Book review of Nature Tonic: A Year in My Mindful Life by Jocelyn de Kwant

Title: Nature Tonic: A Year in My Mindful Life 

Author: Jocelyn de Kwant

Source: Netgalley

Genre: Craft, hobbies, nature and outdoors

Rating: 5

Nature Tonic is a beautiful mindful workbook to cherish. It encourages us to connect with nature and grow our own meditative awareness every day. Exploring meaningful ways we can all experience and appreciate the natural world, this precious guide helps us to notice and note nature’s enchanting wonders focus on the seasons, and experience simply being in nature. 

Author Jocelyn de Kwant invites us all to embrace the earthy roots of a beginners’ mind with a daily dose of ecotherapy to soothe our souls. Practical prompts entwine with lengthier meditative notes on the joy of journaling sensory nature, the zen of forest bathing, the simple pleasures of botanical drawing, and ways to reconnect our souls with the soil. This lovingly-illustrated workbook is a timely reminder of the ways in which natural connection can enlighten and enrich our lives. 

Years ago, I would have never picked this book up, not that I hate nature, it’s just life gets in the way of simple natures pleasers, but as I am seeing more of my town taken over by large developers and businesses I am seeing my nature being destroyed and that makes me want to be out there more before it’s all gone and Nature Tonic: A Year in My Mindful Life would help anyone out there today at any age to get out and explore before it’s all gone.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to have some nature time with their kids during the summer this workbook would provide a full summer of fun and learning. I know this is a yearlong workbook, but sometimes we just don’t have everyday time to spend when you work 2 or 3 jobs, so one summer would be great to get some nature in.

I would also recommend this book for us older people who use to spend their days outside having fun exploring nature with their dog, as I did when I was a kid. This book will bring back fun memories and will also provide you with a newfound love of what you’ve lost and hopefully make you fight for what we have left.

A year in My Mindful Life is a workbook, I recommend those who are not a creative artist to grab the paperback copy, those that have artist talent, I would recommend the Kindle edition so you could use this workbook and create your own Nature Tonic journal.

Goldfinches

Our growth rate in Middle Tennessee is becoming unbearable, we are losing our farmland and forest at a great rate to developers daily, it’s sickening seeing all of the wildlife disappear all to bring traffic, and a horrible smell that now habitats my growing city.

Each year I am seeing more and more pollinators despair, birds, bees, butterflies are hard hit because not only do they lose their homes but they get hit by people using chemicals that will kill them to kill the very insects that birds and other animals that keep away, such as, mosquitoes and ticks along with other unwanted insects

Over the next few months, I want to write to you about each and how they benefit us and hopefully, I can reach out so you too can enjoy our pollinators as much as I do.  

I love my American Goldfinches they have a unique chirp that brings my garden to life. I started feeding them about 10 years ago and boy have they populated. When I first started feeding them I would buy one 10 pound bag of feed a month, now I do good to get by on 40 pounds in a month. I thankful they have populated over the years, it tells me one person can make a difference each year.

Goldfinches are very easy to feed all you have to do is buy a finch feeder and I recommend a metal feeder if you have squirrels because they just eat holes out of the plastic feeders to get to the seeds and some thistle seeds. The finches will eat seeds all the way until September then all the sudden they just quit coming to the feeders this is when they start nesting, they will usually come back to the feeder mid-October to start eating again. When they arrive back the males have changed color and will stay a light gray until spring arrives again. They also love to eat sunflowers, zinnias, and coneflowers seeds. 

You can barely see these beauties on the sunflowers 

My camera refused to focus on this juvenile in the background staring at me after I disturbed his feast on my zinnias. LOL

Goldfinches bring color and a wonderful sound as they sing to anyone garden as they feast. 

