Here we are back at Sunday again! Anyone else feel like their summer (or for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere, winter) has zipped past? Hubby and my boys have been busy the last two weekends adding on a “watch tower” to their fort. (You can’t see the rest of the fort – just the watch tower in progress. And hubby hiding behind the sweetgum tree.) They’ve been having an absolute ball. And tracking loads of mud into the house when they finish, too. So bonus for me?
I promised you last week a look at the temperature blanket. That’s through the end of July (which I actually did take at the end of July. I was planning to lead off on Sunday Editions with the blanket, but then various other things took over, and here we are. I thought about taking a new one prior to setting up this post, but as I’m on Sundays in September, too, it’ll give me something to share then. (But if you want to picture it, just add a lot of orange and red. It’s been hot.)
Actually, I’ve been kind of kicking myself for using the actual temperature rather than the temperature + heat index. Because there’s a lot of orange in July (and August) that should, based on how it felt outside, be red. Ah well, live and learn, right?
A friend doing a temperature blanket is using 5 degree increments, and, despite all the extra yarn changing I almost wish I’d done that, as well, because 81 is significantly different than 89, but both are orange. Still, I’m enjoying the project and it’ll be a fun memory to have later.
Crocheting has gotten me back in a yarn mood, so I also started knitting a shawl. It can be worn sort of like a scarf, so that’s likely more how I’ll use it, but here’s the start. I’m about 3/10 of the way to the end (and yes, that’s an odd fraction, but I wanted to be exact, so I figured the number of rows total and where I was and did the math. Just for you. Except of course I love math, so it wasn’t really a hardship. I should’ve made my 10 year old do it though, he needs practice reducing fractions.)
Winners this Week
If you’re a winner, you should have received an email from the author in charge of the giveaway. If not, please email us at: prizes at inspyromance dot com.
Elizabeth Maddrey’s winner is Bernice Kennedy!
Congratulations!
Don’t forget… every comment you make qualifies you to win one of the monthly Amazon card giveaways!
Reader Gathering
Did you know InspyRomance hosts a Christian Romance Reader Gathering group on Facebook? Join us… but don’t forget to answer the questions for admittance!
This is the little table where I store my projects. And my Xbox controller :)
The Back-to-School Giveaway is Here!
If you’ve been hanging around here at InspyRomance for long, you probably know about (and hopefully look forward to!) our two big giveaways each year. The second of those for 2018, our Back-to-School giveaway, will kick off mid-August. Because we know we have several international commenters and we like to share the wealth of paperbacks as much as we can, there will again be a special paperback prize package just for international readers. This year, however, rather than asking you to tell us in a comment (and then hoping we see it and update our spreadsheet), we’ve created this little form. If you’re an international reader (meaning you don’t live in the United States, just to be 100% clear on that definition from our perspective ;) ), please take two minutes and fill out this form. That way we know who to enter in our international giveaway!
Last Week on Inspy Romance
On Monday, we kicked off the Back-to-School Giveaway.
On Tuesday, Elizabeth Maddrey talked about steamier Christian romance.
On Wednesday, Liwen Ho discussed the impact of a good kiss.
On Thursday, Jackie Castle brought us to lavender farms and other sweet places.
On Friday, Melanie Snitker talked about how writing one book leads to ideas for others.
On Saturday, Staci Stallings talked about old friends.
Next Week on Inspy Romance
Monday: Marion Ueckermann
Tuesday: Heather Gray
Wednesday: Cecelia Dowdy
Thursday: Janet Ferguson
Friday: Julie Arduini
Saturday: Ginger Solomon
New Releases
August 2018
Heart Healed (The Potter’s House Books 10) by Alexa Verde
Marrying Chrissy (Brides of Clearwater 3) by Melanie D. Snitker
Imperfectly Proverbs 31 (Huckleberry Lake Book 2) by Autumn Macarthur (formerly in Picnics & Promises)
Midnight Clear (Huckleberry Lake Book 3) by Autumn Macarthur (formerly in Snowflakes & Snuggles)
Come to the Lake (Huckleberry Lake boxed set) by Autumn Macarthur
Seasons End (Madison Creek B&B 4) by Jackie Castle
A Reservation for Romance (Homegrown Love 3) (Arcadia Valley Romance 19) by Annalisa Daughety
September 2018
Place Called Home (The Potter’s House Books 11) by Brenda S. Anderson
Flavors of Forever (Urban Farm Fresh Romance 5) by Valerie Comer
His Healing Touch (Sweetapple Falls 2) by Autumn Macarthur (re-release of Love’s Healing Touch)
Love’s Choice by Liwen Y. Ho (re-release)
Elizabeth Maddrey is a semi-reformed computer geek and homeschooling mother of two who lives in the suburbs of Washington D.C. When she isn’t writing, Elizabeth is a voracious consumer of books. She loves to write about Christians who struggle through their lives, dealing with sin and receiving God’s grace on their way to their own romantic happily ever after.
