January Reading Journal

I just finished my first book of 2013.  Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny was a fabulously written story featuring the character Armand Gamache. This is the sixth book in the series set in the Quebec providence of Canada.  Armand is the Chief Inspector of the Sûreté du Québec (basically the Police Department of the providence). I have read the books in order - which I recommend to others.  The characters change and evolve as the series progresses.

In this book, Armand is in Quebec City recovering from a yet to be described trauma.    You are given insights to this trauma as the story unfolds.  One of the characters is also re-investigating a murder from the previous book. And of course there is another murder - and more intrigue. These books are less action packed and more character driven.   I can't wait to start the next one! This is the Goodreads review

The other series I am reading that also takes place in Montreal, Quebec, are the books by Kathy Reichs.  The books feature the character Temperance Brennan. These books were used for the inspiration for the TV show Bones.  I had enjoyed the TV show, so decided to read the books.  I was shocked to discover that the books and the TV show have very little in common.  The name of the main character (Temperance Brennan) and her work as a forensic anthropologist is the only thing they share. I did some reading about the author to discover this was quite purposeful.  Kathy Reichs did not want her books to be tied to the TV series in terms of changes and progressions.  I just finished Spider Bones, the 13th book in the series. 


Other books read so far this year:
Return to Willow Lake (Lakeshore Chronicles #9) by Susan Wiggs- A nice change from my normal mysteries. This series was a fun escapism read. Not great literature, but nice characters.

The Mysterious Howling (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #1) by Maryrose Wood  - A children's book on this year OBOB (Oregon Battle of the Books) list.  My students are loving it.  And I can see why - told in the style of the Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. 

As you can see from this post, I am trying to use Goodreads more effectively. It is a popular website for many -kinda a Facebook for book lovers.  The other webiste I like is FictFact - it makes it easy to keep track of all my favorite series books - and what is next.

Wavy Tote

I have enjoyed making this bag/purse/tote several times the past couple of years.  The original pattern is apparently out of print.  Laura Denison Designs is the designer - and created the pattern.  I purchased it in a quilt shop.  I have searched my sewing room for the original pattern with no success.  (Perhaps a reorganization of the sewing room is in order ...)    

My first "Wavy Purse/Tote"

Above you see my first "making" from this pattern.  I liked it.  

I don't remember what came next - but I think it was my friend Sally Honse coming to me with a couple of yards of fabric she purchased in Africa.  She and her son have gone to Africa and Haiti several times with a medical mission group Project Helping Hands. She was hoping I could make something to sell at an auction to raise funds for their next trip.  I went a little crazy (I've been known to go overboard)  I made about six bags using this pattern.  The pattern has two sizes. A large tote size and the smaller purse size -- the two pictures are both the larger tote size.  

The next one I made for my niece Paige.  She was starting her student teaching and wanted a bag for her "stuff."  She was traveling the MAX each day, and needed something she could put everything from her water bottle to books.

This is the smaller sized "purse." But still a good size (about 14 inches tall) The photo makes it look more cone shaped than it is. The sides are really straight. After making this, both my mom and sister-in-law put in requests for their purses.  I neglected to take pictures of either of those projects.

I was getting ready to travel for two weeks to Pennsylvania to visit my nephews. Ray lives near Philadelphia with his wife Missy and their three boys Jonathan, James and Cole. (The fourth one is due in June 1913!). Karl and his wife Janet live in Pittsburgh with their two sons Liam and Ethan.  I decided two days before the trip that I HAD to have one of these for my travels. It was perfect.  As you can see from the picture to the left,  I could fit my iPad and Kindle (yeah, I needed BOTH). Plus room for other various travel necessities. 

The picture below is with Karl, Ethan and Liam on the Duquesne Incline Plane in Pittsburgh (holding the purse). Truly the only flaw this bag has as the perfect travel purse is that it doesn't have zippers to close it.  If you've done any amount of traveling you know how necessary having zipped compartments can be. 

Karl, Ethan, Marianne, Liam, Sita (Karl's mother)

While visiting in Pennsylvania, Missy also put in her request for the purse - so when I got home I made one for her.

