Colleen’s 2019 Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 120, “Cold & Storm,” #SynonymsOnly

Colleen Chesebro has an amazing response to her weekly poetry challenge and it is a great writing exercise as well as fun. Here is a snippet from this week’s challenge.. for full details follow the link to the post.

via Colleen’s 2019 Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 120, “Cold & Storm,” #SynonymsOnly

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Enraptured~

The fabulous Red Tailed Hawk captured through the lens of Cindy Knoke.. such a majestic bird… please head over and find all the wonderful photographs.

Head over and find more of these wonderful photographs.

via Enraptured~

Monday Funnies…

If you have the Monday Blues.. then dispel them with some funnies from Crabby Road residents courtesy of The Story Reading Ape.. I take comfort in much of the wisdom offered…. especially the all-nighter!  Click the link to find the other gems on Chris’s blog.

 

Head over and find the rest…..thanks Sally

via Monday Funnies…

Does The Michelin Guide Have A Female Chef Problem? Only FIVE Female 3-Star Michelin Chefs In The World!

Following on from his article last week on Chef Dominique Crenn and her third Michelin star, John Rieber takes a closer look at the disparity between female and male recipients of this coveted award. Follow the link to read the rest of this comprehensive article.

Michelin’s Lack Of Stars For Female Chefs…

First, bravo to Chef Dominique Crenn for receiving her third Michelin Star last fall, for her incredible cooking at her restaurant Atelier Crenn in San Francisco…more on that in a moment.

While my wife and I were thrilled for Chef Crenn, who has been featured on the terrific Netflix series “Chef’s Table”, it also stunned me to learn that she is the first female Chef in the United States to EVER receive this honor – in 118 years of publication!

Where Are The Female Chefs?

Yes, I was very surprised that NO female Chef in US History has EVER been given three Michelin stars – how is the possible?

And here’s another interesting fact: of the 120+ Three Michelin star restaurants around the world, only five are run by women: Arzak (Elena Arzak), Maison Pic (Anne-Sophie Pic), Dal Pescatore (Nadia Santini), Sant Pau (Carme Ruscadella, described by Michelin as a “short-haired feisty Spanish-Catalan chef”), and now, Atelier Crenn.

Here is Chef Crenn in her kitchen the night we ate at the restaurant. When she received the third star last fall, Eater San Francisco reported on their website that the honor was overdue:

Atelier Crenn earned two stars by 2013. With the exception of Baumé, all of her two-star brethren that year — Benu, Saison, Manresa, and Coi — had already been elevated to three stars. Quince, which held a single star that year, was promoted to three in the 2017 guide. All are run by male chefs (Coi was downgraded in 2019).

 

via Does The Michelin Guide Have A Female Chef Problem? Only FIVE Female 3-Star Michelin Chefs In The World!

Meet the Mr and Mrs.-reblog

Historical romance author Shehanne Moore has recently been through an exciting publishing transition that is proving to be very successful. Here is the start of an interview with author Pam Lazos of both Shehanne and her author and playwright husband John Quiqly. Not only entertaining but also a fascinating look at starting your own publishing company and taking back complete control of your writing. Follow the link at the end and enjoy. Thanks Sally P.S. please take some nuts and other snacks… for the Dudes.

 

Meet the Mr. and the Mrs. –an interview with Pam Lazos, lawyer, author and environmentalist.

 

 

https://greenlifebluewater.wordpress.com/2019/01/14/meet-the-mr-and-the-mrs/

Meet the Mr. and the Mrs. –an interview with Pam Lazos, lawyer, author and environmentalist.

PAM – Unless you’re in Hollywood, it’s not often that you come across a husband and wife who both make their living in the arts.  My dear friend Shehanne Moore, a/k/a Lady Shey because of her work in writing historical romance, and her husband John Quigly, a/k/a the Mr., which is how the Lady refers to him, both have a passion for creating.  For years, Shey labored under a publisher, putting out title after title, only to be told that several of her books had shelf-lives and were soon going to be out of print.  So what did this Scottish-born lassie do?  Not acquiesce, I can tell you that. 

