Book Review - Unforgotten by Shelley Shepard Gray

 I recently read Unforgotten by Shelley Shepard Gray.  It has two main story lines, one following Amish young woman Bethanne, who has been crippled far too long by anxiety after an attack 7 years ago, and the other following Bethanne's English cousin, Candace, who is being stalked.  Both young women have sweet romantic interests, and the suspense over the stalker is well done.  The main characters showed growth, and the suspense was well done.  I enjoyed this story.  It is a sequel, and I did not read the first book, but it is easily a stand-alone novel.  I did feel that a few plot points didn't quite make sense, but maybe they are more for the third book that I'm sure will follow.  I don't usually read Amish fiction, but this was an enjoyable story, and I liked the way it bounced between the Amish and the English sides of the family.  

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, Revell, for the purpose of writing a review, but all opinions are my own.

Dogs and Couches

I haven't taken pictures of the dogs for a while, so here are a few.

Our last couch was well beyond needing replaced.  It was downright embarrassing to have people over, and it had more holes daily.  So a few weeks ago, Nathaniel and I went couch shopping.  We ended up with a sectional, a first for us.

It seats lots of people and is very comfortable.  The kids love it.  Now I just need to hope the dogs don't do anything to destroy it.  Or the kids, for that matter. The new and improved living room seating options allow for more people, and we of course kept Gyunay's favorite red rocking recliner, so he can keep rocking daily.  It doesn't match, but hey, it's comfortable, and the boy needs to rock.

 

This and That

The boys enjoyed making these portraits that play with proportions in their art class.  They are currently studying El Greco.  My friend is a great art teacher!

Also, we worked for a bit at the church fall festival.  I was going to work with food, so I had to wear a hat.

Obviously, I borrowed one of Nathaniel's.  He couldn't attend the fall fest, because he spent the week in Germany.  Fortunately, he returned home around midnight last night.

I also cooked one of the Cinderella pumpkins:

I've made 2 pumpkin pies this week.  Both were devoured quickly, and the little boys are asking for more, so I'll probably make another.

I've also been playing with my sourdough, and these rolls turned out really well:

 

Book Review - Tea with Elephants by Robin Jones Gunn

I chose this book because I couldn't resist the idea of having tea with elephants.  I like to travel, but I've never seriously thought of going to Kenya.  This book may just change that.  The setting was so lovingly described.  I liked both of the main characters, and their friendship was believable and sweet.  This book takes the reader on a cozy journey, and it was a pleasure to read.  I noticed that it will be the start of a series of books, and I would gladly read the second one when it comes out.  

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, Revell, but all opinions are my own.

Pumpkin Carving

 Here is round one of pumpkin carving:

They all enjoyed carving and have decided to carve another day (probably later today).  Lydia carved the heart and the boys carved faces.  

The chickens got all of the seeds.  Gyunay wanted to roast them, but my kitchen was not available:

We're in the middle of a little kitchen make-over.  Nathaniel and Elijah did the very messy demo of the old backsplash, which had glass in it and was a disaster everywhere. Now Nathaniel has the tile in and grouted, and he and Elijah have been working on the switches.  We still have to seal the grout, and caulk, and then I'll paint the walls. It's getting there.... 

Pumpkins! Pumpkins! Pumpkins!

 

Lydia and Emry have been interested in carving pumpkins.  We've watched a few pumpkin carving shows, and it's fall, so this makes a lot of sense.  So I was thinking of trying to buy some pumpkins after Halloween if they were cheap, just to let them play.  My friend gave me a call on Halloween afternoon.  Near her house is a farm stand, which has a sizeable pumpkin display in the parking lot.  On Halloween, all of these pumpkins were free!

So Emry, Gyunay, and I headed to the pumpkins, in the rain.  The boys filled the back of the van with pumpkins while I paid for some apples.  

Emry carried those huge ones to the car himself!

They had the time of their lives, picking out all the cool pumpkins, mini pumpkins, gourds, etc.  I also snagged 5 pie pumpkins, 3 cushaws, and 2 Cinderella pumpkins for eating.  I don't have pictures of those.  And there are more on our porch, too.  So many pumpkins!  It was so fun.  All three of us were soaked and chilled, but it was well worth it.

Also, I never posted Halloween pictures.  Lydia put together her costume, Draculara from Monster High:

And I never got a picture of the boys.  They were all so busy running around!  We did go for a walk on the trail behind my in-laws' house to see a row of skeletons, so I took these as we walked:

Gyunay was Knuckles, a character from Sonic.  Emry was obviously Spiderman.  My mother-in-law was a hippie.  It was wet and chilly, but the boys had a blast.  Lydia didn't trick-or-treat, but she hung out at the house with me.  Nathaniel and his parents took turns giving out the candy.

October Harvest Totals

 Beans, blue lake - 5.3oz

Beans, crescent - 11.2 oz

Bok Choy - 1

Carrots - 1

Cucumbers, Edmondson - 5

Eggs - 132

Peppers, Bulgarian - 3

Peppers, sweet - 5

Tomatillos - 3.8 lbs

Tomatoes - 5

Tomatoes, paste - 5

Watermelon, sugar baby minis -2

and arugula, basil (tons!), mint, parsley, thyme, sage, rosemary, dill, cilantro, lemon balm

Several chickens are molting, and the days are getting shorter, so less eggs are being produced.  We still have plenty for us, but our friends are missing getting our extras.  In the middle of summer, I might have 3 dozen eggs to pass out a week, to the delight of our other homeschooling families.  Plus two other friends also have chickens, so between the three of us, we were keeping us all in eggs, but now one friend's hens got taken out by a fox, so the numbers are greatly diminished.  Don't worry; she's already bought new chicks.  Once you have chickens, it's hard not to keep having them.  :)