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Infinite Country by Patricia Engel | Thoughts

   Published : 2021   ||    Format : print   ||    Location : Colombia ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆   What was it about the country that kept everyone hostage to its fantasy? The previous month, on its own soil, an American man went to his job at a plant and gunned down fourteen coworkers, and last spring alone there were four different school shootings. A nation at war with itself, yet people still spoke of it as some kind of paradise.. Thoughts : Infinite Country follows two characters - young Talia, who at the beginning of this book, escapes a girl’s reform school in North Colombia so that she can make her previously booked flight to the US. Before she can do that, she needs to travel many miles to reach her father and get her ticket to the rest of her family. As we follow Talia’s treacherous journey south, we learn about how she ended up in the reform school in the first place and why half her family resides in the US. Infinite Country tells the story of her family through the other protagonist, El

The Sunday Salon: Vacationing in a resort

The Sunday 
Salon.com

Happy Sunday, everyone! It's been a while since I've been around here that I'm almost feeling rusty and out of my skin. But I've been reading loads and been having fun that I let that go on for a while. It's not often that I walk around with a book!

The husband and I woke very early this morning to the sounds of a vomiting dog. Rue has been puking left, right and center, and I'm sure if you've had dogs or babies, you know that's seriously a horrid way to begin a day. It's worse because these helpless little cuties don't know what's happening plus that mama would prefer if they didn't have a go on the carpet or the bed linens! I really hope it's nothing serious - we're keeping an eye on her for some time and if it doesn't stop, we may have to go to a clinic to get her checked out. Have any of you ever had to deal with something like this?

On the sunnier side, we vacationed in Wintergreen resort last weekend and it was ah-mazing! Even though the trip was my idea, I was plenty nervous that it may not turn out to be worth the expense but in the end, we had enough to do for three days. We did some canoeing and biking at the Lake Monocan near the resort. We did some hiking one day, to see the Upper Shamokin waterfalls. Couple of days, we went swimming. Our condo faced a golf course on the back and when we were indoors, it was quite relaxing to curl up with a book in the patio. We forgot to take our camera on the vacation and although we missed it sometimes, it was a good excuse to enjoy more and focus less on capturing the moments. Plus, we had a smartphone to rescue us sometimes.

A shot from the top of the falls

One of the things I enjoyed the most was their archery class. I started out bad but twice towards the end, I got all five arrows on the board, plus a bull's eye. If you ever get a chance to go to the resort, you should try this activity. We considered going again for it the next day, but it was raining heavily then. On the last day, I went for my very first massage and I left feeling that if massages were cheaper, I could certainly get used to them. Oh those muscles - I didn't know I had so many of those. I don't often want to go back to the places I visit once, but probably for the first time, or maybe the second, I am looking forward to revisiting this resort. My other wannagobackto place is Myrtle Beach, for its diners and the 100s of miniature golf courses they have.

That's my bull's eye board!

As for the reading I keep talking about, I finished Can You Keep a Secret? (loved it), In the Garden of Beasts (meh), Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock (engrossing) and The Great Gatsby (so intense!). Last night, I just started reading Emma Chapman's How to be a Good Wife, and is that seriously disturbing so far! That's definitely my best weekly record for more than a year, and part of the credit goes to a challenge I joined on Goodreads that encourages reading more books. Of course, that means a bigger review backlog. but that's a fun problem to have. What have you been doing so far?

Comments

Kim Ukura said…
Your resort weekend sounds awesome! I would like to do something like that with the boyfriend, but he works weekends so it's hard to arrange.


On the animal puking thing, our cat, Hannah, has been a little off for the last few days. She's not acting weird, but threw up a few times Friday and Saturday. I cut back on her food and make sure she had a lot of water, and that seems to be helping. I hope your dog feels better soon!
Vasilly said…
That picture of the falls looks so nice! I really like the Goodreads challenge too. It tells you when you're ahead and when (like me) you're far behind. Enjoy your week.
bermudaonion(Kathy) said…
Carl's parents live about 30 minutes from Wintergreen so I've been there a few times but have never stayed there. It looks like it was a lot of fun!
Sam_TinyLibrary said…
Ah no, hope your dog feels better soon. I hate it when my cat is sick...
Archery is really fun, isn't it? I'd love to do it again.
bellezza said…
Sorry about the vomit issue at your house, I hope your puppy is feeling better now. I've only had pets with issues at the other end, and who's to say which is worse? I love that you were canoeing and biking in your vacation! Those are my two favorite sports, well, those and page turning to keep my fingers strong. ;)
Athira / Aths said…
She's been better all day so far, so that's good. We didn't feed her anything yet and feel so bad about that, but if she's fine tomorrow, we could give her something then.
Athira / Aths said…
Yeah! Sometimes, I really need a challenge to push me ahead. The challenge I joined recently is the Seasonal Reading Challenge. They have loads of good challenges in there and the good thing for me is, it keeps me feeling competitive.
Athira / Aths said…
I hope you get to stay there sometime. It certainly is well worth the time.
Athira / Aths said…
Archery is definitely a lot of fun. Do you do a lot of it? I cannot wait to do more of it.
Athira / Aths said…
The other end is the worse. I'll say that. Rue had the other end issue as well once, a few months ago. And oh-my-gawd. I was pulling my hair out at the end of the day. There's only so many times you can go with a mop to clean a spot and try not to puke while doing it.
Booksnyc said…
I know some friends that have been to Wintergreen in the winter but never in the summer - it sounds like you had a great week! Hope the puppy feels better soon - it is hard when they are sick - it makes you feel so helpless.
Sounds totally splendid. What great pics. I want to learn archery.


As for your pup, pure pumpkin (not "filling" that has sugar) helps settle doggy tummies.
Athira / Aths said…
Wintergreen is known for its winter activities and that's why I was a little worried but it has a ton to do in summer too!
Athira / Aths said…
Thanks for that tip! Wish I knew that this morning.. she seems to be fine now, but I'm going to grab a pumpkin if she seems to get sick again.
Canned pumpkin works good too. Just make sure it's not the filling. We use to keep some frozen in the freezer (in ziploc) for those days when his tummy got upset.
Jenn said…
What a great trip! So glad you guys had a good time.

And oh no about your pup. That is so not fun. Plus, you hate that they feel bad. Hope she starts feeling better.
Ti Reed said…
I think I have How to be a Good Wife!


Sounds like you had a nice trip. Poor Rue! Our pup did that for a day, but then stopped and was her normal self. It's happened twice and both time, she had a little bit of a fever (warm, dry nose). I guess even pets can catch a bug every now and then. If it continues past a couple of days though you have to worry about dehydration. Was it white, foamy stuff? I know, gross, huh?
Athira / Aths said…
That sounds more convenient. I think it is a good idea to stock this in the freezer. It will come in handy for the emergencies. Thanks a lot, Juju. :)

Btw, she's doing much better today - phew!
Athira / Aths said…
She is better today. Phew. I slept nervously last night worried that the purges will start some time, but luckily, no such tragic occurrences. Phew!
Athira / Aths said…
Luckily, not white foamy stuff. That would have freaked us out. I've seen enough of that type of incidents in humans to know it's never good news, so phew on that. But she's good today. No signs of an upset stomach. We didn't give her anything to eat yesterday so we were feeling pretty miserable about that. But today, she's eating food like a ravenous newborn!
Leeswammes said…
Sounds like you had a really nice vacation! I need something like it.
Ti Reed said…
Oh good! Glad to hear she is feeling better.
Athira / Aths said…
I wanted something relaxing this time and the resort was able to give that. It was beautiful!