{ Harvesting Pecans }

Typically, we like to get the Pecans harvested as soon as they're ready, which for us could mean middle of October, but usually very beginning of November.

However, with all the craziness happening around here, it is not something we had a chance to do, until yesterday.

We've been blessed with 6 Pecan trees on the property.

When we first moved into this house, I had no clue we had so many, and the first year we didn't even realize there were pecans to harvest.  The second year we had quite a bit to harvest and we got as many as we could.

What we also didn't realize is that Pecan trees don't produce a huge crop, every single year.  So last year we were all set on harvesting and were quite disappointed not to see many at all.

This year however, we have an abundance.  Two of our trees put out a huge crop, enough that last week, my husband went out back to check on the trees and came back after an hour, with a full box.

Yesterday we decided that we needed to take some time and get out there, so we could gather as many as we could before they went bad, and before the squirrels went through them.

As it is, one of the trees was depleted and all that was left were a bunch of shells scattered at it's feet, with half eaten pecans.  Those silly squirrels!

However, there were still plenty to harvest.  We spent, maybe two hours and came back in with boxes full.  I have never seen so many pecans in my life.

The job is far from over, I now need to cure all these pecans.  If you don't cure them, you run the risk of mold growing and the nuts being inedible.

Now that we've harvested them, they will need to be placed in a single layer, on a surface that allows for good ventilation.  They will have to sit like this for about 2 weeks, and then we will shell them, freeze some, make pies, make pecan milk and all sorts of goodies.

These are the kind of chores that some people will turn their noses at, wonder why bother with all this work, just go to the store and buy them.  Absolutely, if you're willing to pay over 6 dollars for a small bag of pecans.  I don't know how much they are where you live, but I've always found pecans to be incredibly expensive, it's almost heartbreaking paying that much for a small bag of crushed pecans.

When you have an abundance that the Lord has blessed you with, you use it.  You make the effort, you harvest and cure and then enjoy the rewards.

For us, it's just part of living in the country, of homesteading so to speak.

It's not easy work, and after harvesting for just a few hours yesterday, my lower back was killing me, but it's work that I do with a smile on my face. 

If we are blessed to stay in this house, Curt and I have so many plans for the property, and I can not wait to take you along.

{ Let's talk }

It is so chilly outside, the grass is filled with sparkling icy drops, the car windows are covered in a white icy film, and our heaters are humming in the background.

I have a feeling that this winter is going to be colder than usual.

But come on in and sit with me a little, let's talk.

I want to start by apologizing for the lack of actual posts.  I have put up a book review pretty much each day, but I don't consider those proper blog posts.  Maybe I'm wrong, but for me, blogging is about sharing our lives, exchanging ideas and recipes, tips and so forth.

And so when I go a few days without doing that, I start getting antsy.  It's a bit unnerving to look at my blog and see only reviews or posts that don't reflect what is going on in my life, at that specific moment.

So I wanted to come in and talk to you real quick.

I'm doing well, my family is doing well, so let's just get that out of the way already.

However, you know what is currently going on behind closed doors, and it's been a flurry of busy, stressful, paperwork coming out of the backside, few weeks.

Outside, completely unaware of our current state of mind, the season continues to do it's thing.  The trees have now either completely lost their leaves, or are in a state of undress.  Bare branches intermingled with branches that have some leaves clinging on for dear life.

There is something so magical about the Fall season, for me, it's especially beautiful when driving by and seeing the changing colors of the trees.  Dark reds, bright oranges and muted yellows, all in a line, as if waiting to be inspected.

But I'm getting off track here, after all I invited you in for a chat, not a lesson on the seasons.

I guess what I want to say is that, right now, my posting will be sporadic.  Not by personal choice, but rather an imposed brief, and I mean VERY brief hiatus of the posts you love reading, and really the ones I most enjoy sharing.

My attention is needed elsewhere.

We have had a ton of inspections, seems like every other day there is a new person walking through my house, and for someone as private as I am (I'm talking about having people in my house, kind of private), it all feels quite unsettling.

