The end of one year

It's a lazy Saturday, ok, not really but it feels that way. I've spent time with my parents, gone grocery shopping, made brownies, helped with the sauce for New Years lasagna, watched some tv shows and favorite movies, played on my computer, loved my furry daughters and thought about next year and blogging. Yes, I had all kinds of plans for ideas but I've decided to just blog on what I feel like and not attempt to blog on just one theme. I was going to blog on movie and the stars I like/love, but that felt too overwhelming.
So, bear with me as tomorrow is January 1st 2012...who knows what will happen!

it's getting closer!!

Love when an old favorite is redone by a great rocker!!

Monday, December 19th

I was scrolling through my IPOD Christmas playlist and found this song, I never paid attention to it before, it was a free download....lol

one week from today!!

For some reason I've not been with it this weekend. I don't think it's because of the holiday season I think it's just the impending end of the year and the anticipation of someone asking me what my New Years Resolutions are, ick....I remembered this song, yeah, point made and attitude has been adjusted.

9 days til the big day!

It's always better to give than receive...I love love love this song, I wish there was an official video but this will have to do besides it's the music that counts!!

Yike, 10 days!!

Even though the 12 Days of Christmas do not begin until Christmas day this song is the exception to the rule and I need a good laugh today!!

12 days and counting down

Realizing the reason for the season; there are so many wonderful Christmas hymns to remind us; I've always loved this song...Susan Boyle has a beautiful voice.

Monday, December 12th

Love Rockapella!!

yes, i know

last night I was beat, I fell asleep at 9:15pm Sunday and I'm still tired at 6:50pm Monday! I'll try and find a great song to make up for my snoring on the blogging job!

15 days until the big day!

A dear friend introduced me to this group last year, I love groups that sing A Cappella!

I may have to post their version of the 12 days of Christmas too!!

December 9, 2011

It would not be Christmas without hearing this song at least once!

Day 8!!

I do realize the reason for the season but there has to be time to laugh and enjoy too, the first time I heard this song I laughed so hard, now it just wants to make me dance!!

December 7th

On a somber day of remembrance I thought of one of my favorite Christmas hymns.

my Christmas song for December 6th

I got this record on Christmas, yes, a 45, and I played it so much I swear there's got to be grooves in it!! But who doesn't love Snoopy!! It doesn't hurt that years later I found out that a co-worker was a member of the Royal Guardsmen! Good memories!

Day 5 of My Christmas Music Blogging!

I remember learning this in choir, it's always been one of my favorite traditional Christmas songs, I love Bing and Bowie's voices together!

4th of December and another song!

There are some Christmas songs that I've grown tired of though the years but I was pleasantly surprised by this version of Santa Baby. I shouldn't have been, Kellie Pickler has an amazing voice.

December 3, 2011

I love Lady A and this version of "Baby, It's Cold Outside". Makes me wish it was a bit cold outside!!

December 2, next song

This is one of my all time favorites that not many people know...it was especially meaningful when we moved from New York to Florida...yes, I was worried...

On the first day of December!!

Yes, I'm challenging myself again....yeah, I know, a book a Sunday fell to the wayside but I did blog about a book for more than half the year!!

This is more fun, a Christmas song everyday until the big day!!

I love this song and this version is my favorite, who doesn't love Rascal Flatts!!?? I love the sentiment; being home for Christmas and all it means...I can't imagine spending Christmas anywhere else. Besides, home is where the heart is!

A December Challenge for Me!

I'm going to attempt to post daily or nightly! A Christmas song one for every day until Christmas!!

Call Me Irresistible

Susan Elizabeth Phillips has done it again and she did it by creating a wonderful story with children of past heroines!!

She took Lucy Jorik from First Lady, Teddy Beaudine from Fancy Pants and Meg Koranda from What I Did For Love via Glitter Baby and threw them together in a wonderful love story.

If you've never read Susan's books you need to-take this from someone who hates "modern" romance novels, these books are refreshing, delightful and funny. They give me hope that my dreams will come true.

ok, I missed last week but

there's a great excuse!! Tony won the race and the championship!!!!!!!

oh well

yes, i've been distracted by the Chase for the Sprint Cup....but I will start up again next week, just finished another wonderful SEP book with more characters from her other books!! love her!

oops, I did it again

I had books planned, well for the most part, but I will admit that NASCAR got in the way...

A day late for over the rainbow...

Originally slated for the first Kansas race but it will have to do for a late entry!

The Wonderful Wizard of OZ- Dorothy is a girl who lives in a farmhouse in Kansas with her Uncle Henry, Aunt Em, and little dog Toto. One day the farmhouse, with Dorothy and Toto inside, is caught up in a tornado and deposited in a field in the Land of the Munchkins in the Land of Oz. The falling house kills the ruler of the Munchkins, the Wicked Witch of the East. The Good Witch of the North comes with the Munchkins to greet Dorothy and gives Dorothy the Silver Shoes that the Wicked Witch of the East had been wearing when she was killed. In order to return to Kansas, the Good Witch of the North tells Dorothy that she will have to go to the "Emerald City" or "City of Emeralds" and ask the Wizard of Oz to help her.


The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)

The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904)

Ozma of Oz (1907)

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908)

The Road to Oz (1909)

The Emerald City of Oz (1910)

The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913)

Tik-Tok of Oz (1914)

The Scarecrow of Oz (1915)

Rinkitink in Oz (1916)

The Lost Princess of Oz (1917)

The Tin Woodman of Oz (1918)

The Magic of Oz (1919, posthumously published)

Glinda of Oz (1920, posthumously published)



you can get extra credit if you know the answer to this question..Do you know how OZ got its name??

10/2/2011

I know, a book a weekend was my goal, but that went the way of the Dodo earlier this year...I tried but there have been some weekend where my heart just wasn't into writing anything even a book review. I'm hoping that next year and my goal of movies/actors & actresses goes better!!

falling down on the blogging

Yes, I know, same story different week...you know the old saying about good intentions and that dang road...

The past couple of days have been interesting to say the least, speculation about comments made after a terrific day in the land of my father. As much as I want to be optimistic and believe that my prayers have been answered I'm having a hard time doing that, it's the old thing about nothing being all black or all white, there is always some grey. I'm living on adages, this to shall pass, all good things come to he who waits, no good deed goes unpunished...

Is all right with my universe?

