Monday

Little Joe - Book Review



I was privileged to get an ebook copy of this book from the publishers and read it during the past week.


Little Joe





Synopsis


When Little Joe Stout survives the car accident that took his parents’ lives, he is sent to live with his maternal grandparents in the small town of Round Rock, Tennessee. Orphaned and missing his Texas home, Little Joe is reluctant to adapt. But his grandparents, especially his grandmother, are up to the challenge of raising him despite their own struggles. Soon, childhood friendships are forged in the oddball duo of Sugar and Bobby, and—with the help of a new canine companion—Little Joe begins to see that his new home offers the comfort and love he thought was lost forever.


Set against the drama of World War II and the first sparks of the civil rights movement, Little Joe’s new home is a microcosm of America in the 1940s. A frightening incident with a Chinese motorist traveling on the wrong side of town, the migration of troops across the countryside, and a frank discussion of Jim Crow laws are just a few of the local events mirroring the radio broadcasts that bring the news of the day into his grandmother’s kitchen.


Little Joe begins a four-part series from Michael E. Glasscock III that explores the intricate social cloth of Round Rock, Tennessee.








My Thoughts


Well the first thing I need to say is that to start with I thought this was not really my type of book but wanted to read something a bit different from usual and so I was prepared to read this over a longer period of time than normal and probably read another book at the same time but boy did I get a surprise.

                I was hooked from the first few pages.

This was so well written and descriptive that I was in that farm alongside them, loving the characters and laughing at the events that took place. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone.

The book brought real life to life, not skipping over the sad areas of life and not making everything work out perfectly but showing the true love of family for each other and care and responsibility towards friends and neighbours.

I read it in just 3 days, and would have finished it all in one day except I did have other things that needed my time.

I am already looking forward to the next book in the series and will review that later too.

Go on and try it, its a relaxing and enjoyable read but at the same time will make you think about life today.










Little Joe  by  Michael E. Glasscock  III     http://www.michaeleglasscockiii.com/

Book 1 in the Round Rock Series

Published by Greenleaf Book Group Press    

Released in June 2013








Wednesday

A VERY IMPORTANT POST-IT! - Coffee & Conversation



I have a small post-it sticking to the bottom left hand corner of the second computer screen in my study.


Just as a reminder any time I feel like a snack.







You see little snacks like an aero biscuit, small fudge bar, breakaway etc. are all around 100 calories and if I succumb to one of these then it would take me 2,000 steps to burn it off.


This little Post-it reminds me of how many steps it will take to burn off 100 calories.






Even little tubs of ice-cream and mousses from Weight Watchers are around the same amount of calories so again I would need to walk 2,000 steps to burn those off.


This little Post-it keeps me motivated.


I like to read & at the same time walk around my kitchen which I'm very thankful is long enough to do this and not be going round in circles and getting dizzy 
(which can happen to me easily and then set off my vertigo).  


So one day I thought I should just work out how long it takes to walk 2,000 steps to burn off my 100 calories.

This is what I found

100 steps takes 1 min
so
200 steps would take 2 mins
so
2000 steps would take 2 x 10 = 20 mins


provided I don't get interrupted or get tired of walking or come to the end of a chapter (when I often think I should now go do some housework  -  this doesn't actually make me stop too often) .


So just think  20 mins of walking to get rid of those calories you ate in that little snack.







Of course you could do it in 15 mins if you walk very briskly but I don't want to do that while I'm reading.


I am always hearing/seeing/reading that we should walk 10,000 steps per day just to keep at our present weight.


So for me

That would be 20 x 5 = 100 mins of walking every day


I'm trying to do 12,000 steps a day plus some exercise because I want to continue to gradually lose weight.


So every day I would need to spend 20 x 6 = 120 mins walking


That is 2 whole hours taken up walking every day



This little Post-it keeps me motivated.


The Big Question then is   -   Is it Worth it?


You see I use this time each day to read my bible and other Christian novels and uplifting books.

SO

I say YES!


And a very cheap form of exercise too!

    

Would you say YES?


Maybe you would like to start walking too?  and reading?


Or maybe you have a very important post-it too?






Tuesday

Misery Loves Company - Book Review

I was privileged to get an ebook reader copy of this book from the publishers and read it during the past week.




Synopsis:


        Don’t tell me it’s terrifying. Terrify me.

