Smorgasbord Weekly Round Up – October 31st – November 6th 2022 – Hits 1940s, Tony Bennett, Spiritual Awareness, Poetry, Podcast, Book Reviews, Health and Humour

Welcome to the round up of posts from the week that you might have missed on Smorgasbord.

I hope you have had a good week so far although I do find it hard to believe we are in November already. I don’t know where this year has gone but it seems to have flown by. Still I guess it is true, time flies when you are having fun!

We have had three heavy storms come across us in the last week and on one day 90 mph gusts. No major damage but we did lose our metal birdseed tree which was a favourite with the garden visitors as it snapped in two as it feel on to the patio. Thankfully the bird feed pyramid that David built on the stump of an old tree survived and at least our resident birds managed to get some food in the gaps in the weather. In a complete contrast there will be a couple of days in this next week with warm temperatures and sunshine.

My next book is finished and is now going to be polished and my tapestry is completed and will go to be stretched and framed. I have been enjoy my two hours every afternoon getting back into the needlework groove so I have ordered a new piece which should arrive this week. It is a big canvas and will keep me busy for a few months.

Contributor News this week.

William Price King joined me for The Breakfast Show for the next in the series on hits from the 1940s and the first post in the series about the ultimate showman Tony Bennett.  You can also find William – Blog– IMPROVISATION– William Price King on Tumblr

Debby Gies​ was here on Monday morning with her next post in her Spiritual Awareness series on Angels….and she joined me for the laughter post on Tuesday with some funnies she had found for us. Over on her own blog you can enjoy Debby’s Sunday Book Review for A Ride Down the Milky Way by Sherri-Lee Viitala, and a post on the therapy that writing brings in its many formats.  Follow the link to Debby’s posts …D.G. Kaye

Carol Taylor is here on Wednesday with her  A-Z of food with the letter ‘K’…on her own blog you will find Monday Musings on all things Halloween, a wonderful recipe for Chicken Pie with Filo Pastry for something a little lighter Roasted Onions with Sun Dried Tomatoes, The renowned cuisine of France, more about roots including the Lotus Root, Saturday Snippets where the prompt is Ginger.   Here is the link to Carol’s round up CarolCooks2 weekly roundup…24th October- 5th November 2022

Thank you too for all your visits, comments and shares during the week. As always very much appreciated…♥

 On with the show….

The Breakfast Show with William Price King and Sally Cronin – Chart Hits 1940s – Bing Crosby, The Mills Brothers, Johnny Mercer, Freddy Martin

William Price King meets the Music Legends – Tony Bennett – Introduction and Early Years

Spiritual Awareness – Fey – Cutting Emotional Cords with Archangels by D.G. Kaye

#Memoir – Life on the Ocean Wave – Part Five -1943 – 1946 – HMS Forth and captured U-boats, Ceylon, HMS Woolwich, Earl Mountbatten by Eric Coleman

Poetry – Dorothy Cronin (1949- 2006) – One Day at a Time

#Poetry #Flash Fiction – Recycling Centre and Storm Windows

Smorgasbord Health Column – #Obesity #Hunger – The role #Leptin plays in weight loss

#Headaches – Possible triggers and the nutritional factor by Sally Cronin

#Photography #Poetry #Flash – Do What You love: Fragility Of Your Flame Poems, Photography and Flash Fiction by M.J. Mallon

October Round Up – Kwan Kew Lai, Chris Hall, D.L. Finn, Jan Sikes, Jacqui Murray, Dan Antion

Previous Reviews 2021 – #Family # Murder #Mystery – Going Home by Sharon Marchisello

Previous Reviews 2021 – #Teen/YA #Sci-fi #Fantasy – The Syk’m by Richard Dee

Previous Reviews 2021- #Fantasy #Adventure – The Ferryman and the Sea Witch by D.Wallace Peach

D.G.Kaye with Christy Birmingham-Reyes, Ritu Bhathal, Pete Springer, Audrey Driscoll, Traci Kenworth

Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin – Puppy adoption and Husband Mart

Host Sally Cronin – Cats glorious Cats and Excuse Notes.

 

Thanks very much for dropping in today and I hope you will join me again next week….Sally.

 

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Weekly Round Up 24th -30th October 2022 – Tapestry, WIP, 1940s Hits, Kiri Te Kanawa, Food ‘J’, HMS Beverley, Poetry, Book Reviews, Health and Humour

Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord.

I hope you are well and have had a good week. We have been catching up on the dry month of September and first two week’s of October with inches of rain and high winds. I have a feeling Halloween will be a bit of a washout and not much fun ‘trick or treating’. To be honest we don’t get much out where we are as it is quite sparce on houses, but it was a great excuse usually to get a tub of Quality Street in just in case!  I have avoided the temptation this year and of course the door bell will chime to prove me wrong.

I hope that if you are celebrating Halloween you have a great time and get more treats than tricks.

I am in the last stages of my current tapestry and my WIP. Both of which now undergoing line by line editing. For the tapestry this involves finding the odd stitch that has been missed, which is easy to do, the back of the canvas then needs tidying with loose threads being snipped back and then a steam pressing to make sure completely flat before going to the framers. I will take a photo when it returns. I have another half finished canvas of a large bowl of cherries which is next and I must say I am enjoying getting back to the stitching.

