Brain Games 10 Minute Sudoku Puzzles Book Review

When I am stressed, anxious or just down-right bored, there is nothing like a Sudoku puzzle to help me focus and concentrate.   Finishing the puzzle gives me an inexplicable sense of accomplishment. 

I first discovered Sudoku years ago in a restaurant that had paper place-mats with Sudoku puzzles printed on them.  I was intrigued and immediately started working the puzzle in front of me.   Then it became a race between my husband and myself to see which of us could finish our puzzle first.  There were times when that was just downright funny.  Now I ask you, do you really think I would erase a few numbers from his box while he was giving his order to the waitress?  You bet I did!   No, I wasn't cheating.   Pencils marks don't completely vanish just because they have been erased.  I did it to devil him. 

The time waiting for our orders passed very quickly as we met our Sudoku challenge head on.  Actually, I recall several times when I was very annoyed to have my puzzle interrupted by the waitress trying to set down a plate of food.  Honestly, I think we continued to go to that restaurant more for the puzzles than for the food. 

That restaurant went out of business long ago, but my love for Sudoku was here to stay. 

Brain Games 10 Minute Sudoku Puzzles Book  

 Brain Games® 10 Minute Sudoku PuzzlesCheck PriceOne of my favorite gifts has to be a book of Sudoku puzzles.  When my mother discovered my obsession with Sudoku, my parents included a new book each year in my birthday and Christmas gifts.  Once I had a new book in my hands, the puzzles inside called to me.  It was often all I could do to stay present for the continued celebration when all I really wanted to do was slip off to a quiet place and work my Sudoku puzzles.

Sudoku puzzles are definitely available online.  I play those too.  But, I actually prefer the book, paper, and pencil form.  Again, this obsession and sense of accomplishment is fairly inexplicable.  

What can I say, I like numbers, puzzles and a challenge!  However, you don't have to be a math genius (I assure you, I am not!) to love Sudoku.

My favorite style of book is one with a spiral binding.  That way I can fold they pages back and leave the book open to my puzzle in progress.  Life sometimes interrupts my play and I like to be able to easily get back where I left off.

I also take books with Sudoku puzzles when we are traveling.  When highway boredom sets in, I grab my book and pencil and get down to the business of solving my latest puzzle.  Sadly, I can't do that if I am driving.  It truly is best to not Sudoku and drive! 

 Sudoku: 400+ Sudoku PuzzlesCheck Price Sudoku: Easy to MediumCheck Price SudokuCheck Price The Largest Sudoku BookCheck Price

 

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5 Important Tips to Keep Orchids Happy All Year-A Review

Orchids have become one of the most popular gifts for many occasions!  Let's Review how to keep  these orchids happy and growing.

 

Introduction

Orchids at one time were very expensive plants to buy.  Mainly it was because they did not multiply easily.  Science has made great inroads into cloning plants especially the Phalaenopsis Orchids or Butterfly Orchids.

These once elusive plants are now available to the everyday gardener and home garden.  Orchids that used to carry price tags of thousands of dollars are now within everyone's reach.

As you can see from these examples of Phalaenopsis orchids, they vary in color and some have stripes or dots of colors.  Some are plain solid colors while others are variegated.  There are endless varieties of this type of orchid available and at reasonable prices too.  Orchids are no longer a plant for only the rich, they are the plant for everyone!

Care of your Orchids

There are 5 really important tips to keep your orchids happy and growing.  They are not rocket science, rather, they are the conditions that will make them prosper and thrive.

1.  Indirect Bright Light
This is possibly the most important aspect of caring for orchids.  They don't want to be in direct sun.  They don't grow that way in their native settings and they don't like it when you bring them to your home.  If you have a nice sunny south facing window, your orchids will love it there, but only if there is a light curtain or shade between them and the window.

2. Watering
Most people love to go around watering their plants and maybe even letting them sit in a small saucer of water.  For orchids this is a death sentence.  Orchids are symbiotic in nature, they cling to areas in other trees where branches "v" out.  Their roots hang down from the branches and are watered during the rains.  When the rains stop, the roots are no longer wet, but dry out rather quickly.  At home they are looking for the same treatment.  Water them only when they are dried out.  Every 7 to 10 days and then do not let them sit in a pool of water.  If water seeps out after they have been watered, remove all the water in the saucer.

