The Victorian Locket

 

 

A Galveston Historical Mystery

 Cozy Mystery

Why Mom, Why?

This book, Why Mom, Why?, is the story of Chili, a Russian (Horsefield) tortoise. Chili is a very patient tortoise that always waits for her friend Tank to be fed first. She realizes that her mom has a routine to feed Tank first. Mom picks up on Chili's sadness when Chili would sit closer to her while feeding Tank. Chili needed the attention and was passively acting out. This book is about the silent communication between the pet and owner. Why Mom, Why? can be closely related to sibling rivalry in human beings. This is Book Two in the "Where is he? Tank, the Tortoise" series.

THE WOKE AND THE DEAD

 

 

Nostalgia City Mystery #5

Mystery

Date Published: 03-13-2025

Publisher: Archer & Clark

Storms by Jo A. Hiestand

 

Storms by Jo A. Hiestand
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’m a big fan of this author’s series, McLaren. This is one of the stories of the lives of her characters. The first story is about Michael McLaren. It’s a prequel called The Swim. This story is about his current lady love, Melanie.

Hiestand is incredibly good at writing series and each of her books can be read as a stand-alone. She creates wonderful characters and makes certain you know a little about past major events in their lives. That way the reader has a whole picture.

But this is the story of how Melanie got to be who she is today. I really enjoyed it. She endured a lot of trials, and each one affected her, created her fears, and built her strength.

There can be no question I want more McLaren series books, but I really enjoyed reading a bit about a character’s beginning and how she came to meet McLaren.

A quick read. Well done as are all the books in the series.




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Favorite Comfort Foods and Why

 I had to think and think on this one. Not because I couldn't think of anything...but because I couldn't narrow it down.

I think most of my comfort foods come from my childhood. Many I must admit are what I think of as "winter dishes".  Any recipes are listed below. I sure would like any ideas you have.

I love to cook so don't fix the same thing too often other than what you see below. 

I do think over the years, my "comfort foods" and my "easy to fix" foods have become intertwined :)

Beef stew - no question this was my mother's dish. She was better at using the pressure cooker than I could ever be. Now I use an Instant Pot so as not to blow anyone up.  The recipe I now make is called Latvian Stew and is from a site called The Book Club Cookbook 

Chinese vegetable stirfry  - I love the ability to create a stirfry from any fresh local veggies I might have. When it's winter, I use some fresh and some frozen. We don't usually eat meat in it, but I have cut up some link sausage in it and some chicken now and then. My husband can have very little salt, so that changes much of my cooking. My recipe is below*

Green beans with ham and potatoes and cornbread - still one of my favorite dishes. I mentioned my husband can't have much salt so all of the bacon and grease is gone, but I still sneak a few chopped up pieces of ham in for special occasions. This site is very close to my recipe except for no bacon and no salt. https://wellfedbaker.com/southern-green-beans-and-potatoes/#recipe 

Fried chicken when I was a kid but never now, NEVER. And my reason might surprise you. Although we don't eat any fried foods per se, I do love fried chicken, but the mess, oh the mess. How did my working mother clean up all that grease weekend after weekend? 

https://www.africanbites.com/southern-fried-chicken/  This site has a wonderful recipe but oh my, can you imagine the clean-up 😩😩

Fresh salad - I think I love this sort of thing because of the creativity and possibilities involved. It's rather like a stirfry. I can use any of the local veggies I can find. I can use fruit. I can make all kinds of toppings. Something different every time. I didn't paste in my recipe. I think you'll see I use everything I can think of. Salmon, chicken, shrimp, even sometimes warmed up pulled pork, it's probably our favorite.

    

*Easy Stir Fry:

Use any or all of the following washed and cut in bite-sized pieces:

red bell pepper

yellow bell pepper

zucchini

yellow squash

mushrooms, button of any kind

carrot, cleaned and peeled

i or 2 cups of baby spinach

green onion

Sesame seeds, can’t use in our house

Hoisin Sauce (bottled)

Vegetable broth, no salt added

2-3 cups instant rice (cooked)

Rotisserie chicken torn into pieces (optional)

 

Add 2T of broth to the skillet.

Add peppers first as they will take the longest to soften

Use peeler to shred more carrots over pan.

Add squash and Zucchini after peppers and carrot curls

Add mushrooms

Add more broth as needed (we like our saucy so I add as I go along)

Mix in baby spinach (only needs a few minutes to wilt)

Add torn pieces of chicken if desired. 

Cover only long enough for the chicken to warm.

Add 2 to 3 T of hoisin sauce

Stir all

Put rice in warmed bowls and top with veggie mix.

Life In Rotations

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Farid Yaghini will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

The Bipolar Code

 

 

A Memoir of Unraveling, Navigating, and Empowering the Bipolar Mind

Personal Memoirs, Mental Health, Non Fiction

Date Published: March 25, 2025

Publisher: Elite Online Publishing

The Business of Medicine

 

The Definitive Guide to Help New Physicians Start Their Career on the Right Path and Avoid Costly Mistakes

Non-Fiction (Medical, Memoir)

Date Published: March 18, 2025

Publisher: Elite Online Publishing

Mean Cuisine

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Wendy will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Beluga Stein is taking a cooking class and it's a real killer. This time she's traded her signature loud muumuus for ill-fitting chef attire, including a toque the size of her ego.

