jbarrett5: 2014

A Tree for America
Mr Anjer is sent from DC to the Seattle area to supervise the shipment of the White House Christmas tree.
Love the descriptions of the travel from when he first lands to the Leavenworth area. Have been to many of the sites in the area as our family live closeby.
Usually the tree comes from the East Coast, as this is the first time from the Pacific Northwest he needs to accompany the tree all the way back to DC. He calls his boss as he's not too keen to do this.
The truck driver takes Anjer into town to outfit him with clothes for the season and the long 8 day journey back if the truck will be oversized.
Found the story interesting as it tells many details of how the truck is even shifting the gears and why. Husband used to drive the big rigs before we met.
Loved the CB chatter as that is how I met my husband, so much useful information to the truck drivers. Love the travel every step of the way and everything Anjer experiences along the way, priceless!
Explicit directions along the way you could easily do this trip. Anjer thinks the holiday is so commercialized and hates it. Driver shows him how it really is on the road.
Love how Ken the driver pays it forward during a storm. More catastrophes occur and they do what they can...
Excellent read, enjoyed the trip and learning so much of his career.

A Christmas Sampler by Crawford
There are many stories in this collection from all over the world and from all walks of life.
What each one brings is faith,hope and the giving spirit around the holidays, no matter what their station in life is.
Really liked Twain and Henry Thoreau's works on their thoughts of the holiday and in their writings what the holiday means to them.

Follow the Yarn: The Knitting Wit & Wisdom of Ann Sokolowski
Lots of information a knitting club shares about how to knit, why you wash the items, and even how to wrap the yarn from the skein.
Love charity work and pictures of donations-so similiar to my charities over the years.
Book is compiled from others of the life of Ann, she did everything from teach, was a dean and many other things that she never told anyone about.
Knit sampler is such a perfect thing to start with and pictures are shown and instructions on how to make the squares are included.
Great idea-heat test on an unknown yarn. Love basic patterns at the end with instructions on how to do them and variations.
Other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

Knit: Knitting for Experts
This book starts out with various ways to cast on for a project. To me that does not mean you have to be an expert, more like a beginner.
Comes with clear photos of what is being discussed.
Garment tips I found useful but I mainly make sweaters using a raglan sleeve for the best fit.
Chapters on mosiac, entrelac, and lace knitting are included.
Lots of sizing charts are included. The more difficult of things relating to knit are here in this book-not necessarily ones I'd personally consider the most difficult.
Resource information and pattern links are enclosed at the end.

Just Edgings: 75 Crochet Border Patterns to Inspire Your Next Project (Tiger Road Crafts)
Sections depending on the weight of the yarn. Many projects and the stitches and abbreviations are explained.
Easy to follow instructions and pictures are shown to enhance the item.
Such a great resource book. Other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

Letters to Santa
A collection of children's letters to Santa. What they really wish for is for others in their family to be given a gift.
Some are open for Santa to give the orphans gifts meant for themselves. How generous.

Tupperware - The Real Story
Comical look at how and why others band together when it comes to tupperware.
over the years since I first became a housewife and attended a few parties the products do hold up and are replaceable, if they are extinct now they give you a portion of the money back to be spent on some other container they do carry.

Riders on the Storm, My Life with Jim Morrison and the Doors by John Densmore
I recall hearing one of the songs waiting in traffic in NY on our way back from NJ and they were playing the longer version and you could really get into hearing the lyrics and what the song was really about.
Took me by surprise what it was about-so strong and open in the 60's.
Some really beautiful lyrics and some raunchy ones, never understood why all the drugs, guess he didn't like the world he was living in. Great understanding now of how things happened and why and what the songs really mean.
The others met along the way are some of my favorite singers.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

Clean Eating - The All-Day Clean Eating Playbook: Looking to clean and healthy living? Here are tips and recipes to get you started to looking and feeling great
This type of eating is our lifestyle now since my husbands' heart attack a year ago. Love all the fresh vegetables and fruits. What I like just glancing through the categories in this book is the listing of foods to avoid and a section on snacks (junk food).
Recipes sound like the ones we use on a daily basis, there are no pictures and no nutritional information but you can tell from the ingredient list that this is a healthy recipe.

