Monthly Round Up-May

Each month I like to keep a record of what I have been reading, watching, making and places I have been so that I can look back and see what I achieved and even how quickly time is going by. I normally.record it on my planner as a list but on here I can also put photos on.

Places I have been

At the beginning of the month I went with Craig and Emma to see Mary Poppins. There were a few changes to the original story but it was still very enjoyable and the cast were amazing.

As it was the school holidays and Craig took a week off as well we went for a few days out to The British Ironworks Centre

Erdigg Hall near Wrexham

and into Manchester to see amongst other things the John Rylands Library 

What I have watched

What I have Read

I listened to this book and it was the abridged version so a lot shorter than the book itself. I might get round to actually reading the full story as I did enjoy what I read.

This was the last book in the series. They were all large books and took a long time to get through. Interesting mix of fact and fiction.

I needed something light and easy to read and I just love the whole Agatha Raisin series. Busy Body was a re-read as I read it out of sequence and As the Pig Turns was the most gruesome of the stories so far.

What I have made.

I seem to have lost my crafting mojo a bit this year but I have also been working on some big projects that are taking a long time to complete. I have been wanting to make something to cover the shelves. I had to remove the doors to the cupboard as when we bought a new gas oven, the pipe was at a different angle which meant it was not flush with the cupboards and it was very difficult to get into this corner unit as I could not open the doors fully enough to reach inside easily. The Alice in Wonderland fabris was left over from a dress I have made.

Books I have read in 2023

 I managed the grand total of 27 books in 2023 which probably is not a lot by some people's standards but working full time, crafting, housework, family and the W.I. means that I am kept busy for most of the time. 

I am not going to go into detail for every book as that would just take far too long but I will do a little about my favourite books of the year. I don't have a specific genre or author that I like to read, I tend to make my decisions on whether other people have enjoyed it, the cover or the blurb. Some of these books I would not have chosen myself as they are the book club choices that I go to once a month. 

So here is the list, let me know if you have read any of them and what you thought. They are separated into books I enjoyed but would not read again, books I did not like and books I loved.

Books I enjoyed reading.

    

          

    

     

   

   

  

  

Books I did not enjoy

Although I liked the overall story I could not stand Tom Ripley. Apparently the film is supposed to be a lot better than the book. 

I just found the descriptive writing was too much for me. I could see why it was once on the English Literature O'level syllabus.

Who could have thought you could go wrong with Agatha Christie? Apparently you can and this book is in the top 100 worst books ever written list and I can see why. (I did not know this before I chose it)

Books I loved

It was the mention of the self cleaning house that hooked me when I was reading the blurb. I love the fact it is not a young woman who is the lead character but a single mum with a teenage daughter who did not even know she was a witch as her powers had been kept from her to protect her. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series this year.

The Tudors are one of my favourite periods in history to read about. Obviously this is fiction but is was interesting to read a book based on a real character and some real events.

This has become one of my all time favourite books. The blurb  and any description I could give does not do it justice. How the author came up with upper class Victorian ladies who are actually pirates but have flying houses instead of  ships and the male lead being hired to either kill, kidnap or protect the main female lead depending on who hired him is totally remarkable. I laughed out loud at some of the incredulous lines and speeches made. Totally bonkers but brilliant. I am definitely going to be reading the other books by this author.

   

    

   

        

What I have been doing in March.

 

March was a very mixed month. It started with a lot of socialising, I was ill in the middle and Craig caught Covid at the end.

 

Making

 I wasn’t really able to do much crafting this month due to various things but I did manage to make flower box frames for Mother’s Day gifts for my Mum and Craig’s Mum.

 I finally got around to making my own pair of pyjama bottoms from my Tilly and the Buttons book. I had made a pair for Emma last month as she wanted them for when she went away. I will be saving mine for when we go away in July. I had to learn how to thread my overlocker which caused a great deal of stress as I am very long sighted and struggled to see where some of the thread needed to pass through the machine. Thankfully a purchase of a pair of glasses that magnified and had built in lights solved the problem.

 I did go to the W.I craft clubs. The crafts were very quick to make and we ended up spending more time talking than making.

