Features of my Power XL Grill Air Fryer Combo
Recipes I Have Tried
I also made some apple chips by slicing an apple thin and adding a mixture of cinnamon and nutmeg. They were a wonderful snack. Here you see them laid out in the air fryer.
This past year, my son and daughter in law fulfilled a dream that they had for their family. They decided to invest in a cottage for their growing family! A restful place that will have the kids and parents making memories that will last a lifetime!
Neon Prey, a mystery suspense thriller in John Sandford's Lucus Davenport series.
Lucus Davenport is a former Minneapolis homicide detective and later worked as an investigator with the Minnesota Bureau of Apprehension. He is now with the U.S. Marshall's Service. In Neon Prey he is given the assignment of finding a small-time criminal (Clayton Deese) who skipped out on bail after being arrested.
Deese worked as a muscle-for-hire for a loan-shark. The Marshalls are looking for him mainly because they think he might be their best chance to bring down his boss and the whole illegal loan-sharking operation.
Lucus and his team, Rae and Bob, track Deese to his home in rural Louisiana where they discover he has disappeared. When they check out a dirt path behind Deese's cabin, they find a jungle full of graves. Now Deese is no longer a simple crook who beats people up for his loan-shark boss; he is a serial killer who has been operating for years without notice.
Tracking a serial killer instead of just a low-level criminal who skipped bail, the Marshall's office teams up with the FBI. The search takes them to Los Angeles where Deese has a brother who may be harboring him. It is soon discovered that the brother is also a crook and has a gang of thieves who rob wealthy people in home invasions. A Los Angeles police detective is extremely anxious to catch up with the brother and his gang. Deese and his brother are finally located in L.A., but a planned swat team attack fails to catch all of the gang members. Deese and his brother, along with two other gang members, manage to escape.
Through evidence found in the quarry's house, they figure out the four remaining criminals have gone to Las Vegas.
Now, not only are Lucus Davenport, Bob and Rae from the U.S. Marshall's Office looking for them, but also the FBI, the L.A. Detective and the Las Vegas police.
Except - the quarry is ruthless and – as Davenport will come to find – full of surprises.
Available on Amazon |
by Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen
In 2012, she began a new series with a new character, Kendra Michaels, who has keen senses from being blind for 20 years. Kendra now uses those exceptional senses as a consultant to the FBI and local authorities to solve difficult cases. What makes this series different from her other novels is it is written in conjunction with Iris Johansen's son Roy.
Roy Johansen is an author in his own right, having published three mystery novels prior to collaborating with his mother on, to date, eight Kendra Michaels books.
This is a book review of Iris and Roy Johansen's latest Kendra Michaels book, Blink of an Eye.
Blink of an Eye |
Kendra was blind for her first 20 years of life, until a revolutionary surgical procedure allowed her to regain her sight. Her powers of observation became honed during her years in the dark, allowing her to detect what other investigators don't.
When Delilah (Dee) Winter, one of the hottest pop stars in today's music world, is kidnapped in the middle of a show at the Hollywood Bowl, authorities cannot figure out how it is done. Dr. Kendra Michaels agrees to lead the race to rescue the young singer before time runs out.
Kendra is joined by Jessie Mercado, her long-time friend and the singer's former bodyguard who knows Delilah well. As they close in on the hideout location of the kidnappers, casualties mount up. Desperate for leads to where Dee is being held, Kendra also joins forces with Department of Justice Special Agent Adam Lynch with whom she has had a personal relationship. His special skills aid in the search for Dee Winter.
But, as the true purpose of the kidnappers become clear, the trio uncover a plot they never could have imagined – leading to a showdown they won't soon forget.
Even though Blink of an Eye is Book #8 in the Kendra Michaels series, it reads easily as a stand-alone story, so it doesn't really matter in which order you read any of the books in the series. Starting with Book #8 works just fine as an introduction to this fast-paced thriller series.
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Blink of an Eye book review written by
Wednesday Elf
Summertime is frequently 'vacation time'. After a year of travel restrictions, many are looking forward to taking trips this year. Because of some restrictions still in place and due to limited resources and high gas and motel prices, most people are deciding to stick close to home for their vacations and/or staycations (visiting local attractions without much travel).
For those living in the Midwest, there are a wide variety of simple, easy-to-reach, and fairly inexpensive places to see and things to do. A few which have been visited by contributors to ReviewThisReviews are listed here, along with reviews and recommendations.
