library bulletin

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

"the physick book of deliverance dane"

click on the arrow below for a taste of the book


(most of the information on this post is from this site)

"A spellbinding, beautifully written novel that moves between contemporary times and one of the most fascinating and disturbing periods in American history – 
the Salem witch trials.

Harvard graduate student Connie Goodwin needs to spend her summer doing research for her doctoral dissertation. But when her mother asks her to handle the sale of Connie’s grandmother’s abandoned home near Salem, she can’t refuse. 


As she is drawn deeper into the mysteries of the family house, Connie discovers an ancient key within a seventeenth-century Bible. The key contains a yellowing fragment of parchment with a name written upon it: 
Deliverance Dane. 




This discovery launches Connie on a quest—to find out who this woman was and to unearth a rare artifact of singular power: 
a physick book, 
its pages a secret repository for
lost knowledge."



this book is so good...


super creepy...
the good kind...

especially the audio version...

if you want something awesome to read
to get you in the mood for the upcoming halloween season,
this is your book...


constance and sam...
(my version anyway:))


~~~~~~~~
here is my goodreads review...



My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book! It reminded me a little of the DiVinci Code in that she was trying solve a puzzle with strange and unobvious clues along the way and someone trying to use her to do it. I loved the spooky feel it had and I thought the interludes of what happened in 1691 with the Salem witch trials was fascinating. Really well written and interesting. I loved it!

Monday, August 27, 2012

hot august nights

 corn on the cob


i put butter and salt and pepper on mine first
and then wrap them in tin foil...
 put them in oven at 375 deg. for 30 minutes...
then turn off the oven and leave them there until we are ready to eat...
they are still piping hot and i don't have a butter and salt and pepper mess:)

and tomatoes?
 well, i grew these myself (i didn't get very many:()
and made tomato and goat cheese toast with a little balsamic vinegar and corn...

gotta love late august nights:)


you could watch this fun movie if it's too hot to sleep

bell book and candle
starring jimmy stewart and kim novak
it's a bewitching little tale...

(click on the arrow below to watch the original theater preview)
it's kinda hilarious how simple it is compared to previews nowadays...



bye...
more later...

Sunday, August 26, 2012

"there's a little witch in every woman"

"i dream of a love that even time will lie down and be still for"


sally and gillian owens have always known that something about them was different.
their parents died when that were children and they were raised by their eccentric aunts in a lovely old house that was anything but typical...

they were taught the "practical" uses of magic and tried to live a quiet life in a town where people always whispered about them...
the family was also rumored to be cursed with the promise that they could never find true love...
the men they fall in love with are cursed with an untimely death...
(click below to check out the movie trailer)


(the quality isn't great:()

now, adult women with very different personalities, the sisters must use all of their powers to fight the family curse and a swarm of supernatural forces that threatens the lives of all the owens women, including sally's two young daughters...
when sally loses her husband (to the curse),
she writes a letter to herself describing a man so amazing he can't possible be real. she does this to prevent herself from getting her heart broken again...
but then he arrives in the form of officer gary hallet
and the love of her childhood dreams
now she can't fight true love no matter how hard she tries...
she must break the curse...

this is one of those movies that you have to sit down and watch every time it is on...
i especially loved sally's apothecary shop and her clothes.
she was a beautiful witch...

"can love really travel back in time and heal a broken heart?
was it our joined hands that finally lifted maria's curse?
i'd like to think so.
but there are some things i know for certain:
always throw spilt salt over your left shoulder,
keep rosemary by your garden gate,
plant lavender for luck,
and fall in love whenever you can".


bye...
more later...

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

laters, baby:)

     what did you do on your summer vacation?

umm...
i read these hehe...
and i'm not afraid to admit it...

perhaps they should be called "fifty shades of crimson"!


Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1)Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thought this book was so much fun. I think with all the hype it has gotten for being spicy, people are not that aware of how romantic it is. It was a great summer read and I would definatly recommend it!

View all my reviewsFifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2)Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Loved it! I was surprised at how romantic it was. I was impressed at how a series that seems like it will be just smutty, ended up testing and proving peoples morality. It made you question what people will do or won't do for love and what they decide they aren't willing to lose for love. The inner goddess and subconsience was silly but I mostly innored that. It was great fun and I seriously could not put it down. It is not nearly as bad as I feared:)

View all my reviewsFifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3)Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

You pretty much have to read these books. If not just for fun, at least to know what all the hype is about. It was a little embarrasing reading them, i will admit that, but I loved them and if I had time, i would read them all again. (I probably will at some point anyway:))They were a blast and the perfect summer beach reads.

View all my reviews

i was wondering how people would have a book club party for these books. i seriously would not know where to start...
it could be interesting though:) i guess i will have to think on that one...

i will tell you one thing though...
one day while i was reading one of these on my lunch break in the break room, i let out an embarrasing giggle and laugh and when i looked up, there were five guys in the break room and me...
i was of course reading the big obvious book called "fifty shades of grey" with all it's hype and exposure and what not, so i decided if you are going to read it, it should be on your kindle or nook...
or...
you could get one of these cute koozies to wrap it up in:)



and then you could read it anywhere:)
~~~~~~~~

 christian
                           anastasia 



“Ana: I love philanthropic Christian.

