On to the next Holiday

Hmmmm... Who's the new bird at the feeder? I don't think I can identify him. Stripes, fur, chubby cheeks? Nope not in my bird book. Well as long as he gets along with the other birds and doesn't eat more than his share, he can stay. What's happening - Well, I am not a big fan of Halloween, sorry guys! Never have been. So, my household kind of skips over that "Holiday" and I use that term loosely. I've never considered it an actual holiday. Its OK, all the kids that I watch know I don't celebrate it. We make up for it at Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Martina, on the other hand, dressed as a homeless person for Halloween!


On Sunday, Ashley, Micah, Glen and I all went to the corn maze. It was fun doing something all together. This is an areal view of it when it was green. It was all dried and brown when we went. It is a 10 acre maze! If you are not from the area, those are the NY Finger Lakes. We live right between the two biggest ones (Cayuga and Seneca). Knitting - Still knitting Christmas gifts! Can't post any pictures, sorry. But after Christmas I will post pictures of everything I had knitted. Kind of a catch up post. I did finish my scarf to go with my hat. so now I have a nice set for the winter. I really like them. I love it when you actually like something you knit!

People have asked me if I sell the things I knit.. No. It would not pay to try to sell them. To recover the cost of yarn (expensive these days) and the time put into it, who would want to buy a $20.00 hat or $30.00 socks? I would have to sell them for very cheep and It wouldn't be worth it. So I just enjoy making them as gifts.



Books I have read - Before the Read-a-thon I was reading "The Well and the Mine" stopped reading it so I could read other books, then tried to go back to it and couldn't get into it. This is a book that I have been wanting to read so I think I will try again in a couple months. Instead I read "Place Last Seen" by Charlotte McGuinn Freeman. I give this book 3 1/2 stars, 50% good and 50% boring. It was about a child, 6 yrs old with Down Syndrome gets lost in the Sierra Nevada's on a hiking trip with her family. It was all "Search and Rescue" stuff which I love! It was the other part - the flash backs, that was boring. It did have a good ending though.

Caution, SPOILERS below!!!!!!
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I have actually read quite a few books about lost children, search and rescue, abductions, etc. and they ALL have happy endings. That's what people want. They children are always found, alive, and returned to their parents. So, the whole time I am reading this I am thinking, she will be found as always. Everyone thinks the mom is a little "off", I thought she just seemed like a normal grieving mom. They don't like to have the parents help in a search because of lack of training, fear that they will ruin the evidence and throw off the search. Through the whole book the mom insists that she can find her because she know her daughter. So naturally I really thought the mom would be the one to find her, showing everyone! But... Months later one of the searchers goes back again and finally finds her body. Sad, very sad but refreshing to have a new daring ending! I am glad it ended this way. Because life doesn't have a happy ending.

Contests - Nikola at "Nikola's Book Blog" is giving away 6 copies of "Coffeehouse Angel" by Suzanne Selfors. Sounds like a real fun book, I want to win! Also - Dar at "Peeking Between the Pages" is having a couple different giveaways. 5 copies of "The Gate House" by Nelson Demille, and one copy of "Pendragon's Banner" by Helen Hollick. So stop over there and check them out!

Speaking of contests.... I won a book from Peeking between the pages!!!! I am excited to win this book! It is "The Heretic's Daughter" by Kathleen Kent. So, you see, it can be done, you can win! But you don't win by not trying.

Top 5 - I love Thanksgiving so much I thought I would get started on my top 5 Thanksgiving lists. Top 5 favorite things to cook for Thanksgiving dinner (may not be your fav. to eat, just to cook). And if you are new to my blog, post your top 5 in your comments so we can all see them.

1. Stuffing - I love to make a huge bowl of stuffing, its pretty good if I do say so myself.
2. Candied yams - my family always request this, it is kind of fun to make. If you want my recipe let me know, its easy!
3. Pumpkin pie - NOT from a can but from an actual pumpkin! Hmmm imagine that!
4. Squash - its so easy, split it open pop it in the oven
5. Brown and serve rolls - again, my kinda cooking, put them on a tray and pop them in the oven.

Notice I don't have the turkey on there. I love turkey, and I do a great job of roasting one but it is not my favorite to do, kind of a pain in the butt. What are your favs to cook? I think I will do a recipe exchange post, maybe next time.

