Feedback Friday - on Saturday

I like the thought of reviewing how my week went -- the good, the bad, the thrifty and the not so thrifty.

The pattern

I've spent a great deal of time this week working on a new quilt. Given our gorgeous Fall weather this week, I probably should have been outside cleaning up the vegetable garden and even putting up Christmas lights, but the quilt bug hit and I'm not one to fight it. I found this photo on the web, and fell in love with it (except I don't care for the four red blocks). I'm too cheap frugal to buy the pattern, but it was easy enough to figure out. Basically it's a 9-patch, believe it or not. I chose muted greens, blues and oranges (honest, it's prettier than it sounds) for the colors. I have completed 23 of 56 blocks. I have no idea where I saw this pattern, so unfortunately, I can't provide a link.

Still making progress on my hand-sewn Cathedral Window quilt. The more I complete, the more I love it. I find the hand work so soothing and relaxing. Yeah, I know.

I had a cooking adventure this week. I purchased a very nice pasta rolling machine at a yard sale a few weeks ago, and decided to try making homemade ravioli. The dough recipe I used was very, very dry, so I had to overcome that problem before actually rolling out the dough. I made a filling of ground beef, cream cheese, oregano and garlic (actually, that was good all by itself! I'll have to look for another way to use that filling). Long and short of it - the ravioli fell apart in the boiling water. D.I.S.A.S.T.E.R. Apparently there's a method to adhering the two pieces of pasta together besides just moistening the edges with water. Not sure if I'll try that again.

The leftover dough got made into nice 1/4 inch wide noodles and we ate those the next night - I cooked boneless chicken breasts, then added cream of chicken soup, sage and frozen mixed veggies, and served them over the noodles - and they were delicious. I normally buy Dreamfield's pasta at $2.49 a box. These homemade noodles probably cost me under .50 to make. Obviously, it's all about the time it takes to make them.

Thanks to a suggestion from someone on my local Free Cycle, I also used the pasta roller to make homemade tortillas. All I can say is YUM. Totally worth the time it takes to make them, and again, just a fraction of the cost to buy them in the store, and without the preservatives.

After last week's stock-up grocery shopping, I will not go grocery shopping this week, per se. I do have to pick up orange juice and laundry soap, but that's all that's on the "must get" list at the moment. I am planning my menues for the week on what I already have on hand.

Mr. B's first "class photo" came in this week. Be still my heart.

My grandson, Mr. B.

I just finished reading Julie Glass's new book, The Widower's Tale and absolutely loved it. She is also the author of Three Junes which was in my Top 10 for a long time. I highly recommend either, both.

I finished Mr. B's Christmas shopping -- took advantage of free shipping at Toys R 'Us web site. I kept it under $100, which I'm pleased about. He will also get a few of the toys I received to review for Amazon. I don't think he'll care!

It was my son's 31st birthday this week. I do wish he lived closer so we could at least get together for holidays and birthdays, etc. We plan on going to visit him in Colorado in the Spring - but that seems so far away.

I am helping my daughter (Mr. B's mom) with some time management and budget issues she's having. She wants me to create the card system I used when she was growing up, from the old Side Tracked Home Executives book from the 1970's (which is what Flylady.net is based on). That book was my bible when I worked fulltime and had two small children and a husband in school fulltime and who also working fulltime. It was the only time management system I ever found that worked for me. Today much of what I do automatically is because of using that system for several years, thus installing better time management/housework habits.

 Jeff had a day off Friday, so we took Mr. B. to the Newport Aquarium and had a wonderful time. That little boy is so well behaved and only once did I have to remind him to stay with us. By the end of our visit, he was absolutely worn out. He made it through lunch at Johnny Rockets (very expensive and not all that good), but fell asleep immediately once we got in the car.

Does anyone else think it's ironic that "Mitchell's Fish Market" is located next to the Aquarium?

I'm not sure yet what this week will entail. I'll make up my menus and week's To Do List on Monday.

All in all, it was a good productive week, and those are my absolute favorite kind of weeks to have!

I'm here!