I’m becoming a firm believer in Karma and the whole what goes around comes around thingy! I will admit that it’s a daily struggle to keep on a positive path and to only send out good vibes; in the notion of sending out what you want to get back. If I remember correctly that is the premise of The Secret (the law of attraction-is a metaphysical New Thought belief that "like attracts like", that positive and negative thinking bring about positive and negative physical results, respectively)


For example, when I’m sitting in traffic I try not to swear or say nasty things to drivers as they cut me off or go too slow because the moment that I do I get even more and crazier traffic. The same thing holds true when finding out something about someone I know, I am uncomfortable being happy with someone else’s misfortune no matter how much it is deserved in my eyes. If I send out negative vibes who knows what it will reap on me, the whole reap what you sow concept! (Galatians 6:7)


Back to karma, performing positive actions results in a good condition in one's experience, whereas a negative action results in a bad effect. The effects may be seen immediately or delayed. Delay can be until later in the present life or in the next. Thus, meritorious acts may mean rebirth into a higher station, such as a superior human or a godlike being, while evil acts result in rebirth as a human living in less desirable circumstances, or as a lower animal. So basically just because I do something Karmicly good I won’t necessarily get “rewarded” in this lifetime. Will that stop me from being “nice”, no, I can’t help myself, even when I say something mean I almost immediately ask for forgiveness. Heck, I feel guilty when I’m not, I was a goodie goodie in school, not only was I teachers pet I was the principal’s pet! Can’t help that I was just too cute with my pixie haircut and the spray of freckles across my face!


I am also having some doubts, well more like questions on “rewards” for past deeds. I found an old picture and put it on my facebook page, I admit I look cute but I really didn’t expect the response from someone that I got and I’m having regrets – regrets for posting the picture and regrets for “friending” this person. I have a feeling I’m being rewarded for being a bit catty over someone elses current pick of the litter…yikes, I really didn’t mean that, ok yes I did.


So, from now on I’ll do my best to think good, happy, positive thoughts, not harm anyone unless they really piss me off, think about the life I want and will have…only time will tell!!


*adding this on 9/25/11-it's amazing how Karma works and not wishing anyone bad things but things happen for a reason...

Change

most of my friends know that i absolutely hate change...so of course it doesn't help that i've had a mirgraine for a week, a sore throat for 5 days, an upset stomach for 2 days and sinus trouble for 4 days...you can imagine how much i just love what facebook has done...NOT!!!

add to all this some other crap has surfaced to only annoy me more. i really hate blogging only to bitch but it's what my muse is whispering to me, venting is a good thing...hopefully i'll get back on track and think positive...maybe i need a cupcake, chocolate doesn't seem to be working...

Sundays with books

Yes, I promised myself I would "blog" about a book a week, mainly in an effort to get myself to write more, not that writing is a chore but I don't make the time to write, I let outside influences affect me. And yes, that is what happened yesterday, I was a bit depressed and not feeling too good so I didn't do a book.

Maybe next week...

Ella Enchanted

I picked this book to honor my niece Ella’s birthday, omg, I can’t believe she’s 5 years old!



Ella of Frell is given the gift of obedience by a fairy named Lucinda. Of course the fairy thinks it’s a perfectly wonderful gift. Through her life Ella learns to deal with her gift and has to make difficult choices. But in the end as in every good fairy tale it ends happily.

It’s a different kind of Cinderella story, not at all like the movie of the same name.

Riptide

This was the first book I read by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. It got my attention because of a program on A&E about treasures and pirates. This story is based a bit in the theory that there is a treasure pit on an island off the New England coast.

This story begins with the tragic loss of a child witnessed by his brother, years later the brother is asked to go back to the island and help find the "treasure".

Preston and Child are marvelous writers and this book is the best place to start.

Mister God, This is Anna

Mister God, This is Anna- Mister God, This Is Anna is a book by Sydney Hopkins under the pseudonym "Fynn" describing the adventures of Anna, a mischievous yet wise four year-old who Fynn finds as a runaway. Nineteen-year-old Fynn takes Anna home to his mother who takes her in, though Fynn becomes Anna's main caretaker and closest friend. Fynn recounts his time spent with Anna, and gives a very personal account of her outpourings on life, mathematics, science and her mentor, Mister God.


The story begins on the streets of East End London in the mid-1930s. While roaming the docks at night, the author comes across a small girl sitting on the grating below a shop window. He sits down next to her, and from that moment on, his life is never the same. Unable to find out where she came from, Fynn takes the child home, only to discover she is an abused runaway. She spends her next three years as Fynn's inseparable companion.

The book gives an account of their friendship. Anna by nature is the inquisitor, the forever probing creature who likes to find a rhyme and reason for everything. Fynn being the student, has the task of having to follow her hard-to-understand, yet simple logic.

I am blessed to have a mother who loves to read, she gave me this book. I fell in love with Anna and Fynn. It was books like this and others, Dibs: In Search of Self, that led me to studying elementary education in college (my AA/AS are in education).



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mister_God,_This_Is_Anna

so disappointed

high expectations always lead to terrible hard crashes...i thought someone was over the disaster he created of his life but no, he's right back in it again. he's a lost cause and does not deserve any bright and shiny moments ever again. whatever happens is his own fault, he doesn't want good things he wants to be an asswiping douchwaffle....

Random Acts of Kindness

"Random acts of kindness are those little sweet or grand lovely things we so for no reason except that, momentarily, the best of our humanity has sprung, exquisitely, into full bloom."

This book is filled with wonderful stories and sayings that inspire you to do just that, a random act of kindness...

If we could all do one random act of kindess a day what a wonderous world we would live in...

Yorkie Doodle Dandy

Love this book soooo much, so in honor of my Button’s birthday on August 17, I present a wonderful non fiction book about a truly remarkable Yorkshire Terrier named Smoky


I love yorkies and know first hand how smart they are, I read about Smoky when I got my first Yorkie, Jip, but didn’t know about the book until many years later. It is a wonderful story during a tense time in our countrys history. In February 1944, a Yorkshire Terrier soon to be named Smoky was found by an American soldier in an abandoned foxhole in the New Guinea jungle. She was already a young adult Yorkie (fully grown). The soldiers initially thought the small dog belonged to the Japanese, but after taking her to a nearby prisoner-of-war camp they realized she did not understand commands in Japanese or English. Another GI then sold Smoky to Corporal William A. Wynne of Cleveland, Ohio, for two Australian pounds (equal to $6.44 at that time)—the price paid to the seller so he could return to his poker game. For the next two years, Smoky back-packed through the rest of the war and accompanied Wynne on combat flights in the Pacific. She faced adverse circumstances, living in the New Guinea jungle and Rock Islands, suffering the primitive conditions of tents in equatorial heat and humidity. Throughout her service, Smoky slept in Wynne's tent on a blanket made from a green felt card table cover; she shared Wynne's C-rations and an occasional can of Spam.

