The Needle in a Haystack

Book Across the States ~ Sign Off by Patricia McLinn ~ Wyoming

  When I ran across Patricia McLinn and read over her list of books I was so excited to try them. I needed a book set in Wyoming and the encouraging note I recieved when asking about her books made me want to read them all the more.

   This is a wonderful read!  Set in Wyoming , the story weaves through a small town of secrets, coever ups and a bit of raomance.

   I can't wait to read my next one!  Go give Patrica McLinn on facebook... and hurry off to Amazon to read her books... Great for your summer reads!

  Book Across the states... Wyoming..

55 in 55.. The Herb Garden

Chris was going around singing " I beg your pardon, I never promised you an herb garden"

..all in good fun. This was our project using a recycled decking piece and some soil.  We purchased the basil, rosemary and thyme at Cedar Creek on our Memorial Day outting  and what you can't see are the dill, cayenne, and cilantro seeds  giving birth under the ground.

   I haven't had much experience with culinary herbs except for  rosemary and basil most of our patches are healing herbs( or plants) like plantain, burdock, mint, and things like that

  I am sure I will be potting and repotting and dehydrating  and learning my way through this season... but that's what its all about isn't it?  I have three fabulouse herb books on my table that I keep reading and rereading.... the herb drying tray has been bought for my  dehydrator... pesto recipes are lined up to see which is best ( basil pesto, spinach and feta... my new pizza love)

 So right now I have  'Eyewitness Herbs", Medicinal Herbs", and The Kids Book of Herbs" ..and I must say my favorite so far has been the Kids Book of Herbs.  I bought mine after Amy, @ Angry Chicken a year or so a goo.. actually it might have been a few years ago.. nayhow... If you click on the Kids Book of Herbs its a free read on google... Which I think is a great deal cause I paid like..umm... I dunno 20.00 or something.. really I forget, but it is one of the few books I actually purchased new instead of used .

 So, I'll give you updates as things grow ( or gulp..die) but my glass is half full so I'm going with grow..

   You all have a fine day.... all day long!

 

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas ~ Book Across the States ~Nevada

The very first thing on my 55 in 55 list is to finish my Book Across the States project.

 So I looked at my map and realized I had not read a book set in Nevada...there were several choices... but I decided to reread one I had read 40 years ago Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter Thompson.. This was a cult classic  that was in my reading pile along with Carlos Casstanita and various other authors of the 1970's.

For a book I thought was great 40 years ago... may I say I bearly understood or could wrap my mind around what I was reading this time around....

          I'm getting old......... and so is my brain

However, it was neat reading about his "episodes" at Circus Circus ( the only place I really have spent any time at in Vegas)  and picturing his "antics"  as he searched for the American Dream....

  Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas... my Nevada Book Across the States read.

Book Across the States WV : A Coalwood Way , and a Little Crochet Humor

Oh yeah... I bet you thought I had forggoten all about the Book Across the States project I started in .. hmm... 2009.. well, I haven't.. and today I finished  A Coalwood Way, by Homer Hickam

 

 Yes, it took me this long to read a book from my birth state.. sheesh.. but I am so glad I did. This is actually part of a trilogy , the memoirs of Homer Hickam . It reminded me so much of some of the wonderful men and women I have known who grew up in the coal camps near Fairmont where I m from, my Dad among them. These folks are determined and tough as nails.

  If you want the reality of a coal camp in the 1950's, this is your book, and seeing the accomplishments of the youngsters of Coalwood, and the adults who worked to make a satin purse out a sows ear  is well worth the read. I give it 5 thumbs up

  Now I have to share a  funny a friend sent to me.

  She knows me so well!

  All my friends in the Northest be safe........and have a fine day...all day long!

Baby Doll Crochet & Truman

The weather was beautiful here today.. it hovered at 70 degrees and Chris and I spent losts of time outside soaking up natural vitamin D

 This evening though I finished listening to Truman on audio.

 Do you realize that this man not only balanced the budget but had us in the black by the end of his presidency?  Unemployment was almost obsolete... small businesses were flourishing... Oh how I wish we were there again!

  and while I was listening I made this sweet little baby some clothes..

