Harvest Lane Cottage

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2025 41 Finished Books Goal 60

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Thursday, August 14, 2025

Favorite Books from Summer Reading

Hello everyone!

Here we are nearing the end of another summer. Since I work in the schools, I'm in that in between time of school starting and actual fall. It's a good time to wrap up the summer reading list. I did pretty well. I read and listened to more than I planned. Here are just my favorites. You may see all the books I read in my Goodreads list.

♥

BIBLE

I finished reading the Bible.

♥

FICTION FAVORITES:

Dead Sea Rising

Jerry B Jenkins

Dr. Craig Evans, Biblical Consultant

and

Dead Sea Conspiracy by Jerry B Jenkins

♥

Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche

Nancy Springer

I enjoyed this so much!

She's Sherlock Holmes' little sister.

Here are the others I read this summer:

Enola Holmes Elegant Escapade by Nancy Springer

Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose by Nancy Springer

♥

For a Lifetime

Timeless Book 3

Gabrielle Meyer

I LOVED IT!

I've enjoyed this whole series.

♥

Every Hour Until Then by Gabrielle Meyer

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

♥

NON-FICTION FAVORITES:

Western Heritage a Reader

Hillsdale College Press

I'm taking the Hillsdale College Western Heritage course for free.

Update 8/5: I am studying the Romans now.

♥

JFK Conspiracy

Oh! This was so good for understanding the atmosphere of the late '50s and early '60s in the USA.

It's about the assassination attempt while Kennedy was president elect.

Finished on June 5th.

♥

What have you enjoyed reading this summer? Any plans yet for fall?

Laura ~ Glad for Summer Break!

Find me online here:

@lauraofharvestlane on Instagram

Laura Lane on Goodreads

2025 41 Finished Books Goal 60

HarvestLaneLaura on Ravelry

Harvest Lane Cottage on Facebook

*Summer reading list image generated by Canva AI

Thursday, August 7, 2025

Pizza Picnic in the Park

It was an ordinary weekday.

My husband was working from home.

We decided to ride together to pick up a pizza for lunch.

My husband stopped on impulse for

a pizza picnic in the park.

Seize the day!

Blessings,

Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage

Wednesday, August 6, 2025

Hodgepodge Volume 614

I'm joining with Joyce from this side of the pond for the Wednesday Hodgepodge. Click through when you're done here to read other ladies' responses. Now, for this weeks questions.

1. The midpoint of summer (believe it or not) is August 7th. Describe a perfect summer day. Have you had one this year?

A perfect summer day...

Sleeping until I wake up naturally
Knitting and/or sewing
Reading or listening to a book
A drive in the country
Time with friends and/or family
Bucket list activities

I've not had a perfect day yet, but I've been able to do at least one of these things each day.

2. What's one thing you wish you knew before starting high school?

It's okay not to have a boyfriend or go on dates. I had my first boyfriend, and we started going steady, in November of my senior year. We're still going steady over forty years later!

3. What's something that bothers you if it's not done perfectly?

Grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Now, watch. There will be a mistake in this post!

4. What's the most overrated food you're convinced people are just pretending to enjoy? What's a trendy food you actually do enjoy and would say is definitely not overrated?

Sushi is the most overrated.
Gee, I don't really eat trendy foods. Burrito bowls?

5. Wrapping it up this week with five fun this or thats...

personal stylist or personal chef? Personal chef

dance like nobody's watching or sing like nobody's listening? This big girl likes to dance for the LORD in praise and worship. I hope no one's watching. LOL

unlimited tacos or free pizza? Tough one! I'll choose pizza if it's a kind I enjoy.

bookshelf organization-by size or by genre? Genre

ten minutes late or ten minutes early? I prefer early, but ocassionally I'm late. I always feel guilty if I'm late.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Blast from my past:

"Based on the information available today, and the terms of the contract in force today, benefits will be available if the services are medically necessary."

~circa 1987-1990 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas disclaimer. I was a customer service correspondent.

This was fun! If you want to join us, go to from this side of the pond. The questions come out on Sunday so that we can prepare our responses early.

P.S. August 7th may be the mid-point of summer, but it always feels like summer's over after Memorial Day to me.

Enjoy the rest of your week and the rest of your summer!

