The Wandering Prince.

The Wandering Prince by Jean Plaidy.

This novel follows the life of Charles II. It begins in the time of his exile, a time when he fled England, and in so doing slipped from the grasp of Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell and his henchmen had executed Charles' father, the late Charles I, his mother Henrietta Maria had taken refuge in her homeland of France and her youngest child Henriette was smuggled out of England to join her in France by Anne Villiers , a lady of court.
Two of Charles siblings, Henry and Elizabeth were both captured by Cromwell's men and imprisoned in different castles around the land, Elizabeth died but Henry escaped and eventually joined his mother in France.
Charles visited France and Holland throughout his exile.His older sister being married to the Dutch Prince he thought safety was certain. When returning to England he met Lucy Walter who would become one of his many mistresses and bore him a son, James .
Charles' favourite was his sister Henriette or Minette as he named her, she was a young child during the early exile years. The story is told through both Lucy and Minette's eyes. Minette eventually became a prominent figure in the French court , whilst Lucy was to end her days in desolation.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, Minette , Lucy and Henrietta Maria were all displayed as strong characters in their own ways and all showed a great fondness for the rakish 'Wandering Prince'.

A meal among friends.

Last night my husband and I attended a church function. This was a meal at The Three Tuns in Eggleston. It was organised by a parishioner to socialize and raise money for church funds.
The meal was delicous, all freshly cooked --- Teesdale Trout or lamb, pork, beef or turkey from the carvery with a gigantic yorkshire pudding and a selection of fresh vegetables. This course followed starters which ranged from homemade lentil soup to prawn and smoked salmon salad. To finish the meal I ordered sticky toffee pudding with cream but there was also ice cream and rhurbarb crumble.

It was good to chat to people who we only meet in passing in or out of church. Conversation and laughter ensued especially when the after dinner quiz really tested our 'little grey cells'(well mine were certainly tested!)lol

If ever you are in this area do visit the Three Tuns, you will be given a warm welcome in a homely atmosphere and the food is quite delicious.

Musing Mondays

This is today's discussion ----

Do you keep a book wishlist, either on paper, Amazon/etc, or via a book database site (Shelfari, GoodReads, LibraryThing)? If yes, do you share this list with others (especially coming up to Christmas)?

Wishlists are very topical for me at the moment as middle daughter's birthday is approaching and she has sent me her Amazon wishlist , to choose a suitable present.
Her list is one page long, so it was quick and easy to find something appropriate.
If only my own wishlist was so concise. My list is 6 pages long and growing by the minute. Visiting blogs is always a good source of inspiration and with reading in mind the list grows at a fantastic rate.
I did keep a check on my own books on Shelfari but I try to keep only one list now .
Although I have not shared these wishes with family members I do think I will this Christmas.
More wishing can be found here.

She is here...

This is a photo of my darling grandaughter Martha. She was born on September 2nd weighing 6lbs 6 ozs . This photos was taken yesterday and on weighing today she is 7lbs 1oz. She is so gorgeous, but I know I am biased!!! She really looks as though she is waving and smiling for the camera.

Are you going to join the HEN site?

HEN meaning 'Hand Embroidery Network', this is a community devoted to all types of hand embroidery. Each day a new stitch is chosen and a tutorial is given. It is a very good site, with many members and a gallery displaying their work. Quite inspirational, do check it out here.

Yesterday's stitch was algerian eye and today's backstitch, both whipped and plain.
You can see the lesson here.
Above is a photo of my Algerian eye stitch worked in different shades and it is surrounded by a strightforward backstitch.

Teaser Tuesdays

Here we are again, another Tuesday ----
So
Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
here is mine,

'He did not believe that his father could be victorious, but he still could turn a nonchalant face to the future. He could live in the moment, and at this moment he was discovering what a delightful sister was his; he was discovering the pleasures of family life.'

from page 41, 'The Wandering Prince' by Jean Plaidy.

More teasers can be found here.

The Quilter's Kitchen

'The Quilter's Kitchen' by Jennifer Chiaverini.

