Music Monday - "Free Man in Paris" by Joni Mitchell (1974)

Last week, Joni Mitchell was in the news.  She was found unconscious and hospitalized. Thankfully, it appears she is getting better.  I have been thinking about her music.  Her 1974 album Court and Spark is one of my all time favorite albums, and very much part of the soundtrack of my life.  A song from that album, "Free Man in Paris," has been stuck in head ... so it is a natural choice for Music Monday this week.  Get well, Joni!

A Vintage Easter Surprise: Fleck's Certified Easter Egg Colors, 1930's

What a fun surprise!  I had to share with you.   My best friend, who knows how much I love whimsical holiday ephemera, just brought me this packet of Fleck's Certified Easter Egg Colors.  From the design, I would date this as 1930's vintage.  The package is opened and does not contain colors.  What it does contain is lots of gorgeous transfers and paper designed to decorate Easter eggs.  I have a small vintage Easter collection, and I will treasure this.  I absolutely love the designs.  I scanned the front and back of the packet and just a few of the transfers inside to share with you.  I found it interesting that there were some comic strip and pop culture characters included, like Pluto (Disney) and Dagwood Bumstead.  Thought you might enjoy these pics as well!

 

Happy Easter!

Wishing you and yours a beautiful day!

Book Spotlight and Giveaway: Coming to Rosemont by Barbara Hinske

ON SALE for 99¢ March 29th - April 5th
Contemporary / Women's Fiction / Romantic Suspense
Date Published: February 18, 2013



Forensic accountant Maggie Martin survives the sudden death of her husband, the charismatic President of Windsor College, only to uncover the secrets of his carefully-concealed double life. Dealing with the financial and emotional wreckage left in Paul's wake, she is stunned to learn he inherited an estate known as Rosemont in the seemingly-serene Midwestern town of Westbury. Why had he never told her?

Maggie travels to Westbury for the stated purpose of listing Rosemont for immediate sale, but what she really seeks are answers to her all-consuming questions about her sham of a marriage; her sham of a life. She never anticipated the seductive charm of Rosemont. Throwing her trademark caution to the wind, and over the objections of her opinionated grown children, she pulls up stakes and moves halfway across the country, determined to make a fresh start in Westbury. Behind closed doors, however, lurks a cadre of evildoers, playing with multiple wild cards of fraud, embezzlement and arson.

With a quiet, orderly -- and distinctively solitary -- life in mind, Maggie is instead thrown headlong into a crusade against political corruption, where defeat and retreat are not an option. Still bearing the scars of betrayal, will she find joy, romance and possibility in Westbury?

This fast-paced, smart novel has enough twists and turns to make the reader want to buckle in!

Coming to Rosemont is the first book in the Rosemont series.



EXCERPT

From chapter 4

“Now,” Tonya said, “As you know, I have been calling for an independent audit of Westbury’s books.  At first, I simply thought this was a good practice.  I never dreamed that something could be wrong.  But the more I requested and pushed for one, the more the Mayor and the other Council Members balked and stalled and misdirected the conversation.”
“I grew up the oldest child in a large family,” she continued.  “I’ve heard plenty of wild excuses and tall tales in my time.  My mother always knew when one of us was lying, and I guess I’ve inherited her nose for nonsense.”  At this, a chuckle rippled through the crowd.  “I felt like I was back in my mother’s kitchen with my brothers when these guys were making excuses to avoid an audit,” she said.  “So I got my back up and decided that I was going to find out about the town’s finances one way or the other.  And at last week’s Town Council meeting I finally got my chance.  Mayor Wheeler left the bank statement out on the Council table in plain sight when we went to recess.”  Tonya paused for dramatic effect.  “So I spent my recess pouring through it.  Long story short, the general account is about half of what was reported in the treasurer’s report and the pension fund was short by almost forty percent,” she announced, as a gasp escaped from the crowd.
Side conversations started up all over the room.  Tonya raised her hands and gestured for quiet.  “At this point, I don’t have a good picture of where the money has gone.  I confronted the Mayor and Council when we resumed after recess.  They scolded me for looking at ‘confidential Town information’, as they called it, telling me that I didn’t understand what I was looking at.  ‘Well, enlighten me,’ I said.  Instead, they quickly adjourned the meeting.  I’ve been calling the Mayor and each of my fellow Council Members ever since and no one has been available to take my call.  And they’re not coming to their offices, either.”
“They’ve all gone to ground,” she continued.  “And you hunters in the crowd know what that means.  We have to drive them out of their hidey-holes.  And this is where I desperately need your help.  Each and every one of you.”


About the Author

Barbara Hinske is a BookBub Bestselling Author in the Women's Fiction category. She is a practicing attorney in Phoenix, Arizona, who inherited the writing gene from her dad. She has two grown children with her exceedingly kind and good second husband who died of cancer in 2006. Lucky in love, Barb married another exceptional man and father of two in 2010, and they live in their own Rosemont with two adorable and spoiled dogs.

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ON SALE for 99¢ March 29th - April 5th

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Book Review: Little Chick's Bible

Little Chick's Bible

By P J Lyons, Melanie Mitchell
Published by Zondervan

Book Description

The Little Chick’s Bible is a soft, cuddly Bible that children age 2-5 can call their own. Throughout this plush-covered book little ones learn that they’re loved and cared for by God as they hear about God’s faithfulness in stories from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. With sweet, rhyming text and colorful illustrations, this soft and cuddly character storybook Bible is sure to become a classic with preschoolers.

My Review 

The Little Chick's Bible is a wonderful Bible story book for the youngest children.  It is soft and cuddly, with a plush chick on the cover.  Children can pet the chick, open and close his beak, flap his little wings.  This book is immediately child-friendly and accessible to a small child.

This is a board book designed for preschool children.  There is a page with a short rhyming verse that tells a Bible story, and on the opposite page there is a lovely illustration of the story.  Stories in the book include:  the Creation, Noah's Ark, Baby Moses, David and Goliath, the Nativity, compassion to a neighbor (Luke 10:25-37), the miracle of bread and fish, the Resurrection.

Each Bible story is told in a short verse.  For instance, "God's Friend Noah" reads:

"In a time when folks were bad,
Only Noah made God glad.
God said, 'Noah, build a ship.
Pack a zoo, and take a trip.'
God made it rain for forty days.
Still Noah always gave God praise.
'No more floods that big,' God vowed,
And wrote his promise, cloud to cloud."

The illustrations are exceptional.  They are bright and colorful, with details that will appeal to children - cute animals, nature, warm and interesting faces on people.

I would recommend this book highly as a gift, as a Sunday School teaching tool, or as a great read aloud for a preschool classroom.
 
About the Author
PJ Lyons received a Master's Degree in Writing for Children at Vermont College and is the author of The Little Lion's Bible, The Little Lamb's Bible, and The Wonderful World that God Made. She currently resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

I received this book from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for an honest review.