BHBC: The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns

I was so excited to be provided with an advance copy of this book.  When I opened the picture, the cover was such a gorgeous color and I was excited to get started reading.

The Care and handling of Roses with Thorns follows a small period of time in the life of Gal.  Gal is a science teacher with kidney disease who wants to create a new type of rose.  She is a very frank person, often saying exactly what is on her mind and seeing things in black and white.  She doesn't always understand why people get upset, since she is usually correct.  Her life is changed when her teenage niece is unexpectedly sent to live with her.  Gal must learn how to be more flexible and begins to see the world in color.


This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own. 

Out of my element.

So, there's this huge new music festival being held where I live this weekend, and the hubs and I decided to sign up to volunteer. We paid our paltry fee, ($20 compared to $218 for a ticket) and have been waiting with a mixture of worry and excitement.

We were told to expect an email mid June with our job assignments. A few weeks after that, we finally received said notification...floaters. WTH? Oh well, as long as I didn't end up with trash duty I was fine.

Today we went to credentialing to check in. And man did we score in the job area. I am a traffic control specialist. I will be handling the golf cart traffic behind the main stage. I will get to work with the production team and see the main stage artists before and after they go onstage. The hubs gets to be a VIP area clicker. He's basically a bouncer for the VIP area where he can watch the shows.

We live just a few miles away, so we plan to go home and sleep every night. But when they offered free camp sites, we thought it might be wise to snag one for a base camp during the day. Setting up the tent tonight made me feel old. An a bit nostalgic. But then I realize that my age may have helped me score the better placement and I'm all good with it.

I'm mostly an introvert. I hate small talk. The Internet is one of my favorite places to meet people since I can get all the awkward out of the way without the face to face scariness. This whole weekend will be a step outside my comfort zone. Bring it on.