Labor Day record

 

Reading weeks on my kindle since July 22, 2018

And reading days since Dec 8, 2021

And the streak continues……..Ann……

Reading list #3 2024

Tis a lovely day for a Guiness.........

or a lovely day for an Irish coffee

1. A Dress of Violet Taffeta by Tessa Arlen story about a young woman with 5 year old daughter who is abandoned by her husband in  late 1800’s in England. She starts designing dresses to support herself and daughter eventually opens stores in London, New York, Paris and Chicago. Also a Titanic survivor. Good story and wonderful descriptions of fabrics and color.
2. Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb as delightful the second time I read it as the first.
3. The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich children’s book probably 4th grade reading level just for fun.
4. Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson murder mystery takes place on an island near Stockholm, Sweden. 
5. Your Brain on Art by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Rose nonfiction to keep my kindle streak going. About the importance of art in our lives for our wellbeing. Lots of studies and physiology of how the brain works and responds to the arts. Interesting.
6. The Women by Kristen Hannah for book club best book I have read in a long time about nurses who served during Vietnam war and their return to America.
7. The Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland I read this years ago and very few moments reading it the second time that “oh yeah I remember this” almost like I was reading it for the first time. It’s about a painting probably painted by Vermeer, the Dutch artist. Each chapter is about who owned the painting, how they related to the painting and how they acquired it.
8. Manitou Canyon by William Kent Krueger book # 15 in the Cork O’Conner series.
9. The Paris Novel  fiction by chef, food writer and editor, Ruth Reichl, delightful story about a young woman going to Paris after the death of her mother. A bit of a fairy tale in that the people she meets in Paris each contribute to her finding herself and understanding her mother. Short happy ending book.
10. The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig for book club I just about quit reading it because I was going to miss the discussion but I said one more chapter and the action / tension picked up so I read to the end. The story takes place in 1909/1910 in Montana about a widowed father of 3 boys attending country school. Country school was the best 4 years of school of my life. 
11. Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier another book about Vermeer and his painting.
12. Sulfur Springs by William Kent Krueger #16 in the Cork O’Connor series, lots of twists and surprises.
13. Someone Else’s Shoes by Jojo Moyes a mix up of gym bags and a drastic change of circumstances forces two women to literally walk in the others shoes. It’s a story of friendship and overcoming hardships and relationships. Very good
14. For All the World by Jean Grainger story takes place in Ireland at the beginning of WWI. 
15. Murder in the Marigolds by Fiona Grace a very short book murder with a horticultural theme just for fun. 
16. Lilac Ink by Jean Grainger Ireland about a young woman with polio in1938 overcoming obstacles and finding happiness and a letter in a bottle.
17. Last Port of Call: The Queenstown Series book 1 by Jean Grainger the story begins in 1912 in Queenstown, Ireland  reverted back to the original Irish name of Cobh with Ireland's independence from Britan. The story is about a young woman and her daughter who inherit the big house and turn it into a bed and breakfast to support themselves. Cobh is the departure point for many Irish leaving Ireland.  Rereading these books after visiting Cobh a few weeks ago.  
18. The West's Awake  by Jean Grainger book 2 of the Queenstown series. This series made me sympathetic toward those fighting for an independent Ireland.

I took a much longer break from blogging than I intended but then not much has been happening on the creative side.  We took a trip to Ireland with son and nieces and families.  It was a tour group and traveling with family was wonderful. We hope to travel together again in a couple years.  We toured the southern part of Ireland this trip.  My previous trips were all in the North to visit relatives so saw lots of beautiful new scenery. More about that in coming weeks.  I have been rereading the Jean Grainger books and trying to visualize  Cobh /Queenstown 110 years ago the only building that I'm sure is still in exactly the same place is St. Colman's Cathederal.

So far it’s been a no sew summer

 It’s been a no sew summer for me at least since I finished quilting the last baby quilts. I need to stay home for a couple weeks to start a new quilt, I look at my books and choose some fabric and then we go again when we come home I look at my mess and am not inspired so I clear the table and start again……this has been happening for weeks. My fabric stash and ideas can wait the little girls will only be 3 for a few more months then they will be 4.  And off we go again.  What do I do on those 4 hour drives coming or going? Knit socks!! Unless of course I am driving. The roads are long and straight in South Dakota. These are socks since June and I’m using up the wee bits of leftover yarn.  Savoring the moments—Ann—

Drama in the sky

 

Sometimes the drama in the sky is better than what is on the television.  The top two pictures are the full moon rising at 11:30 ish. Then there are the rain clouds in all directions and sometimes a rainbow. —Ann—

Friendship stars

 I machine quilted this for a girlfriend, her first quilt!  I let her use fabrics from my stash, my sewing machine and design wall.  We had fun!  And hardly a dent in the fabric stash.  The baby got the quilt over the weekend, she is now 4 month old her little eyes will have lots too look at, bold bright colors and little black and white motifs. Make tummy time a happy time. I just love looking at these bright colors. She is going to have to make another quilt from my stash sometime. Quilting with friends is the best time. —Ann—

Ta da da da da done

 

Finished and ready to go to the post office.  The baby is 4 months old already. What have I been doing??  Not much blog worthy. —Ann—

Just one hour

 

Ok two hours the first hour…..in the iris garden dead heading they are still stunning ! And the one hour in the sewing room….that’s all it took to machine quilt all the blocks.  That wonderful feeling of accomplishing something! Hubby has been gone fishing and I haven’t checked many things off my list, so far it has just been the little details of life “don’t forget to do this” “make that appointment” etc. no real accomplishments until my one hour in the sewing room.  Tomorrow I will stitch the borders and the binding. That one hour in the sewing room was like pushing the ‘reset’ in my head. What can you get done in an hour?  —Ann—