Cheap Amazon Books and First Summer Read

SPSH  Item #4 A Book Read in 2016

I'm making reading a priority this summer, and I have finished my first book! 
It was a very fast read in the psychological thriller genre and generally well-written. I think the very end of the book took a few wrong turns (no spoilers), but on the whole I'm glad I picked it up. Especially because it was very cheap! 
I bought it off the Amazon website, choosing the "used paperback" option. The book only cost .97. Even with $4.00 for shipping, the book was still the least expensive one I have bought in some time. It arrived in very good condition and quickly, even though it came from the U.K. The book had not yet been released in the U.S when I ordered it, so I took the used paperback option. I used to do that a lot when I was buying out of print kids books for my son. I think I'll do it more in the future. Maybe you can do the same.
The book also qualifies as Item #4 on the 2016 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt. I wrote a post about my summer reading plan here if you want to check it out.

Snap: Japanese Street Hole Covers

While traveling in Japan, the variety of street hole covers caught my eye. I decided to take pictures of them in the hopes of turning them into an entry for Helena's weekly photo meme called "Snap!" that features a visual set of photographs. The first photo was taken in Tokyo on the street where our hotel was located; the second features deer and was taken in Nara, home to a park full of wild, sacred deer (blog post coming sometime this summer).The third was taken near an amazing bamboo forest (blog post coming sometime this summer); and the last was a fairly typical one taken in Kyotoa (but I loved the characters).
Thanks Helena for hosting this meme. It's something that I do think about and have created other sequences for almost every week, even if they didn't make their way to my blog. 

Did I mention I went to Japan?

Yesterday I wrote about how I've been away from my blog as part of the ebb-and-flow of the creative process. But, there are other reasons - like work and kids and travel. Yea for travel!
Paul and I went to Japan for two weeks (one week based in Tokyo and one week based in Kyoto). It was amazing. I will no doubt blog more about the trip over the next few months, but I wanted to share one of my favorite photos, taken in a temple garden in Kyoto.
Have you been anywhere lately?
Got any trips planned for the summer?

Caravan Photo Then & Now and Thoughts on Returning to Blogging and Photography

Caravan Photo, 2013

2016 Item #6 A camper or caravan

When I put this item on the Scavenger Hunt list, I wasn't thinking about this vintage caravan that's parked around the corner from my house. I was mainly scrambling to come up with items that paralleled summer vacation ideas. But then I saw it when taking the dog for a walk and snapped a picture. It reminded me of when I first saw the caravan three years ago, took the top photo and wrote this post. 

Three years ago, I was a much more avid photographer and blogger. I spent more time with my camera and crafting words to tell stories and capture feelings. I miss that so much. 

And that's one of the reasons I decided, after much thought, to host the scavenger hunt again this summer. It's a great reminder to take photographs and visit blogland. I'm still working on getting 'round to visit blogs. I'm still working on figuring out whether my big camera works (it was treated as a chewtoy by the dogs one afternoon) and how to get photographs from it to the computer (my software was destroyed in my last hard drive reboot). But, those are all goals for the summer. ror now, I'm glad to be back to taking photos and blogging.

I know from reading blogs that there is an ebb and flow in being a blogger. Some people leave and return. Some leave and take to facebook and instagram. Some seem to disappear entirely. I'm glad that you haven't left blog space entirely. I value your friendship and your posts. And I'm glad to be back among you.

The Hunt is On!

#19 A Seasonal Cocktail or Beverage

The 6th Annual Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt is off and running! Lots of people are posting to the instagram #rindas2016scavengerhunt and tons of people are active over at the facebook page.  There's even been a few blog posts, such as this one  by BJ and this one by Alicia. I, myself, have already found three items from the list. Paul and I have made it a fairly regular practice to head to a little tapas place in the harbor on Friday afternoons to enjoy their fantastic Sangria, pictured above.

#11 Fresh Produce

I also took a minute on Thursday to snap a photograph of what we got in our weekly "community supported agriculture" box: fennel; nectarines; rosemary; strawberries; kale; red onions; lettuce and squash.  This is about the fourth year we've been participating in this program, and I love it.

I thought twins would be hard, but Deb Turtle has already posted a shot on instagram. Also thought skeleton or x-ray would be challenging, but that was before we found out that Catherine is an OR nurse and posted this to the facebook page:

So, how is the Hunt going for you? Are there things that are hard to find? Things that are very easy? Feel free to post a link to any blogpost in comments, and I'll come take a look.

In the meantime, here's a terrific graphic created by Julie Kirk of notes on paper:

Enjoy! And let me know how things are going for you.

