First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday 4-5-16 Bossypants

Every Tuesday is the day to share the first paragraph or two of a book you are reading or want to read soon. The event is hosted by Diane at Bibliophile By the Sea. Let's share!

Bossypants

Tina Fey

Little, Brown and Company  2011

For Jeanne Fey

Happy Mother's Day.  I made this out of macaroni for you.

Origin Story

My brother is eight years older than I am. I was a big surprise. A wonderful surprise, my mom would be quick to tell you. Although having a baby at forty is a commonplace fool's errand these days, back in 1970 it was pretty unheard-of. Women around my mom's office referred to her pregnancy as "Mrs. Fey and her change-of-life baby." When I was born I was fussed over and doted on, and my brother has always looked out for me like a third parent.


So what do you think? Would you continue?  Have you already read this one?  I am enjoying it. It is true Tina Fey humor. So be forewarned.


Stay Busy and Stay Happy

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #7 Challenges met and challenges failed!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. As she says, it’s “a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!”

I am writing this on Friday, so I can post it Monday morning before we climb in the car and drive to Colorado for Christmas with our daughter and her family.  

If all goes according to plan I will have finished reading:

 and returned it and State Fair by Earlene Fowler back to the library, and will be starting on 

   The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith. It is the January selection for my F2F book club. I am looking forward to reading it. I have not read any of the Harry Potter books, so this will be a first read for me of J.K. Rowling ( Robert Galbraith)

 It is on my Kindle and easier to transport and read as we travel. I haven't finished listening to The Book Thief on CD, but will finish it when I get home .  My DH tried to listen with me but kept falling asleep, that wouldn't be a good one to put into the car CD player, so I will listen on my own. 

I have signed up for several challenges for 2014. I hope to be as successful as I was in 2013. 

The only challenge I failed was the Goodreads Challenge to read 80 books. It looks like I will only reach 73.  I read 61 in 2012, 12 over my challenge of 50 and I was optimistic to jump to a goal of 80 for 2013. Guess I will stay with 80 again in 2014. 

Today, my plan is to "plan to pack" and make a few sweet treats to take to our Christmas gathering. I am going to try a recipe I found on Jodi Nelson's blog, Pleasant Home,  called Melt in your Mouth Crock-pot Candy. 

Until next time

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

ps: this addendum is Sunday night while watching Sunday Night Football. I did not get started on The Cuckoo's Calling, but did start on  

A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines.  The Cuckoo's Calling is on my Kindle and when I crawled into bed to read last night, it was "dead".  I had it plugged in on Thursday, but ?????.  Anyway, I turned to the bookcase headboard on our bed, and A Lesson Before Dying was on top. It is a small book, but borrowed from a member of my F2F book club and she recommended it. So far I am liking the writing and the story line is compelling. So I will continue it and take my Kindle with me to Colorado.  

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? Benni #12

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.  I love being a part of this and I hope you do too!  As part of this weekly meme I  encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. Fair warning… this meme tends to add to your reading list!

This week I am reading the 12th book in the Benni Harper Mystery series. 

It is my goal to finish #13 - Tumbling Blocks, #14 - State Fair & #15- Spider Web before the end of the year. I should be able to make that happen. I have nearly all my Christmas shopping done. I have to get them shipped off and our daughter has a birthday the 16th of December, so I need to get that remembrance sent too. 

I am looking forward to new book challenges in the new year. I especially like "What's in a Name" at Beth Fish Reads and I will continue to participate in the Ebook Challenge on Workaday Reads.Then there are all the challenges on Goodreads. Oh my, will I overdo again this year?  

Until next time, 

Stay Happy and Stay Happy

WRAP UP What's in a Name 6 and Quilt for Little Prince - Saturday Snapshot

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda at West Metro Mommy Reads 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.

This is a wrap-up finally done picture of the Winnie the Pooh baby quilt I made for my oldest granddaughter and her husband's new little guy. He is due the first week in September and the quilt is done before he is born. Almost a first for me. I am a bit of a grandiose idea but procrastinator type finisher!  I tried to get a picture of the whole quilt, it is very colorful, the pictures are from a panel I bought online, the interior sashing frames are a brown and cream dot, and the outer border is a large aqua  check. It is backed in chocolate brown minkee. Soft, soft and cuddly.


This week I also finished the What's in a Name 6 Challenge at Beth Fish Reads. I read the following books since the start of 2013 for this challenge. You can check the button link on the right hand side of my blog.
1. Book with UP or DOWN in the title:  The Mountain and the Fathers: Growing Up on the Big Dry by Joe Wilkins
2. Something you find IN THE KITCHEN in the title:  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.
3. A PARTY or CELEBRATION in the title: Steps to the Alter by Earlene Fowler ( ok, this was a reach but it's about 2 weddings._
4. A book with FIRE or an equivalent in the title:  Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan.
5. A book with an EMOTION in the title:   Joy School by Elizabeth Berg
6. A book with LOST or FOUND in the title:  The Lost Wife by Allyson Richman.