Smoky Served in the South Pacific with the 5th Air Force, 26th Photo Recon Squadron flew 12 air/sea rescue and photo reconnaissance missions. Wynne credited Smoky with saving his life by warning him of incoming shells on an LST (transport ship), calling her an "angel from a foxhole." As the ship deck was booming and vibrating from anti-aircraft gunnery, Smoky guided Wynne to duck the fire that hit 8 men standing next to them.

This is a wonderful read for anyone who loves animals! Ok, I'm a bit prejudiced as I type, my dear Button is snoring by my side!

side notes:

On February 21, 1957, "Corporal" Smoky died unexpectedly at the approximate age of 14.


Wynne and his family buried Smoky in a World War II .30 Caliber Ammo Box in the Cleveland Metroparks, Rocky River Reservation in Lakewood, Ohio.

Nearly 50 years later, on Veterans Day, November 11, 2005, a bronze life-size sculpture of Smoky sitting in a GI helmet, atop a two-ton blue granite base, was unveiled there. It is placed above the very spot that Smoky was laid at her final resting place


 

A Thief of Time

I've been introduced to so many wonderful authors by my mother. Tony Hillerman was an award-winning American author of detective novels and non-fiction works best known for his Navajo Tribal Police mystery novels. Several of his works have been adapted as big-screen and television movies.


The first one of his books I read was A Thief of Time, The plot involves the Anasazi, a missing archeologist, a stolen backhoe, and people who are termed "pot hunters". The protagonists are Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee of the Navajo tribal police.

This book and his others are worth the read.


The Blessing Way (1970)
Dance Hall of the Dead (1973)
Listening Woman (1978)
People Of Darkness (1980)
The Dark Wind (1982)
The Ghostway (1984)
Skinwalkers (1986)
A Thief of Time (1988)
Talking God (1989)
Coyote Waits (1990)
Sacred Clowns (1993)
The Fallen Man (1996)
The First Eagle (1998)
Hunting Badger (1999)
The Wailing Wind (2002)
The Sinister Pig (2003)
Skeleton Man (2004)
The Shape Shifter (2006)
 
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Hillerman
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Thief_of_Time

Already planning ahead

I don't know about you but I hate when I get an idea and can't rest until I do the research! I've enjoyed blogging on my favorite books and I've only missed a few weeks, so far! I was thinking what could I do next year and it hit me, movies! So, starting with the first Sunday of 2012 I'll blog about my favorite movies!! Right now I'm making lists of the different types of movies I enjoy: Disney, Romance, Musicals, Thriller/Adventure, Comedies, Oldies but Goodies...

This will be so much fun because my first job in television was as the associate producer of an afternoon movie show! Granted those were almost all Oldies but what a good time I had!

Stay tuned...

update 8/5/2011-wow, so many movies and not enough weeks!! I'm thinking I may do types of movies and favorite actor and actresses, one of each per month!

In Memory of my Dad

18 years ago today my father, David Lewis Barron, lost his fight with cancer. To be honest I don't remember him reading a lot, he did own a copy of Eddie Rickenbacker's autobiography, no surprise there, Rickenbacker founded Eastern Airlines, my dad worked for EAL for over 26 years. But the reason I picked the book for today is the his favorite sport was baseball, he could have been a great ball player but when he had his tryout with the Boston Red Sox he was told he was fast but too small, at the time baseball apparently had a height requirment, who knew? Dad was 5'8". In 1946 he led the state of New Hampshire in batting partically thanks to my grandfathers baseball pitching machine. So, for my dad, a book I haven't read but I love the movie and with many thanks to wikipedia.

Shoeless Joe is a magic realist novel by W. P. Kinsella. It became much better known because of its film adaptation, Field of Dreams.


Ray Kinsella lives and farms in Iowa where he grows corn with his wife Annie and their five-year-old daughter Karin. Kinsella is obsessed with the beauty and history of American baseball, specifically the plight of his hero, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and the Black Sox Scandal of the 1919 World Series. When he hears a voice telling him to build a baseball field in the midst of his corn crop in order to give his hero a chance at redemption, he blindly follows instructions. The field becomes a conduit to the spirits of baseball legends. Soon, Kinsella is off on a cross-country trip to ease the pain of another hero, the reclusive writer J. D. Salinger, as part of a journey the Philadelphia Inquirer called "not so much about baseball as it's about dreams, magic, life, and what is quintessentially American."



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoeless_Joe_(novel)

The Surgeon

I loveTess Gerritsen’s books, the first one I read was Harvest, then I discovered Detective Rizzoli and the book The Surgeon. This suspense filled book leaves you wanting more. The evil man in this book is so demented you can’t wait to see him get his.

I realize that now there is a tv series based on her books and it's not too bad but the books are so much better!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the seventh and final of the Harry Potter novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The book was released on 21 July 2007, ending the series that began in 1997 with the publication of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. This book chronicles the events directly following Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005), and leads to the long-awaited final confrontation between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort.

This seemed like a good time for this book as the final Harry Potter movie is about to be released July 15, 2011.

I admit to loving all of the Harry Potter books and movies, I've loved watching the characters grow and evolve.  I actually read and listened to the books on CD, Jim Dale who played Barnum on Broadway is wonderful! Give all the books a chance, then see the movies!

The Lion's Paw

This is a wonderful book by Robb White. One of my elementary school teachers, Mrs. Hitchner, read this to our class and it quickly became one of my favorites. It was out of print until 2008 when the family acquired the rights to it.


