Well I finished my Tasha Alexander series read and am feeling really relieved to be done. The last in the series, The Counterfeit Heiress, left me with decidedly mixed feelings. I hate to say much because I don't want to spoil it for anyone here. It was compelling, I didn't care for the subject matter and constantly considered reading the ending so I could be done but kept turning those instead! It did end interesting but glag to be taking a long break from thos series......no more have been written! :lol:

I seen anything in regards to trilogy versus ongoing series. I have to agree the last book feels like ongoing series. I did find this intervew which is fun. Anne Bishop and Patricia Briggs discussing their new releases.....http://www.usatoday.com/story/happyeverafter/2015/02/19/patricia-briggs-anne-bishop-interview-book-tour/23628577/ Continuing my Lady Emily series by Tasha Alexander read. Almost done with them. Set in Victorian England with a heroine who is a bit of a feminist. I enjoy them. Also trying to get through the Faith Hunter Skinwalker books while I have them available.

If not otherwise specified at that time it is dinner. Which means pretty much anything from cheese and crackers to dessert is fine. If you were just planning appetizers you are going to need extra plates!

:lol:

Instead of reading my huge stack I have spent my free morning learning my counties in England. Thought some here might want to try what I found on memrise so posting the linkhttp://www.memrise.com/course/8607/counties-of-england/. I think I have cleared up my Herefordshire/ Hertfordshire/Hampshire and Surrey/Suffolk/Sussex confusion. Lol.

I have joined many groups where I really don't fit, be it religious or teaching style. We have tried to make friends in all of them and have been successful occasionally. ;) I have to be honest and say the places we all fit are not really where I would have expected to so I would keep trying. Sometimes it just takes one person in that group with a similar interest and your whole perspective changes. ETA. My definition of fitting can be rather loose......perhaps dd is reasonably happy, ds has no real friends but the other boys tolerate him, but the activities are something I could never provide with any other group. If I keep my mouth shut i'm good. Yep, did that. Fitting in can look really different depending on the group.

Double post, sorry!

The wartime intelligence article is fascinating. I hear so many stories of life during the war that always amaze me. Rationing went on for so much longer in England. One of my friend's mum was a really creative cook and replaced sugar with parsnips very successfully in many recipes. She made something with a parsnip recipe as an example years ago and it was really good, as in even my kids were willing to eat it. Think it was a sweet bread. Lol

So sorry. :grouphug:

I typically like King Arthur legends and loved doing the Once and Future King as a read aloud many years ago. I think we just did the first part but not sure. Anyway I remember it as being pretty funny. Oddly enough Mary Stewart's King Arthur series was a fail for me. I just could not connect. One of my first adult historical novels as a young teen was about Arthur and his court. I remember loving that book but can't seem to find it anywhere. It was a paperback that I pulled off my Sil's bookshelves titled Lenore or something similar. It featured Arthur's true love from childhood who was very loyal to him through his entire life. Very romantic and quite sad, ending with her and a loyal servant burying him.

:grouphug:

:grouphug: I hate feeling pressure to read anything. Tends to set me up for failure says the woman who hasn't finished her Austen yet. Everyone in my life except dh seems to be curious about my lack of progress. grrr I don't even dislike the book just find it hard to read under pressure. Please note: I finished my Bronte. When I found you actually looks interesting so will be curious about your reaction to it. I admit it looks like something that I would add to my stack and shuffle around for a month or two before returning in a book purge.

I am over 50 with pretty good skin considering that I spent several of my younger years as a very fair skinned sun worshipper. I started using clinique eye creams and face creams in my early 30's and think it has paid off. I use their sun protection products also. Many of my favourite activities involve the sun and I try my best to protect my skin.

I just read your blog also. I am so sorry and will be praying. I have to add that I read quite a bit more than the linked entry. Absolutely fascinating and very inspirational. I wouldn't worry too much about traditional school right now. Books and games should be fine while your son is healing and you are all settling into your move.

Just finished Faith Hunters Raven Cursed. I can understand why Robin just reread these! Because of our groups recent zentangle fascination which seems to have crossed over to some of my quilting friends I am going to post a link for a tangle pillow sham tutorial.http://tweloquilting.blogspot.com/2015/03/sys-2015-tutorial-2-quilting.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+QuiltingPaperPiecingAndCrafts+%28Quilting%2C+paper+piecing+and+crafts%29. If anyone decides to have a go she also has a skill building tutorial to practice with first.

