{ News of the World Book Winner }

Alright friends, thank you all for entering the book giveaway. 

I used Random.org to draw the winner, and here are the results:

#6 - Sue Pike

Congratulations Sue!!!!   Please email me at bourlandcs@msn.com, with your address so that I can get the book off to you. :)

{ The Light in Summer by Mary McNear - TLC Book Tour }

 

About The Light in Summer

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (June 20, 2017)

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Mary McNear brings you home to Butternut Lake and a novel filled with irresistible characters who you will want to call your friends.

It’s summertime on Butternut Lake, where the heat of noon is soothed by the cool breezes of the evening, where the pace grows slower, and sometimes, just sometimes, the summer light makes everything clearer...

For the lovely Billy Harper, Butternut Lake is the place she feels most at home, even though lately she feels the only one listening to her is Murphy...her faithful Labrador Retriever. Her teenage son, Luke, has gone from precious to precocious practically overnight. Her friends are wrapped up in their own lives, and Luke’s father, Wesley, disappeared before his son was even born. No wonder she prefers to spend time with a good book, especially ones where everything ends in perfection.

But Billy is about to learn that anything is possible during the heady days of summer. Coming to terms with her past—the death of her father, the arrival of Cal Cooper, a complicated man with a definite interest in Billy, even the return of Wesley, will force her to have a little bit of faith in herself and others...and realize that happiness doesn’t always mean perfection.

“Butternut Lake is so beautifully rendered, you’ll wish it was real.”—Susan Wiggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author  

“This triumphant story had me reading until the wee hours of the morning.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber on The Space Between Sisters

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

 

  

Photo by Amelia Kennedy

About Mary McNear

Mary McNear, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Butternut Lake series, writes in a local doughnut shop, where she sips Diet Pepsi, observes the hubbub of neighborhood life, and tries to resist the constant temptation of freshly made doughnuts. Mary bases her novels on a lifetime of summers spent in a small town on a lake in the northern Midwest.

Connect with Mary on Facebook.

My Thoughts:

Oh my word, I absolutely adored this book.  It was a good, fun and easy ready from the very first page.

You know how sometimes you open a book and start reading and find it quite hard to get into?  For some reason the words don't seem to flow, or it has too many details or descriptions or whatever.  Not this one, it captured me from the very first page and I zipped right through it, every chance I got.

Here's the only issue I had with the book......the fact that it's part of a series which I have NEVER read before and it made me sad that it was the first time I was hearing about the Butternut Lake series.  Hahah 

The story itself was deliciously cute and romantic and everything you would expect in a summer read.

I didn't feel that I was lost or confused, or missing something from the previous books.  AS much as I want to go back and read the previous parts of this series, this is pretty much a stand alone story.

The main characters are Cal who has shown up to his family's old summer cabin, in his flashy fast sports car, needing a break from life and wanting to hide away from everything and everyone.  His sister lives in Butternut Lake, is married with children and pretty much takes Cal in when he needs a crying shoulder.

The other half of this pair is Billy, who is struggling to deal with her 13 year old son Luke.  He is a teenager, rambunctious and full of attitude and she's just not doing very well with it all.  Her father passed away and he was a huge influence in Luke's life, so with his passing, Luke lashes out at his mom.  One thing I also love about Billy is that she's a librarian, and a Jane Austen fan (helloooooo fellow sister).

We are thrown into the usual and quite predictable love story, but that never stops me from enjoying the journey.   This is the quintessential summer read, perfect to throw into your beach bag.

{ Happy Homemaker Monday - 07/03/2017 }

Hello everyone, welcome to another Happy Homemaker Monday.  First week of July 2017, my goodness, I am having a hard time believing how quickly time is flying this year. 

Let's go ahead and get our day started, shall we?

The weather:::
Looks like we have a beautiful week ahead, plenty of sunshine and quite warm too.

Right now I am:::
Drinking a cup of coffee with Sweet Italian Creamer, typing up this post and watching "On the case with Paula Zahn" on the TV.


