Follow Friday 6/24/2011

Friday is upon us again, and here in another edition of Follow Friday by Parajunkee's Views is a pretty interesting question that we all need to answer. This week's question is:

Q. In light of the Summer Solstice. Also known as Midsummer...let's talk about fairies. What is your favorite fairy tale or story that revolves around the fae? 

I've already talked about ten of my favorite fairy tales, but my most favorite?  The Wild Swans by Hans Christian Andersen.  I just loved that story, and I found an animated film version of that and I just watched it again and again.

As for stories about fairies, my favorite would have to be Peter Pan, of course!

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Hello there again!  This is another hop that I have decided to participate in.  This is my first time on TGIF!  Yay!  Since I am always looking out for the weekend, it only follows that I should do this to really kick off the weekend fun. 

This Friday's Question:

Summer Love: Where is your ideal place to take a 

summer vacation & get lost in a book?

This is a very easy question.  I have a favorite place here in the Philippines, it's near Tagaytay and it's called Balay Indang Red Ginger Farm.  It's a garden retreat place that a friend of my mom owns and she often invites us to come over.  I loved lounging around the different houses and cottages there, and there were even beds outside under the trees!  I once brought a book there and it was such a great experience.  And the food is awesome, too :D

Here are some pictures:

The Watch Tower.  This is my preferred place to hang out and read.  You can go inside and find a really comfy bed and a rocking chair, as if asking you to take your pick.

The Main House

The Dining Area

The Stairs to the Dining Area

How it all looks from afar.

Another cottage where you can find some bean bags to sit or lie on.

Would you believe that this is part of a toilet and washroom?  I'm standing next to the toilet, of course.

For other pictures (not taken by me), you can check out Balay Indang (The Red Ginger Farm and Garden) on Flickr.

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So that's it, I hope you all have a great weekend, and happy reading to everyone!

Third Sentence Thursday: Travels in the Scriptorium by Paul Auster

Third Sentence Thursday is a weekly meme which waits with bated breath for third sentences from all over the world!

1) Take the book you are reading now and post the third sentence
2) Review this sentence anyway you want (funny and silly reviews encouraged)
3) Post a link to your sentence here (in the comments) or if you don't have a blog, just post it in the comments!

This week, my Third Sentence is from this book that I picked up out of curiosity and because I thought the cover was strangely interesting.  Travels in the Scriptorium is the first book I have read from Paul Auster and you will soon know what I think about it in my book review.

"We were well into the season of white suits by then, but the air that day had been especially hot, bearing down with such stifling heaviness that even the thinnest clothing felt excessive"  -page 70

Review:  It's hot, hot, hot!  That's how it felt here in the Philippines in the past few weeks, with summer in full force and scorching the country, turning everyone into a delightful shade of golden brown.  But now, rainy season is officially here and it's been raining all day for a couple of days now.  So white suits are out now, and in with colorful umbrellas and jackets.

10 Good Things on a Monday: Ten Things To Do on a Sunny Day

10 Good Things on a Monday is a weekly feature  I am doing dedicated to every person's compulsive list-writing.  Every Monday we are going to make a list of 10 things that will cheer us up and help tide us over the whole week.

<a href="http://buoyreading.blogspot.com/search/label/good%20things" target="_top"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ZLJhw831LIwGjiA8RrpkyCa2Kw0vJ-MCDZ92vwi4is-CRlAzDfrov1rTTH16ntcfHxERkDFchxdM-bLazZ6g9M8tSP4JfsgI1z6BjiHzILQVknmvbcSdG9PpCXAdG9SZ1LU5PvsKPpM/s1600/10.JPG" border="0" /></a>

Here's how it works:

1. Think of a particular group of good things you want to make a list on, does not necessarily have to be about books, e.g. your current book wish list, or your favorite book foods (you know, foods you love to eat while reading, if you're like me), or your favorite girly names, whatever you can think of, as long as it makes you feel good.
2. If you have no ideas for a list, you can always visit my blog post to check out my theme for that week and you can take a cue from my list.
3. Post your list on your blog, grab that cute ARGH button above and put it on your post too, so we'd know you're doing this meme.
4. Leave the link for your post on my own 10 Good Things post for the week, if you see others doing it, comment too and let's share our good things with everybody.
5. Everybody goes through the whole week happy!

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My 10 Good Things for this week:  Ten Things To Do on a Sunny Day 

Summer is fast approaching here in the Philippines but right now, it hasn't reached scorching yet, just pleasantly warm and sunny.  This is my favorite part of summer, when the air is still a bit cool even though the sun is high up and giving off really hot rays.  But when summer gets really hot - the hottest it reached here last year was 37.3 Celius (99.14 Fahrenheit) - I'll probably get all crabby and hate on summer again.  So I am now just enjoying this really comfortable weather while it lasts.

1. Read a book on the rooftop with a pitcher of cold water beside me.
2. Go ride my bike in the smaller streets.
3. Go for a quick swim in the pool.
4. Walk a few miles.
5. Wear a really cute sundress and go out with friends to the park.
6. Eat bubblegum-flavored ice cream - do not limit to just one!
7. Take a walk with sick patients to let them soak up sunshine.
8. Do the laundry and let the clothes dry under the sun
9. Fly a kite.
10. Walk and play with the dog - I do not have a pet anymore, but I used to do this with my previous dog Angel who's now dead :-(

Sunny days rock!