Category Archives: books

Catching Up!

Posted in 16 in 2016, books, cross stitch, work by

Welcome back! Ah! Doesn’t it feel great to be starting out the New Year at work?

Well, maybe not. I may have occasion to rethink that enthusiasm in the near future. Right now I am looking at the diary I’d already prepped before I left for the break and feeling like this week should be a cruise. There doesn’t look like anything urgent popped up, so I shall just attack everything methodically. And play the tunes. As at the post-lunch snooze attack, my personal inbox is cleared & lots of reporting done.

This year I’m going to continue with the Smalls and WIPocalypse, and add in a reading challenge. I’m going with a suggestion of Stone Soup for Five blog’s and putting the Challies poster up at work so I can see some progress. I want to read less trash in 2016 & put more of the good stuff into my head. WARNING: this challenge is compiled by a Christian so if you don’t believe or aren’t exploring Faith, I would suggest that you research another reading challenge. There are plenty out there in Blogland and lots of “tick the box” graphics on Pinterest.

web-2016-reading-challenge-red.png

I’m also part of a One Little Word Repeaters Club on FB. We all gave up the prompts partway thru 2015 & none of us are motivated enough to pay for the prompts again this year, especially when we can easily log back into the 2015 class & re-print. I am still undecided on my word – MAKE or MOVE. MAKE because I feel so much better if I do craft something every day and MOVE because I need to. Maybe I should commit to two words?

Stitching wise, I started the New Year right with #newyearnewmira and kicked off Raven Queen. Surprisingly she does appear to work on the fabric I dyed back in August or September or whenever. The stand from Andie means I can cope with stitching on 32ct again, even if it’s uneven. And blissfully, I’ve had no carpel tunnel symptoms for nearly two weeks (except when I was painting the gate). Taking a complete computer break for the holidays was the right decision to make.

I’ve decided to rotate my Mira WIPs in the expectation that none become a UFO. Plans will be in my January WIPocalypse post – as otherwise I’ll have nothing to say then J but here’s a recap of Decembers Goals:

  • Set up planner for 2016 with monthly layout for stitching goals & rotation notes, and Week-to-View for the normal stuff, including blog planning COMPLETED
  • Work out what WIPs I am taking into “16 in 2016” COMPLETED – I only have 8 including one I need to start, so this could be pathetic!
  • Stitch Lenna’s RR portion – Moonlight Laguna mermaid COMPLETED
  • Keep up with December Daily. I’m opting to use a Heidi Swapp album in a different format from normal, and a Project Life kit that isn’t Christmas-y at all, but I thought better suited for our Summer. I’m also printing the photos on our printer here at work daily & I’ll re-print on proper photo paper later on. Better to have everything recorded than to stop like I did last year as it got too much. COMPLETED TO DEC 23RD so heaps better than last year!
  • Start Mermaids of the Deep Blue so it’s a WIP to take into “16 in 2016” – technically a bit of a cheat, but there you go. STARTED & FIRST ROTATION GOAL REACHED.

In fact, I got further than this with the two smalls stitched and a portion of Rose of Provence. I put her on the stand when I reached the MOTB goal just to see if I would recover my initial enthusiasm or if I really did want to walk away from that fabric. I’m relieved to say that I did settle in for the three days she was on the stand & that I’ve given up on a tidy back. Threads go here there and everywhere on this one – no lumps so it’s OK.

How are y’all doing?

Book Review: Searching For Sunday by Rachel Held Evans

Posted in books, grateful, growing by
  • Subtitle: loving, leaving and finding the church
  • Publisher: Nelson Books
  • Subject: 248.843 religion/spiritual growth/Christian life
  • Recommended by: Jessica N Turner
  • Author blog/website: www.rachelheldevans.com/
  • Moments for me: there’s a lot of reasons people leave the church – mine was not hers but this is very thought provoking.

