Victoria Zigler's Blog: Zigler News, page 55

#MondayMotivation, #Inspiration, And #Wisdom - #Quotes For November 4th 2019

I can face the winter with calm. I'd been thinking of the winter as a horrid, wet, dreary time. Now I can see other things-crisp and sparkling days, long pleasant evenings, cheery fires. Good work shall be done this winter. Life shall be lived well.
~A.A. Milne

Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
~Marcel Proust

Our visit to this planet is short, so we should use our time meaningfully, which we can do by helping others wherever possible. And if we cannot help others, at least we should try not to create pain and suffering for them.
~Dalai Lama

Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world. All things break. And all things can be mended. Not with time, as they say, but with intention. So go. Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally. The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you.
~L. R. Knost

Don't you know yet? It is Your Light that lights the worlds.
~Rumi

Stars can't shine without darkness
~D.H. Sidebottom

The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.
~Dolly Parton

#FurkidFriday: Yappy #Halloween From Lilie The #Westie #Witch And Logan The #Cavapoo #Wizard + #Devil

Hi everyone. This is Lilie the Westie.

Mummy says it was something called "Halloween" yesterday. I'm not sure what it is, but I'm sure I remember her saying something about it last year around this time too. It seems to involve her getting excited about big orange balls she says are called pumpkins. I can kind of understand that... I love balls! Although, she never lets me play with the pumkin ball, even though she plays with it for ages, ruining it by cutting bits out with a knife. I mean, if she wants chunks taken out of the pumpkin ball thing, I'd be happy to help with that. But do you think she'll let me help? NO! So unfair! She didn't let my Cavapoo brother, Logan, help her destroy the pumpkin ball either, which I was glad about, because if I'm not allowed to, he shouldn't be allowed to. If she's going to be unfair to one of us, she should be unfair to both of us, otherwise it's even more unfair, if you know what I mean.

As well as the pumpkin ball thing, this year Halloween also involved something I don't remember us doing last year, which was Mummy wanting us to play dress up and pose for the flashy thing in our costumes. Something Logan was much more enthusiastic about than I was. I was a good girl though, and went along with it. Reluctantly, but still. Mummy was happy, and we got a great treat afterwards, so it was almost worth it... Almost!

Before I share the pictures the flashy thing got, Mummy asked me to tell you to ignore if she's in any of the photos and looking kind of scruffy. She wasn't meant to be in them, but we were rather excitable, so getting us to pose for the flashy thing required Mummy to be right there with treats to bribe us with, and even then we had trouble sitting still.

Anyway, I didn't mind the dress up game too much when I was just wearing a bandana, and Logan was a wizard...


But I wasn't so impressed when I had to wear the hat to be a witch...


You'll have to excuse the crookedness of the hat... It wouldn't stay straight, so that's the best we could get.

They had another costume, but given how much I wasn't enjoying the game of dress up, only Logan dressed as a devil...


Like I said, I didn't mind the bandana part. I have a few of those, and am happy to wear them. But I was rather glad they didn't make me wear the devil outfit, since I really didn't like the hat, and know I wouldn't have liked that horn thing for the head. Logan was happy to play along though, and was actually reluctant to take off his devil outfit after they put the flashy thing away. I'm telling you, my little brother is crazy!

Anyway, Logan and I hope you had a very yappy Halloween.


Oh, and if you dressed up too, we hope you got a great treat for doing it.

Lots of licks,
Lilie

#Halloween's #AmReading + #AmWatching + #AmListening - October 31st 2019 #Reviews + A DVD Challenge Update

It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.
~Oscar Wilde

Happy Halloween!

It's time to take a look at what I've been reading and watching during this past week. It's also time to see which song I've decided to put in the spotlight from those I've listened to over the past week. So...

If you want to know more about the book, or the author, click on whichever it is you want to learn more about, and it will take you to the appropriate page on Goodreads. Clicking on my rating should take you to my actual Goodreads review for the book in question. Please bear in mind that the format I've reviewed on Goodreads may not be the format I actually read.

