Happy February everyone!

Time flies! Can't believe we are heading toward the middle of the month already!

I have been working a bit on the tavern and made some decent progress, for a change.  I was just thinking that I need to pull threads for another project I have been meaning to start as well.  The pattern is on loan so I need to get working!  Here is the tavern thus far-

This is an older pattern; I think the copyright is 1977! But the friend I am stitching it for wanted me to do it with overdyed threads.  I think it will add a little something. 

I have been playing with my oils again- yesterday I made face cream and today I made shower gel.  The face cream works wonderfully! I haven't tried the shower gel yet. I will in the morning.  The face cream was so easy and quick! I found a recipe on Pinterest and changed it slightly.  You need 1/2 cup coconut oil, 2 tsp almond oil, 1 tbsp raw shea butter, and essential oil.(your choice- I used lavender and frankincense because they are good for your skin. 5 drops each.)

Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Blend until a light, fluffy texture.

Put in an airtight container! Done!

This cream really works well.  I put it on my face at night before bed, and in the morning before I put my makeup on.  It is 7:21 pm and my face still feels so soft! And there is something comforting knowing that all the ingredients in it are not harmful in any way.

I started reading a new book this week - a Netgalley advanced reader copy.  It's called No One Knows by J.T. Ellison.  I wanted to read it because the preview reminded me a bit of the movie "Double Jeopardy", which I loved. I am curious to see if this book is similar or different.  I am also reading Spirit Driven Success by Dani Johnson. I have recently just discovered Dani via a friend and she is amazing.  Very inspiring and has good insight for all aspects of life. I highly recommend reading her books! 

That's it for today- hope everyone has a great week!

Tracey ♥☺

Mrs. John Doe by Tom Savage

I'm sorry, I know I have been having a lot of book reviews lately and not a lot of stitching. I  just keep finding all these great books to read and get so engrossed I just want to keep reading.  Then I don't get any stitching done. Is anyone else like that?

This book was brilliant.  I had never read any books by Tom Savage before I read this one.  I was not disappointed.  I was provided an advanced reader copy of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in turn for an honest review.  This book was like none I have read so far.  I hesitate to even write a summary as I don't want to give too much away.  Nora Baron is called to England to identify the remains of her husband, who has died in an accident.  After doing so she is prepared to take his remains and go home, when someone tries to take her purse- someone she saw watching her on her flight over to England.  From there ensues an action-packed story with many twists and turns; I wished I had had a block of time to just sit and read the whole thing at once.  I definitely will be reading more of Tom Savage's books. This was an excellent story.

The Lost Heiress by Roseanna M. White

I was provided an advanced reader copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!  It was a sweet story with enough suspense to keep you turning the pages. I liked the Christian element of the story, and also appreciated the fact that there were no sex scenes or bad language. It was very refreshing!

A brief summary-Brook has been brought up in the palace of Monaco, rescued as a baby by an opera singer from a carriage accident that killed her mother.  She is British by birth, and as she comes of age her friend Justin helps her find her true family.  What she finds is a wonderful surprise that also has its difficulties.  It is a lovely story that has romance, mystery, and suspense!

(I know I promised a stitchy post- will have one soon!)

Sloughing The Skin by Dr. Sonja Strode

I was provided and advanced reader copy of this from netgalley.com and the publisher for an honest review.  This book was very well written; almost too well written.  It contained a lot of details that didn't feel especially relevant to the story.  When reading you feel you are in the main character's mind, for most of the book.  That is all well and good but then you are privy to every random thought and every minute detail of the remodeling/rehabilitation of their cottage. Some of the details were relevant to the story and others were not.   There was also no real excitement to the revelation of the secrets that were being kept by the neighbors.  I would have like to see the main character a little more involved and a little more suspense.  I did,  however, enjoy the descriptions of the countryside and so forth that the author gave.


(Stitchy updates coming soon!)

Gone But Knot Forgotten by Mary Marks

I was provided an advanced reader's copy of this book via Netgalley. This was a sweet but serious cozy mystery, not too fluffy but not too graphic either.  Martha Rose is saddened and shocked when she finds out an old(very rich) friend of hers has passed away, and made her the executor of her estate.  Martha finds the manner of her friend's death suspicious, and many questions start arising as she goes through the estate, questions that may even put her in danger.  This was a fun but page-turning read, with a cast of quirky but real characters that kept me entertained throughout.  This is a book in a series and I plan to read the others now!

