Books I read in June and July.........

 The Flight Portfolio by Julie Orringer

MARSEILLE, 1940. Varian Fry, a Harvard-educated journalist and editor, arrives in France. Recognizing the darkness descending over Europe, he and a group of like-minded New Yorkers formed the Emergency Rescue Committee, helping artists and writers escape from the Nazis and immigrate to the United States. 

Amid the chaos of World War II, and in defiance of restrictive U.S. immigration policies, Fry must procure false passports, secure visas, seek out escape routes through the Pyrenees and by sea, and make impossible decisions about who should be saved, all while under profound pressure—and in a state of irrevocable personal change.

In this dazzling work of historical fiction—one that illuminates previously unexplored elements of Fry’s story, and has, since its publication, brought us new insight into his life.

Super good book and very interesting...............

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall

Beth and her gentle, kind husband Frank are happily married, but their relationship relies on the past staying buried. But when Beth’s brother-in-law shoots a dog going after their sheep, Beth doesn’t realize that the gunshot will alter the course of their lives. For the dog belonged to none other than Gabriel Wolfe, the man Beth loved as a teenager—the man who broke her heart years ago. Gabriel has returned to the village with his young son Leo, a boy who reminds Beth very much of her own son, who died in a tragic accident.
As Beth is pulled back into Gabriel’s life, tensions around the village rise and dangerous secrets and jealousies from the past resurface, this time with deadly consequences. Beth is forced to make a choice between the woman she once was, and the woman she has become.
A sweeping love story with the pace and twists of a thriller, Broken Country is a novel of simmering passion, impossible choices, and explosive consequences that toggles between the past and present to explore the far-reaching legacy of first love.
Really good, with a surprising twist at the end.
Sandpiper Island by Donna Kaufmann

Ford Maddox was running from his past when he came back to Blueberry Cove, Maine, where he'd tasted both heartache and comfort. With feisty Delia O'Reilly there to cheer him on, he couldn't have picked a better place to start over--even if he's determined to do it alone in his island tree house, working to save endangered seabirds. . .and himself.  But when he finds Delia fighting to hold on to her local diner, and all that's best about their little seaside town, Ford has to lend a hand. Suddenly two fiercely independent people are building something sweeter than they ever imagined. . .together.

DIY is so much better with two. . .

I did not enjoy this book, it was just an okay read for me.

Blood Lines by Nelson DeMille, Alex Demille

Army Criminal Investigation Agents Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor have been separated for five months following their last assignment, a dangerous mission in Venezuela to locate and detain an infamous Army deserter. Now, in Berlin, they are reunited and tasked with investigating the murder of one of their own: CID Special Agent Harry Vance of the 5th MP Battalion, an accomplished counterterrorism agent who had been stationed in western Germany, and whose body was discovered in a city park in the heart of Berlin’s Arab refugee community.

The authorities suspect this is an act of Islamic terrorism, but Brodie and Taylor soon believe there is more to this case. The reason for Vance’s presence in Berlin is unknown, and as Brodie and Taylor work to discover what the murder victim was doing in the days and weeks preceding his death, they become immersed in the many conflicts and contradictions of modern Germany—the Arab refugee crisis, the dark legacy of the Cold War and the Stasi secret police, and the imminent threats of a rising neo-Nazi movement. At the same time, they are butting heads with the authorities—both German and American—and facing a possible threat from American intelligence agents who fear that Brodie and Taylor might have learned too much about US clandestine operations during their mission in Venezuela.

Ultimately, Brodie and Taylor realize that the murder of Harry Vance was merely the prelude to a much more sinister future event—unless they can unravel the mystery in time to stop it.

This had me on the edge of my seat, especially closer to the end.  Really good book, never read anything by this author before.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

With courage, grace, and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah captures the epic panorama of World War II and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women's war.
The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France—a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime.

My mother brought three books over by Kristin Hannah with her when she visited.  She left me this one to read and it was so good.  I was in tears in parts of this.  Very moving.

Home Front by Kristin Hannah

Like many couples, Michael and Jolene Zarkades have to face the pressures of everyday life—children, careers, bills, chores—even as their twelve-year marriage is falling apart. Then a deployment sends Jolene deep into harm's way and leaves defense attorney Michael at home, unaccustomed to being a single parent to their two girls. As a mother, it agonizes Jolene to leave her family, but as a solider, she has always understood the true meaning of duty. In her letters home, she paints a rose-colored version of her life on the front lines, shielding her family from the truth. But war will change Jolene in ways that none of them could have foreseen. When tragedy strikes, Michael must face his darkest fear and fight a battle of his own—for everything that matters to his family.

Another book my mother left me to read.  Again such a lovely sad book, again had me in tears.

