Blog Archives - MontanaMade by Jasmine

MontanaMade by Jasmine

Mini-Review - A Wedding Transpires On Mackinac Island by Cara C. Putman

7/31/2014

Genre:
Comtemporary/Romance

A Wedding Transpires On Mackinac Island
by Cara C. Putman

My Review

A sweet romance with some surprise excitement at the end. Sometimes I like to take a break and read something just for fun. A Wedding Transpires On Mackinac Island was a great choice for that. It was sweet and relaxing with just enough mystery and danger to keep the reader engaged.

I loved that the story was set on Mackinac Island. Such a fascinating place that is so overlooked in fiction. Each location in the story seemed quite real, from The Painted Stone to the shared dock where they go fishing.

Interesting characters, great setting, and an all-around nice story, perfect for sitting back and just enjoying a quiet read.

Tell Tale Book Reviews gives A Wedding Transpires On Mackinac Island
by Cara C. Putman a 3.5 Bark rating.

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(Late) WORD Wednesday 7-30-14

7/31/2014

2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?

Matthew 16:2,3 KJV

5 days to Caroline's Secret by Amy Lillard

7/31/2014

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WORD Wednesday 7-23-14

7/23/2014

5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

1 Corinthians 4:5 KJV

Monday Movie - My Fair Lady

7/21/2014

My Fair Lady
Starring
Audrey Hepburn ■ Rex Harrison

(1964)

The loverliest motion picture of them all!

At one time the longest-running Broadway musical, My Fair Lady was adapted by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe from the George Bernard Shaw comedy Pygmalion. Outside Covent Garden on a rainy evening in 1912, dishevelled cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn) meets linguistic expert Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison). After delivering a musical tirade against "verbal class distinction," Higgins tells his companion Colonel Pickering (Wilfred Hyde-White) that, within six months, he could transform Eliza into a proper lady, simply by teaching her proper English. The next morning, face and hands freshly scrubbed, Eliza presents herself on Higgins' doorstep, offering to pay him to teach her to be a lady. "It's almost irresistable," clucks Higgins. "She's so deliciously low. So horribly dirty." He turns his mission into a sporting proposition, making a bet with Pickering that he can accomplish his six-month miracle to turn Eliza into a lady.

The quintessential musical, My Fair Lady is a movie that everyone should watch at least once, if you can stop at just one viewing.

I didn't start out liking musicals but I gradually changed my mind. Now I've seen quite a few of the old classics, from The Sound Of Music and The King And I to Singing In The Rain and South Pacific. The first time I watched My Fair Lady I honestly thought it was LONG and kinda boring. I have seriously revised my opinion since and it is now one of my more favorite musicals.

This movie is a musical and costume extravaganza that is surprisingly humorous. I dare you not to laugh when Eliza shocks the stuffy upper class at Ascot by yelling at a horse to "Move your bloomin' a*se!"

If you are an Audrey Hepburn fan, as I am, you will definitely love this movie. She was one classy lady and a wonderful actress, both of which shine through in this film.

This is a musical you can sit down to watch with anyone in the family. At 170 minutes, though, it might take a BIG bowl of popcorn to keep the kiddos around. Mom and I have a few movies we kinda like to watch together and this is one of our favorites to do so.

Watch it, enjoy it, and if you've seen it before you just might find yourself humming along with the familiar, 'loverly', lyrics.

Note: The absolute most objectionable content in this movie is a few minor cuss words, in my opinion they are nothing to worry over in the slightest.

170 Minutes

Principal Cast

Audrey Hepburn...Eliza Doolittle
Rex Harrison...Professor Henry Higgins
Stanley Holloway...Alfred P. Doolittle
Wilfrid Hyde-White...Colonel Hugh Pickering
Gladys Cooper...Mrs. Higgins
Jeremy Brett...Freddy Eynsford-Hill
Theodore Bikel...Zoltan Karpathy
Mona Washbourne...Mrs. Pearce
Isobel Elsom...Mrs. Eynsford-Hill

Filming Location(s)

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - Burbank, California

Awards

1965 Academy Awards
Best Picture - Jack L. Warner
Best Actor in a Leading Role - Rex Harrison
Best Director - George Cukor
Best Cinematography, Color - Harry Stradling Sr.
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -
Gene Allen & Cecil Beaton & George James Hopkins
Best Costume Design, Color - Cecil Beaton
Best Sound - George Groves (Warner Bros. SSD)
Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or
Treatment - André Previn

1965 Golden Globes
Best Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy
Best Motion Picture Director - George Cukor
Best Motion Picture Actor - Musical/Comedy - Rex Harrison

1966 BAFTA Awards
Best Film from any Source - George Cukor (USA).

1966 Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain
Best Foreign Film (Mejor Película Extranjera) (USA).

