Every Secret Thing by Susanna Kearsley (Emma Cole)

Susanna Kearsley, one of my latest author obsessions, wrote a book under a different name--Emma Cole. Who knew? I found out when I was looking her up on Fantastic Fiction. (in case the link doesn't work for you, the website is fantasticfiction.co.uk)

**Important side note here: Fantastic Fiction is an amazing, must-see website for serious and not so serious readers. It lists authors, and all their books. If there is a series by an author, it lists all books in the series in order!!  I read a lot of series, and I like to read them in order. This is an immense help. I also like to read other books an author has written, and this is a good way to discover those books. You can search by author, or by book title. Take a peek, and see what you find.

Back to the subject at hand. Every Secret Thing was originally written under the pseudonym Emma Cole. Now that Susanna Kearsley has made a name for herself, you can find this book under her real name.

The book is a mystery/thriller. Just what I like. Someone mentioned it had a Mary Stewart flavor, and I have to say that I agree. (I love Mary Stewart.)  Every Secret Thing is not like Kearsley's other books which often involve some kind of time travel/reincarnation. But I liked it just as well.

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

I read this for my book group. It is the story of a boy with a severe facial deformity who enters the public school system at middle school age.

The book is told from several of the characters' viewpoints, and I liked how that added depth to each of the characters. One of our local middle schools had every child in the school read the book--they've done this for other books in the past. Wonder is an excellent choice for that.

It was a quick, enjoyable, thought-provoking read. I highly recommend it.

Margaret Ann Fischer Orris

October 8, 1929 to December 18, 2013

My mother died last night. She had a quick illness - in the hospital last Saturday, and home under hospice care on Tuesday. All my siblings were able to make it into town, coming from Washington, Hawaii, and California. We spent yesterday sitting around her bed, laughing and talking. It was the perfect ending to her life.

My mom told everyone her maiden name was Fischer, with a C. She was proud of her German heritage, and used it as the reason for her quick temper. She was feisty, saw the world in black and white, and had a strong sense that the world should be run by what she felt was fair and equal. She was quick to make friends and had a loud, engaging laugh. She instilled high morals and integrity into all of us, and also a strong sense of self worth.

It's 6:00 AM and I did not sleep well last night (as you can imagine). My head is spinning, thinking of many things about her that I loved. That's all I'll write for now. I'll share more later.

Thanksgiving 2012

Bomb: the Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin

Excellent book on the development of the atomic bomb. I learned so much! I had no idea so many spies were involved in the process.  I'm such an optimist I hate believing those things really happen, although I know they do. I just don't like taking off my rose-colored glasses.

This is a Newbery Honor book, and is well deserving of the award. It is also written at the precise level that I needed to be able to learn and understand about the whole event!

Wedding Quilt

Our son is getting married in a month. It is a short engagement, and most of it is during the holidays. I knew I had to get their quilt done before things got too hectic. I worked on this at my quilt retreat, and it was wonderful to get the top done there. I quilted it and bound it this week. Now it just needs a label.

It's a simple quilt. The original pattern is made with charm squares. I wanted a big quilt so used two layer cakes instead. I also wanted it to be somewhat "manly" since it's my son who is getting it too. I chose Midwinter Reds by Minick & Simpson for Moda, because, well, because who doesn't love some good reds to cuddle up underneath? 

Quilt Pattern: Garden Lattice by Amy Gibson of Stitchery Dickory Dock  (modified to make it large)
Fabric: Midwinter Reds by Minick & Simpson for Moda
Size: 88 X 88 inches

Christmas Tree Skirt

I recently went through my sewing room and organized it pretty well. Audrey was here and we always make a good team for doing that. One of the unfinished projects I unearthed was from two years ago. I went to a quilt retreat/seminar on free motion quilting at Lake Tahoe given by Jill Schumacher, and this is one of her designs. I thought I had quite a bit more quilting to do on it, but it turns out that it was all done except the binding. (!!)

Last week I sat down at my machine and got that binding on. Now it's under my Christmas tree. Except when Elizabeth grabs it and pretends she's an angel. I included the pictures of her with it on not just because she's cute and she's my granddaughter, but because it shows off the quilting pretty well. 

That is not a stain. It is a shadow.

A Walk in the Woods - Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

Every December each of my book groups goes to lunch or breakfast instead of meeting and discussing a book as we usually do. Part of the tradition is to bring a gift-wrapped book. Then we do a gift exchange and everyone goes home with a new book. When the book that we brought is opened, we explain why we like the book, and why we gave it. It's very fun, and I now have some books I never would have purchased otherwise that I've really enjoyed.

A Walk in the Woods was one of those Christmas exchange books. I got it a couple of years ago and just now got to reading it. I really enjoyed it. It had many elements that I enjoy in a non-fiction book.

1. It was well written. Bill Bryson has a great vocabulary that is not at all pretentious. He can paint a clear picture with just a few words. And, he kept the story moving right along. Here's the biggest compliment I can give a non-fiction book: it reads like a novel rather than a text book. Perhaps Bill Bryson won't like that, but perhaps he might. At any rate, fiction or non-fiction, I liked the writing.

2. It was informative. I learned a lot about the Appalachian Trail in particular, but also about some of the geography and history of the east coast (which I am woefully under-informed on).

3. It was funny. Not the whole thing, but parts of it. It made me giggle. I laughed right out loud a few times one morning at the gym while I was on the treadmill and reading this book. There are a couple of parts that I still think about and they still make me giggle.

Okay, three elements might not be many elements, but those are the only ones that come to my mind at the moment. The bottom line is, I enjoyed the book. I highly recommend it.

November Report

Wow. This autumn has flown by. October was gone in a blur of grandchildren and worry. November was just the blink of an eye, although it felt much calmer and less anxiety-ridden. Things are settling down with Katherine, and thus with all of our emotions. She is not out of the woods yet, but things will be fine.

Audrey and family have been and will be here very often - probably at least a couple of days a week. I'm finding a balance between "normal life" (actually I'm convinced there is no such thing), and life with extra loved ones here. As my mother would say, "variety is the spice of life." So true.

November in a nutshell:

1. First Things First: I am managing to hold my own on these goals for the most part. I really want to make these happen first, before anything else (hence the name of the goal). Obviously I need to constantly pay attention to this or I wouldn't have to always have it as my goal. I think it's a lifer as far as goals go.

2. Photo Organization/Scanning: although I've gotten quite a bit of scanning done this year, and a have a large pile I want to get done in December, I feel like 2013 was a lost year for organizing photos. Maybe next year!

3. Household Organization: my goal for this month should have been hang on for dear life and hope to keep the house in order. That is for sure my goal for December.

4. Projects: luckily I was able to go to a quilt retreat for three days at the beginning of November. I finished the tops of two large quilts while I was there. Then I came home and finished one of them completely--quilted and bound. I also finished Katherine's quilt. So I am quite satisfied on that front.

I hope to have a relaxed December. We have some good friends coming to visit next weekend, and some fun evenings planned this month. I'd like to do some Christmas related activities that require more participation than preparation and enjoy the season. Whatever I get done, I get done. That's how I want to finish out the year. (Then I'll make plans for next year.)