13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson




I tried. I can't finish. 70% through but it's just so badly written. It's an assault to my intelligence. Great title, though.



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Goodbye, Gretchen

Such a good dog. A long, healthy, happy life. Today, one month shy of being 14 years old, she had to be put down. We knew it was coming and that did not make it ONE bit easier.

Ready for tomorrow's biographical presentation of Ben Franklin.

The Adults: A Novel by Alison Espach

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book started out really interesting. I read 25% of it the first night. Amazing writing, clever storytelling and characters. But halfway through the book...it fizzled. It seemed the author spent way more time on the first half then quickly had to finish to meet a deadline or something. Characters didn't develop fully, and the quality of writing seemed closer to first than final draft, so that was disappointing.



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Book Review: A Widow's Story

A Widow's Story: A Memoir by Joyce Carol Oates

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I've not read anything by JCO before, but wow, her writing is perfection. The subject matter is tough, sad, heartbreaking, but so well done.



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Scrapbook Storage

I was featured in this article about scrapbook storage.
http://www.sj-r.com/features/x1966819452/A-place-for-your-scrapbook-stuff

Disney Cruise Fish Extender Gifts for our Cruisemates

As every scrapbooker knows, scraplifting is a common practice!  And that's what I did.  For our Disney Cruise gift exchange, I made these paper bag scrapbooks.  I made 20 so far.  Every one is very different because for the most part I used items that I had on hand. What a great way to get rid of extra crafting materials!  

Things I still have to do:

1.  Make more.  So far 22 families have signed up but the sign-up deadline is midnight October 15, so I'm going to wait until then to make however many more we need.

2.  Make a cute little poem or explanation about what this is, so they know that it's a scrapbook, and that all that is left is to plop in photos and journal a bit if they wish.