A Book

 *Don't Cry For Me* by Daniel Black

A father writes a letter to his son. The father is dying and wants to communicate life events and feelings that he had been unable to express while raising his son.

Two More Books

 Maus I: a Survivor's Tale; My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman

A grown son questions his father about the father's past years in Poland and in Auschwitz. He records it all and writes this graphic novel about his father's experiences; mostly it focuses on the father's work to survive during a terrible time. It's captivating and a quick read. I rarely read graphic novels, but this was very well done. I am going to look for the sequel: Maus II.

Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery

Grandma Gatewood is 67. After raising 11 children and finally getting a divorce from her abusive husband, she is ready to explore her new reality. She decides to "go for a walk." From Ohio she makes her way to the spot in Georgia from which the Appalachian Trail begins. She starts walking. Her goal is to complete the entire trail, over 2,000 miles long. She has one bag containing a few supplies. This is her story. 

a cozy place to stay a night or two

and read a couple good books

An Unusual Turn of Events

 During the Covid shutdown, I found I could not concentrate on reading. How odd! I love to read, and extended time at home seems like the perfect opportunity. Instead, I spent hours and hours sewing.

As time has passed, I find that I have very little interest in sewing! How truly odd! I have gradually come out of my reading funk and am enjoying books once again. This is what I have read so far in 2022. (Not a huge list, but I am just happy to be reading again.)

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams - A list of books to read seems to suddenly appear to several people. They begin to read the books, and through the contacts at the library, and through the growth they experience from reading the books, they find new friends and interests in their daily lives. I loved seeing their appreciation of the books, many of which I have also read. I also loved the "contacts with humanity" that take place when reading a well-written book. Some may find this book a bit sappy in places, but I loved it. The people were varied, troubled, flawed, kind -- just like real humans.

The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall - Relationships, families, faith, friends, struggles, forgiveness -- a well written book.

Open House on Haunted Hill by John Wiswell - Short story about a haunted house that was lonely and desperately wanted someone to live in it. Read by Levar Burton at his podcast "Levar Burton Reads."

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles - The writing is superb. The characters are diverse and real. I wasn't completely enamored with the story line, but the great writing made up for that. The last 50 pages really wowed me. Like I said, superb writing.

The Years of My Birth by Louise Erdrich - Short story read by Levar Burton on his podcast, "Levar Burton Reads."

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich - This book follows a family in Minneapolis through the pandemic, the killing of Geore Floyd, and unrest in the city. "The sentence" refers to more than one meaning, one being a prison sentence lived by one of the main characters. As always with an Erdrich book, there is so much depth that I could probably get more out of it by reading the book again. I am in awe of her ability to pull language together so beautifully.

The Weight of Night by Christine Carbo - This story takes place in and around Glacier National Park, one of my favorite places on earth. It was fun to see so many place names that I recognize. I have not read the first two (it's a series?); this stand-alone book did not require previous knowledge of characters. It's a mystery, which I don't usually read, but I enjoyed it.

Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery - At age 67, Emma Gatewood becomes the first woman to walk the entire 2,000+ mile Appalachian Trail. She goes alone and with few supplies. She is fearless and industrious. As reporters start telling her story, she becomes nationally known. Her fame and her straight-forward attitude make the trail become very popular, and use of it soars. I am currently 69 and can't imagine taking on a 2,000-mile hike! She was stronger than a dozen men.

Hands To Help Quilt Challenge Completed

 I participated in the 2022 Hands to Help Quilt Challenge. These are the three quilts I made and sent. It's the first year where I branched out and gave quilts to two projects which were not officially part of the project.

The one went to Tree of Life Agency at Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.

This one went to Jeremiah Project which sent it on to Ukraine.

This one went to one of the official projects: Quilty Hugs.

See other H2H quilts at the final linky party here.

Quilts Delivered in Ukraine

 A quilt shop in Florida announced that it would accept donations of finished quilts for Ukraine. The shop is owned by twins; one twin in Florida runs the shop (it's really a warehouse, not a store front). The other twin lives in Poland, not too far from the Ukraine border.

The twin in Poland has been buying loads and loads of food, diapers, hygiene supplies, etc... things that people in Ukraine need desperately. Our quilts were sent to Poland and recently started arriving. The twin in Poland packs them into vinyl packets which include a pillow, pillowcase, and a blanket along with a quilt. Then these packets are added to the shipment of food items. The first big shipment of quilts into Ukraine happened a day or two ago. It is very exciting to see that our quilts are there and ready to provide some comfort to people in need.

