Hello from Quarantine... (our life at home, nest updates,... some book reviews)

Greetings from my little part of the "Quarantine" world...
We are trying to make the most of this situation,
 sheltering at home...
I am so thankful for spring weather and all that it brings.

I am so thankful for spring weather and all that it brings. 

Our yard is filled with beautiful blooms, their delicious scent fills the air

 and somehow it helps me 

to remain calm. 

 We are blessed to live very close to an amazing place of beauty...

Carter Caves State Park

We have been out almost every day trying to exercise and stay healthy...

all the while keeping our social distancing..

(which has not been difficult, as we have not seen one person on our trails!)

 the Spring nests are coming along...

and will soon be finished.

~

I have been giving a lot of thought

to the release of these nests

in this time of turmoil and hardship.

~

I will be back soon with an update

and some "unprecedented"

options... 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile...

(I've been doing a lot of reading...)

 

As someone who lives near the John A. Roebling bridge

(Cincinnatti-Covington Ky bridge)

I found this book to be absolutely intriguing...

Being the wife of an engineer myself, 

I could not wait to read this book...

(and I absolutely hated for it to end.)

An amazing insight into all that is involved in the building of such an immense structure

while carefully weaving the story of the personal  involvement 

of the wife.

This is a story of a woman's determination 

to carry out her husband's dream

of building the Brooklyn Bridge

while making her own personal sacrifice in order to do so. 

There is great loss within these pages, 

the loss of life, the loss of love, the loss of personal dreams...

all for the purpose of making her husbands dream come true. 

The story of Emily Roebling's commitment to this project 

has largely been lost to history.

I was happy to learn that a plague in her honor

is to be found on the Brooklyn Bridge.

~

This book has just recently been released for publication.

While I was fortunate to receive an advanced copy prior to publication...

this review is my own and is in no way required by the publisher.

A story of the crippling and isolating effect of unimaginable grief.

Iris has devoted her life to creating and maintaining a "secret garden"

 type of oasis for herself...

this is how she survives and lives with her grief and loss.

She devotes every single day to her magnificent

"healing garden".

A duel story that focuses on Iris, and also Abbey,

 a young woman and her family 

who move into the house next door to Iris. 

Abbey's young daughter becomes ever curious about the house

next door and the garden that she has seen when she stood on a chair

and peeked over the large fence. 

She is also fascinated by the old woman who tends to that garden

every day.

Over time, Iris softens and allows this young girl to come into her garden

and also her heart. 

There are so many reasons to LOVE this book...

The story of the garden, the flowers, their smells and blooms...

this is a powerful story of healing.

You can easily picture this beautiful garden in your mind... 

 the descriptions are so real.

This is a lovely book...

one to cherish as you read the story.

~

This book will be available as published on April 28.

I was fortunate to receive an advanced copy of this book prior to publication.

This review is my own, and is in no way required by the publisher.

You won't be able to put this one down!

Reading this story is like being on the receiving end

 of THE BEST SUMMER GOSSIP...

Summer Darling's transports the reader to Martha's Vineyard

in the early 1960's,

home to the rich, famous, and spoiled.  

The story centers on Heddy,

 a college girl who dreams of a better life for herself,

and longs to be part of the jet set society on Martha's Vineyard.

She takes a job there as a summer nanny to a privileged couple.

All to soon she comes to realize what life is really like for the powerful

 social set on the island. 

This could be considered a coming of age story 

as Heddy comes to realize what is really important in life. 

If you ever wanted to be a little bird on the windosill

of lives such as this...

this book will put you there!

~

You can look forward to the publishing of this book on May 5.

I was fortunate to receive an advanced copy of this book prior to publication. 

This review is my own and is in no way required by the publisher.

To all my friends... 

please stay safe at home. My prayers are for us all, that we will soon be on the "back to normal" side of this difficult time. 

Never again...

 will I take things for granted.

If there is anything good that has come from all of this..

it is that I have a new appreciation for all that is a part of my daily life. I love my front porch, my beautiful yard, this quiet time at home, the feeling on not being rushed to get hings done... because after all, we have months to do it now. This slower pace is not a bad thing. We are getting projects done at home, my back deck is already scrubbed and ready for flowers,.... and today I plan to totally scrub down the front porch and wash the walls and furniture! 

My love to you all...

xoxo,

Vicki