It’s the story of adventure in the waters surrounding southern Florida. Nick gets adopted and his sister Penny is left behind in the Florida orphanage they ran away and hid all night in a sailboat. They met Ben, a very good guy who was having his own troubles trying to keep his uncle from selling the boat. Ben was sure if he could find the Lion's Paw, a rare shell, his father, who had been reported missing would come back from the war, so he took the youngsters on as crew and they headed for Captiva Island in the Gulf of Mexico...

dreams

i'm feeling kind of lost right now, someone told me to give up on my dreams...to be honest i wanted to cry, i realize that my dreams are a little silly and could even be considered out of reach, but damn, they are my dreams...

i know i expect too much from some people, i know they are worth more than they think. yes, i'm rambling but this really blew my mind, i thought i lost my muse recently-she took a mini vacation, but now my heart is empty...she may leave again :-(

Where the Wild Things Are

This wonderful childrens classic is in honor of my nieces Ava and Olivia and their 6th birthday - -

Come on, who doesn’t love this book?? Where the Wild Things Are- The book tells the story of Max, who one evening plays around his home making "mischief" in a wolf costume. As punishment, his mother sends him to bed without supper. In his room, a mysterious, wild forest and sea grows out of his imagination, and Max sails to the land of the Wild Things. The Wild Things are fearsome-looking monsters, but Max conquers them by "staring into all their yellow eyes without blinking once", and he is made "the king of all wild things", dancing with the monsters in a "wild rumpus". However, he soon finds himself lonely and homesick and returns home to his bedroom where he finds his supper waiting for him still hot.

Oops, I did it again...

Yes, I forgot to blog about a book yesterday. No real excuse except my heart wasn't in it. Been feeling that way quite a bit lately, I suppose you could say I've lost that lovin' feeling...but I will post a day late because this is an important week, my nieces Ava and Olivia turn 6 this week! So, look up!

Father's Day Book, June 19, 2011

Cracker Legacy, Subdivide This...by Gordon A Stevens

Hurricanes and economic conditions have forced many Florida ranchers to sell out to unscrupulous developers. But not fourth generation Cracker Rancher, Claude Barnhill. With the help of a gorgeous blond, a Wild Turkey poacher, three outlaw Miccosukees and a dead Cuban feral cat hunter. Barnhill fights the good fight…yes, this is a great book and I’m not the least bit prejudiced by the fact that it was written by my pops!


Read this book!!

YES YES YES!

I know, I've missed 3 Sundays of books...May 22nd and May 29th I was on vacation and had very limited internet access and this last Sunday I had my book already but left my little zip drive at work. I know not very creative excuses for a writer but they will have to do, like the song says "That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!"

May 15th

True Speed- True Speed, yeah, anyone who know me knows there had to be a book about Tony Stewart in this list somewhere!! His 40th birthday is this week so it seems quite appropriate that his autobiography on his early days in racing be this weeks’ book!


To be honest, he really doesn’t deserve a spot in my book list but what the hell…it's not a bad read

oops!

ok I'll blame it on my mother! I forgot to blog about a book this past Sunday...and the one I planned just doesn't fit anymore....as I study my bookcase i see such a wide variety of books...mysteries, photographic books, pet care books, Disney, NASCAR,....i love books...

just when i want to give up i find this

I love some of the blogs I've been introduced to...

"http://thedailylove.com/dont-quit-read-this-instead/"

May Day!

This Heart of Mine-molly, molly, molly!! Of all the Chicago Stars books Susan Elizabeth Philips has written, this is my all time favorite.

Molly is the wayward, strange and wonderful sister of Phoebe Calebow, owner of the Chicago Stars Football team. She is an author of childrens stories about a bunny named Daphne. One night she does something really stupid and eventually that stupid thing turns into something wonderful!

To say more would spoil it, so please read this book, you'll be hooked!!

St. Dale by Sharyn McCrumb

I love this book for so many reasons. It is a story of stories about a journey of group of people, mainly NASCAR fans, they are taking a pilgrimage to honor the life of the biggest fallen hero of the sport. I've seen it likened to the Canterbury Tales and yes I get that. I love how each person in the story was affected by this larger than life racecar driver who to this day still influences the sport of NASCAR.

So, on the off Sunday for the Cup series, I highly recommend this wonderful tale.

dang...

I can’t believe it, it actually happened, my muse had abandoned me. For some unknown reason Calliope has just taken off. Calliope is of course the muse of epic poetry, she was Homer’s muse, the inspiration for the Odyssey and the Iliad. I know that my writing is not exactly epic or poetry but with her knowledge and assertive nature prod me to write, my characters seem to flow from my fingertips and onto my computer screen whenever she is about. When Reilly and Kellan decided to go off on their own, Madison and Jens took up residence and then Lark and Stone stopped in for a brief moment, even though their time with me was quick I found Keely and Jake waiting, but now there is no one, my dear couples have not come back and I know there are stories to be completed.



I’m not sure if I can actually find fault with Calliope, spring is here and she may be off with her sisters; Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polyhymnia, Terpischore, Thalia and Urania; but I do wish she’d hurry back.

cookie time!

I'm going to spend the Saturday before Easter baking up a storm! A storm of cookies that is!! So far I'm doing Chocolate Chip and Pizzelles. I may also try 2 new recipes I discovered in the book Apple Turnover Murder by Joanna Fluke, Mocha Butternut Balls and White Crack...yes I said White Crack, and like Hannah, the heroine of the book, I refuse to have a perfectly good word ruined by deviants and drug dealers, so there!

I'll post the recipes if they work!!

Wanderlust in the brain...

Something is off in the cosmos. Seriously!


Normally I have a feeling in my gut, a good feeling and warm and cuddly feeling; but it’s gone, maybe it took a hopefully brief vacation. I get signs; little snippets to remind me of certain things, people, places. But my antenna isn’t getting any reception at all. Funny, I knew it the other day, the last time I had a feeling in my gut and it wasn’t a good feeling.

I know I can hear you all saying it, Right…Just like Bill Cosby does in his monologue about Noah and God, every time God tells Noah to do something, like build the ark, Noah says RRRRIIIIIGGGGGGGGHHHHHHTTTTTTT! Just the way you say something you don’t really believe but want to sound like you do. But I am serious and not happy at all.

Ok, now I’m going to sound like I’m a drop-out from the totally wrong generation. But I am an Aquarian and this feels like the Age of Aquarius is floating away; harmony and understanding, sympathy and trust abounding, no more falsehoods or derisions, golden living dreams of visions, mystic crystals revelations, and the minds true liberation gone, totally kaput. I am out of sorts and I want my sorts back.

This could all be my own version of spring fever and the desire for my vacation to hurry up and get here and then to go as slow as possible so I can savor every moment. I am hoping this is why my “senses” are off. The alternative is I’ve lost that loving feeling and to be honest that would totally suck.


So, if you’re out there listening or rather reading, oh wondrous feeling of mine, please please come back soon. I am totally absolutely lost without you, I can’t sleep, my eating is off, my barometer for life is flat. I have no clue why you abandoned me but I promise I’ll fix whatever I did to make you vanish. Seriously, if you don’t come back soon I think my muse for creative writing will abandon me as well and then you know what that means I’ll be up the creek without the proverbial paddle and my days of blogging will be over. 

this weeks book....

April 17, 2011

This week's book is called "Poetry to read Out Loud" edited by Robert Alden Rubin.

I've always loved reading poetry, the first time I read poetry out loud was in elementary school, I read a poem about a squirrel over the loud speaker for some reason I no longer remember; but the poem was called The Squirrel, the first line was Whisky Frisky, Hippity Hop...

In this book are poems from Robert Frost, Shakespeare, E.E. Cummings, Wordsworth, T.S Eliot and many more. the poems are wonderful, so read them out loud!!

Gus

Everybody wants to be a cat because a cat's the only cat, who knows where it's at. –The Aristocats


If animals could speak the dog would be a a blundering outspoken fellow, but the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much." - Mark Twain

"You can't help that. We're all mad here." - The Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland

A meow massages the heart. - Stuart McMillan

A cat is a tiger that is fed by hand. - Vakaoka Genrin

The cat was created when the lion sneezed. - Arabian Proverb

Cats as a class, have never completely got over the snootiness caused by that fact that in Ancient Egypt they were worshipped as gods. - P G Wodehouse

April 10, 2011

2 great books for pet owners: 50 Simple Ways to Pamper Your Dog and 50 Simple Ways to Pamper Your Cat, by Arden Moore


There are helpful hints on how to make your home more pet friendly, recipies for treats, how to make moving easier with a pet, games you can play, healthy pet tips, how to travel with your pet.

Sorry this is so short but Button and Sweet Pea are requesting a game of chase~

The Golden Unicorn

I started reading Phyllis Whitey books when I was in college, this particular title caught my eye because I collect unicorns and I was given my own Golden Unicorn one birthday by my mother.


Courtney Marsh was adopted as a child and yearns to know who her real parents are. Against all discouragement this determined lady leaves New York and goes to East Hampton to hopefully find the answers she’s looking for. Nothing is as it seems, just when you think you know what’s going to happen you find you are wrong.



Amethyst Dreams

Daughter of the Stars

Star Flight

The Ebony Swan

Woman Without a Past

The Singing Stones

Rainbow in the Mist

Feather on the Moon

Silversword

Flaming Tree

Dream of Orchids

Rainsong

Emerald

Vermilion

Poinciana

Domino

The Glass Flame

The Stone Bull

The Golden Unicorn

Spindrift

The Turquoise Mask

Snowfire

Listen for the Whisperer

Lost Island

The Winter People

Hunter's Green

Silverhill

Columbella

Sea Jade

Black Amber

Seven Tears for Apollo

Window on the Square

Blue Fire

Thunder Heights

The Moonflower

Skye Cameron

The Trembling Hills

The Quicksilver Pool

5 Races down...

Wow, 5 races and 5 different winners and not one of them was named Johnson! And the new point system is so much fun, every week someone new is on the top of the standings! Love the fact that my boys are in the top 10 and getting close to getting a win...

March 27th

Metro Girl by Janet Evanovich


A girl, a guy who drives a fast car (Nascar), a brother in trouble, bad guys, a girl in trouble, Little Havana, cigar factories, gold, fast boats all rolled into one book, what more could you ask for??

I adore Stephanie Plum and the adventures she has and the fact that Janet Evanovich loves NASCAR, I couldn’t go wrong with this book and I was right! Barney meets NASCAR Guy and the adventure begins!

blogging away

Time to pat myself on the back, I've kept my resolution so far to blog every week. I'll admit most of my blogs have been about my favorite books but I'm blogging! And yes, I'm also writing my fiction...the dang plot bunnies have gone wild!

I think I've completed a short story, yeah, I know, I should know but I'm really not sure if it's a short story or the beginning of another great American novel to be...I like it as it is and am waiting for my favorite proof reader to let me know what she thinks.

One day I hope you'll get to meet these couples I've created. They continue to drive me crazy, they are alive in my head and are just as stubborn as I am, when they don't like the direction I'm taking their lives they let me know. Please think happy thoughts for Reilly and Kellan, Madison and Jens, Lark and Stone and the newest addition, Keely and Jake...and me the truly humble writer wannabe...

The Cat Who Saw Red

March 20, 2011

The Cat Who Saw Red by Lilian Jackson Braun

This is the first Cat Who book I read and I was hooked- Jim Qwilleran, news reporter for The Daily Fluxion and former crime reporter, is assigned to review restaurants. For his first story, he decides to review Maus Haus, owned by Robert Maus. In addition to a restaurant, the architecturally peculiar historic building is also a boarding house. When Qwill discovers there is an open apartment, he promptly moves in with his two Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum.


Also in residence at Maus Haus is Joy Wheatley, Qwill's old girlfriend from Chicago. She had a knack for pottery and married a potter named Dan Graham. It soon becomes obvious that the relationship between Joy and Dan is strained, especially when they discuss how Joy’s cat went missing one day. Joy is deeply troubled by this, but Dan jokes about it. Joy is a far more successful potter than Dan; he is missing one thumb and so can only make roll pots, not as appealing as those spun on a wheel. One night she privately tells Qwill that she would divorce Dan if she could afford the court case. Qwilleran decides to lend her $750, the last of the prize money he won for a series of news articles.

I love this book and the series for many reasons, this book mainly because I throw pottery or at least I know how to throw pottery and no you don’t just pick up a plate and hurl it against a wall, this involves clay and a potter’s wheel! I love the series because the “hero”, Jim Qwilleran is fascinating and strives to not be a hero, but he rescued two cats and in the beginning struggled with odd assignments at the newspaper, he’s flawed but wonderful and solves mysteries with the help of KoKo, an amazingly intuitive Siamese Cat!

1.The Cat Who Could Read Backwards (1966)

2.The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern (1967)

3.The Cat Who Turned On and Off (1968)

4.The Cat Who Saw Red (1986)

5.The Cat Who Played Brahms (1987)

6.The Cat Who Played Post Office (1987)

7.The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare (1988)

8.The Cat Who Sniffed Glue (1988)

9.The Cat Who Went Underground (1989)

10.The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts (1990)

11.The Cat Who Lived High (1990)

12.The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal (1991)

13.The Cat Who Moved a Mountain (1992)

14.The Cat Who Wasn't There (1992)

15.The Cat Who Went into the Closet (1993)

16.The Cat Who Came to Breakfast (1994)

17.The Cat Who Blew the Whistle (1995)

18.The Cat Who Said Cheese (1996)

19.The Cat Who Tailed a Thief (1997)

20.The Cat Who Sang for the Birds (1999)

21.The Cat Who Saw Stars (copyright, 1998; published, 1999)

22.The Cat Who Robbed a Bank (2000)

23.The Cat Who Smelled a Rat (2001)

24.The Cat Who Went up the Creek (2002)

25.The Cat Who Brought Down the House (2003)

26.The Cat Who Talked Turkey (2004)

27.The Cat Who Went Bananas (2005)

28.The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell (2006)

29.The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers (2007)

Better late then well you know!

3/14/10-

The Mirror of Her Dreams by Stephen Donaldson

Terisa Morgan opens the series living a vacant life, supported by her father from afar and volunteering at a mission for lack of anything more purposeful to do with her time. She fills her apartment with mirrors so as to see her reflection and thus be constantly reassured of her existence. Geraden, an apprentice Imager (magician) from a land called Mordant appears in her apartment, searching for aid against a powerful enemy who has been plaguing Mordant with monsters translated from other worlds. As mirrors are inextricably linked with magic in Mordant, Terisa's home decor convinces him that he has stumbled into the lair of a powerful sorceress. He persuades her to accompany him back to the Castle Orison, where she finds herself embroiled in a morass of intrigue and danger from both the political plotting of a corrupt court and from the frightening magical creatures that appear without warning and can't seem to be defended against.


This is book 1 about Mordant, book 2, A Man Rides Through is just as wonderful.

Take a chance on this character

3/6/1

Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death…M.C. Beaton



You may ask why this book on this Sunday, well, the NASCAR race is in Las Vegas, city of games of chance and when I read this book I took a chance that I’d eventually like this horrible character. We first met Agatha Raisin as she retires from her profitable position as a PR agent in London, she moves to the Cotswolds expecting a peaceful country life. She enters a local baking contest with a store bought quiche; she not win, but her quiche kills one of the judges. Desperate to prove her innocence, Agatha begins investigating the crime herself. I found her obnoxious and mean but I grew to love her. She can’t be all bad she likes cats!

Agatha Raisin series

1.Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death (1992)

2.Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet (1993)

3.Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener (1994)

4.Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley (1995)

5.Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage (1996)

6.Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist (1997)

7.Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death (1998)

8.Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham (1999)

9.Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden (1999)

10.Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam (2000)

11.Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell (2001)

12.Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came (2002)

13.Agatha Raisin and the Case of the Curious Curate (2003)

14.Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House (2003)

15.Agatha Raisin and the Deadly Dance (2004)

16.Agatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon (2005)

17.Love, Lies and Liquor (2006)

18.Agatha Raisin and Kissing Christmas Goodbye (2007)

19.Agatha Raisin and a Spoonful of Poison (2008)

20.There Goes The Bride (2009)

21.Agatha Raisin and the Busy Body (2010)

Bad Case of Stripes

February 27 2011- in honor of my niece Taylor’s 9th birthday this week, here’s a book with a great message.


Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon

I love childrens books, I’ve been blessed to have worked with some wonderful children’s librarians and thanks to them I discovered authors to share with my nieces….i love this book because it lets everyone know that it’s ok to be different and not like what everyone else likes… A girl named Camilla Cream loves lima beans but doesn't want to eat them because she wants to fit in. One day she wakes up to discover stripes on her body. Her parents then call the doctor, who issues his verdict: she can still go to school. Unfortunately, once there, the other kids taunt her by calling out colors so that her color changes. It goes on and on and the conclusion is wonderful!

The story and art work are endearing and delightful.

Chocolate Month Books

February 20th


This is national chocolate month! These books are a must read!


Chocolate, a Sweet Indulgence by Karl Petzke and Sara Slavin

It’s divided into Sweet, Dark and Bittersweet….history, how chocolate goes with other things and great recipes and pictures!


Making Your own gourmet chocolate drinks by Matthew Tekulsky

Hot drinks, cold drinks, sodas, floats and more!

More than 100 tasty drinks fill the pages: spiced hot chocolate. Chocolate –banana blend, white chocolate vanilla shake, tea-frangelico chocolate delight


Forrest Gump: My favorite Chocolate Recipes by Winston Groom

Groovy grasshopper pie, southern mint julep brownies, bubba’s chocolate cake pudding, Alabama ice cream squares and forrest’s four-chip fudge….

Valentines Day Book

February 13 2011-


A Matter of Class by Mary Balogh


My favorite genre of romance novels is Regency Romance, The books concentrate on traditional story lines, e.g., marriages of convenience, arranged marriages, nanny and/or governess romances. Although there is sexual attraction and tension, there is usually no sex between the unmarried hero and heroine. I found a book that was simply delightful, a young couple thrown together by seemingly unfortunate circumstances. It is the perfect pick for Valentine's Day.

Reginald Mason is wealthy, refined, and, by all accounts, a gentleman, but not a titled gentleman within the Regency society that upholds station over all else. That is, until an opportunity for social advancement arises, namely, Lady Annabelle Ashton. Daughter of the Earl of Havercroft, a neighbor and enemy of the Mason family, Annabelle finds herself disgraced by scandal, branded as damaged goods. Besmirched by shame, the earl is only too happy to marry Annabelle off to anyone willing to have her.

Though Reginald Mason, Senior, wishes to use Annabelle to propel his family up the social ladder, his son does not wish to marry her, preferring instead to live the wild, single life he is accustomed to. With this, Reginald Senior serves his son an ultimatum: marry Annabelle, or make do without family funds. Having no choice, Reginald consents, and enters into a hostile engagement in which the prospective bride and groom are openly antagonistic, each one resenting the other for their current state of affairs while their respective fathers revel in their suffering.

This intoxicating tale is filled with dark secrets, deception, and the trials of love—a story in which very little is as it seems.

Chocolate Month and a new book to explore!

In honor of Chocolate month my mother made a special trip to the mall for Godiva! well, she did! ok, it was because of Chocolate month it was because she had gift cards that would have expired it she didn't use them and she was out of her Christmas Godiva! She even got some for me which is still sitting on the kitchen table in Lakeland, does me no good in St. Petersburg...oh well....

Here's my pick for the first Sunday in February,

Dying for Chocolate-Diane Mott Davidson


Goldy Bear, really that’s her name, is a caterer with a young son and a crazy abusive ex husband. She’s friends with her ex’s ex Marla and may have romance on the horizon with either a shrink or a cop. If she wasn’t a caterer she’d be a detective! Even in her second book you come to realize Goldie will find a body, become a target and cater the perfect event!

The book is clever, funny and just delightful and there are recipes too!

Diane Mott Davidson’s 2nd book in this series is a great read during Chocolate Month!

Catering to Nobody (1992)

Dying for Chocolate (1993)

The Cereal Murders (1994)

The Last Suppers (1995)

Killer Pancake (1996)

The Main Corpse (1997)

The Grilling Season (1998)

Prime Cut (2000)

Tough Cookie (2001)

Sticks and Scones (2001)

Chopping Spree (2003)

Double Shot (2005)

Dark Tort (2006)

Sweet Revenge (2007)

Fatally Flaky: A Novel (2009)

"Car" Movies

I love NASCAR, yeah, nothing new and thank goodness the season is less then 3 weeks away! Even with that said, I still get this craving for fast cars! In an effort to amuse myself I went in search of all the “car” movies I could find, they range from comedies to suspense to cartoon to fact based movies. I also included some “truck” movies too! Oh, they are not in any order of like or dislike and I've only seen a few of these, my favorites are 31, 43, 40, 34, 19, 8, 5, 6, and 4!


1. “Driven” Sly Stallone takes on the auto racing genre with predictable results.

2. “Speed Racer” It’s auto racing eye-candy, pure and simple.

3. “Redline” Get ready for some serious car envy.

4. “Herbie Fully Loaded” Hooray for the little guy! The latest entry in the Love Bug film franchise.

5. Stroker Ace-Burt in a car sounds like a movie to me.

6. “Six Pack” a washed-up racer with a pit crew staffed by mechanically-minded orphaned kids.

7. “Days of Thunder” (1990) – Tom Cruise and NASCAR, more than enough said!

8. “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” (2006) – Will Farrell takes on NASCAR

9. “Greased Lightning” (1977) loosely based on the real-life exploits of Wendell Scott, a taxi driver and moonshine transporter who became a stock car champion in the 1960s.

10. “Grand Prix” (1966) – Four Formula One drivers are followed through the fictional 1966 season.

11. “Cannonball” (1976) – Covering an illegal cross-continent road race, the real-life material that inspired Cannonball would later be used in films like The Cannonball Run

12. “Heart Like a Wheel” (1983) – Shirley Muldowney was a real-life champion drag racer during the ‘70s and early-’80s. This is her story.

13. “Megalopolis Expressway Trial” (1988) –this influential Japanese street racing film was banned from theaters in its home country

14. “Two-Lane Blacktop” (1971)

15. “Le Mans” (1971) about the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans race.

16. “The Fast and the Furious” (2001)

17. “Bullitt” (1968) –the ultimate car chase movie

18. “Gone in 60 Seconds” (1974) – A group of car thieves only have a few days to steal 48 cars, with the final prize being a 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1 nicknamed “Eleanor

19. “The Cannonball Run” (1981) - This madcap movie about an illegal road race across America

20. “Taxi” (1998) wanna-be racecar driver who takes a job as a taxi operator. Three sequels would follow, and it’s become one of the most successful French film franchises of all time.

21. “Vanishing Point” (1971) –former racecar driver and Vietnam vet with nothing to lose gets hired to get a 1970 Dodge Challenger from Denver to San Francisco.

22. “Christine” (1983) – a red possessed 1958 Plymouth Fury, ‘nuff said!

23. “The Transporter” (2002)

24. “Death Race 2000” (1975) – the annual running of the Transcontinental Road Race, an event where drivers can pick up extra points by running down pedestrians with their cars.

25. “Death Race” (2008) – a former racecar driver who’s framed for the murder of his wife. Sent to prison, he soon learns that the whole thing was a set-up in order to get him to compete in the “Death Race,” a brutal and often lethal competition.

26. “The Driver” (1978)-Some of the best pickup driving ever caught on film.

27. “Take This Job And Shove It” (1981)

28. “Hell Drivers” (1957)

29. “They Drive By Night” (1940)

30. “White Line Fever” (1975)

31. “Smokey and The Bandit” (1977) -The second biggest hit of 1977 behind "Star Wars." And "Star Wars" didn't feature a Kenworth.

32. “White Heat” (1949)-gang of crooks uses a tanker truck as a Trojan horse to take over a refinery.

33. “The Road Warrior” (1981) Still one of the greatest stunt fests in cinematic history, with the action centered around a few drops of gasoline aboard a right-hand-drive Mack.

34. "Convoy" (1978): based off the C.W. McCall country trucker anthem.

35. "Coast to Coast" (1980)

36. "Road Games" (1981)

37. "Joy Ride" (2001)

38. "Duel" (1971): the movie that put its director Steven Spielberg on the map.

39. "Breakdown" (1997): one of the top truck movies of all time.

40. "Big Trouble in Little China" (1986): How can you go wrong with Kurt Russell in another trucker film

41. "Sorcerer" (1977): highly intense remake of the classic "Wages of Fear."

42. "Wages of Fear" (1953): T

43. Cars-Pixar meets NASCAR

a book of books!

January 30th


Bibliotherapy, the girls guide to books for every phase of our lives….national book month would not be complete without the perfect guide for every reading mood, catagories like bad girl books, bad boys books, Inner voice books to middle life crisis books…there’s no telling what you’ll discover! And there’s also a version of the book about movies for every viewing mood!!

i love it!

I blogged in April 2010 about my point system for NASCAR and guess what was made official just a few minutes ago!! Oh yeah, NASCAR will now be simplier, 43 points for a win and 1 for coming in last!!!!! Ok, so NASCAR will still give points for a win, leading a lap and leading the most laps but the most points a driver can get in any single race is, sigh, 48.

blessings

too often I race through my day without a thought on how grateful I should be for what I have in my life. I have a wonderful family and utterly fantastic friends. I have 3 four-legged children, 2 feline and 1 canine, who bring me joy! my life is not perfect but it isn't over yet! I have dreams, I want more then a happy ending I want an awesome story! I need to take time to think about all the blessings in my life; especially when I start to feel a bit down.

