Yarn project bag

Pic of hipbag

Just thinking about sewing....been doing alot of that lately. I have been sewing with my 10 year old daughter and we both love it! for the creativity and for the time we spend together.

I may change course on my blog (especially since I haven't blogged in soooo long.) that I may just blog on what I am currently doing and sharing thoughts about anything, not just books as I had originally started out as my plan.

I have been on more blogs lately and some that I really, really enjoyed.

One more week and a half and I will be on a plane with my sister going to France. I cannot wait! We are gonna spend a few days in Paris then go on to Monpellier and knit and experience the south of France.

It is gonna be great!

I finished my hipbag. My husband asked me if I bought a new bag, but I got to tell him I sewed it myself! Someday soon I will post my pictures to my blog and show the world.

That is all I have for now.....à bientôt!

I have just gotten finished with another book by Shana Abe, Treasure Keeper. I really love her books! They are different, in that, alot of bad things happen to the heroine, even though she is strong and competent. The genre is fantasy/science fiction. They are so dramatic and compelling written. The stories are complex and written in detail so you feel as though you are flying as a dragon, or moving as smoke or in this book's case of gifts: stealthily walking Paris naked and invisible.

Each story of the series had a new twist to the gift/situation/and plight of the main character to make you feel like you were reading something completely new. This was especially the case with this book. The main character was unique, as far as the gifts of the group/series went.

There was a romance story woven in, which there always is in her series, but in this one, I wasn't entirely sure 100% of the time who she was supposed to end up with.

I read the first book, The Smoke Theif, quite a while ago. I was so excited by the book that I had to tell my sister about it. I got so into describing what a great book it was, she said as I was done, you should write a review on this book. The only problem was that once the words came out of my mouth, I couldn't remember exactly what I said. Isn't that always the way!

I think the thing that struck me the most in her books is that, the night in shining armor doesn't come racing in at the very last moment in these books. It is the heroine, racing into danger and saving herself and others or if falling, hitting the ground. She is not immune to hunger, hurting or cold and is often faced and dealing with the hardships of life and living as a woman in a mans world.

These books are a wonderful read. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Leslie

Dec 7, 2009

I wanted to do an update on the book that I am reading now. I have been reading, Great Expectations, and am now on page 40. But it is work to read so I took a break and am reading a new book too. It is called, Gwenhwyfar, the White Spirit, by Mercedes Lackey.

I really like her books. They are a very good read. Her genre is Sci Fi I guess. She writes about Arthurian times in this book and others it is of the renaissance times I believe as well. This book highlights the strength of a women's character in a time ruled by males.

It is a well written book, with a good story, captivating characters and a surprising ending.

I felt Gwen's struggles. I rooted for her strength. And I felt her sadness.

I sincerely hope this was the beginning of a series for the Arthurian novels that will include and tell us more about Gwen and other folks of the time.

Dec 2, 2009

I have read two books since I last posted anything. I read Covet, by JR Ward. This was an interesting book. The premise being good versus evil. Angels vs. Demons, as in someone dies, but comes back to life to pass a test and to save the human race. Very different from Ward's previous book series that I followed which was about....Vampires. Do I like Vampire books, why Yes! I do! So these guys have been around and fighting the bad guys for a while. This new series, which I found very interesting, had the development of some of the characters from the other series, The Black Dagger Brotherhood. There will be more books written for The Black Dagger Brotherhood series, but she has taken some minor characters from that series and gave them a starring role in this book. I liked the book and will look for the next one when it comes out.

Then, I went on to read the 4th Immortals book by Alyson Noel, who my sister went to High School with. She is a local writer. This book called, Shadowland, was good. This series and the other books she writes are young adult novels and as such, I can kind of tell. The character development is not too deep. It is though, very much like teenagers will be. It is engaging and different from the "normal" vampire books. I think I liked the first book the best as we saw the development of Ever, the main character.

In Shadowland, Ever, continues to make really poor choices, to the consequence of not only herself but others. We do see some new characters and a twist of the players in this book as well as the others. Not much more to say on this one.

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So, now I am reading Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens. I tell myself that every once in a while I should pick up a classic to catch up / make up for not expanding my mind earlier. I read Jane Eyre six months or so ago and found that I really liked that book. So I figure, I will have to see what I have been missing and I am giving this one a shot.

So far, I have read up to the third chapter. The first thing that hits me is that the family dynamics in this book is really dysfunctional and harsh. His sister is very harsh. She rules the house with an Iron fist. Children should not be seen nor heard from. At least Pip has somewhat of an ally, in his brother-in-law, Joe.

So, now to read on, so that I will have more to write!