Wives Like Us by Plum Sykes

Take a grand English country house, one (heartbroken) American divorcee, three rich wives, two tycoons, a pair of miniature sausage dogs and one (bereaved) butler; put them all into the blender and out comes the impossibly funny romantic comedy Wives Like Us, the new novel from the best-selling author of Bergdorf Blondes and Party Girls Die In Pearls, Plum Sykes.

If you think the English countryside is all green wellies, muddy Land Rovers and grey-haired ladies in tweed, then you’ve never visited ‘The Bottoms.’

Welcome to the rose-strewn county of Oxfordshire, and the tony Cotswold villages of Little Bottom, Middle Bottom, Great Bottom, and Monkton Bottom, recently annexed by a glittering new breed of female in this witty social satire: the Country Princess. 

Following a ghastly row about a missing suite of diamonds, Tata Hawkins has flounced out of Monkton Bottom Manor with her daughter, Minty, and Executive Butler Ian Palmer in tow, decamping to The Old Coach House to teach her husband Bryan a lesson.

But things don’t go to plan: Bryan disappears to Venice with a bikini designer; Selby Fairfax, the glamorous American divorcée who has inherited the beautiful estate next door, is refusing Tata’s overtures at friendship; Tata’s best friends, Sophie Thompson and Fernanda Ovington-Williams, are distracted by their own heartache, and the posh Pennybacker-Hoare sisters are plotting to prevent Tata regaining her crown as Queen of the Bottoms. Worst of all, in a classic case of rich people problems, Ian has nowhere to store his collection of vintage Gucci loafers.

Will Tata ever return to the comforts of the Manor? Will Selby find her Prince Charming? Will the Pennybacker-Hoares prevail? With the help of a pig farmer-ess moonlighting as a Personal Assistant, a male model moonlighting as a stable hand and a London barrister moonlighting as a gentleman farmer, can Ian restore harmony to The Bottoms?

Loved, loved this book.  Made me laugh so much.  Read it super fast.  You can't help but roll your eyes at some of the antics.

Dream Harbor Box Set by Laurie Gilmore

I bought this boxed set during a Prime Amazon day, so got them cheap.  I had been wanting to read these books for a while.  I did enjoy them, but they were pretty easy to predict storylines, nothing taxing on the brain.  

Spy by Ted Bell

When a mysterious explosion destroys his research vessel in the middle of the Amazon, Alex Hawke is captured by Indigenous cannibals. Before he manages to escape, he learns that a fearsome foe is preparing for war—but against whom?
When he regains contact with his American and British intelligence counterparts, Alex’s worst fears are confirmed. In the jungle are highly trained Hezbollah warriors who are planning an unspeakably violent jihad against America. While the United States focuses its efforts on the escalating border disputes with Mexico, Alex vows to put a stop to the deadly plot—no matter the cost.

This is a sitting on the edge of your seat good.  I will say though, I thought the ending was wrapped up too quickly and neatly for me.

The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill

Abducted as an 11-year-old child from her village in West Africa and forced to walk for months to the sea in a coffle—a string of slaves— Aminata Diallo is sent to live as a slave in South Carolina. But years later, she forges her way to freedom, serving the British in the Revolutionary War and registering her name in the historic “Book of Negroes.” This book, an actual document, provides a short but immensely revealing record of freed Loyalist slaves who requested permission to leave the US for resettlement in Nova Scotia, only to find that the haven they sought was steeped in an oppression all of its own.

Aminata’s eventual return to Sierra Leone—passing ships carrying thousands of slaves bound for America—is an engrossing account of an obscure but important chapter in history that saw 1,200 former slaves embark on a harrowing back-to-Africa odyssey. Lawrence Hill is a master at transforming the neglected corners of history into brilliant imaginings, as engaging and revealing as only the best historical fiction can be. A sweeping story that transports the reader from a tribal African village to a plantation in the southern United States, from the teeming Halifax docks to the manor houses of London, The Book of Negroes introduces one of the strongest female characters in recent Canadian fiction, one who cuts a swath through a world hostile to her colour and her sex.

This was so good I could not put it down.  Well worth the read.

So a lot of different books read by me over June and July.  I hope you find some that you may want to read at some point.

Couple of Diamond Art projects..........

I was in Michael's craft store the other month and stumbled upon a section with items that were designed by Johnathan Adler.  Now I have no idea who the heck he is, nor am I interested, but there were some things I fell in love with, including the diamond art kit that I made in the photo.  This is not a great photo of it, as it is framed and behind glass, so you can see the reflections.  However you can see the piece here online.

It took a little while to do, but was very straight forward and is really nice in person.  Also what was nice, was I was able to buy an off the shelf frame to put it in.  It is 16 inches by 20 inches, so a nice size.

The poppy print was given to me by a friend who was visiting Austria (I think), and is so pretty.

Then I had the girls visiting, so picked up some crafts, and one of the crafts was a set of three bookmarks to make again from the Johnathan Adler collection.  The one below was the one I kept, and the girls got one each as well.  Super simple and a very fast make.

