What Did Women Like in 2022?

First of all - Please enjoy the content of this blog and the spirit in which it's given while ignoring the funky formatting issues. 

You might recall that over the past couple of years I have asked a few of my women friends who I know to be discerning readers, and who are well known in the mystery community, if they would share some of their favorite reads of the year.  So far!  Each of us could stumble into the pages of our all time favorite book ever between now and the end of the year.  Rest assured.  If that happens, we'll let you know!

 

This little project turned out to be a fun thing, and if you'd like to see our past favorites you can see them right here and here.  

While compiling our lists many of us have been able to add some new titles, along with some new authors, to our always growing book lists from the recommendations.

But not just mysteries.  And not sticking with books published in 2022.

We decided not to limit the books in any way.  Just some favorites we'd like to share with others.

And, with that we ended up with a wonderfully fun mix of fiction, non-fiction, children's books, crime fiction, romance, fantasy, photo books, young adult, etc etc etc.  

So.   We're doing it again this year.  

Most of you who read Meanderings and Muses know some, if not all, these women.  And what an amazing group they are; readers, writers, book advocates, librarians, teachers, reviewers, publicists, webmasters, bloggers who support authors and the world of books.    

You might run into any of them at any time at a book convention.

  

Consider this list of holiday recommendations our gift to you.

Marlyn Beebe is a retired librarian who now spends her time reading, knitting, and wrangling granddaughters.  She lives in Southern California with her husband.  They are owned by Puck, a rare tuxedoed panther. 

Alexander, Ellie.  Left Coast Literary

Harvey, Kristy Woodson.  The Wedding Veil 

Holmes, Linda.  Flying Solo

Juby, Susan.  Mindful of Murder

Kelly, Julia.  The Last Dance of the Debutante

Loigman, Linda Cohen.  The Matchmaker’s Gift

MacNeal, Susan Elia.  Mother Daughter Traitor Spy

Mandanna, Sangu.  The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.

Roberts, Nora.  The Becoming

Ryan, Jennifer.  The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle

Wiggs, Susan.  Sugar and Salt

Wildy, Janis.  The English Bookshop

Jen Forbus is a former teacher, former blogger, and life-long learner with a passion for animals and photography. 

I been motivated to pick up a number of self-help books, pet-related books, and things on political issues that are important to me. I'm also including a few children's books from what I've reviewed for Shelf. 

My favorite fiction:

1. The Winners (Fredrik Backman)

2. Hell and Back (Craig Johnson)

3. Jackie and Me (Louis Bayard)

My favorite non-fiction:

1. Atomic Habits (James Clear)

2. Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America's Heartland (Jonathan Metzl)

3. Funny Farm: My Unexpected Life with 600 Rescue Animals (Laurie Zaleski)

4. Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell (Tim Miller)

5. The Emergency: A Year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago ER (Thomas Fisher)

6. Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents (Isabel Wilkerson)

7. The Forever Dog: Surprising New Science to Help Your Canine Companion Live Younger, Healthier, and Longer (Rodney Habib & Karen Shaw Becker)

8. Loving Edie: How a Dog Afraid of Everything Taught Me to Be Brave (Meredith May)

9. Battling the Big Lie: How Fox, Facebook, and the MAGA Media are Destroying America (Dan Pfeiffer)

10. The Cruelty Is the Point: The Past, Present, and Future of Trump's America (Adam Serwer)

My favorite children's & YA books:

1. The Museum of Odd Body Leftovers: A Tour of Your Useless Parts, Flaws, and Other Weird Bits (Rachel Poliquin)

2. Bottle Tops: The Art of El Anatsui (Alison Goldberg)

3. Unequal: A Story of America (Michael Eric Dyson & Marc Favreau)

4. Pina (Elif Yemenici)

5. Seen and Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adam's Photographs Reveal about the Japanese American Incarceration (Elizabeth Partridge)

M'Lou Greene -  "My grandmother taught me to read at age 3, and I've never stopped!" 

I grade the books in my journal on a scale of A+ to C- and anything below that is a DNF.

There's just not enough time in this life to finish books I would consider less than average.

The list here are the books I've read in 2022 which rated  A- or above, and three ** got an A+.

With a few weeks to go in the year, I hope there will be another one or two to add.

