What's In a Name 6 : FIRE

Yesterday I finished reading Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan. This book will satisfy 3 challenges. What's in a Name 6:  a title with Fire or an equivalent, hosted by Beth at Beth Fish Reads, and 2013 Ebook Challenge hosted by Sarah at Workaday Reads and a Non-Fiction Reading Challenge hosted by Jen at The Introverted Reader.  I am excited to hit this 3 in 1 in my reading challenges.




Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book relates an amazing story of a young journalist's journey into madness and recovery. Susannah Cahalan was a promising young journalist for the New York Post. She had a supportive family, though her parents are divorced, an amazing boyfriend and a wonderful network of friends. The book is a memoir or as close to a memoir as she can get. Susannah does not remember much of her ordeal, but because she is a journalist she knows how to do her research. So as part of her recovery she researched her disease, she interview her doctors, she talked to family and friends. Her father kept a diary, and the hospital had video, so she could read about and see what she did not remember.
I felt that the author was truthful in her telling of her story. It certainly was an eye opener for me.


View all my reviews

This review is on Goodreads. I just recently figured out how to write one review and post it to my blog. Now I really need to get better at the reviewing part. I recommend this book as both an informative read and an enjoyable one. Not that is enjoyable reading about another's illness, but she writes with wit and humor and it is a great journey.

Until Next Time

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intro 5-28

Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the first paragraph or maybe two of her current read. Anyone can join in. Go to Diane's website for the image and share the first paragraph (or2) of the current book you are reading.

The big-chested man sitting at the crowded Waffle House counter wearing the red plastic hog-head hat grinned and winked at Elvia. Her full lips, painted an eerily similar shade of crimson, shot him a frown worthy of Queen Victoria. He chuckled and whispered something to his friend, who wore not only a hog hat, but a red-and-gray sweatshirt stating, BEWARE, I HAVE HOG MANIA.

"I've had enough", Elvia said, pulling her beige cashmere cardigan closer around her. "You can take me home now."

The first 2 paragraphs from Arkansas Traveler by Earlene Fowler. It is #8 in the Benni Harper Mystery series that I have been reading for a few years. I am attached to Benni, her husband Gabe, and her best friend Elvia. In this book, they travel back to Sugartree, Arkansas where Benni spent many lazy childhood summers visiting her aunt and cousin. Her cousin Emory is courting Elvia and Elvia is along on the trip to see where Emory grew up.  I will continue reading because I am vested in Benni and her life experiences. Besides, it is part of the Mega Mix Challenge I have been working on.  ....to finish a series I have started. 


Until next time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Empty Mailbox Monday

 Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week(s) and explore great book blogs. Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at Hooked by A Book (formerly The Printed Page) and is on tour for the month of May, and hosted by Abi at 4 The Love of Books

 Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish list

This week my mailbox was once again empty. I have been busy with some other projects so that is OK by me.  I am still putting together a graduation quilt for my 3rd granddaughter. I have a baby quilt on my table for my oldest granddaughter and her husband, and I signed up for a BOM stitchery block quilt at my local quilt shop. I must be CRAZY. 

 I am currently reading Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan.

                                                                      

This title is on my Kindle and will satisfy "books with fire or an equivalent in the title". 

I will also start Arkansas Traveler by Earlene Fowler to continue to work on my Mega Mix Challenge where I was challenged to finish a series I had already started. I really enjoy reading the  mysteries in the Benni Harper series.  All the titles are based on quilt block names and I am a quilter too, so they are fun to read. 

 I will try to remember to take pictures of my other projects as they are completed and post them here. After all...

Busy Hands are Happy Hands......  right???

Posted this late as we drove 2.5 hours each way to take my MIL to 2 different cemeteries to place flowers.

Saturday Snapshot New Host

  

Alyce at At Home With Books has decided to take a break from blogging and from hosting Saturday Snapshot. We will miss her, but all of us understand a need to step back, regroup, and prioritize one's life. We hope to see her back soon. In the meantime Melinda has picked up the baton and will run with it. 