1965 David di Donatello Awards
Best Foreign Production - Jack L. Warner
Best Foreign Actress - Audrey Hepburn
Best Foreign Actor - Rex Harrison

1965 Directors Guild Of America
Road Show
Musical Performance, Male - Rex Harrison
3rd place - Comedy Performance, Female - Audrey Hepburn

1964 National Board Of Review, USA
NBR Award - Top Ten Films

1964 New York Film Critics Circle Awards
Best Film
Best Actor - Rex Harrison
2nd place - Best Director - George Cukor
3rd place - Best Actress - Audrey Hepburn*
*Tied with Barbara Barrie for One Potato, Two Potato (1964).

Quotes

Professor Henry Higgins: There even are places where English completely disappears; in America they haven't used it for years.

Professor Henry Higgins: She's so deliciously low. So horribly dirty.
Eliza Doolittle: I ain't dirty! I washed my face and hands before I come, I did.

Professor Henry Higgins: [singing] Women are irrational, that's all there is to that! Their heads are full of cotton, hay, and rags. They're nothing but exasperating, irritating, vacillating, calculating, agitating, maddening and infuriating hags!

Colonel Hugh Pickering: Are you a man of good character where women are concerned?
Professor Henry Higgins: Have you ever met a man of good character where women are concerned?
Colonel Hugh Pickering: Yes, very frequently.
Professor Henry Higgins: Well, I haven't. I find that the moment a woman makes friends with me she becomes jealous, exacting, suspicious, and a damn nuisance. And I find that the moment I make friends with a woman I become selfish and tyrannical. So here I am, a confirmed old bachelor and likely to remain so.

Professor Henry Higgins: By George, she's got it! By George she's got it! Now once again, where does it rain?
Eliza Doolittle: [sings] On the plain, on the plain.
Professor Henry Higgins: And where's that soggy plain?
Eliza Doolittle: [sings] In Spain, in Spain!

Mrs. Higgins: Where's the girl now?
Professor Henry Higgins: She's being pinned. Some of the clothes we bought her didn't quite fit. I told Pickering we should have taken her with us.

Eliza Doolittle: Come on, Dover! Come on, Dover! Move your bloomin' arse!

Eliza Doolittle: The difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she is treated.

DVD

Blu-Ray

2-Disc Special Edition

VHS

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Notice: I have an affiliate with Amazon so if you purchase a movie
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Thanks to IMDB.com for most of the info for this movie.

Hurry Winners!

7/20/2014

Winners Zoe Blair* AND Susan Johnson** have until

Tuesday July 22nd

to contact me or I will need to choose new winners.

* Zoe won the Abandoned Dreams inspired Earrings
** Susan won Annie's Stories by Cindy Thomson

Mini-Review - Shadows Of The Past by Patricia Bradley

7/19/2014

Genre:
Suspense

Shadows Of The Past
Logan Point book 1
by Patricia Bradley

My Review

Shadows Of The Past is delightfully spine-tingling suspense story filled with mystery and secrets from the past that affect the present and whether Taylor and Nick have a future....or not.

Taylor has a dangerous stalker and she has no clue who it is, a suspect who's brother swears his innocence, but this guy seems to have knowledge of her activities ands whereabouts that is almost uncanny. Spooky to say the least, and it will keep you looking over your shoulder for awhile.

The mystery and suspense kept me totally into the story, I could hardly put Shadows Of The Past down. The romance was good, not heavy but neither was it sidelined.
One of the more interesting parts of the story is the very realistic complexities of family relationships. Both Taylor and Nick walk on tightropes with their respective family members.

The cover is wonderfully mysterious and the pages within are even better. Patricia Bradley writes a good mystery/suspense story and I am eagerly awaiting book 2 in this series.

Tell Tale Book Reviews gives Shadows Of The Past
by Patricia Bradley a 4 Bark rating.