Celia Imrie, Orphans of the Storm

Tim Dorsey, Mermaid Confidential

S. A. Crosby, Razorblade Tears **

Lori Rader-Day, Death at Greenway

Kim Michele Richardson, The Book Woman's Daughter **

Susan Moon, Alive Until You're Dead

A. J. Jacobs, The Year of Living Biblically

Sarah Addison Allen, Other Birds

Cornelia Read, The Crazy School

Laurie R. King, Back to the Garden

Randy Rainbow, Playing with Myself **

Richard Osman, The Thursday Murder Club

Great Novels: the World's Most Remarkable Fiction Explored and Explained

    (Not sure who to list as the author, it's a DK book and fantastic)

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who loves to talk about what she is reading. She blogs for Kevin’s Corner (https://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/) on Mondays and her own blog Happiness Is a Book (https://happinessisabook.com/) on Fridays.

Safe by Jane Adams

No Deal by J. D. Allen

Find You First by Linwood Barclay

The Lioness by Chris Bojahlian

The Lies that I Tell by Julie Clark

Runner by Tracy Clark

Unforgotten by Clare Francis

The Fear of Falling by John Harkin

The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth

Worst Enemies by Dana King

Save Me from Dangerous Men by S.A. Lelchuk

M, King's Bodyguard by Niall Leonard

The Unkept Woman by Allison Montclair

A Death to Remember by Roger Ormerod

Bobby March Will Never Die by Alan Parks

Skelton's Guide to Suitcase Murders by David Stafford

 Lesa Holstine is a librarian and award-winning book reviewer. While she specializes in mysteries, only half of her favorite books from 2022 fit that category. She blogs at https://lesasbookcritiques.com

Love and Saffron - Kim Fay

Knight Owl - Christopher Denise

The Kaiju Preservation Society - John Scalzi

The Dead Romantics - Ashley Poston

Killers of a Certain Age - Deanna Raybourn

Murder at the Jubilee Rally - Terry Shames

The Plot and the Pendulum - Jenn McKinlay

The Cloisters - Katy Hays

The Choice - Nora Roberts

A World of Curiosities - Louise Penny

And, two titles I read and loved that are released in 2023 - 

A Killing of Innocents - Deborah Crombie (Feb. 2023)

Small Mercies - Dennis Lehane (April 2023)

Maddee James, newly ensconced in a 100-year old cabin in the foothills above Golden, Colorado, loves books, pups, snowy days, someone else shoveling on snowy days, her wonderful creative work, working with her son and FaceTiming with her daughter.  

My 2022 list!

* The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, Dan Gemeinhart  (#1 favorite book of the year, and middle grade no less!)

* Alone, Megan E. Freeman (written in prose, which I didn’t think I’d like, but I loved)

* The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeycutt, Annie Lyons

* The Invisible Husband of Frick Island, Colleen Oakley

* The Secret of Everything, Barbara O’Neal

And then I did a bunch of re-reads as I was in need of comfort reads!:

* Anne of Green Gables (L. M. Montgomery)

* Maisie Dobbs series (Jacqueline Winspear)

* The Alphabet series (Sue Grafton)

* Dismas/Glitsky series (John Lescroart)

* The John Ceepak series (Chris Grabenstein)

  Patti Lang is a Reader, librarian, coloring aficionado, both nerd & geek, friend, daughter, sister, aunt, feminist, transplanted Michigander.

Patti’s Picks: Favorites of 2022

Mystery

The Homewreckers by Mary Kay Andrews

All the Queen's Men (Her Majesty the Queen Investigates #2)

by S.J. Bennett

Nonna Maria and the Case of the Missing Bride (Nonna Maria #1)

by Lorenzo Carcaterra

Viviana Valentine Gets Her Man (Girl Friday #1) by Emily J. Edwards

Blackwater Falls (Detective Inaya Rahman #1) by Ausma Zehanat Khan

The Verifiers by Jane Pek

One-Shot Harry by Gary Phillips

The Key to Deceit (Electra McDonnell #2) by Ashley Weaver

Fantasy

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen

Fiction

Bloomsbury Girls (Jane Austen Society #2) by Natalie Jenner

Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley

Romance

The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian

A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting by Sophie Irwin

These are all books I loved for various reasons; excellent writing, great characters, something different, or the right book at the right time for me.

