July reading

Well, that was a bit of an unintentional holiday from blogging. We'd no internet for days, days I tell you and so instead of spending time on-line reading and generally nosing around in other peoples' lives I have been forced to spend time with my husband, my children, my friends, my laundry basket and myself and oh, what a relief it is to find all is working in the www.world.com again.

I did however use the time to do some reading and am well through my book for July Marking Time by Elizabeth Howard. It's the second in the Cazalet family series and picks up where the first book left off, so now the family are in 1940 and the reality of war is starting to bite. It's perfect for this time of year when having a book that you can pick up and put down, as children demand, is needed. It's also fairly much character driven so there's no pesky plot wranglings to deal with if you have to leave it for a day or two. I'll also be reading The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins and A House in the Country by Jocelyn Playfair from Persephone Books. So those are my choices for The Year in Books  over at Circle of Pine Trees.

spring reading

The calendar tells me it's early March, the beginning of Spring. I happen to know otherwise. It's still very cold and wintry here and with snow showers and blustery wind it's hard to believe Spring has come. These days I am never very far away from a pot of tea. I warm my hands around a favourite cup and there's gingerbread too. Of course a new month means a new book as part of Laura's The Year in Books. This time it's The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard. The first in a series it follows the Cazalet family just as the world stands on the cusp of war. I'm looking forward to starting it and if the weather continues its wintry ways I think some fireside reading will be time well spent.

needs and wants

Beautifully simple - everyone needs an angel and I love the sage green, the oak leaf and acorn wings and those pointy feet. Woodcut by Sarah Young

Hobnail Pitcher from Pentreath and Hall, described as 'ugly-beautiful' though I don't see the ugly myself. I love that turquoise...

Antique cheese boards - for our healthy (?) love of cheese
Pointers by James Brown - if only everything was as black and white!

For those of us on lazy summer holidays how about a little Cloud Classification, also by James Brown

Books, books, books...can never have enough really. I have just started Wolf Hall so that will take my reading time for a while, I imagine. But after that I was thinking of a series and the Cazalet family might just fit the bill.