Newest Quilt Project 2026

My Daughter asked me to make a quilt out of her old Rilakkuma t-shirt and fabric paraphernalia.  I've only managed 7 blocks out of the 16 I need for this project.  Wish me luck because the black t-shirt fabric that I got to be the background for the blocks is slippery and the sewing machine likes to eat it.  I have tried not to cuss, but so help me, it has been a struggle.

This was the center piece that I started with. All others will go around it. It is made from 4 handkerchiefs with the different seasons on them.

I will need to re-do this on as I messed up the lower black edging.  The fabric moves like a snake.

This was not finished when I took the photo. The 2 wash cloths and the 2 t-shirt pieces are totally surrounded by the black fabric.

This photo was taken before the black fabric outline was sewn on.

Books Read in 2025

 

The total books read/listened to was 54. However, I was working on a complicated quilt for one of my great-nephews, selling items on eBay, and pissing my life away on TikTok. I'm sure there were tons of other things I accomplished but I can't remember them at the moment. 

Books

Extreme Prey - John Sanford

In the Shadows: A Dark Stalker Romance - J. A. Owenby

For Whom the Belle Tolls - Jaysea Lynn

So Thirsty - Rachel Harrison

Escape Clause - John Sanford

Golden Prey - John Sanford

Deep Freeze - John Sanford

Twisted Prey - John Sanford

Holy Ghost - John Sanford

Small Things Like These - Claire Keegan

Neon Prey - John Sanford

Bloody Genius - John Sanford

Find Me in The Dark - Dea Poirier

Holly - Stephen King

Masked Prey - John Sanford

After I Fall - Melisssa Sercia (Repeat)

After I Run - Melissa Sercia (Repeat)

Never Flinch - Stephen King

Ocean Prey - John Sanford

Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris (repeat)

Living Dead in Dallas - Charlaine Harris (repeat)

Club Dead - Charlaine Harris (repeat)

Dead to the World -Charlaine Harris (repeat)

Dead as a Doornail - Charlaine Harris (repeat)

Definitely Dead - Charlaine Harris (repeat)

From Dead to Worse - Charlaine Harris (repeat)

Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris (repeat)

Dead in the Family - Charlaine Harris (repeat)

Dead Reckoning - Charlaine Harris (repeat)

Dead Locked - Charlaine Harris (repeat)

After Dead - Charlaine Harris (repeat)

Dear Ever After - Charlaine Harris (repeat)

The Push - Ashley Audtrain

Last Rites - Ozzy Oasbourne

Jack the Ripper - Jackson R. Noble

Audio Books

Holding - Graham Norton

Forever Home - Graham Norton

Slow Time Between the Stars - John Scalzi

A Promised Land - Barack Obama

 The Ballad of Black Tom - Victor Lavalle

Mile 81 - Stephen King

The Egg and Other Stories - Andy Weir

Frankie - Graham Norton

The Life and Loves of a He Devil - Graham Norton

The Dark Water Bride -Marty Ross

Certain Dark Things - Silva Moreno-Garcia

Inside Jobs - Ben H Winters

The Year of Magical Thinking - Joan Didion

Cut and Run - Ben Acker and Ben Blacker

Bright Young women - Jessica Knoll

The Investigator - John Sanford

The Deep - Rivers Soloman

Mind Hunter - John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker

Wally Roux: Quantum Mechanic

Back in the Saddle

I began this blog years ago with a page about yard sale finds and selling some of the items on eBay for a profit.  Well, I'm back with eBay sales. However, this time I've gotten myself into a bit of a mess. After we had moved here and while I was shocked by my deep level of grief, I visited a lot of yard sales and thrift shops. Retail therapy? Partly.  But also, because I had watched a lot of videos about buying to flip for a profit. Neat side gig, right?  Here's the problem, you have to have space to store everything until it sells and if it doesn't sell, what do you do with it.

My therapist says it comes from my ADHD and addictive personality.  I don't drink to excess or do drugs, but I can obsess about ideas, things, even people.  At the time of my grief, I also picked up a serious problem with Temu.  I'm sorry to say my family now calls me a hoarder as all of my personal spaces in the house are deeply cluttered.  As I said, I'm in therapy and now I'm on new meds that are helping me.  It's better to be hyper focused on listing stuff on eBay and getting excited over every sale.

If you're interested in seeing what weird stuff I'm selling, click here.  To wet your curiosity below are a few photos:

  

 

 

 

  

BOOKS READ IN 2024

I learned early in 2024 that I had torn two tendons in my ankle, including the Achilles tendon. In April I had surgery and was down for six weeks.  I read a few books during that time.  After I could walk again without wearing a boot I had to endure physical therapy.  Not fun whatsoever.  We had a garden again and I had t have help in the kitchen to get the canning and freezing of the veggies done. However, my ankle was still bothering me, so I finished out the year knowing I'd have to go back under the knife. Still no friends but my books. 

