Once again ....

I'm always excited to have the opportunity to snap a few pictures

of the cardinals that hang around our neighbourhood.  They are

one of my most favourite of birds.  The males are quite vain and  

like to perch themselves somewhere conspicuous such as 

the top of a tree or a telephone pole or a TV antenna where

they proceed to sing their distinctive song to announce their

presence.   Fortunately Mrs Cardinal is usually somewhere

close by to keep an eye on her flamboyant mate and keep

him in line.

This guy was in our birch tree and was gracious enough

to stay there long enough for me to take a few pictures.

I took a picture of my currant stitching project

this evening so you can see where it stands

at the moment.   I am working on the square

in the upper right corner and have chosen to

stitch the butterfly ... after much dithering and

mind changing.

The blue bird on a pedestal had to be frogged

and restitched when I discovered that I'd 

stitched it in the wrong spot by one square.

I was tempted to leave it but it was causing

a chain reaction train wreck with the rest of

the design that would have been too 

noticeable ... and it would have bugged me

... so out it came!!

I've been sitting out in front of the house 

the past few nights stitching.  The 

portable magnifying glass (the kind that

loops around your neck) doesn't work

so well for me any longer so I just 

held my stitching frame up to my nose,

peered over my glasses and stitched ...

all whilst trying not to jab a needle 

into my nose!!!

  

Some recent book finishes to share with you ...

beginning with the first book in the Lady 

Emily series by Tasha Alexander.  

  The story: 

From gifted new writer Tasha Alexander comes a 

stunning novel of historical suspense set in Victorian 

England, meticulously researched and with a twisty 

plot that involves  stolen antiquities, betrayal, and 

murder. For Emily, accepting the proposal  of 

Philip, the Viscount Ashton, was an easy way to 

escape her overbearing mother, who was set on a 

grand society match. So when Emily's dashing 

husband died on safari soon after their wedding, 

she felt little grief. After all, she barely knew him.

Now, nearly two years later, she discovers that 

Philip was a far different man from the one 

she had married so cavalierly.  His journals reveal 

him to have been a gentleman scholar and antiquities 

collector who, to her surprise, was deeply in love with 

his wife. Emily becomes fascinated with this new 

image of her dead husband and she immerses 

herself in all things ancient and begins to study 

Greek. Emily's intellectual pursuits and her desire 

to learn more about Philip take her to the quiet 

corridors of the British Museum, one of her husband's 

favorite places. There, amid priceless ancient statues, 

she uncovers a dark, dangerous secret involving stolen 

artifacts from the Greco-Roman galleries. And to 

complicate matters, she's juggling two very prominent 

and wealthy suitors, one of whose intentions may go 

beyond the marrying kind. As she sets out to solve 

the crime, her search leads to more surprises about 

Philip and causes her to question the role in Victorian 

society to which she, as a woman, is relegated.

I love mysteries but don't care for the kind that

goes into gory, creepy detail.   And I love when

the mystery takes place in  time periods other

then  modern day.   Hence my love for authors

such as Tasha Alexander, Charles Todd and

Jacqueline Winspear.   I have the first four 

books in this series on my bookshelf and as

soon as I finished this one I picked up the

second book to read.  

Lady Emily is a wonderful character who

really begins to enjoy the freedom that

being a widow allows her in the restrictive

society of Victorian England.   It's quite

an eye opener to read about the confined,

suffocating lives genteel women were

relegated to during that time when 

England was ruled by a formidable 

woman.  A paradox indeed.

Adding at the last minute:  finished book

two and now into book three!!   Book two

(A Poisoned Season) was even better then 

the first.

Ellen Airgood and her husband own and run a diner in a small

Michigan town south of Superior.   Sounds like the beginning of

a book doesn't it??   But it's true.   The author and her DH run a

diner by day and whenever she has some spare time between 

shifts Ellen writes.   South of Superior is her first book and I quite

enjoyed it.   Saw it in the book section of our grocery store as I

was browsing through their tables of new releases and liked the

synopsis of the story on the cover ... so I bought it.

The story: 

When Madeline Stone walks away from Chicago 

and moves five hundred miles north to the

 coast of Lake Superior, in Michigan's Upper 

Peninsula, she isn't prepared for how much her 

life will change.

Charged with caring for an aging family friend, 

Madeline finds herself in the middle of beautiful 

nowhere with Gladys and Arbutus, two 

octogenarian sisters-one sharp and stubborn, 

the other sweeter  than sunshine. As Madeline 

begins to experience the ways of the small, 

tight-knit town, she is drawn into the lives and 

dramas of its residents.  

It's a place where times are tough and debts run 

deep, but friendship, community, and compassion 

run deeper. As the story hurtles along-

featuring a lost child, a dashed love, a car accident,

 a wedding, a fire, and a romantic reunion-Gladys, 

Arbutus,  and the rest of the town teach Madeline more 

about life, love, and goodwill than she's learned 

in a lifetime.

Had no trouble getting caught up in the story and 

read this book  pretty quickly.   I enjoy books with quirky 

characters and characters who are finding their way, their 

niche in the world and someone to share their lives with.   

This book has all of that in abundance.   I hope that 

there will be a sequel because I would like to hang out 

with these characters again and find out how things work 

out for them in the future.

Thanks to Goodreads for the above two book descriptions.

We get strange birds around here!!!

Phil couldn't figure out why one of our bird 

feeders was running out of bird seed so 

quickly these past few weeks.  It's one of

those feeders whose perch will only allow

the smaller birds to feed.  If a larger bird

lands on the perch it's weight pushes

the perch down and causes the holes where

the seed is to close.   Well, that's the

theory anyways.

Last weekend I happened to be looking

out the back door when I saw Chippy

literally running up the pole to the 

feeder and helping himself to the

contents, stuffing his cheeks with seed

before scurrying back down the pole

and heading off to home with his

ill gotten booty.   

Cheeky little devil!!!  It would appear

that Chippy's weight is slight enough

that it doesn't cause the perch to 

sag down and close the feeding holes.

Phil's going to try and adjust the 

thing (again) to try and fix this.

Spent much of Sunday working on a

new Smash journal ... my craft room

looked like a Michael's exploded in

it.   I'm a messy crafter.  Anybody

else out there do Smash journaling??

Have a great week and thanks for

visiting!!