Free Kindle Book, Blood of My Brother

Hello There!

I made it home from Winchester Tennessee….had my nap, unloaded the car, and set about to put all the digital stuff RIGHT in my world!

And while sorting through what I sort through ((Oh is there EVER a lot to sort through!!)) I came upon THIS goodie!

Review

“Blood of my Brother is exciting, full of passion both of hate and love. It is a story that will captivate and keep you in your easy chair reading until you reach the satisfying conclusion. It is a great book deserving of a 9 out of 10 rating.”
– Mainly Mysteries
“A tense thriller.”
– The Mystery Gazette

“Blood of My Brother is a fast-paced thriller with twists and turns that defy reason. James LePore has again written a novel of suspense showing his maturing style is in even better form. A best seller for sure for those who love thrillers and a good mystery!”
– Crystal Book Reviews

“I love a good suspense novel, and that's exactly what I got with James LePore's Blood of my Brother…. This is a fast paced novel that will catch you right from the beginning…. All of the characters bring something different and intriguing to the table, and you'll follow some twists and turns as you are introduced to each of them. James LePore has delivered a great novel for those who love thrillers and suspense! Definitely check this one out!”
– Confessions of a Real Librarian

“It’s the action that keeps you turning the pages, but it’s the bigger issues LePore works into the story that will keep you thinking even after you’ve finished.”
– Musings of an All-Purpose Monkey

“Readers of taut action will thrill over Blood of My Brother's chase sequences and rundowns with a Mexican drug cartel, while those readers who enjoy suspense stories with a bit of mystery will find no complaints. Blood of My Brother whet my appetite for action, excitement and international intrigue and I was left satiated upon the book's conclusion. I would recommend Blood of My Brother to any reader looking for a solid story with action, intrigue and mystery. You won't be disappointed.”
– Psychotic State

Description

When Jay Cassio’s best friend is murdered in a job clearly done by professionals, the walls that he has built to protect himself from the world of others begin to shatter. Dan Del Colliano had been his confidante and protector since the men were children on the savage streets of Newark, New Jersey. When Dan supports and revives Jay after Jay’s parents die in a plane crash, their bond deepens to something beyond brotherhood, beyond blood. Now Jay, a successful lawyer, must find out why Dan died and find a way to seek justice for his murder.

Isabel Perez has lived a life both tainted and charmed since she was a teenager in Mexico. She holds powerful sway over men and has even more powerful alliances with people no one should ever try to cross. She desperately wants her freedom from the chains these people have placed on her. When Jay catapults into her world, their connection is electric, their alliance is lethal, and their future is anything but certain.

Once again, James LePore has given us a novel of passions, intense moral complexities, and irresistible thrills. Filled with characters you will embrace and characters you will fear, Blood of My Brother is a story about a quest for revenge and redemption you won’t soon forget.

I’m in the mood for some action, some intrigue, some mystery, some twists and turns, and NO FROO FROO! So I downloaded Blood Of My Brother right away. As always, check to see that it is still free before you click download as prices can change without warning!

I’m off to PUT AWAY what I unpacked from the car……the most DREADED part of the trip! And I’m going to enjoy my evening just being home…I see a root beer float in my near future!

It's a virus, y'all!!

I'm not a happy camper!

I was getting ready to do a blog post tonight and got this weird pop up on my computer that my antivirus didn't catch...something about my computer being at risk.

I didn't click anything.....but it wouldn't let me run a scan or anything, so I know I've got a bug. Most of my regular programs are GONE...I can't access them and there are no icons on my desktop but miraculously IE is still in my tool bar!

I can get this fixed at home, I'm not worried about it, I'll set it back to factory settings, but as I'm leaving for home in the morning, I won't have a post to leave you ((Other than this one!))

These people and their viruses.....what is UP with that?! I don't even remember clicking anything so I don't know how it could have gotten in.....so if you don't hear from me until I get home, you'll know why.

Good thing I still have my old laptop, it will likely go to Texas with me next week while this one gets left off with the geek squad at Best Buy, if we can't get the "restore to factory settings to work"

((Yes, I tried to reset it to an earlier date and that did NOTHING with these pop ups telling me that my computer is at risk...blahhhhh))

Hasta La Vista, baby! We deal with it as it comes!

*****UPDATE!**** Thanks to a friend who called to help me in my time of distress, I learned that I have to restart the computer in SAFE mode and THEN restore it to an earlier date to get rid of the malware. So it's gone, I've got my icons back, etc......but all my photos are gone :c( Good thing I have all the photos from this trip saved on my phone, but all the others that were saved on the laptop are no longer here. BUGGERS!! Why do they do this? (*&@#($*&(*&!