Alternatively, if it's a movie or TV show you want to know more about, just click on the title to go to a page where you can find out more details about the movie or TV show in question; the title links will usually take you to a page on IMDB.

Don't forget: I read and watch things across multiple genres, as well as for different age ranges, so you should always check before reading or viewing, to make certain something is suitable for the intended audience, especially when children are involved.

OK...

Here's what I read this week:

The Cock of the South by C.S. Boyack
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is an excellent and gripping story, which combines alternate history with fantasy wonderfully. If you enjoy those things, you should definitely read this book, and join this fantastic cast of characters on their action-packed adventure.

As for what I've been watching:

I watched seven DVDs this week. Yes, you read that right. All ones I've seen before, but still. I had three DVD days in a row, because I could, and because I kind of needed the recharge time. I could have read instead, and maybe should have for some of the time, considering I've not been reading as much as is normal for me lately. But I felt like binge-watching the rest of the Harry Potter movies. So, that's just what I did.

I watched the fourth and fifth Harry Potter movies one after the other on Saturday, the sixth and seventh on Sunday, and the eighth (the second part of book 7) on Monday while putting up my Halloween decorations. I also watched "Homeward Bound" 1 and 2, which was also on Monday, since I felt like watching more DVDs after I was done with Harry Potter, and my copies of those were close at hand. Plus, they're good movies.

Watching all those DVDs means I completed my DVD challenge, since that final Harry Potter DVD put me at the 52 DVDs for 2019 that was my goal, and then I watched two more after that, putting me at 54 DVDs watched so far this year. So, YAY! Considering there was a point earlier in the year when I was so behind on my DVD watching I thought I'd struggle to meet the goal, I'm definitely pleased I reached it with two months to spare. I'll continue keeping count of the DVDs I watch though, and tell you at the end of 2019 how many I end up watching in total for the year. I just wanted to tell you I'd reached the goal. Well, passed it really.

Oh, and I also caught a few random episodes of "The Simpsons" and "Futurama" when they were on TV, which I seem to do a lot. Just in case you were interested in hearing about that too.

Anyway...

As for what I've been listening to...

Mostly I've been sticking to my country music favourites. But I took a break to listen to a Halloween playlist. Around Halloween in previous years I already shared my two favourite Halloween tunes - "This Is Halloween" from The Nightmare Before Christmas, and "Monster Mash" - so I'm going to share one of the other ones I like that appeared in the playlist. The "Ghostbusters" theme tune. Enjoy!



Whatever you're reading, watching, or listening to this Halloween, I hope you find it spooktacular!

#WriterWednesday - October 30th 2019

"Thistle The Fairy Trickster" is now available in audio, narrated by Jenny Bacon - in case you missed my post from last week. Check out the post I just linked to for purchase links for all available formats, or just go grab your audio version from Audible (the audio version is also on Amazon and iTunes). This is one fans of fairy tale retellings, and lovers of fairy stories in general, will want to read or listen to.

In other audiobook news: I just have three more titles to have available for you, and then everything I've so far published will be available in audio! "Mr. Pumpkin-Head And Other Poems" is now heading to retail, so should be available soon. Also, I've approved the "Voyage Of The Crimson Sail" fifteen minut sample, which means I'm just waiting for the final version of that now. After that, it will just be "Puppy Poems And Rodent Rhymes" to get produced in audio, which hopefully won't be too long in happening either, but it depends how long it takes to find a narrator I'm happy with for it (it's currently up for auditions, if any narrators are reading this and interested in auditioning). I'll update you on the progress of all three titles whenever there's anything to report.

In the meantime, I'm fiddling with some writing projects, but haven't done as much as I'd hoped to this month. It's frustrating for me that I'm not getting as much writing time as I'd like to, and am used to getting. Even if it is mostly by choice, since I took some time to just do nothing a few days this month, and focussed on other stuff a lot of the time. But I'm getting some writing time every so often - between other things - and slowly adding words here and there to various projects, so, though I am struggling with some guilt for not writing much - despite knowing I really needed those days - at least I'm not in danger of going insane from lack of writing time any time soon. Well, not any more insane than I already am anyhow. *wink*

A non-writing writer is a monster courting insanity.
~Franz Kafka

OK. Let's see what links I have for you this week, shall we?

