Thursday’s Tale: Dearg-Due

by Carol1 Comment
Today I've got another Irish tale, this one about a vampire. A beautiful Irish maiden, Órga, was deeply in love with a common peasant boy, Grian. They had promised to love each other forever, but Órga's father promised her hand to a rich Clan Chieftain. Her father was promised wealth and lands for himself and his other children in exchange for his daughter's hand in marriage. Of course, Órga and the rich man were married and on the day of the wedding everyone partied till nightfall. Órga looked on, cursing her father and promising vengeance. Órga's husband was a horrible, mean and conceited man. He locked her away so only he could see her magnificent beauty; he wanted to keep her all to himself. Órga hated being locked away in the dark, hidden from everything she loved. Some say she poisoned herself no longer able to live the life her father had put upon her, while others say she died of a broken heart. Órga's burial was a...
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The Visitant by Megan Chance

by Carol5 Comments
I don't usually read ghost stories, but this seemed like a perfect fit for RIP X and I do love Venice as a setting. To me, The Visitant had three parts: the setting, the ghost story, and the romance. The story is set in Venice but most of it takes place in the Basilio palazzo. It's the perfect setting: a crumbling old mansion, too cold and grey, in a city that, while romantic, is also decaying. The servants are hostile to Elena and the aunt is just flat out odd. There is a lot of time establishing the atmosphere. Elena is hoping to see Venice but seems trapped in this house. the setting is probably my favorite part of the story. The ghost story was not scary enough to keep me up at night, but progressed well. The ghost was clearly angry, and, unlike Elena, the reader knows it's a ghost from the beginning - the title tells us. It doesn't take...
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Readers’ Workouts – 10/13

by Carol3 Comments
Here are my steps for the week. At least I made my goal overall for the week, even if my steps were pretty up and down. You can certainly tell the days I work 9-5.   Here's my current plan. Today is Tuesday of Week 4. My week: Tuesday - 55 mins on elliptical Wednesday - Arm and shoulder workout Thursday - Ran 30 mins, 2.59 miles Monday -  Arm and shoulder workout (Oops. Forgot to look at my schedule before working out.) I’m down 11.4 lbs from 5/19. (My goal is 20 lbs) I usually listen to a book while I'm running or walking. This week I'm listening to The Quick by Lauren Owen for the RIP X read-a-long. How was your week? Readers’ Workouts is hosted by Joy at Joy’s Book Blog. Thanks...
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Thursday’s Tale: Boann

by Carol7 Comments
I'm thinking Irish stories for the rest of this month, since Samhain is traditionally celebrated at the end of October, from sunset on the 31st to sunset on November 1. It's a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the "darker half" of the year and is part of the basis of our Halloween. Today, we'll talk about Boann, the goddess of the River Boyne, a river in Leinster, Ireland. Boann was a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the tribe of the gods. Her husband is Nechtan, the river god. She had two lovers, the Dagda, the good god, the father figure, and Elcmar, his chief steward. She and the Dagda had a son, Aengus, the god of love. In order to hide their affair, the Dagda made the sun stand still for nine months; therefore, Aengus was conceived and born in one day. But that doesn't really have anything to do with today's tale. Today's story describes how the Rover Boyne...
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Pop Sonnets: Shakespearean Spins on Your Favorite Songs by Erik Didriksen

by Carol4 Comments
Pop Sonnets is a cute, quirky little book. Didriksen takes popular songs from over the years, oldies through today's hits, and Shakepereanizes them, with the appropriate vocabulary and meter. There are few books I read parts of out loud to my husband, but this was one of them. It's fun to see how he takes songs we know and transforms them. Here are the opening lines of a couple of my favorites: Guns 'n' Roses, "Sweet Child o' Mine" Her smile, it doth recall a simpler time - the bygone years when I was but a boy; each day held some discovery sublime, each exploration brought some newfound joy. Spin Doctors, "Two Princes" Two noblemen before thee genuflect, entreating thee in ernest for thy hand. The first, he garners riches and respect; the other's only flights of fancy plann'd. Hmm, showing my age there, aren't I? The Eagles' "Hotel California," is immediately recognizable. I drove my carriage o'er the darken'd road when faintly I observ'd a distant inn. When I arriv'd, their greeting did forbode the vile debauchery I...
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Readers’ Workouts – 10/6

by Carol7 Comments
The sent me a new fit bit!  Here's the few days I had it this week. Hopefully next week'll be better. Here's my current plan. Today is Tuesday of Week 3, but I did pretty poorly. Amber and I ran into each other in the kitchen on Thursday and I ended up with a face of hot soup, which burned, so I've been on a bit of a pity party for myself for the last few days. It'll heal fine, but right now my forehead and chest are still pretty red and splotchy and my nose is peeling. I'm planning on going to the gym this afternoon, though - my stuff's already in the car. My week: Tuesday - 50 mins on elliptical Wednesday - Arm and shoulder workout Monday - Walk with the dog I’m down 11.4 lbs from 5/19. (My goal is 20 lbs) I usually listen to a book while I'm running or walking. This week I'm listening to The Quick by Lauren Owen for the...
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