To learn more about their care please visit these links 

They do require trees for nesting so make sure you have a few large trees for them. To learn more about nesting click on this link.

https://animals.mom.me/goldfinches-nest-boxes-6877.html 

You can learn more about them and their song by clicking the link below.

https://abcbirds.org/bird/american-goldfinch/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw_absBRD1ARIsAO4_D3v2WUQQLoHisf1kOtal8GAMmsU-lwrTPJ0woc546N08muGmgNNakEEaArxoEALw_wcB

Crochet Cute Critters: 26 Easy Amigurumi Patterns by Sarah Zimmerman

Title: Crochet Cute Critters: 26 Easy Amigurumi Patterns Author: Sarah Zimmerman

Genre: Crafts

Source: Callisto Media Publisher
Rating: 4

Discover how simple crafting your own crochet plush animals can be. From alligators to zebras, Crochet Cute Critters features 26 beginner-friendly patterns for creating all kinds of cuddly companions.

Amigurumi—the Japanese art of crocheting stuffed toys—might seem intimidating, but this book keeps it

Crochet Cute Critters is full of cute animals for anyone beginner to advanced crocheter. 

You get easy to follow step by step and simple circle patter for each critter, the only downside I see is the hook size seems to be a bit large to get a good tight stitch, but that is an easy fix, just go down a size if needed, not everyone crochets the same way.

Modern Sourdough: Sweet and Savoury Recipes from Margot Bakery by Michelle Eshkeri, Patricia Niven

Title: Modern Sourdough: Sweet and Savoury Recipes from Margot Bakery 

Authors: Michelle Eshkeri, and Patricia Niven

Genre: Cookbook

Source: Netgalley

Length: 224 pages 

Rating: 5

In Tahini and Rye, Michelle Eksheri shows you how to make mouth-watering treats from the basics (bagels, sourdough starter, and bread), through to classics with a twist (challah bread and butter pudding, babka, rhubarb, and custard danish, pistachio and flower shortbread). The secrets to the seemingly the complex are broken down in an easy step-by-step guide so that the perfect  sourdough loaf will no longer be a mystery, opening up a world for the sourdough starter to hot cross buns, croissants and so much more. The provenance of ingredients is highly valued, creating seasonal twists such as wild garlic buns and flavor-forward bakes like rye brownies.

With over 100 recipes covering bread, biscuits, buns and cakes, desserts, savory baking and store cupboard essentials, Tahini and Rye is full of recipes you'll want to make again and again.

Holy smokes this book is not only drool-worthy it will make a great baker companion book.

I’ve been baking most of my life and at fifty I have collected hundreds of cookbooks and baking books, but there are only a handful I use every week and I could see myself using this one all the time. I love sourdough and have been using King Arthur Flour method for many years and have been happy with it, but I am limited with recipes I can use my sourdough in so before I know it the sourdough is gone and I have to make it again so I need to broaden my horizon and have more recipes I can use sourdough in and this book would most defiantly do that for me.

Not only does this book offer chapter after chapter of recipes for your sourdough, it also offers specialties recipes for things such as cookies, cakes, muffins and there is also a jam and spreads.

Each recipe offers step by step instructions and wonderful images.   

Book review of Cosmic Crystals: Rituals and Meditations for Connecting With Lunar Energy by Ashley Leavy

Cosmic Crystals: Rituals and Meditations for Connecting With Lunar Energy 

Author: Ashley Leavy 

Source: Netgalley

Genre: arts and crafts 

Rating: 4

Cosmic Crystals shows you how to work with the phases and signs of the moon to energize and amplify the power of your crystals.

Living in sync with the rhythm of the lunar cycle is a powerful way to stay aligned to universal energy. Crystals and moon magic have been used together to this aim for centuries. Crystals are natural amplifiers of energy that can be used to enhance your connection to the moon and its healing energy.

Learn crystal meditations and rituals for each moon phase, as well as which crystals are most potent during New Moons, Full Moons, and other lunar events. Cosmic Crystals shows you how to combine the power of lunar energy and healing crystals to create sacred space, set intentions, and manifest magic and abundance in your life.