Source: Wikipedia |
Mary Beth Granger (mbgphoto) loves to visit and photograph local areas in her Midwestern state of Missouri. She lives in Eastern Missouri, so the St. Louis area offers her many easy-to-reach places to visit. She frequently takes day trips with camera in hand to document her visits. Among some of her recommended places to visit are:
St. Louis Arch
Image Credit: mbgphoto |
Known as the "Gateway to the West", the St. Louis Arch was built as a monument to the 'Westward Expansion of the United States".
Mary Beth Granger gives us a wonderful overview of this historic monument in her article Explore St Louis-The Gateway Arch.
*Note: The St. Louis Arch is located in Gateway Arch National Park on the Mississippi River in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Cost to ride to the top of the arch is $3.00 for visitors 16 and up and free for children 15 and under.
St. Louis Union Station and the St. Louis Wheel
Photo Credit: mgbphoto |
Read all about it in Mary Beth Granger's Review of New Wheel at St. Louis Union Station.
*NOTE: Union Station is located at 201 S 18th St. St. Louis, MO. Cost of tickets to ride the Wheel is $15 for adults and $10 for children.
In addition to the New Wheel, the St. Louis Union Station (a former train station for the area) also boasts a total of 7 other attractions, including the St. Louis Aquarium. It also has a hotel and a variety of restaurants. Check out the St. Louis Union Station attractions here.
Forest Park in St. Louis
Forest Park St. Louis - Photo by mbgphoto |
*NOTE: Forest Park is Located at 5595 Grand Dr, St. Louis, MO 63112. Open daily until 10 pm, many of the attractions are free. The St. Louis Zoo does have some special attractions with ticket prices, but the zoo itself is free. There is a nominal parking fee per vehicle.
The above St. Louis, MO attractions are just a few of places to visit in Missouri. For a review of several other fun places to see, such as Defiance (home of Daniel Boone) and the Missouri Covered Bridges, click on the MISSOURI search in ReviewThisReviews.
Cedar Bridge in Madison County - mgbphoto |
*NOTE: The John Wayne Museum is open from 10 AM to 5 PM and the admission price is $15. It is located at 205 S John Wayne Drive, Winterset, IA.
Field of Dreams - Dyersville, Iowa
The movie Field of Dreams was filmed at the old Lansing Family Farm in Dyersville, Iowa. Afterwards, the field was kept by the property owners and turned into a tourist attraction. People have been coming to visit here for over 32 years and its popularity continues.
Read Wednesday Elf's review of this iconic Midwest movie location (Field of Dreams Travel Review) written after a day trip with family.
For any baseball fan, or anyone who has ever had a dream, the Field of Dreams baseball field is a delightful place to visit.
This summer (August 2021) the Field of Dreams Movie Site will host a regular season Major League Baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees. The Legend of 'Shoeless Joe' continues.
“Is this Heaven? No, it's Iowa”
*NOTE: The Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa is free to visit. It is located in Dyersville, Iowa, 30 minutes west of Dubuque and two and a half hours from Des Moines.
Big Bay Lighthouse by mbgphoto |
Read You Too Can Be a Lighthouse Keeper for interesting details about Lighthouse B&Bs.
*NOTE: TWO HARBORS LIGHTHOUSE - MINNESOTA: Self guided tours include the lighthouse tower, the Assistant Keeper's house, a Pilot House and the Fog Signal building. The Keeper's Quarters is open year round as the Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast.
Located on Lake Superior, this quirky bed-and-breakfast sits in the oldest operational lighthouse in Minnesota, a 19th-century redbrick building that once housed the lighthouse keeper's quarters. It is less than a mile from downtown Two Harbors and 28.2 miles from Duluth. Check the Two Harbors Website for price details.
BIG BAY LIGHTHOUSE. Located at 4674 Co Rd KCB, Big Bay, MI in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on Lake Superior, approximately 24 miles northwest of Marquette, the Big Bay Point Light stands on a tall bluff over a rocky point near Big Bay, Michigan. Today it is the only operational lighthouse with a bed and breakfast. It is reputed to be haunted. Send them an email @ keepers@bigbaylighthouse.com for information.
