Penny's Passion

Thursday, January 12, 2023

Five on Friday - January 13, 2023

Woo Hoo - it's Friday! The first Friday the 13th of the year. This only happens twice in 2023 and we will see it again in October. Hope this Friday the 13th is a lucky one for you! It's already lucky for me because you stopped by the blog.

Now, let's take a look at my five for today ~

1. Carly Clark Art

A few months ago, I bought a new print for my workspace. It's now framed and hanging for everyone to see. I love it! Carly is a self-taught illustrator and printmaker that creates prints, tote bags, stickers, and pins. Her items are available at her online shop HERE. Check out all the cool messages she turns into prints and bright colors!

2. McCrea's Rosemary Truffle Sea Salt Caramels

We stumbled across these McCrea's Rosemary Truffle Sea Salt Caramels recently and love them! I love them so much, I've already gifted them to a few people and I'm buying more pouches to put in some goody bags I'm working on. If you're looking for a unique candy to give someone on Valentine's Day, keep these in mind. They are a perfect blend of sweet chocolate, earthy rosemary, and crunchy salt. We got ours at one of our favorite little stores close to us - Fezziwig's in O'fallon, Illinois. They are also available straight from McCrea's website HERE.

3. Beskar Hand Warmer

Our son and daughter-in-law got Eric the best gift for Christmas - a rechargeable hand warmer! He's in and out of the cold a lot in the winter and having this gem in his pocket has been so nice. I'm a huge fan of the hand warmers that are single-use, but this takes hand warming to a new level! First, it's so much more sustainable because you can recharge and reuse it over and over. It has three levels of heat and will last up to 12 hours before needing to be recharged. I might slip this in my coat pocket when Eric isn't looking.

4. EarPlanes

We've got a trip to Hawaii coming up and I'll be packing a box of EarPlanes with us. My ears don't always do great on long flights, so I'm hoping that by using these I won't have any air pressure discomfort. They are safe, super comfortable, and disposable. Definitely worth a try.

5. I can relate to this...

Enjoy the weekend! I have a huge wedding project to work on that I need to have finished by Monday. Pop in next week to see how it went.

Wednesday, January 11, 2023

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop - January 11, 2023

Welcome to another week of the Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop! We are so glad that you stopped by.

Here you will find inspiration from dozens of bloggers including recipes, home DIY, gardening, decor, family fun, traveling, fitness, and so much more. A friendly reminder to our guests that as a courtesy to the hosts, we ask that you follow every host on at least one social media channel.

If you are a blogger, be sure to link up below. You may be our next feature!

Before we get this party started, let’s meet the hosts and check out this week’s featured favorites.
MEET THE HOSTS

Ahna – HAMMERS N HUGS | FB | IG | PINTEREST
Bev – ECLECTIC RED BARN | FB | IG | PINTEREST
Emily – LeCULTIVATEUR | FB | IG | PINTEREST
Penny – PENNY’S PASSION | FB | IG | PINTEREST
Sinea – DUCKS ‘N A ROW | FB | IG | PINTEREST | TWITTER
Tammy – MY LIFE ABUNDANT | FB | IG | PINTEREST | TWITTER
Tara – STILETTOS AND SHIPLAP | IG | PINTEREST
Denise – THIS IS MY EVERYBODY | FB | IG | PINTEREST | TWITTER

TOP VIEWED

Winter Styling for Your Home

VERY POPULAR

Holiday Thrifting Store Sales

EDITOR'S CHOICE

Layered Black Forest Cake Recipe

LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!

Please follow all hosts on AT LEAST 1 of their social channels.

Add as many family-friendly posts as you would like to. NO Etsy shops, adult sites, or blog parties please. Visit others. Caring is sharing. Like, comment, and pin posts.

Party entries appear in REVERSE. This way your entries will be seen no matter when you arrive. Please TWEET our party and invite others to join.

Let’s Party!

Monday, January 9, 2023

Weekending - January 6, 2022

Monday came too soon! I was on a roll getting stuff done around the house, and then I woke up this morning and realized it was back to work. Here's how the weekend went down ~

On Friday, I popped in the car wash on my way home from work. Does going through the car wash freak anyone else out? I swear, it's the longest three minutes of my life while my car moves through the process of getting the dirt off.

Friday evening Eric and I attended our small group meeting from church. We have not been good members of this group and rarely made it to meetings last year. It's on my resolution list to attend more of the meetings this year and be a better member. So far, so good!

We have a girls' weekend coming up at the end of February and I'm so excited to be hosting it at my house! Being the planner that I am, my mind is all about the activities we will be doing and what items will be going in the goody bags. The consensus was to attend a cooking class at Fezziwig's and we were busy making reservations on Saturday morning. We've done classes there before and it's always so fun!

Saturday we had quite a list of errands to take care of but decided to catch a movie first. We chose A Man Called Otto. See it. Bring tissues. Tom Hanks delivered another stellar performance and so did many other cast members. It's an endearing story that brought tears to my eyes several times.

The errands sucked up the rest of the day, but getting several items checked off our to-do list felt good.