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Back to normal

I am posting a day early (Tues. being my usual day). My hubby has been working in PA for the past week! I didn't see him for days! He came home on Sat. and I couldn't even spend time with him because of the Read-a-thon. So... he is taking tomorrow off. As soon as I get the daycare kids off to school we are taking off. We will go to the new WalMart in Waterloo that everyone has been to but me! Go to Tim Horton's for coffee and goodies! etc. I will have to be back by 2:00 so I can prepare for the kids after school. But it should be a fun day for us.

What's happening - Wow, what a weekend! It was fun doing the read-a-thon and I would (will) do it again. It was exhausting! There were times when I think I was sleeping with my eyes open and there were times where I was reading and my eyes were slits (I swear they were open 1/16 of an inch). For a while Ashley was falling asleep and I would keep her awake then there was a while when I was falling asleep and she would keep me awake. It was a real good time for us to be together. It was so much better with another person. Next time Ashley is going to make sure she has the whole weekend off.
Me - concentrating on "Goat Song"

Ashley - Enjoying "Big Boned"

Martina - She doesn't like to be left out of anything!

She says she is soaking the information up through her fur. I don't believe her.


When it ended At 8:00 am on Sunday Ashley and I took naps for about 1 1/2 hrs. then she went home. I took a shower, changed my clothes, and cleaned up the living room and kitchen. I turned on the football game (the Steelers) and went back to sleep. I slept through the whole game. I awoke just in time to see them win and walking off the field, 27 - 17. Yea, Go Steelers. They are now 5-2.

My husband called me around 5:00, said he would be home around 7:30 so I went back to sleep!
When I woke up at 7:00 I realized I had to go get milk. When I was driving I couldn't read the road signs! everything was blurry. I think I was brain dead. My eyes were tired.
Sun. night we watched Amazing Race and my recording of Trauma and went to bed. I slept real hard! But I felt fine the next morning.

Books I have read during the Read-a-thon -
Roseflower Creek by J L miles - 5 stars, excellent book. It was about living in poverty and abuse. Very, very sad book. I can't even say it had a happy ending because the ending was even sad! Very well written, loved the Characters, very good discriptions, I felt likeI was right there. I have "Cold Rock River" also written by her, I think I will read that next after I finish "The well and the Mine"

Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch - 5 stars loved this book as well! It was about debutant gone wild. Kinda like what happens when the grow up. Funny, sad, well written story. With a happy ending! LOL

Goat Song: a seasonal life, a short history of herding, and the art of making cheese by Brad Kessler - I gave this book 4 stars (I may have given it more if I didn't have to read it so fast) I liked it but it was a little slow in spots. Otherwise it was very interesting! I love books about farm life and animals. There were a lot of facts in here that I didn't know, so I learned some things.

Crossing Over by Ruth Irene Garrett - I also gave this one 4 stars. It was a good memoir but I felt that she generalized too much. If the reader didn't know anything about the Amish they would think that they were all like this. Good thing I live among the Amish and I know better. I believe her story! I just know that they are not all like that. She had a bad experience so I am sure it tainted her life. It was an interesting book and gave some good details of Amish life. OH! also, she was from the "Old Order Amish" and that makes a difference too. I have another book of hers "Born Amish" which I will read as well.

I started "Busy Woman Seeks Wife" but quit reading it. It is British and I do not care for British books. I don't know why, I just haven't found one yet I liked. It started out slow and never got better, wasn't funny or interesting.
Also started "Night Flight" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (Also wrote The Little Prince, one of my favorite books!) but was reading it during a very tired time so I think I will start it again. It is a very small, thin book.

That wraps up my reading episode! What a trip.

Knitting - I made a gorgeous hat! which I just love. Now I am working on a scarf to match. I don't think you can tell but the yarn has a little bit of sparklies in it. It is very soft wonderful yarn! Would definitely use it again.



Top 5 - websites you go to regularly (yes, you can only pick 5!) and not counting email.
1. Blogs
2. Shelfari
3. Paperbackswap
4. Ravelry
5. Liberarything

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Finished!

Wrap up survey

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? The middle of the night, around 2-3:00am
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Roseflower Creek and Girls in Trucks
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Nope, loved it
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? The cheerleaders wer great and some of the challenges were fun.
5. How many books did you read? 4 total and started 2 others
6. What were the names of the books you read? Roseflower Creek, Girls in Trucks, Goat Song, Crossing Over, Night Flight (1/4 way through) started Busy Woman Seeks Wife
7. Which book did you enjoy most? both Roseflower Creek and Girls in Trucks
8. Which did you enjoy least? Busy Woman Seeks Wife
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? No, they were great!
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? I would love to do it again if my schedule permits it.
What role would you be likely to take next time? Reader, for sure!


