For book club this month we read The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger. All of the ladies enjoyed the book. I give it a 9 out of a 10. I did not like two parts of the book and I cannot see why he wrote them the way he did...so it is a 9 not a 10. Three fourths the way through the book I wrote the ending in my mind...and it was nothing like the way it ended. Go figure.
I missed last months Book Club because we were traveling to a Doctor's appointment.
I finally made a list of the books that I have in the house to read. I am only 52 books behind....but at least I know which books I have hidden away...just in case. I had to order a few books for upcoming book club books. That is what prompted the making of the list.
We took it easy on Tuesday...because Monday was a busy day. We made Jambalaya, salad and flat bread for supper guests. Far Guy was the cook and I was the sous chef/dishwasher/bread baker. Teamwork! Tuesday morning we both said we are getting too old for cooking. However Jambalaya freezes well and we froze some up for the summer...it will make a great side dish or main dish with a salad and fruit for the summer days we don't want to cook. Far Guy follows the Cajun Ninja recipe for Jambalaya on You Tube.
The flat bread was really good and made the whole house smell great! No it is not perfectly formed but it tasted perfectly great!
Supper on Tuesday was chicken thighs with skin removed in the crock pot with pineapple juice and soy sauce...salad and peaches. Easy cooking!
I have had a post it note floating around my desk space for a bit...it says...
"Being popular on facebook is like sitting at the cool table in the cafeteria of a mental hospital"
Far Side
Jen passed a book down to me and I passed it to Far Guy. We all enjoyed the book. I give it a 9 out of a 10. Jen is reading it aloud to the Greats.
The Eyes & The Impossible by Dave Eggers
It was a quick read for me, Far Guy read it over the course of a few days sitting in a chair by the window soaking up some sun/watching it spit snow.
Far Side
We read The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom.
I liked the book as did the other ladies in the book club. I give it a 9 plus...not a perfect 10. It is another historical fiction read.
What have you read lately? Anything good that you care to recommend?
I still order books from Thrift Books...I still like to hold a book in my hand even though I have many books on my Kindle. I usually pass the books along after I have read them or donate them.
Far Side
I read true sisters by Sandra Dallas. It is historical fiction. It is based on the Martin Companies Mormon Handcart Journey in 1856. I give it an 8 out of a 10. The conditions the settlers faced were very difficult. Basically they walked 1,300 miles.
This was my inbetween book club read. It is heavy on the Mormon religion from a women's perspective.
Far Side
The Book Club gathered at a local park for a book exchange, snacks and a discussion of the book The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki. It is historical fiction....that is the type of book I like best.
This was one of my selections to read. I give it an 8 out of a 10. It was an enjoyable read. It might have gotten a 9 out of 10 but about 20 pages of the book were missing and replaced with a different book. Frustrating for this reader...the other gals had to brief me about the goings on in those 20 pages. I put the book in the paper recycling bin so it won't happen to anyone else.
I took a few books to exchange and brought just as many back home. Not that I need another book in this house.
Far Side
This book was a quick read and very entertaining. I give it an eight out of a ten. It is not the usual type of book I read, but it is this months book club read at the local library in East Grand Forks.
I just finished a book I really enjoyed.
I have not watched it in Netflix yet. If you enjoy a book the movie is usually not up to the books standards.
I found out that there is a sequel ...so I ordered it from Thriftbooks.
So that is what I am reading...how about you?
Far Side
We had book club on Thursday afternoon. We read The Measure by Nikki Erlick. I thought it would be a much better book that it was, I give it a five out of ten stars. It was a struggle for me to finish it...but I finally just sat down and read until I finished it. I just hate books that are hard to get through. I would not recommend the book to anyone. I passed it along to Jen as it is a pick for her book club later this winter. I can hardly wait to hear what they say about it.
Friday I caught up with laundry and cleaned our bathroom. I have several projects I am working on...crochet projects ...I think I have four projects going at one time...
It was frosty again.
Far Side
Book Club is today.
The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin is the book we are discussing. I gave it a 9...it was an enjoyable read however it was most likely a "formula" book. The author picked many small survival items that came in really handy in this romance/disaster novel. The editing was poor...get real...suddenly he has his car keys and charge cards. I just didn't buy that. I guess it has been made into a movie.
