The Wooden Porch: Contest: $25 JoAnn Fabrics Gift Card

The Wooden Porch: Contest: $25 JoAnn Fabrics Gift Card

BOOK REVIEW - Gone by Lisa Gardner

At the suggestion of another blogger Sherry. I read Gone by Lisa Gardner. I usually don't read suspenseful thrillers but I was ready for something different. The plot surrounds an investigation of a missing person who is the wife of a former FBI worker turned private investigator. She is held for ransom by a sadistic killer who keeps emphasizing he is not a monster but something will happen if the husband does not cooperate.
It definitely kept my interest especially reading one night till midnight to finish it. I did not know who the killer was till the end but then again I am not the type of person that reads between the lines and says "I know who did it." What was so intense for me was that there was a lot revealed about the many characters in the novel. They all had some secret thoughts being revealed about their personal lives. But Lisa Gardner had well-developed characters all except the killer. You only got to know him at the end when he was caught. Maybe that is why I never suspected that person as the suspect.

I decided to read a less intense book after this one by Luanne Rice called The Secret Hour. To my dismay this book is about a lawyer for a another sadistic killer who is sitting on death row trying to prove his mental illness appeal. I will tell you about this one when I finish it soon.

STINKY ASPARAGUS

My daughter-in-law does not like asparagus. I love it. When I was growing up I never got to eat it because my mom probably did not like it. She also did not serve gourmet vegetables, just the basics. I could not understand why my dil did not like it. I even grew it for a short time many years ago.
Well, her reason was that it makes your urine smell bad, or worse than it should maybe. I never thought about it till she told me this and it is true. I found an article in the paper not to long ago that gave me some information about it.
The odor is a result of amino acids being metabolizied from the asparagus. Asparagus is high in these amino acids. A compound called methyl mercaptan then causes a sulfur related smell. I would not describe it as sulfur like nor cabbage like, just a weird smell.
It is interesting also that not everyone can smell this odor nor does everyone produce this odor in their urine. It is genetical as to whether you do or don't.
So if you do eat asparagus this spring pay close attention to the odor after you go to the bathroom afterwards. It can take about a half hour for this to happen. I f you notice nothing strange you are on of the lucky percentage.
It only bothers me since I was made aware of the fact so now I seem to notice it more. But I still love asparagus.
You should be reassured, however, that the smell in the urine is not a sign of disease, and so it is not a reason to stop eating asparagus, which contains more folic acid than any other vegetable. Asparagus is also low in fat, cholesterol, and sodium, but rich in fibre, potassium, thiamine, vitamins A, C, and B6, and glutathione, which is a powerful antioxidant.
I am still usually blogging at my other blogs at http://www.homesteadblogger.com/abigasfarm/
or at Blessings from Abiga.

THURSDAY THIRTEEN

Where have I been you might ask if you read this. I have stayed over at my comfy spot where I still know what I am doing. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Abiga51
But here is the latest.

For THURSDAY THIRTEEN here are 13 animal sayings or expressions of speech we use that don't mean exactly what they say. Some will be familiar to you. Underneath the list you can read what they really mean.

1.Take a gander.
2.She squirreled it away.
3.Stop badgering me.
4.Bright-eyed and bushy-taled.
5.Not in a coon's age.
6.The buck stops here.
7.It threw a monkey wrench into our plans.
8.You could've knocked me down with a feather.
9.He's sitting in the catbird seat.
10A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
11.As proud as a peacock.
112.My head is full of cobwebs.
13.This is a fine kettle of fish.

These were all taken from the book There's a Frog in my Throat 440 animal sayings a little bird told me by Loreen Leedy and Pat Street Here's what they mean and the animal associated with it. (some animals are obvious.)

1.Take a look. (goose)
2.She saved it for later. (squirrel)
3.Stop pestering me. (badger)
4.Wide-awake and energetic. (squirrel)
5.Not for a long time. (raccoon)
6.I take full responsibility. (deer)
7.It ruined our plans. (monkey)
8.I was very surprised. (bird)
9.He has the advantage. (catbird)
10.Don't lose what you have by trying to get even more. (bird)
11.Vain. (peacock)
12.I can't think straight. (spider)
13.This is a predicament. (fish)

There you have it. Blessings.

Ridiculous!!

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/abiga51
I cannot seem to get a picture to come up even after following the directions here at blogspot. I am so frustrated at using computers and blogs. Nothing ever seems to work right. And worse yet I am talking to myself because I know noone is going to read this. I am trying to post the same postings at both sights as an experiment in who knows what. Well, anyway I may not be around anymore here that is. See me at homeschool blogger for my previous and future posts I think.
The post below was put on my homeschoolblogger blog.

