~Cover Reveal...Dzintra Sullivan~

Here's something new for me

I recently met my Name Twin Dzintra Sullivan who is Author of the 

Best Selling Series......Halfway House

Today is the Cover Reveal of her latest book, 'Immersion' and I thought I would show it here

How beautiful is this!!!

A little blurb on the book

Payton Hunter's choice to take a late night stroll by the cliffs will change her life forever. A freak gust of wind catches her off guard, and she falls into the ocean below. As the last breath of air leaks from her lungs, Payton surrenders to the cold black arms of death.

Prince Volos, the oldest son of the Water Dragon King, stands proudly with the human spy he’s captured. His father will surely renounce the crown to him as he proves himself worthy.

When this small, dark haired beauty causes his heart to start singing, Volos now wonders what’s more important. Being the next King? Or being immersed in the arms of true love?

Miles under the surface of the ocean a choice must be made.

And a little bit about Dzintra......

Author Bio:
Hello, I am BATMAN..... -laughing-... I just always wanted to say that.
I am happily married to an amazing Canadian man and a mother of four delightful children. I fell in love with books as a young girl, reading Judy Blume and Enid Blyton. I progressed onto loving the supernatural genre as a teenager and never left.
I live up in the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia, where the weather is always warm and sunny.
It has always been a dream to write a book, but I have never had the self-belief that I could. Until I celebrated my 40th birthday. It hit me, "now or never" so I pulled on my big girl panties, picked up a pen and paper and didn't look back.
"The Halfway House Series" is my debut series.
Where family isn't always blood related, and the impossible love is possible if you believe.
Now I want to take you under the water, into the magical world of water dragons.
I hope you can swim, because these men like it wet.
The Apalala Clan series is about to take its first adventure with book one "Immersion".

Author Links:
Website: https://www.authordzintrasullivan.simplesite.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Dzintra-Sullivan/1510553862490487
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2cR0lE2
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8425947.Dzintra_Sullivan
Twitter: @DzintraSullivan

Title: Immersion
Author: Dzintra Sullivan - Author of the Bestselling Series, Halfway House
Genre: Paranormal/Romance/Comedy
Cover Designer: Desiree DeOrto
Hosted by: Lady Amber’s PR

Congratulations Dzintra from Dzintra on this Cover

I think it is just beautiful and I'm so pleased to have met you......

~OPAM...(One Project A Month) - August

Phew, not only is August flying by this whole year is flying by with Spring here tomorrow!!!

5 Book Bags this month along with 3 Mug Rugs

This Book Bag has been gifted

Along with this one

This one I have kept and put into it a book I read for a Book Challenge

The Challenge was to read a book with an Author the same name as mine and I found

 Dzintra Sullivan

Another bag and this time I put some Harry Potter ribbon on

Perfect for this book!!!

And from this bundle of Fat 1/4's (Notting Hill by Robyn Randolph) I made some Mug Rugs

I've taken to lately Make 1 Make 2 when I can and this totally works

It worked so well I made 3

Front

This one was a special one and was gifted to my friend Asta for her birthday

Asta is currently exploring her homeland Estonia in Europe

Thank You Sweet Peg and Kris for hosting OPAM again this year!!!

******

We've been away for the last few weeks up in Queensland hence no blogging and no comments made but will get back into it soon!!!

Happy Stitching......Dzintra xo

~2014~The Ones That Got Away

 Boy 2014 certainly whizzed by in a flash

Welcome 2015 and let's hope it's a peaceful year all round the world especially in light of what has been going on

I thought I would do my annual post on pics that were going to be made into blog posts but  just didn't make it

First pic is of lucerne bales for a small vegetable garden that I thought we would start up

Mr Armchair built the garden 4 storeys high out of railway sleepers

One reason is I'm tall and don't bend so well and the other is our Labrador Mimi who loves to 'garden'

Not long into it and this is what it looked like

And to keep Mr Armchair busy in February I needed a new bookcase and thought this corner was perfect

And it is........only trouble is the books keep 'growing'

In March JoJo was out with her group and she bought Mimi a collar

Only thing is it's for a puppy and Mimi is a big, boofy Labrador 

Such a sweet thought on JoJo's part

At Easter time in April I coloured some eggs in vine leaves and onion skins..........a Latvian tradition

this being the result

The egg can then be polished up with some bacon rind

In May we went to see a Miss Fisher exhibition

Miss Fisher......played by Essie Davis........ is a glamorous Lady Detective and the series is set in the 1920's in Melbourne

Read more about the series here

One of my favourite TV shows

In June I entered a giveaway by Jennifer Chiaverini and won this book The Master Quilter

One of her best I think

It was even autographed for me

To win I had to enter a question asking which character I would most like to meet out of the Elm Creek Series

My answer was Anna (the cook) so that I could cook with her for the patchworkers and then sit down and do some sewing with everybody later

I think there were about 800 entries so not bad

 In July at around 5pm there was a massive storm and I took some quick pics coming home

The colours were just stunning

In August we went out for JoJo's birthday breakfast and this is the view 

In September I bought an apron off my Friend Miss Vicki and decided to wear it whilst sewing as I get a heap of threads all over my clothes.......especially the black ones

In October I got to meet Monica McInerney who recognised my name from comments I had made to her Face book page

Such a lovely lady

 In November one evening I spilled frozen peas all over the floor (not very exciting I know)

but the next night the garlic I had fell down and landed looking like a triangle so I just had to photo it

And of course Mimi came in and cleaned up the peas

She didn't even know they were frozen as she doesn't eat she vacuums lol

Before we knew it it was Christmas again

 JoJo's programme had a Christmas get together and she was so proud that she cut the sausage and spiked it together with a tomato and a toothpick

And oh my goodness was this ever good

A Paleo Chocolate Blueberry Cake

I even made my own Nut Butter (cashews) and Paleo Chocolate

Recipe found at The Merry Maker Sisters

And to cap off New Year's Eve a pic taken off the television of the Fireworks on Sydney Harbour 

Happy 2015 everyone.........let's make it a good one

Love Dzintra

~Full Bookcase.......and Grapes~

I had a comment from Kim in my last post to show my new bookcase full......

so here 'tis

full of my unread books that had been in piles and there are more

so it didn't take long to fill at all!!!

