Sketchbook Challenge - Garden Doodle

Maybe not technically a doodle, but these flowers surely came from a garden, right? Anyway, I haven't sketched much lately, so this was a good chance to do so.

The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono

We have been in the middle of a remodeling project for the past month and a half:  in order to get a larger sewing studio, we have switched our master bedroom with my studio.  We moved furniture out, repaired drywall, painted, had new carpet laid in my new studio, had hardwood flooring laid in our new bedroom, and moved furniture back in (including some new furniture in my studio).  Today I was putting books back on the shelves in our bedroom, and I rediscovered this book.  As I flipped through it looking for the ISBN so I could post it to PaperBackSwap, I ended up re-reading it and decided to keep it.  According to Goodreads,

Simply written, but powerful and unforgettable, The Man Who Planted Trees is a parable for modern times. In the foothills of the French Alps the narrator meets a shepherd who has quietly taken on the task of planting one hundred acorns a day in an effort to reforest his desolate region. Not even two world wars can keep the shepherd from continuing his solitary work. Gradually, this gentle, persistent man's work comes to fruition: the region is transformed; life and hope return; the world is renewed.

It is a delightful story, a very quick read, and I rate it 5 out of 5.

The Greenhouse by Audur Ava Olafsdottir

My friend Kathy of Catching Happiness sent me this book to read.  Because I'm trying to catch up on my reviews, I am going to "cheat" and quote the book description listed on Amazon:

For Lobbi, the tragic passing of his mother proves to be a profound catalyst. Their shared love of tending rare roses in her greenhouse inspires him to leave his studies behind and travel to a remote village monastery to restore its once fabulous gardens. While transforming the garden under the watchful eye of a cinephile monk, he is surprised by a visit from Anna, a friend of a friend with whom he shared a fateful moment in his mother’s greenhouse, and the daughter they together conceived that night. In caring for both the garden and the little girl, Lobbi slowly begins to assume the varied and complex roles of a man: fatherhood with a deep relationship with his child, cooking, nurturing, and remaining also a son, brother, lover, and…a gardener. A story about the heartfelt search for beauty in life, The Greenhouse is a touching reminder of our ability to turn the small things in everyday life into the extraordinary.

Thanks Kathy!  I will be sending it back to you this week.  I enjoyed it and rate it 3 out of 5.

Nightwoods by Charles Frazier

This is the third book by Charles Frazier that I've read, and I can say that I would read any book by him.  Each book is a completely different story, and all are really well written.  This one is set in the early 1960's in small town North Carolina.  Luce is a young woman living all alone in an old lodge as a sort of caretaker when she inherits her murdered sister's troubled twins.  The coming of the children changes everything.  I rate it 5 out of 5.  (I finished this on May 1, so I'm STILL behind in my reviews!)

Sketchbook Challenge - Bowls

I finished my bowl for the Sketchbook Challenge this month, and got it posted to Flickr JUST under the wire yesterday.