Wonderful Wordy Wednesday

Happy New Year's Eve! I know I will be celebrating from home, being safe and probably asleep at midnight. I know, I live such an exciting life. HA! 

A bit of book keeping. At this point I have read 171 books this year, not a record high, that was 200 back in 2022 which I also attribute to being home more at the end of the pandemic. Looking back over the past few years I would say this is about average for number of books.   

Winter has come back as well. Nearly all of the snow was gone, except for the piles that the plow made by the street. We got an inch of snow on Monday and it has gotten much colder again. Time to be all bundled up or stay in the house for warmth. 

While we are past the shortest daylight hours of the year, we have just reached the latest sun rise time here 7:24 AM where it will stay for another week. Sunset we have gained 10 minutes back on that time already, which sets at 4:27 PM today. 

No Paw to Stand On Minnie and Rafe's wedding is fast approaching. All is well until they need a new officiant. Plus her matron of honor's restaurant has been closed because of a poisoning and another local chef murdered. Can Minnie figure it all out?

Eggsecutive Orders it is the week before Easter and the White House kitchen is hopping! Meals to prepare plus the annual Easter Egg Roll eggs to do. Then a White House meal guest dies and the kitchen staff is banished until they figure out if the reason had to do with the kitchen. 

An Excellent Thing in a Woman Iris and Gwen are moving on with their lives and business. Iris is mourning the loss of her lover, Gwen is celebrating her freedom to live on her own with her son. A French client wants to get married NOW to an Englishman, but she ends up dead. Why?

Summit's Edge - part of the FBI K-9 series. Just two weeks before her wedding Meg with Hawk are on a case tracking a hijacker of a private plane through the Colorado Rockies. The hijacker has a vendetta and is determined not to be caught. Can Meg, Hawk and the rest of the team take him down?

My last checkout slip of 2025, I borrowed $4777 worth of books and other materials this calendar year.  This is more than I paid in property taxes this year too. I do make good use of my library! 

 At least put the book on hold through your library!

While I didn't read all of her books I would vote for Sue Grafton. She had a series of books that started with the alphabet. She got to Y, then died. So she could come back and do Z. 

Happy Reading.  

Crochet Time

Hope everyone had a pleasant holiday. Mine was quiet but did spend some time at my friends house on Christmas afternoon. Chatting with people and eating!

Weather continues to be quiet, good for those traveling. I have no place to travel to other than local trips, so no issues for me at all. I am not one who likes to travel during the holiday period. Too many crowds, delays and such. I want to relax when I travel. 

Lots of time to read and crochet as well. That relaxes me, just taking it easy at home.   

Latest finished product. Yarn is from Michael's Loops & Threads, Skinny Chennile, color Beetle Multi. Lavender color with bits of darker purples and occasional yellow spots too.

Very soft to the touch yarn but because it is a bit fuzzy it sort of tangles on itself. I would use the yarn again, especially for a baby blanket. I think I might also use a smaller hook. That would give a tighter stitch which might make it look better.  

 

 

I'm not that bad, I have about an 8-9 month supply of yarn, so unless I go within the next year, I can't be a member! I have been looking at the catalogs I get for yarn, but haven't purchased anything since last spring. I should do a new post on the state of the stash. Take a picture this next week at year end to see where I am at.

 

 Happy Weekend.  

Wonderful Wordy Wednesday

Happy Christmas Eve! 

The weather looks to be quiet, no storms and warmish temperatures. Almost all of the snow that has fallen is gone. Only the snow plow piles and some ice is left. 

More than usual sunshine too. We have gained four minutes back on our earliest sunsets, but still losing time on the sunrise. Our latest sunrise doesn't occur until the first few days of January. So we are at the shortest time between sunrise and sunset right now. 

Last trivia night of the year on Monday. We met early to do dinner as well for the holiday. We had a typical trivia night, not doing well on boy band and movie stuff. We had what I consider to be a typical score for us, but we ended up in fifth place this week. Oh well, we have fun.  

