The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Enjoyable Read? Yes
Would I read it again? No.
This one was really just fluff. I enjoyed the story, I liked the characters, I finished it with no strong feeling either way. It reminded me at times of the Lemony Snicket series, which I did like but didn’t love. The premise of this one is that a group of super smart kids (orphans) get together to invade a school, run by the bad guy, and foil his plot to take over the world. Things work put pretty much how you would expect – a couple of twists where someone turns out to be someone else, heroes that didn’t like each other at the beginning end up being friends, the orphans find families.

I am working on a new collection of tiny alphabet quilts. I started making little patchwork alphabet letters for my etsy shop – keytags and coasters with fabric all pulled from my “too-small-to-fold-up-but-too-nice-to-throw-away” scrap bin. These have no pattern, I just make them up as I go along, hence the name “Impromptu Alphabet”. As a concept, I love the aphabet – I have collected alphabet books for years, especially ones with an unusual theme. This little quilt is “T is for Tree”. The leaves are tiny little quilts themselves. The whole thing is about 8×9 inches. I entered it in a Singer Sewing Machine “Sewing with Nature” challenge. I think they ultimately are looking for something with a bit more actual organic material stitched in, but being as it is winter in MN, that kind of thing is hard to come by. I have also done the letters E, F, and C and they are waiting to be quilted.

Here are some of my favorite alphabet books:
Mary Poppins from A to Z by P.L. Travers (I have an original 1962 version)

The Skull Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta

Anamalia by Graeme Base

The Z was Zapped by Chris VanAllsburg

Allison’s Zinnia by Anita Lobel

The Alphabet of Animals by Christopher Wormell

The Alphabet (Mouse Books) by Monique Felix

Shiver Me Letters by June Sobel

DragonHeart by Todd McCaffrey

I have loved Anne McCaffrey since I was about 10 years old. Her son Todd is just as good. He has taken over writing stories set in the dragon-filled universe that she created. I read this in one day.

Chalice by Robin McKinley

Another author that I usually love. Her Spindle’s End is one of my favorites. I had seen Chalice mentioned on several blogs I read. It is, in fact, mentioned on Anne McCaffrey’s blog. Go figure. Anyhow. It is a lovely story with an interesting premise. It wasn’t action packed but it made me smile.

To Hold the Crown by Jean Plaidy

Jean Plaidy books never disappoint. This one is the story of Henry VII, father of Henry VIII. It covers from about the time of his marriage to his death. Surprisingly, I found this copy at Target, but I think given the popularity of the Tudors (Other Boleyn Girl, The Tudors), they are stocking some unusual titles. Henry VII was neurotic about losing his crown and Henry VIII was ready to take over at age 10. The only disappointing thing for me is that a good portion of this book switched the focus to Katharine of Aragon. I read Plaidy’s Katharine recently and felt as though this book borrowed a lot from that. Both great, but don’t read them back to back.

Cornmeal Biscuits
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Whisk to combine. Add the butter, and, using a pastry blender or two knives, cut it in until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Add milk, and stir until just combined
Spoon 10 mounds, about 1/2 cup each, onto baking sheet 1 inch apart; bake until biscuits start to brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven; cool on a wire rack. Serve warm.

From Martha Stewart