Maintenance and Reviews

Does that urge to clean, re-arrange, and fix-up only strike you in the Spring?

For me, it strikes off and on and only last a short time. So today is one of those days. It’s a day to ‘take stock’ so to speak and make mention of a few things going on, changes I hope to make and upcoming events. And, I also have reviews to share.

First up, today is the day for the TOP 10 TV SHOWS BLOGFEST hosted by Alex at Alex J. Cavanaugh. Be sure to stop by and check out his look at TV shows past and present. At last glance there were almost 70 blogs participating in this blogfest. Should be lots of fun.

Second, have you noticed the cute little pumpkin widget on the left sidebar? I’m participating in NaBloWriMo Challenge. Basically it’s a challenge to blog everyday in October. With the help of a number of wonderful authors lined up to guest post and numerous great books I’m scheduled to review, I should be able to handle this challenge. If you’re interested in participating, just click on the pumpkin (or the name above) and it will take you to the sign up site.

Next, I’d like to say ‘THANK YOU’ to all my followers and say HELLO to the newest ones. I’m sorry to say I haven’t gotten by everyone’s blog yet. Life has been crazier than usual lately. So if you have a blog and I haven’t drop by to say hello and follow you, please just leave a comment with your site link and I’ll drop by as soon as possible. I really appreciate each and everyone of you. Thanks!!!

I’d also like to thank Cassandra at Cassandra Jade for awarding me the Versatile Blogger Award earlier this month. Much appreciated. If you haven’t stopped by Cassandra’s blog before, be sure to do so you won’t be disappointed. She offers helpful and inspiring posts, as well as entertaining. Thanks so much Cassandra. Fellow bloggers have been so sweet and wonderful to present me with numerous awards this part year. I want to display all of them so I’m thinking of creating a page just for that purpose. As my blog roll increases, it along with the awards makes for a very long sidebar. So we’ll see if I can get a new awards page to work.

I want to share with you a new item we got this past weekend. It’s a large iCrate Double-Door Dog Crate. We got it from the csnstores.com (they have the neatest stuff). 

This isn't Brisco. It's just a stock photo of the crate.

We got the crate for several reasons. It’ll be great when people visit who are allergic or afraid of dogs. Brisco, our 90-pound English Shepherd sometimes scares people even though he's just a sweetie who is spoiled rotten. We can take the crate with us on day trips when Brisco goes. And it will also work great for the cats. It’s very durable and has both a front and side door. It also has a plastic pan on bottom that can be removed and a divider panel if you wanted to separate two small animals in the same crate.

The crate was a breeze to put together. No tools required, just a few minutes and snapping several latches in place. It dis-assembles just as easy and lays flat for carrying or storing when not in use. I placed the order Tuesday and received it Friday. Now that’s quick service.

Okay, time for a book review. I can’t help myself. I have another cute children’s book to share.

QUEEN VERNITA MEETS SIR HEATHYBEAN THE ASTRONOMER by Heath Rhoades and Dawn Menge

This is a wonderful book that takes Rhoades’ expertise in astronomy and combines it with Menge’s storytelling skills to entertain and educate youth about the planets, asteroids, and comets, as well as the days of the week and the months of the year through repetition.

Sir HeathyBean the Astronomer and Cora the Teacher visit Queen Vernita at her castle in the land of Oceaneers. Queen Vernita quickly invites 12 friends to visit and learn from the pair. Each friend visits for an entire month.

In January Austin learns about the Sun, in February Daniel learns about Mercury, in March Odessa learns about Venus, in April Sophia learns about the Earth, in May Jake learns about the moon, in June Javier learns about Mars, in July Micah learns about Jupiter, in August Balint learns about Saturn, in September Ally learns about Uranus, in October Jaime learned about Neptune, in November Glen learned about Pluto, and in December Joseph learned about asteroids and comets.

The book is listed in the juvenile fiction category. It is a great way to encourage youngsters to learns about astronomy while having fun. The beautiful illustrations by Bobbi Switzer will add to the learning experience. This is the third installment in the Queen Vernita series.

Queen Vernita Meets Sir Heathy Bean the Astronomer by Heath Rhoades and Dawn Menge, Illustrations by Bobbi Switzer, Outskirts Press, @ 2010, ISBN: 978-1-4327-3120-5. Paperback, 34 pages.

FTC Full Disclosure - I requested this book and it was sent to me by the authors in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review.

Well that’s all for today. I have a number of wonderful authors guest blogging this week and I’ll have some cozy murder mystery reviews to share as well. Hope you’ll stop in again. For now, have a safe and happy Monday and remember to take time to read.