Nov 24th, 2009

I started a new book, Blood Promise, By Richelle Mead. This book is the fourth in the Vampire Academy series. It is a young adult novel, which I like to read sometimes, because as a plow through so many novels, I have to branch out for new things to read. And also, I really like Vampire books, so I like to read as many as are available. I started this book on Nov 21st and I finished it last night, Nov 23rd. (503 pages)

This series features the Vampires and their half breed friends in a different sort of way. It is a new twist on the old Vampire beings. These books are an easy read and very entertaining. She has her main character as a stubborn, sarcastic, and beautiful girl/young adult, who thinks she knows everything. This book is filled with alot of clever quips and a whitty and enjoyable dialogue.

I remember when I first started reading again in 2003, (I really didn't read before that, well maybe a little like 20 books in 10 years), as I was reading a book, I would mentally, or verbally to anyone who would listen, mark my progress by page number. I would be at page 75 and be so excited.....look I am on page 75. Then as I started finishing books, I would again, mentally or verbally, count how many books I read. I think the first major accomplishment I marked, the number of books was 80 in one year. Well, the last time I counted, and yes every once in a while I do count the number of books I read, I had read over 750 since 2003. That must have been at least a year ago when I did that last count. I guess my point is, over night I changed and I am still in awe that I read so much and enjoy it so much. My friends say I am making up for lost time! Ha.

So now I read whatever I can put my hands on and it has replaced TV (mostly, except for Glee and 2 vampire series I enjoy, True Blood and The Vampire Diaries). I am now starting to read some of the classics too interspersed into my favorites.

So, since I am finished with Blood Promise, I am on to Covet, by JR Ward....will let you know how I am doing :O)

Well, that is all for now folks....

Nov 20th, 2009

It is 4 more days until the library book, An Echo in the Bone, is due and I finished it today. Yipee! Wow! Well, I know that there is going to be another book. What a cliff hanger! It seemed like everything happened in the last 300 pages and boy did those go fast. And boy did it take you on some twists and turns.

I can just see my friend who finished the book a week before me smirking that she knew, she knew!, what was coming up next that I would never suspect. And she was right!

Some of the dialogue/scenes are witty and light and some are heart wrenching and sad. Someone got hurt and I cried it was so frightening and heart wrenching. I felt right there and couldn't bear to have this person be gone.

She had so many threads that lead you on the different characters lives and on their journey. So many threads, but we are left dangling in the wind with most of the main characters in the end. The author does a very good job of weaving those threads into her main story, and yet could each stand alone, but are woven so well, one into another, that they are a harmonious blend as a whole.

I was thinking to myself upon beginning this book that with so many pages, she has to wrap up the series and be done with it by now, but to my amazement, we are not done. And I recall thinking that with other books too.

I am looking forward to reading another saga in the lives of these folks and am left exactly like she intended, wondering.......

Now, on to the next book!

Nov 17th, 2009

Oh, Boy! This is what I have been waiting for.....the book (An Echo in the Bone) has gotten so exciting! It is now hard to put down, but I decided to write for a while before reading because doing it the other way around is harder for me to get the writing done. I have been wondering thru the previous book and this one if Diana (Gabaldon) was going to have the war of independence begin and if so would Jamie and Claire be in it or have escaped it? Well I am not going to reveal it, but I have the answer to that question. And what detail.

Again I have to stop and think about the amazing time and effort it must have taken to research and develop the realism of this story since it is a fictional novel, but some of the facts and events must be based on some truth.

I am a bit distracted today with my writing and family and I am having a hard time staying in the moment of writing. It is okay, life is a balance and also full of distractions.

It is just nice to even take just a moment to put out the thoughts going around in my head. Then they are not spinning quite so much, it seems to calm my mind. Writing always has. This is just the first time I have done it in the computer and not on paper.

bye for now....

Nov 15th, 2009

Boy, this is a big book! I am on 463 and am only half way thru. Gosh, when did I start this book? I just looked back, because I posted the date I started on Facebook. Nov 4th. Wow, it has taken me 11 days to get to page 463. It is a slower read for me. But fascinating.....I love the way she goes back and forth, from past to present time. How the stories converge and LOTS of things happen to the characters.

I don't normally do this, but I find myself wanting to get ahead in the story to find out what happens. But I keep at it because I am told that soon the story will pull me in even more and be more exciting where I won't want to put the book down. That is what I am waiting for. I love it when a book has it's hook in me like that. Where it is so gripping that I keep reading even when my eyes protest and I stay up far later than I should.

It is a really good book, but I have not gotten that intense with it yet. There is so much to digest and detail and really so many characters to follow. This is what I find interesting though. Did the writer write each story separately and then intertwine them or did she write, then find it was time to write about another person at a certain point and so then she veered onto that character for a while?

I don't know and don't know if that question will ever get answered for me.

It is a pleasure of accomplishment that I have felt before, reading a book that is so many pages and much more of substance than some of the fluff that I also enjoy reading. I am also looking forward to finishing the book for that reason too. For reading has been such a difficulty for so many years that this new world of books opening up to me is really still a very new thing for me.