Blurb: Like millions of her millennial peers, Rachel Held Evans didn’t want to go to church anymore. The hypocrisy, the politics, the gargantuan building budgets, the scandals–church culture seemed so far removed from Jesus. Yet, despite her cynicism and misgivings, something kept drawing her back to Church. And so she set out on a journey to understand Church and to find her place in it. Centered around seven sacraments, Evans’ quest takes readers through a liturgical year with stories about baptism, communion, confirmation, confession, marriage, vocation, and death that are funny, heartbreaking, and sharply honest. A memoir about making do and taking risks, about the messiness of community and the power of grace, Searching for Sunday is about overcoming cynicism to find hope and, somewhere in between, Church.

sunday

While I always have called myself Christian, I’ve been away from “church” for a long time. Hypocrisy, one-upmanship, jealousy, gossip, simply feeling like l don’t belong – those are all valid reasons why I walked away from certain places. It’s not a valid reason as to why I am not at or searching for THE church that will be my second home. I don’t agree with every viewpoint that Evans has but there are enough points for me to have really enjoyed the thoughts this book provoked, even if I am uncomfortable with some of my thoughts.  I’m not going into all those thoughts here on the blog, as they are for my consumption but here’s some portions of the book I am thinking on.

Talking about Hands (relevant verse 2 Timothy 1:6 “I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands”) There is power in touch – a connective energy, a bond…Jesus didn’t have to touch the blind man’s eyes or the leper’s sores, but he did…the church blessed its sick and commissioned its leaders ith the laying on of hands…the hands that pass the peace can past a meal to the man on the street, the hands that cup together to receive Christ in the bread will extend to receive Christ in the immigrant, the refugee, the lonely, or the sick. Hands plant, and uproot, and cook, and caress. They repair, and rewire, and change diapers and dress wounds. Hands tickle giggling children and wipe away tears. Hands rub heaving bellies of big, ugly dogs. Hands sanctify all sorts of ordinary things and make them holy. My hands bless my family & workmates by what they do, a non-verbal way of saying that “I care about you & what I can do for you”.

 

The Meal: The first thing the world knew about Christians was that they ate together…rich and poor, slaves and free, Jews and Gentiles, men and women to celebrate the day the whole world changed…they remembered Jesus with food, stories, laughter, tears, debate, discussion and clean up…the focus was not in Jesus’ death, but rather on Jesus’ friendship. Later on in the same section, Evans continues: I need the Eucharist because I need to begin each week with open hands…because I need to practice letting go and letting in…because I need to quit keeping score. Or in the words of Alexander Schememann “No one is worthy to receive communion. No one is prepared for it. At this point all merits, all righteousness, all devotions disappear and dissolve. Life comes again to us as a Gift”.

On Church: but the gospel doesn’t need a coalition devoted to keeping the wrong people out. It needs a family of sinners, saved by grace, committed to tearing down the walls, throwing open the doors and shouting “Welcome! There’s bread and wine. Come eat with us and talk.” This isn’t a Kingdom for the worthy; it’s a kingdom for the hungry. Don’t look at everyone else as worthier than myself. Be secure in the knowledge that I am God’s too, and I am loved.

 

On Healing & stuff like that: the truth is, the church doesn’t offer a cure. It doesn’t offer a quick fix. The church offers death and resurrection. The church offers the messy, inconvenient, gut-wrenching, never-ending work of healing and reconciliation. The church offers grace. The Church offers grace.

Book Review: Rock Redemption by Nalini Singh

Posted in books by
  • Publisher: ARC in return for an honest review
  • Recommended by: previously read this author
  • Author blog/website: www.nalinisingh.com/
  • Moments for me: Noah reflects my view of my ex. Ugh.
  • Blurb: Kit Devigny could have loved rock guitarist Noah St. John. Their friendship burned with the promise of intense passion and searing tenderness…until the night Noah deliberately shattered her heart.

Noah knows he destroyed something precious the night he chose to betray Kit, but he’d rather she hate him than learn his darkest secret. All he has left is his music. It’s his saving grace, but it doesn’t silence the voices that keep him up at night. Chasing oblivion through endless one-night-stands, he earns a few hours’ sleep and his bad boy reputation.

