Baroness’ Update September 2018

Posted October 6, 2018 by karenbaron in Update / 0 Comments

Baroness’ Update September 2018

September has been an excellent month for the blog. I was able to read a few books, participate in Wishful Endings TBR Reading Challenge, and spotlight another fabulously brilliant author, Amy Boyles.

Book Reviews for September (in case you missed one)

[6 Sep] Mervano (A Fun, Fast-Paced Fantasy-Comedy) by James Tingle ★★★
[8 Sep] Stand by Your Wolf by V. Vaughn, Love Spells ★★★★★
[14 Sep] A Flame in the Night by Holland C. Kirbo ★★★★★
[16 Sep] Paws and Effect by Sofie Kelly ★★★★★
[23 Sep] Lakes of Mars by Merritt Graves ★★★★★
[25 Sep] Brownies and Broomsticks by Bailey Cates ★★★★★
[26 Sep] Big Easy Murder by H.P. Mallory ★★★★
[26 Sep] The Rancher's Twins by Carol Ross ★★★★★
[28 Sep] Brown Eyed Ghoul by H.P. Mallory ★★★★★
[30 Sep] Amazing Grace by Michele Bardsley ★★★★★
[30 Sep] The Rancher's Rescue by Cari Lynn Webb ★★★★★

Special Posts

Did you like the brownie recipe from Brownies and Broomsticks? If you missed it, you could check it out along with the interview of Amy Boyles. Oh ya, I am reviewing the Hallmark Fall Harvest Movies too.

Giveaways

Click the banner to enter October’s contest.

The winner of September’s contest is Ellie Atchinson.

Wishful Endings TBR Reading Challenge

Tressa at Wishful Endings has this great Read-a-thon that I joined again this year. She has prizes, and everyone is very so positive. I was only able to finish one book. You will see the review in the list of reviews above. More about the Read-a-thon

On the personal side~

September has been a great month. We got out and did lots of stuff, but we also did some things at home. So, here is what I have been up to besides reading.

Labor Day Weekend

My mom and I went into town for our semiweekly shopping trip (Costco, the farmer’s market, grocery shopping, and any errands) on Saturday. Anyway, Costco was our first stop. They had these 5-foot blue spruce trees for like $70.00. So mom decides that she has to have one but we have the car, so we run to Walmart and the Farmer’s Market, then hurry home because these trees go fast. She wanted one last year, and she sent my step-dad the next day, and they were all gone. So, we drove home and got the truck, then back to Costco to get the tree. Then we have three other stops before we can go home again. Let’s just say that getting to town early and back home didn’t work out.

Farmer’s Market, Kalispell Montana

My mom and I go to the Farmers’ Market at least every other week, sometimes every week. I love the fresh produce and the other unique booths. However, I will miss those veggies in the winter time. But that just makes going to the Farmers’ Market more memorable.

Links

Here are some links, in case you are interested in or are in the area and want to stop by.

Farmer’s Market in Kalispell, Montana. Hurry it’s only around until October 13th.

Two Bear Farm has the best produce and Rebecca is charming. She tells us how to cook things if we ask. Facebook or Instagram, too.

Flathead County Cheese has some yummy cheese. We don’t get much, but it was good. They are on Facebook too.

Mary’s Little Lambs has these beautiful hats. I have one, and I always get compliments on it. You can email her at fiberlady@live.com.

Heyday Homestead sells microgreens and edible flowers. I think that you have seen the flowers before on Imogen’s2 Poppy Almond cake and on my July Update. Check them out on Facebook.

Then we have Jamit! They have these crazy mixtures of items that make up these beautiful jellies and jams. I also bought the flowers above at their booth.

Labor Day Weekend Projects

Then Sunday we had to plant the tree. Right? Oh, did I mention that when stopped at Ace for the dirt she bought some fall flowers to plant? Let’s say that right after eating breakfast it was out in the yard to help with the planting of tree and weeding. Our fall yard cleanup. I have included some pictures so you can see what we did.

Royal Wedding

On Sunday night of the labor day weekend, my mom and I watched The Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Megan Markle. Yes, finally. It has been one of those things we wanted to do but didn’t. Now that we have it was so marvelous. My mom liked the part where Princes Harry and William showed up. I loved the parts where we can see Prince Harry being nervous waiting for Megan to show up and the part where we get to see Megan in her wedding dress. She looked elegant and very royal in it. Especially with that tiara on to hold up her veil.

