  Thoroughly enjoyed it and will have to read more of her books in the future.

The Maze by Nelson DeMille

In his #1 New York Times bestseller Plum Island, Nelson DeMille introduced readers to NYPD Homicide Detective John Corey, who we first met on the back porch of his uncle’s waterfront mansion on Long Island, recovering from wounds incurred in the line of duty.

Six novels later, The Maze finds Corey on the same porch, having survived new law enforcement roles and romantic relationships—wiser and more sarcastic than ever. Corey is restless and looking for action, so when his former lover Detective Beth Penrose appears with a job offer, Corey has to once again make some decisions about his career—and about reuniting with Beth.

Inspired by the real-life Gilgo Beach murders, The Maze takes us on a dangerous hunt for an apparent serial killer who has murdered nine—and maybe more—sex workers and hidden their bodies in the thick undergrowth on a lonely stretch of beach.

As Corey digs deeper into this case, he comes to suspect that the failure of the local police to solve this sensational mystery may not be a result of their incompetence—it may be something else. Something more sinister.

I had a mixed reaction to this book.  On one hand this book was a fast read, as the way it was written it made you read fast, as everything was happening at such a fast pace.  It made you feel exhausted just trying to keep up with it all. Due to that you were kept on your toes the whole time wondering what was going to happen next.

I did find the lead up to the main story took too long in my eyes.  The main character John, his dry sense of humour was a hit with me.   This is the 6th book about John Corey, but works as well as a stand alone book.

When we finally got to the "meat and potatoes" of the story, it wrapped up too fast to my mind.  I enjoyed the book, but I wouldn't run out and read more of this series.

Broken Anchor by Paul Feist

Here is a link to the author.  I bought this book as he is a "local author," so I thought I would support him.  This book was okay.  I feel as though it's more a man's cup of tea than a woman's.  I think it was just more what it was about that would appeal more to a man than a woman.

Kiss Her Goodbye by Lisa Gardner

A young mother haunted by war, determined to make a fresh start. But sometimes, the sins of the past aren't so easy to escape.

Recent Afghan refugee Sabera Ahmadi was last seen exiting her place of work three weeks ago. The local police have yet to open a case, while her older, domineering husband seems unconcerned. Sabera's closest friend, however, is convinced Sabera would never willingly leave her three‑year old daughter. At her insistence, missing persons expert Frankie Elkin agrees to take up the search through the broiling streets of Tucson. Just in time for a video of the young mother to surface—showing her walking away from the scene of a brutal double murder.

Frankie quickly realizes there's much more to the Ahmadi family than meets the eye. The father Isaad is a brilliant mathematician, Sabera a gifted linguist, and their little girl Zahra—she has an uncanny ability to remember anything she sees. Which given everything that has happened during the girl's short life, may be a terrible curse. When Isaad also disappears under mysterious circumstances and an attempt is made on Zahra's life, Frankie realizes she must quickly crack the code of this family's horrific past.

Someone is coming for the Ahmadis. And violence is clearly an option. When everything is on the line, how far would you go to protect the ones you love?  Frankie is about to find out.

I have nothing negative to say about this book.  It was so good and I read it in a day, as I couldn't put it down.  The cast of characters made it so interesting, as was the topic of the book.  I need to find more of the "Frankie Elkin's" books; liked her as a leading character.

The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown

While in Paris, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is awakened by a phone call in the dead of the night. The elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum, his body covered in baffling symbols. As Langdon and gifted French cryptologist Sophie Neveu sort through the bizarre riddles, they are stunned to discover a trail of clues hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci—clues visible for all to see and yet ingeniously disguised by the painter.

Even more startling, the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion, a secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci, and he guarded a breathtaking historical secret. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle—while avoiding the faceless adversary who shadows their every move—the explosive, ancient truth will be lost forever.

I picked this book up in a thrift store while my mother was here for 50 cents I think.  As it's a book I had never read, so thought I would give it a go.  It wasn't the worst book I have ever read, but will say a lot of the "technical" stuff went right over my head.  I did spend most of the book saying to myself, "this can't be right, it's the total opposite of what I'd been brought up on; religion wise."  Not that I can claim to be religious but I do believe in God. 

Anyhow, I can now say I have read the book.  For anyone who has read the book and watched the movie, which one was better?

So all in all another mixed bag of books that I read in August.  Yesteryear is probably one that I remember the most, as I loved the ending.  My least favourite was probably a tie between Broken Anchor and The Da Vinci Code.

Well that crept up on us........

I was in the shower on Sunday morning when it dawned on me that Monday (today) was the last day of August????   Where has the summer gone too?  Now technically for us, Summer can last until mid-October as September can be really nice.

I find that now hubby has retired one day passes into another, as we don't have "work" days and day's of leisure/weekend.  So unless I actually look at the calendar I never know what the date is.  I generally still remember what day it is....so I guess that's helpful....LOL

I had an "experience" the other day at Shopper's Drug Mart that made me truly realize how lucky hubby and I are.  It was "senior's day" at Shopper's where everyone over the age of 55 could get a 20% discount on regular priced items.  I went in to pick up some stuff and cash in some points as it was bonus redemption as well.  In my case I cashed in 50k in points and got $70 worth of products free.

Anyhow, I was cashing out and it was a small counter.  Up marched this guy with a cart and proceeded to plop all his stuff on the counter and walked off.  A woman quickly came to the counter (his wife) and handed the cashier her card.  At this point I hadn't even paid; something she didn't know.  The cashier told her she hadn't finished with me, and of course the lady apologized as she didn't realize what had happened.

I said no worries, but feel free to pay for my order.  We all laughed and she said, "luckily it's pay day for us all and we can afford to pay for all our things."

I had to think for a minute what she was on about and then I realized it was the day seniors (including us) got their pensions paid by the Government.  Shopper's Drug Mart does this promotion every month to coincide with when the Government pays the State pensions; again it hadn't dawned on me why they did it.

It made me realize that we are so lucky to not have to rely on the State pensions to make ends meet.  That must be so frightening to know you can't go out and buy the basic needs until your pension comes in.

I was telling my daughter in law the story and she was telling me she is part of a mum's group on Facebook and some mothers post that they need certain items because their monthly baby/child allowance hasn't come in, or asking others if their baby/child allowance has hit the bank yet as they need it to buy basics.

So feeling very grateful today to be able to pay the bills and have a roof over our head and food on the table............

Happy Sunday...........

 I have a t-shirt with this on the front of it.

I hope your Sunday is more daisies, that oopsies!

Seriously.................

 saw this in Costco on August 25th............

Way, way to early for Christmas stuff 😔