Weekends with Gage and the Big Red Barn

August 25, 2013August 25, 201310 Comments

I knew that we’d be visiting the farm again so I decided to have Gage do a few activities to get him excited. You can see the blue cow he painted in front. The pig he did next was much more refined but not nearly as much fun 🙂 And then I checked Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown out of the library. Gage loved it! He knew all of the animals and liked seeing the farm turn from daylight to nighttime, but his favorite page was the seeing the field mouse born in a field of corn. I liked this book because it had lots of comparisons to introduce or practice (big/little) and counting, and friendship. The illustrations and colors are perfect for a toddler who can handle more of a story in his picture book. I don’t think this would be as appealing to kids under 2.

Here’s Gage reading the book on the way to the farm. I know Wise’s book, Goodnight Moon is a classic, but Gage likes this one more than he ever did Goodnight Moon. I was hoping to get in more farmish activities but the week got away from me. Do you have any suggestions for next time?

I’ve already posted pics of Gage at the farm so instead I’m adding my favorite photo of the week. This is Gage when we took him to ride a big new train. Think he was excited?

Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain

August 19, 20138 Comments

Sweetheart (Sheridan and Lowell Series #2) Sweetheart. Finished August 11,2013, rating 2.5/5, thriller,

Book 2 of the Archie Sheridan/Gretchen Lowell series (Book 1)

Oh, Archie. what a waste you’ve become. You have good friends, a great family and a detective job that you are great at and you can only obsess about the one mistake you made. Obsess and throw love back in the face of those who love you. Your wife accepted that it would take time to heal, but she was there because she loved you. Your kids are at that young age when having their dad around is so important. Your best friend Henry who looks out for you and your family because you can’t or won’t do it yourself. Susan, who has a crush on you but is also a fan and friend, sees you at your worst and still accepts you. These are all things that count.

Gretchen, serial killer/your abductor and tormentor, is difficult to accept. You respect her and are hot for her, but it’s hard to see why. She seems to get men to do exactly what she wants even locked up in a maximum security prison, especially you. When you revealed your secret I understood your thing for Gretchen better, but after that your behavior ruined your story for me. Might you redeem yourself in the next book? I don’t know but I’m probably not going to find out and that’s a shame because I really liked your first story, the one where you were a real person.

You should thank your skilled storyteller, Chelsea, it’s her skilled writing that made your story readable.

This was from my personal library.

Drift by Jon McGoran, a GMO thriller

August 5, 2013August 5, 201314 Comments

Drift. Finished 8-4-13, rating 4.5/5, thriller, 384 pages, pub. 2013

When Philadelphia narcotics detective Doyle Carrick loses his mother and step-father within weeks of each other, he gains a twenty-day suspension for unprofessional behavior and instructions to lay low at the unfamiliar house he’s inherited in rural Pennsylvania.
Feeling restless and out of place, Doyle is surprised to find himself falling for his new neighbor, Nola Watkins, who’s under pressure to sell her organic farm to a large and mysterious development company. He’s more surprised to see high-powered drug dealers driving the small-town roads—dealers his bosses don’t want to hear about.
But when the drug bust Doyle’s been pushing for goes bad and the threats against Nola turn violent, Doyle begins to discover that what’s growing in the farmland around Philadelphia is much deadlier than anything he could have imagined . . .

from Goodreads

I was excited to read this one since having a son with allergies and food sensitivities has led me to be more vigilant about the food he eats. I am no expert, but I know enough to be worried about the food we buy and put into our bodies without a thought. An example, I was about to buy a jar of pickles, hoping Gage would like them. I checked the back and high fructose corn syrup was the second ingredient and Yellow dye was the last. Sigh. I did not buy them. Anyway, the point is that I think this is an important subject. This book was about that a bit, but it really was about the evils far beyond a dye here or a preservative there, way more than I like to even consider even though I know it’s happening. GMOs may seem harmless, but most don’t understand enough to be worried. At least until after they read this book.

Doyle is a cop with more than nine lives since he used at least that many while on this suspension from his job. His spidey senses knew something was going on in the farming community where his mother and stepmother left him their house. They also left him a junkie boarder, but that was only one of Doyle’s many problems. The local sheriff had it out for him as did the local thugs and he did have a funeral to get through, so why not take the time to develop a crush on the organic farmer across the road? He was a busy man.

