It is another quiet weekend with lovely cool mornings spent on the veranda, a nice place to read while enjoying the quiet and a hot cup of coffee. Sometimes it is hard to get going with it being so nice outside as it is so tempting to linger a bit longer. The haze from the Canadian wildfires hasn’t been too bad this week, and it is mostly cleared now with a southerly wind pushing it back north. In the garden, my pretty day lilies are starting their blooming season. These flowers only bloom for one day then fade. I’ll have a couple of weeks of them doing this. This peach one with the ruffled petals and yellow throat is my favorite of the day lilies.
Another one is deep purple with a more saturated yellow color in the throat.
In the garden, my first tomato is on its way!
I have been reading a lot in the mornings, and I couldn’t wait another day to share a couple of book reviews. Two five star books, almost impossible to put down! Normally, I would wait until I had a full blog post on just book reviews, but these are too good to put off until later. Get on the list at your local library, see the synopsis on Amazon with the provided affiliate links, find it on Kindle or audio. These are worth the time.
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang – A white author, June, witnesses her Chinese author-friend Athena’s freak accidental death, and in a split second decision, takes Athena’s notes and partially finished manuscript. Athena, who had everything June did not, was more talented and a publisher darling. Or was she? Was she the prodigy as promoted, or did she herself steal the words of others? June pours herself into finishing the novel about Chinese immigrants during World War I, and publishes it as her own work. The morally wrong choice she makes to claim full credit for the work is the basis for the novel. As June continues to justify her actions and take steps to ensure her secrets remain secret, evidence begins to surface that would unravel her lies. She compounds the problem with a second novel, based partially on a paragraph written by Athena. The novel is a roller coaster read, illuminating the dark side of human nature, the brutality and ruthlessness of internet trolls, and the lengths people will go to in order to justify bad decisions. Along the way, the reader gets a glimpse into the cutthroat publishing industry. Written in first person, the reader sees June wrestling with her choices, her fears, her anxiety, and her selfishness. Add in the complications of cultural appropriation, diversity of voices in publishing, and racism, and this becomes the novel that will set book clubs on fire this summer. The discussion potential is extraordinary, and will keep the reader thinking about the themes for days. Just published on May 16, 2023. Highly recommend!!
Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough – A woman approaching her 40th birthday has increasingly trouble sleeping, just like her own mother had when she was approaching the same age. Her mother went insane, and Emma fears the same thing will happen to her. As the insomnia worsens, she has trouble distinguishing reality from hallucination, loses time, and becomes more convinced that bad things are about to happen. The book starts rather slowly, but around page 135, you won’t be able to put it down. I sure couldn’t, reading the last 150 pages in a single sitting. The pacing picks up, like a train leaving a station, starting out slowly, gaining speed through the last half of the book as twist after twist comes barreling down the track. Just as you think you have it figured out, the protagonist goes down the same thought line, then changes direction. This is the author who wrote Behind Her Eyes, another thriller. If you have Netflix, see Behind Her Eyes, a limited series that will blow you away at the end as everything you thought you knew will change. If you enjoy thrillers, Insomnia may keep you up at night too. Published April 2022. Highly Recommend.
On the wildlife front, two squirrels visited at the same time this past week, and it is a challenge to get each one a sandwich. One may be Oliver, but I am not sure which is which at this point. When I toss the first sandwich, they both go for it, and end up chasing each other. So this time I tried a different approach, tossing both at once to the side of each one so each would turn away from the other one. It didn’t work as planned, but eventually they both were content with their treats. One on the driveway…
and the other at the top of the steps.
On Tuesday, get ready for an avalanche of ideas for summer tablescapes, as I am part of a blog hop. Just to get you in the mood, this is one of my favorites from a past year – a food themed table. The base is my Picnic Quilt, with the centerpiece of a colander filled with vegetables, little rabbits in the garden, onion dishes to hold a side dish and ice cream flutes for dessert. The individual baker dishes could hold individual quiches, and have onions, radishes and other veggies decorating the bottom. See the entire post with more details on Summer Garden Tablescape.
I’ve made progress on the quilt on the frame, Quadrille. I almost have a whole plan, and have been working on elements within the blocks to just break the ice. Several rulers will be used and it may take a month or more to get it done. I’ll show you more on this later. The border is next in the quilt along and will publish on July 14.
This week I’ll be in Burnsville at the Mountain Piecemakers Quilt Guild for a speaking event, presenting my Scrap Dancing program at their meeting. Then I’ll be working on Quadrille and the little miniature quilt. I’m looking forward to dinner with car club friends on Friday night, and a breakfast on Saturday morning. So, not too busy, with plenty of time for fun.
What are your plans for the week? Are you interested in the books on today’s post? What are you reading?