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda at West Metro Mommy  To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky (at West Metro Mommy). Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

 Today we are South Dakota meeting up with my DIL, granddaughter, her fiance and our great grandson for a day at a place called Storybook Island in Rapid City. We will take pictures for next Saturday Snapshot. These pictures were sent to me by my DIL. She is so good about keeping us supplied with pictures. He lives in Arizona, so we don't get to see him often. The top picture is his response to "say CHEESE" . I love his t-shirt, it says " Dad's Wingman" and the lower one is him with his grandma popcorn bowl asking for "popcorn please". He is almost 3 and a joy to us.

Until Next Time

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

A Single Thread - Ebook Challenge #6 of 10

A Single Thread by Marie Bostwick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Evelyn Dixon finds a new life in a small Connecticut community after her husband's surprise divorce announcement sends her looking for a new beginning. Evelyn finds her new life in New Bern, and there meets 3 "angels" that come into her life to help her transition and she enters their lives as a new friend and provides each of them a new path in their lives. Yes this book is predictable, yes it has a storybook happy ending, yes maybe even a bit "sappy", but the author does explore the insecurities that happen to women at different crossroads in their lives in a sensitive caring way. As a breast cancer survivor and a quilter, I connected with Evelyn Dixon. I was not and am not as strong as she was/and is in the story, but still she gives me hope that life is out there to be lived in the most giving caring way you can.



This book is the 6th in my quest to read 10 ebooks this  year. I believe I will succeed.

Tonight is my F2F book club meeting. Our last before we break for the summer. Our May selection for discussion is Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky. I have a short review on Good reads.

Until Next Time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Mailbox Monday 5-20

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week(s) and explore great book blogs. Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at Hooked by A Book (formerly The Printed Page) and is on tour for the month of May , and hosted by Abi at 4 The Love of Books

 Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

This week only 1 title in my electronic mailbox and none in my regular mailbox. The title was offered "free" on Amazon by the author Jenn Brink. It's a dark cover, not sure about the story line. But it is the first in a series, and I am a pushover for a series.  The description on Amazon is:

Jessica Hart is new to Seattle, days away from the big three-o, and just months away from marrying the perfect man when her fiance  Jim Carozza, gets into a car with a creepy stranger who looks like a Vegas pit boss. Suddenly, her seemingly perfect life takes a bizarre turn.
Her big brother, Greg, tells her to go home. The police tell her to go home. Her inner voice even tells her to go home. Unfortunately, Jessica has never been the kind of girl to do as she’s told. Instead, she dives head first into trouble looking for answers but soon finds out that every answer leads to more trouble.
Before she knows it, her world has turned upside down. Jim is missing and he’s got secrets. Greg has moved in and he’s got secrets. Her new friend, smoking hot and mysteriously irresistible Eric Wolf, even has secrets.
Now, a crazed killer stalking Jessica wants something she doesn't have. Wolf wants something she knows she shouldn't give. And, the police, the FBI, the mob, and a bunch of intimidating mercenaries are watching her every move.
Greg thinks she needs to let the police handle things. Wolf thinks she needs to lay low. Her best friend thinks she needs to let Wolf seduce her. Jessica thinks she needs some retail therapy, a manicure, and a margarita.

Sounds like a dark and  intense read , but  she had me at "manicure and a margarita".  That's my kind of therapy.   Have you read Black Roses? 


I will probably be away from blog land this week. Our son is visiting from Phoenix. I'll try to pop in early in the mornings or late evenings....but not for long. 


Until next time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Saturday Snapshot 5-18

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by At Home With Books. To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky (at At Home With Books). Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

This was waiting on the dining room table when I returned from a Quilt Retreat on Mother's Day. Do you think he missed me?

It a color-infused phalaenopsis orchid. I have never had a orchid before, but my sisters grows them a lot. She says I should be able to keep it alive and maybe even have it re-bloom.  The Westerlay Orchid people ( who grew this one and distributed to our local supermarket) says it will re-bloom white. Keeping my fingers crossed!



