The Last Saturday Snapshots of 2014

How can it be Saturday already!  The weeks are flying by. One more week until a brand new year!

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by Melinda at West Metro Mommy Reads. Come join the fun. Visit Melinda's blog, grab the button, read the rules, post your photos and link up at West Metro Mommy Reads.

I have a few photos of our Christmas morning ( ie Friday the 26th).  Our daughter and youngest granddaughter drove up from Colorado on Christmas afternoon. GR#4 had to work until noon on the 25th. It has started to snow here and I was so worried about them traveling. But my prayers were answered and they arrived around 6:15 pm. It is normally a 4.5 hour drive. Anyway, here are a few pictures.  The first present opened was to GGS Joseph ( he is nearly 16 months) from Auntie Shasta.

That is his Momma holding Olaf.











My girls have a family tradition of sticking bows in their hair upon opening gifts. Guess J. got his stuck on his back!

This picture is taken in the family room. Right now it is a play room. Gr Grandpa says it looks like Jay Leno's garage!  All the vehicles! And then now there has been added  a castle and a tunnel.  He isn't spoiled...Oh No!  

Hope everyone had a wonderful few days with family. And safe travels as you or your loved ones go back home.

See you next year!

2014 Christmas Projects Link up at Quiltville for Christmas Eve

Bonnie Hunter invited everyone to join a Linky Party on Christmas Eve with pictures of Holiday projects new or old. They can be Christmas, Hanuka, Kwanzaa or just seasonal. I am looking forward to seeing everyone's creations.
So here are mine. All done this year  2014:

 This was part of a BOM Stitchery from Shabby Fabrics. There were 12 similar, all themed for the month all the same size. I have been working on them for 2 years. Finally December is done. The only one left to finish is January.

 This is a pattern called Roobois. It is made from charms squares. I put it together at a retreat in early November. Since then, I have added a cream 2" border, to break up the busyiness, and the pieced 1.5 inch strips piano key border. I'll bind it in solid red. It is ready for me to quilt, but I haven't gotten it done yet.

 This is a pattern called Five and Dime. It is made from a layer cake and charm squares. This needs the two borders, but it won't get them before Christmas. I put this one together at the retreat in November too.

This little funky tree is a pattern from Patchabilites. I just had the pattern, so I used scraps from my stash.  I have a whole lot of these. They are all very similar in size and so I change out the little banner with each season. They fit perfectly in the small narrow space between the coat closet and the stairway to the basement.


Merry Christmas from my sewing space to yours!  Happy Holidays.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday - In Death #1

 Diane at Bibliophile By The Sea hosts this Tuesday meme as a place the share the first paragraph (or a few) of the book you are currently reading or hope to start soon. Join us to get a glimpse into what some other book lovers are reading.

Naked in Death

J.D. Robb 

Published 1995

"She woke in the dark, through the slats on the window shades, the first murky hint of dawn slipped, slanting shadowy bars over the bed. It was like waking in a cell.
 For a moment she simply lay there, shuddering , imprisoned, while the dream faded. After ten years on the force, Eve still had dreams"

I told myself that I wouldn't read J.D. Robb.  I was a Nora Roberts fan through and through. Well, times change, you widen your horizons, you join book clubs and challenges. You begin to blog and get exposed to all the different views out there. And so you decide to try it. And that is what happened. I am enjoying the writing. I am enjoying the escapism.

Have you read any of the In Death series?  Are you a fan?

Have a happy reading holiday!  See you all again before the end of 2014.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This Monday meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.  Join us by grabbing her button and linking up your own What Are You Reading post.

On my kindle, today at 30%.  The first part of this story is an easy read. Fun, informative, and character building. Now I think it is starting to get to the real meat of the story. It still is well written and informative, I hope it doesn't get too hard to read with all the detail. I really have no idea how it will go, I do know the story and I have seen the movie blurbs and they are hard to watch.


In print from the library:

I have read most of Nora Roberts books. I vowed I was not going to read her J.D. Robb books. Why? I don't know, the titles sounded dark to me. Well, that was several years ago and I have expanded my reading genres and titles. So when I saw this one on the library shelf last week, I picked it up. ( and I needed a title starting with 'N' for a challenge. "hanging head!").  Guess what? I am liking it. I like books with a strong female character and so far Detective Eve Dallas fits the bill. Even though the time is 2058, it doesn't feel too futuristic!  At any rate, I like it so far. It just goes to show you that sometimes we must drop our prejudices and give a title or an author a chance!

I should be able to read this week. All the presents are wrapped. The decorating is as done as it is going to be. The grocery list is filled with one exception. No cooking until Wednesday, we will have our celebration on Friday. Our daughter and one granddaughter are driving from Colorado on Christmas Day, I am so excited that they are able to come for the weekend.

Wishing a Happy Holiday to all!

Judy

  

Saturday Snapshot - 12-15 through 12-19

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by Melinda at West Metro Mommy Reads. Come join the fun. Visit Melinda's blog, grab the button, read the rules, post your photos and link up at West Metro Mommy Reads.