Filled with grief, Jules Belleno rarely leaves the house since her husband’s death while on duty as a police officer. Other than the reviews Jules writes on her blog, she has little contact with the outside world.

But one day when she ventures out to the local grocery store, Jules bumps into a fellow customer . . . and recognizes him as her favorite author, Patrick Reagan. Jules gushes and thoroughly embarrasses herself before Regan graciously talks with her.

And that’s the last thing she remembers—until she wakes up in a strange room with a splitting headache. She’s been kidnapped. And what she discovers will change everything she believed about her husband’s death . . . her career . . . and her faith. 





While I was reading this book I thought I couldn't relate the title of the book to the story I was reading but as at other times I know that I may have to wait until I finish the book and then I get it!

       And yes I got it!

Not having read anything by this author before, I knew I would not be expecting a certain type of writing style or plot formula and it was nice to just read and enjoy the story as it developed in the way the author had intended it to and not the way I would be expecting.

Some of the characters were a little typical but not one-dimensional and the development of the storyline in the two separate ways within the story worked quite well.

Twice I thought I knew what was going to happen and I was wrong so definitely not a predictable storyline.  I enjoyed the book as a relaxing read but also in parts of it I found I was drawn in to consider how I would react if I had to face some of the issues presented.

Taking into consideration the fact that this was written by a woman and the main character is a woman I needed to decide if this was going to be a book that would only be categorised as a women's book.  It is not action packed but action and suspense are there and the fact that the rest of the main characters are male I have to say that I would not categorize it as such.

Within the storyline the subject of happy endings or real life, possibly unhappy endings came up but I will not give spoil it by telling you what type of ending this resulted in, just read it and see for yourself.






Misery Loves Company  by  Rene Gutteridge  www.renegutteridge.com 

Published by Tyndale  www.tyndale.com 

Released in August 2013









Friday

WHAT WILL I WEAR????? - Coffee & Conversation


Our son's wedding was a few months away, so for me the big question was



What will I wear?





Having already been through (for our kids alone)

4 graduations

3 baptisms

1 ordination as a pastor

1 ordination as a teacher in the church


 -  I have learned that there are important things that have to be dealt with so that your children approve of your outfit.



Short or long?

Hat or no hat?
(Definitely YES to a Cambridge Graduation!)

Hat or Fascinator?

Can I wear Trousers?
(Definitely NO to a Cambridge Graduation!)

Do I have to wear high heels?

What colour?

Who not to clash with?

Who to tone in with?

What jewellery with the outfit?




Oh I'm tired already just thinking about it before I start to talk about it, 


I'm not a fashion conscious person really!


My main problem is I am petite.   See a Previous Post HERE


Most places either
  • do not do petite 
  • have a very small selection 
  • only have more old fashioned outfits in petites
  • think that all petite people have to be thin 

so I hate having to look for something for particular events.



Also as Mother of the Groom:

First thing you know is you don't wear white, ivory or cream;  that is just too close to what your future daughter-in-law will be wearing and it is her big day so she should stand out.

Secondly once you know the colour of the bridesmaids you need to avoid colours too similar and other colours that would clash with it.

Third thing is you don't go strapless;  unless you have a jacket to go on top.
It is one thing having a young bride with bare shoulders but another thing completely to have an older mother-in-law with bare shoulders.


So after you have dealt with those 3 priorities there is then the wait to hear that the bride's mother has got her outfit and find out the colour so that you don't pick the same colour or something that will clash with it also.


Okay so all of that has probably involved numerous cups of coffee and that hasn't helped the effort to lose that weight you had been trying to lose from even before they got engaged but are still having to work hard on.








Then you start looking seriously for your outfit and you want to have it well in advance in case you need to have any alterations made once you lose all that weight you are working on.

Then

You see something you think you like but immediately you start thinking -

 will it please everyone else as well???...



My first reaction was  "Oh I think that is just me!"

However I know that sometimes I like things that are a bit different to the norm but that doesn't mean that I wear really different or strange things, at least I don't think so anyway.

So I decided to send a picture of the outfit to Linda in South Korea, thank goodness for ipads with their screenshots and email and messaging and facetime.  (Sounding too tech savvy here and I really am not like that.)

Well she liked it and what did she say?  

Did you guess it?

She said "Oh mum that is just you!"