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Free Friday - Montana Reunion by Valerie Hansen

7/18/2014

Montana Reunion
Love Inspired
by Valerie Hansen

The tiny town of Jasper Gulch, Montana, is celebrating their hundredth anniversary, and you're invited! Get lost in Big Sky Centennial, a land of ranches and romances and memorable characters you can't help but root for. In this short prequel from Valerie Hansen, a small-town beautician with a big heart reunites with the high school beau she could never forget….

Word travels fast in a small town, and it spreads like wildfire that Tony Valdez is back in Jasper Gulch. The former bad boy is now a respected veterinarian, but he's still got that sparkle in his eye. And that's what has Annette Lakey worried. She vows to avoid the man who once stole her heart—until a stray dog and her impending puppies bring Annette and Tony face-to-face. Seeing him again makes her feel all warm and fuzzy…and afraid she might fall all over again!

And don't miss the first book of the Big Sky Centennial miniseries, Her Montana Cowboy by Valerie Hansen.

Big Sky Centennial:A small town rich in history…and love.

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File Size: 184 KB
Print Length: 60 pages
Publisher: Love Inspired (July 1, 2014)
ASIN: B00IWTYWGY

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Valerie Hansen

Author's Website

Book Review - Stuck Together by Mary Connealy

7/18/2014

Genre:
Historical/Western

Stuck Together
Trouble In Texas book 3
by Mary Connealy

-From the back cover-

When a lawman who values order gets stuck with
a feisty crusader who likes to stir things up,
there's going to be trouble in Texas!

Now that she's settled in town, Tina Cahill is determined to get Broken Wheel's saloon closed for good. To that end, she pickets outside the place every afternoon. Unfortunately, so far no one has paid any attention.
Vince Yates earned the name “Invincible Vince” because of his reputation for letting absolutely nothing stop him. But Vince is about to face his biggest challenge yet: his past just caught up with him. His father, mother, and the sister he didn't know he had show up in Broken Wheel without warning. His father is still a schemer. His mother is showing signs of dementia. And his surprise sister quickly falls for one of Vince's best friends. Vince suddenly has a lot of people depending on him, and Tina doesn't approve of how he's handling any of them.
With nearly every other man in town married off, Vince finds himself stuck with strong-willed Tina over and over again. Of course, Tina is the prettiest woman he's ever seen, so if he could just get her to give up her crazy causes, he might go ahead and propose. But he's got one more surprise coming his way: Tina's picketing the saloon has revealed a dark secret that could put everyone Vince loves in danger.

Rollicking good fun in old Texas!

I was new to Mary Connealy's writing when I read the first book in this series, but I was hooked good from the start. There is nothing like a good western comedy, funny but never silly. Stuck Together is no exception, it's like watching a Christian version of McLintock!, complete with the mud fight!

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This Book earned a 4.5 Bark rating.

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Mary Connealy

Author's Website

I honestly can't say enough about how much I have enjoyed this book, and the whole series. I love the humor, the liveliness of the characters, the dusty settings, the subtle lessons woven into the storyline. My only disappointment is that this is the last book in the series, but I think I will console myself with some of the author's other books.

Maybe I've watched too many Westerns, is that even possible? But Mary Connealy has done such a great job that I felt like I was right there with the characters, walking the dusty street, riding across the desert, and of course marching the picket line with Tina.

Stuck Together is the story of two people with a lot of baggage from the past. Both of them have a lot to work through in order to have a future, just as long as it's not together mind you. I really enjoyed the way the two of them snipped at each other, and everyone else as well, it was just too funny.
There is also a good western mystery thread woven through the story and leads to the climax of angry Indians, a shoot-out, and a cave with some secrets.

One of the things I really liked about this book was how everyone in Broken Wheel, especially Vince, were kind and loving with Mrs. Yates's growing confusion and lack of memory. Knowing someone with similar issues made those sections of the story especially poignant for me.

Stuck Together is one of the best Christian westerns I have read and I highly recommend it if you like Mary Connealy's books, historicals, or just a good Texas story.

Tell Tale Book Reviews gives Stuck Together by Mary Connealy a 4.5 Bark rating.

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Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (June 3, 2014)
ISBN-10: 0764209167
ISBN-13: 978-0764209161

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WORD Wednesday 7-16-14

7/16/2014

4 The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should
know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.

Isaiah 50:4 KJV

Book Review - Love Comes Home by Ann H. Gabhart

7/15/2014

Genre:
Historical

Love Comes Home
Rosey Corner book 3
by Ann H. Gabhart

-From the back cover-

WHEN THE FLUSH OF VICTORY FADES, THERE REMAINS A WINDING ROAD TO
AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE.

