Snapshot from Along the Broken Road: September 2014

1) A photo of me:


2) Candle scents* this month:
Clean Cotton. MacIntosh and Peach. Vera Cruz Vanilla. Berry Tangerine. Lime. Tropical Fruit. Rootbeer Float. Ocean Star. Midnight Oasis. Green Apple. Luau Party. White Chocolate Mint.

3) What I am reading this month (you can find me on Goodreads!):
The Lady of the Rivers (Philippa Gregory) - I never expected it, but this has been my favorite book of this series so far. It took a character from book one ("The White Queen"), Jacquetta, whom I didn't really care for much, and filled out her history, her character, her motives. She went from a character I found mildly annoying into one of my favorite characters in the series. This book was part history lesson, interwoven with some enjoyable fiction, part epic love story -- I love how Richard treats Jacquetta -- and part political intrigue. My only complaint isn't much of one: Because this book come out of sequence, chronologically (the proper timeline is "The Lady of the Rivers," "The Red Queen," and "The White Queen," books three, two, and one), and because I have read them all borrowed from the library, I spent much of this book wishing I could pull out the first two, to compare, contrast, and fill in the story or the facts, as they played out. I am truly looking forward to the next book in this series!
Wolves of the Calla (Stephen King) - I'm a little over halfway through this one. There is so much detail and storytelling, I keep forgetting how little time has actually passed despite the fact that I'm over 400 pages in!

4) Calendar image for the month:


Ah, apple picking. The things you take for granted...until you move somewhere that a) is not "sweater weather" in September, and b) has a climate that will not grow apples.

5) New recipes tried this month:
I think we were just to hot to care much about new recipes in September. Brains don't want to think about working new dishes into the menu. I know I feel uninspired when the simple act of chewing feels like an effort. Maybe next month...

6) Restaurants where I ate:
Bob Evans (breakfast date!). Riverside Mill Food Court (dinner, WDW - Port Orleans Riverside). Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory (breakfast, WDW - Port Orleans French Quarter). Cosmic Rays (snack, WDW - Magic Kingdom). Boston Lobster Feast (belated birthday dinner for T!).

7) Five things I am loving this month:
1. Food and Wine Fest. But I guess that's no shocker.
2. Soaking in ever last inning of Red Sox baseball, knowing there is no post season for them this year.
3. The walk between Port Orleans French Quarter and Port Orleans Riverside. So quiet and peaceful, it's difficult to believe there are throngs of people in four bustling theme parks not very far away at all.
4. Celebration weekend at WDW. We decided to knock out both our birthdays and our anniversary in one weekend. I kind of love that we're low maintenance like that.
5. My annual reading of A. Bartlett Giamatti's "The Green Fields of the Mind" after the final day of Red Sox baseball for the season.

8) Three goals I had this month and three goals for next month:
1. I *will* get to fifteen magazines in September. (I did not. I did 8. Shame on me. ::sigh::)
2. Find and participate in a month-long Disney photo challenge on Instagram. (I had so much fun with this! I won't do one every month, but I am going to keep my eyes open for another some time in the next few months.)
3. Finish tidying up my music files on my laptop so I can finally get iTunes set up and buy a few songs I've been wanting to add to my collection. (Fail. Every time I looked at that file, I got overwhelmed and closed it.)

1. T bought some shelves he's putting in the den closet so I can finally get that beast organized.
2. I'm annoyed with myself. That stack of magazines is going down, but not as quickly as I'd like. Going big for October: 30.
3. I really need to get iTunes set up on my laptop. I've had the thing since May and my iPod is acting wonky, which usually means it needs a good sync with the mother ship.

9) The best part of this month and the worst part of this month:
The best: Celebrating two years of marriage.
The worst: Learning that Maelstrom is closing down and being turned into a Frozen ride. I have nothing against Frozen. I just don't think it belongs in the Norway pavilion at Epcot.

10) A photo I took this month:


*All scents are Yankee Candle, unless otherwise noted.