Lots-o-links update.

Not much going on today but I thought I'd recommend a few books I've read lately that are really very good. It's too hot to think to much about deep stuff and this book is a perfect "can't-put-it-down-murder-mystery" It's in paperback so some of you may have beat me to the book already. I can't wait for this guy to write another book! Seriously, he has mastered the art of blending southern Gothic and almost perfect murder. It's about the disintegration of a wealthy family and how all the crazies come out of the woodwork in the process. Wonderful read. Moving along to my other favorite kind of books I will recommend these two to those of you who are cooking-food writing fans.

I'm working on some stuff today that I don't want to show yet so I'll just leave you with a bunch of new links to investigate if you are in the summer doldrums as so many of us are. Click around and have a little travel through the quilt universe. There are so many talented people out here in blogland I am constantly amazed at the talent and really amazed at the generosity of these women. They are talented, kind, and very giving.

This book "Divisadero", was recommended to me by someone who's opinion I usually value a great deal. I haven't read it yet but plan to soon. Last but far from least I will attempt to covert some more people to my all time favorite mystery writer. James Lee Burke

I fell in love with James Lee Burke's writing many years ago when someone gave me a copy of "Heaven's Prisoners" This man can write like no one since Faulkner. These are not books for the timid. He writes about the harsher realities of being a recovering alcoholic, police detective in the Bayou country of Louisiana. The second book I read by him was one called 'In the Electric Mist with the Confederate Dead " The man writes like music. You can envision what he is saying clearly as he writes it. It may be the subject matter, the deep south,that give it a magical quality but all the while I'm reading I want to break out the bourbon and make something cold to sip on the veranda. When you finish a Burke book you need to cool off and you feel like you have lived with these people. Well, let's just say that anyone who has followed me down the pathway to Burke's New Iberia always comes back for more. I cannot say enough about the tenor of this man's ability to bring characters to life. The subject matter is often not so nice or pretty but if you want to read writing the way it should be-here's your man. The new book is predictably about the Hurricane and what happened regarding the human toll.

Anyway, by now my husband is hysterical laughing because when I love writing I can't stop pushing the books.

Hope everyone has a great day. I'm off to try to accomplish a thing or two.

Wow-lookee what I found-Thank you Janet

After I finished the last entry only a few minutes ago, I happened to be finishing my lunch and browsing. Janet (Just Bee-cause)doesn't blog daily anymore so I don't look everyday and good thing I did today...I guess I'm nice!! Seriously, thanks Janet. You made my day and gave me a big smile. It's a lovely thing to be thought well of by people who you admire and Janet is one of those people. She never has an unkind word about anyone and is so appreciative of whatever people have to say about her lovely work. It's been a gift to get to know her. I'm really glad she had second thoughts about closing her blog. I enjoy hearing from her whenever she decides to write. A very sweet and thoughtful woman with a great sense of humor. My kind of gal! Thanks, again, Janet. I kind of hate passing along these things for fear of hurting someone who isn't getting something like this so I'll just say to all the people on my sidebar are special to me and I encourage you to go look at their wonderful work. A nicer group of artists I can't imagine. Some are talented and very funny as well. And so in closing....I'd just like to say to the academy...OH! where was I??...Love you guys!

Jig Saw Puzzles & Log Cabins & Catch-up

I can hardly believe that a week has gone by but here we are in mid-August. The weather has cleared out a little bit and so we can enjoy a few days of temps that are not in the 90s. It still seems like many people have blog-fatigue and I guess I can count myself among the lost.

My brother Pete and his wife Dawn came bringing with them the ever-adorable niece Alicia this past weekend. They were attending a reunion and so I got to hang with Alicia. She's an only child and very easy to be with. Whatever you want to do she's happy with. Since the weather was crappy-hot we decided to tackle a puzzle. Roger found an old drawing board somewhere and so we were able to do it in comfort on the kitchen table rather than having old Aunt Dee turn into a pretzel around the coffee table on the floor-Oh! my aching back!! Let's not even discuss the knees.
As you can see we all did fairly well until we got to the upper right hand corner pumpkin patch...there aren't enough evil words to describe how hard the dreaded pumpkin patch is. Every piece looks the same and my eyes were getting crossed. Even Alicia passed on that part. We will now put away that one and begin work on the other shown above. I love jig saw puzzles. Don't know why we don't do more of them. Everyone got involved including James who made me get all teary-eyed by shouting for joy when he saw it. He actually said to his girlfriend on the phone that he was so happy to be doing this with the family again. It was a great weekend. Our next group of visitors don't come until Labor Day weekend so we have a weeks respite from entertaining. The next group of visitors are our close friends Rich & Diane. They entertain themselves and everyone else so it will be no sweat for me.
As you can see, I am mindlessly making log cabins and I know, I know, they're not really log cabins I just forget what you call them-is it Bento boxes? Whatever you call them, I had this great, dynamic colored fabric waiting to be used and it caught my eye for just this thing. I have several gift to make and a very late wedding gift or 2 still due and these little boxes will become one of those things.
Other than the puzzles and bento boxes(this is what I'm calling them regardless) there isn't a lot going on. James and Dani are driving to PA this weekend to a car race somewhere in the western part of the state. BIL Bob is going to visit friends upstate and Roger & I are just chillin' here alone. A little BBQ-a little puzzling-a little DVDing and whatever. My BIL Bob isn't able to eat beef much anymore so it will be an all-steak weekend, with some shrimp thrown in to the mix. I may do the Meme on Deb's Red Shoe Ramblings (see sidebar) in the next day...or not. Talk to you soon.