It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between! D This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

I picked up Before I Knew You by Amanda Brookfield from the library after seeing it in my local bookshop. I have a few of hers on my shelves but I don't think I have actually read any of them.



















Would you swap houses with a family of strangers? The price you pay might be greater than you think ...Sophie and Andrew are looking for relief from the daily grind - if not each other - so when a friend puts them in touch with William and Beth, newlyweds looking to swap houses for the summer, it seems a solution of sorts. They find themselves in a stylish Connecticut home, a stone's throw from New York, while William and Beth take over their lived-in family house in South London, ideal for spending time with William's teenaged sons. The weeks away work an unexpected magic for Sophie, who begins to find a sense of happiness ...although Beth has no such luck and, no longer the centre of William's world, grows increasingly miserable. And so the two marriages - one crushed by the weight of years, one shiny and new - slide into reverse. The intertwining of these lives and hearts begins to have dramatic consequences none of them could have foreseen ...and all are powerless to stop.

It started off slowly and the book is split into two parts. The first part tells the stories of the two families as they take part in a holiday house swap in England and the US. The second part deals with the aftermath of the holidays and it is starting to pick up. I like all the main characters and it is well written.

Our holidays are almost here and my final holiday reading has been sorted as follows:

One Day by David Nicholls
The House At Riverton by Kate Morton
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Search by Nora Roberts

Chick Lit Reading Challenge # 14 & 15 and a debut author

Fern Britton is an icon of daytime telly (not something I ever see as I am at work at that time)and I did briefly see her recent foray into teatime broadcasting (where she was interviewing the delicious Professor Brian Cox who seemed to be squirming in his seat!)




This is her first novel and to be honest I wasn't expecting too much from it.

A warm, witty and wise debut about the ups and downs of life as a TV presenter
Christie Lynch’s life is about to change – for ever.
A journalist and single mother of two, she can’t believe her luck when she is spotted by a talent agent during an appearance on daytime TV show, Tart Talk.
Soon the nation’s sweetheart, Christie can’t help but love her new job and, for the first time in years, she can mend her leaking roof and buy her kids, Libby and Freddie, a few treats. But as her career soars, Christie’s forced to spend more and more time away from her kids and from Richard – the gorgeous single dad she recently met at the school gate.
Can Christie find a way to balance her role as a mother with her increasingly demanding job? And will she make it in the cut-throat world of TV? Whatever happens, Christie's going to give it all she's got…
Warm, witty and wise, New Beginnings is a behind-the-scenes look at the ups and downs in the life of a daytime TV presenter.



She is writing about a subject that she knows so well and to that end it was a light read - if a little predictable - you just know there is going to be a happy ending. But I did like the main character and wanted to continue reading so I could find out what happens to her. A great first novel and I hope she writes more.

My second book really made me laugh out loud - although I had my children in my 30's I think this will appeal to mothers of all ages.

Whatever your age, becoming a mum for the first time brings with it excitement, anxiety and numerous challenges. But how do you cope when, to top it all, you discover you are old enough to be the mother of everyone else in your NCT group? The story of one woman, one new baby, a slipped disc and rather too many wrinkles, "The Secret Diary of a New Mum (Aged 43 1/4)" follows the tale of a midlife mum as she tries to make the transition from experienced TV producer to utterly inexperienced parent. One in five babies is born to a mum over 35, and the number of over 40s giving birth has doubled. The first humorous narrative account of what it's really like to be a midlife mum - whether it's deftly side-stepping any questions about age and baby number two or weeping as younger counterparts ping back into their size ten jeans within thirty seconds of giving birth - this is the thoroughly entertaining, insightful and often hilarious account of what happens as you face up to menopause and new motherhood at the same time.




I might recommend this to my brothers girlfriend who has just had their first baby at the age of 41. All I can say is that I am glad it's not me - don't think I could cope with a baby now - I'll settle for the teenager!!

Shimelle's Sketch Of The Week

I am a bit behind with this sketch - but am pleased that I have finally scrapped this photo.

Shimelle provided the sketch:




I had ordered a copy of this photo from Photobox and the smaller one of the two was the proof shot that came with the order - so I used them both. It was taken at Ullapool harbour early one morning last summer as we waiting for the ferry to take us to the Western Isles. Think it was just a lucky shot as I am sure I didn't see all those reflections in the water at the time.

I also used some very old Chatterbox papers (so old I cannot remember where or when I got them) but the blues went perfectly with the photos.

Birthday Boy

Can't believe that Sam was 14 yesterday - those years seem to have flown by.

