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Getting into the holiday season? Elijah Moon is. THANK YOU to everyone who stops by to read my posts! I’m honored. Herewith is a new group of followers, very eclectic. Check out Rob Goldstein – his post is most unusual and very heart-wrenching in many respects. https://simpleula.com/ Ula is a 28-year-old Polish girl, currently living in Canada and doing her very best to live life to the fullest.  She has a Masters in Education and has finished “Styling & Image-Making” and also “Personal Image & Beauty Expert” courses. She posts on food, style, beauty, health, and she has TONS of followers. I personally liked the post on how to buy diamonds on line! mystijl Found this: http://mystijl.com/blog. An e-zine about health, beauty, travel. Nikhil Shedbale at https://travelsofaawara.wordpress.com/ is an explorer and adventure traveler, a civil engineer, pursuing a Masters degree, a blogger and a mountain tamer. He believes once the travel bug bites, there is no known antidote. He has wonderful pictures of where he climbs/hikes in India along with his thoughts on life. https://angieecapptales.wordpress.com Angiee Capp blogs from Africa about friends, places and her thoughts. A very interesting look at another part of the world! https://jumissshop.com Jumi’s Shop is written by a husband and father of two girls who lives in South Korea. Since my daughter worked there teaching English for a year, we are intimately familiar with life there. His blog has wonderfully illustrated posts about the food and sights and culture of his country. His opening statement is great: “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” property210blog – another gravatar. Hope they check in! https://uniquelysimilarsite.wordpress.com Uniquely Similar is written by a 25 year old Irish girl living and working in Frankfurt, Germany. She loves travel, beauty, fashion and adventure and her blog is where she writes it all down. Her mission is to learn to love herself, which is why she decided to start a blog. She’d be thrilled if you came on this journey of self-discovery with her. She’s recently posted on Slovenia and also feeling good about yourself. I noticed D. Wallace Peach has commented on her posts! http://ceyhunozdemir.com/en/blew-down-and-passed is the blog of a young Turkish man (Ceyhun Ozdemir), very good-looking from his photo! Don’t worry, it’s in English! He blogs on all sorts of topics with beautiful photographs: minimalism, vanity, life is good, butterflies and my favorite “Does the One That Passes is Time or Is It Me Who Passes Through it?” https://flourishandblogs.wordpress.com/ is written by Kara. She is 24 years old and currently living in Ohio, loves music, writing, painting, reading, traveling, and pajamas. She really, really loves dogs and has a yorkie/maltese named Molly.  She also has an American Quarter Horse named is Sweetie, for all of you equine lovers out there.  Flourish and Blogs is very eclectic – covers topics such as politics, travel, depression, heartbreak and anxiety. The author of https://anisionogueira.wordpress.com/ – The Dark Side of the Moon – is Brazilian, but there is a translation button on his site, so you can read his posts. He posts about his way of seeing, speaking, listening and thinking about the world … if you want to come with him … I love the title of his blogs. One is “The Main Problem with Brazil is not Corruption but Stupidity.” Dolly at https://koolkosherkitchen.wordpress.com is actually Devorah Yentl, born communist Russia. It wasn’t easy to keep kosher in communist Russia at the time. You couldn’t go to a kosher store and buy anything, with a Hecksher, the way it is in the US.  She is semi-retired, I love to cook kosher. Her recipes are different from traditional American Jewish food, transforming this-that-and the other into something delicious to grace her table. Her blog is dedicated to her children and to the memory of her father.  Check out her recipes from a Florentine omelet to a cranberry pizza. YUM. Rob Goldstein at https://robertmgoldstein.com/ is passionate about right of full access to health care for people with mental illnesses. He writes about his personal struggle to live with Dissociative Identity Disorder, which is neither rare nor imaginary.  He has alters, and I think it would be lovely if he could get more followers as a means of expanding his support. 0 0