Clean Food Diet: Avoid processed foods and eat clean with few simple lifestyle changes(free nutrition recipes)(natural food recipes) (Special Diet Cookbooks & Vegetarian Recipes Collection Book 4)
Have read other books by the same author and enjoyed the recipes.
We no longer buy processed foods so this will be a good cookbook for us as we avoid it by not buying it.
To us it is not a diet but a whole new lifestyle for us after my husband's heart attack over a year ago.
Other works by the author are highlighted at the beginning of this book. The book is broken up into sections appetizers, meals, breads, salads, soups, and desserts.
Each recipes comes with step by step instructions and also has some nutritional information at the end.
Does not state what a serving size is though.
Some recipes have a very colorful picture to go along with the recipe.

Slow Cooker Comfort Foods
Starts out with basic information about slow cooking, benefits and ease of use.
Few pictures and no nutritional information.
Other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

Bedtime stories: Christmas Heart Bird (Children's books for early readers, ages 4-8)
Illustrated colorful children's book about a heart bird at Christmas time. Roni has to ask his mother what it all means as he has a warm feeling inside and out.
She explains about the heart bird. Great holiday read for the young ones so they have something to look forward to year after year.
Free Christmas cards in the book along with other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

Noelle's Wish ( A Christmas Tale)
Noelle Andrews is once again being fixed up by her best friend Eve for a date.
She has lived with foster parents over the years, some good and some bad...
The girls both work for the beauty company Parker Industries and at Eve's birthday party
Noelle meets Roman-the CEO of the company without knowing who he is and they share details of their upbringing, He had been put up for adoption.
Besides giving her the book of her dreams he offers her a job that she really shouldn't turn down.... she is able to talk about her abuse...
She only wishes for one thing to come true...

A Writer's Gift
Beginning of December and Mark Walker is starting to write what he hopes will be another winning story for the annual Christmas story contest.
He observes people as they scurry around with errands during the holidays and approaches an old friend, Rebecca, divorced now, along with her son Tommy who's pet is sick.
She invites Mark for dinner and he is able to read the letter Tommy wrote to Santa, he only wants his pet to get well for a gift this year. He tells Rebecca of the contest for $1000 and they think Tommy and Mark together could write the story and win.
The little boy knows they must win to get the money for the pets surgery but doesn't understand when they send it that they didn't win. He's confused and upset and the magic of Christmas comes to light.

The True Christmas Story
This is a colorful children's story that tells of the biblical Christmas when Christ was born.
Thought this is a cool tradition before opening gifts and doing other Santa Claus things on this special day as to get back to where it all started.

Desserts in Jars
We made some of these when I was in girl scouts and they are easy and a quick idea for a gift, like for a teacher.
There are pictures but no nutritional information.
Easy to follow instructions and there is a section on tips and even labels to use.
Many other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

Baking Basics and Beyond: Learn These Simple Techniques and Bake Like a Pro
Lot of helpful information and basic know how when it comes to baking.
The recipes: there are only a handful of pictures, no nutritional information or serving sizes.
They do come with tips for a successful product and other secrets.
Although this is the second edition I found some pages were photocopied.

Cupcakes by Daniel Kelley
This story is about Aunt Winfred and she owns and runs the bakery. During the summer months the kids help out.
She calls all the 4 kids, cupcakes but the kids think only the food are cupcakes, not people. They have an interesting story on how their nicknames were picked.
Thought the sexual comments didn't need to be in one of the chapters, kinda set with me wrong.
Like what the phrase means, cupcake and the antics the kids had over the years.

104 Funny Christmas Knock Knock Jokes for kids (Best knock knock jokes) (Series 3 ) (The Joke Book for Kids)
Some of these are hilarious. We are always signing off of Skype with our grandson with knock knock jokes.
Glad we have a bunch more now to share with him.

