Fall of Giants by Ken Follett

"Fall of Giants" is a fantastic novel by Ken Follett. Set in the early 20th century, this book follows the lives of five families through the first World War, the Russian Revolution, the labor unions and the struggle for women's suffrage.

This is my third Ken Follett novel, and I've come to enjoy his writing style, attention to historical detail and character development. This book is well researched. It does cover a great deal of history and has a large cast of characters. However, even with such a large cast of characters, I never had the problem of forgetting someone or becoming lost in one of the many subplots.

 Earl Fitzherbert's character begins the story as a product of his time. He is a proper British gentleman, and resists the idea of social reform. Aside from his infidelity, he really isn't an unpleasant character. During the war, he fights bravely and with honor. However, as the novel goes on...Fitzherbert's character changes. He becomes more of a villain and his only interest is self preservation.

Maud Fitzherbert and Ethel Williams had a good thing going for them. I wish their characters had been able to reconcile their differences. I feel as if Follett wanted the readers to side with Ethel - the hard working single mothe, vs. Maud - the sister of a wealthy Earl.

In order to include real historical events, some of the happenstance meetings between characters are a bit contrived.  

The book did end with a cliff hanger and I'm looking forward to diving into the second book of this series.

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

It has been one year since the death of the Lord Ruler, and already things aren't looking good for Elend, Vin and the rest of Keliser's old crew. This book is all about surviving in the aftermath of the Skaa rebellion and learning that when it's your turn to actually rule its not as easy as it looks. There are three armies camped outside of Luthadel, the mists are killing people and Vin must find the infamous Well of Ascension before it is too late. 

This book has a lot of soul searching, especially between the main characters. The majority of the real action doesn't happen until the last hundred pages of the book. 

As I read this book, I could imagine it as a TV show on the CW network. There is a son-wanting-to-kill the father subplot, the brother vs. brother subplot, the Vin and Elend romance and lastly the Vin and Zane romance. 

This book was predictable. I'm not a fan of Sanderson's method of telling the the audience the story vs. allowing the audience to see/experience the story. Dose that make any sense?? 

I really liked OreSeur's character. His story was the only one that came as a surprise. I hope to see more of him in the "Hero of Ages." 

the pj project...

I've been thinking about making pj's for the younger kids in my family for Christmas. Before committing to the project, I decided to make a trial pair of pj's for Lucas. I had just enough left over fabric from a previous project for these pj's. It took two afternoon (nap-times) to complete this project, several ripped seams and poked fingers. However, I'm happy with the end results and now I know that I can sew pj's for children. 

Tea Tray

I'm so excited to share my latest creation on this blog! It was a fun project.  I made this tray for my Mother-in-law's birthday. Several weeks ago, Lucas and I were strolling down the woodworking section of Michaels. I was actually looking for shelving ideas and toys boxes for Lucas's bedroom. Although I didn't find what I was looking for, I did come across this little beauty (at the time it was unfinished). I loved the idea of gifting this tray to my Mother-in-law. She is a tea drinker, and often hosts parties where tea is served. After a quick trip to pinterest for painting tips and inspiration, I knew that I had to do this project.

I started by sanding down the edges and surface area of the tray. I did this several times to ensure that I didn't miss any spots. 

 I created the Chevron pattern by drawing three vertical lines. Than I drew three horizontal lines. Next I took my ruler, and drew diagonal lines. 

Once I drew my lines, I taped them off. Before I started painting I pressed the edges of the tape firmly down sealing the tape to the surface of the wood. I painted with the chalkboard paint first. The chalkboard paint needed about three coats of paint. I let the chalkboard paint dry over night, as was suggested by the directions on the paint bottle. After allowing the chalkboard paint to dry overnight, I re-taped my lines and painted with the blue paint. In hindsight, it would have been easier if I had first painted the surface blue, than taped my lines, and than painted with the black paint. However, it worked out and my lines are near perfect. I used behr semitransparent natural ceder wood stain for the top, bottom and sides of the tray. After allowing everything to dry overnight, I sprayed the entire tray with Thompson's water seal. 

I'm really happy with how this project turned out. It is a special, one of a kind gift - for a special one of a kind person! 

17 months

This morning I grabbed my camera and took Lucas to a local park for a quick photo shoot. I wanted to take advantage of the overcast weather.  At first, Lucas wasn't interested in smiling for the camera. He was more interested in playing on the swings and climbing on the toys. However, I finally coaxed a smile or two out of him. This month he will be seventeen months old - where did the time go?

Alphabet Trucks by Samantha R. Vamos

"Start the engines, lift and load. Shift the gears and hit the road.....Day and night, just watch and see. Trucks work hard from A to Z."

Words cannot express how excited I am to have found this book. My son is a huge fan of trucks and recently has become interested in his letters.

With its colorful illustrations, engaging text and fun subject matter, "Alphabet Trucks" is a great addition for any children's library.

Mr. and Mrs. toss pillows

After I saw these Mr. and Mrs. pillows, I knew that I had to make a pair for myself. I'm really happy with how the pillows turned out. I'm definitely keeping this pair, however I can see myself making these pillows for future gifts. :)