Summing it up -

total hrs. reading - 20 hrs. and 2 min.
total hrs. blogging (and reading blogs) - 2 hrs. and 58 min.
total hrs. doing stuff (not reading time) - 1 hr. (this was bathroom, getting food,making coffee, kissing husband goodbye, etc.)

total pages read - 1,038

total books - 4 (and part of two others)

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6:45 AM

Can't hardly keep my eyes open.
We had some oatmeal with my husband before he left for work.
It kinda revived me for a little bit.

940 pages so far!!! Woo hoo! I should make 1000 hopefully.

At 8:00 I will nap for a while. Then I will be back for my final Read-a-thon post.

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Late, or should I say - early

4:35am dead tired, so hard to stay awake.
I have read 844 pages so far.

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Tired, so tired, are we done yet?

2:30am, I have read 744 pages total. 64 since my last count.

I drank some juice.

"That's all I have to say about that."

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Children's books

Mini challenge from - Chronicle of an Infant Bibliophile
5 of your favorite children's books -
1. The Little Prince - In my opinion, the best children's book of all times!
2. James and the Giant Peach - Roaldl Dahl is an awsome writer but this was my favorite
3. Heidi - I didn't read this till I was teenager! I loved it and cried through half the book
4. Ramona the Pest - Who doesn't love Beverly Cleary?
5. The Pokey Little Puppy - I remember this story as a very young child



So far read 680 pages total! On page 126 of Goat Song.
Ate an apple for a snack.

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Yoga

Yoga mini challenge from Jehara.
Ashley and I took 10 to do this Yoga challenge.
Funny coincidence because I was going to suggest to my daughter that we do some stretches or exercising. So this was perfect. AND my daughter just happened to have a Yoga Journal magazine in her book bag!
We did - A Rise and shine sequence by Kira Ryder, consisting of poses such as - Baddha Konasana, Virabhadrasana, Bhujangasana, or in laymans terms - Bound angle pose, warrior pose, and Cobra pose.
It was fun and a good pic-me-up.

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I don't know how many hours, don't know what time it is

Total pages read - 597
Goat song, Brad Kessler - 43 pages
Busy woman Seeks Wife, Annie Sanders - 47 pages

Goat Song is great, a non fiction book about a husband and wife running a goat farm.
Busy Woman Seeks Wife, I don't really care for. Its British. Nothing about the british, I love the accent, LOL I just don't care for British books. So here's one for paperback swap.

The pizza tasted great! I didn't realize how hungry I was till I took that first bite.
Going to have ice cream real soon, my second favorite food! yum!
Is this reading challenge an excuse to gain a fews pounds? I will have to some serious exercising in the days following.

Talk to you in a few! Hours that is.

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Midway

Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now? Goat Song - by Brad Kessler

2. How many books have you read so far? Two whole books and started the one I am on now

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? To be honest, i am looking forward to all my books! I got some really great books, ones that I have been wanting to read

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? Not really, I don't work on Sat. My hubby went and got pizza. I got snacks ahead of time.

5. Have you had many interruptions? nope

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? How quickly time is flying by! I expected it to go so slow but I am amazed how fast it is going.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? This is my first time so I really don't have much to judge it on, alot of the challenges are to time consuming.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? HMMM nothing really, I think things are going real well.

9. Are you getting tired yet? I almost started to doze a couple of times but snapped out of it pretty quick.

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered? I keep changing chairs, I keep getting up and walking around, blogging every couple of hrs. I think the cheerleaders are great!

I have read 507 pages so far, only 64 this section because of eating pizza and my daughter coming back. I just started "Goat Song" by Brad Kessler, I am on pg. 30

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10 1/2 hrs. down!

I've read 443 pages so far, 89 pages since last post. I am almost finished with "Girls in Trucks" I love it. Hmmm, well I think I am consistent - 80-90 pages per post. I could do better. I think my problem is that I am liking my books too much. So I am reading them slowly as not to miss anything.

I ate some chocolate and had a cappuccino.

My daughter will be back in about an hour. Then we will order pizza and my servant husband will obediently go get it. Fetch, good boy! OOO I am getting sarcastic in my reading tiredness.

