A Winter in New York by Jose Silver ~ Book Review

Iris, a chef,  left her life in London due to a toxic relationship and is starting over in New York City, a place nostalgic to her because of all the movies she used to watch with her Mom that had New York as a back drop.  But it's not turning out quite like she had thought.  When out with her best friend, Bobby, at a street fair in Little Italy, she is struck by a door of a little family run gelato shop.  She has seen that door before in one of her Mom's photos.  Intrigued, she returns the next day.  She meets Gio, who she finds out is the nephew of the owner and he shares with her that the shop is about to close.  They have only ever served one flavor of gelato, vanilla, but it has made them famous.  And only his uncle knows the recipe and he's had a stroke and can't remember it.  They are down to their last batch.  When he gives Iris a sample she instantly realizes that it is the exact same gelato that her Mom would make for them when they watched their movies together and Iris, herself, has the recipe!  But what is her Mother's ties to this family and how can she hand over the the recipe that holds such meaning between her Mother and herself?  Iris offers her chef's knowledge to help re-create the recipe hoping that with some guidance Gio's family stumbles upon it themselves or somehow his uncle remembers.  But spending so much time with Gio and his family is working it's way into her heart and now all her secrets and lies are threatening to ruin everything.

This was an easy, escapist kind of read.  The setting was nice, I loved the friendship between Iris and Bobby, the mystery of the gelato recipe and the story in general I enjoyed though it was at times a bit unbelievable.  But if I suspended the unbelief it was a read I liked.  There was lots of lies that I don't know had to go that far but it kind of drove the story onward.  For a rom-com it's not too spicy, I just skipped through the couple of parts where it showed up.  

I rated it an 8.5/10

Fridays' Fave Five #892

Hi everyone.  Welcome back to Friday's Fave Five.  Thanks for popping by and joining in with me as I work to develop making spotting my blessings more prevelant in my life than noticing the trials.  My goal with the FFF is ultimately to have a focused heart on being grateful for all the good blessings God sends into my ordinary days.  Thanks for joining in with me.

~ good steaks from a local butcher ~  Sunday we had an incredible dinner of AAA rib eye steaks grilled on the bbq.  The kids had pooled together and gotten Dave a gift card to a local butcher shop for Father's Day.  The perfect gift for him!  I'm the steak griller of the family and after many years of either underdone or over done steak I finally have a knack for it and they were perfectly done:  medium well for him, medium for me and rare for Tamara.

~ Tamara popping in ~  another Sunday blessing was Tamara popping in for a visit.  She'd come to town for a wedding and txted Sunday asking if we were around for quick visit before she headed back.  I feel so blessed that my kids want to come and see us.  

 

~ morning air coming through open windows ~  it's been hot here the last couple of weeks but in the mornings when I get up it's still in the teens (celcius) so we open up all the windows and let that lovely cooler, fresh morning air in.  

~ week off ~ this has been my vacation week and the rest has been most welcome.  Though we didn't go anywhere because I didn't think my knee could handle long hours in the car with an anxious dog standing/sitting on me.  But it's been nice to sleep in, start the day slow and easy, take short walks in the cooler mornings,  drink my coffee slowly reading a book and putz around the house.  Though I'm disappointed we didn't go anywhere on vacation I am very grateful for the time off and the slower pace.

~ neighborhood crew ~ spotted on one of our morning walks, we saw this boy's club enjoying the shade at a home a few blocks from ours.  While I knew we had a neighborhood buck hanging around for a few years now, this is the first time I've ever seen four of them together at the same time.  So fun to see, but we made sure we crossed the street to go by and kept our eye out that we weren't spooking them.  

What were your favorite blessings from the passed week?  What lifted you up, made you smile,  gave you joy,  made your everyday easier or just made you aware that God was sending a blessing to you?

Friday's Fave Five #891

Welcome to Friday's Fave Fives.  Every Friday we are pausing and choosing where to put our focus and that is on our blessings.  No life is perfect.  Things happen in every life that are hard and stressful.  But every life also has blessings even if it's just making it through that day intact.  Here we are training our hearts and minds to put the main focus on our blessings, being grateful to God for bringing them into our everyday lives.  Please join us as we share five of our favorites from the past week.  

~ air conditioning ~ I am so thankful for the blessing of air conditioning this week as it has been hot.  For some of you, our hot is your norm, but for us this extended period of days that reach into the '90's is not what we are used to so I'm thankful for a cool house.

~ understanding dayhome parents ~ between my knee appointments and a couple of other things I've had to open late or close early a couple of times in the last couple weeks and I'm so thankful my dayhome parents have been supportive and understanding.  I know it puts them out and I try and avoid closures as much as I can.  So thankful for the families I have in my childcare.