Hail to the Chef the second installment of the White House Chef Mysteries. Holiday time is upon the White House. Thanksgiving dinner, receptions, family conflicts, possible matchmaking and showing off the holiday decorations for the press. But things get a little extra buzz and a gingerbread replica of the White House has some issues. 

Beautiful Ugly a wonderful twisty thriller. Grady is an author who has just gotten his first New York Times listed best seller. Then his wife disappears. He goes into a writing funk so his agent sends him to a remote Scottish island to write. No distractions, no contact with the outside world and no way to leave. There he swears he keeps seeing his wife, but the residents, who are all women, say can't be. But is it? 

Deep Cuts story of the relationship between Percy and Joe. Both into music and she has a knack for over analyzing songs. Can they make music together? Both literally and figuratively? Books set in the early 2000s and refers to music from that era, so hard for me to relate. 

The Stolen Queen - Charlotte is part of a crew on an Egyptian dig in 1936 and helps find a fabulous necklace. A tragedy occurs and the necklace disappears. Fast forward to 1978, Charlotte is working at the Metropolitan Museum of Art when the necklace appears as part of the display for the Met Gala. During the gala there is a disruption to help cover a theft, which sends Charlotte back to Egypt to track the stolen item back. 

 

 

I say yes to this. You might see something interesting, new author, then you can ask host about book. Also, when they are interviewing people on TV and they have books in the back, I try to read the titles. Another way to find more books to read.  

Happy Reading.  Have an enjoyable and safe Merry Christmas. 

Work in Progress

Made it to Friday, just one appointment today in the morning, then I can chill out. All of the peanut brittle I made has been given away. No more goodies tempting me to come and snack!  

The weather warmed up, most of the snow has melted except for the plow piles. Roof is clear of snow as well. Not likely to have a white Christmas, or what I call a barely white Christmas.  

I had an interesting visitor on Wednesday afternoon. Rocky Raccoon showed up to snack under the bird feeders. 

 

Ducky snuggling under a blanket in progress. It was cold last weekend and we both needed the extra warmth. Thankfully it has gotten milder this week and is supposed to stay mild.  

Yarn that I bought at a fancy yarn shop to make hats to go with my new jacket. The jacket is the background for the picture so you can see the color. I was wearing the jacket when I went yarn shopping so I could check how things looked. 

I got one hat done this past week and I edited the yarn sequence which I normally don't do. But I wanted more of the green and purple in the hat, not the browns. I think it turned out pretty good.  

 

 Happy Weekend.  

Wonderful Wordy Wednesday

We came out of the deep freeze of last weekend. Back to more normal temps which makes it nicer to be out and about. Which I have to be out doing things, seeing friends for Christmas lunches.  

It is the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth. Maybe I should re-read some of her books this coming year. Born December 16, 1775. I have a hard cover book with all of her novels inside, so I can do them anytime. I know for a while I was reading Pride and Prejudice every year after it hit 200 years after its first publication. 

Have to balance my book pile to read and the library hours with the holidays. Closed on both December 24 and 25 and I am getting close to being finished with my current check outs. So that means I need to get more books by December 23 to have some over Christmas and into early next year. Better put my requests in! 

The Late Mrs. Willoughby blends together characters from Jane Austen's Sense & Sensibility along with the adult son of Elizabeth and Darcy, Jonathon. Invited to a house party of a former schoolmate, Jonathan arrives to find that a fellow guest is Juliet Tilney. When his schoolmate's wife is murdered, Jonathan and Juliet figure it out. 

The Merlot Murders is the first in a series set in the wine country of Virginia. Lucie comes back from France for her father's funeral. Accident but things don't sit right, she thinks he was killed. When her godfather is also killed she knows something is up. Will Lucie be the next victim?

The Business Trip - Jasmine and Stephanie meet on a flight from Madison to Denver and notice their physical similarities. Jasmine is running from an abusive relationship, Stephanie on her way to a conference for TV news directors. Lots of twists and turns and an unexpected ending. Of note is that the author is a TV news director in Milwaukee!

The Inheritance a family reunion to celebrate the parents 40th wedding anniversary on a remote Scottish island. The adult children are also anticipating the division of their father's wealth. Old issues surface, new ones created. One thing, family first. Even when it means murder. 

