Latest Entries »


Another ponytail holder made with leftover sock yarn.
When I do one more inch of knit stitch it’ll be time for the heel.
An inch and a half of ribbing then an inch of knitting. The heel feels far away.
These slipper socks are easier. The inch or so of ribbing will go quickly. The inch of knitting then heel. This feels close.
My next ponytail holder is a different size of yarn and crochet hook. I hope it works.
Hehehe! The beach is nearly done!

Which brings me to plans. And possible roadblocks.

When the beach is finished I’m setting up an office.  Diamond Painting will need to be put away for a while. I want to start recording my books, podcasting, and writing, and, well, preparing for NaNoWriMo.

Except for Stream of Consciousness Saturday, I have at least three book reviews to write. I feel I need to get at those and get ahead.

Ugh! What I’ve been putting off saying since I typed the title: today my husband tested positive for COVID. We don’t know how or where he caught it but, um, I’m worried. Our home is too small to do much distancing. My brother and son can keep their distance. But hubby and I share a bedroom. We sit about three feet apart in the living room. So…

Maybe I won’t catch it. I am enjoying my schedule of musical instruments, Duolingo, stationary bike, crafts, etc.

So hoping and praying for the best. And my husband’s health. We are 4 shots into the vaccination. So…

Review: The Sirens by Emilia Hart


The SirensThe Sirens by Emilia Hart
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was brilliantly written. I loved the many tools that Emilia Hart used to tell this story. History, podcasts, journals, and dreams. My Kindle text-to-speech was perfect for this read.

This isn’t your average Young Adult fantasy mermaid story. This one has meat and history, and mysteries on different levels are presented throughout the book.

I was so grateful to get to read this through NetGalley. If you get the chance, it is well worth the time and money to buy and savor.

View all my reviews

One-Liner Wednesday


Evidence shows that the hardest thing to do is a one-liner. Good thing there’s no prompt police!😂🤣😂

A part of Linda’s One-Liner Wednesday

The Psychology of Time TravelThe Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Below is a previous review of Kate Mascarenhas’s The Psychology of Time Travel. It was with Kindle text-to-speech. I have to admit that this Audible version rates the same. Ellie Heydon (Narrator) doesn’t vary her voice enough to help the listener tell the differences between characters, places, emotions, or times. One difference was one character sounded like they had a cold, but other than that, it was all the same, and I couldn’t figure out why the nasal voice belonged to who it belonged to.

Even so, it was a fun read with time travel rules bent a little differently than other books of this nature. I think it is worth the read, and maybe, in this case, just a paper or visual read.
~~~

A friend recommended this to me. She knew I loved reading about the concept of time travel. And she was not wrong. This was very interesting and even brought up ideas I hadn’t considered before. A lot of time travel science is included in the book, but I loved the story. I loved reading about all the different women who invented the time machines.

I borrowed this Kindle edition from the library. And for a lot of books, the text-to-speech works quite well. But for this book, it made it more challenging. All the voices are the same one, no matter the time or area the person was from; it was the same voice with no emotion. So I got pretty mixed up with who was who. So I have ordered the Audible version to try again later. I am concerned as there are so many characters I may have to take notes to keep it all straight.

Still, even as it was, I found it engaging every single night. I never wanted to quit reading, even when confused.

View all my reviews

Many Reviews to Come



Worst Case ScenarioWorst Case Scenario by T.J. Newman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

T.J. Newman wrote a fantastic disaster movie, I mean a disaster book. Joe Morton (Narrator) brought the writing to life. Joe was able to make each character show up. I never felt like he was being demeaning to women or children, as many male narrators seem to do.

The title says it all. And you know, going in, it is going to get rough and may not get better. Don’t make this your gentle-yourself-to-sleep read. Take it from me: it won’t work. But every waking hour I could, I had the audiobook reading to me.

Here’s the blurb from GoodReads:
When a pilot suffers a heart attack at 35,000 feet, a commercial airliner filled with passengers crashes into a nuclear power plant in the small town of Waketa, Minnesota, which becomes ground zero for a catastrophic national crisis with global implications.

The International Nuclear Event Scale tracks nuclear disasters. It has seven levels. Level 7 is a Major Accident, with only two on record: Fukushima and Chernobyl. There has never been a Level 8. Until now.

In this heart-stopping thriller, ordinary people—power plant employees, firefighters, teachers, families, neighbors, and friends— are thrust into an extraordinary situation as they face the ultimate test of their lives. It will take the combined courage, ingenuity, and determination of a brave few to save not only their community and loved ones, but the fate of humanity at large.

~~~
If you’re looking for a fast scary ride, read this one.

View all my reviews


Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “school.’” Use it as a noun or a verb; use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

I love school. It was my escape, it was where I learned new things. Especially when I taught.

Blah! Boring! I had a whole thing planned but by the time I sat down to write this my energy, and muses had left the building! I do intend to write more on this some time. And it’ll all be based on those first sentences.