I don't want all my blog friends to think I've disappeared. My lack of blog posts lately isn't a lack of interest - it's a lack of time. March was probably one of the busiest months I've had in more than a year. But - ta da! - it's over and life is back to normal. Stop by my Quilting on a Budget blog for two great giveaways! First, a giveaway of a spankin' new blog template design for your blog, compliments of Acornglue.com. She does some purdy stuff over thar, including the new Quilting on a Budget blog design. Giveaway ends on 03/28/09. Next, for my quilty blog friends, run - do not walk - and click over for the quilting book giveaway. The book is "Link to the 30's: Making the Quilts We Didn't Inherit" and it is WONDERFUL. Beautiful traditional quilts just made for scrap quilting. One of the best quilting books I've seen in a long time - and I'm not just saying that because I'm giving the book away! Mr. B made his standard Wednesday appearance yesterday.... and oh... my... gawd... can this child talk. I mean - non-stop talking. I swear, my ears were ready to explode. I know he's simply practicing all the new words that are flying through his little brain, but holy cow... I felt like my ears were going to fall off! LOL We went out to run errands and about every 10 seconds a new question erupted from the back seat: "Umma, why is there a pile of dirt over there?" "Umma, where does that road go?" "Umma, why does Umpa have to go to work today?" "Umma, does Joey (the killer cat) have a winkster?" (Don't ask.) I can put up with all the questions but not when he asks the SAME question over and over and over. I actually put my foot down a little and told him he could ask all the questions he wanted, but he could only ask a question ONCE and then he needed to listen to the answer so he didn't have to ask it again. Whew... What I've Been Reading I have been reading some really great books, which is always a plus! I read Wally Lamb's new book The Hour I First Believed. Wow, is all I can say. That man can write. I've read a lot of reviews that put this book down because the reviewer thought the book was strictly about the Columbine shootings and that the sub-plots of the book (the main character finding a family diary, family history stories, etc.) were not in keeping with the main plot of the shootings. But once you recognize the book is NOT about the Columbine shootings, but is about the effects major life events have not only to ourselves, but to family members that follow us, the book makes much more sense. This book may have to move into my Top 10 Books of All Time list. I also read T.C. Boyle's new book The Women: A Novel. I don't know the reason, but I have been fascinated with Frank Lloyd Wright my entire life. I know I recognized and appreciated his architecture as a child. I've read several biographies on both him and his wives, and T.C. Boyle's book was in line with everything else I've read about this amazing man. It took me awhile to be pulled into the book (at one point I considered not finishing it, but because Boyle is one of my favorite authors, I couldn't put it down out of pure respect for his writing!), but once in, it was a terrific read. He tells the fiction-based-on-fact story of Wright's four wives/partners. An in-depth look at the every day lives of people who made the headlines simply for their (then) socially unacceptable lifestyles. Two other good books read: Family and Other Accidents by Shari Goldhagen. I'm happy to see this book available on PaperBackSwap.com for all you PBS members. Also, Outtakes from a Marriage: A Novel by Ann Leary (wife of actor Dennis Leary). Both good "sit out on the deck and soak up some sun" books that I thoroughly enjoyed. What I'm Listening to I always always have an audio book going. For me, Mp3 players don't mean music, they mean being able to do my housework or do sewing with an audio book playing in my ear! I own a Sansa e280 (8 gig) and usually have five or six audio books on it at any one time. This is a sweet little player - small in size, great sound quality, and plays audio book files (that's important - not all Mp3 players play audio books, including iPods!). Jeff bought both of us one of these almost a year ago, and I have used it every single day since the day it arrived. And look! Amazon has these on sale for less than half of what I paid! Whether you already own an Mp3 player or buy one to listen to audio books, do ask your local public library if they have free online downloadable audio books! If not, also check out the prices on Audible.com. I'm currently listening to American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld. I am thoroughly enjoying this LONG audio book (I listen ONLY to UNabridged versions -- which means it is word for word as the author wrote it.) Here's Audible.com's review of this book (which says it far better than I can!):

On what might become one of the most significant days in her husband's presidency, Alice Blackwell considers the strange and unlikely path that has led her to the White House and the repercussions of a life lived, as she puts it, "almost in opposition to itself."

A kind, bookish only child born in the 1940s, Alice learned the virtues of politeness early on from her stolid parents and small Wisconsin hometown. But a tragic accident when she was 17 shattered her identity and made her understand the fragility of life and the tenuousness of luck.

So more than a decade later, when she met boisterous, charismatic Charlie Blackwell, she hardly gave him a second look: She was serious and thoughtful, and he would rather crack a joke than offer a real insight; he was the wealthy son of a bastion family of the Republican Party, and she was a school librarian and registered Democrat. Comfortable in her quiet and unassuming life, she felt inured to his charms. And then, much to her surprise, Alice fell for Charlie.

As Alice learns to make her way amid the clannish energy and smug confidence of the Blackwell family, navigating the strange rituals of their country club and summer estate, she remains uneasy with her newfound good fortune. And when Charlie eventually becomes president, Alice is thrust into a position she did not seek, one of power and influence, privilege and responsibility.

As Charlie's tumultuous and controversial second term in the White House wears on, Alice must face contradictions years in the making: How can she both love and fundamentally disagree with her husband? How complicit has she been in the trajectory of her own life? What should she do when her private beliefs run against her public persona? AND HERE'S SOMETHING TO LAUGH ABOUT/WITH

That's all for today -- did I make up for lost time?

