Victorian Tea at the First Presbyterian Church

                   







  The First Presbyterian Church of Berthoud, Co. held a Victorian Tea in honor of Mother's Day.

Happy hearts and hands worked tirelessly for many days 

decorating the room and baking delectable treats.  

The tea pots were shined and ready to go, 

lined up like proud little soldier in dress uniform. 

And a big thank you 

to the gentlemen who served the tea and water. 

You were terrific and made us ladies feel so special.

Guests entered through a lovely archway. 

And with the stained-glass cross from upstairs 

reflected in the glass of the door, 

one would have to think blessings from above 

surely graced this day.  

   Before we ate, Beth Sommers offered a beautiful blessing that brought tears to my eyes. Mothers are such special people, in so many ways. I sure was fortunate to have mine, and miss her every day. 

 The tables were resplendent. Each one offering an enchanted centerpiece, a little scroll touting the does and don'ts of proper tea drinking etiquette, napkins shaped like roses almost too beautiful to use, and place settings reminiscent of a Victorian garden party.   

The Menu was delightful, and all home made. There were truffles, lemon cake, macaroons, strawberries dipped in white chocolate, cucumber sandwiches, a heavenly bite of chicken salad sandwich, two choices of scones, clotted cream, and two selections of tea.  

          A teapot display added, a dash of color, interest and fun

One particular silver serving set, on loan from Wayne and Janice Gibb, was a family heirloom. It is over one hundred years old, and an amazing display of chased silver. The Gibb ancestor was so talented he later worked for the Tiffany Company. We learned that chased silver is a method of embellishing that is created from the inside out!

Nancy Weber graciously shared her knowledge of hats, purses, gloves, and hat pins. She has over four hundred hats, and kept us enthralled with witty stories and gorgeous millinery examples.  

Food, Friends, and Fun.

What a lovely Victorian afternoon.

Two books nominated for Reader's Favorite Award

Proud to announce, 

A COWBOY'S DREAM 

and 

LADY GALLANT 

both nominated for the Reader's Favorite Award 

from Still Moments Magazine. 

                                       Fingers crossed!

                                 Both books available now
                                            at Amazon
                                   and Barnes and Noble

                                            visit me at...


                                        LADY GALLANT

   Disowned by her father and still mourning the death of her fiancé, Josephine Posey joins Florence Nightingale’s brigade of nurses bound for the Black Sea. Thousands of British soldiers desperately await these angels of mercy and a new life awaits Josie. Amidst the chaos of death and despair, she finds a spark of hope, lighting the flame once more inside her soul.

    In search of the truth, Garrick Allen, one of Britain’s first war correspondents also journeys to the Crimean Peninsula. To him the soldiers seem all but abandoned by Queen and country, and as he smokes his cheroots and makes friends with a bottle, he writes his bold but honest dispatches for The Times.  Not wanting anything more than to finish his job and go home, Garrick is blind-sided by a nurse with attitude who offers him a new slant on life and a reason to love.

                                 A COWBOY'S FATE

Colorado, 1880

When East End London meets the Wild West, sparks fly.

   Kicked out of England for offending the Royal Family, Britania Rule heads for Leadville, in the Colorado backcountry. Passing herself off as a highborn lady, she pursues her dream of opening a parlor of spiritual enlightenment.

 Cody James, her guide, thinks he must be half-crazy to hire-out to a female. But his luck at the gaming tables has run dry, and she’s his meal-ticket out of town. Betrayed by the only woman he ever loved, and shot and left for dead by a man he once called friend, Cody declares himself a loner.

   Traveling side by side, they deny their desire for one another, but the Tarot cards say otherwise—and their hot night of passion confirms the prediction. Will love be waiting at the end of the trail? Or could Cody’s past destroy their future? 

May Day: flowers on the door, or a distress signal?

                                     

                                          May is a very interesting month. 



For Catholics, 
it's the month to honor the Virgin Mary.

