Books, Books, Books!

Obviously I needed to catch up on my book reviews since I've been away from the computer for a week. No really great reason why except that I took a break while I waited to receive the computer I'll be using for my new contract job and can get back to earning some real money. I've even been lax about reading blogs this week, but I'll be catching up this weekend and hopefully will be back to normal after Easter. For now, enjoy some reviews of books I've read lately. It's a bit of a hodge-podge, but then my taste in reading materials is pretty eclectic.

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The Ship in the Hill by William L. Sullivan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


(Disclaimer: Won through Goodreads "First Reads", signed copy from author.



Another book I'd like to give 3.5 stars to if I could. I loved how this book blended the excavation of an actual Viking ship and the lives that the women found in the ship might have led in the 800's. Weaving some of what really happened, myth, legend and good old fashioned imagination the author brings to life the story of Asa of Agthir and the fictional Dr. Kirstin Williams. I think the author did a great job of taking the Viking legends and sagas handed down through time and used them as a starting point to flesh out the characters from the 7th century in the novel.



What I didn't like about the novel was how the people in the 20th century were "linked" to the people in the 7th century. I realize it helped to move the underlying plot, but seemed a bit contrived at times. But it didn't bother me too much, since it's a technique I've seen used by many a romance author who write stories that involve "time travel" (even though this book didn't).



All in all I enjoyed this book, it was interesting and well written enough to keep me reading well into the night. Plus I feel like I learned something about a part of the world that I didn't know that much about and it made me curious about Viking lore and history.


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The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The first in a series of mystery novels set in Africa finds Precious Ramotswe setting up shop as a "Lady Detective" after her father's death, definately not something anyone thought she would do with her inheritance. Along the way we learn about Mma Ramotswe's life before becoming the first lady detective in Gaborone. The main mystery surrounds the disappearance of a young boy from a small town in the region, but throughout the book "smaller" mysteries, which really aren't mysteries in the traditional sense of the word, are revealed. Through it all Mma Ramotswe's down to earth intelligence and good sense shine as she helps those who come to her for assistance.



I'd really give this one 3.5 stars if I could. It's a fairly easy read, not too taxing on the brain. I liked that the author stayed true to the setting, giving me as a reading more insight to the area and the people. I'd like to read more of these and will probably try to get them from the library.

Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure I got this one free from Amazon on my Kindle. Too lazy to check and see.

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Enchanting the Lady by Kathryne Kennedy

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Some romance, some fantasy, some magic, some Victorian England and a hot man who's a shape-shifter...what's not to like? I have to admit that I thought this was more a YA book until I hit the first hint of sex and realized it was meant for adults.



This wasn't a challenging read, I had most of it figured out pretty quickly, but it was interesting and fun, and just what a friend likes to call "good brain candy".



I liked Felicity, the main female character. She has spunk, even though it seems she's almost invisible to everyone until she meets Terrence Blackwell, a shape-shifting baronet who is also a spy for the royal family. Terrance can't seem to forget the beautiful woman he can see through the spell cast by relic-magic, the type of magic that killed his brother. Terrence is a were-lion and his character reflects his animal nature, which made sense and made the story even more interesting in my opinion.



The author does a great job of describing an alternate Victorian England that is filled with magical peers and were-animals, where even the buildings aren't what they seem. This is the first in a series that I downloaded from Amazon when it was offered as a free promotional and is no longer offered free. I liked it enough that I'll be downloading the other books in the series soon since this really gets a 3.5 in my book!


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I started a new knitting project, but I can't show it off yet. It's a present for a friend that I'm fairly certain reads my blog. Also, I haven't taken any pictures. I do have some stitching updates that I need to blog about so be on the lookout for those. 

HallowEden Happy Dance

Can't believe I've actually finished another piece but...well....I have! This was one I started with my DF Jackie when we were on our retreat in February. We'd purchased it while in Arizona at The Attic's retreat in January. I loved stitching this piece and can't wait to decide on a frame and get it on the wall.

HallowEden by Plum Street Samplers

I love how Adam has a leaf but it takes a pumpkin for Eve! It's stitched on 40 ct Purely Primitive Newcastle with the called for Crescent Colours floss. I did do some creative cutting with the Candy Corn used for the pumpkins so they didn't turn out too yellow. I also used Brandied Pears for my first and last initial in the alphabet.

That's all for today. I'm still waiting on all the paperwork to be completed so I can get started learning what's going on there. Until then I'm getting some things done here at the house although today was a bit of a loss since I had a migraine almost all day. Hopefully I've got it under control this evening and won't have any more problems with it this week. Thanks everyone for stopping by and leaving comments I love reading them! Have a great evening and Thursday.

Lots Going On

No really, there has been. There was the Clay County Fair, two Jacksonville Symphony concerts, a quick visit from my aunt & uncle on their way to summer in Michigan, oh and I got an offer for a contract through the end of the year that sounded very interesting and I've been getting all the paperwork for that done. But ya'll just want to see pictures.

Let's start with how mom and dad's anniversary sampler turned out when framed.

