Wednesday, March 11, 2009

A book review of A Year on Lady Bug Farm

For the past four days I've been sick in bed feeling very sorry for myself. About the only thing I did manage to do was read. Today I'm much better, back at work and hoping to visit my favorite blogs. I've missed you all.

A Year on Lady Bug Farm was a light hearted ( and light weight) novel with a subject I'm very familiar with. Purchasing, renovating and living in a hundred year old farm house.

The first 50-pages were slow going but after that the book was very entertaining. Below is a quote from the back cover of the book.






Their husbands were gone, their families were grown, and the future stretched out before them like an unfulfilled promise... Tired of always dreaming and never doing, Cici, Lindsay, and Bridget make a life-altering decision. Uprooting themselves from their comfortable lives in the suburbs, the three friends buy a run-down mansion, nestled in the picturesque Shenandoah Valley. They christen their new home "Ladybug Farm," hoping that the name will bring them luck. As the friends take on a home improvement challenge of epic proportions, they encounter disaster after disaster, from renegade sheep and garden thieves to a seemingly ghostly inhabitant. Over the course of a year, overwhelming obstacles make the three women question their decision, but they ultimately learn that sometimes the best things can happen when everything goes wrong...

40 comments:

Anonymous said...

I saw that book yesterday at B&N and thought it looked interesting...I've got way too much in my to be read pile to pick it up though.

Hope you are feeling better...just wanted you to know that I enjoy your blog!♥

Unknown said...

I'm not good at sticking with a book that has a slow start. Sounds interesting though. To make you feel better come by and comment to win a handmade soy candle!

Sherri said...

I'm sorry you weren't feeling well, feel better soon!

That book looks really interesting, I'll have to put that on my Wish List!

tina said...

I will look for this book in the library. Sounds good with all the work they have to do I'd enjoy it very much.

I am sorry you are sick and happy you are feeling better. I have missed you. Take care.

Unknown said...

sounds like a cute book. thanks for sharing. feel better!

beckie said...

Poor Marnie, it's no fun to be sick-bu what a chance to get in some reading. :}

I live in a 100+ yr. old house that we have remodeled (some rooms more than once!) and know the frustrations as well as the joys. This sounds cute. Thanks for the review. Hope you aren't over doing going back to work so soon.

Kerri said...

So sorry to hear you've been sick but glad to hear you're on the mend now.
A good read helps with the cure I think. Sounds like an interesting story.
Thanks for the visit. The Scaevola is a great blue/purple for summer-long bloom. I was very pleased with it and will use it again this year. It worked well with ivy geraniums in a window box too.

BeadedTail said...

Sorry to hear you weren't feeling well but glad you are feeling better now. I have a list of books to read once tax season is over and that book has just been added! Thanks for telling us about it!

Sheila said...

Thanks for the book review. I am always looking for a good book and appreciate suggestions. Hope you are feeling better!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a good read! I'm always looking for a good book to lose myself in. :)

troutbirder said...

A good book when sick in bed can definitely help. Except when I take my decongestant and fall immediately asleep. Glad you better Marnie. Be well.

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

Sorry to hear you were feeling poorly, but glad you're now better! I'll give the book a try, if my local library has it (and they're likely to!).

Unknown said...

Sorry you haven't been feeling well Marnie and glad to see you're coming back.
The book sounds like something I'd like. But I get so little sleep with super insomnia I'd probably fall asleep trying to read it - like I do during my favorite TV show. Funny how I can sleep so good through that! Hmmm maybe it's not as good as I thought it was. ;-)

Balisha said...

Hi Marnie...Sorry to hear that you've been under the weather. Hope you're soon feeling up to your old self. I love books like this one...

Anonymous said...

I hope you're feeling better.

The book looks good!

Connie said...

Sorry to hear you have been sick. I have been, too... and it is no fun! Glad you found a good book to pass the time.

A Wild Thing said...

Sounds like the story of my life in the pink chateau...it never ends...but makes for fun reading!

Hope you're feeling better, you can't be sick, springs' a comin'!!!

Have a great day, in spite of the wind!

sharon

Anonymous said...

Hi Marnie, I am so sorry you were sick, but it sounds like you are better now. Hooray for health and a chance to do some reading, a luxury really. The story sounds like a good one, especially since you renovated an old house yourself. :-)
Frances

Rose said...

Marnie, So sorry you've been sick and had to miss the Chicago Flower and Garden Show. I'm glad you're feeling a little better now.

This sounds like an interesting book; having lived in several old houses in my life, I know that keeping up with them is much more work than most people realize. And it's a never-ending process!