This is an 'Elm Creek Quilts' novel with recipes.
Quilting has always been Anna's passion and her love of cooking was legendary so when the postion as head chef at the Elm Creek Quilts retreat was vacant she successfully applied and all her dreams were fulfilled.
The retreat is wellknown in quilting circles and to combine sewing with good home cooking is the quilters' aim. The first real task is to clear out the old kitchen in the manor house before the cabinet makers renew the cupboards. Helping in this task is Sylvia Bergstrom Compson. Sylvia's family were residents in this house for many years and as the story unfolds many of their secrets were discovered hidden in the kitchen's nooks and crannies.

The book follows the culinary calender from 'Welcome Banquet' to 'Christmas and New Year' , with recipes for every important date in between.
One recipe with an appropriate title is ---

'Patchwork Salad'.

1 quarter cup plain yogurt
1 quarter cup mayonnaise
1 quarter cup of Dijon mustard
1 quarter teaspoon of kosher salt
1 quarter teaspoon black pepper
2 small zucchini, cut in large dice
4 carrots, cut in large dice
8 small red radishes, halved and sliced
1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
1 quarter cup chopped fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley
1 avocado diced.

Place the yogurt, mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper in a large bowl and mix well. Add the zucchini, carrots, radishes, tomatoes and parsley and mix well. Add the avocado, gently mix, and serve immediately.


This was one of many 'Elm Creek Quilting' books and although the story was quite short I did enjoy it. I hope to try some of the recipes . I will certainly look for more of these books. Recommended.

Booking through Thursday

This week we are asked the following question,

What’s the most enjoyable, most fun, most just-darn-entertaining book you’ve read recently?

(Mind you, this doesn’t necessarily mean funny, since we covered that already. Just … GOOD.)

This is hard to answer, but I am going to nominate my recent read 'Footprints in the Sand'.
Here, the reader was taken on an adventure , and along the way discovered the sights and sounds of far away places, in particular the Sahara desert. I really enjoyed the storyline and found the descriptions quite intriguing. A good read.
More enjoyable books can be found here.

Teaser Tuesdays

Firstly, I must thankyou all again for your latest kind comments , they are very much appreciated.

Yes, I know I'm a day late, well better late than never!!!
The rules are the same --------

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Over the last couple of weeks, reading has really been on the 'back burner' , however last night I did pick up a library book, so here is my teaser,

'If Sylvia only knew that Anna's home kitchen boasted little more than that. Her kitchen---- or kitchenette, as it said on her lease ------ was wholly inappropriate for a chef: it was no bigger than a walk-in closet, with a small refrigerator, a single sink, a two-burner electric stovetop, and an oven too small to accommodate her jelly-roll pan.'

from page 44, 'The Quilter's Kitchen' by Jennifer Chiaverini.

The author of this book is American and as I'm English I'm not certain the meaning of a jelly roll pan? Any answers gratefully received.


More teasers can be found
here.

Thankyou.

Thankyou all for your kind words and prayers following my FIL'S death.
The last two weeks have been very traumatic. Chris died on September 1st, the following day my daughter gave birth to our first grandaughter, weighing 6lbs. 6ozs. she is beautiful. Two days following it was FIL's funeral, a very sad day but with family and friends around there was also time to reflect on his life and the wonderful memories we all have.
The day after the funeral my husband and myself travelled south to visit my daughter, husband and baby. This was a long journey and I did not feel well, to cut a long story short our visit was curtailed after a couple of days . On returning home I visited my G.P. who immediately arranged for my admission into hospital as I had developed a breast abscess. This was aspirated last Monday night and I was given 7 units of intravenous antibiotics over the course of the next few days. Discharged home I am now on oral antibiotics and as all tests proved infection only, the site is healing and I am feeling much improved.
So I think normal posts will resume shortly.

R.I.P.

I am taking a break from blogging for a while as my father - in -law died this morning. Please remember him in your prayers. Thankyou.
Chris --- Rest In Peace.