Sweetness: Delicious Baked Treats for Every Occasion
Methods and techniques and lots of secrets from many in the family go into this cookbook.
A treasure of elegant desserts that will impress anybody, just by looking at them, never mind eating them.
Important information about tools, different terms and other tips are included along with very high color photos.
Recipes are broken up into sections, getting ingredients together, sometimes ahead of time to get them to room temperature, all the tools you will need and very easy to follow step by step by step by step instructions.
No nutritional information. Carrot cakes would be my favorite to try with some ingredient substations as we eat a lot healthier now.
Perfect treats for all events in one's life.

Christmas Crafts for Kids: Easy Christmas Crafts Your Kids Will Love Making!
Love handmade crafts, especially if the kids can help. Really liked the origami folding paper as they remind me of making paper airplanes through Skype with our grandson.
Step by step instructions are easy to follow with photos along the way.
Origami and paper snowflake ornaments would be my favorite to try.
Other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

25 Days of Christmas Treats: Delicious, no-fail recipes to please even the pickiest eater!
Love the idea of baking 1 or 2 different treats that can be enjoyed by the end of the month. I do something similiar as my goodies are all baked by Dec 1 when Santa comes around on his farm tractor and I need to mail out packages to the kids who live far away.
Recipes do come with colorful photos but no nutrtional information.
Most of the recipes have high fat, sodium or chesterol content, too high for our lifestyle.
Some easy to throw together dishes that you can substitute your favorite snacks with.
Other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

Homemade Cheese Recipes: Techniques for Savory, Gourmet Homemade Cheese Recipes (The Easy Recipe)
Was hoping to find a healthier choice using cheese, the French cuisine way.
Lots of background information about the French and cheese over the years.
Very colorful pictures and easy to follow instructions with some nutritional information.
No sodium or cholesterol amounts and the fat content is too high for us to eat.

Solar System! A Kids Book About the Solar System - Fun Facts & Pictures About Space, Planets & More (eBooks Kids Space 1)
Very useful information and facts about the solar system and all the planets. Very colorful pages.
Sections on moons, comets, the sun and the future. Other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

On A Treasure Island: The Magical Globe Adventures - No 3 in the series of kid's illustrated, read to me, bedtime stories
This is the story of 2 kids who play with a globe and go on adventures all over the world. Quite the imagination and the travel to places
they've never been to show colorful pictures to tell the story.
Love the sea creatures the best.

DEREK THE FIRELESS DRAGON (and Other Children's Poems)
All kinds of poems to delight the children. Colorful small pictures along with a poem that tells the story.
Things to do reminds me of my grandson and his imagination.
44 different poems that are cute.

Planet Earth! A Kids Book About Planet Earth - Fun Facts & Pictures About Our Oceans, Mountains, Rivers, Deserts, Endangered Species & More (eBooks Kids Space 2)
Colorful pictures help tell the story of the earth's orbit, gravity and other useful information in a fun way for children to understand.
Different sections on what the earth is made up each have a chapter.
My favorite was info about the Rocky Mountains.

Easy One Pot Meals for 2
Recipes that don't appear to be REAL healthy choices but they are quick and easy to make. Each recipe comes with prep time, cook time, ingredients and how to assemble it all into one dish.
There are some colorful photos but not all recipes. There is no nutritional information.
Salmon would be my first choice to try.
Everything is measured in grams and I'm not too sure what some of the ingredients are-must be a foreign country food that is not typical to American meals.
The presentation in the pictures are very high quality and given that I would try a few of the recipes, maybe substituting where necessary for our lifestyle.

Easy Pumpkin Recipes: There's More to Pumpkin than Pumpkin Pie! (Easy Recipes from Scratch Book 4)
Colorful pictures of recipes completed that feature pumpkin. Categories: salads, soups, main dishes, desserts and muffins, and other useful information about pumpkins and cooking with them.
Each recipe has a photo and directions, prep list and yield. No nutritional information. Some recipes would take a long time to just gather the ingredients as they are made from scratch and some from healthy items.
other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

The Elephant Who Wanted To Be A Bee (WantsToBe Book 2)
Illustrated colorful children's book about an elephant who is allergic to flowers but eats them as food when he notices a bee that is also eating the flowers and is not sneezing.
He wants to be like the bee and asks for help. The bee gives him advice and nothing seems to work to change him into a bee til a few weeks later when at the very last minute, magic happens...
other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

Maybe: A Little Zen for Little Ones
Colorful children's book about a girl who gets a new bike because she's outgrown her smaller one. Others think she is lucky and she says maybe.
Other things happen and again her response is maybe.