This week I am sharing random pictures of my week.

On Monday, my friend Linette hosted an Ugly Christmas Sweater party at her home. I was enjoying the eggnog..
I had the "ugliest" sweater so I won this beautiful floral arrangement in a Christmas cup.

 Tuesday was my daughter's 50th birthday. Here she is celebrating with 2 friends and her youngest daughter. She is in the middle with the white top and red vest.  Our granddaughter is in the back.


Our great grandson and his momma have been visiting this week too.  We have two bags of toys for him to play with, but he prefers my "tupperware" cupboard. He loves putting the little ones in the bigger ones.

 I really have got to get rid of that 70's kitchen carpet!  Uggh!!!

I found this in my shoe on Thursday morning. It is a plastic duplo wheel from a set of duplo blocks that we have at our house. I had to smile. 

And packages arrived from family in Arizona. 

The only tree I have up is a flat one hanging on the wall. Small great grandson is part of the reason. He wants to touch everything. 

That was my week. 

Hope you have a happy one

Until next time

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Wondrous Words Wednesday 12/17/14 Unbroken

Join us at Kathy's blog, BermudaOnion's Weblog to share new words you discovered while reading, or new words you encounters somewhere else.


These words are all from my reading of Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. And in the first 22 pages!

"Though he could be a sweet boy, he was often short-tempered and obstreperous. "

obstreperous  adj   noisy and difficult to control


"And she understood Louie's restiveness."

The sentence made it difficult to know what this word meant. Even using the whole paragraph I wasn't sure. I thought of restlessness, when I first read the word. I guess it is that too.


restiveness  adj( of a person)  unable to keep still or silent and becoming increasingly difficult to control, esp. because of impatience, dissatisfaction or boredom.


"In the 1930s, America was infatuated with the pseudoscience of eugenics and its promise of strengthening the human race by culling the "unfit" from the genetic pool."

eugenics   plural n  the science of if improving a human population by controlled breeding to the increase the desirable heritable characteristics. Developed largely by Francis Galton as a method of improving the human race, it fell into disfavor only after the perversion of its doctrines by the Nazis.



What new or interesting words did you discover in your reading?




Until next time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

First Chapter First Paragraph - UNBROKEN

 Diane at Bibliophile By The Sea hosts this Tuesday meme as a place the share the first paragraph (or a few) of the book you are currently reading or hope to start soon. Join us to get a glimpse into what some other book lovers are reading.

 Unbroken : a World War II story of survival, resilience,and redemption

 by Laura Hillenbrand

Originally Published by Random House 2010

One
The One-boy Insurgency

In the predawn darkness of August 26, 1929, in the back bedroom of a small house in Torrance, California, a twelve-year-old boy sat up in bed listening. There was a sound coming from outside, growing every louder. It was a huge, heavy rush, suggesting immensity, a great parting of air. It was coming from directly above the house. The boy swung his legs off his bed, raced down the stairs, slapped open the back door, and loped onto the grass. The yard was otherworldly, smothered in unnatural darkness, shivering with sound. The boy stood on the lawn beside his older brother, head thrown back, spellbound. 


Have you read this book?  Would you read on?  I must admit, if I did not know what the book was about, this first paragraph of the first chapter would not tell me much. I am anxious to get started. It has been on my TBR list for over a year.



Until next time,
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

One Last Challenge -

 Ok, ok, one more challenge. I was going to limit my challenges this year, but this one will just be an overlap to the others in the way that I will be using my library to obtain books, instead of purchasing them or borrowing from friends.

I kept track of where I got books for 2014, and I borrowed 27 from the library. So I am going to sign up at the Going Pro Level - 28+ checkouts in 2015.  I will show my progress in a page tab at the top of my blog.

Last year I participated in the First Book of the Year that Sheila hosted also.

 I will do that too in 2015. I hated my picture from last year, so I will probably try a different way to take my picture. :(.



Until next time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 12/15/14 Blackberry Winter & Unbroken

This Monday meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.  Join us by grabbing her button and linking up your own What Are You Reading post.

  

Last week I started reading Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio. 

I am loving it. 

From Goodreads:

From acclaimed novelist Sarah Jio, a new "mystery-slash-love story [that] will have you racing to the end"
Seattle, 1933. Vera Ray kisses her three-year-old son, Daniel, goodnight and reluctantly leaves for work. She hates the nightshift, but it's the only way she can earn enough to keep destitution at bay. In the morning--even though it's the second of May--a heavy snow is falling. Vera rushes to wake Daniel, but his bed is empty. His teddy bear lies outside in the snow.
Seattle, present day. On the second of May, Seattle Times reporter, Claire Hanson, awakens to another late-season snowstorm. Assigned to cover this "blackberry winter" and its predecessor decades earlier, Claire learns of Daniel's unsolved abduction and vows to unearth the truth--only to discover that she and Vera are linked in unexpected ways. 

On my kindle:  I will start soon I hope, Unbroken by Laura Hildebrand. 

I have had this one on my list for awhile. A friend recommended it, and now the movie opens on Christmas Day, so I wanted to get the story read. 

