59. The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

listened on Audible

307 pgs.

2023
Adult Mystery
Finished 6/26/24
Goodreads rating: 4.13
My rating: 4
Setting: Rural Maine (Rt. 9 north of Bangor) and Nova Scotia

My comments: Two voices, 1960 and perhaps 2000?  A four-year-old Micmac girl is kidnapped by a woman who has had many miscarriages and of course is slightly off.  The family of the little girl, Ruthie, (both parents, two brothers and a sister) never get over the feeling that she is still alive.  She is raised by the kidnapper and her husband as their own child, the mother being an odd woman who's super afraid that something is going to happen to now-Norma.  The story keeps switching back-and-forth between Ruthie/Norma and Joe, her two year older brother, who blames himself for her disappearance and has had an unhappy life because of the guilt he feels.  He's a good person, they are a good family, but it takes them almost five decades to reunite.  Such a sad story, but a really good one, too...

Goodreads synopsis:  A four-year-old Mi’kmaq girl goes missing from the blueberry fields of Maine, sparking a tragic mystery that haunts the survivors, unravels a community, and remains unsolved for nearly fifty years.

July 1962. A Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia arrives in Maine to pick blueberries for the summer. Weeks later, four-year-old Ruthie, the family’s youngest child, vanishes. She is last seen by her six-year-old brother, Joe, sitting on a favorite rock at the edge of a berry field. Joe will remain distraught by his sister’s disappearance for years to come.

In Maine, a young girl named Norma grows up as the only child of an affluent family. Her father is emotionally distant, her mother frustratingly overprotective. Norma is often troubled by recurring dreams and visions that seem more like memories than imagination. As she grows older, Norma slowly comes to realize there is something her parents aren’t telling her. Unwilling to abandon her intuition, she will spend decades trying to uncover this family secret.  

58. Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

listened on Libby

387 pgs.

2023
Adult mystery
Finished 6/23/24
Goodreads rating: 3.75
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary Washington DC outskirts

My comments: Mia, from a Korean American family has a 20-year-old twin brother and a 13-year old autistic brother who cannot speak or communicate in any way.  The book starts with the stay-at-home father/caregiver taking Eugene on his daily walk to the park and never returning.  The entire book is based on trying to figure out what happened to the dad.  Did he leave?  Did he die?  If he did, where is he?  Eugene knows, but he can't communicate it.  Mia, the not-really likeable protagonist did start to grow on me a bit well into the book.  I loved the first half of the book, but the second half became more and more philosophical, which I really do dislike (in a book or in real life conversation, lol).  I probably would have rated this a 5 at first, but it went down by the time I finished.  I DID have a lot to think about, and I can still remember it months later, so that's a truly positive thing!

Goodreads synopsis:  When a father goes missing, his family's desperate search leads them to question everything they know about him and one another--both a riveting page-turner and a deeply moving portrait of a family in crisis from the award-winning author of Miracle Creek.

"We didn't call the police right away." Those are the first words of this extraordinary novel about a biracial Korean-American family in Virginia whose lives are upended when their beloved father and husband goes missing.

Mia, the irreverent, hyperanalytical twenty-year-old daughter, has an explanation for everything--which is why she isn't initially concerned when her father and younger brother Eugene don't return from a walk in a nearby park. They must have lost their phone. Or stopped for an errand somewhere. But by the time Mia's brother runs through the front door bloody and alone, it becomes clear that the father in this tight-knit family is missing and the only witness is Eugene, who has the rare genetic condition Angelman syndrome and cannot speak.

What follows is both a ticking-clock investigation into the whereabouts of a father and an emotionally rich portrait of a family whose most personal secrets just may be at the heart of his disappearance. Full of shocking twists and fascinating questions of love, language, race, and human connection, Happiness Falls is a mystery, a family drama, and a novel of profound philosophical inquiry. With all the powerful storytelling she brought to her award-winning debut Miracle Creek, Angie Kim turns the missing person story into something wholly original, creating an indelible tale of a family who must go to remarkable lengths to truly understand one another.

57. City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita

# 1 Cara Kennedy

listened on Libby
304 pgs.

