Thursday’s Tale: Nägendümer

by Carol4 Comments
"Nägendümer" is a German story re-told by Alfred Haas in Rügensche Sagen und Märchen, 1903. It's a type 500 folktale, in which a mysterious and threatening helper is defeated when the hero or heroine discovers his name, like Rumpelstiltskin. One day I might have to do a post about the folktale classification system, since I don't know much about it myself. The story is pretty short and fairly uncomplicated. There's a girl whose job it is to spin a certain amount of flax every day, but she never manages to complete the whole task.  One day a man comes by and promises to spin the flax for her every day if she can guess his name. I don't know why he made the offer, he doesn't seem to gain anything from it except teasing the girl. Of course, she has no idea what his name is. The man goes away and turns himself into a bird. He flies around, singing to her who promised her that...
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Fitness Tuesday

by Carol5 Comments
Here's my plan, more or less. Since last check-in, I finished Week 3 and am starting Week 4. Tuesday, I put in a yoga DVD and did that for about 30-40 minutes. It's actually an hour long, but I admit I skipped a harder chunk in the middle - I'm a bit out of practice. I also took the dog for a mile walk, more for his benefit than mine. Wednesday evening I went out to the gym and did an hour on the recumbent bike. I forgot my headphones, but can totally read on my kindle while on the bike, yay! Thursday I had a headache and just didn't feel like running, so I did the elliptical - 2 miles/25 minutes. Then almost fell over when I got off  - I think my sinuses had my head a bit foggy. On Saturday we actually had some summer weather, which meant it was too hot to run on the road in the afternoon so I...
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Audiobook Review: The Crimson Campaign by Brian McClellan

by Carol6 Comments
Title: The Crimson Campaign (Powder Mage Trilogy #2) Author: Brian McClellan Narrator: Christian Rodska Published: May 6, 2014 by Hachette Audio Genre: Flintlock Fantasy (whatever that is) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars Add: Goodreads Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository | Audible GUNPOWDER AND BULLETS WILL DETERMINE THE VICTOR. When invasion looms... Tamas's invasion of Kez ends in disaster when a Kez counter-offensive leaves him cut off behind enemy lines with only a fraction of his army, no supplies, and no hope of reinforcements. Drastically outnumbered and pursued by the enemy's best, he must lead his men on a reckless march through northern Kez to safety, and back over the mountains so that he can defend his country from an angry god, Kresimir. But the threats are closer to home... In Adro, Inspector Adamat wants only to rescue his wife. To do so he must track down and confront the evil Lord Vetas. He has questions for Vetas concerning his enigmatic master, but the answers will lead Adamat on a darker journey. Who will...
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Review: I Adored a Lord by Katharine Ashe

by Carol7 Comments
Title: I Adored a Lord (The Prince Catchers #2) Author: Katharine Ashe Published: July 29, 2014 by Avon Genre: Historical Romance Rating: 4½ out of 5 stars Add: Goodreads Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository Three very different sisters beguile society with their beauty and charm, but only one of them must fulfill a prophecy: marry a prince. Who is the mystery Prince Charming, and which sister will be his bride? All that clever, passionate Ravenna Caulfield wants is to stay far away from high society's mean girls. All that handsome, heroic Lord Vitor Courtenay wants is to dash from dangerous adventure to adventure. Now, snowbound in a castle with a bevy of the ton's scheming maidens all competing for a prince's hand in marriage, Ravenna's worst nightmare has come true. Now, playing babysitter to his spoiled prince of a half-brother and potential brides, Vitor is champing at the bit to be gone. When a stolen kiss in a stable leads to a corpse in a suit of armor, a canine kidnapping,...
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Thursday’s Tale: The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch

by Carol9 Comments
No, The Paper Bag Princess is not actually a classic fairy tale. It was written in 1980 by Robert Munsch, but it has all the familiar characters - a princess, a prince, and a dragon. And there's a quest and an ending. And I wanted a chance to show off Amber's painting of a paper bag. It's only the second painting she's done - she almost didn't bring it home because it's "only practice." Princess Elizabeth is a lovely princess who lives in a beautiful castle and plans on marrying Prince Ronald. However, a dragon arrives, destroys her kingdom, kidnaps Ronald, and burns all her clothes so that she has no choice but to wear a paper bag. Elizabeth bravely follows the dragon to rescue Ronald. She comes to the dragon's cave an knocks. Twice he tells he to go away but then she calls out, asking him if he isn't the smartest, fiercest dragon in the whole world. He, of course,...
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Review: Sous Chef by Michael Gibney

by Carol6 Comments
Title: Sous Chef: 24 Hours on the Line  Author: Michael Gibney Published: March 25, 2014 by Ballantine Books Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Add: Goodreads Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository | Audible The back must slave to feed the belly. . . . In this urgent and unique book, chef Michael Gibney uses twenty-four hours to animate the intricate camaraderie and culinary choreography in an upscale New York restaurant kitchen. Here readers will find all the details, in rapid-fire succession, of what it takes to deliver an exceptional plate of food—the journey to excellence by way of exhaustion. Told in second-person narrative, Sous Chef is an immersive, adrenaline-fueled run that offers a fly-on-the-wall perspective on the food service industry, allowing readers to briefly inhabit the hidden world behind the kitchen doors, in real time. This exhilarating account provides regular diners and food enthusiasts alike a detailed insider’s perspective, while offering fledgling professional cooks an honest picture of what the future holds, ultimately giving voice to the...
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