SPRING....MAYBE.....

It was 60 degrees yesterday, beautiful day.  Today it's a little cooler and very windy, we are under a WIND ADVISORY,  I went out to see if spring is here.  I think we still have a couple more weeks yet.  But some of the signs of spring are popping out. 

The Daffodils are blooming. 

What we call Flags here, but they are actually a lily.  They are popping up out of the ground.

There are still some brown patches, but the grass is greening up.

The Tulips are popping up.  So MAYBE Spring is here, we'll just have to wait and see.
I haven't seen our resident Ground Hog come out yet.  She had 3 little babies last spring.  It'll be interesting to see how many there are this year.

These are the baby Ground Hogs from last year. 

I'm linking up with St. Germains's Blog for SEASON'S.

BOOK REPORT......

The Secret of the Old Clock - Carolyn Keene

Product Description(Amazon.com)
Nancy Drew solves her first mystery when the accidental rescue of a little girl who lives with her two great-aunts leads on an adventurous search for a missing will. 
Hardcover: 192 pages 
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap (May 1, 1930) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 0448095017 
ISBN-13: 978-0448095011

MY THOUGHTS:  I have been wanting to read this series for the longest time.  Being an adult and reading children's books seemed a little strange.  But I've discovered a HUGE supply of books in the children's department at the library.  The books are very well written and can hold an adults attention, so I read lots of books from the children's department.  This is one that I've wanted to read for a long time.  The mystery is very good and I wanted to keep reading to find out if Nancy found the clock.  The missing will is in the old clock.  And Nancy finds it!  I give this book 5.....

This book is also for 2 of my reading challenges.....
52 Books in 52 Weeks(Wk. 11)
Full House Challenge

CREATIVITY CHALLENGE.....

Shelly over at Prairie Moon Quilts is hosting a year long Creativity Challenge.   Want to know more about this.....just hop over to Shelly's place and check it out.

I've been procrastinating on this for a couple weeks.  But we also had a couple weeks of catch up weeks.  I've gotten more RANDOM WORDS done.

I've also been working on my DOODLE.  It's still not done, have a little more work to do on this.

I bought a couple more ADULT COLORING BOOKS.  Picked them up at The Dollar Store.  One is of sea creatures. 

The challenge for the 9th and 10th week was to read some poetry and illustrate something from our favorite poem.  I've taken mine from Where The Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein.  I'm not very good at drawing, but I did my best.  This is the poem....  

           

 IT'S DARK IN HERE

I am writing these poems
from inside a lion.
And it's rather dark in here.
So please excuse  the handwriting
Which may not be too clear.
But this afternoon by the lion's cage
I'm afraid I got too near.
And I'm writing these lines
From inside a lion,
And it's rather dark in here.

Here is my illustration......

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY......

Ashley over at Ramblings & Photos is the host for Scavenger Hunt Sunday.  Hop over and check out all the photos everyone is sharing.

Here's my version of the words this week....

Something You Wore....

Bella all dressed up as me, she has my sweater and hat on.

Window...

The window in the Hutch, which need cleaned. 

Red.....

A couple new chickens I bought.

Loud....

Bella's recorder, it's very loud when she is playing it.

Fork....

A little boring but there you have it.  I was going to do a fork in the road, but all our roads are straight.

BOOK REPORT......

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend - Katarina Bivald

Product Description(Amazon.com)
Once you let a book into your life, the most unexpected things can happen...
Broken Wheel, Iowa, has never seen anyone like Sara, who traveled all the way from Sweden just to meet her book-loving pen pal, Amy. When she arrives, however, she finds Amy's funeral guests just leaving. The residents of Broken Wheel are happy to look after their bewildered visitor-there's not much else to do in a dying small town that's almost beyond repair.
You certainly wouldn't open a bookstore. And definitely not with the tourist in charge. You'd need a vacant storefront (Main Street is full of them), books (Amy's house is full of them), and...customers.
The bookstore might be a little quirky. Then again, so is Sara. But Broken Wheel's own story might be more eccentric and surprising than she thought.
A heartwarming reminder of why we are booklovers, this is a sweet, smart story about how books find us, change us, and connect us. 
Paperback: 400 pages 
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark (January 19, 2016) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 149262344X 
ISBN-13: 978-1492623441

