Review of a book (Child of Mine) by Beverly & David Lewis

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I did grow to like the book but the story started off way too slowly for me and, at times, I was not even going to finish reading the book. I am a big fan of Amish fiction and of Beverly Lewis. From the cover, I assumed this was going to be a story based in an Amish community amongst Amish families but it wasn't. There was an Amish element to the story but it was much different than what I expected. The plot is interesting.....a woman trying to find the daughter that was kidnapped as an infant some years earlier.....but I still feel the book was way too long. It is a good read but don't expect the story to move quickly. All that being said, I must say this is probably the least favorite of all the Beverly Lewis books I've read......but it is also the first one of hers I've read that was not written entirely by her.

Pre-Easter post......

I just realized I'd not blogged in awhile.  I have absolutely nothing "quilty" to report, but I have been busy with lots of music at church since my last post. In addition to weekly services, our choir sang an Evensong service and, of course, we have been working hard at lots of beautiful music for Holy Week.  I am also making a gradual return to the handbell choir.  (I had taken a break for over a year.)  For the two services our choir sings on Easter, we will have a brass ensemble with us from the University of Delaware and that should be magnificent.  Soul-stirring music, in my opinion, adds so much to the already-wonderful services at our parish.  We are blessed with amazing clergy and staff there and it is a joy to be part of the music ministry at such a place.

On the homefront, I have now completed 11 piano lessons and am truly enjoying this experience.  My first few weeks, I was practicing on a small keyboard (not full-sized keys...and not very many octaves).  I guess I was uncertain as to whether or not I could really do this.  Once I realized (with confirmation from my piano teacher) that I was doing fine and progressing nicely, we made the decision to get a digital piano.  That was what fit the space (and our budget) the best.  My teacher was kind enough to accompany us so we could make a knowledgeable decision about which one would suit my needs.  I love having it in a prominent place in the house and sit down to play about 4 times a day.  (With my "senior back", I can usually only play in 30-45 minute sessions.....learned THAT the hard way the first week the piano was here!)  I use an adult beginner book, so, thankfully, my practice pieces are a bit more mature than Twinkle Twinkle Little Star!  The book also has some duets in it and that is challenging (but fun) when those are played along with my teacher.   Right now, I will be on a 4-week break from lessons due to our schedule and the schedule of my teacher.....and I am quite sure I will be going into some kind of "withdrawal" symptoms.  Hopefully, I don't regress too much and can jump back in with little "recovery time" needed when my lessons resume late in May.   Below is a photo of my digital piano.  I love that we were able to place it right beneath one of the quilted wall-hangings I made and alongside a curio cabinet that holds some treasured items from ESL students I taught in NJ.  It is a very peaceful and happy place for me to spend time each day!

For those of you who celebrate it, may your Easter be truly blessed and happy....with some truly nice weather thrown in, also.  (After the too-long, too-cold, too-snowy winter we had and the crazy spring so far, I'm really hoping for a sunny and warm Easter.)

Nice surprise in the mail.....

Look at this nice surprise I got in the mail today from a quilting friend ( Julie ).   She took the time to make me a mini quilt and I love it......so colorful....

and she put a little bit of "extra-special" in it by adding a piping strip of fabric just inside the binding.  (I'm not sure if you call it piping, but that's what I call it.)  If you click on the photo, I think you can see it in more detail.   I really appreciate her kindness AND her nice work.....beautifully-stitched hand-quilting on it, too.   It looks very nice hanging on my wall and I will treasure it always.   THANKS, Julie!    Click on her name at the beginning of my post to go see her quilting blog and the beautiful work she does while still working full-time as a nurse.  She is quite a special gal.

Yet Another Book Review...Minding Molly

Recently I was given a copy of Minding Molly (by Leslie Gould) from Bethany House publishers.  In return, I was asked to provide a review.  Those of you who follow my blog know I enjoy Amish fiction, so I had high hopes for this book....especially since I read the first two books of the series and really enjoyed them.  This one, though, didn't hold my interest very well.  It seemed to drag along and I didn't find myself wanting to stay up late at night to read for hours on end.  I had trouble connecting with the characters in this book.  I think, though, if it was the first Amish fiction book I was reading, I'd have been fascinated enough with the Amish culture that it would have been enjoyable enough.  At this point, however, I have read so many Amish fiction books that I had a large basis for comparison and this didn't make the grade for me.  While I have enjoyed other books by this same author, this one did not seem on a par with the others.   I'd give it just 3 out of 5 stars.  To me, it was okay...but not much more than that.

Decluttering and ME time....

I am in the process of trying to declutter the house.  I have accumulated lots of things and really can do without many of them.  So....I set a goal of getting rid of at least 5 items per day for as long as I can continue to do that.  Some days I have gotten rid of more than 5.  My best day was today when I got rid of 30 items!!!  Some of the items are going to folks I know who will enjoy them.....many more are going to an area thrift shop.  It feels good to do this.  So far, I'm not noticing a big difference in the house, overall, but that will come, in time.  I also am not finding it difficult to identify items that need to GO.....but I'm sure it will become harder as days/weeks go by!  For now, though, my plan is working well.

Along with this, I am taking more time for ME this year.  This will be done in several ways.....little things to improve my health (remembering to take my daily vitamin and calcium, drinking lots of water each day, increasing my amount of exercise, etc.)  I am also setting out to improve my singing skills in choir and hope to start piano lessons soon. That is something I've always wanted to do since I was a little girl (at which time I had to settle for accordion lessons...which I hated...but that was what fit my parents' budget...no way they could get a piano for me). 

Here is a photo of something cute I forgot I had.   I found it when decluttering and I'm going to put it out and use it AND make some more "quilts" for it.  It is a miniature wooden quilt rack.  I put a pen by it when I took the photo so you can see how small it is.  I really like it and it will not be going out of the house as a "clutter" item!   Some things you just need to keep.....

 

May 2014 bring blessings of good health, peace and joy to all of you.  

Merry Christmas!

For all my blog friends who celebrate Christmas, I wish you many blessings.....and a good year ahead in 2014 for all.