Category Archives: Just An Opinion

Emma Embraces Books

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Emma Embraces Books

I have such a love of books, I have tried to pass it along to my children and grandchild.  Books have always been a gift in our family.

Emma is my granddaughter.  We have surrounded her with books and we read to her on a daily basis.

Today, her choice is What’s Up, Duck?  A book of opposites by Tad Hills.  It is fun to watch her eyes light up as you read to her.  She is learning new things every day from her books.

A Month of Blogging

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A Month of Blogging


If you had asked me a year ago at this time if I would ever blog, I would have given you a wide eyed look and shook my head  no.  Both of my daughters, Kristin of Kritters Ramblings  and Jennifer of The Underestimated Mom have been blogging for some time.  I encouraged them, but never pictured myself blogging. 
It has been a month of blogging now.  I have learned how to post, how to add links, how to add pictures ( which makes everything more interesting ) and how to talk “blog” language!  It has come easier then I expect, but only because my girls have guided me and given me immeasurable support.
Becoming a part of the blogging community has been fun.  I have met a few new people.   I am looking forward to BEA next year too and reconnect with people I met this past year.
My next celebration I hope will be at my first year of blogging.  At this point I am taking it one day or one week at a time.  I hope if you are contemplating blogging that you have as much help and support along the way.  

Charlotte’s Birthday

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Charlotte’s Birthday
This is my grand fur baby’s third birthday!  Her parents are in Florida this week, so she is celebrating with me.  This is her first car seat – she is growing up!  This is her gift from her grandparents.

Charlotte’s mom left her a new toy and some birthday treats.  

My granddaughter Emma gave Charlotte her first dog treat for her birthday!

Charlotte devoured her treat!
Watch your fingers!!

Happy Birthday Charlotte!!

Library Sale

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Loudoun Library Sale

This became a family event.  Both my daughters, Kristin of Kritters Ramblings and Jennifer of The Underestimated Mom  went to the book sale with me.  It was so much fun!  This event is held in an elementary school.  There were books for everyone.  We made a whole day out of it, lunch, buy books and read, read, read!!
These are just a few of the titles I brought home:  Margaret Maron’s Ritual of the Season,  Lisa Scottoline’s Lady Killer,  Sarah Strohmeyer’s The Penny Pinchers Club and  Susan Wiggs Table for Five.  I am excited about all of them. 
 I was able to pick up  a couple of books for a friend and introduce her to authors she has never read before.   What a fun place to find older books by authors I know I enjoy reading and exploring new authors.  We will definitely make this an event we schedule  each year.  Soon my granddaughter will join us on us on this excision!! 
                                                      What fun! 
                                                      

PD Fundraiser

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Parkinson’s Disease Fundraiser
One More Page book store in Arlington, VA held a fundraiser for Parkinson’s Disease.  A portion of the sales went to Team Cul de Sac, which is a part of the  Michael J. Fox Foundation.  I was honored to be there and have some of the cartoonist sign the book.  This was very near to my heart.  Less then a year ago we lost my mother to PD. It was a long, slow process for her.  She was an avid reader and passed that love along to me and my siblings.  So having a book as a fundraiser was appropriate  for us to buy.  Now when there is a chance to support the PD community, it draws me in.  
Goodreads: Artists from around the world are passionate about Richard Thompson’s work. His cartoon, Cul de Sac, has been endorsed by Calvin and Hobbescreator Bill Watterson–high praise indeed. In 2009, Thompson announced his diagnosis of early-onset Parkinson’s. The Team Cul de Sacbook serves as a showcase of original artwork donated to benefit Team Fox, the fundraising arm of the Michael J. Fox Foundation, founded in 2000 to help speed the development of better treatments for Parkinson’s patients and, ultimately, cure the disease.


Ope’s Opinion:  This is an awesome book with a lot of heart put into it.

How I Became "Ope".

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We decided I would be “Oma” when our first grandchild was born, but she had other ideas!