MY THOUGHTS:  This is my book club's choice for March.  This is an awesome book, loved it, and I couldn't put it down.  If your looking for a charming fast read book, this one is the one.  I highly recommend this book.  Sara travels all the way from Sweden to Broken Wheel Iowa with 13 books.  Only because she couldn't pack anymore in her suitcase.  Sara has gone to Broken Wheel to met her pen pal and lover of books, Amy.  But when she gets there, Amy has died.  So the town of Broken Wheel kind of adopts Sara.  Sara is at a loss as to what she is suppose to do now.  Sara gets the idea to open a book store with all of Amy's books.  The book store goes over kind of slow.  Sara gets so attached to all the people she doesn't want to go back to Sweden.  So the town comes up with the idea to marry her off to Tom.  Can't say anything else as it will give the ending away.  I give this book 5....

This book is for 1 of my reading challenges.....
Full House Challenge

BOOK REPORT......

The Iron Wagon - Al & Joanna Lacy

Product Description(Amazon.com)
At twenty-one, Paul Brockman is the newest deputy U.S. marshal in his father's arsenal of lawmen. Bold and courageous, Paul proves to be every bit as skillful with a revolver as the chief U.S. marshal, John "The Stranger" Brockman.
Five ruthless outlaws escape Yuma Prison but are soon captured, and Paul must transport them back to Arizona in an iron wagon. During the hazardous journey, Paul encounters Lisa Martin, whose parents were murdered by renegade Indians. The lovely young woman desperately needs his help and Paul is just the deputy to deliver Lisa to her destination. Could she be the answer to his prayers for a wife?
But when the wagon comes under attack from Apaches, Paul is forced to think beyond his physical strength to get everyone out alive. 
Paperback: 294 pages 
Publisher: Multnomah Books; 1 edition (July 20, 2010) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 1601420560 
ISBN-13: 978-1601420565

MY THOUGHTS:  This was a little out of my comfort zone on reading.  I don't usually read western books.  But I needed a book that the setting started with Y for one of my reading challenges.  So here I am giving my report on this book.  Although the book was good, I didn't really enjoy reading it.  If you like western books it's a pretty good book.   It's all about this family of law men set in the late 1800's.  They have to transport a prisoner to Yuma Prison.  They have a hard time getting there, but they do finally get the prisoner there.  I give this book.....3

 





This book is also for 2 of my reading challenges.....
A - Z Locations Challenge(Wrap Up)
Full House Challenge

BOOK REPORT......

NYPD Red - James Patterson

Product Description(Amazon.com)
NYPD Red is a special task force charged with protecting the interests of Manhattan's wealthiest and most powerful citizens. When a world-famous movie producer is poisoned on the first day of a Manhattan film festival called Hollywood on the Hudson, they are the first ones called. Then an actor is killed on the set of a film. And a Molotov cocktail explodes at a movie premiere.
Detective First Grade Zach Jordan and his new partner--and ex-girlfriend--Detective Kylie MacDonald are assigned to the case. The killer has every murder, every escape, planned down to the last detail--and he's scripted an explosive finale that will bring New York and Hollywood to its knees. 
Series: NYPD Red (Book 1) 
Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages 
Publisher: Vision; Reprint edition (January 14, 2014) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 1455521531 
ISBN-13: 978-1455521531

MY THOUGHTS:   I started reading this book yesterday, thinking I would finish it in a couple day.  But I started reading and just couldn't put it down.  This is also a series of books.  This is the first of 4 books.  So now I've got another series to add to my list.  This is and awesome book.  I thought I was watching a t.v. cop shot, which by the way, this would make a great t.v. show.  Hollywood has come to New York.  New York is trying to get the film industry to make more shows in NY.  So they have a big festival to attract the producers, stars, and all the other people who work on t.v. and films.  And then a murder takes place.  A movie producer is murder, an actor on a movie set is shot and killed, and Molotov Cocktail explodes at a movie premiere.  Zach and his partner Kylie are called in to figure this all out.  This book very fast paced and action packed.  I give this book 5......