Well into the water now. That dark part was difficult as the symbol # and the ‘A’ look alike in dark blue. I had to use my lighted magnifying glass to figure out what was needed.
I need another color for the rest of my ponytail holders. With only 2 inches to finish, this will be done by the end of the day. This is crocheted. I think I got the pattern on Etsy. Yep. Here.
So the watermelon socks are coming along. I debated whether to add the arch-hug as I call that ribbing but I really like how it’s working out. This pair should be way farther along but I had to tink out about 2 inches. And though I now knit Continental, ribbing is still slower.  The finer yarn and needles are hard for my hands. I knit these in shorts spurts.
I had started the heel on these already but realized it was too soon. So I had to tink back. Another inch of arch then I can do into the heel.
Unfortunately for my hands, even this easier pair is at the arch ribbing. I hope I can move on to the heel in at least one pair. Like I said ribbing is slower and gets old.

In the music realm, my violin is moving SO SLOW! I figured out I was over resining the bow. This is where a live teacher would have helped a lot. Getting my lessons via YouTube can be risky. But I can now squeakily play Twinkle, Twinkle (ABCD…), and Mary Had A Little Lamb, and started Jingle Bells. Nothing sounds like music. The positioning of violin and bow are still awkward. The instrument seems to hold  tuning well, now that I’ve figured it out.

Isn’t it pretty? But my eyes have the hardest time focusing first to the bowing area and then figuring out where my fingers need to go. Tracking the A string, the second from the right, is where one starts. My eyes cross and things start hurting quickly. So I give this baby short spurts.
This one, my Enya Ukulele, is my favorite baby. I can sing with the songs I’ve learned. I have a couple memorized. My fingers have developed callouses. You can’t see them. But the strings no longer hurt. And a bit of cellular memory is kicking in so I’m not peeking at strings or music pages as often.

Ah, but, wrap me in plastic and kill me Dexter! This theme song that I picked up from MusicNotes has been tough!!! It looks easy. But not for me. I don’t usually have to listen to the song to get it. Thank goodness MusicNotes has a track to listen to. Even so, I couldn’t get the way it was written. I have finally memorized the beginning.

But midway, there is another section that sends me to a ‘nice cup of tea.’ Okay, let me explain. No. I can’t. Here:

Again. Short spurts. Still very slow. AND I do ‘air playing’ nearly 24/7 I find myself working on it in my sleep.

Thankfully, Succession Theme is recognizable. It’s fun to play the whole piano! Lots of ledger lines or octave lines to reach out for.

Speaking of

It’s time!
For those who think I get everything done. The laundry sat in the dryer two days and sat near me yesterday and today. The bike is yelling that I didn’t do that yet. There’s only 24 hours in a day! I still have Duolingo to do.

Piano time!


The Bookstore SistersThe Bookstore Sisters by Alice Hoffman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was cute. I’m not much of a short story fan, but this fits the moment. I needed something to read after the last book left me an hour from sleep time. It is fun to finish a book in an hour or so.

I had this one tucked away in my Audible library. Jennifer Jill Araya, the narrator, was able to keep the characters fresh and sincere.

There are a couple more novellas following this one. I plan to get them and finish the story.

View all my reviews

One-Liner Wednesday


This Humane Society inspired post prompted by Linda.

Sadly, we didn’t get a new dog. (Details below.)

I had this page set up last night with two choices one if we got a dog and one if we didn’t. My hopes were high but the majority were too large for us. Adorable, yes, and I wanted them all! But realistically we need something smaller. The two smaller ones were already taken. The one I had hoped to get the day before, Birdie was taken yesterday. She was an adorable chihuahua mix. Oh, well. At least we’ve offically started the search.

Pieces Of My Heart

"Words & Wonders - Where thoughts meet art

💫The Afterlove Voice💫 Justice For Liam ⚖

Justice, Channeling,Spiritual,Astrology,Truth- Seeker.

Amin Academy

Education, Information, Motivation

WhatIf.in.net - Alternate Realities

Where Curiosity Meets Creativity

Luso Loonie — Devin Meireles

Portuguese-Canadian Writing About This Portuguese Thing of Ours

UNDER THE WILL... OVER THE DRAMA...

Inheritance. Narcissism. Turf. Welcome to the family.

Selma

Finding the extra in the ordinary

Sip, Snack, See

A Blog About Food and Travels

Golu lodhi

I upload photos & videos Golu lodhi village pairakhedi

Hunza

Travel,Tourism, precious story "Now in hundreds of languages for you."

intricate cantrips

twisted yarns, unraveled

Introverted Growth

The Introvert's Roadmap to Self Discovery and Growth

Histopedia

story telling from history

KaustubhaReflections

Where ancient wisdom meets modern technology. Stories that illuminate the wonders of science, culture, and life — crafted with human creativity and a touch of AI magic.

Roads Lesser Traveled

Life is just down the road lesser traveled....

Enlarge my heart

In the Quiet Space of a Benedictine Heart: Seeking God in Every Moment