Grand Ridge Trail, Issaquah, WA - #SaturdaySnapshots

It's been a while since I've been on a hike, so I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep pace with the rest of the group. Although my muscles are sore, this hike was lots of fun and I didn't lag behind (except to take pictures). I guess I haven't become a complete slug.
[Click on photos to enlarge]

Gearing up for our hike at the trail access area at Issaquah's Central Park. Tiny snowflakes swirled around us but they didn't stick. Still, I was glad to have on my thermal undies, wool socks, waterproof coat, and gloves. The weather was pretty cold.

The trail meandered over creeks, around logs, and between rocks.

Interesting moss and fungi on logs and trees.

Our leader (also named Sandy, wearing a green jacket) talking about the area and telling us about the trail maintenance performed by the Washington Trail Association.

And then we came across some WTA volunteers working on the trail. We thanked them for their hard work.

Here I am. Tired, but happy. I'm not exactly sure how many miles we covered, but based on my FitBit numbers, I'm guessing it was between 7 and 7.5 miles. I can feel every mile in my weary legs!

From the park's website: Winding through 1,200 acres above Issaquah and Lake Sammamish, Grand Ridge Park is the result of a unique agreement between Port Blakely, which developed the Issaquah Highlands and King County. For every one acre of developed land, Port Blakely agreed to set aside four acres of park land.

For more information about Grand Ridge Park/Trail and Washington Trail Association, link HERE.

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads.

To enjoy a variety of beautiful pictures from around the world, 

click HERE or on the box below.  

To participate in Saturday Snapshots: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) 

have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky on the host blogsite. 

Coldest #Ski Trip Ever! - #SaturdaySnapshots

While looking through my scanned photos for something to post about, I came across pictures from a ski trip we took in 1990. We lived in Miami at the time, and for this trip we flew all the way across the U.S. to Oregon. I kept a journal, and I'll include a portion of that, too.

Here's Mount Hood, Oregon, as viewed from the ski lodge. 

We stayed in Timberline Lodge, pictured here. This is the most snow I've seen in my life!

Cozy inside by the huge fireplace. There are three hearths in the six-sided fireplace, and the chimney is 90 feet tall.

Beautiful hand-carved wood everywhere, like this stairway's newel post cap.

Our son had a great time snowboarding.

The parking lot had been cleared, but we had to uncover our rental car. To give you an idea of the amount of snow -- my husband is six feet tall.

Here's my journal, briefly describing the Mt. Hood portion of our trip. We stopped in Dallas on the way back to Miami to visit family. 

The Mt. Bachelor part of our trip is another story!

For more info about Mt. Hood, Oregon, and Timberline Lodge, here's a link: Timberline Lodge

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads.

To enjoy a variety of beautiful pictures from around the world, 

click HERE or on the box below.  

To participate in Saturday Snapshots: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) 

#Snow Day - #SaturdaySnapshots

When we moved to the Pacific Northwest, I expected lots of dark, rainy days and snowy winters - quite a contrast to my growing-up years in Texas and my time in Miami! But although there are more drizzly days in the Seattle area than I was accustomed to, snowy days are rare. Another surprise was that the snow generally doesn't stay around for long - the same as during my childhood in Dallas. Before the snow melted this past Monday, I laced up my boots, grabbed my camera, and trooped around our yard to record the beauty while it lasted. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Here's what I saw out my front door. Although our heavy snow didn't break any branches on the birch tree, it sure was drooping.

I love the look of snow on evergreens.

Now follow me around to the back yard.

 

The promise of spring to come.

Music from the little creek behind our house.

I hope you enjoyed the walk around my home. What's happening in your neighborhood? 

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads.

To enjoy a variety of beautiful pictures from around the world, 

click HERE or on the box below.  

To participate in Saturday Snapshots: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) 

have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky on the host blogsite. 

