Saturday Snapshots - Mr Busy's Hobby and what I did this morning

Mr Busy flies Radio Controlled Aircraft. He has been very involved in this hobby for the last 8 years. In addition to flying at a local air field, he is involved in the club that promotes the hobby. Last weekend the local club sponsored a Fly-In. An event where fellow flyers come from neighboring communities to join the fun. I took a few pictures. It was very hot last weekend so I spent most of the time I was there in the shade.

Some of the guys ( mostly it's guys who fly, but some young girls and my granddaughter have given it a try) fly helicopters. Off in the distance you can see a small subdivison ( neighborhood). 

Our young great grandson loves to visit the flying field. Here he is offering a bottle of water to one of the ladies who was sitting under the shade canopy.  Also, his favorite words that day were, "Wow" and "Neat"

This picture shows some of the fixed wing aircraft. The blue and white one is a jet. It uses jet fuel and it was completely hand built by one of the members. He flew it just before this picture was taken. To quote my gr grandson, "Wow" "Neat"  If you look real closely, in the right hand middle of the picture there looks like a gray triangular contraption. It is actually a stealth bomber built by the same club member who built the jet. I think he is an engineer in disguise.


This week a friend gifted me some free crabapples. What to do?  Make jelly, of course. I haven't made home made jelly of any kind in many years. My canning supplies have been given away. But I processed the apples, and this morning made jelly. Thanks to my granddaughter who loaned me her canner. I think I may be the first one to use it, but she planted a huge garden so she will be using it soon.

Don't you just love the little "ping" that happens in your kitchen after all the work is done?  :)



Stay Busy and Stay Happy

The Friday 56 - A Soft Place to Fall (Shelter Rock Cove #1)

I joining The Friday 56 today. I have played along before, but not on a regular basis. Here is an excerpt from page 56 of the book I am currently reading.

"He had wanted to square things with the woman with the sad blue eyes and, if he was being honest, square things with himself as well. It seemed he had been leaving nothing but loose ends behind these last few months. Something about her had reached deep into his soul, far deeper that a casual encounter in a parking lot would justify.He felt a connection, a sense of rightness that he'd never known before. "

Librarian's Note: This is an alternate cover for ASIN B007UCZ5WE

I was looking for a book that had a romantic chemistry between the characters, for a book challenge. Do you think I might have found it?  Understand this is an alternate cover, the regular on looks like this:

Sometimes it's hard to know where the story will go from the cover, don't you think?


This weekend we celebrate our middle great grandson's 2nd birthday. His grandparents, aunts and uncles will be there and so it will be a big deal. He is too little yet for his parents to plan a "friend birthday".  

Hope to participate in this meme again

Quilt Chicks Challenge #6 Summer Stitchery completed, ready to piece.

The die was rolled on May 3rd for the next bimonthly challenge in one of the quilting groups that I belong to.  The die says #6.   I must complete the stitching and embellishment of a stitchery that I have planned to do for 3 years. It is a Crabapple Hill pattern. The original pattern is to be made into a pillow, but I want a seasonal wall hanging for above the living room couch. "FALL" has been done for a few years, SPRING is nearly complete, SUMMER is next.

This is the completed stitchery with one border on it. It completes the challenge as I listed it. 

 The same, just a bit different lighting.

Cruisin Thru the Cozies Challenge 2015 - #6

Here is another challenge entry for Cruisin Thru the Cozies Reading Challenge hosted by Yvonne at Socrate's Book Reviews



Perfect Poison by Joyce Lavene
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Peggy Lee's life has changed a little. She has given up her teaching job at and is devoting her energy to making The Potting Shed prosper. And she has been offered a part-time position with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department as a forensic botanist. Things were going along well, then Smith & Hawken open a storefront in the busy Charlotte Center City and became a competitor to The Potting Shed.

As she is attending a funeral and the required reception afterward she runs into and old friend, Professor Ruth Sargent, a forensic diver at UNCC. It is there in nearby Badin, NC that she is drawn into an investigation of a drowning at the dam of United Metals.

In typical Peggy Lee fashion, her curiosity and sense of duty and what's right, leads her into a clash of personalities and good-old boy types. I am enjoying this series of cozy mysteries. Each chapter begins with a kind of plant and a short botanical description. In this case, all the plants are water plants or other native North Carolina plants found near water.  Muskgrass, Trout Lily, Pumpkin, and Trillium are just a few. The books always end with gardening hints too.

