A foggy morning last week gives the early hours an ethereal quality. I like the silence it brings as even the birds take a pause from their daybreak choral performance.
The Japanese word shinrinyoku for ‘taking a forest bath’ again comes to mind. The filtered light has a soft quality.
These turkeys came by on Monday, right before the tree guys showed up.
Gracie came by for a meal, too. Here’s your squirrel fix for the week.
Remember the lemons I had on the counter for the idea of bringing summer inside?
I decided to use them to begin experimenting with a recipe for the cooking contest at the Mountain State Fair this fall. This is a lemon blueberry pie.
The recipe isn’t final yet, but eating the experiment was fun. I have to be sure that the total amount of sugar in the recipe is less than 3/4 cup. I think I am there, but want to see how it goes if I use sucralose instead of sugar. So, I can’t give you the recipe yet, but will after the contest in September.
The bluebirds must have fledged while we were out of town in May. I took several photos of the birdhouse over a week or so, and they all looked the same with this bit of nesting material showing in the entrance. My Sweet Babboo took the house down and we cleaned it out. Now that the tree workers have finished, we’ll put it back up and hope for a second brood.
The hydrangea is putting out some lovely blooms. These look like they may be the pretty lavendar color I like best. I need to add a bit of lime to the soil to keep them on the purple to pink side. I do need to prune it a bit.
I think I have finally adjusted to the time change, it’s only been 3 months (yes, that is sarcasm). I am finally up earlier in the morning again and able to read more. Here are the latest books I’ve read with my reviews. The titles are linked to Amazon if you’d like to read the whole synopsis or order a copy. Thank you for using my affiliate links when you can.
Goddesses of Kitchen Avenue by Barbara O’Neal – Four women, all neighbors, face life challenges with their relationships and marriages. One is widowed, one trying to put a bad marriage behind her, one blindsided by her husband’s affair, and one finding love when she wasn’t looking for a relationship. The characters are well developed, and the reader is drawn in with fluid writing that makes the book difficult to put down. The thought processes of each woman are interesting as they work through their emotions, pushing themselves out of their respective comfort zones to grow and realize their dreams. Well written, recommend. 5 stars
The Road to Golden Days by Melanie Lageschulte – Second in her new series of mystery books, this one centers on an arsonist. The town is on edge as one after another old abandoned homes on back roads is set on fire. Kate moves through her postal route, trying to keep her eyes open for clues. Like the first one in the series, it is mostly day to day small town life. The problem is that the characters in this series are flat and not as well drawn as in the first Seasons series. The mystery is not well told, with mainly Kate asking the same questions of herself over and over. It actually was a bit boring for the last 50 pages or so. Plus the mystery is only solved by conjecture, not evidence, and was left unfinished and unsatisfying. I am afraid that this author has reached the end of her abilities, and needs a new editor to help her write better stories.
Welcome To The Garden Club by Jenny Tilbury – It starts out as a fluffy read of women in a garden club, with the new president shaking up the staid traditions of a New Orleans institution and all the fun snark that comes along with that kind of storyline. However, it develops into a deeper read about relationships between women, overcoming adversity, the challenges of a broken marriage, and a devastating illness. Well developed characters and compelling writing make this one another five star read. I couldn’t put it down and I recommend it.
We signed up for a free trial of Amazon Prime Video so we could watch a couple of programs recommended by friends. One was a documentary on the Blue Angels, a jaw dropping, amazing movie with heart stopping flying action. Highly recommend!!
In the sewing room, I received a package in the mail from dear reader Brenda, who sent me a black-on-white fabric she thought would work well with my Paris fabrics for the Disappearing Nine Patch I wanted to make. Indeed, it did! So I got to work this week cutting strips and working on the blocks. I’ll show you more about this when it gets farther along.
Stashbuster Check in is coming on Friday.
What’s happening in your sewing room and kitchen? What are you reading?