 

Watching.

Being ill in bed meant that I was able to binge watch Season 6 of Downton Abbey which I could watch constantly and Season 4 of Agatha Raisin. I had seen the episode at Christmas but missed the rest of the series. Agatha’s outfits are looking more and more eccentric and I would love the confidence to make bolder outfit choices.

 Craig and I started watching Death in Paradise from the beginning and got through the episodes with Ben Millar as D.I Richard Poole. It was a complete shock when he left as I expected it at the end of a season, not the beginning. I won’t give any spoilers in case anyone wants to watch them. I really liked the characters and the relationships they had. If only the police over here were so efficient and effective. You do have to suspend belief with how quick the results for everything come through and how the murderer is caught so quickly but it is enjoyable to watch and the scenery is beautiful.

 As a family we watched ‘The Adam Project’ on Netflix with Ryan Reynolds. The young boy who played the younger Adam was absolutely brilliant and could have easily passed as Ryan Reynold’s son, both in looks and character. It was an interesting story where Adam, a time traveller, accidentally crashes in 2022 and has to team up with his 12 year old self to save the world.

 

Reading

The Crafternoon Sewcial Club by J. Williams

 The Blurb

It's not that single mum Charlotte Newman is completely and utterly obsessed with crafting, necessarily.

Sure, she has balls of wool stashed everywhere like a squirrel stores nuts and more needles than a tattoo parlour. But that doesn't mean she has a problem, right?

Finding herself between jobs, Charlotte fills her time teaching crafting skills at the local nursing home. Encouraged by how positively the residents respond, the possibility of a career doing what she adores fills her mind.

The first step towards that ambition is creating a crafting hub for the community – The Crafternoon Sewcial Club.

When a local charity announces a major knitting-themed fundraiser, Charlotte sees the ideal stage to put her new club firmly on the crafting map and drum up new members in the process.

Unfortunately, not everybody is on board with her vision for a crafting club, as it turns out. Indeed, some are even hoping to see Charlotte's dream come crashing down around her.

Still, she won't let a minor issue like that derail her plans…

To ensure victory, then, she'll need to rally her new members and ask her friends from the nursing home to get those needles clicking faster than a hummingbird's wings!

 It was a light and thoroughly enjoyable read. Every character was lovely (even Charlotte’s nemesis in the end). I would love to live in a community where everybody helps each other and the right thing is always done. It is a definite chick-lit kind of book and I wanted to read it because of the crafting element. I don’t think I would rush to read it again, but it is the perfect book for when you are on holiday or ill in bed.

 

If You Could See Me Now – Cecelia Ahern

 The Blurb

What if love was right there in front of you – you just couldn't see it?

Elizabeth Egan is too busy for friends. As a reluctant mother to her sister Saoirse's young son Luke and with her own business to run, every precious moment is made to count.

But with Saoirse crashing in and out of their lives, leaving both her sister and her son reeling, Luke and Elizabeth are desperately in need of some magic.

Enter Ivan. Wild, spontaneous and always looking for adventure, in no time at all Ivan has changed Elizabeth in ways she could never have imagined. But is Ivan too good to be true? Has Elizabeth opened her heart only to risk it being broken again?

 

Not the kind of book I would choose myself, it was the W.I book club choice. I thought it was an original concept for a romance and though it ended as I expected I found I still had some questions about some of the other characters.

 

What else.

 

The first weekend we were away for the weekend at a Masonic Ladies Weekend at St Anne’s near Blackpool. It was a very enjoyable weekend and it was good to catch up with everyone after a couple of years. I won a rather nice handbag on the tombola so I was very happy. There was plenty to eat and drink and it was nice that for the first time it was just Craig and I. As it is a family event the kids normally come along with us, but this year Emma was working and Matthew did not want to come along. I did not mind at all, though they did miss out on the suite that we ended up being allocated which was bigger than some flats/apartments and had a terrace that was as big as the back garden we had in our first house. It is normally given to the Worshipful Master and his partner, but it is at the back of the hotel and the Worshipful Master wanted a sea view. It would be lovely if we could get it again next year. I did drop a hint to the Lodge secretary 😊

 

Happy Homemaker Monday / Menu plan 28th February 2022

 

It is immensely sad what is going on in the Ukraine and I absolutely respect those Ukrainians who are staying to defend their homes. Like the rest of the world it was with sadness and disbelief when I heard that Russia had actually invaded and I am proud of the way the world has reacted and condemned these actions. Even the majority of Russians did not want this to happen. Hoping and praying that it does not escalate and it is over quickly.

