Prairie Dog Stew, Hammock Cakes, and news from "The Outlaw Unchained" series

“The Outlaw Unchained” series has a new release next week,7/17.
The author remains nameless at this time and the direction of the story has yet to be released other than to say, you haven’t seen either of them coming, if you know what I mean.
Here is what the author team has sent me though, two recipes, circa 1863: Prairie Dog Stew & Squaw Cakes or as some call them, Hammock Cakes.
Please remember they didn’t have modern kitchens or utensils out on the Range back in the day!
Without further ramblin’ here are the recipes:

PRAIRIE DOG STEW
2-3 prairie dogs, some kind of grease or fat, a pinch or two of salt, beans(whatever you have squirrelled away in your ruck sack), if you can steal them- corn and tomatoes (okay any veggie you can scrounge), and an onion or two if you got’em.
Grab your cast iron pan or whatever you cook on and skin and brown them dogs in whatever grease you got.
Season to taste with the salt and whatever “herbs” you have.
If you have a kettle fill it with water and cook the beans, corn, and whatever else you borrowed.
Add the onions.
Add those delicately sautéed dogs when the beans and borrowed items are half cooked and finish it off.
You can serve this fine gourmet meal with these bad boys of the Trail:
SQUAW CAKE OR Hammocks
A little bit of butter or whatever kinda grease you are using out there on the dusty trail, flour, a pinch of salt, and blasting powder,…. Wait that should be baking powder or talcum powder if you have it. Basically some kind of powder to make the biscuit not be a piece of saltine cracker.
If you don’t have a wire wisk, (I think I would have one with me on my horse out there on the Range), somehow mix it all together and try to mix enough clean water into it to make a slightly thin batter. It should run from whatever utensil you are using, or your hand-whatever, but kinda slow like.
To cook these bad boys, get’em onto a hot greased skillet or shovel and hold’em above the fire until they start to rise, then lower onto a hot fire until cooked on one side, turn and repeat and eat. If you got it, spread some jam or something on ‘em, dip ‘em in Prairie Dog Stew, whatever your hankerin’ is.
Hey, what happens on the Range, stays on the Range. Am I right or am I right?

How a Fortune Cookie Changed My Fortune by Cindy Noonan

How a Fortune Cookie Changed My Fortune By Cindy Noonan


I’ve opened many fortune cookies in my life, but never read one that actually influenced my destiny—until now. One day while dining on take-out Moo Goo Gai Pan, I broke open my cookie. It read: When it’s dark enough you can see the stars.

This was a pretty profound statement to find in my cookie. After all, the platitude is usually something like these gems:
You will live a long and happy life.
You will come into a lot of money real soon.

My immediate thought? I had found a pearl. This would be a perfect title for my book about a slave boy who follows the North Star on the Underground Railroad. This title had richness and luster. I pinned the fortune on my bulletin board where it still remains.

As I finished my manuscript, now called Dark Enough to See the Stars, I decided to Google the title. I was curious about the origins of this phrase. Ralph Waldo Emerson first coined it. However, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. borrowed it for his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech in 1968. This was a “wow” moment for me. Now my quote had even more significance for my story about African-American freedom.

I think there are many layers of meaning to this phrase. For me, it says that when life gets tough, God’s light shines in the darkness. And if we follow that light, He will bring us to our destiny. We can’t see stars in the daylight, and we don’t often look for God’s direction when everything is going well.

My next book is about the Revolutionary War. I wonder how many fortune cookies it will take to find my title? Just kidding.

What is your take on the phrase “When it’s dark enough you can see the stars?”

Hinder not the children - Susan Badeau

Hinder not the children - Susan Badeau

5 Steps to Crafting a Personal Vision Statement by Ruth L. Snyder

5 Steps to Crafting a Personal Vision Statement
Recently in a study of Limitless Life by Derwin L. Gray, we discussed the topic of work and were challenged to write our own vision statement. If you've never written a personal vision statement, try the process outlined below. If nothing else, you'll learn more about yourself and what motivates you. Hopefully you'll also come up with a statement that inspires and motivates you to be the very best you can be.
Step 1: Answer these questions
1. How do you want to be seen in ten years?
2. What do you want to be known for in ten years?
3.What do you want your family to be like?
4.What makes your heart sing?
5.Who in your life will tell you the truth about yourself?
Step 2: Select key words
Go through what you've written and select words you've repeated or that are important to you.
Step 3: Read Other vision statements
Here are some sites you may want to visit:
30 Example Vision Statements from Non-profits
Best Examples of a Vision Statement
Sample Mission, Vision, Values Statements
Step 4: Write your vision statement
Jot ideas down and combine them in different ways. Play with different words. Try to capture the key themes you selected in step two. You may find one statement that you know fits, or perhaps you'll end up with a few to choose from. Can you condense the ideas? Once you've written your vision statement, let it sit for a few days and then go back to it and see if it still resonates with you.