This book is also for 2 of my reading challenges...
Color Coded Challenge(Red)
52 Books in 52 Weeks(Wk. 10)

BOOK REPORT......

White Fire - Preston & Child

Product Description(Amazon.com)
Special Agent Pendergast arrives at an exclusive Colorado ski resort to rescue his protégée, Corrie Swanson, from serious trouble with the law. His sudden appearance coincides with the first attack of a murderous arsonist who--with brutal precision--begins burning down multimillion-dollar mansions with the families locked inside. After springing Corrie from jail, Pendergast learns she made a discovery while examining the bones of several miners who were killed 150 years earlier by a rogue grizzly bear. Her finding is so astonishing that it, even more than the arsonist, threatens the resort's very existence.
Drawn deeper into the investigation, Pendergast uncovers a mysterious connection between the dead miners and a fabled, long-lost Sherlock Holmes story--one that might just offer the key to the modern day killings as well.
Now, with the ski resort snowed in and under savage attack--and Corrie's life suddenly in grave danger--Pendergast must solve the enigma of the past before the town of the present goes up in flames. 
Series: Agent Pendergast series (Book 13) 
Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages 
Publisher: Vision; Reprint edition (May 27, 2014) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 1455525847 
ISBN-13: 978-1455525843

MY THOUGHTS:  This is a new author for me.  I've started a series I didn't know about.  So now I'm going to have to put this series on my ever growing list.  Excellent book, the writing is awesome.  All the characters are linked to story and the events unfurl beautifully.  Corrie arrives to investigate some bones of some miners from the 1800's.  And eventually she gets into trouble and gets thrown in jail.  So Pendergast has to come and rescue her.  While there, an arsonist is at work burning down million dollar homes with the families inside.  Eventually the arson and the long ago miners are linked to the case.  This book just flows from one clue to another, leading to the tantalizing ending.  I give this book 5.....

This book is also for 2 of my reading challenges....
Color Coded Challenge
Monthly Keyword Challenge

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY......

Ashley over at Ramblings & Photos is the host for Scavenger Hunt Sunday.  Hop over and check out all the photos everyone is sharing.

Here's my interpretations of the words this week.

Up.....

Beautiful sun and blue sky, after a week of gray skies.

Fruit.....

We always have some kind of fruit around the house.  The twins love fruit.

Neighborhood....

This is my neighborhood.  Can you tell it's trash day?

Smile......

Bob waiting on me to play with him.  I think he's smiling.

Photographer's Choice......

I love black and white pictures.  This one is a natural black and white.  I didn't have to make it this way, it was a rainy cloudy day with some fog threw in.

COLORING IS A LITTLE THING........

that makes me happy.  I love to color, so I've been buying me a new book to color in when I see them.  I've got 3 of them now.  I've also found a blog that I can share my coloring with.  The Best Basic Blog hosts Coloring Corner on Thursdays.  So though I would jump in and share mine.

This is the first coloring book I got.

This is a page I colored....

The second book I got....

Since everyone is wanting Spring to hurry up  and get here...this is the picture I colored.

And I bought this one Tuesday while out doing errands. 

Love sea creatures and this book if full of them. 

I'm also linking up with Little by Little for Little Things Thursday.

BOOK REPORT......