Shooting Stars Above

 

Patricia Leavy is giving away copies of SHOOTING STARS ABOVE, her upcoming romance from She Writes Press. How to get yours? It's easy... just complete the Rafflecopter below and you'll receive one from the author!

My Favorite Blogs - WWBC

 Join this and Blog every Wednesday on a fun subject. 

Sign up Here: https://www.longandshortreviews.com/

I use the Internet so much I don't know if I can name a specific blog. I also know every blog I look at has to be taken with a grain of salt. That sure doesn't keep me from going to a few over and over so that's what I'll tell you about.

1st up...

Eating Well

No question that I visit here once a day. Not really vegetarian but lots of veggie recipes as well as health hints. This is a colorful blog. Simple recipes and healthy ideas. One of the few that I actually read the newsletter.

The Punctuation Guide

Since I write reviews and edit, I spend a lot of time researching punctuation. The rules seem to change overnight (or maybe I'm just old:) .

This is a rather nice site because you can look up by the particular punctuation, i.e., comma, apostrophe, etc. It also gives a lot of good suggestions. 

The Kitchn

Once again, another cooking blog. But...I like to cook and I also try to vary most of my meals. I don't just like to cook. I really enjoy learning about food and the science of it as well as the history. So this one has a little of all that.

Finally...I use two sites more than any others.

I use Library of Congress to see what subject headings they have given a book plus other pertinent info about it.

and...I just have to admit it...

I use Amazon, not just to buy something but to compare pricing. I even use it for groceries. Sometimes it is just to discover if something exists and then research it other places. Nonetheless it is my go to for things like that. (I'm so embarrassed). Well, not really. It's a good tool.

OK, 'fess up. What do you use? I'll take any suggestions but would love other book sites.

The Adventures of the Unicorn Poo

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Reice Godfrey will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Spoons - Book Tour

 

 Children’s, Self-Help, Grief, Loss, Illustrated

Shot Through the Book

 

Shot Through the Book by Eva Gates
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I just couldn't get through this. I loved the idea of the lighthouse library, a library cat, and a few of the characters. Still, it seemed like I picked it up, read a few pages, and put it down again and again. 

I have thought on trying to explain why I didn't enjoy this. It was slow or at least that was what I decided. At one point I realized I had read quite far, and we were still trying to find someone to fill in for the famous author who died. Just not for me, I suppose.

Bad Order

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Mike Elliott will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

This is the incredible true story of railroad worker and union official Mike Elliott, targeted by his railroad employer, BNSF Railway Company, for his safety-related activities. As the union's state legislative board chair, Elliott was the top safety official in the state, and the voice for over 900 rank & file locomotive engineers operating trains around the clock, every day of the year.

The 21st Minute - Book Tour

 

Self-Help

Date Published: November 20, 2024

Publisher: MindStir Media

What Character Would I Like To Meet?

   Long and Short Reviews

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge

Characters I want To Meet  (3/12/25)

I wondered for a while if this meant fictionary characters or a few of those people in life that just seem to be a character :)  So…I took this as a little bit of both.

Ubermensch

 

Historical Fiction

Published: 1/15/2025

 A murdered boy. Tortoiseshell eyeglasses. A letter written by a young man to another that reads like a lover's spat. One portable Underwood typewriter. Two confessions.

Will Babe and Manny live or die?

Barracuda Bay

  

She's the first female police detective in Acapulco.

Little Blue

 

New York musician Jude Rossi's world is shattered when his 14-year-old daughter, Little Blue—a rising star in the music scene—dies unexpectedly at her record deal party.

Though the coroner’s report lists “overdose,” Jude knows that his daughter’s disdain for drugs means there’s something far more sinister at play. With no means to investigate, he spirals into a dark abyss of grief, turning his back on his once-thriving music career.

A Killer Whisky

The 1918 influenza pandemic strikes Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The Great War rages overseas. While her husband fights in Europe, Katharine works in a doctor’s office to support her children and her brother, a wounded veteran. One night their neighbour suddenly takes sick and dies. The attending doctor concludes the man died from influenza, but Katharine suspects someone laced his whisky with a drug that mimics the deadly flu’s symptoms.

Katharine convinces the police to investigate. Worried about her brother’s involvement with a suspect, she delves into his secrets and comes to fear he’s connected to the murder. She grows disturbingly attracted to the investigating detective who returns her affections. He’s convinced her brother or someone else close to her is a killer and risks his career to pursue the crime. Katharine must discover the truth so she can move forward in a world that has changed forever.

A Book I'm Nervous To Read and Why

  Long and Short Reviews

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge

I had a very hard time with this weeks WWBC.

Who ever had a book they were nervous about? I've never thought about it.

Spoons

 

 

Children’s, Self-Help, Grief, Loss, Illustrated

Doing Good & Doing Well

 

 Nonfiction / Leadership

Date Published: 12/24/23

 INSPIRING HELPING PROFESSIONALS TO BECOME LEADERS IN THEIR ORGANIZATIONS