Working on myself

I have been examining my current self and have decided to start working on myself. So, we got some poster boards, and I made “A Better Me” poster to hang in my room. It has some fitness goals, some other personal goals and of course my blog/reading goals.

I had included calendars to cross off when I complete my workouts, my morning and evening routines, and when I meet my daily reading goal. Along with tracking my monthly book count against my book goal.

I included lots of motivational and bookish quotes on my board.

So, I did lose a few pounds, and I have met most of my personal challenges for September. I will continue to let you know how this goes.

What do you do to stay motivated?

Aunt Anna’s Visit

So, my Aunt Anna came to visit. Yep, finally! We had a great time, but I didn’t read a lot while she was here. My goal may be too high. Oh, and my mom made so much food. She thinks she has cut back, but Aunt Anna didn’t seem to think so. I made Imogen’s Almond Poppy Seed Cake. Yum, yum, yum! Mostly we hung out, in the backyard but we did go to the National Bison Range over by St. Ignatius.

Our visit to the National Bison Range (September 8th)

I was up early, but we didn’t leave until around 10:00 in the morning and drove around Flathead Lake. The lake was gorgeous on that Saturday. It takes about two hours to get there from our house.

We got there around noon, checked in at the visitor’s center and then went exploring. We saw lots of bison, elk, antelope, mule deer, whitetail deer, and a praying mantis.

Bison

The bison were really cool. We went for a short hike on the Bitterroot Trail, and when we got to the end, there was a young bison. He was so handsome and super clean compared to the older males. Anyway, we got to the end of the trail, and he is walking towards us. So, we decide to take our pictures together, and hopefully, he will be on his way. However, he is going down the trail that we used to get there, and he walks a bit then stops to see what we are doing. He was probably thinking, “Who let the humans out of their car? Aren’t they funny creatures?”. We followed him out, don’t worry we were about 50 to 100 feet behind him. And definitely not rushing him. The picture of the bison on the trail is him.

Elk, Antelope, and others

We saw elk in two locations one way up in a swell, where you could only see them with the binoculars. Then there were a bunch of the elk down by the river. We saw a few antelope but not many. The deer were just hanging out, watching us as we drove by. There was a praying mantis on the grass when we stopped to look at the elk by the river. He really blends in well. We didn’t see any bears.

Lunch

We packed a picnic lunch and ate it at the day use area. Let’s just say my mom can pack a good meal; she even had wine for my Aunt. After eating and cleaning everything up, we went back out in the park to look for more animals. We left the park around 5:00 pm.

We did learn that if you really want to see the elk you have to get there super early like 6:00 in the freaking morning. Insane!

They also told us that one of the best times to come is early spring when all of the animals are having their babies.

Our visit to the Ross Creek Cedars (September 29)

So, on Saturday we visited this cool state park near Libby, Montana. It’s called Ross Creek Cedars and let me tell you they are amazing. I am from California as in Northern California, redwoods and wine. So, I am used to big trees, but these cedars grow crazy, and they make these insane moaning noises.

It was a little chilly as autumn in Montana can be. The hat I am wearing is from Mary’s Little Lambs.

Here is a link to learn more: http://www.libbymt.com/areaattractions/rosscreekcedars.htm

We packed a picnic lunch and a thermos of hot tea. We sat at the picnic tables and enjoyed the wonder of nature while enjoying our meal. And since it’s like a two-hour drive from our house there, I was able to get in some reading. I was slightly distracted by the lovely autumn scenery.

Coming in October

I have a month of Halloween themed things for all of you. Look for the #halloweenwiththebaroness on Instagram and Twitter. I will be reviewing books set around the Halloween time of the year. Do you all love Halloween? Do you love it as much as the author, Rose Pressey? Because she started decorating for this holiday in August. We don’t get going that early, but around the first of October, there will be witches, ghosts, spider, and lots of pumpkins all around our house.

We are trying to decide if we should go to the Trunk-or-Treat again this year. What do you think?

The featured author for October is Carolyn Haines. Look for my interview with her later in the month. Don’t forget the giveaway (the link is above).

October Reading List

I know this is a little ambitious, but I am hoping to read 12 books and listen to 1 audiobook, in October. This will be easy and I am positive that I can do complete these books. Look at these books, most of them are Halloween stories. I have already finished a couple of them, so I know this will be easy.

What are you reading this month?

Remember, if you follow me on Twitter and/or Instagram look for the #halloweenwiththebaroness and/or #halloweenreads.