What countries do you want to visit?
I am German and Irish and a small percentage of Polish and other nationalities thrown in so I’d love to visit at least these countries.
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Daily Prompt 18 June Tuesday
Category: Uncategorized
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The lasagna was great!
It was my son Austin’s birthday 🎂 yesterday. Unfortunately I didn’t get out to buy the ingredients for his birthday meal yesterday because my stomach was bothering me. Today after running around doing errands we went to Walmart and picked up the stuff for his meal.
The Ultimate Lasagna Recipe
Recipe if you’re interested.
Book Summary of Sunshine Clinic: A Novel with Recipes
This is the stand-alone conclusion to a family saga that started with My Mother’s Kitchen and its sequel, Seeing Ceremony.
The main character in this story is a young woman named Thangam. When she was five years old, Thangam had a favorite yellow slicker, which she wore to school every day. One day, she while playing on the monkey bars, Thangam falls down and is helped up by a new boy she has never seen before. His eyes reminded her of blue skies over Mahagiri. The boy said she looked like a sunny-side-up egg and called her sunny. Thangam liked the nickname so much she asked her family and friends to call her by her new name. It turns out the boy who gave her the nickname is no other than the handsome Scotsman she would meet (and fall in love with) later in the book.
Sunny’s story begins as she returns home after a grueling few years of medical school. Instead of working in a big city hospital, she decides to settle down in her childhood home of Mahagiri. It is a hard decision because all her life, she has grown up in the shadow of her older sister Meena (the heroine of the previous two books) and her strong-willed mother, known locally as Little Mother.
She finds herself as a village doctor in the adjoining village and soon settles into her work. Her first case is a young girl who has epilepsy. Sunny interrupts the girl’s treatment (she was being beaten to drive out the demon causing the fits) and meets a local woman, Bhadra, who claims to be a spokesperson for the Goddess. With Bhadra’s help, Sunny is able to help many villagers. One such villager is a middle-aged woman who believes she is pregnant (it turns out it was actually a tumor, and Sunny, with Bhadra’s assistance, gets the woman to the hospital).
The book is filled with many such situations. Some are heartbreaking, such as the death of a young boy after being mauled by a jaguar.
In the secondary plot, Sunny meets handsome Scotsman Callum McPhearson while hiking with her dog Karu. She treats Callum for an infection, and they become friends. Sunny thinks she is falling in love with Callum and rushes to his estate to share her feelings but is surprised and hurt to find his ex-girlfriend, Ella. (Ella is wearing Callum’s shirt).
Sunny has no time to dwell on her feelings because her sister Meena is rushed to the hospital with pregnancy complications.
Callum is devastated when he finds out Sunny is not talking to him. He wants to explain that Ella was visiting without an invitation. Still, Sunny has no time for him because her housekeeper has been attacked. Her beloved dog Karu was injured in the attack by a deranged drug addict. Callum is the hero when he saves the housekeeper and the dog.
Callum’s housekeeper, Shanta, suggests he ask for Sunny’s hand in marriage—village style. This meant Callum had to offer Sunny a cow and propose to her in front of the entire village. Even though he felt ridiculous in a turban, Callum did what Shanta suggested. He was successful! This book’s laugh-out-loud ending, delicious food descriptions, and bonus recipes will make it
Publisher: Fleets Bay Press
Publish date: March 24, 2024
No. of pages: 315
Amazon Link (US Only): Amazon.com: Sunshine Clinic: A Novel with Recipes: 9798990251502: Klein, Meera Ekkanath: Books
EDITORIAL REVIEW: Readers’ Favorite Review:
Sunny doesn’t want to become the second daughter and live in her big sister’s shadow. Instead, she considers providing healthcare services to the people of her village. Subsequently, Sunny begins her practitioner duties and experiences the joy and pain of being a doctor. From losing people and being at the right place to save the sick to witnessing deplorable acts, her days as a doctor are filled with emotional situations and compelling stories. Sunny also finds herself forming a bond with a charming foreigner called Callum and receiving advice from Bhadra, a superstitious character who never stops talking about “the goddess.” Meera Ekkanath Klein’s Sunshine Clinic is a riveting tale about a doctor’s practice in a small village and the string of diverse medical cases she attends to as she seeks balance and explores the longing of the heart.
