BOOK REPORT.......

Along Came A Spider - James Patterson

Product Description(Amazon.com)
Along Came a Spider begins with the double kidnapping of the daughter of a famous Hollywood actress and the young son of the secretary of the Treasury. And that's only the beginning! Gary Soneji is a murderous serial kidnapper who wants to commit the crime of the century. Alex Cross is the brilliant homicide detective pitted against him. Jezzie Flanagan is the female supervisor of the Secret Service who completes one of the most unusual suspense triangles in any thriller you have ever read. 
Series: Alex Cross (Book 1) 
Mass Market Paperback: 528 pages 
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (December 1, 1993) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 0446364193 
ISBN-13: 978-0446364195

MY THOUGHTS:  I have been wanting read this book for years.  I've seen the movie years ago.  So thought it was safe to read the book.  What do mean by safe.....once I've seen the movie the book usually loses something.  But as I said it has been years since I saw the movie.  The book was worth the wait.  It's a great murder mystery with lots of characters.  The story line keeps you on the edge trying to figure out what's coming next.  If you have seen the movie.....try reading the book, it's a really great book!

This book is also for a reading challenge I'm doing.  It's the Birthday Month Reading Challenge.  Read a book of an author who's birthday is in the month.  This is my book for the month of March, and yes I'm way behind, but am hoping to get caught up.  This book is also for the Full House Reading Challenge.

BOOK REPORT......

The Mid Wife of Hope River - Patricia Harman

Product Description(Amazon.Com)
Patricia Harman transports you to poverty stricken Appalachia during the Great Depression years of the 1930s and introduces us to a truly unforgettable heroine. Patience Murphy, a midwife struggling against disease, poverty, and prejudice—and her own haunting past—is a strong and endearing character that fans of the books of Ami McKay and Diane Chamberlain will take into their hearts, as she courageously attempts to bring new light, and life, into an otherwise cruel world. 
Paperback: 400 pages 
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Original edition (August 28, 2012) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 9780062198891 
ISBN-13: 978-0062198891

MY THOUGHTS:  As usual I read the second book before the first book.  This is the first book of the Hope River books by Patricia Harman.  The Reluctant Mid Wife was the second book.  This book is just as good as the second one.  It gives you all the information about Patience Murphy.  Patience is running from the law.  She was an active member in the fight against the mines.  She and her husband and friends were helping get the mines unionized.  In the fight against the big mines, her husband accidentally gets killed, by Patience.  So she runs and winds up in Hope River.  You will meet all the people of Hope River.  The good and the bad ones.  Patience also meets the local Vet, Dr. Hester.  They both try to help the people of Hope River.  It's and awesome book!  Loved this book just as much as the second one.

SHADES OF GREY......

All week it's be cloudy, cold and rainy.  I was tired of looking at grey skies.  I want sun!  Well the sun finally popped out yesterday evening.  I took this picture right after a rain shower and got a little extra.

BOOK REPORT.....

Winter Garden - Kristin Hannah

Product Description(Amazon.Com)
Can a woman ever really know herself if she doesn’t know her mother?  Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard; the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection between them was the Russian fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy tale will be told one last time—and all the way to the end. Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya’s life in war-torn Leningrad, more than five decades ago. Alternating between the past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing story of their mother’s life, and what they learn is a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are. 
Paperback: 448 pages 
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; Reissue edition (January 4, 2011) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 0312663153 
ISBN-13: 978-0312663155

MY THOUGHTS:  This was a book club selection that missed while hubby was in the hospital.  I'm playing catch up on books.  This book isn't what I thought it was, but it's a very moving book. The author's descriptions in this book come alive.  I felt I was right there in the Winter Garden and in Leningrad with Anya.  As Meredith and Nina grieve for their father, the wonder about their mother.  Anya starts talking to herself and acting "strange".  Nina comes home to help Meredith with her care.  Nina being investigative in nature, she starts checking up on some of the things in the fairy tale their mother is telling them.  Meredith finds a mysterious letter to her mother that their father kept.  Which leads all three women to Alaska.  What Meredith and Nina finds changes their lives forever.  I can't really tell too much as it will give away the story line.  I must admit I wasn't ready for the ending of this book.  If you get a chance to read this book, please do, it's an awesome book! 