I am looking forward to reading the next one, A Corpse for Yew.


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Eggsecutive Orders by Julie Hyzy : Cruisin' thru the Cozies

I am linking this review to Cruisin Thru the Cozies Reading Challenge 2015 hosted by Yvonne at Socrate's Book Reviews.  I signed up for Level 2 - Investigator. That is reading 7-11 cozies, this is #5.

Eggsecutive Orders by Julie Hyzy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Olivia Paras, newly appointed executive chef at the White House, is in the thick of it again. It's spring and she is looking forward to her mom and grandmother visit. She's planning the annual White House Egg Roll, they will hard boil 15,000 eggs. The day her mom and nana are expected to arrive she is startled by a call from 202 on her caller id. The White House!  Now what?

What follows is in true Ollie Paras and Julie Hyzy fashion. There is a death at the White House. Was it murder or not!.  How did the dinner guest die?  Did the White House kitchen have a hand in it?

This one was fun, in that there where a couple of other lovable characters introduced. Ollie mom, Corrine and her grandmother were fun to get to know. There was a tiny bit of Stephanie Plum's Grandma Mazur, but Nana is not quite as crude. She's spunky but lovable.  

I am looking forward to the rest of this cozy mystery series.


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Random Saturday Snapshots 8-29-15

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by Melinda at West Metro Mommy Reads. The only rules are that the pictures are taken by you or a family member or friend and that the content be appropriate for all eyes to see. 

Today are just random pictures of nature and one of my brother. 

 This is a picture taken by my sister in South Dakota, during her morning walk. She walks most mornings in a nearby nature preserve. Isn't this serene?

This picture was taken by my sister in law, who lives in northern Montana near Great Falls.  The setting sun is so red due to all the forest fire smoke. We are experiencing the smoke even here in NE Wyoming.  I thought it was interesting that both photos have foliage in the foreground.

This is a picture of my brother living a life long dream of participating in the Little League World Series. He is behind home plate in this game. The photos of him directly were not taken by a family member or friend by the press, so I cannot share them. If you are interested in a better picture, go to ND/SD Little League District 1 face book page and there is a great photo of him as their cover photo this week. It has been fun watching the games and looking for him.  Those Little Leaguers play great ball. The final games in each division are today, and the Championship game is tomorrow between the US winner and the International winner.

That's all for my random Saturday Snapshots.
Have a great week

Review: All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

All The Light We Cannot See    

Anthony Doerr

Audio narrated by Zach Appelman

This may be my favorite book of 2015.  Anthony Doerr writes with such beauty.  

Marie-Laure lives in Paris with only her father. At six she becomes completely blind. Her father, the locksmith of the Museum of Natural History in Paris, painstakingly builds her a model of Paris.  It is so detailed in its design that Marie-Laure can touch each piece and learn her way around the city.  She spends her days with her father at the museum and she knows her way around the entire building. She counts the steps, she smells the trees, the bakery, the air, and she listens to the birds, the bees, the steps on the streets.

Werner Pfennig is an orphan in Germany. He and his sister Jutta live at Children’s House. In their ventures around their city they come across a broken radio.  Werner fixes the radio and quickly gains the reputation of a repairman in the neighborhood.  As he spends more time, it becomes clear that Werner is a very bright boy. And the Nazis take notice. He is chosen to attend the school of the Hitler Youth.

As this story moves from one time period to the next and then back again, you start to see that the stories of Marie-Laure and Werner are bound to converge.  This audio version was so enthralling to listen to.  It was beautifully narrated by Zach Appleman.  I loved hearing the German and French words pronounced correctly. I know I would not have done so in my head if I had read the print version.  The author writes such beautiful prose, almost like looking at a painting.  That being said, so much of this story was very hard to listen to.  It is an upsetting story. There were times I had to shut off the player and walk away. The devastation and the sacrifices that the French and the German people made in 1941 – 1944 are overwhelming. Every time I read stories set in Europe during WWII I wonder, if I had been there, would I have survived?  Would I have been able to endure?

And yet, people did endure.  They did survive, to continue with their lives.  Forever changed by those awful years, they were able to go on, raise families and be prosperous members of their communities.

Until next time

Stay Busy and Stay Happy