Eclipse Lake is the latest book from popular author Mae Clair. To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of romance, but I enjoyed this book because the romance had a good dash of mystery thrown in. The story takes place mainly in the small town of Onyx, which lies on the edge of Eclipse Lake. As you might suspect, it has some dark secrets, and one of them is the troubled past of widower Dane Carlisle, owner of a successful security company. Dane left Onyx under a cloud fifteen years earlier and now wants to reconnect with his older brother Jonah, a park warden. He returns to Onyx with his adopted teenage son, Jesse, child of his wife. The reader is quickly ensnared in the enmity between Dane and his brother, who can’t forgive Dane for failing to return when their mother was dying.  Adding to the tension is Roy Harland, sheriff of Onyx and father of Brenda, who disappeared around the time Dane left Onyx.  Harland has always thought Dane has something to do with her disappearance. Romance rears its head with the arrival of Ellie Sullivan, world-traveling nature photographer, whose latest assignment brings her to Eclipse Lake. Her first encounter with Dane is contentious, but as things go, she finds herself overwhelmingly attracted to him. Jesse also finds puppy love with Paige Taggert, daughter of the town’s deputy and quickly becomes enmeshed in the lives of the teens of the town, all of whom are super nice. The mystery begins when a rain storm reveals the skeletal remains of the sheriff’s daughter, and Dane’s past comes back to haunt him. The story made me think of Lake Wobegon, “where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.” Dane is the strikingly handsome, super-rich, clean-as-a-whistle man, Ellie is the beautiful young woman, and Jesse alternates between mature, rationale adult and whining teenager. I know this is the traditional format for a romance but the characters are a little too good to be true. The sheriff, who brings the real tension to the story, is one dimensional. What does ring honestly is the relationship between the brothers, once close, now bitter. The resentment of Jonah comes through loud and clear, as the various facets of their lives are shown to be complicated by the past. This is a fairly squeaky-clean romance with an unexpected ending to the mystery of the who killed Brenda Harland. This saved the book for me, the non-romance reader.  It’s well-written and -plotted, which are the hallmarks of the author and undoubtedly why she has so many ardent followers. I would have to recommend this book to any die-hard romantics. I reviewed this book for Rosie’s Book Review Team and purchased it for review. About the author Mae Clair is an author who writes mysteries and suspense, often with a dash or more of romance. Her father was an artist who tinkered with writing and encouraged her to create make-believe worlds by spinning tales of far-off places on summer nights beneath the stars. Mae loves creating character-driven fiction in settings that vary from contemporary to mythical. Married to her high school sweetheart, she lives in Pennsylvania and is passionate about folklore, old photographs, a good Maine lobster tail, and cats. You can find her On Twitter: ‎@MaeClair1 On her web site: https://maeclair.net/tag/books/ On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maeclairauthor/?fref=ts And Eclipse Lake on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Eclipse-Lake-Mae-Clair-ebook/dp/B00L78GM60 0 0

Shreya at https://shreyasharmasite.wordpress.com – The Mysterious Soul – blogs thoughts, poetry, short stories and memes. This blog is very entertaining! I learned a new word – abibiloiphobia – the fear of running out of reading material – something all of us could get. The gravatar Wallopex is the author of ttps://olaitanlekan.wordpress.com/ I found him! He ( or she?) blogs about politics, how the brain works (wish it did for politicians!), Beyonce and JZ, and current events. https://michaeladesiree.com is the blog of 20-year-old Michaela Desiree Knight. She was married two years ago and moved to northern Carolina with her husband. She loves fashion, yoga, exploring and cats! Michaela is a gorgeous young woman who blogs about fashion and models the clothes!  She has a great sense of high style. toreducate  is someone from Nigeria.  Wish I could find them! Zortura at https://zortura.wordpress.com has a blog with information on lifestyle, entertainment, book reviews, motivational write-ups, stories on life experiences, fitness and exercise, diets and more. A recent post was on What’s Your Elf Name. According to my real name and birth month, mine is Buddy Sugar Socks! Adrienne at http://huntingtonsmom.com/about is a mother of two, newly diagnosed with Huntington’s disease. This disease is inherited disease and causes the progressive breakdown (degeneration) of nerve cells in the brain, impacting movement and cognitive functions. Most people with Huntington’s disease develop signs and symptoms in their 30s or 40s. Adrienne has no intention of allowing her diagnosis to define her or change her dreams. This is a woman of great courage, and I strong recommend that you visit her blog which talks about the good, the bad and the ugly of living with this disease, and give her your support. Patricia Perol  at https://patriciaperol.wordpress.com is a Phillipino blogger. I can’t read her language but Google will translate for you! One of her latest posts is on bullying and is a good one. Jerlyn at https://jerlynfoodfanatic.wordpress.com/ blogs about food in her corner of the world (India, Turkey), reviewing restaurants complete with mouth-watering photos of the food. I dare you to visit her blog without salivating. rainerwolan – This is just a gravatar and I couldn’t locate the owner’s blog. If you are Rainer Wolan, let me know! isabellathefifth – is another gravatar and  whose blog I couldn’t locate. If you are Isabella the Fifth, let me know! The author of https://sierratkhealth.wordpress.com is another novice blogger, who writes about her life, illustrated with beautiful photographs.  I hope my introduction will give her some new followers. Yusra, the author of https://mylifeasyusi.wordpress.com/, is a 19 year old medical student who just began her blog last month. She sounds like a typical 19 year old with interests in selfies, clothes and makeup, but clearly with a serious bent if she’s in medical school. Other YAs out there interested? 0 0

