Sweet Olive Book Review

Sweet Olive

By Judy Christie  

Zondervan Publisher

Sweet Olive is about a tough, independent woman working in the oil business and wrestling with a moral dilemma when the residents of Sweet Olive, Louisiana are reluctant to sign over their land rights.  

Camille Gardner wants to be fair and generous with the landowners, but she also wants to get it done and get out of town.  With no interest in settling down in a small town, Camille is surprised to find herself drawn to the landowners, to their small town sense of community and especially to the handsome attorney representing the landowners.

In the charming community of Sweet Olive, Camille finds her tough exterior refined and her faith revived from a painful past.  Camille navigates the fine line between humanity and big business without minimizing her career and goes on to find love in unexpected places.

Sweet Olive is a great book.  I’m thrilled to find Christian fiction that is current and well written.  The characters brought the book to life and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Sweet Olive is available in print or electronic format.

Disclosure:  The product in this review was given free of charge. My opinions are my honest, tried-and-true views and were not influenced by any source. I was not compensated monetarily to advertise this campaign.

One Faux Pas Away from Becoming a Meme

Every time you step out your front door, you are just one faux pas away from becoming a meme.

The old school risk of doing something embarrassing only to have the mean girls giggle around the lockers the next day has become a much larger risk.  Over a billion cameras in mobile phones and tablets were shipped in 2012.  2013 will surpass that by far.  It takes a literal minute to snap a photo and put it on the Internet for the entire world to view.  It takes just a few minutes more to upload it to a Meme Generator and slap a snarky remark on it.

The natural next step is hands free photography.

Google's Glass, a wearable camera designed for the public and currently in test mode, should be released in 2014.  Glass is developed to operate via voice commands, head movements and taps on a control panel.

 
Imagine the apps that will be developed for this -- apps that provide travel and historical information about your view, birding apps (Tom!), horticulture info., and yes the inevitable, face recognition apps, which will be great for Aunt Bertha with her dementia.

After app development for Glass, legislation for privacy protection is going to have to come into the picture.   Face recognition could be very damaging in the wrong hands..... creepers, stalkers, abusive husbands. 

Mark Zuckerberg has claimed that privacy is no longer a social norm.  How do you feel about that?

USC Walk for Babies, March of Dimes, Columbia SC

Our team participated in the USC March for Babies today and raised nearly $500.  Thank you to all of you who supported us.  We appreciate your support very much.

In South Carolina, on average, 159 babies each week are born too soon.  Premature babies spend many weeks, sometimes months in the NICU.  Many have life long health and developmental consequences, many regain good health, and sadly, some do not survive.

The March of Dimes' March for Babies raises funds for research to increase the health and well being of premature babies.  University of South Carolina's walk today was a student-led 2.5 mile walk fundraiser for the March of Dimes.  The students did an excellent job with this first time effort.

March For Babies Columbia, SC

The March of Dimes March for Babies will be in Columbia, SC on Sunday, November 17, 2013.

I am walking on a team in memory of my third grandchild, Braden.  I, and my family, are not big on fund raising.  We have never pushed hard to collect money or ask people for funds.  I believe there's adequate information online for people to choose what charities to support and I like to let them make their choices without my advice.

Having said that, I want to let my readers know that this walk is coming up.

The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.

There are many ways to support the March for Babies.  If you want to sponsor me, visit My Page to make your donation.  If you've lost a baby, you can share your story.

Thank you for your support of whatever charity you support. We are a generous nation.

Best Potato Soup Recipe

You might remember this.  Jackie's Potato Soup.  It's finally cold enough to start making it again, so I thought I'd share the recipe with you and give you a good kick in the butt on it.

Find Recipe Here
Find Us Enjoying Recipe Here

DIY Laundry Detergent - Homemade Detergent

I made DIY laundry detergent this week, at a friend’s request, and I’m not sure if I’ll ever do that again.

Happy Homemakers across the globe said this was a great homemade laundry detergent recipe and would save around $30/year.  Sounds great until you do the math.  That’s around $2.50/month.  It’s too much work and too messy for me to consider it worth saving $2.50 a month.  I’d rather give up one coffee beverage per month and earn my savings that way.

However, if you’re doing it for other reasons, it might be worth it.

I just spent two hours going to four stores because I was trying to avoid Walmart.  Had I simply gone to Walmart, I could have gotten all ingredients in one stop, but I hate Walmart.  I spent another hour destroying my kitchen in an at attempt to shave two bars of soap into tiny flakes.   My microwave smells like soap.  My counters are slimy from soapy residue......

Foggy Thinking, Lethargy

In the hormonal madness called menopause, I often find myself in a fog of confusion, staring blankly, wondering what I am supposed to be doing.  I know I am supposed to be doing something, something more than just standing in the middle of the kitchen or driving around town.   But without a sticky note To-Do list or electronic calendar to look at, I’m at a loss.

