~ WACKY WEDNESDAY ~ July 1, 2015 ~ (Previously entitled QOT...W) ~ "The Animal Kingdom" ~

~ WACKY WEDNESDAY ~ July 1, 2015 ~ (Previously entitled QOT...W) ~ "The Animal Kingdom" ~ Ok, so it's 2:15am, I'm heading outside for my last smoke before trying to go back to bed (which I've been trying to do literally ALL day because I'm in the middle of yet another pretty rough pain day AND massive migraine).

I've got my book, "The Essence", 2nd in "The Pledge" series by a new favourite author, Kimberly Derting. (I just finished reading the first two books in her "The Taking" series and loved them)! I also plan on reading her other series, "The Body Finder" too, as soon as I'm done this series.

I've got my cushion, smoke and lighter. As I sit down on the stoop of the back door, out of the corner of my eye, I catch a slight movement half way up the dining room window that overlooks our back deck.

At first I thought it was just another moth, of which there are many because of the outside light that I've turned on so that I can see to read. At least it's late (early?) enough that the mosquitoes aren't out in droves, looking to cart me away.

I think that I somehow knew that what I could see in my peripheral vision was far too big to be a moth, but terrified that it might be a spider, I couldn't look directly at it to confirm what it was.

Finally, my fear got the better of me. Not wanting to sit there and wonder "when" this huge, maybe-spider might leap on top of my head, I turned my head and squinted my eyes shut tight. (I really, really didn't want it to turn out to be a spider)!! 

I slowly opened one eye (of course, I picked my right eye, which was furthest away from the window) and couldn't see a gosh darn thing. I am absolutely terrified of spiders (see my "Flashback Friday" post dated November 28, 2014, entitled "Spiders ~ A Tale of Terror), so I took my time squeezing my eyes shut tight again. 

I ever so slowly pried open my left eye, and hiding half of my face with my book, (I know from experience that if aimed properly, a good book CAN squash a spider, I'm just hoping that if I have to throw the book, it doesn't break the window!). I almost peed my pants in relief to see a frog/toad clinging to our window.

Many times we have often found teeny, tiny frogs/toads on our back door, which is made of glass. They were not much bigger than the pads of my thumbs. This frog however, was as big as my fist!

I didn't get much reading on that trip outside. I kept glancing over as the frog/toad creeped slowly up the window.

The next time that I went outside, around 3:30am (of course I was too worked up thinking it might have been a spider that I couldn't fall asleep even if I tried), the frog/toad was gone.

I have absolutely no idea how they get up to our back door and windows. (Yeah, I know, frogs can hop, DUH). But I am still curious as to how they make it all the way up the stairs and in this case, up over 3 feet of siding before reaching the window.

I'm pretty sure I was at least a little more comfortable when I knew where the frog/toad was than not knowing!

#WackyWednesday, #Quirky, #Odd, #Interesting, #Bizarre, #Weird, #Wonderful, #Strange, #WhatTheWhat, #AnimalKingdom, #Smoke, #Bed, #Insomnia, #ChronicPain, #Migraine, #Books, #Reading, #KimberlyDerting, #ThePledge, #TheTaking, #TheBodyFinder, #Animals, #Moth, #Spider, #Frog, #Toad, #WhereDidItGo, #Terrified

~ TICKED OFF TUESDAY ~ TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015 ~ "ERRORS IN BOOKS" ~

~ TICKED OFF TUESDAY ~ TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015 ~ "ERRORS IN BOOKS" ~ As you may know, I am quite an avid reader. (See my Wednesday, May 27, 2015 ~ QOT...D ~ post, "FOR THE LOVE OF READING ~ BOOK EDITION" ~ at my relatively new blog site, Orca Cove, http://www.orcacove.blogspot.ca.

So, it's no secret that I love to read. I believe I have also mentioned that my 7+ year long chronic pain issues have severely hindered my ability to read for any length of time. Having said that, any time that I am able to spend reading is not only very valuable but very precious to me as well.

Therefore, it really irks me when I come across blatant errors in books. A novel I just finished reading, had one such blatant error.  Please don’t get me wrong, I know there are typos, misprints, and common errors that are if not expected, then at least understood in any given novel. (Although I do still wonder what the editors are being paid for, if not to catch things like that). Anyway, this error is so glaringly obvious, that it baffles my mind as to how it got missed.

The book I read was called "Hate List" by Jennifer Brown and is about a girl, Valerie, trying to come to grips with life after her boyfriend Nick shot several students, a teacher, and Valerie herself, before turning the gun on himself. At the end of chapter two, we are told that Valerie is going to catch the bus to school to avoid driving with her mother, who has been harping on her to "get over it' and get on with her life. 

BUT. . . and here's the error, the beginning of chapter three, in essence, the very next paragraph, has Valerie driving to school with her mother. There is no time lapse; this isn't about some future event. Valerie is still on her way to school for the first time since the shooting. 

I've also read books where characters names have changed midstream, characters who have died are suddenly back in the script, and not as ghosts. How do these types of errors happen?? How do they slip past not only the author, but editors, and publishers as well??