Family Grilling and Barbecue Recipes: Easy Recipes for the Grill
Colorful recipes and the book also talks about basic grilling and what you should select.
The recipes sound healthy as the ingredients are. there is not nutrtional information.
Salmon steak and seasoning would by my choice for the first one to try.

Weight Loss for Health and Wellness
Lots of eating disorders are talked about and what you can do about the problem, if you have it.
Factors: environment, relationships and habits all play a part.
Game plans are discussed using various methods to achieve your goals. Many resources are linked at the end of the boo for further reference.

Household Hacks: Cleaning Tips and Tricks To Save You Money, Time, and Energy When Cleaning Your House
From the very first one about turtle waxing your sink to keep it shiner longer I was hooked into reading the other things one can do
around the house to keep it clean and fresh smelling.
This will definitely be one book I'll be saving for reference!

Simon the Labrador: Beautifully Illustrated Children's Bedtime Story Book
Colorful story about a lab that a family has. Details of how each in the family spend time with the dog in their daily lifes.
He ends up leaving the yard to chase the scent of the bone. We find out who else he meets on his journey.
Other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

I Thought I Saw a Ghost Last Night: And Other Laugh-Out-Loud Poems for Kids
Illustrated colorful children's book that are various stories written as poems about scary things.
Another book by the author is 'what state am i' this one sounds very educational.

Easy Coffee Cake Recipes - 20 Delicious Recipes with Cream, Blueberries, Chocolate, Streussel (The joys of coffee Book 4)
Recipes for basic coffee cakes and more but there are no pictures and no nutritional information.
Apple coffee cake would be the healthiest one due to the low fat, sodium and cholesterol of the ingredients.
other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

Halloween Fun - Scary - Spooky Fun For The Entire Family
Illustrated colorful children's book that starts out with how Halloween came about.
Story of how the jack o lantern came to be along with pumpkin carving.
List of safety, what to wear and what foods to make for your own neighborhood party.
Themed parties have their own chapters so you can cater yours to them.
Also top 10 games to play. Tons of resources to go for help or for tours, music, etc

Natural Pain Relief Using Common Natural Ingredients in Your Kitchen
Very useful resources and information on the most common problems we suffer on a daily basis.
Such easy fixes of things we have in our pantries rather than going to the doctors.

Mason Jar Meals: Quick and Easy Recipes for Meals on the Go, in a Jar (mason jar meals, mason jar recipes, meals in a jar, mason jar salads, mason jar lunch, Cookbook, Easy Recipes in a Jar)
Like the ideas especially a salad but am afraid of the jar as it is glass and I've been known to be clumsy. The food ingredients look healthy but there is no nutritional information. There are no pictures to go along with the recipes.
Other mason jar specialty books are highlighted at the end of this one.

First Time At The Pool: Beautifully Illustrated Summer Swimming Book (A Kayleigh Series 4)
Illustrated very colorful children's book about Kayleigh's first time in the big pool. She is only 2 years old but is familiar with the child pool she plays in.
Things are put in place to make this a safe adventure.
She wants to do the things the bigger girls are doing-diving in and her parents make sure she is safe. She likes playing with the pool toys also.
other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

Judge Monkey and Other Stories: Beautifully Illustrated Children's Bedtime Story Book (Illustrated Moral Stories for Children Series 3)
Colorful illustrated children's book that have a moral at the end of them.
Each are written that a child can understand what is happening during the story.
5 great stories and other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

The Snake Who Wanted To Be A Horse (WantsToBe Book 1)
Illustrated colorful children's book about a snake and how he watches the horse and what he does and wants to be just like them.
The horse tries to explain what it is he does and tells the snake to try certain things for a weeks time.
He is not able to change into a horse but something magical does happen at the end....
Other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

The Complete Holiday Treats Cookbook: Easy to make Goodies for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas
Fun treats for the whole family to make for Halloween themed names, to Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Colorful photos of the finished product and easy to follow directions. No nutritional information.