Rather than tow the antagonistic and inhospitable line, she did what any self-respecting woman would do?  (Well, maybe not any woman, but as you will note from her writing and her blog, Lady Shey is not just “any” woman.)  She pulled her books and started her own publishing company, Black Wolf Books.  If that sounds drastic and out-on-a-limb crazy, or even the stuff of fiction, well, it’s something all of Shey’s heroines have in common, a sharp mind, more than a bit of the sass and the ability to turn circumstances to their advantage at a moment’s notice.

Then there’s the Mister, a playwright and director who producers several plays a year.

I had a few questions for Shey and the Mr. which they were happy to answer.

via Meet the Mr and Mrs.-reblog

Conversations With Colleen: Meet Author, Darlene Foster

Delighted to read the interview with children’s author Darlene Foster having a conversation with Colleen Chesebro… Enjoy this snippet and then follow the link to read the full interview.  Thanks Sally

Hello everyone! This week I’m thrilled to bring you a new author, at least to me, Darlene Foster. I asked her to pick three or four questions from my huge list HERE. We all aspire to be successful authors and the best way to learn some of the tricks of the trade is to ask questions.

First, please meet my guest, Darlene Foster.

Darlene Foster is a writer, an employment counsellor, an ESL tutor for children, a wife, mother and grandmother. She loves travel, shoes, cooking, reading, sewing, chocolate, music, the beach and making new friends.

Her 13-year-old grandson called her “super-mega-woman-supreme”. She was brought up on a ranch near Medicine Hat, Alberta, where she dreamt of traveling the world and meeting interesting people.

She currently divides her time between the west coast of Canada and the Costa Blanca in Spain, with her husband Paul. “Amanda in Arabia-The Perfume Flask” was her first published novel.

Once bitten by the travel bug, Amanda travels to other interesting places, sticking her nose in other people’s problems and getting herself in trouble. Read “Amanda in Spain – The Girl in the Painting”, “Amanda in England – The Missing Novel”, “Amanda in Alberta – The Writing on the Stone”, and “Amanda on the Danube – The Sounds of Music” to find out the adventures Amanda has as she travels the world.

Amazon Author Page

Hi, Colleen. Thanks so much for this interview. I’m really looking forward to our chat.

via Conversations With Colleen: Meet Author, Darlene Foster

Meeting People for Reasons and Seasons

Debby Gies​ writing for Sisters of the Fey​ about relationships and how sometimes people come in and out of our lives for a reason…I am sure it will resonate with you when you read. Follow the link at the end of this short extract.

Ever wonder why some of the friendships and relationships we once may have considered important in our lives at one time suddenly disappear from our lives?

Often, times we reflect back on our life relationships and catch ourselves wondering ‘whatever happened to so and so?’. Sometimes we remember why those people have exited our lives, and other times we can go back and analyze these relationships, looking back on what the significance was that person played in our lives. I refer to these short-term relationships as seasonal relationships for reasons – blessings and lessons.

These people who come into our lives for brief stints appear for reasons, and because they don’t remain in our lives indefinitely, they are classified as seasonal.

The universe has a way of knowing what we need in our lives at different times. There’s a popular phrase – What we focus on, we attract. For example, if we are focusing our attentions on something we wish for, we will eventually meet people who may possibly introduce us to avenues that we are focusing our attentions on. Similarly, if we focus on negative things, we may also be introduced to people who come into our lives who can teach us lessons.

We don’t meet people by accident, rather we encounter those who are meant to cross our paths. We either have something to be learned from everyone who comes into our lives or something to teach them. We may not realize initially, that some people we befriend are only meant to come into our lives for a specific amount of time before they fade out of our lives or are evicted from our lives. Those relationships weren’t meant to exist for a lifetime, but merely for a designated amount of time to teach us something. Everything in life is pre-destined so the time limits spent with these messengers who come into our lives depends on the needs we’ve met.

via Meeting People for Reasons and Seasons

Sally’s Cafe and Bookstore – New Book on the Shelves – #Non-Fiction – The Universal Mind by Peter Weisz (Dip. Psych, HND, BACP)

Delighted to welcome a new author to the Cafe and Bookstore, Peter Weisz, with his recently released The Universal Mind.

