Calendar Quilt

A couple of weeks ago, I was reading a review mag for the library and found a quilt book on "calendar quilts". Being intrigued, I Googled the term and found more information about calendar quilts...namely, a challenge that encourages participants to piece a strip every day for 365 to represent a calendar year, and using seasonal colors and so forth.

Well, I knew I'd never stick with THAT, so I decided to bastardize the intent, and created by own "calendar quilt" - with each color block representing a month of the year, and my interpretation of it. :-)

What do you think?



The rundown...

January: snowy blues
February: Valentine reds
March: greening of the garden
April: Easter colours
May: pink flowers (I love pink, and it's my birthday month, ergo, pink flowers!)
June: Relay for Life purple
July: Red, white and blue for July 4
August: I just want to sink to the bottom of a swimming pool in August, hence the colours!
September: the leaves starting to turn yellow
October: Halloween colours
November: fall tones and Thanksgiving colours
December: Christmas fabrics!

I'm really pleased with the colour selections and how it turned out - done entirely while the Winter Olympics were on, even!

Latest Reads

What have I been ticking off the reading list lately? Let's see...


Echo Park by Michael Connelly

I listened to this Harry Bosch story, which centers on a murder case in Echo Park, and the sudden admittance of guilt by a man condemned to death for other murders. The problem is, Harry doesn't believe him...a good story, but the audiobook was scratched, so I kept missing key passages!







Letter from Point Clear by Dennis McFarland

This is one of those books that isn't really *about* anything, but the writing and setting is so great, you find yourself sucked in anyway. A trio of adult siblings try to come to grips with each other's lives and choices, in often hilarious manner. The brother was by far my favorite character...







Dreaming in Hindi by Katherine Russell Rich

I'm not sure what I was expecting of this novel (a travelogue, some humor, descriptions of language, food, sights), but I found myself disappointed in the stilted prose and lack of connection I felt to the narrator or her journey to India to learn a new language. I hate being disappointed. :-(







 Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer by Jane Brocket

I'm a huge fan of Brocket's blog (yarnstorm), so I was eager to read this book, which talks about and includes recipes from foodstuffs found in British children's books. All those Enid Blyton books of my youth kept bubbling up in my mind as I read about all the foods from the stories. A true delight to me, but would definitely be lost on US readers, I think....







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Book Review: One Good Dog

One Good Dog by Susan Wilson

As someone who has been a "pack of two" for exactly a year today (one year ago, I brought Zoe home!), this was a timely piece of fiction for me to read, provided by the lovely folks at The Book Report Network who sent me an advanced copy.

Adam March is that stereotypical high flyer - rich, successful with the plastic wife and the snotty child and the constant need to acquire more, more, more...until in just one ill-timed moment, everything goes awry in his life.

And Chance, a pit bull who's never known anything but a life of dogfighting and cages, has just one ill-timed moment to make a break for it, and everything changes in his life.

So what happens when a down on his luck guy meets a down on his luck dog?

A great story. :-)

This is written in alternating chapters - first Adam's point of view, and then, even more interestingly, from Chance's point of view. I particularly enjoyed Chance's chapters, and found myself looking at Zoe and thinking "Omigod, is that what she thinks?" or "Omigod, no wonder she looks at me like I'm nuts sometimes!". What a great - albeit fictional - insight into the minds of our faithful companions. Wilson has does a great job of breaking down these two characters, then rebuilding the trust and ultimate good in both of them.

This is a great read - honest, heartwrenching,heartwarming and ultimately uplifting. Made me give Zoe a big cuddle after I turned the last page.

Highly recommended!

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New Library Signage

You know you're a library geek when you get superstoked about new library signage!

I lovelovelove the new signage we purchased to replace that blue lego crap we've had since opening our doors 20+ years ago. Pretty, no?

Book Review: The Power of Half

The Power of Half by Kevin and Hannah Salwen

First off, this isn't something everyone could do.

But we should WANT to.

15-year-old Hannah, daughter of Kevin and Joan (who have been extremely successful, both financially and employment-wise, in their lives), one day became outraged at hunger and homelessness in Atlanta, and started a chain of events.

Namely, the family downsizing their million-plus dollar home, moving into something smaller, and giving away half the proceeds to a good cause.