Did I run out and buy it?   No.


I kept looking online for a few weeks and then finally I showed the picture to Fred and he thought it was nice so he said "That's nice, do you like it?"

I wonder why I was talking about an outfit for the wedding and showing this to him and he had to ask me if I liked it?   

 

Are all men like this?


"Well do you want to get it?"  he asks then when he realises by the look on my face that I obviously do like it.

My answer "I don't know."

So he was probably thinking

Why is she making such a point of showing me this if she doesn't know if she wants to get it, I thought she liked it, was I wrong?

So another few days go past and then I start hinting that I want to go to a certain shopping centre.
Finally I just have to say to him that I want to go and see if I can see the outfit "in real life" in the shopping centre and not just online because I need to actually see exactly what it is like and then I need to try it on because I'm not sure of the size I would have to get but I want him to go too as he needs to see it too.

So off we go and when we get there he thinks that he's just going to go into the shop with me I will try it on and that's that.
No, no, no,  I direct him to a "Bose" shop and I go in to look around and hope that it is there.

I enter the shop and the first thing I see is the outfit. 
So I try it on and the 3 ladies working in the shop all think it is lovely on me, 
so
     they bring me the shoes to match,
           bag to match,
                 hat to match,
                     take hat away
 (hats at that moment were very large and I think definitely too large for me)

                           bring fascinator to match,
                                  take fascinator away 
(even the fascinator is large)

                                         and bring smaller fascinator to match.








And I liked it!
 
 I phoned Fred, he came and the ladies ushered him into the changing room.
          He liked it too.

               "So are you getting it now?"  he asked.

"Do you think the kids will like it?" I ask.



"Of course they will"  he replied.
         
        "How do you know?"  is my next question.
                    
                 "They are bound to like it, it's lovely"  he said.

The solution?

                          TAKE A PICTURE!

            
and that's what we do, thank goodness for iPads and coffee shops with Wifi.




Fred took a picture of me standing in the changing room and we headed over to a nearby Costa Coffee (having taken the outfit off and left it behind the sales desk with a very understanding set of shop assistants).

Now you might wonder why I deliberately mention that we went to Costa Coffee.
The answer is because I am not fond of Starbucks and also Costa Coffee have the greatest lemon and poppy seed muffin which I just adore but have been missing out on since trying to lose weight. One of those muffins has as many calories as my full dinner would have.





So we get the coffee (and tea for Fred) and a muffin which Fred says we have to share so that it isn't too many calories for me - isn't he so considerate?  No really, I'm not being sarcastic here because Fred will tell you himself that he is not a muffin eater.

Then connected to Wifi we email the picture to both Linda (South Korea) and Jonathan (Leeds) and start messaging them to make sure they look at their email.

During the time it took to eat the muffin we had a group message conversation with both kids and they encouraged me to go back and buy the outfit.








            But  

"Do you think Daniel & Suzie will like it too?"  I ask

                                  "YES!" is the joint reply

So we head back and buy the outfit.


A few days later we are with Daniel getting the suits for the guys for the wedding and I show him the outfit, he likes it.  Later that evening I see Suzie and show her the picture and she likes it so all is well.

Or rather would be well when I would go to the seamstress and get that little alteration done because (back to where we started) 

I am petite 

and the dress is regular fitting so I needed the straps shortened.


So I had my outfit, and it wouldn't clash with the bridesmaids.

And the wedding was 4 weeks exactly from that day!


  It wasn't such a hard task after all, sure it wasn't?







Tuesday

The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Book Review




Synopsis
Injured and sent back to England from the First World War, Lieutenant Hastings finds himself in a convalescent home very much to his disliking.  Thankfully his old friend John Cavendish invites him to spend the rest of his sick leave at the beautiful Styles Court.  Here, Hastings meets John’s step-mother, Mrs Inglethorpe, and her new husband Alfred.  Despite the tranquil surroundings Hastings begins to realise that all is not right.  When Mrs Inglethorpe is found poisoned, suspicion falls on the family, and who better to investigate than Belgian war refugee Hercule Poirot, another old friend and a retired police detective.






This was the first Agatha Christie novel and apparently publishers were not interested in publishing it. 
         Why?

Of course once one publisher did decide to give it a go then Mrs Christie had lots of interest from many publishers due no doubt to the great interest everyone had in reading and buying this book.