My WIP a combined poetry and short story collection should be available by the end of November and more news on that nearer the time.

Contributor News this week.

William Price King joined me for The Breakfast Show for the next in the series on hits from the 1940s and the last in the post on the extraordinaryly talented Dame Kira Te Kanawa. Coming up on Friday a new series on the music legend Tony Bennett. You can also find William – Blog– IMPROVISATION– William Price King on Tumblr

Debby Gies​ is here on Monday morning with her next post in her Spiritual Awareness series on Angels….and she joined me for the laughter post on Tuesday with some Halloween funnies. Over on her own blog you can enjoy Debby’s Sunday Book Review for The Second Mrs Astor by Shana Abe, and a link to her wonderful interview with Christy Birmingham- Reyes. Follow the link to Debby’s posts …D.G. Kaye

Carol Taylor was here on Wednesday with her  A-Z of food with the letter ‘J’…on her own blog you will find Monday Musings looking at some innovative ways to recycle waste, Ricotta, blackberry and walnut toast for a breakfast treat, a post on walking which is healthy exercise both free and effective, a launch post for Jacqui Murray’s recent releaze, a look at more edible roots and Saturday Snippets exploring the world of ‘lost and found’.  Here is the link to Carol’s round up Carol Taylor’s round up 23rd – 29th October 2022

Thank you too for all your visits, comments and shares during the week. As always very much appreciated…♥

 On with the show….

The Breakfast Show with William Price King and Sally Cronin – Chart Hits 1940s – Billie Holiday, Glenn Miller, Vera Lynn, Nat King Cole-

William Price King meets the Music Legends – #Classical – Dame Kiri Te Kanawa – Part Three – Career Highlights

Carol Taylor’s – Culinary A – Z Rewind – ‘J’ for Jelly Beans, Jalapenos, Jack Fruit and Jerky all with a little Jus

Podcast – #Poetry #Flash Fiction – Halloween and The Witch’s Handbook

Size Matters: The Sequel – #Morbid Obesity – The power of sleep when losing weight and to be healthy by Sally Cronin

Memoir – Life on the Ocean Wave – Part Four – 1942 – HMS Beverley – American shipmates and rough seas by Eric Coleman

Dorothy Cronin (1949- 2006) – Emer’s Song

#Comingofage #Fantasy – Knuckleheads: Dreamer’s Alliance Book 1, by Dan Antion

 

Previous Reviews 2021 – #Dogs #Mountains #Humour – Olive, Mabel and Me: Life and Adventures with Two Very Good Dogs by Andrew Cotter

Previous Reviews 2021 – #Poetry – Son of Booku: More Halloween Haiku by Annette Rochelle Aben

#Fantasy #Comingofage – Realms of the Mist by Jude Itakali

#SocialMedia #Cyberbullying – The Bubble Reputation – Alex Craigie

#Historical #Medieval #Romance – The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven by Jennifer Ivy Walker

#Espagnol #English – Chile: Southern Cross for the 1st Time by Rebecca Cuningham

Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin – Trick or Treating and Halloween Puns

Fright Night Halloween – Host Sally Cronin and the Senior Team

 

Thanks very much for dropping in today and I hope you will join me again next week… Sally.

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Weekly Round Up – 17th – 23rd October 2022 – Hits 1940, Kiri Te Kanawa, Angels, WWII Royal Navy and Treasure, Poetry, Podcast, Book Reviews, Health and Humour

Welcome to the round up of post you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord.

I hope you have all had a good week…It has been a wild few days here with a long winded thunder storm that raged for several hours followed by torrential rain and high winds. October making its presence felt. Hopefully it will settle down this week and we might get a little sunshine. It would be good if this also applied to the turmoil currently going on around us.

On the home front… we have decided to replace the doors in the kitchen to update and because after the redecoration of the rest of the house, it has made the current doors look shabby. With out decision to put the house on the market next spring we might as well make good use of the time to make the house as appealing as possible.

Contributor News this week.

William Price King joined me for The Breakfast Show for the last part of chart hits from 2005 and this coming week we are taking some steps back in time to the music of the 40s and then the 50s until the end of the year.  Also this week the first post in the series on the wonderfully talented Dame Kira Te Kanawa. You can also find William – Blog– IMPROVISATION– William Price King on Tumblr

Debby Gies​ was here on Monday morning with her second post in her Spiritual Awareness series on Angels….and she joined me for the laughter post on Tuesday with some great funnies. Over on her own blog you can enjoy Debby’s October Writer’s Tips, an introduction to the new Author’s Services by Colleen Chesebro, a Q&A with author Jaye Marie and her book review for Staci Troilo. Follow the link to Debby’s posts …D.G. Kaye

Carol Taylor will be here on Wednesday with her  A-Z of food with the letter ‘J’… on her own blog Monday Musings and eco-activism stunts, a recipe for Orange Chicken with Watercress Rice, how to eat healthily around social events, in the Green Kitchen a recipe for a banana tarte tatin with a difference, and a food review on edible roots, Saturday Snippets and new Saturday Market. Head over to enjoy CarolCooks2 weekly roundup…16th- 22nd October 2022-Monday Musings,

Thank you too for all your visits, comments and shares during the week. As always very much appreciated…♥

On with the show….

