Saturdays in the Garden - Ballroom Dancing and an Author Dictatorship

OUTSIDE

So this is going to be quick because I have a book I need to get back to:0).

I got my first real day in the field this week, training some field technicians on butterfly survey techniques, and it was lovely. I saw my first monarch of the year which was a relief and had an invigorating hike through the prairie with a bunch of young'uns, ha ha (they are all mostly in their early 20s)! 

In the garden, I got my final veggies planted - peppers and cucumbers.  Also some Lupine and Phlox plants.  My zucchini seeds are finally sprouting after what felt like forever since planting - it's been 14-20 days.

LIFE

What's up with you all?  I got nothing:0).

WATCHING, READING AND BLOGGING

I recommended one of my favorite movies of all time, Strictly Ballroom, to a work colleague who was feeling stressed and a little down.  For me, it is the ultimate feel good movie and it's impossible to walk away from watching it without a gigantic grin on your face.  Telling him about it, gave me the hankering to watch it for the umpteenth time, which I did that very night.  It made me grin like a fool.  A happy silly fool.  If you need a pick me up - give it a try.  It's a Baz Luhrman film (his first) and is a cheekily over the top tale about competitive ballroom dancing in Australia. As well as being an all around fun film the male lead is (was) a professional ballet dancer and he is stunning. 

STRICTLY BALLROOM CLIP

By the time Bout of Books wrapped up I ended up finishing four books and almost finishing two others.  This week I finished three books all of which I loved or at least really liked.  The reading is pretty kickass at the moment.

Finished:

- Murder on St. Mark's Place by Victoria Thompson -  A cozy-ish mystery series that takes place in Victorian Era New York.  The main female character is from a good family but married "beneath" her and when he dies, she becomes a midwife.  She partners, sort of with a male police detective.  The mystery here was just so-so but I love the period details and the two leads' relationship.
- Turn Coat by Jim Butcher  - Book 11 in the Dresden series.  Either this book was particularly good or it's been so long since I read one that I'd forgotten how much I liked them.  I really liked this book!
- A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean - I am in the middle of a romance reading fugue and it is all Sarah MacLean's fault.  For the first 60% of this book I thought she was going to let me down and then she pulled it all together.  ALSO, book 2 which I have already greedily devoured 30% of, has like my dream couple.

Currently Reading:

- Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman - This is the sequel to Seraphina and is having a bit of a slow start, I'm disappointed to say.  I think I will like it but at this point it seems like not as much as its predecessor.
- One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah Maclean - If this book lasts the entire Memorial Day weekend I will be shocked!
- Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry - I'm a little over halfway through and this book is truly a masterpiece.  It's this perfect blend of comedy, tragedy and philosophy.  It feels like it will leave a giant hole in my life when it's done so I am savoring it.
- Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe - I made very little progress this week and will hopefully fix that this weekend if Sarah MacLean will release her tyrannical hold on my reading choices:0).

On the BLOG LAST WEEK:

MONDAY: Bout of Books 13 Wrap Up
TUESDAY: Top Ten Tuesday - When the Wild West gets Weird  - A list of books that fall into the category of "weird west" which is basically the unholy child of a Western and a SFF novel. 
WEDNESDAY: Review of Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins - Imaginative middle grade fantasy.
THURSDAY:  Review of The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons - Not as good as its predecessor but very very good.

On the BLOG THIS WEEK

SUNDAY: Review of The Likelihood of Lucy by Jenny Holiday
TUESDAY: Top Ten Tuesday the Beach Reads edition.  Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
WEDNESDAY: Review of Mister Slaughter by Robert McCammon
THURSDAY:  Tough Traveling - Heists and Cons.  Hosted by Fantasy Review Barn.

 Have a good week tending your corner of the garden!