 The following and other great reviews of the time will also have helped.


                       "Though this may be the first published book of Miss Agatha Christie,
                                            she betrays the cunning of an old hand..."
                                                                    The New York Times Book Review, 1920









My View
I had read it years ago and I did remember who the murderer was but did not remember all the fine details so perhaps because of this I have realized now just how good this book is and especially just how good it was for a first book.  All the clues were there, so those who say that she hides some clues are mistaken here. We really just have to read the books carefully to see it all.  

I was even taken with the structure of some of the sentences, very carefully done so that things are not given away immediately but written so that it can get us thinking.  I normally refer to Agatha Christie novels as light reading but if we take it too lightly we will miss the clues, the background info which can often be very important and of course the subtlety in Poirot's musings. 

Written so well in the voice of Hastings, it was no wonder she kept him in many of the Poirot novels and if I had to give my view she should have kept him even later too.


You will find many other BOOK REVIEWS on Sandra's Ark



Book Review - The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie


You can find this book on Amazon just click on the pic below.





Here is a link to a list of other novels by Agatha Christie on Amazon
Books by Agatha Christie



If thinking of reading this book in the future why not pin this pic to go back to later.





      










Monday

My Friends Laughed at Me! - Coffee & Conversation




Yes they laughed at me!


My husband rolled his eyes at me!


My kids laughed and said that was just like mum!


Well I do like labels.  

 

And then they all asked why I had done it?






Am I really strange?

All I had done was show them the labels I had put on three baskets in our cloakroom cupboard.

Well when you have a husband who asks the same question each time he goes to the cupboard to get a hat or scarf or gloves - then this is a very sensible thing to do, or so I thought.


Do you label your baskets?

 I mean the ones you are using for storing things or keeping things neat in a cupboard, not the ones you use to go shopping. 






Later when it was pointed out to me by someone else that I had written "snoops" instead of "snoods" on my basket label I had to laugh as well.

 Please tell me I am not the only person who labels their baskets. 


Anyway this is not the only place I have labelled baskets and I get a sort of satisfaction out of using the same labels and trying to write neatly (usually without spelling mistakes).

You also might enjoy my labelling in my
Organised Storage Closet 







But to be honest I have to admit it is not just because of my husband that I label things - Yes I need to do it because I forget as well as him.    Or maybe I just get a bit mixed up and not completely forget that I have put something away somewhere but which basket is each thing in is often my problem.



The thing is trying to do all the 
 Organising of the House and using nice containers and labelling them (exactly right Ha Ha) can be more time consuming than it should be.






Oh to have a perfect memory and all the energy to keep a perfect home!



Here's some more posts about





Tuesday

The Panther - Book Review


My brother-in-law got me hooked on Nelson DeMille books.






Thankfully he had read a few of them before he started me on them so he gave them to me in order (at least the John Corey ones) and being the methodical person that I am that is exactly how I like to read a series.

Then we got my husband on to them and at the moment he is still reading "The Panther" on his kindle and I have just finished so thought I would tell you about it here.


The Panther


Description


It's one of the most dangerous and volatile countries in the world: Yemen. A Middle Eastern hotbed of corruption and insurgency and the perfect training ground for Islamic terrorists.
When FBI agents John Corey and Kate Mayfield are assigned to overseas posts in Sana'a, Yemen's capital city, they are tasked with hunting down the high-ranking Al Qaeda operative responsible for the USS Cole bombing. This man, known as The Panther, is wanted for terrorist acts and multiple murders and the US government is determined to bring him down, no matter the cost.
As latecomers to a deadly game, John and Kate don't know the rules, the players or the score. What they do know is that there is more to their assignment than meets the eye - and that the hunters are about to become the hunted.




My Thoughts



Firstly  -  it is full of one liners.

I missed those in "The Lion" and my brother-in-law & I decided the reason was that John Corey's wife was not in as much of that book as she had been in others so there wasn't the same opportunity for DeMille to write them.

Not only is Kate in the whole book this time but there are some other characters constantly there too and then they are also the objects of Corey's witty remarks.


Secondly  -  Nelson DeMille makes a story about the middle east actually interesting.

I have read some books set in that part of the world before in bookclubs and have never found them to be the type to entice me to read more but this was different. 