Friday In Winchester, TN!

I did throw on my running shoes yesterday morning and headed out before anyone was up –I encountered a few people out walking their dogs also enjoying the gorgeous morning, and I also encountered some dogs out walking THEMSELVES! I walk with a full water bottle that has great squirt capacity for such reasons. That, and a good stern NO! ((Can you see me shaking my finger too in no uncertain terms?)) will usually set a dog off in the other direction.

Aren’t these gorgeous clematis just WONDERFUL!? I love walking wherever I go, wherever I am ((weather permitting of course)) and seeing this beauty! This time of year nature is just blooming all over….

Some of my favorite flowers of the summer??

These blue hydrangeas!

This was an especially HAPPY bunch! Don’t you love that color?? Talk about “Blooming where you are planted!!” This bush is doing it gleefully. I think there is another Life Lesson in that, don’t you?

Upon my return home to Diane’s….I quickly showered and got ready for the day because we had an AGENDA!!

It was time for me to graduate from hand-cranking to….TREADLING! And let me tell you, it is harder than it looks! I kept getting stuck between backward and forward. And I have to confess, even though you see me with fabric under the needle? Look closer! Can you see what is MISSING?!?

Hint….look at the top of the machine……any idea now?

I was sewing WITH NO THREAD!!! LOL! It was the easiest way to see which direction the fabric was feeding, to get the rhythm, etc, but to not have thread breakage to deal with should the machine start going backwards on me. And let me tell you, this uses muscles that I am not used to using either!

I’m still happy as a clam chugging along, even without thread! That meant I didn’t have anything I had to rip out either!

Go feet Go!! Note to self: Flex the ankles, and don’t push too hard! Gentle rocking is all it takes…..easy does it…keep going…..

Soon we were on the road for a bit of shopping and lunch on the town!

Isn’t downtown Winchester cute!? There is a huge store on the right side of the courthouse square called HAMMERS and it is a BLOCK LONG..It takes up the whole block! And there is everything from clothing to house wares to hardware to fabric in there….and …tada! They were having their Memorial Day sale!

Yes, for 2.88 we did some damage here….there was everything under the sun! I found 2 pieces..one a blue/cheddar stripe, and one black on white print that I wanted. I really tried to reign it in!

We hit a couple other antique/junque shops and I rewarded myself for my restraint in the fabric section of Hammers…with a $5.00 zebra print purse that I am over the moon for!

We then headed to Decherd for a bit more shopping here:

This little shop has great fabric at very reasonable prices! We were still on a mission here..Diane was looking for a backing fabric for this lovely antique top:

Bad picture, too much light from the windows, but can you SEE these stars? The diamonds are about 1” per side!!

Diane's Touching Stars Quilt Top! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Click the pictures to see the variety in these stars…they are fabulous! I love how the centers in some radiate out in uniformity…but then go to scrappy tips! Some of them are scrappy random through out…..it’s a GORGEOUS top in great condition! I would love to do one of these some day….

We ended the day with my lecture last night..followed by some hand stitching while watching “Men In Black II”…..

Today? It’s a Virginia Bound workshop! Diane and Johnny are bringing their treadles for sewing, and I know a few other ladies are ready with their featherweights and their vintage card tables ready to roll too! It’s going to be a great day!

And tomorrow? I’m on the way home!

Two Crank-y Quilters!

Yesterday started out very windy and rainy, a continuation of the night before……a perfect day to sit in and sew! Wednesday night had some horrendous storms blow through, starting around 1am and continuing through dawn……and on into Thursday morning --- but even if the power were to go out ((which it didn’t!)) It wasn’t about to stop our agenda for the day!

I spent yesterday getting to know my new hand crank machine! I think the thing that freaked me out the most was worrying that I would forget how to wind the little shuttle bobbins, get them in wrong, etc. I wanted to spend enough time at it that I knew what I was doing when I do it at home!

Sewing on a hand crank is really sweet….GREAT for precision work! I started out on some paper pieced blocks…easier to guide while sewing on a line. Sewing with a hand crank is much like trying to pat your head and rub your tummy at the same time with opposite hands. But with a bit of practice, you can feed it straight and keep a good seam allowance….having a piece of tape as a guide helps a lot, and if you fork your middle and index finger of your left hand in front of your work so you have two points of pressure on the fabric, it is much like feeding with both hands…it just takes a bit of practice!

Diane was sewing on this lovely serpentine machine circa 1880 or so!

Isn’t she a beauty?? Look at those lovely decals!

We set up at the dining room table and worked much of the day on our pieces!