Christmas Town
This is the story of Pete and he's somehow managed to become divorced and the kids he has just put back on the plane for them to go home.
He see the town and how magical it all appears and wishes he was there.
Before he knows it he is there and when he is summoned by the mayor to come help her. She knows he will be out of sorts...
He is trapped in a time warp of sorts as everybody has been there for over 60 years and they have not aged. He is given a lawyer's office as that is his profession and others tell him there is no way to go back.
Other works by the author are highlighted at the end-which sound real interesting.

through the Milky Way on a PB&J
Colorful illustrated children's book about a trip to the planeterium.
Thomas and his sister Sami must come along with his class and his mother.
Now that school is out they spend time in the treehouse planning their field trip.
Their mom will give them PB&J sandwiches, their favorite.
They start at the sun and then move onto the planets all in order. They discover what makes them each special.
Other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

The Alligator Who Wanted To Be A Dog (WantsToBe Book 3)
Colorful illustrated children's book about why an alligator wants to be more like a dog-because everybody likes dogs.
He gets some help from the dog but it's not making him into a dog...
He tries other things to no avail til the very last day of the very last minute...
Other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

How the Dragons Got Their Colors
Colorful children's book about a gray dragon that goes to visit the fairy queen in hopes she can give him some color.
The end of the rainbow holds the secrets as the gray dragon watches others get their colors.
He cares more about the others colors than his own but the queen has a surprise for him.

Frugal Cooking for Simple Living (90+ recipes)
Great recipes but most contain too much for our new lifestyle: fat, sodium and cholesterol.
Some it states you can substitute something else. There are no pictures and no nutritional information.
Like salad and fish recipes. Other recipe books are highlighted at the end.

The Story About The Most Boring Man In The World (inspiring Children Book 1)
This is a colorful drawn picture book that a little girl makes while her father tells the story of the most boring man.
He loves green so much, he eats green foods, wears green clothes, etc.
A colorful butterfly flew in and he wanted to paint the colors but he had only ever used green...
What he does after that is amazing ....
A free gift is included in the book.

Homemade Christmas Gifts and More - Frugal Christmas Gift Ideas For The Whole Family
Love handmade items as gifts. good to get and to give.
Very easy and frugal things to assemble as a gift that can be done ahead of time. Also recipes of food that are easy-but not always healthy choice.
Food recipes do not include nutritional information nor pictures.
Knitting section I particularly like as that is one thing I've very good at doing.
Lots of ideas for different gift baskets along with resources.

Rainy Day Poems
Poems for kids, very colorful photos and such a large imagination.
Love sea and the sand castle and the lighthouse are the best.
Some pictures are too dark to be able to read the poems.

Crochet Dynamite: Fancy-Schmancy
Colorful pictures to go along with easy and quick items to crochet, even for the beginner. Some cute designs here.
The history of Jamie, a crochet dynamite site. Lots of easy patterns and links to her site on the web.

Special Christmas Recipes: Create a Festive Feast
Very few colorful photos but there are many festive recipes. There is no nutritional information.
Like that there are so many fish/shellfish recipes and what herbs and spices to put on them.
Lot of different cocktails and drinks.
Bonus in the book and other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

The T-Rex Who Wanted To Be A Long Neck: A Children's Picture Book On Overcoming Anger (WantsToBe.com 6)
Colorful children's story about a TRex and what happens when he becomes angry. After seeing the damage he has caused he realizes he must get his anger under control.
He gets advice from Long Neck so he can be like him but it's not working.
Some magic happens and he does change...other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

jbarrett5

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Stat summary for books read 2014

Moview watched fall 2014

Boosk read Dec 31

Gold "Cover Uploading"

silver "Helper"