Blogs, Interviews and Giveaways.

I'm visiting at a few sites today. 

And I would love some company. Just a few hi's and hello's might be nice.

First, if you need a laugh, come read about how my husband asked to marry my sister. Talk about sibling rivalry.  @ http://shannonvannatter.com/tina-pinson-real-life-romance-fictional-excerpt-part-1-of-1/#

Second, if you're planning to take a trip on the Oregon Trail, this might give you some ideas on how to pack. @ http://desertbreezepublishing.blogspot.com/2012/11/author-spotlight-food-on-oregon-trail.html (be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win a PDF copy of Shadowed Dreams)

Third, if you'd like to get to know Rebekah the heroine of my Shadow Series, stop in an read her interview at  @ http://www.margaretdaley.com/2012/11/heroine-interview-from-shadowed-dreams-by-tina-pinson/

And don't forget to stop in and get to know Caroline, Rebekah's cousin,  better too. http://desertbreezepublishing.blogspot.com/2012/11/author-spotlight-character-interview_27.html  (be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win a PDF copy of Shadowed Dreams)

Looking for simple Christmas gifts ebooks are easy to give.

 

Welcome, Patty Froese

Patty Froese lives in central Canada where the winters are long and cold--giving her excellent excuse to stay in and write without guilt.
She's a tea drinker, a novel writer, an adoring wife and mom, and she's pretty sure she's a British person born in a shivering, Canadian body. 
She loves rain, royalty, pretty knick knacks and three square meals a day. No dieting here!

If you'd like to find her online, come by Her Blog:


She's also on Facebook
and whenever someone gives her a new like or follows her blog, she sighs in delight.



Legally Wed is her ninth novel to be released.

When Rich McConaughey comes back to town, divorce papers in hand, he's in for more than he bargained for. Lisa Young, the woman he was married to for six months, hasn't changed a bit. His mother has though... she's gone from matronly to meow, and his father has taken off with the secretary. Does anything last anymore? 

Lisa Young feels chained to the hardware store her family has run for generations. How can she tell her father that she hates the family business? When Rich walks back into her store asking her to finalize a divorce she thought was behind her, she thinks that the answer is to sign on the dotted line and move on. Except, Rich isn't making it so easy... and God has other plans. 

For better or for worse, when you're legally wed, things can get complicated. 



ENJOY AND EXCERPT 

"What do you mean we're still married?" She hurried to match his pace."And for crying out loud, slow down." 

He slowed his steps to a leisurely stroll and glanced down at her. She only came up to his shoulder, and she resented having to tip her chin to look him in the face. Young Hardware stood on Main Street, one of the first stores built on this street before the town sprung up around a crossroads with a gas station, a diner and a church to serve the farms in that area. Now it joined many businesses flanking Main Street, and she couldn't help but feel like every single of one of them watched. 

"We used my Uncle Neil to finalize the divorce, remember?" Rich asked. 

"Yes, that sounds right." As she hurried Ricky past Whirlwind Realty, the business next door to the hardware store, she felt a rush of relief that Jane, the head realtor for the place, stood with her back to them. One less person to give her the third degree later. 

"Well, as it turns out, Uncle Neil was having trouble with alcohol at the time and..." 

"And?" 

"And never filed it. It sort of slipped through the cracks." 

"Sort of?" What on earth are you talking about?" Lisa heard her voice rising in pitch. "He never filed the papers?" 

"Looks that way." 

"And how did you figure this out?" 

"When the IRS audited me. My accountant thought I'd had my identity stolen. The IRS thought I was fraudulent." 

"Ouch." For the first time, a pang of pity replaced irritation for the man. She stopped at the street corner and looked across the intersection at the coffee shop. A couple of people visible in the window ordered their drinks. She glanced back at Rich. "So you came out here to get me to sign?" 

He squinted in the bright sunlight and pressed his lips together. Finally, he gave a slow shrug. "That was the plan." 

She turned her attention to the envelope in her hands. It had been a long time since she'd held divorce papers, and they still felt ominous and weighty. She nodded. 

"Okay. Well, I'll take a look at these then." 

"Look, I'm sorry about this." Rich put his hands into his pockets and looked down at his shoes. He raised his gaze to meet hers. "I know this is a surprise." 

"You could say that." 

He gave her one of those lopsided smiles of his and for just a moment she could see the boy with the spontaneous grin and cajoling eyes she'd fallen in love with all those years ago. Why could Ricky always speed up her heart, even when every logical bone in her body knew he wasn't in her best interest? 

