Anthology: Mad Hatters and March Hares

336 p.
Anthology
Edited by Ellen Datlow
Publisher: Tor Books
Source: From publisher for review
Affiliate link: https://amzn.to/2Jkufgf

From master anthologist Ellen Datlow comes an all-original of weird tales inspired by the strangeness of Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking-Glass" and "What Alice Found There". 

Between the hallucinogenic, weird, imaginative wordplay and the brilliant mathematical puzzles and social satire, Alice has been read, enjoyed, and savored by every generation since its publication. Datlow asked eighteen of the most brilliant and acclaimed writers working today to dream up stories inspired by all the strange events and surreal characters found in Wonderland. 

Featuring stories and poems from Seanan McGuire, Catherynne M. Valente, Delia Sherman, Genevieve Valentine, Priya Sharma, Stephen Graham Jones, Richard Bowes, Jeffrey Ford, Angela Slatter, Andy Duncan, C.S.E. Cooney, Matthew Kressel, Kris Dikeman, Jane Yolen, Kaaron Warren, Ysbeau Wilce, and Katherine Vaz.

My thoughts:

As with most anthologies this was a mixed bag of captivating stories and some that I skimmed. I do think you will recognize some of the authors like Seanan McGuire (and that story was so good!) and find some new ones to check out. There is also some poetry for those that enjoy it (not too much for those that don't). Some of these stories really transported me into the world and I will warn you that much of it is dark and some ventured into horror. I'm not surprised as the original work really had a darkness to it and some of the authors expounded on it. I really enjoyed how some of these stories were turned on it's ear and you found yourself with logical explanations to the illogical. Most though fully immersed itself into wonderland or just outside of it and all of it will make you mad as a hatter in the end of it. Really that is a good thing... LOL

I give this book 3 1/2 stars. This is a book I do think I'll reread and I do know that there were a couple of stories I wish were expounded into full series. I don't want to say which of those I enjoyed the most as I do think you need to explore this book as I did... knowing it would be fantastical and dark but not knowing which direction it would take.

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Stolen Enchantress by Amber Argyle

Series: Forbidden Forest #1
448 p.
Publisher: Starling Publishing
Published: 4/9/18
Source: From author for review
Affiliate Link: https://amzn.to/2JUhKsX

Any girl who goes into the Forbidden Forest never comes out again. Except the one who did.

Larkin should have been watching her little sister, should have paid more attention to the trees looming over her family’s fields. Now Sela is gone. Knowing full well the danger of the forest and its beast, Larkin goes after her anyway. With her sister clutched in her arms, she manages to escape, but not before discovering the truth lurking beneath the wicked boughs.

She may have evaded the beast once, but with the full force of his magic now fixated on her, she isn’t sure how much longer she can resist.

My thoughts:

 To sum up this book I will say that this is a YA fantasy book and it also has a girl power edge to it. Add in some magic and a mysterious curse and you have one fun tale.

I do have to say one thing about this book. I also think it is why some people shy away from YA in general. I admit to becoming frustrated with characters in this book. However, unlike other YA, I did not become frustrated with the main character. She was naive, but that is to be expected. I was frustrated with everyone around her trying to force ignorance upon everyone else. Frustrated with how they refused to listen even when it might contain valuable information or in how they excused what they did and pretended it wasn't a choice (Larkin called many people out on this behavior so she was no shrinking violet). Often this behavior is relegated to the main heroine but not here. She was smart and thoughtful. Larkin also knew she had to live in this world (and in a way another... but I won't explain that one for fear of spoilage) and she knew she would have to make some hard decisions. However, she was not fooled into believing a gilded cage was anything but a cage. For that reason alone I loved this character.

By the end of the book I was fully invested but I didn't totally love the romance in this one. I didn't hate it either, but it is the kind that I am certain will grow on me as the books grow. It at times got in the way of her journey, but not so much it bothered me. The reason I think I will become invested in the romance is because her chosen started to grow in ways that seemed uncomfortable for him because he knew he needed to consider more than his own feelings. This is why I know I will eventually enjoy the romance as the relationship continues in the story.

My biggest problem came at the end. It ended! It didn't quite feel like a cliffie, but then it wasn't finished at all. I knew that would probably be the case but I still wanted to continue my journey and there was no more journey as yet. I eagerly anticipate the next book in this series.

I give this book 4 1/2 stars and if you are looking for a adventurous YA book with a good heroine, try this one. I really enjoyed it and I think you'll find something fun here as well.

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Bloggy note: Thanks for coming back! I'll have a short post explaining later but thanks for sticking by me! 💖 Oh and as of this writing, the book, Stolen Enchantress is on sale for $0.99 at your favorite ebook retailer (Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/2JUhKsX).

