Saturday Snapshot #315 - Sunday in the Park

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda at West Metro Mommy Reads. Feel free to share photos taken by you or a friend, or family member, not pictures you may find on the web. Check out Melinda's blog for a few other rules and to link up your Saturday Snapshot. 

Last Saturday I was attending The Road to California Quilt Conference in Ontario California. My phone crashed on the plane to the conference, so I did not get any personal pictures. I took a class, shopped til I dropped, viewed some amazing quilts and spent a great time with 5 other quilt-minded friends. You can check out the facebook page here. 

We flew back home early Sunday and I was greeted by my DH and then my granddaughter and her family stopped by the house to welcome me home. 

We had a fairly warm Sunday last week. These pictures were taken by our grandson-in-law during an outing to the park. Our great grandson is nearly 17 months old now. 

 His new "fun thing" is to squat and say "down"....

 then stand and say "up".

His mom was pretty excited that he left his monkey hat on his head the whole time they were playing. I say he is a smart kid......he knows he stayed warmer with the hat on.


Now I am off to see the other Snapshots posted today.

Above the Bridge by Deborah Garner - Cozy Mystery #2

Above the Bridge by Deborah Garner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

New York reporter Paige Mackenzie comes to Wyoming to find a story. She is a good researcher and hopes to maybe happen on a story her readers and her editor will love. She settles on the town of Jackson Hole, and as she becomes acquainted with a few of the locals, she wonders about a bit of suspense she feels as surveys the locale. The author does a great job at the descriptions of the beauty of western Wyoming.Although it is pretty difficult to describe in words the wonders of the Grand Tetons.

I liked the character development, even though it was pretty predictable. I found the insert of the time travel to be a bit too simple, too contrived. I am not opposed to time travel, but it seemed odd here. The ending to the story is exactly how I assumed it would be. Girl falls for boy, bad guys get their due and there is an open ending for another adventure for Paige.


View all my reviews

The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls

This book was the January read for my face to face book club. We all enjoyed the story even though we took exception to some of the characters.

Jean "Bean" Holladay is twelve, her sister Liz is fifteen and they are best friends. They need to be, because their mother Charlotte is a bit of a flake. Charlotte was and is a rebel. She is single mother now, but leaves the girls to find herself. Bean and Liz are used to being by themselves. They shop, eat chicken pot pies day after day and go to school. One day as they come home from school, the police are at their door. Although they ditch the cops, they decide it's time to go back to Virginia where there mother's brother, Tinsley lives.

They make their way across the country on a bus, and arrive unannounced at Uncle Tinsely's door. He takes them in, while they wait to hear from their mom. They learn a lot about their mother, her family, why she left home in the first place and they learn that though most people accept them and want what's best, not everyone in the town is their friend.

This story set in the 1970's is about love and family, relationships and triumph over tragedy.  It discusses social injustice, racial tensions soon after forced integration, and Walls treats the unstable, probably bi-polar, mother with just enough caring that we don't end up hating her. Bean is the narrator and at twelve almost 13 she is precocious and outspoken, while Liz is finding her way as a flamboyant, smart-as-a-whip beauty.

X 5

I enjoyed this book more that Half-Broke Horses also by Jeannette Walls, and I intend to  read Glass Castle very soon.  I gave this book 5 happy hands because it had me reading when I should have been sleeping.



I am linking this review to What's In A Name 2015, for the category" book with a color in the title.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday #415 - Above the Bridge, Deborah Garner

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday is hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea. It is a place to share the first paragraph or two of a book you are currently reading or hope to begin soon. Join us to get a glimpse of what other bloggers are reading.

Above the Bridge

Deborah Garner

Published- April 2012 by the author

Chapter One

Just before midnight, Paige Mackenzie walked to the door of her room, twisted the cool, metal knob and stepped outside. She glanced around the half-filled parking lot and vacant sidewalk, peered up and down the street at the dark windows of nearby stores and leaned back against the inside of the door frame. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled slowly, a frosty cloud of white linking away from her lips and out into the late October night.
     Looking up, she watched the moonlight dissipate softly across the cloudless sky. It had been that way for several nights. As with each recent evening, she stood under the ceiling of stars and felt a gentle peace settle over her, one of many welcome changes in her life.

So, would these first two paragraphs entice you to read more?  The cover is what caught my eye and the fact that it was a "Paige Mackenzie Mystery". I am drawn, some days, to cozy mysteries. I started this book while away from home last week. I wanted a read that I could pick up quickly and that I would be able to put down as my schedule demanded. I am about 53% into the story. Mostly I like it, but it took an unexpected turn just a bit ago and I wonder where that will lead. That is the fun of a mystery, isn't it?



