Saturday Snapshot 9/6/2014
These are a few of the photos Amber and I took at the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival last weekend.
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda at West Metro Mommy Reads....
Feature and Follow Friday
Are you also a writer and what genre or did you ever consider writing? Question provided by: The Pegster Reads
I'm not a writer. I wish I was a writer, I'd like to be a writer, but I never actually sit down and write. If I did, I think my preferred genre would be a suburban fantasy kind of thing, with a mystery to solve and a dash of romance. On the other hand, Toni Morrison said "If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it,” and I really want to read a good book set in a restaurant that takes people and relationships seriously, while making me crave the food they serve. I've tried to read a couple of books like that lately, but neither really clicked for me. Of course, knowing nothing about restaurants or food, that might be a bit tough. Back to fantasy and mystery it is.
Feature and Follow...
Giveaway: A Demon Summer by G. M. Malliet
I like G. M. Malliet's Max Tudor series and I was happy when I was offered a galley of the newest in the series, A Demon Summer. I was even happier when Minotaur sent me an extra to giveaway.
About A Demon Summer:
In this new mystery, someone has been trying to poison the 15th Earl of Lislelivet. Since Lord Lislelivet has a gift for making enemies, no one—particularly his wife—finds this too surprising. What is surprising is that the poison was discovered in a fruitcake made and sold by the Handmaids of St. Lucy of Monkbury Abbey. The powerful Lord complains loudly to the local bishop, who asks Father Max Tudor, vicar of Nether Monkslip and former MI5 agent, to investigate. Just as Max comes to believe the poisoning was accidental, a body is discovered in the cloister well. Can Max Tudor solve the case and restore order in time to attend his own nuptials?
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Thursday’s Tale: Vasilissa the Beautiful
I talked a little about Baba Yaga last week in connection with the novella, Wickedly Magical by Deborah Blake. A couple people mentioned that Baba Yaga was a new character for them, so I thought I'd share one of her stories this week. As I said, Baba Yaga is a strong, powerful, frightening witch who comes to us from Slavic folklore. While she doesn't have her own story, she's present in several tales, including the Russian fairy tale, "Vasilissa the Beautiful."
As happens to so many beautiful young fairy tale women, Vasilissa's mother dies early in the story. On her deathbed, she gives Vasilissa a little wooden doll. This wooden doll is magic. When Vasilissa feeds her, she comes alive, listens to Vasilissa's griefs and problems, and offers advice and assistance. Eventually, Vasilissa's father remarries and, surprise, surprise, the step-mom is awful to Vasilissa. She makes Vasilissa do all the difficult chores, while her own daughters do nothing. Yes, father is still around...
Audiobook Review: Bitter Spirits by Jenn Bennett
Title: Bitter Spirits (Roaring Twenties #1)
Author: Jenn Bennett
Read by: Amy Landon
Published: May 14, 2014 by Tantor
Genre: Historical Romance, Paranormal Romance
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Add: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository | Audible
Aida Palmer performs a spirit medium show onstage at Chinatown's illustrious Gris-Gris speakeasy. However, her ability to summon (and expel) the dead is more than just an act.
Winter Magnusson is a notorious bootlegger who's more comfortable with guns than ghosts. Unfortunately for him, he's the recent target of a malevolent hex that renders him a magnet for hauntings. After Aida's supernatural assistance is enlisted to banish the ghosts, her spirit-chilled aura heats up as the charming bootlegger casts a different sort of spell on her.
On the hunt for the curseworker responsible for the hex, Aida and Winter become drunk on passion. And the closer they become, the more they realize they have ghosts of their own to exorcise...
Bitter Spirits is not perfect. Like too many romances, it falls into cheesy...
Fitness Tuesday
Here's my plan, more or less. (SS stands for strength training/stretching; CT stands for cross-training)
Since last check-in, I finished Week 6 and am starting Week 7.
I switched Wednesday and Tuesday of this week. On Tuesday, I did the elliptical for 60 minutes. Wednesday morning I took the dog on a mile walk and in the evening I did some dumbbell exercises and ab work equaling 30 minutes.
Thursday I ran 2 miles at a pace of 11:36 min/mile. And I ate good. I pulled back out my Lean Mom, Fit Family plan, which I guess I've never actually posted about. It's a great book about eating right and exercising. I actually like it for the meal plans - they're really doable. And it's helped me before when I wanted to lose weight.
On Thursday evenings, I take Amber to an art class, and sometimes I run while she's there. One of her friends is also in it and her mom, who is a friend of...