For each moon, find information on how to work with its corresponding crystals and energetic qualities, along with lists of its associated herbs, colors, essential oils, animals, and deities.

Written by leading crystal expert Ashley Leavy and including lavish photography, this beautiful book will have a place on every crystal enthusiast's bookshelf.

If you’re looking to match up your crystals and gemstones with the right moon phases this book would be great for you.

In this book, you will find very detailed and had colorful photos which guide you with each moon phases. You get the list of crystals to use, dates, element, keywords and a bit about the crystals or gemstones being used.

The 13 Celtic moons you get alternate names, animals, crystals, colors, deities, essentials oils and more.

I recommend this book to anyone who would like to know more about how to use their crystals and gemstones in everyday life.

Cozy Mystery review of Claws of Action (Cat Lady Mysteries #4) by Linda Reilly

Title: Claws of Action (Cat Lady Mysteries #4) 

Author: Linda Reilly 

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Source: Netgalley

Length: Novel 

Rating: 5

Purr-suing a killer …

The only thing that could make the High Cliff Shelter for Cats even cozier is a reading room where kids can snuggle up with a furry feline and a book. But as Lara and Aunt Fran prepare for the reading nook’s official opening, the health inspector in their New Hampshire town, Evonda Fray, decrees that the shelter qualifies as a “cat café,” thanks to the free snacks it serves to visitors—and that it must be shut down.

When Evonda’s body is found in her car clutching a copy of the cease-and-desist order, suspicion naturally falls on Lara and Aunt Fran. But there’s a whole litter of potential culprits, including a tenant in one of Evonda’s buildings who’d been ordered to give up his rescue cat, a disgruntled daughter-in-law, and more. Now Lara—with some help from her aunt and her spirit cat, Blue—has to pin the tail on the right suspect.

I have to say this the Cat Ladies Mysteries series is one of my favorites out there today. Each installment just gets better and better. Ever time I think I have a new favorite from the series, the next book I read ends up knocking the last one out of the water.

Claws of Action is a fun fast-paced mystery that kept me guessing until the end. This can be read as a standalone, but I truly suggest you start from book one and go from there because that way you can really truly appreciate how this series has grown by each installment. In this installment, you read about the same loveable characters with the addition of a couple of more new characters, which I hope will have some cameos in future books.  

I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves cozy mysteries.

Book Review of A Year of Creativity: A Craft Date Planner to Meet, Share, and Create by Petra Hoeksema, Lidy Nooij, Miriam Catshoek, Bregje Konings

 Title: A Year of Creativity: A Craft Date Planner to Meet, Share, and Create 

Authors: Petra Hoeksema,  Lidy Nooij, Miriam Catshoek, Bregje Konings

Source: Netgalley

Genre: Craft 

Rating: 4 

Do something creative every day! In A Year of Creativity, learn how to throw the perfect creative party with your friends—with organizing tips, 25 project ideas, and even recipes for snacks.

A "craft date" is a fun get-together with a handful of creative friends in which you surprise each other with craft and DIY projects using cool materials, inspire each other, and make beautiful things together. At each date, a group of participants share a self-made project to be re-created by the other attendees. Materials are individualized for each participant and given as a unique personal gift along with the instructions for the project. A craft date is different than a workshop since you get to choose the lovely people that you invite, and as the organizer, you get to participate in all the projects. Invitees can put their own spin on the project by using their favorite colors, materials, or techniques. This way you end up with a range of different interpretations and results, leading to new inspiration and ideas.