The Oregon Trail - Matt Doeden

Product Description(Amazon.com)
Youre living in the United States during the time of the Westward Expansion. Settlers are heading west on the Oregon Trail as they seek better lives. Will you: Go west with your family as part of a wagon train? Serve as a trail guide for a group of settlers? Try to cope with the changes in your way of life as a western American Indian? Everything in this book happened to real people. And YOU CHOOSE what you do next. The choices you make could lead you to opportunity, to wealth, to poverty, or even to death.   
Paperback: 112 pages 
Publisher: Capstone Press (August 1, 2013) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 1476536074 
ISBN-13: 978-1476536071

MY THOUGHTS:  This is what is called an interactive book.  There are 3 story paths, 38 choices and 17 endings.  My choices got my family on the wagon train to their destination.  I wasn't so lucky with my choice for the trail guide.  The choice for the American Indian came out good.  Very interesting book to read.  This is the first interactive book I've read and I really enjoyed it.  I give this book 4....

This is also for 1 of my reading challenges....
Locations A-Z Challenge

I'm also linking up with The Book Date for Month in Review.

  What I read in February....
The Risk of Darkness - Susan Hill...2 Stars
 The Edge of Lost - Kristina McMorris....5 Stars
Stand Your Ground - Raeder Lomax...4 Stars Virginia's Diary - Suzanne Peyton ....5 Stars
Pretty Girls - Karin Slaughter ......5 Stars
A Handful of Stars - Cynthia Lord....5 Stars
Fire Flight - John J. Nance....4 Stars

My favorite book in February....
The Edge of Lost by Kristina McMorris

This was my book clubs book choice for February.  This was a really good book.  If your looking for a good book for your book club, suggest this one.  All my books are linked to my reviews. 

BOOK REPORT.....

The Other Side of Silence - Bill Pronzini

Product Description(Amazon.com)
On his third day in the Valley, Rick Fallon comes upon a deserted Toyota Camry, and soon thereafter, the almost-dead body of Casey Dunbar. Having rescued her, Fallon soon learns what had driven her to give up on life…and, his own life on hold, he resolves to unravel the twisted and dangerous strands of hers, a quest that leads him to the glitter-dome of Las Vegas among other locales. 
Hardcover: 224 pages 
Publisher: Walker Books; 1 edition (September 30, 2008) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 0802717136 
ISBN-13: 978-0802717139

MY THOUGHTS:  This is the second book I've read from this author.  It is just as good as the first one I read.  Lots of characters to keep your interest.  The mystery of Casey Dunbar's missing child, a murder, and intrigue all rolled into one book.  Rick keeps running into obstacles while trying to find Casey's ex-husband, who kidnapped their son.  Rick is trying to find him, but people keep giving him false info.  He finds the ex-husband, but the boy is missing, as well as the mother.  So Rick goes looking for them.  He finds out the truth about Casey Dunbar and what she's been hiding.  I didn't see this one coming.  Great book!  I give this book 5 ........

 




This book is also for 2 of my reading challenges....
Locations A-Z
52 Books in 52 Weeks

QUILTS AND CREATIVITY......

I was blog hopping the other day and found Red Letter Quilts.  She has this thing going on over there that I'm going to join.  It's called OMG one monthly goal.  Here is some more info....

Select ONE  of  your quilt-related goals and describe it in a blog post, with photo(s) of said project, and what you aim to finish.

What I'm going to work on in March is off my Quilt Finishing List.  The list is on my sidebar.  I'm going to bind the Winter Quilt and start on the Dots Quilt.  I'm going to TRY and finish the Dots Quilt, but not sure if it will get done.
Winter Quilt

 Dots Quilts

Over at Quilty Folk, there are lots of circles being made.  Go check it out.  There are lots of folks working on this and they have some COOL ideas on making their quilts.  I got all my February circles done.  Here they are in chronological order by the February calendar.

 I haven't started putting them together yet.  Not sure how I'm going to do this.  Still thinking about this one.  For now they are living in little baggies with their month on the baggie. 
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I've also been working on my Smash/Junk Journal.  This is part of the Creativity Challenge over at Prairie Moon Quilts.  I changed the one I was using for a Composition Book.  The pages are lots thicker than the other one I was using.  This book is going to be "stuff " that I like, it's All About Me.

The cover....

I collect chickens so this picture was a good thing to add.  I also like working crossword puzzles.

Some quilt stuff I've added.  The trip to Joann Fabrics receipt and a snip of the fabric I bought.