Sunday, January 30, 2011

Sunday Salon: Better Late Than Never


Good afternoon friends! A couple of you have asked "where oh where is Sandy's Sunday Salon?". Well it seems last night a nasty little flu bug was able to sneak by my perimeter, and it knocked me flat on my rear end. Up until about 30 minutes ago, I could barely lift my head. Now I am propped up in a chair attempting to move my fingers. But I'm not here to whine, I'm here to talk about my week!

And what a great week it was. The weather (after a horrible storm on Tuesday night) was gorgeous, allowing me to play golf, walk, and enjoy our shortened weekend at Universal. My kids, husband and parents dined at the fabulous Emeril's on Friday night (redfish!), used our fast passes to ride just about everything in the two parks on Saturday, including Harry Potter, hang at the pool and order margaritas from the pool boy, and then dined at Mama Della's that evening and get serenaded "Sway" by their tenors. Because of my bug, we packed up early and came home this morning, which was kind of a bummer for everyone, but we have annual passes so I'm sure we will be back.

We had our Books, Babes and Bordeaux book club meeting to discuss "The Lotus Eaters" by Tatjana Soli, and also talk to Tatjana via speakerphone. Everyone loved the book, and everyone really enjoyed Tatjana, who was gracious and extremely forthcoming and easy to talk to. I was thrilled that Heather (Raging Bibliomania) was able to join us, and hope we can pull her into our little happy group of readers. She brought her AMAZING banana bread with milk chocolate chips, and besides Tatjana, was the hit of the night. I intend to do a special write-up on our evening, once I get my ducks in a row.

Some other exciting news! Heather, myself and Jenny, three local bloggers, have been asked to help promote the University of Central Florida Book Fair which is coming up in April. We will be highlighting the books featured at the fair, and will have access to the author room for interviews. Stay tuned for more information.

My reading was on the slow side, and I'm starting to get alarmed at the lack of posts I have ready and waiting. I'd better get cracking! I did finish "Angelology" on audio, and am almost finished with "Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter" as well. It was not really smart for me to listen to this book, when we won't be discussing it with the Heathrow Literary Society until April, but I got excited. And rightly so, because it is an incredible read. No wonder it was an OKRA winner - all that juicy southernness.

I also finished "An Object of Beauty" and loved that, and am about halfway through "Delirium", the new book by Lauren Oliver, author of "Before I Fall". Now for all of you TBR Dare police, this book was requested before December 31st, so I am still remaining true to my mission. I'm not sure this book is going to match up to "Before I Fall", but will reserve judgement until I finish.

OK, well, I'm ready for another nap. I probably won't post a Monday Movie Meme tomorrow, just because I don't think I have the energy. My goal, however, is to be up and running Tuesday in time for the Heathrow Literary Society discussion of "Freedom". I've got opinions, and they are dying to be expressed!

Hope you all had a fine Sunday!!


30 comments:

Gavin said...

Oh man, nasty flu bugs, no fun at all! I hope you feel better soon, Sandy. It does sound like you had a fabulous week!

rhapsodyinbooks said...

Glad you checked in - I was ready to call the blog police!

Alice said...

I hope you're feeling better now, Sandy! You've got Tatjana on the speakerphone. Wow! I'm getting busy with Mark Boyle's The Moneyless Man and it's an interesting, interesting read.

Zibilee said...

Oh my gosh, was that book club fun! I had such an amazing time hanging out with you guys, and I will have to make a mental note that that banana bread joins me at the next meeting! I am sorry to hear you are so ill though, and I am really hoping that you can get some good rest and that you are in top form again soon. Get lots of sleep and have some tea. That always helps me.

Melody said...

I'm glad you had a wonderful time with your family, Sandy. And I hope you feel better soon!

Iliana said...

I can't believe you even bothered to blog. I would have been resting in bed :)

Feel better Sandy!

How exciting about the Book Fair! You will have a blast I'm sure. You know you'll have to keep us posted.

Molly said...

So sorry to hear you are under the weather - I do hope that you are back to your ole self come Tuesday :)

I love hearing about your wonderful vacations - and I am quite jealous of all those fabulous book clubs.

Take care of yourself!

Unknown said...

Hope you are back up to speed soon. I hate it when I'm too sick to read.

Carrie K. said...

I hope you feel better soon, Sandy!

Trisha said...

I hope you feel better soon! Take it easy and eat whatever you want. :)

Heidenkind said...

Aw, you should be resting, not blogging!

Unknown said...

Not only does your book group have fantastic books, members and authors, but now amazing banana bread....wow! What are you going to get next month?!!

Susan said...

Oh, dear! I'm so sorry that you were felled by the nasty flu bug! I hope you're continuing to improve.

How exciting about the UCF book fair! Right up your alley. My sister-in-law is an alum of UCF. It will probably be their best book fair EVER!

Julie P. said...

Hope you feel better!!!

Beth F said...

Sorry you're not feeling well -- hoping for a speedy recovery. How cool that you were asked to help with the University of Central Florida Book Fair/

Jenny said...

I'm so excited about the UCF thing!!

I'm looking forward to your review of An Object of Beauty.. I've been wondering about that one. and I'm slowly making my way through Freedom... would love to hear what your book club thinks about it.

The Bumbles said...

What happens when you line up an author for your book club and the book is not well-liked?

How cool to be able to pick the author's brain fresh off of reading their work. Maybe you can bribe them to come in person with some of that banana bread ;0)

Jenners said...

Oh yuck! How did that nasty flu bug get you? I hope it goes away soon. Yet, even not feeling well, your week somehow seems more jam-packed than mine.

Feel better soon!

JoAnn said...

Hope you're feeling even better today... it just didn't seem like Sunday morning without Sandy checking in
:-)

Unknown said...

I hope you're feeling better, Sandy. What a beautiful week you had. I'm glad you were able to enjoy it.

I was wondering what you thought of Steve Martin's most recent book, glad you liked it!

Fantastic news about the UFLA book fair...what fun you all will have together!

Feel better!
~ Amy

Ana S. said...

I hope you're feeling better now, Sandy! Get well soon.

Ti said...

I'm sorry you were out of sorts. Hopefully you kicked that nasty bug to the curb for good.

Yay on the book fair!! They are so lucky to have your input.

Your restaurant jaunts made me very hungry. Totally easy to do when I tried to make do with a can of soup for lunch.

Elisabeth said...

Glad your on the mend! Lucky you for the Book Fair!

Natalie~Coffee and a Book Chick said...

So glad you're feeling better!!!! And good luck and have fun with the book fair, sounds fabulous!

Darlyn (Your Move, Dickens) said...

Looks like you had a great weekend. I hope you get well soon. Also, I've heard so many great things about Delirium. I really must check that one out. :)

caite said...

Oh, a new book by Oliver... :-)

Kathleen said...

Hope you are feeling better by now!!

Melissa said...

Oh, you did end getting sick... I was hoping you'd be able to avoid it! Hope you are better soon!

Alyce said...

I'm sorry to hear that you had to deal with sickness - not fun! I hope you're feeling better now.

How neat about the Central Florida Book Fair - congrats!

Darlene said...

I sure hope you're feeling better one Sandy. I had that flu bug a few weeks ago and it's evil. I read about your book club over at Heather's. How awesome -I wish I lived near you guys! Contests on covering the fair - that is so exciting!