This week brings a new job to a dear friend and sister of my heart, that is so wonderful! I found an old friend, rather she found me on FaceBook. I have laughed with some friends, I found a great cookie recipe, I have plans this coming weekend with my mother.

Yes, I am blessed.

week 4 of my favorite books

Gone With the Wind- I read this book in one weekend. I love Katie Scarlett O’Hara, she is the most misunderstood woman in fictional history! Don’t believe everything you saw in the movie, the book is ten times better!!


I picked this book for this week in honor of my Grandmother, Madeline Wolf, this day, January 23 is her birthday. No she wasn’t from Georgia, she was born in New York to German father John Pfholman and Swedish mother Matilda Lofstrom, so why this book for on her birthday? The only book I ever saw my grandmother read was the sequel written for this book, Scarlett, a novel written in 1991 by Alexandra Ripley. While I enjoyed the sequel the real deal is Gone with the Wind.

Book 3

Hunters Moon- A hunting trip goes bad, really bad.


This is the first Dana Stabenow book I read and I almost didn’t read anymore of her books, don’t get me wrong I loved the book but the pain and agony Kate Shugak goes though in this book hurt my heart but also made me love this strong woman and there are not enough strong female characters in literature today. She is a Native Alaskan, an Aleut, living in a fictional national park in Alaska, a former investigator for the Anchorage District Attorney's office, an incident during which she is badly injured on the job causes her to quit and return home to live on her own with her best friend Mutt; a wolf-dog. Throughout the series she embraces her heritage but also struggles with it. She’s made tough choices and is true to herself.

I suggest starting at the beginning when at all possible, the characters in this series are fascinating, funny, interesting, simple, complex and worth reading about.



A Cold Day for Murder (1992)

A Fatal Thaw (1992)

Dead in the Water (1993)

A Cold-blooded Business (1994)

Play With Fire (1995)

Blood Will Tell (1996)

Breakup (1997)

Killing Grounds (1998)

Hunter's Moon (1999)

Midnight Come Again (2000)

The Singing of the Dead (2001)

A Fine and Bitter Snow (2002)

A Grave Denied (2003)

A Taint in the Blood (2004)

A Deeper Sleep (2007)

Whisper to the Blood (February, 2009)

A Night Too Dark (February 2010)

Though Not Dead (February 2011)

Up next Book 2

January 9 2011


Secret of the Old Clock- the first mystery I ever read, The Secret of the Old Clock is also the first volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series written under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. It was first published in April, 1930. Nancy Drew is an eighteen-year-old recent high school graduate and and her father, Carson Drew, is well-known criminal defense lawyer in River Heights. Her mother has died and her father and Hannah Gruen, the housekeeper basically raise her.

I mostly read the original books from the 30’s and some from the 50’s. I love her friends Bess and George and her BF the cute college boy, Ned. Love that she has a brain and guts, she was no dumb blonde! The teenage sleuth is the perfect read for young girls. I have not read the updated versions but will admit to playing several of the Nancy Drew computer games which are set in “modern times”.

It was because of "Nancy Drew" that I have a great love of mystery books, she was a great start to a long history of amazing books and authors...Dana Stabenow, Diane Mott Davidson, Sue Henry, Marcia Muller, Janet Evanovich, Sue Grafton, Carolyn Hart...just to mention a few.

The list below is the next 49 books in the series, they may seem a bit campy but give them a try!

The Hidden Staircase

The Bungalow Mystery

The Mystery at Lilac Inn

The Secret at Shadow Ranch

The Secret of Red Gate Farm

The Clue in the Diary

Nancy’s Mysterious Letter

The Sign of the Twisted Candles

The Password to Larkspur Lane

The Clue of the Broken Locket

The Message in the Hollow Oak

The Mystery of the Ivory Charm

The Whispering Statue

The Haunted Bridge

The Clue of the Tapping Heels

The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk

The Mystery at the Moss-Covered Mansion

The Quest of the Missing Map

The Clue in the Jewel Box

The Secret in the Old Attic

The Clue in the Crumbling Wall

The Mystery of the Tolling Bell

The Clue in the Old Album

The Ghost of Blackwood Hall

The Clue of the Leaning Chimney

The Secret of the Wooden Lady

The Clue of the Black Keys

The Mystery at the Ski Jump

The Clue of the Velvet Mask

The Ringmaster’s Secret

The Scarlet Slipper Mystery

The Witch Tree Symbol

The Hidden Window Mystery

The Haunted Showboat

The Secret of the Golden Pavilion

The Clue in the Old Stagecoach

The Mystery of the Fire Dragon

The Clue of the Dancing Puppet

The Moonstone Castle Mystery

The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes

The Phantom of Pine Hill

The Mystery of the 99 Steps

The Clue in the Crossword Cipher

The Spider Sapphire Mystery

The Invisible Intruder

The Mysterious Mannequin

The Crooked Banister

The Secret of Mirror Bay

The Double Jinx Mystery

Friends!

I am so blessed!

even on a day/night like today when I wasn't feeling quite myself, just a tiny bit depressed; my friends drew it out of me with laughter and togetherness and to think it was all over the internet!

First Book, First Lady

January 2, 2011

I promised myself I would blog more, I figure if I blog about books I love other things to blog about will flow...hey, that's just the way my brain works....

First Lady- I simply adore Susan Elizabeth Phillips! This was the first book of hers that I read and I was hooked. I love the characters and how they relate to one another, how they learn to trust, how they learn to love. I love the resilient Cornelia Lynchfield Case aka Nealy aka Nell Kelly. On her journey she meets Mat Jorik and his charges; the sulky teenager Lucy and baby Butt. The best thing about this wonderful author is she wrote another book, FANCY PANTS. All about Dallie Beaudine, Francesca Day and Teddy. Teddy grows up and meets Lucy in CALL ME IRRESISTABLE, which comes out in a few weeks, oh yeah there’s also Meg, child of Fleur Savagar and Jake Koranda, see the books GLITTER and WHAT I DID FOR LOVE! I could go on, but you really need to read her books!

here's a list of more of her books

NATURAL BORN CHARMER
MATCH ME IF YOU CAN
AIN’T SHE SWEET?
BREATHING ROOM
THIS HEART OF MINE
JUST IMAGINE
LADY BE GOOD
DREAM A LITTLE DREAM
NOBODY'S BABY BUT MINE
KISS AN ANGEL
HEAVEN, TEXAS
IT HAD TO BE YOU
HONEY MOON
HOT SHOT
FANCY PANTS