A Year of Creativity is a book for everyone with a basic knowledge of crocheting, knitting, and sewing. It does not teach you how to crochet or explain how a sewing machine works. There are plenty of other books for that. What it does do is inspire crafting enthusiasts to make something together, learn from each other, and have fun doing it. You'll find within:
An introduction to craft dates and how they work
Tips on planning your craft date events
Plenty of project ideas (short, long, and cooperative)
Plus recipes for party dishes that keep the creative juices flowing
You will share ideas, discover new inspiration, and find new friends while creating uniquely beautiful aprons, knit garlands, infinity scarves, haberdashery bags, cards, pencil cases, and more.Have you had a great craft date or are you working on a neat project and want to show it off? There’s a place for this in the craft dates community. On Instagram, for example, you can tag your photos with, or search for the hashtag #craftdates. You can have a look at each other’s work, drum up inspiration for your own dates, invite your Insta-friends, or organize a "blind date" with creative people from your town or city that you don’t know yet. A whole world will open up. A very creative world is waiting for you in A Year of Creativity.

I don’t know what happened when this book downloaded for me but for some reason my copy was totally messed up, I couldn’t see the majority of the images, list of supplies or the steps, but from what I did get to see I can say this book is great to inspire you and some friends to get together and either pick a project from this book or find a new project and craft together. 

Each project you’ll find a supply list along with, step by step instructions with images and has images. There is also a section about the authors and how all of the began and how they went about doing it.

You get several craft projects and a few recipes, most of which are for every skill level of crafter, but there are a few projects for very experienced crafters.

Craft book review Bead Jewelry 101: Master Basic Skills and Techniques Easily Through Step-by-Step Instruction by Karen Mitchell, Ann Mitchell

 Title: Bead Jewelry 101: Master Basic Skills and Techniques Easily Through Step-by-Step Instruction 

Authors: Karen Mitchell and Ann Mitchell

Source: Netgalley 

Genre: craft

Rating: 5

Bead Jewelry 101, now in paperback, is a complete entry-level course for creating beaded jewelry taught through 30 step-by-step projects that demonstrate fundamental methods for stringing and wirework.

Have you always wanted to try jewelry making but aren’t sure where to begin? Bead Jewelry 101 teaches you everything you need to know to create beautiful jewelry with beads.

The Basics walks you through all the tools, materials, and basic construction techniques you’ll use for the projects.

The Projects are organized by various findings, or jewelry elements, so you’ll learn new techniques and build new skills with every piece you make. Beautiful variations will inspire you to create your own designs.
Beginners will also find the accompanying online videos that capture the techniques in action an invaluable resource.

Written specifically for beginners, the books in the 101 series are complete illustrated guides to the basics of a craft that use projects presented with full-color, step-by-step instructions and photos to teach essential techniques.

Great book for anyone wanting to learn how to make jewelry, plenty of projects and very easy steps for anyone to be able to learn, heck I wished I would have found this book when I started making beaded jewelry a few years back.

I would strongly recommend this for anyone that would like to test the water of jewelry making, this book is simple and full of information on materials and tools, but I have to admit it would benefit an advance jewelry maker that is in need of inspiration because after reading though the book I found some inspiration with a few of these projects to twist to my own.

Book review of Fight Write: How to Write Believable Fight Scenes by Carla Hoch

Title: Fight Write: How to Write Believable Fight Scenes Author: Carla Hoch

Source: Netgalley

Genre: Writing skills references

Length: Novel

Rating: 5 

Whether a side-street skirmish or an all-out war, fight scenes bring action to the pages of every kind of fiction. But a poorly done or unbelievable fight scene can ruin a great book in an instant.

In Fight Write you'll learn practical tips, terminology, and the science behind crafting realistic fight scenes for your fiction. Broken up into "Rounds," trained fighter and writer Carla Hoch guides you through the many factors you'll need to consider when developing battles and brawls.
In Round 1, you will consider how the Who, When, Where, and Why questions affect what type of fight scene you want to craft.
Round 2 delves into the human factors of biology (think fight or flight and adrenaline) and psychology (aggression and response to injuring or killing another person).
Round 3 explores different fighting styles that are appropriate for different situations: What really happens in fights on the street? What is the vocabulary used to describe these styles?
Round 4 considers weaponry and will guide you to select the best weapon for your characters, including nontraditional weapons of opportunity, while also thinking about the nitty-gritty details of using them.
In Round 5, you'll learn how to accurately describe realistic injuries sustained from the fights and certain weapons, and what kind of injuries will kill a character or render them unable to fight further.
By taking into account where your character is in the world when in history the fight is happening, what the character's motivation for fighting is, and much more, you'll be able to write fight scenes unique to your plot and characters, all while satisfying your reader's discerning eye. 

