All posts by Sherry

Checking In

Journal

Friday, August 3, 2018

I’m thoroughly enjoying my time on Texada. It feels like being on holiday and at the same time it feels like staying home with no interruptions. The weather has been great – a few really hot days, a couple of cool days but no rain, and a couple of days that were perfect temperature-wise.

I have a couple of projects to work on. I’m making good progress on my Princess cross stitch and very slow progress on my Farmer’s Daughter Blocks. For the most part the cross stitching is easy, but there have been a few times where I’ve needed to do some ripping out. I’m unsure about the other project; the blocks don’t necessarily fit together properly and I really can’t imagine that the individual blocks will go together any easier or better. I’m in too deep to quit though so I’ll carry on.

I spent one day back in Powell River – the plants needed water badly and I had some Cranberry Hall work to do. I got some laundry done while I was there but there are still many reminders of our recent company, including lots of sand and footprints on the floor.

We’ve had some outings on Texada during our stay. Last weekend was the Art Studio Tour. We saw lots of lovely work and were able to go through a lot of studios – my nosy gene loves that. I bought a couple of art cards and a few Christmas gifts. I went to the Trivia Meat Draw at the Legion and managed to answer one of the questions right; neither Pat nor I won anything though. Last night we went to a Renaissance lute concert put on by a local woman who is fund raising for her next year of training. It was interesting but not as much fun as the Renaissance dinner we went to in Italy.

Tomorrow and Sunday we’ll both be working at the Roots and Blues festival here. I’ll be hoping to sell tickets to the House Concerts that we’ll be doing this year both in Powell River and on Texada. We hung curtains on my sewing room door so we can provide some privacy should our performers need to spend a night on Texada. I still need to find bedding for the pull-out couch but that will be the next thing.

Now it’s time for a bit more stitching before I switch to some reading.

Clock Dance

Books

Author: Anne Tyler

Anne Tyler books never disappoint. They are easy to read and the characters feel like people you might know.

Willa Drake hasn’t had an easy life; her mother often left and then came back, her husband dies in a car crash and leaves her with two teenaged sons. She remarries but has never really settled into her life. But when her son’s ex-girlfriend is shot and a neighbour calls on her to come and look after her nine-year old daughter Willa finds a life full of meaning.

Goodreads Rating * * *

sweetness in the belly

Books

Author: Camilla Gibb

When I picked this off the bookshelf in the room where we had our recent summer quilting retreat the title sounded familiar. When I got home I took a quick look at my books and didn’t find a review so thought maybe it was just one I wanted to read.

Although I could never say for certain that I had read it parts of the book seemed familiar. I’ve just checked some files from a previous version of my website and sure enough, I had read it before.

I don’t think I can improve on what I said before, and this time around everything held true.


Lilly, a young English child, traveled the world with her parents until they died suddenly while in Ethiopia. Lilly, left in the care of an Ethiopian teacher, becomes a devout Muslim. Due to her remote connection to Emperor Haile Selassie, Lilly is forced to flee Ethiopia when his rule comes to an end. Once in London, Lilly begins working with other refugees in their struggle to find lost family and friends. The story alternates between her time in Ethiopia and her work in London. Both parts of the story were fascinating.

Goodreads Rating * * *

Catching up

Journal

Monday, July 30, 2018

It took awhile but I think I’ve returned to “normal” after our flurry of company. It was wonderful to have Elizabeth and Kathryn here and Higgins Inn is a great spot to stay at. Next time I hope we can all stay out there; it is just a short walk to the beach and it is great to have food and washrooms so close. The times for the tide weren’t the best and they only had a few hours of full sandy beach each day. We found out that the phases of the moon make a big difference to the tides so we’ll know to time things a bit better next time.

As soon as our last company left Pat and I headed over to Texada. This past weekend was the Artist’s Studio Tour; although the art was lovely I was more interested in seeing their homes and studios. Pat has been getting together with many of the artists at their monthly meetings; I purchased a few art cards from a couple of spots, as well as picking up a few things as Christmas gifts.

The first night here I was in bed at 7:30, but yesterday I managed to stay up a bit later. We finished off the last few studios on the tour yesterday after dropping in at the Farmer’s Market. Late yesterday afternoon we went to the Legion for their trivia meat draw; neither of us won anything but I was pleased that I was able to answer at least one question correctly!

After supper last night I set the hammock up and stayed outside reading until almost dark. I knew I was caught up on my sleep when I managed to stay awake out there!

We’ll be here for almost two weeks but I’ll head back home at least once to water plants and check on the house. Next weekend is the Roots and Blues Festival and both Pat and I are working at it. The following weekend is the Sand Castle Festival; Pat is working that but I’ll be free to enjoy the sculptures.