Strangers prodding and poking into every corner, invading your space, questioning and inquiring, suggesting and demanding and so on.

Boy it's been a lesson, in many ways......actually, it's been an incredible journey.

The constant barrage of calls and emails, signing of this and that, providing this and that document, having to rely on my memory for things from years prior that frankly, I can no longer remember.  The stress, the uncertainty of it all.

I have told my husband that I feel like I've been holding my breath for weeks, and I'm quite ready to exhale and take in a deep fresh breath of air.

So as much as I wish I could be waking up every morning and just worrying about what I need to clean and cook, or do for homeschool, I feel that I can't concentrate on anything much other than the house buying process.

Forgive me, we have but 2 more weeks of this and then I can move on and go right back to homemaking full time. 

The blogging will be kind of sporadic,  but at least you will know why.  It might not make sense, or have any rhyme or reason, and I hate doing that because I'm quite an organized and methodical person, so trust me when I say that I'm counting down the days until this is all done and dusted.

You may see some random posts here and there.  I'll actually have a post for you tomorrow, as this afternoon we are gathering all the pecans from the yard, and I'll also be making my Christmas fruit cakes (poor things should have been made weeks ago, but it's yet another thing that took backseat).

It is 8:30am and I'm still sitting in bed.  I've had coffee and I've had toast but I haven't had the energy or motivation, to get up, get dressed and get started with the day.

I've allowed myself to go slow this morning, everyone needs a break now and again, right?

Anyway, in brief, I know I'm a little MIA from the blog and not exactly putting out the content I want to, but it's temporary and before you know it, I'll be back.

Have a wonderful weekend friends, relax and enjoy time with your family.

Blessings!

{ November Road by Lou Berney - TLC Book Tours }

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Reprint edition (October 22, 2019)

“When people say they want to read a really good novel, the kind you just can’t put down, this is the kind of book they mean. Exceptional.” –Stephen King, New York Times bestselling author
Named a Best Book of the Year by Entertainment Weekly • Washington Post • AARP • Newsweek 

• Dallas Morning News • South Florida Sun-Sentinel • Crime Reads
Set against the assassination of JFK, a poignant and evocative crime novel that centers on a desperate cat-and-mouse chase across 1960s America—a story of unexpected connections, daring possibilities, and the hope of second chances from the Edgar Award-winning author of The Long and Faraway Gone.


Frank Guidry’s luck has finally run out.

A loyal street lieutenant to New Orleans’ mob boss Carlos Marcello, Guidry has learned that everybody is expendable. But now it’s his turn—he knows too much about the crime of the century: the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Within hours of JFK’s murder, everyone with ties to Marcello is turning up dead, and Guidry suspects he’s next: he was in Dallas on an errand for the boss less than two weeks before the president was shot. With few good options, Guidry hits the road to Las Vegas, to see an old associate—a dangerous man who hates Marcello enough to help Guidry vanish.

Guidry knows that the first rule of running is “don’t stop,” but when he sees a beautiful housewife on the side of the road with a broken-down car, two little daughters and a dog in the back seat, he sees the perfect disguise to cover his tracks from the hit men on his tail. Posing as an insurance man, Guidry offers to help Charlotte reach her destination, California. If she accompanies him to Vegas, he can help her get a new car.

For her, it’s more than a car— it’s an escape. She’s on the run too, from a stifling existence in small-town Oklahoma and a kindly husband who’s a hopeless drunk.
It’s an American story: two strangers meet to share the open road west, a dream, a hope—and find each other on the way.

Charlotte sees that he’s strong and kind; Guidry discovers that she’s smart and funny. He learns that’s she determined to give herself and her kids a new life; she can’t know that he’s desperate to leave his old one behind.

Another rule—fugitives shouldn’t fall in love, especially with each other. A road isn’t just a road, it’s a trail, and Guidry’s ruthless and relentless hunters are closing in on him. But now Guidry doesn’t want to just survive, he wants to really live, maybe for the first time.