Step 5: Share your vision statement
Do you have people in your life who will give you honest feedback? People who know you really well and care about you? Those are the people you should share your vision statement with. Ask them if you've captured who you they see you as. If not, ask them for suggestions on how to tweak your statement so that it really fits you.

Check out this post: Mission and Vision Statements for more helpful information.
Need some inspiration? Here's one of my favourite songs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM5ZUIUZCow
Here's my vision statement:
"Wholeheartedly seeking God, then serving others with excellence through music, writing, and speaking."
My life verse is:
"That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death." (Philippians 3:10 NASB)
I'd love to hear if this process helped you, and what your vision statement is.

In The Hills of Malibu by Patti J. Smith

IN THE HILLS OF MALIBU:
My son, God Bless him, has a habit of reminding me from time to time how I was before I got sober. Thankfully, most of the stories he brings up are humorous ... like the time my ex-husband convinced me of the existence of "dry-land tuna"... fish that lived in the hills of Malibu sans water (I'm turning red already). My beer brain grabbed on to that little piece of Animal Kingdom trivia and my motor mouth shared it with family and friends. It was only after I revealed my stupidity and gullibility to the masses that my ex told me the truth...while he, my son and step-sons laughed hysterically. I was mortified at first but very quickly became infuriated and humiliated and yes...felt betrayed ....and totally justified in downing a beer or twelve and lashing out in retribution.

I learned early on in rehab that one of my biggest problems was I took myself too seriously. I wanted to be in control every minute and heaven help those who stood in my way. In time, I was able to give myself a break. I found that laughing at myself actually brought me a sense of joy ... and peace. God wants me to be happy and I know when I laugh at myself, He's laughing right along with me.

By the way....did you know there's a man in Wyoming that sells jackalopes?

Biography
Patti J. Smith was born in Wimpole Park, England. She lived in England and Morocco as well as several state-side Air Force Bases and considers her father's last assignment, Moses Lake, Washington, her hometown. She audited for the Dept. of Labor and Veteran's Administration Offices of Inspector General, served in the U.S. Army Reserve (Transit Control Unit and Criminal Investigation Division) and recently retired as a background investigator.

Patti lives in Vista, CA with her husband and has three granddaughters. She serves as a Regional Coordinator for the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, Co-leads Rachel's Hope After-Abortion Healing Retreats and sings in her parish choir.

Her writing includes devotionals, light romance and suspense, and her strong faith is reflected in each genre.

She is a prolific blogger and reader, and proudly admits to being a diehard Seattle Seahawks fan and Fantasy Football fanatic. Her travel adventures include Spain, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Fiji,... Read More
Patti J. Smith was born in Wimpole Park, England. She lived in England and Morocco as well as several state-side Air Force Bases and considers her father's last assignment, Moses Lake, Washington, her hometown. She audited for the Dept. of Labor and Veteran's Administration Offices of Inspector General, served in the U.S. Army Reserve (Transit Control Unit and Criminal Investigation Division) and recently retired as a background investigator.

Patti lives in Vista, CA with her husband and has three granddaughters. She serves as a Regional Coordinator for the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, Co-leads Rachel's Hope After-Abortion Healing Retreats and sings in her parish choir.

Her writing includes devotionals, light romance and suspense, and her strong faith is reflected in each genre.

She is a prolific blogger and reader, and proudly admits to being a diehard Seattle Seahawks fan and Fantasy Football fanatic. Her travel adventures include Spain, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Fiji, South Korea and almost all states - including Hawaii and Alaska.

Follow her blog: http://www.gridirongrannyfootballfanatic.blogspot.com/
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/7306825.Patti_J_Smith
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gridirongranny5
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/giridirongranny
Pinterest: http://wwwpinterest.com/gridirongranny

What do you think of the cover? "The Transformation of Bitty Brown" comes out in paperback this week!

In 1940's Ireland, Bitty Brown was abandoned by her mother at four years old and spent the next years of her life in an orphanage. At nineteen, the mute girl escaped from the orphanage, and with no where to go, lived on the streets. A stranger named the Beggar Jude and his friend, Mr. Jones found her huddled in the cold, sick and dying. Their miracle of friendship not only saved her life but gave her a new home and family. But what miracle would it take to convince this young girl that she was good enough to be loved?

Sue Badeau wants you to "Tell me a story..."

Tell me a Story . . .

From the time our children were small, they loved story time. Our son Jose, adopted from El Salvador, learned English primarily through the reading, and re-reading of children’s storybooks. We read the entire Narnia series aloud, a chapter at a time, and have many other wonderful family memories of snuggling together on the couch sharing in a good book.

Beyond reading stories in books, our family also loves to sit at the dining room table after a meal, or around the fireplace in the winter and re-tell stories of past events. These sessions often start with the question, “Do you remember the time when . . . . “ and end with howls of laughter, and occasional tears.