Arts and Crafts Post: Dog Sweaters

Well, this story starts with 2 short haired dogs. One I've been making coats for a while now. I swear manufactures do not believe that big dogs get cold. Dobermans are especially prone to being cold as their short coat is also not very thick. So, between my mom and I we came up with a coat pattern loosely based on a coat I did find that actually fits a Great Dane (he's big but not quite that big, but his chest is HUGE!). I made him one that he wears all the time and I needed to make more. I THOUGHT that the little monster pup was set as I FINALLY could buy one since her chest wasn't too wide and she was small (well, for me she seems small). So she got this sweater which I did NOT make but came from PetsMart:

Sweater from PetsMart (bought)

Isn't she adorable? Yea, looks can be deceiving. Actually she had this through at least 3 wearings which shocked me. After that 3rd wearing... it was put through a shredder.... or it looked like it was shredded. Yea, never trust a bored pup. LOL

So... I had a sewing machine... and I found a fleece blanket for $1 at Wal-Mart. It was small and a bit on the thin side for a blanket but perfect for what I had in mind. I found a free pattern and I had some black fleece on hand which was left over from a long ago project (which I recall I also got for a great deal). The pattern is from Mimi and Tara and is a mash up of the raglan dog sweater and the add-on hood (just click on the links to go to her posts on the patterns and yes, they are free). 

The problem with the patterns is that there really isn't any instructions and I don't sew clothes. Luckily youtube came to the rescue and I figured out how to sew the raglan and the hood was easily figured out with the blog post Mimi and Tara had on her blog. I did add a cuff to the sleeves and because it was so long on her (it fit perfect otherwise) I added a small amount of elastic on the front of the sweater (stomach area) which also helped keep debris out of the inside of the hoodie. 

And yes, there is already a hole after the 2nd wearing on the sleeve. There is now a patch there. LOL

The second one was much easier. It was like coats I used to make my dad's dog and only snaps on one side. This one is VERY easy to make and you could probably find something close to it on the web.

Second coat!

It was also made from a remanent fleece I found. I also don't put it on her that much as I do the other as she has more of a tendency to try to chomp on the back end of it more than the hoodie. Darn pup! 

The big boy's coats

Of course I couldn't leave the big boy out and besides I needed to make him other coats so I can wash the one he loves. The blue one is a thick fleece and it wraps around his chest and is snapped on both sides. I added elastic to the chest piece (like I did on monster pup's coat) to keep it more fitted and debris out. I did the same with the rust coat. I didn't have much of this fabric so I used the fabric I had used on monster pup's hoodie for the collar. I made my $1 stretch! Monster pup is in the photo trying to undress the boy. She figured out the coat comes off from the snaps and now tries to unsnap him as much as possible. As you can see by how he ignores her, he is now used to it. LOL

I'll probably end up having to make more next year, but hopefully the monster pup won't shred them as quickly. 

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Animal Treat Cookbook: Biscuits Pour Animaux by Cassandra Bouclé

Genre: Pet Cookbook
Language: French
81 p.
Publisher: Alter Real Editions
Published: Feb. 2, 18
Source: From Publisher for review
Stores (French resources): Amazon Fr, Publisher Website

Des recettes 100% bio, faciles et économiques, pour chats, chiens et rongeurs. 

Vous trouverez dans cet ouvrage des recettes de biscuits faciles et rapides à faire. Le livre se veut pratique : à chaque page, sa recette, avec la liste des ingrédients et des conseils pratiques. Les recettes peuvent être modifiées selon les goûts de votre animal, ou selon de sa santé. S'il doit éviter les biscuits sucrés ou salés, vous pouvez changer les ingrédients. 

Ce livre de recettes est pensé pour les animaux, mais aussi pour leurs maîtres, qui doivent prendre plaisir à cuisiner, que ce soit pour leur chien, leur chat, leur lapin ou leurs autres rongeurs.

Bon appétit !

English Translation:
100% organic, easy and economical recipes for cats, dogs and rodents.

In this book you will find easy and quick cookie recipes. The book is practical: on each page, the recipe, the list of ingredients and practical advice. The recipes can be modified according to the tastes of your pet, or according to his health. If it should avoid sweet or savory cookies, you can change the ingredients.

This recipe book is designed for animals, but also for their masters, who enjoy cooking, whether for their dog, cat, rabbit or other rodents.

Enjoy your meal!