2023
Adult mystery
Finished 6/19/2024
Goodreads rating: 3.54
My rating: 3
Setting: Contemporary Alaska, winter

My comments: There were some elements of this story that drove me crazy, but the general premise AND the three voices you hear work quite well.  There's something about an entire town living in one huge building in Alaska that strikes a cord.  One of my problems is that only a handful of people were mentioned, and the idea of hundreds of people living here all together doesn't come together at all in my brain.  Our protagonist is hugely claustrophobic, so of course there are lots of scenes where this comes into account for her.  Too many.  I loved the way the three voices all intertwined, one being that of a young woman with some sort of mental disorder (schizophrenia?) - I loved being in her head and hearing what she was thinking.  The story ends with unanswered questions about Cara's past, so I definitely get the feeling there will be another book about her on the way!

Goodreads synopsis:  A stranded detective tries to solve a murder in a tiny Alaskan town where everyone lives in a single high-rise building, in this gripping debut by an Academy Award–nominated screenwriter.

When a local teenager discovers a severed hand and foot washed up on the shore of the small town of Point Mettier, Alaska, Cara Kennedy is on the case. A detective from Anchorage, she has her own motives for investigating the possible murder in this isolated place, which can be accessed only by a tunnel.

After a blizzard causes the tunnel to close indefinitely, Cara is stuck among the odd and suspicious residents of the town—all 205 of whom live in the same high-rise building and are as icy as the weather. Cara teams up with Point Mettier police officer Joe Barkowski, but before long the investigation is upended by fearsome gang members from a nearby native village.

Haunted by her past, Cara soon discovers that everyone in this town has something to hide. Will she be able to unravel their secrets before she unravels?"

56. Harry's Trees by Jon Cohen

listened on Libby
432pgs.

2018
Adult CRF with a touch of magical realism
Finished 6/18/24
Goodreads rating: 4.19
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary northeastern PA, in the "Endless Woods"

My comments: Beautiful writing, clever story, wonderful characters, and a rich setting in the woods. This is definitely a favorite!

Goodreads synopsis:  The first thing you learn when you climb a tree is to hold on. Now it’s time for Harry to learn to let go…

Thirty-four-year-old Harry Crane, lifelong lover of trees, works as an analyst in a treeless US Forest Service office. When his wife dies in a freak accident, devastated, he makes his way to the remote woods of northeastern Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains, intent on losing himself. But fate intervenes in the form of a fiercely determined young girl named Oriana. She, too, has lost someone—her father. And in the magical, willful world of her reckoning, Oriana believes that Harry is the key to finding her way back to him.

As Harry agrees to help the young girl, the unlikeliest of elements—a tree house, a Wolf, a small-town librarian and a book called The Grum’s Ledger—come together to create the biggest sensation ever to descend upon the Endless Mountains…a golden adventure that will fulfill Oriana’s wildest dreams and open the door to a new life for Harry.

One Charm Pack Table Runner by Sew the Distance

 She uses a fun trick to sew this together, and teaches a simple way to separate the darks, lights, and mediums.

Her YouTube tutorial is here.

Crumb Blocks/Strips Into Crumb Quilts

Agilejack's Fresh Start Quilt

Complete directions for blocks (shown below).

NOT HARD AT ALL!!!

Another idea:

Nine patch crumb blocks with unifying center and border!

Another nine-patch, also on the YouTube video below.

Here's a 9-minute YouTube video from MerryMabelMarket that is no-nonsense, quick, and fun to watch.  She's making 6 1/2 inch color-block squares: 

Hidden Trails - Table Runner from ONE Charm Pack

 

YouTube video is here. Quick, easy, simple.

You need 40 squares.

Trim down 20 of the 5-inch squares to 4 1/2 inches.

Draw diagonal line on the wrong side of 10 of the remaining squares.

Pair each of these with one of the 10 last squares and sew 1/4-inch on each side of drawn line.

Cut on line.

Sew together - "flying geese" on top of two squares.

Poem: It's ok by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

 

Summer Jaunt #3 - Quilt Shop Hopping thru Dauphin-Lebanon-Lancaster Counties

 Gorgeous summer day, though it did sprinkle a bit later in the day.