The Breakfast Show with William Price King and Sally Cronin – Chart Hits 1940s – The Andrew Sisters, Woodie Guthrie, Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington

William Price King meets the Music Legends – #Classical – Dame Kiri Te Kanawa – Part Two – International Debuts

Fey – Angel Messages Part Two – Earth Angels and Lightworkers by D.G. Kaye

– Dorothy Cronin (1949 – 2006) ‘Tuffy’ – A much loved family pet

#Memoir – Life on the Ocean Wave HMS Emerald – Chapter Three – Operation Fish to save national treasures and a Wedding Day by Eric Coleman

Podcast – #Flash Fiction – Rock Star and Splashing Good Time by Sally Cronin

Size Matters: The Sequel – #Morbid Obesity – Hitting the Weight Loss Plateau #fluids by Sally Cronin

#Scottish #Historical #Romance – Sisters at the Edge of the World by Ailish Sinclair

#Fantasy The Midnight Rambler (The Hat Book 6) C.S. Boyack

#Mystery #Thanksgiving – Fowl Play (The Juniper Junction Cozy Holiday Mystery Series Book 6) by Amy M. Reade

#Prehistoric #Adventure #Fiction – Natural Selection (Dawn of Humanity Book 3) by Jacqui Murray

Previous book review #History #Family Leora’s Early Years: Guthrie County Roots (Leora’s Stories) by Joy Neal Kidney

Previous Reviews 2021 – #WW2 – The Home Front: 1939–1945 in 100 Objects by Austin J. Ruddy

Previous Reviews 2021 – #Western #Romance – Keeper Tyree by S. Cox

#Espagnol #English – First Black Woman Vice President of Colombia by Rebecca Cuningham

– Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin – Clerical Collars and Misfortunes

Host Malcolm Allen October 2022 – Book Yoga and Nine Lives

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Weekly Round Up – 10th -16th October 2022 – Kiri Te Kanawa, Royal Navy Memories, Poetry, Food, Podcast, Book Reviews, Bloggers, Health and Humour

Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed on Smorgasbord this week.

Autumn and rushed in this week with gales, storms and plenty of rain. The grass is back to its vibrant green although the trees look very bare. It is however always good to remember that in the spring they will be back to their glory again with even more blossom.

I have been spending the afternoons with tapestry and music exploring my older playlists with music that I don’t get to listen to as often as I would like. I am making good progres with my elephant and her calf and now I have a special pair of glasses that go over my own to increase magnification I am finding it a lot easier. Not to mention I am not missing quite so many stitches.

I am also making good progress on my latest collection and hope to get that on the shelves by the end of November… I have finally settled on a title along the theme of ‘Life’ as for the other recent collections and it was hiding in plain site as you will see!

Contributor News this week.

William Price King joined me for The Breakfast Show for the last part of chart hits from 2005 and this coming week we are taking some steps back in time to the music of the 40s and then the 50s until the end of the year.  Also this week the first post in the series on the wonderfully talented Dame Kira Te Kanawa. You can also find William – Blog– IMPROVISATION– William Price King on Tumblr

Debby Gies​ will be here on Monday morning with her secon post in her Spiritual Awareness series on Angels….and last week she joined me for the laughter posts with some gems she had found on her travels. Over on her own blog you can enjoy Debby’s book review for Luna Saint Claire and The Serpent Awakens–and a launch post for the latest book for Jan Sikes.. Follow the link to Debby’s posts …D.G. Kaye

Carol Taylor was here on Wednesday with her  A-Z of food with the letter ‘I’… on her own blog Monday Musings on Goats and Mental Health Week, World Porridge Day, versatile Eggs, Cuisine of the Faroe Islands, Fragrant roots and Saturday Snippets. Head over to enjoy – CarolCooks2 weekly roundup…9th- 15th October 2022 

Thank you too for all your visits, comments and shares during the week. As always very much appreciated…♥

On with the show

The Breakfast Show with William Price King and Sally Cronin – Chart Hits 2005 Part two- Mariah Carey, The Killers, John Legend, Michael Buble

William Price King meets the Music Legends – #Classical – Dame Kiri Te Kanawa – The Early Years

Carol Taylor’s – Culinary A – Z Rewind – ‘I’ is for Icing, Ink Fish, Indian Black Salt, Infusing Immortalittea and Irish Stew…

#Flash Fiction – Musical Interlude and Reunion by Sally Cronin

#Memoir – Life on the Ocean Wave – Chapter Two – Royal Navy Training -1936 and two encounters with the King and HMS Nelson by Eric Coleman

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine Poetry – Dorothy Cronin (1949 – 2006) – ‘Immortality’

Size Matters: The Sequel – #Morbid Obesity – Getting Moving and shifting the pounds by Sally Cronin

#Romance #Paranormal Saddled Hearts (The White Rune Series Book 3) by Jan Sikes

 

Previous Reviews 2021 – #Poetry – Slivers: Chiseled Poetry by Balroop Singh

New Book on the Shelves – #Paranormal #Thriller – Pre-Order Ghost Mark (Dark Dreams Book 2) by JP Mclean