My Bookshelf

I don't often talk about books here on my blog, but I am an avid reader. Two years ago I kept track of every title I read for the year, and the number was a surprising 276. Despite that number, books for me are more about quality, not quantity. I rarely read a book twice with few exceptions -- Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, Happiness by Will Ferguson, A Million Little Pieces by James Frey and Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. Evidently those are my favorite books of all time, as I've read each several times. Now there's a new title to add to that short list. I returned to page one of Real Life & Liars by Kristina Riggle (Harper Collins, publisher) as soon as I finished the last page, and read it all over again. This is an unusual story of Mirabelle Zielinski, age mid-60's, and her relationship with her husband, her three adult children, her friends, and her self. Mira's oldest daughter feels unappreciated and unloved by her own husband and children; Mira's son looks for love in all the wrong places, when the right place is within arm's reach; and her youngest daughter refuses to grow up. As Mira faces life-changing health issues, the reader realizes that those personality traits she has difficulty accepting in her children, are the very traits that Mira must recognize and deal with in herself. I am passionate about reading writers' first books. "Real Life & Liars" is Kristina Riggle's first novel, and it left me immediately hoping she writes many more. Riggle creates a line of characters with whom any parent of adult children can connect, and realistic glimpses into what we all, on the threshold of this age group, don't want to think about -- health issues. While dealing with serious issues, Riggle does so with a sense of humor and a sense of caring. Truly a remarkable read. AND MORE BOOKS ON MY BOOKSHELF I just finished Mixed Blessings by Jon and Kate Gosselin (although there is not a trace of Jon's writing in this book, so I'm not sure why his name is listed as author!). On a score of 1 to 10? Two. I didn't learn anything I haven't heard on the show before, and the writer-Kate seems like an entirely different person than the show-Kate. (Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the show!) The book makes Jon seem far more decisive and in-charge than what the show portrays. It felt like one was made up, but I don't know if it's the show or the book. I'm glad I borrowed it from the library and didn't pay big bucks for it. Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich - Oh yeah. Love her books, love every single character in her books, love the fact that she is one of the few "instant" bestselling authors who doesn't run out of things to write. Scale of 1 to 10: 8. Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives by Guy Fieri. A favorite television show and now a favorite cookbook. I may just have to buy this one. All those mouth-watering homestyle recipes you see on the show -- along with behind-the-scenes comments by Guy -- wrapped up into one enjoyable read and cookbook. Scale of 1 to 10: 9 Off Season by Anne Rivers Siddons. Another of my favorite authors. This is possibly one of her best works to date. Set on the coast of Maine, it's the story of firsts -- first love, first traumatic event, first enemy, first loss. I found it just a wee bit slow to start, but after the third chapter, I couldn't put it down. Scale of 1 to 10: 8 Secrets by Jude Devereaux. This must have been my lucky week, because this another book I thoroughly enjoyed. The library's description of this book: "Having harbored an unrequited love for a man she met in childhood, Cassandra impulsively breaks an engagement to become the now-widowed man's nanny, but realizes that her chance for winning his heart is threatened by dark secrets." At times, some of the "dark secrets" were a bit hard to believe, and the twists and turns were a bit too evident before they actually arrived, but overall a good read. There's just something about Jude Devereaux's writing style that appeals to me so much I can overlook the negatives. Score of 1 to 10: 6+ What I got at the library today: Blackwood Farm by Ann Rice Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani Oh, and "The Poky Little Puppy" in both book and CD form -- but that was for Mr. Brayden's reading pleasure (though I loved reading it again after all these years!) What are you reading today?

Little bits

I'm here! I've been stashed away in my quilting room for the past few days. That's right. Me. Sewing. Not cleaning, not organizing, sewing! A BOM block completed, a grocery bag/tote completed for an exchange, some Ricky Timm One Seam Flying Geese blocks done for some upcoming placemats... See? I can do it! I was just waiting for motivation. Photos will come as projects get completed (and after my swap partner receives the goods). Now you're going to thank me. I may even become your new best friend. Ready for this? You know that New Year's Resolution you made about losing weight? STOP! Pick UP that cookie! Step away from the skim milk! A new study is out and it's a doozie! I just finished reading a GREAT book -- and the fact that it was great came as a total surprise to me. I'd heard of the book, but every time I heard the titled I assumed (sorry, Mom) it was chic-lit -- like Red Hat books or Angry Housewives Eating BonBons or ?what was the name of that book about a group of southern ladies - the sweet potato recipe club? Shoot, I can't remember. But that's the type of book I thought I was about to read. Wow, was I wrong. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows is truly an excellent book, and one that I did not want to end. It is fiction based on fact -- the Nazi occupation of Guernsey Island (which lays between England and France), and how it's residents deal that five year span of time after the war. This is not a military book or war book. It is an amazing array of post-war friends, new and old, who bond with letters and the reading of books. The author's writing style is so brilliant that each character, no matter how briefly mentioned, is an integral part of the story and would somehow be missed if not present. I'll put an Amazon link over in the right hand of this page for you -- or check your local library!

