Happy Birthday America!!

So this week has us celebrating our 237th year of our Independence from England and so we should take a minute to realize what that means to each of us.  Then we should think about all the people that died giving us our continuous Freedoms that we fought so hard to keep.  Now I’m one who believe that it is best to keep my religious, and political views to myself as they enviably lead to some heated “discussions”, but I do honor to realized that I have the right to opinions without persecution even if I keep my thoughts to myself. I’m thankful for the right to have the right to think as I do and the right not to voice said views.  So Happy Birthday America!!! May we continue to have the Right to Freedom!

In other household news, we had company here at the little homestead for the 4th. All the little people (i.e.- the children) had a blast playing in the river and making lots of joyous noise. There was a huge bounty of food that laden the table for all to partake when ever the mood struck ya and the heavenly scent of grilled meats wafting all through the air in our little vista.  As the day progressed into evening, there was snaps, pops, and whistles as poppers, snakes and tanks were set off to the glee of the children.  As the night silently sneaks in, little eyes start to droop as the sandman creeps, as all settle in for the night’s reprieve. On Friday, things start all over again with breakfast of pancakes, eggs and bacon as the 3 mer-folk anxiously waiting for the phrase that allows them back into the river until lunch time.  The winds down drastically when the company leaves to the point that my men folk take naps to recoup.  Upon waking, my Other Half; suggest a trip into the village for 3 fish dinners for the night’s meal and I happily agree, even though we sit here with a fridge full of food.

Saturday finds the household trying to re-establish our routine when the doorbell rings.  It’s a friend of mind bearing a package for me.  Yippee!!! It’s here! A gadget just for me.  I decided that with the money that I made from the Tee - Shirt Quilt that I made, I would invest in an e-reader for my professional reading & reviews.  After doing a bit of research on Amazon.com, my choose was to buy a second-hand Sony E-Reader.  Since I don’t have an account, I gladly handed over the cash to my friend as they used their account to order it for me.

It’s silver and just a prefect fit for the palm of my hand.  It did come with the neoprene case and necessary cords, the only thing that it didn’t have was the manual.  I don’t really mind as I’m able play with it and figure it out. I now have 6 books for review on it, which will be a drop in the bucket for the device holds around 350 books at one given time.

This past week in quilting, I did manage to do a couple of things.  I continued to make additions to my hand appliquéing on the Challenge top even with company here.  On Wednesday during quilt group, with the assistances of Ms. D.,  I have a table runner all cutout for a pattern that I’m testing for Bea of http://www.beaquilter.com/ so there won’t a nice pretty picture of it until I received word from Ms. Bea saying other words. But what I can show you is the the fabrics that Ms. D. used out of her “car stash”.  I really love the combination we came up with and it didn’t cost me a thing!! LOL Got to love when that happens. I’m helping Ms. D. stash bust her overabundant fabric collection. Well I’m going to show ya 3 out 4 fabrics just so you’ll want to come back and see that 4th fabric once it’s all done.  Wink Wink Nudge Nudge.  LOL. 

And that wasn’t all. I managed to do some prep work for a piece embroidery for my partner in the Santa Sack Swap that I joined up with over at http://santasackswap.blogspot.com.au/ that Cheryll is running. 

We Started in June and we mail December 1st - six wonderful little gifts in a stocking, tote or sack.  I have already got some things in the works for this. In June I made a purchase, for July, I’m working on the ”homemade” element as per the rules so I’m feeling like I’m kind of on track for minute. 

So yeah, even with the holiday; I was able to do more than I excepted with the sewing machine being packed away. I think next week is soon enough to drag everything back out from the iron to the sewing machine and re-start the “must do” list that is currently next to my laptop and growing. Some of the things on the are quick & small items that once I cut them out & sit down with will take only a few minutes with but I do have to figure out how to do “foundation” piecing for one of the items. So that one will take a more than a “New York Minute” to finish. 

I don’t know how many people actually know this about me but I LOVE making Grilled Cheese sandwiches. To me a plain grilled cheese sandwich made with pre-packaged cheese slices just don’t cut it.  Actually I HATE those and have since childhood.  I couldn’t wait until I was allowed to use the stove all by myself.  From then on, my palette forever grew in my mind long before I found out there are shops that specialize in such gastric pleasures. This week I was playing with my taste buds when I can up with this tasty combination for a grilled sandwich.  I had some sauerkraut rye bread, some thinly sliced domestic Swiss cheese and smoked turkey that is almost thin enough - but not quite - to be considered to be shaved.  That would have been enough but for the fact that I had six eggs whites in a bowl from making my homemade Hollandaise sauce from the day before.  As I try to reach past said bowl for a tomato, the thought of tossing all those eggs whites down the drain make me cringe and I pull them out too. 

