Sunday, November 1, 2015
Friday, October 23, 2015
An exciting book about Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein -- A Book Review
 |
| Mary Shelley |
A TIMELY BOOK AND A LOOK BACK AT ONE OF THE SCARIEST CREATURES AN AUTHOR INVENTED: FRANKENSTEIN!
BOOK REVIEW:
THE
DETERMINED HEART: The Tale of Mary Shelley and Her Frankenstein – by Antoinette
May. Published by Lake
Union
I
received a copy to read through the Netgalley program in exchange for an honest
and unbiased review which I am happy to share now.
Other books by this author:
Pilot’s Wife
The Sacred Well
The Yucatan :
A Guide to the Land
of Maya
Haunted Houses of California
I would give this
book Five
Stars for its excellent blend of fact and fiction. This book tells the
story of Mary Shelley most famous as the author of Frankenstein. In this new
book just out, Mary Godwin’s life had many upheavals, but one of the most
telling was a move from her home in a small suburb to the city of London .
Mary’s life was definitely daring and
scary even before her efforts to write Frankenstein. The author describes
one such incident in a boat: “Mary, Bysshe, and Claire huddled together in the
center, hoping their combined weight would maintain balance . . .”
The publisher’s description states The Determined Heart reveals the life
of Mary Shelley in a story of love and obsession, betrayal and redemption.
It describes her
early beginnings and the people who most inspired her in life. She was born the
daughter of political philosopher William Godwin and feminist Mary
Wollstonecraft, “Mary Shelley had an unconventional childhood populated with
the most talented and eccentric personalities of the time. After losing her
mother at an early age, she finds herself in constant conflict with a resentful
stepmother and a jealous stepsister. When she meets the Romantic poet Percy
Bysshe Shelley, she falls deeply in love and they elope with disastrous
consequences. Soon she finds herself destitute and embroiled in a torturous
love triangle as Percy takes Mary’s stepsister as a lover. Over the next
several years, Mary struggles to write while she and Percy face ostracism,
constant debt, and the heartbreaking deaths of three children. Ultimately, she
achieves great acclaim for Frankenstein, but at what cost?”
Antoinette May is
an award-winning travel writer specializing in Mexico ;
May divides her time between Palo Alto
and the Sierra foothills.
 |
| early version of Frankenstein |
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Celebrating Two Years of Writing The Vampire Diaries Books in Kindle Worlds
THIS MONTH A TWO YEAR
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
FOR A SPECIAL EVENT TO ME
I am celebrating
TWO YEARS OF WRITING
THE VAMPIRE DIARIES BOOKS IN KINDLE WORLDS
I saw my first book for The Vampire Diaries Kindle Worlds published in October of 2013, two years ago . and still Best Seller this year in this month! This was THE LOST DIARY.
I have written several since then including this one below:
I have written several since then including this one below:
Thanks to The Vampire Dairies and Kindle Worlds
http://www.amazon.com/The-Vampire-Diaries-POTION-Kindle-ebook/dp/B00HHWNSN0/ref=zg_bs_6305066011_10
Friday, September 18, 2015
This is just an enjoyable book and I really liked it
THE SCAM A Fox and O’Hare Novel –
Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg – Random House publishing Group, Ballantine,
Bantam Mystery and Thrillers. Publishing date: September 15, 2015.
I am a blogger and reviewer. I was
privileged to read this book as a professional reviewer on Net Galley. I received a copy to read through the Net
galley program in exchange for an honest and unbiased review which I am happy
to share now.
I would give
this book Five Stars because I consider it high impact entertainment from
beginning to end.
Because I wanted
to share my interest in this book with my friends, I am posting a review on
several of my blog sites
Kate O’Hare is a woman who is comfortable in
her own skin and in her profession until she is drawn into a complicated
venture with a man she doesn’t trust. She is an FBI agent, and he is a man who
is possibly a genius at going the other way and getting others to run after him.
She begins to do this, and their escapades are nothing short of delightful.
Kate is drawn into a rocky relationship which
is complex and interesting throughout.
Kate considers her own thoughts of Nick at
one point: “Kate squelched a grimace. It was nice to know he cared enough to
risk his own safety, but it was frightening to think of Nick bumbling through
the forest. Especially since her dad probably had it bobby-trapped.”
This
book is described as the fourth book in the fast-paced, action-packed Fox and
O’Hare series from Janet Evanovich No. 1 bestselling author of the blockbuster
Stephanie Plum novels, and Lee Goldberg, bestselling author of the Monk series.
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
This is a Serious Book and Worth Reading Many Times: a Book Review
BOOK REVIEW:
BLACK EARTH – Historical,
nonfiction by Timothy Snyder.
I would like to say of this book:
Well-researched
Thoroughly Documented
A Workable Time-Piece to connect to for that
period of War
In this book the evolution of Adolph
Hitler’s plan came together in the war fares scattered across much of the
world. It was after all; in Hitler’s opinion part of a final solution of
determining what he had said was the natural animal fight for supremacy and
dominance in their species. For Hitler, as explained in this sweeping text of
that era and that war, this is described clearly and in details which grasp the
reader with their very magnitude.
In
this book, the author quotes Hitler’s reason to want to invade the Ukraine
as he wanted their very fertile land and that of their neighbors, the Russians,
Belarusias and the Poles. He goes on to say, Hitler saw this as a quite simple
logic and plan so that his own people would see that “no one is able to starve
us again!”