The Water of Life(Uisge beatha) by Daniel Marchildon

I was provided a free copy of this (e-)book by the publisher via netgalley.com, in return for an honest review.  I really enjoyed this book.  It was well researched and went easily from past to present without confusing the reader. I will say the family tree of the families in the book, will be very helpful! The story begins in present day, with Elizabeth Legrand,  a woman who is determined to open a Scotch whisky distillery in her small hometown with only about thirty inhabitants, and create a Scotch whisky better than any other, even those made in Scotland. It tells the story by bouncing between past and present, to tell the story of the Glen Dubh distillery, and the scotch itself, which seems to cause heartache and chaos wherever it is present, despite its amazing taste, and euphoric feelings it gives to the drinker. Even though the story went back and forth between past and present, it was easy to follow and very well written. It described perfectly all locations where the story took place, mainly Scotland and Canada.  You could even almost taste the whiskys in the book, they were described so well.  It made me want to try Scotch whisky again, to see if I missed something the first time I tried it.  It was a haunting story and very entertaining.

The Dogist by Elias Weiss Friedman

My first Netgalley review! When I saw that this book was "photographic encounters with 1000 dogs", I had to check it out.  I was not disappointed. This book made me wish I had a place to display books in my living room, so that when this book comes out I can buy a copy and set it out for all my friends to enjoy.  It will not be published until October so I have some time. I honestly thing even those who are not dog lovers and or people who love to take pictures(like me) would enjoy this book.  It included photos of dogs of all different breeds, with all different expressions and emotions, and a few with special stories.  A lot of the photos are just taken as he comes across owners and their dogs, but in the case of some of the tougher cases, he actually sets up times to meet with the dog and gain their trust, so he may photograph them.  He really captures the soul and personality of the dog.  Some photos made me laugh, and some brought me to tears.  A wonderful book for any animal lover.  I have already added it to my Amazon wish list so I won't forget to buy it when it comes out. It comes out in the month of my birthday so maybe I will get lucky and someone will buy it for me. ☺This book was an advanced copy provided to me by Netgalley for review.  I highly recommend this book!

Updates

Hello..

Hope everyone's summer is going well! Here, well, it's hot! Today wasn't as bad as some days but it was still right toasty.  I did get out and play with the pups a little bit; I took my phone out to take some pictures but of course I forgot. Kona loves playing fetch and is very quick in getting the ball back to me! He keeps me busy out there! I did get this picture of him when I was *supposed* to be cleaning our spare bedroom. Ahem.

 But in my defense I did clean it up some yesterday! It has become quite a catch-all room.  Books, craft stuff, files, magazines, etc. I was trying to sort through some of the clutter. I did yesterday but today just felt a little over-whelmed(and maybe a little lazy.)  

I did accomplish a couple of things today stitching-wise.  One of my Facebook stitching groups has a Quick Stitch Weekend once a month, where we find a small design and try to stitch it in a weekend.   This month I found an old Pine Mountain pillow kit I got years ago.  I think my daughter originally wanted me to buy it so she could stitch it.  Well she hasn't stitched in a long time and doesn't really seem to have an interest in in anymore, so I stitched it for her as a surprise while she was with friends this weekend. In fact I am still waiting for her to get home and see it. ☺ 

I hope she won't be upset that I stitched it instead.

I also pulled out some frames my dad had made for me- I wish I would have written down which designs I had him make them for- and framed an old finish. It was the only one I was pretty certain belonged to one of the frames.

It's "Snow Tired" (duh) by Homespun Elegance.  Now I have to figure out what the other frames go to.  

I am currently working on a couple of different things- a Grilles by Maryse freebie- "It's Winter Time"( a little wrinkled, sorry)-

And a piece for a friend- "Chowning's Tavern" (an actual place in Williamsburg, VA). I don't have much done on that one yet; hoping to put a few stitches in it tonight.

I recently discovered netgalley.com.  It's a site where you can request to read certain books before they are available for sale.  The authors rely on you for an honest review of their book and you post that review on their site as well as blogs, facebook, twitter, etc.  I am giving it a shot and reading my first book The Water of Life by Daniel Marchildon.  I will let you know how it is!

Well, since I started writing this, my daughter has returned home. Once she saw the pillow she remembered the kit. She did not seem upset at all that I had stitched it. ☺ 

If I am going to stitch I better get to it. Here is a little picture of Ginger as a sign-off.

She's like "Mom, you are taking a picture of me again?"

God bless!

Tracey

P.S. Finally finished Brooke's Books Summer House a little while back! Here it is-

Hellloooo!

Yes, it's me! I'm still here.  I have been working more on the Alamo and I am happy to say I am very close to finishing! Only have the backstitching left to do- and a couple of stitches I have found that I missed.