World War II is finally over and the people of Rosey Corner are joyfully welcoming the boys home. The Merritt sisters in particular are looking toward the future. Kate is eager to start a family and live out her dream of happily ever after with Jay. Evangeline craves a beautiful house and encourages Mike to pastor a big-town church. Victoria wants what can never be, And Lorena is growing up and wondering more and more about her birth family.

Each sister must learn to hold her plans with a loose hand, trusting that God will guide and strengthen them as they share the joys and sorrows of life in their little corner of the world.

Award-winning and bestselling author Ann Gabhart invites you back to Rosey Corner for a heartfelt story that closes the distance between things that were and things that can yet be.

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This Book earned a 4.5 Bark rating.

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Ann H. Gabhart

Author's Website

As I read Love Comes Home I kept thinking that it reminded me of a book I had read sometime before. It took me awhile but I finally figured it out. It reminded me much of Little Women. It has a similar feel to it, with 4 very different sisters, loving parents, the trials of growing up, and the domestic incidences of life. One of the facets that really jumped out at me is how life never seems to go quite as planned. Each sister, Kate, Evie (Evangeline), Tori (Victoria), and Lorena, thought they had things figured out. Kate's husband will come home, they'll buy a place of their own and start a family right away. Evie's husband will come home, he'll start preaching again in a nice church, and she can decorate her home in color-coded perfection, no kids needed. Tori thought her husband would be coming home but he died, she never planned on being a 19-year-old widow and single mother, she also has no intention on ever falling in love again. Life is going quite well for Lorena, she is singing in churches around the county and going to radio auditions, and then the nagging empty spot left behind by her birth family's abandonment catches up and she decides to try and find them. Each of them has to learn to handle the changes wrought by 4 years of war, not only in the men in their lives, but also in themselves.
This is a book about growing up, about forgiveness, about love, about letting go, and about faith. Life isn't always easy so every moment of peace and joy that God sends is appreciated even more.

Ann H. Gabhart has a delightfully old fashioned way of telling a story, evoking the style of the day. I have read several of her books and always jump at the chance to read a new one. Just as I knew I would, I enjoyed every page of Love Comes Home. It was nostalgic trip back to a simpler time that is actually much like our own, with similar tragedies and triumphs.

If you are an Ann Gabhart fan or love WWII era stories than Love Comes Home is just the book for you. Read it and I think you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

Tell Tale Book Reviews gives Love Comes Home by Ann H. Gabhart a 4.5 Bark rating.

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Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Revell (July 1, 2014)
ISBN-10: 0800721853
ISBN-13: 978-0800721855

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Monday Movie - Feet Of Flames

7/14/2014

Feet Of Flames
Starring
Michael Flatley

(1998)

Michael Flatley's Feet of Flames

On 25th July 1998 - as dusk fell on the historic Route of Kings in London's Hyde Park, history was made. An audience of twenty-five thousand people gathered to see an amazing dance extravaganza - Feet of Flames. Over one hundred performers danced their way into history - led by the greatest of them all - Michael Flatley. With new music, dances, costumes and sets, Feet of Flames pushes Michael Flatley to the limit - and takes you on a spectacular journey, through light and dark, good and evil, passion and despair, to an astonishing finale that will leave you gasping for breath.

I wild extravaganza of music, Irish dance, and song. It is a total explosion of color and sound.
As a fan of Riverdance I also enjoy this show. Yeah, it's glitzier and flashier, but it is fun in its own right.

Michael Flatley left Riverdance, over a pay-raise argument, and started touring on his own. His first show, Lord Of The Dance, was wildly popular so he came up with Feet Of Flames. In some ways this show is a continuation of the first one and in others it is a very similar show, though greatly expanded.

Fans of Celtic Woman pay attention to the two lovely fiddling ladies, one is Mairead Nesbitt herself.

Feet Of Flames is just plain foot-stomping, hand-clapping fun, and I wouldn't be surprised if you catch the attention of the entire family. In fact, it is my Dad that watches Irish dance videos with me.

Great show that is so much fun to watch or even just listen to. I bet you will find your toes tapping like mine do....

Note: There are some skimpy costumes, extremely mild suggestiveness to a couple of dances, and a little kissing.

