WATER FUN......

We've been have typical Indiana weather for the last couple of weeks.  High 80's with 70 to 100% humidity.  In other words, you go outside, it's like walking into a Sauna.  So the kids have been having lots of fun with the water toys they have.

DRESS UP......

You ever play Dress Up when you were a child?  Put on your parents clothes and pretend your something else?  Tommy recently had an important meeting with a potential client.  He bought new pants, shirt, tie and shoes.  Bella saw him all dressed up and wanted to wear his clothes.  She put his shirt on, his tie and his shoes.  She was telling everyone she was a doctor.

DELAYED SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY......

I forgot to post my Scavenger Hunt Sunday pictures on Sunday......so I'm doing it now.  If you want to check this out and read more....head over to Ashley's place, Ramblings and Photos.

Then and Now.......Dandelions....... everyone has them.  Now they are yellow and then they are sticks in your yard.

Indulge....made a trip to JoAnn's Fabric to look browse around the fabric and yarn department.

Happiness.....Bella getting her picture taken, she's a camera hog.

Summer.....my Lilly's are blooming, a sure sign of summer.

Pop of Color.....the storm rolled in and it looked like it was dark.  You can see the pop of yellow from someone's lights being on.

Don't forget to hop over to Ashley's place for Scavenger Hunt Sunday.

What to look for next week
1. Special
2. Habit
3. Explore
4. Me
5. Sprinkle

BOOK REPORT.....

A Duke of Her Own - Eloisa James

Product Description(Amazon.com)

A duke must choose wisely . . .

Leopold Dautry, the notorious Duke of Villiers, must wed quickly and nobly—and his choices, alas, are few. The Duke of Montague's daughter, Eleanor, is exquisitely beautiful and fiercely intelligent. Villiers betroths himself to her without further ado.
After all, no other woman really qualifies. Lisette, the outspoken daughter of the Duke of Gilner, cares nothing for clothing or decorum. She's engaged to another man, and doesn't give a fig for status or title. Half the ton believes Lisette mad—and Villiers is inclined to agree.
Torn between logic and passion, between intelligence and imagination, Villiers finds himself drawn to the very edge of impropriety. But it is not until he's in a duel to the death, fighting for the reputation of the woman he loves, that Villiers finally realizes that the greatest risk may not be in the dueling field . . .
But in the bedroom. And the heart. 
Hardcover 
Publisher: Avon Books (2009) 
ISBN-10: 1615233369 
ISBN-13: 978-1615233366

MY THOUGHTS:  I thought I would give myself a break from murder mysteries and read my second favorite book.  I love Historical Romances.  They make me believe in romance and happy endings.  This one is truly this.  Leopold is looking for a wife to help raise his bastard children.  Eleanor has had her heart broken by one man and decides she will only marry a Duke and not for love.  So she sits her sites on a Duke for her husband.  Lisette is the perfect woman for Leopold, as she doesn't give a fig about society.  But he really wants Eleanor.  So he must choose between the two.  The thing is, Lisette is a little on the fickle side.  Then you throw in the man that broke Elanor's heart, Astley, who's wife recently dies.  Astley turns up trying to get Eleanor back, but Eleanor has fallen in love with Leopold.  So who does Eleanor decide to marry and is it for her young love or the more mature love of women?  Great book!

This is also for my European Reading Challenge.  This is being hosted over at Rose City Reader.
This is also for my Full House Reading Challenge...Number 7 on my list.

UNINVITED GUEST........

The other day my hubby spotted a bat hanging on the outside screen of the front room.  These are Indiana Brown Bats.  They are on the Endangered list.  We have a colony of them that live in our attic during the summer.  Once in a great while one gets in the house.  We just scoop them up with a towel and put them back outside.  The link will take you to Wiki if you want to read a bout them.

BOOK REPORT......

Prey - Linda Howard

Product Description(Amazon.com)
Thirty-two-year-old Angie Powell has always spoken her mind, but in the presence of Dare Callahan she nurses a simmering rage. Three years ago, Dare returned home to rural Montana and opened a hunting business to rival Angie’s own, forcing her to close up shop. The infuriatingly attractive Iraq war vet even had the nerve to ask Angie out, not once but twice. Before Angie leaves town, she organizes one last trip into the wilderness with a client. But the adrenaline-fueled adventure turns deadly when Angie witnesses a cold-blooded murder and finds herself on the wrong side of a gun. Then a bear comes crashing through the woods—changing the dark game completely. Luckily, Dare is camping nearby and comes to her aid. Forced together for survival, Angie and Dare must confront hard feelings, a blinding storm, and a growing attraction—while a desperate killer and a ferocious five-hundred-pound beast stalk their prey. 
Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages 
Publisher: Ballantine Books; Reprint edition (April 24, 2012) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 9780345506924 
ISBN-13: 978-0345506924