This evening, Monday, I have one last Christmas celebration. I play bunco with 7 other women once a month. Tomorrow our hostess extraordinaire, Linette, will open her home so we can visit, nibble and sip and enjoy a quick game. Her home will probably be extraordinarily decorated too. She has such talent. I hope I will be able to get some good snapshots. 

Until next time

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Saturday Snapshots - Some Christmas Traditions

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by Melinda at West Metro Mommy Reads. Come join the fun. Visit Melinda's blog, grab the button, read the rules, post your photos and link up at West Metro Mommy Reads.

 I have another amaryllis this year. This one was a gift from my DIL's mother, when she left SD and moved to Arizona. It wanted to bloom early, so I put it in my front window. We are watching it change every day. This is from above on Tuesday!(edited the 2nd of Dec)

 Two days later,Thursday,(the 4th) one bloom is open and the other is ready to bloom.

 Today( Dec 5th) it looks like this.

A close up of  "Scarlet Joy"....my name, not the grower. Isn't it stunning.

Ready for a Christmas read and my favorite NOEL ( do you get it?) mug with tea. It is sitting on a Quilt As You Go place mat I made several years ago.

Are you taking time for yourself this holiday season? Hope you are!

Until next time,
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

ps: this is the post I forgot to post last Saturday the 5th. Today all four blooms are open, in fact the first one is starting to fade. There is another bloom stem on this bulb, so I should get another couple of blooms before Christmas. They are fun to watch grow and bloom, but they don't stay around very long.

Busy Busy- It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

I think I might be losing it!  Seriously, I wrote a post on Friday night, ready to post on Saturday morning and "poof" that  was that. I never posted it and never linked it up to Saturday Snapshots either.

Last week was a whirlwind of "goings on" as my grandma used to say. I made two cheesecakes, attended Christmas gatherings for 4 organizations that I (or we) belong to, did some laundry and some cleaning, had a date night with DH and some friends. Also attended another local craft show and watched 2 movies ( DH finally signed us up for Netflix) and managed to read a little.

So that being said, you will understand that I am still reading Making Spirits Bright. Fern Michaels contribution, Making Spirits Bright was very fun. It is set in Colorado and tells the story of young entrepreneur Melanie McLaughlin and the fact that she is beginning to hear her biological clock ticking. As she explores the option of adoption, she makes two discoveries. One, the agency she chose is not what she envisioned and and she was sort of forced into spending some time with Bryce, her friend's younger brother. They meet on the ski slope for a friendly afternoon on the slopes and you can guess the rest.
The second story, Runaway Christmas by Elizabeth Bass, is a story about 13 year old Erica, who lives in Texas with her father, step-mother and new baby step-sister. Erica decides she would much rather spend Christmas with her Aunt Heidi in New York City than with her father and his family in Texas. So when the opportunity arrives, she makes a decision to fly by herself to NYC, without calling her aunt. But it ends well, so don't worry.
 I am just about finished with Home for Christmas by Rosalind Noonan. It is my favorite so far. Jo Truman, single mom of 5 yo Ava, and her cousin Molly run a Christmas Shop in the town she grew up in. She is happy  and thankful for all the blessing of having her family close by. Cousins Christmas Shop is doing very well and she is making piece with her past. Enter, high school friend and best friend of her daughter's father, back from Afghanistan.  Sam was injured in an explosion of an IED and won't let her see his face, but there is definitely electricity when they are in the same room. There are 40 more pages to see where this goes. Do you have any guesses?
 I have the last of the collection, Christmas on Cape Cod by Nan Rossiter to read. I'll let you know about that one.

So until next time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

My newest Amaryllis, blooming its heart out. I am Happy!!!!!

Wondrous Words Wednesday - Words from books and blogs

Wondrous Words Wednesday is hosted each week by Kathy at Bermuda Onion's Weblog. It is place to highlight words you have discovered in your reading or feature words that you like. Feel free to get creative. If you want to play along, grab the button, write a post and go to Kathy's blog and link up.



Earlier this week I was reading the review of The Pocket Wife by Susan Crawford on Laurel-Rain's blog. I read this sentence and did not know this word, I am ashamed to say.


" I had my suspicions about the person who was charged with the murder, but the denouement was definitely stunning. And worth the wait."


de·noue·ment
noun \ˌdā-ˌnü-ˈmäⁿ, dā-ˈnü-ˌ\

: the final part of something (such as a book, a play, or a series of events)

Full Definition of DENOUEMENT

: the final outcome of the main dramatic complication in a literary work

: the outcome of a complex sequence of events




From Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Having served enough time in Altanta, with her volunteer work, Mother has moved to the Georgia coast, to a hamlet of hoary little brick houses on Sanderling Island.

I had seen hoary before, but always thought it meant gray or white haired. However, that description did not seem to fit this sentence. So I looked it up.
hoary
adjective \ˈhȯr-ē\
: very old
: not interesting, funny, etc., because of being used too often : not fresh or original
: having gray or white hair

Until next time

Stay Busy and Stay Happy