I'm very happy to report that on Sunday we got all five of our Christmas trees taken down, along with other random decorations. This might be the earliest the Christmas decorations have come down in several years.

In the evening, our daughter-in-law joined us for dinner. We started a new puzzle and ate amongst the jigsaw pieces. It was a treat to be able to spend time with her!

We called it an early night and watched a couple of the new episodes of All Creatures Great and Small. So far, Season 3 is as good as the first two seasons!

Hope your week is off to a great start! See you back soon.

Thursday, January 5, 2023

Five on Friday - January 6, 2022

We've made it to Friday! I was off work on Monday and this still seemed like a long week coming back from vacation and the holidays. So glad it's Friday! Let's jump right into my five for this week ~

1. Plane

Gerard Butler's new movie opens today and I'm excited to see it! We've seen the previews a couple of times and it looks like an action-packed movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Here's the synopsis from Fandango ~

In the white-knuckle action movie PLANE, pilot Brodie Torrance (Gerard Butler) saves his passengers from a lightning strike by making a risky landing on a war-torn island -- only to find that surviving the landing was just the beginning. When most of the passengers are taken hostage by dangerous rebels, the only person Torrance can count on for help is Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter), an accused murderer who was being transported by the FBI. In order to rescue the passengers, Torrance will need Gaspare's help, and will learn there's more to Gaspare than meets the eye.

2. Cleaning Ball

We have all cleaned out our purses, briefcase, or suitcase and found a bunch of unwanted gunk in the bottom. Here's the solution - the Cleaning Ball! Drop this baby in your bag and let it do its magic. There's a sticky ball inside the plastic case that grabs the little pieces of dirt and keeps the bottom of your bag clean. Every now and then, take the sticky ball out of the plastic and wash the gunk down the drain. So simple!

3. All Creatures Great and Small

The third season of All Creatures Great & Small starts Sunday! Eric and I love this PBS series and are looking forward to having new episodes to watch. There are wedding bells tolling this season and you all know how much I love a good wedding! It's a sweet, sweet program that the whole family can enjoy.

4. National Bubble Bath Day

In case you need a reason to relax in a nice, hot bubble bath here's one for you - Sunday is National Bubble Bath Day! If you order your supplies today from Amazon Prime, they should be delivered in time to use on Sunday. Carve out some me time and unwind celebrating National Bubble Bath Day!

5. How are your resolutions coming?

Enjoy your weekend! We are going to be busy taking down the Christmas decorations. It always makes me a little sad to take them down, but I love the feeling when it's all done. Stop back by on Monday to see what other things we did.

Wednesday, January 4, 2023

What I Read in December 2022

Happy Thursday friends! Thanks for stopping by Thinking Out Loud Thursday. It's the first Thursday of the month, so I'm thinking about the books I read last month today. Take a look ~

Where the Sky Begins

I started the month off with Where the Sky Begins by Rhys Bowen. It's free with Kindle Unlimited and had been sitting in my Kindle for a bit. This was a real page-turner for me and I finished it in record time. Here's the summary ~

A woman’s future is determined by fate and choice in a gripping WWII novel about danger, triumph, and second chances by the New York Times bestselling author of The Venice Sketchbook and The Tuscan Child.
London, 1940. Bombs fall and Josie Banks’s world crumbles around her. Her overbearing husband, Stan, is unreachable, called to service. Her home, a ruin of rubble and ash. Josie’s beloved tearoom boss has been killed, and Josie herself is injured, with nothing left and nowhere to go.
Evacuated to the English countryside, Josie ends up at the estate of the aristocratic Miss Harcourt, a reluctant host to the survivors of the Blitz. Awed as she is by the magnificent landscape, Josie sees opportunity. Josie convinces Miss Harcourt to let her open a humble tea shop, seeing it as a chance for everyone to begin again. When Josie meets Mike Johnson, a handsome Canadian pilot stationed at a neighboring bomber base, a growing intimacy brings her an inner peace she’s never felt before. Then Stan returns from the war.
Now a threat looms larger than anyone imagined. And a dangerous secret is about to upend Josie’s life again. Her newfound courage will be put to the test if she is to emerge, like a survivor, triumphant.

Things We Never Got Over

This was another Kindle Unlimited book and I loved it! This is the first of two books. The second is coming out on February 21 and will be titled Things We Hide from the Light. I can't wait to read that one too! Here's the summary of the first one ~

Naomi wasn’t just running away from her wedding. She was riding to the rescue of her estranged twin to Knockemout, Virginia, a rough-around-the-edges town where disputes are settled the old-fashioned way…with fists and beer. Usually in that order.

Too bad for Naomi her evil twin hasn’t changed at all. After helping herself to Naomi’s car and cash, Tina leaves her with something unexpected. The niece Naomi didn’t know she had. Now she’s stuck in town with no car, no job, no plan, and no home with an 11-year-old going on thirty to take care of.

There’s a reason Knox doesn’t do complications or high-maintenance women, especially not the romantic ones. But since Naomi’s life imploded right in front of him, the least he can do is help her out of her jam. And just as soon as she stops getting into new trouble he can leave her alone and get back to his peaceful, solitary life.