#Preorder – #Family – Letting Go: The Defiant Sisters- Book1 (The Defiant Sisters Duet) by Jacquie Biggar

#Anthology – Distant Flickers: Stories of Identity & Loss Rita Baker, Amy Wallen, Elizabeth Gauffreau, Joyce Yarrow, Donna Koros Stramella,​ Jim Metzner​, Keith Madsen,​ Carol LaHines

Jacqueline Lambert #Reviews- Kat the Dog: The Remarkable Tale of a Rescued Spanish Water Dog by Alyson Sheldrake

The Rise of Short Stories by Gwen Plano

#SightImpairment – #Dogtraining by Patty Fletcher

Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin – Psychology and the Law, Overseas Posting

Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin – Surgery options and military jokes

 

Thanks very much for dropping in today and I hope you will join me again next week.. Sally

 

Smorgasbord Posts from Your Archives 2022- ‘Lucky Dip – A Valentine Gift by Gwen Plano

Since this series began in January 2018 there have been over 1000 Posts from Your Archives where bloggers have taken the opportunity to share posts to a new audience… mine.

The topics have ranged from travel, childhood, recipes, history, family and the most recent series was #PotLuck where I shared a random selection of different topics. This series is along the same lines… but is a ‘Lucky Dip’. I have posts scheduled for another few weeks but that will bring this current series to an end. Another series will begin in the new year.

In this series I will be sharing posts from the half of 2022

Today author and poet Gwen Plano shares a tribute to her grandfather that she posted in February in celebreation of Valentine’s Day.

A Valentine Gift  

Amidst the demands of the times, we pause and celebrate those we love. How wonderful is that! Stores are filled with bouquets of flowers, boxes of chocolate, and rows of cards. Today LOVE is getting needed attention.

With Valentine greetings spread across the blogosphere, there’s one special Valentine I’d like to share with you today – my grandfather Valentine F Butters.

Born February 14th, Val (as he was called), quickly became beloved by all who knew him.

For most of his life, he didn’t have much, and he didn’t care. He loved life – the challenges, the joys, and all the moments in-between.

What I remember most about my grandfather is his laugh. No matter the circumstance, peeling potatoes or reading me a book, he’d offer a heartfelt chuckle.

​My mom was a twin, and when she arrived, the whole community responded. They were the first twins in the farming community and quickly lost their names to be called “The Twins”.

​For Val, they were a miracle. He spent long hours in the fields caring for this miracle, and each year another arrived.

I never heard my grandfather say anything unkind or thoughtless. If he spotted one of his grandkids in tears, he’d pick them up and listen to their story, then he’d offer hugs and say, “It’s not so bad, now is it?” I heard this expression more than once, and it always made everything better.

Much like the Twins, my grandfather saw his grandchildren as miracles. But Papo (as we called him) was our miracle.

Thinking back over the years, there are many Valentines I cherish, but my grandfather tops the list. In his memory, I offer a simple Tanka poem and wish you a very happy Valentine’s Day.

©Gwen Plano 2022

My thanks to Gwen for allowing me to share the posts from her archives and I know she would love to hear from you.. hugsx

About Gwen M. Plano

Growing up in Southern California, Gwen M. Plano loved learning, and she loved imagining stories, some grandly epic, all personal and heartfelt. She taught and served in universities across the United States and in Japan, then retired and focused again on her stories.

Her first book, Letting To Into Perfect Love, is an award-winning memoir recounting some of her struggles in life while providing insight into the healing process.

Gwen shifted to fiction after this first book and joined forces with acclaimed author John W. Howell in writing a thriller, The Contract: between heaven and earth. Its sequel, The Choice: the unexpected heroes, soon followed – this time a solo effort. The Culmination, a new beginning, is the third book of the series.

Gwen lives in the Midwest with her husband, traveling and writing, sharing those stories only she can imagine.

Books by Gwen M. Plano

One of the reviews for Culmination

Mae Clair 5.0 out of 5 stars A Political Thriller with Strong Characters  Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2021

Book three in a series, The Culmination reads easily as a standalone novel. A political thriller, that addresses denuclearization, tensions in the Middle East, and the fate of refugees, much of the story echoes current headlines. The plot is complex involving multiple heads of state, along with the strategical give and take of political maneuvering on a global level. The author clearly put an extensive amount of research into this book, and it shows. Adrenalin-fueled scenes alter with more cerebral moments, and even a few romantic interludes.

I especially loved the evolution of the relationship between the two central characters, Margaret Adler, VP of the United States and Ivan Smirnov, acting President of Russia. During the course of the novel those titles change, and we learn more about each, including richly developed backgrounds. I was thoroughly invested in the difficulties Margaret and Ivan faced, both on personal and political levels. Their scenes together were among my favorites of the book. There’s also a young refugee child who factors into the story and who stole my heart.

A unique combination of character-driven and plot-driven fiction, I recommend this compelling tale to readers who enjoy strong character development and complexly-plotted intrigue. 