Get back to ya around 8:30 (NY time)

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Its 4:30 in read-a-thon land

354 pages total so far. 85 since my last post. I am on pg. 118 of "Girls in Trucks" I like it alot so far.

Not doing any mini challenges at this time, they all take up too much time. I will wait for a good quick one.

My hubby came home and brought me chocolate!!!!!! Oh, you wonderful man you! You knew just what a reading maniac needed! I think I might go make some coffee to go with it.

Thank you so much to all the cheerleaders leaving comments. You guys are great!

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6 hours

Going well. I did start to doze off once but snapped out of it.
I have read 271 pages total (96 since the last post). I finished "Roseflower Creek" very very sad!
I am now reading "Girls in Trucks" by Katie Crouch. I have been wanting to read this book ever since I won it.

My snack list - pop corn, chips and salsa, apples, ice cream, Pizza for dinner that my wonderful husband will go get for us. orange pineapple juice, cappuccino, and coffee.

Shelley (a blogger friend) commented on my Sting music. Yes, I love to listen to it everytime I come here to post, it inspires me to go on!

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first mini challenge (hour 4)

I'm up to hour 4. I'm on page 179. So that would be 90 pages since my last post. That's a little better ( think I posted a little before 10:30. So really 90 pages in 1 1/2 hrs. (aprox.)

Ashley left a while ago. Its not as fun without her here. It was great because when one of us had to go to the bathroom the other one would read out loud. Kinda like tag teaming. She will be back around 7:30 tonight, after work.

The book i am reading is so sad, its about abuse. I will write full revies on all the books I read after the read-a-thon is over. Talk to you later!



Mini Challenge - Coming from Barts Bookshelf To make a sentence using 3 book titles.
Here's mine - Where willows grow, busy woman seeks wife without reservations.

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After 2 hrs.

Woo Hoo! 2 hrs. and 20 min. I have read 89 pages (must be reading too slow). I am reading Roseflower Creek by J L Miles. It is very good! Oh maybe I didn't read as many pages because I was bawlin' half way through. I had to stop to blow my nose and wipe the tears out of my eyes so I could see the pages again (thanks - Missy! I didn't know it was gonna be so sad).
Well gotta run, back to reading.

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Tomorrow's the big Read-a-thon!

8:00 tomorrow morning (Sat.) I will begin reading. I will read till I can't read no more. I will read till my eyes can't stay open. I will read till my body aches and I am stiff. Doesn't this sound like fun? Then when I am done reading at 8:00 on Sun. I will probably take a nap, then think about which book I will read next!
Some exciting news - my daughter is going to do this with me. She has to work right in the middle of it but she will come over before for a few hrs. and come over in the evening. She will stay the night and we will read together, side by side, trying to keep each other awake. This is her blog so you can check on her too - diagonally parked in a parallel universe

All but one of my library books came in. I am so excited I can hardly wait. I kept looking at them just wanting to start reading one.

We have lots of small snacks planned to help keep us awake - apples (these are good for a quick pick-me-up), popcorn, chips and salsa, cappuccino!, and reg. coffee (but not too much at once, don't want to get burn out).




I hope this does not turn out to be us!!!!


We are both going to keep journals next to us so we can keep tract of what we are reading, how many pages and times.

My first post on Sat. will probably be around 10:00 so check back to see how I am doing. Then I hope to post every couple hrs. or so.

Wish me luck and talk to you later!

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Read-A-Thon!

As I mentioned last week, I will be joining the Read-A-Thon this time. I wanted to do it in April but we went away that weekend. When I talked to my husband to make sure this would be a good weekend, I told him I would like to join a 24 hr. read-a-thon. He said "So what is going to be any different than normal?" Such a smart a$$! He already picks on me about reading while I am cooking (that is why I picked that picture above). Now when he comes home and sees me reading while cooking, I say "I'm practicing, honey!"
It is from Oct. 24-25. I am a little confused about the time??? If you are in the same time zone as me and doing the read-a-thon (Dar? Missy?) What time are we suppose to start? I found the time zone chart (8:00 am, right?) So my first posting will be around 10:00ish. I have never done this before so I will learn as I go. The general idea is to read for 24 hrs. straight (or as much as you can). Yes, you do get bathroom breaks and food breaks. And you are suppose to check out other peoples blogs and regularly post on your own blog. You should keep tract of what you are reading, how many pages, etc. I think there are prizes, and challenges but I am not sure how they work yet. I will be posting on my blog probably every other hr. (we'll see). So... if you are doing the read-a-thon or even if you are not, please come check out my blog on those two days and please cheer me on and give me encouragement! My friends and family can call me a couple of times to wake me up, if you will!