Rather unwillingly he let me take some photos of him - I have a tradition whereby the boys have to have a birthday photo taken to mark the day. But yesterday I was granted one solitary photo - which when it was taken he promptly walked back inside!! With some "encouragement" he let me take a few more.

I can't get over how grown up he looks in these photos - not my little boy anymore.































We also had to have some obligatory blowing the candles out photos too - I love my new 50mm lens and the lovely blurry backgrounds it produces.

End of term

Monday heralds the end of the school year for the boys - yes we are being naughty parents by taking them out of school early! It wasn't for any financial reason as we aren't flying into a holiday destination so the prices don't rise very much. But it was about the only time we could coordinate time off work for myself, Andy and my brother in law - and also the kids in America (isn't that a song title?) go back to school a few weeks before ours do in Scotland so our window of opportunity wasn't very big.

But despite finishing early I don't think they are missing anything as Callum had his sports day last Friday and the end of year concert this week.

Here is is in action at sports day - concentration needed during the egg and spoon race - but I'm not too sure about the skipping. I think the PE teacher was telling him off going by the look on his face!!!

































At the end of term concert we were treated to the whole school putting on a musical production called Eddie The Penguin Saves The World. A brief summary: the ice is melting and Eddie the penguin and his family then travel the world teaching everyone about global warming and what we can do to save the planet. I must admit it was one of the better performances we have been to over the years. Unfortunately photography isn't allowed (although I have managed to sneak my DSLR in unnoticed on previous occasions) This year as I am part of the Parents Association we are allocated seating near the front of the hall - perfect for an uninterrupted view of the play - but not so good as we are under the beady eye of the head mistress. Callum was a tree from the Amazon so was dressed in brown with "leaves" attached to his arms and his face painted green. With just him on his own it doesn't give the overall effect of a group of swaying children all pretending to be trees!!

52 Weeks in B&W # 25

I will explain the strange state of Callum's face in my next post - but I think I actually prefer the B&W version!!

Skywatch Friday

Rugby is the game of choice for my youngest son - football pales into insignificance next to it - thank goodness!


















See more skies from around the world here.

WOYWW 15th June

I haven't played along for a little while now - probably not much has been occurring on my desk of late!!

I have started a LO based on Shimelles sketch of the week - but whether it gets finished before my holidays is another matter.




The kids haven't even broken up from school yet and we have a letter home about school trips for 2012. Sam wants to go on a combined history and english trip which starts off in Holland including a trip to Anne Franks house, Van Gogh museum and a canal cruise. Then they travel to Belgium and northern France with visits to the WWI battlefields at Passchenaele, Vimy Bridge and Somme. And they finish off at Disneyland Paris. Do you think they will be needing any parent helpers????




To go with my new lens for my camera I have also picked up a polarising filter from that well known auction site. A small Studio Calico journalling stamp arrived in the post today from a lovely lady over on the UK Scrappers marketplace - great for just a couple of quid.




And finally my lovely shiny new phone ( I didn't go with the iphone or Blackberry as everyone and his dog seems to have those) and I finally decided on a Windows phone. It is going to take some getting used to though - maybe I should give it to the boys so they can learn how to use it - and then they can show me!!!




Pop over to The Stamping Ground and see what everyone else is up to today.

4 x 6 Photo Love : May 2011

I know I'm not doing these challenges in order but for May we had to use 5 4x6 photos using the sketch provided on her blog.

My first challenge was to find 5 photographs to use and the second (and biggest) challenge was to actually do a double page LO - something I haven't done for a couple of years at least.

I found a set of photos of Callum I took down at Hopeman Harbour in January this year and I used Mr Campy paper by Cosmo Cricket. Not sure I am that pleased with the overall effect - I do prefer to do just one page LOs.

But what I do like is Mr Owl - Tracey lent me the die at the crop but when I went home I had to (along with some of the other girls) buy him for myself - too cute!!!

Lemon Curd

I recently made some more lemon curd the easy way - in the microwave and am sharing it here on Anthea's request.

Makes about 3lb.

200g (7oz) unsalted butter
700g (1lb 9oz) granulated or caster sugar
grated zest of 4-5 lemons
300ml (1/2 pint) lemon juice - about 4-5 lemons
300ml (1/2 pint) beaten eggs - about 4-5 eggs.

Place the butter, sugar, lemon zest and juice in a large bowl and microwave on full power for about 2 minutes or until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.
Add the beaten eggs and continue cooking in 1 minute bursts and stirring each time, reducing to 30 seconds for each burst as the mixture thickens, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Strain through a sieve into a wide necked jug to remove the lemon zest and any cooked egg bits.

Simples! And once you have tasted home made lemon curd you will never again want to eat the fluorescent yellow stuff you can buy in the shops.

