Monday Morning Blooms, #DickensChallenge Winners, & Dream Theater Song “Through her Eyes”šŸŽµ

Posted on by Prior...

Hello Readers,Ā 

Wanted to share some flower images and revealĀ the winners of the Bleak House Raffle ($25 Amazon gift cards)

  • For those that don’t know, Trent and I hosted the second annual #DickensChallenge, which was to read Bleak House sometime between February and June 2022.
  • More info on Priorhouse blogĀ here
  • More info at Trent’s blogĀ here

The Bleak House 2022 winners:

  • Derrick KnightĀ here
  • Marsha IngraoĀ here
  • Retirement ReflectionsĀ here

We are still deciding which Dickens selection to read for next year’s challenge- so stay tuned and we hope you can join us in spring of 2023.

Now the Monday Blooms

Dahlis

#FOTD

Closing SongĀ 


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46 thoughts on “Monday Morning Blooms, #DickensChallenge Winners, & Dream Theater Song “Through her Eyes”šŸŽµ”

    1. Hi Robbie – I did not know Dickens changed the ending – and I am excited to learn more about such a popular book of his.
      And looking forward to having you join us next year!
      šŸŒøā˜€ļøšŸŒø

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi D
      Not too much work at all – partly because it didn’t require that much – a few posts (the invite post and then reminders) and my A to Z post was a short afternoon write (that was also pure joy to reflect on)
      And thanks again for your posts and scanned images
      ā˜€ļøšŸ˜ŠšŸ“ššŸ“–

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks BB – but I don’t know if I like this flower in my garden – the stalls and stems are thick and bulky and super messy when spent – hmmmm

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Sorry I never answered your email – I’m glad you posted this. I will link to it from my recap post and do my own announcement at some time. Funny, though I might be the perfect candidate for Dream Theater’s “Neo-Prog-Metal”, I don’t listen to them often, and yet I do have this song in my iTunes…

    Liked by 1 person

      1. pS
        Thanks for adding the winners to the recap master post!
        And once I again I want to say I totally enjoyed your five short essays –
        And of course enjoyed Derrick’s multiple posts and scanned images – RR’s wonderful summary and how she said the characters stayed with her a while (I felt that too) and then how Marsha dove in near the closing days and read with us!
        So much fun and a celebration of literature

        Liked by 1 person

    2. Hi – I had to look up iTunes – and then remembered that it was popular with MySpace and Heelys (shoes with wheels)
      Just kidding —
      And Dream Theatre is my hubs favorite band and when I was ending this post – I asked him to give me a song – then I said “one that goes with Monday blooms and maybe has a sweet vibe”
      And he said this one and Trent – only later did I realize the song also fit the bleak house theme (in a way) the female outlooks, the pain and loss and also coping and moving on – how cool
      And you know –
      I would think you would enjoy this band a lot !!
      Interesting that you don’t – but glad a few songs made it to your “Apple Music” playlists šŸ˜‰

      Liked by 1 person

      1. lol, I am old… I still use my iPod for music, because i want to hear what I want to hear and not what is streamed. I have bought several thousand albums in my life, so I might as well get use of them… I don’t dislike Dream Theater, I just don’t listen to them often. I did buy one album once, but… shrug. Yeah, Jordan Rudess is one of the best keyboard players out there, but… Not sure what it is. It should be exactly my style, but… (I once read an interview with Jordan, and when he talked about his influences, it could have been me talking!)

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Funny, ight now Liquid Trio is playing on, yes, my iTunes ;). This group and Liquid Tension Experiment are Jordan Rudess at his best (in my opinion). If your husband hasn’t listened to this band (two incarnations of same band) he should give them a try. One of the 10,000 different groups to feature Tony Levin…. (lol, Tony gets around)

          Liked by 1 person

        2. That is so cool about how your influences were similar to Jordan’s.
          And I am not that into their music but respect them and like a few songs
          Like “take away my pain” šŸŽµšŸŽµšŸ˜Š

          Liked by 1 person

  6. Pingback: Dickens Challenge – Bleak House Recap Post | Trent's World (the Blog)

  10. Hi, Yvette – Thank you again for all of the work that you and Trent put into the Bleakhouse Challenge. I loved it and greatly appreciated your generous gift card (which I just used yesterday to repurchase and item that I had left behind in my recent travels)! šŸ˜€ For next year’s Dickens’ read, my vote would be Hard Times — Dickens’ satire “against those who see figures and averages, and nothing else.” At 321 pages, it is his shortest novel (other than his novellas and short stories). It also is sadly pertinent to our current day….and is loved by some, but not all, allowing wonderful room for debate and discussion!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi!
      How exciting to have that suggestion – it sounds good to me and like a good length – so let’s see what T and M say
      But the way you wrote about it makes me want to read it this month – haha half kidding because I am not in the mood for dickens for a while / but will be ready to go for spring of 2023
      Sorry you lost something on your travels and glad you had a gc to use for the replacement
      šŸ˜‰

      Liked by 1 person

  13. That was a lot of work compiling the Dickens challenge on both your parts … now you put your heads together for another one. The Dahlias are beautiful. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them in a garden, just in gardening magazines and now here in this post.

    Like

    1. Hi Linda – the challenge wasn’t too much Effort at all
      And as mt first time with dahlia and not a huge fan – but that is okay – it had been a fun experiment !!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Next year we’ll both try sunflowers. Maybe the world and the weather will be a tad more normal (not having great confidence in either though). Thy are big flowers!

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Sounds great Linda
          I do have some packs of “dwarf sunflowers” but never got aprons to planting them.
          There might be time if i do it this week (I just might) keep you posted

          Liked by 1 person

        2. There were two homeowners with sunflowers in their yard last year that I pass on my daily walk to the Park. One homeowner has not planted any this year (so far anyway). I have to walk over and see about the other house. We might have to splurge and buy a bunch of them.

          Liked by 1 person

        3. Good idea to splurge and buy some !
          I decided not to plant any of the dwarf seeds I have – because Linda – I am just not into the garden much right now
          Well I like watering my small little area and containers and enjoy the fruits of my labor from setting this up in the spring (and other perennials that hold their own) but I took out all of those rocket snap dragons and put in lantana – and whew – quieted that area down and now want to be done – hahaha
          So If I see any I will let you know

          Liked by 1 person

        4. I did not put out anything this year Yvette and that says a lot because I have roses and hydrangeas in the back, but I only use SILK FLOWERS on the side/front.

          Plus I needed to buy some new flowers for some pots this year and we were swamped at work and I needed “me time” and didn’t want to waste it running to Michael’s for flowers and “planting them” (using weights) into existing pots. I need a new small rocking chair and wooden wagon as the others I had for years fell apart from the humidity. So, I was just not into it.

          First it was a chilly Spring, then it was rainy, then my favorite meteorologist who is very accurate, predicted a very hot Summer and drought-like conditions. I said “no way” and took in the hummingbird feeders as well after a week or so. There will be other Summers, other gardens. The Lantana at Memorial Park’s Volunteer Garden looks great and I was there last Friday taking pics of Eastern Swallowtails – the butterflies love Lantana. You’re in for a treat.

          Liked by 1 person

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