Red bud blooming

 Our red bud tree is blooming.

It isn’t very big but it does have lots of fuchsia buds.

It is my favorite tree.

 I remember planting one in our front yard when I was in 4 th or 5th grade.
Aunt Billie helped. The tree was just a twig. I hope this one will grow and continue 
giving bits of color to March.

A rainy week

Oops! I wrote my sewing content on the wrong blog.

I updated this on 'singreadsew' but will leave this one as a reminder to pay attention to what I'm doing.

It was a rainy week. At school the flu was going around but so far has not gotten me.

I needed a quick project. The mini quilt below was based on a mini I saw online.

I had a mini charm pack that I wanted to use as half square triangles.

The wolf was fussy cut from a fat quarter.

I'm calling this "The Gunniwolf" for a favorite story students like to act out.

Slowly making progress on the March Girl.

I can watch TV and stitch.

What have you been up to this week?

What I'm reading in February

Trying to get back to my stated purpose for this blog.

Here are two of my library books.

I just finished the Alex Cross book. Always an interesting read.

I only found one Grantchester Mystery in our library system. I really enjoy the show on PBS.

I'll let you know if the book is as good as the show.

This little Jade plant is going to be added to my succulent garden if it warms up this week end.

At one time I had a really big old Jade plant. Mr. M. gave this to me for Valentines.

My favorite flowers - the kind that are picked out of the yard.

Martin picked these at mom's house.

Sorry about the background clutter.

This is how we live.

What are you reading today?

What I'm reading since the holidays

Even though I haven't posted here since October, I have been reading lots of books.

Some are pictured below.

I read some adult John Grisham and then switched to his kid series.

There are only a few titles and they are all good. Similar to Hardy Boys but more interesting.

I recommend to any young adult reader of mysteries.

I bought the two books below when we were in NYC visiting the grandsons.

Set in the roaring twenties and written by a NYC resident, both are good reads with the same characters. They reminded me of the Australian Miss Fisher Mysteries.

For a final photo for this post - Paperwhites, also known as Narcissus.

Love how they look in the winter garden.

What are you reading today?

Reunion Memories - My Life as a Reader

What do you remember about your childhood? I remember reading a book a day in second grade.

My teacher had a small classroom library of books that we checked out. When we finished the book we returned the book and stuck a star by our name on a chart. 

Second grade was the grade when I began to figure out words from context. I remember the word - "surprise". After that I was a reader. I read everything. I won a prize that year for reading the most books. I have been a voracious reader ever since.

Now to the book above. 

My sixth grade teacher read from Bird Life in Wington for daily devotional.

 Public school in the South. 

I liked the book so much I asked my parents to get me a copy.

Here is the memory. 

Recently at my 50th high school reunion my classmate JoAnn shared a memory of me from sixth grade. (I was new to the school that year. Most of the class had been together since first grade. I didn't make friends easily so I spent most of my time reading.)

This day JoAnn remembered that I was reading a book that I kept in my lap. Our teacher had a discipline method with a sticker or something on each child's shoulder that she would take away if you misbehaved. I was quietly reading my book. The teacher came over and took my sticker.

JoAnn said she was impressed because I protested the action. I don't remember what I said but I'm sure it was on the line of "I wasn't misbehaving. I was quietly reading."

That led me to remember a time or two when I read a book during class in seventh grade. The teacher made us round-robin read the textbook. It was sooooo borrring.

I propped my textbook open to the page we were slowly reading. The fascinating novel I wanted to read was hidden by the textbook, so I thought. I was so engrossed in the story that I didn't realize my teacher was looking around at us. Caught not paying attention in class I was sent to the office. Her husband was the principal. I don't remember the punishment but not having to listen to students stumbling as they read aloud was its own reward.

I'm still a reader who gets lost in a book. 

As a parting thought enjoy the flowers below.

They are Clara Curtis or Country Girls, a type of chrysanthemum.

Looking around the yard in July

Let's take a look around the backyard.

First my baby bed planter is doing great!

Will from Deep Roots Landscaping and his crew have been working on phase 2.

New dry creek has been created.

Lower terrace has been rejuvenated.

They even added a bonus dry creek between some beds.

The okra is producing and the shade plants are doing well.

Tomato plants all over the place.

New blueberry planting. Hoping for fresh berries next year.

The crew even reused some of the grass sod they removed for the dry creek.

Looking good? What do you think?

Middle School Good Reads

I recently finished three middle school books. Two came from a book club order and the other was given away at a literacy conference.

If you have a reader, looking for something to read this summer, I recommend all three.

The Gauntlet is great for kids who like puzzles and smart girls.

The main character is Bangladeshi and has an irritating younger brother.

By mistake they get pulled into a board game. If they lose the game, they have to stay forever.

Alien Invasion is the first of a series called Level Up. The main character is a typical gamer.

He is trying out a new video game. The catch is he will stay in the game if he loses 3 times.

Very short book. Good for kids who don't like to read. It hooks the reader into wanting to read more.

The Thing About Leftovers is not all about food, even though the main character likes to cook.

She feels like a leftover when her parents divorce and start new families. Her aunt encourages her to enter The Southern Living cooking contest. Set in Kentucky, the characters attend church regularly, something I haven't read about in a kid's book in ages.

So that's about it for what I'm reading.

School is out tomorrow.

Oh, the reading to come.