For the summer sports fan, there are quite a few Midwestern locations of Major League Baseball Fields to visit for a game, including the Chicago Cubs, who play at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO. and the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO. Plus, the Minnesota Twins located in the Twin cities and the Milwaukee Brewers in Wisconsin.
Woodmen Park in Davenport, Iowa - (Wikipedia) |
*NOTE: Woodmen Park is located on the Mississippi River in downtown Davenport, Iowa at 209 S Gaines St, Davenport, IA. Click here for game dates and ticket prices.
These are just a few of the many vacation spots and attractions available to visit on a Midwest Vacation.
HAPPY TRAILS!
I have been baking with Wilton pans pretty much all of my adult life. Once I discovered the non-stick Wilton pans, I never looked back! They are fabulous pans that are available in a lot of different shapes and sizes.
I confess that as a newlywed (over 30 years ago), baking in my own first kitchen and having very limited funds, I was enticed by the lower price of the basic aluminum cake pans. It didn't take very long for me to realize they weren't worth the cost of an ugly cake. I don't remember burning any cakes in those old aluminum pans, but they did stick, even when coated with shortening, and tear chunks out of my cakes when trying to remove the cake from the pan. Then I had to force the chucks in place & "glue" them with icing. That simply didn't make a very pretty cake, even if the cake did taste good. I kid you not, once I tried the Wilton non-stick baking pans, I tossed those aluminum pans and never shed a tear.
Of course, there are a few downsides to the non-stick coating. For one, you don't want to use a sharp knife to cut a sheet cake still in the pan. Plus, it is best to wash the pans by hand and not in the dishwasher. Yes, they are dishwasher safe, but the coating will last a lot longer if you hand-wash them. Is it worth it? You bet! I would much rather hand wash a non-stick pan than to try to "glue" a cake back together.
You now know why I love Wilton baking pans, but I have found another use for a specific size Wilton pan that I must share! The 18" x 12" Perfect Results pan is my favorite to date.
Of course the 18" x 12" size is perfect for baking a huge crowd pleasing cake. It is simply doubling or tripling a cake recipe (16 cups of cake batter) to fill and will serve 54 people depending on the serving size. The number 54 is based on cutting 2" square cake pieces. If you need to serve more, you could cut smaller piece. If you use boxed cake mix, according to Wilton, it will take 4 boxes.
But, this huge cake pan is NOT JUST for cakes!
I use mine for dinners like my manicotti (holds 14 stuffed manicotti shells - 1 box) & enchiladas (holds 18 stuffed enchiladas). Using this one pan is so much easier than splitting the meal and cleaning two standard casserole dishes. Plus, I love how lightweight it is when filled! I can easily put it in the oven and lift it out myself. Because of the 12" width, I can easily place the enchiladas end to end without mashing the ends together to force a fit like was required in a 10" wide casserole dish.
In addition to the manicotti & the enchiladas, I recently baked 6 pork chops on a bed of wild rice & soup. The meat was perfect and tender, and so was the rice. Therefore, it can be used for meat as well as pasta meals.
The size fits in my 27" wall oven without touching the oven sides.
It is so nice to be able to cook an entire recipe of manicotti or enchiladas all at one time in one oven. Previously, I either had to use both of my ovens for just the main course, or cook one dish, set aside and cook the second dish.
When cooking for a large family, or cooking a recipe that will provide enough leftovers for a second meal, having this 18" x 12" baking pan is essential.
One word of caution: I found out the hard way that reheating leftovers is this pan is not advisable. Sadly, I ruined my first pan that way. When reheating, the residue on the sides from the eaten half burned on the pan and took the non-stitch coating off with it when cleaning. So, do move leftovers into a different pan for reheating.
Wilton is a name we all associate with baking cakes, cupcakes & desserts. However, their non-stitch pans should not be limited to just baking cakes in our homes. They can do so much more!
Wilton W6516 Perfect Results Sheet Cake Pan, 18Check Price
Choosing to live on the streets of Columbus, Ohio for 47 days may not seem earth-shattering, but for Phyllis Cole-Dai, and her photographer friend, James Murray, the experience was, in many ways, soul-shattering. They found themselves immersed in an alternate universe offering up the kind of devastation that stripped bare their psyches and spirits. After just two nights, Murray was already broken to pieces.
The decision to go to the streets had not been made lightly or done as a stunt. Cole-Dai felt a deep call she could not ignore. Her intent was to offer up the gift of presence to everyone she met.
