Seavey’s problem – Craig Medred

Today's selection -- from The Mexican Wars for Independence by Timothy J. Henderson. When Christopher Columbus stumbled upon the New World in 1492, it vaulted Spain, already a significant power, to the upper tier of world powers. Then, much to Spain's delight, that discovery led to the further discovery of stupendous, almost incomprehensible amounts of […]

Today's selection -- from The Bonanza King by Gregory Crouch. Irish immigrant John Mackay (1831-1902) came to America as a child and worked his way up from desperate poverty to become one of the wealthiest and most respected men in the world: "Although the California observer who classified the Washoe [mining town] popula­tionof late 1861 […]

For today, 10/21, only, this book is free on Kindle. I took what we did in Special Operations and built templates that anyone can use for themselves or their organization. Special Operations Forces are the most elite and flexible units in the world. Green Berets, Navy SEALs, Rangers, Nightstalkers, Special Operations Wing: these are the […]

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 […]

The day I was visited by a ghost, and why I'm telling her story. Continue reading

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

on Career Authors: Recently, a writer named Heather Demetrios wrote a blog called How To Lose A Third Of A Million Dollars Without Really Trying, about, well, the title says it all. Basically, she recounts the story of her getting two six-figure deals for her books, only to lose all the money because she didn’t […]

Originally posted on bluebird of bitterness: “It has long been known…” I didn’t look up the original reference “A definite trend is evident…” These data are practically meaningless “While it has not been possible to provide definitive answers to the questions…” An unsuccessful experiment, but I still hope to get it published “Three of the samples were chosen…

biggest cow I ever met.   — “this was more than just a cow – this was an entire career I was looking at.” *gary larson – the far side *(word has it that gary may be considering bringing back my favorite comic of all time)             — nixon farm, […]

For the rest of the year, I’m going to be revisiting characters from Legends of Windemere to help newcomers know more about that series.  The first book is free, so feel free to give it a shot.  Of course, I had … Continue reading →

Some organs play a major role in our survival and others can be removed without impacting our general health in any significant way. As we have evolved so an organ’s function may have changed to accommodate our modern environment, especially … Continue reading →

“It has long been known…” I didn’t look up the original reference “A definite trend is evident…” These data are practically meaningless “While it has not been possible to provide definitive answers to the questions…” An unsuccessful experiment, but I still hope to get it published “Three of the samples were chosen for a detailed study…” The other results […]

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 […]

As in I moved, met no boat traffic until it was to help me through the locks, got through the … More

Sunshine on a rainy day. Or perhaps it’s rainshine on a sunny(ish) morning? It’s been a funny old week. In … More

The following quotation inspired today's short post.Much of the negativity that infects people is a result of habitual patterns of behavior which result from patterns of thought.After all, thought comes first, then behavior. People spend too much time finding other people to blame, too much energy finding excuses for not being what they are capable […]

Yes, it's sale time.From now until Saturday, Oct. 19 at midnight, ROMEO and JUDY ANNE is on sale for only 99 cents.As a farewell to summer, I'm having a sale on ROMEO and JUDY ANNE, a steamy romance set in the hot, humid Texas summer.Normally priced at $3.99, this romance is reduced to 99 cents […]

********* 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.

Resist and Reveal (The Wicked Ways Duet) by K. Bromberg Resist: Narrated by Erin Mallon and Jason Clarke, Reveal Narrated by Samantha Brentmoor and Jason Clarke Contemporary Romance Duet When I saw that K. Bromberg had a new book coming out and the Audio was in KU, I couldn’t grab it fast enough. I didn’t […]

Going home for Christmas often brings as many dilemmas as it does joy and in my latest release ~ Finn’s Christmas Dilemma ~ my character faces a father who threw him out of the house and a woman he thought he had lost. Even after being featured on TV and hailed as a sex symbol […]

In our culture it’s easy to pack up pounds and indulge into eating calorie-dense food. Our body wasn’t designed to overeat high-fat, processed food. While we sit in front of the computer or TV, our body simply converts all this high calorie food into billion of fat cells. Over the years, I tried every diet […]

With the cost of a new Apple iPhone costing as much if not more than rent or a monthly mortgage payment, most people prefer to make payments on a new iPhone instead of fork over the full amount at once. If you are fortunate to be able to afford to pay full price all at […]

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

It’s Monday What Are You Reading? is a weekly reading roundup is hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. This is technically a weekly meme but I don’t read fast enough to make that worthwhile so I generally post it every two or three weeks but sometimes more often depending on how many books I’ve […]

Bake-outs are a frequent topic of discussion on Toxic Free Q&A.  Many people have reported success reducing odors from off-gassing building materials and household items using the bake-out method.   After reviewing available research, I believe the risks outweigh the potential benefits. A bake-out is a method of heating rooms to make chemicals from paints, finishes, […]

Question from Deborah I’m looking for advice on a few toxic free items such as blackout shades and curtains and couches. My husband died from leukemia so I’m very concerned about toxins in the home. I’ve searched but have been unable to find zero VOC blackout shades and curtains.   Lisa’s Answer If you are looking […]

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 […]

Oct 19Saturday.After saying goodbye to Martha as she boarded a Lyft ride into Las Vegas, I made my way out of the city via CR 215 to I-15.Heading NE, I drove to a BLM site near Parowan Gap, about 19 miles off of I-15 from the town of Parowan. Nice little site, had it all to […]

As we sipped our coffee in the pre-dawn hours, in preparation for a ride to Page, AZ's airport.  Martha got a text from the airline she was taking to Las Vegas at 8:30.  Flight cancelled, mechanical issues!She was a bit upset but calmed down when we agreed that I'd drive the URRV to Las Vegas […]

As I stumbled in the snow, trying to find my way back to the car, I chanced upon a large male deer with a beautiful rack of antlers. He appeared first as a specter in the snow, and I was … Continue reading →

* Shaped by wind and time Fantasies in living stone Haunting memory *