Firstly, returning to the subject of audiobooks for a moment... Audible has introduced enhanced listener navigation for your audiobooks - just in case you hadn't heard.

Oh, and with Christmas coming up fast - I mean, it's Halloween tomorrow, after all - ACX have announced a holiday publishing deadline for your audiobook, which doesn't mean you can't finish and release an audiobook later than that deadline, but does mean it might not be on sale in time for Christmas if you miss the deadline. I just thought I should make sure you knew about that, in case it applies to you.

Anyway, as I'm sure you already know, NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) starts in just a couple of days. Will you be participating this year? If yes, check out this advice on how to prep for NaNoWriMo, and this checklist for NaNoWriMo. Yeah, I know I'm not giving you much notice. But you still have some time to prep, if you haven't done so already. Or, why not warm up with a few writing sprints? In fact, you could do some if you aren't doing NaNoWriMo too.

Writing sprints or not, if you are doing NaNoWriMo this year, good luck! Whether you complete the challenge or not, feel free to tell me how it goes once November is over. And, if you don't complete it, remember that all writers must fail; it's the fact you tried that really counts.

I mean, what keeps you from writing success? Are you a prisoner of unexamined beliefs? If so, perhaps you should "play" a little, and examine those beliefs. Just a thought. So, break out of the box.

Success is not permanent & failure is not fatal.
~Mike Ditka

If you're struggling with confidence issues, and they're getting in the way of your writing, read this next post, and don't let your confidence issues stop you from writing.

You could even just try some stream of conciousness writing. No. It's not a waste of potential writing time. It's good practice. In fact, here's a post in defense of writing nonsense. In fact, many of my first drafts start out like that. That's why I never let anyone see my writing until I've at least done that first rewrite.

But, later, how do you know your writing is good? Well, I hope someone will tell me when my writing isn't good, but the truth is you rarely get told one way or another. Mostly you just have to write, read, do your best, and hope your best is good enough. But if you think something you wrote really isn't good enough, don't throw away your work, just set it aside.

The hard part of creation is when you're doing it and no one's paying attention.
~Hank Green

Next, this is a post about writerly procrastination - why it happens, and how to break free of it. Because, let's face it, we all need some advice on that from time to time.

But... Ah, yes, to quit writing would be so easy, wouldn't it? But is it really what you want? Probably not. You're probably just tired, or dealing with a lot right now, or... Well, something. So think long and hard before you quit, and don't be in too much of a hurry to walk away.

If your urge to quit is because you're behind on the writing goal(s) you set yourself at the start of the year, and now you're realizing the year is almost over, and you aren't going to meet it in these next two months - I mean, how is it the end of October already anyhow? - this is how to keep writing towards your goal even if you know you won't reach it.

It might also help you to avoid the urge to quit if you write about your passions whenever you can, in whatever way you can make that work.

The writer can choose what he writes about but he cannot choose what he is able to make live…
~Flannery O’Connor

OK, I'm going to assume you aren't going to quit. So, here's how to make time for writing outside your day job, more tips on how to fit writing around your full time job, and even more advice for when your day job 'gets in the way' of your writing time, all of which you can use whether you have a day job or not, because everyone has other commitments they have to consider, we all need to be reminded that sometimes you have to say yes to less (if you want to write more, and any advice for helping figure out how to balance those is welcome, right? I know it is for me. So try different things until you figure out what works, even if the idea of doing so is scary.

Be courageous and try to write in a way that scares you a little.
~Holley Gerth

Like me, you might be one of those people with a long list of story ideas you're trying to work your way through. But, if you're not, here's a bit about where story ideas come from, which will hopefully lead to you finding some to work with.

Right... You have your idea. Now it's time to write it. So... Backstory. Is it relevant information or an inconsequential event? Well, that depends on your story.

No matter what your story's about, here are some ways to invigorate silent beats in dialogue - in case you want some ideas on how to do that.