When a media error sees Noah and Kit dubbed the new “it” couple, Kit discovers her chance at the role of a lifetime hinges on riding the media wave. Wanting—needing—to give Kit this, even if he can’t give her everything, Noah agrees to play the adoring boyfriend. Only the illusion is suddenly too real, too painful, too beautiful…and it may be too late for the redemption of Noah St. John.

Excerpt: http://nalinisingh.com/books/rock-kiss-series/rock-redemption/

rock redemption cover

Followers will recognize the name – I reviewed another of Nalini’s contempory romances earlier in the year AND LOVED IT: https://sewscrapmuse.wordpress.com/2015/03/12/review-rock-hard-by-nalini-singh/ Unfortunately I can’t say the same for this one. I’d usually devour a Nalini then re-read straight away, but this time I struggled.

To be fair, I’m never going to love everything an author puts out. Early Stephanie Laurens? Yes Please. Later Laurens? Not even if you fed me chocolate. I guess I’m not as invested in Noah or Kit as I was in Thea/David or Charlie/T-Rex, then on the second reading I recognized some of my ex’s traits – denial of issues, avoidance of therapy/counselling, using people. Both characters are a bit tired/well-used/cliché, with the angst-ridden rock star and the ingénue trying not to ride on Mummy & Daddy’s coat-tails. I realize that the childhood trauma suffered by Noah is very, very real for too many people and we all have different ways of dealing with traumatic incidents, so please don’t take this as criticism of the way Singh has chosen to write the resolution of Noah’s issues.

There are other parts of the story I really liked, such as Thea’s explanation of fandom and the naming of “it” couples (think Brangelina). There’s the back story about how the band formed and a glimpse (more than a few) into Abe & Sarah’s story, which will wrap up the series. I’m certainly not put off the author or the series – I just probably won’t read this installment again. Two & a half stars from me.

NOW AVAILABLE

Author Information

naliniNew York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Psy-Changeling, Guild Hunter, and Rock Kiss series Nalini Singh usually writes about hot shapeshifters and dangerous angels. This time around, she decided to write about a beautiful, charismatic guitarist with a dark past. If you’re seeing a theme here, you’re not wrong.

Nalini lives and works in beautiful New Zealand, and is passionate about writing. If you’d like to explore her other books, you can find lots of excerpts on her website. Slave to Sensation is the first book in the Psy-Changeling series, while Angels’ Blood is the first book in the Guild Hunter series. Also, don’t forget to swing by the site to check out the special behind-the-scenes page for the Rock Kiss series, complete with photos of many of the locations used in the books.

STALK HER:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

GIVEAWAY

$50 AMAZON Gift Card

Share Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MDk5NjRmMDM5ZDM4YTBjYWM0YzAyYzM0NGI2ODRhOjc0Ng==/?

And lastly, if you need incentives to sign up to her eNewsletter, Nalini bribes with free stories on the newsletters first: http://www.nalinisingh.com

Book Review: Say Goodbye to Survival Mode by Crystal Paine

Posted in books, grateful, growing, me by
  • Subtitle: 9 Simple Strategies to Stress Less, Sleep More, and Restore Your Passion for Life
  • Publisher: Nelson Books
  • Subject: 248.843 – women, conduct of life, stress + time management
  • Recommended by: library find
  • Author blog/website: www.moneysavingmom.com/

Moments for me: Comparison is the thief of Joy.

Joy is what happens when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are – Marianne Williamson.

While a lot of the financial tips are United States-centric there’s more to be found in this book from the main blogger at www.moneysavingmom.com

wpid-20150913_080916.jpgThese are the things I took from this book. Yours will be utterly personal to you (as it’s that sort of book) but hopefully you’ll be encouraged to pick this title up from your local library. It’s available on most e formats too.