Everyone’s expendable, or they should be, but now Guidry just can’t throw away the woman he’s come to love.
And it might get them both killed.

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

© Brandon Michael Smith

About Lou Berney

Lou Berney is the author of three previous novels, Gutshot Straight, Whiplash River, and multiple prize-winning The Long and Faraway Gone. His short fiction has appeared in publications such as The New Yorker, Ploughshares, and the Pushcart Prize anthology. He lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Find out more about Lou at his website, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.


My Thoughts:
 President Kennedy's assassination will forever be remembered.

It is the catapult to the story that takes place within this novel.  It is NOT what the story is focused on, but rather the setting and era that brings to light a mafia character on the run, and a mother and her children caught in this crossfire.

I am not a fan of anything to do with the mafia, so I wouldn't say that I loved this book, but credit has to be given where it's due, and Lou Berney is a fantastic writer that seamlessly transports us to a world that we are completely oblivious to.

Charlotte and her two children are on the run, all she wants as a mother, is to protect her children and get as far as possible from her alcoholic husband.  She doesn't realize that joining forces with Frank, who can facilitate her journey to California, may just be too much to handle.

Frank is a lieutenant for the mob boss in New Orleans, and he knows far too much about what is happening in Dallas.  He also knows what happens to those that know too much, and he is not ready to be disposed of as easily.  Going on the run is the only thing he can think of, and as a mob member he knows that will probably mean, running for the rest of his life.

When he comes upon Charlotte and her daughters, broken down on the side of the road, he realizes that they could be the best coverup, pretending to be a happy family traveling across the country may just throw his hit men off.

I'm pretty sure you know what comes next, a love story blossoming in the middle of blood, violence and the mob.

If you like historical fiction, which I do, and find the whole mob thing interesting, this may just be the book for you.

Thank you to TLC Tours and the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this book, in exchange for my honest review.

{ The Source by Tara Swart - TLC Book Tours }

 

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne (October 15, 2019)

For the first time, a Neuroscientist and Senior Lecturer at MIT reveals the surprising science that supports The Law of Attraction as an effective tool for self-discovery and offers a guide to discovering your authentic self to access your best life now.

Self-help books like The Secret show us that if we can tap into “The Law of Attraction,” we have the power to change our destiny simply by reshaping our mind. Millions of people have used the ancient systems of manifestation and visualization to find health, success, love, friendship, wealth, and more. But does the “Law of Attraction” actually work? And more important, is this kind of life-changing philosophy within reach for everyone, even the most skeptical among us?

As Dr. Tara Swart, psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and Senior Lecturer at MIT shows us in The Source, if we can strip away our skepticism, these ancient tools of manifestation and visualization are fundamentally powerful and incredibly effective at freeing us of self-limiting behaviors and propelling us toward our truest, most authentic selves. Swart reveals how and why these systems actually work by offering the latest breakthroughs in neuroscience and behavioral psychology, including lessons in neuroplasticity, magneticism, emotional and logical thinking, and even hydration, self-care, and relaxation. Next, she describes her own journey from skeptic to believer, and guides readers through the scientific breakthroughs and personal revelations that changed her from an unhappy, close-minded, and disconnected woman wanting more from life, to a successful entrepreneur living with confidence, purpose, and joy.

The truth is, most of the things we want—health, happiness, wealth, love—are governed by our ability to think, feel, and act—in other words, by our brain. Dr. Swart combines the insights and inspiration of The Secret with the practical lessons of The Master Key System to help a new generation fulfill their dreams. The Source is a rigorous, proven toolkit for unlocking our minds—and reaching our fullest potential.

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

 

About Tara Swart

DR. TARA SWART is a neuroscientist and former psychiatric doctor. She is a senior lecturer at MIT Sloan and visiting senior lecturer at Kings College, London, and an executive advisor to some of the world’s most respected leaders in media and business. She is lead author of the award-winning Neuroscience for Leadership and in 2016 she was named the world’s first Neuroscientist in Residence at Corinthia Hotel, London. She is passionate about teaching others how to apply lessons from cognitive science to enhance everyday lives.
Find out more about Tara at her website, and follower her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.


