It's that time of year again...time to get all those 2023 stats from Audible, Kindle, Spotify, etc. It's so neat looking back at what I listened to and read over the past year. Here's my #AudibleStats for 2023. Not too shabby.
Stay warm and cozy out there.
I know, I know, it's been a while since I've posted, life just seems to get in the way, we can all relate, right? The last time I was here I played around with my page, made some updates, and found what I liked but then had to stop for a while. What you see is what you get right now, but I'll eventually get back to finishing it up. I've since finished book 5 of the Blood and Ash series by Jennifer L. Armentrout and now I'm impatiently waiting for the next book, I need to know what happens next in one of my favorite fantasy true love/soulmates series! I'll update my book reviews when I have a bit more time. It's almost time for me to clock into work lol.
I've also started watching a new anime series that my son recommended to me. I'm a huge Vikings fan, accurate historical and not-so-accurate stories created around it, particularly around Thor and Odin, Ragnarok, etc. So he told me to watch the series Vinland Saga on Netflix. So here I am this morning when I should be getting things ready for our 5-day cruise on Saturday, watching it, and checking out the awesome Audible audiobook sale for Cyber Monday/week. Should you wish to check out the series, here is some info on it:
I finished book 4 of the Blood and Ash series, The War of Two Queens this morning! I'm onto book 5... but first I must go get ready for work. Until next time, here is my review:
The War of Two Queens audiobook review
I did it! I finished another book, well in Audible Audiobook format anyway lol. I love holding paper/hardback books, I love the smell, the feel, and the weight of them, but I often have little time to curl up with a good book, especially with my almost 2-year-old grandson living here with us, as he demands ALL of Nana's attention. 😂 So the only way I get to "read" is when I am driving, or in my office/quilt room doing other things I need to do, like paying bills/balancing the checkbook etc. So I finished book 3 in the Blood and Ash series by Jennifer L. Armentrout. I loved the first 2 books so I've purchased the rest in the series, including pre-purchasing book 6, which is supposed to be a companion guide for the series, which I normally don't bother with. I've posted my reviews of book 3 on Goodreads and Audible if anyone is interested and included the links below:
Hello once again, my wonderful bloggers, who have had so much patience with this ADHD, OCD, post-menopausal, crotchety old lady, who keeps putting off things she should be doing for herself, such as sewing and reading, to take care of everyone else, adding their worries on top of her own. 🙅 But life does go on. I'm currently trying to catch up on my "Currently Reading" list, knocking them out as quickly as I can, while still taking the time to enjoy the stories. I've finished another one and will post the link to my review below before I sign off for the night.
I haven't sewed anything yet, other than a small coster for my desk (I'll take a picture and share it later) but I have printed out the patterns for the first couple of blocks for my Dear Jane quilt. The first block is A-1 Pinwheel Gone Awry. I'm using my own copy of Electric Quilt's Dear Jane and Susan Gatewoods' Dear Jane site, where she graciously shares her own progress.
I really, really, really want to start working on my Aves BOW (Block of the Week) quilt, I am paying for it after all. But I haven't purchased the fabrics yet and I don't want to pull from my stash because most of my stash is fat quarters and half-yards. I certainly don't have enough of each fabric to pull for the requirements. So I am purchasing the fabric a little at a time, fabric is VERY expensive don'cha know, and when I have the required amounts of each, I will begin. Until then, I am saving all of the instructions and blocks in my OneNote Aves file as well as backup copies on my external hard drive. Did I ever share an image of what it can look like if done in the colors that first caught my attention? If not, well here it is, and if so, well, sorry, you get to see it again. :)
I've linked the picture to the site where you can register for the next round that may be offered. One day, soon I hope, I will finally get to start working on it.
Let's see, what else? Oh yeah, I went fishing with the hubby. He caught a fish, and I caught a photo of a turtle sunbathing on the dock:
Now that the basic updates are all done, I'll let this be the end of my entries for today. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day/night (as applicable lol). Thanks for stopping by. Come back soon now, ya' hear?
Book review time...you can choose which site you would like to read my review on.