"Well." She cleared her throat. "Thank you. I'll see you around, I'm sure." 

"You bet." 

Lisa raised her hand in an awkward wave and turned back towards the hardware store. 

Married. Her body moved like wet clay, and when she fumbled about inside for her feelings she discovered -- nothing. Not yet. Later. Time enough for a meltdown in privacy. 

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it...

My silverware drawer fell apart the other day.

Literally.

I started to fix it, but layers of glue and several nails and screws suggested it had been fixed before. They just hadn't tried duct tape yet.

Hubby called the rental company, who said they'd would send someone over to fix the drawer. He told them the particle board had crumbled in his hands and was beyond repair. They promised to get right on it.

Yep. Right on it.

A week later, my silverware was still sitting on the counter. And we hadn't heard from the rental comp. We decided to buy a new drawer from Home Depot and deduct it from the rent.

Sounded good in principal, until we got the drawer home and found it was too wide and they didn't have any that fit.

Hubby promised to build a drawer, but... I didn't want to wait. I wanted it done. Yesterday.

I decided to take matters into my own hands and put on my builders cap. I had done a bunch of building; garages, room additions, shelves, toy boxes and more. I had the power tools and I knew how to wield them. (I have a scar beneath my arm where I tried to drill through myself that stands as testament to my power tool prowess.) I could handle a drawer. I purchased my wood, and using my mitre saw, cut my sides to perfection. I turned to lay them on the table saw so I could make a runner slit for the base of the drawer, when I realized the table saw was back in Colorado gathering dust in a storage unit. Funny I remembered seeing a table saw. Oh, that was the one my son was selling at a yard sale.

That's okay, I had a router. When I went to find it, I learned hubby had taken it to work. I was a touch frustrated because I wanted my silverware off the counter, and considered using the chisels. But I decided that would be too time consuming and they didn't roar with power. I called hubby and told him to bring the router when he came home for lunch or else. :-)

Once I had my router I was off again. Cutting, sawing, hammering in a sawdust dream til I had me a beautiful drawer. Which fix perfectly in it's slot. Talk about a sense of accomplishment.

I put the silverware back in the drawer and waited for hubby to return so I could show him my latest achievement.

Now if only, writing could go as smoothly.

Oh and a week after I finished the drawer. The rental company finally called to let us know they'd be coming out to fix the drawer.

Vinegar is so sweet.

Okay maybe Vinegar isn't sweet in the taste sense, (although since some of it comes from apples shouldn't it be) but Vinegar has so many uses. It kills germs, cleans house, preserves food, deters bugs, fertilizes your garden, neutralizes lime, polishes chrome, fights frost,  relieves itching and sunburn, staves a cold, removes warts, and represses appetite, maybe because your stomach is so sour after drinking it you'd curdle your food. Although they say Vinegar relieves a tummy ache.

It's amazing.

Speaking of curdle, a bit of vinegar in milk gives you a cheap form of buttermilk for cooking and even does windows.


Use it in your laundry to remove stains and freshen cloths.

Pour it on your salad with olive oil for a tasty dressing. Mix balsamic vinegar with olive oil, roasted garlic, and sun dried tomatoes for a yummy bread dip.

They say if you add a bit to your dog's water bowl it helps stops mange and fleas. I've poured boiling vinegar in biting ant holes and enjoyed my yard for the summer.

And that's only the beginning. There are hundreds of uses from something so sour. That's why vinegar is so sweet.

I use vinegar for many purposes.

Did you know its a wonderful clarifier for your hair? That's right, it removes build up leaving your tresses soft ands supple while restoring PH balance. For best results and better highlights people with darker hair should use Apple Cider vinegar and people with lighter hair White vinegar.

While Vinegar makes your lips pucker, it is good for you to drink too. They say to downing a couple teaspoons with a glass of water fortifies your health. While I agree, I have a hard time drinking vinegar water. I find it easier to sip on the vinegar itself. Maybe that's a residual from my childhood bath times.

You see, I used to take my glass of vinegar so I could rinse my hair with it and have that nice silky sheen. But first I pretended that I was a rich woman leisurely relaxing with a glass of wine while I sipped the vinegar. Yep I drank vinegar.

And my skin was clearer for it.
 
Given the way my skin has gone all hormonal on me, perhaps I should start drinking more.

Hmm.

What are some ways you use vinegar?