 I am in love with her!  There are several outfits that I am going to make and I do believe I will be making several this year... the pattern is from Annie's Attic, there are actually several and the dolls are called itty bitty baby's...... so very sweet..

 Go out and make it a good day... all day long!

Jan 2, 2013: Truman, crochet and cross stitch

Another  droopy day here at the farm.  We finished up the BBq and cinnamon rolls and spent a bit of time decluttering the outside.  We were hit with a dental bill that we weren't expecting and you know what dave Ramsey says.. " sell everything but the children to avoid more debt".. lets just say the scrap yard took a huge bite out of that bill.. hardwork but we were pleased.

  This evening I tried to crochet  a pair of slippers I had been eyeing  and despite the well written pattern and another tutorial by another bloggy friend  I can't seem to get it.

 The pattern can be found Here, and the Tute can be found at Coffee n' Crafts blog. 

.. and keeping it real... here is my third attempt getting ready for the frogging...

.. I am thinking Epic fail....

.. so I switched to a sweet little pillow I am cross stitching..

 Cute huh?  Well, there is a mistake that is going to require me to frog this one too... not my day for crafts I guess..

   So, while I pull stitches and rewind yarn I am listening to Truman on audio by McCullough... drinking a cuppa  chamomile/ lemon tea...

..... Enjoy the day... all day long!

A Busy Day @ End of the Road

... yes, it is hot and humid... but every time I start to grumble a bit I think of the folks in this country without power. or fighting fires , or have lost loved ones ....I'm here, I am healthy, I am safe....

  So I kept busy today getting somethings done  to keep my mind and hands busy. C is out of town until Thursday so the house is a bit quiet....

 I finished up a project I started yesterday, a crocheted mesh bag.... for the onions we harvested a couple weeks ago. I loosely used this pattern by Red Heart. This will allow the onions  to get a good airflow through them....  I used a cotton I had laying around and an H hook.

   as much as I love yogurt with frozen berries and homemade granola, I thought it was high time to try  Crockpot Yogurt. I'll let you know how it turns out... its resting on my table with a towel around it now.

 We did a big grocery shopping trip yesterday so I did some groundbeef cooking this morning  before it got too hot and pkged 6  bags to be used in meals over the next couple weeks...

OK, this is not my photo of the taco salad we had for lunch... but ours looked pretty close except I used lots of different lettuces in ours..

 I got the recipe @ six Sisters 

Tiffany @ MY Litter posted what looked like a good one too...we LOVE Doritos but are a bit concerned about additives so we use multigrain chips in ours....

 AND, I finally finished this cutie snowman

  Lots of wonderful patterns @ gazette94. and although the blog is written in French, there is an English translator  which makes it not only easy to read, but helps jar the highschool French memory a bit.

Anyhow, thats where this snowman came from.. and there are about  20 other things I want to stitch from her site. This snowman is headed to one of my nieces for Christmas...

  Our first batch of beans were harvested today... we are anxious to try them out as this is a new bean for us this year. We went with Roma Bush ... they are hearty but I think we are going to have to go with pole beans next year.

  The garden spot we have been nurturing for the last three years is not getting enough sun to make a good crop of several things so after this month we will begin mulching and  preparing  a much larger garden with more hours of sun light. The old spot will be perfect for  sweet potatoes, beens, peas....or maybe just expanding the chicken yeard and adding some rabbits next year....

  Time to go put together some dinner and settle in with a good book. One of the sweetest men at the market , Johnny , who just celebrated his 84th birthday, gave me a book to read  called " Gracie Allen and George's Burns... I still listen to their clips on you tube...

 For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.1 Peter  2:15

  Pray for those facing disasters across our country today, pray what you can do to help...serving others through prayers or hands on service is a wonderful way to show the attitude of the GREATEST SERVANT, Jesus Christ.....

What I'm reading...

In between  planting, caring for baby chicks and spring cleaning I have been in quite a reading mood lately. while its not uncommon for me to have two books going at once... it is unusal for me to ahve 4 or 5...but that's how it is... I thought I would share..