  • Changing attitudes – it’s OK to let routines go when I need to bc I can always impose them later
  • Give, give give – time effort or money, the recipient will be blessed.
  • Involve others in running the home
  • Budget to bring down your big monthly household spends
  • Plan to use my wardrobe (this is working out well, I’ve given away 4 tops already)
  • Get up 30 min earlier to get peace, time to myself, complete my devotional without interruption

On Sunday Si & I talked about the visa (which is linked to his account so I can’t see the balances). We agreed to take this more seriously and a/p $100 a week to it regardless of the balance (our bank pays interest on positive balances). Load lifted by such a simple action!

Blurb: Calling the super busy, the stressed out, the overtired.

You know you’re made for a more fulfilling life. With this book, you’ll know where to start.

You wake up tired. Your to-do list is too long. The commitments—and the laundry—are piling up, but your energy keeps dwindling. You feel like you’re simply making it through the days, not living or enjoying any part of them.

In Say Goodbye to Survival Mode, you’ll find both practical ideas and big-picture perspective that will inspire you to live life on purpose. As a wife, mother of three, and founder of the wildly successful blog MoneySavingMom.com, Crystal Paine has walked the road from barely surviving to living with intention. With the warmth and candor of a dear friend, she shares what she’s learned along the way, helping you:

  • feel healthier and more energetic by setting priorities and boundaries
  • eliminate stress with savvy management of your time, money, and home
  • get more done by setting realistic goals and embracing discipline
  • rediscover your passions—and the confidence to pursue them

Packed with straightforward solutions you’ll use today and inspirational stories you’ll remember for years, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode is a must for any woman who’s ever longed for the freedom to enjoy life, not just survive it.

High 5 4 Friday!

Posted in books, cross stitch, DIY home, family, grateful, growing, High Five For Friday, me by

LISTENING: I got a couple of recs from Caroline TeSelle this week, so I’ll be downloading podcasts from Tsh Oxenreider & Annie F Downs on Sunday when I refresh my iPod. Caroline blogs HERE

rock redemption coverREADING: Not really reading this week. It’s been full on at work and home so my nightly wind-down read is anything that doesn’t involve thinking. However the new ARC from Nalini Singh has downloaded to my account so there goes housework on Sunday!

persephone after 2 TV episodes and the AB's v Namibia

persephone after 2 TV episodes and the AB’s v Namibia

CRAFTING:  Working away on Persephone this week – more progress since Wednesday.

ANTICIPATING: new herbs as I plant more seeds. Summer salads are best from your own garden.

CELEBRATING: Not only did the rep team win game two, we clinched the series. I’ve made some new contacts and one I would consider a good friend.

Also – while I missed the club prize giving the Under 6’s took out a club award for Team Dedication (yay! Such a reflection on the awesome attitudes) MASON won the Sportsmanship award for the team. That’s now all three kids winning what I consider to be the highest award. And doesn’t he look so cute! This is his version of the Rugby World Cup, as made in class yesterday…

IMG_20150924_194302

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway! I’d love to have so many comments that I would need to open up to more winners 🙂

https://sewscrapmuse.wordpress.com/2015/09/25/wowzers-be-in-to-win/

Hi Five for Friday!

Posted in books, conversion details, cross stitch, grateful, High Five For Friday, steptember 2015 by

High FiveLISTENING: Picked up an audio book that I can’t remember reading in print – JD Robb’s Indulgence in Death. Great for drowning out the routine crap at work.

READING: Planning on getting into The Fringe Hours this weekend as I’m just about finished Say Goodbye to Survival Mode. This week was potentially not the week to think about ditching survival! Since I started one change (setting the alarm half-an-hour earlier) I’ve been woken by family at least two hours earlier…sorry peeps, but there won’t be a review tomorrow.

CRAFTING: Working on Keely’s RR still (no stitching since Tuesday!) and waiting for the next Mira one to hit me. I also brought Summer Queen of someone who was destashing. I want to convert her colours from the blue to rich, adult-y pinks, kind-of like Debra Foxx did. Which leads me nicely into…

ANTICIPATING: I signed up to “16 in 16” – a facebook group based on encouragement to finish 16 WIPs in 2016. The only problem is that I don’t have 16 WIPs! But I have an excuse to start some more pieces!

