A Five Star Review

Five reasons I'm giving Five Stars to:
The Rosalind Thorne Mysteries by Darcie Wilde.

1. The series - of historical mysteries starring,
you guessed it, Rosalind Thorne, has three
books so far, beginning with A Useful Woman.

2. The setting - the stories unfold during the regency
era, aka the Jane Austen years, and offer little
tidbits of history, without being too scholarly.

3. The Heroine - Rosalind is a lovely protagonist.

She is sometimes a little hesitant in matters of

the heart but always calm and resourceful

when it comes to detection.

4. The balance - the books do a fine job of balancing
the mysteries with Rosalind's rather complicated
personal history. They also make us appreciate the
many choices women have today.

5. To summarize - if you are in the market for a
light read with a well-crafted puzzle and a
likable set of characters, these could well be
the books for you.

♡

Featured: Washing my jam jar covers,
wondering which jam to make next.

A Good Day's Work

Billy was sad 

when he came through the door,

it's been raining all day

and school was a bore.

The bear came to him

and gave Billy a hug,

thinking you're never 

too old to be snug.

The cars gave the train set

a bit of a chase,

knowing Billy would like

the thrill of a race.

The kite and the darts

and the old mandolin

got a card game going

and let Billy win.

They all played together

and after a while

the bear was quite sure

that he saw Billy smile.

"We hope you feel better!"

he said to the boy,

cause making kids happy

is what brings us toys joy.

♡

Featured: A new friend.

The Little Rose That Could

In the winter garden
a little pink rose
was dusted by snow
shivering, almost froze.

The garden was peaceful,
a deepening gloom,
this was the wrong season
for a flower to bloom.

The rose was restless,
as the snow grew deep -
"I'm not at all tired,
I don't want to sleep.

Why is it so quiet?
Where is everyone?
If they all stayed up
we could still have some fun."

The wise tree awoke
and looked at the moon -
"Go to sleep little rose,
spring will come very soon."

♡

Featured: A cross-stitch rose
on a bed of crochet.

A Five Star Review

Five reasons I'm giving Five Stars to:

The Jane Austen Project

by Kathleen A. Flynn

1. The plot - Rachel and a colleague are sent back

in time from an unspecified future to 1815 England

with a mission to track down Jane Austen.

Why? Of course I'm not telling.

2. The protagonist - Rachel is in her mid 30s,

a medical doctor with a passion for all things Jane.

She is equally tough and fragile, smart, capable,

and very endearing.

3. This is a light read but the book does make you think

about the long way women have come since

the regency. Personally, I've always been concerned 

with questions of hygiene when contemplating 

time travel and the book does touch on that as well,

indoor/outdoor plumbing included.

4. The book reminded me a little of another time travel

favorite - To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis.

5. If you've never dreamed of going back in time

to meet Jane Austen... really, why not?

♡

Featured: a couple of lavender sachets.

A Five Star Review

Five reasons I'm giving Five Stars to:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows :

1. It's a one-off - Mary Ann Shaffer had the idea for the story for many years
and finally wrote it just before she died. Her niece Annie Barrows finished it for her.

2. I love the story - No worries, I’m not about to give the plot away.
I’ll just say that the story unfolds through a correspondence between Juliet,
a London-based writer, her close friends, and some of the inhabitants of Guernsey,
one of the Channel Islands.

3. The Vintage Vibe - The plot takes place in the aftermath of the Second World War
and touches on friendship and bravery and the magic of books.

4. Shaffer must have read another one of my favorite books -
84 Charing Cross Road. The similarities are obvious but
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society does have its own voice
and darling protagonist.

5. I've had it on my wish list for years and years
but the only copies I could locate on-line were unreasonably expensive.
And then I found it in mint condition in a charity shop for 75p.

♡

Featured: some of my cross-stitched bookmarks.

Deep Thoughts

A doll is supposed to always be good

to be quiet and nice and behave as she should;

so why do we admire that spirited doll

who sometimes is naughty for no reason at all?

♡

Featured: a little cross-stitch pillow

made by a deep thinker.

The Happy Butterfly

A happy butterfly sits on a flower

whiling away a lazy hour;

is it a wonder that he feels so gay

being in a spring garden all the long day?

♡

Featured: a cross-stitch sampler
with not one but two butterflies.
But only one of them is happy.

Vive la Provence!

I'm back from Cannes just in time
to get excited about my summer vacation

which is also in Provence this year

and what could be more appropriate for this upcoming joy

than two lavender sachets?

♡

#100happydays - continued

I'm about half-way through with the #100happydays challenge

that I blogged about here

it's a bit of a chore, really,
but I'm hoping to stick with it to the end

♡

So what do I tweet about?

little things - crafting, obviously
surprises found along the way like this candlestick
my walks on the beach - still new and exciting for me

coffees in my favorite coffee places, more than once

the most beautiful spring ever

crafting with my nieces, always a joy
little trips here and there

shopping, of course, like my new breakfast set

and corners of my home, major spring cleaning in progress here!

♡

Happy Passover!

Happy Passover / Easter to everyone!

Enjoy the season - and the time off from work!

♡

Happy Birthday Noa and Ithamar - Continued

We had a garden party to celebrate Noa and Ithamar's birthday.

I was in charge of the decor and chose a theme of bright pastels

to complement the beautiful spring weather.

With the help of my niece I painted the disposal cups with water-colors

(our powers gave out and we didn't do them all

but a kind guest understood that the white ones had a 

white polar bear playing in the snow:-)

I wrapped the white napkins with wool in matching colors

and made the paper party balls that were hanging from the ceiling

(they were spaced out and difficult to photograph).

For the children's corner

(which is what is written in crayons in the middle photo)

I made some cookies for desert and put them on

white plates that I embroidered with cross-stitch

And I finished with a trip to the nursery for some plants to decorate

It was such a nice day.

♡

Cross-Stitch Revisited

If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon 

in a perfectly useless manner, 

you have learned how to live 

– Lin Yutang

♡

Featured: a cross-stitch sampler I made a while back

Dear Holly Hobbie

A long dress, an apron, plenty of patches
a really big hat that always matches

dear Holly Hobbie, it is a disgrace

that we never ever see your face

♡

Featured: a cross-stitch embroidery

Silly Old Bear

I fancied a bit of honey from the hive down the yard

when a bee came out and stung me good and hard

honey is for eating - it just is not fair

I tell you sometimes it's not fun being a bear!

♡

Featured: a cross-stitched guest towel

A woolen cube can be a very nice friend

A woolen cube can be a very nice friend

Whether made of pure wool or an acrylic blend

It comes in an amazing explosion of color

Or just one tone (but that’s a little bit duller)

A cube is square and round at the same time

Not to throw it about is simply a crime

It is always willing when you want to play

And waits patiently by while you are away

It’s wooliness is a hug that tickles your chin

And cheers you up when someone is mean

It will cuddle with you when you’re taking a nap

So don’t you forget it when you’re all grown up!

Keep Calm and Carry On

This is a nice little book of quotations

my favorite:

it ain't no use putting up your umbrella before it rains

and another that I like:

now and then it is good to pause in the pursuit of happiness

and just be happy