ஐღLauraღஐ

...doing what I can with what I've got where I am

on a short shoestring budget!

~~~~~

Find me online here:

@lauraofharvestlane on Instagram

Laura Lane on Goodreads

2025 40 Finished Books Goal 60

HarvestLaneLaura on Ravelry

Harvest Lane Cottage on Facebook

Email: laura@harvestlanecottage.com

PayPal

Snail mail address available by email

~~~~~

Monday, August 4, 2025

Happy Homemaker Monday ~ August 4, 2025

I'm joining with Sandra at Happy Homemaker Monday.

Hello everyone!

It's been quite awhile since I've written a Happy Homemaker Monday or My Daybook post. It's Monday night as I write this, but I thought I'd give it a go anyway.

The weather:::

We have had some cooler weather. It was just in time for Marion Days last week. It's a Vietnamese religious festival that is held in Carthage every August. It's always sweltering; but, this year it was almost pleasant. I still kept to my a.c. at home. ~smile~ This week the temperature is supposed to climb again.

As I look outside my window:::
It's Monday night after 10 p.m. Everything's dark except for some street lights.

Right now I am:::
Today, I've been writing Amazon Vine reviews and writing blog posts. I had a steroid shot in my foot this morning; so, I'm staying off my feet as much as I can. Oh, yes, there was knitting!

Something fun to share:::

I bought a rug loom for twining. I found this video tutorial.

Thinking and pondering:::

I really want to work on one project at a time until it's done with the motivational goal of warping my loom when I finish. If I don't finish by the end of the month, I may cave!

On my bedside table:::
A stack of books that I'm not reading. They're holding up my mini fan. ~smile~ You'll also find my phone for the alarm and listening to my Bible App morning and night. Lastly, I always have ice water in case I'm thirsty at night.

What I'm currently reading:::

Every Hour Until Then by Gabrielle Meyer ~ Loving it!

The Story of Science by Joy Hakim

On my tv:::

YouTube videos about history, diy, or homemaking

Listening to:::

Please keep in mind... I've been Kringling. This video has great music, so far no mid-roll ads, and beautiful pictures.

On the menu for this week:::

To be determined... I'm short on groceries and don't know when I'll be going to the store. I'm falling back on things I find in the freezer, garden tomatoes and squash, and making do.

On my to do list:::

Cleaning

Errands

Reviews

Writing

Knitting fingerless mitts for a gift aka Kringling

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::

I'm focusing exclusively the fingerless mitts. The first one is off the needles and ready for the thumb. After I finish the second mitt's wrist and hand portion, I'll knit both thumbs so that they come out even.

My simple pleasure:::

Iced Chai Lattes at home using Oregon Chai Latte concentrate or, when I have it, Mocaf Chai Vanilla mix.

Looking around the house:::
I have a lot of cleaning to do to prepare for my grandbaby's birthday party. My daughter asked to host it at our house since it's bigger than her apartment. I want to have it all done by Saturday so that I can prepare my dishes for the potluck.

From the camera:::

Thanksgiving will be here before we know it.

Bible verse, prayer, devotional:::

May Jesus be real in your heart and in your life.

He came to save you. You can be rid of the guilt and shame in your life once and for all.

You can be forgiven. God wants to reach out to you in love and mercy.

Find a Bible or Google

John 3:16.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son so that all who believe in him shall be saved."

Right now, close your eyes, confess your sins to God, and ask for forgiveness. Ask for Jesus to come into your life and be your savior. He died to pay the debt for your sins, and then rose again from the grave alive. He is alive now with Father God, and HE LOVES YOU! He is reaching out to you right now.

He is as close as a prayer.

God bless you!

Laura Lane

Reach out to me with questions by email or comment

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Would you like to support my site?

As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a small percentage from ANY items you place in your cart and purchase within 24 hours after going to Amazon from one of my links.

It doesn’t have to be an item I have linked here.

If you’re going to be making a purchase from Amazon this week, I thank you for using my links to support this site!

Find me online here:

@lauraofharvestlane on Instagram

Laura Lane on Goodreads

2025 40 Finished Books Goal 60

HarvestLaneLaura on Ravelry

Harvest Lane Cottage on Facebook

PayPal laura@harvestlanecottage.com

Address available by email

Happy Lately #4

Here are a few things that have made me happy lately including lots of knitting along with some new things to make life nicer. I've included clickable links.