What I'm reading...

I am a self-help book fanatic. I read self-help books like others read best sellers. I'm not sure they've done all that much good (!) but hey... I'm open to new ideas. Before I talk about the newest self-help book I've read, I do want to mention a book called HAPPINESS by Will Ferguson. It's fiction - wonderful fiction! - about what would happen if self-help books actually worked (the end of civilization as we know it!). Truly a great read with a few belly laughs and a lot to think about. But I digress... I just finished Beth Lisick's HELPING ME HELP MYSELF. It's self-help that reads like fiction. Beth and husband are reasonably successful in their own careers, but careening down a path of chaos and financial ruin. Not normally a self-help book reader, Beth decides to devote one year of her life to improve all aspects of her life, and chooses ten of the most widely known self-help authors and speakers, and pay attention to what they have to say. She reads the books, attends seminars, talks to the authors themselves. If you're a self-help book junkie like I am, you'll know every author she mentions and will have probably read their bestsellers. If you're a self-help skeptic like I am, you may know the ending before you get to it. Beth writes of the basic theories of each author in a funny "Cliff Notes" style. Whether or not you improve your life by reading this book is almost unimportant. What's important is that it's just a plain good read with lots of laughs and no deep introspective thinking required.

What I'm Reading

I love books that surprise me. Not in a twist of plot, but in how much I enjoy them, once I make myself sit down and read it. Usually this happens when I've been to the library, I've taken out 4 or 5 books, thumbed through them and read them according to how much the first few pages interest me, and suddenly find myself with that last title. The one I thumbed through and didn't care for, that didn't grab me, that didn't pull me in. I stack all my read library books on a bench near the front door, throw in the last title just because I don't think it's worth reading. Then I notoriously forget to take them back to the library and am suddenly stuck with nothing to read, so I pick up that last book just because it has words on a page and I can't go one night without reading something... And isn't it wonderful to find out this book that I thought wasn't worth my time, WAS worth my time and ended up being an absolutely terrific read? So it was with BAREFOOT by Elin Hilderbrand -- the last book in the library pile. The first chapter did nothing for me -- in fact, I found myself confused and couldn't sort through the characters enough to follow the story line. (This is what caused me to put it down the first time through.) Slowly, but surely, I figured out the characters -- which sister (Brenda) was a young college professor recently fired for having an affair with a student, which sister (Vicki) was a young mother with two small children and lung cancer, despite never having smoked, and which was the best friend who'd just found out she was not only pregnant after years of going through infertility treatments, but that her husband was having an affair. The cohesive character in the story is Josh, a sophomore in College who quits his job at the local airport and agrees to babysit for Vicki's children during their summer in a small Nantucket beach house. He weaves his way through very different relationships with each of the women, their spouses, the children, both observing and participating in their daily lives. Although it sounds like a soap opera, the depth of characters, the variety of relationships and situations, make this a very pleasurable and soul-satisfying read. Another title on it's way back to the library today is Janet Evanovich's latest Stephanie Plum novel, LEAN MEAN THIRTEEN. I was surprised to find that this is one of my favorites in this series! I am of the opinion that often authors whose books are on the bestseller list make it there more for their name than their writing. After five or six titles, authors run out of ideas. Jan Karon's Mitford series is a prime example of books that sold simply because the author's name was on the cover, not because the fifth or sixth title had any new or fresh ideas that we hadn't read in the first four titles of the series. Daniel Steele is another good example. That author hasn't had a fresh idea in fifteen years, yet every title makes it to the top ten list, while newer, more worthy authors can't climb over the good-ol'boys list of authors and get the recognition they deserve! But Janet Evanovich is the exception to (my self-imposed) rule. I thought LEAN MEAN THIRTEEN was one of her better stories. Yes, Stephanie is doing the same ol' same ol' and yes, Lula pretty much puts out the same lines, but the story line had some great twists and turns that I hadn't seen in the previous titles of this series. There was no sister and weird kids, no clown attorney, and grandma was much more in the background than usual. And hey - I don't think Stephanie car's got blown up once! I plan on continuing to read this series just because I want to read about the day Stephanie and Morelli get married :) Now THAT will be an unexpected plot twist! And by the way -- if you happen to be a Janet Evanovich fan, you do not want to miss the "Dortmunder" series by Donald Westlake. Like Evanovich, the antics of his characters will make you laugh out loud as they bungle their way through robberies and foolishness. You'll become thoroughly attached to each and every character, but hold a very soft spot in your heart for John Dortmunder. The series does not have to be read in any particular order, and will always, always leave you wanting more. There's not been a new title for several years, so in case Donald Westlake stops by my blog and reads this -- PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE can we have more Dortmunder books in the very near future???