Not All is Well On The Western Front...

Sometime life can throw you off...Yesterday was such a day...

What  started as a normal daily constitutional revealed a problem later in the day diagnosed as 'Accute Pancreatis' for 'Mac', my shadow...

Scrambling for the first available ferry run and two veterinarians later, we found ourselves leaving him at a hospital for emergency treatment up North. 

Phone calls revealed 'Mac' is responding well to the first treatment but an additional problem was identified and we are now waiting to hear what will happen next. 
He is on his best 'Corgi' behaviour though according to the ER doctor and they love him at the hospital. 
We miss him!

A prayer or two would not go amiss Folks! Thank you!!

The Icecutter's Daughter by Tracie Peterson, Book review

Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (March 1, 2013)

ISBN-13: 978-0764206191

Synopsis:

As the lone female in a houseful of men, Merrill Krause dedicates her life to caring for her family and their business, as her dying mother asked. Besides, it suits her; she's never felt like she fits what most people expect in a girl--she'd rather work with her father's horses and assist with the ice harvest. And though she's been mostly content up to this point, a part of her wonders if there will ever be anyone who will notice her amid the bevy of brothers determined to protect her from any possible suitors.

When Rurik Jorgenson arrives in their small Minnesota town to join his uncle's carpentry business, he soon crosses paths with Merrill. But unlike other men, who are often frightened away by her older brothers, Rurik isn't intimidated by them or by Merrill's strength and lack of femininity. The attraction between them begins to build...until Rurik's former fiance shows up with wild claims that bring serious consequences to Rurik.

Can Rurik and Merrill learn to trust God--and each other--when scandal threatens their newfound love?

My thoughts:

My first novel by Tracie Peterson was Book #3 in the 'Land of the Lone Star' series entitled 'Taming the Wind' (see review HERE), a good Western in itself and proof yet again this well published author has always something new up her sleeve! 
Easy to read, entertaining and with just enough historical facts to give even this quickly bored reader something to ponder about, her novels reflect a wholesomeness and faith  readers of any age will enjoy.

The Icecutter's Daughter's jacket alone was eye catching: I love raised lettering and the image and colours were a strong pull in my choice for reading it, in fact as much as the resume (I know,  I know, you should never judge a book by its cover but the series' name alone 'Land of Shining Water' was striking!).

Icecutting was a vast industry in the US before machinery overtook this skilled art and I was curious to see what Tracie might have dug out when she wrote her historical fiction about two young people, destined to be together yet separated by lies and scandal. 

 
Merrill has always seen to the needs of her large, mostly male family and her German ancestry is as much a part of her life as Rurik's Swedish roots are his. Tracie weaves a convincing tale about their budding love amidst Nordic traditions and deep faith, wrongs to be righted and duties to their families. 

As always you may depend on this author's for the myriad of details which makes this tale a sweet read on these cold and rainy Spring evenings this Pacific NW coastline is known for!

4 Stars!

 
About the Author:

Tracie Peterson is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than eighty-five novels. Tracie also teaches writing workshops at a variety of conferences on subjects such as inspirational romance and historical research.

For more information visit her website (HERE)

I received this book free from BETHANY HOUSE PUBLISHERS & CHOSEN BOOKS as part of their blogger review program. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC 16 CFR, Part 255 'Guides concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising. I was not asked to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are entirely my own. 

What Are They Doing Now?

If you are a reader like myself, you probably have favourite titles and/or authors as I do. Classics, now available in every format, these timeless stories we read regularly just to remind us of beautiful prose penned painstakingly perhaps on a writing desk lit by candlelight, an almost forgotten skill considering the age of computers and Internet access!

These fascinating accounts of past lives we would not know of otherwise, each one portraying breathtaking characters and depicting story lines we could never forget: Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Emile Zola, La Comtesse de Segur, Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell, Thomas Hardy, Tolstoy, Jane Austen or the Bronte Sisters...Too many to list obviously, all favourites in my case though as you have yours, and read often.

 (E. Gaskell)

I find contemporary 'classics' from such talents as Catherine Cookson, Brock and Bodie Thoene, Cora ten Boom for i.e., to reflect fascinating historical facts and heartfelt messages I never forget, keepers! I lovingly dust each and everyone of these and pick up a title now and then to rediscover, good friends I cherish!