NEW AFGHAN......

Since I finished my Ugly Afghan, I decided to start another one.  I was sitting in my living room and trying to decide what colors to use for this one.  I happened to be looking at one of my carry all bags I use.  I use it for lots of stuff, but mostly for toting books around.  It's really a insulated bag for putting cold stuff in.  Anyway, the colors of the bag is my inspiration for this Afghan.

The colors I'm using are Red Heart Super Saver yarn.  The colors are.......

1. White
2. Bright Yellow
3. Light Raspberry
4.Pumpkin
5. Turqoise

The small bands have 2 rows of color and the bigger bands of color have 5 rows of color.  I'm following the pattern of the bag starting at the bottom and working my way up to the top.  When I get to the top color, I'll reverse the order and work backwards.  The colors remind me of the beach, so that's what this Afghan is going to be called....At The Beach Afghan.  I am linking this post up to Heather's Needlework Tuesday.  Hop over and check out Heather's "stuff".  I'm also linking up with Trish over at Love, Laughter and a Touch of Insanity for Inspiration Monday.  Head over and check out all the inspiration!

And yes I know it's Wednesday.  I was at the hospital ER yesterday with hubby.  He hasn't been feeling
 himself the last few days.  He has been running a low grade fever and having some pain in his lower tummy.  So his home health nurse suggested we call his doctor.  The doctor said we needed to go to the ER.  So that's where we spent our day.  After all the tests they run, they found he had another abscess in his lower tummy.  They sent him back to Indianapolis to Community North Hospital.  So my son and I will be making the trip down to Indianapolis today to see him and find out what's going on.

BOOK REPORT......

Attachments - Rainbow Rowell

Product Description(Amazon.com)
Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.
Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now- reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.
When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.
By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself.
What would he say . . . ? 
Paperback: 336 pages 
Publisher: Plume; Reprint edition (March 27, 2012) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 0452297540 
ISBN-13: 978-0452297548

MY THOUGHTS:  This is a catch up book for me.  It was a book club choice that I missed.  Very light reading.  Lincoln is reading Beth's emails.  The more he reads, the more he likes her.  What's even worse....Lincoln is falling in lover with Beth via her emails.  But by the time he figures this out, it's way to late to actually meet her.  What would he say to her?  How would he explain?  Besides Beth is in a relationship with a guy.  But is she really that attached?  Lincoln almost gives up meeting and explaining this all to Beth.  Then by some quirk of fate they meet.....Can't say anymore as it will give the ending away.  Really good book!

NATURAL ARCH.....WITH A VIEW

I was standing outside and noticed this arch that the trees were making.  That is an apple tree on the left and a pear tree on the right.  The apple tree needs to be trimmed.  It's blocking out the pear tree.

TREE.......

Last month we had a storm come through.  It knocked over one of our big Maple trees.  Uprooted it from the ground.  I didn't even hear it fall.  Our son came in the house and told me to look outside.  And there it was.

It didn't hit anything, no houses anyway.  It took a couple limbs off the tree next to it.  Part of the tree was blocking the alley, which sees lots of traffic from the business there.  The guy behind us came down and pushed the tree out of the alley.

BOOK REPORT......

The Reluctant Mid Wife - Patricia Harman

Product Description(Amazon.com)
The Great Depression has hit West Virginia hard. Men are out of work; women struggle to feed hungry children. Luckily, Nurse Becky Myers has returned to care for them. While she can handle most situations, Becky is still uneasy helping women deliver their babies. For these mothers-to-be, she relies on an experienced midwife, her dear friend Patience Murphy.
Though she is happy to be back in Hope River, time and experience have tempered Becky’s cheerfulness-as tragedy has destroyed the vibrant spirit of her former employer Dr Isaac Blum, who has accompanied her. Patience too has changed. Married and expecting a baby herself, she is relying on Becky to keep the mothers of Hope River safe.
But becoming a midwife and ushering precious new life into the world is not Becky’s only challenge. Her skills and courage will be tested when a calamitous forest fire blazes through a Civilian Conservation Corps camp. And she must find a way to bring Isaac back to life and rediscover the hope they both need to go on.
 Series: Hope River (Book 2) 
Paperback: 432 pages 
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (March 3, 2015) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 0062358243 
ISBN-13: 978-0062358240

