Books Read in 2015

The annual tradition continues. I compile a list of the books that I have read and highlight my favourites. I use GoodReads.com to keep track of my reading. I read a total of 68 books this past year. That is more than I read last year so that is a fun acheivement. The reason I read so many books is that I read lots of short mysteries. Some paper books and some ebooks. I read twenty three Agatha Christie books (Miss Marple and Inspector Poirot books).

I also discovered a "new to me" fiction series - Mrs. Pollifax. She is a senior citizen who is bored with her life and starts working for the CIA and goes to various countries undercover. The audio book versions are especially fun.

My top two books, because they stuck with me for so long, are Light Between Oceans and Fever. I listened to both of these books. Audiobooks are great for me since I have a tendency to read too fast and skip things. Audiobooks allow me to really get the most out of a book.

Light Between Oceans

Light Between Oceans is fictional account of a young couple who live on an island off the coast of Australia. After multiple miscarriages, a boat washes up that contains a live baby along with a dead body. The choice they make to keep the baby and pass it off as their own has desvastating consequences.

Fever

Fever by Mary Beth Keane is historical fiction. A very well written account of Typhoid Mary (Mary Mallon) including the  three years she spent in isolation on North Brother Island. This was a fascinating story of her life.


Deep Down Dark

This is a non-fiction book. Hector Tobar interviewed the 33 men who were trapped in the Chilean mine in August 2010 and tells their stories. I learned a lot from this book and it was inspiring.

Choosing to See.

This is a memoir of sorts by Mary Beth Chapman. The Chapmans lost their daughter Maria in a tragic car accident in 2008. Quite honest and not sugary sweet. Hard to put down once I started reading it.

Fierce Convictions

I had never heard of Hannah More before I read this book. She is a fascinating woman who helped to end the slave trade in Great Britain. A contemporary of William Wilberforce.

Another book that I enjoyed in 2015 was The Girl on the Train.

Girl on the Train is fiction. A thriller. A page turner.

What do I plan to read in 2016? Well, I have a copy of All the Light We Cannot See on my shelf so I should really crack that one open!

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Christmas 2015

I can't believe Christmas is over already!  I wish the radio stations wouldn't stop playing Christmas carols so quickly. Here's our tree.

The closest I came to a theme was little glitter houses and churches.

 I'm thankful for all the fires we've had in our fireplace. So cozy.

For Advent this year we read through this book every night at suppertime. Unwrapping the Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp.

It goes through the whole Bible. Every day there was an ornament to hang. Here is the completed tree.

On Christmas Eve we had a little trouble finding fast food since I really didn't want to cook! At 6 pm lots of places were closed. Taco del Mar came through for us. Here is a photo of us in front of the tree at Christmas Eve service.

Christmas morning I had a hard time getting up due to my sore throat and tiredness. J and the boys were very patient to wait for me and didn't open presents without me.  I made overnight French toast casserole so breakfast was pretty easy.

My present was an espresso machine. J's was a oscilloscope.

I don't really understand it but J loves it. The boys received clothes and games. C is really into Star Wars so he was given a stuffed R2D2.

He likes making things out of paper so he really liked his star wars paper kit. A loved his new football and a candy dispenser shaped like the Lombardi trophy. He also liked the big box of Mike and Ike's candy. A got a big Seahawks sign for his room. The new board games are Ticket to Ride, a nice chess board, and Settlers of Catan. The new video games are Madden Football and Fifa Soccer.

We had some friends over for dinner.

I appreciated the company since again my parents didn't come for Christmas. It was fun having a baby here. He liked playing with our Little People Nativity.

sorry, a bit blurry.

We are wearing paper crowns since we always do Christmas crackers after dinner. I made two floral arrangments for the table, using flowers from the grocery store and Costco.

On the menu was turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing/dressing, carrot souffle, cranberry sauce, and we had a chocolate mousse cake from Costco for dessert.


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My Christmas Mantle

click on photo for a better view

I'm happy with my mantle this year. I love the look of the multiple candles but I'm not planning on lighting them. I'm embracing red more (in Christmas decorating) than I used to. I think a rich red goes really well with my robins egg wall.

Sources:
- the large sign I bought at Ruffles and Rust vintage show a few years ago.
- the pillar candles are from WalMart, Home Goods, and Cost Plus World Market.
- I made the pom pom trees. Directions are here.
- I made the red poinsettia tree a few years ago. Styrofoam base with multiple picks glued on.
- The red glitter candle (on far right) is from Hobby Lobby.
- The cedar sprigs are from my backyard.


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Some Christmas crafting

I enjoy making Christmas-themed crafts. I usually make something new every year. This year I made a shadow box nativity and a bunch of pom pom trees. I have some other crafts that are not completed, but that's OK. :) Crafting is a great activity to keep my sanity while the 3rd football game of the day is on TV.

In the background is my new accent chair. It matches my robins egg blue wall really well!

The pom pom trees was an idea I found in Creatively Christmas - a book I checked out from my library.

These trees are very easy to make.
Directions:
- paint the paper mache trees white with acrylic paint. The trees came from Hobby Lobby.
- glue the pom poms on. I used white Tacky Glue. Leave some spaces for the jingle bells. You will need approx. 150 pom poms no matter what size you use.
- glue on the jingle bells. You will need approx. 40.

