Tuesday, September 28, 2010

What's On My Nightstand

I LOVE to see what other people are reading!!


I LOVE to read!!




It's been awhile since I've linked to 5 Minutes for Books, but I always enjoy checking out their site.


Right now, I'm working through this stack of books:
The top book is a book that I just brought home from the library today - Motherland by Fern Schumer Chapman. It is the story of a mother who is a Holocaust survivor. After a lifetime of hiding her secrets, she takes her daughter with her back to Germany to face her past. I'm anxious to read it.
Rooftops of Tehran - by Mahbod Serji. I have read a lot about this book and I enjoyed The Kite Runner so I thought I'd check this one out as well. I'm finding that I don't always enjoy vocabulary choices even though story lines may be well written. (Enough said about that, for now.)
A New Kind of Normal - by Carol Kent. I am nearly finished with this book. I also just finished her book: When I Lay My Isaac Down. Both books are about a major change in the life of her family. I would highly recommend these books, so I don't want to give too much away. Let me just say that her life changed to a "new normal" overnight. She came to a crossroads of trusting God or walking away. She found hope when she felt like giving up.
While We're Far Apart - by Lynn Austin. This is another book that I brought home from the library today. I always enjoy reading Lynn Austin. This is a new one from her; I haven't heard much about it but I'm looking forward to reading it!
Finally, Authentic Faith - by Gary Thomas is on my stack to read this month. Gary Thomas is by far my favorite author (non-fiction). He has such a great ability to take lots of material and condense it into one thought provoking line. I have read and re-read all of his books. I'd encourage you to check him out. The sub title for this book is: The Power of a Fire-Tested Life. Then, the question "What if life isn't meant to be perfect but we are meant to trust the One who is?" is written across the bottom. I chose this book for a new book discussion group that I am forming with some friends. So far there are 4 or 5 of us who will be reading and discussing this book. The plan is to read a book every month or two and get together for some disccussion.
So, that's enough to keep me busy for awhile!!

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Connecticut Trip

On June 8th, my husband and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary.

I'm not sure where the time went, it sure doesn't seem like that long.

It's been a great 25 years...looking forward to 25 more!!


The last week of August we took a trip to CT to celebrate!!


We took in some great scenery, viewed several historic sites and enjoyed some relaxation.

Mystic Pizza!

Mystic Seaport Museum

Looking out onto Long Island Sound.



The USS Nautilus
(My husband's favorite part of the trip!)



We spent quite a bit of time at the Mystic Noank Library (taking advantage of their free wireless!!) It was a great old library with lots of character.
(I work at a library, so just humor me here.)

The pictures of the library are not the greatest...did you ever walk through a library and try to take pictures inconspicuously?
Abbott's Lobster in the Rough - enjoying the clams and mussels...

but the lobster was much better!!



Lots of fun, lots of great memories!

Monday, September 13, 2010

Basement Renovation

Today I’m linking up to Today’s Creative Blog – Get Your Craft On. There are so many crafty ideas there. I never have time to make it through all the links, but it's a great place for inspiration!!
I’ll take care of the “crafty” part right away in this post. The rest is a reveal! We’ve been working on our basement all summer. I call it a “faux” finish, because it’s not a total finish…(not doing the ceilings and a few other things, yet). It started with these materials for curtains (LOTS of curtains):

The leftover material became a pillow for the crib (for when grandson visits!). I copied a picture onto transfer paper and ironed it onto the white. I’ve wanted to make something with a picture on it and was pleased with how easy it was to work with the transfer paper! I purchased mine at Wal-Mart. The main area of the basement, BEFORE:


DURING:



AFTER:










*ignore the pink pillow...I'm not sure what it's doing there!The bathroom area had been framed in for about 4 or 5 years… Finally getting it finished!!
This last picture is for a special friend!

Thanks for the box!!! :)

There’s still some work to do…painting the stairway, putting a few things up on the walls, repainting and redoing the bedroom and putting in the kitchenette area. It’s getting there and I’m loving it!!!

Friday, September 10, 2010

Cabinet Re-Do


This morning I spent some time looking through some of the Frugal Friday Posts at The Shabby Nest. Lots of great ideas and fun things to look at…so I decided to link up and share the re-do of one of my favorite frugal finds!!!


About 15 years ago my husband stumbled upon this HUGE cabinet. He was reading electrical meters at the time & spotted this buried under hay in an old barn. The owners parted with it for a mere $20. For years it stored canned goods and just sat as we found it…kind of a dirty white.

I’ve always wanted to do something with it, but was afraid to attempt it. Let me just say…if that’s you, DO IT!!!! APPLY THE PAINT!!!!!!

I LOVE it in black! Also, I removed the hodge-podge of stuff and am now displaying the dishes that my daughter bought at a garage sale for $10!!!

Aren’t they pretty? I’m so glad that we bought them. We stood there for awhile debating. What in the world was the debate about? $10??? Goodness!!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

I love my nook!

A few weeks ago I purchased a Nook e-reader from Barnes & Noble.

I have used it non-stop ever since. Well, not quite, but almost!!

I chose the Nook over other brands mainly because it is compatable with what our library uses for checking out e-books (the Kindle is not). Since I work at the library, I wanted to take advantage of ebooks our library offers. I've also been able to get quite a few deals on ebooks, some even free. I purchased a NASV of the Bible for $2.79 and have used it during church and even have done some highlighting and notetaking right on the Nook!!
On our recent trip to CT I listened to an audio book that I had loaded onto my Nook.
I have actually put several audiobooks on a mini-SD card and can then listen to those books on either my Nook or my netbook.

Travelling with the Nook was great & it's nice to have lots of books in one location - just pick up and go...However; I don't imagine that I will ever give up the old standard...there's just something about the experience of reading through the actual "hard copy!"
(This picture is a portion of my library that is located in my basement. We've been working on the basement ALL summer and are still not finished with it, but there are parts of it that I'll be revealing to you SOON!!)

Monday, September 6, 2010

Time Flies...

It's been about 4 months since I last posted on this blog.

A whole summer!!

Time surely has flown by...


But...I'm itching to get back in touch with the blogging world.


I've been preparing and sketching out plans for the past few days.



Please hang in there with me...
I have a lot of catching up to do.


So much to show you,
Ideas to chat about...

Here's a preview - my FAVORITE picture from my summer!


I hope everyone is having a wonderful Labor Day,

filled with family gatherings & picnic-fun!!!