The Best Laid Plans...

Oh hello Dearest, how are you? I hope this day finds you well.

I am enjoying a peaceful and happy transition into May. Birds are building nests, the first flowers of the season are in bloom and trees are slowly but surely starting to unfurl their leaves. The scent of the white magnolia tree down the street has hit its intoxicating peak.

I am grateful.

The latter part of my April was waylaid not only by a spring cold, but by a bout of food poisoning, both of which prompted me to enter into pretty intense self-care mode these past few weeks. But I am ready to move on and the spring air makes it that much sweeter.

My moving on means that I am BACK in the game and ready to resume my Birthday List Love. You didn't think I'd leave you hanging, did you?

I'll be back shortly with List #5. In the meantime I leave you with a few snapshots from an impromptu hike D. and I took last week in a new-to-us conservation area. My first real outing after being sick, the combination of sunshine and scenery made it a blissful afternoon spent with my Love. I may have discovered a new happy place.

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Back soon with List #5, stay tuned...

Birthday List Love #4: 25 Books I've Enjoyed This Year (So Far)

Books, books and more books!

Books I’ve bought, books from the library, books on order as I type. Books I’ve read, books waiting to be read, books I’m reading for a second time. Books I sought out, books picked up on a whim. Books that have graced my coffee, bedside and kitchen tables.

All of them have been flipped through, referenced or enjoyed during the past few months.

I chose to go for a round number of 25 books. I also chose to keep it simple: no reviews, just titles, authors and links for your perusal.

Happy reading!

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  1. The Prosperous Heart: Creating a Life of “Enough”, by Julia Cameron with Emma Lively
  2. Soul Shifts: Transformative Wisdom for Creating a Life of Authentic Awakening, Emotional Freedom, and Practical Spirituality, by Dr. Barbara De Angelis
  3. The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life, by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
  4. Illuminate: Ignite Changes Through Speeches, Stories, Ceremonies, and Symbols, by Nancy Duarte and Patti Sanchez
  5. slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations, by Nancy Duarte
  6. The Information Design Handbook, by Jennifer Visocky O’Grady and Ken Visocky O'Grady
  7. Pocket Your Dollars: 5 attitude changes that will help you pay down debt, avoid financial stress & keep more of what you make, by Carrie Rocha
  8. Body of Work: Finding the Thread That Ties Your Story Together, by Pamela Slim
  9. Get the Right Job Right Now: Proven tools, tips and techniques from Canada’s career coach, by Alan Kearns
  10. Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, by Elizabeth Gilbert
  11. Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual, by Michael Pollan and Maira Kalman
  12. A Beautiful Mess Photo Idea Book: 95 Inspiring Ideas for Photographing Your Friends, Your World, and Yourself, by Elsie Larson and Emma Chapman
  13. Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Photographs With Any Camera, by Bryan Peterson
  14. Understanding Close-up Photography: Creative Close Encounters with or Without a Macro Lens, by Bryan Peterson
  15. Finding Your Visual Voice: A Painter's Guide to Developing an Artistic Style, by Dakota Mitchell with Lee Haroun
  16. The Women of Beaver Hall: Canadian Modernist Painters, by Evelyn Walters
  17. The Beaver Hall Group: 1920s Modernism in Montreal, by Jacques DesRochers and Kristina Hunneault
  18. Vincent by Himself: A Selection of Van Gogh's Paintings and Drawings Together With Extracts from His Letters, edited by Bruce Bernard
  19. Gustav Klimt: From Drawing to Painting, by Christian M. Nebehay and Renée Nebehay-King
  20. Expressionism, by Norbert Wolf
  21. Witness: Canadian Art of the First World War, by Amber Lloydlangston and Laura Brandon
  22. The Backwoods of Canada, by Catherine Parr Traill (Note: My copy is a 1971 edition picked up at a used book store and has the funkiest cover art. Since I couldn't find it on Amazon, I linked to a version that has a $0,99 Kindle edition.)
  23. Anne Savage: The Story of a Canadian Painter, by Anne McDougall
  24. Les héritiers du fleuve, Tome 1: 1887-1893, by Louise Tremblay-D'Essiambre
  25. The World of Downton Abbey, by Jessica Fellowes and Julian Fellowes

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Previously, on Birthday List Love:

Birthday List Love #1: Favourite Recipes

Birthday List Love #2: Personal Finance Books by Gail Vaz-Oxlade

Birthday List Love #3: Four Female Canadian Artists

List #5 coming up next...