It tells of Hitler leaving prison in 1924
and the author describes him as “a much cannier politician then years after his
failed putscht. The book goes on towards the Year 1934 when Hitler’s title
became “Fuhrer” and even “Reich Chancellor.”
Hitler began developing “a Nazi Party
created upon the assumption of endless racial conflict with the traditional
state asserting the right to control and limit violence.”
With his vision clearly forming into
reality before his very eyes, Hitler established the first concentration camp
that at Dachau
in 1933, “as a place where his National Socialist Party could punish people.”
Over and over to carry the reader forward
dramatically in exploring these complex issues, a further visual aid is a
series of maps. These surely unique maps
lead the reader into an understanding of the historical piece of literature
with a smooth entwined blending of word imagery and visual map display.
I
would give this book Five Stars for more reasons than one, but it is a very
good read and well thought out one.
Publication date is September 8, 2015 by
Crown Publishing, of Tim Duggan Books, in the History, Nonfiction adult
category.
This book is very easy reading of an
intriguing, but difficult subject with such depth of thought that it can be at
times dazzling to see it captured so vividly. I also found the research and
resources placed at the end of the book informative also, with its arrangement
though detailed, nonetheless, furnished in an easy to follow manner. The work
which is involved in this monumental task is awe-inspiring also.
Friday, September 4, 2015
LOVELY AND INTRIGUING NOVEL
THIS
IS A BOOK REVIEW: Of the book titled: JADE DRAGON
MOUNTAIN St. Martin ’s Press,
Minotaur Books of New York.
I
received a copy to read through the Netgalley program in exchange for an honest
and unbiased review which I am happy to share now.
I
would give this Five Stars as a well told story, interesting, and the author
clearly knows her subject.
Publication date of this book is September
1, 2015.
It is in the genre of History, Literature
and Fiction, adult.
This book starts with a piece of a letter
written by a bookseller to his nephew who is part of a sailing ship crew. In
this way, the story begins an intriguing tale which leads to a mystery and a
murder during a time when people are gathering to be a part of festivities for
the Emperor of China.
The author describes this point in time in
the 1700s in many eloquent ways including in this passage, “The great
connoisseurs of tea could take a sip and follow in their minds the entire
journey of the leaves, a mapped trajectory of taste and fragrance.”
This book’s main character, Li Du, is a
man who has become a wonderer by circumstances and because he is forced to
become a refugee. He stops along the way to see a relative and finds signs that
The Emperor of China is expected to this quaint community of Dayan. The man
wants to immediately leave, but is detained by his relative needing his
temporary help.
The events the man becomes entangled in
are set against a beautiful backdrop of the place which the author describes so
well and the people who inhabit this rich and beautiful country. At one point one
of the characters of the book explains his reason to enjoy travelling as: “The
quarrels of emperors and kings do not reach the caravans.”
The man, Li Du, is drawn into deep
conversations and finds himself more involved than he ever wanted to be there,
but he is trying to rush forward and leave the intrigue and danger he finds in
the town as it awaits the Emperor’s state visit.
The
book, Jade Dragon Mountain, holds more than one beautifully told
story within it. The scholar travels far away from the place he had once lived
and worked as a librarian in a priceless library of books. His journey is
becoming entwined with a mysterious Jesuit Missionary and another guest at the
Emperor’s official guest house.
Talks over the famous tea of the period
continue and the stories of captivating memories are shared. As one traveler
states, “The East India Company is the real Western Power now in this part of
the world – everyone knows it – everyone outside of China, that is.”
In a description
of the book, the story is about a Chinese librarian, Li Du, whose travels bring
him to the town of Dayan , the last Chinese town
before the border with Tibet .
He finds himself unexpectedly part of a large group of travelers, soldiers and
merchants, all of them expectant to see within just a few days an eclipse of
the sun. Although Li Du wants to continue his journey over the Jade Dragon Mountain and out of China , he is pulled back by the
murder of an astronomer and his own desire for truth.
About the Author: Elsa Hart was born in Rome , Italy
and lived in Moscow
until 1991 with her family. She has lived in the Czech
Republic , the United States , and in China .
She wrote this, her first novel, in
Lijiang, the city that has grown up around the old town of Dayan .
She earned a
B.A. from Swarthmore College and a J.D. from Washington University
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
FUN BOOK TO READ, I THINK
THIS
IS A BOOK REVIEW: Of the book titled: POKERGEIST by Michael Phillip Cash, 172 pages. Publisher is Chelshire,
Inc., Author Buzz.
I received a copy of this book to read
through the Netgalley program in exchange for an honest and unbiased review
which I am happy to share now.
This book is described as a book about life
and how sometimes life and also death can become an issue about Second Chances. Telly Martin is
described as luckless, and an awful gambler, but despite this, has become a
professional poker player. He finds some luck when he becomes the protégé of a
world famous poker champion named Clutch Henderson.
Unfortunately, Clutch is a ghost and under his
companionship, Telly finds himself trying to navigate “the weedy gambling
underbelly of Las Vegas
working towards a seemingly impossible win at the International Series of Poker”
Learning to trust each other could mean
everything to them, for it includes repairing shattered personal relationships
and actually could lead to redemption in life and the hereafter.
