Book Treats

Santa is getting ready to come to town. And as I am Santa…I decided that I earned some extra treats for all my hard work.

PB and Jellybean are both getting books for Christmas this year as they are both becoming quite the book lovers. PB even leveled up this year with adding reading glasses to help her accuracy. So Mom deserves some new books as well.

I picked up three fiction books: Wedding People by Alison Espach, A Good Girls Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson and The Life Possible by Matt Haig. I think I will pick one out for a Christmas break read…

Happy Reading!!

Books to Kick Off 2025

This past holiday, I was blessed to receive some books from my friends. I have fallen off the reading trend in December and moved to some audio books for my commute while my podcasts were on holiday hiatus.

But these books look great and I think I am going to jump start my reading on my upcoming Moms trip to Oklahoma. Four days, one AirBnB, no kids and all the down time. Right now my plan is to take All Good People Here and We Solve Murders with me. And of course my knitting….possibly my spinning. I haven’t decided.

Happy Reading!!

Next Book Club Book

Spring has not decided what it wants around here. We have had 70 degrees one day followed by snow squalls the next. I am really enjoying my hammock time but sometimes it required a fluffy blanket.

Book Club has decided to read The Heiress. It is a new book and a very quick read. I got through it in a weekend. A pretty enjoyable read with the narrator switching between three character views. I would give a 7 out of 10.

Duke is not impressed with my reading time. He likes to take advantage of the fact the hammock is low enough he can climb in any time he wants snuggles. Bonus? He adds warmth on cold days. Just gotta watch his dismount or you end up on the patio!

Happy Reading!!

New Favorite Spot

Aside from fiber and yarn…..I am fairly hard to buy for. But this year I had a light bulb idea for Christmas. I REALLY wanted a hammock to spend time in outside.

And my parents came through and found a modular hammock frame that fits on my deck. It’s still pretty cool around here but on a sunny day with a blanket….it’s pretty darn fine! I am working on my 2024 TBR with Radium Girls.

This book is fascination and also hard to read. But I think that is the point. I didn’t know a lot about this part of our history and it’s fascinating. It’s also 400 pages…which is daunting but I am not going to give up!

Happy Reading!!

Book Time Machine

Part of my 2024 plan for wellness is more reading. I joined a book club last year and picked up some new books at the library sale as well. I am trying to incorporate fun and professional reading as a part of my self care.

And I thought it prudent to clear some of the books off my night stand before starting new book. First up is #IMOMSOHARD. I think I started this book in 2022? And I only had a few chapters to go. So Duke and I turned off the TV and wrapped this one up this week.

And we found treasure. I found a printed knit hat pattern that I never made, a tooth fairy note about Jellybean and a crumply post it. Apparently I store things in books?

Happy Reading!

2024 TBR

PB asked me to go to the Library so she could play ABC mouse and Library toys. I happily obliged as it has been SUPER cold this winter and we are all getting cabin fever at home. By luck or coincidence, it was Library sale day!

I found seven books that needed to come home with me. I found a new series to start (top 5) and old series to revisit (2nd from bottom) and a random book I picked because of the cover (bottom). All of these cost $14….

I don’t know when I am going to find time to read between my craft goals, working hours, raising kids and taking care of my health. But I am going to put these on my bedside table to motivate me 🙂

Happy Reading!!

All The Self Care….Literally

I decided to give myself a mini vacation this past weekend. With the rising cases of COVID I had to cancel some pretty fun plans. And then our hot water heater broke last Thursday so we didn’t have hot water for four days. So I rounded up all my favorite self care items, kissed my kids and hubby and retreated to the basement last Saturday night.

I had wine, my pedicure tools, face masks, my latest book, animal crossing and more knitting than I could possibly handle in one evening. It was glorious! I watched a rom com TV show and just zoned out from all responsibility.

10 out 10 and would definitely do again!

Expanding My Library

I’ve thus far been able to play with my wheel long enough to find out that I needed to re-do the break band and oil the treadle connections. And as of last weekend I have accomplished both of those things I am also getting better at consistently treadling in the same direction when I treadle on an empty wheel. (Note: I was gifted a Hitchhiker Wheel by Merlin Tree in case anyone was interested.)

Next up, is actually trying to make some yarn. My day job has been CRAZY stressful lately as I just became a supervisor in January and one of the longest track employees in my department gave her 30 day retirement notice. So I haven’t been making much progress on finding the time to YouTube learning to spin.

My next thought was to go analog and get some books. Thank you used book exchange! I got two used spinning books. The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook is one I have seen on many of a spinning podcast so I know it’s good but maybe past my skill level at this point. But the “How To Spin” was an amazon suggestion I took a risk on. I am trying to reserve my judgement until I start reading.

Happy (Almost) Spinning!!

Guilty Pleasures

I have been on the local library waiting list for like two months. But my book finally came in! I have followed this series since book one. I know they aren’t for everyone and it’s pretty easy to solve the crime. But you guys….it’s my guilty pleasure. I love a nice easy read with characters I have bonded with. With all the hurt and drama in the world I like to escape in easy to digest murder mystery novels with quirky female detectives. It’s my happy place.

I’m about halfway through the book and paired it last night with a glass of Rose after putting the kids to bed. I may or may not have stayed WAAAY to late reading and regret it this morning.

What is your guilty pleasure?

Dueling Focus

I’m in the season on my job where I’m running large batch data runs at work that can take….well let’s just say awhile. And my aging PC really can’t multitask. So I’m left watching a lot of progress bars tick slowly along. Knitting isn’t really mainstream among my coworkers so I’ve switched to E-books to kill the downtime. And I’ve gotten back into a few old favorite series but mostly I’m addicted to a new series…


It’s kind of spy chick lit with a magic twist. The main character is relatable and while the books are fairly predictable I CAN’T PUT THEM DOWN. I’m already on 5 of 7 and not slowing down. I even find myself wanting to read instead of knitting. Oh the humanity!!