Upon visiting an old Norwegian book shoppe, I was advised by its elderly owner it would soon have to close its doors because of lack of support. Next to priceless first editions, each a collectible I would have loved to own, sat well stocked shelves of  known authors and not so well known, hardbacks and paperbacks. The problem it seemed was the owner would not allow drinks, food and gadgets of all sort to invade her precious floor plan and rightfully so in my opinion.
Looking at my selection (all sea stories if you must know) her counsel was: purchase what you can now, and substitute better copies later as budget allows. To date, we still follow that advice but sadly, the little shoppe is now closed!

As time goes by I have added also authors whose intriguing story lines I cannot resist, often based on real facts such Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago, James N. Rowe's Five Years to Freedom...

Finally there are those authors whose fictional works I have enjoyed for entertainment and the research revealed in the special notes and acknowledgments, these surely as fascinating as the tales themselves!

With these consummate authors comes a wide rainbow of alluring characters and fascinating plot lines for any of us to luxuriate in! To list a few only here for illustration, and not by any preference (I like them equally) I included their website for the purpose of finding out what they are doing at this time should you be so interested.

Kate Furnivall
http://www.katefurnivall.com/

Laura Frantz
http://laurafrantz.net/

Dan Walsh
http://danwalshbooks.com/

Suzanna Kearsley
http://www.susannakearsley.com/index.html

Suzanne Woods Fisher
http://suzannewoodsfisher.com/

Julie Klassen
http://julieklassen.com/

Sarah Sundin
http://sarahsundin.com/

Ann H. Gabhart
http://annhgabhart.com/

Mesu Andrews
http://www.mesuandrews.com/

Carla Stewart
http://www.carlastewart.com/

I better stop right here and let you think of your own favourites! 
But before I close this I thought I would share with you a newcomer in the literature world, albeit not a fictional author, Marcy Hanson of No Maybe Baby blog side. Marcy has a very special book coming up this July and judging from her Publisher's book updates, she is quite a talented lady. 
Check it out here: http://nomaybebaby.blogspot.com/p/book-updates.html

Don't miss her wonderful post of Easter morning (here), the best I read for this glorious day!

Your turn:  What are some of your favourite authors/titles?
Need a few moments just to yourself? Grab a book and enjoy a good read with maybe a cuppa nearby!
Never forget to Live, love, laugh (and don't forget to dream!)

P.S. Don't get too excited, I only wish it was mine!

Note: Mention of favourite authors and their works was unrequested and reflects mostly my preference for Christian authors!

Mary...

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women"

"The feast of the Annunciation of the Lord celebrates the angel Gabriel's appearance to the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26-38), his announcement that the Blessed Virgin had been chosen to be the Mother of Our Lord, and Mary's fiat—her willing acceptance of God's holy plan."

Gifts Of War by Mackenzie Ford, Book review

Publisher: Nan A. Talese (July 7, 2009)

ISBN-10: 0385528957

Synopsis:


During the Christmas Truce of 1914, Hal Montgomery, a British soldier, is given a photo by a German soldier, Wilhelm Wetzlar, and they make a pact. Hal promises to find his enemy’s English girlfriend, Samantha, and let her know her fiancé is alive and thinking of her.

Several weeks later, Hal—now injured—is discharged from the army and goes to Stratford on Avon to fulfill his promise. But things take an unexpected turn when he meets the woman in the photo and falls in love with her himself. As their romance blossoms, Sam shares with Hal her most private confidence: Her newborn son is of German lineage, information that threatens her reputation and her job as a schoolteacher. Fearful that he will lose Sam, Hal holds tight to the secret—and the photograph—that brought them together.


The scene shifts to London, where Hal becomes involved with military intelligence and is introduced to Sam’s sisters and a different kind of secrecy. Against the broader landscape of England in wartime, Gifts of War captures the era and the fates of men and women caught in the sweep of history.

A vivid tale of romance, adventure, and intrigue, the novel is a remarkable narrative that explores what made War World I so tragic, so revolutionary, and so exciting. It also announces a gifted new novelist.