I
would give this Four Stars I am a blogger and reviewer. I was privileged to
read this book as a professional reviewer on Net Galley.
I would give
this book a recommended reading, and thought it had an interesting angle and a
delightful message that perhaps ghosts can be found in the most surprising
places, like a championship tournament poker game.
I am posting a
book review on my own blog site, which is linked to my Goodreads site and
linked to a few other blog sites of mine.
I would
recommend this book to my friends because it is a unique and fun find for me. It
also had very serious overtones and characters not easily forgotten. It tells
of a man “pushing seventy. . . with silver hair, light eyes, called the ‘Silver
Fox’, by the ladies. He was at the top of his game, playing a young man who in
online card games had to beat one hundred and sixty-five thousand contestants
for the chance to play the Silver Fox card player in an International Series of
Competitions.
Later, the book
introduces a young man, Telly Martin, who is trying to climb that enormous success
ladder, but he knew his own odds to succeed were awful. The author describes
Telly as he thought of these things. “He pushed his hands deeper and felt the
hard surface of a coin. It was a penny. That was it, his last penny.”
This book has
depths with a firm niche in the genres of Fiction, Thriller, and Sci-Fi
Fantasy.
The concept of a
modern poker player being haunted by a former pro player was interesting and I
also enjoyed how their separate lives played out as both tried to make sense of
how the two of them came to this strange situation.
Publication date of this book was July 18,
2015.
It is in the genre of Mystery, Thriller,
Sci-Fi, and Fantasy.
Monday, August 24, 2015
I WOULD LIKE TO RECOMMEND THIS BOOK I JUST READ
This Book Review is posted by Anna Patterson.
Writer, Journalist, Book Reviewer,
I
received a copy of this book to read through the Net Galley program in exchange
for an honest and unbiased review which I am happy to share now.
In this book’s description, it is noted that this is the
second book in the Jake and Amanda Bannon novels. A brilliant and successful
couple is introduced in these books as events lead them into an entertaining
display of their ability to be both charming and able to solve difficult
mysteries involving dangerous adventures. Their efforts at sleuthing takes them
from scenic locations, Hawaii, Rome, but
their good intentions to enjoy themselves in these beautiful places becomes
instantly totally halted when they become innocently enough involved in things
most deadly.
As Jake ponders over a situation like this, his thoughts
explain their involvement in mysteries as, “It was Amanda who said, yes. It was
always Amanda, and here they were about to go at it again . . .”
As for Amanda, there were many reasons the couple was
close, they agreed on many things. “Amanda felt her clairvoyance was the reason
she and Jake tended to get into all kinds of trouble.”
It
seems that Amanda’s dark visions, even turning of a sinister nation, could be
revealing something terrible about this quest they were on which eventually brought
them to Chicago .
It was meant to be just carrying religious relics to people who had wanted
them, but some of the characters worrying about this couples ability to deduce
the truth, well, they had a very dark side. One of them was exhibiting his most
abusive nature to his wife at that point of the mysterious other hidden secret
part of the adventure.
In
a further explanation, the book’s description explains, “With a cast of
well-drawn and original characters, The Congregation is a fast-paced and sometimes
shocking tale of what happens when the idealism and innocence of youth unveil
the dark history of hypocrisy in the Catholic Church. Bombenon’s adventurous
and romantic couple provides the perfect amount of humor and wit in a
sophisticated, exciting, and thought-provoking book”
I
did read the first novel about this adventurous couple and found it
interesting, and also capturing the earthy reality of life. This second book
does the same. I did like the contrasting views expressed by Amanda and her critical
views of the church, but at the same time it is pointed out, her mother is a
devout Catholic and Amanda is willing to go all the way to Rome to have a relic blessed there because of
her mother’s devotion and belief in the church.
Because
of this realistic look at families and their diversified differences of
opinion, I felt this added depth to the novels. The second book, I believe,
delves into what could be considered controversial issues of today’s reality.
Because of both book’s frankness, I would not consider them just a light read.
I would give The Congregation Four Stars. There are many things I found to like
about the book, and some things which made me stop in a thoughtful pause.
The author, Desiree A. Bombenon, was born in Colombo , Siri Lanka, and
has been a successful CEO and certified strategic leader. She is a member of
the Young Presidents Organization and has won several industry and leadership
awards globally.
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Spending some time reading good books, like this one
This Book Review is posted by Anna Patterson.
Writer, Journalist, Book Reviewer,
I
received a copy of this book to read through the Net Galley program in exchange
for an honest and unbiased review which I am happy to share now.
There is something immediately engaging about
the couple, Amanda and Jake. She was a business administration professional and
met him in the same capacity. They also had something else in common, as he
explained it; a basic belief that “spirituality was best kept in your own mind
and soul.”
Once married they found their
friendship grew even more, but he had a little trouble accepting her special
gifts to catch mental glimpses of the future, both good and bad. It was this
gift, and their willingness to help out a friend, which interrupted their break
they were enjoying in a condo in Hawaii .
Confronted with a friend’s heart-felt plea for help finding his missing wife
and daughter and a former friend of his they found innocently that this sent
the couple into a gripping adventure into terror.
While they found themselves
locked into one perilous situation after the other, a girl they sought
struggled with survival and agonized over the events which had brought her to
this point. The author described this in this way, “She had to figure a way to
get her family out of this mess. Carlos was supposed to be her friend.”