The one crazy thing on my end? I kept automatically trying to feel for the foot pedal before I could start sewing. And there IS no foot pedal! You just crank! I finally crossed my ankles under my chair to stop the reflex!

Can you see the blur of my hand?!?!? Around and around and around and around……my machine makes a BEAUTIFUL stitch!

Diane has a great collection of treadle machines, hand cranks, and electric vintage machines. They are just wonderful! I’d love to take my hand crank to retreat at some point and just work on her for the weekend.

A funny discussion soon followed…..”My right arm is going to get really strong!” “What can I do for the left to balance it out?” “I suppose you could sit on the other side of the table and crank backward with your left??” “You could do hand weight exercises in between with your left!” “Hey, what if we sat on those balance balls and worked our core muscles at the same time??”

The thought of having a bulging hand crank bicep is just hilarious!

It does take longer to sew a seam with a hand crank than it does an electric machine. I thought of ladies making clothing circa 1910 when this machine was made…you’d have to crank forever just to get to the end of one skirt seam……but for working on miniatures? And paper piecing? This is really REALLY fun!

I haven’t been so excited about anything since my easy bake oven when I was 10!

We did take a little lunch break when the weather cleared and found ourselves out in the country here:

Grannie’s Sweet Tooth has amazing sandwiches on homemade bread, desserts and cookies to die for, and a wonderful atmosphere! Just a little “mom and pop” kind of place in the middle of rural TN……if I lived close, I’d be visiting often for things like “Home made ice cream sandwich” or the “hot fudge brownie sundae”. It’s just a few miles up the road from Diane’s….

After lunch a nap was most needed, and enjoyed! In the evening, DIane’s friend Jonnie joined us….she is here from out of town for my lecture tonight and workshop tomorrow!

Yes, SUNDAY --- I am headed HOME! It’s been a whirlwind trip through TN and AL and I’ve had a ball, but the call of home is strong…..

As I write this, it’s not quite 6:30 am, but I was awakened by the birds chirping ((Which means it must not be raining)) and I think I’ll throw on my running shoes and head out for a walk before everyone else wakes up and gets going….

Today?? I get lessons on sewing on TREADLES!! WHOoooooo!

Bouncing Back to Tennessee!

I think I’ve finally reached the point where I really have to think “What Day Is It?!?” on this trip! As I sit here typing this post, I had to check the calendar in the lower right of my screen to double check. Oh yes! It’s Thursday!

The only thing I had to do yesterday was pack up my room in Florence, Alabama….and make my way to Fayetteville, Tennessee, where I had arranged to meet Diane at “Hooked On Quilting” at 3pm.

Somewhere along the line I was given the wrong information…..and was told that it would take about 4 hours to get there! Well, because checkout was by 11am anyway, and also wasn’t sure WHICH time zone Fayetteville and Winchester were in ((East coast or Central Time??)) I figured if I were a bit early, and it turns out that I did change time zones, I’d be right on time.

I was early. nearly 3 hours early. LOL!!!

So what’s a girl to do? Whip out her phone and search for antiques! Turns out there were some great shops around the courthouse square and I set about a-browsin!

The first quilt sighting I came upon was this lovely string star! LOVE the blue background, and the large red print triangles…which give the string stars a place to float! Isn’t this great? Here is a close up of the fabrics:

I had a great time wandering this shop……even found a super funky churn dash with big blocks!

It was pretty raggy, but look how fun those scrappy sashings are!

LOVE the plaid block in the bottom of the pic….see how those plaids are going every which direction? FUN!!

So I wander, and wander, and look at things, pick them up, turn them over, put them down, just enjoying the day --- I don’t know a SOUL IN Fayetteville, Tennessee…this is a new discovery for me!

And who do I run into? In a town where I know NO ONE? What are the chances that I would run into DIANE herself?!

Did she buy the machine? Nope! But what a small world to run into her a couple of hours before we were supposed to meet up! We enjoyed shopping the store, went out to lunch, and wound our way over to Hooked On Quilting!

The shop is housed in the bottom level of this wonderful old house that dates to 1850’s! Room after room of fabric…I did find some more black on white that I was looking for…..

and some black and whites that I WISH I could have taken home with me!!!

This sweet mama kitty had her hands full, trying to keep track of FOUR adorable tuxedo kittens! Oh baby kitties! You can bet my packages were quickly set aside so I could get myself some kitten love!

LOTS of kitty love!! And as a Quilter, I was really struck by the colors on this old porch. The light green of the floor boards, the vibrant blue of the old rocking chairs, and the contrast of these black and white babies…..aren’t they adorable?

There were 3 black/white ones….and one grey/white one!

Curious little guys….they were tumbling and playing with each other and I just couldn’t let them go!

