under construction
shades of white
wild flowers in the orchardAnd I never even finished spring cleaning.
What a summer this looks like it will be. Busy. Hot. Interesting.
I am definitely going to have to admit to myself that I need to adopt my "Summer Blogging Schedule". I will post about once a week. Twice, if I'm lucky.
But that's bound to be okay with you folks... I bet you will be busy too.
Anybody reading anything good this summer?
I have:
"The Fig Eater" by Jody Shields
"prep" by Curtis Sittenfeld
and
"Crossing to Safety" by Wallace Stegner,
as well as, all of "His Dark Materials" by Phillip Pullman.
I just finished "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen. I really liked it.
I have been really obsessed with stories that are set in the depression.
This one is just resonant and brutal and a real page turner.
Come on... what's on your list?
I may just borrow from your list. My husband read "His Dark Materials" aloud, 4 years ago, but the other titles are new to me. I just finished reading 2 Ina Garten cookbooks... dangerous reading lol. And now I am in the first pages of "Jane Austen Book Club."
ReplyDeleteSummer? Already? Heavens!
That first necklace is so lovely. I can't wait to see it when it's finished.
ReplyDeleteMy summer reading, at least for my book club, is Isabel Allende's latest memoir and July's People by Nadine Gordimer. This reminds me I still need to order them...
The necklaces are lovely, I particularly like the "Shades of White" one.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of His Dark Materials (totally better than the movie btw), having read them when they first came out and I read Water for Elephants last summer and enjoyed it as well -circuses are just so intriguing!
My reading currently consists of a ton of books on Everest (see blog for details) and my two-person book club is reading Love in the Time of Cholera. I also really want to read The Hakawati, which just came out and sounds really interesting, like a modern Arabian Nights.
I'm reading Sunshine by Robin McKinley aloud to my friend Sylvia. I recommend everything by that author, with the possible exception of Rose Daughter.
ReplyDeleteOther than that, I don't really have "summer" reading as opposed to "reading all the time" reading. But right now I have a 3-book group on spinsters (yeah. guess who is turning 40 in a couple months?): Barbara Pym's Excellent Women, Anita Brookner's Hotel du Lac, and Margot Livesey's The House on Fortune Street.
I want to read The Stone Gods by Jeanette Winterson, The Voyage of the Short Serpent by Bernard de Boucheron, We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver, and some things by Eurdora Welty and Barry Unsworth.
Then, on the non-fiction side, I want to finish A Tournament of Shadows which is about the power struggle between Britain and Russia over Central Asia starting in the 19th century. Also, An Uncertain Inheritance: Writers on Caring for Family (ed. Nell Casey), Mad, Bad, and Sad: Women and the Mind Doctors by Lisa Appignanesi, and Survival City: Adventures Among the Ruins of Atomic America by Tom Vanderbilt.
Interesting title since none of that lace is tatted.
ReplyDeleteYou have some hand made needle lace in the bottom photo
the one above that looks like handmade needle lace too or acid lace hard to tell in your photos
the top is either bobbin lace needle lace and a little bit of acid lace but no tatting not a piece of it in the whole collection
Stegner is one of my favorite authors. I liked Crossing to Safety but I LOVED Angle of Repose and Big Rock Candy Mountain. Both incredibly written and unbearably sad (but definitely worth reading if you haven't already).
ReplyDeleteBreath by Tim Winton. It is his new book, just released. He is an Aussie aurthor, and this book is set in my part of the world. It is a great read, you wont want the book to end. Let me know if you are intereseted and unable to get hold of a copy in the U.S.A.
ReplyDeletei don't currently have a list, but i will have to look at those you have listed. i do want to read the friday night knitting club by kate jacobs.
ReplyDeleteI'm currently reading Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome. Apparently it's a quintessential English children's novel, and a friend bought me a copy when he was horrified to learn I'd never heard of it, let alone not read it. He very nicely bought me a hardback edition with a gorgeous 1950s illustrated slipcover so it looks rather nice on my bedside shelf, too.
ReplyDeletefirst -- love the necklaces
ReplyDeletesecond -- i need to read more. because it requires sitting on my booty. and not yelling at children.
Delurking to tell you how absolutely stunning your necklaces are...
