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