Susie said...

Marnie I am glad to hear you are better. Being ill really is no fun. I've not heard of this book but it sounds like a great read.

sweetbay said...

Marnie I'm sorry to hear you've been sick but it sounds like you're on the mend now. :)

A hundred-year-old farmhouse sounds wonderful, unless it's classified as a unique fix-upper opportunity. My grandparents lived in a 100+-year-old house -- not a farmhouse but a brick Federalist house in a small Indiana town. I loved that house. Cubbyholes and closets in unexpected places, and a very narrow steep staircase to the top floor.

joey said...

So sorry you've been ill ... it's been a tough winter (I've been fighting the crud since Jan) and many here are struggling with flu, etc. Thanks for the good read and do feel better, dear friend :)

Gail said...

Marnie, I am so glad you are feeling better...Being sick is no fun;  but being sick and stuck in bed is really no fun. This sounds like a sweet read...maybe the library has it? Take care... gail

Anonymous said...

Oh I really have to read that book since I spent part of my childhood in the Shenandoah Valley!! Thanks for the review ~ it sounds intriguing. Like Darla, I'm sometimes quick to put down a book with a slow start so good to know it will pay to stick with it.

Glad to hear you're back up and around. Being sick is absolutely no fun.

Anonymous said...

Oh..glad you are feeling better... 50 pages would be more than I would give a book that didn't grab me, but I will take a look next time I am in a book store..

Naturegirl said...

Well it certainly was an adventure for these three friends renovating!Marnie being sick is no fun but I see that you made the best of it.
Glad you are feeling better..sending you a dose of sunshine your way! :) NG

Nan and =^..^= said...

Missed your blog visits the last few days and thought you might be very busy with work...so sorry to hear that you were feeling ill but am glad you are better. I appreciate the book review, sounds just like something I would enjoy. Wish my library had it but I don't think it does.
take good care,
Nan

Mary said...

Sorry you haven't been feeling well...hope you feel better soon! The book sounds good and I will have to look for it.

Anonymous said...

Oh---big healing hugs for a speedy recovery. I know you say you're feeling better but this old cold bug hangs on forever. I hope that's not the case for sure.

I am going to buy this book for my dil. It sounds like she will love it.

Anonymous said...

Hi Marnie,
So sorry to hear you've been sick. The flu really went around here too.
The book sounds good and I love to read, but I haven't had the time to read much lately. With spring coming up I'll have even less time.
We renovated the house I live in now, It was in very bad shape, We had to practically start from the ground up. It was very hard work.
birdlady (Vicki)

Dog_geek said...

Thanks for the book review - I'll have to keep an eye out for it the next time I go to the library. And, I hope that you are feeling better by now!

Roses and Lilacs said...

Thanks to everyone for stopping by to post a comment. After a brief recovery Wed I was sick again Thursday and didn't bother to get out of bed except for a brief time to feed the animals.
Marnie

Lisa at Greenbow said...

It is good to hear you are feeling better. This sounds like a book I would enjoy reading.

Jan said...

Marnie, I'm sorry to know you've been sick in bed for 4 days! How yucky. I am glad to hear you're feeling better now...getting back to your job, home, garden etc. is much better...although, some reading time must have been nice, despite feeling lousy.
You've got me 'hooked' on this book! I don't read novels all that frequently. I seem to get caught up in so many things that I don't take the time. BUT, since I'm 52 and even tho' I'm still married, I can relate to that scenario in a way...my daughter is gone, well at least it feels like it (she's in college) but she's separated from me so much;-( and things have changed in my life...so that situation actually sounds plausible! It sounds like a neat story. I might just pick it up and read it! I'll let ya know:-(

sweetbay said...

Marnie I'm sorry to hear you're feeling under the weather again. Be sure to give yourself enough time to recover.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the book tip. I have been trying to get over a sinus infection and just to settle in with a book and relax this weekend. I will look it up!

walk2write said...

I'm hoping that quote ("best things can happen...") holds true for some real-life risk-takers. Get better soon, Marnie!

Nan and =^..^= said...

Oh no, just read that you're sick again...sending get well wishes your way for a speedy recovery.
best,
Nan and the Maine cats

oldcrow61 said...

Happy to hear that you're feeling better. Sounds like a fun book.

Anonymous said...

I'm reading it now. I agree. It is very, very light, but I love the subject matter. Our house isn't a hundred years old, but we renovated our log house by ourselves. Sheesh. That cover art for the book is priceless. Glad you're feeling better.~~Dee