Home From Our Cruise and Extended Vacation in London and Paris-

I'm back!! And our adventurous three and half week vacation transatlantic cruise and time in London and Paris was wonderful!

Despite my concerns about spending 8 straight days at sea before making stops in Ireland, Portugal, and Belgium, the 14 day transatlantic cruise was fabulous and went by very quickly! Why? Read on

Peek at My Week -

Remember when you were in elementary school and you had to write a book report?  I feel like I'm still doing it when I write these posts about what I'm reading. 

                  The Great Alone by Kristan Hannah. 

I really enjoy this author, Kristin Hannah, and have read many of her other novels including her #1 NY Times Bestseller, The Nightingale. If you haven't read The Nightingale, I highly recommend it. 

The Great Alone takes place in the 1970's in beautiful uncharted wilderness of Alaska. The author's stunning descriptions and brilliant metaphors bring this majestic setting alive.  

The story: After returning from the Vietnam war, Ernt Allbright is a changed and more violent man. Unable to easily fit back into society and unable to keep a job, Ernt moves his family to Alaska to live in a remote area and live off the land. It is a survival story of a family in crisis and the difficulties which highlight the extremes of experiencing challenging and sometimes difficult Alaska living. We are introduced to their community who are strong group of survivalists both men and women. It is an exciting and heart wrenching story of human nature. A good read. 

What I'm Watching on Prime: 

2 documentaries- I liked them both- very interesting and informative

Shalom Bollywood - This is about the film industry in India and why so many stars came from the Indian Jewish community. I wasn't aware of the large Jewish community in India. " The unlikely story of the 2000- year-old Indian Jewish community and its formative place in shaping the world's  .".

In My Mother's Garden-

A selected group of women of color are interviewed to talk about their lives and their relationships with their mothers and grandmothers and how it impacted their lives. These interesting women share about the wisdom passed down to them regarding love, spirituality, sexism, family, food, and racism. 

I also just started a new series on Netflix called, " BlackSpace". It's an exciting detective series that will keep you on the edge of your seat . A murder takes place in a local high school in front of the entire assembly of 12th graders. Four students are shot- Were these four students targeted or were they shot randomly??  Could be your next series to watch!! It takes place in Israel and my version was dubbed.

I also recently saw the Vincent Van Gogh exhibit( link to my post about it) which was FABULOUS.. This exhibit is traveling all over the US and the world. I saw it in Miami, friends saw it in Toronto, in Israel, etc. 

What I'm cooking: Instant Pot Potato Salad

This is a mayo free French type potato salad made with lemon and oil ( recently I have begun to make it oil-free too) 

trailer for Black Space 

men from across the globe unlock stories of their mothers to redefine holistic lives rooted 

I 

 Linking to Sunday Salon

Peek Into My Week- Reviews and Food

Reading: 

What I'm Reading : 

The Orphan Collector by Ellen Mari Wiseman

If you are not nervous enough about the Covid Pandemic, read this realistic piece of historical fiction set in Philadelphia in 1918 at the start of the Spanish Flu epidemic. Sad, touching, informative, and gripping, this powerful NY Times Bestseller was difficult to put down. 

What I'm Watching: 

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Watching: The Queen Gambit- Netflix Series

I enjoyed this series about a young orphan who turns out to be an intuitively extremely gifted chess player. While still a teenager,  she begins to play in highly competitive chess tournaments with large cash prizes. Although chess is the theme, the stories also revolve around relationships, pain of her past, drugs and alcohol, learning from mistakes, and her evolution into a powerful woman. Worth the watch!

Also on Netflix: Holidate 

A perfect movie for when you want something light and fun! Holidays are wicked for singles but co-stars Emma Roberts  and Luke Bracey find a solution when they agree to be each others date for any and all holidays and occasions. Kept me laughing and I totally enjoyed it.

Fall Cooking: Lots of Soup

Fall Potato Dill Soup (click link for recipe)

Brussels Sprout Soup- Quick about 12 minutes (click link for recipes)

My Kids and Grandkids Had My Lawn Decorated For an Early Birthday Celebration. (It was the last day before winter that they company decorated lawns and it was 30 degrees yesterday!) 

Doing: 

• Walking one hour each morning
• Finalizing my plant-based cookbook for publication next   month
•  Dinners on the Deck with my kids and grandkids

Sharing on Sunday Salon 

Also sharing on Weekend Cooking at the Intredpid Reader and Baker where anyone can share a food related post. 

Peek At My Week 8/1/2020

                                                                                    
                                My Week                                     

Book review, Prime Video review, 2 salad recipes

A Peek At My Week 7/3

This post is about another week of sheltering at home, book review, Youtube documentary review, and two amazing summer salad recipes.