Meera’s story makes you feel warm and close to its characters from start to finish. The calm pace reflects the atmosphere of a small farming village. However, the serenity is sometimes interrupted by medical emergencies, which compel an eagerness to see the patients healed. Sunshine Clinic’s themes are quite magical and evocative, especially those of communal values, food, love, and the spiritual world. Some of these themes engender curiosity and suspense, like when Callum appears to have another girlfriend and when Bhadra predicts the future. Ultimately, Sunshine Clinic is a masterfully constructed story that’s perfect for reading relaxation. Readers will be captivated by its blend of charming characters, dire emergencies, and a sensational love story. If I see another book by Meera Ekkanath Klein, I will grab it without hesitation. I can’t wait to try the mouth-watering recipes at the end.
Author website: Meera Klein
AUTHOR BIO
Award-winning author, Meera Ekkanath Klein, deftly weaves her love of cooking and storytelling into irresistible tales. My Mother’s Kitchen: A novel with recipes (2014, Homebound Publications) and Seeing Ceremony: A Novel With Recipes (2020, Homebound Publications).
Seeing Ceremony was named Grand Prize Winner (3rd place) in Fiction, 2021 Indie Excellence Awards. The book was also selected as Best Second Novel, Indie Excellence Awards, 2021. It was named Best Romance Fiction by Feathered Quill Awards, 2021.
My Mother’s Kitchen has won numerous awards and was selected as a Winner in the 2015 International Book Awards in the Multi-Cultural Fiction category. The book was also selected as Finalist in the 2015 National Indie Excellence Book Awards and in 2015 Beverly Hills International Book Awards, both in the Multi-Cultural Fiction category.
A former newspaper reporter and columnist, Klein, honed her writing skills in a busy newsroom. She mastered the art of Indian cooking in her own mother’s kitchen in the beautiful Blue Mountains or Nilgiris of south India.
Her poetry, short stories and essays have been published in numerous online magazines, including Zibby Mag, The Ethel (The AARP online magazine), As/Us: Writers of the World and in Eternal Snow, an anthology put together by Nepalese poet Yuyutsu Sharma. She is a book reviewer for New York Journal of Books and an editor for FEMASIA magazine.
She has participated in the Authors on the Move fundraiser for the Sacramento Library Foundation and was featured on Capital Public Radio.
Contact the author
Thank you for stopping in today
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Daily Prompt 17 June Monday
What’s your favorite thing about yourself?
I have strong resilience. I also like to encourage people and make them feel good about themselves. Compassion towards people and my strong love of animals makes me happy.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The Housemaid is Watching by Freida McFadden
“You must be our new neighbors!” Mrs. Lowell gushes and waves across the picket fence. I clutch my daughter’s hand and smile back: but the second Mrs. Lowell sees my husband a strange expression crosses her face. In that moment I make a promise. We finally have a family home. My past is far, far behind us. And I’ll do anything to keep it that way…
I used to clean other people’s houses—now, I can’t believe this home is actually mine. The charming kitchen, the quiet cul-de-sac, the huge yard where my kids can play. My husband and I saved for years to give our children the life they deserve.
Even though I’m wary of our new neighbor Mrs. Lowell, when she invites us over for dinner it’s our chance to make friends. Her maid opens the door wearing a white apron, her hair in a tight bun. I know exactly what it’s like to be in her shoes. But her cold stare gives me chills…
The Lowells’ maid isn’t the only strange thing on our street. I’m sure I see a shadowy figure watching us. My husband leaves the house late at night. And when I meet a woman who lives across the way, her words chill me to the bone: Be careful of your neighbors.
Did I make a terrible mistake moving my family here?
I thought I’d left my darkest secrets behind. But could this quiet suburban street be the most dangerous place of all?
From New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Freida McFadden comes the next installment of the unbelievably twisty, tension-packed and globally bestselling Housemaid series. This book can be enjoyed as a standalone read: and once you start, it will have you up all night racing through the pages until the final explosive twist.
MY THOUGHTS
Having read the other Housemaid books in this series I knew I had to read this book. I was familiar with the author’s writing style and knew what to expect. NOT!!! With this author though you may have read her other books you never know what to expect.
Reading it in one day was what happened, and this book sure didn’t disappoint. I know it’s been said before but, in this case, it’s so true, once you start you won’t be able to put it down. I had a late night reading it, but I didn’t mind.
All of the characters have an important role and the more you read the more you’ll discover their role. This book really took me by surprise.
As you read you believe things to be a certain way but don’t settle in too comfortably because this book will take you on a joy ride you may not recover from.
A must read for fans of psychological thrillers!
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.
Buy link: https://geni.us/B0CK4YL5FMsocial
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
#1 New York Times, Amazon Charts, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Sunday Times, and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author Freida McFadden is a practicing physician specializing in brain injury who has penned multiple bestselling psychological thrillers and medical humor novels. Freida’s work has been selected as one of Amazon Editors’ best books of the year, she is the winner of the International Thriller Writers Award for best paperback, and she is a Goodreads Choice Award winner. Her novels have been translated into 40 languages.