How was your Thanksgiving holiday? Ours was busy – a sumptuous meal with ten dishes (just ask if you are curious) and friends and family. And help cleaning up! On Friday, a beautiful fall day with a temperature around 70o, we headed off to the huge Duke-University of North Carolina football game. Here is the Marching Tar Heel Band coming out onto the field before the game, then spelling out the words “Tar Heel” facing the far stands. At the end of the first quarter I could feel a migraine headache coming on, so I hiked back to our car (a good mile uphill) to take a nap, leaving Hubs and my daughter and son-in-law to enjoy the loss 🙁 ! On the way I spotted some really nice fall color And then had a lovely nap in the car with the windows down, a light cool breeze, and the patter of leaves falling on the roof. Yesterday we drove to Winston-Salem to see my brother perform (first tenor) with the Winston-Salem Symphony Chorale, the Winston-Salem symphony (a really top notch group) and the Crique de la Symphony in a Christmas concert. The Winston-Salem Symphony Chorale consists of nearly 120 auditioned volunteer singers, and performs with the Symphony  large choral masterpieces including Haydn’s Creation, Orff’s Carmina Burana, and the Requiem masses of Mozart, Brahms, and Verdi, and smaller-scale works such as Bach’s St. John Passion and an annual production of Handel’s Messiah. Cirque de la Symphonie is a new production, adaptation of artistic performances to symphony music featuring veterans of exceptional cirque programs throughout the world—aerial flyers, acrobats, contortionists, dancers, jugglers, etc. Each artist’s performance is professionally choreographed in collaboration with the symphony director. It was a spectacular concert with lots of Christmas music, astonishing choreographied acrobatics, a carol singalong, and a guest vocalist – Jodi Burns – a soprano classically trained at UNC. Her rendition of Oh Holy NIght gave us goosebumps. Hope your holiday was as lovely as ours. And for those of you wondering if my Christmas camellias are blooming – they’ve started: 0 0

Regicide begins with a description of a historical event: King William of England, known as William Rufus (1087-1100) died after being struck by an arrow while he was hunting in Normandy, shot by a person unknown. His younger brother Henry succeeded him with such great haste that murder was suspected, but never proven. The real story commences in 1119, when Hilary (a person who did exist), a traveling teacher, sometime poet and clerk in Holy Orders, is let go from his position as a tutor to the daughter of the Lord of Beaugency, after she dies of St. Anthony’s fire (ergot poisoning, common in France and Germany at the time). Taken by cart with his books and papers to the Loire River, from where he could go by boat to Orleans in search of a new position, he spends the night at a riverside inn. There he meets John of Muchelney who buys the impoverished young man his dinner and afterwards plays dice with him. When Hilary loses, his debt is discharged by his obligation to take a bulky pouch to Count Fulk of Anjou. The next morning, Hilary finds John horribly murdered and fearing himself in danger, eschews the boat and quickly begins the many days’ walk to Orleans and then Chartres. Still feeling himself followed, he goes on to Paris to consult with his old tutor and Master, Peter Abelard, in the hopes of some direction as to what to do. When he and Abelard read the contents of the pouch entrusted to Hilary, they realize that it is part of a conspiracy to overthrow King Henry, a message about who benefitted from the death of William Rufus, and about the Great Jewel of Alfred the Great, which had been missing since 1066.  Despite the fact the contents puts Hilary in the crosshairs of both sides of the debate, he nevertheless feels his vow to deliver its contents is unbreakable and Abelard decides to help Hilary fulfill his promise. The author weaves many historical characters in and out of this story – Heloise, Fulk of Anjou, Walter Tirel, Hugues de Payen – as our pair travels as far as Jerusalem in search of Fulk, then returns with the rejected pouch contents to present to King Henry as a sign of goodwill. Death follows them, and the reader is treated to the Tower of London, along with a mass of other historical details. The story reminded me no small amount of the adventures of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Peter Abelard is the philosopher, deep thinker, orator and teacher, while Hilary, his student, is the grounding and querying sidekick. I loved the history around which this novel is woven – that of the Anglo-Saxons – and I found the detail captivating. However, because of this detail, the book must be read slowly to absorb everything and I found myself doing some online searching of the history. It also varies from slow and ponderous exposition to scenes filled with action and tension. Luckily there was enough of the latter to keep me going! If you like historical fiction and an alternative and intriguing story of an ages-old mystery, and you don’t mind the occasional slow pace, then Regicide is a book for you. This review is offered as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team. I purchased this book for review. About the Author David Boyle is a British author and journalist who writes mainly about history and new ideas in economics, money, business and culture. He lives the South Downs, in Sussex, and writes in a small green hut at the end of his garden. He has found that history now absorbs him the most, from Richard the Lionheart to Enigma and a great deal in between. He tries to recapture some of the spirit, even the magic, of the past in his books Alan Turing: Unlocking the Enigma, Before Enigma, Operation Primrose, Rupert Brooke: England’s Last Patriot, Peace on Earth: The Christmas Truce of 1914, Jerusalem: England’s National Anthem, Unheard Unseen: Warfare in the Dardanelles, Towards the Setting Sun: The Race for America and The Age to Come. You can find David Boyle on twitter @davidboyle1958 and on his website: http://www.david-boyle.co.uk/ Regicide can be found on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Regicide-Peter-Abelard-Great-Jewel-ebook/dp/B01IPCCKJ8 0 0