All books are 2022. 

 

Dru Ann Love is an award-winning mystery blogger at dru's book musings (https://drusbookmusing.com/) and is Fan Guest of Honor at Left Coast Crime 2023 and Bouchercon 2023. She also does social media for a mystery author.

 

Cozies

1. Buried in a Good Book by Tamara Berry
2. Smile Beach Murder by Alicia Bessette
3. A Killing in Costumes by Zac Bissonnette
4. Vinyl Resting Place by Olivia Blacke
5. Seasoned With Murder by Catherine Bruns
6. Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns
7. Bayou Book Thief by Ellen Byron
8. Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead by Elle Cosimano
9. Murder in a Cape Cottage by Maddie Day
10. A Streetcar Named Murder by T.G. Herren
11. A Hard Day for a Hangover by Darynda Jones
12. Cheddar Off Dead by Korina Moss
13. Murder Is No Picnic by Amy Pershing
14. Six Feet Deep Dish by Mindy Quigley
15. Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking by Raquel V. Reyes

 

Non-Cozies

1. The Corpse with the Turquoise Toes by Cathy Ace
2. The Hidden One by Linda Castillo
3. The Zero Night by Brian Freeman
4. The Locked Room by Elly Griffiths
5. The Finalist by Joan Long
6. Anywhere You Run by Wanda M. Morris
7. The Wedding Plot by Paula Munier
8. No Strangers Here by Carlene O'Connor
9. Desperation in Death by J.D. Robb
10. The Middle of Hickory Lane by Heather Webber

 

2023 – First Quarter

1. Hide by Tracy Clark
2. Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun by Elle Cosimano
3. Time's Undoing by Cheryl A. Head
4. Against the Currant by Olivia Matthews
5. Encore In Death by J.D. Robb
6. Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

 

Erin Mitchell is a reader who is lucky enough to get to work for authors and publishers.

The Appeal by Janice Hallett (2022)

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger (2022)

Take Your Breath Away by Linwood Barclay

Flags on the Bayou by James Lee Burke (2023)

The Burglar Who Met Frederic Brown by Lawrence Block (2022)

A Scandal in Brooklyn by Lauren Wilkinson (2022)

1989 by Val McDermid (2022)

Rich Blood by Robert Bailey (2022)

The House Guest by Hank Phillippi Ryan (2023)

An Honest Man by Michael Koryta (2023)

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane (2023)

The Boys from Biloxi by John Grisham (2022)

Maki Morris  is a creative director who lives in Northern California and is a published author of YA Paranormal Mystery. https://makimorris.com/  She is a Certified Saké and Wine Professional and a Saké Sommeliére. She is still editing her new 19th-century Historical Romance novel.

The Go-Between, L.P. Hartley

Blood, Bones, and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef, Gabrielle Hamilton

Russian Winter, Daphne Kalotay

The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion

Falling to Earth, Kate Southwood

Favorite Classics:

Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austin

North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell

Kathy Boone Reel is a former English teacher who earned her Library of Science Masters because she loves reading and sharing reading so much.  Her blog, The Reading Room, is where she reviews the books she's read, which are 99% in the mystery/crime genre.  Kathy loves nothing better than to talk books with family, friends, and strangers on the street.

Favorite Reads 2022 from Kathy Reel Boone at The Reading Room Blog

   The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian  (2022)

Locked Room (Ruth Galloway #14) by Elly Griffiths  (2022)

The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf  (2022)

The Water’s Dead (DI Nyree Bradshaw #1) by Catherine Lea  (2022)

The Companion by Lesley Thomson  (2022)

A World of Curiosities (Armand Gamache #18) by Louise Penny  (2022)

Forgotten Country by Allan Eskens  (2022)

Back to the Garden by Laurie R. King  (2022)

Bleeding Heart Yard (Harbinder Kaur #3)  (2022)

Still Waters (F.B.I. K-9 #7) by Sara Driscoll (2022)

Murder in Immunity (Doyle and Acton #15) by Anne Cleeland  (2022)

The Bullet That Missed (Thursday Murder Club #3) by Richard Osman  (2022)

Bricks and Bones (Sin City Investigations #5) by J.D. Allen  (2022)