114 Minutes

Principal Cast

Michael Flatley ... Lord of the Dance
Bernadette Flynn ... Saoirse, the irish coleen
Leigh Anne McKenna ... Cleopatra
Daire Nolan ... Don Dorcha, the dark lord
Gillian Norris ... Morrighan, the temptress
Helen Egan ... The Little Spirit
Anne Buckley ... Erin, the goddess
Kelly Hendry
Máiréad Nesbitt ... (Violinist)
Cora Smyth ... (Violinist)

Numbers

Act I
1. Cry of the Celts
2. Erin the Goddess – Marble Halls
3. Celtic Dream
4. The Warriors
5. Gypsy
6. Dance Above The Rainbow
7. Dueling Violins
8. Breakout
9. Warlords
10. Erin the Goddess – Maighdean Mhara
11. The Lord of the Dance

Act II
12. The High Priests
13. Whispering Wind
14. Dance of Love
15. Dangerous Game
16. Hell's Kitchen
17. Spirit's Lament
18. Fiery Nights
19. The Lament
20. Celtic Fire
21. Siamsa
22. Erin the Goddess – Carrickfergus
23. Stolen Kiss
24. Nightmare
25. The Duel
26. Victory
27. Feet of Flames
28. Planet Ireland

DVD

3-Movie Collection

CD (Audio)

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Notice: I have an affiliate with Amazon so if you purchase a movie
through the links provided I will receive a small kickback.

Thanks to IMDB.com for most of the info for this movie.

Mini-Review Shadowed By Grace by Cara C. Putman

7/11/2014

Genre:
Historical

Shadowed By Grace
A story of Monuments Men
by Cara C. Putman

My Review

The Monuments Men from WWII have really been in the news lately, the movie brought out articles and stories with little remembered facts about the brave people that tried to protect, identify, and return Europe's most precious art objects. 1,000 years + of history was in danger of being blown to smithereens. I had never heard of the Monuments Men until all of the media excitement of the past few months.

When I first heard about Shadowed By Grace it sounded like a pretty good book and when I read it I was not disappointed. Dramatic and exciting, this book gives a realistic portrayal of war and the people in it. This story has everything needed to make a good WWII story, along with the exotic location of Italy there is danger, romance, betrayal, mystery, lost love, and secrets from the past that have great implications.

Cara C. Putman has a great historical winner in Shadowed By Grace, don't miss an exciting minute!

Tell Tale Book Reviews gives Shadowed By Grace
by Cara C. Putman a 4 Bark rating.

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Free Friday - The Falcon And The Sparrow by MaryLu Tyndall

7/11/2014

The Falcon And The Sparrow
by MaryLu Tyndall

Against the European upheaval of the Napoleonic wars, a young timid lady becomes entangled in a web of intrigue. Forced to betray her own country or watch her brother die, Dominique Dawson, arrives at the London home of Admiral Randal as a governess for his son, but her real purpose is to steal valuable Admiralty documents for the French. She soon discovers, however, that she faces more enemies besides her own fear. Will Dominique find the strength she needs in God to risk the gallows and save her brother? But will it be enough to betray the man she has come to love?
Admiral Chase Randal no longer believes in God. After the death of his wife, he threw himself into a career at sea and spends most of his time away from home sailing a fleet of HMS warships. Much to his dismay, he suddenly finds himself landlocked in London, forced to temporarily fill a position on the Admiralty Board left vacant by an ailing member. Bitter and angry, he longs for the day he can return to sea and escape the memories of his wife. When the new governess arrives, Chase finds her too weak and nervous to mentor his son, but soon discovers that her sweet nature and strong faith fill his home with a love and joy he has not felt for years. Though he must battle his sister’s constant disapproval, a would-be-lover’s jealous flare ups and his best friends infatuation with Dominique, his biggest fight is with his growing affections for the lady. But what will this staunch British Admiral do when he discovers Dominique is a French Spy?

Note: This is a reprint of The Falcon and the Sparrow published in 2009

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File Size: 19303 KB
Print Length: 346 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0991092104
Publisher: Ransom Press (October 22, 2013)
ASIN: B00G4DGLPU

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MaryLu Tyndall

Author's Website

WORD Wednesday 7-9-14

7/9/2014

3 The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me,
He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.
4 And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth,
even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out
of the earth by clear shining after rain.

2 Samuel 23:3-4 KJV