MY THOUGHTS:  This is new author for me and I really enjoyed reading this book.  It is little romance and a lot about survival.  Angie is out with a hunting trip,  Dare is there by request of a friend to watch out for Angie.  What Angie didn't know was the guy on the trip was planning on doing murder, her included.  But neither one of them knew about the man killing bear that was tracking them.  After the murder and the bear attack, Dare rescues Angie and they hold up in Dare's campsite.  But the murderer and the bear are still tracking them.  In the mean time Angie and Dare find out they love each other.  Really great book!

This is also my final book for the What an Animal Reading Challenge.  This Reading Challenge is hosted by Yvonne over a Socrates' Book Reviews.  My list of books that I read.....
1. Zoo - James Patterson
2. Soul of A Dog - Jon Katz
3. Dog Days - Jon Katz
4. The Tower, The Zoo and The Tortoise - Julia Stuart
5. The Night of the White Buffalo - Margaret Coel
6. Prey - Linda Howard 
This is also Number 20 for the Full House Reading Challenge

STORMY WEATHER......

All this week we have been having lots of storms rolling through.  Lighting, Thunder, Wind and lots of Rain.  This is a storm approaching.

I'm not sure why this one is blue.  Don't know if it was the camera or the lighting.  Anyone got any ideas as to why it's blue?

BOOK REPORT.....

Night of The White Buffalo - Margaret Coel

Product Description(Amazon.com)
A mysterious penitent confesses to murder, and then flees the confessional before Father John can identify him. Two months later, Vicky discovers rancher Dennis Carey shot dead in his truck along Blue Sky Highway. With the tragic news comes the exposure of an astonishing secret: the most sacred creature in Native American mythology, a white buffalo calf, was recently born on Carey’s ranch.

Making national headlines, the miraculous animal draws a flood of pilgrims to the reservation, frustrating an already difficult investigation. As visitors throw the reservation into turmoil, Vicky and Father John try to unravel the strange events surrounding both Carey’s murder and the recent disappearances of three cowboys from his ranch.

It could be coincidence, given the nomadic life of the cowboy trade, but when one of them fails to appear in court to testify on an assault charge, Vicky wonders if Arnie Walkfast and his Arapaho buddies are guilty of more than just assault. And at the back of Father John’s mind is the voice from the man in the confessional: I killed a man… 
Series: A Wind River Mystery (Book 18) 
Hardcover: 304 pages 
Publisher: Berkley; 1St Edition edition (September 2, 2014) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 0425264653 
ISBN-13: 978-0425264652

MY THOUGHTS:  This book is a new author for me.  I really enjoyed reading this book.  I've always been fascinated by the Native American and their culture.  My Grandmother told me that we were descendants of The Cheyenne, but she never told me anything else.  I've researched but have never found and history.  This book has Father John and and Vicky searching for answers to questions they have.  And to make matters even worse, the influx of all the people coming to see the baby white buffalo, which is a sacred animal to the tribes of the Native American.  One man has come searching for his friend and they keep telling him he never worked at Broken Buffalo Ranch.  Another man who doesn't show up for a trial, just seems to have disappeared of the face of the earth.  Then Father John and Vicky start investigating and find there are 6 cowboys missing that worked on the ranch.  All their investigating turns up some mystery's they can't explain.  Who is the mysterious confessor of murder at Father John's church?  Will they find out?  And what happened to the missing cowboys?  Read the book, it's really good.  I really liked this author and it's also a series book, which I've started on book 18, but this book is good as a stand alone.  If you like a good murder mystery, this one is really good!

This is also for my What An Animal Reading Challenge.  Yvonne over at Socrate's Book Reviews is hosting this reading challenge. 

NEEDLEWORK TUESDAY.......

Heather over at Books Quilts is the host for Needlework Tuesday. 

Needlework Tuesday is a regular weekly post where I share the progress of my various needlework projects over the past week. I enjoy the encouragement that I receive from my readers and in return visit their blogs and cheer them on with theirs. You are welcome to grab the cute little mouse and create your own Needlework Tuesday post. Leave a comment with a link and I'll be sure to visit with you.

I finished my Winter Quilt, but have been trying to decide if it needs a border.  What do you think, let me know?

I've started a new quilt for Toby, our new Dachshund.  We buried the quilt with Billy when he passed.  So Toby needs one of his own.

That's it for now.  Don't forget to visit Heather and see all her Granny Square Afghans.