This is a first-rate thriller. Yes, you may have to suspend your disbelief here and there and I wish that Doyle had have had a little more retrospect as the dead bodies piled up at his hands, BUT I was never bored and was always engaged. I can actually see a series started here although I don’t know if that’s what McGoran has in mind. I’ve seen a few compare Doyle to Lee Child’s Jack Reacher and while I get the comparison Doyle is still a cop, not a renegade. But the dead bodies do seem to follow both characters.

Highly recommend.

I am a happy participant in this TLC Book Tour 🙂 Check out what other bloggers have to say about this eco-thriller. Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy.

Wallflower in Bloom by Claire Cook

August 2, 20136 Comments

Finished audio 7-28-13, 3 stars, fiction, pub. 2012

Unabridged audio 7 hours 50 minutes. Read by Cassandra Campbell

Deirdre Griffin has a great life; it’s just not her own. She’s the around-the-clock personal assistant to her charismatic, high-maintenance, New Age guru brother, Tag. As the family wallflower, her only worth seems to be as gatekeeper to Tag at his New England seaside compound. Then Deirdre’s sometime boyfriend informs her that he is marrying another woman, who just happens to be having the baby he told Deirdre he never wanted. While drowning her sorrows in Tag’s expensive vodka, Deirdre decides to use his massive online following to get herself voted on as a last-minute Dancing with the Stars replacement. It’ll get her back in shape, mentally and physically. It might even get her a life of her own. Deirdre’s fifteen minutes of fame have just begun.

from Barnes & Noble

I’ve been wanting to read Claire Cook for a while and when I saw that this one had a Dancing with the Stars element I was in. I used to love that show. I admit that when they started putting on political ‘stars’ I dropped the show and haven’t missed it. Politicians aren’t entertainers (on purpose anyway). And don’t tell me they couldn’t give one author a shot before going to kids of famous people? I bet Nicholas Sparks would do it, he’s a romantic 🙂 Anyway, I was still interested in the behind the scenes DWTS storyline. In that respect the book fell a little flat. It took too long to get to DWTS and once there it was short-lived.

I thought the story was good and was entertained enough, but I was also equally annoyed with Deirdre. She was trying to break free from her co-dependent, domineering family and I was rooting for her. When she hit her ex-boyfriend with a golf cart I was cheering. I wanted her to step away from her family and succeed and have a life of her own. But Deirdre let me down a bit. And I really got tired of the sibling banter that sounded like elementary school insults.

I know it sounds like I didn’t like it and that’s not true. I liked it but was hoping for more. It’s a fun light read, probably a great vacation book. I was listening to this when I was lost and alone 3 hours from home, in the middle of nowhere and almost out of gas. Maybe some of this stress transferred to Deirdre. It’s a fun light read, probably a great vacation book. I checked the audio out of the library.

So what author would you like to see compete on Dancing with the Stars? I think JK Rowling would be a great choice!

The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley, spreading the love

July 24, 201320 Comments

The Winter Sea. Finished 7-24-13, rating 5/5, historical fiction, 544 pages, pub.2010

History has all but forgotten the spring of 1708, when an invasion fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown.

Now, Carrie McClelland hopes to turn that story into her next bestselling novel. Settling herself in the shadow of Slains Castle, she creates a heroine named for one of her own ancestors, and starts to write.

But when she discovers her novel is more fact than fiction, Carrie wonders if she might be dealing with ancestral memory…making her the only living person who can know the truth of what did happen all those years ago – a tale of love and loyalty…and ultimate betrayal.

from Susanna Kearsley website

Satisfied. I finished this book tonight and I am completely satisfied. I was drawn into the story right away. Scotland, both now and in 1908, is an appealing setting and the idea of a successful woman being able to pick up and move anywhere in the world to world is exciting. I admit to being a little confused in the earlier chapters by all of the people and politics of 1708, but I got a handle on most of them and dismissed the others until they became useful in the story 😉

I was rooting for Carrie and Sophia to find love and happiness. I was sure of Carrie’s fate and hopeful for Sophia, but I did get nervous. I also kind of love that Sophia’s happy ending did not include everything she wanted. I shed tears and that’s not something I do often when reading a novel.

My love of genealogy was celebrated and Carrie’s discovery of ancestral memory was a fun one to consider. We all know we share DNA with our ancestors, why not the memories of them too? It’s safe to say that we won’t come close to this romantic notion in our own experience, but it is fun to dream.

A book full of love, political intrigue, strong women, strong men, mystery, and both storylines were good. I wish there’d been more of Carrie’s story but that’s because I’m greedy. I didn’t want it to end!

