A new author to me

I have found a new author, well new to me anyway and her name is Josi Kilpack. I love to read cozy mysteries. I am glad I can add another author to my list of favorites! Josi has written "food" related mysteries and here are a few:

Lemon Tart: A Culinary Mystery

In this debut volume, cooking aficionado turned amateur detective Sadie Hoffmiller tries to solve the murder of her beautiful young neighbor a single mother who was mysteriously lured from her home while a lemon tart was baking in her oven. At the heart of Sadie s search is the woman s missing two year-old child. Whoever took the child must be the murderer, but Sadie is certain that the police are looking at all the wrong suspects including her! For an added treat, original mouth- watering recipes for Sadie s Lemon Tart, Homemade Alfredo Sauce, Carrot Cookies, Brownies, and Granny s Gingerbread Bundt Cake are sprinkled throughout the book.

English Trifle:

English Trifle is yet another delightful culinary mystery by Josi Kilpack. The english destination and included recipes were fantastic! My favorites were definitely Sadie's Scrumptulicious Scones & the Chicken Tikka Masala. One is sweet, the other is spicy - just like Kilpack's writing. A delicious combination!

Devil's Food Cake: A Culinary Mystery

t s been years since author Thom Mortenson has been back to Garrison, Colorado. As part of the committee who invited the bestselling writer to speak at the library fundraising benefit, Sadie Hoffmiller wants everything to be perfect right down to the homemade devils food cake she baked herself. Certainly, murder was not on the menu. When Thoms manager ends up dead on stage, Sadie jumps in to offer her guidance and expertise to investigators. But when the police refuse to take her seriously, Sadie has no choice but to pursue justice on her own. After all, is Sadie to blame if she keeps stumbling over information? Can Sadie turn her back when people intricately woven into the deception keep crossing her path? With her son, Shawn, at her side, her reputation on the line, and a full cast of suspicious characters, Sadie Hoffmiller is once again cooking her way through a case that offers far more questions than answers.

Josi has a new book coming out called Key Lime Pie.

A little about Josi:

Josi S. Kilpack grew up hating to read until her mother handed her a copy of The Witch of Blackbird Pond when she was 13. From that day forward, she read everything she could get her hands on and accredits her writing "education" to the many novels she has "studied" since then. She began her first novel in 1998 and hasn't stopped. Her seventh novel, Sheep's Clothing won the Whitney Award 2007 for Mystery/Suspense. Her most recent book, Devil's Food Cake, is the third book in the Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery Series. Josi currently lives in Willard Utah with her husband, four children, one dog and varying number of chickens. For more information about Josi, you can visit her website at www.josiskilpack.com or her blog at www.josikilpack.blogspot.com

Butterflies Everywhere!

Over the holiday weekend John and I ventured down to the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. We have a year pass there so we go there frequently. From September 1st until the 30th they are having Something a Flutter. I saw the listing for this last year and wanted to go but never made it there. They have butterly pupa in the orchid conservatory and the butterflies "hatch" and then fly around the conservatory. While we did see some butterflies in the conservatory and the "unhatched" pupa in some boxes when we went outside there were so many butterflies we couldn't believe it. Then as we wandered around all the paths to the different gardens and came upon the Butterfly Garden we couldn't believe the amount of butterflies just fluttering and flitting around! I thought I would share some of the of these lovely creations and some of the things we saw on our walk.


Here is one of the cases that had all the butterfly pupa in them. It's amazing to see how the butterfly is encased in this and then breaks free and flies!















I took some other pictures too, which I'll share with you:


This is a view of the Main Building at the Gardens from another garden by the fountain.


Here is one of the many fountains (well just the top half of the fountain) against the beautiful, blue sky that day!


I could not resist taking a picture of this giant red hibiscus!! It was absolutely gorgeous!


This is one of the Bromelaids we encountered on our walk.


I just love this picture!! The ornamental grasses were so tall and the sky so blue!


All along the pathway to one of the gardens they had containers with passion flowers growing. I thought this one was just beautiful!


Rose of Sharon has been one of my favorite flowers for some time. This one was just gorgeous!


Around the main building they have these huge containers and this peachy, orange colored double hibiscus was growing in one of the containers. I just wanted to back the car up and take this container home with me!


All throughout the gardens are magnolia trees. There are so many different varieties here. In the Spring the blossoms are just gorgeous. In the Fall you see these seed pods forming. I love the coloring.


The colors in this hibiscus just jump out at you-couldn't resist snapping a picture of it!


After our afternoon of stroll we found these delightful rocking chairs in the shade and decided we needed to sit and have a soda! I snapped John relaxing in his chair.


Here is a closeup John snapped of me-he caught me by surprise! You usually don't see many pictures of me on here because I don't feel I take a good picture, but John thought this was a great one. It looks like I am posing but just before he snapped it I had been looking down at the brochure from the gardens while he went to the gift shop to get our drinks.


When we were leaving the Gardens and getting into our car in the parking space behind our car was this awesome Ford Model A! I took alot of pictures of this beauty!! I am thinking of making a calendar for my Dad for his birthday and this would be perfect to put on the calendar! I'll be sharing more pictures in future posts.


John decided he wanted a picture of himself standing next to the Model A. I told him he has read to my Dirk Pitt (Clive Cussler book character) novels-LOL!!!