Have you done any diamond art work?

Farmer's Market/Craft Show......

We went to a Farmer's Market/Craft Show the other day in a place called Gravenhurst.  We've been to Gravenhurst before and I will share more photos from there; but in this post I wanted to talk about selling home made crafts.

As many of you know I have done that with my sewing, so I know how much work is involved creating your masterpieces to sell.  I also know first hand, that if you were to charge for all your time, plus materials in creating your items, no one would want to buy them at crazy price.  So I do appreciate it when items are priced fairly.  Finishing off your items to a highest standard is a must in my books, as it's a very competitive market out there.  They must look as professional as possible and I must say there were a couple of vendors at the market where the finished product needed a bit of polishing up to bring it up to standard!

Now onto things I was impressed with.

RedBeard Yarn.  A super nice guy and I just loved all his colours.  The majority of his yarn is $20 a skien, I think he said the mohair was more?  

He told me he is having a giveaway, I am guessing on Instagram?  His Instagram link is here

This hat was knit with his dyed yarn that he calls Skittles.  He didn't have any left in stock.  I was very tempted to buy some yarn, but I haven't done any knitting in ages.  I am sure if I look around I will find some yarn in the house.  However, yarn is like fabric; you can't have enough!!

This lady lake glass/pebble pictures.  The quality was a super, and she does custom orders.  Reflections In Stone.

This lady's Instagram page is @earthen_obsession  I really loved her platters.  You can see more of her items there. And yes, I did pick up the poppy, as everyone knows I adore poppies.  I think it was a brooch?  I talked to her for a bit, as our daughter did a pottery course through parks and recreation and was telling her about that.  I loved the glazes this lady did.

Finally I loved this lady's products and plan on buying some closer to Christmas.  I was very taken with the Fruit Loops soap, and the Unicorn Poop soap...LOL  Here is her Instagram link where you will see more of her products.

If you get a chance check out this people all deserve our custom!

Facebook Marketplace................

 As you know I have been selling a bit of stuff on Facebook Marketplace this year; and have been quite successful with decluttering stuff.  However, it's now been put on hold until October, and for an unusual reason.

We live in a small tucked away, on it's own subdivision at the south end of the city.  There is a pretty easy way to get to where we live from the rest of the city but it involves using a particular intersection/road.  Back at the beginning of July they closed off this intersection for road works.  Luckily there are a couple of other ways to get to us, but one involves going through another subdivision and they are building houses all over the place there.  The second way also means going along a larger road, which is also partially closed down with road works.

"The straw that broke the camel's back" though was back in July when I decided to sell a pair of bowling shoes I had to a "directionally challenged" woman.  I truly thought I was going to lose my mind with her.  She was driving and her husband was in the passenger seat, and she wouldn't listen to anything he or I said!!!

After dealing with her, I decided I would hold off from selling anything else until the intersection is open in October!!

I did however sell this coffee/dessert set in June, after it being put on Facebook Marketplace back in the summer of 2025.

The reason it sat so long, was it is a Ukrainian brand, therefore a specialized item.  It sold to a man who was originally from the Ukraine.

So roll on October, when the intersection is open, and I can get back to decluttering!!!

Rainbow Bridge

If you have ever owned a pet, you are familiar with "The Rainbow Bridge."  We were visiting the town of Gravenhurst the other week and walked over an actual "Rainbow Bridge."

A lovely thing to have in the waterfront park.

Itchy Boots........

My new latest obsession..........

I have no desire to ride a motorcycle, but I stumbled upon this Dutch lady's video's and fell in love with her video's.

You have to admire how adventurous she is and how brave she is going to some very dangerous countries, by herself.   The main reason I love the video's is I get to travel with her to places I will never ever go to.  She has many series, I have no watched many yet, as I only "found her," within the last couple of weeks.

I hope you find time to watch some episodes, they are generally around 20 minutes long.

I think my adventurous days are over with now!

One of the best books I have read in a while..........

 Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

I picked up a damaged copy of this book during a "moonlight sale" in a town where we were visiting the other week.  I had seen it advertised and it looked interesting.  Thought it would be a book I would enjoy.

Prior to reading this, I thought it would be pretty straight forward, but the more I got into the book, the more the author twisted the storyline, until at the end, you went wow, I wasn't expecting that.

I understand where the author got the idea about the "influencer" part of the story from, in fact I could see from "which influencer's" she based her main character on, Ballerina Farm and The Pioneer Woman, just to name a couple.  I will say the main character, Natalie got on my nerves after a while, but I just had to read more, as I didn't understand the going back to the 1800's part of the story.

I gave it a very solid 4 out of 5 stars.  However, there was a lot of mixed reviews about this book.  Was it worth all the hype?  A bit, because despite reading a week or two ago, I am still thinking about it.  The ending was what made the book for me, I could never have predicted the ending..........

Have you read it?  If so what are your thoughts?