Started at TLC Quilting in Middletown, which is really not very far away and quite easy to get to.  Small, but a bit of everything and nice people.  Lots of classes and get-togethers.  Purchased 1/2 yd of white.

Meandered from there through Mt. Gretna and Cornwall.  I never realized that Mt. Gretna is a summer fun/resorty area!  I wish I'd stopped and taken pictures, it was quite nice.  I then headed over to Lancaster County and Burkholder's Quilt shop (where I purchased two more 1/2 yards of white to turn into jelly roll strips).

From there, found the business card of Hammond School Farm Market, which I discovered whilst out jaunting last fall, so headed over to New Holland.  Bought some fresh veggies, chocolate chip cookies, and a whoopie pie, then headed down towards...

Intercourse and The Old Country Store, where I purchased nothing.  Funny, I don't usually purchase much there.  It's to be noted, however, that they have lots and lots of solid colors, including numerous whites, which I haven't been finding elsewhere.

Other than slowdowns/stoppages near/at the intersection of 283 and 30, the ride home at rush house was not a problem at all.

Wish I'd taken more photos!

55. The Forgotten Witch by Jessica Dodge

read on Kindle/phone
412 pgs.

2022

Adult fantasy
Finished 6/14/2024
Goodreads rating: 4.13
My rating: 2
Setting: Mostly contemporary Scotland, some flashes to the past

My comments: It took me months to plod through this story, but I persevered, refusing to give up.  It wasn't particularly well written, although it started out okay, but - for me - kept going down from there.  Long winded, so-so writing and repetitive information just didn't do it for me, although I loved the premise....

Goodreads synopsis:  Helen Kent never dares to step outside her comfort zone. She lives a lonely, mundane life in the city, grinding through her uninspiring marketing job. That is, until a spontaneous online purchase brings her to the little bay town of Oban, Scotland, where a 500-year-old cottage full of secrets and stories awaits her. After Helen unearths the local legend of a 16th century witch, she discovers a set of mysterious journals in the cottage’s library. Thrust into a world of magic she doesn’t understand, she soon realizes there are both light and dark forces at work beyond her control. With the help of a dashing Scottish neighbor and his wise grandfather, Helen discovers the link that connects her to the mysterious events unfolding at the cottage. But when the past collides with the present, she must face her fears and fight for what she believes in—that is if she hopes to unravel the mystery of Fernbeg cottage before darkness descends, again.

54. Beyond Reach by Molly Black

#2 Reese Link, Maine cop

listened on Chirp
198 pgs.

2023
Genre/Level
Finished 6/11/24
Goodreads rating: 4.13
My rating: 3
Setting: Contemporary Maine coast

My comments: This was supposed to be set inn Maine, but it could have been set anywhere.  It kept my attention but wasn't overwhelming "good."  

Goodreads synopsis:  Small town police officer Reese Link, teaming up with her new Maine State Police partner, is assigned another explosive the second warden in the state has turned up murdered. These seem like vengeance killings, but Reese suspects something much darker, more maniacal, and she knows it will take all she has to enter this killer’s mind and outwit him before he strikes again.

Reese Link is determined to do right by her deceased older brother, to fill his shoes in the local police department, and to avenge his murder. She also wants to make her father, a local lobsterman, proud. But the local force is male, and close-knight, and Reese soon learns that being accepted won’t be so easy.

Small town life on a harbor in Maine can be rough. Winters can be cruel and stretch forever, while the working class who inhabit the harbor suffer no fools. Reese knows this town like the back of her hand—but when she teams up with a State police officer, she quickly realizes she’ll have to branch out to other areas, way out of her comfort zone. She will have to learn quickly about all regions of Maine, as she hunts deadly killers wherever they may take her.

All along, she must fight her own demons, shake off the heaviness of her childhood, the depression of this town, and ask is she good enough?

Three Rivers Fruit Muffins

2 c. flour

2 t. baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 t. salt

  (1/2 t. cinnamon)

1 1/4 c. small fruit chunks

1/2 c. oil

1 egg

1 1/2 t. vanilla

1 cup liquid:  milkes, creams, etc.

