Friday Finds 17 September 2021 | Fall Fun

Friday Finds 17 September 2021 | Fall Fun

Hello and welcome to the Friday Finds 17 September 2021 edition. This week we’ve got recipes, book recommendations, and a cute DIY project, along with a blog roundup and giveaways.

My giveaway last week was exclusive to newsletter subscribers. If you opened the email & clicked through to the post, you were eligible for the drawing. The winner is David Furneaux. He’s my featured author of the week in the BookShop! If you aren’t getting my weekly email, you should sign up on the sidebar or the bottom of this post. And don’t worry if you aren’t an author, I have alternate prizes and information relevant to everyone!

When you get this missive, I should be on my way home from Wisconsin. I’ve had a lovely trip and am always sad to leave, but it helps to know I can go back whenever I need to. Love all my grandkids to pieces. If possible, I would just split my time equally between the farm and staying at each of my daughter’s houses, although they might not agree that was ideal. lol

I’m anxious to get back home to finish up the fall garden and canning. We’ll love all the garden goodness to use this winter.

Let’s move on to the finds. I hope you enjoy them. Be sure to leave a comment with your favorite from this week.

What's in this post!

Friday Finds 17 September 2021 – Books

This week, I’m in a bit of a non-fiction mood. I pulled these from the Amazon Best-seller list and added them to my Goodreads TBR list. Are we friends on Goodreads? I hope so.

The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl

So, I’ve written a book.

Having entertained the idea for years, and even offered a few questionable opportunities (“It’s a piece of cake! Just do 4 hours of interviews, find someone else to write it, put your face on the cover, and voila!”) I have decided to write these stories just as I have always done, in my own hand. The joy that I have felt from chronicling these tales is not unlike listening back to a song that I’ve recorded and can’t wait to share with the world, or reading a primitive journal entry from a stained notebook, or even hearing my voice bounce between the Kiss posters on my wall as a child.

This certainly doesn’t mean that I’m quitting my day job, but it does give me a place to shed a little light on what it’s like to be a kid from Springfield, Virginia, walking through life while living out the crazy dreams I had as young musician. From hitting the road with Scream at 18 years old to my time in Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, jamming with Iggy Pop or playing at the Academy Awards or dancing with AC/DC and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, drumming for Tom Petty or meeting Sir Paul McCartney at Royal Albert Hall, bedtime stories with Joan Jett or a chance meeting with Little Richard, to flying halfway around the world for one epic night with my daughters…the list goes on. I look forward to focusing the lens through which I see these memories a little sharper for you with much excitement.

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Peril by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa

The transition from President Donald J. Trump to President Joseph R. Biden Jr. stands as one of the most dangerous periods in American history.

But as # 1 internationally bestselling author Bob Woodward and acclaimed reporter Robert Costa reveal for the first time, it was far more than just a domestic political crisis.

Woodward and Costa interviewed more than 200 people at the center of the turmoil, resulting in more than 6,000 pages of transcripts—and a spellbinding and definitive portrait of a nation on the brink.

This classic study of Washington takes readers deep inside the Trump White House, the Biden White House, the 2020 campaign, and the Pentagon and Congress, with vivid, eyewitness accounts of what really happened.

Peril is supplemented throughout with never-before-seen material from secret orders, transcripts of confidential calls, diaries, emails, meeting notes, and other personal and government records, making for an unparalleled history.

It is also the first inside look at Biden’s presidency as he faces the challenges of a lifetime: the continuing deadly pandemic and millions of Americans facing soul-crushing economic pain, all the while navigating a bitter and disabling partisan divide, a world rife with threats, and the hovering, dark shadow of the former president.

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Change Sings: A Children’s Anthem

“I can hear change humming
In its loudest, proudest song.
I don’t fear change coming,
And so I sing along.”

In this stirring, much-anticipated picture book by presidential inaugural poet and activist Amanda Gorman, anything is possible when our voices join together. As a young girl leads a cast of characters on a musical journey, they learn that they have the power to make changes—big or small—in the world, in their communities, and in most importantly, in themselves.

With lyrical text and rhythmic illustrations that build to a dazzling crescendo by #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator Loren Long, Change Sings is a triumphant call to action for everyone to use their abilities to make a difference.

Friday Finds 17 September 2021 – Gifts

This is a new section I’m starting since I get so many requests for gift suggestions. Naturally, I think books make the best gifts, but I do realize you might be looking for other ideas this time of year.

Celestron – 70mm Travel Scope – Portable Refractor Telescope – Fully-Coated Glass Optics – Ideal Telescope for Beginners – BONUS Astronomy Software Package

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LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar – Awesome Toy Building Kit for Kids with 7 Popular Characters and 17 Mini Builds; New for 2021 (335 Pieces)

I bought these for some of the grandkids last year. They were a huge hit! You can find them in many other themes.

Friday Finds 17 September 2021 – Blog Roundup

Here are the books I reviewed the past week.

Backup Offer by Liz Crowe | Review – Excerpt – $20 Giveaway

Sophie Washington: Lemonade Day by Tonya Duncan Ellis | Middle-Grade Book Review – Excerpt – $25 Giveaway

OM for the HOME: A Holistic Approach to Interior Design for Your Overall Wellbeing, Body, Mind, and Spirit by Carrie Leskowitz

These are my spotlight posts from the past week.

Elemental Links by M. A. Leon || BBNYA

Last Memoria by Rachel Emma Shaw (Memoria Duology Book 1) || BBNYA

Secret Legacy: The Windhaven Witches Series Book 1 by Carissa Andrews | BBNYA

Rebel Correspondent by Steve Procko

2021 BBNYA Semi-Finalist – Between Darkness and Light by Roy Peachey

Cenotaphs by Rich Marcello | Spotlight Tour | $25 Giveaway

BBNYA Semifinalist Spotlight on Better Confess by Alan Gorevan

Lead Like a Pro: Effective Leadership Styles for Athletic Coaches by Dr. Matthew Raidbard

All or None (Star Stories, #1) by Aurora Lee Thornton | 2021 BBNYA Semi-finalist Spotlight

As you can see, BBNYA is occupying a lot of my time. The finalists have been chosen and I have my list of books to read and rate to help choose the winners. I love being a judge on this panel and took on the added task of being a team leader to a few fabulous book bloggers. I believe the winners will be announced in December.

Friday Finds 17 September 2021 – Recipes

The family visited an apple orchard last weekend and I have about 50 pounds of apples to use. You can expect to see several apple recipes while I’m working my way through the basket of fall goodness. Due to a late freeze last spring and not ideal growing conditions, our trees at home did not produce well. We also lost our best pear tree to a wind storm so orchards feel like a life-saver.

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