James Osborne recently posted on the origin of Winnie-the-Pooh. This story is so charming I am re-blogging it here so more people can enjoy it. Winnie-the-Pooh: The Forgotten Connection Special thanks to CBC Radio for an interview that resurrected this little known story about the origins of Winnie-the-Pooh. Here’s a summary. Winnie-the-Pooh was born in Canada! Well, sort of. It all began in 1914. The First World War was underway in Europe. The Canadian Army was in desperate need of trained personnel to care for the thousands of horses used by the cavalry. A young veterinarian in Winnipeg heeded the call. Harry Colebourn soon found himself on a train with scores of other young men destined for the army base in Val Cartier, Quebec. A few hours into their journey the train stopped in White River, Ont., to take on water and coal for the steam engine. Like many other soldiers, Harry stepped off the train to stretch his legs. Standing beside the tracks was a man who turned out to be a trapper. He was holding a tiny black bear cub, only a few days old. He had trapped and killed its mother. Harry loved animals of every kind. He offered the trapper $20 for the cub. That was a handsome amount in 1914. They made a deal. Read the rest at: Winnie-the-Pooh: The Forgotten Connection 0 0

My list is long, have patience! https://monstamind17.wordpress.com/ is the blog of Jeff Chamberlain, who likes to help others through community work, blog on different topics (mainly on You Tube!), and is into coffee and energy drinks (coffee, yum). In one post on You Tube entitled ‘he is cold in these bushes,’ he talks to a homeless man who lives outside in the bushes. Wow.   https://rocworld.wordpress.com/2016/ is the blog of Apata Olusola Emmanuel, a Christian, a creative writer and blogger, a copywriter (freelancer), who loves writing about anything he sees adding value to life and destiny. His pastime includes reading, studying, searching and researching. https://tinkbug78.wordpress.com/author/tinkbug78/ has had a tough time, living with anxiety and panic attacks. She has two daughters who give her reason to keep going and her message is stay strong, stay brave, keep trying and never give up. You might want to stop by and offer her some encouragement and support. Sam Burgess at https://thedrawingwriter.wordpress.com/home/  is the drawing writer who creates  short stories, long stories, poems, drawings, comic stories, and photography. And he illustrates! He is just starting out, so give his blog a look! Prateek at https://pkthebest.wordpress.com/about/ is seventeen and a student in Delhi, India, who has just completed school and at the start of his blog was preparing for the SAT. Hs name means ‘symbol,’ and he wants to be a symbol for inspiration and motivation. He likes to travel and admires Bear Grylls and likes sports. Drop by and give him encouragement! https://bookloverwrites.com/ Trisha Ann is 24 years old, a stay at home Mom with three girls, a reader, a writer, a lover of yoga and the outdoors. She reviews books and is currently deeply into NaNoWriMo! https://vivianparkinderosa.wordpress.com/  Vivian Parkin Derosa blogs at Writing with Style on writing, fashion, and literary life. She is a teenager who has finished her first book, writing literary fiction that has adult main characters. She also likes writing short stories, blog posts, poetry, and performing spoken word. Kourtney at  klbradleyreviews  is a 23-year- old mother and a full-time accounting manager for a real estate/trucking company. She’s also a part time book reviewer for Onlinebookclub.org, so you’ll see most of her reviews on her blog. She sounds like someone we authors should get to know! I found her on Goodreads and hope to get a blog site soon. Bryde Enoh at https://brydeenoh.wordpress.com was born in 1997 in Cameroon. He is a college student whose main aim is to bring information to people and you will find his blog wonderfully eclectic and interesting. https://decorumcurva.wordpress.com is a collection of amateur and professional photographs featuring curvy women of many shapes and sizes modeling an assortment of clothing fashion; makeup and hair styles. I would call this just short of X-rated, though. Marjo Dice Degoro blogs at https://sikwate.wordpress.com about mountaineering, camping, backpacking, people and their stories, food, prose and poetry– it’s his journal and he welcomes you to join him. Purva at A Daily Stroll (https://sudershana.wordpress.com) is a university student pursuing a degree in English literature. Her interests range from dramatics to dance to debate. She blogs because she likes writing and sharing her thoughts. 0 0