An Innocent Client - The #Friday56 and #BookBeginnings on Friday

An Innocent Client is the first book in Scott Pratt's eight-book Joe Dillard Series, and I'm sure glad there are more for me to read. Joe Dillard is a likable character, the plot moves along briskly (with plenty of twists and turns), and the ending is satisfying. Joe has plenty of professional and personal obstacles to overcome (nobody seems to like a lawyer who defends criminals), and the action kept me turning pages. I'm looking forward to getting to know this character even better in future books.

FYI: Scott Pratt and his son publish Scott's books through a corporation they formed - Phoenix Flying, Inc. This book is beautifully formatted and free of errors, which I always appreciate.

Genre: Legal Mystery
Book Length: 372 Pages
Amazon Link: An Innocent Client
Author Website/Blog: Scott Pratt

Book Beginning:
April 12 - 7:00 A.M.
     It was my fortieth birthday, and the first thing I had to do was deal with Johnny Wayne Neal. The forensic psychiatrist I'd hired to examine him said Johnny Wayne was a narcissist, a pathological liar, and a sociopath, and those were his good qualities. He called Johnny Wayne an "irredeemable monster." I'd asked the shrink not to write any of that down. I didn't want the district attorney to see it. Monster or not, Johnny Wayne was still my client.

Friday 56 (from 56% on my Kindle):
     "I don't see how she could possibly have killed Tester," I said. "For one thing, he was a 260-pound man. What does she weigh? 110?"

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
     A preacher is found brutally murdered in a Tennessee motel room.
     A beautiful, mysterious young girl is accused.
     In this Mystery Readers International finalist for "Best Debut Mystery," criminal defense lawyer Joe Dillard has become jaded over the years as he's tried to balance his career against his conscience. Savvy but cynical, Dillard wants to quit doing criminal defense, but he can't resist the chance to represent someone who might actually be innocent. His drug-addicted sister has just been released from prison and his mother is succumbing to Alzheimer's, but Dillard's commitment to the case never wavers despite the personal troubles and professional demands that threaten to destroy him. 
              

Anyone can participate in Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56.
Click HERE to connect to other Book Beginnings posts (sponsored by Rose City Reads) 
Click HERE to join other Friday 56 bloggers (sponsored by Freda's Voice)

Twitter: @SandyNachlinger

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The Sea Between - #TeaserTuesday and #FirstChapter / First Paragraph / Tuesday Intros

Australia and New Zealand are at the top of my must-visit list. Through the pages of The Sea Between, Margaret Sutherland took me to those countries as they existed in the early 1900s. What a trip! The book follows Dot from childhood to motherhood and shows daily life and social mores during the Roaring Twenties, First World War, and Great Depression. If you like family sagas, you'll enjoy this "Trans-Tasman Story" too.

FYI: I've featured another book by this author previously. Link here: Saving Shelby Summers 
Margaret's latest release is Her Valentine Romance: Link here.

Here's the First Paragraph from the Prologue:
Auckland, 1919
   It was here - the day she was leaving the world - and, even now, life was asking Dot to reconsider. As she stepped down from the tram and began to walk, the clean scent of rain steamed from the drying road. Bright flowers in front gardens lifted sodden faces to the sun. The grass was as green as a Granny Smith. Sparrows hopped, pecking, sipping; and, somewhere in the canopy that overhung the convent wall, hidden birds opened their small throats in a pure and rapturous singing.

Teaser (from 7% on my Kindle):
   Writers were grand people. He wouldn't mind being one, except that he had nothing to write about. 

Genre: Historical Fiction
Book Length: 344 Pages
Amazon Link: The Sea Between
Author Website: Margaret Sutherland

Synopsis (from Amazon):

     Growing up in New Zealand during the unsettled years of the First World War, Dot Butler is deserted by her father when she is eleven. Shattered, unable to hate and blame him as her mother and siblings do, she decides his going must be her fault.     

