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Country Life Crochet

Country Life Crochet is a 1000-piece puzzle from Cobble Hill, and the artist is Jessica White. She has actually created several different crochet puzzle designs, and I have this one and the Halloween one.

The image is amazing! The stitches are so detailed, and they look so real that you would think you could touch them. That level of detail combined with the random cut of the pieces made this puzzle incredibly difficult, though. It took several sessions to finish it, even with my friend Suzanne helping one evening.

Here are some close ups of a few of the blocks:

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Amazon First Reads – April 2025

Amazon First Reads this month included one book chosen from a small selection of different genres and a bonus short story.

My Book Pick

Betting on Good by Wendy Francis – A Kentucky Derby weekend for two couples tests the high-stakes boundaries of friendship and marriage in a witty, winning, and emotional novel by the author of Feels Like Summer.

Bonus Short Story

The One That Got Away by Mike Gayle – A story about exes and how to get over them. Or not.

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Autism Mother to Mother Luncheon

For the past several months, I have been part of a committee planning a luncheon for mothers of kids with autism. I was in charge of registration, which included communicating with the moms who had signed up for the luncheon as well as getting everything we needed to hand out at registration together.

It was a lot of work and was stressful at times, but it was so worth it! The event took place last Saturday, and we had over 70 moms in attendance. We also provided childcare for about 20 kids. In addition to the lunch itself, there was a program that was simulcast from the main location in Chambersburg to our location in Harrisburg and one additional location in Lebanon.

One of the neat things about the luncheon is that we find different people to design each table and decorate it with china and a centerpiece and small favors for the moms at that table. We also collect gift baskets and other items to raffle off to the moms. The event was hosted by a local church, New Love in Christ, who provided so much support! The pastor’s wife even created some amazing balloon art for the fellowship hall and the sanctuary.

One of the tables
Several of the other tables
Registration Area
Gift Table
Sanctuary Balloon Art
Fellowship Hall Balloon Art

The speaker for the event was Kate Swenson, co-author with Carrie Cariello and Adrian Wood of Autism Out Loud: Life with a Child on the Spectrum, from Diagnosis to Young Adulthood (which we all got a copy of). She shared about her experiences raising an autistic child and focused a lot on the need to be part of a community instead of living in isolation. It was very encouraging, and I am happy to say that I did make a few new connections that day. I am so glad I decided to get involved with the planning of this incredible event.

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The Kiss Quotient

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

Somehow I had read the third book in this series back in 2022, so I decided I should read the first two as well.

These books are sexy romances that feature autistic women at the center of the stories, and I really appreciate the representation of autism in fiction.  It’s important to show that autism presents differently in women than in men and to provide an understanding of the challenges we face. Hoang does a good job of this, especially as she was going through her own journey of being diagnosed with autism at the time.

As for the plot, it was pretty standard fare for a sexy romance.  The main character Stella wants to learn how to enjoy sex and decides to hire a professional to teach her, and that’s how we meet Michael, an escort with his own story to tell. From there, it’s basically a reverse Pretty Woman scenario.

In the end, my take is that it was a fun romance with some good insight into autistic women.

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What I’m Reading – April 2025

What I’m Reading Now

I am currently reading Billy Straight by Jonathan Kellerman. It was published in 1998 and was the first in his Petra Connor series which ended up only having two installments. I am really enjoying it.

What I Recently Finished

Fiction

  • The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick (Contemporary Fiction)
  • Pick Me Up by Cecelia Joyce (Romance)
  • Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree (Fantasy)
  • Pages to Fill by Travis Baldree (Fantasy Short Story)
  • The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (Romance)
  • Ordinary Life: Stories by Elizabeth Berg (Contemporary Short Stories)
  • The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (Young Adult)
  • Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison (Chick Lit)

Nonfiction

  • Baby Dinosaurs on the Ark? The Bible and Modern Science and the Trouble of Making It All Fit by Janet Kellogg Ray

What I Added to my TBR

In March, I added 27 novels and 2 short stories to my TBR.

TBR Stats/Goal Updates

  • I currently have 171 books on my TBR (yes, it keeps growing!)
  • Of those, 17 are nonfiction and 154 are fiction
  • I finished 7 more of my 25 in 2025 list, bringing that total to 13
  • I have finished 28 books so far this year, so I am well on my way to my goal of 75
  • One of my goals was to read 2 nonfiction books each month. So far this year I have read 1 per month. I’m not mad about that; I have a hard time making myself read nonfiction even when I am interested in the topic.

If you’re on Goodreads, feel free to add me as a friend. I’m always looking for new recommendations!

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Catching Up – March 2025

March has been one of my busiest months in a while, and I am ready for things to slow down.

One of the things that has been keeping me quite busy is being on the planning committee for the 10th Autism Mother to Mother Luncheon that is taking place this Saturday. I am in charge of registration, which also includes getting everything ready that we are going to hand out in the folders for each mom. I am glad to be working on that and not more people-intensive things like fundraising or recruiting volunteers, but it has still been stressful at times.

