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Chatty Friday

April 12, 2019 at 10:44 am by Claudia

Goodness, it’s gray and cloudy out there – both yesterday and today, with rain coming this evening. I started to work outside yesterday, but I was only out there for about 2 hours. I’m not used to working outdoors as I tend to be sedentary in the winter, and the air was that kind of damp that cuts right through you. But, I made a start.

We’ve been watching a groundhog who isn’t Henry. I see him on our property daily; he’ll investigate the places in which Henry and that scamp, Nigel, have resided. He’ll dine on some grass. He’s the same guy who periodically jumps up on the overturned wheelbarrow to see what’s going on. And invariably, he runs around the chicken wire fence at the back of the ‘corral’ and heads toward our neighbor’s shed. Does he live there? Does he live here? We’re not sure. But we’ve named him Joe.

My latest treasure from Vintage by Crystal arrived yesterday. Here it is:

She’s called Bedazzler. Talk about whimsical! I love everything about her; the base with the glitter, crepe paper and flowers, the egg with gold ‘grass’ inside, the little girl wearing lavender and yellow, holding a wire hoop of chicks and stars, sporting a hat with a little yellow chick.

Isn’t she the best? I’m in love with her.

On book reviews: I never answer comments on a book review post. I have to count comments in order to determine the winner, so any extra comments, like those that don’t have anything to do with the review itself, or a reply from me (which also counts as a comment) confuses the issue and makes it much more difficult to get a count. So if you have a question for me, please send it in an email. The address is under the envelope icon at the top of the sidebar. Or leave it on another post other than the book review. Then I can respond. In the future, I would appreciate you limiting your comments on these posts as they are meant to indicate whether you want to be part of the giveaway. Thanks, my friends.

Yesterday’s egg cup theme:

Wooden egg cups with faces. The man and woman on the left were sent to me by a reader of this blog. Those eggs are salt and pepper shakers. The sailor in the middle was a birthday gift from my girl, Scout. And the little girl on the right with the knitted cap was also a gift from a blog reader.

I’m surely blessed by all of you!

I’m reading another Ian Rankin mystery, Rather Be The Devil. I ended up liking my first venture into Rankin’s books very much indeed. I’m reading these out-of-order, which isn’t ideal, but for now, it’s the best I can do.

We watched The Florida Project  last night on Amazon Prime. A simply stunning movie. We were initially interested because we like Willem Dafoe and he was nominated for an Oscar for his performance. But we really had no idea what it was about. I put it right up there with Roma. It’s so real and the performances – mostly by people who had never acted before – are so honest that it seems like it’s a documentary. It’s an important film.

And Dafoe is amazing.

We couldn’t stop talking about it afterwards. I’m still thinking about it this morning.

Beverly Cleary is 103 today!

Happy Friday.

 

Filed Under: books, Easter, egg cups, groundhogs, movies, Vintage by Crystal 38 Comments

Book Review: The Eighth Sister by Robert Dugoni

April 11, 2019 at 10:23 am by Claudia

Today I am reviewing The Eighth Sister by Robert Dugoni for TLC Book Tours. Thank you to TLC and to Thomas & Mercer for the Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book.

About the book (from the publisher): Former CIA case officer Charles Jenkins is a man at a crossroads: in his early sixties, a new baby on the way, and a security consulting business on the brink of bankruptcy. Then his former bureau chief shows up at his house with a risky new assignment: travel undercover to Moscow and locate a Russian agent believed to be killing members of a clandestine US spy cell known as the seven sisters.

Desperate for money, Jenkins agrees to the mission and heads to the Russian capital. But when he finds the mastermind agent behind the assassinations – the so-called eighth sister – she is not who or what she is led to believe. Then again, neither is anyone else is this deadly game of cat and mouse.

Pursued by a dogged Russian intelligence officer, Jenkins executes a daring escape across the Black Sea, only to find himself abandoned by the agency he serves. With his family and freedom at risk, Jenkins is in the fight of his life – against his own country.

My review: In the spirit of full transparency, I’ve long been a fan of Robert Dugoni’s books. I have reviewed a few of the books in his Tracy Crosswhite Series on this blog; Tracy being a police detective in the Pacific Northwest. Like his other books, this book starts and ends in that same area of the country, where Charles Jenkins lives with his wife and young son.

But the locale quickly changes to Moscow, the Black Sea and other parts of the world, as Jenkins goes on his secret mission for the CIA. Dugoni clearly knows Moscow and his descriptions of that part of the world are evocative. Time and place are beautifully written in all of Dugoni’s books, so the reader feels immersed in the temperature of the air, the surrounding landscape, biting winds, the cold sea water. We are not only caught up in the story, we’re caught up in place. As it should be.

This is a new direction for Dugoni, who has at least three series going: Tracy Crosswhite, David Sloan, and now, Charles Jenkins. I haven’t read any of the David Sloane Series – he’s a lawyer – but he plays a big role in this story as Jenkins’ close friend and lawyer.

Dugoni is a great storyteller. This story has many layers, many twists and turns, and to Dugoni’s credit, I couldn’t put it down. The plot is a complicated one, yet Dugoni deftly guides the reader through it while the suspense builds to a crescendo.

I’ve read a lot of spy thrillers and they can feel a little cold and distant. I’m not sure why – is it the nature of the spy who must do his job no matter what? Who must live a life where he is undercover, precluding any sort of emotional attachments? I suspect so. However, with this book, Dugoni has created a reluctant  spy who has strong emotional attachments to his family and friends, who has a strong sense of morality, and who, despite his reluctance, commits to the mission with honor. He’s fascinating.

A thoroughly riveting and enjoyable read.

I think you’ll like this book. I know I did.

About the author: Robert Dugoni is the critically acclaimed New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite Series, which has sold more than 3.5 million books worldwide. He is also the author of the bestselling David Sloane Series; the stand-alone novels The 7th Canon, Damage Control, and The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, for which he won an AudioFile Earphones Award for the narration; and the nonfiction exposé The Cyanide Canary, a Washington Post  Best Book of the Year. He is the recipient of the Nancy Pearl Award for Fiction and the Friends of Mystery Spotted Owl Award for best novel set the the Pacific Northwest. He is a two-time finalist for the International Thriller Award, the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, the Silver Falchion Award for mystery, and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award. His books are sold in more the twenty-five countries and have been translated into more than two dozen languages.

Good news! I am giving away a copy of The Eighth Sister! (USA and Canada) Just leave a comment on this post (not on the email version of this post) to be considered. On Sunday evening, using the Random Number Generator, I will pick a winner. Good luck!

Happy Thursday.

Filed Under: books, life, TLC Book Review 36 Comments

Little Free Library & Egg Cups

April 7, 2019 at 9:34 am by Claudia

We took a walk on the rail trail yesterday. Beautiful day, lovely weather – and I’m seeing buds on some trees. Huzzah! On the way back, we had to walk a bit further than usual and noticed this at the other entrance to the trail:

An adorable Little Free Library made in the shape of a railroad car. This is the rail trail and there used to be a railroad station in our little town – right on this site – as well as a big hotel for travelers. Hard for those of us who are newish to this area to imagine, but I’ve heard lots of stories about it from those who were born and raised here.

I have a few books that I was going to donate to the library, but I just may drop them off here.

Today is going to be warmer. Still too early to do any work outside, but we may sit on the glider for a spell. We’re going to Rick and Doug’s for brunch first.

Today’s egg cup theme: Dog egg cups.

Enjoy your day – I hope the weather is getting warmer wherever you live and that signs of spring are finally appearing. It was a long, long winter.

Happy Sunday.

Filed Under: books, egg cups, libraries 24 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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