RIP Samwise

My Samwise passed away last night :( Poor, poor Samwise. I feel SO bad for Frodo who is just lost without his Sam. What a sweet boy you were Samwise!!

My First Quilt!

I've finished my very first quilt and am ridiculously proud of myself. It's Christmas fabric so I'm packing it away for next year. Scott was (not so) happy to model it for me :)

In other news, on Thursday evening my poor baby Samwise was bleeding from under his wing. He was picking at it so I was way freaked out. I cleaned it up with some peroxide and watched him closely. By later that night it was bleeding again and it had spread. At this point I have to brag about my husband. Without a word from me he was on the computer and on the phone trying to find an urgent care pet clinic. There are several, but none that feel comfortable enough with birds. He finally found one clear in Springville, so at 11pm we loaded up the boys and drove down there. I'm so grateful to have such a wonderful hubby that understands me and my love for the little critters!

Anyway, the vet gave us an ointment to put on the irritated skin (some kind of a rash that he was itching with his beak, therefore it bleed like crazy.) It did clear up his skin, but he was still pulling out his feathers and acting really sick. So Monday we took him to a bird specialist in S. Jordan who explained that while the ointment healed the irritation, having the ointment on his wings and him not being able to clean it off was literally driving him nuts :( So we had to give him a bath and methodically clean his feathers (which he HATED) and then keep him warm until he dried out. Sigh...having sick pets is sad and frustrating. I know, I know I sound totally crazy but I love my little guys! I think he's on the mend now, if only Frodo would leave him alone and stop being such a brat.

My New Toy

I used my Christmas and birthday money from my parents' to buy myself a sewing machine. I LOVE it. It's way easy to use! I bought some Christmas fabric on clearance and am on my way with my first rag quilt. Scott has been laughing at my excitment over it!

2009 Review in Books

I read A LOT this year. If anyone is looking for a book to read I hope I can be of some help :) Here's the books I read with small reviews, in no particular order:

"A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens : Classic! I try to read it every year. Dickens' has a rare whit.

"The Snow Bride" by Debbie Macomber: Pretty lame, actually.

All 7 books in the Harry Potter series: I think I enjoyed them even more the 2nd time. They're so much fun and I'd forgotten how much has been left out of the films.

"The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson: Yet another in a series of classic horror novels in which I laughed really hard while reading. I don't know if I have a really morbid sense of humor or what, but this book was really entertaining and really creepy at the same time.

"The Persian Pickle Club" by Sandra Dallas: This was a fun book. The characters were a lot of fun and the story kept me guessing. Also, I had an even greater desire to learn to quilt afterwards.

"The Road" by Cormac McCarthy : Wonderful book. (Personally don't think the film will be able to capture it at all, but I'll probably go see it anyway) The story scared me, made me think, and made me act in getting my food storage organized.

"The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown: I love the character of Robert Langdon! I love Dan Brown's attention to detail and his amazing research. However, he hasn't been able to top "Angels and Demons" for me yet :)

"Fablehaven" Books 1-4 by Brandon Mull: The first book was pretty slow but I was invested enough to finish it and was glad I did. The other 3 in the series were so good and exciting! Yes, they're kids books, but I enjoyed them and can't wait for #5!

"Rilla of Ingleside" by LM Montgomery: This is book 8 in the Anne of Green Gables series. Though I'd read the first 6 Anne books a couple of times I'd never gone on. I'm so glad I did! This is a great story. It was fun to watch Rilla grow and mature and I learned a lot about WWI.

"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini: Kind of depressing yet eye opening. I wanted to go adopt a bunch of children from the middle east at one point. I almost gave up on it because it was upsetting me but I wanted the main character to redeem himself which he eventually does.

"The Last Templar" by Raymond Khoury: Fast paced and exciting, but the story was pretty "blah".

"Jane of Lantern Hill" by LM Montgomery: A really fun, light read. I fell in love with Jane and wanted to be able to make a really good pie crust :)

"The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" by John Boyne: I rarely say this, but this is a MUST-READ. I cried, but it was worth it.

"You: On a Diet" by Michael F. Roizen: Good info!

"The Giver" by Luis Lowry: I'd also give this one a MUST-READ review. So interesting and thought provoking.

"Jane Austen Ruined My Life" by Beth Pattillo: I really loved this book. Not only are there references to Austen's work, but it was a nice, clean story and I ended up learning a bit about myself!

"The Associate" by John Grisham: Classic, exciting Grisham!

"The Autobiography of Santa Clause" by Jeff Guinn: Fun book! I thought Guinn was very clever in the way he intertwined historical characters.

"Shopaholic Ties The Knot" by Sophie Kinsella: I love the "Shopaholic" books! (Never saw the film) It sounds silly but I'm being honest when I say the first book was a bit life changing for me. I was horrible with my money before reading it!

"The Appeal" by John Grisham : This story was different for Grisham because it takes place after a major trial and focuses on the appeal process. It was interesting and I found myself getting frustrated with the legal system.

"16 Lighthouse Road" by Debbie Macomber: The first book in the Cedar Cove series. A fun, light chick-lit book.

"Rainbow Valley" by LM Montgomery: Book 7 in the Anne series. This one is about Anne and Gilbert's children and their adventures. Love it!

"A Walk to Remember" by Nicholas Sparks: My first Sparks novel; I really enjoyed his style and the story is so sweet.

"Golf: Lessons I Learned While Looking for My Ball" by John Bytheway: Taking up golf with my hubby has put me in a whole new world and I'm loving it!

"1776" by David McCullough: Very well written book with a ton of info!

"True Believer" by Nicholas Sparks: I like his style and I like that they're clean books while still being romantic. But this story was fairly slow moving.

"The Phantom Returns" by Stefanie Cole : I loved the original Phantom of the Opera novel by Leroux so much that I gave this one a try. It was...okay. I'm convinced it was written by a fan of Gerard Butler's because the phantom ends up the hero and Raoul is made to look like an idiot.

"The Christmas Basket" by Debbie Macomber: The two mothers in this book were hilarious!!! I think everyone knows women like them.

"Skipping Christmas" by John Grisham: I try to read this one every Christmas as well. It is SO funny!