Read the reviews and buy the books: : Amazon UK –and : Amazon US – As Gwendolyn M. Plano: Amazon US follow Gwen : Goodreads –website:Gwen Plano – Twitter: @gmplano

 

Smorgasbord Book Reviews – #Family – More than Coffee: Memories in Verse and Prose by Lauren Scott

It has been a busy summer and as the rain returns I was looking for something gentle to ease me into the autumn and found this in the lovely collection by Lauren Scott – More than Coffee: Memories in Verse and Prose

About the book

From the early woes of childhood and teen years, this collection of stories and poems paints a picture of young dreams and fears. But as adulthood sets in, these dreams and fears change. More than Coffee touches on love and loss, nature and endurance, marriage and parenting. In these memories, humor diffuses fear and taking risks proves to be a powerful method in boosting self-confidence. Through it all, whether in the wilderness near a sparkling lake or in the comfort of home, there’s nothing like a good cup of coffee. A poignant and reflective collection of verse and prose that is best enjoyed sipping your favorite coffee roast.

My review for the collection September 10th 2022

This is a delightful collection of prose and poetry reflecting on a life tinged with sadness but also a great deal of love and humour. The author celebrates moments from her early life and marriage of over thirty years with stories that will entertain and also bring the reader’s own experiences to mind.

Sometimes it is the simplest things that evoke the warmest memories, such as a silver cutlery set, a toy frog called Sam, a yellowed kitchen chopper and the first time baking a traditional family birthday cake.

We are invited to concerts as a teenager overcomes self-doubt to solo in front of an audience of 2000 and fulfil a dream inspired by her idol Barbra Streisand. There are moments with spiders that might have you looking around your immediate surroundings, but you will also find yourself in some wonderful wilderness areas offering moments of reflection and a dip in a mountain pool.

Love is a central theme beginning with her mother and father’s love story that endured for nearly 70 years having begun in WWII with all its uncertainty and lengthy periods apart, and the author’s own fateful meeting with her husband, involving a kitchen appliance!

The loss of parents, even after a long and wonderful life, leaves a hole in our hearts. Their stories and poetry dedicated to them in this collection are heart-warming and reinforce the extent of their loving influence on the generations that followed.

The final part of the collection reflects on the changes that come when children leave the nest, and whilst this is obviously a time of sadness, there is also pride and delight as new lives are forged with future adventures to look forward to.

I enjoyed all the stories and poems in the collection and I am hard pushed to pick just one favourite but this one touched my heart.

Simple Existence

I stare at this page, milk white as the
blanketed ground in winter’s staging
where are the syllables?

I fear they have flown to faraway places,
across desert dunes and boundless oceans
and might not return so that I may tell him
(again) how irreplaceable he is.

Instead, I’ll touch his lips with mine
and steady myself in the arms of a man
who is satisfied with my simple existence.

©Lauren Scott

I can highly recommend this collection to read in one sitting or to dip into when you are in need of gentle and uplifting moments.

 Read the reviews and buy the book: Amazon US – And: Amazon UK – More reviews: Goodreads

Also by Lauren Scott

Read the reviews and buy the books: Amazon US – And: Amazon UK – Website/Blog: Baydreamer – Facebook: Lauren Scott Author

About Lauren Scott

Lauren writies poetry, memoir, and fiction short stories who lives in California with her husband of thirty-three years and their chocolate lab; they have two grown children. She has authored two collections of poetry: New Day, New Dreams (2013) and Finding a Balance (2015). Her latest book, More than Coffee: Memories in Verse and Prose was published in 2021. And in 2022, she contributed four poems to the anthology: Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships. Lauren writes about family, experiencing loss, finding joy in the smallest things, and nature from her many backpacking and camping adventures.

Parallel to her passion for writing is her love for reading. Whether it is a gripping thriller or a heartwarming romance, she enjoys exploring different worlds and meeting diverse characters, drawing similarities to reality that translate into her own writing. Her writing projects are sometimes serious – drawn from painful subjects and raw emotions – or they spotlight her silly side – pulled from humorous moments captured in photographs.

Lauren is inspired to write from her love of nature and the marvelous wild world that surrounds her: the smell of the woods, the sound of a babbling brook, and the chorus of birds singing. Recent backpacking trips with her husband along the California coast and Sierra Nevada mountains have stirred up thoughts to pen about love, lost friendship, family, and the possibility that anything can happen. Hikes along the Paper Mill Creek remind her that life is fragile. From trout hatchlings to swallowtail butterflies, Lauren marvels at how the world is interconnected and that every living thing matters. She hopes her readers will find a little nugget of delight, comfort, or understanding in her poetry and stories – some detail that resonates with them beyond her words.

 

Thanks for dropping in today and I hope you will be leaving with some books… Sally.

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Weekly Round Up- 22nd – 28th September 2022 – #IrishDNA, Pavarotti, #Waterford, Empaths, #Obesity Podcast, Poetry, Book Reviews, Afternoon Videos

Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord..

I hope your week has gone well. The house decoration is still going well and still waiting for return calls from outside contractors to come in to do some maintenance work but hopeful that will be done in the next couple of weekends.

Genetic update

I received my annual Ancestry update which proved very interesting. Millions will have uploaded their DNA in the last 12 months and it means that my own DNA has been updated based on their results. As you can see from the first image, I am definitely a mongrel! What is intersting is that for the first time my Irish and Welsh ancestry exceeds my English.