I have participated in this challenge 2 years and always enjoy searching out the titles


Until next time,
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Steps to the Altar - a review

Last week I finished #9 in the Benni Harper Mystery series by Earlene Fowler. I so enjoy this series. They are fun easy reads, great to intersperse between books more thought provoking or even dark as is my current read, Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. Next is my review that appears on Goodreads. And I am using this as the final entry into the What's in a Name 6 challenge on

Beth Fish Reads  .         

Steps to the Altar by Earlene Fowler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This one is one of my favorites of the series so far. Benni is having some real feelings in this one. Gabe is being a jerk, which makes me sad. And Elvia and Emory are finally getting married.

Usually Benni seems to go looking for a mystery to solve, but in this story the mystery sort of falls in her lap. Or is at the very least thrust upon her by an associate. And this murder is an unsolved cold case, so not so very pressing to find the murderer.

As always, Grandma Dove has words of wisdom for Benni when she "just knows" that Benni and Gabe are having problems. And as always, Dove makes me laugh as she prepares for her own "perfect" wedding to Issac.

This story is really a love story more than a mystery. I enjoyed it a great deal.


 I think it fits the book with a party or celebration in the title. It is a bit obscure, but I have been looking and looking for another and even the ones that other participants have read do not speak to me as titles I might want to read. So Steps to the Altar means a wedding and celebration to me.

Until next time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

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

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.

The Mountain and the Fathers: Growing Up on the Big Dry

The Mountain and the Fathers: Growing Up on The Big Dry by Joe Wilkins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Joe Wilkins writes in beautiful prose of his life in Eastern Montana.  He tells a story in each chapter as if a certain subject Lake Water, Sky, Slow Breath or person his mother, Bruce Wheatry, Kelly Dempsey, each brought to his mind pictures and lessons learned.  Wilkins writing is almost like reading poetry. It is descriptive, poignant, sometime sad and sometimes hilarious.  Life on the Big Dry was certainly hard, but from all of it he gained a knowledge of self, family, those who treated him like family. This is a must read for all who seek to find something important in their own lives. Sometimes the smallest most mundane things are important. In the retelling of his life on the Big Dry, Joe Wilkins finds his father, finds himself.

I rated this book with 5 stars because I came away changed by Mr. Wilkins' stories.




This book fulfills What's in a Name 6:  Read a book with Up or Down in the title. This challenge is hosted by Beth at Beth Fish Reads.  You can link up to the challenge by clicking on the button in the right hand sidebar. It is also a non-fiction memoir so it is my second nonfiction read for the Non-Fiction Reading Challenge hosted by The Introverted Reader



Until Next Time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

A confession and more

I recently finished reading a book recommended and written by a fellow blogger and that I used to fulfill a book challenge for a group I participate in on goodreads.com.  The author of the book,  Paulita was so kind as to respond twice to my post from last Tuesday.

I really am such unknowledgeable blogger. I can't always get links to other sites to work, I don't even know how to link a review from another site, like Amazon or Goodreads. And I feel so unworthy when it comes to writing reviews. It seems most bloggers have a degree in English, or Literature or something, I graduated HS, got married and raised a family. I have always loved to read, but writing reviews intimidates me. I could sure use some pointers, if any of you have any.

I love reading all your blogs. I get to see all the different books that are out there. I get to feel a little like we are friends. I have been exposed to books I never would have picked up on my own. So, for all this I thank you.

When I started this blog, I had recently retired from work, and wanted to be able to share projects I completed, books I read, and some parts of my life. My life is in a constant flux, so sometimes I am away from my blog for days or even weeks at a time. Please know that even though there are days that I cannot share what is happening in my life, I still read and sometimes even comment. I try to stay involved in several MEMEs. My favorites are "What's in a Name 6", "First Chapter, First Paragraph Intro Tuesday", "Mailbox Monday"," Wondrous Words Wednesday" and "Snapshot Saturday".

In addition to reading, I also quilt with a group of women 2 Sundays a month, I am a member of another local quilt guild, I belong to a stitching group and a stitching club (we do hand embroidery). So my mother always said busy hands are happy hands and that is why I named my blog the same. These days I am not happy, so please forgive the "rant" an know that I am working on getting back to "happy".

Until next time,
Stay Busy and Stay Happy,
Judy.

Mailbox Monday and What's in a Name 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 March, and hosted by Caitlin at Chaotic Compendiums

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

This week my kindle downloaded a copy of :

I am looking forward to this one  by Tess Thompson. Looks like a Chick-Lit,and I am ready. 

