Game Night: Cleopatra and the Society of Architects

by Carol1 Comment
Cleopatra and the Society of Architects Designer: Ludovic Maublanc, Bruno Cathala Manufacturer: Days of Wonder Artist: Julien Delval Year: 2006 Players: 3 - 5 Time: 60 minutes Ages: 10 and up Cleopatra & the Society of Architects is a fun and engaging family game that includes a true, three-dimensional palace that players compete to build. Players strive to become the wealthiest of Cleopatra’s architects by constructing the most magnificent and valuable parts of her palace. Players, however, will be tempted to deal with shady characters and trade in materials of dubious origins in order to help them build faster. While these corrupt practices might allow an architect to stay a step ahead of the rest, they come with a high price – cursed Corruption Amulets honoring Sobek, the Crocodile-god. When Cleopatra finally strolls into her new palace, at the end of the game, the most corrupt architect (the one with the most amulets) will be seized and offered as a sacrifice to her sacred crocodile! Only then will the...
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Winners!

by Carol5 Comments
Congratulations! You won a copy of Julie and Julia by Julie Powell, courtesy of Hachette Book Goup. Ladytink_534 of The Movieholic and Bibliophile's Blog Lethea Benson Freda Mans Becca from Complete and Utter Poppycock Ken I'll be sending e-mails to the winners, but  I'll just need your mailing address to pass on to Hachette. I hope you enjoy the book....
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Yum-O! The Family Cookbook by Rachael Ray

by Carol5 Comments
Yum-o! The Family Cookbook by Rachael Ray Description: Rachael knows that every family wants to make the best possible food choices–and get the very most out of their food-budget dollars. The recipes here feature more whole grains, use less fat, and make the most of fresh fruits and vegetables so they are as good for you as they are delish, and they’re all quintessential Rachael–fun and creative. You’ll also find notes on how to get even very young kids involved in the cooking process; great ideas for everything from breakfast to the lunchbox to dinner; wholesome snacks; and loads of new double-duty dinners that let you cook once, then eat twice or more. My thoughts: Actually, last night's dinner came from this cookbook, which made me think of it. Ray is trying to get families to eat healthy dinners together. There's no way myAmber will eat all the recipes in this book, but some of them she will. And she loves to help in the kitchen,...
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Wondrous Words Wednesday

by Carol7 Comments
I ran across a few new-to-me words this week. The first three are from The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand. banquette- a long bench with an upholstered seat, esp. one along a wall, as in a restaurant. "that had a blackboard menu and banquettes that used to be church pews" confit- (I've heard this several times on cooking shows, but wasn't quite sure what it was.) meat, such as duck, that has been salted and then cooked and preserved in its own fat. gaufrette- a thin crisp fan-shaped French wafer, often served alongside a dessert "duck confit on a gaufrette" This one is from Eyewitness to Jesus by Carsten Peter Thiede and Matthew D'Ancona. tessera- one of the small pieces used in mosaic work. "those tesserae, those small pieces of the Matthean mosaic"  And then I have one that is used a lot, but when Amber asked what it meant, I couldn't quite define it. We were reading Viva Cisco by Patrick Shannon. glen- a small, narrow, secluded valley. (Yes, I should have known this...
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Teaser Tuesday

by Carol5 Comments
Grab your current read. Let the book fall open to a random page. Share with us two (2) "teaser" sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12. You also need to share the title of the book that you're getting your "teaser" from...that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given. Please avoid spoilers! My teaser: Phillip Strauss reclined and sank into the overstuffed couch, which, by subtle design, was meant to be warm and inviting, allowing patients to open up and speak freely. Phillip had no issues with such openness. -pg. 113, "Four Letter Session," The Light, the Dark, & Ember Between by J. W. Nicklaus Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along....
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Kim Smith, Author of A Will to Love

by Carol6 Comments
  I want to thank Kim Smith for taking a page in my notebook to tell us a little about her life.   A Day in the Life of Kim Smith, Author of A Will to Love So you wanna be a writer like me? Do you have the “write stuff”? I am a very busy woman. So, come along and let’s see what my day is like. Today, June 29, 2009 Alarm went off at 5:25 am as it is set to do, but since I had a very sleepless night, I snoozed until 6 am. Up and at 'em, on the computer, checking emails, writing posts for blog tour, posting to groups for promos on the book.  6:45 off to the showers and cereal bowl 7:15 off to the day job as a network admin for a hydrostatic remanufacturing co. 8:00 working at the day job invoicing, order entry, troubleshooting order issues. 10:45 take a break go for a walk for fitness and blood sugar (type two diabetic) 11:00...
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