Meanwhile a Hawaiian police
detective doesn’t know what to make of this couple when they arrive on the
scene of his on-going investigation. Nonetheless, he takes them seriously since
he knew they had once helped Canadian authorities track leads and finally break
a case which had seemed too tough to solve.
I would give this book Four Stars,
I did enjoy it, and found the couple and their exploits very enjoyable reading.
The villains of the piece were in sharp contrast, rather a surprise, and the
book’s descriptions of their lives and outlook was rather a shock of violence
compared to the couple’s daring and yet very pleasant situations. Nonetheless,
Amanda and Jake had hidden depths of character and abilities which came out as
the book progressed. I did enjoy the read, and would have liked the book to be
longer. I look forward to reading the next mystery involving this
couple.
The book
description tells of Jake Bannon and his wife, Amanda, and how their successful
careers later gave way to a rescue mission involving something else they showed
expertise in: firearms and serious survival skills.
The author, Desiree A. Bombenon,
was born in Colombo ,
Siri Lanka, and has been a successful CEO and certified strategic leader. She
is a member of the Young Presidents Organization and has won several industry
and leadership awards globally.
Saturday, July 4, 2015
CELEBRATING YEARS OF COOKING!
Hard Times Frugal Desserts: A Back to Basics Cook Book
Working 12 hours plus and cooking can really be something, I should know. But no matter what I have done in life to earn money, teaching, cooking, many things in different phases of my life, nonetheless, I fell back on my knowledge of cooking. It always saves money when you know how to cook what is called "from scratch", that means nothing comes out of a box prepared.
But when you are short of time, you have to rely at times on things both out of a box, or out of a frozen food package. And of course, I don't care what anyone says, I still would be lost without a can opener.
But I have noticed something for some time and that is that many people are seeing their family budgets shrink. Those who aren't, are lucky I guess, but I do know I kept being asked how to cook, I mean really the basics, like how to cry something. And even what do measurements mean, and also how to chose what to buy so that the small amount of grocery money can go further and be used wisely.
So one day, my husband after one of these sudden teaching lessons I was giving to someone finished. I washed my hands, dried them on the hand tower over the back of a chair and went into the living room for a much needed break, my husband said, "You know you should write a book."
Believe me, I already felt there were thousands if not millions of cookbooks everywhere, so it took some persuading to get me to try this.
I was green as grass on how to write a book, but overly long on experience of cooking, and wanted many times to retire from the kitchen, but I saw a need, at least I felt I could help some people, and so I went to work writing things down.
My own rules were:
1. people had to have asked me many times, how do you make this dish
2. it had to be made of relatively cheap recipes you can buy on the tightest budget if need be.
3. it had to pass on some of the knowledge you only learn in the kitchen with what people call "hands on experience."
So I wrote a cook book and right away people told me how I could have done it better, and they told me after it was a done deal. But I have learned from the suggestions, and that really is how some of the other cook books were born.
Frankly I find that writing books is something like eating Oreo cookies, and their famous slogan, "Best you can't eat just one." I am probably quoting this wrong, but in writing cookbooks, after some time, I felt there were some things I should have said, so I wrote some more, gradually over a period of time.
One of my favorite recipes I share in the Frugal Dessert book is for banana pudding. IT is a great dish for just the family, or for friends, or for social events.
http://www.amazon.com/TIMES-FRUGAL-DESSERTS-Basics-Cookbook-ebook/dp/B00OOBAMGS
I hope you try it some day!
Working 12 hours plus and cooking can really be something, I should know. But no matter what I have done in life to earn money, teaching, cooking, many things in different phases of my life, nonetheless, I fell back on my knowledge of cooking. It always saves money when you know how to cook what is called "from scratch", that means nothing comes out of a box prepared.
But when you are short of time, you have to rely at times on things both out of a box, or out of a frozen food package. And of course, I don't care what anyone says, I still would be lost without a can opener.
But I have noticed something for some time and that is that many people are seeing their family budgets shrink. Those who aren't, are lucky I guess, but I do know I kept being asked how to cook, I mean really the basics, like how to cry something. And even what do measurements mean, and also how to chose what to buy so that the small amount of grocery money can go further and be used wisely.
So one day, my husband after one of these sudden teaching lessons I was giving to someone finished. I washed my hands, dried them on the hand tower over the back of a chair and went into the living room for a much needed break, my husband said, "You know you should write a book."
Believe me, I already felt there were thousands if not millions of cookbooks everywhere, so it took some persuading to get me to try this.
I was green as grass on how to write a book, but overly long on experience of cooking, and wanted many times to retire from the kitchen, but I saw a need, at least I felt I could help some people, and so I went to work writing things down.
My own rules were:
1. people had to have asked me many times, how do you make this dish
2. it had to be made of relatively cheap recipes you can buy on the tightest budget if need be.
3. it had to pass on some of the knowledge you only learn in the kitchen with what people call "hands on experience."
So I wrote a cook book and right away people told me how I could have done it better, and they told me after it was a done deal. But I have learned from the suggestions, and that really is how some of the other cook books were born.
Frankly I find that writing books is something like eating Oreo cookies, and their famous slogan, "Best you can't eat just one." I am probably quoting this wrong, but in writing cookbooks, after some time, I felt there were some things I should have said, so I wrote some more, gradually over a period of time.