(written in 2025)

1. They Never Learn - Layne Fargo
2. Demon Copperhead - Barbara Kingsolver (audible)
3. Becoming The Boogeyman - Richard Chizmar
4. The Fourth Monkey - J. D. Barker
5. Wist - Steve M. Robertson (graphic novel)
6. The Haunting - Natasha Preston
7. Wicked Prey - John Sanford
8. Heat Lightning - John Sanford
9. Rough Country - John Sanford
10. Storm Prey - John Sanford
11. The Magnolia Inn - Anne-Marie Meyer
12. Buried Prey - John Sanford
13. The Last Dress from Paris - Jade Beer (audible) 
14. Magnolia Homecoming - Anne-Marie Meyer
15. Bad Blood - John Sanford
16. Snow, Glass, Apple - Neil Gaiman & Colleen Doran
17. Local Woman Missing - Mary Kubice
18. Stolen Prey - John Sanford
19. If You Ask Me - Betty White (audible)
20. Possession - Brynne Asher
21. Mad River - John Sanford
22. Silken Prey - John Sanford
23. Hail Mary - Andy Weir (audible)
24. Phantom - Greer Rivers
25. The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle - Jennifer Ryan (audible)
    
26. The Truths We Hold -Kamala Harris
27. Nothing But Blackened Teeth - Cassandra Khaw (audible)
28. A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking - T. Kingfisher (audible)
29. I was a Teenage Slasher - Stephen Graham Jones
30. Haunt Sweet Home - Sara Pinsker
31. Pen Pal - J. T. Geissinger
32. Graveyard Shift - M. L. Rio
33. Sex and Vanity - Kevin Kwan (audible)
34. Fiels of Prey - John Sanford
35. The Lost Bookshop - Evie Woods (audible)
36. Gathering Prey - John Sanford

BOOKS READ IN 2023

What can I say about 2023? It was cold and snowy at the beginning of the year. In June, I fell off a stool into the corner of an entertainment center, giving myself a concussion that turned serious. We had a garden and I preserved the produce by freezing it or canning it. I found a therapist at the end of 2022 who helped me deal with some of the grief from losing Mom. I'm still recovering.  I wish I could have gotten there in time.  I am still having trouble making friends, though I try to talk to my neighbors.  So when loneliness hit, I turned to books, of course. The end of the year was snowy and cold. Weather to snuggle up to the fire with a good book.

(written in 2025)

1. Secret Prey - John Sanford
2. A Thousand Naked Strangers - George Newbern (audible)
3. Souls (A Killers Novel) - Brynne Asher
4. Spare - Prince Harry (audible)
5. Murder By Other Means - Johns Scalzi (audible)
6. Certain Prey - - John Sanford
7. Easy Prey - John Sanford
8. China Rich Girlfriend - Kevin Kwan (audible)
9. Rich People Problems - Kevin Kwan (audible)
10. The Serpent In Heaven - Charlane Harris
11. Chosen Prey - John Sanford
12. Mortal Prey - John Sanford
13. The Light We Carry - Michelle Obama (audible)
14. A House With Good Bones - T. Kingfisher (audible)
    
15. Naked Prey - John Sanford
16. The Diamond Eye - Kate Quinn
17. Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris (re-read)
18. Hidden Prey - John Sanford
19. What Moves The Dead - T. Kingfisher
20. Broken Prey - John Sanford
21. A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons - Kate Khavari (audible)
22. Little Sister Death - William Gay
23. The President's Brain is Missing - John Scalzi (audible)
24. The Man on the Mountain Top - Susan Trott (audible)
25. Too Mulch to Handle - Hy Hanna
26. Chasing the Boogeyman - Richard Chizmar
27. Dark of the Moon - John Sanford
28. Dance Macabre - Stephen King (audible)
29. Invisible Prey John Sanford
30. The Sisters _ Dervla McTierman (audible)
31. Crazy Rich Asians - Kevin Kwan (audible)
32. All The Dead Shall Weep - Charlaine Harris
33. Starter Villian - John Scalzi (audible)]
34. The Last Devil To Die - Richard Osman
35. Kiajui Preservation Society - John Scalzi (audible)
36. Phantom Prey -John Sanford
37. Ruthless King - Meghan March
38. Defiant Queen Meghan March
39. Sinful Empire - Meghan March
40. The Trees Grew Because I Bled There - Eric LaRocca
41. Vines - Brynne Asher (re-read)
42. Paths - Brynne Asher (re-read)
43. Gift - Brynne Asher (re-read)
44. Heart of Iron (First Draft) - C. M. Alongi
    
    

Books Read in 2022

The following books were consumed in 2022 while we settled into our new house, and I tried to recover from the grief of losing my mother in December of 2021.  I also lost my 2-year-old great nephew, Wyatt, in February of 2022 - exactly 2 months to the day of losing my mother. Over the summer while canning squash, jars I had in the pressure cooker to preserve exploded into my face and hand causing second degree burns. Then in September we lost my brother-in-law in a long slow death.  It was basically just an all-around shit of a year.