I will definitely be reading Kearsley again. I bought this for my Nook.

This isn’t Slains Castle or even Scotland, but it is a French castlethat’s close enough, right? .(courtesy of Bookbath)

Weekends with Gage – Caterpillar to Butterfly

July 21, 201314 Comments

This week Gage came home from summer camp with a little caterpillar he’d made out of a milk carton and he was so proud of it. When I say made I’m pretty sure he just put the green paint on, but he was excited about it. We do read The Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle The Very Hungry Caterpillar so I thought it would be fun to make a butterfly to go with this caterpillar. My mom cut out some beautiful wings and I collected some things to glue and stick on. He was having a hyper day so I wasn’t sure how receptive he would be, but he saw the set up on the table and started saying butterfly and getting excited so I thought we had a chance. He lasted about 5 minutes, but that’s okay. He glued, stuck, and markered it up. My mom and I put the antennae and cotton bodies on after. Ta-da. Crafts are not his favorite thing so I’m going to have to think of something more active for this week.

the set up Those cardboard rolls in the middle were going to be our bodies until we went with something simpler)

Carefully placing a blue pom pom that he will try to move a few times.

Having grandma make one too was part of the fun!

And the finished product. Can you tell which one is Gage’s? I put his caterpillar above it as a hint.

There’s no butterfly here now but it would be the perfect place for one 😉 This was taken in a village in the French countryside. Sorry I don’t know which one.(courtesy of Bookbath)

French Milk by Lucy Knisley

July 19, 201317 Comments

French Milk. Finished 7-17-13, rating 3.25, graphic memoir, 193 pages, pub. 2007

Celebrating her mom’s 50th birthday and her own 22nd, Lucy and her mom decided to visit Paris together for a month. They rented an apartment in the fifth arrondissement and started touring the city in January of 2007 and this book is her travel journal. Lucy, attending the Center for Cartoon Studies, showed her skills in this graphic novel.

I was drawn in right away by her humor and the way she told her story. The photographs that were interspersed with the drawings made it feel more personal. I felt like I was on the streets of Paris stopping in cafes and drinking lots of wine and eating lots of cheese and bread. Her quirkiness was refreshing and I love the idea of doing something so fantastic with your mother.

She lost me a little bit about halfway through. She became whiny and it was hard t o feel sympathy for her when she complained of missing home. One month in Paris is such a wonderful gift! I know I am saying that as a 40 something and Lucy had not yet turned 22, so maybe that was the problem. I probably wouldn’t have appreciated it as much at 22 as I would now. After she recovered from that mood the book became more about what they ate and where when I wanted more story.

Overall, this is a short, easy to read travel journal. I think it would be a perfect read for anyone planning to travel there. It’s perfect to get restaurant and shopping ideas., but for me it didn’t deliver enough about her relationship with her mother, and that’s what I was expecting.

This was from my personal library.

Traveling down the Seine. (courtesy of Bookbath)

The Doll Giveaway!

July 15, 2013July 15, 201312 Comments

So, I was able to spend some time with Taylor Stevens, the author of the Vanessa Michael Monroe series, last month and brought home a new, signed hardcover copy of the latest in the series, #3. I decided to give it away this month since Taylor assured me that France is in the book 🙂 Although I haven’t read this one yet I can recommend this series for thriller lovers and those who love kick ass women.

The Doll (Vanessa Michael Munroe Series #3) The Doll, 2013

Haunted by a life of violence and as proficient with languages as she is with knives, Vanessa Michael Munroe, chameleon and hunter, has built her life on a reputation for getting things done—dangerous and often not-quite-legal things. Born to missionary parents in lawless Africa, taken under the tutelage of gunrunners, and tortured by one of the jungle’s most brutal men, Munroe was forced to do whatever it took to stay alive.
   The ability to survive, fight, adapt, and blend has since taken her across the globe on behalf of corporations, heads of state, and the few private clients who can afford her unique brand of expertise, and these abilities have made her enemies.
   On a busy Dallas street, Munroe is kidnapped by an unseen opponent and thrust into an underground world where women and girls are merchandise and a shadowy figure known as The Doll Maker controls her every move. While trusted friends race to unravel where she is and why she was taken, everything pivots on one simple choice: Munroe must use her unique set of skills to deliver a high-profile young woman into the same nightmare that she once endured, or condemn to torture and certain death the one person she loves above all else.
   Driven by the violence that has made her what she is, cut off from help, and with attempts to escape predicted and prevented, Munroe will hunt for openings, for solutions, and a way to strike back at a man who holds all the cards. Because only one thing is certain: she cannot save everyone.
   In this high-octane thriller for fans of Lee Child, Stieg Larsson, and Robert Ludlum’s Bourne trilogy, Vanessa Michael Munroe will have to fight fast, smart and furiously to overcome a dangerous nemesis and deliver her trademark brand of justice.

