My Quatrain Afghan

  

I love these colors.  One of my favorites so far.

Bordered in Impeccable Soft Taupe

4 x 6

10 rounds plus border

FINISHED 12/1/2023

The Pragmatic Afghan

For this one I used 3-4 oz. skeins of variegated or striping yarn.  Never knew how they'd come out! I got two blocks from some of the skeins, so they'll go into another afghan.

Borders are from one pound of BIG TWIST (from JoAnn's)  Lots and lots left over.

4 x 6 blocks

11 rounds with border

The Razzle-Dazzle Afghan

4 x 7 blocks

10 rows, no border

I love the way this one came out...so bright and colorful.  There's no unifying single crochet border around the outside edge, because as much as I love that look, I didn't want to introduce a skinny framing colors, so I'm leaving it like this.  I've actually been calling it my "unedged beauty."

The Odds and Ends Afghan

Early Fall 0f 2023

Using up odds and ends, trying to not purchase any more yarn (hardee har har)

11th/Border row done in White - Took less than 2 (7-oz.) skeins of Loops & Threads

4 x 6 = 24 blocks

The Novato Afghan

     When I was at Dede's in July for two weeks, I spent a lot of time crocheting.  I finished the first project I started, then we headed to JoAnn's for a new set of yarn colors.  There were not many choices, the yarn selections were super picked over.  So I settled for combinations of grays, blues, and light browns.  Once I got home, I decided to edge them because I like the look of a final row of single crochet all around the outside border - makes it look complete and neat.

      10 rounds

      11th round/border = Loops & Threads Soft classic (7 oz.) Mustard - took 2 skeins with plenty left over

      (still sewing together today, will probably be 4 x 6 or 7 when finished)

2023 Reading Dumps

21.  The Art of Loving Libby Green - 2021 Kindle (4) 251 pgs, (7232 p.)  (3/10)

25.  Secret Shopper, Kindle (2.5) 4/14

27.  Momentous Events in the Life of  Cactus (#2 Aven Green) - Dusti Bowling, 2019 Libby (3.5) 310 pgs. 4/22

28. The Dark Room - Lisa Gray, 2022 Aud (3) 285 pgs. 4/24 gr

29.  The House at the End of the World - Dean Koontz, 2022 Audible (4) 4/29 GR

30.  The Lonely Hearts Book Club - Lucy Gilmore, 2023 Libby (4) 352 pgs. 5/2 GR

31.  It's One of Us - J. T.Ellison, 2023 Libby, 400 pgs. (4.5)5/5 GR

32.  Community Board - Tara Conklin, 2023 Libby (5) 5/9 GR

33.  Unlikely Animals - Annie Hartnett, 2022 Libby (5) 5/14 GR

34.  Simon Sort of Says - Erin Bow, 2023 Aud (5) 5/15 GR

35.  Someone Is Always Watching - Kelley Armstrong, 2023 Libby (4) 5/20 GR

36.  Deep - Melanie Bokstad Horev, 2023 Kindle (1.5) 5/24 GR

37.  The Karma Map - Nisha Sharma - 2023 Audible (3) 5/25 GR

39.  Shelter - Christie Matheson 2021 Book (4.5) 192 pgs. 5/28 GR

40.  Warrior Girl Unearthed - Angeline Boulley,  2023 Audible (4.5) 400 pgs. 5/29 gr

41.  Happy Place - Emily Henry, 2023 Libby (3.5) 400 pgs. 5/30 gr

Camp Zero - Michelle Min Sterling listened to 68% of 304 pgs. = 207 pgs. gr

42.  The Night Hawks (#13 Ruth Galloway)  - Elly Griffiths, 2021 Aud (4) 322 pgs. 6/3 gr

43.  The Next New Syrian Girl - Ream Shukairy, 2023 Aud (3.75) 416 pgs. 6/9 gr

44.  Beyond Reason (#1 Reese Link, ME cop) - Molly Black, 2023 Kindle (3) 201 pgs.  6/16  gr

45.  The Locked Room (#14 Ruth Galloway) Elly Griffiths, 2022 Audible (4.25) 368 pgs. 6/17 gr

46.  Hallowed Ground (#13.5 Kate Burkholder) Linda Castillo, 2023 Kindle (4) 75 pgs. 6/23 gr

47.  Close to Home (#5 Tracy Crosswhite) Robert Dugoni, 2017 Audible (4) 362 pgs. 6/24 gr

48.  The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid, 2017 Libby (5) 389 pgs. 6/25 gr

49.  The Echo of Old Books - Barbara Davis, 2023 Audible (5) 431 pgs. 6/27  gr

50.  Snakebit: A Mike Bowditch Short Story (#13.5) - Paul Doiron, 2023 (4) 99 pgs. 7/1 gr

     Usually these short stories by Paul Doiron are based on Mike's mentor/friend who's been a game warden for years and years.  This one was different, it was totally Mike's point of view and a short mystery about a very strange family who rasied snakes, and really loved rattlesnakes.  All of a sudden they're being found in the wild in Maine ... and biting.  A quick read, pretty decent.  4

