I have this one on hold and am now really looking forward to it! I mentioned the Scandinavian book Quicksand a couple of days ago in a "not very sure I want to read this manner. " It turned out to be very good. I found this review which describes it perfectly without spoilers. https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2017/march/quicksand-malin-persson-giolito I love that they call it a whydoneit as opposed to a whodoneit. That is exactly what it is. Why was the girl sitting in the room unharmed with dead and dying people around her at the start of the book? Written totally in the first person we slowly discover what happened to her. There is a great deal of social commentary mixed in with the why. Eta. I fixed the link I also want to give a bit of a warning ;) about World Literature Today which I just linked. I just spent way to long reading various articles in that publication. Did you know that there are zombie fracking novels https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2017/march/fracking-novels-scrabble-zombies-and-problematized-real-susan-smith-nash or that Korean Noir is the next Scandi Noir https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2017/march/crime-mystery-korean-crime-novels-next-big-thing-j-madison-davis? I could spend all day reading all those articles and add countless books to my tbr lists. I couldn't find a Zombie Fracking novel at the library and not sure if I am sad or relieved! :lol: Probably going to try the Korean Noir soon but there are so many Scandi ones left to read......

Ethel, Another good Southern author is Sharyn McCrumb. Her ballad series is good. I have only read the first few but enjoyed them. http://www.sharynmccrumb.com/ballad_overview.html I've also read her cozy series. It's one of my favourites! :)

Stacia regarding Scandinavian Mysteries...... The Dinosaur Feather is one of my favourites https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/the-dinosaur-feather-by-sj-gazan-is-a-weird-and-ingenious-new-mystery/2013/12/08/e87599e6-5c21-11e3-be07-006c776266ed_story.html I like James Thompson, Ragnor Jonasson, and Lotte Hammer too. :)

Have you looked at Timberdoodle for ideas?https://timberdoodle.com. They generally have a great assortment of kits etc.

I have several books started but started one that others might he interested in because many of us like Scandinavian fiction. I waited a really long time for Quick Sand https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30724110-quicksand which was billed as a Swedish bestseller. I waited so long I completely forgot what it was so was a bit surprised to discover it was about a school massacre. :( I am still at the horror stage but the first 50 pages have kept me engaged. It's not a traditional mystery at this stage. Totally written in the one survivor's/ killer pov so far. I need a book that starts with a Q so at least for now continuing........

I finished listening to a cozy mystery this morning called The Cracked Spine which I believe Jenn read a few weeks ago. Enjoyable but not fabulous is my rating. Certainly good enough that I will continue with the series. Set in Edinburgh....Amy might enjoy it. Since I mentioned Jenn who kindly hinted to me to get War and Peace on audio a couple of weeks ago I have to say that for me she was right! I managed to listen for a few minutes before heading out for church and think the audio is brilliant. Fairly sure it is still Maude. I should be able to catch up this week since I have tons of work on the quilt planned! I finished June's Birthstones today!!! MOONSTONE.... The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins PEARL... The Secret Pearl by Mary Balogh And by reusing some of the Alexandrite books P....The Chalk Pit by Elly Griffiths E....Evan and Elle by Rhys Bowen A....All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders R....Black Ribbon by Susan Conant L....Lord of the Wings by Donna Andrews ALEXANDRITE A.....All the Birds in the Sky by Charle Jane Ansers L.....Lord of the Wings by Donna Andrews E.....Evan and Elle by Rhys Bowen X.....I am Princess X by Cherie Priest A.....About a Dog by Jenn McKinlay N.....The Nightingale before Christmas by Donna Andrews D.....Devil's Breath by GM Malliet R.....Black Ribbon by Susan Conant I.....The Ideal Wife by Mary Balogh T.....Taken by Benedict Jacka E.....Everything and the Moon by Julia Quinn

Moving over to our current thread so everyone will see it. :)

I'm going to post this via multiquote over on this weeks thread so everyone will see it. :)

Our garage has shelving units including down the center. Very organized. But no room for a car!

:grouphug:

Let me do a bit of translation......O levels (old name, think these phased out in the 80's) equal Gcse essentially. The exam system is undergoing a major change with the phase in for the new gcse being this year. Dd's bf is very panicked about the new numerical system.....1 to 10 with 9 being the highest in the preliminary year. These new exams keep being referred to as bringing back the O levels because they were much more harder. Key Stages I believe translate to 4th and 5th forms. In year 9 I think they do KS 3.....it definitely comes right before gcse work. I need to go to bed. Will check in tomorrow! :)

Magpie Murders is a book I have on hold so I am glad to hear you are enjoying it! As I said we never quite moved into the system and have always needed help to fill out paperwork for contests so I wouldn't somehow mess them up. Pretty sure I have this right, my kids are in bed already. ;) Years are very determined by birthdate. No holding back, skipping years etc. Pretty much you tell someone your child's birthday and they know which year. Sixth form means in College so US equivalent of grades 11 and 12. Grade 11 is the AS level exams and Grade 12 A level. Year 9 would be grade 8, basically the year before they start prepping for GCSE exams, which is year 10 and 11. Eta....This is how confused I was when we first moved....We saw Colleges all over and I thought they had an incredible number of Community Colleges. No, I just kept seeing high schools. :lol: Now some offer what in the US might be a degree like a Community College might offer many are your run of the mill high school. In many cases Secondary and College are in one school.

