Sashiko Practice

This week's project:

Not completely sure about the purple thread, but I'm gonna do it...no...I just chickened out.  Back to white thread...

Cold Comfort

Reading this:

I can't seem to pull myself away from dystopian novels.  I try, but nope.  This series is set in Ireland, That's all the hook I needed!  The first book in the series is still FREE.  Love, love, love this series!!

I Spoke With Him This Morning

My verse for today reminded me of one of my all time favorite songs.  I love when she sings, "I spoke with Him this morning!"

  I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. -Job 19:25  

Happy Pile of Poo Pin, Come Home!!

Dear Happy Pile of Poo Pin,  Please come home!  I miss you.  Badge Holder misses you.  How can I circulate colonoscopy cases if you are not with me??  

A Thousand Acres

A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley...It was an entertaining read though it was slow moving in spots.  It is a retelling of King Lear which is why, I guess, I didn't appreciate it as much as others.  I have never read King Lear nor do I know the story.  It's a Pulitzer Prize winner and gets great reviews. I've got nothing though...it was just OK to me.  

This book fulfills the USA Fiction Challenge (Iowa) and The Full House Reading Challenge (Published before 2013).

Tinkers

Synopsis found here.

Parts of this story were beautifully written and some parts felt more like the author was practicing "mind dump." There were sections that were heartbreaking and very realistic. I do think this book does a good job of highlighting how chronic illness can wear and tear on a family.  I didn't care for the sections of the novel where clock repair manual excerpts were used...I felt that those areas were just filler and I found myself skimming over those. The ending was confusing. Overall the story was just OK for me...I need to think on this one some more. It was a quick read so I might re-read it again later in the year.

Reading Tinkers by Paul Harding fulfills "less than 200 pages" for Full House Reading Challenge, "Award Winning" for The Eclectic Reader Challenge.

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

It took me awhile to get into Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed, but when I finally did, I really enjoyed it.  At first, I felt the author was too whiney and I quickly got tired of  the self-pity. I was however fascinated by the whole idea of her hiking the PCT by herself so I continued reading.  Fortunately, the author uncovers feelings about her life and the death of her mother and grows as she progresses on the trail.  I loved that she never gave up even when things got tough.  I caught myself thinking "now what are you going to do?" several times. I would certainly recommend this read.  It's a good book even though the beginning was a little hard to get through ( I do think the self-pity, etc at the beginning was necessary though so we could see how far she had come emotionally).  Plus, I think it sparked an interest...I might need to do some hiking this spring.

This book fulfills The Monthly Keyword Challenge for January ("wild") and the "Non Fiction" square in the Full House Reading Challenge.