     2023 read & pub, Maine, Mystery, Series, Short Story

51.  Chain of Thorns (#3 The Last Hours) Cassandra Clare, 2023 Aud (3) 778 pgs. 7/16 gr

52.  A Closed and Common Orbit - Becky Chambers, 2016 Chirp (4) 365 pgs.7/26 gr

53.  Dead Man's Wake #14 Mike Bowditch - Paul Doiron, 2023 Aud (4.5) 320 pgs. 7/31 gr

54,  All Systems Red - Martha Wells, 2017 Chirp (4) 144 pgs. 7/31 gr

55.  An Heir to Thorns and Steel (#1 Blood Ladders Trilogy) M.C.A. Hogarth. 2015 Aud (3.5) 8/4 gr

56.  Land of Broken Promises - Jane Kuo , 2023 Book (4) 240 pgs. 8/6 gr

57.  The Last Remains (#15 Ruth Galloway) Elly Griffiths, 2023 Aud (4.5) 361 pgs. 8/7  gr

58.  An Evil Heart (15 Kate Burkholder) Linda Castillo, 2023 Libby (4) 8/27

 

59.  The Final Equinox (#2 Cray & Blackwood) Andrew Mayne, 2022 Kindle Unl, (3) 9/3

Wall of Shame

60.  Jack (#1 Vegas Kings) Mckenna James, 2021

     Vegas Kings, #1.  Young owner of the biggest and most famous casiono/hotel on the Vegas strip, even referred as "Mr. Las Vegas" by somebody....just so ludicrous!  Falling quickly for any ordinary, very young woman who seems sassy and strong (but sometimes in stupid ways).  Very steamy.  Both  parts, Wli and Jack are narrated by the same female reader with a bit of a voice change for the male.

61.  Synnr's Saint - Kate Rudolph (#1 of 5) 2020

      Alien warrior romance.  Book one of five.  Humans are being used as test subjects by a cruel subsection of aliens.  Their nicer counterparts, who live on the moon of the planet, rescue them.  This is the story of a human and a ZIDIR: Emily and Oz.  And, yep, very steamy.

62.  The Stopover - T. L. Swan, 2019

     #1 in a series.  Jamison Miles is the CEO of the largest media corporation in the word and is based in New York.  He meets Emily on a flight from London to New York and during an unplanned stopover in Boston because of bad weather....hook up.  This is a long story without lots of ups and downs, very steamy in places but with a pretty decent storyline that kept me totally entertained.  Gotta admit, I liked it quite a bit.

63.  Someone Else's Shoes - Jojo Moyes, 2023 Libby (4) 9/15/23

     Set in contemporary London, two women inadvertently switch shoes by taking the wrong bags in a gym, starting a series of events that are aggravating, annoying, frustrating, joyful, and in some cases very, very funny.  The personalities of both women change through the story; both are quite frustrating throughout the first half of the book - one being the worst unbelievable snob you're ever encountered and the other being a timid, downtrodden mess.  Through discovering how valuable real friendship can be, the multi-epilogues wrap everything up nicely for a very feel-good ending.  A little lengthy, however.  But fun.

64.  Lone Women - Victor LaValle, 2023 Libby (4) 285 pgs. 9/17 gr

     Set in 1913 Montana, the protagonist is a 31-year-old black woman who has traveled alone from her family's farm in southern California with a secret.  The first half of the book moved along pretty quickly, the second half slowed down a bit.  I'm still not sure (SPOILER ALERT) what Adelaide's sister, Elizabeth, was supposed to "be."  Or where she came from.  The racism, violence, cruelty that was seen in many of the characters was, unfortunately, believable...but I'm still uncertain about Elizabeth.....  Interesting, though.  

