I've read a few of Jodi Picoult. Some I have liked and others not so much, and in fact stopped reading one but I don't recall which one it was. Have any of you read 'Wild', by Cheryl Strayed? It is her true story, and a movie has been made starring Reese Witherspoon. It's on my list to read next I think. Shelaaus, I've read a lot of Jeffrey Archer, but not in a while. I do like his books in general. Have any of you read Dorothea Benton Frank? I was reading a lot of southern writers recently, and fell in love with her books. Lots of fun and great characters, mostly set in coastal South Carolina. Good beach/pool reads for the summer. And for slightly crazy fun I'll take Carl Hiaason or Jimmy Buffett (yes, the singer) any day. Oh, and someone mentioned Patricia Cornwell (Bone Bed). I'm a little behind with her series, but love those too.

Hi Schoolhouse and Bronwyn, I appreciate (and totally get) your opinion. And you haven't hurt my feelings! I always tell my kids, make sure only take offense if you can tell the other person wants you to. Anyway, since you brought it up, here's why this cottage, at least in this iteration, will not be what you describe, which I would call Maison du Lac or "lakehouse-y". 1, Been there, done that. Our lakehouse has all of that vernacular. Pendleton loves me. It is totally de rigeur in that setting, and I enjoyed doing it, but I don't want to do it again. I can't find an interior shot on this mac but here she is: 2. I don't view myself as cutie-pieing it, more like feminizing it a bit. I could cutie pie it up with purple shutters and pink awnings and a ice cream parlor set and a wooden dutch door with stencils. Or make it a Little Mermaid house or somesuch. I never even did that when they were infants. My first daughter's crib featured b/w gingham with apple green. My children's rooms and bathrooms are sophisticated enough for an adult. BTW --- I don't judge people who want their kids to have a Cars the Movie Bed, because I know they could judge me as harshly for not letting my kids "express themselves". I would disagree, and say they are very welcome to express themselves, but tastefully. Anyway, my point is I don't cutie-pie anything --- at least no intentionally! 3. Form, and finishes, follow function. My girls are likely to be the primary users for now. I also have a few friends and relatives who think it would be so romantic to stay when they visit. And I would like to turn it into a pondside bar when we entertain outdoors, to get people to come down to the water instead of just look at the views from the patio. Someday, I can see making it my office. Or maybe my own Petit Trianon! In any event, this won't be a boys fishin' lodge or poker room. It's for us girls, and it is a bit of a folly we would not try elsewhere. 4. My inspiration pictures (avert your eyes if you are tired of seeing these) are actually girly. The picture at the top of this post was just the best shot I found showing the layout I want. The style, as I have said, is fab, but not what we want here. My inspiration pictures are the little cottage in the link (note the loft sans railing, where the chandelier must hit your belly button) and, this pic, which I posted about before, when i posted about how to "copy a look" The picture above is, of all of the images, the closest to the look I want. To that end I have bought a similar sofa (the one in the photo is an enormous albeit gorgeous two sided circus act!), copied the ottoman and the rug, even bought a silver tray and aqua vase, and chose pillows to mimic the look but somewhat different colors (pillows are shown below on an unrelated chaise in an unrelated room ). I am holding off to see if a chandy will ruin the sight line to the loft. I am using wall sconces similar to the chandy, and probably a mirror. I am trying to get some of the pale pink in my painting the shiplap ceiling pale pink (BM Pink Bliss, which I think was one Bronwyn suggested when I said I was looking for pale pale pink) Of course, my room will look totally different, for goodness sakes, because it has stone walls! But I think everything looks good with stone or brick. It will surely be unexpected, but i think it might look very nice in a quirky off beat way. Or, it will be awful. In which case it is a matter of few pillows and repainting the ceiling. So there you go .... more than anyone ever wanted to knpw! Here is a link that might be useful: One of my inspirations

merry, the chap on the right could almost pass as English! A couple of books I just finished: Two Feet Four Paws by Spud Talbot-Ponsonby (a 'she' despite the odd name) who, with her dog, walked round the coast of England/Scotland/Wales starting and finishing at Tower Bridge in London. She covered about 4500 miles and raised money for a homeless people's charity as she went. Using family and friends as 'back up' she slept/ate in a 'mobile home' and took about ten months to complete the journey. Not a great piece of literature but it gives a good account of the odd people she met, the terrible weather conditions she faced and the sheer determination that helped her overcome aching limbs and exhaustion. I had earlier read her later book Small Steps with Paws and Hooves about a trek through Scotland she undertook with her toddler strapped onto a horse and the same dog. This journey was made after a diagnosis and treatment for cancer, which sadly did for her soon afterwards when the disease spread to her lungs and brain. It seems the walking even while having chemo gave her something to cling to. On quite a different note . . . I picked up a paperback The Edge of Nowhere by Elizabeth George. Probably a mistake as it turned out to be a 'teen read'. I suppose I learnt how US young people speak/behave, or maybe how Ms George thinks they do. I doubt that the average young person would have stuck with this book for long as, although the premise was 'promising' with a girl who can 'hear' people's thoughts, the plot rambled all over an island in the Pacific NW (where EG lives in 'real life) each road, highway, lane was described in detail, what house was near what store/school/church etc. A map could have been provided to save reading-time. I kept going to the end only to discover it is the first book of three and I don't care enough about the heroine to read the rest. Question. Do US teenagers of both sexes refer to girls as 'chicks'? Somehow it seems dated. And does everyone live on fast-food and endless 'snacks'? I wont ask about drugs as most of these teens seemed to be 'high' from snorting, sniffing, swallowing illegal substances.

"I have tried so hard to like Dickens but I just can't." I totally understand that, and feel a bit guilty about it, but life is too short, especially when you are a geezer, to force yourself to read something just because you "should". Just finished The Swans of Fifth Avenue, by Melanie Benjamin, a novel with many accurate details about Truman Capote and his collection of beautiful, fashionable, very wealthy women in Manhattan. I would only recommend this to someone interested in Truman and familiar with a few of the women - e.g. Babe Paley - because otherwise it is just a look at obscene wealth, endless gossip, and Truman's neuroses. Actually, it is a cautionary tale and a tragedy. Pretty good writing, though. Now, based on recommendations here, I've begun reading Memoirs of a Geisha, and it is very promising. Beautifully written, and am hoping that this little girl eventually finds her own true self.