Regardless of who says what in your story, or how they say it, your story will need an antagonist of some kind. So, check out this post that reminds you of the missing piece - what most antagonists lack.

Whoever's in your story, if you're thinking of writing from the point of view of more than one character - or even if you aren't - here's some advice on nailing point of view, which you might find useful.

So, does your story need more tension? One way to get it is to follow the advice in the post I just linked to.

You should also take a look at these tips for watching out for redundancy in your story. The third one you especially want to watch out for.

Next, here's some advice on the whole writing what you know thing, and the importance of breathing life in to what you "know" using experiences both real and imagined.

Writing doesn't get easier with experience. The more u know, the harder it is to write
~T O'Brien

OK, if you're book is written, and you're ready to think about marketing and publishing it, you might want to take a look at these tips on writing a book blurb that actually sells, so you can figure out how to craft an awesome blurb that will hopefully result in plenty of sales. Of course, nothing's guaranteed when it comes to book sales, but the better chance you can give your book, the better it is for your chances of sales.

Also, check out this advice for doing radio or podcast interviews and interviews in front of a camera, in case the opportunity to do one of those presents itself. You never know, and don't want to waste the opportunity if it does.

Words are containers for power, you choose what kind of power they carry.
~Joyce Meyer

Finally, if you're a blogger, here's something to think about if you almost gave up blogging, and a reminder that it's OK to just do things at your own pace, and focus on enjoying your online interactions. A reminder I needed, if I'm honest.

Of #Puppy Blues, #Crochet Blankets, #Crafting Kits, Coffee Dates Where No Coffee Is Consumed, Weather Reports, Skylights, Showers, And #BananaBlossom

The above photo of Logan was taken a couple of weeks ago. He's sleeping in Lilie's metal dog bed. Probably because there's more room for him than there is in his basket... He needs a bigger bed, which we'll be arranging for him soon. I'm thinking that's what "Santa Paws" should bring him as his main Christmas present this year. Lilie's gotten a bit big for her one in the bedroom too, so maybe she should get a new bed as well? *wink*

Anyway, the blanket he's on is actually a crochet blanket my Mam made for me. But Lilie decided it was for her. After a couple of attempts to claim it for myself, where she'd tug at it gently while looking sad, and Logan would run off with it and drop it off near her bed for her, I let her keep it. My Mam offered to make me another, but after battling for a few minutes internally with wanting a blanket made by my Mam vs wanting to avoid having new items made of wool brought in to the house for my personal use, I declined. I hope my Mam understands it's because of wanting to embrace veganism as fully as is possible in my circumstances, not just with eating, but in all areas of my life, and not a reflection on her or her crochet skills. She started the original blanket before I became vegan, so I was going to accept it, but asking her to make one now would be different. Does that make sense?

OK, enough of that. A few things happened over the past couple of weeks, so I'm going to get you caught up on those today, in case you're interested in what I've been up to. So, let's see...

For one thing, my Makerly kit for October arrived. It contained some kind of fabric printing kit. I forget what the proper name for the kind of craft it is was meant to be, but it basically involves making leaf patterns on fabric. A good one for the time of year, I think.

In other news: fellow writer, Barbara G. Tarn, was visiting the UK near the start of last week (she lives in Italy). So she met up with me for a coffee and chat. Well, actually, since I drank peppermint tea, and she drank hot chocolate, there was no coffee involved. Plenty of chatting though. Anyway, we met up at the cafe downstairs from us, and enjoyed a lovely couple of hours in each other's company, while Kelly was upstairs with Lilie and Logan. This is the third time in five years I've met Barb in person. Hopefully it won't be the last.

Logan wasn't happy about it at all. He missed his Mummy, and I'm told cried for most of the time I was gone, making me glad I was several floors down in a noisy cafe, with someone doing work and playing music on one of the floors seporating us, so I couldn't hear him, and he hopefully couldn't hear me either. I'd be concerned he could hear me, and that's why he was so upset, except I happen to know he behaves the same way every time I leave. He starts up the moment I'm the opposite side of the stair gate to him, and doesn't settle properly until I'm back with him again, at which point he greets me with such enthusiasm you'd swear I've been gone a year, even if I was gone for like five minutes.

