Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Watching "Dunkirk," Reading Ken Follett, and Spending Time With Family

Happy Columbus Day everyone.  Before I get to the rest of my post, I want to say that I've really had a challenging time lately with blogging, and especially visiting other blogs.  At first I thought it was Blogger, but now Mr. Forest Manor and I have determined the problem is with my browser, Google Chrome.  Certain blogs would open and load immediately for me, and others refused to load.  I was not able to visit my friend Betsy at Estelle's, and I wanted to leave some comments for her.  I also tried to visit Michele at Finch Rest and Martha at Lines From Linderhof.  I've now switched to using Microsoft Edge as my browser, and that is working well (for now).  Is anyone else out there having these kinds of problems?  
   


   
  Life has also been quite busy here.  My dear in-laws have just (mostly) moved from their house of over 40 years to a smaller rental house in a nice neighborhood.  They will live in the rental house until their new home is built.  They're downsizing and getting the main rooms on one level, so they don't have to go up and down stairs everyday.  Also, they are planning to be in a community of cluster homes, and they'll no longer have a lot of land and a big yard to maintain.  I've been very sad about this move because this home was full of happy memories for us.  These kind of moves are always emotional, but I told my husband that it would be much harder if they were having to move to a nursing home.  I really loved their house, and they did too, but this is all part of life, isn't it?  
  
  
This house has a great floor plan, but it was always so homey and cozy, too.
  


This wooded area was a pleasure to look upon; they had a lovely view from their deck and screened porch.
         
   
Same area in the spring...
            
   
The front of the house,
     

and the backyard in summer. 
   
   
Christmas 2012
   

        

My heart will be forever filled with memories of good times and good food in that house.  My mother-in-law is a wonderful cook.
      
    


   
We have truly been blessed to have such a good family.  
  

In other news, I've been reading a lot and indulging my Anglophilia and my fascination with history.  Our son gave me this Ken Follett book for my birthday in September, and I just finished it today.  I was a huge fan of Pillars of the Earth, and this book is a prequel.  It takes place near the end of the Dark Ages, and those people had a ROUGH existence -- says I, Captain Obvious.  😏  Reading this really makes me appreciate more than ever the life we have.  I enjoyed the book but could have done with less gratuitous sex and violence.
   

I've just started this book, which takes place during the same time period as The Pillars of the Earth and also the Brother Cadfael series.  I've heard good things about Sharon Kay Penman's books.  
   
Wikipedia
   
We started having family movie night during the Covid lockdown, and we've just continued on with it.  We watch a movie on Saturday or Sunday evening when our son is here to eat dinner with us.  Will had already seen this, but Hal and I had not.  We thought it was quite good -- enjoyed it very much.    
   
Have you seen this movie or read these books?  If so, what did you think?  I'd love to hear from you.  Thanks so much for your visit and for your interest in House at Forest Manor blog.  Wishing you a terrific week, my friends!!  
   
Hugs,

   

5 comments:

  1. Oh I am glad that you gave chrome the boot. It was always a nightmare for me as well. I use BRAVE as my browser. Hopefully, this means that I will be able to comment here without the difficulties I had been having. I had to write my comment elsewhere and copy and paste it in. See how much I wanted to visit?

    Saying goodbye to a beloved home is a challenge for all. May your memories be sweet and may the excitement of a new home be a delight for your in-loves and the entire family.

    I can not read a lot of books nor watch a lot of movies for the reasons you describe. I know the story of Dunkirk and might very much enjoy that movie. Thank you for mentioning it.

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  2. Oh I have missed you! What a nice surprise to see your post today! I know how hard it is to move aging parents...it's hard for everyone...and oh those beautiful memories...carry them with you always! Best wishes for them! Sending warm hugs!

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  3. I hope your blogging woes are fixed, Denise. I've not had any difficulty with Chrome thus far. It's hard to see parents aging and moving away from homes they've loved. But how great that they recognize the wisdom of moving now rather than being forced into doing so later.
    I read Pillars of the Earth many years ago, but won't read Ken Follett again for the gratuitous things that you've already mentioned.
    Enjoy these autumn days!

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  4. So glad you have resolved your problems with the blog, although I am on google chrome right now and don't seem to have any problem. Hoping that continues, for both of us. Have a wonderful day!

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  5. It's nice you have so many nice memories in this home. I can understand the need for a smaller piece of property and a master bedroom on the main floor. I have not read any of those books or watched that movie. Hope the rest of your week and weekend go well.

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND COMMENTS. I ENJOY READING EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM.

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