My Thoughts:
 I love Science, find it fascinating and am usually drawn to all sorts of sciency (I know not a word), subjects.

The Source focuses on the law of attraction, and how to tap into your brain to achieve your full potential.  But it also talks about spotting false logic, or how to tap into your full creativity, which is always a great thing to know.

However, for me, I found it incredibly hard to get into and read in general, it was just too much for my little brain to take in, or maybe I'm not in the frame of mind to fully take in what is being shared.

The book itself and the subject matter are fascinating and I think, for anyone who is interested in the laws of attraction and how our brains work and decipher things around us, this would make a fantastic read.

Thank you to TLC Tours and the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this book, in exchange for my honest review.

{ The Cost of Honor by Diana Munoz Stewart - TLC Book Tours }

 

Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (November 26, 2019)

He gave up everything to escape his family
The only male to be adopted into the notorious Parish family, Tony Parish always did right by his vigilante sisters. But when an attempt to protect one of them went horribly wrong, he had to fake his own death to escape his fanatical family. Tony set sail and ended up in Dominica?face to face with the woman of his dreams…

Now he must give up Honor to save her
After the death of her mother, Honor Silva moved to Dominica, where her family could help her heal and move on. But her activist mother left her more than money, she left her proof that could take down one of the richest and most powerful men in the world.

Tony gave up everything he thought he knew when he fled his family. But when a threat too dangerous for Tony and Honor to fight on their own closes in, he has no choice but to go to them for help. Problem is, they’ll demand something in return?something that could cost Tony not just Honor, but also the love that changed him forever.

Black Ops Confidential Series:
I Am Justice (Book 1)
The Price of Grace (Book 2)
The Cost of Honor (Book 3)


Readers are raving about the Black Ops Confidential series:
“A high-octane…satisfying roller-coaster ride. Stewart’s talent shines.”–Publishers Weekly for The Price of Grace

“Electrifying, edgy, and sexy!”–JULIE ANN WALKER, New York Times bestseller, for I Am Justice

“Witty, dangerous, fun, and smoking hot.”–CINDY DEES, New York Times bestseller, for I Am Justice

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

 

About Diana Munoz Stewart

Diana Munoz Stewart is the award-winning, romantic suspense author of the Band of Sisters series, which includes I Am Justice, I Am Grace, and I Am Honor. Visit her at dianamunozstewart.com.

Connect with Diana

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

My Thoughts:

First I need to say that this book is the third in a series called Black Ops Confidential, so unfortunately I went into it blind and not really knowing what to expect, since I didn't read the previous two books.

There were a few moments that I felt like I was missing some background information, and had I kept up with the previous storyline, I probably would have understood, but nonetheless I was able to stay on track just from this book.

The story follows Tony and Honor.

The premise is pretty predictable, guy is trying to start fresh in a new place, meets and falls in love with a girl who has enough baggage for the both of them.

Tony was the only male in a family of predominantly females, but an incident going awry, caused him to flee, fake his own death and end up in Dominica, trying to just stay in the shadows and start a new life.

Honor is still reeling from her mother's death and trying to move on herself.  She has been living in Dominica with her family who have tried everything to help her heal and move on from the grief.  The problem is that her mother left her some pretty serious information, which if Honor follows through on, will bring down a huge corrupt organization and with it an infamous powerful man.

The rest we know how it goes, Tony tries to fight his feelings for Honor while wanting desperately to protect her, which causes him to get caught up in this huge mess of a dangerous situation.  In the end they may just need to sacrifice more than they want to in order to stay safe.

The book was an easy read, like I said pretty predictable, but then again I am never one to shy away from books or even movies like that.  It's that sweet romance that pretty much gives you the ending form the beginning, but you still follow along page by page, rooting for the two characters to end up together.

Thank you to TLC Tours and the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this book, in exchange for my honest review.