A Baker's Dozen of (Non-Bookish) Photos From the Year

As I always share so many of my book photos through the year, I thought I would also share some of my favorite non-book photos from 2014. Enjoy!

Okay, so I'm starting with one that has a book in it but this is really a picture of my fat cat. The cat in the book is fat because she gets pregnant. My cat is a boy.

Strange illumination

At the Washington State capitol

On a field trip to the estuary

By the sea, Padilla Bay

A walk through the woods on San Juan Island

Bumper cars

The end of ... everything?

The Seattle Great Wheel, from the Seattle Aquarium

At the local park

Chickens who are ...

In Pittsburgh (name that building)

And it seems only appropriate to end with a double rainbow.

Looking forward and out,

K

Spring Break in the San Juans

I hope you all didn't miss us too much while we took a short trip and had a house guest for spring break. I'll share a few piccies with you of our trip to Friday Harbor, WA so that you can understand why I didn't bother to get my computer out even once.

This is the small rocky beach that was on the property we stayed at. Looking out, you see some of the other islands in the San Juans. When we first arrived, there was a harbor seal in these waters, waiting to welcome us. We saw him or her a couple times more during our trip.

Z, being an almost ten year old boy, found a spot up a tree to sit and ... play Gameboy. After a while of doing that, he threw rocks into the ocean.

It was gorgeous the entire time we were there, with only a few morning clouds followed by pristine blue skies the rest of each day.

One day we drove to British Camp (a.k.a. English Camp) and hiked up to the top of Young Hill.

The view from the top was stunning.

Another day, we went out to the lighthouse at Lime Kiln State Park. Sadly, the orcas have been in more southern waters recently so we didn't get to see any.

It was a great, last minute Spring Break trip and it was hard to come back home. This is a place we keep going back to every couple of years and will continue to do so probably for the rest of our lives.

Missing the peace and beauty,
K

May in Maui

I feel like we all need a bit more beauty and serenity right now so I'm (finally) sharing the piccies from our trip to Maui.

palm trees on Ka'anapali Beach

sunset

more sunset

the tail end

rusty cliffs north of Kapalua

a gorgeous sunny day

fish and more at the Maui Ocean Center

pretty porthole

plumeria

more plumeria

tiki at dusk

lava field

Z and me

Wishing you all a world filled with peace and love,

K and Z

1000TH POST-STRAVAGANZA!!!!

We couldn't decide what to do for our 1000th post on We Be Reading so here is, well, some of EVERYTHING!

First up, bookshelf (or lack of bookshelf) pron --

These are our main bookshelves in the library. The top shelves currently have some of our dvds but I want to find a new home for those and get paperbacks up there again. The bottom left three shelves are some of Z's books as is the little stack to the right of them. You can see my Oz collection in the middle and the shelf below that is for library and review books (the tall stack to the right between the shelves are unsolicited review books that I'm considering reading). You may be thinking that I don't have that many books ...

These are the already-read books that currently reside on the floor downstairs. Boxes of paperbacks and teetering towers of everything from graphic novels to lots and lots of Heyers. I'm not even sure how many new shelves I would need for all of these. But wait, there's more!

These are the unread books that live in our bedroom. The bottom left nightstand is the husband's and also holds some of his fave graphic novels. The top left is my nightstand, complete with non-fiction area and, again, some very tall stacks. The bookshelf on the right is actually to the left of my nightstand -- the top shelf is my RIP stash!

And finally, these are the shelves in Z's bedroom. The top shelf is his Pokémon collection, books and figurines and his box of cards. The other two shelves are a rotating collection. Through the summer, he would choose a new book each morning to bring downstairs with him (his own idea!). I try and put fresh books from the downstairs shelves up there every month or so.

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Next, Tasha suggested a "Best of the Blog" list and I thought that was a great idea! I know some of you are newish followers so let me point you to a few of our best posts from the past. I think that these ten posts will give you an idea of who we are and what we love. In chronological order --

Favorite Book Number Two: David Copperfield (10 Sept 2008)
Twelve Things That Make Us Happy (15 Feb 2009)
"It is a truth universally acknowledged ..." (8 June 2009)
Generations in Oz (3 Sept 2009)
Banned Books Week or My High School Reading List (26 Sept 2009)
For the Love of Green Knowe (29 Sept 2009)
Wrap Up Post: Poe Fridays (22 Jan 2010)
Hello Japan! Challenge: On the Big Screen (26 Feb 2010)
A Literary Love Letter to Matthew Pearl (3 January 2012)
Wrapping Up Diana Wynne Jones Month (1 April 2012)

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And lastly, what is a milestone post without a giveaway? 1000 posts means 1000 pennies for you -- or, in a more useful form, a $10.00 USD gift certificate to Powell's (or the bookstore of your choice) or Out Of Print! This giveaway is open worldwide and I'll choose a winner at the end of day on Sunday, October 7th. The winner can choose where they want to spend my cents. How to enter? Just leave a comment on this post and make sure there's a way to contact you.

Thank you all for sticking with us (or joining us along the way) on this long journey! Here's to a few more posts after this one.

Your friends,

K and Z

999th Post: Some Summer Piccies

Jaguar at Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle

I'm still feeling a lot like this big guy so I needed a pick-me-up today and what could be better than looking through pictures from the summer?! Since I was enjoying them so much, I thought I would share a few with all of you today -- just in case you also need a reason to smile. Also, if you notice the post title, my next post will be my 1000th post on this blog. Holy cow! I'm going to have to figure out something special for that. No pressure or anything, right?

playing with long exposure on July 4th

little bunny in our front yard

Humboldt penguins at Woodland Park Zoo

emerald tree boa, our favorite snake

Z exploring the pyramids of Egypt (at the Pacific Science Center, Seattle)

King Tut's Golden Flip-flops

On the Canadian side of the border

A pacific white-sided dolphin at Vancouver Aquarium

Lions Gate Bridge from Stanley Park to North Vancouver

View from the Capilano Suspension Bridge

The flame cauldron from the 2010 Winter Olympics

The Pacific Northwest in a nutshell

Thanks for your patience everyone.

Healing slowly but surely,
K