Heather, Before I forget schools in England do have houses for Secondary. Not all but some both government funded and private. That being said since I home educated both my kids I have very little understanding of it but the names are odd, the Romans sounds totally possible. Years ago one of dd's friends who was a year older started secondary at the government school which is our catchment, so very probably where my kids would have gone. It was brand new (that meant new building with a new name) and first year open. I remember asking lots of questions because of a vague potential to put dd in school and she was divided into a multiyear house with a cute name. She also agreed it was rather like HP without the hat. ;) She was thrilled with her house and had an assigned big sister to help her adjust. I finished That Summer by Lauren Willig on audio. I ended up enjoying the story but it had several pretty glaring things wrong in terms of living in England which irritated me greatly at the start. I would rate it as reasonably good fluff. A woman inherits a home in London from an unknown Aunt. She had been raised in New York after her mother's death when she was five. Goes to London to sell the house and becomes immersed in the mystery of her ancestors and a work of Pre Raphaelite artist. Totally fictional but entertaining after I got used to it. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21556708-that-summer

I totally agree but want to say that I have been so grateful for some old posts over the years that said exactly what the student did and what the results were for these exams and SAT Subjects. Doing these exams on our own has been stressful...... Yes, for outside providers I can see where it could be a problem and possibly unfair if someone rates their programs unfairly. Hopefully everyone will be as honest as you regarding the extra work asigned etc. For students that are studying on their own it's really helpful to know that a student getting x on a practice exam in Barrons received x on the actual in 2017 for instance. Some of those old posts were my main encouragement. Dh got really tired of hearing we were on track according to someone's ancient post! ;)

Wow!!! It's beautiful. I have to agree that it doesn't look like a first project at all. Those youtube videos are obviously awesome. I made a baby blanket for dd using that technique and it turned out pretty bad so I know how much work that was. Sending hugs and prayers his way. I did finish Benedict Jacka's Taken this morning. Loved it. I'm currently reading The Chalk Pit by Elly Griffiths. It's the latest in a favourite series that features an archaeologist who is a professor in Norfolk. No need to read every single book in the series but they should be read in order or there would be way too many spoilers in the on going storylines!

My audio books are all from the library on overdrive. I fin the Kindle prime interesting and pretty tempting. I just go by chapters. I have no idea how to play them faster but suspect I would find it hard to listen to if I did. It's easier just to read a few chapters before returning to the audiobook. I read far quicker also.

I haven't looked at prior years score distribution to compare but it seemed like the percent of 5's and 4's was smaller this year when I looked earlier this week. I know I had thought the percentage of 5 grades on the Statistics exams was higher than what this year's reality indicated.

I have been known to go back and forth between audio and ebook. No problems and sometimes it means you can move on when a story is a bit bogged down!

Thanks for reminding us to go look. We used a proxy and have seen the scores. He is pleased. :) The kids have a good friend over who is doing the UK exams and her scores won't be available until the 20 something of August. AP exams feel like they take forever to be graded but that really puts it in perspective. Many of the UK exams have multiple parts but I know she took an exam the same day as his AP. Eta....Statistics AP, self taught, reviewed using Kaplan and Barron. Did a practice exam out of the ways to a 5 book at end.

No idea about eye exercises but my vision did improve pretty dramatically while I was pregnant with ds. I credit all those hormones. I was nearsighted as a teen and needed glasses to see the board etc. I ended up required to wear glasses to drive. Had contact lenses but preferred glasses for tv watching. At the time I was unexpectedly hospitalized while pregnant Dh could not find my good glasses. Neither could my mom or bf. Lots of old scratched pairs were discovered. I kept one pair with an irritating scratch for emergency use with me but decided I was apt to lose any new ones and decided to wait. I was in hospital for 3 months with a game show loving roommate. Who Wants to be a Millionaire started while I was in and was on almost every night. It's hard to play Millionaire when you can't read the screen so I squinted my way through and improved with time. After the baby I wasn't really thinking about glasses and didn't even look for them for a few weeks as I was driving with prescription sun glasses. I had pretty much gave up glasses and found my contacts irritating. At my next eye exam my vision was greatly improved. I was told to get the glasses requirement off my license. I did and have since passed the eye exam portion in another country. I guess I did exercises but I think the fact I did them while pregnant was what generated the improvement!