I mean, both dogs gave me rather enthusiastic greetings when I got home, which made me feel like I was returning from a trip that had taken a year and a day, rather than the couple of hours it was. But Logan jumped in to my arms, and wouldn't let me put him down for about 20 minutes. He's also been sticking incredibly close to me ever since. My Logi-Bear really hates when his Mummy goes anywhere without him. Lilie's never entirely happy about it, but even as a puppy she was more accepting of me leaving than Logan is. But then, Lilie has always considered herself more Kelly's dog, and gotten more upset when he leaves than when I do. Logan apparently considers himself mine, which is fine by me.

We would have taken them downstairs too. The dogs I mean. But both Lilie and Logan - especially Lilie - get rather excited seeing people, especially if those people say, "Hello," to them, so we didn't want them bouncing about inside the cafe. I'm sure the people who own the cafe wouldn't have thanked us for that, considering the chaos they can cause when they get excited. But we couldn't sit outside, because it was a drizzly sort of day. It wasn't as wet that afternoon as it had been earlier in the day, and it wasn't one of the stormy days we've had recently. But it was too chilly and damp for an outside dining experience. Hence Kelly going back home after dropping me off at the cafe.

We had a feeling that might happen, considering all the damp or stormy days we've had throughout October. I mean, we've had some lovely sunny days - though even those have usually been on the chilly side, with temperatures reaching as high as 16 C (about 64 F) a couple of times, but mostly hovering around 12 C (56 F) and starting to get colder... It didn't get above 8 C (46 F) Sunday, and when I'm writing this on Monday morning it's currently only 4 C (40 F) - but the weather really hasn't been nice most of this past month or so, with rain and strong winds being the main form of weather we've seen.

At least the skylight is fixed now.

Yeah, I know. To be honest, we were amazed too. But the repair guy showed up this past Thursday to, "Take a look at that skylight," and now it's fixed.

Well, actually, it's not as thoroughly fixed as it should have been, but it's fixed enough that it's not raining inside every time it rains outside any more, and the wind no longer sneaks in to play in the attic via the skylight. The birds can't get in any more either, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. Good because they shouldn't be in there. Bad because they were going in there for shelter, so it's a shame they lost that shelter. There are plenty of more suitable bird sheltering areas around though, so they can go to one of those when the weather calls for it.

Anyway, as I said, he didn't do a full replacement, despite it needing one. He wanted to, but he couldn't, because the weather won't allow for him to do so without way too many health and safety risks. But he fixed it so the rain and wind aren't happening inside any more, which is a good thing. Would be even better if it had been sorted when the weather was still nice enough that it didn't add extra risks, so he could have done the full repair. But at least the bad weather stays outside where it belongs now. So we're pleased about that.

Also, our friends, Lorna and Andy, came to finish sorting the shower for us this past Tuesday afternoon. Well, Andy did. Lorna just came to hang out and chat with me, and say, "Hi," to the furkids. Either way, they came, and now the shower rail and curtain are up at last, which means we can finally actually have a choice between a shower or a bath. YAY!

Don't get me wrong, I love a good bath, especially when I've got time for a soak with some bubbles. But sometimes it would be great if I could grab a quick shower instead. Plus, it's nice to have the choice. You know?

Lilie and Logan were rather confused and upset by the strangeness of my disappearing behind the shower curtain though, and relieved when I emerged in one piece - if rather soggy - from behind it.

You see, since we haven't been able to make use of the shower before now - unless we wanted to soak the bathroom, which we didn't - neither have experienced us having a shower. They've seen us have a bath plenty of times. Me especially, since they always come in the bathroom while I have my bath (settling them in the bathroom with a rawhide chew or something is the only way I can have a bath without them causing utter chaos while I'm doing so... Not sure why, since they're happy to play with me, or settle near me, while Kelly has a bath, but go crazy if I'm having one and they aren't allowed in the bathroom). So they got rather upset at the strangeness of me disappearing behind the curtain the first time. Upset enough that even Logan - our food crazy dog - didn't touch the rawhide chewie stick I'd given them for while I had my shower. They weren't so bad the next time though, so hopefully they'll soon start accepting it as normal, and go back to calmly enjoying their treats while I get clean.