I haven’t been able to do much puzzling because of the luncheon planning. I completed two puzzles on my own and two puzzles with friends at the church brunch & craft event. Even with that, one of the puzzles I did on my own was only 99 pieces!

Here is how far I am on my current puzzle:

I did reach a milestone on my puzzle Instagram – I hit 1000 followers! I am quite pleased by that. I only have 150 followers on my Bookstagram, although probably half of those are people I know IRL and I usually average only 10 likes per post on there. I’m not really sure if it will grow much because most of the accounts I look at to consider following are into romance, romantasy, fantasy, or thrillers. On the other end are more literary accounts, which I prefer but don’t feel I can compare myself to. It is harder to find people similar to myself on there, whereas with puzzles it is quite easy to find common ground and even if their tastes are different from mine, I don’t usually mind too much.

I have also started posting my puzzles and book reviews on my Facebook feed. There are a few people who like them and since they aren’t on Instagram, I do it mainly for them. I get nervous posting books that relate to my faith journey because I have a number of conservative friends on there, but no one has said anything mean or argumentative so far. I don’t really want to spark debates; I just want to share what is going on with me and hope maybe it will make someone think a bit.

Michael is still job hunting, but he has had some success in his health journey. He has been climbing stairs during the winter while it has been too cold to go on walks and can really tell a difference in his stamina. He also weighed in at 199 lbs a few days ago when we saw the weight management doctor, which was very exciting! I am very happy for him to be taking care of himself so well. I wish I could say the same about myself.

Here is a screenshot of my puzzle Instagram when it hit 1000 followers:

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Legends & Lattes

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree started out as a self-published novel and was so successful that it was picked up by a traditional publisher and is currently being translated into 9 languages.  I’m not sure how it got on my radar, but I’m so glad it did!

📜Summary📜

Worn out after decades of packing steel and raising hell, Viv the orc barbarian cashes out of the warrior’s life with one final score. A forgotten legend, a fabled artifact, and an unreasonable amount of hope lead her to the streets of Thune, where she plans to open the first coffee shop the city has ever seen.

However, her dreams of a fresh start pulling shots instead of swinging swords are hardly a sure bet. Old frenemies and Thune’s shady underbelly may just upset her plans. To finally build something that will last, Viv will need some new partners and a different kind of resolve.

A hot cup of fantasy slice-of-life with a dollop of romantic froth.

💬My Thoughts💬

I absolutely loved this book!  Everything was on point – the characters, the setting, the friendships that develop, the slow burn romance, the twists and turns of the plot.  I enjoyed following Viv as she left the life of an adventurer and began a new life as an entrepreneur, and I especially liked how she was able to create a community for herself and develop strong relationships with a trusted few.

Reading this book took me back to my teens and twenties when I lived for fantasy and science fiction. If you like cozy or slice-of-life fantasy, I highly recommend giving Legends & Lattes a read.

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The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper was Phaedra Patrick’s debut novel, published in 2016. I have read several of her more recent books and was interested to go back and read the ones I had missed. I’m glad I started with this one because it was quite enjoyable.

Arthur Pepper’s wife passed away a year ago, and he has continued living with the same mundane routines he always had. On the anniversary of her death, however, he finds a mysterious gold charm bracelet among her things and embarks on a quest to find out where each of these charms came from.

As he follows the clues he uncovers, he learns a lot about the woman his wife was before they met and is himself taken on a journey of hope, healing, and self-discovery.

I found this to be a sweet and engaging story. I sympathized with Arthur as he stepped way out of his comfort zone, and I enjoyed meeting all of the quirky characters along the way. Some of them were quite ridiculous, but Patrick somehow makes them work. I also liked how Arthur’s relationship with his children changed and grew throughout the book. 

I highly recommend this book, and this author. I still have a few books of hers to catch up on, and I am very much looking forward to them.

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Parenthese Enchantee

Parenthese Enchantee is a 500 piece puzzle from Trevell, and the artist is La Jeanette.

Such a gorgeous image! I have been eyeing this puzzle for a while now and am so glad I got it. I love all the beautiful colors and interesting details, and the matte finish on the pieces is so nice. The packaging is wonderful too. It came with a nice poster and a cotton drawstring bag holding the pieces.

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The Color of Compromise

The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby

This was an intense and compelling read. Tisby takes us through the history of racism in America and highlights the ways that the church has participated in and contributed to the problem during each period. 

Each time progress has been made, there has been a corresponding backlash either outright opposing the forward movement or simply failing to be supportive. After slavery was abolished, we saw the introduction of the KKK and Jim Crow laws. After the Civil Rights Act was passed, we saw segregation academies established and white communities resisting residential desegregation. 

Tisby goes on to discuss the organizing of the religious right at the end of the twentieth century and the rise of law-and-order politics. He also delves into the more recent responses to the black lives matter movement and the 2016 presidential election. 

In the last chapter, titled “The Fierce Urgency of Now,” Tisby offers practical ways to address racial injustice in America. He presents solutions that go beyond the conventional advice to focus on the relational aspects of race and instead combat the structures and institutions of racial inequality in our country.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. The combination of historical overview with practical strategies for implementing racial justice in our churches and communities is incredibly powerful.