Silent Night in Dry Creek Book Review

I got started on a new author and so I picked up everything that was at the library so that I could read it without waiting for books to come in off hold.  I don't usually do that because I love to start from the beginning of the series and see where they start and how the characters grow but I decided to be crazy and grab a few fun quick reads because they were on the shelf and that was all I had time to get while I was at the library with my son.  Silent Night in Dry Creek (Love Inspired) by Janet Tronstad was one of the books that I read.   I had a pile of three books that I read really quickly so to be honest, I am not sure which one I read first but this was one of the three (other reviews coming soon).

For private investigator Wade Sutton, the town holds too many memories--none of them fond-- of his childhood. Yet he can't say no when the sheriff asks him to secretly watch over a woman who might be in danger. "Helping" lovely Jasmine Hunter with the church's Christmas celebration does more for his bruised heart than he wants to admit. As does being back on his family's farm. But he can't stay in Dry Creek. Unless...Jasmine gives him a reason to call it home.  You have to pick it up and find out what happens!!

I really enjoyed the book and read it so fast that it might have been less than 24 hours.  I know that I have given up some sleep just to read a few more pages but it was worth it.  I enjoyed seeing Wade quickly see that he might have turned his back on the town of his childhood but they didn't turn their backs on him.  The characters and the holiday story is perfect.  I enjoyed the book and I know you will to.  Check this out the next time you are at your local library or bookstore.  I hope that you enjoy the book and series as much as I have so far!  These fast reads that are perfect to take on the road if they last that long!!

January Reading Review

I started off the year trying to get organized and decide what I was going to read but this month was anything but because I was also trying to get all of the library books back to the library and not have a lot around the house while everything was pulled apart and we were trying to pack things away.  This is both good and bad because it is hard to keep track of all of those library books because the area to have my son's library books is now at the new house so we have to figure out a new location to keep them without misplacing them in the already mixed up house and it makes sure that I don't have any overdue books without me having to worry.  The bad part is that I love library books.

Here is a list of all of the books that I read this month.  If you missed the original review, make sure you click on the title and it will take you back to the original post.  That way you can find out if you want to add it to your list of books to read.  I keep a private list on amazon with all of the books that I want to read so I know what I still have left to read and I don't forget any so I have included a link to Amazon if you want to add the book to your reading list too!!  Hope you enjoy some of these books and let me know if you have any recommendations of books to add going forward to my list!!

Zero Waste Home 

by Bea Johnson

Allegiant

by Veronica Roth

365 Fun-Filled Learning Activities

by Mary Weaver

A Stitch in Crime

by Cathy Elliott

The $64 Tomato

by William Alexander

The Mystery of the Missing Lion

by Alexander McCall Smith

Dry Creek Sweethearts

by Janet Tronstad

Amazing Gracie

by Sherryl Woods

The Inn at Rose Harbor

by Debbie Macomber

Total Books Read

January           9

The Inn at Rose Harbor Book Review

I was excited to get to start a new series by Debbie Macomber after finishing the last one so long ago.  The Inn at Rose Harbor: A Novel by Debbie Macomber was the first in the Rose Harbor series.  There is supposed to be a a mini book of "When First They Met" inside some of the copies of this book but it wasn't inside mine so I guess I have to go searching for the e-book version.  I am much better when I have the actual book in my hand to read a book but if it is the only way that I can read the prequel then I better at least try.

Jo Marie Rose first arrives in Cedar Cove seeking a fresh start. A young widow coping with the death of her husband, she purchases a local bed-and-breakfast—the newly renamed Rose Harbor Inn—ready to begin her life anew. Her first guest is Joshua Weaver, who has come home to care for his ailing stepfather. The two have never seen eye to eye, and Joshua has little hope that they can reconcile their differences. Jo Marie’s other guest is Abby Kincaid, who has returned to Cedar Cove to attend her brother’s wedding. Back for the first time in twenty years, she almost wishes she hadn’t come, the picturesque town harboring painful memories. And as Abby and Joshua try to heal from their pasts, and Jo Marie dreams of the possibilities before her, they all realize that life moves in only one direction—forward.