I know a lot of people have complained about the difficulties over here on this blog site, posting etc. The only problem I have had is that sometimes things just won't come up or it takes so long. But once my d taught me the new procedures to do pictures, posts, friends, RSS feeds, and links I have not had a problem with making a post.
Now on the other hand I decided to also try my hand at blogging on blogspot at http://www.abigaslife.blogspot.com/ Well I have not been able to get any pictures put on it in spite of following the directions. I also have had so many error messages from their site I was ready to throw in the towel so to speak with this new place. The pictures just wont appear even though I follow their directions. So I will end my day at blogging for now and ask my so so smart d what to do in the morning. sometimes she can figure it out. I am taking deep breaths and counting to ten..... one , two, three
BLESSINGS.

Making My Bed

I never have enough time to do all the things I would like to do. If I am home I can study a gazillion things like different languages, the computer, home school topics, currently the Civil War, sewing, quilting, and the list goes on and on. I could read my latest stack of magazines that have been neglected lately or one of many novels of all types and settings that I own or have checked out from the library. I can also sew, quilt, knit, or crochet my latest project or start a new one. I even have a how to learn to draw book with art pencils and colored pencils of which I have only gotten through the first lesson so far. I can blog and read blogs while commenting too. I don’t mind cleaning or washing dishes, watching my grandchildren, or anything associated with drudgery around the house. I could always walk a few miles if the weather was good or go to Curves for some work out time. But today I don’t think I have to go to Curves. I unmade my bed, washed the sheets, and remade my bed.

Making my bed is not a simple every week task. I have started to not wash the sheets every week anymore because of the time consuming hard work that it is but don’t tell anyone as it is a secret. It is a hardship not having fresh sheets each week but I have learned to live with it.
First I have to remove the cat or cats that might happen to be sunning themselves in the window if it truly is a sunny day. They might be there anyway because the heating vent blows across the bed and makes it cozy for them. They don’t always want to be moved if they are comfortable. Then I have to remove the tons of bedding that keep me warm on a cold winter’s night even though there is a heating vent right there. Hey, when that furnace shuts off it gets cold until it goes on again. Today I decided to take the second bottom sheet off to wash also and then also throw the quilt that serves as a mattress pad in the dryer to get the dust off and refresh it. I have to haul all this bedding down from the attic floor to the basement area. Plus my room is on the opposite side of the attic floor to the stairs. Then of course I wash it all, dry it all, and haul it back upstairs to the top of the mountain err I mean house. Let it be known that I also am washing my other clothes today that require numerous trips up and down those same stairs to adjust the washer or dryer loads or hang things up to dry in the basement. I am trying to convince myself you see not to go to Curves today. The house is so cozy today.

After the clean dry bedding is back up here I first apply the quilt to the mattress to serve as my mattress pad. (One less thing to buy on a charge card that won’t get paid off soon enough.) Then I put on a fitted sheet.
Oh, did I tell you my bed is wedged in by three walls, actually two walls and a windowed wall in a front alcove of the attic floor with low ceilings. So to do any of this I am describing requires some acrobatic movements jumping around on the bed or wedging one leg between the windows and the bed and then bounding back over it again.
Back to my description. After this fitted sheet I put on my flannel fitted sheet with the snowmen and reindeer. I wonder how I will feel about this choice in March when the weather changes because I will still want that soft flannel feeling. Of course next is the flat sheet, then a thin quilt, next a solid woolen blanket bought in Holland, Michigan by my parents eons ago, a cotton weave blanket, with this all topped with a thick comforter.
Well, that is not all because I forgot that the bottom half of the bed gets covered with another wool and flannel antique quilt from my dad’s family. This should insure that all warmth will be captured within all of these layers and stay where it belongs. And on top of this is a thin pink crocheted prayer shawl sometimes used when reading in bed at night.
Do I get cold at night you might ask? I sure do without all of this plus my flannel pajamas with a shirt underneath. Ridiculous you might say, too bad, I sort of stay warm when that furnace is off.
And don’t forget making my bed includes putting the pillowcases back on six pillows. I used to have two throw pillows on top too but I got tired of taking them off and putting them back on everyday. Yes, I do make that bed everyday. It’s easy because you just roll this gigantic quilted layer of sheets, blankets, and comforters back into place.
Hmmm, what else could I do on a cold winter’s day, how about the bathroom but that would really be a boring post now wouldn’t it.
Blessings.