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Sunday, April 19, 2026

Purple Rain, Books and More

 

Purple Rain is finished.  Pleased with how it turned out, and it wasn't the easiest to work on.  Squares were very different in size, some weren't squares, but rectangles as well.

These are the squares, or what a friend calls pieces parts.  I ended up moving a few squares as I was edging them for size.  You can immediately pick out the 2nd square from the right on the bottom row as one that got switched out in the final design.  This is the 4th one I completed while hubby and I were wintering in Hilton Head.  And you can probably also see some of the rectangles got turned a different direction to make things fit together better.

Wow, this was a real eye opener to me.  I know we've seen tv shows and movies where elite military personnel get by with things the rest of us would not; but I didn't realize how true it is.  Sad statement.  These guys we're suppose to honor, to thank for their service are drug traffickers, murders, steal from us.  This is the largest military base in the country and it's apparently not very honorable.  The police in the area are corrupt as well...not that that fact surprises me.  We've seen too many video's of police off the rails in recent years to think of them as friends like we were taught in our youth.  Seth Harp, the author is an Iraq Vet, and investigative reporter.  I gave this book 5 stars, had a hard time putting it down.  On Goodreads it has a rating of 4.08.  If you read it, please let me know what you think.  A friend lives not far from the base and when I was telling her about this book, she said she wasn't surprised.  It doesn't have a good reputation.

I found, The Resistance Knitting Club by Jenny O'Brien to be fascinating.  It's no secret I like WWII books with strong female characters; but I had no idea how knitting was involved in undercover work.  As a knitter, I found this truly fascinating.  Sweaters, scarves, hats etc with coded messages knit into the garments.  A family finds out their Grandmother was part of the resistance in Churchills secret army.  Morse code and knitting stitches.  I gave this book 4 stars and it's Goodreads rating is 3.93

Ben Sasse is a United States Senator and he seems to think the problems we currently have aren't political.  He thinks people are lonely.  I found his thinking a bit pie in the sky and fairly disconnected with everyday life.  I gave this book only 3 stars, while it's Goodreads rating is 4.17....so obviously, I'm in the minority on this book.

Typewriter Beach by Meg Waite Clayton was an interesting read and quite entertaining.  It takes place in Hollywood, Carmel by the Sea to be exact.  A pregnant star, a Hollywood fixer, and a Blacklisted writer.  Lots of secrets.  I gave this book 4 stars, but Goodreads rating is only 3.67.

I hate that this jerk is from my state of Ohio.  His comments sure haven't aged well, have they!


I thought this photo was quite powerful.  All names of men in the Epstein Files, and to date ........still no one has suffered any consequences for their disgusting activities.
People well organized on a beach...I think in California, but I saved this picture awhile ago and now am not sure of the location.  Should have written it down.

Still standing with Ukraine!

I absolutely LOVE this sign.






20 comments:

  1. I love purple rain. Great work. Lots of lovely books to add to my collection to be read.

    God bless.

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    1. Thank you Jackie, sing out if you read one of the books and let me know your thoughts.

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  2. ...that's a great one. I thought the GOP Gross Old Party!!!

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    1. Love your GOP...gross old party, gotta remember that. Thanks

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  3. That's a lovely blanket you made. What talent. God bless.

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    1. Thank you very much Victor, sweet of you to say.

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  4. My youngest son gave me The Fort Bragg Cartel to read- it's sitting on my coffee table as we speak! I'll pick it up after I finish the book I'm currently reading. Glad you recommended it!

    Your Purple Rain afghan is very timely as today is the 10th anniversary of Prince's untimely death. A friend and I saw him in Milwaukee back in the 80s when we were students at Marquette. It was right when Purple Rain came out and before his explosive popularity. What an amazing artist!

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    1. Let me know what you think after you read the book. I didn't know it was Prince's anniversary. Thanks for letting me know

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  5. It always amazes me how you put so many squares of different sizes together to make an afghan, brilliant work. The Resistance Knitting Club sounds right up my street, I shall look out for that.

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    1. It's sorta like putting together a puzzle for me, I think. Some are more challenging than others. Sing out after you read The Resistance Knitting Club, I was fascinated by it.

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  6. Purple is my favorite color, so I am especially taken with this afghan! Just lovely. I read The Resistance Knitting Club a few months ago and really enjoyed it too. Happy reading and happy stitching!

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  7. "The Resistance Knitting Club" sounds fascinating!

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  8. Purple Rain looks great!
    I'm so sorry about everything going on in the US. It's really, really sad.

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  9. Purple rain is looking really good, Sandy. The knitting club book looks interesting, thanks for the reviews.

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  10. ...Sandy, I love your "Purple Rain," we received over an inch of the regular stuff yesterday. Oh yes JP, someone to be proud of!!! In the late 60s and early 70s we lived in northern Ohio. Many parts of the state are like living in the south. Take care and be well.

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  11. And people voted for Trump and Vance with eyes wide open. Go figure!

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  12. Purple Rain' is absolutely gorgeous. I can only imagine the 'unruly' math involved in getting all those mismatched squares and rectangles to play nice together, but the result is stunning! I'm also really intrigued by The Resistance Knitting Club—the idea of coded knitting stitches in WWII is just brilliant. It gives 'purl two, knit one' a whole new level of secret-agent cool! Thanks for the great reviews and for sharing your beautiful work.

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  13. Purple Rain is a stunner. Well done, you! The Anti-Trump human sign was down here in SF at Ocean Beach. I know someone who stood in the first 'u'.

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  14. Hi Sandy. Good to reconnect with you again after I have been away from blogland for a while. I think you have finished two new afghans since then and they are both beautiful. You do have a talent for putting a collection together and making them work perfectly.
    I think 'The Resistance Knitting Club' book sounds like a good book that I would enjoy. Have a lovely weekend.

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  15. I truly admire your knitting. What a creative adventure to take some mish mash of shapes and colors, add your twinkles and magic and make it into something so flat, and colorful and amazing. Such talent. I hope your enjoying the coast.

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