I enjoyed the book and had trouble putting it down.  With all of these books that were hard to put down all in a row, I haven't gotten a lot done around the house.  I have a lot of other things to do but it is nice to escape to a different world for a little bit through reading a book but then I have to come back to a reality that wonders why I didn't get those two loads of laundry done.  The story was both happy and sad (get a few tissues because you will need them).  All three of the main characters are dealing with losing people and moving on with their lives.  As with all Debbie Macomber books, the writing is great and makes you feel like you are in the middle of the small town.  I really enjoyed the book and can't wait for the others in the series!!  I hope that you check them out at your local library or bookstore and see what you think!

Menu Plan Monday 2/9

Monday- Salsa Sloppy Joes with homemade rolls and mac and cheese
Tuesday- Breakfast for Dinner and leftovers
Wednesday- ?
Thursday- Herb Roasted Chicken with homemade stuffing and corn
Friday- Tacos with Saffron Rice
Saturday- Turkey and Saffron Rice Soup/Olive Oil Pasta with garlic bread
Sunday- Leftovers/???

We are having a busy week with construction starting on the new house which should hopefully free up a little more time because things are moving forward finally.  We were working on doing all of the demolition so after we did that and a few small fixes, we are excited to try to get some help to move complete some tile work.  We might be eating leftovers to clear out the fridge or something easy to get ready for visitors.  We have family coming into town and are trying to use the last of the freezer up so that I can defrost it soon.  Wish me luck!!!!  I hope that you have a good week and a tasty one!!

Amazing Gracie Book Review

I was still out of library books to read and I finally resorted to reading the books on my shelf.  I have been trying hard to do that for at least the past three years but I always end up back at the library reading their books.  I grabbed Amazing Gracie by Sherryl Woods which I am not sure even how I got it but it was there waiting for another lighthearted and lightweight paperback read so that I could carry it around in my bag.  Well, it didn't last long enough for me to carry it much of anywhere because I read it in less than 24 hours!

Gracie MacDougal quits her job in France running a high end hotel and realizes that she has no where to go.  She returns to Seagull Point, Virginia, where her family had their only vacation as a child.  The picturesque town calls to her, as does the waterfront Victorian house she envisions as the perfect bed-and-breakfast.  Kevin Daniels, the person managing the Victorian, isn't interested in selling Gracie's dream house. The two become friends because Kevin decides that it is his job to entice the uptight businesswoman into learning to relax.  He already has way too many people depending on him, and has no intention of adding one more.  In order to find out if their friendship lasts, you have to read the book and find out.

I really like the way that Sherryl Woods writes because you are in the middle of the books feeling like all of these characters are family or friends.  The other great part is that it keeps you so involved that you can't put the book down!!  The great writing keeps the book moving so there is never a slow part to put the book down.  There are multiple relationships going on even though most of the book is about Gracie or Kevin, there are cousins, aunts, and neighbors that you enjoy meeting.  I hope to meet these characters in another one of her books soon and can't wait to pick up another one of her series soon.  I hope that you check it out at your local library or bookstore and enjoy it as much as I did.

$64 Tomato Book Review

The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden by William Alexander was on my list for a long time.  I read another book (52 Loaves) by the same author which I loved his writing style so this was on my list to check out.  I am glad that I finally got it off my reserve list at the library and got a chance to read it.  I almost forgot why it was on my list but I realized it as soon as I read the first page.

Bill Alexander had no idea that his simple dream of having a vegetable garden and small orchard in his backyard would lead him into life-and-death battles with groundhogs, webworms, weeds, and weather; midnight expeditions in the dead of winter to dig up fresh thyme; and skirmishes with neighbors who feed the vermin (i.e., deer). Not to mention the vacations that had to be planned around the harvest, the near electrocution of the tree man, the limitations of his own middle-aged body, and the pity of his wife and kids. When Alexander runs (just for fun!) a costbenefit analysis, adding up everything from the live animal trap to the Velcro tomato wraps and then amortizing it over the life of his garden, it comes as quite a shock to learn that it cost him a staggering $64 to grow each one of his beloved Brandywine tomatoes. But as any gardener will tell you, you can't put a price on the unparalleled pleasures of providing fresh food for your family.