Summertime Reading

Meant to auto-post this for Thursday, June 2, but missed that step in posting! So I'll just leave this here for now. Scavenger Hunt list is in the next post.
One of the items I put on the list for the 2016 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt List was #4 A book or magazine read during 2016 because I think of summer time as a time to catch up on reading. This photograph doesn't count as my entry because I took it before the official start of the Hunt, but I did want to blog about summertime reading. I do most of my reading on my kindle, but I also listen to audio books, and I even have one physical book (I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh) that is in the mail to me. I'll probably photograph that one for the Scavenger Hunt.
I always start the summer with a reading plan. This summer, I wanted to start by finishing a few books that have been hanging around for a while, almost done. And I did that. I just completed The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian. It is a very fast read by the author of Midwives. It covers a disturbing subject (trafficked sex workers), but does so in a reasonable way. It's not literature, but it is a page turner and definitely provides food for thought. 
I am also almost done with Lets Pretend This Never Happened, a memoir by blogger Jenny Lawson. It's funny and quirky, but best done in small segments. I think I will finish it in the next few days, though, to clear the decks for the things I'm really excited about starting. I still have a few others "in process," including Denali's Howl and The Art of Fielding, but I'll move on to new books instead of finishing those.
Of those cued up on my kindle, the two I'm most interested in starting are The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin and Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of a Fist by Sunil Yapa.

On the audio books side of the board, my book group read Girl at War by Sara Novic. It was a very fast "listen." I found the story, set in Croatia, of a child, caught up in the Yugoslavian Civil War very compelling and well written. I didn't know much about that particular portion of contemporary history (save for a memorable episode of the television show ER), so I was glad to have read it and definitely recommend it. 
I was also happy to finally finish off listening to We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Jay Fowler. The book was interesting and unusual, but I'm not sure it was ever clear what it wanted to be (an animal rights book? a family story?). Entertaining, but a bit overlong. 
I have two book cued up on my audible account - The One-in-a-Million Boy by  Monica Woods and A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie. The first is a novel, and the second is a Scotland Yard detective mystery that is part of a series. I have also just added Before the Fall  by Noah Hawley.
My summer time selections have been highly influenced by the Modern Miss Darcy Summer Reading Guides (find the minimalist version here, which includes a link to a much longer guide).
So, do share. Do you make summer reading plans? What's on your bed stand (real or virtual)? Have you read anything good lately? Any reactions to the things on my list?

2016 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt: The List!

In the northern hemisphere, summer officially begins a little later this month. And, with summer arrives my annual Photography Scavenger Hunt. The idea is simple. I post a list of 21 items for you to find and photograph before the autumn equinox on Thursday, September 22, 2016. The list is intended to be challenging, but not impossible. Hopefully it encourages you to go on a few outings; always it requires you to be observant. You can read more about how items make the list by clicking on this link. 
For those of you with blogs, post your photographs and share your adventures in finding the items. For those without blogs, keep track of your finds in some other way (a flicker account, a shutter fly album, etc.) if you want to be able to share them with the group. (It makes it easier to share if you "label" or "tag" your scavenger hunt posts, as you do them). Once a month, I'll host a link-up so people can visit your finds, but feel free to post about the Hunt whenever you like. 
There's only two rules: no fair submitting photographs taken before the start of the Hunt and have fun. 
Newcomers welcome - the more, the merrier! No special photography skills are required - I love seeing everything from snap shots to fine art photography in response to the list. 
For pictures I take on my iphone, I'll be posting to instagram using #rindas2016photohunt. There's also a facebook page  (with big thanks to Kathryn Trotter). Ask to join, and she or I will let you in.
So, without any further ado, here's this year's lists:
1. A "wild heart" - a naturally occurring heart (like the rock above, but it doesn't have to be a rock)
2. A footprint or pawprint
3. A skeleton, bone or x-ray
4. A book or magazine read during 2016
5. A porch or deck
6. A camper (caravan)
7. A family gathering
8. A drawing, art project, artistic photograph, scrapbook page, greeting card, or art journal page created by you.
9. Someone playing with, in, or around water.
10. A bicycle
11. Fresh produce
12. A window
13. The moon
14. A buffet of food
15. A team logo
16. A map showing a trip taken during the time period
17. Twins
18. A supermarket cart, basket or trolley full of groceries 
19. A seasonal cocktail or beverage
20. Someone laughing
21. A photograph of you with a newspaper or calendar page from the time period covered in the Hunt. Note: you may not use a substitute for this item.
Alternatives - if you're having trouble finding any of the above, you may substitute from this list (but you may not substitute for item #21):
alternative 1: a lighthouse
alternative 2: a baby (human or animal)
Let me know if you have any questions. Also, if you're new to my blog or the hunt, let me know. And if you're a blogger, leave a link to your blog so I can add you to my feedly reader.