MY THOUGHTS:  This is the second book in a series called Hope River.  I didn't get to read the first book, but truly enjoyed reading this one.  I read it in 2 days.  I couldn't put it down.  The author through the seasons on at Hope River.  The book is set in the mountains of West Virgina.  The Great Depression has hit West Virginia.  Becky Myers is headed to a friends place at Hope River.  She's used all her money up and hopes to find a place to stay with Patience Murphy.  Becky is also bringing along her former boss, who has suffered a devastating loss of his wife.  He is catatonic and Becky takes care of him.  His name is Issac and he was a surgeon.  But now he can't do anything.
Patience is now married and has a child.  So Becky and Issac move into Patience's old home and set up house.  Patience gets Becky to help with delivering babies, but Becky is very reluctant to do this.  She is much more comfortable being a regular nurse.  The author takes you through all the hardships of the people at Hope River and all the happiness too.  Wonderful book! 

WOOD STOVE TROUBLE.....

Anyone out there use a Wood Stove??  We heat with a wood stove.  It's our main heat source in the winter.  We also have a Gas Furnace as back up.  This winter our wood stove was smoking really bad.  I mean the stove pipes were leaking smoke.  Every time you opened the door......poof, out came the smoke.  So we got to checking it out and the Chimney was blocked with Creosote.     So the chimney needed a good cleaning.  Our son put a mirror in the chimney but couldn't see any light at the top.  That bright light in the mirror is the top of the chimney. 

 The nearest Chimney Sweep was 100 miles away and cost too much.  So he found  a place on the internet that sold parts for a Chimney Sweep.  Sent away for it and the darn thing really worked.  We took a big wheelbarrow of Creosote out of the chimney.  I don't mean the flaky stuff, it was like rocks.   Next came the stove pipe.  It needed to be replaced.  This is the mess you have when working on a stove pip.

We finally got the whole thing back together and the stove works great now. 

TA - DA.......

I finally finished my Ugly Afghan.  But it turned prettier than I thought.  What do you think,  ugly or pretty??  Be honest!

I also finally got the Dog/Cat Quilts done for my brother and his wife.  Now all I have to do is deliver them to him. 
Brothers Quilt

Sister-in-laws Quilt

Even though this is Thursday, I'm linking up to Heather's Needlework Tuesday.  Hop over and check out her Crocheted Poncho, really pretty.

ARTIFICIAL OR REAL.......

This is the front garden.  The hubby put a collection of  rummage sale stuff in the garden.  But I like the way it looks now.  No more "stuff".  I took a front shot and a side shot.  See if you can tell which is artificial and what is real.

Front shot....

Side shot....

TOBY TROUBLE.....

I am sure we have all seen cats get on the kitchen table.  But, have you ever seen a dog get on the table......

I'm Innocent....

Tobby sees the chair pulled away from the table and he hops right up on the table.  I've even caught him up on the washing machine.  There was a chair sitting in front of the washing machine and he hopped right up there.  I swear he's part mountain goat.

Does that look like an innocent face to you??

FIRE.......

In the Spring our son cleans out the fire pit to get ready for cooking all the great food this summer.  The ashes are dug out and the bricks re-stacked.  And of course the twins are right there to help Daddy out with all those chores.
Digging out the Ashes

Putting the ashes in the wheelbarrow

Taking the ashes away to dump them

Lighting the fire for a test run

Resting and enjoying the fire after the work is done.

There is lots of good food that comes out of that fire pit.  YUM!!

SIGNS OF SPRING.....