No idea about eye exercises but my vision did improve pretty dramatically while I was pregnant with ds. I credit all those hormones. I was nearsighted as a teen and needed glasses to see the board etc. I ended up required to wear glasses to drive. Had contact lenses but preferred glasses for tv watching. At the time I was unexpectedly hospitalized while pregnant Dh could not find my good glasses. Neither could my mom or bf. Lots of old scratched pairs were discovered. I kept one pair with an irritating scratch for emergency use with me but decided I was apt to lose any new ones and decided to wait. I was in hospital for 3 months with a game show loving roommate. Who Wants to be a Millionaire started while I was in and was on almost every night. It's hard to play Millionaire when you can't read the screen so I squinted my way through and improved with time. After the baby I wasn't really thinking about glasses and didn't even look for them for a few weeks as I was driving with prescription sun glasses. I had pretty much gave up glasses and found my contacts irritating. At my next eye exam my vision was greatly improved. I was told to get the glasses requirement off my license. I did and have since passed the eye exam portion in another country. I guess I did exercises but I think the fact I did them while pregnant was what generated the improvement!

I hugely prefer the HP books to the movies but the owls really are fabulous in the movies. I think you definitely need to see those! I am actually considering a reread of the series because so much is missing. I am actually feeling rather lost in the movies because I find the missing bits rather confusing. I think you would enjoy the Doctor too! :) We had a honey baked ham not gamon tonight. We told the dc's that was their celebration. We actually have had barbeque party's here several years when the holiday falls on a weekend. A couple that of years ago a major pub chain that we go to for dinner frequently had a huge Second of July celebration that we accidentally attended. Yes, they had the date completely wrong. We had to ask exactly what the holiday was and were told it was a popular American holiday. It was pretty funny because everyone there was clueless....wearing cowboy bootsvand hats. I don't have Jane's corset quote but my audio book actually had a line about stiff corsets today....lol.

Happy 4th of July to those in the US! I had forgotten and couldn't figure out why dh wasn't in his Tuesday noon (our time) meeting. ;) Cloudy and overcast here with no barbeque celebrations in sight.

I am another with multiple books in progress. I always have one on my Kindle Fire which is something fairly fluffy in case I can't sleep. Right now the only paper books in the stack are some craft books and my extra W&P. I have a few books started on the Kindle along with W&P. All with very different settings. For me that's the key to keeping them separate. I don't read two paranormal books at once or two Fullerton's without mixing my characters. Right now most of my reading is light so I tend to dip into various books until I hit a "good" part and concentrate on the one book until I finish it. I am back to listening to audiobooks which frequently are chosen because they were available. ;) Currently I have a Laura Willig which could be better but it's short. Waiting for W&P. I am currently trying to finish one quilt all by hand for a local show at the beginning of September and am panicking a bit. Current pace with no interruptions (always happen) means a mid August finish I think. So lots of audio and tv lately. I'm actually watching HP with dh and really watching it. Dh always sleeps through HP and hasn't read the books so he's a bit behind, last night he looked up and comment that the owls must be the mail service ....:lol: I have sat through (read through) these movies so many times with you and that bit just clicked! We have the Peter Davidson Dr. Who's out too.

We just lived through a huge disagreement with our former church over the installation of a huge mobile phone tower in the bell chamber. Our home is within the 100m zone and our kids ring there. Quitting ringing and attending there is easy but our home is a different matter. The tower was eventually scrapped but lots of anger in our little village still. I own one of the EMR measuring devices now. ;) Fascinating and scary. One thing to think about is do you really want a cordless phone in your house? Both my newish one and our neighbour's measured scary levels. Both were good as in name brand expensive models. We have both gone back to cords.....why take a risk when the fix was so easy. One of our biggest obstacles in our fight was the fact that while many seem to accept power lines are dangerous, most considered government guidelines good enough for phone masts which have not existed long enough for any long term health study to exist. I personally would not buy near lines or a mast but if I considered it I would want a substantial discount. We did buy next to a pub and took 5% off our offer for that. Electrical lines would be bigger. We actually found a chart giving percentages in the UK. I now understand some odd UK rules regarding the zoning C of E churches and would take money off any offer near one of those. I would never buy near a C of E again no matter how picturesque. Resale and studies not available are my big reasons for staying away from both power lines and masts. Personally I think the effects are probably going to be cumulative. If you live a relatively low EMR lifestyle living by powerlines and mobile towers won't matter. We live a relatively high emf lifestyle with wifi and streaming prime etc. so would prefer not to add to our amount until we know from real studies. Posting before I lose this......