The Salwens, as a family (including younger brother Joseph), decided to give up some of their "stuff", move their lives out of the house with the elevator, the huge yard and the master suite, and into a smaller house, so that they could fully fund a program of The Hunger Project in Ghana.

This easy to read nonfiction book details their journey from Atlanta richy-riches to philanthropists to the nth degree, all the way to Ghana and their experiences there, as well as the struggles they encountered bringing their plan to reality.

This read reminded me so much of one of my favorite recent reads, 29 Gifts, but on a much grander scale, and with a sharper focus on one issue. Kevin narrates the bulk of the book, while Hannah imparts exercises, thoughtful questions and her opinions in her sections.

This is an easy, inspiring, thought-provoking read - highly recommended!

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Book Review: Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

This book review is multiple choice! You can either...read the review below or...you can watch my little book review vid below, made for Crucial Pop. If you like the vid review format, let me know. It's something I'd like to play with more this year...

Thanks!

On with the review!

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

The lovely Nicole at The Book Report Network sent me an advanced copy of this book, which I quickly dove into. This is a really absorbing read...Meredith and Nina, two adult sisters, and drawn back home to the Pacific Northwest as their father lays dying. His final request is for their cold, unloving mother, who has never given them the time of day, to tell them her "fairy tale" in its entirety, a story they remember hearing bits of from their childhood.

What follows is Anya's "fairy tale", which is actually the dawn of World War II in Lengingrad where Anya was a girl. The book flips from past to present seamlessly, and the final resolution was quite shocking to me. I thought this was a really engaging, interesting, and at times completely heartbreaking story, framed in the beginning as a fairy tale. I did find myself more drawn to Anya's story than to the present day story, but they were woven together well.

If you like Kristin Hannah, or just like family dramas, I highly recommend this read!

The vid version:



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Chunk O' Book Reviews

I feel like I've been in a reading rut since the beginning of the year, but the last few books are helping things to look up! Let's see what I've had on my nightstand the last few weeks...


The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale

I thought this sounded like a cute concept...she's a Mormon housewife, he's a household name from Hollywood, they meet unexpectedly and become besties. It had it's cute moments and some zingers, but overall, it read REALLY slowly, and seemed to repeat the same scene over and over and over again.







Tempted by Megan Hart

I'd read reviews that Hart was a good author for erotica, so I got a couple of her books to read. Believe it or not, I expected a lot more sex, but Hart really develops her characters, and has several plot lines woven together, not just centering on the erotic. James and Anne have a perfect life, but for a few weeks one summer, Alex joins their lives, and turns it upside down...






The Havanese by Diane Klumb

Well, you know why I read this one! I received this as a Christmas present - great for Havanese owners, though obviously Zoe doesn't look like that fuzzy one on the cover. ;-)








Montana Creeds: Logan by Linda Lael Miller

I've read some of Miller's previous "cowboy" books, but never a contemporary one, so I checked out the first her in "Montana Creeds" series. If you like cowboys, western settings, romance and a bit of suspense, this is for you. Miller's books are easy reads, and I always enjoy them!







Living Oprah by Robyn Okrant

Okay, I really, really enjoyed this title. For one year, Robyn decided to follow every bit of Oprah Winfrey's advice - from her website, her show, her magazine. What follows is a hilarious look at how her life changes for one year, what it costs her (literally!), and what she learned. Fascinating!







What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones

I decided to backtrack and read the first of this mini-series by Sones, which is written entirely in verse, and geared for a YA audience. Again, I was enchanted, engrossed and absolutely loved this book - great for reluctant, or any, reader. What happens when one of the popular girls falls for one of the school's rejects? Find out...







Reckless Abandon by Stuart Woods

You can't go wrong with a Stone Barrington novel, especially an audiobook one! This time, Stone teams up with Florida cop Holly Barker to catch the bad guys, and they have great back and forth in this novel. You can't go wrong with a Stone novel!








The Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadoorian

This was a recommended read from Nat, and it really was a fascinating read. Older couple Ella (who is dying of cancer) and her husband John (who has Alzheimer's) decide to set off on a cross country trek in their 1970s era Leisure Seeker. At times hilarious, poignant and downright sad, this is an absorbing read...







 
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