65.  Nearly Mine (#1 Grace Ford, FBI) - Molly Black, 2023 Kindle (3) 216 pgs. gr

66.  The Scenic Route - Christina Baker Kline, 2023 KindUnl (3) 43 pgs. gr

     Kindle Unlimited.  A short story about a woman who screws up, loses custody of her 11-year-old son, and hits the road in a van.  Not really flushed out very much since it's a short story but it's really about people's perceptions of how others are thinking and feeling....which, in this case, is all wrong.

70.  Black Sheep - Rachel Harrison - 2023 Libby (3.5) 289 pgs. 10/2

     Well, this was nothing like I expected!  It was supposed to be a horror story, and perhaps if it had been a movie it would've been a little horrific, but I was not horrified or freaked out by anything.. It was fun and interesting, though, and entirely unexpected in many ways.  I was never 100% enthralled by the protagonist, but I think that added to some the the mysteriousness of the story,  It's hard to talk about without giving the biggest plot twist away, and I'm glad I didn't know anything ahead of time.

     Horror, thriller, mystery, cults, 2023 read & pub

71.  The Coppersmith Farmhouse - Devney Perry, 2017 Chirp (3) 352 pgs. 10/5

     Started this as an aid to get to sleep at night, and got into the story.  Lots of steam, lots of it.  But lots of story, too.  A handsome.  A pretty nurse who is a single mother to a precocious four-year-old.  Insta-love.  Drug problems in town.  HEA of course.  3

          romance, Montana, single mother, 2023 Read

72.  Don't Forget to Write - Sara Goodman Confino, 2023 Audible & Kindle (3.5) 334 pgs.10/9

     Set in the early 60's, mainly in Avalon, New Jersey, a just-out-of-high-school Jewish daughter has been sent to her great aunt, a matchmaker, because of a supposed indiscretion.  At a time when all Jewish parents want their daughters to marry and raise families, this is not her path.  She wants to be a writer.  Interesting story, though some of it was so far-fetched it was eye-rolling.  However, the love that developed between the girl and her great-aunt was pretty cool.  3.5

     Jewish, 2023 pub & read, 1960s, Jersey shore

73.  The Unknown Beloved - Amy Harmon, 2022 Audible & Kindle (3) 413 pgs. 10/23

     Nothing special.  HEA.  Set in 1930s Cleveland.  Elliot Ness sidekick meets a beautiful young woman who, when she touches someone's clothes, reads their feelings, thoughts, information.  In many places it just went on and on and on....  Read while I had covid.  (3)

     Fantasy, Hist fict, myst, 2023 read, 2022 pub

74.  The Curiosity - Stephen P Kiernan, 2013 Chirp (3) 434 pgs. 10/23

     A scientific team in Boston brings a man who died in the early 20th century back to life from a fozen brick of ice near the North Pole.  The story skips around between four or five points of view.  I listened as I was falling asleep each night, so I had to keep rewinding to get the parts I issed.  That's not the greatest way to read a book, but it kept my interest for a bit.  

75.  The Mist -  Ragnar Jonasson - 2020 Chirp (3.5) 10/26

     #3 Hidden Iceland.  Set in eastern Iceland during a horrific Christmas of 1987.  A dark story, depressing, but mesmerizing as well.  Good storytelling fr the most part.  I always love the setting if Iceland, and this time of year with three very dim hours of daylight fascinate me - how do people do it? Definitely don't need to read firt two books in series.

Mystery - crime thriller - iceland - 2023 Read, 2017 - translated-

76.   Can;t remember

77.  Silence for the Dead - Simone St. James, 2014 Audible (2.5) 11/22 gr

78.  The Spy Coast - Tess Gerritsen, 2023 Audible & Kindle (4) 11/25 gr

79.  An Unexpected Boyfriend for Christmas - 2021 Chirp (2) 11/26 gr

December

80.  On a Night Like This - Liz Maverick, 2023 Audible (2.5) 12/5 gr

81.  Holly - Stephen King -  2023 Libby (5) 12/5 gr

82.  The Bones at Point No Point (#1 Thomas Austin) - D. D. Black - 2022 Audible (3.5)12/10 gr

83.  Meet Me at Christmas - Jenny Hale, 2023 KindleUnl (3) 226 p. 12/16 gr

84.  Butcher and Blackbird - Brynne Weaver, 2023 Audible (3) 12/18 gr

85.  Ginny Off the Map - Caroline Hickey, 2023 Audible (4) 320 pgs.  12/29 gr

69. Going Zero by Anthony McCarten

listened on Libby

copyright 2023
304 pgs.
Adult mystery/thriller
Finished 9/30/2023
Goodreads rating: 3.90
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary Washington, DC and the woods of PA

My comments: After completing this book, I am re-enraged about our government's secret agencies, information, and place in the world.  It's so easy to grow complacent, and I can actually understand why so many people get caught up in the idea of conspiracy theories.  I think I ight have rated this book a five, except the bad guy wins...and the chances of him ever losing are unknow as the last word is read.  Boo hoo hoo, I do like an HEA, and this was definitely not that .... but an interesting read.

