Book Review: Where Lilacs Still Bloom

There are authors that are fun to read… then there are authors that are just so good that you read one of their books and you just have to “chew” on it for a while. I have known, without even reading her, that Jane Kirkpatrick falls into the latter category. (Sometimes you just know…) Where Lilacs Still Bloom is a fictionalized biography of Hulda Klager. Hulda was an amazing woman – German immigrant with a passion to minister to others through her garden. She developed many different varieties of lilacs in her lifetime as well as raising a family.

It took me a little while to get into this story. Even when I didn’t think I was quite “into” it, I found my mind going back to her story and being drawn back in. (in other words, it wasn’t one of those “Can’t put it down” books for me, but I still couldn’t quite get away from it.) The storyline was a little hard to follow initially. There are several different characters that seem unrelated at first, but by the end of the book, they all are very much impacted by Hulda and her work.

 I love the fact that Jane Kirkpatrick puts so much research into her work. Her goal is to tell the stories of women in history and she does a good job. Her books are certainly something with “meat” in them. I loved learning about her characters and by the end of this book, I had a new appreciation for lilacs and plant propagation.


 (Thanks to Waterbrook Press and Blogging for Books for my free review copy. All opinions are my own.)

Book Review: Simple Secrets

I enjoyed reading Lucy Swindoll’s Simple Secrets to A Happy Life. It is comprised of fifty short, easy to read chapters. The book was like sitting down and having a nice chat over a cup of coffee. Luci’s personality shone through and it was easy to discover who she is as a person. I think the book is well designed – the cover is what really drew me to the book, as well as the title. However, I think I was expecting more emphasis on “simplicity” than the “happy life.” While it was an enjoyable ready with many timely tips, it wasn’t extremely deep – very practical, but not too in depth.



 (Thank you to Book Sneeze for the free review copy. All opinions are my own.)

Fresh Picked

(a little dirt under the fingernails never hurt anyone...) :)

Finished Object Friday - Another Bonnet

Happy Friday!! As promised here is our Monthly Finished Object Friday! I've made several little things, but (shame, shame) this blogger hasn't taken pictures of everything. This is my biggest project recently though, and I DID get a picture taken of it. :)

A couple of weeks ago I attended a babyshower for one of my coworkers. Hannah is a sweetie and rather "crafty" herself, so I knew she would appreciate a handmade gift.



I really do love this pattern. This is my third one to knit. (here's my post on the first one) It's a fun pattern with easy repeats and minimal finishing. And so sweet!

Here I am with the new Mommy and baby (in her tummy!)


The news is little one was born Thursday! Welcome to our world, Sweet Girl!

Now it's your turn!! I've heard rumors of some projects... so I can't wait to see what you all have to share!!

FOF coming soon!

Thanks, everyone for your input! We will begin the new schedule this month... so that means FOF will be this Friday (the 11th) I'll still call it "Finished Object Friday" but really, I don't mind if you are posting through the weekend... I usually don't have much time for blogging on Fridays myself. ;)

Another question especially for those that commented on my last post: I like Blogger's new "reply" feature in the comments, but are each of you getting a notification when I respond to each comment? (Assuming you are subscribed to comments)

And (because I like having pretty pictures in my posts...) Here is a pretty picture:  ;)

Whirlwind

Not a literal whirlwind, thankfully! I hope we don't get too many of those this spring! (Although I've heard it's a good year for them, we haven't had too many in our area.) It just feels like my life is a whirlwind that just. won't. stop!

April absolutely flew by!! We had a big Easter - with a Kids' Easter program and a big church picnic - so fun!

Hubby and I on Easter Sunday

Then I had a small "spa party" at my house, then came  our church's revival services, and two more birthdays to help celebrate.

Spa Party - lip treatments :)

I also got to play "mommy" for a weekend. Faithie stayed with us while her parents went to a conference. We had a blast - getting dressed up for church, combing hair pretty, shopping for new shoes (and a few outfits) and reading Betsy-Tacy and the Bible before bed. Such a sweet girlie!

Thrifting with Faithie and my Mom

May has already started full blast, with company, helping a friend move and a big Sunday dinner at my house. Oh, my. :)

But it's a fun busy! And I've already got a mental to-do list for today... including some spray painting!

Speaking of projects... I've been thinking that FOF should probably be once a month. I don't like to keep putting it off, but I haven't seemed to be crafting quite as much as I used to, and (as you may have noticed) my posts don't always get up on the designated day. Any thoughts on that? I love sharing projects especially seeing what you all have been up to. I just feel like blogging (obviously) has taken a back burner to all the business of life... That can be good and bad... But I love this platform and sharing thoughts, events, and projects with my group of "blogging buddies!" Some of you I have never even met, but I feel that you are absolutely among my circle of friends, and I don't want to lose that! :)

Off I go to get some of those projects done.... ;)