Saturday Snapshot - What to Do?

West Metro Mommy Reads hosts this Saturday meme. Click on over to Melinda's blog and check out the rules and see other posts.

Today there will not be much reading time. Today is our annual N.E.W. Quilt Show. In past years I have been on the committee but this year I did not participate. I am no spring chicken and the work involved set me back. I appreciate the time and effort it takes to make an event like this happen. It is a lot of work. So this year I will enter a few items.

 The Winnie the Pooh and Friends quilt was make last year for our #2 great grandson. It did not get entered in the show, partly because he was born early September and he already had it. Secondly, last year was Storm Atlas the first week in October and our quilt show was cancelled. The first time in 30 years.

Log Cabin Pumpkins, Seasonal Banners

This year (2014) my focus was to "bust my stash." The Log Cabin table runner has six log cabin pumpkins in an elongated octagon shape.  I used only fabrics from my stash.  The four seasons small banners, Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer where featured in Quick Quilts magazine in 2012 and all fabrics were from my stash. I have not purchased any new fabric this year, with the exception of one piece to make an already mostly finished quilt bigger to fit on our guest bed. I am pretty proud of that, but even so my shelves and totes and baskets are still overflowing!. I have made other things, but they will not be entered in the show.  My word, I can't believe it! I will have to do the same thing for 2015. My hope is to reduce the over abundance of materials and kits, etc.

Maybe next week , I will have pictures to share of all the quilts at the show.



Until next time,
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - Dream New Dreams

Every Tuesday,Diane, at Bibliophile By the Sea, hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros. She shares the first paragraph or ( a few) of a book she is reading or thinking about reading soon. Head over to her blog and link up a post of the first chapter first paragraph of your current read.


Today I will start to read this one. It has been on my reading list since I first discovered that Jai had written a book. I loved The Last Lecture by her husband, Randy Pausch.

Dream New Dreams - Jai Pausch

Crown Archtype , an imprint of Crown Publishing

Division of Random House  2012

Living the Dream

"So I can pick up the block and throw it?" Randy asked incredulously. He was learning about computer graphic research at The University of North Carolina, where I was working while studying for my PhD exams in comparative literature. Randy was a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh researching virtual reality and human-computer interaction, Standing in the virtual reality lab, he looked like a thirty-seven-year-old kind playing a Wii video game, game controller in hand. Instead of viewing the computer-generated world on a television mounted on a wall, he was looking at a screen inside a specialized helmet. Nowadays, many Americans are familiar with holding a device to make objects or avatars move within a video game. But fourteen years ago, this technology was not yet mainstream, nor was it a game, rather it was an experiment to see how compelling virtual reality could be. In this demonstration , throwing the block was not part of the program's functions, but Randy didn't know that, and he was asking a million questions. I had noticed his inquisitiveness earlier in the morning as we toured each part of the virtual reality lab. Walking beside him, I could tell he was genuinely interested in our research, soaking it all in. It was obvious to me that he was smart. What else would you expect of a Carnegie Mellon professor? But Randy was surprisingly down-to-earth. When I had first met him that morning, and in previous e-mails, he insisted I call him Randy, not Dr. Pausch. He had no need to stand on ceremony or demand acknowledgment of his title, which was a very refreshing change for the norm in academia.  I felt instantly comfortable with him even after having only just met him. And I wanted to get to know him better. 

This is a really long first paragraph, but would you read on? Do you know Randy Pausch's story? Have your read The Last Lecture ?



Until next time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Review: Fifty Shades of Grey

Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book back cover:
Daunted by the singular tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful , tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house.
But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Ana cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Ana learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven and demanding Fifty Shades.
While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Ana must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her, and make the most important decision of her life.

My thoughts:   This book, as everyone knows, is described as Erotic Romance for Mature Audience.  And it is that for sure. But as I read the first book of the trilogy, I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to young Christian and why had he chosen this behavior.  In this sequel we meet Christian’s parents and again meet his siblings.  What is their part in this man’s dark secrets?  Ana too, we find is distressed by the behavior that at first had seduced her.  Ana’s bravery, in breaking off the relationship, forces Christian to confront his demons. And with the help of his psychiatrist he begins to change his behavior.  As she continues to support Christian in his struggle, she struggles with own insecurities.  Although reading this book is certainly a personal choice, I wonder about the outcome in the 3rd part of the trilogy.  Will Anastasia’s courage and her love for this very damaged man, bring her to ruin or will it triumph and defeat both her feelings of inadequacy and give Christian the strength to finally face his own feelings of inadequacy?
I would only recommend this book, to very close friends or family. I would have to know someone very well, to talk to them about this story. Several friends have read it and we had mixed feelings about it. But it did create some rather lively discussion.


View all my reviews

It's Monday. What Are You Reading? - 9-29-14

Each Monday, Sheila at Book Journey host It's Monday. What Are You Reading? It is a place to share your current reads and see what other are reading. Join us.

I am still reading The Book of Ruth. 

 Saturday, I went to the library to pick up a Toni Morrison book that I had placed on hold. While there I checked out their Banned Books Week display. See  my post here.  I also took a minute to peruse the shelves, looking for the Jeanette Walls book, The Glass Castle.  I did not find that title but I did find 2 others and the 2 title I had on hold.  I will share the rest of them later this week.
 Jai Pausch's book has been on my TBR list since I first heard of it after reading The Last Lecture by her husband Randy Pausch.

Dream New Dreams: Reimagining My Life After Loss

by Jai Pausch   3.5 of 5 stars

A remarkably frank, deeply moving, and inspiring memoir by Jai Pausch, whose husband, Randy, wrote the bestseller The Last Lecture while battling pancreatic cancer.