Goodreads synopsis:  From four-time Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Anthony McCarten comes a breakneck, wickedly entertaining thriller for our times, a twisty, action-packed novel reminiscent of the best Michael Crichton technothrillers, in which a woman must find a way to elude the most powerful forces of government and high tech.

In the name of national security, the CIA in partnership with Silicon Valley wunderkind Cy Baxter have created the ultimate surveillance program known as FUSION. Ahead of its roll out, ten Americans have been carefully selected to Beta test the groundbreaking system.

At the appointed hour, each of the ten will have two hours to “Go Zero”—to turn their cellphones off, cut ties with friends and family, and use any means possible to disappear. They will then have 30 days to evade detection and elude the highly sophisticated Capture Teams tasked to find them using the most cutting-edge technology. The goal is to see if it is possible to successfully go “off the grid” and escape detection.

The stakes are immense. If FUSION is a success, Cy Baxter will secure a coveted 10-year, $100 billion dollar government contract and access to intelligence resources he truly believes will save lives. For any participant who beats the massive surveillance, it means a $3 million cash prize.

Among the contestants is an unassuming Boston librarian named Kaitlyn Day. She’s been chosen as the gimme, the easy target expected to be found first. But Kaitlyn excels at confounding expectations. Her talents at this particular game are far more effective than all the security experts suspect, and her reasons for playing far more personal than anyone can imagine. . . .

68. Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston

listened on Audible

2021
416 pgs.
Genre/Level
Finished 9/24/23
Goodreads rating: 4.40
My rating: 4
Setting: A contemporary-ish US city

My comments:  My second go at this....got partway through when it first came out and stopped for some reason. Glad I tried it again, it was a fun story. Of any kids' fantasies I've read in recent years, it's the most Harry Potter-ish without being too much like Harry Potter. Characters you hate to love and love to hate...yup, I'll read the second in the series.

Goodreads synopsis:  Quinton Peters was the golden boy of the Rosewood low-income housing projects, receiving full scholarship offers to two different Ivy League schools. When he mysteriously goes missing, his little sister, 13-year-old Amari Peters, can’t understand why it’s not a bigger deal. Why isn’t his story all over the news? And why do the police automatically assume he was into something illegal?

Then Amari discovers a ticking briefcase in her brother’s old closet. A briefcase meant for her eyes only. There was far more to Quinton, it seems, than she ever knew. He’s left her a nomination for a summer tryout at the secretive Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Amari is certain the answer to finding out what happened to him lies somewhere inside, if only she can get her head around the idea of mermaids, dwarves, yetis and magicians all being real things, something she has to instantly confront when she is given a weredragon as a roommate.

Amari must compete against some of the nation’s wealthiest kids—who’ve known about the supernatural world their whole lives and are able to easily answer questions like which two Great Beasts reside in the Atlantic Ocean and how old is Merlin? Just getting around the Bureau is a lesson alone for Amari with signs like ‘Department of Hidden Places this way, or is it?’ If that all wasn’t enough, every Bureau trainee has a talent enhanced to supernatural levels to help them do their jobs – but Amari is given an illegal ability. As if she needed something else to make her stand out.

With an evil magican threatening the whole supernatural world, and her own classmates thinking she is an enemy, Amari has never felt more alone. But if she doesn’t pass the three tryouts, she may never find out what happened to Quinton.

Cheeseburger Tater Tot Crockpot Casserole

1 (32 oz.) bag of frozen tater tots

1 lb. lean ground beef, scrambled

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup milk

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 T yellow mustard

1 t. black pepper

1 t. salt

1 t. garlic powder

1 (15 oz.) can corn, drained

1 (15 oz.) can green beans, drained

2 1/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese (divided)

Mix milk, soup, Worcestershire, mustard, pepper, salt, and garlic powder.

Spray crockpot.

Place half the tater tots, then evenly spread half of the ground beef.  Next goes 1 cup of the cheese.

Then all the corn and green beans.

Repeat with remainder of ground beef, remainder of tater tots.

