Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Thanksgiving Day

Turkey, anyone?  Aren't these cute? Wish I'd thought of this!

John and his Mom made Turkey Cake Pops

and they made Turkey Cookies too!

Dessert Table

More Desserts

And Even More!

Pink Perfection Camellias - the first of the season!

Book 50 - 52 Books in 52 Weeks

The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection

Alexander McCall Smith

2012

Could anything be more delightful than a new Alexander McCall Smith?  Oh, my! And this time, who should appear, but Clovis Andersen himself?!  The author of that great book, "The Principles of Private Detection" is here in person!

"Precious Ramotswe is haunted by a repeated dream of a tall stranger who waits for her beneath an acacia tree.  Odd as this is, she's too busy to worry about it.  The best apprentice at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors is in trouble with the law and stuck with the worst lawyer in Gaborone.  Grace Makutsi and Phuti Radiphuti are building the house of their dreams, but their builder is not on the up and up.  Most shockingly, Mma Potokwane, defender of Botswana's downtrodden, has been dismissed from her post as matron at the orphan farm.  Can the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency help restore the beloved matron to her rightful position?"

Book 49 - 52 Books in 52 Weeks

The Half-Stitched Amish 

Quilting Club

Wanda E. Brunstetter

2012

"Join the club of unlikely quilters who show up for Amish widow Emma Yoder's quilting classes.  A troubled young woman, a struggling couple, a widower, a rough and tough biker, and a preacher's wife make up the mismatched lot.  But as their problems begin to bind them together like the scraps of fabric stitched together in a quilt, they learn to open up and lend a helping hand.  Is this what God had in mind to heal hurting hearts and create beauty from fragments?"

I've read another similar book, except it was about a knitting group. It's an interesting plot for bringing in the stories of a disparate group.

Books 51-54, 52 Books in 52 Weeks

Completing the Challenge

I am so happy I ran across this "52 Books in 52 Weeks" challenge! For several years I've been keeping track of titles read and aiming for at least fifty books per year.  In childhood I read much more  but adulthood brings other tasks, as we all know, so reading sometimes gets put on a back burner. Now retired, I have more time to read - if only I didn't while away so much time online!

I haven't decided whether I'll continue posting my books in 2013, but will definitely continue reading and keeping track. I might take up some of the other challenges with specific books, or I might challenge myself to read the books here at home that I've bought over the years, then pass them on to our local Friends of the Library for their book sales.

At any rate, here are the last four (for me - the first one I read was the latest of the series!) of the Women's Murder Club by James Patterson.  I hope he'll continue with this series - really fun reads! I didn't read them in order since a friend had loaned me the latest one. Then hooked, I requested the others through our online library catalog and read them as I obtained them. Each one is complete so they don't need to be read in order as long as you can keep what's going on in the friends' personal lives straight.

One of the club members dies in this story - very sad!

' Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer and her friends ... battle for her life on two fronts: before a judge and jury as her trial (for excessive force, police misconduct, & wrongful death) comes to a climax, and facing unknown adversaries who will do anything to keep her from the truth about the killings -- including killing again."

A new member of the Women's Murder Club and more killings!

More killings, more exciting events, and a new love interest for one of the friends!

Book 48 - 52 Books in 52 Weeks

Any Approaching Enemy

A Novel of the Napoleonic Wars

Jay Worrall

2006

Another exciting episode featuring Charles Edgemont, who was raised to the rank of captain for gallantry under fire in the first book, Sails on the Horizon.  

"Now married and in command of the twenty-eight gun frigate Louisa, the young captain sails toward a day of destiny - for himself and for England."

This book has it all - exciting naval battle scenes, tension between the captain and his First Lieutenant, some love interest, a visit with Sir William and Lady Hamilton in Naples, and, of course, Admiral Horatio Nelson!  Charles' Quaker wife, Penny, even manages to spend some time aboard the Louisa!

If you enjoy reading about this historical period, during the rise of Napoleon, you'll enjoy these two books.  Sadly, a third in the series has yet to appear.  We can only hope for one!