"Jai is such a giver that she often forgets to take care of herself," Randy Pausch wrote about his wife. "Jai knows that she’ll have to give herself permission to make herself a priority."
In Dream New Dreams, Jai Pausch shares her own story for the first time: her emotional journey from wife and mother to full-time caregiver, shuttling between her three young children and Randy’s bedside as he sought treatment far from home; and then to widow and single parent, fighting to preserve a sense of stability for her family, while coping with her own grief and the challenges of running a household without a partner.
Jai paints a vivid, honest portrait of a vital, challenging relationship between two strong people who faced a grim prognosis and the self-sacrificing decisions it often required. As she faced life without the husband she called her “magic man,” Jai learned to make herself a priority to create a new life of hope and happiness—as she puts it, to “feel a spark of my own magic beginning to flicker.”
Dream New Dreams is a powerful story of grief, healing, and newfound independence. With advice artfully woven into an intimate, beautifully written narrative, Jai’s story will inspire not only the legions of readers who made The Last Lecture a bestseller, but also those who are embarking on a journey of loss and renewal themselves.

I am really looking forward to this memoir. So what are you reading this week?



Until next time, 
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

The Edge of Never - 2014 Ebook Challenge

The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a really good chick lit novel. I have not read any of the author's other books, but I enjoyed this one.

At first I thought, Camryn Bennett was spoiled little girl. And a bit stupid too!  To get on a bus to Idaho, just because the ticket agent was eating a baked potato?  But of course it developed into a boy meets girl, girl falls head over heels with bad boy, Andrew,  etc etc etc. It turned out to be a bit "steamier" than I had first imagined.

Lots of very detailed sex scenes. I do not consider myself a prude. I am over 60, and I have experienced quite a lot of life. Although these scenes did not put me off, I found it hard to believe that were being experienced by a nearly virginal 20 year old. Maybe I am just uninformed about the experience levels of today's twenty-somethings.

I bought this book for my Kindle, and as happens a lot with kindle editions, there were many typos. Some obvious editing errors and a few grammatical errors, I noticed, but it did not make me want to stop reading. In fact, I had trouble putting it down.

I am linking this short review to Workaday Reads. Sarah hosts the

Until next time

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

CCPL - Banned Books Week 2014

Saturday Snapshot is hosted every week by Melissa at West Metro Mommy Reads. Grab the button, write a post with a snapshot you want to share and link up at Melissa's blog. Below are the rules.

To participate in Saturday Snapshot: 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 below. 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.






Libraries, Bookstores Celebrate Banned Books Week

Campbell County Public Library System is gearing up to celebrate Banned Books Week, an annual celebration of our right to access books without censorship. This year's observance is September 21-27 and commemorates the most basic freedom in a democratic society—the freedom to read freely—and encourages us not to take this freedom for granted. Since its inception in 1982, Banned Books Week has reminded us that while not every book is intended for every reader, each of us has the right to decide for ourselves what to read, listen to or view. Stop by the libraries in Gillette and Wright and see the displays of books that have been banned or challenged over the years – you may be surprised. Patrons are also invited to view the video produced with the assistance of Gillette Public Access TV that feature library employees reading selections from challenged books.




Banned Books Week 9/22-26
Celebrate your freedom to read! Check out the Campbell County Public Library Teen Banned Books display; have your “wanted” photo taken with a banned book. Drop-in activities will take place from 3:30-5 p.m., Monday through Friday. During this week, we will also hand out copies of our fall “One Book, One Teen Room” selection: If I Stay by Gayle Forman; the book discussion will take place in October.  (ps: I did not go down to the Teen Room to see their display, the pictures below are in the main room of the library. )








Above are the articles from our library's website. I visited on Saturday to pick up some books on hold and asked permission to take pictures of the display. There are printed pages from a book displayed on the front right corner, and now I can't remember the title. Also the smaller photos are of library staff holding a banned book under a banner like a police line-up titled CAUGHT! The somewhat larger photos are actually artist's renditions of banned book authors holding a placard listing the book they wrote etc. The one in the center is of course, Holden Caulfield, Catcher in the Rye.

I am proud of our library for all the events they sponsor, all the extras they offer. The Banner reads: Banned Books Week Celebrate the Freedom to Read!.


Hope you had a chance to read a banned book this week.



Until next time

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Wondrous Words Wednesday - more from 11-22-63

Each week Kathy at BermudaOnion's Weblog, hosted this meme as a place to share new words that you have encountered or to spotlight words you love. Feel free to get creative. If you want to play along grab the button, write a post, then go back to Kathy's blog and link up with Mister Linky.



I highlighted these words as I was reading 11-22-63 by Stephen King. I love that feature on my Kindle.




inveighed - "The most annoying of all (I have inveighed against it to my clearly bored students time and time again) is the totally meaningless some people say, or some people believe." 

The New Oxford American Dictionary defines inveigh as a trans verb that means -to speak or write about (something) with great hostility.



tonsure - "Inside, two old parties were sitting against the wall while an equally old third party got his tonsure trimmed."

noun - a part of a monk's or priest's head left bare on top by shaving off the hair.

In the story Jake was entering a barber shop, so I figured that the word had something to do with hair, but it was new to me.


What new words did you encounter this week? Or do you just have a favorite word you want to share? Join us at Kathy's blog.



This week  I am reading 3 books. Certainly,I will find a word or two to share with you next week.




Until then,
Stay Busy and Stay Happy