Book Club At Brenda's

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The Year We Left Home by Jean Thompson...

Brenda's choice for our read this month, an Iowa story of a family during the early 1980's. It had great reviews from all Brenda's research, but from these Iowa readers... we felt the author needed to do a bit of research on Iowa life. Needless to say, not a big hit... but please Brenda keep up the choosing... it's just not a big deal, they can't all be a hit. But I can say this! The food ideas you got from the book were a big hit!!! Brenda has promised to post the recipes on her blog and I am looking forward to that! Let me tell you... it was a delicious meal!!!

Do check out my pictures of Brenda's great July table setting. She has a gift for making a very festive table to enjoy as well. Her beautiful vignettes of detail grouping was enjoyed by all of us. Thanks Brenda for a wonderful evening.

Our next read well be "A Year on the Ladybug Farm."

Hmmm... another book about a year of life on a farm...

Lemp Mansion

Crazy Quilters Meet

Arrival of many friends,( alias crazy quilters ) to St. Louis area.
Our day of adventure was to begin downtown at Cherokee Street to where the Lemp empire began. It was a brewery that covered five city blocks. An Industrial giant in 1840s, found that he could brew lager beer under the natural cave system under the streets of St. Louis.
The day was spent at the now unused warehouse where many stored treasures were found that crazy quilters can use on their stitched heirlooms.
Then for lunch we headed to John Adam Lemp's mansion pictured below for a delicious lunch.
I have taken many I hope, great pictures to share later.
Now off for some stitching with CQ friends.


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Dose of Happiness

Purple Prairie Tonic, Twiss from our book the Bird Sisters-- with a young girl's idea to sell at the local town fair. I found myself thinking of her idea and felt as if I had a dose of it this weekend.
We celebrated our daughter's birthday with a summertime lunch and her favorite dessert Kringla's and some sunshine deck time.
Yesterday yet another wonderful day with family. Barbecue with all our family sharing time together celebrating Father's Day. All our kids and grandkids. We did miss our youngest son and daughter-in-law.
It was so much of that happiness-- just sharing sweet time visiting on the porch and listening to all the conversations and laughter.
This morning I'm a bit tired from late night thunderstorms and rain. But need to get in gear for it is time for my Crazy Quilt gathering. Looking forward to fun sharing and stitching! Got to get started... More happiness to follow...


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Ancestry Trip

Research showed on the family tree connections to a shared great grandfather with Elvis. Needless to say our granddaughter Maddy was very excited!
Really!? Johannes V. Presler is also thee Elvis's great----grandfather too!
So our Maddy planned a trip to Memphis with her parents. Oh my, she had to visit Graceland!
They just returned home from their trek to Memphis. I am very anxious to hear all about it. I've seen pictures posted but yet to visit with our excited granddaughter.
It was my weekend to work so missed,when they passed through my way on returning home.




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Sharing Bird Sisters

One of my OMBC friends shared much better about this book which I recommend to you for good summer read..

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 2011

Book Club at Bonnie's June 2011


Our book club met last night at Bonnie's. I look forward to book club each month, but we book club members especially look forward to when Bonnie hosts because she always pays so much attention to detail. She incorporates details from the book into everything from the table setting to the food.

All her special touches make a great evening together with friends even more special. Bonnie's book pick for June was The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen. It is a debut book for the author, and we all gave it high ratings. Read about it:

When a bird flies into a window in Spring Green, Wisconsin, sisters Milly and Twiss get a visit. Twiss listens to the birds' heartbeats, assessing what she can fix and what she can't, while Milly listens to the heartaches of the people who've brought them. These spinster sisters have spent their lives nursing people and birds back to health.



But back in the summer of 1947, Milly and Twiss knew nothing about trying to mend what had been accidentally broken. Milly was known as a great beauty with emerald eyes and Twiss was a brazen wild child who never wore a dress or did what she was told. That was the summer their golf pro father got into an accident that cost him both his swing and his charm, and their mother, the daughter of a wealthy jeweler, finally admitted their hardscrabble lives wouldn't change. It was the summer their priest, Father Rice, announced that God didn't exist and ran off to Mexico, and a boy named Asa finally caught Milly's eye. And, most unforgettably, it was the summer their cousin Bett came down from a town called Deadwater and changed the course of their lives forever.


Rebecca Rasmussen's masterfully written debut novel is full of hope and beauty, heartbreak and sacrifice, love and the power of sisterhood, and offers wonderful surprises at every turn.




Last month when Bonnie gave us the book to read, she included a bookmark that she designed and stitched for each of us. She's creative and thoughtful like that.



Bonnie had little bird motifs in the table setting and in her decor.



In the book, the character Milly baked and decorated special owl cookies for Asa, the boy she liked. Bonnie's daughter and book club member, Rebecca, and her daughter Joella baked and decorated owl cookies for us.


The character, Twiss, concocted a special prairie tonic to sell at the fair, and Bonnie duplicated Twiss's tonic. Twiss's tonic was supposed to bring happiness, and just looking at Bonnie's tonic made me happy. She's so clever.



The mother character in the book got to take a ride in an airplane at the fair, and she wore goggles. Bonnie found these great goggles at an auction she attended recently, and they were a perfect addition to The Bird Sisters decor.

Of course the food was as great as the decorations. She served Swiss steak, potatoes, lettuce salad, and kidney bean salad. For dessert we had strawberry pie and lemon pie. Delicious!

So thanks, Bonnie, for another great book club meeting at your wonderful cabin on the prairie. Your delightful touches are appreciated by me and your fellow book club members.

July book club will meet at my house. What a tough act to follow!
POSTED BY BB AT 5:47 AM
LABELS: BONNIE, BOOK CLUB
1 COMMENTS:

Queen Bee's Musings said...
Thanks it is just as fun for me preparing!
Loved sharing with my special OMBC friends. Looking forward to yours as well!

JUNE 8, 2011 4:51 PM
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Bird Sisters

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OMBC featured book at my cabin on the prairie was yesterday! So I have been very busy getting ready for all my special book club friends.
Much search from was done for THE book to chose and had decided on Rebecca Rasmussen's debut novel. Very happy to report it was liked and received good ratings from those dear friends.
It is a treasured story of two sisters growing up in Wisconsin alongside a river and prairie. I do love a theme when entertaining and it fit perfect with my setting.
BUT... I had joined the author's FB page and I told her we were discussing her book. This was her reply,

toThe Bird Sisters
OMBC a book Club in southern Iowa will be discussing your book on June 7!


The Bird Sisters Thank you so much Bonnie!
May 26 at 4:36pm · Like
Bonnie Dudley Book club was a hit! They loved your book!
10 hours ago · Like
Bonnie Story telling brought discussion and memories to us all. Any comments for the Odd-Mannered Book Club. From southern Iowa?!
10 hours ago · Like

The Bird Sisters Thank you so much Bonnie! Pass along my love and thanks to your group! I LOVE your group name by the way :) Comments, let's see... here's a fin fact: I have 4 brothers in real life and no sisters! And: Whenever I am about to make a decision I consult the Milly in me :)
10 hours ago · Like
That was so very fun to hear from Rebecca Rasmussen!