CELEBRATING: 6 days in a row of little sleep but still getting to my Steptember goal. So far, that’s 117.3km walked. Pretty happy with that!

Debra Foxx Fuschia Summer Queen

Debra Foxx Fuschia Summer Queen

Conversion:

changed 939 to 154
changed 924 to 902
changed color 3810 to 915
changed color 597 to 718
changed color 598 to 3608
symbol circle with dot in center 3608 & white
changed color 902 to 550
changed 915 to 552

No bead changes were made.
changed color 718 to 553
changed color 3608 to 554

summer queen blue

Original colours

You Can Quote Me

Posted in books, grateful, me, OLW, work, You Can Quote ME by

YCQM is linked to my One Little Word for 2015, Serenity.

image

I’m not sure how much I’ll pick up out of this book but I’ve got one thing already. 15 minutes work can eliminate a lot of stress.

Sunday morning I grabbed a Project Life card that I’m not likely to use in my album and plotted out what I’ll wear this working week. I added in that Monday is a board meeting (I have to be a grown up, & hence the necklace reminder) and Wednesday is rep training (extra layer) and Friday is casual so I get to wear my Chucks.

You might notice that I write down leggings. Here’s a confession for you; I cannot keep a pair of stockings or hose unladdered for more than five minutes. I’m hopeless there.

This card is up inside my vanity door for a daily reminder. I’m feeling less pressure already!

What’s your top tip for getting ready for the working week?

Postcards from Misty Harbor Inn by Evangeline Kelly

Posted in books by
  • Reading Order: Seaside Harmony, Sunflower Summer, Whispers on the Dock
  • Publisher: Guideposts
  • Subject: fiction
  • Recommended by: library hook-up

mistyharbor

This is a gentle, not Bible-thumping trilogy about 3 older sisters who gather after their mother’s passing in Nantucket, the scene of childhood holidays. There are a few mysteries to solve about their family history and that of the house, and the trilogy themes are fairly universal – love, acceptance & forgiveness.

Evangeline Kelley is the pen name for the writing team of Patti Berg, Pam Andrews & Barbara Hanson, and Camy Tang. Apparently this was their first time writing together, but the result is almost seamless and you can’t tell which author wrote which part – the sign of a good team! Everything meshes together to produce something that doesn’t appear rushed, doesn’t hurry you thru to the end, & isn’t sickly sweet. The series wraps up cleanly but not awkwardly. It is important to read these in order to enjoy.

There’s an interview with Camy Tang here  & one of the things she says rings true: Home really is where your heart is! It might be a bit overused today, but the sentiment is always true. God puts us in the specific places in our lives where we can serve Him, love others and learn the value of what He’s done in our lives.

Seaside Harmony – Book 1 When Caroline Marris joins her sisters, Gracie Gold and Sam Carter for a Nantucket Island getaway, she has no idea how it will change her life. The sisters stumble upon Misty Harbor Inn, the place their late mother loved so much, and Caroline talks her sisters into buying the beautiful but dilapidated inn. But can free-spirited Caroline stay focused enough to make opening the inn a reality? Hand-drawn old postcards draw the sisters into the mystery of Hannah Montague, the young widow of the original owner. Can the sisters uncover the fate of this woman who disappeared in 1880? As Caroline and her sisters work together to make their mom’s dream a reality, they bond in ways they never expected.

Sunflower Summer – book 2 Misty Harbor Inn officially opens, and Gracie Gold, the middle Marris sister, wrestles with an overwhelming decision. As the sisters learn the day-to-day workings of running an inn, Gracie counsels its first guests, newlyweds whose honeymoon seems to be ending before it begins. Meanwhile, Sam’s discovery of a clue in a secret room sheds unflattering light on Hannah Montague, who vanished from the house more than one hundred years ago. And as Gracie and Caroline welcome guests to the inn, they are delighted to see how God uses it — and them — to deepen relationships and transform lives.

