Another Good One

I enjoyed Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks

October Book Club!

Britney hosted this month...so here is a blurry picture of her!

And as is true for all book clubs, the food was wonderful!

We reviewed Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng.

The Language of Flowers

I just finished reading The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, and wished I could've discussed it with all of you!  Has anyone read it?  Is anyone reading this?  Probably not.  Sorry to see the blog has gone to the wayside.  I miss seeing what you're reading, what you're eating, and of course seeing all of you!  Tried to help start a book club here, but it's fizzling fast.  People are just too busy these days (or have more friends than me).  What have you guys read in the last 6 months?  What are you reading next?  Dying to know.  Miss you all.  Please write soon.

Christie :)

And the winner is...

The Orphan Train is our April Book!  

Vote on April's Book

here are a few choices for April's book. Vote either in the comments or via text or email.  I'll tally the votes and we'll have our winner!

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST
From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, the beautiful, stunningly ambitious instant New York Times bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.

Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.

In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure’s converge.

Doerr’s “stunning sense of physical detail and gorgeous metaphors” (San Francisco Chronicle) are dazzling. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, he illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. Ten years in the writing, All the Light We Cannot See is a magnificent, deeply moving novel from a writer “whose sentences never fail to thrill” (Los Angeles Times).

The art of love is never a science: Meet Don Tillman, a brilliant yet socially inept professor of genetics, who’s decided it’s time he found a wife. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which Don approaches all things, he designs the Wife Project to find his perfect partner: a sixteen-page, scientifically valid survey to filter out the drinkers, the smokers, the late arrivers. 

Rosie Jarman possesses all these qualities. Don easily disqualifies her as a candidate for The Wife Project (even if she is “quite intelligent for a barmaid”). But Don is intrigued by Rosie’s own quest to identify her biological father. When an unlikely relationship develops as they collaborate on The Father Project, Don is forced to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie―and the realization that, despite your best scientific efforts, you don’t find love, it finds you.

Arrestingly endearing and entirely unconventional, Graeme Simsion’s distinctive debut “navigates the choppy waters of adult relationships, both romantic and platonic, with a fresh take (USA TODAY). “Filled with humor and plenty of heart, The Rosie Project is a delightful reminder that all of us, no matter how we’re wired, just want to fit in” (Chicago Tribune).

Penobscot Indian Molly Ayer is close to “aging out” out of the foster care system. A community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping Molly out of juvie and worse...

As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, Molly learns that she and Vivian aren’t as different as they seem to be. A young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance.

Molly discovers that she has the power to help Vivian find answers to mysteries that have haunted her for her entire life – answers that will ultimately free them both.

Rich in detail and epic in scope, Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, of unexpected friendship, and of the secrets we carry that keep us from finding out who we are.

Christmas Party!

We met at Brenda's house for the Christmas party this year. There was so much food and it was all so delicious!

I didn't make it all the way around the table so sorry if I didn't get a picture of what you brought!

Game time! We played Family Feud and it was a lot of fun with a lot of laughter.

These ladies are trying to decide on a group answer for Family Feud.

Kristie holding little baby Greta.

The competition is on . . .

And now the white elephant gifts! I also didn't get pictures of everything, sorry!

Group shot in front of Brenda's beautiful tree!

November Book Club

I didn't take many pictures, but the food was delicious. Thanks Kristie!

Baby Greta came to chat with us!

The book we reviewed this month was

What we are reading next

December- Christmas Party/ While Elephant. Hosted by Brenda

January- The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Hosted by Shannon/Reviewed byStephanie

February- The Hellhound on His Trail by Hampton Sides. Hosted by Sharron/Reviewed by Kara

March- The Husbands Secret by Liane Moriarty. Hosted by Stephanie/reviewed by Britney

April- The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters. Hosted by Kara/reviewed by Shauna

May- What Alice Forgot by Liana Moriarty. Hosted by Shauna&Heidi/Reviewed by Bethany

June- The Girl you left Behind by JoJo Moyes.  Hosted by Kristie/Reviewed by Brenda

July - No book club

August- Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.  Hosted by Bethany/Reviewed by Shannon

I would highly recommend...

Wonder by R.J. Palacio.  Maybe many of you have already read it, but if not, you should!  I enjoyed reading it with Robyn and Carly, and discussing it with them.

Here is the recipe for the pasta salad from our June Book Club. Thanks Sharon!

Bowtie Pasta Salad 

16 oz bow tie pasta cooked and cooled
1 bag baby spinach leaves
1 red bell pepper sliced
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 large can mandarin oranges drained
2 cooked seasoned chicken breasts chopped (omit this if you want vegetarian)
1/2 cup sugared pecans
Poppy seed dressing

Lightly mix ingredients together in salad bowl.

Poppy seed dressing

1 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 c sugar
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp mustard
1 TB minced onion
1 TB poppy seed
Blend ingredients together in a blender or food processor for 2 minutes.  Dressing will be thick.

Sugared pecans

1 cup pecans
1 TB orange juice
3 TB sugar

Heat the juice and 2 TB of sugar in small fry pan.  Add the nuts and stir gently for 2 minutes until the juice is absorbed.  Transfer to small bowl.  Add the rest of the sugar.  Spread nuts on foil on cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 for 8 minutes.  Cool and store in fridge.

June Book Club

Sharon put on the spread for us at our June Book Club. She spoiled us with an amazing pasta salad, fruit, cheese and crackers, bread, and of course the pavlova. It was so good.

The pavlova was oh.so.good. I vote that we have a best of book club night so that we can repeat some of these amazing dishes. Let's be honest. I wish that all of you would be my personal chefs. Please?

Brenda, Sharon, & Kristie

Kara, Heidi, Shannon, & Bethany

We reviewed Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling. We all really enjoyed the book. 

Thanks for hosting Sharon! We had a great time!

May Book Club

Bethany, Heidi, Kara,
Kristie, Britney, Sharon, & Brenda

We had a great time at Brenda's. Her food was amazingly delicious (as always!) and this was all that we had left....

Yep. That good.

I was able grab a couple of pictures before we devoured it. She made a delicious shrimp sauce to go over angel hair pasta...

When I asked Brenda what it was called she said "dinner." My family would love it if I could come up with such delicious dinners on my own, but that is not one of my talents. Sigh.

She served a side of french bread followed by ice cream with fresh fruit.

It was so delicious. Yum.

It was an evening filled with delicious food, laughter, and great conversation. Our discussions ranged from the to book, The Night Guest, to motherhood and all you can accomplish before 9 am. ;)

Thanks Brenda for a great evening! We missed all of you who weren't there!