~ visits with friends ~ I was blessed to have visits with a few friends I haven't seen in awhile.  One has moved to another province and the other has had a lot going on in life and the third is a couple Hubby and I are friends with and  we had dinner out.  It was so nice to catch up and encourage one another.  Thankful for friends that no matter the distance or time we can just be comfortable with when we get together.

~ books that make you think ~ I love when you pick up a book, whether non-fiction or fiction, and it makes you think.  Whether it's the theme, the lessons, character growth or just specific quotes, I really like when something sticks with me with the books I read.  I've had one of those kind of reads this week.  While I started this book over a year ago, I was about 3/4 of the way through when I ran into about 50 missing pages.  The publishing company replaced it for me right away but I just kind of ran out of steam to pick it up again.  Well this last month I determined to start it again and I'm so glad I did.  So much treasure in it.

~ carbonated water ~ I usually drink the flavored sparkling waters and definitely have favorites in those flavors but both Hubby and I have really been enjoying the one pictured below that we found at C*stco.  It's under their brand name but apparently imported from Italy.  Who knows, but we both find it super thirst quenching ice cold on these hot days and like it better than plain tap water and any other brand of inflavored carbonated water we've tried.  

What were your favorite blessings this week?

Friday's Fave Five #890

Welcome to Friday and Friday's Fave Five.  We are intentionally looking back over the week to find the blessings that God has sent our way.  We are developing our abilities of noticing those good things, whether big or small, and remembering to be thankful for them.

~ no tornado ~  well yesterday afternoon the air got real hot and heavy and the next thing we knew we had tornado watches and warnings happening within a 130 km radius of the city.  The city itself was under orange alert but some of the counties to the south east were in the red alert warning but thankfully no actual emergency alerts were issued.  In the city I was more worried about hail that comes with weather like that but we didn't see any of that either.   Though it's rare that we get really dangerous tornadoes, they can still do a lot of  damage to farms and there have been a handful of really devastating ones in the province over the decades, the latest being an EF4 in 2023.  Thankful this didn't materialize.

~ brace ~ one of the recommendations from the Acute Knee Injury Clinic was for me to try an off loading brace.  I had my appointment this week and was fitted and now have it at home.  The blessing is I get to try it for 2 weeks for free to see if it helps and if I like it.   And because I'm now of that "mature" age and have no extended benefits a gov't program funds it fully.  Good thing because when I looked it up online it's over $600!  Yikes.  But it seems to be helping so far.  

~ fun evenings ~ over summer my ladies study doesn't meet regularly for study but we'll have a few meet-ups for fun.  This week we met for a night of fun painting.  One of the ladies wanted fun artwork on her fence and invited us all to participate.   She wanted us to  be creative and do whatever.  I went for the visit and didn't think I'd paint but ended up adding a little something.  It was a fun evening.

~ blooms are a blessing ~ flowers just make me think of God as the Creator and Artist and bring a smile.  I love putzing around in the cool of the morning dead heading and watering.  The plantars seem to be doing well so far and are setting my deck and front porch ablaze in color.

~ new treats ~ these yummy treats I found at C*stco.  With little sugar one takes care of the sweet chocolate craving.

What were your favorite blessings from the week?

All Booked Up by Melody Carlson ~ Book Review

It's been 18 months since Riva's beloved husband Paul passed away from cancer.  She thought she was dealing with the grief but she's still rambling about their beautiful Victorian home with no motivation to either go out or to keep the place up. And with all Paul's medical bills still being paid off she is looking at having to sell the home.  But Riva loves this home.  Not only was it where she and Paul have lived practically their whole married lives but it is where she grew up and it's been in her family for three generations. While her daughter is pushing her to sell the home, Riva is reluctant to leave the memories and her and Paul's precious collection of loved books.  As she considers her options, an opportunity to rent some of her empty rooms comes across her path and before she knows it her home now houses a mix of eclectic "women of a certain age".  When one of the women's older brother starts coming around can this mix of women find grace for each other and make space for each to grow and thrive.

This was an easy summer read.  Loved the bookish theme that was hinted at throughout and wish it would have explored a little deeper into that.  While I liked the main character and the free spirited Windy, I did find a couple of the characters really unlikeable through most of the story and I did feel all the characters were much too gossipy creating drama reminiscent of teenagers rather than grown women.  In the end there was character growth that redeemed it but I also found the ending wrapped up a little too quickly so the growth seemed sudden.  Maybe it might be a spring board for future books?