Cover with the sauce.

Top with remaining cheese.

Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 7-8 hours.

67. These Silent Woods - Kimi Cunningham Grant

listened on Audible

2021
275 pgs.
Adult CRF
Finished 9/21/2023 
Goodreads rating: 4.10
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary - in the middle of the woods off a long, private dirt road, on the edge of a National Forest....I'm thinking somewhere in remote PA

My comments: This is one of the best books I've read in a long while.  I loved every beautiful word, the plt, the complex characters, and the very special setting...all the details.  It was almost like I'be been waiting for the story with these kinds of details - living alone in the wodds on your own (Cooper is with his 8-year old daughter) surviving, enjoying nature and the birds, and loving your kid.  It was the details that really made it for me, as well as the brief flashbacks that explained what had happened to Cooper to bring him to this place.  So well done.  And the HEA that I would have never imagined.   Loved it.

Goodreads synopsis:   No electricity, no family, no connection to the outside world. For eight years, Cooper and his young daughter, Finch, have lived in isolation in a remote cabin in the northern Appalachian woods. And that's exactly the way Cooper wants it, because he's got a lot to hide. Finch has been raised on the books filling the cabin’s shelves and the beautiful but brutal code of life in the wilderness. But she’s starting to push back against the sheltered life Cooper has created for her—and he’s still haunted by the painful truth of what it took to get them there.

The only people who know they exist are a mysterious local hermit named Scotland, and Cooper's old friend, Jake, who visits each winter to bring them food and supplies. But this year, Jake doesn't show up, setting off an irreversible chain of events that reveals just how precarious their situation really is. Suddenly, the boundaries of their safe haven have blurred—and when a stranger wanders into their woods, Finch’s growing obsession with her could put them all in danger. After a shocking disappearance threatens to upend the only life Finch has ever known, Cooper is forced to decide whether to keep hiding—or finally face the sins of his past.

Vividly atmospheric and masterfully tense, These Silent Woods is a poignant story of survival, sacrifice, and how far a father will go when faced with losing it all.

Crockpot Baked Beans

56 oz. Homestyle Bush's Baked Beans

    (2 large cans)
8 oz. bacon, 1-inch pieces half-cooked

1 c. diced onion

1/2 c. barbecue sauce

1 T. brown sugar

2 T. Yellow mustard

2 t. Worcestershire Sauce

(extras:  throw in a dollop of molasses and a bit of chopped garlic)

Mix together in crockpot, cover.

Cook on low for 5 hours or on high for 3.5 hours

If your slow cooker gets hot, stir once in awhile near end of cooking.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Equal to ONE PACKET store-bought

This equals about 3 Tablespoons

1T. chili powder

1 1/2 t. cumin

1/2 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. onion powder

1/2 t. dried cilantro or oregano

1/2 t. crushed red pepper

1/2 t. paprika

1 t. sea salt

1 t. fresh cracked pepper

Shake together in a jar.

If making ahead, put into an airtight jar.

Dump & Go Vegetarian Chili

1 cup diced onion

1 cup diced bell pepper

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped carrot

1 (15-oz) can tomato sauce

1 (15-oz) can diced tomatoes

3 DIFFERENT (15-oz) cans beans

    I like small beans

Maybe try a can of corn?

1 1/2 t. salt

1 t. garlic powder

1 t. chili powder

1 t. cumin

1 t. paprika

NOTE:  Throw in pre-scrambled hamburger or chicken to make it non-vegetarian.

Dump, stir, and cover.  

High 4-5 hours

Low 6*7 hours

The Madeline Afghan

                 

This one was started at the Carlisle Expo Center when I started making 10-round granny afghan squares without the same colored outer edge.  Easy peasy, used up lots of leftover yarn and went quite quickly.

I took it to Fuller Lake and spread it out on a picnic table before I started sewing it together.  Not going to even put a single crochet border on it.

10 rounds

4 x 6

48. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

listened on Libby
389 pgs.

2017
Adult HistFict
Finished 4.02
Goodreads rating: 4.02
My rating: 5
Setting: California

My comments: I've read lots and lots of rave comments about this book but was skeptical.  And then, I couldn't stop listening!  To create a personality with so many nuances must be done by a highly skilled writer.  Not only was the plot extraordinary, but the writing was pretty flawless.  I had no idea it was LGBTQ2+.  I'm guessing this will be one of the stories that I might remember much more than so many that I so quickly forget.....

Goodreads synopsis:  Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.