First 5 Kindle Books Read This Year

Are you a Kindle reader like I am? I use the app on my phone to read and I keep my Kindle Oasis on my nightstand for reading in bed before I go to sleep each night. I like to keep track of what I read and Kindle makes it easy. With the reading insights you can see consecutive days or weeks of reading. Currently I have read 98 weeks in a row and 313 days in a row. 

You can also set goals for yourself about the number of books you want to read in a year. Last year I read 70 books. Actually I read a few more that that but the others were "real" books and I track those in a reading notebook. Confession, I am a list maker and have to stop myself sometimes from seeing list making equivalent to actually doing something. That is why I don't create To Do lists anymore. But getting back on track here. So far this year I have read and enjoyed 5 Kindle books so far.

1. Knitting and Murder by Gillian Larkin.
2. The Best of Friends by Lucinda Berry
3. The Wise Ass by Tom McCaffrey
4. Hummingbird Land by Carolyn Brown
5. Half a Heart by Karen McQuestion.

The books on my Kindle are from the Prime Reading Library or one of the First Reads choices available each month for free. I am a bit frugal when it comes to reading. Prime Reading and libraries can easily keep me in material for the rest of my life.

You are interested in a Kindle of your own I will share links to what I have and the cover I use too. (These are affiliate links and I may earn a bit from qualified purchases.)

This Kindle is an update from mine that is a couple years old. Find it here.

This is the cover or case I have and have been very happy with how is has help up with a couple years of use so far. You could get yours in blue or another color here.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

What to Bring on a Road Trip

Since Jim has retired, we seem to spend a lot of time traveling. I have lost track of how many times we have been to my mother's house which is a long day from Arizona to Southern California usually in a lot of traffic. We have also gone from here to Utah, Wyoming and Northern California. 

On all our trips Jim drives. He likes to do it and I go along with that but sometimes for me being a passenger is hard. We drive differently. I have been accused of driving like a little old lady but guess what? I am a little old lady so the label is fine with me. He, on the other hand, is a bit more aggressive and (I am very sorry) spends too long hanging out in the left lane.

To keep myself from getting jumpy, nervous and turning into a passenger seat driver I need something to keep me occupied. I can read with no problem most of the time so the Kindle app on my phone comes in handy. I do want to do more that stare at a screen so I added another activity to this weekend's short trip to see my sister. I think I have found the perfect, for me, road trip knitting pattern.

The picture below shows the progress made over the weekend on the road with some more knitting done while watching Netflix in the hotel before bed. I was working on a triangular garter stitch shawl with a 2-row easy to read pattern. Row 1 has 4 yarn overs, 2 of them 2 stiches in from each edge and 2 more on each side of a single center stitch. The part I like is in row 2. In that row the yarn overs are knit through the back loop. Doing row 2 this way avoids having holes and lets the newly done increases blend into the other surrounding stitches very nicely. The pattern is easy to read so even if I have to lay it down for a bit, I can tell which row I need to do next when I pick the project back up. Also let's face it, nothing beats the lovely squishiness of the humble garter stitch and I love soft squishy knits.

This shawl is being made with Lion Brand Shawl in a Ball on size 8 bamboo circulars. I like using the less slippery bamboo for car knitting. Those needles make it easier to not loose stitches when encountering random bumps in the road. This yarn is a machine washable blend of 58% cotton, 39% acrylic, 3% other fiber. Yes, the label says other fiber and I have no idea what the means and I have never seen something like that before. The colorway is named Mindful Mauve. I would personally just call it purple and gray.

I know the goal is to post every Monday but this week I was away, so Tuesday is good enough. Probably won't be the last time I miss a Monday but hopefully I can stick to a weekly post mostly on Mondays. We'll see.

Thanks for reading and if you are inclined, leave a comment, just  a friendly hello would make my day.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

One Thing to do in Jackson Hole

If you find yourself in Jackson Hole to visit or even to live there is one place I think everyone should go. I highly and I mean very highly, recommend the National Museum of Wildlife Art. This wonderful place is just outside of town on the road to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. When you are driving out of town look to the left to see metal sculptures of a group of buffalo and then elk and you will see the entrance to the steep drive to the museum. 

If the weather is nice or you are prepared for whatever it is, starting with a walk outside to see all the outdoor displays is a good idea. Don't forget to look up the hill above from the parking lot to spot wildlife. Deer and other animals are often seen on that hill. Once inside there are spotting scopes for you to use to look out at the National Elk Refuge.

I was fortunate to be able to visit the museum in December last year. One of the collections to view at that time was National Geographic's 50 Greatest Wildlife Photographs. I am not sure any description of mine could do this amazing collection of images could do it justice. This exhibit will be available until April 24, 2022, so you still have time to see this one.

Other exhibits include paintings and sculptures in metal or stone. Native basket skills are represented here too. For those of you that have young children in your group, there is a place just for them to explore that includes puppets and a stage as well as paper and crayons for their own creations and play. You can find your favorite wildlife represented in the art here. Below are some of my favorites from my December visit.

Owls in paint and stone.

 A group of elephants coming at you to get away from a fire.

Bears, Bears, Bears!

In paint with fur so real looking you want to pet him but please don't!

In a photo by Thomas Mangelson who is the champion of the famous bear mom 399 with her 4 cubs!

And as a sculpture.

The bears are part of or found close to another exhibit that will be at the museum until May 15, 2022. Be sure and check out While They're Sleeping: A Story of Bears.

Also on the site are a gift shop for souvenirs and gifts, and a cafe for a bite to eat before you go on your way to more adventures.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

New Year, New Goals, New Organization

Happy New Year! I know that happened because we waited up till 10 pm to see the ball drop and watch CNN folks get drunk and be drunk. Really who actually thinks this is a good look for a professional news network? We are in Arizona, so we didn't have to stay up until midnight here for it to officially 2022 in the States and that's fine with us.

The neighborhood was a bit loud with fireworks but earbuds with soothing music took care of that noise. I got up the next morning to watch the Rose Parade. It is one of my favorite New Year traditions. I love parades! What about you?

New goals? It's in the title so I guess I should let you know about that or as another blogger I follow would put it, leaving notes about it for future Kathy.

I organized my days to include activities for housework, exercise, my Etsy shop, social media and affiliate promotions. I put it all on a chart and put it on the fridge so even Jim can see it if he cares to check on what I am doing each day while he sits in his recliner watching tv and snoozing. (He does more than that, but I like to tease him.) In case you are wondering Mondays are scheduled to have a blog post done. Well, here we are, first Monday right on time. I hope I don't find it too difficult to keep this up.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!