Rated it 7.5/10

Friday's Fave Five #898

Hi everyone!  Welcome back to Friday's Fave Five! Looking for our blessings throughout the last week and pausing to be thankful for them.  Some blessings are quiet and some are bold and obvious but we are grateful for each one God sends our way.  Please join in by sharing your favorite five from the last week.

~ surprise pop ins ~ once in awhile my Paramedic son does a transfer from the big city to our hospital and when he does, if he has time after the transfer, he'll pop in and say a quick hello.  We only live a few blocks from the hospital and he never stays more than a few minutes but this makes my whole day.  That he knows this makes me happy and he takes the time is such a blessing.  (Personally I think he also derives great amusement and satisfaction in scaring his mother half to death by either whooping the ambulance siren in the driveway, using the door lock entry code knowing I'll wonder who's trying to get in the door or by sticking his face in my front window until I notice but we'll just go with the story that he loves his Mom. 😂 I don't think he'll ever lose some of the " prankster boy" in him).  I get to meet his co-workers, which I also love, get a hug and a quick catch up and he's on his way.  

~ slower back to work week ~ I'm very thankful that after my week off work spent in pain and discomfort that I had a much slower re-entry week into work.  Other than Tuesday, which was a full house of 6 kids, I've only had four children here the other days.  It's been beautiful outside so we've spent lots of time outdoors which means I haven't had to go up and down the basement steps myriad times a day.  The kids have been sweet and helpful.  All in all a good week back to work.  

~ leftovers ~  yes, leftovers a couple of times this week were a blessing when I was just so tired at the end of the day that cooking was the last thing I wanted to do.  It was so nice just to reheat a healthy meal rather than starting from scratch or getting takeout.  

~ short neighborhood walks ~ I've been able to take Tux out for a little walk most days this week.  It's only around the block right now but I'm grateful for the progress from where I was 2 weeks ago.  

~dishwasher ~ super thankful for the blessing of a dishwasher in my home.  It's the hardest working appliance in the house.  I would be tied to the sink constantly if I didn't have one.  Never want to take it for granted.

What were blessings in your life this week?

“It is only with gratitude that life becomes rich!”  

–Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Friday's Fave Five #897

Hi everyone.  Welcome back to Friday's Fave Five.  Thanks for your faithfulness in joining me on the journey to make looking for my blessings my every day habit  and praising God for each and every one that He sends along the way to help uplift me and let me know He is there.  Not gonna lie, this has been a rough week but there have still been blessings that have come.  I'm thankful I have this weekly habit of the FFF and you, my encouraging friends, to help me to keep looking for those glimpses of God even in harder weeks.  Please join in with me yet again in sharing your five favorite blessings of the week.

~ prayers of family and friends ~ after I posted of my knee injury last week it took a turn for the worst and I had a rough week of pain in my knee.  Pain like I've never had.  I had to take Friday off work because I could not even walk.  I am so thankful that I had people in my life that I could take the prayer request to and know that they would praying for me.  I don't know what I would do without them all.

~ time off ~ by some small miracle, this happened to be one of my holiday closure weeks.  I didn't have to work so I could rest that knee lots.  I make my holiday closure list way back in February so the fact that I happened to have a week off when I was so hurting and so needed it was amazing.  Coincidence?  I think not, I call it God-incidence.  Did God plan for me to get hurt?  Not a chance.  But He knows all and knew I would need the recovery time.  

~ appointment with the Acute Knee Injury Clinic ~  another God-incidence blessing was that my appointment with the Acute Knee Injury Clinic was this week.  I was referred here back at the end of February when I ripped my cartilage.  I was seen by a doctor and sport therapist and now at least I have answers and a plan.  There is a certain anxiety reducing relief to know what exactly the injury is  and how to move forward.

~ beautiful bouquet and treats ~ one of my littles who I've had since he was 18 months is graduating my program and moving on to grade 1.  He and his mom popped by with gifts and a card that made me cry.  I'm going to miss him but he is so ready to go to school.  And I still have his little brother so I'll still get to see him once in a while.

~ helpful and caring hubby ~ though he has been swamped with work this week, Hubby has been so helpful in so many ways.  He has brought takeout home every night at his insistence so that I don't have to cook, he's run to the store I don't know how many times, he cleaned up the kitchen every night on his own and he's stayed so quiet when he gets up so that I can sleep in in the morning knowing I was probably up in the night trying to reposition my knee into a better spot.  

Whether a good or bad week there is always something to be thankful for.  Did you find 5 blessings to share?  If you have and you've made a FFF post please feel free to link to your post.  Happy 4th of July to my U.S. blogging friends.

I love this quote.  Life isn't always perfect but there is always something to be grateful for.  It's so important where we choose to put our focus.