Stay Busy and Stay Happy

It's Monday!. What Are You Reading? #415

Sheila's back and reading up a storm again!.  Join us at Book Journey to share what you are reading and to see what others are reading. This every Monday meme will most definitely add to your readings lists.

Last week I finished and reviewed  Curiosity Thrilled the Cat by Sophie Kelly. I was in California at a quilting conference and had intended to read 52 Cups of Coffee by Megan Gebhart. Well, electronically I had a very ugly week. On the airplane, as I put my phone on airplane mode, it began to cycle off and on, off and on. I dropped it into my carry-on and assumed it would eventually finished it's craziness and shut off. When we landed in CA, it was completely dead. I guess it continued it's hysterics until the battery ran out!  We could not check into our motel early, so our bags were secured in the concierges office and we all took a shuttle to the Ontario Mills Outlet Mall. Lunch at The Rainforest Cafe and many bags later, we checked into our room. I plugged in my cell and just assumed all would be back to normal. It was not, so I spent the rest of the week without a cell phone. I had tried to read 52 Cups of Coffee on the plane but discovered that the douwnload was not complete and in airplane mode I couldn't finish the download. So I opened a book on my Kindle that had been there awhile.

I was originally drawn to this book by the cover. I reminded me of the center of the town of Jackson Hole Wyoming. I wondered what it was about. So I started reading it and to my surprise the story is set in Jackson Hole Wyoming. Wyoming is the state where I live. I am enjoying this story, even though I was surprised at a small turn of events about half way through ( no spoiler).

I did get connected to the WiFi at the hotel and finished downloading. This will be a book I savor and probably will not power through. It is 52 small stories about people Megan had coffee with and the life lessons she took away from these conversations.

The night before I left on my trip I started reading The Goodbye Quilt

by Susan Wiggs. My kindle was packed, I had finished Curiosity Thrilled the Cat.  I had shared the First Chapter First Paragraph on Diane's blog quite awhile ago. It is a small book and I was immediately drawn to it. So this week, I hope to finish all three.

 I am exhausted from 4 days of classes, shopping, viewing amazing quilts, and wonderful lectures. We saw amazing quilts, I had hoped to share. We shopped at avenues of vendor booths, selling everything from longarm quilting machines to trims and pieces of sari fabric. We were entertained by Eleanor Burns from Quilt in a Day, we were mesmerized by Jenny Bowker and her stories of her life in Cairo and Syria and how she found and helped the women of these countries and came to know The Tentmakers of Cairo. Amazingly talented young men who are nearly starving because of what is going on in their world. She is also a talented artist and quiltmaker. You can check out her very low key blog at jennybowker.com. From there you could see her some of her quilts. 

Anyway...

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Cruisin Thru the Cozies #1 - Curiosity Thrilled the Cat

Curiosity Thrilled the Cat by Sofie Kelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Back of book:  Small-town librarian Kathleen Paulson feels good about letting two adorable cats help themselves to her home. But as she's about to find out, it's their help she needs....

I read the second and third books in this "magical cats mystery" series, because they were a win from the Cozy Chicks blog several years ago. I really enjoyed those 2 stories. Even though the mysteries are stand alone in each book, it was enjoyable to learn the beginnings of the relationships in Mayville Minnesota.

Sophie weaves these somewhat fanciful stories of cats with magical powers so that they are almost believable. I really like the main character, Kathleen Paulson, her friends Roma and Maggie, and her neighbor Rebecca. Hunky Detective Marcus Gordon adds a bit of sexual tension. This is a G-rated book, though, so don't expect any steamy bedroom scenes!

I am doing a Cruisin Thru the Cozies challenge this year, so I intend to read the rest of the series.


View all my reviews


Stay Busy and Stay Happy

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - #315

Diane at Bibliophile By The Sea hosts this Tuesday meme as a place the share the first paragraph (or a few) of the book you are currently reading or hope to start soon. Join us to get a glimpse into what some other book lovers are reading.

52 Cups of Coffee: Inspiring and Insightful Stories for Navigating Life's Uncertainties. 

Megan Gebhart

Published by IRL Press, August 2014

Introduction

"Who you are in five years depends on the people you meet and the books you read."

   I stumbled upon this quote in 2010 and it stopped me in my tracks. I was about to be a senior at Michigan State University and I could easily see how my friends and mentors had helped shape the person I had become.
    There was one person in particular who showed me the power of meeting new people. He was a student named Brett Kopf who shared an academic advisor with me and who was equally passionate about entrepreneurship. The advisor recognized how similar we were and had a hunch we would be great friends. He gave Brett my email address and suggested we meet. 

I will be reading this book this week. Would you read on?  It is definitely non-fiction  and I am good with that. I have peeked into a few of the 52 chapters and I know I am going to like this one.




Until next time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy