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Tuesday 31 January 2012

Butterflies on the Wall

I like the idea of this bench, but what I like the most are the butterflies on the wall. I wouldn't go for the pink wall, but I do love the butterflies.

Tuesday 24 January 2012

New Year Clean and Declutter

What is it about the new year that makes people suddenly have a desire to clean and sort through everything?
Is it the desire to declutter things from the previous year in preparation for re cluttering this year?
Is it that you have no room for the gifts you received at Christmas and need to find a spot for them? I have a friend who has her kids get rid of the same number of toys as they received.

I have to admit that I am doing the same. Part of it is because I have purchased a couple of things for my room - a new desk, desk chair and another bookshelf. I've also removed the armchair that has been in my room. It was taking up space and removing it has made room for my new bookshelf.


I still have some things to organise, but this gives you an idea.
I needed accessible shelf space for folders and larger books, and my new bookshelf does just that. Yes, it is another Billy from Ikea.

I've also been filling bags to go to the Op Shop and have a nearly filled up garbage bag.
Part of sorting has me going through magazines that I've bought/collected. I'm cutting out the pages I want to keep and the rest of the magazine is headed for the recycle bin.

I think I'm getting rid of at least one thing for every day of the year so far, probably more.

With regard to my new desk, it's not perfect. I wish I had been able to see it made up before I purchased it (I got it at Aldi). The drawers aren't as deep as I wanted, only taking up about half the actual depth of the desk. And they don't come out as far as I need - especially the file draw. But I'm working on other things to make up for these deficiencies.

And I'm certain to be making another trip to Ikea because there are some things I saw on my recent trip but didn't purchase and I forgot to use the gift card I had been given for Christmas.

Sunday 15 January 2012

Book Nook


A good friend of mine posted this on Facebook, and tagged me saying that I should have this. I'm not sure, but I think this was built in under a staircase. I love the idea and it would make a very cosy spot to read, think, or just sit.

Friday 13 January 2012

Friday Fill-Ins - January 13

And...here we go!

1. When I looked out the window this morning the sun was shinning.
2. Bringing back fashions that went out in the 60's, 70's and 80's for a reason doesn't make sense to me.
3. Remind me to make the most of my last 2 weeks of holiday.
4. Rearranging my room is something I love to do!
5. TP is the abreviation for toilet paper on our shopping list.
6. I cleaned the refrigerator recently and I found Some Easter chocolate.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to time at home, tomorrow my plans include the possibility of a shopping trip or maybe just organising more of my bedroom or doing some party baking and Sunday, I want to enojoy the fellowship and teaching at church!

Monday 9 January 2012

First Wild Card Tours - The Accidental Bride by Denise Hunter


It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!



Today's Wild Card author is:


and the book:

Thomas Nelson (January 3, 2012)

***Special thanks to Audra Jennings – The B&B Media Group – for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Denise lives in Indiana with her husband Kevin and their three sons. In 1996, Denise began her first book, a Christian romance novel, writing while her children napped. Two years later it was published, and she's been writing ever since. Her books often contain a strong romantic element, and her husband Kevin says he provides all her romantic material, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too!

Visit the author's website.




SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Shay Brandenberger has built her entire life on the shifting sands of what others think. Constantly seeking the approval of others, she has struggled through a rocky childhood, a failed marriage and single parenthood. Now it looks like she’s losing the ranch that has been in her family for three generations, a surefire way to mark her as a failure in the eyes of the community. When Travis McCoy, the high school sweetheart who very publicly broke her heart fifteen years before, returns to Moose Creek, she is less than pleased. Not only does his re-appearance dredge up a deluge of painful memories, it also reminds everyone in town that it was he who left her, not the other way around. To make matters worse, Shay and Travis are unwittingly paired to play bride and groom in the annual Founder’s Day wedding re-enactment where, much to her chagrin, she discovers he still has the power to take her breath away.

Product Details:

List Price: $15.99
  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Thomas Nelson (January 3, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1595548025
  • ISBN-13: 978-1595548023


AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:


The bell above the diner’s door jingled and—despite her most valiant effort—Shay Brandenberger’s eyes darted toward the entry. An unfamiliar couple entered—tourists. She could tell by their khaki Eddie Bauer vests and spanking-new hiking boots. Look out, Yellowstone.

When her heart rate returned to normal, she checked her watch and took a sip of coffee. Five minutes till she met Miss Lucy at the Doll House, forty till she met John Oakley at the bank. What if he said no? What would they do then?

“Mom . . . Earth to Mom . . .” Olivia waved her hand too close to Shay’s face, her brown eyes widening.

“Sorry, hon.” The one bright moment of her Saturday was breakfast with her daughter, and she couldn’t enjoy it for the dread. “What were you saying?”

Olivia set her fork on her pancake-sticky plate and heaved a sigh worthy of her twelve-year-old self. “Never mind.” She bounced across the vinyl bench, her thick brown ponytail swinging. “I’m going to meet Maddy.”

“Right back here at noon,” Shay called, but Olivia was out the door with the flick of her hand.


The diner buzzed with idle chatter. Silverware clattered and scraped, and the savory smell of bacon and fried eggs unsettled her stomach. She took a sip of the strong brew from the fat rim of her mug.

The bell jingled again. I will not look. I will not look. I will not—

The server appeared at her booth, a new girl, and gathered Olivia’s dishes. “On the house today.”

Shay set down her mug, bristling. “Why?”

The woman shrugged. “Boss’s orders,” she said, then made off with the dirty dishes.

From the rectangular kitchen window, Mabel Franklin gave Shay a pointed look.

So Shay had helped the couple with their foal the week before. It was the neighborly thing to do.

Fine. She gave a reluctant smile and a wave. She pulled her wallet from her purse, counted out the tip, and dragged herself from the booth, remembering her daughter’s bouncy exit. Lately her thirty-two years pressed down on her body like a two-ton boulder.

She opened the diner’s door and peeked both ways before exiting the Tin Roof and turning toward the Doll House. She was only checking sidewalk traffic, not hiding. Nope, she wasn’t hiding from anyone. The boardwalks were busy on Saturdays. That was why she hadn’t come to town for two weeks. Why their pantry was emptier than a water trough at high noon.

She hurried three shops down and slipped into the cool, welcoming air of Miss Lucy’s shop.

“ ’Morning, Miss Lucy.”

“ ’Morning, dear.” The elderly woman, in the middle of helping a customer, called over her rounded shoulder, “It’s in the back.” Miss Lucy’s brown eyes were big as buckeyes behind her thick glasses, and her white curls glowed under the spotlights.

“Okeydoke.” Shay forced her feet toward the storeroom.

A musty smell assaulted her as she entered the back room and flipped on the overhead fluorescents. She scanned the boxes of doll parts and skeins of yarn until she found what she was looking for. She approached the box, lifted the lid, and parted the tissue.

The wedding gown had been carefully folded and tucked away. Shay ran her fingers over the delicate lace and pearls. Must’ve been crisp white in its day, but time had cast a long shadow over it. Time had a way of doing that.

Her fingers lingered on the thin fabric. She remembered another time, another dress. A simple white one that hung on her young shoulders, just skimmed the cement of the courthouse steps. The ache that squeezed her heart had faded with time, but it was there all the same. Would it ever go away?

Shaking her head, Shay turned back to the task at hand. The gown seemed too pretty, too fragile to disturb.

Oh well. She’d promised.

She pulled it out and draped it over the box, then shimmied from her jeans. When she was down to the bare necessities, she stepped carefully into the gown. She eased it over her narrow hips and slid her arms into the long sleeves. The neckline was modest, the gathered skirt fuller than anything she ever wore. Here in the air-conditioning it was fine, but she would swelter next Saturday.

Leaving the button-up back gaping, she hitched the skirt to the top of her cowboy boots and entered the store.

Miss Lucy was ushering the customer out the door. When she turned, she stopped, her old-lady shoes squeaking on the linoleum. “Land sakes.”

Shay took two steps forward and dropped the skirt. It fell to the floor with a whoosh.

“Fits like a glove,” Miss Lucy said. “And with some low heels it’ll be the perfect length.”

Shay didn’t even own heels. “My boots’ll have to do. Button the back?”

Miss Lucy waddled forward, turned Shay toward a small wall mirror flecked with time, and began working the tiny pearl buttons.

Shay’s breath caught at her image. She forced its release, then frowned. Wedding gowns were bad luck. She’d sworn she’d never wear another. If someone had told her yesterday she’d be wearing this thing today, she’d have said they were one straw short of a bale.

Miss Lucy moved up to the buttons between her shoulders, and Shay lifted her hair. The dress did fit, clinging to her torso like it was made for her, wouldn’t you know. Even the color complemented her olive skin.

Still, there was that whole bad luck thing.

And what would everyone think of Shay Brandenberger wearing this valuable piece of Moose Creek heritage? A white wedding gown, no less. If she didn’t have the approval of her closest friends and neighbors, what did she have? Not much, to her thinking.

She wanted to cut and run. Wanted to shimmy right out of the dress, tuck it into that box in the storeroom, slip back into her Levi’s and plaid button-up, and go back to her ranch where she could hole up for the next six months.

She checked the time and wished Miss Lucy had nimbler fingers. Of all days to do this, a Saturday, when everyone with two legs was in town. And she still had that infernal meeting with John Oakley.

Please, God, I can’t lose our home . . .

“I’m obliged to you, dear. I completely forgot Jessie was going out of town.”

“No problem.”

“Baloney. You’d rather be knee-deep in cow dung.” The woman’s marionette lines at the sides of her mouth deepened.

“It’s one hour of my life.” A pittance, after all Miss Lucy had done for her.

Miss Lucy finished buttoning, and Shay dropped her hair and smoothed the delicate lace at the cuffs.

“Well, bless you for being willing. God is smiling down on you today for your kindness.”

Shay doubted God really cared one way or another. It was her neighbors she worried about.

“Beautiful, just beautiful. You’ll be the talk of the town on Founders Day.”

“No doubt.” Everyone in Moose Creek would be thinking about the last time she’d worn a wedding gown. And the time before that.

Especially the time before that.

Third time’s a charm, Shay thought, the corner of her lip turning up.

“Stop fretting,” Miss Lucy said, squeezing her shoulders. “You look quite fetching, like the gown was made for you. I won’t have to make a single alteration. Why, it fits you better than it ever did Jessie—don’t you tell her I said so.”

Shay tilted her head. Maybe Miss Lucy was right. The dress did make the most of her figure. And she had as much right to wear it as anyone. Maybe more—she was born and raised here, after all. It was just a silly old reenactment anyway. No one cared who the bride and groom were.

The bell jingled as the door opened behind her. She glanced in the mirror, over her shoulder, where a hulking silhouette filled the shop’s doorway. There was something familiar in the set of the man’s broad shoulders, in the slow way he reached up and removed his hat.

The sight of him constricted her rib cage, squeezed the air from her lungs as if she were wearing a corset. But she wasn’t wearing a corset. She was wearing a wedding gown. Just as she had been the last time she’d set eyes on Travis McCoy.

My Thoughts:

When I read the blurb of this book, I thought it sounded like it would be a lot of fun. It was actually more serious, but the life lessons to be learned from this were great. Learning about pride and how to deal with it, plus trying to please God rather than worry about what people think, were key themes running through this book.

Of course there is also the romance going through and the possibility of second chances.
Denise has written another wonderful book that will enhance your faith journey if you choose to apply the truths found in it from the word of God.

Sunday 1 January 2012

Contentment Reading Challenge 2011 - The Final Count

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Hi Everyone!
Happy New Year!!

So, as promised I am giving the final count for the Contentment Reading Challenge 2011.
I signed up to Dive and and read at least 20 books. I have gone well beyond that, but I'll leave you in suspense for just a little longer.

During December I read 10 books. They were:
  1. Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball by Donita K Paul
  2. Texas Christmas Brides by Cathy Marie Hake and Kathleen Y'Barbo
  3. Yuletide in Ireland and Wales by Ginny Aiken and Tamela Hancock Murray
  4. English Carols and Scottish Bagpipes by Pamela Griffin and Jill  Stengl
  5. Silent Star by Tracie Peterson
  6. The Red Gloves Collection by Karen Kingsbury
  7. An Angel's Story by Max Lucado
  8. The Christmas Candle by Max Lucado
  9. True Devotion by Dee Henderson
  10. True Valor by Dee Henderson
So ... drum roll please ...

The grand total for the Contentment Reading Challenge 2011 is:

48 books!!!