I ordered some books from the library for this occasion as well as having some of my own.
So here is the complete list -

Books I own-
Where the Willows Grow - Kim Vogel Sawyer (Christian Historical Fiction)
Girls in Trucks - Katie Crouch (southern womens fiction)
Mission Possible - Marie Laszlo (Memoir about a missionary in Papua New Guinea)
Crossing Over - Ruth Irene Garrett (Memoir about an Amish woman leaving the Order)
Busy Woman Seeks Wife - Annie Sanders (Chick-Lit)
Rose Flower Creek - J.L. Miles (just added!, Young Adult Fiction)


Library Books-
Into the Wilderness: The Long Hunters - Rosanne Bittner (Hist. Fiction)
Without Reservations: the Travels of an Independent Woman - Alice Steinbach (Travel memoir)
So Many Enemies, So Little Time: An American Woman in All the Wrong Places - Elinor Burkett (Travel memoir)
A Barn in New England: making a home on three acres - Joseph Monninger (Memoir)
Night Flight - Antoine de Saint Exupery (Fiction)
Goat Song: A season of life, a short history of herding, and the art of making cheese - Brad Kessler (Non fiction)
Born Amish - Ruth Irene Garrett (Non fiction)
Cold Rock River - J. L. Miles (Young Adult Fiction)
The Salt House: A summer on the dunes of Cape Cod - Cynthia Huntington (Memoir)

I think it is good to have a lot of books so you can pick and choose.









This is the hat I made from the yarn I won from Toni's site "A Blog of my own". It is also a pattern that she had on her site as one that she had made, I love it!

Martina says - "This cardboard box my not be suitable for the homeless, but it is just fine for me!"

It's squirrel time again!

***My next blog post will be on Fri. to update you on the read-a-thon that starts on Sat. morning. Please check back to cheer me on.

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A Day in Watkins Glen

My daughter and I took a ride to Watkins Glen (1/2 hour from our home). We walked out on the pier.
My beautiful daughter by the lake.
My naughty daughter being locked up. Bad girl!
That's me on the left.
We walked all the way out there! My hubby and I have done this before but I didn't think my daughter had. So I didn't tell her where we were going and took her out there. When we started getting close to the end of the pier and closer to the rocks she asked "Where are we going, what are we doing???"
She loved it. I think she looks right at home, don't you?

I think is one of the best pictures taken of me! Of course, my face isn't showing!
This is my daughter's favorite picture of the day!
This is my favorite picture of the day!
Ashley took most of the pictures (also the picture I am using now as my header). I took the ones of her of course. We had a great day. I wanted to show her fun beautiful things you can do, not far from home, for free!




Knitting - My sweater is done, except for blocking. My daughter is modeling it for me. I really like it. It fits real nice and is very comfortable. I still have to buy a clasp for the front. Which I am having trouble finding. I will probably order one off the internet.



Books I have read - "In the Land of Cotton" by Martha A Taylor. GREAT book - 5 stars!
This book is based on the Authors own life!
Girl meets boy. Girl and boy become friends. Girl falls in love with boy.
Girl is white, boy is black. It is the 1950's and their love is forbidden.
This book has a lot of history in it! Kennedy, Johnson, Martin L. King Jr., Malcolm X, Black Panthers, the Vietnam War, and the civil right's movement. If you love American History during this time period, this is one of the best books to read. Better than High school history, that's for sure!

"Wilderness Run" by Maria Hummel. This book is about two young people during the Civil War. Isabel "Bel" and her cousin Laurence. They spend their childhood growing up together. No one can know of the forbidden love between cousins. Laurence goes off to fight for the north. To fight for others freedom. While home waiting for her cousin's return, Isabel falls in love with her french tutor from Canada. He too joins the Army and is off to war. Isabel decides to volunteer as a nurse. She finds both her cousin and tutor in an army hospital. I didn't think I was going to like the "war" side of this story, but I wasn't too bothered by it. The book was written by a women and I think that helped. I did like this book and read it in only 3 days. I gave it 4 stars.