Side Note: Minnow Beats Whale Podcasts - You should check out the podcasts created by Terry Miles and Nic Silver. I guarantee you'll get addicted!
Just a really quick post today before I have to unplug from my personal life and plug into my work life. I know I've been slacking. I haven't been doing too much lately, to be honest. Quite disappointed with myself about it. I just can't seem to get motivated to do much of anything. I haven't been learning to code, I haven't been listening to my audiobooks since I finished the last one, and I haven't been reading for pleasure. I know I have three books I need to finish and submit reviews on, and I'm so very, very late doing that. I just have to find my inspiration to kick me in the kiester and get me going again. I know my depression has been overwhelming to me for almost 3 years now and I really don't want to go back on the medication again, but it's starting to look like I may have to. I need a life again, well more life than sitting on m fat kiester watching TV.
Speaking of TV, I found out that my very guilty pleasure show "The Only Way is Essex" is on Amazon Prime, ALL 17 seasons! I did not know there were that many seasons. I got hooked on it years ago, back in 2010 when it came out on regular TV but I never got past season 1 because life got in the way. So every morning, when I wake up early (3:30-4:30 AM) I come into the office and plug into my show. The episodes are short, around 25-30 minutes long, and I've made it up to Season 2 Episode 1 this morning. I watch it on the computer while I organize my OneNote with all my quilt patterns, writing and book reviews, etc.
Other than that, I plan on sewing for an hour or two this evening after work, as I plan every day, but never do. I really need to push myself to do it. Well, time for me to plug into work and get ready to clock in.
Stay cool my friends,
I thought I had lost my original blog because every time I tried to access it, the page would pop up for a second, disappear, and go to some weird link, so I started creating a new blog. Then, when I was messing around with "Adsense" all of a sudden my old blog popped up! Talk about releasing a considerable sigh 😎. I then combined the two, deleted the new one I had started on, and updated the look and feel. I hope it looks better.
Hubby went fishing with daddy today so I've got the day to do whatever I want without too much interruption. I'm currently listening to "The Map of Bones", book 2 in the Fire Sermon trilogy by Fancesca Haig, cleaning up the quilting emails that I've hung onto for years, saving them into OneNote, while waiting on my grandson to wake up so I can sew some today and then hopefully finish watching From on Amazon Prime with my daughter, I'm just dying to find out what the heck is going on. We recently finished season 2 of Yellowjackets, which we absolutely loved!
My weight has gone up since being placed on insulin. I can no longer take any of the newer medications like Victoza, Trulicity, and Monjauro because they have caused pancreatitis, which is not a fun thing. So I'm now up to my highest weight and struggling to lose it, especially since my spinal surgery. I'm in constant pain, but it is a struggle to do anything that remotely involves walking or exercising because of the pain, which means, even if I were to starve myself, I couldn't lose weight because I'm not able to burn the calories necessary based on my daily intake to stay alive. What a vicious cycle right? So I continue to struggle and focus on the best life I can live with pain.
So as far as my quilting goes, I've been in a pretty bad depression ever since momma passed, and it's been 9 years now! It's been so hard for me to get in here and sew, mainly because I'm using momma's Babyloc machine and we did a lot of this together. But it's also been difficult because my daughter and grandson Xaiden, who will be 2 in December, moved in, and he is all about PawPaw and Nana. Even if my door is closed, he will come up to it and knock and holler out Nana, Nana! Love my boy but makes it hard to get, and stay, motivated. I have purchased Kathryn Kerr's Aves quilt project and am also working on her 365 Challenge quilt that I never finished, not the new one called Star of Wonder that came out in 2022, although I would love to work on that one too, it's closed now. And I am also working on the Jane A. Stickle Dear Jane quilt but using paper-piecing techniques thanks to Susan Gatewood and Electric Quilt. But I am also working on my WIPs that have been shoved into the closet for 9 years now waiting on me to bring them into the light of day. I have to make my quilting a priority again because it makes me happy, and I want to be happy.
That's about it for now. I decided since I spent a couple of days after work updating my blog, that I should at least post something, and I have managed to do that. Since I started this post my daughter and grandson have woken up from their nap and are waiting on me. Have a fantastic rest of your day!
Until next time....
