Love Finds You in Lonesome Prairie Montana

Sometimes you are able to find a book that instantly captures your interest and from the first page Love Finds You in Lonesome Prairie Montana by Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss had my interest.

The story is of Julia Cavanaugh, a young orphaned woman who travels west to Montana on an orphan train with her young charges. At the final stop, she finds out to her horror that the matron of the orphanage thought an arranged marriage to a prospector would be romantic. Stranded in Montana, Julia finds out where home really is.

I loved this book from first page to last and would highly recommend it to anyone. In fact, I am letting my mother read my copy (and I hope I get it back - hint, hint.)

About the Authors

Tricia Goyer is the author of several books, including Night Song and Dawn of a Thousand Nights, both past winners of the ACFW's Book of the Year Award for Long Historical Romance. Goyer lives with her family in Montana. To find out more visit her website: www.triciagoyer.com





Ocieanna Fleiss is a published writer and has edited six of Tricia Goyer's historical novels. She lives with her husband and their four children in the Seattle area. Connect with Ocieanna on Facebook!








CONTEST ALERT

The authors, Tricia and Ocieanna, have put together one humdinger of a contest for this blog tour! Enter the Fall in Love With Lonesome Prairie Contest and WIN a perty Montana Gift Basket!  

To enter, simply fill out the entry form (http://www.triciagoyer.com/contest.html ), (then tell 5 or more friends about the contest)! The winner will be announced December 14th, just in time for an old-fashioned Montana Christmas. Giddy-up!

The Winner of our ‘Fall in Love with Lonesome Prairie’ giveaway will receive a fantastic Montana Gift Basket, including:

*Winter fleece throw

*Huckleberry chocolate bar

*Paula Dean candle

*Burt’s Bees gift set

*Wild Huckleberry taffy

*Montana stationary notebook

*Montana greeting card set

*Montana ball cap

*Montana apron

*Montana refrigerator magnet

*Charlie Russell 2010 Montana Calendar

This book was provided for review by the Litfuse Publicity Group. These thoughts and opinions are mine. If I hated the book, I would have said so, and certainly not lent it to my mother.

Pots for Snot

Since I have been going through a vicious cold, I thought I would let you know about neti pots.

Never heard of them?

Not surprising, they are a well kept secret. Of course most people don't want to talk about snot and "nasal irrigation" because . . . EWWWWWW.

But that is what I am going to do because it has made me feel so much better.

I have 2 neti pots, both of them purchased by me at Walgreens (just cause I knew they had them). My first neti-pot was made by SinuCleanse and looks kind-of like the ones on their website but mine seems to be an earlier model - mine is a few years old. We call it the gravy boat. Yep, I know that is incredibly gross but it does look like a plastic gravy boat. It came with a little plastic spoon to stir the salt mixture with, but I promptly lost it.

You know the feeling of getting water up your nose as a kid? It is somewhat like that, not quite as bad UNLESS you try to forgo the salt mixture. If you try and skip the salt mixture, the pain will be incredible. With the salt mix, it is somewhat uncomfortable but it does really help.

So why did I get another one? I got the NasaFlo Neti Pot because it said it wouldn't hurt. And it doesn't. Not at all. This one looks more like a little blue teapot but it functions in pretty much the same way and the other one. The part that goes in the nose is also a little more comfortable because it isn't inserted like the SinuCleanse. It does have to be dried open, you can't clean it and then close it up so there is a potential to lose the lid.

I think the difference in solutions is that the NasaFlo uses isotonic instead of hypertonic solutions - basically (if I understand this right) the hypertonic is stronger, saltier while the isotonic is balanced to be painless.

If you are wanting to do the hypertonic solution, I would suggest the SinuCleanse neti pot. Otherwise I would suggest the NasaFlo - which does have a hypertonic salt mixture avalable (or you can use 2 regular packets).