For my IN THE KITCHEN entry for What's in a Name 6 Challenge at Beth Fish Reads, I finished:

IN THE KITCHEN = Potato, Potato Peel, or Pie

I really enjoyed this book. The format of the letters made it interesting and easy to read. Funny how you can get to know someone, through the letters they write or the letters they receive. What a time in history when letters were such an integral part of communication. Not even e-mail these days can convey such information. Is that because we are to anxious to get to it, to be done with our explaining. Juliet is my favorite character, though I like Isola Pribby too. Juliet's wit and good sense serves her well in this story. And who can resist the ending........?

The book was set all in 1946, that is my birth year. It was interesting to read the entry on my birthday, and then there was one for my husband's birth date, and he would have been 2 at the time. It gave me pause to think of my parents being alive at that time in the US and wonder if they knew of what happened on Guernsey Island. They are both deceased, so I cannot ask, but I wish I knew.

I am continuing to work on my St Patrick's Day Challenge:  GOLD
G = (The) Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.
O= On Mystic Lake  by Kristin Hannah


Happy St Patrick's Day
Until next time,
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

What's In a Name Entry for "Emotion"

Title:    Joy School  (Katie Nash #2)
Author:   Elizabeth Berg.
Published Date:   1998
Purchased :   Used from Amazon.com
Description: ( Goodreads)
In this exquisite new novel by bestselling author Elizabeth Berg, a young woman falls in love -- and learns how sorrow can lead to an understanding of joy.

Katie has relocated to Missouri with her distant, occasionally abusive father. Her much-loved mother is dead; her new school is unaccepting of her; and her only Mends fall far short of ideal companions. When she accidentally falls through the ice while skating, she meets Jimmy.

He is handsome, far older than she, and married, but she is entranced. As their relationship unfolds, so too does Katie's awareness of the pain and intensity' first love can bring.


       


                            3 out of 5  Happy Hands.


My Thoughts: Though this is a YA book, it spoke to me. I liked it just as much as Durable Goods, which is the first Katie Nash book. Even though Elizabeth Berg said she probably would not write a third book, I know now that she did. It is True to Form and I have a copy loaned to me by a friend.

This story sent me back to the time I was 13 going on 19. Katie is a soft-hearted young girl, living with her father after her mother's death and in a new town. Her dad is in the Army and a distant father at best. Her older sister has run away from home with a young man of course and so Katie is left to make new friends. She befriends a needy sheltered girl in her class, and then is befriended by a "popular" girl whose morals are questionable. Her strangest friendship of all and probably the most questionable is a friendship that develops between Katie and Jim who is 23. Each of these friendships teaches her something about life.

It is a fast read, but enjoyable.


This is my selection for the EMOTION entry for What's in a Name 6 challenge at Beth Fish Reads. Check out her sidebar for other entries and to join in the fun.

Wednesday's Feb Finish

 The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman      What's in a Name 6      LOST

I am at a loss for words to describe this story. It is beautiful story of love between a man and a woman, of love between a father, mother and daughters, of love between those who spent time in Terezin. The writing is wonderful, with colors describing scenes to make them feel real. In the authors notes at the end of the book, she explains that some of the characters were actual people in Terezin. All the while, reading this story, they all felt "real" to me. Having the story go full circle was a...moreI am at a loss for words to describe this story. It is beautiful story of love between a man and a woman, of love between a father, mother and daughters, of love between those who spent time in Terezin. The writing is wonderful, with colors describing scenes to make them feel real. In the authors notes at the end of the book, she explains that some of the characters were actual people in Terezin. All the while, reading this story, they all felt "real" to me. Having the story go full circle was a wondrous journey. Somehow knowing that Lenka would survive the horrors of the Nazi ghetto of Terezin, enabled me to continue to read. This is my first finish for the What's In A Name 6 Challenge sponsored by Beth Fish Reads. You can go there to her sidebar to see other postings of the challenge.

Ready or Not Here I Come, 2013 Challenges

I have been perusing blog land, trying to decide which challenges I will do in 2013. I have decided to do What's In A Name 6 challenge, which I posted  here November 22nd. . Today I also decided on 2013 EBook Challenge hosted by Sarah at Workaday Reads. I received a Kindle Fire for Christmas and I need to learn how to use it. I figured this challenge would help me do that.I am going to sign up at the CD level, that's 10 books. Hopefully, I will be able to move up a level or two.  There is also a Mega Mix Challenge that has no time limit hosted by the Love of Reading group on Goodreads. I have already started that one. Three challenges is probably all I should venture to complete. I have failing at anything I try and I do still have a husband, a home and a quilting hobby. Wish me luck.