Anyway, not much else has happened around here over the past couple of weeks. The only other thing that happened was that I tried banana blossom for the first time at the end of last week. I'd neither eaten or cooked with it before, and only had a can because I spotted it when stocking my cupboards with things just after becoming vegan, so grabbed it (figuring I'd work out what I was meant to do with it later).

I've seen most people using it to make fish dishes. But I never was a fan of the taste of fish, even before becoming vegetarian, so don't care to experience it as a vegan, thank you very much. But I was sure that couldn't be all it was good for, even if I couldn't figure out what I could do with it.

This meant the can of banana blossom I found when doing my shopping sat in the cupboard for about two months before I figured out what to do with it. In the end, it was someone mentioning having had a banana blossom burger while out somewhere that helped me decide what to do with the can of banana blossom.

So, I made some banana blossom burgers, making up the recipe as I went along, and hoping for the best.

I used about half the can of banana blossom, an onion, some nutritional yeast, a selection of herbs and spices (I used allspice, basil, salt, and pepper) and some flour. I roughly chopped the banana blossom and onion, blended them - along with the herbs and spices, and nutritional yeast - until they made a smoothe paste, mixed enough flour in to it to turn it in to a dough firm enough that I could form it in to burger shapes, and stuck them on a tray in the oven. Cooked them for about 20 minutes, I think... Basically, until they seemed nice and firm to me. Then served them in bread (it was meant to be rolls, but I forgot to get some) with some vegan mayo, with some sweet potato fries on the side.

Since it was only me eating the banana blossom burgers - since Kelly had no desire to try banana blossom - I decided ahead of time that I'd only be using part of the can for the burgers. So what to do with the rest of the banana blossom?

I decided on a curry. You can never go wrong with a curry, right? Besides, I've noticed from discussions on the vegan groups that when someone asks about a meat substitute for curry, everyone just suggests their favourite, and most of them get at least one mention. So... *shrugs*

With that in mind, I threw together a couple of chopped up mushrooms, a diced onion, a peeled and chopped apple, a couple of handfuls of peas, the rest of the can of banana blossom (chopped up before being added) and a small handful of raisins. Then I added a bit of curry powder, cumin, taragon, and allspice for seasoning, poured in some coconut milk, and cooked it in the slow cooker all afternoon (so for about four hours) stirring it from time to time. When I decided it was cooked enough, I served it with boiled rice.

So, what was the verdict?

The curry was nice, but not great; the curry would have been great, except I don't think banana blossom works too well in a curry. The banana blossom burgers worked better, though should have been seasoned more, since it seems banana blossom is like tofu in that you need to be generous with the seasonings, and I wasn't generous enough with them. I wouldn't mind having the banana blossom burgers again, but I think I'll give banana blossom curry a miss in the future. Mind you, having said that, I think I'll mainly be sticking to tofu and jackfruit, because I do actually like those better to be honest.

OK. That's you all caught up on what's been going on around here over the past couple of weeks, including my latest food experiments.

#MondayMotivation, #Inspiration, And #Wisdom - #Quotes For October 28th 2019

I must commit myself to beginning each day by concentrating on positive thoughts and focusing on my goals.
~Les Brown

If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place.
~Lao Tzu

Growth is an erratic forward movement: two steps forward, one step back. Remember that and be very gentle with yourself.
~Julia Cameron

What you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing.
~CS Lewis

The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.
~Terry Pratchett

Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow."
~Mary Anne Radmacher

It is one of the beautiful compensations in this life that no one can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.
~Emerson

#FurkidFriday: Mollie The #Chinchilla Celebrates Her 4th Birthday

Hi everyone. This is Mollie the chinchilla.