So then what transpires when you suddenly find yourself in deep survival mode? How are you transformed while living in a world ill at ease with the homeless... with you? How do you cope with feeling invisible, despised, and less than human? When constantly wrestling with intense fear, uncertainty, and struggle, what gives? What sustains?
How is it that something as simple as being seen can be such a consolation? Nothing is inconsequential to the one in need of the kind of attention that shelters, or the haven to be found in the eyes of compassion. To be seen like that is to receive an act of love.
As one with an outreach to those without a home, immersing myself within The Emptiness of Our Hands has reaffirmed for me the power of "thereness" (really being there for, and with, someone). It has stirred a deep desire to be a very present haven to the one who might need to rest for a moment in my embracing presence.
This book is for anyone who seeks to express the kind of humanity that feeds and shelters souls. Just as there are many ways to experience homelessness, there are also many ways to be the kind of home presence needed by the displaced, the lost, or the lonely souls we encounter all around us.
I also highly recommend the companion volume entitled Practicing Presence. This compilation of 47 reflections (one from each of the author's 47 days on the streets) enables each of us to more fully develop and engage our mindfulness intentions. I consider these two books the most important reading I have done all year.
Audiobooks are a wonderful complement to print, Kindle and other reading formats. Listening to a novel or non-fiction book while driving, walking, riding or waiting for public transit, traveling, sitting in waiting rooms, crafting, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning or doing laundry or yard work can make these activities much more enjoyable. A talented narrator can significantly enhance the experience of consuming a good book. Jim Dale’s Grammy award-winning narration of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series is a perfect example. Unfortunately, production costs are higher than for print and digital books, which makes audiobooks more expensive to purchase.
This review will introduce my fellow bibliophiles to Chirp, a wonderful service that offers a changing selection of awesome, affordable, limited-time audiobook deals without the financial commitment of a monthly or annual membership fee that Audible requires.
2020 was the ninth straight year of double-digit revenue growth for audiobook publishers, jumping 12% vs. 2019 revenues to reach $1.3 billion, according to this year’s sales survey conducted by research firm InterQ for the Audio Publishers Association (APA). More than 71,000 audiobooks were published in 2020, a 39% increase versus 2019, per the APA’s consumer survey of American adult audiobook listeners conducted by Edison Research. [Source: Audio Publishers Association press release, June 1, 2021]
This rapidly growing trend toward publishing titles in audiobook editions as well as print and e-book formats is wonderful news to the many avid readers (including myself) who love listening to books as well as reading them.
The quality of the narrators and their performances has improved dramatically in recent years. More and more books are being narrated by award-winning stage and film actors. Depending on their contracts, narrators may be paid at an hourly rate per “finished hour” of audio, and/or may earn royalties based on sales. A sound engineer, producer, or other people may be required, and production and editing costs are much higher than for other publishing formats. Consequently, audiobooks are priced higher than their print or e-book counterparts.
Because of their higher price tag, many of us download at least some of the recorded books we want to read the public library. Unfortunately, most libraries can’t afford to make a wide selection of audiobooks available to their borrowers, and the very long waiting lists for popular titles can be quite frustrating. As a result, many of us who love listening to them purchase at least some audio books rather than borrowing them from the library. In fact, 38% of audiobook listeners who responded to the above-mentioned APA consumer survey of American adult audiobook listeners indicated that they subscribe to at least one audio book service, such as Audible or Chirp.
Audible dominates the audiobook services market to the point where the Audible name is synonymous with this book format. As an Amazon company, no would-be rival can hope to compete with its enormous library, financial backing, in-house production studio, author and publisher relationships, and marketing and technology resources.
I have been an Audible member since 2006 and remain a huge fan and loyal customer. I appreciate the many major improvements, such as Whispersync for Voice technology (which allows you to switch seamlessly between listening to a book on Audible and reading it on a Kindle or Kindle app) and the excellent, exclusive content produced by Audible Studios. However, the steep increases in the cost of membership and the changes to their membership plan model in recent years has made it less affordable.
Over the years, I looked into several less expensive sources for audio books that others had recommended, but the limited selection and desirability of the titles on offer, the number of abridged versus unabridged books and, in some cases, the quality of the narrations (some of which were machine-generated) was always disappointing. After being an Audible member for so many years, the bar for a good audiobook acquisition and listening experience was set high, and nothing else I found came close to measuring up. I gave up on finding a less expensive Audible alternative for my own needs.