I have read that daily "nasal irrigation" can help prevent the cold and flu - it washes the virus away before it has a chance to get bad - so it is something you may really want to try.

I was not paid for my opinion nor was my opinion requested by either company, I just wanted to give a comparison that I did on my own. I purchased all the items and received no form of compensation.

Brandi Carlile - Giving up the Ghost

One2One Network gave me the opportunity to listen to the new Brandi Carlile Album - Giving Up the Ghost. If you are not familiar with this artist, this is her third album and her music has been categorized as pop, rock, indie, folk, and alternative country (which I have never heard of). Her music has been featured on Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice.

As for this album, I have really been enjoying it. There is a wide variety of songs but they do fit nicely together. Brandi Carlile's voice has an amazing range and the music does seem to showcase it nicely.

The song Caroline features Elton John and seems to have some of his piano playing whimsy. Another song, That Year talks about the suicide of a friend while they were in high school - but isn't maudlin or overly depressing.

The albums tracklist:
Looking Out
Dying Day
Pride And Joy
Dreams
That Year
Caroline
Before It Breaks
I Will
If There Was No You
Touching The Ground
Oh Dear


Brandi Carlile is an artist you will want to check out.

I received a download of the album free for review but have received no other form of compensation or gain from this review. I receive no compensation for any purchase or download of the album or any songs. These are all my own opinions and thoughts of the album.

The Search for God and Guinness - Stephen Mansfield

Ok, I admit it appealed to my contrary streak to get a book from a christian publisher about beer - and not one denouncing beer but telling how faith was as important in the heritage of Guinness as brewing beer. I was amazed at how well I enjoyed the book though.

The book description reads:

It began in Ireland in the late 1700’s. The water in Ireland, indeed throughout Europe, was famously undrinkable, and the gin and whiskey that took its place was devastating civil society. It was a disease ridden, starvation plagued, alcoholic age, and Christians like Arthur Guinness—as well as monks and even evangelical churches—brewed beer to offer a healthier alternative to the poisonous waters and liquors of the times. This is where the Guinness tale began. Now, 246 years and 150 countries later, Guinness is a global brand, one of the most consumed beverages in the world. The tale that unfolds during those two and a half centuries has power to thrill audiences today: the generational drama, business adventure, industrial and social reforms, deep-felt faith, and the beer itself.

It was a fascinating look on the history of Guinness beer and the Guinness family. I was impressed that one company, one family could do that much good and it shines an even harsher light on the modern companies whose main focus is following the almighty dollar.

I didn't know that Arthur Guinness - founder of the company - brought the first Sunday Schools to Ireland, and they were controversial. Rather than a short class after church, they were an all day class and an out reach to the children of the poor slums.

I didn't know that one of the Guinness descendants was a revivalist compared to Moody and Spurgeon and then founded a school to teach missionaries how to mission in China.

I admit to being a bit bored by the descriptions of how many barrels per year were sold and some of the other business-ey business. But it is a business type book so that is expected. And some of they business-ey stuff was interesting - like the talk of Guinness going into advertising (which it avoided for a long time).

All in all, it was a very interesting book. I would recommend it with one caveat - it is not an easy or quick read (though I suppose that depends on your background). I am a history buff and so found the history fascinating but someone who didn't and also is not interested in business would get bogged down.


I was given the book to review by Thomas Nelson Book Bloggers (click the button on my sidebar if you want to sign up). I received no other form of compensation or reward - just a free book. These thoughts are all my own (except for the quoted portion - duh).

Joshua Bell - At Home with Friends

I was given the opportunity to review Joshua Bell's new album though One2One network. I think I have mentioned before that I have rather eclectic music tastes so I was excited about this. It is various musical friends that perform with Joshua Bell on the songs - people like Sting (oh, I love Sting), Josh Groban (another favorite), Kristen Chenoweth.

