Review This Reviews!

Tuesday, May 4, 2021

How to Maximize Space in a Small Bedroom

Making the best of a small room - reviewed

We have a nice 3 bedroom home with plenty of room. Although, one of the bedrooms happens to be a small 8' x 10' room. This is the room that our granddaughters stay in when they come for a visit.

We had a bookcase full of books and toys, along with a tote full of toys and a full size bed in this small room. This did not leave much room for the girls to play.

Fran decided that it was time for a makeover in this room. First she emptied the bookcase and got rid of it. We needed to make the best of this space so the girls had room to play. For those of you who don't know who Fran is, she is my better half forever.

This small room makeover was all Fran, all I did was assemble all of the furniture and place it where she wanted it.

Maximize Space in a small room:

Ellen Corner DeskCheck the Price

First Fran wanted a space where the girls could do some projects such as crafts, drawing, coloring, or reading.

We moved the full-sized bed to one corner of the room and placed this corner desk in the opposite diagonal corner of the room.

The corner desk measures 42" across and has a drawer and shelves for storage.

Vanity StoolCheck the Price

Since a desk chair would take up too much space, Fran decided on this vanity stool.

This stool fits perfectly under the desk when it is not in use. When it is pulled out for use there is still plenty of room to get by between the stool and the bed. Did I mention that the cushion top is very comfortable.

Storage CubeCheck the Price

Now, it was time to clean up all of that clutter and empty that tote full of small toys, crayons, and makers. Fran picked out this cube storage organizer.

This was a perfect fit next to the desk and along the wall to fill the space to the entrance door of the room.

These storage cubes are a great idea for craft rooms, bedrooms, playrooms, or a small office.

The cube has six storage spaces and each space will hold 60 pounds.

Sorbus Foldable Storage CubeCheck the Price

To store all of those little things Fran found these colorful foldable storage cubes.

They fit perfectly into the cubes of the storage organizer. These a perfect for games, crayons, makers, and small toys.

Fran hand picked every one of these items for a specific purpose in this small bedroom. She created a comfortable and useable space for our granddaughters. This was an easy project for me, as I said earlier all I had to do was assemble. All of these items were easy to assemble and all had excellent assembly instructions.

Here is a photo of our youngest granddaughter hard at play using their new corner desk. They are very happy with the new changes to their room away from home.

Find more reviews on this topic on Review This Here:

ReviewThisDecor.com

ReviewThisProductReviews.com

ReviewThisCrafts.com

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

FOLLOW US ON:

Monday, May 3, 2021

Book Review - The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek: A Novel by Kim Michele Richardson

Have you ever read a book that makes it hard to start another book because you have a hard time moving on from the characters that you just finished reading about? Or a book that was so good that you read it at least one more time? The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek: A Novel is one of those books for me. I have started reading it for a second time. This novel, inspired by historical programs and people, includes issues of remote Appalachian living in the 1930s, literacy, poverty, spinsterhood, and the impact of having a different skin color. This is the personal story of one woman's life. A woman who is both astonishingly brave and who is as uncertain as most of the rest of us.

Historical Fiction Review on ReviewThisReviews.com

I was hooked from the opening paragraph:

"The librarian and her mule spotted it at the same time. The creature's ears shot up, and it came to a stop so sudden its front hooves skidded out, the pannier slipping off, spilling out the librarian's books. An eddy of dirt and debris lifted, stinging the woman's eyes. The mule struggled to look upward, backward, anywhere other than at the thing in front of it." -- The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

Cussy Mary Carter lived with her father in their one-room log house in Troublesome Creek, Kentucky. Her mother had passed away and her father was desperate to find a husband for his grown daughter. While his goal of her being a respectful woman and safe as someone's wife, it did not fit with her chosen career of librarian. A pack horse librarian to be exact.

From 1935 to 1943, The Pack Horse Library Project ran through the Works Progress Administration (WPA) (part of President Roosevelt's New Deal programs. The WPA focused on work relief programs). Librarians were hired to circulate books to families on their routes. The routes were up to 18 - 20 miles per day and the librarians rode these routes on horseback. The routes were often rugged and dangerous but the librarians were determined.

Cussy Mary was devoted to the families along her route. All of her families. Those who were avid readers as well as hesitant readers. She was often the only outside contact families would have for long periods of time. She was a hero to these families.

She was also a pariah. Cussy Mary was one of Kentucky's Blue People. I had never heard of this family group who (partly due to geographical region and partly genetic) had noticeably blue skin. Superstitious people in the region blamed the blue people for bad things that happened. These people were shunned, ignored, or abused. The opening of this story includes a victim of a hanging.