I had one of those birthday things nearly two weeks ago, but I'm only now getting a chance to come on here and tell you about it. I've got a video and some photos to show you though, so I hope that makes it worth the wait.

Anyway, I had a great birthday! The human caretakers gave me some oatmeal with berries for breakfast. Plus I got some new toys. You can see my chewy carrot, and the flower part of my hanging flower toy in this first photo:


I was busy enjoying the rest of the toy, after having grabbed it too quickly for the human caretakers to get a photo of me checking it out, which is why you don't see the whole toy in the above photo. Hey, can I help it if they're slow? Anyway, here are photos of me playing with the part I ran off with:


And here's a video too:







Like I said, it was a great birthday! I loved my toys, as well as my oatmeal and berries breakfast!

Squeak soon,
Mollie

#AmReading + #AmWatching + #AmListening - October 24th 2019 #Reviews

A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children isn't a good children's story in the slightest.
~C.S. Lewis

It's time to take a look at what I've been reading and watching during this past week.

If you want to know more about the book, or the author, click on whichever it is you want to learn more about, and it will take you to the appropriate page on Goodreads. Clicking on my rating should take you to my actual Goodreads review for the book in question. Please bear in mind that the format I've reviewed on Goodreads may not be the format I actually read.

Alternatively, if it's a movie or TV show you want to know more about, just click on the title to go to a page where you can find out more details about the movie or TV show in question; the title links will usually take you to a page on IMDB.

Don't forget: I read and watch things across multiple genres, as well as for different age ranges, so you should always check before reading or viewing, to make certain something is suitable for the intended audience, especially when children are involved.

OK...

Here's what I read this week:

The Eternity Code by Eoin Colfer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the best of the series so far. The action, the feels, the twists... They're all so well done. How could I give this book anything other than five stars? It deserves every star for certain!

The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is another excellent addition to the series. It's full of emotion and action from start to finish. Plus I love how the characters and their relationships with one another are developing.

The Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde by Oscar Wilde
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
These are beautifully told tales, though admittedly with a bit more enthesis on religeon than I generally like. I advise anyone planning to enjoy them with their children to have a read/listen yourself first though, since they aren't your unicorns and rainbows Disney-like fairy tales.

As for what I've been watching:

I watched a lot during the past week. I caught several episodes of "The Simpsons" and "Futurama" as well as a few episodes of "NCIS" that were on TV when I happened to be in the living room, and hadn't asked Alexa to play me music instead (I tend to play music on Alexa in the mornings, but have the TV on if I'm in the living room in the afternoon or evening). I also watched "The Incredibles 2" when it was on one of the movie channels. It was my second time watching it.

Then, on Saturday, I decided I was going to just sprawl on the sofa with the dogs and have a Harry Potter movie marathon, so watched the first three Harry Potter DVDs back to back. It was Logan's first Harry Potter viewing... He mostly seemed uninterested, though he seemed to like the look of Hagrid, since he showed most interest if Hagrid was on screen. Oh, except there was one other thing that got a reaction from him: he totally freaked out during the scene in the first movie where the chocolate frog gets loose. As in, barking and rushing about as if trying to find it. Took a few minutes to calm him down. Guess he didn't like that part.

Anyway, if that wasn't enough, I also watched a new to me movie on Sunday, so I have a review for you too. See... Told you I watched a lot this week.

Christopher Robin (2018 movie):
This was a really great movie, with several amusing scenes, and a lovely ending. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I generally enjoy the Winnie The Pooh movies - the ones I've seen anyhow - but I did really enjoy it; it's a great family movie, and I do recommend it to fans of Winnie The Pooh and friends. I give this movie four out of five stars.

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Just wondering... Since I'm listening to a lot more music again now I have Alexa to command. Would you like me to share some of what I've been listening to as well? Would you be interested in a musical part to these media posts? I wouldn't be listing all the songs I listen to each week. But perhaps I could spotlight a song or something? Just a thought... Let me know what you think.

