May post

Well, it has been almost four weeks since my last post. Just not making the time to keep up with blogging. Book club meets tomorrow night to discuss Euphoria by Lily King. I struggled with this book. It has gotten great reviews but I just wasn't hooked. I liked the writing although it did take me awhile to get used to who was narrating. It did spike my interest in learning a bit more about Margaret Mead as I know little about her besides the basics. I have started reading the Granchester mysteries

after watching the PBS series. And I do enjoy reading Louise Penny and Inspector Gamache

. My badminton season is over. My golf season has started. Gearing up for the summer. Been on a cleaning binge. Have thoroughly cleaned two of the garage bays and have started to go through and organize the storage area under the eaves. This is where we put everything we couldn't bare to part with from the kids' earliest art work and school papers to the hundreds, literally, of books that we have. I did find three boxes of books that we moved 28 years ago and that we will never re-read but my husband is hesitant to donate them. Working on that. I have to get rid of piles of magazines etc. Just don't want to leave all this clutter to my kids. Not saying we are hoarders but we do accumulate stuff.

Sunday fun day

Had our book club last week. Great discussion. So glad we had postponed and waited until most of us could get together. Our next book Kitchens of the Great Midwest I read back in the fall. Will need to review it before our next meeting. I started a new mystery murder series last week- One Foot in the Grove. Ugh. Set in Georgia, I really struggled with this for about 4 days. Just had so much trouble liking any of the characters and all were annoying. So, something I don't usually do- stopped reading it. It goes back to the library tomorrow. Interesting that some people gave it 5 stars of Goodreads and loved it and then there were many who gave it two or one and just couldn't get into it. Too many books to waste time on those that are not interesting to read. I then started Secrets of Midwives and so far am finding it a good read. Waiting for the UConn women' basketball game at 6 pm tonight. Should be a good game. And opening day for baseball is today or tomorrow depending on which team you follow. For me it is the Red Sox as my daughter lives in Boston.

Best laid plans....

Last weekend was a pretty busy one for me. Friday night we went to a surprise birthday party for one of our friends. When we turned onto the street I was "Whoa, look at all the cars!". There had to be 30 cars parked. Lots of family and friends gathered. When our friend turned onto the street a group lined up with the letters spelling "happy birthday". Totally surprised. Tons of food. Even a roast pig! That took 10 hours to cook. Amazing. I told my husband we just don't know how to throw a party. Saturday we had friends for dinner which was long over due and was quite nice. Easy, casual. Sunday afternoon my niece had the family birthday party for her daughter( my great-niece) who turns six. Nice get together. Sunday night took a turn for the worse. I started feeling a little queasy and by 9:30pm was really sick with flu-like symptoms which lasted all through the night. Ugh. It was awful, and I was miserable. Totally exhausted. I spent all day Monday sleeping and sipping on flat Coke (I almost never drink soda). I made my husband sleep in another room so hopefully he won't come down with this horrible bug. I felt much better by Monday night.Luckily it seemed to run its course in about 16 hours. Monday night my book club was supposed to meet but at least two of us were sick (or recovering) and two had work commitments so we all agreed to postpone the meeting until next week. It sounds like everyone has been reading Americanah and enjoying it- or at least want to discuss it. I think it will be a great discussion. I really enjoyed reading it- well written, lots to think about- the challenges that face people transitioning to a new country and culture. Cant wait for next week. Have started The Little Paris Bookshop. Not sure about it. Not hooked right away but will give it a chance as I have heard a lot about it.

Daylight savings, sewing machines, socks and other things

Can't believe how quickly the days go by. First up, Americanah. Really enjoying this book. Very interesting, well written and it is giving me some insight to the trials, feelings and behaviors of immigrants and their perspective on American living. Can't wait for next Monday for our book club discussion. At the last meeting one of our group had on a pair of banned books socks-

