Evening Edition: Free Kindle Book!

And I didn’t have to go searching for this one --- because there has been no time to search!

Valerie sent it on.

She writes:

Hi, Bonnie,

Since you're home, you may have more time to peruse amazon's free Kindle books, but just in case you have not yet, here is another one I just have to have after reading the first few pages in the "look inside" feature.

It is "Doughnuts for Amy" and is set near your neck of the woods in South Carolina. It has 4 1/2 stars with 39 customer reviews.

Seems a lighthearted change from my usual choice of suspense, mystery, and drama. The synopsis is below the link. Enjoy some downtime at home the next couple weeks!

I popped on over to read the description and reviews, and she’s right. It sounds like a fun one!

Book Description:

Nick St. Germaine, Woodmont Retirement Community's Executive Chef, is emotionally distraught as the second anniversary of his wife's death looms on the horizon. Troubled by nightmares and challenged by his son to move forward one day at a time, Nick is doing that, but just barely. He takes solace in early morning workouts at his gym, long runs and longer hours in Woodmont’s kitchen.

An unexpected change in management brings a new Director, Amy Sommers, a beautiful, divorced nurse with little knowledge of the Food and Beverage business. Nick is quick to show his disdain for her, so much so that she comes close to showing him the door her first day on the job. Yet Amy is convinced to give him a chance to prove his worth and she soon finds out he's an effective manager as well as a great cook with a tighly-knit, though overly protective kitchen staff.

As Amy takes charge of the many facets of Woodmont, she soon realizes her greatest challenge lies in the broken heart of Nick St. Germaine.

With a supporting cast of quirky cooks, cranky widows, World War 2 vets and endearing octogenarians, Doughnuts for Amy is a six-course tasting menu of fork-tender romance and unexpected comedy that will have you asking “what’s for dessert?”

Be sure to check that it’s still free before clicking to purchase. Prices change without advance warning!

I’m still working on the To-Do list --- but the DONE list is growing!

I’m still ignoring the piles of Strash that are color-sorted on my studio floor. I don’t know if I want to slice them all down ((How to determine what size as the drawers of pre-cut strips are still pretty full!)) Or just store them by color until I decide WHAT to do with them.

The piles of purple, green and gold are sitting next to each other and look pretty enticing!

Time Out at Salem Lake!

One thing I’ve learned is that it is always important to keep your gas tank full.

And not just the car tank – but your own personal soul tank too. If you are running on empty, you don’t have anything to give anyone else.

Sometimes that means fitting in just an hour for yourself even if a gazillion other things are on your plate.

Or --- something I’ve heard a lot lately on every plane flight – so much so that I can repeat it word for word with the flight attendant: “If you are traveling with someone who needs assistance, apply your own mask first, and then offer assistance ---“ Hard to help someone with their oxygen if you don’t have enough for yourself.

This morning securing my own oxygen mask came in the form of a bit of time out in between running errands. Book orders to the post office at 8:30! Bank deposit to the bank shortly thereafter --- and before returning home to dig deep into more book edits, I drove to near by Salem Lake --- I hadn’t been there in almost a year. How’s that for crazy?

I just needed some time for the dappled sunlight of morning through the trees, the hum of bugs and the chirp of birds, and I wanted to see how things were going on the reconstruction of the dam.

They’ve got the construction going now so that you can’t take the walking trails all the way around the lake --- you can only go so far and have to turn around ---so I walk-jogged 2.5 miles out and 2.5 miles back for a total of 5 miles. The green dot on the map is where I started and ended. Total time taken as “time out” for me? One hour and twenty minutes. Worth every second!

Humidity has returned to the south!

The water levels are still way down because the reconstruction of the dam is still going on. Can you see that cloudless sky? It’s going to be a hot one today, and I should have been out there before 7am, not 9am like I was!

Water levels WAY LOW!

It was wonderful to see the trees so lush with green ----and though it looks like an empty path, there were lots of mountain bikers, walkers and joggers about. And plenty of pooches leading their masters too! This lake is probably my favorite spot in all of Winston Salem.

There is a bench just before where a bridge crosses this little creek – SUCH a scenic spot, and I always love to sit for just a few minutes and ponder and reflect. Just the sound of the trickling water brings peace to an otherwise hectic day.

I hope my sharing of my “time out” amidst all of the things on the To-Do list brought a bit of beauty and peace to your day too!

Early Morning Happy Dance!

Don't you love this saying? My niece posted it yesterday ----and you know, sometimes it's an ugly struggle too, but it's worth the effort!

It was after 10pm by the time DH and I got home last night…he had a massage scheduled for 8:30 --- and after picking me up at the airport, we were running late, so there was no time to drop me off at home before he headed in….and at this place, if you are late, they charge you anyway. ((Hey, I’ve HAD that massage therapist job, and I completely understand why!)) so I had no choice but to go with him.