Christian: Just him?

Ana: Oh, I love megalomaniac Christian, too, and control freak Christian, sexpertise Christian, kinky Christian, romantic Christian, shy Christian ... the list is endless.

Christian: That's a whole lot of Christians.

Ana: I'd say at least fifty.

Christian: (laughs) Fifty Shades.

Ana: My Fifty Shades.”
― E. L. James, 50 Shades Freed
“There are two motives for reading a book; one, that you enjoy it; the other, that you can boast about it [on Goodreads].”
- Bertrand Russell
bye...
more later...

Saturday, August 18, 2012

"give the lady what she wants"

chocolate frango pie


1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 ounce square of unsweetened baking chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
whipped cream 
crust:
2 tablespoons soft butter
1 4 oz. package of flaked coconut
(1 1/2 cups)

place butter in a mixing bowl, and gradually add sugar, cream well.
melt and cool chocolate, and add to butter mixture.
blend in vanilla, add 1 egg at a time. add a few drops of mint extract if wanted.
beat well after each egg (5 min. at medium speed).
turn into a cooled pie shell and chill 1-2 hours;
top with whipped cream.

crust:
2 T. soft butter on sides and bottom of a 9" pie pan.
spread like you would on bread.
sprinkle coconut in pan and press into butter.
bake at 350 deg. until golden.



apparently grandma j made this pie 
based on a trip to chicago
and some mints she loved from 

i can imagine her being there and wearing this
while shopping...

perhaps these shoes...

and carrying lots of bags

and having lunch here...

sounds like so much fun:)

thanks mom for making the pie and sending the picture...
it looks delicious...
(it's in our cookbooks)

bye...
more later...

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

johnny depp. umm..yes please:)

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chocolat

"the most tempting of all sweets becomes the key weapon in a battle of sensual pleasure verses disciplined self-denial in this comedy.
in 1959, a mysterious woman named vianne (juliette binoche)
moves with her young daughter into a small french village, where much of the community's activities are dominated by the local catholic church.
a few days after settling into town, vianne opens up a 
confectionary shop across the street from the house of worship-
shortly after the beginning of lent.
while the townspeople are supposed to be abstaining from worldly pleasures, vianne tempts them with unusual and delicious chocolate creations, using her expert touch to create just the 
right candy to break down each customer's resistance.
with every passing day, more and more of vianne's neighbors are succumbing to her sinfully delicious treats, but the comte de reynaud (alfred molina), the town's mayor, is not the least bit amused;
he is eager to see vianne run out of town before she leads the town into a deeper level of temptation.
vianne, however, is not to be swayed, (she is a witch after all:))
and with the help of another new arrival in town, a handsome irish gypsy named roux
(johnny depp),

she plans a "grand festival of chocolate,"
to be held on easter sunday."
 
    
  based on the novel by joanne harris, chocolat features a distinguished supporting cast, including judi dench, lena olin, carrie-anne moss, peter stormare, hugh o'conor, and leslie caron.

                      ~ mark deming, rovi~

i love this movie so much.
it is one of my all time favorite witch movies
and i do believe that johnny depp is at his most beautiful in this movie...

it's my favorite johnny depp movie for sure...
i decided since i was watching this movie that i needed to make something from grandma j's cookbook that has chocolate in it but it was so hot and i wasn't sure i wanted to actually cook...
i found this funny recipe and decided to try it...


it is without a doubt the easiest thing i have ever made...
if you like rice crispy treats, you gotta try this...
here are the ingredients:

2 table spoons butter
1/2 small jar marshmallow creme
2 1/2 cups crispy rice cereal
i quart of ice cream


the only cooking required is melting the butter he he...

mix em up...


scoop it in...


lust after johnny depp while eating and watching 
"chocolat"


worth every. 
single. 
calorie.:)


umm...
yes please...


bye...
more later...

Saturday, August 11, 2012

"it began with a discovery of witches"




it is the time of the autumn equinox, the harvest is winding down. the fields are nearly empty, because the crops have been plucked and stored for the coming winter.
mabon is the mid-harvest festival, 
and it is when we take a few moments to honor the changing seasons, and to celebrate the second harvest. 
on or around september 21st, for many pagen and wiccan traditions it is a time of giving thanks for the things we have, 
whether it is abundant crops 
or other blessings.
~~~~~~~~

in this book
mabon is like a "witches convention"
that occurs at the beginning.



A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together.



"Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilightseries--with an extra serving of historical realism."


~~~~~~~~~
these are my visions of matthew and diana
~~~~~~~ 




i hope you are enjoying whatever book you are reading...


i am finding that witches are oddly interesting
and surprisingly likable...
~~~~~~~

it is an anniversary of sorts for me....
a year ago i started this little book club and blog...
i started with
in august of 2011
and only dared ask people
to join me in october
with 
it was only in my own head at that time and i was afraid
to actually do it for fear that no one would read with me
so for me it did begin here...
so thank you for reading with me:)

happy anniversary
chapters and tea



bye...
more later...