Well I hope you've enjoyed our DSBG stroll! Have a wonderful day!!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson Book Review

Amazon review:

Once you start The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, there's no turning back. This debut thriller--the first in a trilogy from the late Stieg Larsson--is a serious page-turner rivaling the best of Charlie Huston and Michael Connelly. Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch--and there's always a catch--is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. Little is as it seems in Larsson's novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don't want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo. --Dave Callanan

My review of this book:

I read this book for the mystery bookclub I am in. This book is out of the genre I would usually read, but I'm glad I did. Everyone told me the first 125-150 pages were boring but keep going and then the book really gets interesting. I found this book to be interesting right from the beginning. There is alot of description in this book, maybe thats why there was such negative feeling from some people, but I love books with alot of description. This book definitely has alot of things happening in it!! I am so glad I am not a member of the Vanger family-LOL!! They are all so dysfunctional! Lisbeth Salander, is one strong and tough young woman. I really enjoyed the intrigue in this book and all the mystery unravelings!

Happy Labor Day Everyone!

Happy Labor Day everyone! Some people will be celebrating Labor Day in many different forms. Some will be at a picnic or parade, boating, shooting off fireworks and the list goes on and on. Not everyone knows what they are celebrating though. Here is a short paragraph on what Labor Day means

Children were forced into back-breaking jobs day and night in mines, textiles, glass factories, canneries and other places where children don't belong. Labor activists eventually ended child labor -- and won better working conditions for adult workers, including the eight-hour work day. Always celebrated on the first Monday in September, Labor Day honors the social and economic contributions that the American worker has made to the growth health and prosperity of this country.

Hope you are having a wonderful Labor Day where ever you are! What are your plans today?

Some of my Autumn thoughts!

John and I will be traveling to NJ next month to visit my parents and my sister and we hope some of the beautiful Autumn leaves will still be beautiful when we get there. I thought I would share some of the pictures of a few of the lakes in their Autumn splendor that I grew up around. Most of you know I lived in northwestern NJ until 6 years ago when I moved here to Charlotte, NC. Most people when the conjure up pictures of NJ think Newark International Airport (now known as Liberty), gas tank farms, city, the Sopranos, people who say "I'm from Jersey (in a Jersey City type accent)", Bruce Springsteen, the Jersey Shore and the list goes on and on. I grew up in a County called Sussex County, which is farmland. It has been developed now but when I was growing up there were alot of farms, cows and horses in the fields, farmers on tractors, hay and crops being grown, etc. My favorite season besides Spring was the Autumn. There are alot of lakes in Sussex County. The colors of the leaves in the Autumn there are just gorgeous! When you are around these lakes in the Autumn you can smell woodsmoke from fireplaces in the houses around the lakes, go to farmstands around the lakes and buy NJ grown apples, pumpkins, mums, etc. It is a wonderful time of year to be in Sussex County and I know I sound like a infomercial for Sussex County, but it is a beautiful, scenic place! Hope you enjoy the pictures!


Swartswood Lake is in Stillwater, NJ. There is also Little Swartswood Lake, which is just as lovely.


This is Lake Mohawk in Sparta, NJ. This is a man-made lake. Farmland used to be where it is now. There is a boardwalk on one side of the lake with some shops and restaurants. Eating outside and looking at this Lake is just spectacular!


Scenic Lake is in Vernon, NJ. This quiet and serene lake is about 1 hour from NYC. What a difference from the city hustle and bustle!


Lake Hopatcong is huge! My grandfather used to take us to an island there called Bertrand's Island. It had a small amusement park on it. It kind of reminded you of being in another era when you went there. It certainly was like the amusement parks of today. There was a huge ferris wheel there and you could see the Lake for miles! This Lake is deep spring-fed lake formed by glaciers. This Lake used to fed water to The Morris Canal, which allowed trade, visits, etc. in the area to be possible in the 1800's. There is alot of history here.


Culver's Lake is located in Frankford Twp., NJ. The Lake is 585 acres. This is a real popular boating lake. There was a famous resort hotel built near there called The Culvermere Hotel. It was built in 1892. Open from June 15 to September 15. At that time it accommodated 125 guests at rates of $2 to $3 per day (or $10 to $20 per week). Alot of really wealthy people would come from NYC and the surrounding areas to this resort and relax.


Kittatinny Lake is nestled in the Kittatinny mountains. Alot of people canoe or kayak on this Lake. Just gorgeous!

That's about it for my very scaled down version of the Lakes of Sussex County. There are so many more but I thought I would just give you a glimpse of where I grew up! Have a great weekend!

Wonderful Autumn Ideas

Here are a few Autumn decorating ideas I found online that I thought I would share with you:


I thought this was a very clever way to decorate your fountain in the Fall!


This mantel would look just great in anyone's house. I love it!

Who wouldn't love this bouquet! Wouldn't this make a lovely Autumn wedding bouquet? What rich, wonderful colors!


What a cute way to show off your Autumn flowers. They would be wonderful for an Harvest Dinner, Autumn picnic or in the house for you and your family to enjoy!

Almost Done with the Baby Blanket on to a new project!

I only have a few more rows on the baby blanket I am knitting. I have decided my next project will be a shawl. I love to wrap myself in shawls for slightly cool days in the Fall. Our Winters are usually pretty mild here too so sometimes I can get away with a light shawl. I may make a heavier one also. Last year we had some cold days here in Charlotte. I have been looking at patterns and Sarah at Cottage Yarn in Mint Hill where my knitting group is suggested a pattern for me. I will be making my decision soon!

While I was looking at patterns I found some gorgeous ones-take a peek:










Aren't they just gorgeous!! I want to make them all!!

Everyone have a wonderful day!