 

BOOK REPORT.......

All The Bright Places - Jennifer Niven

Product Description(Amazon.com)
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

This is an intense, gripping novel perfect for fans of Gayle Forman, Jay Asher, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, and Jenny Downham from a talented new voice in YA, Jennifer Niven. 
Hardcover: 400 pages 
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (January 6, 2015) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 0385755880 
ISBN-13: 978-0385755887

MY THOUGHTS:  This is an awesome book! This is also my Book Clubs choice for June.   It's a Young Adult book and really helps you understand teens and the problems they have.  Theodore Finch and Violet Markey are both suffering through loss of a loved one and bullying.  After meeting "accidentally" while thinking about jumping to their deaths, they are paired up to do a school project.  It's a Geography assignment, to wander Indiana and get to know some of the sites there.  Finch and Violet soon grow to like each other and then they fall in love.  As they wander around finding things to see, they learn all about each other and become very close.  Jennifer Niven is an awesome writer.  She has lots of characters in her books and she adds so much to them that you feel like you are following along with the characters.  This is the second book I've read from this author.  The very first book I read from the author was Velva Jean Learns to Drive.  Wonderful book. 

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY

Scavenger Hunt Sunday is hosted by Ashley over at Ramblings and Photos.  Hop over to Ashley's place an check it out.  The list this week is....

1. Season
Since it's been kind of chilly this spring the Lilacs were kind of late coming out.

2. What I'm Looking At
Trying to decide if I want to put a border around my Winter Quilt.

3. In Motion
The twins haven't got their supply of sand yet, so they were digging in the dirt.

4. It Means A Lot to Me
My hubby is finally getting outside, he recently got home from a 6 week stay in the hospital.  He's doing lots better now that he's home.

5. Photographer's Choice
Bella playing dress up with daddy's shirt, tie, and shoes.

What to look for next week.....
1. Then and Now
2. Indulge
3. Happiness
4. Summer
5. Pop of Color

BOOK REPORT......

Velocity - Dean Koontz

Product Description(Amazon.com)
If you don’t take this note to the police . . . I will kill a lovely blond schoolteacher. . . . If you do . . . I will instead kill an elderly woman active in charity work. You have six hours to decide. The choice is yours.

The typewritten note under his windshield seems like just a sick joke. But in less than twenty-four hours, Billy Wiles, an ordinary, hardworking guy, is about to see his life take on the speed of a nightmare. Because a young blond schoolteacher is murdered—and now Billy has another note. And another deadline. This time he knows it’s no joke. He’s racing a killer faster than evil itself. And Billy must accept his terrifying challenge: The choice is yours. 
Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages 
Publisher: Bantam; Reprint edition (June 26, 2012) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 0345533461 
ISBN-13: 978-0345533463

MY THOUGHTS: I was cleaning out a crate the other day and found this book at the bottom.  I was between books at that moment, so started reading it.  As with all the Dean Koontz books I've read, it caught me from the first page.  The one thing about Dean Koontz books with me, is I can't read them after dark.  His writing is way to realistic and scares the heck out of me.  I start imagining someone is in the house watching me or coming to get me.  So I only read them during the day.  That is how powerful Dean Koontz's writing is to me.  This book is no exception.  Billy is a bartender at a local bar.  His whole life right now revolves around his fiance, Barbara, she is in a comma from eating something that was contaminated.   Then one day a note is stuck under his wind shield wiper on his truck.  He thinks it's a joke, but he does show it to his friend Lanny, who happens to be a policeman.  But Lanny doesn't take the note as a policeman, he takes it as a friend to Billy.  Sure enough a blond schoolteacher is found murdered the next day.  Billy thinks this is all a big joke, he's wrong.  Someone is deadly serious and Billy has to find out who it is.  This a really involved book, with lots of characters and lots of information.  I didn't see the ending coming and I didn't know who the killer was, which is good for me.  I love a book that keeps me intrigued and surprises me at the end. 

BOOK REPORT.....