400 degrees for 20 - 25 min.

Sprinkle some brown sugar over top?

Eleven Scrap Quilts Using 2 1/2 Inch Strips of Any Length - from The Quilted Forest

The Quilted Forest is a quilt shop in Iowa.  It's my favorite online quilting channel.

 First in a series of 11, The Quilted Forest (Iowa) shows how to make this simple (oh,so easy!) quilt:  I think its a variation of the Rail Fence?

YouTube video of instructions

The second was pretty cool, too!  And super easy.

YouTube video of instructions

The third quilt was a version of the Rail Fence Quilt.  It wasn't quite a simple because you have to really pay attention to colors, making sure the two main colors are REALLY different.

You Tube video of instructions.

Her fourth in the series was the standard jelly roll race quilt.  She used homespuns and flannels for both of these.  For the first she sewed the original strip together end to end, and for the second she sewed the strips together diagonally.  She had a huge amount of strips for the first quilt - it ended up being 120 inches long - so she cut off some of the bottom rows to add to each side to make it wider.  I love the black strip she added.  Brilliant quilt!

YouTube video of instructions.

Strip Quilt Number 5 is using a Moda pattern called Half Step.  On the first she used a jelly roll, on the second she used scraps.   She chose pastels and divided them into like colors.

You Tube instruction video.

The sixth strip quilt is made from a Moda  pattern called Smoothie Time.

She made two - one from her leftover Halloween strips, and one from her leftover Christmas strips.

She made the Christmas one bigger than the Halloween, and added a black border so that it didn't appear too "busy."  I like it.

Unfortunately, there never seems to be a photo of the whole quilt.  Oh well.....

YouTube instruction video.

Her seventh quilt was from her Block of the Month series, December 2022.  It makes a 16-inch block, and uses all scrappy fabrics.  She had so many squares finished that she made this one a REVERSABLE quilt!

And here's the reverse:

YouTube instructional video here.

The eighth quilt is made from a pattern called "Let's Dance" and she made a baby quilt using pastel colors.  It's a HST quilt.

Here's the.YouTube instructional video.

The ninth quilt is a little more work, lots of small pieces with sashing that has cornerstones.  It's really pretty, though!  The pattern is called "Quadrangle

Here's the instructional video with all sorts of hints.

Quilt 10 is a pattern called "Spiny Peaks," and is quite striking, especially done in two very different colors like the black and bright pink.  I think the pattern calls for one of the colors to be white, but I love the idea of using scraps.

Here's the YouTube videoYouTube video showing how it goes together.

Number 11 is called "Type It."  Put together in an interesting way, without a lot of fussy measuring to get the lighter color in the middle to have an interesting "path."

YouTube instruction video.

53. One Little Mistake by Lucinda Berry

listened on Audible
100? pgs.(2:23) only in audio format

2021
Adult mystery novella
Finished 6/7/2024
Goodreads rating: 3.48
My rating: 4.5

My comments: A really good mystery that keeps you frustrated and guessing.  A young mother gets arrested for OUI and endangering her two babies.  She's never been much of a drinker and had only had two glasses of wine.  But she'd blacked out, couldn't remember any of the particulars about anything, including her arrest.  When she goes to AA on the advice of her lawyer she is taken under the wings of a fascinating woman who becomes her mentor.  The story very quickly progresses from there...a very good story, indeed.

Goodreads synopsis:  When overwhelmed stay-at-home mom Alexis finds herself at odds with her husband after she’s charged with a DUI, she is given one chance to get her family back: complete AA and admit her faults. The problem is, she’s never had a drinking problem and has no idea what caused the blackout that led to her arrest. Still, she’s committed to working through the program, if that’s what it takes to be reunited with her two young children. But when she connects with a new friend, Farrah - a confident, successful powerhouse of a woman Alexis can’t help but idolize - she’s empowered to take a closer look at her husband’s role in her downfall. What she finds shocks her to her core, quickly spiraling into something more sinister than she ever imagined.

52. The Half-Orc's Maiden Bride by Ruby Dixon

listened on Audible, I think....
190 pgs.