I loved the writing and the funny stories.  It is amazing how the author works the stories of his everyday life into the story of gardening.  There are stories about his house, kids and wife as well as job and other things outside the house like interaction with the employees at local garden store.  Every time he gets into another situation, you are waiting to find out what is going to happen because it is never what is expected.  Can it be said that there is part mystery in the way that he writes because you are waiting to find out what is destroying his sod and how is he going to find out before the sod dies.  It is amusing and funny and I can't wait to check out other books by this author because all his adventures are filled with great stories.  His writing makes you feel like you know his family and might even be one of his friends listening to his stories.  I hope that you pick this up at your local library or bookstore and check it out for yourself!!  Let me know what you think!!

Thrifty Weekend

I had big plans for the weekend on what we were going to get done but as usual, it was way too short and I was exhausted from a long week.  I was able to start a little early since it was a teacher workday and student holiday on Friday.  My son and I returned books due at the library and got out new books for both of us.  I have been reading so many but only got a chance to grab one on reserve and three from the front of the library before he was ready to go.

On Saturday, I don't think that I got a lot done but my husband finished putting together the last of the two piece molding in the house that we are getting ready to sell and spackled, sanded and primed around the new light fixture that he put up because I put the old one in the new house.  I know it is a lot of work just to take the light fixture with me but I like it and I just took one that I didn't like as much and put it in the old house but it still goes really well in the room.  He also changed out the really expensive dimmer switches that we had in the bedrooms upstairs with normal light switches so that we can put them in the bedrooms at the new house.  Because he can do all of these great things, we saved lots of money.

I was determined to make Sunday a really productive day so I started with a fresh pot of iced tea to make sure that I had enough caffeine to make it through the day.  I started by cleaning up the whole kitchen because it was a mess.  I filled and ran the dishwasher and cleaned all the counters.  It is sad when I do that just to make an even bigger mess with everything that I have planned but I guess that is what happens.

I made chicken broth from some frozen veggies and the chicken that I made the previous night for dinner.  I normally strain all of the veggies and other things out and refrigerate overnight.  I scrape the grease off the top of the broth and strain again to put into containers.  I freeze the containers to use later in soup or other recipes.

I cooked ground beef for French Dip Sloppy Joes this week and made Salsa Sloppy Joes to freeze with the rest.  I took the other two bags of uncooked ground beef and put them in the freezer too.  We are ready for a few weeks of meals with the ground beef that I bought at the end of January.

We were all out of homemade rolls so I cooked up a batch so that we had them for the next few weeks.  I love homemade rolls and they are so good fresh out of the oven but still stay great when they are frozen.  I just pop them in the microwave and we have hot rolls for sandwiches whenever we want.

I made a big pot of brown rice to make lunch for my husband and froze three bags of rice.  I used up the rest of the chicken boullion in the spice cupboard because the chicken broth was cooking on the other burner and I didn't want to defrost any other chicken broth.  I am hoping to make a few more batches of brown rice to freeze and us up some of the large stock pile of brown rice we have because it is hard to wait the 60 minutes it sometimes takes to make it before dinner so I like to have it in easy to microwave bags.

We printed up some Valentines to use for my son for school so I cut them out and got them all ready for him to sign his name and wait for instructions.  He also made a special Valentine for both of his teachers with cutting, writing, stickers and gluing.  We are going to attach a pencil through the middle for the special present which we are going to the dollar store to buy a package tomorrow.

I went online and reserved a few more books at the library so that I will be all set to get some fun new books when I am done reading the few left in my pile.  I didn't make it to the library to pick up papers or return the book that I finished but I have that on my list for Monday morning before going to an appointment for more new house stuff.

In addition, I cleaned out the fridge and ran the dishwasher with all the stuff that I got out of the fridge.  I put some stuff in the freezer and other stuff went into the trash.  I emptied the dishwasher and filled it up again.  Lots more dishes washed from the mess that I made with all my cooking.  I also got a load of darks and whites done this weekend and hoping to wash coats tonight (or tomorrow if there isn't enough time to dry).

I worked on the meal plan for the coming week which always saves time and money to let me know what we need at the store and what we have ready to eat for the week.  For dinner one night, I cut up some homemade fries to put with every ones dinner which was a yummy treat.  There are always a bunch of things that you can do to make your weekend frugal and prepare for the coming week at the same time.  It takes a little planning and time but I hope that you had a very frugal weekend too!!!