The Surgeon - Tess Gerritsen

Product Description(Amazon.com)
He slips into homes at night and walks silently into bedrooms where women lie sleeping, about to awaken to a living nightmare. The precision of his methods suggests that he is a deranged man of medicine, prompting the Boston newspapers to dub him “The Surgeon.” Led by Detectives Thomas Moore and Jane Rizzoli, the cops must consult the victim of a nearly identical crime: Two years ago, Dr. Catherine Cordell fought back and filled an attacker before he could complete his assault. Now this new killer is re-creating, with chilling accuracy, the details of Cordell’s ordeal. With every new murder he seems to be taunting her, cutting ever closer, from her hospital to her home. And neither Moore nor Rizzoli can protect Cordell from a ruthless hunter who somehow understands—and savors—the secret fears of every woman he kills. 
Series: Rizzoli & Isles (Book 1) 
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages 
Publisher: Ballantine Books (July 2002) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 0345447840 
ISBN-13: 978-0345447845

MY THOUGHTS:  For once i got the first book of the series.  I love the t.v. show Rizzoli & Isles!  I also liked the book.  Now I've got another series to add to my ever growing list.  This book deals with a man that takes a woman, binds her hand and foot with duct tape and surgically removes her uterus.  Then cuts her throat.  But his main goal is getting to Dr. Catherine Cordell.  The one that got away.  The author has taken you into his world, along with the world the Dr. Cordell lives in.  And of course the world of the police.  All three merge as one as they all come to the capture of "The Surgeon".  Really good book, loved it!

This is also my June book for the Birthday Month Reading Challenge.  Tess Gerritsen's birthday is in the month of June.  Want to know more about this?  Hop over to You, Me, and a Cup Tea and check it out.

BOOK REPORT......

Twelve Sharp - Janet Evanovich

Product Description(Amazon.com)

Welcome to Trenton, New Jersey, where bounty hunter Stephanie Plum's life is about to implode.

FIRST A STRANGER APPEARS
While chasing down the usual cast of miscreants and weirdos, Stephanie discovers that a crazed woman is stalking her.
THEN THE STRANGER REVEALS HER SECRETS
The woman dresses in black, carries a 9mm Glock, and has a bad attitude and a mysterious connection to dark and dangerous Carlos Manoso …street name, Ranger.
NEXT, SOMEBODY DIES
The action turns deadly serious, and Stephanie goes from hunting skips to hunting a murderer.
SOON, THE CHASE IS ON
Ranger needs Stephanie for more reasons than he can say. And now, the two are working together to find a killer, rescue a missing child, and stop a lunatic from raising the body count. When Stephanie Plum and Ranger get too close for comfort, vice cop Joe Morelli (her on-again, off-again boyfriend) steps in. Will the ticking clock stop at the stroke of twelve…or will a stranger in the wind find a way to stop Stephanie Plum…forever? 
Series: Stephanie Plum Novels (Book 12) 
Mass Market Paperback: 339 pages 
Publisher: St. Martin's Press (June 19, 2007) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 031234953X 
ISBN-13: 978-0312349530

MY THOUGHTS:  This is book 12 of the series.  I've read 1 through 11 and really want to finish the series, but have never done so.  I guess it's going on my list of series books to read.  The series is all about Stephanie Plum's life.  Stephanie is a bounty hunter.  She goes out and brings in the people that skips out on their bond from jail.  She's not very good at this job, but it's a job and it's pays the bills.  Along with Stephanie is a cast of people who help her.  Lula, Connie and of course Vinnie her boss and also her cousin.  Vinnie owns the bond business.  He's kind of a sleazy guy and he's not around the office much.  It's mostly the girls that run the business.
In this book, there is some guy running around pretending to be Ranger.  He's a guy Stephanie likes, plus she likes Morelli.  The guy that is pretending to be Ranger kidnapped Ranger's daughter and is hunting Stephanie.  He's trying to build a pretend Ranger family.  And Stephanie is right in the middle of it.  Does Ranger get the guy or does Morelli get the guy.  Or maybe Stephanie catches the pretender.  You will have to read the book to find out.


This is also my book for the Birthday Month Reading Challenge.
  This is my book for April. Also for Full House Reading Challenge...Number 21

    The Little Fir Tree by Margaret Wise Brown.
 

 This is my book for May.
  I read the book to Bella and Luke.  They really liked the book.  It has lots of great pictures for them to look at.  This would make a great Christmas book to read to your children.
   

NEW VERSION OF BOWLING......

Luke was playing with the bowling pins on the deck.  His version of bowling is a little different to say the least.

ummm, let's play with these....

dump them all out on the glider....

put them back in the tub and try laying down....

dump them out again....

ear bowling....

re-thinking how to play this game.....

LUKE'S SELFIE......

well kind of.   I thought I should be fair about the camera so showed Luke how to use it also.  This is his selfie picture.....

As you can see he was way toooooo close to the lens.

BELLA'S SELFIE.....

Bella is pretty good at taking pictures.  Mostly she uses a play camera.  She also tends to get a little close to her objects.  So took a chance and let her actually let her use my camera.  She always turns the camera around so she's looking at lens.  So had to turn it around for her.  And she clicked....this is her picture.

I think it turned out pretty good!