**************************
Made by Milk Street Weekend Sale – 35% off products made by Milk Street
5/31 – 6/2 – Code: MILKSTREET
From My Carolina Home 
Right now the ‘squirrel’ filching bird seed at my feeder is rather large with a mask & ringed tail. Those raccoon mamas are looking for food around the clock. I just read an older book “Legacy the story of Talula Gilbert Bottoms and her quilts” by Nancilu Burdick. It includes notes from Talula’s memoir of growing up during post-war reconstruction in Georgia and her move to Alabama plus lots of photos of her magnificent hand sewn quilts. Actually, most everything they had was hand crafted. It was a hard life before modern conveniences and a good reminder of how easy we have it today.
I watched Blue Angles this week too. It was offered as a “Movie for Grown Ups” through AARP. I would suggest investigating AARP because not all of their offerings require a membership. Free is better than a Prime membership. I have seen 42nd Street, Placido Domino, ballets, Broadway plays, and both current theater movies and those that never make the theaters but are well worthy of my time in just the past few months. Investigate the possibilities that may fit you and your Sweet Baboo’s interest. An option.
Free is sometimes better, but I don’t like how some free services insert commercials into the shows at times that don’t make sense. I have seen them cut off conversations, not waiting for a natural break, because they are on a timer. But I’ll check that out, I wasn’t even aware of an AARP channel.
AARP has no commercials. The first 2 to 3 minutes of feature length movies, is directions and 30-60 second promo for AARP. Then done with “commercials”. Here is the link where I find the AARP presentations. https://local.aarp.org/virtual-community-center/
You can define what you are interested in: movies, food, history, book reviews, museum and garden tours and on and on. I get a lot of quilting done while viewing presentations. Tee-Hee-Hee.
We did look at this a while back, the limitation is that it is not a streaming channel. You have to be watching as the event happens, and have registered to get it. Since it is rare that we can actually be sitting in front of the TV at a prescribed time is rare, it isn’t an option that really works for us. But might for others.
I am currently working on baby quilt #2 of 3. Lots of people in my circle are having kids or grandkids coming so I have been trying to get them done before the babes get here.
For books I have been reading Mary Marks quilting mysteries. I am currently starting book 5. My local library was doing a purge of well loved books (spines were getting worn, etc) and I was able to pick up 6 of the series for $1 each. I enjoy that they are a lighter read than the historical fiction I usually gravitate to.
I love the ethereal quality of the fog around the mountains. It is pouring rain this morning and the weeds are loving it as well as my flowers. The lemon blueberry pie sounds like a winner! Happy Sunday, Carole!
I like the concept of shinrinyoku for ‘taking a forest bath.’ Your photos are lovely, and it’s very foggy here this morning. Thanks for your thoughtful book reviews. The Goddesses of Kitchen Avenue sounds good!
What a lovely way to start my Sunday. Your hydrangeas are beautiful (I love that color, too). And the pie looks like it will be delicious! I must remember that Japanese word. It reminds me of what I see in the woods at the lake when the light is just perfect. And Gracie is always welcome.
I just finished “Cecil Beaton’s Fair Lady,” his diary during the production of the movie for which he designed the magnificent sets and costumes. Now I’m reading a Donna Leon and next up might be either “Americans in London” or “Three Sisters, Three Queens” or possibly an Ann Cleeves!
thanks for the book recommendations!
Such a beautiful view there, whether it’s foggy or clear! Your lemon – blueberry experiment sounds yummy – I’ll look forward to seeing your final recipe. Thanks, as always, for the book recommendations. Those sound good! I ordered fabric for quilt backings recently and it arrived on May 31st! So that will mess up my Stashbusters totals for the year, but will at least help me get a finish in June! Have a wonderful Sunday, Carole!
Sent the titles to the library (we still order books on line and pick up when they come in from neighboring libraries) they all look wonderful! Thanks!
Thanks so much for the book reviews. I have added a couple to my reading list. That fabric looks so perfect for your Paris blocks.
Lemon blueberry pie sounds like a ribbon winner to me! Thanks for the book reviews, Women of the Garden Club sounds like one I would enjoy. The Blue Angels are stationed near our beach house and we see them fly by often as they practice. Every July they have a show in our area and we take the boat out to the bay where they are showing and watch~ it is an INCREDIBLE experience!
Jenna