First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday 10-16-12

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

My mother bakes plum tarts every year in late August. The smell fills the house. As they bake, the juicy plums sink into the vanilla cake base. I'm smitten by the smell, the vanillaness of it. My mother's kitchen counter overflows with bowls and vessels. So many that is is often hard to find room to cook. There are ten different kinds of vinegars and oils. A smattering of porcelain teapots. A giant wooden bowl shaped like a carrot, always filled with peanuts in their shells. A little glass cloche containing soft runny cheese. A bowl of dried fruit - pears, apples, prunes, and apricots. A beige ceramic butter dish with soft butter, one of hundreds of ceramic pieces my parents have collected over the years. clementines in winter. Peaches in summer. Wasabi peas. Spiced pumpkins seeds. Whole walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds alongside an ornate silver nutcracker. A loaf of zucchini bread with flecks of green. 

  This is the first paragraph of the first chapter of talking with my mouth full by Gail Simmons. Actually it is really a preface to the first chapter, but I had already typed it all before I realized that. Anyway, would you continue?   I am anxious to read it. It is  a library loan, so I hope not to drool on the pages. LOL

I selected this book, sometime ago, to fulfill part of a book challenge on Goodreads. We are to take the name of one of our favorite books, and read a book whose title starts with each of the letters in that title. ie: THE LAST LECTURE is one of my favorite. So I chose talking with my mouth full  to fulfill the T in lecture.  When I finish the challenge, I will post it all here. 

So until later, 

Stay Busy Stay Happy

Judy

A Successful Weekend and Mailbox Monday

 I did get my sewing room usable again. Can you see the cutting table is relatively clean. There is some Halloween fabric waiting to be put into a stitched pillow, of course my ceramic pincushion which is one of my treasures, a Christmas gift from a quilting friend, my cup of utensils, and a basket for scraps, and a container for selvages. Under my cutting table are banks of drawers, filled I might add! Do you see the black t-shirt hanging from the edge of the cutting table. That contains all the scraps dumped from the basket on top of my table and from the thread catcher by my machine. It is a t-shirt turned inside out, the bottom and the sleeves stitched shut. When it is full, I will sew the neck closed and take it to our animal shelter. They use them for pet beds.

 This is where I sew. On the wall are lots of memorabilia. There is an extra light, iPod with speakers, a pressing surface and drawers with thread and other essentials. I sew in the basement, and it is my space, I don't have to share with anyone. It is a sage green with purple accents. My chair is purple, as is my waste basket, and a cubby beside my chair.

 This is a bulletin board above my cutting table. Notes, a heart-shaped sachet, and the purple pouch like thing is actually a gift from my sister-in-law. It is a Victoria's Secret bra , the cups sewed together with purple bead for trim. They were sold for donations to Breast Cancer Research. And because I am a breast cancer survivor, she wanted me to have it. I store business cards in it.

So on to Mailbox Monday. Last week, Cupid's Christmas by Bette Lee Crosby arrived in the mail. I was anxiously awaiting it's arrival. I entered a contest on Goodreads, that Bette Lee had posted. She wanted possible names for characters in her new book. My mom had recently passed away, so I submitted her name, Lorraine. If the name was chosen, a copy of the book was the prize. One of the names she chose to use was my mom's name. She autographed the book and sent it on to me.

I really enjoyed the story. It is a Christmas romance. Romantic love and family love are explored.  It has an expected ending and is a well written and fun read. Thanks Bette Lee.

Marcia at Mailbox Monday  is hosting Mailbox Monday for the month of October.  Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.


Until next time,

Stay Busy and Stay Happy,
Judy

A Mountain to Organize

It is warming back up today.I have my sewing room completely a mess. I decided to clean the closet ( it's an under the stair kind of closet), after Mr. Busy and I cleaned up the garage on Monday. That job is pretty well completed. The Gold Wing is now in it's place, with a new battery to help it start when needed.  All the extra tools and stuff from the MIL house, are put away. He can even get his own vehicle in out of the cold and snow.

Now it is my turn to attack my space. YUK!. Everything is in the middle of the room.

I hope to throw away a bunch of stuff or better yet recycle it. I went to K-Mart to look for some shelving, but opted for 3 totes on sale. I want to get rid of the cardboard boxes. Mr. Busy's cat, crawls back in the closet and his favorite pastime is shredding the cardboard boxes.  BAD KITTY!!.