Hi Elizabeth, your rug is looking great. How cool- a watchtower on a treehouse, what an awesome summer project! You must be very proud of your men:)
My husband and oldest son spent the day enjoying some fantastic, late winter cross country skiing, while youngest (who wasn’t feeling 100%) and I enjoyed a day together at home:)
Blessings:)
Hi Elizabeth. My sons when they were young also had a tree fort. So much fun. So many memories. Nice seeing the updated version of your temperature blanket. After a week of cooler fall like temperatures, we have having a scorcher this week with high humidity. Interesting how people interrupt the temperature blanket and interesting thought about using the heat index, but then in the winter do you also have wind chill. Lake Michigan affects the wind chill during the winter. One more week till school starts in SW Michigan. Our oldest grandson has his birthday this week and will be 13. Time marches on. Best wishes and enjoy.
My men are all very handy – even the six year old. I love it. I especially love that hubby enjoys finding projects to do together. Sounds like your husband is a fun and involved dad, too! Hope your youngest is feeling better soon!
We have a little wind chill here, but nothing like when I went to college outside Chicago. I don’t know that there’s any wind chill that compares to a Lake Michigan wind chill. :) (Ot lake effect snow – that doesn’t happen just anywhere, either.)
Good morning, Elizabeth:
Love that tree house; we had a GIRL but hub built her a treehouse and she loved it. Then he got to build our grandson one!
The blanket is a fun idea. I have always wanted to knit or crochet but I haven’t taken the time to learn as an adult. I raise sheep for fleece but as far as I can get is felting the backs of whole fleeces to make a living rug. I adore fleece in my writing room because of the smell. I guess I am more of a shepherd then a needle worker.
The night have turned chilly here and we have dropped from triple digits in the daytime to mid-seventies. Bring on the pumpkin spice! And boots.
That’s excellent! I’m pretty handy myself, so I love girls who aren’t afraid to use tools when needed (or desired). :)
Oooh – felted fleeces sound amazing. I just ran across a sheep and alpaca farm about 1.5 hours from me and they’re offering a spinning class that I just might take. It’s in October, so I have a little time to decide, but I’m really tempted.
Yay for fall!
Hi, Elizabeth! That fort and blanket look awesome! I wish I had the talent and patience for that!
Love the treehouse! We didn’t have a treehouse , but we had a playhouse with electricity that I played in when I was young, then my children played in when they were young! Now it’s a storage building!
Thanks! I’m not sure I’d call it talent, just practice. :)
We had a playhouse too – but it was full if spiders and we mostly played in the canyon behind our house instead. :)
We just climbed in the orchard behind the house. No tree forts. Being outdoors was always an adventure.
Outside is always a good idea
I’ve never heard of a temperature blanket before. Loving the whole concept.
Thank you so much for the awesome Back to school bash!
Thanks! It was a new concept to me this year, too, but I just really wanted to try it!
You’re welcome! Thanks for joining us!
Wow! Love that idea of a temperature blanket. Very creative!
I agree summer has gone so fast, hard to believe next weekend is Labor Day! I like fall but here is WI, I do not look forward to the season after that!! Thank for the Back to School giveaway, lots of fun bundles ?
Thanks!
Oh, I’m looking forward to winter. Ours are never amazing though. I miss snow. And cold. :)
Your blanket is looking great. I, too, find that doing a project often leads to wanting to do more that are similar.
Thanks! It’s addictive for sure! :)
I’ve never heard of a temperature blanket. Very interesting. I used to crochet, before I started writing. Something had to give and crochet was it. Maybe someday, I’ll fit into my schedule again.
The temperature blanket is really neat! It would be really cool to see many years in a row to compare weather patterns!
Generally I haven’t been doing a lot of crochet or knitting since starting writing either, but I’m glad I’ve made time for it this year.
That would be fun! I’m not sure what I’d do with so many afghans though ?
What wonderful, beautiful projects for your family. I look forward to seeing that shawl when it is finished.
Thanks! Me too :)
One of these days I’ll learn how to knit and crochet. One of these days…
:) I hope you do!
Love the treehouse! My daughter has one, too. I never had one, but than again – we made it ourselves in the middle of the forest. Such great memories.
I’m excited for these new releases, especially Marrying Chrissy by Melanie D. Snitker. I can’t wait to read it!
Summer always goes by so fast!
Oh my hannah! I love your projects. The temperature blanket looks soooo cool. I’ve considered one of those but haven’t yet. I crochet a little bit but not a lot. I am sllllloooooow! hahaha Ilove your wrap/scarf……sooo pretty. I’d like to start knitting again. I learned it once but have since forgotten it. I made a dated washcloth for a new year and was SooOOo proud of that now i can’t even find it…lol. I’d love to see more of your work! :D
The entire year seems to have flown by!
This was my birthday…so I missed everything ?