 When Covid started I purposely decided to stop listening and reading to the news all the time. I found that I was starting to feel anxious and worried which are not feelings I was used to. I catch headlines so I am aware of what is going on, but I don’t want to dwell on matters that are out of my control. So, I am not going to go write too much about what is going on for my own sanity.

 Weather

We had a glorious weekend weather wise, much needed after the storms of the last few weeks. Today, however it is back to grey and dull. It does look like it is getting brighter towards the end of the week however.

 Menu plan

It is a nice, simple menu plan this week with Pancake Day and Ash Wednesday taking care of two days. Craig and I are at a Masonic Ladies Weekend in Lytham St Anne’s which we are both looking forward to. Emma is going to be cooking for her and Matthew as neither wanted to come along.

Monday – Chicken Caesar Salad

Tuesday – Pancakes

Wednesday – Tatty Ash

Thursday – Ikea meatballs (need to take a trip to Ikea)

Friday, Saturday, Sunday- Away for the weekend

 Craft basket

Starting on the Dumbo element of the Disney Cross Stitch this week once I have purchased a smaller hoop. There are also got some needle felted love birds to finish off and  I have cast on a new dishcloth pattern.

 On the TV.

A couple of months ago Craig and I caught an episode of ‘Death in Paradise’ on TV and we both enjoyed it, so this week we have started watching the programme from the first episode with Ben Millar. 

 On my reading pile

I have about halfway through ‘The Crafternoon Sewcial Club’ by  J Williams which is an easy read. The book club choice this month is ‘If you could see me now’ by Cecilia Aherne. I have also got ‘The Opposite of Butterfly Hunting’ by Evanna Lynch (Luna from Harry Potter) where she retells her life with anorexia when she was a child.

 

Wishing you all a peaceful week.

Linking up with Karen and Sandra as usual.

What I have been reading -July and August

 

I completely lost track of what I was posting and it wasn’t until last week that I realised I had not posted what I had read in July. This was probably because I was away from home. I did pretty well over the last two months considering it was the school holidays. I am keeping on track with my two books a month minimum but my list of books to read isn’t getting shorter as I keep adding to it. Also I have been reading series so the other books have had to be added.

 

So in July I read

 Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death

BLURB- Revenge is a dish best served warm...High-flying public relations supremo Agatha Raisin has decided to take early retirement. She's off to make a new life in a picture-perfect Cotswold village. To make friends, she enters the local quiche-making competition - and to make quite sure of first prize she secretly pays a visit to a London deli. Alas, the competition judge succumbs after tasting her perfect quiche, and Agatha is revealed as a cheat and potential poisoner. Definitely not the best start. So Agatha must turn amateur sleuth - she's absolutely got to track down the real killer!

I watched the TV series starring Ashley Jensen and really enjoyed it. This was made as a pilot and I haven’t been able to watch it so I bought the book. Agatha is like a modern day Miss Marple. It is an easy read but like most murder mystery investigations by amateurs there is a sudden lightbulb moment about who the killer is. Also you have to ignore the actions of the police and how much information they divulge.

As it worked out cheaper to buy 21 books from The Book People than it is to buy them individually I have 20 other Agatha Raisin books to read. A bit like binge watching a box set. I won’t exclusively read them but they are on my bookcase ready to go.

 

The Viscount who Loved Me

BLURB -1814 promises to be another eventful season, but not, this author believes, for Anthony Bridgerton, London's most elusive bachelor, who has shown no indication that he plans to marry.

And in truth, why should he? When it comes to playing the consummate rake, nobody does it better...
—Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, April 1814

But this time, the gossip columnists have it wrong. Anthony Bridgerton hasn't just decided to marry—he's even chosen a wife! The only obstacle is his intended's older sister, Kate Sheffield—the most meddlesome woman ever to grace a London ballroom. The spirited schemer is driving Anthony mad with her determination to stop the betrothal, but when he closes his eyes at night, Kate is the woman haunting his increasingly erotic dreams...

Contrary to popular belief, Kate is quite sure that reformed rakes do not make the best husbands—and Anthony Bridgerton is the most wicked rogue of them all. Kate is determined to protect her sister—but she fears her own heart is vulnerable. And when Anthony's lips touch hers, she's suddenly afraid she might not be able to resist the reprehensible rake herself...

 

The second of the Bridgerton series, this time concentrating on Anthony. As with the first book, this one focuses on the relationship between Anthony and Kate. The outcome is obvious and this series is beginning to feel a bit like a Mills and Boon book. I miss the other characters playing more significant roles. I have the third book in the series but I am not sure whether I will rush to read the rest. Saying that I am looking forward to the second series when it finally hits our screens. For once, for me, the series is better than the book.

 

The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell

BLURB-Sam Hill always saw the world through different eyes. Born with red pupils, he was called “Devil Boy” or Sam “Hell” by his classmates; “God’s will” is what his mother called his ocular albinism. Her words were of little comfort, but Sam persevered, buoyed by his mother’s devout faith, his father’s practical wisdom, and his two other misfit friends.

Sam believed it was God who sent Ernie Cantwell, the only African American kid in his class, to be the friend he so desperately needed. And that it was God’s idea for Mickie Kennedy to storm into Our Lady of Mercy like a tornado, uprooting every rule Sam had been taught about boys and girls.

Forty years later, Sam, a small-town eye doctor, is no longer certain anything was by design—especially not the tragedy that caused him to turn his back on his friends, his hometown, and the life he’d always known. Running from the pain, eyes closed, served little purpose. Now, as he looks back on his life, Sam embarks on a journey that will take him halfway around the world. This time, his eyes are wide open—bringing into clear view what changed him, defined him, and made him so afraid, until he can finally see what truly matters.

This was the book club choice and I wasn’t too sure about this one when I first started reading it but I persevered through the first few chapters and ending up enjoying it. I wouldn’t say Sam had lived an extraordinary life in the obvious sense but he had put up with a lot of discrimination and bullying and was still a good man. His mother had a great influence on his life giving him the strength to cope with everything and that is clearly shown in how the book ends.

In August I read

The Midnight Library

BLURB-Nora's life has been going from bad to worse. Then at the stroke of midnight on her last day on earth she finds herself transported to a library. There she is given the chance to undo her regrets and try out each of the other lives she might have lived. Which raises the ultimate question: with infinite choices, what is the best way to live?

 This was my choice for book club based on Emma’s recommendation and I have to say it was a very good recommendation. I could not put the book down and it is a book that I read thoroughly rather than with some that I have just skimmed over. It makes you think about your life and what might have happened if you had made a different choice. It was also universally liked by everyone else in the book club (which rarely happens) and lead to some good discussions. This book is my favourite of the year.

 

Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet

Retired PR boss Agatha Raisin is enjoying life in her pretty Cotswold village of Carsely. It even seems likely that the attractive new vet, Paul Bladen, has taken a shine to her. But before romance can blossom, Paul is killed in an accident with Lord Pendlebury's horse. Only the circumstances are rather suspicious.

Agatha decides she must once more play amateur investigator. And this cloud has a silver lining - she can persuade her usually stand-offish neighbour, James Lacey, to become her partner in the quest. As usual, Agatha is quite prepared to rush in, heedless of the lurking menace to both James and herself.

I took this book on holiday with me as it is set in the Cotswolds and it was fun to see some of the places mentioned. It was a perfect holiday read, though I did find it irritating that Agatha is so desperate to have a man in her life. She comes across as being capable, independent and strong willed. I suppose she is a bit fed up of having had to look after herself for most of her life. I think that theme is going to run through the rest of the books if the TV series is anything to go by which spoils it slightly. Miss Marple was never desperate.