It just seems to me that if someone like me, an avid reader, yes, but one who knows nothing of the book publishing world, can catch what are glaringly obvious errors, how do they possibly get by the so called "professionals"??

I know this may seem somewhat petty so some, but in my position, where every word, every sentence, every paragraph of a book is a struggle to get through, it is more than just a minor annoyance.  My pain is in my head. Literally "in my head" as it is located at the base of my skull, in the back of my head and exacerbating my constant migraines, makes any cognitive function that much more difficult. Especially something that requires my concentration and focus. Like following a story line in a book, movie or television show.

I have to try to find a way through the pain to focus and concentrate on every word written or said ~ and yes, watching television or a movie with me is almost torture for my family as I often have to rewind to catch something that I have missed.

Anyway, all in all, I think it was an ok book, and I have finished it and a few others and have moved on to one by a favourite author, Linwood Barclay entitled "No Safe House" and am much looking forward to the next book on my Summer Reading List, the fourth book in the "Shiver" series by Maggie Stiefvater called "Sinner."

So, that's what I am "ticked off" about this week. How about you?

#TickedOffTuesday #TickedOff, #Upset, #Angry, #PetPeeve, #Errors, #ErrorsInBooks, #Books, #Reading, #ChronicPain, #Migraines, #Time, #Novels, #TypoMisprint, #Edit, #Editors, #Publishers, #HateList, #JenniferBrown, #SchoolShooting, #Concentration, #Focus, #MovieTV, #FavouriteAuthor, #LinwoodBarclay, #NoSafeHouse, #SummerReadingList, #MaggieStiefvater #Shiver, #Sinner

QOT...W ~ June 3, 2015 ~ DAYTIME MOON??

First of all, I'd like to say a very happy birthday to my mom, (Harriet McCready), the first person to love me to the moon and back!! That said, does it freak anyone else out, or is it just me, when the moon is VERY visible during the daytime?? 

I almost feel like the world is off-kilter somehow whenever I see a moon in the daytime. And it is especially weird since it is so big, having been full only a few days ago (Sunday).

This picture was taken this morning, Wednesday, May 6, 2015, around 6:15am, EST. (I know, it's been almost a month since I took this photo,mand there have been LOTS of Wednesday's that I could/should have posted it, but better late than never, right)??

Even though I know there is a scientific explanation for this ~ probably something about the moon reflecting back to earth the rays of the sun ~ it just always seems weird!

I guess I grew up thinking that the moon went to bed when the sun woke up and the sun went to bed when the moon woke up.

Also, the moon is completely out of position!! Just a couple of days ago, around 3:30am, (only a few days later and 3 hours before this pic was taken), the moon was over much, much further to the right ~ it was much closer to the horizon, just skimming the top of the trees. And here in this picture, it is way up high in the sky and visually several football fields away from where it was. The direction it normally travels is left to right, so it was almost like it backtracked or something, or hadn't been moving as quickly as it was a few days ago ~ and had I taken a photo then, from the same position and the same angle, it would not have appeared in this photo!!

Strange things are happening!!! And for today's QOT...W ~ Have you ever seen the moon in the daytime? What are your thoughts? Do you know the scientific explanation behind this phenomenon?? 

#QOTW, #QOTD, #questions, #askme, #tellme, #orcanut #read, #books, #ShiverMaggieStiefvater, #SupportLocalLibrary, #daytimemoon #moon #morningmoon #strange #weird #endoftheworld #apocolypse #sky #outdoors #photos #nature