Widow Land by C.J. Carey  (2022)

A Three Dog Problem/All the Queen’s Men (Her Majesty the Queen Investigates #3) by S.J. Bennett  (2022)

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pat  (2022)

Fatal Reunion (Zoe Chambers #11) by Annette Dashofy  (2022)

The Girl Called Justice: The Spy at the Window (Justice Jones #4) by Elly Griffiths  (2022)

Peril in Paris (Her Royal Spyness #16) by Rhys Bowen  (2022)

Mother Daughter Traitor Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal  (2022)

Murder at the Jubilee Rally by Terry Shames (2022)

The Case of the Disgraced Duke by Cathy Ace (2022)

LJ Roberts, a professional reviewer since 2004, reviews for multiple online mystery sites, plus Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine and Mystery Readers' Journal, and has a review site at

https://booksaremagic.blogspot.com/      

 

These are some of the books I read in 2022 that stood out to me. Some were published earlier.  (edited list)

Adams, Jane - SAFE
Askew, Claire – ALL THE HIDDEN TRUTHS
Askew, Claire – A MATTER OF TIME
Cleeves, Ann – RISING TIDE
Eskens, Allen - FORSAKEN COUNTRY
Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia – DYING FALL
Krueger, William Kent - FOX CREEK
Mayor, Archer – FALL GUY
Nickson, Chris - THE BLOOD COVENANT (Simon Westow series)
Offutt, Chris – THE KILLING HILLS
Offutt, Chris - SHIFTY'S BOYS
Penny, Louise - A WORLD OF CURIOSITIES
Slocumb, Brendan – THE VIOLIN CONSPIRACY
Siegel, Sheldon - DOUBLE JEOPARDY
Siegel, Sheldon - LAST CALL (best depiction of the early days of COVID I've found)
Sokoloff, Alexandra – COLD MOON
Spann, Susan - THE FIRES OF EDO
Thomas, Will – FIERCE POISON

Sara Weiss - High school teacher/College professor, avid reader and part time reviewer. 

I have been reading almost exclusively escapism this year. For me, that’s fantasy and/or YA. A few old favorites and many new to me authors. This is my top ten for the year in no particular order. 

The Choice by Nora Roberts 

Serpent in Heaven by Charlaine Harris

Bloodmarked Tracey Deonn

The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik  

Into the West by Mercedes Lackey 

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J Maas

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots

Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro

The Left-handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nic

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi (Audio is fantastic!)

My Turn!

I read a lot of books this past year (have I mentioned how much I love being a retired person? 😊)  The entire list can be found in the sidebar.

I have noticed that my tastes in reading, while always fairly wide and eclectic, are changing somewhat.  In addition to my favorite authors,  I seem to be seeking out more comfort reads (novels and essays) and more poetry.  I'm not listing books of poetry or essays here because they seem to find me not in bound books, but piecemeal in snippets sent by friends, or showing up in blogs I read, or on Facebook.

In my 2021 list I had included a few books which had not yet been published but were published this year.  I've re-read some of them and they made the list again this year.  They are:

The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain 

Songs by Hummingbird by Peter McDade

Lost and Found in Paris by Lian Dolan 

Darling Girl: A Novel of Peter Pan by Liz Michalski 

And my favorites for this year, so far, in no particular order -

A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen

The Choice by Nora Roberts

The Color of Ice by Barbara Linn Probst

Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow

I'll Weave a Song For You by Sandra Leavesley

Secret Lives by Mark de Castrique

On the March: A Novel of the Women's March on Washington by Trudy Krishner

Flying Solo by Linda Holmes

The Kingdoms of Savannah by George Dawes Green

Half-Blown Rose by Leesa Cross Smith

Impossible to Forget by Imogen Clark

Lucy Checks In by Dee Ernst

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

The Summer of Grace by Karen Jones

And, finally, some books to add to your list to read next year.  (NOT to be missed, in my ever so humble opinion)!

When the Moon Turns Blue by Pamela Terry - Release Date Feb. 21

The Radcliff Ladies' Reading Club by Julia Bryan Thomas - Release Date June 6

No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister - Release Date May 2

And finally - here's a Christmas Book I think you'll enjoy - 

A Magical New York Christmas by Anita Hughes

Happy Reading!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas, 

the Happiest of Holidays, 

Joy , 

and Good Cheer!

