Mississippi in 1962

Three woman (2 black - 1 white) become friends during a time when possibilities for woman were few.  Skeeter, Aibileen and Minny all have dreams of a future filled with more understanding & love than hate & fear. These character will stay with you for a long time.  I can highly recommend this book  as, 'a good read'

A Good Read:: Quilting for Peace

Make the world a better place one stitch at a time. 

• The Sunshine Circle created in 1912 and still sewing quilts and 'comforts' for those in need.
• The women of the United States Sanitary Commission who answered the call from President Lincoln to outfit soldiers with hand-made blankets/quilts. 
• Quilts of Valor  - coordinated through the VA to distribute quilts for wounded soldiers in communities across America.
• The Binky Patrol - providing thousands of quilts and blankets to children who need a little comfort.
• Morsbags - sewing your own reusable shopping bags to reduce the millions of plastic bags that litter our planet.
• The Aids Quilt - made in memory of those who have lost the battle with this horrible disease.
• The Boise Pease Quilt Project - honoring individuals for their peacemaking work.

All those and more organizations/individuals -- along with patterns and suggested projects to stitch a little 'peace' yourself -- are between the covers of this amazing book. 
It's definitely a good read.

Symbols & Seasons

September is almost over - the mornings are starting to have a little 'crisp' to them.  Almost every store you pass by has mums for sale. Pumpkins are starting to appear in produce sections all over town.  On Friday nights I can see the lights at the football field 4 miles south of our house -- and, it makes wish I could hear the marching bands playing and smell the popcorn. I love this time of year.  The sounds, the smells, the colors of Autumn -- so very glad it's almost here. 

Picture above is of the one and only bloom my Passion Flower Vine produced this year.  It bloomed last week -- looking like something strange and alien, unfolding it's bright purple petals along my front porch -- a last hurrah of the summer's finery. 

This week's bedtime reading - Dan Brown's new book.  Kept me interested and page-turning right up the end.  And, I'll never end another letter with the word 'Sincerely' without thinking of this book.  A definite 'Good Read' !

Good 'Read/Listen'

I have long been a fan of Pat Conroy --

His books 'speak' to me on so many levels. For me, the books read like poetry, with sentences that are beautiful and lyrical as they weave their storylines together.  But, until now I've never 'heard' one of his stories read to me.  Never listened to the soft southern drawl of the narrator leading you from the year 2009 and into the world of Charleston, SC in the early sixties.  And, like the turbulant 60's - there's much more going on than appears on the surface.  By the end of chapter one -- I was hooked.  And, I'm being stingy with this audio-book. Only listening to it during my commute to/from work.  You see, I want my visit to 'South of Broad' to be a long as possible. 

O' and I have done a bit of sewing this week.  The two grandbabes here in town needed some 'Game Day' pj pants to watch the OU this weekend.   Boomer Sooner !!!!

One bright spot . . . . .

Over the past few weeks, my computer has been visited by a plague of assorted nasty critters in the form of 'spyware' -- 'malware' -- 'everykindof-ware'. It's made me wonder what sort of person would create something that would cause havoc for people they don't even know ??

May they some day be forced to clean up all the messes they've made all over the world-wide-web - - - and, that's all I'm going to say about that - - -

The one bright spot during computer critter infestation was that I had time to get to aquainted with the residents of Bon Temps, LA :: Sam, Eric, Vampire Bill, to name a few and of course, Ms Sookie Stackhouse.

Quick and easy reads
And, I'll give you fair warning - - - they are highly addictive !

Keeping Busy

While it's hot outside -- I've been busy inside under the wonderful central air conditioning. Here in Oklahoma, it's a necessity not a luxury.

There's been a little sewing going on -- 3 more Bandana Skirts. They are like potato chips, you just cannot stop at one -- and, they are so darn cute.

A few 'Pennie Pockets' were sewn (via the Happy Zombie's blog - it's a free download)-- a sort of 'origami' type pattern. You just need to follow the directions -- not think too much and it magically turns into a neat little pocket ! Try it out for yourself and then see the reference to 'potato chips' above -- it also applies to this pattern.