from Goodreads

Want to win a signed copy? All you need to do is leave a comment with your email address. I will count EVERY comment you leave on any of my posts this month as an entry. Just make sure you leave your email on this post so I know you want it. I’ll tally previous and future July post comments for the drawing. Open worldwide 🙂

Gage will draw a winner on July 31, so get to commenting 🙂

I bet the super heroine, Vanessa Michael Monroe, uses these sidewalk gas pumps! (courtesy of Bookbath)

Paris in Love

July 10, 20139 Comments

“…I was walking with them all the way up to Montmartre, the highest point in the city. I staggered up the last steps to find the Sacre-Coeur basilica’s dome gleaming in the sunlight, covered by rows of creamy scallops that reminded me of children’s drawings of ocean waves: very regular, quite fantastic.” from A Parisian Spring chapter

Paris in Love by Eloisa James. Finished 7-5-13, rating 3.5/5, travel memoir, 258 pages, pub. 2012

Eloisa James is a professor of Shakespeare, a romance author, a wife, a mother, and a cancer survivor. Weeks after her mother died of cancer, James found out that she too had breast cancer. Calling it the ‘good kind’ her prognosis was always good and she never had that profound moment of divine clarity on life’s meaning, but she did feel the need for a change, a new experience. She convinced her husband, also a professor, to take a year sabbatical so they could move to Paris for a year. So, with kids in tow, off they went with varying degrees of excitement.

Let me say from the start that the idea of this sounds so incredibly tempting. I’m not sure how I feel about uprooting the kids for a year, but I applaud her bravery in giving them a year they won’t forget.

This book started as her Facebook posts. She organized and revised and put them into a lovely travel journal. I most appreciated the longer essays as I thought they were more thoughtful and thought provoking than just the quick take posts. I wish the book had been mainly essays with the short posts sprinkled throughout.

She touches on everything – the food, the clothes, the diet, the idea that French women don’t get fat, the schools, the housing, being an English speaking American in France. I especially enjoyed her stories about her daughter’s school ordeals. Being a pre-teen girl is no easy thing and doing it in a new country only adds to the hilarity (funny only at a distance. I’m sure).

I liked it. I won this over at Amused by Books and I want to thank Leah for sending it my way. Perfect for July in Paris 🙂

Weekends with Gage – Lola Goes to Work and Gage hits the hot tub

July 7, 201316 Comments

We took a trip to Michigan this week to visit Jason’s family. After visiting the Livonia and Flint areas we’re back home getting into our routine.

Jason’s dad has a big pool but Gage kept wanting to go in the little pool, aka the hot tub, so I let him sit on the top step when nothing else would do. I brought a few books to Michigan, Lola Goes to Work, is his new favorite, so it was awarded hot tub status. Kathy wrote a great review of this one and then sent it on to Gage. I wasn’t sure he’d like it since he doesn’t have any favorite books with photos, but from our first reading, Lola has been a hit. He likes to finish reading each page for you, but I should mention that Gage’s ‘Lola’ sounds suspiciously like ‘Lellow’, but no matter, it only makes her cuter.

Lola is a five-pound Yorkshire Terrier who wanted a big job so she worked very hard to become a therapy dog. I wish I had taken a picture of the page I stress to Gage, “I learned to sit and stay, to lie down and wait patiently.” Lola eventually passes her test and becomes a therapy for the elderly and classrooms.

This is a sweet book that all ages can enjoy. It was written and photographed by Lola’s mom, Marcia Goldman. It’s 32 pages and even has a page at the end for teachers so they can better use the book in the classroom. Visit Lola’s website for some cute photos.

(courtesy of Birdbath) I know Lola’s not French, but I think she could pass with that sassy red scarf, don’t you?

France 102 A friend we found at Versailles (you’ll probably have to click on it to see). A few days later Jason and our friends would be dining on his family and friends. I don’t understand how that is possible after meeting the little guy.

Stacy's Books

books, movies, and boy

Tag: Books