Jenny Beyer pattern and kit.

Summer of 2012 was a summer of "waiting" for me -- all the Teacher-Librarian positions had been eliminated from Beaverton School District. I was waiting to hear for my teaching assignment.  I didn't learn that I would be a 5th grade teacher at Kinnaman Elementary until the end of July.  One of my good teacher friends, Louise, told me I need to make a new "Teacher" bag for myself.  I found the following kit, full of beautiful fabrics - and knew I wanted to adapt it using my faithful "Wavy Tote" pattern. The fabric was from the fabric designer, Jinny Beyer.  She is famous for her richly colored fabrics.

This purse turned out SO WELL.  It is beautiful.  The picture doesn't do it justice. 

Introductions

To start -- I have no idea why I have decided to start a blog.  But, that being said, I have had several people  (well, maybe one or two) say they would follow a blog by me ... and being swayed by any flattery coming my way ... decided it might be something I'd like to do.

So, in the beginning, I have decided to make a journal of sorts of my hobbies.  If you follow me you will probably be reading about sewing projects, my reading, and genealogy.

So the history of these hobbies to start the blog (i.e. MY history with these hobbies).

Starting with the one that has been with me the longest ... reading.  Although the sewing probably started about the same time.  I didn't become a READER until fourth grade.  I picked up a biography about Dolley Madison -- and loved it.  I have no idea why that  particular book got me started.  But I still remember the book, where I found it in the the Fullerton IV Elementary School Library). From there, I think the Little House series by Laura Ingall Wilder were next. At the time, my mother was working at the Douglas County Library and she would bring me a stack of books home for me every week. And then she would take me on Saturdays to check out more.  By the time I was in sixth grade I was reading a book a day.  And you wonder how did I do that and homework?  Well, to be honest, don't think I did much homework.  If my grades are any reflection, homework was not a high priority in my life.

Sewing lessons, at my mother's side, started about the same time.  I was also part of a 4-H group.  Mrs. Beck was our leader, and I remember her fondly -- teaching not only sewing, but other life lessons also.  One lesson I learned from her?  Only wear beige underwear under white garments.  Funny what you remember.  Then I also took Home Ec. at school.  I remember making a poncho in Junior High.  My teacher was Mrs. Bonebrake.  She showed us a microwave (it must have been around 1970)--  She cooked scrambled eggs.  By the time I was sixteen, my mom and I were fighting over who needed to use the sewing machine.  For my sixteenth birthday, my mom decided to buy me a sewing machine.

I absolutely LOVED this machine.  It traveled with me to college -- and I used it until it FELL apart during one my first quilting classes. (So around 1990) I have the quilt hanging in my entryway that I was making when this machine died.  I lasted almost 20 years.  For a piece of plastic, not too bad. I have had three machines since this one.  The first two didn't even last 5 years.

So If you are still reading -- Thank you -- I'm having a hard time imagining anyone wanting to read about all this! I really appreciate you willing to stay with it this long!  My other obsession/hobby is genealogy.  I started researching our Greenley family history in the 1980s -- before the  Internet made it so easy. I took a class at a community college (Southwestern Oregon Community College in Coos Bay) from a really interesting instructor. I spent many hours looking at microfilm in the Mormon genealogy library.  My interest came because so many answers we had about Greenleys and their origins died when my grandfather, Ansel Greenley, and my father, Robert Greenley both died.  It has been interesting voyage, traveling back in time to discover who came before me - and connecting those people to events in history. The picture is of my father.  He died Oct. 19, 1970.  I had just turned 13 years old.  We have discovered he was too often the photographer of our family pictures -- and we have way too few pictures of him. This one is a picture I cropped from a group picture with his siblings taken in 1967. I liked how is shows his slight smile - a look I remember when he was teasing.

So I have written MUCH more than I imagined I could write in one setting.  So maybe this blog might be a do-able project ...  and if you made it this far ... leave me a quick note, so I know I actually have an audience ....  THANK YOU!!