3. Fertilizing Orchids
Use only fertilizers made for orchids.  There is a saying in the orchid community, when you feed your orchids, feed them weekly, weakly.  Orchids also do well with a marked change in temperatures during their growing season.  If you have nice hot summers, you can find a nice shady spot for your orchid and then leave it outdoors until the temperatures start to drop.  10 to 15 degrees in temperature drops helps orchids to push their new stems and blooms.

4.  Repotting
Most home gardeners don't like the look of the arial roots on orchids.  They just seem to want to stay out of the pot instead of in it.  Most of the time orchids look like they are trying to crawl out of their pots.  But and this is a big but, you should not repot them until you see a marked decline in the orchid bark and in between the plant flowering.  Never ever repot during a blooming period!

5.  Check your Orchids often
As part of growing orchids at home, you should check your orchids often.  They do happen to come down with some bugs that will impair their looks and could end up killing them.  The worst of these pests is scale.  Again it is easy to take care of if you are aware there is a problem.  A "Q-tip" dipped in rubbing alcohol will dislodge and kill scale insects.  You can watch this You Tube video to see how to do this!

If there was just one more tip that I could add in here, it would be to make sure your orchid is in a pot that has drainage.  There are specialty orchid pots available.  Some of these pots are very beautiful and have designs that make them a really nice focal point.  How the pot looks though, is not as important as the fact that it drains water away.

So there you have it!  5 Very Important Tips to keep your orchids happy and blooming for many years to come.

If you have never grown an orchid before, now is a great time to try it. The flowers are incredible and last for months. There is no other houseplant that will do that for you! Drop me a line if you'd like to know more.

*orchid pictures courtesy of Pixabay.com

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Mrs Fix-it Mystery Series Reviewed

Cozy Mystery Series

Fix-it Tools courtesy of Pixabay.com

I have always loved a mystery and have become quite enamored with the Cozy Mystery books over the last few years. A few weeks ago I was searching for something new to read and stumbled upon a bundle deal for the Mrs.Fix-it series.  

There are several reasons that I enjoyed this series. The first being that I could purchase them all in a nice little bundle package. All neatly packaged and ready to read. 

The next thing that caught my eye was that the female sleuth was a handy-woman by trade. She goes around her community fixing things for her neighbors. I really liked that idea for an occupation for a woman. Growing up in a single parent household I learned that if something needed to be fixed that a girl could do most things just as easily as a boy could. My Mom taught me from an early age to be comfortable with the items found in our little toolbox. So, having a gal in the stories that could solve mysteries and be a Mrs. Fix-it was quite appealing. 

I wasn't disappointed! Belle Knudson did a wonderful job of creating a cast of characters that were believable and well thought out. Each mystery could stand alone but was even more enjoyable as I read through each book of the series. The recurring characters developed more as each story progressed. 

The author does a good job of keeping the reader guessing, too. There were several times that I thought to myself, "I didn't see that one coming." Ms. Knudson has also put a few sub-plots in each book, too. As with most Cozy Mysteries there is a love interest that grows but the author added even more to her books. For instance, it takes a few books to finally discover what happened to Kate's (Mrs. Fix-it) husband that disappeared several years before. 

Mrs. Fix It Mysteries

I really enjoyed each of the books in the series. There were several unique and interesting murders to be solved in each one. Cozy Mysteries are not known for a lot of violence at least the reader isn't shocked with a lot of gory details about the murder involved. Although a victim might have met their end with a violent act, the reader isn't bombarded with a descriptive narrative of what it looked like. That is one of the things that I love about the genre.

If you love a good mystery with a little romance thrown in, I highly recommend this series of books by Belle Knudson. She is creative with her plots and thinks a little outside of the box with her characters and sub-plots. I think you will enjoy them as much as I did. I was a little sad when I came to the last page of the 15th book. I miss the characters.... 

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Reviewing How It Feels When A Parent Dies

How It Feels When A Parent Dies by Jill Krementz

With the recent passing of our fellow contributor, Susan Deppner, it is clear to see how the ripples of such a loss go on infinitely. I am not in the mood to write or review products as thoughts of Susan's beloved family members are on my mind. As I have thought of them, especially the children and grandchild she doted on, I have remembered a book that has been helpful in my work with children who have experienced this type of profound loss. Instead of skipping my Monday post, I feel as though I must share the title How It Feels When a Parent Dies at this time. 

