Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Various



Linen, wool, cotton - Akiko Mano



Country Living storage style - Lesley Porcelli



How to cheat at gardening and yard work : shameless tricks for growing radically simple flowers, veggies, lawns, landscaping, and more by Jeff Bredenberg



Martha Stewart's dinner at home : 52 quick meals to cook for family & friends




Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury




Home education: Training and educating children under nine - Charlotte Mason



My story by Sarah Mountbatten-Windsor, Duchess of York

Saturday, March 13, 2010

A scarlet cord, Unlikely angel


A scarlet cord is another great novel by Deborah Raney. Melanie, a widow with a young daughter, falls in love with Joe, who was hired by her church as a Bible teacher. They eventually become engaged, but one day Joe disappears, leaving a letter behind assuring her of his love, but saying he can never return and explaining nothing. I enjoyed reading this book.



Unlikely angel : the untold story of the Atlanta hostage hero by Ashley Smith is a really interesting story. Well-written and easy to follow. Brian Nichols, who had killed three people in an Atlanta courthouse and another who wouldn't cooperate when Brian wanted his vehicle, showed up at Ashely's apartment at 2:00 in the morning with three guns. Ashley was determined not to die and decided to do whatever it took to convince him to release her.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Magdalene, Beneath a southern sky


Magdalene by Angela Hunt was an interesting read. In it, Mary's family is killed by Roman soldiers and not long after, she becomes demon-possessed. After Jesus heals her, she spends the rest of her life seeking revenge for her family, not knowing until shortly before her death that her youngest son was saved by one of the soldiers.



Beneath a Southern Sky by Deborah Raney is excellent! I think this is the first time I've read this author and I am very impressed. The only thing I didn't like was that the back of the book told too much of the story; it would have been better to have been surprised by what happened instead of knowing what was coming. Daria and Nate were missionaries in South America when he was killed while trying to help a down-river tribe. She returned to the US and gives birth to Nate's child. Daria eventually moves on with life and remarries. If you read this book, don't read the back cover.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Easy Homeschooling Techniques


by Lorraine Curry. I must admit, I was hoping for a lot more from this book. It recommends using old books (the older, the better), using what you already have as much as possible and reading aloud a lot. There are resources listed at the back as well as a rough grade-by-grade course of study. Not recommended.

6 craft books


Simply sublime bags by Jodi Kahn. I returned this to the library some time ago so I don't remember too well, but I think the bags were pretty cool—a lot of them were no-sew and used stuff like duct tape, but some were made the usual way. There was a neat one, I remember, that was made from a T-shirt. I discovered this book through a Martha Stewart video.


Slipcover style by Alison Wormleighton was very nice, but too involved for me. It described how to make slipcovers for different pieces of furniture. They were lovely, but the method was quite difficult-looking.



Sew darn cute by Jenny Ryan certainly had a lot of cute projects but it would be easy to tone down the cuteness by leaving off some of the embellishments. I think these make good quality items that are sturdy and beautiful.




Sew what! Bags by Lexie Barnes has lots of great projects. Everything from an eyeglasses case to a backpack. I want to make a couple of the bags; I would make more, but I already have more tote bags than I need.



Fabulous felt by Sophie Bester was not what I had hoped it would be. The projects are very "crafty". Some are pretty, but very few would be useful.



Sew fabulous fabric by Alice Butcher has instructions for making an apron, clothespin bag, curtains, fabric art, backpack, flower corsages and more. Some useful things and some not. The instructions are well-detailed.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Let darkness come by Angela Elwell Hunt

was a great book. Briley, a young female lawyer, must defend another woman who is accused of murdering her husband, a politician from an influential family. The solution comes in the form of a very unusual circumstance. I love Angela Hunt's books, but I'm not sure I like having solutions that depend on something almost supernatural. A similar ending happened in another of her books, The Canopy. I was actually disappointed with the ending after having loved the story.

Vintage style, Hold on to your kids, Screwtape, Bloodletting, Praying woman, Ninth Witness



Decorating vintage style by Christina Strutt not so great, poor photography, however, some very cluttered interiors inspired me to go tidy up.




Hold on to your kids : why parents matter
by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Maté was very long. But somewhat interesting. I didn't agree with everything but I did agree that kids need their parents and family more than they need anyone else. And that too much "socializing" with their peers often does more harm than good.


The Screwtape letters; with, Screwtape proposes a toast by C. S. Lewis was great. Sometimes a little funny, and always thought-provoking. In case you don't know, they are a collection of letters written from an old demon giving advice to his nephew.





Bloodletting & miraculous cures : stories
by Lam, Vincent. Uh, not really my style. No comment.




The power of a praying woman by Stormie Omartian. I got bogged down in this one and didn't finish it.





Ninth witness
by Bodie Thoene was an excellent novel. It was about Jesus at 12 and was very interesting. Not at all irreverent or overly imaginative, it was entirely within the realm of possibility.