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Creative Spark from C&T Publishing has a new event coming June 29, Piecing Palooza! Get inspired with nine 40-minute workshops, where you will have the chance to learn various subjects, from working with quilting technology to quilt blocks to tips for accurate piecing — and so much more! Whether you’re looking for new skills and techniques, technologies to explore, or inspiration for your next project, there is something for every quilter at this event to level up your projects.
You’ll get 6½ hours of content in four hours using the magic of technology. Piecing Palooza will have nine 40-minute breakout rooms. You’ll pick three you want to see LIVE and choose your own learning adventure with just a click. Recordings of the other six rooms will be available to watch through your Creative Spark account.
The course is regularly $49.00, but you get $20 off with my coupon code pp2cc! Get all this, and a chance to win prizes for just $29!! Just click on Piecing Palooza to see all the class details, and the coupon code is applied automatically. Don’t miss it!
From My Carolina Home 
What a happy welcoming table!!
The colander of vegetables in your tablescape makes me smile. Why not use vegetables, they’re so beautiful & colorful. Flowers might win in the fragrance category, but you can eat the veggies. While driving down from a quilt club meeting, the hills in the Finger Lakes were reminiscent of the Blue Ridge from the Canadian smokey haze. Usually they’re a crisp vibrant green. A brief shower followed bringing some refreshing air. It has felt like living in an camp site when everyone had a campfires before there were generators & RVs.
I’m looking forward to your table scapes though I definitely keep mine simple, it’s summer so mine is basic red, white and blue and I hope to get a new runner made this week.
I am reading Fabric by Victoria Finlay ( NOT Wolfe!) Non-fiction, it is a history of many different fabrics and is fascinating! She has also written another about the history of Color.
Thank you so much for the book reviews. I had seen Yellowface advertised at our local library but had forgotten to look it up once I got home. I will definitely be adding it to my list. I was a little disappointed in my last read, River Sing Me Home. I liked the idea of the book; The main character Rachel is an emancipated slave who sets out to find the children who were taken from her and sold to other slave owners. I guess I wanted a little more action to the story. It was a bit slow throughout with the only drama really coming at the end. I would give it 3 stars.
As always, thanks for the book reviews. Both of those sound intriguing. I look forward to the blog hop!
Glad you’re getting a break from the smoke! Pretty lilies, too. I didn’t realize that the blooms only lasted for such a short time. Both of the books sound interesting – will have to put them on my list. I’ll enjoy your tablescapes post – yours are always so pretty!
It’s hard to believe that the smoke from the Canadian wildfires came as far south as NC, awful! I love the way you name and feed your squirrels. A squirrel came up to my front door and dug through my hydrangea pots and made a huge mess! Thanks for the book reviews, I’m not brave enough to read thrillers 😂 See you Tuesday at the blog hop!
Glad you are getting some fresher air. We had a horrible week with orange, then red, then Purple warnings for the air. Never so glad to see the rain come through to wash the mess out of the sky. Thanks for sending the breeze our way. Books – My 13 y/o granddaughter reads “young adult” series and recommended one to me. It’s a series of “swashbuckling” stories about a young orphan who goes to sea, on a Royal Naval Ship. Author is L.A.Meyer, and the first book is “Bloody Jack”. Quite the adventure and I just started the 2nd in the series. Love a good book about life at sea!
Super reviews! I requested both titles from the library!
I do love daylilies! The foliage is one of the first to appear in the spring and the flowers are so pretty. I have one called Happy that is yellow and blooms twice if growing conditions are good. The smoke from the wild fires was overwhelming midweek here. Grateful the air is back in the good zone so I can garden.
Thank you for sharing on life enriching topics!
Now I know why they’re called “day” lilies! Wish mine were more abundant. I appreciate your book reviews. I’ve read or listened to several of your recommendations. I recently finished listening to The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn about a Russian female sniper in World War Two. It was very good!
Thank you so much for your book reviews. They are very helpful to me.
Oh such lovely flowers! We have had so little rain and now cold that I think my flowers are a little shy! Love, love, the food table cloth! My daughter has recently moved and needs new table runners/covers and this could hit the spot! Had a late night – Block party! About 1/3 of the neighbors came out, but we gossiped about the ones absent! Lots of FABULOUS food! Back to quilting today…..Thanks
The lily and iris are looking lovely. So pretty in the garden.
Those squirrels look like they could cause a bit of mischief. But lots of fun, too.
You’ve been a busy woman! “Yellowface” sounds especially good — I have to add that to the list!
The book reviews look great, and that quilt on your past summer tablescape is everything!!
We traveled to Richmond this past weekend, and the haze stayed along the Shenandoah Valley and portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway along our route the entire time. WV had only a slight haze, much like late summer delivers without fires. Finally getting some rain today. My daylilies have started blooming also. Summer is here!
I have added both books to my list and will put my name on the wait list at my library.
I loved the dishes on your garden tablescape, adding the rabbits is priceless.
Enjoy your blog.
Alexandria