2022
Adult X-rated Fantasy
Finished 6/7/24
Goodreads rating: 4.05
My rating: Fun to read

My comments: Yes, filled with Ruby Dixon's usual steaminess, this is the story of a 30-year-old clueless virgin and her more experienced husband to be.  You feel sorry for the extremely-tall unloved woman and hate her father...a good way to begin a story, hmm?  There's a pretty decent storyline and it's told in an easy manner....and it's almost a How-To sex guide if you don't mind that kind of thing,  lol!  Very likeable main characters.

Goodreads synopsis:  Lady Iolanthe of Rockmourn Keep expects to be a spinster all her days. She is very tall. She is very poor. And she is thirty. What lord could possibly want her?

But then her father returns with news that he has found a bridegroom for her - one that is impressively tall. One that is strong, and bold, and wealthy. And best of all? He wants Iolanthe. It seems too good to be true.

And when Iolanthe gets her first look at her husband-to-be, she realizes why.

No one mentioned the 'orc' part of things...

Summer Jaunt #1 - York, PA

 Forced myself to get up and going, looked to be a beautiful day!  Final destination was the "Every Quilt Has a Story" Quilt Show presented by York Quilters Guild.

First Stop:  Gifford Pinchot State Park.

I needed to replace my Park Passport which got drowned in a flood.  All out a the visitor's center, but they knew that they had the available at the Campground.  It was Friday late morning and people were starting to arrive to camp for the weekend!  Drove down to see the cabins and yurts, the modern cabins (kitchen stuff and bathroom).  The last time you can get a 2-night stay is next Friday, after that it's weekly and it's actually quite expensive.  Lots of picnicking opportunities.

Haven't stopped at The Finishing Touch in FOREVER, and I'm glad I did because they're closing in a couple of weeks.  Huge sale....60 % off remaining fabric.  Bought 2 yds of a solid orange Moda to add as cornerstones to my Jordan fabrics strip quilt.  $6.60!

"Every Quilt Has a Story"

York Quilt Show at Grumbacher Sports & Fitness Center 

York College of Pennsylvania

3D Vibes

Cindy Leen

Loved it!

Close Up.

Deb Wilhide

EPP Flowers

Table runner.  Smaller hexie than I generally do.  Very cool!

Sue Royer

Just amazine!

Sue Royer

"Mountain Quilter"

Inspired by a photography by Dorthea Lange (public domain) taken in 1937.  The Dresden pate quilt was an artistic addition to the original photography of a "southern Lady."

GORGEOUS!!!

51. The Night I Died by Anne Frasier

listened on Kindle Unlimited Audio
283 pgs.

2023
Adult mystery
Finished 6/4/2024
Goodreads rating: 3.97
My rating:  4
Setting: 

My comments: Anne Frasier certainly knows how to write a good tale.  In this one, single detective Olivia Wells leaves her home in LA to work on a mystery in Kansas.  She was born and raised there, but remembers absolutely nothing before the train wreck that killed her mom and best friend.  There were no huge surprises in the story, but it was exciting and fun to read.  Olivia certainly had a quirky personality, which I really enjoyed, although some of the subject matter was uncomfortable. 

Goodreads synopsis:  A mother’s unthinkable crime and an investigator’s forgotten past collide in a shocking novel of suspense by Anne Frasier, the New York Times bestselling author of The Body Reader . Private detective Olivia Welles hasn’t been to her hometown since childhood, not since the night she died. She has no memory of the world before the car crash, or of coming back to life in the morgue. But now, years later, when fellow survivor Bonnie Ray calls from a Kansas jail begging for help, Olivia feels the tug of a dark and unremembered past. Bonnie looks guilty of murdering her young son—the third child to die under suspicious circumstances. Intrigued and seeking closure, Olivia agrees to investigate. Back in the foreboding town where her heart stopped and started again, Olivia finds an unexpected ally in Will LaFever, a journalist with his own motives for uncovering the truth. Together they unearth more than they expect about Bonnie, her traumatized family, and the crime. You’re lucky you don’t remember any of it, Olivia’s father used to say. But Olivia’s luck is running out. This time, escaping Finney County with her life might be impossible.