Fight Write should be on every author’s desk that writes fight scenes no matter your genre. It also doesn’t matter how much fighting you're writing about, be it a tussle or a huge fight scene and it also doesn't matter the level of author you are, this book will help you write believable fight scenes that will grab your reader’s attention and heck, it might even grab you more new readers because of the depth of believable fight scenes you’ll be writing. 

 Cala Hoch goes into detail about weapons, people’s different height and how it would affect them fighting, different fighting techniques and so much more. Believe me, you'll find something in this book that will help you become a better writer and you’ll be glad you bought this book. 

Cozy Mystery Book Review of Mrs. Morris and the Ghost (A Salem B&B Mystery #1) by Traci Wilton

Title: Mrs. Morris and the Ghost (A Salem B&B Mystery #1) 

Author: Traci Wilton

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Source: Netgalley

Reviewed by: Laurie

Rating: 4

Charlene Morris knew Salem, Massachusetts had a spooky reputation. But when she decided to open her B&B there, she expected guests--not ghosts...

A grieving young widow, Charlene needed a new start--so she bought a historic mansion, sight unseen, and drove from Chicago to New England to start turning it into a bed-and-breakfast. On her first night in the house, she awakens to find a handsome man with startling blue eyes in her bedroom. Terror turns to utter disbelief when he politely introduces himself as Jack Strathmore--and explains that he used to live here--when he was alive. He firmly believes that someone pushed him down the stairs three years ago, and he won't be able to leave until someone figures out who. If Charlene wants to get her business up and running in time for the Halloween tourist rush, and get this haunting houseguest out of the way, she'll have to investigate. Though truth be told, this ghost is starting to grow on her . . .

Mrs. Morris and the Ghost grabs you right from the first page and will leave you in shock when you find out who done it just before the end.

Charlene moved into a home full of surprises. One surprise is the resident hot ghost of course, and the second surprise, she finds a new cat, which Charlene is not a total cat lover so this becomes interesting as she tries to solve a murder to get the ghost out and deal with a cat she doesn’t want.

The only downside to the story for me was it seemed like every man and ghost was hot after Charlene so by the middle of the story, it was on my last nerve. Other than that this is a good read that will leave you wanting more. 

Cozy mystery review of Toxic Toffee (Amish Candy Shop Mystery #4) by Amanda Flower

Toxic Toffee (Amish Candy Shop Mystery #4) 

Author: Amanda Flower

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Source: NetGalley

Length: Novel

Reviewed by: Laurie

Rating: 5 

A sweet tooth for murder . . .  
 
Bailey King’s in New York wrapping up a six-week shoot on her first cable TV show, Bailey’s Amish Sweets, when she gets a call from her Ohio town’s resident busybody. With Easter around the corner, Bailey’s been recruited to create a giant toffee bunny for the weeklong springtime festival that will also feature live white rabbits. But back home in Harvest, death becomes the main attraction when Stephen Raber keels over from an apparent heart attack—with Bailey and Raber’s pet bunny as witnesses.
. 
Except it wasn’t Raber’s heart that suddenly gave out—a lethal dose of lily of the valley was mixed into a tasty piece of toffee. Who’d want to poison a jovial rabbit farmer who reminded Bailey of an Amish Santa Claus? To solve the murder, she and her sheriff deputy boyfriend Aiden must uncover a twenty-year-old secret. She’ll need to pull a rabbit out of a hat to keep a healthy distance from toxic people, including one venomous killer . . . 

