Reading list#3

1. The Girl in the Painting by Tea Cooper takes place late 1800’s and early 1900’s in Australia orphans and a mystery to unravel about a woman’s identity. Very good.
2. The Flight Girls by Noelle Salazar WW2 women who transported planes to airfields around the country for the military and a love story. Very good. For book club.
3. Alaska by James Michener very long book…..but very good fiction and history of Alaska.
4. The Professor’s House by Willa Cather a very short book 170 pages. I have read other books by Willa Cather that I liked much better. 
5. Mornings on Main by Jodi Thomas fluff, sitting on the deck kind of book. Takes place present day in Texas a young woman is cataloging quilts in a quilt shop for a museum exhibit also looking for her family. One glaring error early in the book…some one had an angora rabbit and the fur was woven into yarn…..anyone who knows anything about fiber whether in cloth or yarn the fibers are ‘spun’ into yarn or thread before they are woven. The story had a happy ending.
6. The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier a story about swapped identities, family relationships, failing business, can the one who was forced into the other man’s life pull it off? Very good!!
7. The House on Blackberry Hill by Donna Alward a young woman inherits the rundown family mansion from her grandmother’s sister.  Reads like a hallmark movie.
8. The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson for book club Native American story takes place in Minnesota. The gardeners in book club enjoyed this story more than the non gardeners. Part of the story is historical going back to 1860’s the rest is modern day about a young Indian girl in foster care then marrying a farmer and learning to garden. Eventually she reconnects with her Native American family.
9. The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny more adventures into Three Pines and murder and Inspector Armand Gamache with lots of references to Emily Carr an early Canadian artist I need to find the novel about her and re read it.  The book was titled Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland.
10. The Summer House by Lauren K. Denton I enjoyed The Hideaway so much I thought I would read another of her books. This was about forgiveness, second chances, starting over and friendship. Nice story with a happy ending but characters rather ordinary.
11. One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle takes place on the Amalfi coast of Italy a story about grief and finding yourself. Happy ending.  I only read it because I was there a couple months ago.
12. Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland I had to read this again after reading The Brutal Telling the story takes place in British Columbia in early 1900’s about the artist Emily Carr. She paints the forests and totem poles of western Canada in bold colors and thick paint. Very good!
13. Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn contemporary romance, lettering artist and a numbers guy. Just for fun. 
14. How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith for book club, Black history a reckoning with the history of slavery across America.

1923

 

Yes I have been watching the 1923 episodes of Yellowstone. These photos were taken in 1923 of my grandparents and their trip across the state to the Black Hills and Badlands of South Dakota. They got married in 1922. My grandparents would have been the age of Jack Dutton and his young bride Lizzie in the tv series. Grandpa was usually the first to embrace the new technology he has a car in 1923! I’m sure he was also the first to remodel for indoor plumbing. Ann

Pajamas!!

 

The little girls just squealed when they saw pajamas on their little bears. They hugged their bears and hugged me then jumped around and giggled some more then put their little bears to bed. Then we had supper. The little bears went right to sleep. Ann

37 years

  

No it’s not an anniversary but it is something to celebrate. It’s only been on my to do list for the last 18 years. Oh! That makes it a bucket list accomplishment.  I finally finished my middle child’s photo books! Yes he is 37 years old, the photos are no longer in boxes they are in books. I did fairly well at putting photos in books the first 4 years of his life then our third child was born and the photos just kept piling up. Oldest son’s photos were put in order for his high school graduation. I had a good start on second son’s for his graduation but then……maybe the sewing machine and quilts were calling me. I didn’t finish the photo books. We moved again another delay. After all these years and how many moves?!? Putting them in chronological order was impossible. I organized them by holidays and events and branches of the family. All his birthdays are together and I could put them in chronological order. First day of school was a two page spread, Easter, Halloween, sports, buddies, Christmas and more. A whole book of just hunting and fishing. It’s finished!!!!  DD’s photo books were compiled before her high school graduation 12+ years ago while we were in a rental and most of my stuff was in storage. I’m done scrapbooking for my kids. No more feeling guilty. Ann

The pile grows

 

Fifty eight potholders sewn, twenty nine pairs that’s way more than all my cousins in the US, Canada and the UK combined.  I used a nice pile of wonder fabrics, I wonder what I was going to use that for when I bought it. Some of it was leftovers from some aprons I sewed. The rest was odd bits. The filling is more bits of cotton fabric from face masks and cotton batting, jersey knits and well worn terry towels. Layers of cotton for thermal protection. 

Many years ago I bought a cute pair of potholders at a craft sale, heart shaped with openings for fingers and thumbs on the back side. I grabbed something out of the over and jerked my hands back so fast they fell off and got scorched on the oven element. They had polyester fiber fill in them. I dropped them in the garbage almost as fast. Only cotton batting and fabrics in my potholders. —Ann—

Square in a Square

 Sometimes I don’t want to make any decisions I just want some mindless sewing time. A basket of cut parts was sitting right where I left it months ago maybe as many as 24 months ago, the pandemic days were so monotonous they are a bit of a blur except that I did sew a lot and cut a pile of strips for more blissful days of sewing.  Sewing these square in a square blocks is mindless except that I need to center the square on each triangle, pinch a crease on each side……. Mindless sewing, off wanders my mind, how can I arrange these boring blocks so I don’t need so many of these boring-to-sew blocks?  Turn them on point and add some tri- rec stars, the math works. I’m starting to get excited about this quilt. —Ann—

A little bit of sewing

 Home again after a week and a half at the river and grands and a week and a half without sewing. I had books to read and knitting but no sewing machine there. I sat in my sewing room after I got unpacked and surveyed the situation. I just needed a little sewing fix……I machine quilted the watermelon pot holders….ahhhh the roar then the hum. The apron and the other potholders were done before the last trip to the river,  we were only home a few days between trips, not enough time to start a quilt but enough to sew some potholders and get fabric ready for a few more. I have cut up the dozens of face masks I sewed during the pandemic to use for the filling, the perfect size. I’m hoping for a cousins weekend this summer and I will have a pair of potholders for everyone.  Happy sewing —Ann—