This year, I have had the great privilege to participate as one of the authors telling a series of stories set in the small fictional town of Sweetland. “Summer in Sweetland” contains 8 volumes – short novellas – and each is filled with many of the moments – silly and sad, endearing and gripping, challenging and victorious – that families like ours have experienced in life.

As I wrote by installment – Volume Three, “Never Too Old,” I was not just putting words to paper, but to some extent re-living and re-shaping events that I wrote about. This re-living can be challenging, and yet, it is also remarkably healing and restorative. I can only imagine how much more healing it can be for a trauma survivor to give voice to his or her own story.

For children or adults who have experienced trauma, one of the most critical elements of healing is learning how to make sense and meaning of their trauma story. Stories that heal are not typically of the fairy-tale happy-ending variety. The healing power of stories is often realized through their very messiness, as the telling of even the most difficult stories allows us to see the places where we were still loved, where we exhibited strength, where God carried us across rocky terrain and where the seeds of hope for the future are planted and nurtured.

Long before science “proved” the value of story telling through research our ancestors and elders understood this intrinsically. Every tribe and community has its own powerful storytelling tradition and from these stories and tales come wisdom and hope that nurtures and guides individuals and whole communities.

God teachers us deep spiritual truths through stories, the Bible, for example, is a great collection of stories – not always fairy-tales, often messy, confusing, even painful – but with themes of grace, mercy, redemption, hope and peace woven throughout.
“Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story” Psalm 107:2

I hope you will enjoy the Sweetland stories and then ask yourself, “Do I have a story to tell today? Or do I know someone who needs me to listen as they share their own story?”

Please visit Sue’s Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Sue-Badeau/e/B00EHZ95CS/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1403877059&sr=1-2-ent
or drop by here website and say hello:http://www.suebadeau.com/

Are you ready for "The Herman Thrice Series - Volume 2 - Seeds of Destruction" by CQ Scafidi

December 21, Helsinki, Finland. Annual Winter Global Agriculture Summit
Sponsored by the Global Crop Diversity Trust, The Nordic Genetic Research Center (Nordgen) and the Nordic Council of Ministers, , all the major Agribusiness giants that produce GMO seed and agrichemicals, and major philanthropic associations, whose overt mission is to end global hunger and disease.
Held within the sumptuous surroundings of the historic Hotel Kamp, the Global Elite are meeting within the extremely tight security of its confines to discuss the future of Global Agribusiness. Often attended by the world’s wealthiest people, the Summit is held in Finland because of its proximity to the key players who oversee the operation of the now famous Doomsday Seed Vault or the Svalbard Global Seed Vault located inside the Arctic Circle on a remote island in Norway, Spitsbergen.
It’s time for Stan Gideon to act:
“Pack your bags tonight after your shift; you are coming with me to Finland to help with the Nord-gen Annual Conference of Nordic Ministers. Many bigwigs will be there and I need my best people. You are my best Sous chef and so you are coming with me. Questions?” Chef Gio stared at Stan with a look of impatience and arrogance as he waited for an answer.
Stan was a little stunned by his kind words, a rarity for Chef Gio, so after clearing his throat, he replied, “What time do we leave?”
Welcome to Volume Two of “The Herman Thrice Series”!

Christian Gideon was born with the ability to speak, apparently learned while in his mother’s womb. He was reading at two and had taught himself Spanish by four. His father, Stan Gideon, knew his son was special, but never imagined the destiny that lay in wait for his gifted progeny. As a former agent for D.A.R.P.A., Stan was now working deep undercover. In his years with the government, he had encountered others like his son. It was for this reason that he allowed his son to be mentored by those only known to Christian as “the immortals.” Within a short few years, Christian was writing peer-reviewed scientific papers on particle physics, while his father successfully got him employment at a secret particle accelerator in the shadows of Mount Shasta.
With his assignment to infiltrate the nefarious C.E.R.E.S. cabal, Stan was investigating their plan for global depopulation, while his young son was being schooled in the ancient arts of alchemy by his quirky project manager, Dr. Herman Thrice. Unbeknownst to Stan, Christian would soon be selected to hone his special talents as a Light Worker for the planet Earth. Via the power of Inter-Dimensional travel, Christian would join other “millenials” with similar talents at the Light Worker Academy located on a planet circling one of the Seven Sisters or Pleiades. It was here that they would learn that they are actually the next step in human evolution.
Utilizing the top secret information uncovered by his father, Christian would soon return to Earth with his teammates, to stop the depopulation agenda and return the planet to its original pristine condition utilizing their newfound alchemical skills. Will the father and son be successful at thwarting the ongoing attempts by C.E.R.E.S. to cull the human population through the systemic poisoning of the planet? Will they overcome the dark forces at work within the government to aid C.E.R.E.S.? Read the Herman Thrice series and follow the Gideon’s as they work in tandem to save the planet Earth from its ultimate destruction.
The Amazon Kindle link for the story is: http://www.amazon.com/Herman-Thrice-Seeds-Destruction-ebook/dp/B00L6H9598/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1403385163&sr=1-3&keywords=CQ+scafidi