Book Review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I absolutely adored this book. It was part romance, part historical fiction, part women's relationship and a whole bunch about the love of reading.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is an epistolary novel written from many characters's perspectives about London and the Guernsey Island just after WWII. The society was formed as an explanation to the German police one night when several islanders were out after curfew because of a feast they prepared. Elizabeth makes up the society on the spot and then the islanders have to follow up with the idea to make sure no one gets in trouble.

I learned a lot about the German occupation of this small channel island while also loving and caring about the characters. The literary references are subtle but fun for a lover of literature. The plot is satisfying, and the writing is excellent.

My only problem with the novel is that it was slightly difficult at first to keep up with who was writing the letters, but that was minimal considering how much I loved reading this book.

Highly recommended for all readers.

Purple, blue and pink Alpaca Scarf

This scarf is made using one skein of a self-striping alpaca sock yarn called Alpaca Sox. It's light weight yet warm and so so soft. Using the yarn for both warp and weft allows for a plaid-like look (without all the trouble of plaid!). I love the colors and the variegations in this one.

It measures 7x65, has twisted fringe and sells for $50.

Birthday pics

Happy Birthday to Me!

Pictures from dinner tonight tomorrow...maybe...

A second purple bamboo scarf

My friend from Kentucky saw the scarf that

I made for Aunt Carolyn and asked me to make her one just like it only a little thinner and shorter. Here it is.

Happy Birthday to me!

I made this shawl as a birthday present for myself. I will wear it to my birthday dinner on Tuesday with the family. We are going to Bayona in New Orleans. It is variegated black, silver and bronze with black chenille weft. Amazingly soft and silky and so beautiful. I'm very proud of it.

Book Review: Mine ‘til Midnight by Lisa Kleypas

I’ve been having a hard time thinking of how to review this book. I liked it…and yet there was something about it that I didn’t like…and it wasn’t the kind of things you might suspect if you’d read the book. The supernatural elements. Those were fine. The racial elements—didn’t really work for me, not convincing. The romance—great. The extra characters—too many. The plot—the main one fine, but there was SO much going on that I had a hard time feeling that everything was developed.

Mind ‘til Midnight is the first in Kleypas’s Hathaway series following the five Hathaway siblings as they make their way into the world. Leo, the only brother and eldest of the family, has just been given a title in a rather round-about way, and is responding to that and the death of his fiancé by trying to do himself in—and bringing his sisters with him.

The Hathaways move out to their dilapidated country home to meet with more trouble and frustration than anyone should. And in the mean time, Amelia and Cam, the main characters of the romance, fall in love.

And here’s where my troubles came in…there was the Leo story, the Winn and Merripen story (which I understand is fully fleshed out in the 2nd book in this series), the Beatrix story (young cleptomaniac sister), the Poppy story (very underdeveloped when compared with the others) and the story about Amelia and Cam. I understand this is the first in the series, but I really think it tried to do too much.

All that said, I will read the next one in the series. Reading other reviews of the book, loyal Kleypas readers felt that Mine til Midnight wasn’t up to her usual standards. The writing was good (even if the Kindle edition had those annoying errors).

Recommended to those who like historical romances.

Soft Wool Scarf

Another experiment with self-striping wool yarn. This one is a very slow variegation which creates an almost sun-spotted or tea-stained look. It's very elegant and soft on the eyes. The wool was "fulled" a little to help it be more soft to the touch--and it definitely worked. I hardly find this scarf itchy, and I'm very sensitive to wool. It measures 7.5x62 and sells for $55. Fringe is twisted.

Mozart: Sonata in C Major, Mvt. I

This is a sonata that I played in competition in high school. I went to state and received "2" which is a pretty good score for a girl from Teague, TX. I wanted to relearn it and while it isn't as good as it was then, it's still pretty good. I'll have the other 2 movements up here when I re-learn them as well. Enjoy! PS: If you look closely in the lower left corner you'll see Oliver trying his best to distract me.