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate is not a book club read...it was a bonus book that I have wanted to read all summer and I finally found the time...it is a page turner and is based loosely on true incidents. I give it a 10...although the author could have tied up all the loose ends...
What are you reading?
Far Side
We had book club yesterday.
To catch you up....
The book in May was Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys I give it a 6 out of 10, I wasn't thrilled with it, however I must have missed Spain in the 1950s in World History class.
The June book was Westering Women by Sandra Dallas I give that one a 9 out of 10 I really enjoyed it. I enjoy Sandra Dallas as a historical fiction writer.
The July book was Anxious People by Fredrik Backman I give that one a 7 out of 10. The book is proof that people will read a book about idiots.
We have a list of the books for the next four months and I have purchased the books. One of the books has been made into a movie that comes out soon. I have not been in a movie theater in a long time and I probably won't go to this movie either...sooner or later it will be out on Netflix.
Far Side
I admit it. I was a book hoarder, a few winters ago I cleared out about 500 books. I looked at every one as I boxed them up. I had books everywhere; downstairs, upstairs, in boxes, in drawers under the bed. I was bound and determined to get into "recovery mode." After all I have a Kindle that stores books....according to my Grandson Adam "Boy Grandma you have lots of books on your Kindle!"
I have allowed myself one area for real books....some I have read, some are gifts, some are waiting to be read.
Yesterday I was looking for the next book club read and the cabinet was a mess...so...
There are 50 + books in the cabinet....some are shoved behind ( not many but a few). Nine of these books will be out of here soon....either going to a book exchange, to a friend or donated. I do have a few "emergency books" at our daughters home, however I bet she could find me a book to read in a reading emergency!
How many books do you have at your home? Do you consider yourself a book hoarder? Are you in recovery mode?
Far Side
Grocery Day wasn't much of an adventure...everything was as ordered. At Wally World I am usually the only car there, yesterday there were three other vehicles. Some people must be cooking for Easter!
Yesterday afternoon was Book Club...not much of a Club...there are just three of us...a few others may or may not join in from time to time.
I chose the book for April. A few of my blog readers can guess which book I chose.
The gals enjoyed it! It was a good Spring read.
One of the gals said she has already mailed the book to her brother.
So my pick was a success. Next month we discuss Something in the Water by Steadman...along with a side discussion about the book Anne of Green Gables vs the Netflix Anne with an E. Neither of the gals have read the book or watched the series. So that should be interesting. Book Club is an online meeting.
I ordered the next couple of books...I use Thrift Books.
I am almost done with the car seat cover....the last fitting happened yesterday.
The bit of yarn in the photo with my favorite book is cashmere...and ever so nice to work with.
Far Side
We went for a ride after supper, Chance was restless and followed me around after supper, being a pill as I folded a load of laundry….he hates the scary utility room so he gave me “the Border Collie stare” from the kitchen. He told me that Far Guy forgot his treat…he went between me and his treat door…I hollered at Far Guy “Chance says he did not get his after supper treat. Did you forget?” “No” came the reply. Perhaps Chance forgot… more than likely he just wanted seconds. We are sometimes manipulated by a dog…what more can I say.
Chance is easily distracted by the word walk and then a ride.
Recently we listened to the audio book And Every Morning The Way Back Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman. A poignant novella about relationships, aging and dementia. Jen recommended it and put it on Far Guy’s new I Phone so we would be entertained on the way home from up North the other night. Yes it made me cry but I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
Hay field at sunset.
We will never be as young as we are today. Our memories will never ever be as good as they are today, right now….if we are lucky enough to share those memories with someone that actively listens then the listener is richer for it.
Sunsets are beautiful along with lives well lived, something to be relished after a good day when you can still remember who you are, where you live and who you love.
It was really cold on Thursday morning…like –25 F or –31C eh! The mailman delivered a package to our door along with the mail that included seven Christmas Cards!
I opened the package first!
A box of Retro Shiny Brites and a book The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas. “A colorful exploration of Depression-era Kansas and the meaning of friendship.” I was hooked after the first few pages! Thank you Kay you are ever so thoughtful!
I took the ornaments upstairs, found some hangers and hung them on the in progress Shiny Brite tree! These will be known as my Kay ornaments!
The tree upstairs will be done soon, I work on it for a few hours and then do something else. So many people have given me ornaments it is like a trip down memory lane while I am decorating.
