907 Updates December 28, 2016

Today's selection -- from President McKinley by Robert W. Merry. In both 1868 and 1895, many decades before Fidel Castro, rebels in Cuba rose up against its government: "Cuba was threatened by an insurgency that began in February 1895 with the aim of ripping this 'ever faithful isle,' as it was called in Madrid, from […]

Today's selection -- from The League by John Eisenberg. In 1930, the New York Giants, part of the new and struggling National Football League, played the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, a far more popular college football team: "In the early 1930s, college football remained significantly more popular than the pro game. And no team […]

We got our code word to conduct our war time assigned mission? We ran lots of training exercises in Special Forces. I don’t believe we were ever alerted at 9:00 AM on a Monday. It was usually odd hours on odds days. Occasionally the alert was real: something that had to be done. But we […]

Many people consider the two the same, but I don’t. One is inward oriented, the other outward. At West Point we had to memorize quite a bit of ‘trivia’ otherwise known as Plebe Poop, which is self-explanatory. One bothered me a lot: In 60 major battles of the Civil War, West Pointers commanded both sides […]

Have you ever suffered from blogging anxiety? Meet guest blogger Samantha Smith, who reveals why she almost gave up blogging, and what she did to get herself back on the right tracks.Continue reading

Why you should ensure you never make this mistake when leaving your first comment on a blog post.Continue reading

What do people say about your editing and proofreading business when you’re not in the room? Whatever it is, that’s your brand. Here’s what happens when you show who you are by talking about the problems you solve for others. You’ve got work coming in but your analytics make you wonder whether you should be […]

Originally posted on bluebird of bitterness: bluebird of bitterness View original post

flying high at our class circus.   — “as one, they leap, laughing, and that is where we leave them – mouths open, arms spread wide, fingers splayed to take in the whole world, bodies flying high in defiance of gravity,  as if they will never fall.” – libba bray

Here’s another one from The Life & Times of Ichabod Brooks.  I’m finding it difficult to locate the older teasers, so they might all be new.  This is a part from Ichabod Brooks & the Vixen of Errenshar.  I’m going to let the … Continue reading →

In this series we look at cooking and your diet from a different perspective. Usually we emphasize the health benefits of food and how they can be incorporated into your diet. But, what happens if you do NOT include them … Continue reading →

True story…Once when my mother was hospitalized, my three sisters and I all showed up at her home to give our help, support, and love. Of course we didn’t mind, but we lived in different states and it had been a while since we had all been together. We took advantage of the situation as […]

Note: A lot of what I learned about Highly Sensitive People (aside from my own personal experience), came from Elaine N. Aron's book, The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You. If you want to learn more about the info that's not personal-experience-based, I highly recommend you check it out or […]

Someone please call me in late spring. Notable Bene – all photographs in this post are from previous winters, we’re … More

Doris? Fetch the binoculars, I do believe that they’re at it again. There are many, many things that no-one warns … More

I finished my work in progress so I'm having a glass of bubbly and chuckling at some funny things I fished out of My Archives.You could file this under So True. I don't know who came up with this, but the guy is a genius! Come forth so everyone can put your name on it.10 […]

Robert A. Heinlein once said: "You must write. You must finish what you write. You must refrain from rewriting except to editorial order. You must put it on the market until sold."Well, I finished what I was writing, and I really love it. I hope readers do too.I think maybe I should make a version […]

********* The Cape Peninsula and Western Cape region are absolutely breathtaking! I especially love the turquoise waters that are so typical for the Cape scenery. You can instantly recognize this region just by that color – that’s how special it is! A Road Trip Around the Cape Peninsula One of the most fun things to do […]

"Jacqueline Cochran was looking for WASP.  They told me I would have to be interviewed and they would contact me when they came to the Wichita area.  But I didn’t wait for that.  I went down to Houston for my interview, to speed things up.  And I think that’s one of the smartest things I […]

"My first flight was with a barnstormer at the age of five.  I loved it!  I also tried to 'fly' out of the barn loft with an umbrella.  This was less than successful..."  WASP Jean Terrell McCreery, 44-10 The indomitable Marguerite Jean Terrell Moreo McCreery has "...slipped the surly bonds of Earth. And danced the skies on […]

Welcome to the Minstral Show, the podcast that spotlights the very best music from around the world, made exclusively in the 21st century.Three awesome sets of music on Today’s episode of The Minstral Show including new music by Ivan & Alyosha, Mikal Cronin, Christopher Paul Stelling, Glen Hansard, and a collaboration between Markus Reuter & […]

Looking for a young adult romance series, published circa 1950-1965. Young women find love in various times and places: the Netherlands, roundheads and cavaliers in England, and more. Very innocent. I remember the phrase "throw the handkerchief" as a proposal.