I have also been working on a winter freebie that I started some time ago- I thought I took a picture of it but I can't find it!  

A facebook stitching group I'm in has WIP Wednesdays- so on Wednesday I put a (very) few stitches in this-

 

I don't remember what I was doing/watching while working on it but got distracted, so I didn't get very far.

I have been doing lots of reading lately- came across this great app called Scribd! There are a ton of books on there and I got a three month free trial. After the trial is up, it is only 8.99 a month I believe.  It is very worth it because there are so many books available on it, and I am the type of person that has so many books that I want to read, I try to buy books used or cheap and get rid of them once I've read them. (With the exception of classics and a few books that I really really love.) So this app is going to save me a ton of money.   I said I was always going to be a paperback girl but now I have finally ventured into the world of e-books. It's not so bad after all.  DH got me an iPad mini for Christmas, so now I can have books with me wherever I go, and it's a bit more compact!

I am still getting the ipsy bags- I love them! It's like giving myself a present every month. And if there is something in it I don't like, usually my daughter does. ☺ This was my bag this month-

 

This month was a full size eyeliner, a full size lip balm, a full size eyeshadow, a tube of pink shimmer cream(I use it as a light blush), and a sample with multiple uses of daily moisturizer.  Not bad for $10+ tax.  If you're interested please click here to sign up. ☺ You also can get points on your account for sharing your bag on facebook or going to the site and leaving feedback on the products in your bag. The points can be cashed in for extra products. ☺☺

I did something new this year- I started a happiness jar.  Has anyone heard of it? I saw it via a facebook post.  You get a jar and every day on a little slip of paper write something that made you happy that day, even if it's just a little thing.  Then at the end of the year go back and read all the things that made you happy. ♥  I confess I have been slacking a little bit the last week or so. I keep forgetting about it. I put it on my night stand now so at the end of the day I will remember to do it.

Please pray for my furbabies next Friday- they are both getting fixed.  They have been having a little aggression toward each other and we are hoping it will help.  Overall they still get along really well, but have occasionally been having fights- real ones where they actually draw blood!   I have gotten some advice from friends with multiple dogs and other Corgi owners as well and several said to fix them.  We did not plan on breeding them anyway so it needed to be done and done soon.  Much as I would love a bunch of little Corgi babies running around, I do not have any dog breeding experience.  And I would probably want to keep them all. ♥ I can't afford that!

I have been loving my drives home lately- this is the time of year that the sun is setting as I drive home so I see many beautiful skies!  Here are a couple-

DH went to a fishing expo a few weekends ago- while he was there he saw a man selling hedgehogs and send me this picture-

Look at that cutie! I have wanted a hedgehog for a long time.  I thought maybe he was going to buy me one- but alas- when he went to find out how much they were the man was gone. :( Oh well, maybe next year? hee hee..

Well... that's the latest!   I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and new year! We had a very nice one- my mother-in-law was visiting and we had a great time.

I will sign off with my sweeties- they were wanting my Life cereal when I took this. 

 

Not the best photo because of course they both moved!

An un-stitchy week

I'm afraid I don't have much stitching to show this week- only got a few stitches in on The Alamo but I do have a picture of my progress- have maybe made a little more since this was taken-

I don't think I ever did post one last week.

 

I started a new project over the weekend, since I finished my snowman. It's a little Sheepish Designs ornaments from an old Just Cross Stitch- I guess it might be considered an early ornament issue- from 1988! I was hoping to finish it this weekend as well but didn't have as much time to stitch as I had hoped.

 

It's called "A Primitive Christmas Heart." Who would've thought they liked primitive back in the 80's? That's when I first learned to cross stitch, in the 80's.. but I was young and stitching cutesy things. :)  It's actually a little aggravating- in the cover photo on this issue there is an old sampler on the wall in the background behind the Christmas tree.  I really like it but it's not featured in the magazine.  It looks like it was originally stitched by Susanna Neat in 1820.

 

I went to the library book sale this week; one of my favorite things twice a year. I usually only buy paperbacks because I don't have much room for hardcovers and the paperbacks are cheaper. :) The prices have gone up a bit- they were 5 for 1.00 and are now 50cents per book but still a great deal! I got a few books, and some for the kids.. the ones I got are Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor, The Lacemakers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri, Ghost Shadow by Heather Graham, and Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman. A couple of them were actually already on my Goodreads to-read list so that was nice!

 

 

Ginger will be one this Wednesday- I can hardly believe it!

                                                                   Crazy girl!

 

Everyone have a great week! Thanks for stopping by. :)

 

Tracey