We had company, Alaska Guy was here for a visit and spent an evening with us. Always good to see him and hear his stories. He was telling us about scattering ashes out of an airplane and how they improvised a water jug and a tube to disperse it out of the airplane. He said that many people up in Alaska are choosing cremation. He and his sister have a plot near ours over at the cemetery. He and Far Guy compared notes on their hips and other ailments. We also talked about area history…he remembers a man with a popcorn trailer being right across the road from the store in Ponsford. His parents would never let him get any popcorn because the guy lived in that trailer! I don’t recall it at all…but he is a year older than I am.
I finished the Audio Book A Man Called Ove. I got out the afghan I am working on and crocheted while listening. I give the book at least 5 out of 5 stars. We both enjoyed it. We don’t usually listen to Audio Books…maybe we should listen to a few more. Whoever read this one did an excellent job.
Greenery for sale in town
Menahga has a new Little Library! As you can see it is ready for all the rainy weather we have had. I hope it survived the straight line winds that went through their town the other night.
This Little Libray sits right outside of the Historical Museum in Menahga (MEN ah gaw).
As a child I loved to read but not many books were available to me. The summer before I entered third grade, we lived in Stuart Iowa for the summer. It was there I was introduced to my first Public Library. I loved going there and wondering what great adventures were in all those books.
Someone once asked me what my perfect room would be? A library room with huge comfy chairs and a fireplace, with books from floor to ceiling and a lock on the door…so I could lock myself in and just read.
I still like holding a real book in my hand, but I read often on my Kindle…all those books in one spot that I can grab and go…pure heaven.
I bought that whole box of Shiny Brites for one ornament. I will let you guess which one.
However the one satin bulb on the left is interesting.
Some crocheting wonder with lots of time on her hands grandma crocheted a cover for a satin ornament. It is quite striking.
There were only five REAL Shiny Brites in the box…the striped one and four others.
There is a fine line between REAL Shiny Brites and other ornaments …like Coby…they used the same machines/process…borrowed it I believe and marked theirs Made In The USA. They were all manufactured about the same time. Real Shiny Brites are marked Shiny Brite Made in the USA. War time Shiny Brites had cardboard tops because metal was needed in the war effort. The Vintage Shiny Brites were discontinued in 1961. At one time they were the most popular ornament in the United States and you could buy a box of twelve for 60 cents..or singly for 5 to 10 cents each usually the singles were marked with an old grease pencil….If I wander across one I leave the markings intact.
I painted some of the ageing woodcarvings that I found in a box upstairs. No kidding I think I carved these about ten years ago. They were supposed to be “THE” carved Christmas Ornament one year that never made it past the carving stage.
I like the ivory ones better than the stark white ones. I have a few more yet to finish. Each one is a bit different…and has it’s own personality.
I read a book over the weekend. Memory Boy by Will Weaver…he is a local boy who graduated with Far Guy. He is a little uppity now since he is semi famous in his own mind. I enjoyed the book…it was written for teenage boys…I think I will pass it on to my grandsons….it was an easy read and entertaining.
The orange trees are still in the same state of orange as they were two months ago.
Every time I drive past them I expect that they will have lost their needles….maybe they are just discolored needles and not dead needles. I can hope!
In Park Rapids Fish Hook River was frozen but the lake was still open.
Fish Hook Lake
Yesterday the wind howled and blew up a mini blizzard for awhile. We stayed home. I busied myself with beads and cooking. Cook once and eat three times..that is my new motto as I packaged up the leftovers and put them in the freezer. Last week we made French Dip (Pork Roast baked with a can each of French Onion Soup, Beef Broth and Beef Consume)…and that was good for three nights with another night packaged for the freezer.
On Tuesday I had lunch with my cousins. Afterwards I hit the bookstore. A book was released last summer. I donated a old photo of my father in laws for the book and I helped research some of the the history. I was thanked in the acknowledgements. I thought that was nice. So I bought the book. The Best of Itasca. I had hoped to get to one of the several book signings in the area…but that just didn’t happen.
Oh yes I finished with the Cousin’s Cookbook!! Yippee! The cookbook program and a copy of all the recipes is in my cousin Kathy’s capable hands. I proofed it one last time…I am certain it will have some mistakes…but so be it…it is what it is. I will be glad to see it in print. It is a project that I have been working on for three years..maybe four.