. Very cute. Upon returning from Florida and after doing some laundry I discovered that the ceiling in the linen closet had collapsed due to a leak from the toilet (no worry- only clean water) from the third floor bathroom which my son uses. Every towel, sheet, pillowcase was soaked. It took almost three days to wash everything because the spin cycle on the washer machine didn't work (unless going through an entire cycle). I had to have an emergency visit by our contractor (who is also a good friend) and then meet with not one but two insurance agents to assess the damage to file a claim. Frustrating as we have never filed a claim before..... Hopefully the work to fix everything will start tomorrow. But, because everything is 28 years old it looks as if the bathroom will be a total redo except for the shower. Ugh. On a happier note while looking at houses with my son I stumbled upon an series 15 Singer sewing machine at an estate sale. The sale started Friday and went until Sunday. Well Saturday afternoon no one had bought this beauty. So fearing that it might be put on the street if not rescued my husband and I went back Sunday morning. It was in very good condition and worked. So we made an offer and now I have another machine.

. I have my grandmother's featherweight, another older Singer, my two Berninas and a serger. I think that is enough. Have not tried the new one yet because I need to read the manual to remember how to wind a bobbin. What I think is pretty neat using the serial number, you can find out the date the machine was made. Mine was made September 23, 1952. I posted a few pictures on a vintage sewing site on Facebook and lots of people made very positive comments. One last thing. I had sent out an email to my book group reminding everyone to set their clocks ahead last Saturday. I was the one who set all the clocks in the house BACK an hour. It was almost a complete disaster Sunday morning as I am on altar guild at my church and am responsible for cleaning up after the early service. I was almost two hours late for church! Luckily my husband figured out my mistake and I got to church just in time to set up the the second service. What a way to start my morning. Reminded my of the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland who kept saying I'm late, I'm late....

Rabbit, rabbit welcome Spring!

As a child I was told that if my first words of a new month were "rabbit, rabbit" I would have good luck for that month . Well usually I forgot until about noon time or later. And I still have trouble remembering.

I returned from my stay in Florida just in time to attend my book group. Our discussion was very lively and Same Kind Of Different As Me was fairly thought provoking. I read 10 books while away. I think my favorites were The Mapmaker's Children and Once We Were Brothers- both historical fiction. I managed to get hold of a copy of Americanah, which is the March selection for book club, at our library this morning. I also picked up a couple of other books. Of course. Today is very spring like- blue skies, cool breeze and temperatures are moderate. Sweatshirt weather. Now to catch up with the mail and laundry- the downside of being away!

Break from the cold and snow

Well my husband and I have been in Sarasota Florida for a little over two weeks. We left on a messy snowy Wednesday morning- lucky to leave the cold of Connecticut. Usually we spend time in Maui however this year because of health issues we headed for Florida. The first few days were a bit cool but sunny. And no snow! Then it gradually became warmer. We have spent time at Siesta Key beach and Caspersen Beach in Venice. Both are lovely and a bit different. Siesta Key has miles of beautiful white silky sand. Quite nice. Caspersen beach has black sand which is a little bit coarser. The beaches are well cared for and have great facilities. We have even seen dolphins which was pretty neat. Caspersen beach is famous for shark teeth and people have special screens with handles to sift through the shells and sand. I have found some pretty shells to put into the condo where we are staying. The seagulls are not afraid of people and will attempt to eat anything you are eating (ask me how I know!). In planning our getaway I of course packed a number of books planning on a book every one and a half days. Well good plan. My first book was The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud.

. Well it took me almost a week to slog through. Can you tell I didn't enjoy it very much? Didn't like the characters, thought the plot was weak and I wish I hadn't finished it. I then read Anne Lamott's Blue Shoe. I had not read her before and have heard so much about her and her writing.

. At least I could believe the characters and wasn't really annoyed by them alhough the main character, Mattie, certainly was a mess. I enjoyed it and will follow up with another of her books when I get home. Then I read The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, another author I had not read. I enjoyed this and remembered that I had seen the movie (and that is about all I could remember!).

. I then, having finished reading the library books I had brought with me, moved on to a couple of Goodreads wins. The first was Chasing Mona Lisa by Tricia Goyer and Mike Yorkey. Unknown to me this was the second in a series although it stood alone. Set in Paris and Switzerland at the end of WWII I thought I would love it. Historical fiction. However it was just okay and seemed a little too glib about the horrors of the war and events seemed contrived or just convenient. But entertaining. I did like the writing and might check out the first book The Swiss Courier.