At least, that’s the plan until the trouble turns to real danger.

An Irish Country Christmas

Our library book club chose An Irish Country Christmas for our December read. It's actually the third book in the series of sixteen, but you really didn't need to read the first two to enjoy this third one. It was a cute read with a fairly predictable storyline. Not sure I'll read any of the other fifteen books in the series. Summary ~

Barry Laverty, M.B., is looking forward to his first Christmas in the cozy village of Ballybucklebo, at least until he learns that his sweetheart, Patricia, might not be coming home for the holidays. That unhappy prospect dampens his spirits somewhat, but Barry has little time to dwell on his romantic disappointments. Christmas may be drawing nigh, but there is little peace to be found on earth, especially for a young doctor plying his trade in the emerald hills and glens of rural Ireland.

Along with his senior partner, Doctor Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly, Barry has his hands full dealing with seasonal coughs and colds, as well as the occasional medical emergency. To add to the doctors' worries, competition arrives in the form of a patient-poaching new physician whose quackery threatens the health and well-being of the good people of Ballybucklebo. Can one territory support three hungry doctors? Barry has his doubts.

But the wintry days and nights are not without a few tidings of comfort and joy. Between their hectic medical practice, Rugby Club parties, and the kiddies' Christmas Pageant, the two doctors still find time to play Santa Claus to a struggling single mother with a sick child and not enough money in the bank. Snow is rare in Ulster, and so are miracles, but that doesn't mean they never happen. . . .

Share Your Stuff. I'll Go First.

Laura Tremaine has a great podcast named the same as this book. I was excited when her book came out and it didn't disappoint.

In spite of the hyper-connected culture we live in today, women still feel shamed for oversharing and being publicly vulnerable. And no matter how many friends we seem to have, many of us are still desperately lonely.
Laura Tremaine, blogger and podcaster behind 10 Things to Tell You, says it's time for something better. Openness and vulnerability are the foundation for human growth and healthy relationships, and it all starts when we share our stuff, the nitty-gritty daily details about ourselves with others. Laura has led the way in her personal life with her popular blog and podcast, and now with lighthearted self-awareness, a sensitivity to the important things in life, and compelling storytelling, Laura gives you the tools to build and deepen the conversations happening in your life.
Laura's stories about her childhood, her complicated shifts in faith and friendships, and her marriage to a Hollywood movie director will prompt you to identify the beautiful narrative and pivotal milestones of your own life. Each chapter offers intriguing and reflective questions that will reveal unique details and stories you've never thought to tell and will guide you into cultivating the authentic connection with others that only comes from sharing yourself.
So let’s get started! Share Your Stuff. I'll Go First.

The Book of Lost Names

A friend of mine recommended this book and I owe her a huge thank you! It's a wonderful book and I would highly recommend adding it to your list if you haven't already read it.

Inspired by an astonishing true story from World War II, a young woman with a talent for forgery helps hundreds of Jewish children flee the Nazis in this unforgettable historical novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the “epic and heart-wrenching World War II tale” (Alyson Noel, #1 New York Times bestselling author) The Winemaker’s Wife.

Eva Traube Abrams, a semi-retired librarian in Florida, is shelving books one morning when her eyes lock on a photograph in a magazine lying open nearby. She freezes; it’s an image of a book she hasn’t seen in sixty-five years—a book she recognizes as The Book of Lost Names.

The accompanying article discusses the looting of libraries by the Nazis across Europe during World War II—an experience Eva remembers well—and the search to reunite people with the texts taken from them so long ago. The book in the photograph, an eighteenth-century religious text thought to have been taken from France in the waning days of the war, is one of the most fascinating cases. Now housed in Berlin’s Zentral- und Landesbibliothek library, it appears to contain some sort of code, but researchers don’t know where it came from—or what the code means. Only Eva holds the answer—but will she have the strength to revisit old memories and help reunite those lost during the war?

As a graduate student in 1942, Eva was forced to flee Paris after the arrest of her father, a Polish Jew. Finding refuge in a small mountain town in the Free Zone, she begins forging identity documents for Jewish children fleeing to neutral Switzerland. But erasing people comes with a price, and along with a mysterious, handsome forger named Rémy, Eva decides she must find a way to preserve the real names of the children who are too young to remember who they really are. The records they keep in The Book of Lost Names will become even more vital when the resistance cell they work for is betrayed and Rémy disappears.

An engaging and evocative novel reminiscent of The Lost Girls of Paris and The Alice Network, The Book of Lost Names is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of bravery and love in the face of evil.

I started using a new app to track the books I'm reading and want to read - Bookmory. I love the calendar it produces every month!

One other thing worth mentioning to my book-loving friends - you might know if you have Amazon Prime, you get a free book every book with Prime First Reads. Good news - this month you can get two books free!

Happy reading!

Now it's your turn - what are you thinking out loud about today? Link up and share!

Tuesday, January 3, 2023

Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop - January 4, 2022