This is in response to Sue Vincent’s photo prompt for this week: https://scvincent.com/2016/11/10/thursday-photo-prompt-secrets-writephoto/ Sister Alys had been kneeling on the stone floor of the church for hours, at one point prostrating herself on the floor. She prayed for salvation, knowing nothing would save her in this world. She had joined the convent when it became apparent that no man would have her as wife, and her family could no longer provide food for all the mouths around the table. Surprisingly, she had come to love her life as a nun. Her job was to work in the fields, something she had done since she was toddler, following behind her mother, father or one of her older siblings. Even as a nun, the changing seasons, the wildlife, and the sun or rain on her face gave her the same sense of contentment she’d had as a child. Rising to pray at matins and prime was a welcome routine, and her fellow nuns were her family. The sun was shining brightly through the windows when she finally stood. Then she heard the clanking of armor, the thudding of hooves, and the imperious voice. “All of you, come out.” Sister Alys straightened her shoulders and walked to the door and her fate. 0 0

We went to a Steep Canyon Rangers concert last night and came away again convinced this is the premier bluegrass band in the country. We heard them last year and if anything, their music has gotten even better. The group formed in 2000 when Woody Platt (guitar), Graham Sharp (banjo) and Charles Humphrey (upright bass) were undergraduates at the University of North Carolina. Soon Mike Guggino (mandolin), a childhood friend of Platt’s, was asked to join.  Drummers and fiddlers have changed over the years. In 2004, Nicky Sanders approached the band for the position of full-time fiddle player and subsequently joined. Mike Ashworth has been the percussionist for some time and you will note in thee You Tube videos that he plays a box, which is a drum for bluegrass bands. Last year, Jerry Douglas joined them on the dobro, a type of acoustic guitar with steel resonating disks inside the body under the bridge. In 2001, the Rangers took first prize in Lyons, CO at the Rocky Grass Festival competition, an amazing accomplishment for one year in existence. The next year the band won Emerging Artist of the Year at the International Bluegrass Music Association Awards ceremony. Following the release of their fifth album in 2007, the band received two more IBMA nominations for Best Album and Gospel Performance of the Year and in 2010, Sanders’s fiddle tune “Mourning Dove” was nominated for IBMA Instrumental Song of the Year. In 2013, the Steep Canyon Rangers’ solo album Nobody Knows won a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album.  They are good, really good. In May 2009, Steep Canyon Rangers were asked by banjoist/comedian Steve Martin to perform with him (as a sextet) in a benefit concert, which was met with much acclaim. Martin subsequently asked the Rangers to accompany him on a “world bluegrass tour” taking the group to venues such as Carnegie Hall (New York), Royal Festival Hall (London) and the Wang Center in Boston. We are going to see Steve Martin and the SCR this spring and can’t wait. The SCR’s music is hand clapping and danceable and crosses genres from jazz to symphonic and Back. As individual musicians, the band members are superb but together they are much more. An interesting side item: the SCRs began their career playing at Linda’s,an infamous beer joint in downtown Chapel Hill. I used to go there in the 1980s with the first year medical classes after the Thursday afternoon labs. I usually joined them after I’d picked up my son – he came with me in a carrier on my back! Enjoy these pieces! And a version of Orange Blossom Special which features Steve Martin and the incredible fiddling of Nicky Sanders, who can make a fiddle talk! 0 0

Sing this to ‘Where Is Love?’ from Oliver!             Wheeeree is fall?             Will it ever come at all?             Are those leaves beneath the willow tree?             Is it time to wear a shawl? Forgive the last line. I ran out of creativity. Anyway, fall is here, but not as usual. These are two views from an upstairs window in my house. On the left, sort of fall color. On the right, still green. ; But, Christmas is coming! This is a picture of my Christmas camellia tree, with dozens of buds. Look for the little green balls. If they aren’t killed in a sudden freeze, they will become beautiful, feathery pink blossoms in December. 0 0