My thoughts:

I got a note from Melliane from Between Dreams and Reality Blog about a interesting treat cookbook. The only thing... it was in French. Since it was a cookbook I figured I could translate it well enough (with a bit of bad Google translate... LOL) to make some treats. It worked out well.

The book also consulted with a veterinarian to make sure the treats were nutritious and well suited for the various animals in the book. There is a section for dogs, cats, and rodents. It wouldn't be hard to convert some of these treats for horses if you know your horse. The recipes are simple, easy to follow and my dogs found delicious. My only problem was translating the recipe amounts since America usually uses cups instead of grams and ml. However, with a few grams to cups translations on the web according to product and I was able to get it done.

Dog treats and monster pup waiting for it to fall...

I did use gluten free all purpose flour for the treats but I'm not sure it is as necessary to do so elsewhere. I have talked to many people who have gluten problems in the US but not in Europe. So these treats became gluten free. I also substituted the rice milk for plain water since so little was used. The treats were made in ball form (as the meat scrap ones suggested) for ease in making it. These small substitutions worked!

The big pup letting me know the cat isn't getting this...

I made the Dumplings with Meat Scraps, Cheese Bites, and Biscuits with Apple. My dogs LOVED the meat scrap ones as well as the cheese bites. The split was with the apple ones. My pup loved them and my big boy was a bit lukewarm about it. He is a bit on the picky side (not too bad) and he still ate a few which is a big deal to me.

I also thought I'd make the Diced Tuna treats for cats and perhaps see if my neighbor would give some to her cat. It never made it over there. My dogs loved that one so much as well. There was nothing in it that a dog couldn't have in those treats so they gobbled those treats up. In fact, my malamute that I had would have LOVED them as those breed of dogs tend to love fish. In fact, I often treated her with fish. The tuna I used was the healthiest I could find and the fish could easily be substituted with salmon (which I may try later as I feel better about salmon).

To sum it all up, I really liked this cookbook. The recipes are easy enough to make and also make substitutions when needed. You could also use these recipes to make your own tailored to your pets tastes. I give this one 5 stars (and I'm very picky about what my animals eat). I think my pups also give it 4 paws (they don't have 5 paws.. obviously! LOL) which is their highest rating. For the US peeps, this one is well worth translating with a little help from the web. The book is also filled with very cute animal pics waiting for their treats.

🐾🐾

Bloggy Note:

Today is also Rare Disease Day. I had planned to do something better than a note today, but my plans have been laughed at a lot lately. So, please take the time and go HERE to the official website to learn why it is important to fund these diseases and disorders. One treatment or cure can lead to other more common diseases and disorders to be cured as well.

✋

Really Late Craft Post: What I Made Over the Holidays

With all the craziness that happened over the holiday season, I did get a few things done. Nothing like I planned, but well... I guess you do get laughed at if you plan. 

One I did get done was for my sweet 90 yr old friend. 

These are done in the hoop on the embroidery machine. This one is from Lovely Leaf Applique (Etsy store) and the small tag was from Buggalena Embroidery. I made the large pouch with a D ring attached to the ribbon on the side and made the wristlet strap on my regular sewing machine. The smaller pouch just has a swivel hook on the end of the ribbon. All this was done with scrap fabric!

The next one I got done was a towel for a cousin who just got married.

 The embroidery file was from Hoop Mama Designs (and was free during the season but is no more but available for purchase at her website). The towel was a microfiber towel. Blue and Yellow (or gold in this case) taken from the colors of her wedding.

A couple of other projects rounds it out...

Eye mask:

This was actually a play mask from Ohana Applique Designs but changed it quite a bit for my eye mask. I flipped the eyes to look closed (a little bit more wrangling than that, but you get the idea) and then made the front from felt and quilting fabric and the back was made with satin. It is then filled with smooth tiny beads for a cooling and relaxing feel. 

Trinket tray

I don't know the designer for the tray (I got it free) but the letter design at the bottom of the tray is from Designs by JuJu. It can be unsnapped flat or partially snapped for a partial tray or fully snapped for a full, but small tray.

Lastly...

I made myself some pattern weights. The top two were from Buggalena Designs. It was made differently than I did as it required you to use non-fray fabric, but I thought that if I flipped it a bit while making it I could make it out of quilting cotton and have no raw edges. The one that says Pins is also a pin cushion. All have metal washers (get at a farm store) to create the weight. The 3 underneath are smaller and I used other designs I had on hand. The back is foldover elastic (which is part of the original design) to keep things in place and to give something to hold onto. FYI, I used unicorns, peacock feathers and star wars characters since you probably can't see them clearly. The horn on the unicorn is iridescent scale vinyl and the ears are glitter vinyl. 

So have you been crafty lately?