Happy New Year 2021 Reading List #6 2020

 

1. The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes takes place in Kentucky the late1930’s about the packhorse library delivering books to the back country also a love story.
2. The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear book #7 of Maisie Dobbs series.
3. A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear book #8 of Maisie Dobbs. An eye opener for what was going on in Europe and Great Britain between WW 1 and 2.
4. The Beekeepers’s Promise by Fiona Valpy WW2 German occupation of France and contemporary story about a young woman recovering from a serious injury.
5. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion could have been the inspiration for The Big Bang Theory the story is set in Australia about a brilliant geneticist who is lacking in social skills has decided to start dating. Very funny.
6. Love Among the Recipes by Carol Cram middle aged woman travels to France alone to write a cookbook/ travel book.
7. The Lost Girl in Paris by Diney Costeloe Franco Prussian war 1871 about a young girl surviving the siege of Paris. A bit of history that I knew nothing about, interesting story but there are other books by this author that I enjoyed more.
8. Window on the Bay by Debbie Macomber romantic fluff
9. The Snow Bride by Debbie Macomber more romantic fluff
10. Whitethorn Woods by Marve Binchy a rather convoluted story about a new road going through a town and woods with a religious shrine. Some of the characters and their stories came full circle and connected others lacked a purpose in the grand scheme of the story.
11. The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes German occupation of France during WWI and a painting and contemporary story about finding the painting and who should have ownership.   Great story!
12. The Lottery and other stories by Shirley Jackson short stories 

73 books this year.  I read one more book than last year!  Time well spent. 

Happy New Year --Ann--

Jinxed

 Darling hubby goes to the wellness center to exercise a couple mornings a week and they bring treats for birthdays,  new babies and such life events.  He came home raving about the caramel rolls one lady brought. In his defense he probably hadn’t had one since Christmas 2019 but he raved about it not once but twice, they were so light, melt in your mouth, blah, blah,blah. Thus jinxing the baker in this house so when I made caramel rolls for Christmas morning.........they didn’t rise. Darling daughter said if 2020 were a caramel roll it would look like this but of course she said that after they were consumed so no digital proof.  They tasted good they just didn’t look good. Today he comes home from wellness raving again about that woman’s caramel rolls, it was her hubbies birthday, he brought one home for me, bless his heart. It was tasty and then the truth came out.......he said she uses frozen bread dough and not a name brand but the cheap store brand! No wonder it was light and fluffy like wonder bread. I have always held by the end product is only as good as the ingredients that go into it, I like simple easy to pronounce ingredients like butter, cream, sugar, flour, olive oil etc.  The crescent rolls I made for Christmas dinner were perfect and they did not come from a peal apart can. I am done baking for the year and hubby shouldn’t be eating that kind of stuff at wellness. Hope to leave all the jinxes in 2020. —Ann—

sweater

 

Progress on a sweater for me, last Christmas DD gave me a box of yarn for a sweater it was Kenzie by Hikoo in green, it was the most delicious yarn to knit and wear so I ordered more of the same yarn in blue.  The green sweater has not pilled anywhere. Some of my other sweaters I pick all the pills off like a cat grooming herself before I make and appearance for the day.  It still looks like it just came off the needles.  I love this yarn! A wonderful blend of merino wool, angora, nylon, alpaca, and silk.  I learned to knit a braided cable which is really no harder than a plain cable.  I had one sleeve 2/3rds finished and looked at what I had left for yarn either the ball were short on yardage or I knit tighter.  I tried it on and the sleeve was wider than necessary my arms are not that flabby!  Rip and start over on the sleeve and start decreasing immediately.  Good thing I love this yarn.  Hubby gave me a box of the same yarn in gray, classic gray, more cables to plan but I have to finish this one first. --Ann--

stocking caps

 

Christmas stocking caps for son, daughter-in-law, and hubby.  More snow in the forecast here.  --Ann--

BELIEVE

 

BELIEVE ...............................................Merry Christmas  --Ann--

believe

 believe................    and then the wind came with snow, it’s going to be a white Christmas—Ann—

Christmas tree

 

Merry Christmas

--Ann--

Forest and crumbs

 

No, I'm not writing about Hansel and Gretel but I do have a forest and of knitted trees and no one is lost.

Darling daughter was here over the weekend and baked the Swedish dream sugar cookies I had all the ingredients and more counter space, she baked I cleaned up.  Friday I baked biscotti the pineapple macadamia recipe sliced so nice and the spice with pecans sliced nice but the cranberry and pistachio.......crumbled.  I have a jar of crumbs to sprinkle on ice cream.  Baking is done. --Ann--

Christmas advice

 

"Maybe Christmas he thought doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more. " The Grinch 

Seems to be good advice for this year most of my shopping has been on line or from the grocery store and I certainly don't need more stuff.  

Merry Christmas

--Ann--

Santa and goose

                                                                                                       --Ann--

Stockings are hung

One more check off the list.......but then my list has been greatly abbreviated this year.  Hubby thought I should do the seam around the socks like his mother did on his sock little star sequins with a bead,  I told him I was going to finish them this year.  I think it took his mother 5 years to sew all those little stars on because the date on his sock is the year it was finished not the year he was born.  --Ann--

Continuing the tradition

My mother made Christmas stockings for my brothers and me and all my cousins on both sides of the family, then she made socks for the spouses and grandchildren. I made stockings for her last two grandkids, my two nieces     I made a stocking for daughter-in-law last Christmas and now I am making socks for my grandkids!!  I seem to put double exclamation marks at the end of sentences related to my twin grand daughters I have waited a long time to be a grandma!! And two at a time!!

My mother made the first sock in 1955 so I'm guessing the pages from the pattern book are at least that old.  She drew the grid on the pattern page then transfered the pattern to the brown paper pattern with a larger grid.  Does anyone know how to do that anymore?  You wanted to enlarge or shrink something you drew 2 grids then drew the lines to match what was inside each grid.

I'm slowly getting all the little emblishments sewn onto the wool felt. My fingers get soar from pushing, pulling and grabing the needle.  --Ann--

Babies

We got to see the twins over the weekend. They have grown!! Each over 5 pounds and they are still so tiny.   Ann
 

Advent the close up

Better pictures of paraments but only because I took a picture with my phone of the pictures on the computer.  Blogger is still not opening or uploading from the computer................  Anyway our pastor wanted a cross made with log cabin blocks and she wanted a transition of color from the void before creation to the separation of light and dark and water from land. Then to the "light" of the birth of Christ to the resurrection.  Almost all the fabrics were from my stash and I couldn't have cut it closer I had to find some near matches to finish the table runner for the communion table.  I machine quilted it with gold thread.  It is time to prepare for the coming.  --Ann--