ReplyDeleteAlso, "Crossing to Safety" is my favorite book EVER. I think you'll love it.
Reading "Excellent Women" right now, by Barbara Pym. She's amazing, too.
Good depression book (as in economic not sadness!) is The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas. the Quilting circle detail is just a bonus! Lovely lovely book. Feeling paranoid I was only planning one post a week in my new blog any time of year - I guess I'm just wired for summertime! x
ReplyDeleteWow, those necklaces! that last one made me take a deep breath. So pretty.
ReplyDeletePhillip Pullman is a favorite over here and I even have the BBC radio production on cd and listen to it when I'm working.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about needing a blog schedule! I need one for blogging and for blog reading.
Well I offically feel less like a failure now since I also was on the 1x a week vibe when it comes to blogging for the Summer.
ReplyDeleteIt's really not fair for me Summer means doing all the stuff I don't so since I am schooling the kids and then add to that planning their next school year.. but never the less I am working on cultivating a *Summer attitude* and while having stuff to do.. enjoying my time, the sun and the season as much as possible.. since we all know that in the blink of an eye it will be gone!
Maddie
Whoa, de-constructivist necklaces! I like them.
ReplyDeleteMy summer stack has grown in recent weeks, but includes "Flower Confidential" (Any Stewart, non-fiction) about the commercial floral industry, "Bad Dirt/Wyoming Stories 2" (Annie Proulx), "The Peaceable Kingdom" (Francine Prose) and "The Master Butchers Singing Club" (Louise Erdrich).
If you like His Dark Materials…find "I Was a Rat!", a fantastic story also by Mr. Pullman. Short, surprising and beautifully written.
I love your tatters necklaces. They're like a really good Tom Waits song.
ReplyDeleteI used to read a couple of books a week, now I'm lucky if I read one every few months.
I am going to read "Eat, Love, Pray" by whatserbucket.
Gah! These necklaces kill me, lady.
ReplyDeleteMy summer reading list will be the winter reading list that never got read, as I developed the nasty habit of pouring myself a glass of red wine and bringing it and a book to bed with me on a regular basis. It made for lovely winter nights, but not much page turning.
I am loving those "tatty" necklaces. They are gorgeous! Reading list? Not ready for that yet...I will check on the books that you are reading though. It is always good to have a suggestion. Have a wonderful weekend. Susan
ReplyDeleteThose necklaces are so beautiful! They are so enchanting!!
ReplyDeleteI love that first necklace! Do you make them for personal use only or do you sell?
ReplyDeleteI don't have a definite reading list yet (the only book I've picked is Henry Rollin's 'Get In The Van') but I've read the Curtis Sittenfield, I enjoyed it a lot, though I've never known it as very well-known, and I've never seen any others by that author. I hope you enjoy it.
Those necklaces are enchanting - something very magical about them! Reading? Just finished Mudbound and Streams of Babel, The Charity Girl, and Elsewhere. About to start Comfort Food (by Kate Jacobs who wrote The Friday Night Knitting Club) so I KNOW I'll love it! I read 2-4 books per week. I HAVE to - it's like my vitamin!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your sweet comment! :) I hope you had an excellent weekend!
ReplyDeletewe are discussing 'water for elephants' tomorrow night at bookclub. i didn't read it the second time around as i offered it up for consideration... i loved it - especially the live your life to the fullest no matter your age angle... it will be fun to talk about tomorrow night.
ReplyDeleteif you haven't read 'ursula, under' yet - you need to, it is great... super, duper great.
The tatlaces are lovely.
ReplyDeleteI loved Water for Elephants.
I just read The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff. Great read for the summer. Now I am reading Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri. I have only read two stories so far but her characterizations and stories are well crafted.
You'll love His Dark Materials, the heroine is such a spunky, sassy girl, just like you!
ReplyDeleteI'm rereading the trilogy myself (for the third time) so maybe we can chat about them some time!
Also, I'm reading the Barbara Kingsolver book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle".
These are beautiful!!!
ReplyDeleteI have been working on some things in a similar vein. Similar but different! If I can get to my mom's house to use te sewing machine to finish them ,I will post soon. You simply can't wear pinned things!
Hope all is well!
Hi! what a necklaces design specially i like second last.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.