And Magic!

I hope you find magic

And may I also suggest snuggling up with Eloise!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays From the Barleys

 

Happy Wishes for this Holiday Season

“Christmas Bells” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday

Buying and Giving.


I've done a little of both over the past few days.


I've bought some new snow boots. I may, or may not, need them here in the North Carolina mountains this year. But I'm guessing a time and a place will present itself.

Besides. I couldn't resist the 50% off sale coupled with my own 10% coupon. 

 And my feet love Merrell.












I love Sezane clothes. Unless they're having a really, really good sale they are usually out of my price range. That doesn't stop me from looking. 

 I wished and wished for the Sezane Gaspard Cardigan to be lowered to a price i could afford. 

 Didn't happen.











But. Thanks to Who What Wear, I discovered a look-alike.



At Old Navy.


AND the already low price was marked down 50%.

To $25.00 ! ! !

And i like the V neck better.  😊










I love love love a bargain. My mama taught me well.




And, my parents also taught me the importance of giving.




Donald and I have a few places we support that are close to our hearts.




One charity I write a check to every year and send off along with a virtual hug and a prayer is Habitat for Humanity. 

 I believe, as Habitat does, that " everyone, everywhere should have a healthy, affordable place to call home. When a family helps build or improve a place they can call home, they are also building a better community, a better life for themselves."



I wasn't always able to support the causes that are important to me.

I feel blessed and lucky that I'm able to do a little now.

Buying AND Giving.  

They both make me happy.

A Belated Birthday Gift from my Mom - Reposted

Today has been a day of gathering up little messy piles of "stuff"  that have accumulated around the house.  Sorting them and getting rid of some of them.

First thing that had to go was an old TV.  One of those great big heavy TVs.  It still worked but we  replaced it with a flat screen TV that was my mom's.

The old TV has been sitting on a table in the sunroom.  Just sitting there.  Looking ugly.  Until we just all but stopped noticing it.  That's when it's really bad - when you stop noticing it.  

Anyway - it's on its way to the women's shelter as we speak.  It and a few other things like unopened toiletries we've picked up in hotels.  Some canned goods.  Some linens.  Just stuff we don't need that someone else might be able to use.

And while doing this I finally found myself ready to tackle a box of stuff that I had put aside.

A box from my mom's.

There are still things in that box I'm not ready to go through - photo albums, etc.

But I found my birthday bag.

This silly little bag means the world to me and we have always treated it like it was a family heirloom.

Mother always put my birthday present in here.  I would open the present, fold the bag up nicely and return it to her.  And we would laugh and laugh that sometimes the bag was way more important than the gift itself.  We had reached the point where our birthday gifts were just teeny little remembrance kinds of things.  

I had told my friend Diane that I would take a picture of the bag this past November when my birthday rolled around, but I didn't.  I just wasn't ready to go to the box where I knew it was temporarily living.

But I pulled it out today so I could take that promised picture.

And there was something in there.

Y'all.

I have been a puddle since finding this.

I'm just going to let the pictures speak for themselves, other than to say, this past birthday wasn't going to be one of those silly little gift birthdays.  

My mom bought me something very special.  

She knew how very much I love pearls.  I always have.

The very first really nice piece of jewelry i received from my mom and dad for my 16th birthday was a pearl ring which i cherished.

Sadly, it was stolen from our hotel room in Amsterdam back in 1984.  I'm still mad about it.

Probably when next you see me, I'll be wearing this gift.  From now until forever.

Love you, Mama.  thank you.

miss you

❤

Happy Birthday, Annabelle!

 Today Annabelle turns 6!

She thinks birthdays are great . . .

She gets an extra treat or two, and the ice cream makes her pretty happy

but the picture taking -

             Not so much . . .

A Day of Pondering Blessings - Reposted with Hope for our Future

I posted this here in 2014.

As I, again, on this Thanksgiving Eve, ponder my blessings, this seems to be almost right.

Except.

Along with my blessings comes sadness.

And, honestly, some guilt.

Families who won't have loved ones sharing their Thanksgiving dinner with them this year, or in future years, are on the rise.  

  

Families are having loved ones stolen from them by hate.