So  plastic totes should stop that nonsense!. This is the second day with my DH gone. I hoped to be farther along with this project....but I get tired too easily lately. Getting old!. I will work on it more this evening and tomorrow. I am trying to make a list of what is at the back of the closet and also what I get rid of. I have been know to agonize over not being able to find something I used to have and can't remember giving it away or taking it to Good Will.  A little OCD?????

My under the stairs closet also is home to all the holiday decor. So it will be a good time to check on the Thanksgiving decorations and the selected Christmas stuff. Last year we did not get any of them out because we were in Arizona for December and January. I have already found Christmas candles that my sister made, some crocheted snowmen that were a gift from a sorority sister many years ago. I can't part with those treasures, so back in the closet they go!.

Well, I best be off to more sorting so I can even find my sewing machine.

Until later,
Stay Busy, Stay Happy

Judy

October's First Saturday Snapshot- Quilts

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.

Two projects that were submitted to the N.E.W. 30th Annual Quilt Show in Gillette WY this weekend. The top green one is a table topper. I have wanted to make it "forever". This example has caught my attention again. Guess I will have to find the pattern and "get it done".  The bottom picture is a collection of 12 12' blocks for each month of the year. I am sure the owner of these lovely mini quilts has a display rack that she uses in her home. The are so cute and really well done.  I am envious of her applique talents.

Needless to say, there will be no reading time for me this weekend. As a member of the coordinating committee, I will be busy all weekend, except for Sunday morning. But that is what I do:  Busy Hands are Happy Hands.


Til next time
Stay Busy & Stay Happy,

Judy

Work Day Friday.

We woke to snow this morning. It only accumulated on the rooftops and the grass, it definitely feels like winter may be just around the corner.  This afternoon, Mr Busy and I worked at our quilt show. We set up displays, vendor areas, and hung quilts from 12:30 pm until 6:30 pm. Wow are we tired!. Tomorrow I will work at the Quilt Show all day and again on Sunday. I took a few pictures, and will take more tomorrow.

Three bed quilts on display. The pink and brown one was made by a friend of mine after winning a whole lot of fat quarters in a Right-Left-Center game played at a retreat. She had enough to make a braid quilt for the front and a scrappy back all in pink and brown-----called Chocolate Covered Strawberries. 

 The blue and yellow quilt is the graduation quilt I made for my youngest granddaughter in 2011. Luckily we visited with them in Fort Collins last weekend and Shasta allowed me to borrow it back so I could hang it in the show. The quilt is called Weaver Fever, a design by Jackie Robinson. The fabric is called " He Loves Me", designed by Jackie Robinson too. It is the first time I ever tried a mitered corner on a border.

This little wall hanging is called " One Nation Under God". I have been working on it for quite a few years, and because it was just for me, quilts for others caused me to put it on the back burner. But I decided to finish it this week, when all the political mud-slinging has made me know that we needed a reminder that we are still " One Nation Under God".  The kit was designed after 9-11 and features a prayer remembering 9-11 and all who lost their lives then.

October's 1st Wordless Wednesday

Taken at War Birds Over the Rockies in Fort Collins CO  9-29-12.  What a great Airshow.!!!

October Mailbox Monday #1

Mailbox Monday is  back home for the month of October at Mailbox Monday. Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

It's been two weeks since I posted. The week following the 17th of September was one for the books. My DH ended up in the hospital with chest pains. His birthday was the 17th and he turned 68. He acts and looks much younger but obviously, his body feels 68.  The doctor's did tons of test, but with no conclusions.  So last weekend we left home on the 27th and went to Colorado for some R&R.  Our daughter and her husband, our oldest granddaughter and her husband and our youngest granddaughter all live in Ft Collins. We had a great time.

 The visit resulted in these two book-books coming home with me.
  Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregroy Maguire, loaned to me by my daughter and son-in-law. I was telling them how I enjoyed Cinder, so they thought I may enjoy this one. 

And Room by Emma Donoghue loaned to me by my youngest granddaughter. ( She is 19)  This one is on a challenge that I participated in during the summer, so I am anxious to read it a check that particular book off the list. 

We also borrowed a copy of the audio book  Into the Storm bySuzanne Brockmann to listen to on our way there and on the way home. It is a 13 CD set, so we knew we would not finish it. Unfortunately, the CD were scratched, and #3 would not play at all. We skipped #3 and kept on with #4. Luckily, I don't think we missed too terribly much.  But I will certainly let the library know when I return it. It is a good story, both my DH and I are enjoying it.