The shadow box nativity was an idea that I found at Ben Franklin craft store in Monroe.

The figures are all buttons. They are made by Dress it Up. I found some of the buttons at Hobby Lobby and some at Ben Franklin. The shadow box came from Ben Franklin. The background is starry night scrapbook paper. If you make this, be sure to cut the shanks off the backs of the buttons. I used E6000 glue for this project and spanish moss for the "hay." My hubby wants me to add LED lights to this.

This paper wreath hangs in my kitchen.

I made it last year using a kit from Paper Source - a store in Bellevue and University Village.



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Impressionists at the Seattle Art Museum

Me by Picking Flowers by Renoir. I got too close the first time and got in trouble with the guard. :)

I am a fan of the French Impressionists. When I heard there was a special exhibit coming to the SAM from the National Gallery, I was ready to go! I brought my friend Mary with me. It was free day at the museum (first Thursday of the month) which meant this special exhibit was cheaper to enter. It is normally $24 for adults but it was $12 on the day we went.

Here are some of the paintings that I enjoyed. I was surprised at the size of them. Some were super small! I discovered an artist that I wasn't familiar with - Boudin. I took photos of many of his paintings. Remember to click on the photos to see a larger version.

Festival in Harbour of Hornfleur

Washerwoman at Trouville

Beach at Trouville

The next artist in the tour was Pierre August Renoir. there was a portrait he painted of his friend Claude Monet:

Claude Monet

This next painting was probably my favourite.

Picking Flowers by Renoir

Young Woman Braiding Her Hair by Renoir

Degas was next and this is one of his most famous paintings. It is very small in person.

Dancers Backstage

More paintings.

Paris, Rue de Parme on Bastille Day by Bonnard

Orchard in Bloom by Camille Pissarro

Breton Village by Odilon Redon

If you are local, you can still see this exhibit. It is in Seattle until January 10, 2016.

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Indian Corn Wreath

I haven't made a wreath in a while. When I was changing my decor for fall, I realized that I needed a fall wreath for outside. I decided to make an Indian corn wreath.

Supplies needed:
- straw wreath form
- Indian corn (real, not faux) - these come in various sizes. I picked the medium ones. Fred Meyer had a large quantity, which I needed. I used 34.
- glue gun with lots of glue sticks.

I'm pretty happy with the outcome. Even my 12 year old said it was cool, which is high praise. :)


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One Thousand Gifts #508 to #514

Sometimes on the hardest days, it is the best time to count gifts. Even if this list was created a while ago. :)

508. A very warm and sunny summer.

509. My husband got out of Amazon intact. He worked there for 5 years. Have you read this article? Horrifying.

510. Running into a former principal from our school at a summer festival.

511. C had a fantastic baseball season.

512. A has the same excellent soccer coach that he had last year.

513. I have geraniums STILL blooming. I bought them in April!

514. My husband continues to love his job. Plus, his bosses love him. :)





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Evergreen State Fair

boys watching animal races

We spent half a day at the Evergreen State Fair (in Monroe) on August 27th. It was opening day which meant free admission until 1 pm. Parking was 10 dollars so that was a bit painful. My boys weren't interested in any rides, even the gentle ones, like the giant swing or the ferris wheel.

We saw lots and lots of animals. The bunnies are adorable. So many different kinds. I think they are my favourite animal, at the fair anyway.

It was fun to see the guinea pigs since we have owned a few ourselves. The cutest breed is the teddy bear.

I enjoyed posing with the minion made from hay bales.

Near the minion, we ran into a former writing teacher of A's so that was a fun surprise.

We also found Smokey the Bear, carved out of wood.

We saw many baby pigs.

Fair food we consumed was scones with jam, a corn dog, lemonade, and a milkshake. The scones are the best deal going at $1.50 each!

Our last activity was the animal races. I was expecting pigs racing other pigs but this was more of a comedy race with some racing animals plus others that really don't get into racing such as a turkey and a duck. Here is the turkey santering around the track.

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Summer Memory: Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium

walrus

I wanted to sneak in another family outing before school started. We went on August 22nd. Point Defiance Zoo Aquarium was easily seen in an afternoon. It is a smaller zoo than the Woodland Park Zoo (Seattle) but I think that is a good thing. We saw almost ALL of the animals (that weren't sleeping or hiding) during our visit. That isn't possible when you go to the Seattle Zoo, unless you spend the entire day there and come home exhausted from all the walking!

The setting is gorgeous, right on the coast of the Puget Sound, which you can see in the distance.

The first animal we encountered was the Asian elephant.

Giant Porcupines

Camel ride. My boys weren't interested in riding a camel but I was!

Walrus

Puffin

The polar bears were a no show so we took a photo by the picture that shows the actual height of a polar bear. More than twice my height!

Red wolves

Little owl

I reallly enjoyed the aquarium, although the boys went through it too fast.

They have sharks!

Sting ray.

The leopard cubs were the cutest part of the zoo.

It was a good family outing. If you go, be aware that you may encounter some traffic slowdowns as you near Tacoma.

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