We’ve chosen which of Jamie Oliver’s recipes to cook out of necessity–literally–based on what we have in the pantry or garden since we’re on a zero-spending budget. So for the posh cheese toast we literally had to substitute cottage cheese for the crème frâiche–horrors!–and roasted red peppers out of a jar (double horrors) since we didn’t have any on hand. (I bought a whole flat of the jars on sale for $1.95 a jar, which, when you see how big the jar is, it was a bargain.) For the cheddar cheese, we used up the last of several slices of Vermont cheddar that we chopped up fine. The rest was literally à la Jamie.  Quinn gave it the thumbs up and they were delicious. Love on the table. Take a peek at the pictures! Pop Quiz answer: Literally.

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Several weeks ago, the Twitter sphere was all abuzz with Susan Orlean’s hashtag #booksthatchangedmyworld. The New York Times, The New Yorker, and the National Post in Canada sat up and are taking notice. Me? No question: To Kill A Mockingbird. Atticus and Scout still remain my favorite characters in all fiction. His lack of prejudice, his love, and Scout’s spunkiness and curiosity for life, as well as her strong sense of self but eventual awakening to Boo’s true nature? Wow. My husband and I bought a copy on a recent trip to Scotland and took turns reading it outloud. When we got home, we watched the movie adaptation and loved the story all over again. What books changed your world and why?

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I hesitate to mention this, but I’ve never read the Lord of the Rings, so that was a shock, and an honor. I could hardly sleep a wink, which might account for the fact I nearly passed out during the wedding photos that day. I’d enjoy knowing what your thoughts are. The full review is below, but here are a few snippets–and please tweet this!

“. . . enough magic, adventure, and intrigue to satisfy even the most die-hard fantasy fans.”

“. . . a rich, detailed fantasy world that is unique . . . with charming, whimsical touches.”

“Readers familiar with C.S. Lewis’s “Narnia Chronicles” will spot the religious symbolism scattered throughout the book . . . “

“. . . the epic nature of Fair’s quest will remind others of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings novels.”

KINGWORTH, K. S. R. Secret Speakers and the Search for Selador’s Gate. illus. by author. 475p. Rawle & Windsor. 2010. pap. $15.99. ISBN 978-0-9801303-5-5.

Gr 8 Up—This imaginative fantasy centers on Fair O’Nelli, who has spent the last nine years living in a cellar with her dog, Sauveren, to avoid discovery and possibly the same fate as her missing father and younger brother. She is released from hiding when she turns 13 and accepts a task from Thelras, Mother Queen of Light, to journey to the unknown Selador’s Gate in search of a mysterious individual named Selador. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Fair travels in the company of her dog and three guardians. Along the way, they encounter enough magic, adventure, and intrigue to satisfy even the most die-hard fantasy fans. The book culminates in a confrontation between Fair and Harrold King, the evil ruler of Cloven Grave, and his sidekick Pewgen Flype, who is responsible for the enslavement of children in the caves of Osden Shorn. A likable heroine, Fair discovers courage, conviction, and friendship in her search for Selador. Readers familiar with C.S. Lewis’s “Narnia Chronicles” will spot the religious symbolism scattered throughout the book, while the epic nature of Fair’s quest will remind others of J. R. R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” novels. Although Kingworth may borrow elements from these beloved stories, she has created a rich, detailed fantasy world that is unique and as vivid as all of them with charming, whimsical touches. Secret Speakers was originally released in serial form as a cell-phone novel at TextNovel.com, where it was wildly popular.

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JUNE EVENTS 2010:

AUDIOBOOK: Available on iTunes and Audible June 9th. Available from @ KareyShane on CD now!

SATURDAY, JUNE 12: Utah Homeschooling Education Association Convention

I’ll be signing copies of Secret Speakers at BOOTH 52. You’ll also be able to purchase the CD version of the audiobook.

COSTCO SIGNINGS:

OREM COSTCO

Thursday, June 3–1:00-7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, June 9–1:00-7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, June 16–1:00-7:00 p.m.

LEHI COSTCO

Saturday, June 5–1:00-7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, June 15–1:00-7:00 p.m.

Friday, June 25–1:00-7:00 p.m.

MURRAY COSTCO

Tuesday, June 8–1:00-7:00 p.m.

Saturday, June 12–1:00-7:00 p.m.

Thursday, June 17–1:00-7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, June 30–1:00-7:00 p.m.

SANDY COSTCO

Monday, June 7–1:00-7:00 p.m.

Friday, June 11–1:00-7:00 p.m.

Monday, June 14–1:00-7:00 p.m.

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Make as many handmade butterflies as you can this summer!

Butterflies are starting to come in from some really special people for One Million Butterflies. It’s my little way of doing something big to celebrate global education for girls. My goal is to collect one million butterflies by 2012 that will all become part of One. Very. Big. Butterfly mural. Check out all the butterfly pictures at OneMillionButterflies.org! There’s a contest giveaway, and if you want to do it, too, there’s an address on the home page that tells you where to send them. Make as many as you can this summer!

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A lecturer when explaining coping with stress to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, “How heavy is this glass of water?” Answers called out ranging from 20g to 500 g.

The lecturer replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”

He continued, “And that’s the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on. As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we’re refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.”

“So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don’t carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you’re carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can.”

So, my friend, put down anything that may be a burden to you right now. Don’t pick it up again until after you’ve rested a while. (Karey’s note: “May we remember to put our burdens down on the Lord, and not just put them down. In my own way of understanding things, if we just put them down, they’re still waiting for us to pick up alone. I feel a lot more peace knowing the Lord is carrying part of it for me, if not all. And that only happens when I remember to put my burdens down on Him.”)

Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

* Accept that some days you’re the pigeon, And some days you’re the statue.

* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

* Always wear stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

* Drive carefully. It’s not only cars that can be “recalled” by their maker.

* If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to be kind to others.

* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won’t have a leg to stand on.

* Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance.

* When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.

* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

* You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

* We could learn a lot from crayons . . . some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.

*A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

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And, I’m sending out a prayer to a very loving Father in Heaven that I will not only be there next year, but I’ll be sitting behind a table signing books, AND speaking at the DIY Conference AND the Children’s Author Breakfast. There. It’s as good as done. (How’s that for faith?)

Are you having fun without me MawBooks girl Natasha? Or PoseySessions? Or AngieBookGirl? I hope you’re thinking of me fondly, if only because I am a local to you author who taps away fast and furious on Spunkie II with diligence, dedication, and in many a bath-robed moment. I’m sure you are . . . Seriously though, I’m right where I need to be right now. I’m on the Lord’s time, not mine. Right now that means I need to be here, right where I am. Everything always has a way of working out. Instead, I’m going to put up a post with pictures from my trip to Scotland with hubbie in 2008 where we saw J.K. Rowling walking with with her mom 10 feet away from us on Easter Sunday, the 23 of March. I even have the time emblazoned in my brain.

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I’ve thrown in a few for you that show my adventure along the way, our dog Wyatt, a stop at Books of Wonder in New York, and my incredible family on whose shoulders I’ve ridden during much of my writing adventure. See if you can spot a few butterflies for the One Million Butterflies event I just started. Oh, and the Oprah picture is one I took when she announced last years book club pick. I put Secret Speakers up next to the TV as she announced it, and had 2010 written on the book. And look what’s happened since!

May I just say, that I’m having a delightful time at Costco meeting folks like you? I feel like I’m riding on your shoulders, too. Don’t forget to write on my wall on the home page! If you aren’t on this photo page, send me a picture of you holding the book on facebook and I’ll add it. (just search Karey Shane and invite me to be your friend.)

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