One of my favorite recipes I share in the Frugal Dessert book is for banana pudding. IT is a great dish for just the family, or for friends, or for social events.
http://www.amazon.com/TIMES-FRUGAL-DESSERTS-Basics-Cookbook-ebook/dp/B00OOBAMGS
I hope you try it some day!
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
SUMMER FAVORITES OF MEMORY
From
The Project Gutenberg Ebook of The Nursery, November of 1875, In The Garden
Well,
here I get thyme, sage, and mint, Sweet marjoram and savory;(Cook says they always
give a hint Of summer, rich and flavory);
Here's
caraway—take, if you will:
Fennel
and
Coriander Hang over beds of daffodil,
And
myrtles close meander.
What's
next to come, one may not know—But then I like surprises:
Just
here, where tender roses blow,
A
tiger-lily rises. Here cock's-comb flaunts,
And
columbine
Stands
shaded by sweetbrier,
And
marigolds and poppies shine
Like
beds of glowing fire.
A
group of honest sunflowers tall
Keep
sentry in yon corner;
IT'S SUMMERTIME, I remember fondly many walks in my own Grandmother's garden, a favorite place to work and play.
Friday, June 5, 2015
Friday, May 22, 2015
REVIEW:
Posted by Anna Patterson. Writer, Journalist, Book
Reviewer, May, 2015
I am a blogger and reviewer. I was privileged to read this
book as a professional reviewer on NetGalley.
I would give this book five stars and enjoyed reading it
several times due to continual interest in the contents of this book and its
historical subject matter seen through the personal viewpoint of a person
involved in this time in history.
I am posting a book review on my own blog site, which is
linked to my Goodreads site and linked to a few other blog sites of mine.
I have told friends of how interesting I found this book and
suggested they might want to read it.
* * *
This is a Book Review of the book Dustoff 7-3: Saving Lives
Under Fire in Afghanistan ,
written by Erik Sabiston, and published by Warriors Publishing Group. This is a
nonfiction book of 173 pages. This is a true War story by a combat veteran of
this war.
This soldier flew many missions over war zones while trying
to save the wounded soldiers in the field. During this perilous time, he was
part of a crew of devoted heroes doing all they could to help those on the
ground.
He tells of true events which happened in the battlefields
of Afghanistan
starting in the Year 2006.
This was indeed a life or death dangerous and violent
mission for them all in their Medevac helicopter Blackhawk aircraft.
I enjoyed his way of telling this story so frankly and in a
way which made it very real and frank about this situation. Having this
personal account to read and keep as a historical link to this episode is
surely a great thing to have. The illustrations were excellent also.
This glimpse through the author’s memory will forever linger
with the reader as he describes survival efforts to bring wounded from the war
zones. Seen clearly are the perils of flying these high risk missions while
being shot at by enemy fighters.
Erik Sabiston, a soldier, aviator, and author, is from the
Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia before
becoming a rescue helicopter pilot in Afghanistan . The author tells with
sensitivity of his time in this area and time known for its deadly violent
conflict. He served as a soldier in the dangerous operations of this war in Afghanistan
and now teaches aviation in the Army.
Dustoff 7-3 is the story of four heroes flying together in
helicopter missions in the harsh mountains in Afghanistan . They are involved as
medics in saving seriously wounded warriors which they do to great peril to
themselves in the battle grounds of that area. The story revolves around
Sabiston’s experiences in this situation as Chief Warrant Officer in a team
evacuating casualties as part of the serious numbers during the fighting of
that time in the place the veterans called “the Valley of the Death.”
Publication date of this book is May 19, 2015.
Friday, April 10, 2015
Monday, March 23, 2015
HOW DO YOU BEGIN A GOOD BARBECUE MEAL
I once was asked to be one of the judges of an outdoor
barbecue cooking contest. Well, I love homemade barbecue, so I said okay. I
still remember the wonderful barbecue recipes these contestants came up with.
I believe cooking is not only a necessity, but also can be
an art. My own life has taught me that. Cooking barbecue and things like that
can be something many people can enjoy, especially now that Spring is
officially here.
I got to thinking about making some barbecue myself, so I
got out my Crock Pot where it has been resting apparently or hiding because I
was using the stove all Winter.
I cooked a small pork roast today in the Crock Pot and then
took it up and put it cooled into baggies to save to make sandwiches later.
I also will make a sauce later.
I am the kind of person who likes to have more than one
project going at a time, so I am Spring House Cleaning, taking the things (a
type of plastic) off of my rose bush and cactus outside so that they can
benefit from the Spring rains which are forecast, and of course, here I am on
the Internet.
I can get real busy, so my Crock Pot does the cooking for
me, but I can have bragging rights for cooking the meal.
It got me to thinking about my Hard Times Crock Pot Book
which is published on Amazon in Kindle and also in Paperback.
So I went and looked it over again and was glad to see that
I have explained how to cook many types of meats in that book. Cooking a
tender, lean piece of meat can sure help a busy person prepare any size meal –
later.
So since this still works for me, I thought I would share
this Spring note from me on what I am actually doing right now, today, and also
suggest something which might be of benefit to others who love meals like this.
Anna Patterson
Friday, March 13, 2015
Ian Somerhalder has debut as director in The Vampire Diaries Thursday night episode!