My nordic bloodline has also expanded and this is probably because my Irish genes have been identified across a wider area of the South East of the country, up the West as far as Galway. The Vikings were all over the area in those days and I imagine a fair bit of pillaging went on if you know what I mean…

Also on my father’s side on the East Coast of England where raids from the Northmen were frequent. He was tall and blonde as a young man and I can definitely see that genetic link in him.

Anyway here are some graphics…

My husband is going to be joining the fun with his own DNA and it will be interesting as his family all originate from the same area. I wonder if paths were crossed at some point by our ancestors in the last two hundred years or are we even distantly related?

Just a reminder that if you have a new book coming out in the next six to eight weeks either on pre-order or available on Amazon do let me know if we have not already chatted about a promotion for it. sally.cronin@moyhill.com

Contributor News this week.

This week William Price King joined me for The Breakfast Show and shared second post in the life and music of the great Pavarotti. The Breakfast Show will cover the hits to 2005 and then we thought that as there are now so many different music genres we might go retro and cover the chart hits of the 1940s and 1950s until the end of the year. Prepare to get your swing and jive on. Next year we will be covering the Big Band Era from the 1930s through to the 1950s and it is amazing that I am able to find videos going back to the early 30s and some are even remastered which is great. We are both looking forward to that and hope you will enjoy too.You can also find William – Blog– IMPROVISATION– William Price King on Tumblr

Debby Gies​ interviews Martha Perez​ about her life, love of books and stories from childhood.. an inspiring Q&A and introduction to Martha’s many books available on Amazon including Kindle Vella. Debby Gies Q & A with Martha Perez – Debby also reviews The Catalyst a thriller by Joy Lennick for her Sunday feature and highly recommends. Catch up on her other posts D.G. Kaye

Carol Taylor will be here on Wednesday with her next A-Z of food with the letter ‘F’… a wonderful exploration of food. Carol also took her slow cooker on the road as a guest of Willow Croft for her series Eco-Tuesday. Carol shares her love of food markets and her passion for food sustainability and conservation. Willow Croft and Carol Taylor Eco-Tuesday On Carol’s own blog Monday Musings and using plastic in your microwave, Homemade chicken stew, the cuisine of Ecuador and a review of aromatic leaves..You can catch up with all the posts this week Carol Taylor’s Weekly Round Up

Thanks too for all your visits, comments and shares this week… they mean a great deal..♥

 On with the show…..

The Breakfast Show with William Price King and Sally Cronin – Chart Hits 2002 Part One – Nickelback, Ashanti, Las Ketchup, Kelly Clarkson

William Price King meets the Music Legends – #Classical – Luciano Pavarotti – The 1960s and Joan Sutherland

Spiritual Awareness -How Empaths Can Shield Negative Energies by D.G. Kaye

Memoir #Waterford #Ireland #History – The Colour of Life – The Rosary 1955

Milestones Along the Way – #Ireland #Waterford – How I met Joan by Geoff Cronin

Podcast – #Poetry – #DoubleEtheree The Robin -Size Doesn’t Matter by Sally Cronin

Size Matters: The Sequel – #Morbid Obesity – #Emotional Factors, Developing Willpower by Sally Cronin

Making Your Mark – Leaving a Legacy – And then… A Grand Exit That’ll Have Their Tongues Waggin’ by Peter Davidson

New Book on the Shelves -#Pre-order August 25th – #Fantasy – The Necromancer’s Daughter by D.Wallace Peach

– #Romance – Wrong Line, Right Connection by Karina Bartow

#GymAnnoyances #Toptenthings John W. Howell

#FlashFiction #Poetry by D.Wallace Peach

#TopTenThings – Gwen Plano by Marcia Meara

#Family #Wildlife by Pete Springer

‘Potluck – Lord of the Rings #Tolkien by Audrey Driscoll

#Poetry – #Earthday by Miriam Hurdle

First in Series – #Mystery James J. Cudney, #NorthernIreland #Thriller Jane Buckley

Sally goes out and about with with Judith Barrow, #review Olga Nunez Miret, #Monarchs Bette A. Stevens, #Marketing D.L. Finn, #Family Kit Troyer

 

 

Thanks for dropping in today and I hope you will pop in again next week… Sally.

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Weekly Round Up – July 11th – 17th – Hits 1999, Nina Simone, Ireland 1930s, Book Reviews, Summer Book Fair, Poetry, Podcast, Health and Humour

Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord.

It seems that summer is here with a vengeance and for some on the continent it has brought the dreaded wildfires that put not just people but wildlife at great risk. We count our blessings that we have cloud cover much of the time and we are unlikely to get over 24 degrees. With onshore breezes it does help to keep the heat down. Those of us of a certain age still remember the summer of 1976 when the heatwave went on for several weeks. It looks like this one will be shorter lived and hopefully for those experiencing the severe temperatures and risk of fires will get rain soon.

Work on the house continues and the outside walls are getting the attention at the moment and another couple of weeks and it will be time to look at each room and arrange and dress ready for inspection. I am looking at property sites at the moment in the area that we would like to move to on the south coast and one house I was checking out was dressed immaculately throughout. Clearly the estate agent thought that two very large multi packs of toilet rolls set off the master bedroom ensuite perfectly or perhaps thought they might be a selling point!