About  Peter Weisz

Peter Weisz (Dip. Psych, HND, BACP) was born in London, England in 1961 and practices as a psychoanalyst and therapist, specializing in psychodynamics and the study of the subconscious and unconscious mind. He majored in psychology, music and English language and literature. He is the founding director of “One 2 One Counseling”, an organization offering personal therapeutic support to those with emotional and psychological disorders. He has worked at a number of private clinics and treatment centers since 1996 including the world renowned Priory Clinic in London.

Peter is knowledgeable in ancient and contemporary philosophy, transcendental thought, general science, theology and mystical & esoteric writings, both classical and modern. He is also known as a musical performer, singer/songwriter, producer and stage director and is the founding director of “A Major Events”, a music production company in Cape Town, South Africa, where he currently resides.

About The Universal Mind

Are we all slaves to a gross illusion? Who are we? What is the mind, what is consciousness and what is reality? This book offers educated answers and explanations to all these questions and more.

This book motivates the reader to reconsider everything they think they know about themselves and the world today, examining the different models of creation, evolution of humanity and the universe, the essence of matter and of life itself, exploring all manner of scientific, theological, psychological and philosophical and metaphysical hypotheses and offering insights into ancient mystical wisdom and the road to enlightenment. Can it be, that this complex, living, breathing, sophisticated, opinionated, creative and conscious entity that we call human, is made up merely from a few invisible atoms of nothingness?

We are not simply made from flesh and blood – we are beings of an infinity of dimensions, too vast to contemplate, but our brains and our senses are only able to perceive that which is rooted in matter, for that is the substance from which we believe we are made. What we call reality, is most definitely not what it appears to be.

One of the early reviews for the book

via Sally’s Cafe and Bookstore – New Book on the Shelves – #Non-Fiction – The Universal Mind by Peter Weisz (Dip. Psych, HND, BACP)

All for love…

A wonderful post from Sue Vincent​ that will have all of us who have loved dogs reaching for our tissues.. Ani is getting older and whilst there will be many years ahead of her, it is a time to reflect on the preciousness of each moment we have with our fur family.

Here is a snippet..and do head over and read the complete post…

It was quiet, too quiet. For the first time in almost eight years, there was no bouncing mass of fur when I came home from work. No grinning muzzle, no tail wagging so hard that it wagged the dog too. For a split second, cold fear had me by the throat… then I heard her snores and breathed again.

Curled up on the sofa, her head on a cushion, the small dog was smiling in her sleep. So deep was her slumber that I watched her for several minutes before she awoke… alerted, not by my presence, but by the scent of chicken emanating from my handbag. You could see the twitch of her nose carrying the prospect of treats to her brain as she struggled to focus drowsy eyes.

via All for love…

Sally’s Cafe and Bookstore – New Book on the Shelves – Fancy meeting you here by Jim Webster

Released in December, another series of tales of his livestock and dogs and more about farming in the Lake District…Jim Webster and Fancy meeting you here.

About the book

More tales from a lifetime’s experience of peasant agriculture in the North of England, with sheep, Border Collies, cattle, and many other interesting individuals. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is just one of those things.

One of the early reviews for the book

Ignite TOP 1000 REVIEWER 5.0 out of 5 stars Real life 17 December 2018

This is the third collection of farmer Jim Webster’s anecdotes about his sheep, cattle and dogs. This one had added information on the Lake District’s World Heritage status. This largely depends upon the work of around 200 small family farms. Small may not always be beautiful but it can be jolly important. If you want to know the different skills needed by a sheep dog and a cow dog, or to hear tales of some of the old time travelling sales persons – read on! This is real life, Jim, but not as I know it.

via Sally’s Cafe and Bookstore – New Book on the Shelves – Fancy meeting you here by Jim Webster