The Sunday Post: Fall Has Arrived!

 

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. you can write about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.

Fall has arrived. Yesterday it was 91 degrees (31 Celcius) and today we are supposed to have a high around 75 (23 Celcius) --plus it is supposed to rain!  We haven't had any rain in weeks and it it so dry. This is in part why my allergies have been terribly bad. I am really hoping we get some nice rain and I get allergy relief. 

I'm looking forward to chilly mornings!

I thought for sure I had posted a review of One of Us Knows by Alyssa Cole on Thursday, but when I came here today, I realized I didn't! It will be posted tomorrow. Then on Wednesday, I have a post scheduled for Homicide in Hardcover by Kate Carlisle.  Friday I will have The Location Shoot up.  Next weekend we have a wedding on Saturday and on Sunday I am participating in a handcrafted event at a local brewery. I'll be selling my book!  Wish me luck!

What do you have coming up? 

Another Fun Cozy from Stella Bixby! Magical Mane Series Book 5!

I enjoyed this book as much as I like this cover, which is to say, a whole lot!  Since book one, I've been all-in to watch Ellie's journey from a wandering yogi to the owner of a magical farm and occupational therapy business.

In this installment, we learn more about Ellie's mysterious family and a huge expectation that awaits her.  She may be taking on a very important role in the magical world she is just now learning to navigate. I'm so excited to see what happens next.

The central mystery in this book is a good one, I was kept guessing right up until the reveal.  I liked the introduction of a witch that can communicate with animals. I would like her to come and chat with my dog! 

 My favorite scene in the book is not part of the mystery at all, it's a scene between Jake and Ellie. I don't want to spoil it, suffice it to say I love that theme of found family that winds through this series. 

I also like Xander and I hope my trust that at the end of the day he will actually be good for Ellie despite what others say, is not misplaced!

Overall, as I have said each time I read a book in this series, if you like a magical cozy, read this series! It's fun and I like that it takes place in Iowa--not a typical cozy town location!

4.25 stars. 

*****

Also today it was 88 degrees!  I'm over it! Come on Fall!  It's the last month of marathon training and I'm at the point where I'm tired of running especially in this ding-dong heat!  

 

What's a Cook To Do When You Have Apples, Lots of Apples!

 I asked the hubs to get me 3 Honey Crisp Apples from the store and he brought home three bags of apples. One bag of Honey Crisp, one bag of Golden Delicious and one bag of Gala apples. 

Here is the Apple Crisp Recipe I tried

An old picture with some lovely fall foliage! 

Because I follow many Cozy Mystery writers on social media, I found this podcast All Things Cozy.  The Cozy lifestyle is my jam. In the most recent episode, I listened to one of the hosts talked about Yankee Candle called warm and cozy.  It's supposed to smell like a bonfire in the fall.  I had Kohl's cash, and I decided today was a good day to order that candle- so hopefully I'll get a notice from Kohl's and be able to pick that candle up and see if it lives up to its name! 

I double-checked my order and sadly, it seems that I am going to have to wait until next week to get my candle.  That's not cozy! 

I've been working on living my best Spooky Season life this week.  I've painted pumpkins and I made my scarecrow for the front porch. A week from Saturday is Halloween!  I hope you and yours have been enjoying some Autumnal Fun! 

It rained all night last night, so I'm waiting to put out my scarecrow until this weekend. It will be sheltered, but I want to avoid having a soggy wet blob on our front porch! 

Soups On! In Which I Try a New Soup Recipe!

 

Got a copy of the Women's Day, yes I have a couple magazine subscriptions.  I like to flip through an occasional magazine and to circle things, tear out pages, put post-it notes on pages to remember.  

This recipe is a potato corn chowder and the reason I decided to try it was because you make it in the slow cooker.

