Happy Birthday Kristin

February 24, 2024

Cozy Cup Mug Rug (Melissa Mortenson – polkadotchair.com)

I try to use a butterfly in some shape or form for Kristin (in memory of Lynne). This year I found a lovely butterfly charm square so used it as an accent for the cup.

I have more of these charms so they may show up again another year.

Happy Family Day

Monday, February 19, 2024

It’s a holiday today but since I’ve retired long weekends don’t mean the same as they once did. That being said, I’m having a rather slow day and not really getting a lot done.

We got home just after lunch yesterday and for the rest of the day I pretended I was still relaxing on Texada. I unpacked but I didn’t necessarily put everything away. I read in the afternoon – my books from the library were all finished so I had time to pick up one of my own books that I had already started. I’m picking up two more from the library tomorrow afternoon.

It was an early hockey game today so with the bit of time I had this morning I sorted out fabrics for some of the “almost done” projects I have. I cut the first border for my Stash Buster quilt and found (after a lot of looking) the fabric for the second border.

I sorted out the remaining crochet cotton I had left from my tablecloth. I’ll see if I can sell it locally; if not I’ll probably put it back in the bin for something else. I hadn’t picked out another “while we watch TV project” since I finished my tablecloth. I thought I was going to knit the wool I purchased in Ireland into a wall hanging but since I was altering the pattern on that one I decided on something relatively mindless. I’ve started another afghan; once I pulled the yarn for it I was able to empty another bin. I can’t believe how much yarn I still have left though – at least two more afghans for sure.

After the game I numbered all of my 1880 Sampler blocks so I’ll know which of my blocks match the blocks in the layout I’m following. I also cut all the sashing and binding for that project.

I’ll get my bin ready for sewing tomorrow and then do some more reading.

Run Away

Author: Harlan Coben

I’ve seen a couple of Netflix series based on this author’s work and thought I should read at least one of them before more come online. Although I didn’t know it when I borrowed this one from the library, it is in production for a new series.

I really had to pace myself with this book. I read almost halfway through it in one sitting but I wanted to make it last until we came home from Texada.

There are three storylines that start the book and, of course, they all come together at the end. Simon Greene is the father of a drug-addicted daughter who is missing after her boyfriend is murdered. Elena Ramirez is a private investigator looking for the son of her wealthy client. Ash and Dee Dee appear to be on a crime spree with a motive that only they know. There were surprises at every turn in the last hundred pages.

Goodreads Rating: * * * * *

The Book of Lost Names

Author: Kristin Harmel

I recently enjoyed another book by this author so thought I would try another one. It was an easy read but followed a very familiar pattern. I think for now I’m done with this particular genre. It only took a short time for me to realize where the title came from and I knew both of the surprises long before we got there.

Eva is a young Jewish woman living in occupied Paris during the Second World War. She and her mother narrowly escape a Nazi roundup but with the forged papers Eva manages to put together they escape with the hope of making it to Switzerland. Her skills are put to use forging documents for the many refugees who are desperate to flee France.

Goodreads Rating: * * *