When testing and a possible "cure" for Cussy Mary's colored skin is offered she finds that fitting in may or may not be as easy as the doctor would lead her to believe. She has some difficult decisions to make.

From the Author:

After the end of the novel, Kim Michele Richardson includes very interesting information in her Author's Notes. She writes:

"I've modified one historical date in the story so I could include relevant information about medical aspects and discoveries"

In other words, The Pack Horse Project was not ongoing when the "cure" for Cussy Mary's blue skin was discovered.

At times, when I notice that an author adjusted factual information in order to create a more interesting story I am a bit disappointed. But in this case, I was not bothered. In fact, I was very interested by the information about the causes and cure of the congenital disease. I am still amazed that prior to this book, I had never heard of either the Pack Horse Project librarians or the Blue Fugates of Kentucky and the things they experienced in their daily lives.

Other Recommendations:

The ReviewThis! contributors clearly love to read. Click our Book Reviews tab at the top of this page to see all our collective book reviews.

A few other historic fiction reviews I have written are: Galway Bay (a must-read that begins in Ireland during the potato famine), Chesapeake (a James Michener tale that is set on the Chesapeake Bay and spans 400 years), and Nickel's Luck (a cast of fictional characters living in the real town of Indianola, Texas in the 1800s. Indianola is no more and I bawled learning the history of that town and it's people).

FOLLOW US ON:

Sunday, May 2, 2021

Review of Gremlin Week - Two Appliances Bit the Dust

Gremlin week was expensive

This past week was 'everything broke' week. Literally.

We had to make two substantial purchases to replace the items the Gremlins busted.

The Microwave Bit The Dust

So there I am in the kitchen, minding my own business, reaching for something as my hand brushes the top of the microwave when I notice that thing that makes you go 'hmmm; heat on the top exterior of it.

My son had just made popcorn, running it for four minutes or so. However, it shouldn't have been on the hot side to touch the exterior ... or so I thought?

So doubting myself, I called one of my brothers and asked him to run his microwave to see if it was hot to touch on the exterior after use. Because, seriously, I was just second-guessing myself ... had I just never noticed that the exterior of the microwave got so hot?

My brother confirmed my thoughts; my microwave shouldn't be hot to the touch after use. In fact, it was so hot, I couldn't really touch the top.

Yes, I googled till the cows came home on this scenario, and just like google, the responses were a mixed bag of nothing concrete.

So I decided to give the microwave one last, quick try.

And that's when it happened. The entire thing started to spark. OMG. Scared the living crap out of me. Quickly the beast was unplugged, and off I went to Amazon (Amazon, you are way too convenient) and ordered a new one.

My criteria was very specific: inexpensive - and that's it.

Why inexpensive? Because since we've owned this house, nearly thirty years, we've gone through at least four microwaves. So all I wanted was something that didn't break the bank.

Here's what we selected. Oh, and I threw in a picture of my favorite red wine and some Lemoncella - just in case you're having a Gremlin week.

Here's the one we purchased on Amazon
Read the reviews, went for the price. Inexpensive. So far so good. Working fine.

The Central Vacuum Unit Went to the Big One in the Sky

Hubby was vacuuming something up in the laundry room ... minding his own business .... when poof, the central vacuum system ceased. He stepped into the garage to smell smoke, and yep, our central vacuum unit reached the end of its appliance life.

I am not complaining though, because we bought and installed our Electrolux Central Vacuum system in 1994 - It lasted 27 years!! It's been the ONLY appliance that hasn't broken down until now. They don't make them like that anymore!

My brother informed me that Beam bought out Electrolux. He put a Beam central vacuum system in his house not too long ago.

Strangely enough, my mother's central vacuum system also died this year. She went ahead and put a Beam central vacuum system. Actually, my brother helped her pick it out. He's handy; he installed it.

I decided to check Amazon and go with something a bit less in price. The Beam central vacuum (just the unit that hangs on the wall) cost my mom about $795 (Canadian) - yah, we live in Canada.

Here's the central vacuum unit we selected - An Ovo. The unit itself cost us $399 (Canadian). We don't need any piping or vacuum parts. Our old ones still work.

Available on Amazon

It's a pretty darn powerful vacuum system. It works for homes up to 7000 square feet, and our home isn't anywhere near that size. With the basement, we're about 3500 square feet. So it'll be fine. Plus it offers a ten-year warranty.