On my reading pile:::
Finishing up The Light in Summer which I'll be reviewing this week.


Movies or Shows I watched this weekend:::
I actually found a website that contains just documentaries and watched two really good ones. 
My Amytiville Horror - One of the boys from the Lutz family who fled the very famous Amytiville house. 
Interview with a Poltergeist - Surrounding the case of the Enfield Haunting, it was very interesting.  


On my TV:::
General Hospital
The Outsiders (really curious about this show so giving it a go)
ID Discovery Channel


On the menu for this week:::

Monday
Fried Chicken with milk gravy, mashed potatoes    
Tuesday
4th of July Barbecue - Hawaiian Chicken, Burgers, Bratwurst, Potato Salad, BLT Pasta Salad, Red, White and Blueberry Pie, Star Spangled Slab Pie.      
Wednesday
Instant Pot Chicken Casserole, Butter Garlic Spaghetti
Thursday
Crockpot Cubed Steak with gravy, Roast Potatoes  
Friday 
Asian Chicken tenders, Basmati Rice   
Saturday
Crazy Pizza Bread 
Sunday

 

On my to do list:::
Nothing today, my house is clean, I've done my baking for the week, so I'm relaxing today and getting ready for tomorrow's barbecue.  I may make the desserts this afternoon, but other than that, nothing else.


What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::
Part 7 of the Atlanticus was just released, so I'll be working on that today.

Looking around the house:::
It's clean, it's tidy, I'm happy!!!!       


From the camera:::

What I'm wearing today:::
Still in my nightie, it's pretty early still, not even 8am.  I'll get dressed later today, will probably put on a comfy dress, or a skirt, or shorts.  Not sure yet. 

  
One of my simple pleasures:::
Watching Documentaries, especially those history related, crime, mystery etc. 


Inspirational Quote, Bible verse, anything you want to share:::

{ Let them eat cake }

Sunday's are my kitchen days.  I usually bake, especially if I have anything that needs using up.  I stock up on cookies, replenish any homemade mixes that are running out, or make freezer breakfast burritos.

Today I baked 3 different cakes.  A delicious Victoria Sponge which is a family favorite.

 

A banana bread because I had bananas that were going bad.

 

And a Date and Nut Loaf which my sister in law loves, so mainly did it for her.

Now this wasn't all for us, we had the family over for coffee/tea and cake this afternoon.  See my sister in law's mom and aunt are visiting, like I mentioned yesterday.  But Tiffany also just got married and she came by just for a 2 days to pick up her stuff and then is heading on to San Diego with her new husband.

It feels so weird saying that about my little girl, I feel like it was just yesterday that I was babysitting her as a baby.  Time sure flies.

Anyway, everyone came over so we could say goodbye to Tiffany and Steven, as we're not sure when we'll see them again, probably just Christmas time.

We sat at the table, we enjoyed delicious cakes, we had coffee and tea and we laughed and told family stories, and so on.  Goodbyes are never easy but the kids are growing up and setting off on their own and it's just a hard thing to get used to.

I've always found the kitchen to be one of my favorite rooms in the house, it makes me happy to be surrounded by pots and pans and cooking utensils, ingredients and cookbooks and everything that makes a great meal.

Also helps when you have beautiful bakeware to enjoy.  You know it's been so many years since I purchased these Temp-Tations.....wait, actually I think my husband got me these for Christmas one year.  That is right, he did, he knew I had been wanting these for a while.  :)

Oh and here's one of my latest tips in the kitchen.  I have this adorable Grease crockware that I didn't know what to do with.  I just popped it next to my sink with a plastic bag, and it's become my trash little container for when I'm cooking or baking etc.  Makes it easier to have a place to pop everything in instead of constantly walking back and forth to the trash can across the kitchen.

We also did a bit more yard work and cleaned and reorganized inside the house.  I know it seems like that's all I say the past few days, but it's honestly what is going on around here.

No matter what is going on throughout my day, how busy it is, or how many chores I have to get through, I always end my day with a smile on my face, because I'm doing what I love. 