Whispers on the Dock – book 3 As Nantucket reaches the pinnacle of its summer glory, and the Marris sisters welcome guests at Misty Harbor Inn, youngest sister Sam Carter enters her mother’s cobbler recipe in the Summerfest baking contest. But she faces a formidable opponent, a past winner who is determined to keep her title even if it means stooping to dirty tactics. Can Sam’s newfound faith help her rise above the fray and reach out to this lonely woman? Meanwhile, an elderly guest arrives who knows the inn’s history, and the sisters are stunned to learn that their late mother lived there as a child. But she told them she’d never been to Nantucket until her honeymoon! Through the woman’s reminiscences and photos, the sisters make an intriguing discovery — not only about the mysterious Hannah Montague, the young woman who disappeared from the house in 1880, but also about their own family history

Hi Five for Friday!

Posted in books, cross stitch, High Five For Friday, house - gardens by

LISTENING: to Elise Joy podcasts about creativity, taking a leap, changing focus www.elisejoy.com or via iTunes and a lot more of radio than iPod – www.lifefm.co.nz

READING: I have a few I just read the first chapter of – and some I want to dive into but I just am not in the headspace. There’s a review for a gentle series scheduled for tomorrow and I’m in book 6 of another I need to schedule for next week. Any suggestions gratefully accepted – I just can’t do deep right now.

20150909_171137SHOPPING: for seeds – this is my haul from Kings this week. I’ll be able to mass plant lavender for minimal cost. And be giving away parsley. Lots of parsley.

CRAFTING: Getting into this RR. I’m thinking beads for the falling snow – and then I remember that it isn’t my piece!20150911_085354

DOING: Wrapping up the 80% portion of being a rep team manager. There are some people making it a lot harder than it needs to be – and getting texts after 11 at night is getting old. First game tomorrow!

20150911_084446

CELEBRATING: My first donation for Steptember! Not too late – you can view my progress here http://bit.ly/1JuNI9k  I’ve done over 100K steps since it began!

PLOTTING: I’m at 110 followers – thank you! I love hearing from you – and I said I’d do a giveaway at 111. Time to start thinking – it might have to be crafty and booky!

Cover Reveal – Rock Redemption

Posted in books by

You might remember that I LOVED book two…I have high hopes for this one!

rock redemption cover

Kit and Noah’s rock star romance is finally here in the newest addition to Nalini Singh’s Rock Kiss Series!!  

PRE-ORDER AVAILABLE

Releasing: October 6th

From New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh comes the next contemporary romance in the Rock Kiss series…

Kit Devigny could have loved rock guitarist Noah St. John. Their friendship burned with the promise of intense passion and searing tenderness…until the night Noah deliberately shattered her heart.

Noah knows he destroyed something precious the night he chose to betray Kit, but he’d rather she hate him than learn his darkest secret. All he has left is his music. It’s his saving grace, but it doesn’t silence the voices that keep him up at night. Chasing oblivion through endless one-night-stands, he earns a few hours’ sleep and his bad boy reputation.

When a media error sees Noah and Kit dubbed the new “it” couple, Kit discovers her chance at the role of a lifetime hinges on riding the media wave. Wanting–needing–to give Kit this, even if he can’t give her everything, Noah agrees to play the adoring boyfriend. Only the illusion is suddenly too real, too painful, too beautiful…and it may be too late for the redemption of Noah St. John.

Meet the Author

nalini

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Psy-Changeling, Guild Hunter, and Rock Kiss series Nalini Singh usually writes about hot shapeshifters and dangerous angels. This time around, she decided to write about a beautiful, charismatic guitarist with a dark past. If you’re seeing a theme here, you’re not wrong.

Nalini lives and works in beautiful New Zealand (EDIT: in MY beautiful city!!), and is passionate about writing. If you’d like to explore her other books, you can find lots of excerpts on her website. Slave to Sensation is the first book in the Psy-Changeling series, while Angels’ Blood is the first book in the Guild Hunter series. Also, don’t forget to swing by the site to check out the special behind-the-scenes page for the Rock Kiss series, complete with photos of many of the locations used in the books.

STALK HER:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads