Great Reads Friday

 

 

 

Available at Amazon.

 

Did You Know

 Did you know,  as Washington left office he warned against "the baneful effects of the spirit of the party."

OR that a fourteen year old may have found the cure for COVID?

Friday's Great Read

 

Thank you Sandra for having me – October 23

My pleasure, Balroop.

 

Book Blurb:

 I wait for whispers; they regale my muse. Whispers that can be heard by our heart, whispers that ride on the breeze to dispel darkness and ignite hope. I’m sure you would hear them through these poems if you read slowly.

‘Magical Whispers’ would transport you to an island of serenity; beseech you to tread softly on the velvety carpet of nature to feel the ethereal beauty around you. The jigsaw of life would melt and merge as you dive into the warmth of words.

 In this book, my poems focus on whispers of Mother Nature, whispers that are subtle but speak louder than words and breathe a quiet message.

Each day reminds us
It’s the symphony of surroundings
That whisper life into us.

Book Information:
Title: Magical Whispers
Author: Balroop Singh
Genre: Poetry
Available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KJQ6K5D
US UK DE FR ES IT NL JP BR CA MX AU IN

Excerpt:

Colors

The day sun descended
With all his fire
To dilute the heat
Even clouds couldn’t peep. 

I watched with a gasp
When an azure pool
Changed its color to gold,
Heat flew like splinters. 

Mother earth endured all.
Breathing quiet messages,
Branches stoop to offer shade
Moments of harmony sway.

Now this pool knows magic
As it changes colors
Passion and serenity meet here
When moon lends its silvery glow.

© Balroop Singh 

 

Balroop Singh, a former teacher and an educator always had a passion for writing.  She is a poet, a creative non-fiction writer, a relaxed blogger and a doting grandma. She writes about people, emotions and relationships. Her poetry highlights the fact that happiness is not a destination but a chasm to bury agony, anguish, grief, distress and move on! No sea of solitude is so deep that it can drown us. Sometimes aspirations are trampled upon, the boulders of exploitation and discrimination may block your path but those who tread on undeterred are always successful. 

    When turbulences hit, when shadows of life darken, when they come like unseen robbers, with muffled exterior, when they threaten to shatter your dreams, it is better to break free rather than get sucked by the vortex of emotions.

A self-published author, she is the poet of Sublime Shadows of Life ,  Emerging From Shadows, Timeless Echoes   and Moments We Love – all widely acclaimed poetry books. She has also written When Success Eludes, Emotional Truths Of Relationships Read FREE with Kindle Unlimited and Allow Yourself to be a Better Person.

 Balroop Singh has always lived through her heart. She is a great nature lover; she loves to watch birds flying home. The sunsets allure her with their varied hues that they lend to the sky. She can spend endless hours listening to the rustling leaves and the sound of waterfalls. The moonlight streaming through her garden, the flowers, the meadows, the butterflies cast a spell on her. She lives in San Ramon, California.

You can visit her blog at: http://balroop2013.wordpress.com
Connecting links: https://twitter.com/BalroopShado
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Emotional-Shadows/151387075057971
https://www.pinterest.com/balroops/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7340810.Balroop_Singh

https://www.amazon.com/Balroop-Singh/e/B00N5QLW8U/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

 

 

Did You Know

 Did you know, Thomas Jefferson was fascinated by mastodons and believed they still roamed the country, particularly in the West? He asked Lewis and Clark to bring back samples of bones they found from their famous expedition. (I'm assuming this was any unusual, large bones.)

It's Tuesday

 And we voted. Our precinct opened for early voting at 8:00 a.m. October 15.  We were there at 8:00 a.m. These are a few shots of other folks that had the same idea. The line started on the sidewalk, wove down into the parking lot, wrapped around the side of the building and then ended up inside.

 There were over two hundred folks ahead of us. It took us an hour and a half to get to the ballots. When we got to the door, there was a man waiting with hand sanitizer that he sprayed on our hands, then handed us a pen that we were to keep. I noticed that as soon as anyone left a booth it was sanitized. All in all, I thought it was as safe as it could be made.

Over 272,000 North Carolinians voted October 15. Over 100,000 more than the first day in 2016. As of the 17th: 700,600.

AND...

Did anyone watch THE WAY I SEE IT, the Peter Souza documentary? For those of you who may not be familiar with him,he's a photojournalist that was the Whitehouse photographer for both the Reagan Presidency and the Obama Presidency.  It was fascinating and insightful.  I highly recommend it. AND If you didn't see it, did you see the town hall debates Saturday Night Live style? Hilarious. What I love about these skits, neither side escapes unscathed. If you haven't seen it and would like to, here's the link. https://youtu.be/4UFfD0HIhv4

AND...In the kitchen.

Like orange juice? Peaches? Have you tried a dollop of peach punch in your OJ? It's a nice combination of flavors.

AND...The HH surprised  me with this 'spooky' bowl. I love glass bowls with plastic covers. I prefer glass over plastic, especially if it's heated.  Heating plastics is one of my carcinogen concerns. Does plastic concern anyone else?

 

AND...The eternal garden pics.

The Iris is still blooming, though I think it's nearing its last hurrah.

 

 The swallowtails have moved on but these guys are hanging around. They look like monarchs but they are smaller than the ones I'm used to seeing.

Have you voted? Seen the Souza documentary? Still got butterflies?

Weekend Wishes

 

AND...

Did You Know

 

Did you know,  John Adams was a big believer in walking off lethargy? "Move or die," he was quoted as saying.

It's Tuesday

 How was your weekend and Monday, Blogger Buds?

We got a fun surprise in the mail from the baby girl and SIL. A Halloween care package, and with the exception of the cookies, all things pumpkin. I've been toasting the bread then adding some pb and cream cheese.  It's delish.

AND...

Faux Paw posed for a shot. She's still trudging along. At this point, each day she's with us is a good day. She's taken to laying out in the grass, soaking up the last rays of sun in the late afternoon, early evening.

AND...

The eternal garden pics.

The Iris is still blooming:)

Whoops. Dropped my hat.

AND...

The HH  nudged me toward a flu shot, which I would have gotten eventually:) The HH said he didn't feel his at all and was still waiting for it after he'd received it. So, I decided to get mine where he'd gotten his.  Just let me say, I obviously got a different technician.

AND...

The other day I made myself a cup of tea and it was absolutely terrible. The next morning when I went to make coffee, I discovered I'd forgotten to throw out the coffee grounds before I made it.

Had any dur moments lately?

Weekend Wishes

 

AND...

Did You Know

 Sad fact. Did you know, one in five people can't read? 

One of my greatest joys is reading.  I can't imagine not being able to.

IWSG Wednesday

 

The first Wednesday of every month is officially IWSG day. Members post about their doubts and fears, discuss struggles and triumphs, and offer words of encouragement to others who are struggling.

Thanks, as always, to Alex Cavanaugh, founder and Ninja Captain extraordinaire and our awesome co-hosts.

The IWSG monthly question can be found under the IWSG Sign-up tab on the Insecure Writer's Support Group Blog.  Remember it’s optional.

October  question: When you think of the term working writer, what does that look like to you? What do you think it is supposed to look like? Do you see yourself as a working writer or aspiring or hobbyist, and if latter two, what does that look like?

It comes down to the meaning of the term working writer. I consider myself a writer. Is it a hobby? No. Am I aspiring? Well, I’m always aspiring to improve my writing. So, am I a working writer...I'm still mulling on that. What about you, how do you see yourself? And what is your answer to this question?

 

AND…

September/October reviews:

SWEPT AWAY by Elizabeth Seckman

I was thrilled to get a hard copy of this in the mail. 

Here’s my review.

This story is a solid romance sprinkled with a dusting of paranormal and several dollops of mystery. Tucker Boone, a young man on a search for a half-sister he’s never met meets Josie McCoy, a young woman whose life is laced with mystery. Both are fighting their own demons and find in each other kindred spirits. By the end of the story I found myself on the edge of my seat, turning pages as fast as I could read them as one life-threatening situation after another came hurtling at them. While I trusted the author to have written an HEA, I was getting nervous as I approached the end. All I can say is whew. Well done, Elizabeth Seckman.

Amazon

 Trad:

WHERE THE FOREST MEETS THE STARS by Glendy Vanderah

This was a recommend from my vet, who I exchange books with.

It’s well written and held my interest. The premise is unusual. A young biologist comes across an unusual  little girl who she befriends. Most of the book has the reader guessing as to whether the child is the alien she claims to be or an abused child trying to protect herself.

 

THE SHADOW AND BONE TRILOGY by Leigh Bardugo

I sucked down this trilogy. It’s a wonderful, page turning YA/NA fantasy and is soon to be a Netflix movie. It has a common theme but very well done. A young orphan discovers she has magical powers and finds herself the reluctant heroine designated to save her world.

AND...

Sherry Ellis has a recent release.

An ancient Mayan civilization!

That's what Bubba and Squirt find when they travel through the mysterious vortex for another wild adventure. There they meet archeologists who are unearthing priceless artifacts.

But someone is stealing them. And an encounter with the Tate Duende awakens magic within Bubba. Throw in the mysterious Alux and a new discovery and things get sticky.

Will Bubba and Squirt solve the mystery, or will they be stuck forever in the jungles of Belize?

Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083S1VQ14

It's Tuesday

 Callie is making Frank look like an angel. Hard to believe I know, but there it is. She runs flat out--All. The. Time. The HH and I were playing board games the other night. Our first game was Memory. I had just got a handle on where some of the cards were that I hoped to pounce on before the brain cell holding the information dissipated, when Callie leaped on the table and ran straight through the cards scattering them. 

Then we switched to Yahtzee and she took off with one of the dice and rolled/dropped a five. Luckily I came back from that one, but went belly up on Memory. Not that I claim to have any.

AND...I was getting stressed out by political news so I switched channels and got Sleepy Hollow, flipped the channel and got The Exorcist, neither guaranteed to lower my stress level. Finally, found Jumanji. Whew. 

AND The eternal garden pics.

Baby Mums 

Ha.

It's still blooming....

Got flowers? Got crazy critters?

Friday's Great Read

 

Rouladen Recipe – A Guest Post by Chrys Fey

 

Growing up, my family always had Rouladen, sans pickles, for our special Christmas Day feast. I can still recall the smell of the bacon grease from the fried bacon and the scent of chopped onions lingering in the air. And, oh boy, there was nothing like the flavor of the thin meat wrapped around the bacon and onion stuffing, held together by three toothpicks. That’s coming from a vegetarian, too, who no longer eats meat—GASP! But, hey, we never forget the things that made our taste buds go wild as a child, and I am comfortable admitting that the smell of bacon is still ah-mazing.

 

My mom got the recipe from her mom, who got the recipe from a couple who came to Michigan from Germany. (Although, my maternal grandma was German, herself.) After she got the recipe, my mom only made Rouladen once a year as well, since it involves a lot of cooking and the meat can be quite expensive.

 

My mom kept that tradition for us while we were growing up, so I decided to give that tradition to Donovan’s mom and grandma, who live in Michigan, too.

 

EXCERPT:

“Here. I also wanted to give this to you.” Meredith reached into her apron pocket and pulled out an index card.

 

Beth took it. On the top it read, “Rouladen— Goldwyn Family Recipe.” It was the recipe passed down to all Goldwyn women.

 

“I should’ve given it to you a long time ago,” Meredith said.

 

“I wouldn’t have known how to make it if you had.”

 

Meredith patted her hand. “When you make it the first time, we can video chat, and I can walk you through it.”

 

“We may have to do that the second time, too.”

 

“As many times as you need.”

 

Beth tucked the index card into her pocket with the snowball cookie recipe.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“You’re welcome.”