I did workbooks with dd starting at 2 because she was determined. Some of her favorites were Pathway (the Amish ones), MCP phonics, Abeka art workbooks (easy projects with themes), Funtastic frog serieshttps://www.rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?subject=10&category=2327, and a book from the Critical Thinking Company the used manipulatives extensively. She also loved jigsaw puzzles.

I just finished the fourth Julian Kestral mystery, The Devil in the Music. Amy recommended these over a year ago and they are very good. This one started a bit slow but the ending was really great. Partly because it was a good ending and partly because it set up a loop back to the first book in the series (which is now back on my list) Normally that wouldn't be significant but the author died after writing this bookhttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/201535.Kate_Rossso it is sort of interesting to think that her series loops back to the beginning. Sad because Julian never has a real love interest and because of huge forshadowing I am confident he was waiting for a wonderful little girl to grow up.....Book 5 or 6 would have been so special! ;( I highly recommend these to historical mystery readers.

Stacia, you will be pleased to hear that not only did the first library I checked have a copy but they have a 3 person waitlist. Very impressive for a but thats been around for 70 plus years. This is just an FYI for anyone planning to read the new Harper Lee sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird - the waitlist at my library is now over 125 and it won't be released until summer. The book appears to be surrounded by a bit of controversyhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/11391083/Harper-Lees-To-Kill-a-Mockingbird-sequel-greeted-with-both-delight-and-suspicion.html

Yesterday DH came into the room dd and I were in to tell us where he was going. Unfortunately we were both reading. About an hour later (we got hungry) and had absolutely no idea where he had gone or for how long. What to do about dinner....ended up with pizza, late. :lol:

:lol: Love the book....just in case, but my dd travels with a back up book too! You never know....... I have been accused of having them so I would have free pack mules! They don't appreciate hearing that pack mules would actually be cheaper!!!!

I will try very hard to set my prejudice aside, but A Novel just sound stuffy! The villians series is great. I had no idea Gormenghast http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/24/baddies-in-books-steerpike-gormenghast-mervyn-peake was a movie! Started the series a few years ago as a preread for the dc's and liked it. Set it aside due to issues with the physical book I had bought, heavy with small print. Need to see if it is on overdrive......I also want to see the movie now, book first for all of us!

I thought the Guardian article was pretty funny so thank you. I have to admit when I see A Novel written on the cover of a modern book, that isn't going to be confused with self help or other genre's, I don't continue to look at it normally. I immediately assume it will be too pretentious and end up being something I won't finish. Multiquote still isn't working for me. Mom-ninja, The thought of drinking warm smelly milk when pregnant, ugg. You are a brave and very kind woman!!!!! Our friend brings home boxes of chocolate from his trips because it is all he can really find to bring (other than some odd gag type presents that ran out severl visits ago) for our gang. The chocolate is good but the fillings interesting. Since no one can read the labelling ( Cyrillic script) everyone takes the same shape, tastes, and discusses what the filling might be. Some are obvious(orange, coconut...) but the creamy vaguely nutty ones are different. OK, but different. Think of it as wine tasting with the kids..... lol

Imo there are many similarities between Saxon and Abeka math. Saxon has Dive cd's which I have no experience with but otherwise similar format with abeka being more colourful. Both my kids loved Abeka because of the colour and writein books. We also did Singapore math so they are somewhat complementary. I would shift over to Abeka when you finish 3b. The first 50 pages or so will be review so your dd will be able to see how familar concepts look in Abeka compared to Singapore.

We haven't tried to do serious school on the road for quite awhile but when they were younger it was easiest when we had a thin portable workbook, quite a few Key to Math workbooks were finished while we travelled. With that in mind I wonder if something like CLE might not be a great way to get a 'get it done' type course completed on the road while making steady progress with the math. Personally I would aim to get a course at a time all the way done and have fewer subjects to complete when back home.

The differences are pretty amazing. All I could think of was a poor desperate traveller innocently ordering a cuppa...... :lol: Reminded me of a good friend who has been traveling frequently to one of the _stans for work, he trys to bring his own teabags and was thrilled when cows milk started being available. Horse milk is apparently not tasty in tea. ;)