We also had a special treat while we were making our purchases. The shop owner’s daughter has her harp set up in the same room as the cutting table, and was practicing --- Can you imagine being serenated by harp while you shop?

It was such a treat to spend the day in Fayetteville, to run into Diane in the antique mall…to enjoy lunch, fabric shopping, kitty loving……

Today? We are pulling out my scraps, and I’m going to start string piecing with my hand crank machine! Ooooooooo! Can’t wait!

When Quilters Gather….

There is a dessert table!!!

And not just a dessert table….but a great buffet lunch table too. Let’s just admit it. We love our food as much as we love our fabric….

And it is going to take many more walk/jogs to burn off what I consumed yesterday!

There was NO shortage on CHOCOLATE, that is for sure! There were FOUR different kinds of brownies! And look at the chocolate cake with the white drizzle icing! There was a coconut pound cake that was so moist and delicious, and some other yummies, like peanut butter chocolate rice crispy treat bars....oh my! What is it they say about life being short, and eating dessert first?!

I think the one thing that took the cake CHEESECAKE were these:

DO YOU SEE THESE?!?? Oh My….these are Oreo Cookie Cheesecake Bars! And they were to die for. Seriously.

I posted the picture yesterday on the Quiltville Facebook page, and got many requests for the recipes, so here you go!

Oreo Cheesecake Bars!

What You Need

36 OREO Cookies, divided

1/2 cup butter or margarine, divided

4 pkg. (8 oz. each) Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup Sour Cream

1 tsp. vanilla

4 eggs

4 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate

((I am assuming you can use the “light” version of both the cream cheese, and the sour cream…if you REALLY want to!))

Make It

HEAT oven to 325°F.

LINE 13x9-inch baking pan with foil, with ends extending over sides. Finely crush 24 cookies. Melt 1/4 cup butter; mix with crumbs. Press onto bottom of prepared pan.

BEAT cream cheese and sugar with mixer until blended. Add sour cream and vanilla; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each just until blended. Chop remaining cookies. Gently stir into batter; pour over crust.

BAKE 45 min. or until center is almost set. Cool. Meanwhile, microwave chocolate and remaining butter in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 min.; stir until smooth. Cool slightly; spread over top of cheesecake. Refrigerate 4 hours. Use foil handles to lift cheesecake from pan before cutting to serve.

Tips:

How to Make Mess-Free Cookie Crumbs

Crushing cookies into crumbs can be a messy task. To keep the mess to a minimum, place the whole cookies in a zip-lock type plastic bag. Flatten bag to remove excess air, then seal bag. Crush the cookies into crumbs by rolling a rolling pin across the bag until the crumbs are as fine as you need.

How to Neatly Cut Dessert Bars

When cutting creamy-textured desserts, such as cheesecake, carefully wipe off the knife blade between cuts with a clean damp towel. This prevents the creamy filling from building up on the blade, ensuring clean cuts that leave the edges intact.

Not only did we eat, but we had a great time with the class! And this student won the prize for SEWING with Millenium Y2k fabric! It’s a classic!

I know, I know, you saw some of these yesterday. This is what happens when I teach the class two days in a row in two separate towns, but it was sure fun…

		Pineapple Blossom Workshop, Florence AL May 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I’m headed off to Winchester TN this morning – but before I do I need to spend some time packing up my room! I’ve been a sewing fool! And I really hit the mother lode on this one. I think THIS room makes up for the tiny-ness of that first room a week ago….just LOOK at this space!!

Wooowhoo!! Plenty of room for setting up my sew ezi table….I’ve tried sewing at these desks before, but the problem is that the desk chair never goes high enough, and I feel like an 8 year old trying to sew up above my shoulders….that’s why I brought the table this time.

Look at that counter!!! CUTTING TABLE HEIGHT! YAY!!!! Funny how little things can make a traveling itinerant quilter GIDDY!

Big TV…lots of NCIS, Law & Order and CSI have been enjoyed during my evenings here!

But the best is yet to come! I’m to be the guest of Miss Diane of Treadle-fame! She’s got my new baby hand crank all ready to roll for me, and we get to play for a couple days before I give a lecture to the Material Girls Guild in Winchester on Friday, and a Virginia Bound Workshop on Saturday! I’ve got some string piecing blocks with me, and I think that will be a perfect thing to learn to control the hand crank with. And she promised me some treadle lessons too! I’ve got a few treadle machines, but honestly? I’ve not sewn on ANY Of them. I wish there was someone in my area who could help me get them up to par, because I’d love to use them.

So….off I go to pack up the bomb that has exploded in my little haven of a room here….and the journey continues!