Pictures show the big boxes that arrive in Poland (this is only a fraction of them). Then you see packets as they are trucked into Ukraine and delivered. I believe the first shipment went to a place that is like a refugee camp -- temporary home for people who have fled the war. A home-made quilt will be of great comfort, I hope.

I will also include pictures of a some of the quilts I donated. I don't expect to see them in pictures, because they are a drop in an ocean of quilts. But seeing any of the quilts being delivered is a thrill. (The collection of quilts in Florida has now halted, and donations are being accepted to help with shipment of quilts to Poland as well as to help with the purchase of food and supplies being trucked into Ukraine. See Quilted Twins to donate.)

I made and quilted these.

I made these, and my cousin, Beth, quilted them for me.

Book: The Lincoln Highway

 The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

The writing is superb. The characters are diverse and real. I wasn't completely enamored with the story line, but the great writing made up for that. The last 50 pages really wowed me. Like I said, superb writing.

benches in Bulgaria

SAHRR

I finished my Stay at Home Round Robin top. Six rounds were suggested..i skipped one of them. I am glad to finally put that middle block to use after it waited for years.

 

Book Review and Stories

 I listened to two more short stories read by Levar Burton on his podcast.

Open House on Haunted Hill by John Wiswell (one thing I really liked was the secret room that was once someone's sewing room) -- five stars

The Final Performance of the Amazing Ralphie by Pat Cadigan -- three stars

***

and I finished a book: The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall.  Relationships, families, faith, friends, struggles, forgiveness -- a well written book.

Another Short Story

You Perfect, Broken Thing by C.L. Clark, read by Levar Burton at his podcast, "Levar Burton Reads."

3 stars

SAHRR Round 3 - Stars

 

This round was stars, especially wonky stars. I think I prefer regular stars over wonky ones. But I'm OK with the quilt so far... waiting to see what Round 4 will dictate.

Stay at Home Round Robin

This year I am participating in a Stay at Home Round Robin (SAHRR). It gets rounds added, but unlike a usual robin, it doesn't travel. It stays at my house, and I do all the rounds myself. The theme for each round is chosen by various bloggers.

First I chose a center block. This is one I made using a special ruler. I made it years ago, and later had a friend add to it. She did the orange rays in the middle. Then it sat for a few more years until I decided to use it for this SAHRR.

First round assignment was curves.

Second round assignment was diamonds.

That's all so far. We will get another round assignment in the next day or two.

Here's what I have made so far. Sorry the picture is blurry.

To see more SAHRRs so far, go here.

Short Stories

"Levar Burton Reads" is a podcast that I subscribe to, however, I haven't listened to much of it. Recently I decided to take time to listen to short stories read by Levar Burton. (The podcast consists of him reading only short stories.) I am happy to report, he is helping me emerge from my pandemic reading funk, finally! Hooray!

Here are the short stories I have listened to recently, along with my rating (from 1 to 5 stars).

The Years of My Birth by Louise Erdrich -- 5 stars

To Jump is to Fall by Stephen Graham Jones -- 4 stars

Drones to Ploughshares by Sarah Gailey -- 4 stars

The Usual Santas by Mick Herron -- 3 stars

The Placement Agency by Tobias Buckell -- 2 stars

Happy reading, everyone!

Quilts Delivered to Comfort Cases (Parts 1 and 2)

 Sunshine Quilt Guild is an online group whose members make quilts for kids in need around the world. One of our current initiatives is for kids going into foster care. We send our quilts to Quilts Beyond Borders which has an arrangement to provide quilts to a program called Comfort Cases. Comfort Cases gives kids a backpack with a blanket (or quilt), book, pajamas, and a few other things that can comfort a child. This is to avoid them having to carry their belongings in garbage bags. Comfort Cases is headquartered in Maryland but provides these backpacks and duffel bags to foster kids all over the U.S. If you like the idea of helping kids who are going into foster care, you could help us make quilts, or you could donate financially either to Quilts Beyond Borders or to Comfort Cases.

Recently some pictures of quilts sent to Comfort Cases were posted here. The pictures are only partial views of the quilts, so I thought I would show the pictures of the whole quilts. These are only pictures of the quilts that I helped make. Interestingly, many of our quilts are group-collaboration projects. Each of the quilts below has their own creation story, which I won't go into at this time. Here you go:

, >

In the next few days more pictures will probably be posted, and if any quilts were worked on by me, I will add the whole pictures of them here. Come back and see if there are more whole quilts to look at!

Part 2, Jan. 10 --

More of my quilts that were sent to Comfort Cases:

 This is the backing on the quilt above.

I also ice dyed the following baby blankies and sent them to Comfort Cases:

Now I am starting my next collection of quilts to donate in 2022!