Until next time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Sweet Salt Air, finally rested.

Mothers Day I returned from a quilt retreat. I was tired but happy. Every year one of the quilt groups I belong to, The Quilting Chicks, holds a retreat at a place called Ranch A, in northeastern Wyoming. It is located very near the South Dakota border, so is surrounded by pine and spruce trees, deer, birds and though we did not see any, mountain lions. It is an old hunting lodge built of logs, with a huge fireplace, a large room to sew in, multiple bedrooms upstairs with shared baths. They have a large kitchen and we cook and sew and laugh and cry and have a great time.

I made a wall hanging and soft book, for "Little Prince" (great-grandson, due in early Sept), cut out pieces for a quilt for him, and did a quick little wall hanging for the space by the front door.

While there I continued to read the May selection of my local F2F bookclub. We received a copy of Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky. I loved it. The following is my review from Goodreads.

Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I would like to give this book 4.5 stars or maybe even 4.75. I really really liked it. It was descriptive and beautifully written. It was real and raw, there was just enough steam and heat to be like real life.  I fell in love with Charlotte and Leo. Who can resist a mysterious male. One who does manly things, like fix a roof and pilot a sailboat and still can be so tender and soft. Did I say I really really really liked this book?

I am hoping for another..........

Since returning, I have started reading

on my kindle. The images here are not good. I need to learn how to do that better. I am enjoying A Single Thread, it was recommended to me by a couple of my quilting friends. I understand why, it's a story about a women who opens a quilt shop in a new community after a divorce. I am only just into it, so not sure where it is leading, but so far it is a very easy and fun read.

This weekend I will get ready to have my son visit. He is arriving from Phoenix on Monday and can stay til Saturday. We will enjoy his visit. Hopefully he and his dad can get some time to have fun together. I have quilts to work on.


Until next time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Mailbox Monday May 6

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week(s) and explore great book blogs. Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at Hooked by A Book (formerly The Printed Page) and is on tour for the month of May, and hosted by Abi at 4 The Love of Books. 

This week  the additions to my bookshelf were e-books. I found them all on a site called Book Bub.

The Mind Readers by Lori Brighton.  This is the first in a 3 part series. I'm hooked already.

Rebecca by Adam Nicolai.  This one just caught my eye.

Friends with Full Benefits by Luke Young   ( book #2)  Oh, no!!!  Another series!  I'm a sucker for series.



I'll be gone the rest of the week, from Wednesday through Sunday.  

I'll Stay Busy and Stay Happy.

No Saturday Snapshot....and away

I could not post a Saturday Snapshot. Unsure as to why. Everytime I tried to post a pic, Internet Explorer stopped working.


I will be away from a computer from Wednesday through Sunday. I will be on a quilt retreat. I promise pictures when I return.

Wondrous Words Wednesday 5-1

 Wondrous Words Wednesday is hosted by BermudaOnion each week. It's an opportunity to share new words you've encountered in your reading, or highlight words that you particularly enjoy.

_____________________________________________________________
page 233  The House  at Riverton  by Kate Morton

Lady Clementine, perceiving that some amelioration of spirits was called for, straightened and patted Violet's hand.

amelioration:  noun

from transitive verb: ameliorate
: to make better or more tolerable.

____________________________________________________________
page 270   The House at Riverton  by Kate Morton.
 about a war monument, Grace thinks,   "Despite his wounds (the ravages of time and environment) he stands at attention atop the cenotaph, as he has for eighty years,.....


cenotaph:  noun

: a tomb or monument erected in honor of a person or group of persons whose remains are elsewhere.


a side note that I happened upon as I was leaving the Merriam-Webster.com website.
Centotaph is currently in the bottom 40% of lookups on Merriam-Webster.com. I wonder does that mean almost everyone else except me already knows this word?  Or maybe it means that most of us don't come across this word very often. Hmmmm?

The House at Riverton is full of unfamiliar words. I love that!.


Until next time,
Stay Busy and Stay Happy