Freida lives with her family and black cat in a centuries-old three-story home overlooking the ocean, with staircases that creak and moan with each step, and nobody could hear you if you scream. Unless you scream really loudly, maybe.
To hear Freida talk about herself more in the third person, check out her website freidamcfadden.com
Twitter: @Freida_McFadden
Instagram: @fmcfaddenauthor
Newsletter sign up: https://www.bookouture.com/freida-mcfadden/
Have a marvelous day. Thanks for stopping in.
Here in Pennsylvania, we are under a heat advisory today from 8 a.m. til 8 p.m. The temperature is forecast to hit 92 degrees, but the heat index values is set to hit 95 to 105. This is why I did my walking early today at 6:30 a.m. and I was still sweating before I was done. I was going to take today off from walking because of the heat but I slept in yesterday and didn’t get out there walking.
Today is my son Austin’s birthday and if you remember my son Luke had a birthday in May and he had me make him lasagna. Now Austin wants me to make him lasagna for his birthday meal today. I guess mama’s cooking is where it’s at.
I have a blog tour I’ll be posting for in a little bit and then we have to go out shopping for the ingredients for the lasagna. I’ll try to get some reading in today with my busy day.
Have a great day all!
Categories
Daily Prompt 16 June Sunday
How do you want to retire?
Do mothers ever actually retire? Though I don’t go out to a physical job I still have teenagers and twenty something adult children living at home. That should be your answer right there. Twenty something’s still living at home is so common nowadays with the cost of living.
Good morning. I hope you have a pleasant day. We are at 63 degrees in Pennsylvania and going up to 84 degrees. We are going to visit our son in Maryland today and his twin sons. They will be 6 months old in a few days. His wife will be at work. It’s a library day also and I have holds to pick up. Talked with my daughter yesterday who lives in Iowa, that’s always nice. Happy Father’s Day dads and dads to be. I hope you all have a great and relaxing day.
259 pages Kensington publisher April 25,2023 publish date
ABOUT THE BOOK
A smart, well-crafted mystery set in a charming Midwestern small town, where bookstore-cafe owner Krissy Hancock has a sideline in sleuthing—just right for fans of Leslie Meier, Cleo Coyle, and Carolyn Hart.
Bookstore-café owner Krissy Hancock is stepping out from behind the counter to take part in the first annual Pine Hills, Ohio, marathon. But with a killer close by, she may soon be running for her life . . .
It’s a brutally hot day in Pine Hills, and Krissy Hancock would love to be sitting in a shady spot and sipping her favorite iced coffee. Instead, she’s lacing up her sneakers for a marathon—and swiftly regretting it. Especially when she finds one of the other runners lying motionless. At first Krissy suspects heatstroke, but the red marks around the man’s throat tell a more sinister story.
The victim, it turns out, had brewed up all kinds of enemies thanks to his cheating ways—both romantic and financial. Krissy’s not keen to get involved, but her friend Rita’s boyfriend, Johan, seems to be mixed up in the mayhem. For Rita’s sake, Krissy wants to help filter out the real killer. But can she do it before another Pine Hills resident gets permanently iced?
MY THOUGHTS
I’ve really gotten into cozy mysteries over the past few years and have started a few series and this is one of them. I enjoy cozies that have cats in them and have a coffee shop as the main area it takes place. Co-Owner Krissy Hancock, of Death by Coffee, a coffee shop in Pine Hills, Ohio has given up slogging joe for the day and entered a marathon raising money for a good cause.
Not sure I understand why the race was run during an ungodly heatwave and Krissy Hancock hadn’t trained for this race or gotten into shape for it. The race proved too much for her and she almost fainted from the heat and was couch bound after the race.
During the race a body was found, heatstroke is suspected but upon inspection it’s determined not to be the case. I do enjoy the cozies, but they can be a bit predictable as many are very similar. It surprises me how many people will just talk to the amateur sleuth and how much they’ll tell them.
Lots of clues presented and the victim did not have the best character so many people could have had reason to want the victim out of the way.
Enjoyed this and I’ll be reading more in the series.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.
Thanks for stopping in today. Do you prefer hot coffee or iced coffee if you drink it? My choice is iced coffee.
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Daily Prompt 15 Saturday June
What’s the oldest thing you own that you still use daily?
The oldest thing used daily by our family is our loft in our house. It used to be a smoke house/drying area attached to the house and the rest of the house burnt down and was rebuilt . The smoke house/drying area was built in the 1700’s and the rest was rebuilt in the 1870’s.
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