Director Ian Somerhalder
NO
DOUBT ABOUT IT – Ian Somerhalder’s Directorial Debut was an incredible success
in the March 12 televised show on CW of The Vampire Diaries. It was an incredible show enhanced by the
fact that Ian Somerhalder known for his role as the popular Damon Salvatore,
was breaking away from the acting and into this new role, as director.
In
this, the star breaks the ground made famous by a line of illustrious director
geniuses of the past and present. It is a place where only time can tell and
will tell how successful such a venture will eventually be. In this episode of
The Vampire Diaries the directing sizzled with perfection and taut and exciting
promise which could later bring on a dazzle to future work of Somerhalder’s
direction.
He joins a history dating back
at least eighty six years, many of them reflected in the history of the Academy
Awards presentations to sixty-six different directors for their outstanding
movie direction expertise. These awards reflect a quest for excellence in
Dramatic Direction and in Comedy Direction.
At times these awards singled out one film which brought that director
to the attention of the prestigious agency, but at other times, directors were
honored for several films. Always the public at large in shows looks for the
magic mix of Best Direction and Best Picture, to drive them to the show time
and again.
Because of this, directors
have found a place in history in the past for notable shows, such as “Grand
Hotel” filmed in the 1930s.
Sir
Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was a director known as “The Master of Suspense” for
his direction of more than fifty feature films in a career which encompassed
British films and then those made in Hollywood
With this directorial debut,
Somerhalder has shown that his efforts in directing show great promise in this
start of an exciting piece of his future in the arts.
Thursday night’s episode of
The Vampire Diaries showed Caroline taking a walk on the wild side. Rather than
feel the pent-up emotions boiling inside her since her mother’s recent death,
and Stefan’s coldness, she has gone rogue, listening to nobody, caring about
nothing. This leads her to a bar incident where she explains to a victim she
intends to basically rip out his heart.
Stefan is trying to track her
down, hoping to pull her back from this abyss, but she has cleaned out her
things from her home and college room and she definitely means business. Bonnie
is a very welcome reward for Elena’s worrying state, and yet Bonnie is not
allowed to forget that awful place she just left. Unfortunately, she had met a
woman in that isolated prison confinement in another place, with Damon finding
out to his horror; it could be his mother who had died of consumption many
years ago. Bonnie has some loose ends herself, and tries to call Jeremy who is
away at art school, and has to leave him a message, she has returned, but he
needs to give her time to sort this entire situation out.
Caroline is just bad as only
these Vampires know how to be, so she callously in her provocative way explains
her sudden eating frenzy as “Guys just taste better.”
She proves she can be cold and
hot at the same time throughout this night of frenzied rebirth of the blood
craving Vampire she is.
Stefan’s efforts to recover
Caroline before she goes any deeper into this emotional roller coaster she is on
makes his way to a warehouse dance party which is obviously very wild indeed.
Bonnie has to fight off one man’s attention and finds she has to resort to the
magic which thankfully she has fully restored. When he tries to charm her with
how “hot” she is, she actually burns his hand from her body.
Damon angers Bonnie when he
tries to get her to help Kai, the man who mistreated her in that other world
with such pain, she gave Damon a taste of this in the only way she could reach
him on how much she would not help him and Kai try to go back to the place
Damon’s mother might be trapped.
This show was fast paced and
yet drew one into the situations which were complicated and yet very real.
Caroline finally in what had to be the worst revenge a rejected lover could
pull on a man, told Stefan he had one choice, he would have to revert back to
the Vampire she wanted him to be, and turn off his humanity. She was willing to
have a college premed student operate on Sarah Salvatore, a girl Stefan had
watched over and protected for all of Sarah’s life. Within just what appeared
to be seconds, with bloody hands and a rib breaking electric saw in the
student’s hands, and a blood curdling
screaming Sarah, Stefan went over to his very dark side.
It would seem that no matter
what happens in these Vampire’s lives, they can open a door and an audience
follows willingly, caught up in the magic of the story and the horror and fear
of the wait for the next episode.
Good Job, Great Show,
Congratulations to all who participated in this remarkable episode of The
Vampire Diaries.
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Thursday, February 19, 2015
LOVED THE VAMPIRE DIARIES EPISODE
I WATCHED THE
VAMPIRE DIARIES February 19 television show and this is what I saw:
Thursday night’s
episode was beautiful, one of the most poignant episodes of a television drama
spectacular which is full of them. For the beauty of it all centered around the
human event which no one, no matter how powerful they may be, can escape, and
that is the death of a loved one.
Caroline, has
been in agony, and yet drawn to go through the steps her mother would have wanted
her to in this act of presiding over the funeral of her mother, also known as
Sheriff Forbes.
The tragic event
shoves participants back to their own bitter sweet memories; Caroline remembers
talking to her mother about death when her mother taught her how to ride a bike
without the training wheels. To Caroline, even then, she felt she could not
live without her mother’s wise look at life.
Damon, asked by
the sheriff to give her eulogy at her funeral, is reminded of his failure to
deliver a eulogy at his own mothers who he had been supposed to do. His brother,
Stefan’s disappointment in his brother still haunts Damon.
Caroline’s
friends are very supportive of their suffering friend, and she awakes to find
them camped out in the living room, asleep there.
In her practical
way, Caroline lines them out with duties needing to be done for the service and
asks Elena to go shopping with her, and the horror is, for a casket for her
mother.