Sadie was in the car with us…and she loves to go go go wherever we go. We dropped DH off at the massage place, and then I headed to Target to run a couple of errands and pick up some things Dave had mentioned we were out of. And I was powerfully hungry by this time because the last place I had really eaten was breakfast in Columbus, OH --- the rest was snack crackers and fruit or trail mix through the travel day ----

"Welcome to MOE’S!!"

That’s all I wanted. I made a bee-line to Moe’s southwest grill and ordered up a chicken quesadilla and ate it on the patio in the beautifully warm North Carolina evening as darkness descended. I heard all of those sounds that I love the south so much for --- peepers, birds and frogs, and noticed for the first time that the fire flies are out! Fire flies are one of the “Welcome Summer!” things that really make me smile.

Yep, I'm home!

Sadie and I walked after dinner waiting for Dave to finish his 90 minute massage, which meant he wasn’t out until 10pm, and I was SO TOAST by the time we got home that I just crawled into bed.

Which brings me to now.

I’ve got SO MUCH STUFF on my plate!

I honestly don’t know where to start.

When I walked into the studio to type this quickie post this morning ((Which is turning out to be not-so-quicky, but you know how I write!)) I came face to face with the piles of STRASH that I had left on the floor the day before leaving for Illionois. Something will have to be done with them today. Mail has stacked up, book orders need filling, there are more edits to look over this morning as well.

I’m sure I’ll get back into the swing of things, but THIS is what I had to see this morning:

Yes, this is an artistic shot…on my DRIVEWAY because this quilt is so big there is nowhere to lay it out! And the morning light gives the BEST photos. The bottom right corner is the one I just finished – it’s just laying there, testing for fit…and YES – I did not screw up the configuration!

Here is the section just laid into place..I left a bit of daylight around it so you can see how it will fit….

And this red border is the start of the LAST fill in section to be done on this quilt. What I will do after the piecing of this is completed, remains to be seen….I honestly don’t know if I’ll start another one, but I’ve sure loved the process of having this ready to go with me wherever I travel. I haven’t had to think about a “take-along” project. This is SO PORTABLE. And because it is just grab-and-go, and I don’t work on it at home --- I’ve never been bored with it. It’s been a travel thing ONLY.

Except maybe for tonight….because I am dying to get that 3rd corner section on there!

So that’s it from here –I need to get a move on and get this day going – you’ll hear from me again soon I’m sure…hard to shut me up for long!

iPhone-o-Gram! Section 3 Complete!

We are sitting on the plane waiting for maintenance to do whatever it is that maintenance does.

While waiting I just sewed the last hexagon onto the third border fill in section! Yeah!!!

I'm starting fill in section #4--- the final journey on the piecing of this very long term project.

I'd do a happy dance but I am belted into my exit row seat next to a very big burly guy. Lol!

Can't wait to get home and start adding this section on to the "mother ship" tonight!

Whoowhooo!

iPhone-O-Gram! Roadside Daisies!

It's been a great relaxing morning in Columbus!

I was out the door at 6:50am for a walk---just following the sidewalk to see where it led me.

What's a girl to do when the sidewalk ends?? Follow the road to see where it leads!

At the end of a street in a subdivision--suburbia met countryside and I was blessed to wish the daisies and the woods a very pleasant "Good Morning!"

I just love daisies---and green grass. And old fences! And woods! And when they are present together while the world is awakening, I realize what a beautiful morning it is indeed---and what a lucky girl I am to stop amidst the daisies!

I'm at the airport---waiting for my flight to Chicago to catch my connecting flight home to Greensboro.

Time to get some hexies on!

Common Threads & Sisters Choice!

26 quilters gathered with their totes full of 2.5” strips and squares --- ready to SEW SEW SEW!

There are some workshops that are so intense that only a handful of units go home with the students.

And then there are Quilt Day Camp days where we really throw ourselves into a project designed to help us use up that fabric that has been lingering way too long in the stash!

This is a great one to get you started on developing your own Scrap Users System…..cut for this quilt, and then the left overs from cutting can simply be sliced down into useable strip widths for OTHER future projects ---several of our ladies are talking about doing Queen to King quilts just to move the fabric OUT and get the scraps under control!

Someone brought a design wall that was SO handy --- I’ve got several shots of the blocks that were placed on the design wall – a whole community’s worth. They moved around and were auditioned next to other blocks…it was so interesting to see the different effects of the color and value placement. The blocks can look so different depending on where you put the fabric!

		Sister's Choice, Columbus OH 2012 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I’m traveling home today! And it’s a good thing since I ran out of 2” cheddar squares that I’ve been using for my leader/ender bow-ties. I planned this just about right, and only ran out of them late last evening ---time to cut some more when I get home!

I’ll be home for almost 2 weeks ---oh, is that ever going to be nice. At this moment, I think I’d be perfectly happy to not leave the house for at least a week ---being a hermit sounds right up my alley right now, no matter how fun this trip has been…my batteries are on empty and I need a relax and recharge.

Thank you, Columbus Ohio for such a wonderful time! We’ll be seeing you again in 2016!