Slaters' Funny Farm

Welcome to the second book review that I will be doing as part of the Fall Reading Challenge created by Colletta's Kitchen Sink. I am super excited to be participating in this challenge and you can read my original post  here about this challenge. TITLE:   "The Lemon Sisters" SERIES - No PAGES - 368, I believe as I forgot to write it down before I returned the book to the library DATE PUBLISHED - 2019 PUBLISHER - William Morrow BLURB -        Brooke Lemon has always led the life she wanted, wild adventures- and mistakes- included, something her perfect sister, Mindy, never understood. So when Mindy shows up on Brooke's doorstep in the throes of a breakdown with her three little kids n tow, Brooke's shocked.     Wanting to make amends, Brooke agrees to trade places, taking the kids back to Wildstone for a few days so Mindy can pick up the pieces and put herself back together. What Brooke doesn't admit is sh...

A couple of weeks ago we went camping as a family and had a really nice time. Raccoon Lake in Indiana has a wonderful family campground and plenty of activities to keep one busy. Since I am not a fan of water, I enjoyed some nice hikes while my husband was on the boat. This was some of the scenery that was close to our campsite and while walking the first day, we came across a doe with two babies and she allowed us to get very close to her, but I can't locate those photos at the moment.  The paths were nice most of the trail. On day two, we did walk a trail that had a little more rugged terrain and found that the path was fairly narrow in spots.  These benches were found along the trail and made a nice spot to rest for a bit. It had been awhile since this old   lady had been hiking.  I also found the large vines from the trees to be quite photogenic. Natural beauty at its finest! The grand doll found these to be a great seat as well. Isn't she the cut...

THE CANDY MAN (1972) Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here . 1) This song is from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory , starring Gene Wilder. The movie was remade as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory , with Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka. Which Wonka did you prefer? I actually enjoyed both of them, but I believe that the original one was my favorite.  2) In the movie, this song is sung by Bill, the candy store shopkeeper. Think about the last counter person you dealt with. We know that he or she likely didn't break into song, but did you two engage in conversation? No, I was at the bank and the teller only said hello and thank you.  3) The lyrics tell us that The Candy Man can make the world taste good. What's the last thing you ate? Was it delicious, or just OK? The last thing that I ate was a frozen Totino's pizza and it was quite tasty.   4) The most popular recording of this song was by Sammy Davis,  Jr. Sammy was in a horrific car acci...

Monday was a cause for celebration around the farm here. It represented such a milestone for my husband and his parents that we had to make the day as special as possible. It was my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary! 50 years that they have walked side by side, had their ups and downs and been together through all aspects of life. As many of you know, my mother in law has really struggled with some health issues and we have had to look into more care for her. Due to some current health issues we were not able to celebrate at home, but it did not stop us from making sure the day did not go unnoticed. We took the party to her! A delicious cake bought from Meijer's! I thought the roses and the heart where such a special touch and fitting for the day! The Happy Couple! It is hard for me to imagine that this sweet man has lived with this woman for 50 years as she can be such a problem and never appreciates anything that is done for her, but he has and he still loves her no ...

Hello and welcome readers! This is a new type of post for me, but I would very much like to attempt to begin reviewing books as I read them.   TITLE - the favorite daughter SERIES - No PAGES - 348 DATE PUBLISHED - June 2019 PUBLISHER - Berkley BLURB - Ten years ago, Lena Donohue experienced a wedding-day betrayal so painful that she fled the small town of Watersend, South Carolina, and reinvented herself in New York City. Though she's now a freelance travel writer, the one place she rarely goes is home- until she learns of her dad's failing health.  Returning to Watersend means seeing the sister she has avoided for a decade and the brother who runs the family's Irish pub and who has borne the burden of his sisters' rift. While Alzheimer's slowly steals their father's memories, the siblings rush to preserve his life in stories and in photographs. As his secret past brings Lena's own childhood into focus, it sends her on a journey to...

The Straw Hat Song (1955) Unfamiliar with this week's song. Hear it here . 1) In this song, Desi Arnaz encourages us to laugh and sing instead of concentrating on our troubles. Is this an approach to life you could adopt? Or are you a worrier? I find that I do worry about some things, but others I can just ignore and they don't seem to bother me at all.  2) Because Desi's public persona was carefree, people are often surprised to learn his early life was hard. In 1933, his wealthy family was targeted by Cuban revolutionaries. Their home was destroyed and were forced to flee the country. In Miami, they lived in a warehouse and 16-year-old Desi helped support the family by cleaning cages for the man who sold canaries outside a drugstore. Think about your friends and acquaintances. Whose life story turned out to be very different than you originally thought? Probably mine changed the most. I had a child earlier than I ever planned and I married someone compl...

It is a wonderful day anytime that we wake up and see another sunrise, but today is such a somber day as well. Today marks the 18th anniversary of one of the greatest attacks on our country - September 11, 2001. For those that were old enough to watch the events of that day unfold, may we never forget what was done to those innocent people and our country that day.  This is just one of the harrowing scenes from that day. The second plane flying directly into the Twin Towers and no one could do anything but watch. The other tower had been hit and was one fire and it was possible to believe that it was an accident, but after this we were fully aware that we were under attack!   As flights were cancelled and people were aware of what was happening, our lives changed forever. We learned of an enemy that was so ruthless that they took innocent lives of men, women, and children. Those innocent people were in the most vulnerable positions as they were unable to do anything...

Hello everyone! Happy Fall! I can say that since it is after Labor Day, although it still feels a lot like summer here with the humidity. I have had such a busy week and I know things are so far behind here, but I am very excited to write this post. I have to share that my husband got a new horse last weekend and is riding again.  It's not a great picture, but it shows him and I riding together. No, we don't hold hands riding, but our friend thought it added to the picture. It has been almost three years since he quit riding, but he decided that he was ready to ride again. This horse that I am on is Sugar and she is fairly new to me, but it's the horse that the grand doll and I rode one.  The pigs are still doing good and the grand doll still loves to play with them. She is certainly turning into quite the farm girl! I am so happy about that as I feel that kids that grow up on a farm know more responsibility and common sense that others might.  I hope that you ...