An Emblem of Love by Ellen Chester of With My Needle

It's so hard to get a really good picture of this since I ended up putting it under glass. The colors really don't show through in this picture as deep and beautiful as they really are. There was a small problem with the frame so it was ready until the Tuesday before our county fair started, which was the last day you could enter things in for showing. Mom, Dad and I went to the framers to pick it up and then take it directly to the fair grounds. Mom said she almost cried then, but didn't thinking if she did I would as well as the mother and daughter team that do our framing. It's now hanging on a wall in our house and they both really love it. Plus I did manage to keep it a secret, neither of them knew I was working on it.

Speaking of the fair, I took a few other things and did well in the ribbon department.

Left: Entries and ribbons awarded, Right: in exhibit hall

As you can see I took Traditional Elegance, Little Green Acorns, An Emblem of Love, Peacock Pinkeep Drum and Linen Sewing Book (entered as one item) and my Traveling Woman shawl. I'm pretty happy with the results.

Since I last posted I also finished La-D-Da's Briar Rabbit.

I love how this turned out and can't wait to decide on a frame. I think I know what I want but not positive. It will end up on the same wall as A Stitcher's Row. I finished this in record time, mainly because that's all I stitched on. I started on March 28th and finished it on April 7th. Crazy right? And I had to stitch the majority of the bunny twice since I messed it up and couldn't figure out how to make it work without ripping and restitching.

I'm not sure why I'm on the kick to only stitch on one thing at a time but it's continuing with HallowEden. I'm really close to having it finished and picked it back up after I finished Briar Rabbit. Here's a peek as of this morning.

I hope to get this one finished at least by the end of this week. We'll see. Last week I was asked to return to ING as a contractor and jumped at the opportunity. It's with the same group I worked with last and I'll be doing something a bit different. I am hoping all the paperwork gets completed and my computer arrives soon so I can start working. Yep, I'll be mainly working from home again which is another reason I jumped at this job. I like working from home, I have a home office so it all works out really well. Plus have you seen the price of gas? It's 33 miles from my house to the office in Jacksonville and my truck gets like 15 mpg on that trip. Ugh! Not having to go into the office every day is really nice, not just because it saves me some money, but time as well, those 33 miles take almost an hour to drive. So I don't have almost 2 hours of drive time every day or the expense of the gas plus a job that sounds interesting with a group of people I like. Just a great blessing.

I'd like to also thank Lee for including me in her March Favorite Posts. What an honor and so unexpected. If you've never checked out her blog run right over there and enjoy. And be sure to see what other bog entries were her favorites last month, she always finds some great posts!

That's all for now, I'm headed to a meeting a church that I'm hoping won't last too long. Hope everyone has had a great week and has been getting some time with your fiber project of choice!

SBQ: April Question

Do you keep records of your finishes?  We are so lucky to have so many record-keeping tools at our disposal to record our accomplishments.  So if you do, what recording methods do you use?  What do you think is important to record when you've finished a design? 



For years I used a program called CrossMagic to keep track of my stitching patterns, projects that I've started (and finished), floss and silk threads. Unfortunately the owner of this program hasn't made any updates so it doesn't work on my newest laptop. For now I managed to upload the pattern and project data to Excel so I can keep it up there until I can maybe build a new database for me to use. This final part could take awhile. I've taken a beginning SQL class online but that was a year ago and since I haven't really used it a lot I've probably forgotten most of it. I figure I can get a good book to help me remember and get it all worked out.

Finally A Book I Really Liked

Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book was a very nice surprise, partly because I've been reading a lot of ok but not good much less great books and partly because I really wasn't expecting to like it quite as much as I did. If I could give it 4.5 starts I would.



Rachel Morgan is the kind of character I like in my paranormal with a bit of thriller books. She's surprisingly more "human" than "witch" and she doesn't even realize it. She's tough, but a bit vulnerable. And she's honest, and steadfast (which is not a word you see often but I think it describes her perfectly.) She certainly can get herself into some interesting situations, living in an old church with a vamp qualifies as interesting in my book. Throw in some pixies in the garden, an old witch across the street, a rat turned human (or would that be a human turned rat turned human), a very interesting bad guy (or is he the really bad guy?), some more really mean witches and a demon and it's a fun ride from start to finish.



I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of secrets all the characters really have as this series progresses because that's what's going to make this all very interesting.

I downloaded a free copy of this book from Amazon to my Kindle.

View all my reviews

Time to Have some Fun! 2KCBWDAY7

Day seven: 3rd April. Your knitting and crochet time.  2KCBWDAY7
Write about your typical crafting time. When it is that you are likely to craft? 

Well the answer to that question is whenever I can. Seriously, I rarely like to just sit and do nothing. I almost always carry something with me to a doctor's visit, either an ornament I'm stitching or a small knitting or crochet project. I always carry multiple projects with me on trips. I stitch, knit or crochet when I'm watching TV, listening to a book on my iPod, hanging out with friends, you name it. I've knitted at baseball games, in restaurants, airports, in my car (not while actually driving, but sitting still at long traffic lights during rush hour why yes I have), on a plane, on a boat (took a knitting cruise with my LYS a few years ago), at home, my LYS and I'm sure some retail stores totally non-yarn related. I've pretty much stitched at all those places as well, although I haven't stitched at a baseball game, but I have stitched in the car on the way to a football game, and probably while we tailgated at least once. I love to knit or crochet on something simple during NASCAR races, usually while on a chat with several of my online friends. It has to be simple since I do pay attention to the race more than I normally would other things on TV.