I got the idea to do this off my friend Asta who has just started her own blog

And a new book to celebrate

Rachael Treasure's The Cattleman's Daughter.

A few weeks ago I showed this grapevine that we had come up over Summer

The neighbour who lived next to us had kept it trimmed

these are the grapes now

They taste like an old fashioned variety complete with seeds in,

just like we had when we were growing up

And very tasty too.......I wouldn't be surprised if you could make grapes out of them as well!!!

~300 Post Giveaway...2 Wins...Kate Morton...and I'm on Crutches~

Wow, 300 posts and 4 years on this little ol' blog of mine

Whoever would've thought that I would come this far on my on-line Journal when I pressed that little button that said 'Create'

To celebrate I thought I would have a little giveaway of a Leanne's House pattern (above) with a little something else

To enter just leave a comment and I will draw the lucky winner's name in 1 weeks time

 Another celebration I am enjoying is this pattern by Yvonne that I won on her recent giveaway

Thank you so much Yvonne....I am so looking forward to starting this cushion especially as I have some fat 1/8ths of Lynette Anderson's Scandinavian Christmas fabrics here already

And another win I had this week was through Facebook at Book Publishers Allen & Unwin's site

They asked a simple question......are you a secret keeper

I replied yes but I won't be with Kate Morton's new book The Secret Keeper

 And blow me down I received an email saying I had won an uncorrected proof copy of the book

I remember when I read Kate's book The Forgotten Garden I actually emailed her to say how much I enjoyed it and she emailed me back to say thank you THEN I wrote back and said thank you for the thank you and she thanked me!!!!!!!!!!

You can read this post here

And here is my very own copy of 'The Secret Keeper'

Boy how excited am I

This book along with my stitching will keep my busy as I rest a swollen knee and strained muscle I have developed

see the stocking I have to wear on my right leg along with 1/2 a set of crutches

I am working with the physio to build it all up again for the opening of Pirates of Penzance at

 Bay Theatre Players which opens up in 2 weeks time..............yipes!!!!!!!!!!

Sonoma Rose...a new book and pin!!!

Very excited over here...

a little while ago I saw on Facebook that Jennifer Chiaverini was giving away an Elm Creek Pin to the first 100 people who responded...

I thought, why not give it a go!!!

Jennifer responded to me and I ordered her latest book Sonoma Rose and blow-me-down...I received a pin all the way from The Next Chapter Book Shop in America...

Sonoma Rose...As the nation grapples with the strictures of Prohibition, Rosa Barclay lives on a Southern California rye farm with her volatile husband, John, who has lately found another source of income far outside the federal purview. Mother to eight children, Rosa mourns the loss of four who succumbed to the mysterious wasting disease that is now afflicting young Ana and Miguel...

~from book jacket~

Now I have my very own first edition of Sonoma Rose complete with Jennifer's signature...

How awesome is that...I'm really going to enjoy reading this book!!!

I really enjoy reading all of Jennifer's books...but must admit I am a bit partial to Anna in her kitchen (The Quilter's Kitchen) at Elm Creek!!!  Gotta love that she made patchwork biscuits to take for an interview to become a tutor and ended up being a Cook in the kitchen...how I would love to work alongside her!!!

Happy Reading...Dzintra 

A Blog Party in Paris...and some Eiffel Tower Birthday gifts!!!

The gorgeous Anita is hosting a blog party in PARIS this weekend...

perfect to go to on this cool Winter's Saturday evening...

I've not been to Paris but I do have a few heaps of things with Paris and/or the Eiffel Tower on them and thought I too would join the party (how could I not!!!)...

First of all I couldn't resist a fabric panel with the Tower on it...and Bonjour...

perfect for a quick little quilt made last year...

and used a couple of weeks ago as a table topper when Barb from Theodora Cleave called in for a cuppa before she left town...

We used Eiffel Tower serviettes!!!

I recently had a birthday and received this brooch on a little velevet cushion from Margaret...

and this little stitchery pattern from my dear blogging friend Simone...

along with some paper clips from Andrea...

Thank you so much dear Friends...I love them all and will add them to my collection!!!

A Fat Quarter...

Paris...the City of Love...

I couldn't resist these Cafe signs...

and couldn't do this post without some cafe food - carrot cake...

a Lime Cheesecake...

macarons...

A trip to a local winery based on French vineyards...

cheese...

a good read on Coco Chanel by Edmonde Charles-Roux...

My latest cook book...

and a little corner in our dining area...

my apron with Paris on it...

Now I'm off to cook dinner...Roast Pork tonight...

(Pic taken before I broke my arm...I can't even do an apron up now, arm won't go round the back!!!)

So if you get a chance hop over to Anita's and join the party...and thank you Anita for hosting this wonderful event!!!

Bon Appetit...Dzintra