I always look forward to reading one of Amanda Flower's books, she is an amazing storyteller, you can open up one of her books and your daily problems fad away as you become one of her characters.

Bailey is one of my favorite characters, not only does she get to play with candy at her grandma's candy shop, but she also has an amazing community of fun and crazy people and animals to be around so, your never bored with the village and the people. Oh, and I cannot forget about her hot cop boyfriend Aiden ;)

I love how Amanda can toss enough clues throughout the story to keep me guessing and at the end, I am surprised that none of my suspects is the one who did it. 

The added rabbit in this story was a very nice touch, I am always pleased when an author can write about a different kind of pet instead of the same cat or dog, not that I love dogs and cats but as you keep reading about the same old pets it gets kind of old. 

One of my favorite cozy mystery series and I highly recommend you bump it on top of your reading list.

Review of First Nature hummingbird feeder

Hey all, I wanted to share this new hummingbird feeder I bought First Nature.

When I look to buy a new hummingbird feeder I look for something very easy to clean, living in the south with the heat index running 100+ for days in a roll that feeder will mold fast so easy cleaning is a must for me.

With so many jobs going out outside the USA now look first for anything made in the USA and odds are if I don’t find it, I won’t buy and keep looking until I find it.

I was surprised to find the feeder I was looking at was made in the USA so you know I had to buy two of them, not only for support but also because with the heat index, I have to change the feeder every couple of days to keep the mold out.

I was much suspired to find this feeder very easy to clean, the bottom twist-off where you can get into all of the space to clean it. Just make sure when you place it back on you hear the click of it locking. Yep, I made the mistake twice and lost my feed so I make sure I hear it click as it locks back into place.

Easy to clean, easy to use and made in the USA a win, win all the way...

First Nature feeder 

Book review of Edibles and Ornamentals for Small-Space Gardening by Jessica Walliser

 Title: Edibles and Ornamentals for Small-Space Gardening 

 Author: Jessica Walliser
Source: NetGalley
Genre: Gardening 
Reviewed by: Laurie
Rating: 5

Covering a broad array of landscape plants, including edibles, flowering, and fruiting trees and shrubs, evergreens, and perennials, horticulturist Jessica Walliser takes a deep dive into the emerging category of compact plants.

Whether short, narrow, columnar, or dwarf, this new and exciting group of plants provide the same decorative functions full-sized ornamental plants, but in a fraction of the space. Plus, edible compact plants offer comparable productivity, without having to add more square footage to the garden.

In this comprehensive guide, Jessica uses her numerous contacts in the seed and plant production world to give space-challenged gardeners a heads up on what's new, as well as re-introducing a few traditional small-footprint favorites.

In both urban and suburban neighborhoods, yards are shrinking, and big plants and gardens require too much maintenance for today's time-starved homeowners. If you're searching for plants that require less space and reduced day-to-day maintenance, dwarf shrubs, and other compact plants to the rescue! With little to no pruning required, columnar trees, dwarf shrubs, mini veggies, short-statured perennials, and other compact plants fill a much-needed niche.

In the Gardener's Guide to Compact Plants, you'll discover fantastic, brand new dwarf and compact plant varieties you didn't even know existed. And, you'll learn how to grow more flowers, fruits, and veggies than ever before, no matter how much—or how little—space you have. It's the perfect book for homeowners with small yards, urban gardeners, container growers, or anyone looking to grow a beautiful and productive small-scale garden.

Need some great garden designs for your small space? No matter if you want to have a fruit, vegetable, herb or just to add a few pollinators flowers to your small yard this book will help you not only design but to also buy plants ideal for small spaces.

For some reason, we have it in our heads that gardening in any form no matter if its flowers, vegetables or just some simple herds that we need tons of space in order to have these things, but that is not the case whatsoever. You can use containers to grow tons of different vegetables and even perennial flowers. Herbs are really great for containers, so get to researching with books like this and get out and plant and this book will help you achieve your goals in any form of gardening in small spaces.