{wordless wednesday} Window

Happy Wordless Wednesday!

{read: animal rights} Unsaid by Neil Abramson

I was drawn into this story of a husband who struggles to deal with the death of his wife from breast cancer while he cares for her three dogs, two horses, one pig, and many cats. Yet as if that legacy of her love of animals and career as a vet weren't enough, David is approached by one of her former colleagues because he's an attorney. He finds out, belatedly, that his wife, Helena, had been working with Cindy, a chimp who knows sign language. But now Cindy's life is in danger when the grant that funded the work with her is terminated and she could be thrown back into the general population, where chimps are infected with diseases, given surgical procedures without pain meds, and other horrific things — all in the name of medical research.

The book is told by Helena, who can't move on because she's haunted by all the animals she's euthanized. She feels like her life was worth nothing, but perhaps David can change that if he takes this case and saves Cindy.

This was a gripping story and a reminder of the terrible price that innocent animals are paying in the name of medical research. Helena and David are three-dimensional characters who struggle with how to go forward after tragedy strikes. Although there are sad parts throughout this book, there is also a vein of hope.

Unsaid by Neil Abramson (Center Street, 2011)
My rating: 4 stars

{a thought for Thursday} A Sustaining Book

Then would you read a Sustaining Book, such as would help and comfort a Wedged Bear in Great Tightness? — A.A. Milne (Pooh says this to Christopher Robin after Pooh ate too much honey and got stuck in Rabbit's doorway)

{wordless wednesday} old fort

{read: psychological drama} Broken Harbor by Tana French

Broken Harbor is much more than a standard police procedural. It is at once a complex psychological drama, as well as an exploration of the impact of economic recessions and mental illness on families already struggling to stay afloat. This is a book you won't want to put down.

Scorcher Kennedy and his rookie partner, Richie, are called to investigate the murder of a husband and two children that left the wife/mother in intensive care. Scorcher is looking for an easy arrest on a high-publicity case to put his career back on track, and Richie wants to solve his first murder. But, of course, there are wrinkles and twists to what should have been a run-of-the-mill investigation. The baby cameras. The holes in the walls. What was going on in this house?

Coincidentally, the nearly deserted housing development where the house is located is also the spot where Scorcher and his family used to go on vacation when he was a boy — and it was the scene of his family's great tragedy. Despite his best efforts, echoes of his past bubble up into his present, starting with his sister, Dina, who is both beautiful and crazy. As he says, "Various therapists and psychiatrists have diagnosed various things along the way, but what it comes down to is that Dina is no good at life. It takes a knack that she's never quite got hold of. She can fake it for months at a stretch, sometimes even a year, but it takes concentration like she's tightrope walking, and in the end she always wobbles and goes flying."

French skimps on neither plot nor character development. Even the supporting characters in this book, like the Grogans who live down the street from the murdered family, are well-drawn and three-dimensional. She creates characters in which we recognize something of ourselves as we watch Scorcher identify with them, whether he wants to or not. Then his own life starts to fall apart, and he questions the things he always believed to be true about himself.

Although Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn is the hit psychological thriller that everyone's talking about,  I'd recommend Broken Harbor instead. Gone Girl contains some surprises, but the plot felt contrived and even predictable in places, and Flynn's characters seemed two-dimensional. In contrast, French peels away the layers of her characters and lays them bare before us, exposing their motivations and showing us how easily things can go wrong, one small step at a time. The final pages of Broken Harbor, in which the killer explains what happened and why, are chilling and heartbreaking. I had high expectations for this book, and that usually means I'm disappointed. In this rare case, the book exceeded my hopes.

Broken Harbor by Tana French (Penguin Group, 2012)
My rating: 5 stars

{crafts} lanterns

I found this wonderful tutorial for diy lanterns. These look very cute leading up the stairs. They would be fun for the fall. Enjoy! Original tutorial is from The Forge.

diy: yarn wrapped painted jars

If you got here from Pinterest, Welcome :) This post has been quite popular and I'm glad you found it as well. If you like this tutorial please take a look at what else my blog has to offer. For more DIY posts simply click HERE. 

This was inspired by something I came across on the internet a while ago but never pinned and now I can't find it anymore. Go figure! 

I remembered that the original glass was white and had lines all over, so I figured I would just use some yarn and warp it around my jars and spray paint them to create the effect. 

Here is what you'll need:

- Several cleaned jars. I always keep mine for projects. Soak them in water to get the tags off and use some Goo Gone for the glue residue. Make sure to clean them with soap to get all the Goo Gone off or else the paint won't stick.
- Yarn or some sort of string. If the yarn has a lot of fuzzy fibers they may stick to the jar a little but it won't be very noticeable so don't worry about it too much
- A can of white spray paint. I used Flat. You can use any color you want but with winter coming up I though white was best suited. 
- You'll also need something to cover whatever surface you'll be spraying on. Spray paint doesn't work as well when it's cold outside so it will take longer to dry. Make sure to give it some extra time before you touch the jars. 

I used some regular packaging string and some yard with texture. Wrap the string around the jar tightly and tie a knot. Now wrap the string around the rest of the jar tightly criss-crossing and overlapping until you like what you see. Then just tie the end to the leftover string where you started and cut off the ends.

Place the jars onto your covered surface upside down and spray paint them evenly with 2-3 coats. Make sure to let them dry for 5-10 minutes in between coats. Once they are fully dried just cut the string in one place and unwrap. Now you can place a tea light inside and decorate away :) 

I think it would also look cute to wrap some twine around the bases of the jars for some more texture. 

I love the different effects the skinny string and the textured yarn create. The jars that were wrapped with the thicker yarn look like they have puffy clouds floating in the sky. 
This project is also super cheap since the jars were free and I had the string and yarn on hand, all it cost me was a can of spray paint. They would also make great little gifts, just tie a ribbon and bow around 3 and you're ready to go. 

{a thought for Thursday} Impossible?

It always seems impossible until it's done. — Nelson Mandela