QOT...W ~ Wednesday, May 27, 2015 ~ FOR THE LOVE OF READING ~ BOOKS EDITION ~

QOT...W ~ Wednesday, May 27, 2015 ~ FOR THE LOVE OF READING ~ BOOKS EDITION ~ I have any number of things that I can lament about losing or severely limiting my ability to do as a result of my 7+ year struggle with chronic pain. The obvious ones are spending time with family, helping out around the house, being "here" for my kids, being able to work, actually "living", etc. There are also some lesser important things that I have had to give up or that have been restricted in some way due to my severe chronic pain. Knitting, cross stitch, crafts, and working at the computer, name just a few of them. Rest, relaxation and doing things that we enjoy are very much a part of coping skills and strategies that are meant to encourage and improve the lives of those suffering from chronic pain. For me, (if I don't fall asleep), resting and relaxing usually consists of reading. In the few hobbies that I have listed above that I have basically had to give up, the one I didn't mention and probably the one that I resent losing the most, is reading. My ability to read well and rather quickly has been seriously compromised due to the 24/7 pain that I have in the back of my neck, at the base of my skull. As you can imagine, since the pain is in my neck, (and head when I have a migraine ~ which seems almost as constant as the 24/7 pain in my neck), reading has become quite difficult as I can't look down for very long without straining my neck, and I can't lay down and hold the book above me because that puts added strain on my arms and my neck as well. I love to read though, I always have. Even going back as far as when I first learned to read. If I didn't have a book, I would read anything that I could get my hands on. The newspaper (of course I started with the comics), the ingredients on a cereal box, the milk carton, soup cans, shampoo and conditioner bottles (I would read these "repeatedly" pun intended), and, I almost hesitate to admit, (but I promised myself that this would be a no holds barred blog), that even, after all these years, the instructions from a tampon box!! (Really)!! Like everyone, I have a mental list of my favourite books. The ones that I have read and re-read over and over again. And I surprised myself to realize that I really only have three books that can remember reading more than once. (And that doesn't count the books that I've borrowed from the library and started to read, not realizing that I had recently taken them out and read them)! I honestly thought that there would be more (and perhaps there are and my foggy memory is preventing me from thinking of them at this time). The first book that I remember reading twice, goes back to when I was about 12 years old, and first read "Audrey Rose" by Frank De Felitta. I have since read it about 9 or 10 more times. I also just found out that it has been made into a movie and I can't wait to find it so I can watch it!! The next book is "And The Sea Will Tell" by Vincent Bugliosi ~ I've read this about 20 times and I own and have seen the movie about 5 times. "The Shack" by Wm Paul Young is my next favourite, I've read it about 3 times since I bought it a few years ago. And I would LOVE for there to be a movie made of this book! I can go back even further and name some of the books that I remember reading that, for one reason or another, have stayed in my memory. One in particular that I read during my pre-teen years, was called "Raven's Hollow." I have been looking for this book for YEARS and have still not found it. I think that it is about a boy who lives in the woods, carves out a tree for a home and lives off the land ~ I know, it sounds an awful lot like the book by Jean Craighead George's, but I really don't think that it is the same book, and unless the area in that book where Sam lives was called "Raven's Hollow," (which I doubt), it is NOT "My Side Of The Mountain." I am still at a loss as to how/where I can find it. I know I mentioned these books in my Flashback Friday "Memories" post of November 7, 2014, but they bear mentioning again. When I was younger, my parents read "The Hobbit" and "The Chronicles of Narnia" to my brother and I. When my daughter was old enough, I continued the tradition and read her the Narnia series along with the "Harry Potter" series, among others. Of course there are also the books I read when I was much younger, Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, and even younger, Charlotte's Web, Encyclopedia Brown and Flat Stanley. More recently, I have come across several books that I will eventually like to read again, and they include the "Gone" series, by Michael Grant, (and if you haven't read these books, you really should, it is such an incredible series and I cannot wait for it to be made into a movie! At one point a few years ago, I had gone through my borrowed library books and was desperate for something to read. My daughter gave me a book that I will forever be grateful to her for introducing me to. It was the first book in the series of the same name, "Shiver" by Maggie Stiefvater. (And as I wrote this, I now need to re-read this series, soon ~ it is just that good)!! Another favourite series that I will most definitely be reading again is by L.A. Meyer. When I was recovering from emergency, exploratory surgery in Nova Scotia, my nephew, Riley (@riley_mccready), brought me the first book in this series, "Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary Jacky Faber, Ship's Boy'' has ~ OMG ~ when I checked Google to get the list of books in this series, I discovered that two more books have been published, finishing off the series with a total of 12 books!! I had been awaiting the release of the 10th book and thought I had been keeping track of the release date. Apparently, I was wrong, because now the final two books have been released!!! Oh my goodness, I cannot wait to read them!! [and how lucky am I?!? I just put a hold on the books at the library and I am number ONE in line to receive all three books]!!! Lately, I've been reading a lot of dystopian, post-apolcoliptic novels. (My favourites so far being "Hunger Games," the "Divergent" series, "The Maze Runner," "Delierium," "Matched," "The Chemical Garden," and the "Uglies" series). I have read many other lesser known books of this genre that I have thoroughly enjoyed as well. And although I'm an adult, I'm finding that I am really enjoying these type of novels for teens and young adults! But then again, I'll read anything!! So, my Wednesday, May 27, 2015 (even thought it's Friday already) QOT...W is: what is your favourite book? What is the earliest book you remember reading or being read to you? What top three books do you know that you will read again?? What book are you reading right now? A follow-up to this post will be posted as my Flashback Friday post, entitled FLASHBACK FRIDAY ~ May 29, 2015 ~ FOR THE LOVE OF READING ~ MOVIE ADAPTATION EDITION ~ #QOTW, #QOTD, #questions, #askme, #tellme, #orcanut #read, #books, #ShiverMaggieStiefvater, #SupportLocalLibrary, #ReadToMe, #ReadABook, #RaiseAReader #FavouriteBooksAndAuthors #AudreyRoseFrankDeFelitta #AndTheSeaWillTellVincentBugliosi #TheShackWmPaulYoung #MySideOfTheMountainJeanCraigheadGeorge #TheHobbit #TheChroniclesOfNarnia #HarryPotter #HardyBoysAndNancyDrew #CharlottesWeb #EncyclopediaBrownFlatStanley #GoneMichaelGrant #BloodyJackLAMeyer #DystopianPostApocalyptic #HungerGamesTheMazeRunnerTheUglies #DivergentDelieriumMatched #TheChemicalGarden