It's Thursday and I have finished some books!

As an aside.......this fall  has been so lengthy and warm that my forsythia started blooming again!

I have finished a bunch of books and in my Good Reads Challenge which was 50 books in 2016 I am at 48!  Next year I'll go big or go home...lol!
This was my Halloween read on my Kindle (on sale) and it was good as she is a powerful writer but it wasn't as good as her first book but maybe that is because it is hard to write a second book when your first one is so good and people's expectations are high.  But she writes like no one else and her uniqueness means I will probably always read whatever she writes.....her stories are intriguing.

AMAZON:  "From the instant #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Thirteenth Tale comes a “poetic and mysterious” (Booklist) ghost story that will haunt you to your very core.

Caught up in a moment of boyhood competition, William Bellman recklessly aims his slingshot at a rook resting on a branch, killing the bird instantly. It is a small but cruel act, and is soon forgotten. By the time he is grown, with a wife and children of his own, William seems to have put the whole incident behind him. It was as if he never killed the thing at all. But rooks don’t forget…

Years later, when a stranger mysteriously enters William’s life, his fortunes begin to turn—and the terrible and unforeseen consequences of his past indiscretion take root. In a desperate bid to save the only precious thing he has left, he enters into a rather strange bargain, with an even stranger partner. Together, they found a decidedly macabre business.

And Bellman & Black is born."

I stopped reading this one to read my Halloween book so I will now be getting back to this absolutely fascinating true story!

 and this one also which I am almost finished with...to be honest after Halloween I sort of forgot aobut my Kindle books.  It's new for me to have books on a tablet so I have to remember! Crazy huh?  That's what old age does to a person! LOL!

 This one is more of a reference book and so I have been carrying it around with me as I do my "deep cleaning".

 I finished this one which wasn't very long but I need to go and find her blog as I used to follow her and really enjoyed her posts.

I also finished this book....are you seeing a theme here?  It's the cleaning I've been doing and still working on and trying to rid myself of so much stuff that has accumulated over a lifetime.

This is a FREE Kindle book on Amazon and although I was familiar with her ideas it was good to have a refresher course and it reminded me of my Aunt Bernice who practically raised me.

 I also finished All Creatures Great and Small and I highly recommend!!!!  It was a joy to read and 400 some pages of joy!  I haven't started the next one yet..........

 Amazon states:  "Contains memoirs of Scottish veterinarian James Herriot's heartwarming and often hilarious stories perfectly depicting the wonderful relationship between man and animal. His wonderful stories make us laugh and cry, as we marvel at the everyday miracles he creates."

Okay, I know this is famous and was on PBS but I just don't "get it"...it is very boring and maybe I'm missing something.  In this case maybe the movie is better than the book.  If anyone can enlighten me as to what is so fantastic about it I am all ears.  I will forge ahead as books have surprised me in the past but so far this one has it's work cut out for it!

Amazon states: "The wellsprings of desire and the impediments to love come brilliantly into focus in Evelyn Waugh's masterpiece-a novel that immerses us in the glittering and seductive world of English aristocracy in the waning days of the empire.

Through the story of Charles Ryder's entanglement with the Flytes, a great Catholic family, Evelyn Waugh charts the passing of the privileged world he knew in his own youth and vividly recalls the sensuous pleasures denied him by wartime austerities. At once romantic, sensuous, comic, and somber, Brideshead Revisited transcends Waugh's early satiric explorations and reveals him to be an elegiac, lyrical novelist of the utmost feeling and lucidity."

I'm still listening to this audio........there are 11 sides in all on tape....very good and funny....really enjoying it.

I finished my O magazine but haven't picked up another and I am also reading a book on "prepping" for disasters of any kind but I forgot to take a picture.  As for watching and listening: I am still loving Knitting Pipeline audio podcasts...I think I'm on about 90 now of over 200 some.  I'm trying to catch up watching The Gilmore Girls before the new season starts on Netflix the 25th of this month and I have watched Inside Number 23 video podcasts and her Vlogtober which was great!  She came to the U.S. and was at Disneyworld on Halloween and shared it all....so neat as she went through the Harry Potter park also at Universal Studios?  Since I will probably never get there it was so awesome to see it!  She's a gem and so talented in knitting and sewing.  

I think that about wraps up my reading this week and last.  Tomorrow I will show you my "porch progress"!  Moving right along!

Happy Trails!  

P.S.  Still trying to catch up with everyone!  I have missed you all!

YOP Week #20

They say it was a DNS 'glitch' and that the DNS (domain name server) got 'corrupted' but I'm not buying it! LOL!  Someone did something to my PC and I'm banking on Microsoft with their auto installs when you're back is turned!  So, I'm back in business now and have access to my own blog which I couldn't get to.  Truth be told.....it happened a few other times but I ignored it and was so busy with other things but then when I couldn't even access my own blog....I had to take action and deal with it.....so that's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I have been cleaning and clearing like a woman possessed but with an old person's energy level.  Not much handwork as I have been trying to stay focused on getting the porch clean and in order and outside work done before it gets too cold.  This is what happens when you read a cleaning book and learn about a miracle cleaner like Krud Kutter (plus my trusty vinegar!).....I can clean anything now! LOL!
But here's what's on my hook and needles.............only 3 more rounds to go and then the border on my Giant Granny Square!  I am determined to finish things up around here!  Remember when I could do a round in an evening?  Now I can only get 1 side done in an evening!  This is bigger than I thought but I still adore it!

This is about 3 squares bigger than when I took this picture and I have been keeping up with my 3 squares a week on my CMB (Cozy Memory Blanket).  This project is so enjoyable that it's hard not to want to do more than those 3 but I have Christmas and birthday gifts to make also.

My Halloween gift to me arrived!!!!  In a little box filled with goodies..........

So pretty and cute!

and they even send you wool stuffing.........I love wool in all it's many forms........

Speaking of the holidays coming up.  I am curious how many of you knit/crochet or make handmade gifts for people?  I heard a word the other day....'knit worthy' and it made me think of people I have made things for.   I'm not sure all of them are 'knit worthy' so I am re-evaluating who gets my handmade items, if any.  Plus, my handwork is my reward at the end of the day but for most of the year it seems I am making for others.  I don't mind at all but I'm not getting my projects for me done and I'm not sure they really appreciate the time it takes to make their items.  I'm not saying they're not appreciative or grateful, I just don't think they care if it's handmade or bought and I'm not sure they might not like 'bought' better.    I'm curious what your experiences have been and what your take on giving handmade items as gifts is.  Next week I think I will be showing you "a whole lot of cast ons"! LOL!  Why am I always behind?  But still loving my life and the fact that I get to chose what I want to do each day (within my budget that is).  I hope you are all well and survived the political apocalypse.....now the REAL work begins and I pray that our president can search his heart as to what is best for ALL Americans not just a select few.  Time will tell but I will be praying for him and our country. 
As an aside........I just found out that Gwen Ifill died at 61 of cancer.  I had no idea she was even ill.  She will be missed as a caring and intelligent journalist of the finest kind.  Isn't it funny how you can get to know someone and care about them without ever having met them?  Kind of like us bloggers.
Happy Trails!