. I moved on to The Mapmaker's Children, another Goodreads win, and more historical fiction. Set at the start and during the Civil War it is about Sarah Brown, daughter of John Brown the abolitionist. I couldn't' put it down. Well researched and very entertaining. Really a good read.

Moving on to The Almond Tree which sounded very familiar. And as I read it it became more and more familiar. I was reading it at the beach and it was my backup book. Drat! I had read it in 2014. And I had lugged it to Florida. Then I figured I better read my book club selection Same Kind of Different as Me. I wasn't sure if I would like this- it sounded a little too evangelical and I was not sure how it would pan out. In the end- an excellent read and very interesting. Yes the author and his wife had a strong faith but it was a good story. So glad I read it. My husband had only brought one book with him (can you believe it?) and was counting on visiting the little lending library in the condo association. It is actually quite nice and has a good selection of titles. On the shelf I noticed one- Once We Were Brothers- which is on my to-read list (at Goodreads). So I grabbed it and told him he would like it. He could not put it down and that rarely happens. It was that good. So I have started it last night and was instantly hooked.

. Another WWII historical fiction novel. Will get back to reading once I finish this post!

More snow.... and more predicted through Weds

It's snowing again! Lots of school closings, cancellations. And snow is predicted for Tuesday and Wednesday. We hope to leave for Florida Wednesday morning so keeping my fingers crossed. It's not Maui but my husband and I both need a break. I went to the library to take out a few books just in case (as in I really don't want to buy any more books even if there is a Barnes and Noble close by). I started the second book in Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series- A Fatal Grace.

. So here is a question- when you are going on vacation what is the first thing you put out to take? I usually go through my stacks of books and pick out a couple. Or three. Or more.

Snow Day!

As predicted it started to snow sometime during the night and has continued through the morning ( well it is only 9:45 but still). So pretty. Four deer have gone through the yard. I filled the bird feeder and the birds are flocking to it.

Nellie, my son's lab mix rescue (from a TN kill shelter last year) LOVES the snow. Lazy morning. Finished Children of the Jacaranda Tree. Enjoyed it but I did find it hard to keep track of the characters. Very interesting read although sad. Started Blackmoore last night. I would classify this as romantic fluff.

. Not sure why I put this on my to-read list but I must have read about it on another blog. I did something I don't normally do. I read through several reviews. One was scathing-hated the book, the characters, the writing, the overuse of some of the words. Okay, romance is not everyone's thing. But it is an easy read and yes, the whole caged bird metaphor is a bit over done but it does work. About halfway through (does that tell you something?).

Picture of my backyard and bird feeder. My son nicely shoveled a path so I can refill when necessary.

February 1st already!

Well January went by quickly for me. Not sure why. Only the one big snowfall which has quickly melted and this week temps are supposed to read 60! I read Lullaby of Polish Girls

which took longer that it should. The books is only 212 pages but it took me much longer than I anticipated. Why? I guess I just was not driven or compelled by the characters or the story. After finishing I read the back jacket about the author and it sounded as if it was semi-autobiographical. Still. It wasn't one of my favs. Continuing on my book a week quest I started Children of the Jacaranda Tree

. Set in post-revolutionary Iran I am already hooked. Over the weekend I worked on a few sewing/quilting projects. One project I have been intrigued by was a fold and stitch wreath. I bought the pattern and supplies Weds and worked on it Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Clipped threads this morning.

I am pretty happy with how it turned out but I am not sure I really would want to make another one. I have enough supplies to make one more and I might make one for my church's holiday bazaar but I think right now I need to take a break. I did baste a square for my Hawaiian quilt. The pattern is of sea turtles which I love. And lastly eight deer wandered through my back yard early this am. I caught a few on a video. Will try to figure out how to post.

Snowy update

The snow finally slowed down late last evening. I would guess we have about 12-13 inches. Never made it to church. Our driveway didn't get plowed until 6:30 am and then we had to clear the snow off my son's car (which was in front of the garage) and remove the snow from the front of the car. Oh well. It is pretty- at least for a few days. I spent the better part of the morning sewing and finishing projects for the church holiday bazaar. I know it isn't until November but I wanted to get a jump start as I don't really sew during the summer. Then we watched the Patriots play the Broncos and lose. Always next year. Pats just didn't play well. I think I will head upstairs and read Brooklyn. Recording Downton Abbey, Madam Secretary and Mercy Street.