(written in 2025)

1. Cemetery Girl: The Pretenders - Charlaine Harris & Christopher Golden
2. Cemetery Girl: Inheritance - Charlaine Harris & Christopher Golden
3. Cemetery Girl: Haunted - Charlaine Harris & Christoper Golden
4. An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed - Helen Tursten
5. After I Fall (Immortal Billionaire Series) -Melissa Sercia
6. After I Break (Immortal Billionaire Series) - Melissa Sercia
7. The Adventures of Alice LaSelles - Alexandrina Victoria & Jacqueline Wilson
8. Billy Summer - Stephen King
9. After I Run (Immortal Billionaire Series) - Melissa Sercia
10. After I burn (Immortal Billionaire Series) - Melissa Sercia
11. Secrets of the Greek Revival - Eva Pohl
12. The Library of the Dead - T. L Hutchu
13. The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osma
14. Opium and Absinthe _Lydia King
15. The Man Who Died Twice - Richad Osman
16. The Russian Cage - Charlaine Harris
17. Agnes and The Hitman - Jennifer Cruise & Bob Mayer
18. After I Obey (Immortal Billionaire Series) - Melissa Sercia
19. Suicide Kings - Stephen Blackmore
20. First Grave on the Right - Darynda Jones
21. Rules of Prey - John Sanford
22. Th One That Got Away - Charlaine Harris
23. The Ink Black Heart - Rober Galbraith
24. Shadow Prey - John Sanford
25. The Body in the Wood - April Henry
26. Silent Prey - John Sanford
27. Winter Prey - John Sanford
28. Night Prey - John Sanford
29. Blood Will Tell - April Henry
30. Levi - Bryanne Asher
31. Mind Prey - John Sanford
32. Travel By Bullet - John Scalzi
33. Sudden Prey - John Sanford

Books Read in 2021

I know, I know... I'm extremely late getting this out.  It's been a very harsh winter both weather-wise and personally.  We Moved to North Dakota in the spring and started to unpack half the house. The house we bought needed months long construction during the summer to finish the basement where my son's room and my studio would be. In the autumn I received a rather bad burn when jars of squash in my canner exploded onto my face and arms. Then in the winter I lost my mother, my 2 year old great nephew, and my beloved cat, Midnight in the span of just two months.  I'll do a post on all that's happened later.  

During the first part of the year after we moved and while the basement was being finished, the only books I had to read were on my Kindle or on Audible or the few I bought along the way. All my books were still packed in moving boxes and stored in the garage... for so many months. I didn't realize how attached to my books I am.  I have to admit though that I think I may have read less this past year simply because I was unpacking, managing a remodel, unpacking again, and then towards the end of the year I became addicted to TikTok and Facebook Reels.  I know that it's just a symptom of the depression that I've been under but it's cutting my productivity.  It'll need to be brought under control.  Without further ado, here is what I read in 2021.

Books

Mexican Gothic - Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Untold Stories of American Indians: Encounters with Star People - Ardy Six Killer Clark

Vines (The Killer Book 1) - Brynne Asher (read 2x)

Midnight Sun - Stephanie Meyer

Paths (The Killers Book 2) - Brynne Asher (read 2x)

An Elder Lady Is Up To No Good - Helen Tursten

Devolution - Max Brooks

Gifts (The Killers Book 3) - Brynne Asher

Murder At Archly Manor - Sara Rosette

Viels (The Killers Book 4) - Brynne Asher

Trowel and Terror - H. Y. Hanna

Fronds and Enemies - H. Y. Hanna

Chronicles Of The Unexplained - Gary Gillespie (bought at iMagicon 2021)

Bridge of Souls - Victoria Schwab

Fifty Shades Of Grey - E. L. James (re-read)

Fifty Shades Darker - E. L. James (re-read)

Dark Stranger: The Dream - I. T. Lucas

Bottle Demon - Stephen Blackmoore

The Box In The Woods - Maureen Johnson

Spooky Creepy North Dakota - Lori L. Orser

Until The Tequila - Brynne Asher

Scars (The Killers Book 5) - Brynne Asher

Later - Stephen King

Troubled Blood - Robert Galbraith

Your Guide To Not Getting Murdered In A Quaint English Village - Maureen Johnson & Jay Cooper

Audio Books

A Keeper - Graham Norton

The Only Woman In The Room - Marie Benedict

The Mountain and The Sea - Kwame Dawes

Fight or Flight - Stephen King, editor

The Life We Bury - Allen Eskens

Interview With A Robot - Lee Bacon

Where The Forest Meets The Stars - Gwendy Vanderah

Short Stories

"I Own A Motel. I've Been Renting Out A Room To A Family Of Vampires" - Strange Dangerous