My granddaughter and I were playing with a Fisher.Price plastic egg that opened and closed.  She kept bringing it to me and I said “Open”.  She would say “Ope” and I would say “Yes, bring it to me”. 
After that, she thought I was Ope.  She is now almost 3 years old and I am her Ope!

My name is such a precious gift from her, I wouldn’t have it any other way.  So when I decided to blog, it was just natural to be Ope and add my opinions!



This is the granddaughter and the egg that started me being an Ope!

My BEA Experience

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My daughter Kristin of Kritters Ramblings helped to get our trip to BEA together this year.  It was an amazing trip that inspired me start blogging.

Monday:   We took the train to NYC.  It was a relaxing, enjoyable trip.  After checking into the hotel we headed over to the Javitis Center.  The Bloggers conference had a session called Demystifying the Relationship between Bloggers and Publishers.  It was very informative and encouraging.  That evening we were fortunate to be invited to a HarperCollins event.  We met some amazing people.

Tuesday:  We got up early to get into line to see all the authors and publishers we had on our lists.  Kristin and I did the divide and conquer game plan.  She picked up a few books for me and I picked up a few books for her.  It was so great to meet authors of the books I been reading.  Waiting in lines gave us the opportunity to meet other bloggers and hear their perspective.  That night we had some awesome New York pizza.  We went to Strand book store ( like we needed to buy books! ).  It was an awesome experience to be in that book store.  We just had to have a bag and I bought a book!










Wednesday:  We went to the Random House Breakfast.  So much fun!  I met and had my picture taken with Nate Berkus ( you’ll see more of this in a later
 blog ).  We were able to talk to publishers and a few authors.  I would love to do this again!  We headed to the Javitis Center.

 Unexpectedly, I was able to meet one of my favorite authors, Karen Kingsbury.  She writes contemporary Christian Fiction.  She signed an ARC ( Advanced Reading Copy ) of The Bridge.  I will review this book.

Although the line was long, waiting for Elin Hilderbrand  to sign Summerland was worth it.  
          

That evening we went to a party for Laura Moriarty’s new book The Chaperone.  This is an awesome book.   From there we went to the Bird Bash.  They threw an awesome party.  I met a blogger and a publisher I hope to see again.

Thursday:  We packed up all our belongings and books.  We headed back over to the Javitis Center for our last day.   Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian were my first stop.   They gave out key chains with a bottle of sun lotion attached.  The bottle said Burn for Burn!  They were fun to talk to.  Then we headed to Penn Station to catch the train home, but first we had to have one more piece of New York pizza.   The ride home was quiet.   We were tired.  When we did talk, we talked about me starting this blog and wanting to come back next year to do it all again.

What an amazing, wonderful trip!

Ope’s Rating System

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Each adirondack chair represents a potential reader I would recommend for the book I am reading and reviewing.
One Chair: It is likely I will  be the only one reading this book.

Two Chairs: I may have one friend who might like this book.
Three Chairs: I like the book enough to suggest it to a friend or two.
Four Chairs: I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.
Five Chairs:  This book is so good it will  be passed on and on and on…..

Welcome to Ope’s World

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Hello!  Ope is here.  So About ME!



This blog all started with my two daughters, Kristin of Kritters Ramblings and Jennifer of Underestimatedmom.  They have both encouraged me for some time to blog about the books I read and the other events in my life.  


Going to BEA with Kristin gave me the excitement and encouragement to start this.

I have been reading all my life, thanks to the encouragement of my mother.  Now, I am going to share my opinions in hopes of encouraging others to find their genre and read away.



I have been reviewing on Goodreads for almost a year and have enjoyed posting reviews and reading other peoples reviews.

I am a mother of two grown daughters.   Living near both of them has been such a gift.  I am retired from working in the school system.  My husband is an awesome supportive guy.  He travels often and I am fortunate to tag along on selected trips.  Another part of my life is shared with a grand dog and a granddaughter.  Both keep me moving.

Contact me (opesopinions@gmail.com) –  want to recommend (or send) books my way, or if you just want to chat about books and bookie things!