My thoughts:

I literally stumbled on this novel in a 'all for one' (price) shoppe, the jacket instantly attracting my attention with its WW1 German 'Christmas celebration' in the trenches' photo! Stories of Allies and enemy meetings during a 1914 bleak Christmas eve throughout no man's land have always fascinated me, a haunting moment in a world gone crazy, never to be forgotten.
Mackenzie Ford (nom de plume for a well known British historian) captures his readers attention as he clearly explains his reasons for writing this bittersweet tale in an exclusive interview with Amazon (see notes and source below in 'About the Author').

Mackenzie Ford excels in this narrative with extensive historical knowledge, reflected in a myriad of details in 'Gifts of War', at its core, a multi faceted love story, or perhaps I should say stories, sure to grasp readers' romantic interest.
WW1 was a period like no other, with the beginning of new warfare, untried weapons and deadly ones, such as gas and zeppelins bombarding allied cities, following stupendous tactical errors leading to enormous casualties on both sides.

Descriptions of the British home front of 1914-1918 as few of us know of it, the losses and the hardships, the switches in gender's roles as women took on more responsibilities with men fighting in the trenches, the experiment of blood transfusions and its ultimate use on the battlefields, the new intelligence procedures, the resulting psychological aspects of warfare for those returning to civilian life afterwards and even their loved ones, all carefully explained. 
Mackenzie Ford leaves no aspect of wartime unturned and as such his novel if fictional, represents for someone like me, the one single complete account of these years.

In the midst of the madness of Christmas 1914, British officer Hal Montgomery could not have foreseen the result of accepting a German officer's photograph and delivering it to Sam, his fiance, an English teacher. Wilhem hopes she will understand his sudden reason for leaving her as war erupted and will wait for him.

Grievously wounded, Hal is shipped home, the photograph in his belongings. Following his recovery, Hal's promise leads him to the Midlands and discovers the beautiful young woman has borne a child out of wedlock, her love for Wilhem stronger than ever.
Against the almost idyllic background of WW1 in the English countryside, Hal cannot help but fall in love with Sam, keeping the photograph and Wilhem's secret to himself.
When it appears Sam is soon to lose her teaching position owing to her unmarried state, Hal tells her he loves her and offers to take her and her son to London, as he has accepted a position in the intelligence department of the War Office.

Our story now moves to London, and through the author' eyes we discover a vivid home front as we find the three of them living now as a family, with Hal keeping his secret and Sam asking him to be patient with her as she cannot forget Wilhem. 
As the conflicts continues in Europe, Hal's position rises up in the War department whilst Sam and her sisters who move in with them bring their shares of joy and grief in his life. His greatest happiness stems however of seeing Will, Sam and Wilhem's boy, grow and loving him as his own father.

Deftly woven through Hal and Sam's search for happiness, we meet Izzy, Hal's little sister, part of a specialized medical team experimenting with blood transfusions, a life saver on the battlefields. Her letters to Hal and her family allows us to experience from a woman's point of view the absurdity and horror of such a conflict. 
In 'Gifts of War', we discover there are many sorts of love whilst we see the political and social upheavals brought on by the War which ultimately gives us a glimpse of the future for all sides. History after all has already dealt itself one more card.

Finally, there is a price to be paid for all lies yet this beautiful story offers us an unexpected twist. It all began you see with one act of faith betwixt enemy nations in the midst of a War which would end all wars or so they thought...

Obviously a keeper for me, and rating 5 stars! 

Note to Readers: Mackenzie Ford has written two other novels which I ordered from the UK and will review at a later date!

As always, remember that unless stated otherwise, reviews reflect only my opinion!

About the Author:

(Source: AMAZON Exclusive)

'I am an only child, but the son of a mother who was one of four sisters, very close. And my father was a twin. I have, therefore, always been interested in how families influence behaviour, but more in how brothers and sisters impact on each other, rather than how parents influence their children. At the same time, I have observed how in the English language, so precise in many ways, we have just the one word—‘love’—to describe a wide range of feelings. We say we love the theatre, or the sun, or our laptops, but those are pale emotions compared to how we fall in love with someone else, and that can’t compare with the love of a parent for a child, or a child for a parent. Why were my mother and her sisters so close, why did they love each other so much, when other brothers and sisters are not close at all, may even be arch rivals, as say King Lear’s daughters were?