     At the age of eighteen, seeking safe and lasting love, she decides to leave the provincial Irish-Catholic life of Wellington and enters the convent. Her health breaks down and she finds herself, a misfit, back in the changing world of the twenties.

     Moving to Sydney, she tries various careers and samples the flapper’s fun-loving life. Working as a nurse at St. Vincent’s hospital, she meets Chas, an English seaman. Serious, resourceful and handsome, he is a complete contrast to the juvenile men who have partnered Dot to dances, parties and the beach. Opposites in nature, Dot and Chas fall in love, and their impulsive courtship becomes a headlong marriage.

     Six years on, in 1933, it is the depths of the Depression. Restless as ever, and hating country life, Dot persuades Chas to take the family home to New Zealand and her fantasy of secure love. Instead she meets conflict of every kind. Her brother is in jail, her mother is ill, and her worldly sister is making eyes at Chas. Dot must face her worst fear and meet the father who left without a goodbye. When she finds he isn’t the villain she has come to believe in, their reconciliation frees her to examine her life and see that her options for happiness lie in her own hands.

     With a wide cast and significant background of war, epidemic and Depression, this trans-Tasman story follows the Butler men and women in their pursuit of love. God, romance, money and sex lure them on, across oceans and into the answers of the heart.

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by The PurpleBooker. Post two sentences from somewhere in a book you're reading. No spoilers, please! List the author and book title too.
Link up HERE

First Chapter/First Paragraph/Tuesday Intros is hosted by Bibliophile By The Sea. To participate, share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you're reading or thinking about reading soon.

Link at BibliophileByTheSea

Twitter: @SandyNachlinger

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A. J. Fikry - The #Friday56 and #BookBeginnings on Friday

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry was such a pleasant surprise! I fell in love with the characters and, in fact, the whole town. This is a delightfully entertaining and warm-hearted story.

Genre: Contemporary / Family Life
Book Length: 290 Pages
Amazon Link: The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry
Author Website: Gabrielle Zevin

Book Beginning:
(NOTE: Every chapter begins with the title of a book, along with notes from A. J. Fikry. I'm skipping the notes and posting the opening of Chapter One here.)
     On the ferry from Hyannis to Alice Island, Amelia Loman paints her nails yellow and, while waiting for them to dry, skims her predecessor's notes. "Island Books, approximately $250,000.00 per annum in sales, the better portion of that in the summer months to folks on holiday," Harvey Rhodes reports. "Seven hundred square feet of selling space. No full-time employees other than the owner. Very small children's section. Fledgling online presence. Poor community outreach. Inventory emphasizes the literary, which is good for us, but Fikry's tastes are very specific, and without Nic, he can't be counted on to hand-sell. Luckily for him, Island's the only game in town." Amelia yawns - she's nursing a slight hangover - and wonders if one persnickety little bookstore will be worth such a long trip. By the time her nails have hardened, her relentlessly bright-sided nature has kicked in: Of course it's worth it! Her specialty is persnickety little bookstores and the particular breed that runs them. Her talents also include multitasking, selecting the right wine at dinner (and the coordinating skill, tending friends who've had too much to drink), houseplants, strays, and other lost causes.

The Friday 56 (from 56% on my Kindle):
     "A long time ago, a girl wrote a novel, and she tried to sell it, but no one wanted it. It was about an old man who lost his wife, and it didn't have supernatural beings in it or a high concept to speak of, and so she thought it would be easier if she retitled the book and called it a memoir."

Synopsis:
A. J. Fikry’s life is not at all what he expected it to be. He lives alone, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. But when a mysterious package appears at the bookstore, its unexpected arrival gives Fikry the chance to make his life over--and see everything anew.                 

Anyone can participate in Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56.
Click HERE to connect to other Book Beginnings posts (sponsored by Rose City Reads) 
Click HERE to join other Friday 56 bloggers (sponsored by Freda's Voice)

Twitter: @SandyNachlinger

Facebook: sandy.nachlinger