And, over the past week, I've been very busy with the book pictured above. It's the first official 'Good Read' for the month of August --'The Time Traveler's Wife: A love story with a 'twist' and I was hooked from the first page - which led to couple of late night reading sessions to get to the end of the story. But it was so worth it.

What's keeping you busy this summer ??

Good Read(s) :: Mixed Bag

I love to read -- Fiction, Non-Fiction --- Historical novels, Bodice-ripping Romance --- SciFi & Fantasy. Bring em on and I'll get em read!

Over the years, I've tended to place books into categories (and, for me, there are many categories). There's a large basket beside my bed, filled with books from at least 3-4 of the categories (I try my best to be democratic in choice of my books). I've recently completed books from 3 categories and am recommending them all as a 'mixed bag' of Good Reads. I'll let you decide what category fits which book:

1. 'mind valium books' - a little something to slow down my thoughts just before I turn out the light.
2. 'read & learn books' are like great teachers, they flesh out history and make it come alive.
3. 'never want it to end books' that take you to another world/time/place -- with a story so entertaining that you read far too late into the night.
   
   
   

Weekend plans . . . . .

Just look at that forecast -- it's predicting Hot & Hot ---

followed by even more HOT

Welcome to July in Oklahoma !

And, here's a sample of what I will be doing this weekend --

Reading, knitting and enjoying the wonderful benefits of cental air conditioning.

Please notice I'm putting my first 'Jane Market Bag' to good use.

A Good Read :: x 2

• "Affecting . . . . . a book about how times can never be so hard that they can't be eased when people come together." Denver Post
  The Persian Pickle Club, by Sandra Dallas -- Set Kansas in the 1930's. The Pickle Club in the title refers a quilting group made up of women of all ages. These woman love and depend on each other through good times and bad. A wonderful book for a lazy summer afternoon. But, be warned -- when you finish the book you might want to start piecing a quilt block!

• "A transporting drama . . . . truly artful fiction." The New York Times" Loving Frank, by Nancy Horan the Frank in the title is Frank Lloyd Wright and the story is based on his affair with Mamah Borthwick Cheney. Women's rights / Getting what you what out of life and then dealing with the consequences that follow --- are just a two of the issues in this story. Now, I do realize that this book might not be everyone's 'cup of tea' -- but, for me it was 'good read'.

Two totally different books to recommend this month and both, in it's own way were a 'Good Read' !!

I'm lovin' it . . . . .

Quiche for breakfast at my desk --
much cheaper (and tastier) than an Egg McMuffin ::

Basic Quiche

• 5-6 slices bacon
• 1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust
• 1 - 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 - 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 5 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 - 1/2 cups half & half
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 (4 oz) can diced green chile peppers, drained

If you don't care for green chilies - use these optional ingredients :: 1/4 cup roasted tomatoes packed in oil, drained & diced -- and/or -- 1/4 cup diced green or red pepper (or just experiment with your own 'add ins' )

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook bacon in a large skillet - drain, crumble and set aside. Pour off all bacon fat except for approx 2 tablespoons; saute onion (and green pepper), drain and set aside. Place pie crust in a 9-inch glass pie plate. Sprinkle bacon inside of crust. In a small bowl, combine cheeses and flour. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, cream, sauted onion, and green chilies. Add cheese mixture; stir well. Pour misture into pie crust. Bake in preheated oven for 60-70 minutes, until set. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Refrigerate any leftovers and enjoy for breakfast the next day.

Spring Flowers & 'A Good Read'

Hubby has been reading all about container gardening and how to mix all sorts of plant textures. I'm not really sure what all that means -- but, I love the results that are now residing on my front step. So very pretty.

I love a good book -- one that you can get lost in -- A book that makes you read long into the night, because you can't wait to find out what happens next. 'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society' is that sort of book.

The setting is Post-WWII Great Britain - and through a series of letters, you learn how one small island survived a Nazi occupation. I started the book on Tuesday night and and as you can see, the book followed me to work the next day. I finished it during my lunch hour and was so sad to leave behind all the wonderful characters of the 'Society' behind.

But, I do have other characters to keep me company in the stack of books beside my bed -- and, I'll let you know if any of those are 'A Good Read'