Since we've just purchased these items, I can't give you a detailed review of how they've performed yet, but I'll be surprised if there's a problem. I'm not anticipating any problems. So far, so good.

So now I'm heading off to enjoy a glass of wine - the one that's sitting beside the microwave in that photo up there.

It was a cha-ching week. Yuk. I hate shopping. Actually, I hate spending money, but it had to be done.

Gremlin week sucks.

FOLLOW US ON:

Saturday, May 1, 2021

The Last Mrs Parrish - A Book Review

The Last Mrs Parrish by Liv Constantine is a book about Amber, Daphne & Jackson. It's a book where entitlement leads to manipulation and manipulation has its consequences.

I love that I've discovered a new author in Liv Constantine she (or I should say they) captures Amber's character really well and as you're reading it you so want Daphne to find out. As the twist comes you almost want to read it again to see how one of the characters (with your fresh information) isn't actually the person you thought.

This kept me up reading late into the night even though I knew I had work the next day there was just no way I could put it up! Amber reminded me a little of Tom Ripley and I found the duplicity of the novel absolutely delicious, I would never have known that this was a debut novel.

After reading the book I discovered that Liv Constantine was actually two sisters writing as a partnership, luckily they have written a few more books which will definitely be added to my long, must-read list.

I'll leave you with this, Amber's father really should have warned her to beware of the green-eyed monster that calls itself envy.

I read this as part of my Kindle Unlimited membership and I thoroughly recommend this if you're a voracious reader, I think of it as a library card for Amazon!

FOLLOW US ON:

Friday, April 30, 2021

Tennessee Travel: Natchez Trace State Park Review

There is much to explore in the Natchez Trace State Park, which is located off Interstate 40 (I-40) between Memphis and Nashville, TN.

It is a wonderful place for a day trip for hiking or exploring jeep trails, but it would also be an awesome vacation destination. With several lodging options, you get to choose what best suits your personal needs. Frankly, our most recent visit left me longing for a camper so we could easily spend the night.

Not only does the park offer RV camping facilities, they have cabin rental, a lodge with hotel rooms & dining, or you can pitch a tent. Each style has designated areas for a more enjoyable stay for all. Plus, there are playground areas, swimming, paddle boat, boat and canoe rental, picnicking areas, an equestrian facility, a firing range, and an archery range.

Since the park is spread out over 10,000 areas within a 48,000 acre forest, none of it seems to be sitting "on top of the other". I do recommend stopping at the visitor's center when you enter the park to get a map. Wandering aimlessly is fun, but if you have limited time, you might prefer to know where each facility, trail, picnic area, etc. is located. It is also where you can view the wildlife in rehab.

Day Trip in Natchez Trace State Park

We set out for the jeep trails, which we did explore, but ended up having to get out and walk some too. It was such a beautiful spring day! It would have been a shame to spend the entire time riding instead of walking. Needless to say, the sunlight and fresh air "pulled" me from the jeep seat to walk around the lake and across the bridge.

That is what I love most about Natchez Trace State Park. It is so much natural beauty in one place. Even the man-built cabins are nestled so beautifully within the trees that they don't distract from the peace and tranquility that permeates the park.

As we strolled through the beach area created for swimming, we encountered a search team with dogs in training. Of course, they all loved Merlin, but he questioned why those dogs needed training for what comes naturally to him.

From there, we ventured to the bridge that crosses the lake and provides a spectacular view of the surroundings.

Back to the jeep for another fun ride through the woods. While my husband enjoyed navigating the dirt trails designed for jeeps, I thrilled at being able to take photos of lots of spring blooming trees and wildflowers. The last time we were at Natchez Trace State Park, I concentrated on photographing birds, but this time, it was the flowers that fascinated me.

As the sun started to set, we unwillingly sought out the highway home. Oh, how I wish we had that camper! I could only imagine the sunrise in this beautiful place.

A Few of the Bird Photos I Took On Our Last Visit to Natchez Trace State Park

Points of Interest in Natchez Trace State Park

No Matter the Length of Stay or Accommodations,
We All Need the Convenience Store!

Group Lodge has 4 or 5 cottages, a bunkhouse, and
a Group Meeting Building with Kitchen

Pin Oak Lodge Offers Motel Style Rooms, a Restaurant
& Family Recreation Activities

Accommodations for a Special Event

If you are planning a special event, you might want to consider the Cub Lake Recreation Lodge, a very reasonably priced venue, which will accommodate up to 200 people. The lodge is a large, beautiful room for just the actual event. Those who wish to stay overnight could make arrangements for one of the other facilities mentioned above.