I can't choose just one!

 I think that would be Pride and Prejudice. I may have read books as a kid multiple times, like the Black Stallion series, but can't remember how many times for any of these books! 

Happy Reading. 

Crochet

More snow and cold. Since we have snow on the ground earlier than we usually have been getting it seems like a long winter. It isn't even Christmas yet and I want warmth, green grass, flowers!

Ducky got to meet the "green paper man" on Thursday. He forgot to have me initial something last week for an internal report on my invested money. So know Ducky knows who keeps us in treats and yarn and everything else.  

The latest finished project the yarn color is Candy Bowl, a Big Twist yarn. Another color from either my last huge order or the close out sale at JoAnn's. I haven't gone into Michael's yet to see what they are calling their "Knit & Sew Shop", there is a Michael's close to where I live. Not going in since I want to work down my stash some more. I probably have enough yarn to hold me for another year! I should take a picture of my shelves with the stash again soon. Maybe at year end.  

 

 

Happy Weekend. 

Wonderful Wordy Wednesday

Winter continues, below typical temperatures which are likely to continue. So the snow we have so far will likely stick around for a while. Which means a white Christmas for a change. Some people are happy with the colder weather, the local ski hills which can make snow. Then everyone can come out and snow board and ski. 

We had a successful night at trivia this week. We won with 64 of 84 points and the next closest team was 58. There were five teams this week. Got to keep those brain cells firing. Lots of laughs, fun talking with our favorite guy on the wait staff. Good guy, student and a responsible person. Maybe there is hope for the future. 

Not making much progress on Christmas stuff. I did carry up the small Christmas trees from the basement. Barely started on cards, I have at least printed out the mailing labels and got the box of cards out. Made sure I have enough stamps. One of these days I will sit down and finish. 

I did finish one thing which was making the last three batches of peanut brittle. Gave each of my trivia gang a quart size storage bag and some for the wait staff too.  

Orbital, winner of the Booker Prize, best fiction written in English published in the UK or Ireland. It also has the distinction of being the second shortest book every to win the prize. Story is of a day in the lives of six astronauts in the space station. 

Wild Houses I found this book to be confusing and I didn't read the whole book. A couple of brothers kidnap a drug dealers brother. Stash him at their cousin's house. Set in a small town in County Mayo Ireland. 

Offshore: Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism or how the ultra rich get richer by using tax and investment havens. While the average person gets by and in some countries actually support the system of the rich. Author went through a two year training program to become a wealth management advisor which then gained her access to the people she wanted to interview. 

How to Read the Constitution and Why a timely book for this point in our history. A law professor lays out what is in the constitution and what it means now versus when it was written. Published in 2019 it draws heavily on examples from the more recent political issues. Also addresses if there is a need for a new constitution. 

 

 

I once read a non-fiction book of World War II written from the perspective of the German side. It was interesting but a bit weird.                               

 

 

 That is why there are book marks to keep you in place!

Happy Reading 

Work in Progress

After the snow, comes the cold. We are 15-20 degrees below our typical early December temperatures. More like January weather right now. Hopefully this will be a short dip of cold, then back to seasonal temps. Maybe it can get warmer is January too!

Woke up early Thursday AM and thought the room was bright, the huge, nearly full moon was shining in my bedroom window. Beautiful sight. 

One fancy picture during the snow, the snow covering the lights outside and making the snow glow.  

 

Also spent last weekend making peanut brittle, or at least the first three batches. I don't make cookies, I do brittle and give it away to my friends. Already gifted three of the people on my list, more to come this next week. 

Ducky helping to keep my lap warm and snoopervise the crow-shay! He seems to have perked up for now. Been joining me in bed for some cuddles at night. He hasn't done that in ages. He seems to prefer is heated cat cup! I don't blame him on these cold nights!

 

 

 

I met a friend for lunch this past Tuesday and visited a small yarn shop near her. Yes, I did make a couple of purchases. I got some yarn to make hats for me to go with my new winter jacket. The jacket is the background for the yarn. One softer, the other bright. 

  

 

 Happy Weekend