Book Review

Oh my gosh! I am so excited about this book:

 "The GHOST of the Yellow Two-Story House"

 by Gail Allison Griffin.

The book has a stamp of approval from Mrs. Taylor's 5th grade reading class who help with proof reading. 

I know you are wondering why I'm so excited. It's because Mrs. Griffin (the author) and Mrs. Taylor (the 5th grade reading teacher) are friends of mine. I taught with these ladies for many years and I'm so happy for Gail's success. Gail's daughter, Stacie did the illustrations. I taught Stacie and her sisters way back when.....OMG! I just thought how long ago that was......;-]

Now about the book. I read it in one sitting because I could not put it down.

This book would make a great stocking-stuffer for your 10 years and older child. It's a wonderful children's fiction.

There's a ghost or two in the house of a new family in town and it's up to Mike (one of the family members) to figure out what's really going on. Everyone in town avoids the house and wants little to nothing to do with Mike.

I give this book two thumbs up.......Five stars.....a great read!!!

Find out for yourselves what weird things are happening in "The GHOST of the Yellow Two-Story House."

Gail is planning at least two more mysteries, so stay tuned.

http://gailallisongriffin.com  - Gail's web page

Gail and me in a "selfie"

Mother Knows Best

Last year mom had heart surgery and came through it amazingly, phrase God! Her doctors and ICU nurses were amazing and very kind. You can never thank them enough but I tried verbally and with some of my canned pickles.
I said all that just to get to this next part.......Erma Bombeck!   

Some of you may remember her, a columnist, humorist and mom. I reread her book (Forever, Erma) when my mom was in the hospital back then. It got me though a couple of tough moments.  I ran across the book last night and thought I need to share it with my blogging friends. You just might get a chuckle from the excerpts her son wrote as an assignment in 1975.

"Things My Mother Taught Me"

• Logic:  "if you fall off that swing and break your neck, you are not going to the store with me."
• Optimism:  "You are going to enjoy yourself at that birthday party or I am going to break every bone in your body."
• ESP:  "Put on the sweater! Don't you think I know when you are cold"
• Science:  "You put your hand out the car window and it will blow off."
• Finance:  "I told you the tooth fairy is writing checks because computerized billing is easier for the IRS."
• Challenge:  "Where is your sister and don't talk with food in your mouth. Answer me!"
• Ethics:  "If you are too busy to take out the garbage, you are too busy to need an allowance."
• Genealogy:  "Shut the door. Were you born in a barn?"
• Suspense:  "Can you guess what I found under your bed today?"
• Humor:  "Stop monkeying around because when that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me." 

Another Quilt Book Review

Carol Doak, in my opinion, is the queen of paper piecing. 

I have just about all of her books, so it was hard to pick one to review but I finally chose the following.

 The designs are easy to understand and the photos aid you in color choices.

Carol even provides a CD to help with copying the designs onto the paper.

Try looking for this book at your local library. 

If you are a paper piecer like me, you'll really love this book

Out Of My Mind.....

So..... Mom is progressing nicely and I've cleaned, washed, straightened..... "everything"..... and I'm going out of my mind when it comes to my favorite past time...... sewing stuff....... I've not had time to even start or think about very much else with mom's after surgery care....... but she's doing so well........ so what to do?????? I'm back to hand embroidery and reviewing books...... it's enough to keep my mind occupied when I'm not cooking for mom.
Erma Bombeck was a wonderful writer/comedian. So I'm recommending this book as a great read for the month of June. Hopefully, you can find a copy at your local library. The book is guaranteed to keep you in stitches.

 Turning into Mother...... one of my favorite observations in the book.

Dying to Dye

Frieda Anderson's book, "Fabric To Dye For" is a great way to get your feet wet when it comes to dyeing fabric. I totally recommend this book. I provided a link to her blog so that you can check out her stunning quilt projects made from the fabrics she has dyed.
Now all I have to do is buy more fabric and get cracking!

The Kitchen Table Book

Yes, that's what the book is called and it's published by The Editors of FC&A Medical Publishing.

Mom is always purchasing books that wind up on her bookshelf but this one, she actually loves to read and practices some of the suggestions. 
So I've decided to list a few every now and then that have worked for her and you may find of interest. I won't go into detail, you'd have to purchase the book for yourself but this will certainly wet you appatite.

1. Sipping green tea in the summer aids against skin cancer (page 162)
2. Taking a bite of certain cheeses after a meal cuts the sugar acids in the mouth (page 120)

Stash Bustin' Time

 A couple of years ago, my "wacky" friends came up with an idea of trading 2 1/2" squares. So we began cutting and cutting and cutting..... 1200 squares later, I still have squares left..... what to do? Hummmmmm

 I scanned through some of my quilting magazines. This one is from 2008 but has some great designs. I chose a nine patch mixer which I will reveal later.

36 nine patches are done but not trimmed up yet. That's will have to wait until tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Books, Books, I Love Books

Mom and I visited our local Scholastic Book Fair sale today.  Once a year Scholastic Books has a blowout sale with tons of books to choose from.  I think any adult can get in to the sale but if you're interested check online to make sure first.  We bought a large box of the books of our choice to share with students at local schools. Shhhhhhh, I also picked up a couple for the little princesses.

Rx For Quilters

If you haven't heard of or don't have this little book.......it is well worth your money. It's "Rx for Quilters - Stitcher-Friendly Advice for Every BODY" - author: Susan Delaney Mech, M.D.

In this book you will read about posture, back pain, sitting, you muscles, standing, long arm quilting, rotary cutting, customizing your furniture to fit your body's comfort for quilting, exercises.......I could go on and on and on.........better still.....but this great book published by C&T Publishing.  You won't be sorry!!!

Addendum

Paula just told me that you can now get the book in PDF form from C&T. Thanks Paula.