The scent of a few dashes of McCormick’s Mediterranean Spiced Sea Salt added to the the eggs whites as they cook begin to co-mingle with the delectable smells coming from the flat griddle pan as melted butter sizzles quietly as it marries itself to the fragrance of mild sauerkraut rye with slow bubbling ooze of the Swiss cheese with the smoked turkey that is on it’s own caramelizing. My mouth waters as the salivating sections come together to be plated with the simplest of side of a sliced tomato and a couple garlic-y dill pickles rounding things out.  This lunch would have been right at home in some fancy-schmancy gourmet sandwich shop. The biggest complement was when my Son C. came out from his room, looked over my shoulder to see what I was having for lunch. He proceeds to questioning me about the sandwich contents, he decided that he too would like one of these sandwiches.  After putting the culinary flavors together, C. ate it faster than a pool of piranhas savaging a large meal.  Now you must realize that C. is a tad bit of a picky eater, so it’s a HUGE deal when he wants something outside of his menu repertoire. 

I did get some reading done this past week & a half in between errand running, house cleaning and assisting in yard work.  There was actually 4 books finished.  I continued on with the Kim Harrison’s Hollow Series with books 2 – 4.  I truly find that I’m really enjoying the fellow Michigander books and seemly can’t read them fast enough. If you are a Laurell K. Hamilton fan of her Anita Baker series, run to get a copy of this series by Kim Harrison. I found them to be fast reads as I started book 5 just last night in bed while I waited for the sandman to perform his duties. 

                                              

Now you would think these 3 books would have been enough to deal with my literary hunger but NOOOOO-OO-O, I had to add yet another one that I also finished.  This free book comes to me from Bethany House Publishers but the opinion that I give is purely mine and not associated with them, the author or anyone else necessary in the making of the book.  The book up for this weeks review is “The Quarryman’s Bride” By Tracie Peterson.

I have to say that my words for this one is: Thought Provoking.

The synopsis that Bethany House provided here reads:

Emmalyne Knox has always loved Tavin MacLachlan. But when tragedy strikes her family, Emmalyne's father declares she can no longer marry. Despite Tavin's pleas to defy the decision, Emmalyne refuses. In her act of obedience, she gives up the future she'd always dreamed of.
When Emmalyne's father returns to the quarry business years later, Tavin and Emmalyne meet again. And though circumstances have changed in both of their lives, they cannot deny the feelings that still exist. Can Emmalyne find a way to heal the decade-long wound that has fractured the two families...and change the hearts of those who stand in the way of true love?

---

Now while this is Not my normal genre of reading material, I found the story well written in my opinion.  This is the 1st book of Tracie Peterson that I’ve read, so I’ve nothing to compare to as I normally would.  The storyline was easy and smooth to follow, thus allowing me to sit down and read it in a single evening.

It evoked some thoughts of my own past and how things are with my own estranged parents.  This book allows the reader to ponder their own feelings towards God and how the characters and self used the power of prayer to fix the strained relationships within the family and how compassion, empathy, love and beliefs are needed in everyday life. 

The book transport’s you historically back to what life would have been like in the time when the nation was in it’s infancy stage.  The research that Tracie Peterson has done for the book gives you the ability to image yourself as a character in 1886.  She makes you feel the aching muscles, the loneliness of being sequestered out in the prairies when the 3 miles to the closest friends & neighbors are but a brisk walk away. The heartache and tragic that repeatedly visits the Knox family brought a few tears of sympathy I had for the woman of the Knox family and the hard almost-uncaring stiffness personality of Luthias Knox, Emmalyne’s Father. To be told that you are now being told you MUST honor God, that in the teachings of God; that you must honor your Father and Mother, that your life is no longer your own is devastating and at times, causes Emmalyne to question her Faith.   

Who doesn’t wish at times for that second chance to go back and mend a decision that was made? To change the consequences of said decision? To find that happy-ever-after that the fairy tales all talk about?  I found that I was able to enjoy the story for it’s self without the feeling of being preached at with every page turn. I also found it to be thought provoking and the storyline continues to pop into my mind at odd moments leaving me thinking along the way.  When I go to the library this week I plan to look for more books by Tracie Peterson as I would give this 5 stars out of a possible 5. 

Wow and here I thought I really didn’t have much to share this week.  Silly me … what was I THINKING! Am hoping that with the moving from GFS to Bloglovin’ hasn’t caused too many issues and that all my readers experienced a smooth transition with me. I hope to hear more from all of you as next time, I will previewing “Angels In the Fire” by Dann Stadler for Bethany House Publishing about a dramatic rescue based on a true story.

Toodles,
Tricia