Mailbox Monday - August 10

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Well, isn't this turning out to be a fun year? A pandemic, protests, elections, wildfires, earthquakes, hurricanes, tropical storms, and more. Which end is up? Thank God for Mailbox Monday or I might not even know what day it is.

Tropical Storm Isaias visited us last week. No power or internet, downed power lines and trees, and my arbor fell into the garden. It yanked up my grape vine and squashed the tomato plants. Yesterday, I worked on returning it to some form of normal (a dangerous word to use this year). I also planted some new seeds. I never stress over what I get out of the garden in the fall, because I consider it a blessing when I get anything--especially as we head into the cooler months.

Next weekend I hope to do some cutting back of tree branches and plants along the perimeter. 

My real and virtual mailbox were busy this week thanks to some books I ordered and one that I am reviewing. 

I saw this one on Facebook. It came with a few other free e-books I wanted to look at, so I paid the $9.95 shipping.

Do not be fooled by all these gardening books. I have absolutely no idea what I am doing. I can't even say I am learning as I go. I plant things and pray a lot. 

Charlotte Hubbard asked me if I would review the first book in her new series. I jumped at the chance since I love her books.

Since I follow James Scott Bell on Amazon, I received a $5.00 off coupon to buy one of his select titles this weekend. I also had credits from other Amazon orders, so I picked up both of these.

That's it for me. I hope you had a fun mailbox. Wishing you a blessed week.

Gearing Up for Hurricane Irene

Hurricane Irene has already been blamed for at least six deaths and leaving around a million people without power along the East Coast. The website for The Weather Channel reports as of about an hour ago that it is feared the Outer Banks will be come isolated from the rest of the state--not surprising if you saw the bridge in and out of the Outer Banks and how even a hard rain floods their roads. In addition, power is out in all of Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands.

Here in Western Mass, and specifically in our town, we sustained damage from a tornado in June and a microburst in July, where we lost power for at least a couple of days each time. We're still in the process of rebuilding, so even though we're not a coastal town, there is concern about widespread power outages and fallen trees and downed power lines.

Everyone impacted by Hurricane Irene remains in our thoughts and prayers. We also hope you'll keep us in yours. I will updated this blog once I am back online--which hopefully, God willing, is tomorrow.