The signs of spring are popping up all over the place.  Even though Winter is still holding on.  The nights are in the low 30's and the days are in the low 50's.  We've had a few days of 60 degree weather and a couple days of 70's.  The flowers and trees are coming out really fast.   One sure sign of spring around here is the return of the Robin's.

Then all the spring flowers that come along.  The violets are out.  They spread over the yard during the spring and into summer.

Then the Tulips pop up and we got a really nice day in the 60's and they bloomed.

But with the nights still being a little chilly some of the flowers got a little nipped.  The little yellow Wild Tulips were a casualty of the cold.

Well, that's enough for now.  But on a good note, hubby has finally made it home from the hospital.  We have lots of new things to contend with, but we are slowly figuring it out.  He is pretty weak from spending 6 weeks in a bed with no exercise, but he's getting Physical Therapy to build up his strength.  He is under the care of Home Health Care now.  He has a nurse, Physical Therapist and Occupational Therapist that come to the house twice a week.  So hopefully he'll get strong soon! 

HUBBY'S CANCER UPDATE.....

Thought I would let you all know how hubby is doing.  It's been a couple months.  Hubby went into the hospital for surgery on February 9th.  The surgery took a little longer than expected.  The Tumor had ruptured the Colon Wall.  So the doctor had to repair it.

Then his blood pressure started dropping.  They couldn't figure out what was the problem, so they took him back to surgery to have a look.  The doctor found some dead tissue in his Rectum, which was causing him to go into Septic Shock.  So they started him on Anti-bionics, but that didn't help.  The doctor had to go back in and remove the Rectum.   We almost lost him that day.  But he started responding to the medications once the Rectum was removed.  This also caused him to have to have a permanent Colostomy.  So the doctor done surgery again a few days later to put his permanent Colostomy in.  All this time hubby was in ICU, plus they put him on sedatives to keep him asleep, so he wouldn't be moving around so much and wouldn't feel all the pain he was in.  they also put in a Feeding Tube.   Hubby was in ICU for 3 weeks.  He finally got a little better so they could put him on the regular hospital floor.

 But he was still in lots of pain and taking lots of pain medicine.  He had been in bed for about 5 weeks so he was pretty weak.  They moved him to a Select Hospital so he could work on physical therapy and build up his strength.  While there they took a CAT Scan to find out why he was still in so much pain, as the Colostomy was already healing.  The CAT Scan showed two Abscesses in his stomach.  So he had to go and have those drained.  They also found out one of his Kidneys wasn't functioning right.  So he went into surgery to have a Stint put in.  So that started working good.

Today we got the news he's being moved to the hospital here at home.  It's an Acute Hospital to work further on his physical therapy.  So he will be close to home and we can visit every day instead of once or twice a week.  He's been in Indianapolis for the last 2 months.  Hoping he gets stronger so he can come home and then he will have Home Health Care provided.  I miss him so much!! 

As he gets stronger I'll had some updates.  Hoping life gets back to normal soon.  With Spring showing up this week, hoping it stays warm so we can all get outside.  We have birds nesting outside the living room in a bird house.

And here are the birds sitting at their new home.  They are still busy bringing nesting materials into the bird house.  But I've noticed the female isn't sitting outside much, so I'm assuming she is laying and sitting on the eggs.  The little birds are English Sparrows.  They are pretty dominant around here.

On a sad note, we lost our family dog, Billy.  But on a good note, we now have another "wiener" dog.  His name is Toby and he is a rescue dog.  He is adapting to the family and getting along pretty well, unlike Billy, Toby barks!  So that's something to get used too again.  Haven't got any good pictures of Toby yet, but I'll be getting some soon to add here at my blog. 

BOOK REPORT......

Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer-John Grisham

Product Description(Amazon.com)
In the small city of Strattenburg, there are many lawyers, and though he’s only thirteen years old, Theo Boone thinks he’s one of them. Theo knows every judge, policeman, court clerk—and a lot about the law. He dreams of being a great trial lawyer, of a life in the courtroom.
But Theo finds himself in court much sooner than expected. Because he knows so much—maybe too much—he is suddenly dragged into the middle of a sensational murder trial. A cold-blooded killer is about to go free, and only Theo knows the truth. 
Series: Theodore Boone (Book 1) 
Paperback: 288 pages 
Publisher: Puffin; Reprint edition (May 3, 2011) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 014241722X 
ISBN-13: 978-0142417225

My Thoughts:  This book is called Junior Fiction.  Even though it aimed at younger children, it is still a great book.  I never knew John Grisham wrote children's books.  The characters and the plot of the story are all well written, with lots of action going on.  It's all about Theo, a thirteen year old boy obsessed by law.  Theo gets pulled into a murder trial by a friend at school.  Theo has to keep the boy's name out of the story, but the boy saw the man that murdered his wife.  But Theo can't go to the police, because the boy is illegally in this country.  So Theo goes to his Uncle and eventually gets his parents involved as well.  They finally get everything worked out and the criminal.........well I can't tell anymore as it will give away the ending to the book.  If you have never read junior fiction before, give it a try, it's really good.

This book is for my Birthday Month Reading Challenge....John Grisham's birthday is this month.  Want more info on this reading challenge, hop over to You, Me, and Cup of Tea to check it out.

PORTRAITURE......

t What does portraiture mean......found this when I googled it.

 

 

 

       The art of creating portraits:  .

graphic and detailed description, especially of a person.

 

This is the portraiture of Luke.....at play.....with a measuring cup.

 

BOOK REPORT......

The Tower, The Zoo, And The Tortoise - Julia Stuart

Product Description(Amazon.com)
Set in the popular tourist attraction in present-day London, The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise is an exquisite story of love, loss, and a one-hundred-eighty-one-year-old pet.
Balthazar Jones has lived and worked in the Tower of London for the past eight years. Being a Beefeater is no easy job, and when Balthazar is tasked with setting up an elaborate menagerie of the many exotic animals gifted to the Queen, life at the Tower gets all the more interesting. Penguins escape, giraffes go missing, and the Komodo dragon sends innocent tourists running for their lives. Still, that chaos is nothing compared to what happens when his wife, Hebe, makes a surprise announcement. What’s a Beefeater to do? 
Paperback: 320 pages 
Publisher: Anchor (August 23, 2011) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 030747691X 
ISBN-13: 978-0307476913

My Thoughts:  If you like reading about England's history, this is a great book for learning some interesting facts.  I never knew what the function of the Beefeater's was until I read this book.  From Wikipedia.......

 "The Yeomen Warders of Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, and Members of the Sovereign's Body Guard of the Yeoman Guard Extraordinary, popularly known as the Beefeaters, are ceremonial guardians of the Tower of London. In principle they are responsible for looking after any prisoners in the Tower and safeguarding the British crown jewels, but in practice they act as tour guides and are a tourist attraction in their own right, a point the Yeomen Warders acknowledge."

This book also is about the animals that are given to the Queen by heads of country's as gifts.  The animals are usually put in the England Zoo, but they started a menagerie at the Tower of London.  But it didn't work out, but Balthazar was in charge of the menagerie and he got attached to the animals.  This book is also about Balthazar and Hebe, their love and loss, and trying to find each other again and put the love back into their marriage.  Wonderful book!

This book is for my reading challenge.....What An Animal taking place over at Socrates Book Reviews.

NEEDLEWORK TUESDAY.....

I finally got to Jo-Ann Fabric's last week.  Got some Unbleached muslin and some quilt batting.  I got the Dog/Cat Quilts put together.  They are in being tied this week.  Hoping to get them together soon.

I've also finished the Valentine Quilt top.  Not sure what I'm going to work on next.  Thinking about doing another Dresden Plate.  I've accumulated quite a bit of scraps the last few months. 

On another note, my hubby goes for his surgery on the 9th.  I'll be staying there with him the whole time.  Doctor says 4 or 5 days. 

Don't forget to hop over to Heather's place, Books and Quilts, to check out what everyone is working on.