Guess I was wrong

Well it looks like I underestimated the amount of snow. It has been snowing since 8:30 am and it is not letting up. I would guess we are over 8 inches so far. My son's dog Nellie loves the snow. I will try to figure out how to post the video of her chasing her stick in the snow.

Happy girl.

Posted by Dave Schlesinger on Saturday, January 23, 2016

Wow it worked!!! I did get to the library budget workshop this morning. Nothing spectacular to report. The director asked for more money for books, a page or two, another librarian, money to paint the inside of the building and money for shelves. It is a fair budget proposal and within the recommended percent increase that the Finance Board suggested. Hopefully nothing will be cut. Right. Saw The Big Short last night. I still can't get my head around the shenanigans in the banking industry. And the lying and cheating and basically taking advantage of people. Ugh. Scary. And depressing. But the movie was quite good and entertaining. I should put that book on my to-read list. Stay warm and be careful with removing the snow.

Snow coming... maybe

Not to be cynical but with all the hype about the upcoming snowstorm I am doubtful about the amount of snow that is predicted. Sometimes the forecast is correct and sometimes not. We shall see. I am prepared for it. Went to the grocery story Weds and it was bedlam. Crazy. And the storm wasn't going to start until Friday night or Saturday morning (at that time). Also picked up not one but three books from my library that I had requested. Our library is in a new network for loaning and it is amazing how quickly you can receive books. Two of the books had over 5 "holds" (other people requesting) so I figured they would dribble in. But in this new system there are so many copies it takes little time to get a book. Well all three books came in a week. Surprise! So I am ready to for snow. I finished The Dressmaker. Can't decide about this one. It was slow at first and I really didn't like the characters. There seemed to be a stereotypical character of every kind- the bully, the crossdresser, the nasty mother, the snobby woman, the boy next door... Then the story took a somewhat unexpected twist and that caught my attention. But then it wallowed back into a dark, mean, sort of contrived ending. And in the end it was a bit depressing- nothing wrong with that but I was hoping for something a bit more upbeat after all the nastiness and depressing events that had occurred. At this point I am not sure I want to see the movie which was one of the reasons I had wanted to read the book. I started Brooklyn last night after coming home from my library board meeting.

My husband and I saw the movie and really enjoyed it. I really want to see how the book was adapted for the movie. Already (in the first 55 pages) there have been four changes- one the elimination of Eilis' three brothers. Two, Eilis is already studying accounting and book keeping before moving to the USA. Third, she met the priest who arranged her move while in Ireland not in the US. And fourth when she meets Anthony he is described in the book as "blond haired". Not to quibble but I am guessing the producers thought Anthony would look more "Italian" with dark hair. Not sure if these changes will significantly change the story but we shall see. But I really like the way it is written. My reading challenge for Goodreads if moving along nicely. Four books so far.

Sunday update

Last week my book club met to discuss The Nightingale. Great discussion, lots of interest in the book and it was well received. Our next book is Same Kind of Different As Me which will be interesting I think. I have read 4 books so far in 2016 which I think is pretty good- keeping on track for my goal of 75. I just started The Dressmaker which was made into a film.

Will try to get together the books for the PopSugar reading challenge today. Had work done on my foot Friday and really need to keep it up for two days and then limit my activity for about a week. A bit frustrating but getting caught up on computer stuff etc. Trying to get my sewing/craft area organized and getting together all the projects that need completing. HA! Always a challenge. Keep reading!

Wrap up of 2015 finally

Well I figured it was time to wrap up my reading challenge for 2015. My goal was 75 books and I read 72. Not bad. According to Goodreads my total pages read was 24,415. The shortest book was The Ocean At the End of the Lane - 181 pages.

All the Light We Cannot See was the longest book with 530 pages.

The book that was most popular was Gone Girl.

The least popular book I read was The Chalk Circle.

. So for 2016 I set my goal to 75 books again with the hope that I can accomplish that. So far I have read two, and working on a third by Jane Austen.