However, Chirp, a competing service that offers amazing limited-time deals on popular audiobook titles at incredibly low prices, has turned out to be a fantastic complement to my Audible membership. And for less hardcore audiobook listeners who haven't built up a library of audiobooks in Audible's proprietary format over the past 15 years, Chirp might be a viable and much less expensive alternative.
Last year, as I bemoaned how much money I was spending on my growing Audible library, a close friend and fellow avid reader told me about Chirp, where he frequently found titles that interested him at a fraction of list price. Given my previous experience with lower-cost audiobook sources, I was somewhat skeptical about how good this Audible alternative could be. But, based on my friend’s enthusiastic recommendation, I went online to learn more about it.
I found several articles about Chirp that concurred with my friend’s opinion about this new-to-me site and book listening app. The more I read about the company and its audiobook deals, the more interested I became.
I went to the Chirp website and browsed their limited-time audiobook deals. If the selection of steeply discounted books didn’t interest me or had lots of negative reviews, they wouldn’t be a bargain at any price. To my surprise, that day’s featured deals included a few bestselling fiction and non-fiction titles priced at less than $5 each! I returned to check out the update crop of deals several times over the following week or two and was impressed by quality of the books across a wide range of genres being offered for just a few dollars apiece.
I signed up for the Chirp featured audiobook deals emails in October 2020 and have added quite a few new titles to my recorded books library since then. I still maintain my Audible membership for its enormous catalog, and because I own so many audiobooks in Audible’s proprietary format that I don’t want to lose access to. But, thanks to Chirp’s limited-time deals and notification emails, I’ve also discovered several new authors and series without paying a small fortune.
Here are the things I love most about using Chirp.
Every day, you’ll find a good selection of limited-time Chirp Featured Deals that sell for a fraction of their list prices, with discounts up to 95% off!
At the time of publication, for example, there were 381 featured deals from $0.99 to $6.99, with the vast majority priced between $1.99 and $4.99, from popular authors as diverse as Janet Evanovich, Jane Austen, David Baldacci, Lisa Scottoline, Robert Heinlein, James Patterson, Agatha Christie, M.C. Beaton, David Sedaris, Jeffrey Archer, John Steinbeck, Stephanie Laurens and Robert Frost.
With Chirp, there is no ongoing financial commitment. Unlike Audible, whose listening plans are based on monthly or annual subscription fees, Chirp lets you buy as few or as many books as you want, as seldom or as often as you want. Never Miss a Great Audiobook Bargain You can sign up for Chirp’s daily or weekly featured deals notification emails to make sure you don’t miss a great deal. Or, if you prefer, you can opt out of the emails and visit the site whenever you wish to check out the bargains on offer that day.
If you're curious about audiobooks and want to give them a try, Chirp is a great way to start building a listening library without spending a lot of money.
You can use the Chirp app on your iOS or Android phone or tablet, stream audiobooks from your Chirp library in a web browser on a laptop or other device, and even listen to your Chirp audiobooks on your Alexa-enabled devices after you enable the Chirp skill on the device and link your Chirp account.
All books you purchase are yours to keep, so you can revisit your favorites even years later.
Whether you’re borrowing audiobooks from the library or buying them on Amazon or Audible, Chirp’s limited-time deals can help you listen to more of the books you want while saving you money.
In addition to the deeply discounted, limited-time deals, Chirp also sells many other audiobook titles at what they call "everyday value" pricing. Although you won’t find the vast selection of titles that Audible offers, there are still plenty of books to choose from. So, if you’re new to audiobooks or listen to them less frequently, Chirp can be a viable and far less expensive alternative to an Audible subscription plan.
The Chirp website has a well organized Book Lists section with smart, well written recommendations to help you discover titles you might not have known about otherwise.
While the majority of titles on Chirp are for an adult audience, you'll also find plenty of books for kids, as well as some excellent recommendations in the "For the Kids" section of Chirp's Book Lists.
If you use my Chirp referral link, you'll get 20% off your first audiobook purchase (and I’ll also get 20% off my next purchase). It’s a win-win!
Explore today's limited-time audiobook deals on Chirp and save 20% on your first order!
Do you have other favorite sources for buying or borrowing audiobooks? If so, please share them below in the comments.
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