This recipe came from a fab set of Women's Institute cookbooks my Mum bought me ages ago - which I use loads.

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between! D This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!


I have 2 quite different books no the go today. The first is New Beginnings by Fern Britton. I quite like Fern on the telly so was interested to see whether she could write as well.

A warm, witty and wise debut about the ups and downs of life as a TV presenter Christie Lynch's life is about to change -- for ever. A journalist and single mother of two, she can't believe her luck when she is spotted by a talent agent during an appearance on daytime TV show, Tart Talk. Soon the nation's sweetheart, Christie can't help but love her new job and, for the first time in years, she can mend her leaking roof and buy her kids, Libby and Freddie, a few treats. But as her career soars, Christie's forced to spend more and more time away from her kids and from Richard -- the gorgeous single dad she recently met at the school gate. Can Christie find a way to balance her role as a mother with her increasingly demanding job? And will she make it in the cut-throat world of TV? Whatever happens, Christie's going to give it all she's got! Warm, witty and wise, New Beginnings is a behind-the-scenes look at the ups and downs in the life of a daytime TV presenter.

She is writing about something she knows a lot about and so far I am enjoying it - wonder if she will write anymore. I have also just discovered that the GMTV presenter Penny Smith has been writing for a while now and has a new book out.




I have gone back to my childhood for my second book - The Wombles by Elizabeth Beresford. I originally got this out of the library for Callum but he doesn't seem too keen. I read these books (and watched them on TV - I even had a boxed set of Womble records!!) as a child.




As for what to read next - I am compiling my holiday reading list and trying hard to limit the number of books accompanying me on my travels. So far I have:

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Help by Katheryn Stockett
To The Moon and Back by Jill Mansell
And either The House at Riverton or The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton.

Please pop over to The Book Journey and see what everyone else is reading today.

Before and after

I had to take drastic measures yesterday to make Sam tidy his room after nagging him all week about it. I took the photo below and told him that if his room wasn't tidied by the end of the day then said photo was going to be posted on Facebook so all his mates could see the mess (but no doubt a majority of them live in similar conditions!!)




It has been hard making myself steer clear of his room - I find going in and opening the window and then closing the door after me helps. I was wondering of he would start running short of clothes seeing as how most of them were strewn around the bed. But I think the deciding factor was that he likes a nice clean bed with fresh sheets etc - and I refused to change the bed - until I could actually see it!!

And here is the finished result - as you can see he has resumed his usual position on the bed in front of his Xbox!
























The downside is that now on Sunday morning I seem to have a whole weeks worth of dirty school uniform to wash ready for next week!!

Family x 12 Blog Hop : June

Welcome to this months hop - and I have to put my hand up and admit that I have failed miserably in my attempts to get the whole family together for a photo. You should have arrived her from Ruth.

Whenever I get the camera out (which is often) everybody groans - and then scatters!! Except one - and he was my subject in Shimelles 10 Things challenge earlier in the week.

So this week I will introduce you to the youngest member of our family - and the only one who will happily pose for me.

This is Callum (aged 10) just before he headed off into the woods with his Dad for a bike ride - he had been pestering to go out all week but by the time his Dad got home from work it was raining. So this evening he got himself all kitted up and ready to go - please note the shocking assortment of clothes he has on (I had no part in that!!)






























































I did also have an ulterior motive for taking these photos - my brand new 50mm lens had just arrived in the post and I was dying to try it out. I am quite pleased with the result but I think learning to zoom with my feet might take a bit of getting used to.

Thank you for visiting me and hope you enjoy the rest of your blog hop and Sharis is your next destination.

Margie
Melissa
Carol Anne
Ruth
Jo - you are here
Sharis
Patricia
MonicaB

PS - Next month will be better as we are off to the States soon for something of a family reunion and have been taking bets with my sister in law about who can take the most photos!!

52 Weeks In B&W # 24

A poppy seed head in my garden.

10 Things : June

I really shouldn't blog hop in the mornings before I go to work as I always spot something that needs to be looked at in more detail.

This morning it was a new project by Shimelle.

10. Things. on the tenth of the month. Something brought to you by the participants in Beyond Blogging for Scrapbookers starting today. Each participant will share something totally of their own creation – but always ten things. Some will share ten photos, ten crafty ideas, ten sources of inspiration, ten recipes, ten things in a collection… always ten things and always on the tenth of the month.

Of course I have to play along - even if I never quite managed to finish the Beyond Blogging class. I went with the first "10" thing that popped into my head which was the age of my youngest son. He is 10 and here are ten fairly recent photos of him (as you can see he is a shy and retiring child who isn't keen on having his photo taken!!)