 

The timer for the last batch of cookies went off. Meredith pulled it out of the oven, not knowing how much those two recipes in Beth’s pocket truly meant to her. They were a Christmas present on their own, more valuable than anything that could be bought in a store.

 

 

Rouladen Recipe:

 

Ingredients:

-        8 pieces round beef slices, 6 inches, ¼ inch thick

-        ½ cup minced onion

-        ½ pound of fried, cut-up bacon

-        Pinch salt

-        Pinch black pepper

-        Quartered, peeled potatoes

-        For gravy, you’ll need flour and water.

 

Instructions:

 

1. Cut up bacon and fry.

 

2. Remove bacon. Sautee minced onion in the bacon grease.

 

3. Remove onions from pan. Keep the bacon grease in the pan.

 

4. Mix bacon with the onion in a bowl. Sprinkle on salt and pepper.

 

5. Lay out prepared beef slices. Add a generous heap of the bacon and onion mixture into the center of each slice.

 

6. Roll up the beef slices. Use toothpicks to secure each end and the middle shut. Three toothpicks usually do the trick.

 

7. Brown the rouladen bundles in the bacon grease, on all sides.

 

8. Remove the rouladen bundles and put in a roasting pan. Add some water to the bacon grease pan. Scrape up all the goodies. Pour over the rouladen bundles. Don’t drown them, just enough to reach half-way.

 

9. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.

 

10. Halfway through the baking time, add the quartered, peeled potatoes around the rouladen bundles, into the juices.

 

11. It’s done when the potatoes are tender. Transfer rouladen and potatoes to a dish or platter.

 

12. Gravy: Add more water or substitute beef broth to the pan if a lot of the juices cooked down. Put pan on burner and boil. Now, in a separate bowl, mix flour and water together. Add the flour mixture to the boiling juices until thick. If you need to thicken it more, make more flour and water mixture and then add to the juices. Keep mixing.

 

QUESTION: Did you family have a special meal for Christmas (or any other time of the year)?

 

 

When disasters strike around every corner, is it possible to have a happily-ever-after?

BLURB: Beth and Donovan are expecting their first child. Life couldn’t get any better…until a stalker makes his presence known. This person sends disturbing messages and unsettling items, but it isn’t long before his menacing goes too far.

Hoping for a peaceful Christmas, Donovan takes Beth to Michigan. Days into their trip, a winter storm named Nemesis moves in with the goal of burying the state. Snowdrifts surround their house, and the temperature drops below freezing.

Except, the storm isn’t the only nemesis they must face. Everyone’s lives are at stake—especially that of their unborn child. Will they survive, or will they become a frozen crime?

BUY LINKS: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iTunes

  

***HUGE DISASTER CRIMES GIVEAWAY*** 

 

Prizes: 4 eBooks (Disaster Crimes 1-4: Hurricane Crimes, Seismic Crimes, Tsunami Crimes, Flaming Crimes) + Girl Boss Magnets (4), Inflatable Cup Holder (1), Adventure Fuel To-Go Cups (2), Anchor Fashion Scarf (1), Mermaid Nail Clippers (2), Citrus and Sea Salt Scented Candle (1), Snowflake Handmade Bookmark (1), Insulated Cooler Bag (1)

 

Eligibility: International

Number of Winners: One

Giveaway Ends: October 30, 2020 12:00am Eastern Standard Time

LINK: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/76132e0221/?

 

***FREE EXCLUSIVE EBOOK***

 

To get the exclusive prequel to the Disaster Crimes series, sign up for Chrys’ newsletter. By signing up, you agree to receive Chrys Fey’s newsletter. After you confirm subscription, you will receive an email (so check your inbox and spam folder) with directions on where to snag your eBook copy of THE CRIME BEFORE THE STORM.

Click here to sign up and get The Crime Before the Storm FREE!

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Chrys Fey is author of the Disaster Crimes Series, a unique concept that blends disasters, crimes, and romance. She runs the Insecure Writer’s Support Group Book Club on Goodreads and edits for Dancing Lemur Press. https://www.chrysfey.com

Author Links:

Website / Blog / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Amazon