11.22.63

So, whenever someone mentioned Stephen King to me my first thought was always IT or Pet Cemetery. I'm a big wuss so the books never appealed to me! A couple of years ago a work colleague recommended Doctor Sleep the 'long awaited' sequel to The Shining. I read both and although The Shining terrified me I thoroughly enjoyed them.

When said work colleague raved about 11.22.63 I looked forward to another enjoyable read.

The book draws you in straight away introducing you to the main character Jake Epping a thirty something high school teacher with a seemingly mundane life. You do, however quickly warm to him and he's a character you immediately like.  The twist comes when Jake is introduced to the 'rabbit hole' a link between 2011 and 1958. When you go through the rabbit hole you can stay minutes, months or even years but always return to 2011 two minutes after you have left. Jake is shown this by a dying restaurant owner Al who spent four years through the rabbit hole on the quest to change American history by preventing the assassination of JFK. Al was thwarted by the onset of cancer and has bequested the challenge to Jake. The only problem being that every time go go through the rabbit hole everything is seemingly reset so the journey has to begin again.

The book centres on his journey through yesteryear - love, work and a lack of modern technology. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and looked forward to picking it up every evening to lose myself in the life of Jake Epping. I've heard that the book has been made into a tv series and I look forward to seeing the adaptation on screen.

Thanks for reading

Harriet

Sleep

I love sleep,I really do, unfortunately sleep does not love me. This summer I'm going to try to find ways to improve my sleep. My friend Mandy has kindly lent me a Res Med S+ sleep monitor. Its a neat little device that sits on your bedside table, connects to your phone via an app and monitors your sleep.

I've tried it for a few nights now and the results are interesting.

As you can see, my problem is constant waking up and not quite enough deep sleep. I read every night before I go to sleep and have been using their 'relax to sleep' sounds which sync to your breathing, I particularly like the shoreline sound as it blocks out the outside world.

So my next challenge is staying asleep! The Res Med gives advice to improve your sleep quality which I have been following. I guess the next step will be looking into new mattress or pillows.

Harriet x

Unconditional love

Ahh animals! I grew up around animals, horses, dogs, chickens, hamsters, ferrets. I'm known in my group of friends to be the one that goes to a dog first instead of the room full of people. But what makes animals so special?

When you are greeted at the door by your furry family it does not matter what has happened during the day or how long you have been away, they are thrilled to see you.

I'm lucky enough to be looking after this little girl at the moment, but excited greetings are not solely exclusive to dogs. I went away a few years ago and my friend kindly offered to pop in and feed my cats. Rosie is your usual moggie who keeps herself to herself but Alfie is a totally different entity! Every time the key went in the door Alfie would run to the hallway looking for mummy. After the third visit and I still wasn't home, Alfie's shoulders visibly dropped! Luckily though he loved my friend and soon got over his disappointment with cuddles and treats.

Last month I went to visit South Lakes Safari Zoo not my first visit, and certainly not my last. The zoo has had a slightly chequered past but all efforts have been made to make it the best day out. In the last year or two it has had extensive extension work including a walk through vulture enclosure - not for the faint hearted! Prices are really reasonable and I always get the £3 wristband which allows me to hand feed the giraffes and lemurs. It is advertised as a walking safari and it truly is! I'm considering getting an annual pass as I would love to visit more often!

There are many places I've been, and many have been magical. Another one in particular was Alpaca trekking at Bells of Hemscott. What lovely gentle creatures! I could go on about my love of animals but I shall stop there for the moment!

Thanks for reading

Harriet X

For the love of books

I've spent my life surrounded by books. I have clear memories of being small and my dad reading Rupert the Bear with me before I went to sleep, and to this day I never sleep without delving into a book.

Every room of my house contains books, the bedroom, the bathroom and even a room dedicated to shelves of books. I am lucky enough to own original Strand magazines first published in 1891 and beautifully leather bound (in fact I have publications 1 to 16) It is so wonderful to escape for a minute, or an hour to where life was much more simple. In my hallway I even have bookish quotes written on old dictionary pages.

Because I'm quite literally running out of room for my books - I find it impossible to get rid of them - even if it's lending them out - I have recently purchased a Kindle Paperwhite, I've had kindles in the past and used the kindle app on my phone, but this simple device has changed my life. I can store so many books on it and can take it anywhere so that I can continue my passion anywhere I go.

I'm currently reading 11.22.63 by Stephen King. This book was recommended to me and I can't put it down. I shall write a review when I have completed it.

Books are one of the best ways to visit other worlds without leaving your sofa, for escaping what is going on around you and becoming someone else for just a little while!

Happy reading!

Harriet x

So this is the summer of starting out. This summer I fully intend to squeeze fun and experiences out of every waking moment.Blogging is a new thing to me so please be patient!

Recently, circumstances have meant that I have reevaluated what is important in life. Since starting my summer holidays I have filled each day with things that have made me smile. I've walked alpacas, fed tame sheep, hand fed ducks and geese, indulged in afternoon tea and a day at the spa. I've had the opportunity to visit some interesting places that I never imagined I would do, and i've climbed a big hill!

I'll keep this first one short but I hope to share the highs and the lows with you this summer and beyond so that you can see 'what Harriet did next'.

Harriet