Meanwhile, their
friend, Bonnie, is seeking escape from her other world prison, hoping to use
retrieved magic to get her out of that solitary place. After 278 days, she is
hopeful she will get out in this perfect time of an eclipse and using a magic
tool, a dial of magic.
Jo, a physician
at the college, is taken ill and finds she is throwing up. Rick is helping her
make the best of this and try to overcome it to go to the funeral. Her twin,
Kai, always of some selfish and totally evil motive, shows up and to their
horror, he is having problems throwing up also. He tells her he believes the
twin merge he did with his younger brother was not holding and this could mean
he is dying, she could be dying and others of their coven would die also, since
everything in their future depending on a successful merge of magic power
between twins.
Reluctantly Jo
merges with him, trying to give him her magic, and in turn, this could end her
own. Happily he left and whispered something in her ear.
Shocked and
reluctant, she told Rick, the man who loves her, and has stood by her through
many of the turmoil’s of life, and he has a solution she is shocked by. He
proposes to her, getting down on one knee, holding out a ring he had been
saving, and she is overcome with joy.
During the day
Stefan talks to his big brother, Damon, about a moment when Stefan was spending
time with Caroline in a supportive way, and the event suddenly became more
intense between them. They talked about this issue, and the funeral diverted
any other talks except a short one between Caroline and Stefan right in front
of her mother’s casket. This did not go in any way which was satisfactory for
either of them.
Damon flanked by
officers who had served the sheriff, did give a moving eulogy, touching the
heart, and pulling all of the people there into that moment in life where nothing
else is so important.
Caroline then
sang to the amazement of her friends and Stefan rose forward in his seat to
listen. She was a beautiful singer, and her song caught it all, the love bond
she had with her mother, the tie her mother had been to normal life, and also
as the vampire’s watched Caroline, even they were drawn totally into this
mystery called “Life.”
At that time in
the funeral chapel, Sheriff Forbes was recognized for her twelve years and four
months of police service.
Bonnie's
struggle had continued in her dangerous attempt to get back to her home. With a
glance at a woman who suddenly showed up, Bonnie was pulled out of that place.
The first person
Bonnie sees is Damon, who with joy greets her, but he is wondering why Elena
hasn’t returned from checking on Caroline.
Caroline
meanwhile, has decided to walk away from it all, ditch her human side, and turn
off her humanity, just like she had seen other vampires do.
Suddenly she
ends Elena’s efforts to talk Caroline out of this, and Elena ends up
unconscious on the floor. When Stefan comes to talk to Caroline, he finds her
gone, and Elena there, her friendship shoved aside as a vampire, apparently devoid
of feeling, leaves. It is Caroline.
I really enjoyed
this show, and its excellent mix of supernatural and human life.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, REVISITED
IN THE VAMPIRE DIARIES Television Episode January 5, this is
what I saw:
One of the most serious issues in the world, the act of
suicide, was dealt with during this television show in Season 7.
Bonnie had suffered so much for an extended length of time.
Cut off in a world beyond death, she was tormented by a world which daily
reminded her of her life, which try as she might, she could not get back to.
She had helped her friends who had come to this place escape it, but she had
even sacrificed her chance at doing this to help them get out of this terrible
prison.
She had even helped a very evil young man escape it. It was
after all a prison for this powerful man, Kai, feared by even his own family
and witches coven. Should he get out, it would mean life or death for his
group, and he got out.
Because Kai got out, he began immediately a fight to the
death, started in a challenge long ago between twins, now involving a second
set of twins, Luke and Liv, who had become part of the strange and mysterious
lives of the Vampires of Mystic Falls.
As the Vampires grieved over Bonnie, this sadness became
more poignant when they were reminded of Bonnie’s birthday.
This girl had enriched their lives and brought joy to each
of them, and Jeremy, Elena’s brother, had grown to love her.
Caroline, learning the depths of grief through her mother’s
noncurable illness, was trying to hold onto Bonnie in some way, and looking
back at their friendship. Trying in some way to believe in a future with Bonnie
back with them, she recalls a childish thing Caroline did, when she buried
Bonnie’s plush bear in the woods leaving a trail to it. Bonnie had never found
it. Trying in any way to make amends, Caroline goes out, looks for signs of
where long ago she buried her friend’s keepsake, and Stefan follows her out
there.
Time and again, Stefan had rebuffed Caroline when she most
needed him and felt she could count on him. Now her mother on what could be her
very death bed, appeals to Stefan to look at her daughter again as someone who
needs him. Her mother is wise about this, and with her pleas, managed to cut
through Stefan’s heart which could be very cold.
Caroline is openly grieving, this care-free optimist does
find the fact is, the thought of losing her mother is breaking Caroline’s
heart.
Stefan a man who is unreadable is not untouchable, and he
follows her out for the search of past happiness and past innocence. She finds
Bonnie’s toy and it has been damaged. Nonetheless, the spark of hope glimmers
for them both, and Bonnie takes the childish toy and cleans and mends it
herself.
Stefan is drawn into her grief and he shares it and brings
comfort and a shoulder to cry on.
Meanwhile, in hopes of checking on Bonnie, an unlikely witch
uses his power to send them back in some way to see their lost friend. Kai uses
his strength to the max and obviously suffers pain and begins to bleed with
these efforts.
