Mailbox Monday August

 Mailbox Monday is hosted in August by Jennifer D. at 5 Minutes for Books. I was excited to receive

It was the July read for 

a group I belong to on Goodreads. I had a kind of busy ( not all in a good way) July, so did not get it purchased before the middle of July. So it arrived from Amazon , last Saturday the 4th of August.  Hopefully I will get it read in time to enter in the discussion at L&L. I am a bit more than half way through Fall of Giants, the summer reading selection for my local book club, and still haven't even begun to work on the summer challenge at Reading Writers.  Aw, well, I will keep on keeping on!. I could not find the regular copy of  A Good American at our library, so I checked out the audiobook. It's the August selection on Ladies and Literature. Maybe I can be reading(listening to) 3 books at once!!! Yikes, that would be a first for me!.

Yesterday, I sewed with the Quilt Chicks. A group of my BFF's  that sew and also read.  We spend time stitching, working on our own quilts, eating snacks and general gossiping and catching up. What a great group of gals.   Also Saturday, I sat in a booth at our county fair to sell tickets for an opportunity quilt for the NEW Quilt Show.

This is a picture of the quilt, from my phone camera.  It is called Scrappy Log Cabin and it is very popular. We have sold a lot of tickets and will continue to sell them right up until October.

Snapshot Saturday 8-4-12

 Saturday Snapshot

is hosted by Alyce of 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 is a Fainting Bench( I think that's what it is called) in the Governors Mansion near Blackbeard's Castle on St. Thomas  V.I.  The crocheted coverlet and pillow were exquisite.  I love the shuttered windows and the white against the green walls. Wish I had a reading space similar to this.....heaven!

Overcome with Sadness

Again, I turned away from the computer and the following post was just a draft. I must post this, not so much for those who may read, but for myself. I am still so sad. So angry. So depressed. Will try to get back to water aerobics this week, if I can drag myself out of bed at 5am.!!

I have come to write several times this week, and turn away from the computer. I am overcome with grief and despair, wrapped up in guilt and anger.  On Monday, my mother passed away after nearly 90 years on this earth. She missed her 90th birthday by 1 month and 5 days. I was holding her hand as she make her hard journey from her earthly home to her heavenly home.  The last 2 years had seen her not so gradual decline of her body. So hard for those of us who love her, hardest for her. The undignified happenings of immobility, loss of body functions, and just plain old age. She maintained her stoic Norwegian demeanor until the very last. "I'm OK" were probably her last words spoken to my baby brother about 2 weeks ago.

The burden of arrangements, funeral and gatherings have fallen upon my sister and brother, as they live in our hometown. My baby brother and I live hours away, making it hard to "be there". Therein lies my guilt. I want to be there too, but have obligations at home in these next few days. We have moved my mother-in-law from her home to a retirement center in our town. So now we have added responsibilities, financial and physical.

I am still trying to read Fall of Giants by Ken Follett. It is a great story, but a large heavy book. Everytime I start to read, I get sleepy.  Almost done listening to Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. I am enjoying it too, have been following along with a paper copy. That is fun, to hear and read the old English words. I am determined to get back to being ME.   !!!!

Mailbox Monday - July 16th

Mailbox Monday is on tour for the month of July at Mrs. Q: Book Addict.

Last week in my mailbox I received a copy of BETRAYAL by Michele Kallio. It was a giveaway on Goodreads from the author.  I am really looking forward to reading it. The author asked me to do a book review and I am looking forward to doing that, but a bit apprehensive about it. 

Lydia Hamilton was a modern woman,happily in love and living in Canada...until the nightmares. Following the death of her father, Lydia begins dreaming of places and people she doesn't know. When she closed her eyes, she sees a bloodied, severed head. The images are confusing and unclear, but she knows one thing for sure: something bad happened a long time ago. And why only now have the dreams begun.?                   

This week our son is visiting from Arizona. We enjoy having him here with us, even if it for just a short time. The end of the week, I am attending a State Quilt Guild gathering. I am taking 2 classes. One from a local teacher ( a lunch bag that makes into a place mat) and one from a national teacher (adding pieced borders to a quilt).I am looking forward to both classes and the time to fellowship with friends from around our state. I hope to even get some quiet time to read.  Wouldn't that be nice.? 

Oh My Gosh!!!!

Where have the last 8 days gone?  I have been too too busy!  Tuesday this week, I had a regular Quilt Guild meeting, a meeting for our area Quilt Show, planned for October, a rescheduled Stitchin' Club picnic and a regular monthly meeting of our GWRRA group!!  Whew, I made them all, just not for the whole meetings. !! Did I get pictures ??? not a single one. !  What in the world was I thinking.

Tomorrow I must finish cutting my 5" squares for my class at Quilt Wyoming next weekend. And get at least one friendship block completed!.

We had a tiny scare with my MIL today. Her blood levels were off according to the nurse and the doctors. She is on a blood thinner. So they took her off til her reg  appt next Friday.. She is feeling well, just noticing bruising etc.

I am still trying to listen to Wuthering Heights and read Fall of Giants.  Both of them I am enjoying.  Also got my giveaway win book in the mail.  Will tell you more about that on Mailbox Monday.  

First Tuesday in July/ July 4th Rolled into One

I have been away from my computer for a while.  We spent most of last week cleaning out my mother-in-law's house and moved her to an assisted living facility nearer to us. She was in a very bad situation and we needed to act quickly. It was a monumental task. She is settled now in her apartment. We are dealing with the next large project of changing all addresses and automatic payments and deposits. Phone calls, some easy, some very difficult.
When I got back home and logged on to Goodreads, there was a message that I had won a giveaway of

BETRAYAL  by Michele Kallio. It was such a nice surprise after a stressful week. I am really looking forward to reading this new novel. She asked me to do a review and I will give it my best shot. I have never done a review before, but am anxious to learn how.

 Now is the holiday week, 4th of July here in the US and tomorrow we will take in the local parade.  They have cancelled the regular fireworks display in our city. We have 15 fires burning in Wyoming as of tonight. Very Serious.
Next week our son visits for part of a week, from Arizona and the next weekend I will attend our State Quilt Guild annual gathering in Sheridan Wyoming.  I plan to have lots of pictures to share.

I am still reading A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. It is very good.  I also checked out the audio edition of Wuthering Heights. I have not read it in the past. I am looking forward to listening to it.

I will let you know what I think of it.

Snapshot Saturday - Ancient Tree

Saturday Snapshot

is hosted by Alyce of 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 tree is located at Montezuma Castle in Arizona. We visited Arizona in December and January. We loved the weather there that time of year. I really like the looks of this ancient old tree. It's standing tall and fairly straight, unlike me who feels ancient and time and can't stand straight and tall.