Here's a song for this week anyhow, from Disney's "Moana" - the first song I asked my Alexa to play, since it was the first one I thought of at the time for some reason. Plus, it's a great song, from an excellent movie.

#KidLit #FairyTale #Book - Thistle The Fairy Trickster Now In #Audio! #Fairies #ChildrensBooks

All fairies love playing games and tricks, and Thistle is no different. So when she gets bored one day while watching to make sure no children are in trouble near the stream, she decides it’s time for a bit of fun. But the other fairies quickly get fed up of her tricks, and when a small boy really does need help they don’t believe her.

Loosely based on the well-known story of ‘The Boy Who Cried wolf’ but with not a sheep or wolf in sight, ‘Thistle The Fairy Trickster’ tells the story of a bored little fairy who plays one trick too many.

Previously only available as an eBook or paperback, "Thistle The Fairy Trickster" is now also available as an audiobook, read for you by Jenny Bacon.

Regardless of the format you'd prefer, here are the main places where you can buy the book:

Audible, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Chapters-Indigo, iBooks, iTunes, Amazon UK, Amazon US, Amazon Canada, and The Book Depository.

The book also has a page on Goodreads.

Reviews help authors sell books, so if you grab a copy - regardless of the format you grab it in - it would be great if you could take a few moments to leave a review, either where you brought it, on Goodreads, or wherever else you post reviews. Thank you!

#Vegan And #Vegetarian Friendly Food Themed Thoughts - October 2019 Edition

I had my first attempt since becoming vegan at making a quiche the other day. I'm a fan of quiche normally, but it took me a while to get around to trying a veganized recipe. I'd seen a bunch of different ones online, some more complicated than others, some using actual egg replacers - which I tend to avoid doing - and some that were more like vegetable tarts than quiches in my opinion, so not really what I was looking for. So I used those as a base for ideas on how to veganize my usual quiche recipe. Basically, for the eggy part, I blended tofu, nutritional yeast, and garlic granuals. Then I put those in a pastry-lined tin along with some vegan cheese, some mushrooms, and some spinach, and baked it in the oven for about 40 minutes. The result was actually really good, though I think a bit more seasoning is called for next time... I forgot to adjust for the fact tofu needs plenty of seasoning, so didn't add the bit of crushed garlic I usually add to my spinach and mushroom quiche, since I was using the garlic granuals in the tofu mixture. But I think I should have used both. Or, for a recipe without garlic - if you don't want to use it for whatever reason - use plenty of whatever seasoning you decide to use. It had the right sort of quiche-like texture though, and tasted good, so I was really pleased with my first attempt at making a vegan quiche.

I'll get the recipe written up, and when the person in charge of doing so gets a chance, it will get put on my website's recipe section, along with a few other vegan recipes I plan to put on there. No promises as to when though.

In the meantime, since today marks three months since I went vegan, I thought it was a good day to give a mention to some of the websites I didn't list in my last post like this, so you can check them out if you're looking for vegan or vegetarian friendly recipes, information, and nutrition resources. It's also a good way for me to gather them together, so I can find them more easily myself when I want to. *wink*

Remember: just because these are vegan recipe sites, doesn't mean they aren't worth checking out for those of you who are non-vegans. Sure, some of the recipes won't appeal to you. But that's the case for vegans checking them out too. Besides, you might find some great ideas for starters or side dishes, or things you can serve your vegetarian and vegan guests if you're cooking for a crowd, or even something you fancy trying for a meat-free Monday meal idea, or healthy breakfast/lunch. You might even get inspired to create your own recipe based on one of the ones you see on these sites, but adapted to fit whatever your own dietary preferences might be. Options are limitless when you're cooking and baking, so check out as many recipes as you can, and experiment. After all, that's half the fun of cooking!

Anyway, as I said in last month's post, this is far from a complete list, but here are those websites...

So VeganRabbit And WolvesThe Buddhist ChefPETA UK
Oh My Veggies
Ordinary Vegan
Art Of Zen Foods
Vegan Recipe Club
Fat Free Vegan Kitchen
Minimalist Baker (mainly vegan/plant based, but not exclusively).