Wow!!!

On my deck yesterday...amidst all of the noise!!!

My Amish boys love birds...Rubin brought his binoculars to watch the seabirds at the pond...Rubin and Amos and Jonah ( Amish ) said its a red tailed hawk...Jerry ( not Amish ) agreed. Jerry is their driver.








Roof update...not even close to being done!

Here is our schedule...

7:00 AM...the boys arrive and start pounding on things!
10:00 AM...snack time! Yesterday they didn't eat what they brought but had my milk and cookies instead.
My Amish boys were dunking Oreos like pros!
Who knew?
1:00...lunch...yesterday their treat was icy cold watermelon! Den drove home to bring it to us...I say us...funny...
5:00...quiet ensues as my boys clean up and leave.

I am trying to think of fun snacks for them every day!
I think Monday I will put out individual bottles of milk and homemade chocolate chip cookies!
Bananas? Strawberries? Veggies?

I provide stimulating conversation, too. Yesterday I asked Rubin if he had a hidden car in his barn that he drove after work. He said no. And I asked him if he ever watched National Geographic's Being Amish...he said he is being Amish.

I think they are getting used to me and my humor. Monday I am going to surprise them and eat lunch with them outside! They won't come in and eat with me...so sad!

They come in to wash hands and use the bathroom but that's it...but I am working on them!




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So Good...So Yummy...So Sad...So Comforting...

I am thinking about houses...my own is not my own right now...I stepped outside and to my surprise there was a huge crane putting stuff on our roof...OMG!!!

Nothing could have prepared me for this!

The workers are sweet and careful but there are pieces of roof everywhere...my beautiful flower pots are scattered...deck furniture gone...and the noise is thunderous.

I think I feel stressed.

Lucy feels stressed.

My brain is frazzled.

I can't read.

I can't write reviews.

We should have saved Maine for after this was done.

So good...

the feeling we will have when the roof is all done and there are no more flying shingles!




So yummy...

dinner tonight at Sovano Bistro! I need a martini!





So sad...

another Father's Day without my dad...I have a phone message from him on my phone telling me about his day...what he ate what he did and that he was going to bed...my dad loved leaving long messages...so amidst the pounding and hammering yesterday I held the phone and listened to him and cried...it was just torture...I don't know why I did it...
I guess it never stops hurting!


So comforting...

I know this cat knows my emotions...Tonkinese breeders say that Tonks are very in tune to the people they love...I know this is true of Lucy! The slightest little tear brings her into my arms...where she stays until she thinks I am ok again.




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It's My "Gotta" Day!

Gotta have! From Madewell...I live in tees like this!




Gotta make! This is from a site called ArtisanBreadInFive!
These are pizza pops!
OMG!




Gotta love my sweet Lucy Grace...



Roof update?

So loud...you would not believe it...and instead of Sam I have Amos...he is cute, too but doesn't look like The Mentalist...and these Amish guys all have iPhones! I think my house is falling apart!

Reading update...just read Dirt by David Vann...definitely intense...gulp!



Reading now? Still choosing...maybe this...I need something fresh and normal...



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An Island Apart...And A Giveaway For You!

My " in a nutshell" summary...

Claire goes to Martha's Vineyard to recover from a very serious illness...she meets the Chappaquiddick hermit...entanglements ensue!

My thoughts after reading this book...

Heaven on earth...that describes this one. Who knew the barbecue king...this author...had this kind of story telling in him?
I loved every single lovely sentence. The island descriptions, daily life on the island, the food, the books, the locals...sigh...yum...so pleasurable!
I was caught up in this story with the first few pages I read. There are sweet delightful characters and serious characters and quirky characters and all of them are sort of enchanted by living on this island. All of them are involved with the lovely Claire. The food descriptions alone will capture you...seriously. Foraged, organic, divine dinners and desserts are a huge part of Claire's life as well as the Hermit's. This book is a story of healing and it unfolds beautifully.

What I loved the most...

The budding relationship between Claire and the Hermit...their exchanges...their notes...their love for real food. I loved the fact that underneath all of the flannel and fuzz...the Hermit was a true hunk! I also loved the way the "juicy bits" in the story were shared...this is no Fifty Shades...it is sweet and lovely! I loved Wrench...Claire's daughter's boyfriend...he was priceless!

What I did not love...