Reading through the states - I AM DONE!!!!! All 50 states in 9 1/2 months!
These are my top 10 favorite books I read (not in any order) -
In the Land of Cotton
Skin
William Henry is a Fine Name
Children of the Dust: An Okie Family Story
The Help
A Claim of Her Own
North of Beautiful
Hit by a Farm
The Believers
Waiting for Summer's Return

Wow, only three of them are not Historical! Well, I guess that tells you where my reading preferences are!

I am going to join the read-a-thon! I am so excited! It is from Oct. 24-25. I will tell you more about it in next weeks post.
Here is a few of the books I am going to have on hand for reading -
Where the Willows Grow - Kim Vogel Sawyer (Christian Historical Fiction)
Girls in Trucks - Katie Crouch (southern womens fiction)
Mission Possible - Marie Laszlo (Memoir about a missionary in Papua New Guinea)
Crossing Over - Ruth Irene Garrett (Memoir about an Amish woman leaving the Order)
Busy Woman Seeks Wife - Annie Sanders (Chick-Lit)

I think I have a good variety so I don't get bored! Of course I am not going to read all of these all they way through. I will just have them on hand as well as magazines just so I can switch back and forth. Check in next week for more info!

*"The 99 Red Balloons" is for my daughter!

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Your Vote Counts (What is this, a reality show?)!

Martina, sweet as usual.


Another thing I collect is antique puzzles. My friend Pat gave me bunch of them a couple years ago. This is one I am working on now. If you have never done an antique puzzle, they are HARD!


What's happening - Well... Sigh, our friends are gone. They should be in Texas by now. We went over to their house, I think 3 -4 times, last week to help them pack and get loaded. I didn't cry saying good bye (the night before they left), I cried the next morning. I think it sunk in that they were really gone. The "new people" are already moved in. It is also sad to think that we will never go to that house again. I do hope we get to visit them in TX. I know we will still be seeing them, they will be coming to NY because 1/2 of their family is here.

Good news, well maybe. There is a couple who might be interested in our lake property. They have gone to see it twice now and have asked for copies of deeds and titles and such. Sooo please pray for us. I am hoping they will put down an offer. There is a property in "Tug Hill" (it is 1/2 the distance) that we are interested in. But we need to sell the lake prop. first. I will keep you all updated.

The Steelers finally won another game. So we are 2-2 now.

Knitting - I've started a few Christmas gifts, which I can't show on here until after Christmas. My sweater is almost done, I will show pictures next week.

Books I have read - Lick Creek, by Brad Kessler. I thought this book was really good. Gave it 4 stars.The only thing I didn't like about it was that you could tell it was written by a man. The main character was a young woman and the author just didn't get it right for me. He made her very insensitive (kinda like a man, Ha!) actually her character was very tomboyish. It took place in a remote mining country in West Virginia in the late twenties. After the coal mine deaths of her father, brother, and her first boyfriend, Emily struggles to support herself and her mother. When construction begins on the power lines, she blames the intruders for everything that has gone wrong - for her mother's increasing withdrawal from life and for lives already lost. Then, an electrical worker is struck by lightning. Brought to their farmhouse unconscious and badly injured, Joseph is taken in by Emily's mother, and Emily is intrigued by the mystery of his past, his immigration from Russia, his own mother's deportations, and the world of immigrants forced to flee persecution in their homelands.

Contests - Dar at Peeking Between the Pages is having a few giveaways! The two newest ones are - 5 copies of The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent,
and - 1 signed copy of Crossing Washington Square by Joanne Rendell.
Both of these books sound great! There are still a couple other giveaways too, so be sure to check them all out.
Toni from A Circle of Books is giving away 2 copies of "How to Rule the World From Your Couch" by Laura Day, she is also giving away 5 copies of The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent.

Reading Through The States - One more book to go!!!!!!!! I can't tell you how excited I am. Since I'm having trouble getting my planned book for Vermont, I thought I would do something different. I got 4 books from the library that take place in VT and I thought I would let all of you choose which one I would read. So here are all the books with a link to the Amazon description of what it is about.
*Wilderness Run - Maria Hummel
*Grace Notes - Charlotte Vale-Allen
*The Boy on the Bus - Deborah Schupack
*The Round Barn - Suzi Wizowaty
Please vote in your comment (or email me). Which ever book gets the most votes, I will read. I do still plan on reading "Casting Spells" and the second book "Laced With Magic", just after the reading challenge is over.

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