First up... The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough I love all of his books. Chris and I recently purchased Truman on audio that we hope to listen to soon

My Mother in Law and I decided to read  Respectible Sins by jerry Bridges I am anxious to have a good discussion on this book when we finish. we have given ourselves a nice long time of 5-6 weeks and then we will meet over lunch and talk about it.

Kristy and I are reading two books together Created to be His Helpmeet by Pearl ( no hate mail please.. I am not drinking hte kool aid and neither is Kristy but there are several good points to take away from the book no matter what your opinion of the Pearls are) and A Confident Heart by Renee Swope.

.. and lastly Coalwood Way by Homer Hickam this is for my Book Across the States project I have been working on for... ummm 4 years now.

 

 

The pollen has been so bad lately that when I am not in the garden it has been good to plop down and read a  bit...

  This morning the daily Bible verse really made me think about our business..

Proverbs 22:1

A good name is to be more desired than great wealth . . .

That is exactly how we want our business to be known, by our good name..

..have a fine day...all day long!

 

A Day @ Duke University..... Book across the States N.H.

Yesterday and today have been simply beautiful here in the Carolinas. We left early yesterday to run errands and take care of some business calls in Durham and decided  a walk around Duke University campus and lunch at the Bryan Center was in order. I love the feel of sitting on the steps of an the old buildings and doing a bit of people watching. Unfortunately ( or fortunately) there was a funeral for the oldest surviving member of the Duke family so only foot traffic was allowed. We were able to eat lunch on campus but this is as close as we could get to the Chapel which was our destination.

We decided to walk a few trails  and just enjoy the sunshine ( and work of the milkshakes :) )

One thing I was curious about was this sculpture

The Scientist and Nature  You can read about it, the commision and meaning  ,here

 I finished the day with my sewing group. These ladies are the sweetest there is! I am 75% finished with my first project and 50% fiished with another. Too fun!

  We had breakfast and a business call in South Boston, Va this morning... then Chris had a service call and I had a busniess appointment  in the afternoon.

  I got home at 5:30 qith NOTHING planned for dinner. With chciken strops, arugala, tortillas, shredded cheese and ranch dressing  we whipped up snack wraps ... just like MC"d's... for have the price ..they were very yummy!

I finished my New Hampshire read .. a Gather of Days..interesting...a young adult reader... but with great content on early settlements in NH and the under ground rail road, I giv eit three thumbs up

 

He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.

– 2 Samuel 22:17-18 (NIV)

 

Good stuff huh?   Be safe...and have a fine day.......all day long!

 

Jan. 17, 2012

I think I have the most adorable neices and nephews.... all of them..... and today one of those adorable ( or should I say handsome) ones is having a birthday..

  He is such a sweetie....

 

.. Chris and I spent the morning running errands .. one of which was paying the county taxes, which upsets Chris every year when we do it.... Our taxes took a hundred dollar a year jump... so despite trying for the rest of the outing that a steak wrap from our favorite resturant would be just the thing to help him calm down, he drove home mumbling something about beans and rice  and the economy... didn't help that our cable bill notice came and is going up 4% and the electric rates went  5%...AND we had gone by the grocery store and everything in the whole store is more expensive.... We got home and he spent some time burning things in the back yard and then came in and finished the sink in the spare bathroom.. nothing like the state of things to get him a bit geared up...

,,,,, I spent the afternoon doing a bit of sewing...

  I made a few hearts for our themed tree at the shoppe...I used this free pattern @ All ABOUT YOU

I also mastered the  my first embroidery piece on my sewing machine.... I am in love!  It was a simple heart, but really so easy to do and I plan on spending a big part of tomorrow experimenting with letters and words.  It really was fun!

I finished reading Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree    by Susan Albert Wittig.  I have been reading the China Bayless books for years and am so happy that now I have another one of Susan's series to keep me busy .

  I have managed to stay on task with both my bike and my Bible reading.   They say 21 days to make a habit !

  Tomorrow I will be having the give away for Crystal's Book " Money Saving Mom" be on the look out!

I am off to stitch awhile..

Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.

 Proverbs 10:4 (NIV)

Have a fine day.......all day long!