Thirdly  -  it is not as gory as "The Lion" which made it a nicer read for me.

I had been rather disappointed in "The Lion" which I found a bit boring, long and incorporating too much personal violence, but all I can say is that Nelson DeMille is back on form with this latest John Corey book "The Panther" - thank goodness.



DeMille's book is well researched and is written with a lot of detail but not too much to end up being boring.







As with his other John Corey books it is witty and full of action so a good choice of book for the man in your life but also a book us ladies can enjoy if we like mysteries and detectives.

So I really enjoyed it and I have a sneaking suspicion that there may be a new character reappearing in a future book, and yes there has to be another John Corey book.  There just has to be.

If you would like to know more about this book then click on the title or picture above.



Book Review - The Panther by Nelson DeMille


Here is a link to a list of Nelson DeMille's novels on Amazon

Books by Nelson DeMille


If thinking of reading this book in the future why not pin this pic to go back to later.






Here are some more Book Reviews at Sandra's Ark 



Wednesday

I am Petite! Who Cares? - A Dose of Encouragement


Yes. I am Petite!


That does not mean I take size 10 (UK) or below and it maddens me when people use petite in this way.


I am petite because I am smaller than 5' 3".








In fact I am not quite 5' 1"



I do need clothes that are the right length and in the right proportion but it can be very hard to find these even in the small sizes but much harder in sizes over 12. Then we also have to put up with a more old-fashioned look for the petites in those sizes.


When we lived in America I found a lovely shop called "Petite Sophisticate" and I just adored the clothes from there. But there was another problem and that is: Why should we have to pay more money for items that actually have less material in them than "normal" items?








My husband is almost 6' tall so there is a bit of a difference between the two of us. Even so when we had our first son I prayed that he would not be short like me but taller like his dad. 2 years later we had another son and I prayed that he would be tall as well. 3 years after that we had our daughter and I prayed that she would not take after me.



God answered my prayers and our oldest boy is almost as tall as his dad, the second boy is taller than his dad at around 6' 3" (sometimes we joke that I prayed too hard for him) and our daughter is about 5 inches taller than me. My sister used to joke that I needed a stepladder to kiss Fred (my husband) but that's not really a joke when it comes to Daniel (son no.2) and he normally ends up with a kiss on the neck instead of on the cheek.






So I was back to the petite clothing problem when my son Daniel was getting married and I needed an outfit.



I really needed a petite outfit.



Another thing that often goes hand in hand with someone being petite is the attitude of others towards them.


We get lots of remarks about our height.


"Gosh you are small!"

I know I am, do they think they are the first to have noticed?


"You'd better stand in front for the photo or you won't be seen."

I know I have to stand in front, do they think this has never happened to me before?


I normally look at my husband Fred in one of these "height challenged" moments and he smiles just the right way to show he has noticed and he knows how I feel. If he's near enough there will be the squeeze of my hand or a wee stroke on my neck.
Fred can do something just between us that makes me feel cared for in situations where others don't take time to think how I might feel.



Often people don't stop to think how we feel.




So looking for a special outfit is not an excitement for me but can be a dread because of the lack of choice and the way I may be treated.


I know I can't dwell on the fact that others aren't thoughtful or considerate all the time and I know that there are probably times when I don't stop and think to be as considerate as I possibly can.


There is only one person who cares about us all enough to know how we feel and what we need and that is the God.


When I see my husband being so thoughtful and understanding of what hurts me then I see something of the example of Christ and this is the way it is in a marriage. The husband is to love his wife just as Christ loves the church and this means being protected, provided for and cared for giving us security in our relationship.


So obviously when we see a good example of this in a marriage it helps us to remember the security we have in Christ even when we tend to temporarily forget His promises.








Of course this is another good reason to read some of the Word of God each day to be constantly reminded of how much Christ cares for us, enough to die in our place when we did not deserve His love.


Doesn't that make us feel cared for, loved and protected?


Doesn't that make us want to be part of His family?


Doesn't that lift us when others put us down?


Doesn't that bring us joy?




People don't stop to think how we feel. Who Cares?



Saw this riddle for the word PETITE
and I just wish it were true 

but it makes me smile anyway.






Well what about that outfit I had to get for Daniel's Wedding?

You can read all about that at What Will I Wear?

and

Here are some other  Doses of Encouragement