In fact, here is the track list

I Loves You Porgy featuring Chris Botti, trumpet
Come Again featuring Sting, vocals
Oblivion featuring Carel Kraayenhof, bandoneon
Cinema Paradiso featuring Josh Groban, vocals
Para Tí featuring Tiempo Libre, various
My Funny Valentine featuring Kristin Chenoweth, vocals
Maybe So featuring Edgar Meyer Sam Bush and Mike Marshall, strings
Grieg: Sonata No. 3 featuring Sergei Rachmaninoff (Zenph re-performance)
Eleanor Rigby featuring Frankie Moreno, piano & vocals
O, Cease Thy Maiden Fair featuring Nathan Gunn, baritone
Il Postino featuring Carel Kraayenhof, bandoneon
Left Hand Song featuring Regina Spektor, piano & vocals
Chovendo Na Roseira featuring Dave Grusin, piano
Look Away featuring Edgar Meyer, bass and Chris Thile, mandolin
Variant Moods: Duet for Sitar & Violin featuring Anoushka Shankar, sitar
I'll Take Manhattan featuring Marvin Hamlisch, piano
Left Hand featuring Regina Spektor, vocals

Sounds great, right? That is what I thought too.

Now, honestly I found myself getting annoyed at the album. Sometimes the way it was mixed was too heavy on the violin - like during the song with Sting, the violin drowned out Sting's voice. Same with the Josh Groban song.

I was also disappointed with the Rachmaninoff "duet" - an old copy of a Rachmaninoff performance in 1928 Germany restored and re-recorded. Again the violin was a bit heavy.

In fairness, it is a album based on Joshua Bell playing the violin and he does play very well. He also has a wide range of styles he can play with. He is a very talented musician.

I just didn't particularly like this album.

But that is just me.

By the way - I did get this CD free to review sent to me by One2One network. I received no other compensation and these are all my own personal opinions about the album.

Harry Connick Jr - Your Songs

I was lucky enough to be able to receive the new Harry Connick Jr album - Your Songs - to review for the One2one network. I admit I have very . . . eclectic music tastes. I like music from almost all genres and from most time periods. It is easier to describe what I don't like - rap and Barry Manilow (sorry Heather).

So what I was expecting from Harry Connick Jr was more of his lovely Frank Sinatra-esque music - and there was some of that. But there was also some that seemed Barry Manilow-ish. Maybe it is because of the time period that those specific songs are from, none of them are Barry Manilow songs, but I kept thinking the next song would be Copacabana.

Don't get me wrong, there are some songs I love on the cd - All the Way, Besame Mucho, The Way You Look Tonight, Some Enchanted Evening, Mona Lisa - but it isn't my new favorite cd. It might have been if the song selection had been different.

The most critical family members tolerated it although there were comments that it sounded like Dave from Alvin and the Chipmunks - in fairness I think it had more to do with the style of music than Harry Connick Jr's voice.

So if you like Frank Sinatra and Barry Manilow you will probably love this album - either that or you will think I am crazy for the comparison to Manilow.

I was given the album for free but received no other payment of any kind for this review. These are my unbiased and unedited opinions.

The Noticer

Although I read a lot there aren't many books that I would recommend to just about anyone. The Noticer by Andy Andrews is one of the few.



Jones an old man of undetermined age and background helps a young homeless man - not by giving a handout but by giving him the tools to improve his life. Later the young man finds out about the others that Jones has helped: the couple on the brink of divorce, the old woman who thinks her life is over, the business man who is too busy getting ahead to notice what he is leaving behind.

Based on a true story but weaving in fiction and allegory, The Noticer is a beautifully crafted story from the young homeless man. It is a fairly quick read except, in my opinion, this is one to read slowly and savor. This is an excellent book to add to any collection.

As a side note, as a homeschooler I love how much Jones taught through biographies. We must read more biographies.

I was able to read this book through the Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger. I get no compensation for doing this review, only the book to read. If you are interested in doing some reviews yourself, click the button in the sidebar.