I added more corn, garlic, chorizo, and thyme than the recipe calls for and I skipped the half and half, but I did add some sour cream right before serving. It's a lot of chopping and then waiting while it cooks in the crockpot you can make it on low for like 6 hours or 3-4 on high.  I think if you made it on the stove it would take 40-60 minutes? I think that you could add 1/4 a cup of white wine if you wanted to do that. If you are Gluten Free just don't use the 2 tbsp of flour.  If you are vegan, skip the chorizo and veggie crumbles and use vegetable broth instead of chicken. 

It's officially Oktoberfest  Me and the hubs split this crowler --basically a quart of beer. So we each had a pint. Neither of us used the quart-sized stein that came with the beer.  It's just a heavy as you would think!  The hubs said this beer reminded him of Old Style. I said it reminded me of Heineken. In general, when we have a beer we don't' usually go with a lager. 

Prost! 

Got a couple hours? Read this book!

Sweet and Deadly by Charlaine Harris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Everything about this book made me feel as though I'd stepped into a small town in the 1950s or 1960s. The only tell I could find that this is actually more contemporary is  Catherine says that abortion is legal. I would describe this book as a novella and as such it has very good pacing. In other works by Charlaine Harris there tends to be, in my opinion, too much time spent on housekeeping details. In this book, fortunately, there is only one long scene of Catherine cleaning.

The mystery is solid, there are some nice red herrings and the main character doesn't foolishly put herself in harm's way but once.

The killer's motive is the weakest part of this book in my opinion. If you enjoy mysteries, you'll likely enjoy this book.


View all my reviews


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What's going on with my writing?

Thanks for asking!  I am a solid  63% done on my first draft.  My plan is to finish my draft before 2019 shows up. Actually,I'd like to get it done before December arrives. If I get stuck in my writing lately what I've been doing is writing out of sequence.  Yesterday I was working on the book's final scene.  Bad news, I thought I had it all figured out and then I realized I didn't like where it was going. Today I'm writing in sequence and maybe that will help my final scene whenever I get back to it.

Socially to help with my writing I just joined the "Guppy" Chapter of  Sisters in Crime. This is an online group for first time writers of mysteries.  With my membership I can join a critique group to get feedback on my unpublished work.  I'm very excited and also overwhelmed.  The business of publishing is not easy. (understatement).  The important thing for me to keep reminding myself is to focus on finishing my book, then try to get it published.  Don't put the cart before the horse and all that!

Happy September!

xoxo

Happy Fall! No need to put away the flip flops

Fall is officially here and along with it, Chicagoland has temps over 90 degrees for another 3 or 4 days.  As anyone you run into will tell you, it's hotter now than it was in August.  August was quite lovely.  Now here we are trying to get our Fall on and you'll suffer a heat stroke if you break out the boots or savor a hot cider. 

The current weather situation has killed my mums and thrown a wrench in my meal planning plan for the week. Good thing I said I was going to meal plan in my last post because putting that down in writing has made me feel  accountable and thusly ice cream for supper Saturday through Wednesday ain't gonna happen here.

Today the man went to the grocery store and mostly followed my prepared list. Does he realize how lucky he is that I put the list in order of the store layout? Anyway he did a better than fair job of  purchasing what was on the list.  Right now the air is on and we are slow roasting a beef roast.  I am using a Tastefully Simple recipe from my One Pot 10 Meal Kit  this one is Savory Beef & Carrots .

I'll let you know how it turns out.  Tomorrow I'm going to try the Rustic Chicken Wild Rice Soup  .  Monday I'm going to keep it super simple because we have our annual eye doctor exam after I get done with work.  So chicken wings and turkey burgers w/baked French fries and salad.  Tuesday another Tastefully Simple ! Chicken Fajita Tacos Wednesday I have a Wine Wednesday Tastefully Simple party- so the fam is on their own.  For Wednesday, I am putting Bryce in charge, he likes to make pork chops.  Thursday chicken stir fry- i.e. chicken, rice and whatever vegetables are in the refrigerator.

There you have it, I just spend about 10 minutes and planned the week- with an assist from the 10-Meal Kit this week.

Next week it's going to be cooler, so I'm thinking butternut squash soup!

Pro Tip: For a slimming look, pose with a giant pumpkin!

#WordlessWednesday