Broken Knight by LJ Shen  Narrated by Savannah Peachwood, Jacob Morgan, CJ Bloom, and Christian Rummel 2nd in a Related Series. Can Stand Alone Angsty, Ugly Cry New Adult So many people have written raving reviews for Broken Knight by LJ Shen that despite my misgivings about reading a New Adult book again, I went […]

Celebrate The Heart of The Season With EIGHT BRAND-NEW, NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED CHRISTMAS STORIES From Nine New York Times & USA Today Bestselling, Award Winning Authors for just 99 cents!! Ranging from fun and flirty romantic comedy to poignant holiday romance, this collection of semi-sweet and steamy stories will have you crying one moment while […]

Recently I finished writing my 48th book and I went back to look at just how many words that I had written. When I counted up the numbers from my first drafts, it was over 3 MILLION words! Oh my! That’s not even counting the words written in edits, marketing, website, emails, and posting on […]

Did you know that tuition only makes up about 50% of the money you’ll spend in college? It can hard enough to save enough (or earn enough) money to pay for college. And once you’re there? Actually saving money as a college student is even more of a challenge. But don’t worry. All you need […]

Paint Stripper Buying Guide Paint strippers come in a variety of styles and formats.  When you need to get one for your projects it...

The Things I Liked This Week October 13, 2019 I started doing The Things I Liked This Week in June 2015 and it’s definitely become my favorite regular post. I love adding to my list throughout the week. Here are the things I liked this week: 1. Clipart This is impressive   2. This year’s […]

We often hear that some types of plastics are safer or less toxic than others, but what does that really mean? There are many guides available that categorize plastics according to their toxicity.  These guides can be misleading because most plastic consumer products have additives to enhance their functionality.  A single plastic product can contain dozens […]

Question from Larry Was wondering what your opinion on spandex,elastane,or etc in clothing. I’m in the middle of buying some clothing such as jeans and short most of it is organic cotton and organic wool.There is also some non organic cotton pieces as well but on most of them (shorts and pants mainly) they all seem to […]

In Florida, the fall garden is filled with “cool season” plants. Think brassicas and roots. We’re talking broccoli, Brussels, cabbage, kale, collards, cauliflower, carrots, beets, onions, garlic, to name a few. These plants do not like temperatures in the 80’s and above, so now is the perfect time to get them in the ground. They’ll […]

So I’m officially jealous of the Eustis High School hot pepper plant. I grow lots of peppers–hot, sweet and Hungarian–and my plants have NEVER grown larger than 18″ in height. Ever. Imagine my surprise when I visited the high school this week to discover this enormous pepper plant! I stopped. Blinked. And double-checked the fruit […]

Moisturizing, astringent, and stimulating to circulation, this all-natural undereye serum can be helpful for dark circles and puffy skin. The recipe was discovered within the pages of the Botanical Skin Care Recipe Book. Created as a companion to the Herbal Academy’s lovely Botanical Skin Care Course, the recipe book is also sold separately on their […]

Hi friends! If you’re a longtime reader you might maybe have thought “hey I wonder what’s up with SMSG this year?” Well … it’s like this – if The Ohio State University Buckeyes break 70 points and win their game, I’ll donate $10 to a non-profit charity. (This seemed like something that might happen a […]

Aurora Blazing by Jessie Mihalik (Consortium Rebellion #2) Science Fiction Romance published by Harper Voyager on October 1, 2019 To save her brother and protect her family’s future, a powerful princess must join forces with a dashing man from her past in this thrilling space adventure, the second novel in the Consortium Rebellion trilogy. As […]

Another sunny and warm day here in the Zion National Park.Today we gathered to drive over to the east end of the big tunnel within the park and go hike the Canyon Overlook Trail, which we thought was rated easy but was really rated moderate.Boy, was it moderate.  My ankle still hurts.  Still, not too […]

Monday, Oct 14, 2019After breakfast,  Richard and Bridget arrived from their campground in Virgin, UT to join Renee, CC aka John, Martha and I for some hiking within Zion Canyon.We boarded the shuttle bus (not too crowded or long a line) and rode to the furthest stop along the bus route: The Narrows.  We got […]

Originally posted on Lorie Schaefer: Another in the sometime series from “Annie Cooper’s Recipe Scrapbook.” The foods are all mentioned in my still-in-heavy-rewrite novel. Claire holds a tender spot in her heart for this recipe and for one particular member of the family it came from. Enjoy! Butternut Squash with Apples from the kitchen of Claire Jordan…

deep in the stillness there, priceless fortune is found without these riches Continue reading at A Wise Woman’s Journey

* Brief flash of beauty On the borders of each day Mindful horizon *