Confused.

Agitated.

Feeling less-than.

In a fog.

It is refreshing to me, at this stage of life, to have the gps, something mothers and grandmothers before me didn’t have to help them muck through.

The soothing voice, confidently telling me “Head West!!”   My shoulders straighten, I lift my head. 

Yes.

I’ll head West.!!

That’s just the thing to do.

That soothing voice breaking down my life into step-by-step directions is very appealing to me.  I turn it on sometimes when I’m not even going anywhere.  I just want to hear someone who knows what they’re doing.  Someone who feels confident and full of hope.

“Don’t panic.  In about ¾ miles, you’ll need to make a right.  But hang in there, I’ll let you know when and there’s a decelerating lane for you to make it a gradual change.  Ready now?  Ease on over to your right…..”

The fog is so thick some days, I can’t function.

Really.

I can do nothing but wonder what I should do. 

Somebody – anybody – just tell me what to do.

I miss my Nana.  She would pull me aside and whisper “This, too, shall pass.”

Before I Die: A TED Talk

Something to think about....

First Responder's Monument Honors Local K-9s

Fargo is a recent addition to the First Responder's 9/11 Memorial in Columbia SC.  Here's the full story on the monument that will honor local K-9s.  BTW, my daughter is the reporter and my son is one of the stone carvers.

Apple Season, Best Apple?

So.... I'm going up country to meet up with my folks and pick some apples.   I'm kind of excited because I've never done this and I always hear other people talking about apple festival this and apple festival that and I see the totally staged awesome fake candid pictures and all.  But mostly?  I just want fresh apples to make lots and lots of Mom's Famous Apple Bread.

So I've been asking people what kind of apples they'd like me to bring back and my daughter told me to check my blog and see which kind she likes the best.   In 2009, my daughter conducted an apple taste test.  In honor of apple season, I will re-post that one here.  What follows is, to her embarrassment, the lovely results of the Great Apple Taste-Off of '09.  A few new varieties of apple have hit the scene since '09 and I'mma be sure to look for them this weekend in the mountains:  Pink Lady and Honey Crisp.

Marj got on an apple eating kick, quite by accident, while training for softball. I don't give much thought to apples, I usually grab any old one from the store, but Marj decided she has a more discerning palate. She decided she likes Fuji the best and that I must buy Fuji. I was OK with it 'cause I like to say Fuji.

But when I spotted the bright array of apples at the market......

Should You Self Publish Your Book?

Guest Post from Handlebar Publishing, C. Grant & Co.

How to get the book that’s “in you” out to the world

You’ve got a book in you—you’re sure of it. Whether it’s an amazing story, or solid expert advice, you know others would benefit from the book you’re already writing in your head.

So, what is the best way for you to go about getting this book out to the masses? You’ve got a few options; we’ll walk you through them here.

Traditional PublishingGetting your book published has never been tougher—if you go the traditional royalty publisher route. Traditional, or “royalty” publishing, works like this: you (or more accurately, your literary agent) queries a publishing company with a book proposal. If the publisher “buys” your book, they’ll offer you an advance (sometimes) and a small cut of the book sales proceeds. In return, they’ll edit the book, cover the costs of production (including the cover), printing, and so forth. But this also gives them editorial control and more sway in your brand management. The publisher handles distribution—getting your book into stores and online sellers—and book promotion, handling some marketing, but leaving a larger chunk to you than you might expect.

Self-PublishingSelf-publishing is a risk you, the author, take on in full......

Resurrection Year by Sheridan Voysey, Book Review

Resurrection Year:  Turning Broken Dreams Into New Beginnings
Sheridan Voysey
Thomas Nelson Publisher

Resurrection Year, an autobiography about recovering from broken dreams, is a wonderful book truthful enough to acknowledge a silent God and emotional enough to pull you through the times of silence.

Sheridan Voysey and his wife reluctantly release their dogged hold on their dream of having a child after ten years of dashed hopes and many failed rounds of IVF.  Heartbroken and disillusioned, they give up their jobs, pack their bags and head to Europe to find healing... hope... something.

Through Rome, Paris, Switzerland and England, the Voyseys wrestle with doubts about God's goodness.

The opposite of faith isn't doubt but indifference, because those who doubt are still engaged with the question while the indifferent don't care.

Was it the silence of God he (Jesus) experienced in Gethsemane -- when he pleaded for his life to be spared?  He prayed three times with such anguish he sweated blood; even an angel couldn't console his distress.  Yet there was no voice from Heaven like there was at his baptism, no thundery words as there were at his transfiguration.  Only silence.

The Voyseys came to see their journey through infertility to be a wilderness journey, drawing the imagery from the infamous Biblical story of the Jews lost in the wilderness enroute to the promised land......