Trilogy and Bamboo Scarf

Berroco makes some wonderful yarns. This is Trilogy (wool, cotton and nylon) with Bonsai (Bamboo). From my understanding Trilogy is no longer available, unfortunately. I think it's a wonderful, glitzy, fun yarn. This scarf is wonderfully soft and drapy. It's a commission.

Orange and Pink Rayon and Wool Scarf

This is a scarf I'm keeping because I love the colors and the feel of it. It is made using rayon slub (a yarn that goes from thick to thin and back again) and a hand-dyed yarn from Schaefer called "Ann."

6 Lovely Towels for Mom

Book Review: Enchanting Pleasures by Eloisa James

James's boks are always so much fun, and this one was no exception. This is the 3rd and final in her "pleasures" series. Gabby is an heiress who was born and raised in India who travels to England to meet her betrothed only to find once there that her betrothed, Peter Dewland, is horrified by her lack of fashion sense.

The inevitable happens at her first ball, and her gown falls fom her shoulders exposing her chest to everyone there and mortifying both her and Peter.

But all that is ok because Peter's brother, Quill, is the one who is in love with Gabby and through several twists and turns (which involve some twisting and turning on the study floor) is the one who marries her and they fall in love with each other.

What I like about James's books (other than the fact that they are so smartly written) is that they are more than just the marriage plot. Yes, that's important, but it's only 1/2 the story. The other half is that the couple has to learn to communicate and live with one another, which they always do. Gabby is a delightful character who likes to "gab" and as a result there is lots of fun dialog and banter throughout.

Highly recommended to historical romance readers.

WW Update

I'm even and David lost 2. That puts us at 11 and 18!

Green Tencel Swedish Lace Scarf

This soft green tencel scarf is indeed soft on the eyes and the skin. It is woven in a Swedish Lace pattern that forms little squares throughout the scarf. Fringe is twisted.

The scarf measures 7x67 and sells for $45.

Book Review: The Shadow and the Star by Laura Kinsale

I loved this book. I was captivated from the first paragraph. That's a feat for a book, in my opinion.

The Shadow and the Star is the 2nd in a series (wish I'd known that and read the first book first...) following the characters Samuel Gerard and Leda Etoile as they learn about love, themselves and the world.

Kinsale does an amazing job of portraying Samuel who was physically and sexually abused as a child in a brothel for boys as he struggles to cope with the feelings of guilt and shame that accompanies sexual abuse. Leda is an orphan who was raised by Miss Myrtle, a genteel maiden, who teaches her all about manners and the proper way of doing things.

There is quite a bit to say about this novel. The structure is very interesting with oscilating chapters between Samuel as a young child after he has come to live with Lady Tess and the "current" story line of Samuel and Leda meeting and then coming into a relationship with one another.

The story line of Leda early in the book reminded me of a 19th century sentimenal novel where the heroine's standards are often tested, and she has to choose the right moral thing to do even if she doesn't know if she will have food to eat the next day or not.

Kinsale also is a great writer. The prose is clean and the story line does not have any tangents or pieces that don't seem to fit--or that were left out. I especially liked how she could make a scene between Samuel and Leda where all he does is touch her face feel so charged with sexual tension. Very nice touch...to use a bad pun.

AND the setting is great--London in 1887-88 and Hawaii from 1860-1888.

Overall I liked this book very much and have added the rest of Kinsale's books to my reading list and will look forward to reading them one day.

Recommended for those who like historical romances.

"just because"

Suspiros Carinitos by Eugenie Rocherolle

Suspiros Carinitos is part of the Spanish Quartet by Rocherolle. I will eventually have all four songs up here. I particularly like the slow yearning pace of this one.

WW Update

I keep losing and gaining the same two pounds...if you're keeping track, I'm up 2 again this week for a total loss of 11. David is even.

I'm going to try to focus better this week. I hope I can manage to do so because if not, I have no idea what to do to lose weight...