Anyway… keep cool and safe.

On the blog front…

On the blog front.. the new series of ‘Posts from Your Archives’ begins in August. With your permission I will browse your posts between January and the end of June 2022 and select two to share in a post on Smorgasbord. They are copyrighted to you and will also include links and books etc. Full details are in the post along with an example of what your post will look like.. already 15 friends have signed up and I am looking forward to diving into their archives.

Smorgasbord Posts from Your Archives -#NewSeries August 2022- ‘Lucky Dip’ and Do You Trust Me??

 Thanks to my friends William Price King and Debby Gies for their music and humour contributions this week and you can find out more about them on their own sites. .

William Price King joined me on The Breakfast show this week for the first part of the hits from 1999 and for the first part of the new series about the legend Nina Simone. You can also find William – Blog– IMPROVISATION– William Price King on Tumblr

Debby Gies gifted us some great and funnies this week and will be taking us to Cuba tomorrow morning for an exploration of this island of music, dancing and history.. Over on her blog you can you can catch up with her posts including a post on the massive Canadian outage that resulted in the loss of phone and internet services as well as vital card payments for much of the country… and her book review today for the fictionalised story of Coco Chanel. Queen of Paris.. D.G. Kaye

Carol Taylor will be here on Wednesday with an exploration of foods and culinary terms in her terrific series A-Z of foods with the letter C.  This week on her own blog an exploration of the cuisine of Djibouti which is a small African country on the north east horn of the continent. Also a peek into her store cupboard at herbs and stock cubes and Carol finishes off the week in style by spilling a great many secrets in her Saturday Snippets – You can read all the posts for the week by clicking on her blog link Carol Cooks2

Thanks too for all your visits, comments and shares this week… they mean a great deal..♥

On with the show

Chart Hits 1999 Part One – Ricky Martin, Britney Spears, Shania Twain, Ronan Keating

Price King meets the Music Legends – Nina Simone – High Priestess of Soul and The Early Years

How the Stable was built and warts 1936

#Ireland 1930s – The Colour of Life – The Devil Finds Work 1936 by Geoff Cronin

Lanturne – Marriage by Sally Cronin

A story from Flights of Fancy… an elderly woman looks back to her twenties and meeting the love of her life during wartime.

Flights of Fancy – Curtains

The Obesity epidemic – Where in the Lifestyle can we Intervene? – 2 to 7 years old – Activity – Sally Cronin

Size Matters The Sequel – The Accumulative Factor of Food and Life

#Life #Forgiveness by Annette Rochelle Aben

– I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now! #Dyslexia #Blogging Hugh Roberts

first in Series – #Shortstories Hugh W. Roberts, #Fantasy Paul Cude

-#FlashFiction Annette Rochelle Aben, #Biography S. Bavey

#Children’s #YA – #Travel Darlene Foster, #Mystery #Detective Janice Spina

#MurderMystery Sharon Marchisell, #Family #Mystery Harmony Kent

Blogger Weekly July 15th 2022 – #Writing Mae Clair, #Kindness John Howell, #Funnies The Story Reading Ape, #Nostalgia Darlene Foster, #Tafftrail Judith Barrow

Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin – Washington Shire Sauce and Hiccups

The Senior Team pass the the funnies along – Legal Shenanigans

 

Thanks for dropping in today and I hope you will join me again next week. Sally

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine Weekly Round Up – 13th – 19th June 2022 – Lilies, Top hits 1997, Roberta Flack, Podcast, Poetry, Reviews, New Releases, Health and Humour

Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord.

I hope that you are doing okay wherever you live. I know that certain countries in Europe and here in Ireland are experiencing an increase in Covid cases, but it seems that most people are unconcerned and have ditched their masks. Thankfully here it is a matter of choice and with us both having had Covid and not wishing to have again, I will be sticking with the mask for some time to come.

The work on the house continues, but most of the decluttering is now finished with the product of this exercise being collected on Monday. I spent some time in the garden repotting, deadheading and moving plants from front to back as they blossom. This includes one of my favourites. These lilies bloom for a few weeks only.  During the winter I stack the containers containing the bulbs at the back of the house in a corner and cover. In April I set them out in the daylight and water them and here we are in the middle of June and they offer their wonderful blossoms again.  They shout summer.

As always my thanks to my friends who share their expertise and fun with us each week.

William Price King joined me on The Breakfast show this week for the first part of the hits from 1997 and for the first part of the series about Roberta Flack. You can also find William – Blog– IMPROVISATION– William Price King on Tumblr

Debby Gies takes us to St. Barts tomorrow morning and will of course be finding some funnies during the week to keep us entertained. Over on her blog you can you can catch up with her posts including her helpful June writing links and her review for Paulette Mahurin’s latest  A Peaceful Village .. D.G. Kaye

Carol Taylor joins me on Wednesday with a repeat of her wonderful series A-Z of foods beginning with the lette A. Carol is in England for a month to visit her family but has left her blog well stocked. This week Monday Musings, MSG, the cuisine of The Dominican Republic, a close look at the many cooking oils available and an entertaining Saturday Snippets. You can find all her posts Carol Cooks2

Thanks too for all your visits, comments and shares this week… they mean a great deal..♥