How It Feels When a Parent Dies by Jill Krementz

Everyone grieves at a different pace and in different ways. That's okay. That is a truth that is often misunderstood. Sometimes humans judge how others grieve. Of course, we have to be mindful of times that grief has over-taken us for too long of a period of time. And in those moments, professional help can help ease us back into the level of functioning we deserve. But otherwise, it is fine to grieve in the way that is best for us.

It is much the same with children. Children will grieve at a different pace and in many different ways - often in many different ways in the very same day. Sometimes an adult will wonder about the actions of a child who has lost a loved one, and not be able to make sense of the behaviors. Sometimes adults have a perception of how the child "should" be feeling or behaving.

Jill Krementz interviewed children about the death of their parent - allowing the children a place to tell their own story. As a result, this book is filled with examples of the different ways grief is experienced and the different things that are perceived helpful (or not) by each child. It is through listening to their voices that we can become more helpful.

To date, I have not found a book that is more enlightening about how children experience such difficult loss. I've had older children borrow the book and then read to me the stories that resonated. With younger children, I have either read a story to them or I've used my understanding from the book to let them disclose grief at their pace and help me to know what questions to ask.

In the introduction, Ms. Krementz wrote:

"One of the things I've realized while working on this book is that often a child whose parent has died doesn't know anyone else this has happened to, and feels particularly isolated and "special" in a very distressing way. I hope this book will help such children to realize that they are not alone...."

Ms. Krementz interviewed 18 children, ranging from age 7 to 17 about the loss of their parent. The words in each "chapter" are that child's words - their own story. The causes of death range from sudden medical emergencies, long-term terminal illness, accidents, and suicide. The children's reactions include helpfulness, avoidance, confusion, guilt, disbelief, and more. Some children found comfort in being surrounded with visiting adults and others found the comfort of strangers intrusive and anger-provoking.

The book was first published in the early 1980's. My copy was published in 2000. Each chapter includes photos of the child telling the story. The photos are clearly dated - fashions and hairstyles long gone. But the stories are just as meaningful as the day the ink hit the page.

I think I'll close with a wonderful summary of the book by Bishop Paul Moore Jr. He wrote:

"To hear the voices of children speaking of death with innocent beauty is a rare and heartbreaking privilege. I wish I had read Jill Krementz's book when I moved alone with my nine children in the shadow of their mother's death. There are no rules. Some are angry with God. Some love the peace surrounding their mother's grave. Some want to hear all they can from their parents' friends. Some are jealous that anyone else knew her in a way they never could. If you are a widow, a pastor, a helpless-feeling friend, listen to these voices and learn to be strong and wise to these courageous young people."

Note: If you feel that someone is demonstrating their grief and loss in ways that are life-threatening (such as drugs, alcohol, physically risk behaviors. or self-harm) or if the daily functioning of children has been altered for a significant period of time (changes in school functioning, changes in behaviors, continued depressed or withdrawn behaviors) please consult the professionals to help assess the situation. While everyone experiences grief differently, some benefit from the assistance of a professional.

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Farewell to a Beloved Friend and Fellow Contributor, Susan Deppner

Susan Deppner

It is with a very heavy heart that I write to our readers today on Review This Reviews!  The death of a precious friend is never easy.  When that friend is someone you interact with on a daily basis, it leaves a huge hole in your life that can never be filled again. 

Some people touch our lives in a special way that leaves us forever changed.  That is most certainly the case with Susan Deppner.  Her deep abiding faith directed her every action and she was an inspiration and witness to us all.

Susan was the easiest person to love.  She never failed to support her friends in words and deeds.   In difficult or stressful times, Susan would step in with a word of reassurance and peace.   She truly had a way of calming a soul. 

It was always clear to anyone who knew Susan, that she adored her husband, her sons, her daughters-in law, her grandson and her entire family.  I know she showed them through her kind, loving ways every day of her life. 

We have been honored to have Susan as a contributor.  She is irreplaceable and the entire staff of Review This grieves over the death of our beloved friend.      

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