I am almost too tired to think anymore and so I will sign off now....feeling good just because I got a few words down to note my progress in my book.

Nov 9th, 2009

So exciting....the book takes a twist and and turn, and you end up at first not knowing who you are reading about, a new person shows up, but, no, it is someone from the past. You think should I know this person, and since it is not your scene, you only hope that in the next little bit, they will explain so as to not leave you in the dark. So then, they do and the layers get displayed and you start to remember and remember. But it is done so well.

Sidebar....you know, if you have a wonderful memory for remembering details and can site paragraphs you read in previous books, you may not, of course have this same experience as I did. I do not remember details and cannot site paragraphs. So this was like a sudden shock....in my face and no time to recover.

I can equate it to having my own experience of looking up at someone and knowing I know them but not knowing from where and when. but in the book, in the next chapter or paragraph they explain, so it is without the embarrassment of having to say hi and talk like you know who they are when you really don't.

So who is it that appears, when in fact it has happened twice now? This time it was a scene with Claire and as she is sitting on her own, Thomas Christie happens on her. What happens next? you will have to read the book to find out.

So another good/ cool thing that happens when I bring a book to read where ever I go, is that it sparks up conversations about.....books. This happened to me today. At physical therapy, my therapist, says, "Wow what a big book." and then, "is that the outlander series?" So for the next 30 minutes while she is putting me thru countless tortures she I am sure enjoys and I am struggling to get thru, we talk about the book. I find that I really enjoy talking about books. It challenges my mind to articulate and process more of what I am reading i think.

I like to take time to analyze the characters and I am no critic, but now, I know what I like and don't like in writing styles as well.

Well this character is tired and it going to hie off to bed now.

Nov 8th, 2009

Well, I had every intention of writing in this yesterday, BUT...... :) I actually had my blank page open and couldn't think of anything to write. Part of it was that I really did not read much yesterday or that I wrote alot on the 6th, but ran out of things to say? Who knows? One thing that I do know is that this is a process for me to put my thoughts down and, hey, if I don't have any thoughts, then who am I to judge. I do think that it correlates with how much I read.

My friend Marci is also reading An Echo in the Bone and is almost done. I find it is really helpful when I have a reading buddy to discuss characterization and writing styles and impressions. So we talked a bit about it today.

Right now in the book, Jamie, Ian and Claire are making their way to the coast to catch a ship for Scotland, but they have run across Mr. Beauchamps who is brother (or step) of Lord John. So this is becoming an intrigue to see what develops out of that.

So today I am on page 178. Hopefully will get to read somemore later :0)

Nov 6th, 2009

As I am reading the 7th book of the Outlander series, "An Echo in the Bone", I have to marvel at the work and creativity that goes into this book. It is amazing for it's depth of details and for it's ability to take me away into the journey and also to remind me of details that happened in prior books. What I have found fascinating is that I can be reading a scene and then have a flood of memories, like seeing a flashback. Snippets and flashes of scenes from a previous book or whole scenarios that come flooding or trickling in. I cannot always recollect from which book these scenes take place, but they are like a familiar friend and I feel a sense of comfort in knowing they are still with me.

This thought of having a blog has been rattling around in my head for about a week or so. and it may only be thoughts and reviews of books I have been reading, because I read alot, or they may turn into something more, but I have felt a pull to put some of my thoughts down and decided to do it.

I read all the time and I read alot! I can generally read 2-3 books a week. I read all kinds and I would try anything once :) . Why I wanted to blog thoughts about books is that I sometimes loose so much details and even the essence of a book by plowing thru books at this high rate. I know I enjoyed it and I sometimes I can even recall it enough to recommend it to a friend. But I have had the time or two when someone said, "Oh, I really like that book______ you recommended." And I say, "Wonderful, now remind me what the book was about."

Maybe by jotting down thoughts and impressions, I can have these things that are important at the time, stick in my brain longer than 5 minutes.

So back to "An Echo in the Bone".......

Jamie and Claire are coming to life again for me and I now am remembering why I enjoyed them so. They are hardworking and full of determination. The essence of their lives are rich and fascinating, because they are living the early settlements of America with all the hardship and strife. The characters are well developed and diverse. I love the Gallic and wish there was voice translation so I can hear the deep timber of Jamie's accent.

As of today I am on page 134 and I started it on 11/3/09. I will post the end date here too, (I hope).

I find time to fit all my reading in to my life by waking up at 4:55 am each morning, to a cuppa tea (english style) or a cup of coffee and a book. I read for 30 min or so and then start the morning routine. (waking kids and schlepping them each to school). I work from home, so I do not have a commute, which means more reading time before work :o) Then I sometimes can sneak in another 30 min at lunch or before picking up a kid from school. Then maybe more here and there, but the bulk of my time is at night where I barely ever watch TV. I spend 1 or 2 hours reading.

So, Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to read I go. Well to have a little time for Jamie and Claire tonight, I will be signing off now.