Gifts of War explores these issues against a background of the First World War, and for three reasons. The danger inherent in war heightens all emotions, and its sheer proximity forces a psychological equality on people that is absent the rest of the time; it helps the story-teller. But second, I have also noticed that, contrary to common sense, or what we take common sense to be, amid the danger—or perhaps because of it—people enjoy wartime conditions, some of them, or at least they say they did, after the event. So Gifts of War is about the good things that can come out of the unusual psychological circumstances of war.
That’s all background of course.

A final reason for choosing a wartime setting is that early on in World War One there was a very unusual development: at Christmas-time ordinary soldiers, in defiance of High Command, insisted on a truce, when they laid down their arms, climbed out of the trenches and fraternised with each other, swapping badges and photographs and cigarettes. This unusual occurrence allowed me, as a storyteller, the chance to begin a story of a kind that could occur in no other way, in no other war, in no other time. That, I like to think, is what makes Gifts of War unique.

I particularly enjoyed creating Isobel (Izzy), Hal's sister, a nurse at the Front. I spent months in the company of these characters and I hope you will savour them and their inter-relationships as much as I did. I was reluctant to let them go, but as you will see, there is an inevitability to the ending.'

~Mackenzie Ford~

Definitively Spring Weather!

I just know how that poor little bird feels...With April comes showers or so the meteorologist tells us...

	Rain 54°F 12°C Feels Like 54°F / 12°C	Humidity 94%	Barometer 29.71 in./754.6 mm
		Dew Point 52°F	Wind Calm
		Visibility 7 mi.

Since it ALWAYS rains here, no surprise obviously!

Gear 'de rigueur' for this island!

So with dinner over, I feel retreating to the reading room is the only option...

Nearby, Tuesday offerings...
One library loan and one acquisition I simply could not resist: 'Gifts of War' by Mackenzie Ford! I am almost at the end of this intriguing fictional account of WW1 and will share my findings in the next day or so!

With mail call, Wednesday's additions...

And Thursday's ...
(Titles not in any particular order by the way! )

Now for a cuppa and Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in B Flat Major (1st movement for those of you interested!)

Well, you know where you can find me!
Until next time...
 

Spring Promises...

Easter is already behind us but with its glorious promises and Spring here, we look forward to enjoy every day! For us on the coast, the weather is rather mild with showers never far... Still, we count our blessings!

The year's at the spring

And day's at the morn;

Morning's at seven;

The hillside's dew pearled;

The lark's on the wing;

The snail's on the thorn;

God's in His Heaven -

All's right with the world! 

  

(Robert Browning)

When you think Spring, what comes to mind? For me, it is those wonderful  green hills,  lambs frolicking, birds singing, jonquils and primroses blooming, the smell of earth warming up with all its rich promises...

Not so long ago I encountered a wonderful artist on Blogland named Fiona. Fiona's home is in Yorkshire and her surroundings are obviously a constant source of inspiration!   I thought to share one of her latest creations as she kindly agreed to a commission!

 
My requests were for one little black sheep and a thatched roof cottage and here it is! 
All the way from the British Isles, Yorkshire Dales in felted wool with tiny stitches, both machine and handmade as only Fiona can!

You can find more of this artist's unique creations at her blog 'MarmeladeRose' or on her Etsy shoppe (HERE).

 
Due to our mildew challenges here on the Pacific NW coast, I thought it best to tuck the wool tapestry in a shadow box and took another photo to showcase Fiona's work but when I checked it out this morning, I discovered an additional element...Do you see it too? Just an illusion of course, unexplained as yet (we were not sure what exactly reflected in the glass).

For those of you who might have a sweet tooth, this citrus cake was delicious (and since I cannot remember where I clipped the recipe, you only have to ask and I will email it!)
 

Back to reading...

Note to Readers: Mention of arts and crafts reflect only my opinion and are NEVER solicitated!