Coming up this week on the I Wish I Knew Then series are Pete Springer and Pete Johnson (Beetley Pete)

On with the show

Chart Hits 1997 Part One – Elton John R. Kelly, Shania Twain, Puff Daddy & Faith Evans

William Price King meets the Music Legends – Roberta Flack – The Early Years

#Humour – Chapter Eighteen – Some guests and their Foible

Chapter Nineteen – Full Circle

The Royal Visitors Arrive

Colleen Chesebro’s Tuesday Weekly Challenge – Specific Format -#TankaProse – Murmuration by Sally Cronin

Food Therapy Rewind – Pumpkin Seeds Nutrient Packed snack on the go

#Fantasy – Good Liniment (The Hat Book 5) by C.S. Boyack

#Literary #Thriller – The Silent Brother by Simon Van der Velde

#Historical #WW2 – The Peaceful Village by Paulette Mahurin

Life – I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now! ‘Dad’ by Sue Wickstead

I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now! #Writing by Jane Risdon

I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now! ‘Home’ by Claire Fullerton

#YA #Fantasy M.J. Mallon, #Romance #Military Jacquie Biggar

#Dystopian Terry Tyler, #Prehistoric Jacqui Murray

#Paranormal #Western Sandra Cox, #Sciencefiction #Mystery Richard Dee

Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin – Flying and Even more Weird Facts

Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin – Door maintenance and Miracles

 

Thanks very much for dropping in today and I hope you will join me again next week..Sally

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine Weekly Round Up – June 6th – 12th 2022 – Chart hits 1996, Puerto Rico, Phosphorus, Reviews, Poetry, Health, Podcast, Stories and Humour

Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed during the week..

I hope you have had a good week and are enjoying the weekend. There has been some more work on the house and it is really beginning to take shape… Ironic that we will get it looking great only to pass on to someone else lol.. Anyway that is a month or so away but I am already looking at property pages in the areas we are planning to look at seriously in the coming months. I am trying to be sensible about downsizing!!!  Apart from anything else with heating oil having almost tripled in the last three months, heating a large house becomes an expensive luxury.

I am hoping that are luck with finding just the right house for us will hold, and whilst I am not looking forward to the packing up process, I am excited about finding our next home, intended to be our last. And also to finally welcome a new dog into the family, long overdue.

This week my friends William Price King, Debby Gies and Carol Taylor have given us music, sunshine and sea in Puerto Rico and wonderful recipes and I cannot thank them enough for their wonderful contributions. They are also busy on their own blogs and I hope you will head over to check them out.

William Price King joined me on The Breakfast show this week for the second part of the hits from 1996 and for the fianl part of the series about Aretha Franklin.  Next Friday a new series featuring Roberta Flack… You can also find William – Blog– IMPROVISATION– William Price King on Tumblr

Debby Gies took us to San Juan on Monday and found some great funnies. It was also her birthday this week… on facebook it shows up as 107.. always a talking point as she certainly does not look her age lol..Over on her blog you can you can catch up with her posts including her Sunday book review for the compelling thriller Where There’s Doubt by Terry Tyler…. D.G. Kaye

Carol Taylor joined me on Wednesday with her recipes to include sufficient phosphorus in our diets… and as always a busy week on her own blog including her Monday Musings and the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations, Store cupboard Basics, Green Kitchen Bread Rolls and strawberry stems, Saturday Snippets all about ‘Spin’. You can find all her posts Carol Cooks2

Thanks too for all your visits, comments and shares this week… they mean a great deal..♥

Coming up this week on the I Wish I Knew Then series are Sue Wickstead, Jane Risdon and Claire Fullerton.

On with the show…..

 

The Breakfast Show with William Price King and Sally Cronin – Chart Hits 1996 Part Two – The Wallflowers, Alanis Morissette, Take That, Eric Clapton

William Price King meets the Music Legends – Aretha Franklin – Greatest Hits

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – The Travel Column Rewind with D.G. Kaye – San Juan, Puerto Rico

Cook from Scratch to prevent nutritional deficiency with Sally Cronin and Carol Taylor – Phosphorus – Dairy, Poultry, Pork, Nuts, Wholegrains

Food Therapy Rewind- Make the most of Summer – Homemade #Fruit Salad and Smoothies by Sally Cronin

Chapter Sixteen – Killbilly Hotel – A promotion

Killbilly Hotel – The Opening Weekend Party

Tuesday Weekly Challenge #Colour #Etheree – Strawberries by Sally Cronin

The Royal Banquet – Preparation and Menu by Sally Cronin

 

 

#Children’s – Make Believe: Bedtime Stories for Children by Janice Spina

Advance Review – #Malaya #1950s – Have You Eaten Rice Today by Apple Gidley

#Life – I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now! by Carol Taylor

#Life – I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now! by Diana Peach

#Life – I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now! by Sharon Marchisello

First in Series – #Family Saga Judith Barrow, #Mystery N.A. Granger

#Thriller John W. Howell, #Mystery #Romance Marcia Meara

#Fantasy C.S. Boyack, #Fantasy D.Wallace Peach

Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin – Age and Skipping

Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin – Street signs and Diet Pills

 

Thank you for joining me this week and look forward to seeing you again soon  Sally.