If I'm home I have two places that I gravitate towards when I'm knitting/crocheting/stitching. One is the chair in my bedroom. It's a big, comfy chair with a nice large ottoman that I bought back in the early 90's. I love that chair. I have my Dazor on a rolling floor stand that I bought around the same time as the chair after I saw one at Spirit of Cross Stitch oh so many years ago.

Only mine is cream colored that's it exactly. This was totally worth the investment all those years ago. I have a place to put my drink and quite a few of my supplies close by. I also keep my stitching and knitting bags beside that chair for when I feel the need to switch projects. Right now I've got just the ones that I have in my "rotation".

The other place is in the family room. We have a sectional couch that has 2 recliners. I have staked a claim to the one closest to the fireplace since that's where I can plug in my Ott Lamp and actually see. There's always a project or two (ok or more) laying close by to pick up and work on. That's where the nice HDTV is and where the Wii is, so if I'm going to watch a movie from Netflix or really want to see the yummy men on Hawaii 5-O (just for instance) then I have to go in there to see them in all their yummy glory.

If there is nothing on TV that I want to listen to/watch, then I just listen to a book. One of the women that frequents my LYS turned me on to Audible.com and I love it. Sometimes I listen to several books a month, other times just one, and some months none. I always have several that I haven't heard on my iPod ready to go.

So, there's nothing typical about when I will craft, or maybe there are more people like me than I realize. I think that a lot of my friends are like me, but then again, maybe not.

Something to aspire to. 2KCBWDAY6

Day six: 2nd April. Something to aspire to. 2KCBWDAY6


I really thought about how to answer this. I'm not sure there is much I feel is something to aspire to in the sense that I'm not sure I could do it. There are a few things I don't care to learn how to do in knit, but aspire to...not really. As I said I do want to learn double knitting, but I don't think it will be that hard. I can do color work and think it's pretty, but not my thing all that much.

The only thing I can think of is to make a Pi shawl a la Elizabeth Zimmerman. It's not like there aren't plenty of beautiful pattern already figured out, some are even in my favorites on Ravelry. But for some reason I want to make one that's unique. I have some amazing red lace weight yarn for one, I have the book with the directions and I even started looking at lace patterns to determine which patterns I wanted to use for the different sections, but putting it all together has eluded me thus far. Maybe I haven't been in the right mood to do the math, maybe I just don't want to tackle a BAP in my knitting when I have plenty in my stitching WIPs. I don't know what's holding me back. So maybe that's what I aspire to do, to create my very own version of the Pi shawl. I know I can do it, I just need to get motivated to start the planning and do the math.

If you aren't familiar with what a Pi shawl looks like just Google it and look at the images. There are some very beautiful ones out there.

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A brief stitching note. Today the frogs came to visit after I thought I could keep them away. I was one row off on the bunny for Briar Rabbit. I thought I could make it work, I was wrong, so today I pulled out most of the rabbit and started it over. I am not going to put it aside though and not finish it. I'm determined.

I also tried to move the program I've used for years to keep track of my patterns/charts/kits and what projects I have started to my small laptop. Didn't work since apparently the program won't work on Windows 7 and it certainly won't work on my Mac. I was not amused. So, I used the export feature and created .txt files for the two main databases and then imported them into Excel, at least for now. Maybe, just maybe, I'll create my own database that I can use on any of my machines. It would be a good project to reteach myself how to create and manipulate them. For now I'll just keep these files up to date. I even added in most of my newer purchases and what I've been working on. I made a few changes so I don't have to refer back and forth between the two documents to tell what is going on. I don't know why someone hasn't developed something as nice as the program I've always used that will work on a newer operating system and/or Mac.

Hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend. I'm hoping to make it to our county fair to see how my entries fared. I do know that my knitted item got a blue ribbon since a friend saw it and sent me a picture, but she couldn't get a good look at the stitched items and couldn't see the names so I'll have to see about those.

Friday's Should Be for Books

So from now on, or until I get tired of doing it, I'll  post about books on Fridays. Hopefully I'll actually have something to talk about each Friday. Of course with the knitting blog week I'm participating in this week that means there will be two posts at some point today. Luck ya'll

Murder Off the Books by Evelyn David

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I enjoyed this book. Not high lit by any means, but a good solid mystery. The characters were well written and I really loved the interaction between Mac and his lovely dog Whiskey. The story was convoluted enough to keep me interested and the ending was a bit of a surprise. I hope to read more about Mac and Whiskey solving mysteries and saving the day. (And maybe even getting the girl?)

View all my reviews

Downloaded when offered free on Amazon.

Currently reading: Dead Witch Walking (Rachel Morgan/The Hollows, #1) on Kindle.