I'm hoping to make a few cute things tomorrow and I'll share them with you if I get to it, but I'm not sure if I have everything I need to make them.  We'll see!!!

We are also having a 4th of July Barbecue on Tuesday, with the whole family, so I'll be getting ready for that as well tomorrow.  Just another normal day of homemaking. 

How are you all celebrating the 4th this year?  Any of you vacationing somewhere, having barbecues with friends and family, watching a fireworks display in your town?

{ Crocheting into July }

Can you believe that it is July 1st?  We are halfway through this year already, my goodness.

So before I get into my actual post, I have to tell you all that I am so happy to be back blogging full time.

It's been so refreshing, so nourishing and replenishing for my soul, as a mother, as a wife, as a homemaker.  The very essence that made me the woman I am was lost for a while, especially for about two years but it's been amazing getting back on track :)

I've been consciously remembering to take my camera, snap photos, and do my very best to get a post up every single day.

There's even been nights (like tonight), where I came to bed but realized I hadn't yet posted, and brought my laptop along so I can get the post up before I go to sleep. 

Anyway, I've spent a very quiet Saturday.  We had insane storms last night.  We were actually at my brother's house last night visiting with my niece and her husband and by the time we left at 10pm, it was so bad out that we rushed to get home and out of that mess.

As I got up this morning, the skies were still cloudy, so I let Marley out, made my coffee and lit some candles.

One thing I've been doing the past week, is reorganizing, cleaning out and tackling some projects that I have wanted to do for a while.  For some reason, the sight of a closet or room or even a bookshelf, that has been completely cleaned out and reorganized, makes me feel so much better.  Are you also like that?

I tackled a bit of the office today.  Well, I started to get it done but had to stop because Miss Bella was trying to go after Marley, and he is absolutely terrified of her.  She is lucky in that sense, because she weighs about 12 pounds and he weighs well over 70 pounds.  But yeah, it got a bit frustrating for Curt and I trying to get anything done while juggling dogs too, so we stopped for today.

I started on my laundry, did the dishes, gave the guest bathroom a good cleaning and then Marley and I settled down on the couch to rest a bit.

I opened my blog to book for 2011 and got a bit more work done on that. I tell you, it's been a lot of work getting these books done but I'm loving every single second.

As I worked, I indulged in some amazing Biryani that my sister in law's mom made. She is here visiting, along with her sister, they came for Tiffany's wedding. She's known for her Biryani and it had been, oh, close to 20 years since I had any. I had forgotten just how amazing it is. Curt tried it for the first time and went crazy over it. I am going to try and get the recipe from her so that I can make it too.

I then pulled out my Mandala Madness. I hadn't worked on it for months, I got so distracted by the Nuts about Squares, the Hygge CAL and now the Atlanticus, that I didn't get a chance to work on this one. But I'm completely caught up on everything else and while I wait for Monday for Part 7 of the Atlanticus to come out, I decided it was time to crack on with this one.

I did forget how big it was and how long it took to work a single row, but I managed to get 3 rows done and am almost finished with Part 11.  Literally sat for a few hours today, doing nothing but crocheting and watching some documentaries.  Felt so good.

I can't do it too often though because I always feel so guilty if I sit for longer than 30 minutes.  Even if all my housework is done and I have nothing else going on.  Must be a mom thing.

Dinner tonight was a leftover night, so everyone was fending for themselves.  Kids love these kind of nights once in a while, but they do prefer when I make something, because they do love mama's cooking.  :)

Well friends, I'm going to watch Ghost Adventures real quick and then head to bed, but I wanted to leave you with these two photos.

While cleaning and organizing this week, I've come across a few things that I hadn't yet pulled out of the moving boxes.  Like these two photographs of my kids when they were born.  They look so much alike, they could be twins.  Isn't that funny how your babies always tend to look exactly the same when they're born?

My Jasmine

My Nicholas

Right???  Crazy!!!

Have a blessed night :)