What I've been reading

I've gotten a little stitching done in the past few weeks but I think I've been doing more reading.  I tried to read, "The Art of Fielding" but just couldn't get through it.  My friend, Lee, gave it a good review so I thought I'd like it but I had a hard time liking the characters and to me the book dragged.

Then I read about a book titled, "The Dressmaker" by Kate Alcott.  So far, I'm having a good time reading this one.  It mixes the Titanic disaster and survivor, designer Lady Lucy Duff Gordon with Tess Collins, a fictional character who is also a survivor of the titanic and dreams of becoming a designer.  

And I just discovered that one of my favorite authors, Kate Morton,has a new book coming out, "The Secret Keeper". I'll be looking for that one.

This is the cross stitch I've been working on.

End of Summer

Classes began here at Carnegie Mellon on Monday.  To me, that signals the end of summer.  And I saw something that said it was only 119 days until Christmas!! Yikes!  Time to get busy on all those little, handmade gifts

Leaping Cat is at the framers and I didn't take a photo so I'll get one posted after it comes back from the framers. I want to start working on a few fall/Halloween projects next. 

Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe: New Gift Bags and a Great Fall Give away...hurry a...

 This is a pretty sweet giveaway and she has a nice blog. 

Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe: New Gift Bags and a Great Fall Give away...hurry a...: I was going to post this last week but got behind due to another health problem. I would say I'm up and running but actually I am on crutche...

Back in the Saddle

We've been back from our vacation in Germany for a few weeks now but I've been too busy (lazy?) to write anything.  The Olympics have come and gone (yea, Team USA!), I finished watching the entire season of "The Mentalist" and wonder of wonders, I finished stitching "Leaping Cat"!  I stitched in the car on our way to Wisconsin last week and a little bit at my sister-in-law's house.  Now it needs to be pressed and then framed.  I'll try to take a picture and post it tomorrow.

Auf Wiedersehen

Tomorrow Paul and I are off to Germany for a 10 day tour.  Looking forward to it very much.  I'm taking a few books but no stitching.  I have neither the time nor the inclination. I'll be too busy gawking at the beautiful scenery. The second book, (Shadow of Night) in Deborah Harkness's trilogy is out tomorrow so I'm downloading it to my tablet.

I did make good progress on "The Leaping Cat" while I was at my Dad's last week.  I finished the alphabet and all I  have to finish are a few embellishments and the border.   

Getting old ain't for sissies

Last night my oldest friend, Adele, called to tell me her mother, my "Aunt" Jeannine, had died.  Jeannine was my mother's best friend for almost 50 years and she died almost 6 months to day after my mother passed away. For many years now, I've been going home to Illinois twice a year to visit my Mother & Dad.  Always, my Mom and I would meet Aunt Jeannine and her daughter, Adele, in Princeton for a day of lunch, talking and a little shopping.  It was if we had never been apart and  the talking and laughter never stopped.  At the end of the day, there were hugs and kisses all around and plans made for the next visit.  That visit would have been this summer..  But Adele and I are both so mired in grief we've decided to cancel. And when we do get together it won't be the same - the two most important women in our lives are gone. And even though I'm almost 58 years old, I need and miss my Mom.

Fifty Shades

Okay, so I finished the Fifty Shades trilogy.  I have to admit the second and third books were slightly better than the first one.  Still poorly written and the use of British slang and some of her other word choices were terrible.  Beach reads all the way. In the event a movie does get made, I still think Ian Somerhalder is the best choice to play Christian.

I am in the middle of reading one of my favorite series, the Jane Whitefield books by Thomas Perry. The latest is called "Poison Flower".  I need to finish it before I leave for ALA.

Still haven't done much stitching.  I'm taking a project with me to California - I think I can get something done on a 5 hour flight!