I did not love the way everyone other than Claire treated the Hermit...sad.
I did not love the fate of the poor whale or the lobsters...lol. I didn't really like Claire's daughter at the beginning, either. Nor was I fond of Claire's lecherous cheating almost ex husband. He was sleazy...seriously so.

My final thoughts...

Oh my...I laughed...I cried...but I ultimately loved this novel! I truly think that you will, too! It was simply beautiful. It's the most perfect summer book!





And thanks to Aisha Cloud from Tor And Forge...I have a lovely new copy to share with one of my readers!

Just leave a comment and email and I will random.org the winner on Friday!

Congratulations to Stephanie who won last week's books!




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Random Thoughts!

My nails are purple as are my toes...I wonder if Sam will notice!




Book business...
Penguin sent me this!!! I loved Discovery Of Witches more than any book ever!!!
I am dancing, leaping, chanting...lol..everything but reading!!!




This is what kitty depression looks like...she knows we are leaving to see Lindsay Buckingham! She refuses to look at us...but she did follow me into another room where I keep more clothes...shocker...and immediately decided to sleep on a black shawl I wanted to wear...



Lindsay Buckingham was fabulous...the concert was described as an intimate evening with him and it was...he did new stuff and Fleetwood Mac stuff...he used about ten different guitars and his voice is still pure and strong. It was in a historical theatre near us called the Queen. For this concert you could sit at tables or theatre seats or be up in the balcony where you can sit on sofas and move around, etc. Apparently the balcony is the preferred seating. We had theatre seats and during
the concert two people in front of us ordered and ate chicken wings...in the dark!
You can actually have dinner there before or after the show but this was kind of weird? Chicken wings?



These thoughts...are just random concert thoughts...and things that irritate me at a venue like this one...
Fact...everyone there was old...older? Or...not all that young...me included...sigh!
A huge balding gentleman in the front row stood and waved his hands in the air for a part of the concert...so irritating.
An older female fan...thankfully near the end of the concert...decided she needed to be closer to Lindsay so she tried to hop over one row and most likely due to arthritic knees fell into the lap of yet another older couple. She got up and rocked on...OMG!
Another concert goer felt compelled to jump out of her seat and dance!!! It was a lively awkward annoying dance!
There was not a lot of decorum, restraint or composure during the last half of the concert...I felt as though I was at a gently aging Woodstock!
And how annoying is everyone...Den included...using their iPhones to get everything on video?
Majorly annoying...

Last thought...when Lindsay Buckingham said goodnight I think he meant it...he is old...he was tired...I thought we should clap and let him go to his hotel room and go to bed...
but I was in the minority and the grays got him back for another set.

Gotta love concerts!!!

Rock on!!!

I Am A Groupie?

La dee da...birds are singing...flowers are blooming...and my cook top is fixed!!!
I love guys who fix things!!!
They are the rock stars of my world right now.
I am about to fry an egg! I am going to watch it bubble and spatter and I am going to stick a wedge of toast into all that yellowy goodness!
Plus Wednesday brings Sam the Magnificent Roof Man...oh me oh my!!!


Yesterday we saw a sign for freshly baked bread...about 5 minutes away from our house! We have seen this lovely old house for years and the bread sign for years and never ever stopped until yesterday. You walk in to the lower level and buy freshly baked breads on an honor system...the French loaf we bought was warm...and we bought a wheat molasses one. Both breads were amazing! They both had a lightly salted crust...the flakey special salt that just makes the flavor pop! The owners simply hang a flag outside when they bake bread! There are times when I totally love our area. We saw baby chicks at our Farmer's Market yesterday and bought fresh eggs laid by their mothers...small things thrill me!



I am reading this book and can barely put it down...Kathy from bermudaonion mentioned to me that this author writes barbecue books...tons of them! This is his first novel and it is lovely! It has everything I love in it...an editor recovering from a serious illness on Martha's Vineyard...a mysterious man...very hermit like...and beautiful food. A hundred ages in and...again...it is delightful!!!



We are off to see Lindsay Buckingham tonight...of Fleetwood Mac fame...cannot wait!

It's amazing what one repaired appliance can do for my soul...I missed sautéing!
Who knew?

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Simmering Sunday!!!

It is hot hot hot here but it feels wonderful!

The vegetable garden is in!




The gardener is done for the day! He dared to garden in bumblebee colors! Poor boy is just a bit hot and tired!




I planted these!



And this is how much the front has grown!



Book Business...lol...
finished this...



and reading this...



I think I needed a book break for a day or two...but now I am over it!

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