Just a little book talk

It is good to be reading again!  If you have ever had a sinus infection, you probably know how difficult it is to read (thus, there is no "Books Read in June" post).  I even had to shut the blinds in the family room to keep any light out when watching TV.  About all I could do was peruse previously read decorating books and magazines.

If one saw the coffee table in the living room before this morning, there was such a stack of books it looked like the famous tower of Pisa (and just as crooked).  However, having come to my senses about the reality of house and lawn and garden work... a few of the books were put back for a later time

I'm (finally) finishing Elizabeth George's Loving God With All Your Mind.  What an excellent book for where I am on my journey right now.  It's odd because I read this book long ago (it was written in the 1990s) but it felt brand new on this reading.  I highly recommend this book for anyone struggling with fear, intense trials, and keeping our thoughts in line with God's Word. 

When I finish this book, I plan to re-read Keep a Quiet Heart by Elisabeth Elliot.  It contains a number of her newsletter articles throughout the years and I've already read it a couple of times.  Having just come out of a lengthy illness, I need the peace it brings to my heart.

Thanks to those of you who ordered books and products through my Amazon widget, I was able to purchase Faith's birthday present and have it sent to her in time for her birthday.  I had just enough credit left over to order an inexpensive used copy of Betty Crocker's Kitchen Gardens, just a lovely book for one who has a small garden of vegetables and herbs.  The author gives the history of kitchen gardens, including the fact that every homemaker at one time had at least a small herb garden and grew a few vegetables even if they had a small house and yard.

I am about half way through the book and I've already gained a great deal of knowledge that I've used in my garden.  The book reads like I have an experienced friend teaching me the basics of growing (and using) herbs as well as the most popular vegetables grown in a kitchen garden.  The illustrations are by Tasha Tudor, including many black and white drawings and a few color pages.

As I read Kitchen Gardens, I was thinking how it would be a nice book for a homemaker- in- training to have on her bookshelf (as well as a grandmother or two).  :)

The book which caused the leaning tower spoken of earlier is Brides of Lancaster County by Wanda Brunstetter.  It contains all four books in this series!  I bought it last year when I saw it on clearance at Border's.  My husband was in the process of reading this series when we visited Lancaster County (wow, now two years ago... times passes so fast).

I had placed it on the shelves for such a time when I needed light reading.  Which is now.  I need a vacation and since I have neither the energy or the money for one right now, I am going to take a literary trip back to Pennsylvania.  By the way, if you have never been to Lancaster... it is wonderful.  So family friendly and one could gain lots of weight at all the well priced buffets... yum.

I'm hoping this heat and humidity breaks soon.  A friend had sent me a Starbucks' gift card quite awhile ago and I had hoarded it for a hot day when I needed a Venti Frappuccino.  That day came this week!