To everyone’s horror, Bonnie is in the act of committing
suicide. Giving up on ever escaping back to her life, she does many things
showing she means business. Seeing this, nonetheless the hold between the world
she is in and their own is brief. Jeremy goes back alone, sees her in the final
plans and literally sees her go into the garage, start the car allowing the
exhaust fumes to rob the garage of air. Desperately, Jeremy in horror tries to
reach her and through some force, he pushes the automatic door which opens. It
is good he did that, because Bonnie was coming to her senses and fighting to
live.
This show was a buffet table of delights for Vampire fans
including:
Enzo’s plan of evil towards revenge against Stefan with an
elaborate plan of conquest of a relative of the Salvatore’s, Sarah; also Bonnie
finding the secret clue to gaining her magic back and escaping her solitary
prison; the murderous Kai having a split personality type situation since
bonding with his good twin, Luke, and last, but not least, proving love can
prevail, Damon and Elena’s romance, rekindling in a splendid way.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Thursday, January 29, 2015
MY TAKE ON THE RECENT EPISODE OF THE VAMPIRE DIARIES; LOVED IT!
I watched The Vampire Diaries January 29 and this is what I
saw
As a Vampire Dairies fan, there were a lot of things which I
have seriously hoped for in The Vampire Diaries and it happened. Color it a
very satisfying episode with the witches finally coming to the showdown over
Witch supremacy and most of all who would merge together as twins so that the
stronger would come out and satisfy a rule that on their birthday this had to
happen or else the Gemini Witch Coven would end.
For some time now, the Vampires had found themselves
becoming more and more involved with these witches and their fight to the death
for supremacy.
The dad was trying to force the issue but Luke in the end
linked with his older brother. This was made possible since Kai had been held
in another world for many years and did not age and when he got out, that made
the linking possible since he was kept at the same age, and was now the same
age as Luke. So they fought each other for the price of saving the coven and
also becoming the leader.
At the same time as this duel was being carried to its completion,
the Vampires were dealing with Caroline’s mother, Sheriff Forbes, dying of
cancer. Caroline resorted to turning her mother into a vampire after trying
this out on a dying man at Duke
University
Caroline temporarily fled from her dying mother’s hospital
bed and with one thing leading to another, Damon came up with a plan, let the dangerous
Kai come out of sedation and run free if he would save Caroline’s mother by
absorbing the things from her which would lead to her suffering a horrible
death and perhaps another horrible life as a vampire with magnified cancer
problems.
Kai did do this for them, but in his diabolical way, he
turned this into something ugly by causing the poor woman to have a heart
attack and flat line due to the severe stress to her system which he had
caused.
Efforts of a physician at the hospital failed to save her
and she was dreaming of Caroline and even a nightmare of Caroline showing the
most horrible vampire side to her. Then Caroline, persuaded by Stefan, acting
as a friend, came into the room and her mother fought back into consciousness.
With tears her mother asked Stefan to help Caroline in the
future to deal with her own mother’s pending death.
With all efforts to change things failing, Elena and Damon
have been trying to arrange time together so that they can see what is left of
their own relationship and to fight her amnesia concerning their relationship
which she had asked be done some time ago.
Suddenly Elena falls into Damon’s waiting arms wanting him,
loving him, kissing him, and telling him that she does see that life can be
short and is not to be wasted.
Somewhere out in a dark and windy place, Jo finds her
younger brother with her twin brother, both passed out from the strain of their
struggle. As she cradles the younger brother, the ruthless Kai wakes up,
confronts her and vanishes.
This was an exciting episode of The Vampire Diaries and I
look forward to future episodes as the vampires share their complex
relationships and do battle with future villains and apparently one of them
will definitely be the formidable Kai made even more magically powerful by
linking with his brother’s magic.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
IT WAS A TIME OF SECRET CODES AND THINGS LIKE THAT REALLY
Friday, January 23, 2015
Monday, January 5, 2015
HOW WICKED CAN A SIMPLE BOX ACTUALLY BE?
THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT BOXES WHICH I FIND INTRIGUING . . .
I have always been fascinated by the symbolic nature of locked boxes. What do they hold?
In the Greek Mythology of Hesiod's Works and Days, since this was written so very long ago, people have even questioned if the item in that Greek tale was a box or a jar. It could have been either.
So a very talented artist, Dante Gabriel Rossetti decided that he would consider the writer meant a box and so he put this in his painting of the old story.
In that classical Greek story, a very beautiful woman opens a box in a very innocent gesture which releases all of the evils in the World. Only one thing remains in the box, HOPE. And when the tale ends, the box is closed with only this one keepsake remaining.
In my own story about a box which has been hidden away for some time, the very handsome and mysterious, Damon, has a box containing things from the past. Only he knows what is in the box and why it was hidden. Can he really understand what revealing even some of its contents now might do?
I believe that life is complex and the motives of a Vampire might add to the complexity of the act which could still be shrouded in mystery.
Damon's Wicked Little Magic Box is now available on Kindle Worlds, Amazon, under The Vampire Diaries: Damon's Wicked Little Magic Box.
I would like to hear from my readers what they might think Damon's motives were and if they were secretly very wicked indeed..
LOOK INSIDE, PLEASE DO!
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| DAMON'S MAGIC BOX |
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| Pandora's Box |
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