Shootings in this country are on the rise.

Anyone not connecting the violence with the hate spewing out of the mouths of the White nationalists wearing MAGA hats is seriously delusional.  Or worse.

So yes, join me in counting blessings, but I hope you'll also join me in doing all we can to change gun laws, and get rid of those elected officials who support them.  

Get rid of elected officials who foment this hate with their own bigotry and dangerous words.

We made a decent start with our recent elections.

We can continue on this path and return this country to a place of inclusion, tolerance, and acceptance.  Let's do it.

Get Rid of the Hate

While I feel as though there are many things in the world, in our country, that need fixing, I hope I never forget to give thanks for the blessings in my life.


They are many.

I sat over this laptop drinking coffee and began listing them, and felt as though rather than expressing gratitude, it might come across as something else.  Holding those blessings in my heart was the important thing to me today, I realized.  Not sharing them with others as I have in the past.  Not this year.


And this moved me to back away from the laptop for awhile and just ponder.


Isn't it amazing the twisty roads your mind can find when left to its own devices?


It wandered widely and had me reading pieces by some of my favorite writers, looking at paintings by some favorite artists.  I read some essays by Anne Lamott, some poetry by Mary Oliver, and some randomly scattered quotes.


I ended here  -


"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." - John F. Kennedy



This seemed to be what my heart was seeking.

This.


This, I need to work on.

I Am Not Old by Samantha Reynolds

I am not old…she said
I am rare.
I am the standing ovation
At the end of the play.
I am the retrospective
Of my life as art
I am the hours
Connected like dots
Into good sense
I am the fullness
Of existing.
You think I am waiting to die…
But I am waiting to be found
I am a treasure.
I am a map.
And these wrinkles are
Imprints of my journey
Ask me anything.

~ Samantha Reynolds

Ta DA!!!!

 

ONE more step.

I'll take it to our alterations lady, Mrs. Chen, 

to sew on  a backing and we will be 

all done.

The backing is just another soft scarf which is

the same size as this one.

This was fun.

But I won't do another one.

Celebrating my birthday week. Day Two.

 

Continuing my birthday week celebration by having ice cream with my morning coffee.  

Life is good.

Future Plans by Kate Barnes

When I am an old, old woman I may very well be

living all alone like many another before me

and I rather look forward to the day when I shall have

a tumbledown house on a hill top and behave

just as I wish to. No more need to be proud—

at the tag end of life one is at last allowed

to be answerable to no one. Then I shall wear

a shapeless felt hat clapped on over my white hair,

sneakers with holes for the toes, and a ragged dress.

My house shall be always in a deep-drifted mess,

my overgrown garden a jungle. I shall keep a crew

of cats and dogs, with perhaps a goat or two

for my agate-eyed familiars. And what delight

I shall take in the vagaries of day and night,

in the wind in the branches, in the rain on the roof!

I shall toss like an old leaf, weather-mad, without reproof.

I’ll wake when I please, and when I please I shall doze;

whatever I think, I shall say; and I suppose

that with such a habit of speech I’ll be let well alone

to mumble plain truth like an old dog with a bare bone.

  "Future Plans" by Kate Barnes from Where the Deer Were. © David R. Godine, 1994

Celebrating my birthday week. Day One.

 This little cake is only 4" x 4".  Not big enough for 74 candles, but the perfect size to kick off a week of celebrating a new year.  (my birthday isn't for a few days, but it's fun to celebrate for several days instead of just one!)

"Project: Scarf"

 Progress - - -

Next step -

Add some random outlining on the hearts

In case you're just joining in on this little project, 

I'm doing a "Kaye Barley" version of a scarf inspired by a

Kerri Rosenthal scarf which I love, but is way out of my price range.

I 'm giving it my own little spin. 

After the yarn, I'll be adding some buttons.

Stay Tuned!

J

Project "Scarf"

Progress . . .

Step 1 - Scarf Project

 I have taken my first baby step . . .

😊 😄 😊

And now back to the "let's think about this some more" stage

Then I'll choose some fabric colors, 

cut out some hearts,                                                      

                                                              baste them onto my scarf, 

choose contrasting colors for yarn stitching  

add some buttons.         

And Ta DA -

Hope I Love It.

💙 💚 💛 💜 ❤