For Pagans, it's the month of the Goddess, and the holiday Beltane

It is also the month for May baskets, 

                                                                     
Maypoles, 





                                             Mother's Day, 


              And Saving the whales.

                            But amidst all those happy inferences, 
                                 Mayday is also a distress signal!


Mayday, mayday, mayday

Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice procedure radio communications. It derives from the French venez m'aider, meaning "come help me".

It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency primarily by mariners and aviators but in some countries local organizations such as police forces, firefighters, and transportation organizations may also use the term. The call is always given three times in a row ("Mayday Mayday Mayday") to prevent mistaking it for some similar-sounding phrase under noisy conditions, and to distinguish an actual Mayday call from a message about a Mayday call.

The Mayday call sign was originated in 1923 by Frederick Stanley Mockford (1897–1962). A senior radio officer at Croydon Airport in London, Mockford was asked to think of a word that would indicate distress and would easily be understood by all pilots and ground staff in an emergency. Since much of the traffic at the time was between Croydon and Le Bourget Airport in Paris, he proposed the word "Mayday" from the French m’aider, as mentioned above, which means "come help me." 

     Making a hoax mayday call is a criminal act in many countries because of the danger to the rescuers' lives that a search-and-rescue operation can create, the potential for real emergencies elsewhere, as well as the very high costs of such rescue efforts. 



For example, making a false distress call in the United States is a federal crime carrying sanctions of up to six years imprisonment, and a fine of $250,000. The coast guard can be contacted in situations that are not emergencies (out of fuel, etc.) by calling "Coastguard, Coastguard, Coastguard, this is (name of vessel)", on VHF channel 16. In many countries special training and a license are required to use a mobile radio transmitter legally, although anyone may legally use one to summon help in a real emergency.

That's all for now...

                             Wishing you baskets of flowers, 
             and never having to use Mayday,Mayday, Mayday.

Visit me at my website

Longmont Library Festival 2015

"Where's Mom? She's not in there."

"I think she's at the Longmont Library Festival"

"Hope she gets home in time to feed us supper"

     Indeed, that's where I was.What a fun day. 

                 Thank you Longmont Library for including me.

                                My sister, Kathy, and I had a great time. 






Lots of nice and interesting folks stopped by to chat. The library volunteers made sure we found our tables, received a goody bag, (thank you), and they kept us supplied with plenty of bottled water and smiling faces.  



After the book signing, there was a meet and greet, with the best punch I've had in a long time, and a gorgeous yummy cake. 

 I reconnected with authors I'd met the year before, and chatted with new authors learning about their genres, and discovering a few new local author groups. 

                                    It was a memorable day.

www.ginirifkin.com

25% sale #AReBlast

    


    All WILD ROSE PRESS BOOKS 25% off 
                at All Romance Ebooks.com 

allromanceebooks.com

Longmont Colorado Library Festival 2015

CELEBRATING READERS AND WRITERS

A full week of fun. 

Hope to see you on Saturday 4/18 at the author book signing. 

1pm to 3pm

                                     All events will happen at the 

Longmont Public Library, 409 Fourth Ave.

Saturday, April 11, 6 to 9 p.m.: Teen Second Saturday with the Boulder County Bombers. Featuring pizza, games and demonstrations from the roller derby team

Sunday, April 12, 2 to 3 p.m.: Spanish dance program featuring guitarist Steve Mullins, percussionist Brett Bowen, and Flamenco dancer Maria Vazquez

Monday, April 13, 6 to 8:30 p.m.: Library anthology reading and signing

Tuesday, April 14, 1 p.m.: Illustration

demonstration with illustrator Dorothy Donahue

Wednesday, April 15, 11 a.m.:OneBook4Colorado Storytime Celebration with book giveaways and a magic show

Thursday April 16, 7p.m.: TaraShea Nesbit will read and discuss her new book, "The Wives of Los Alamos"

Saturday, April 18, 1 to 3 p.m.: Authors' Open House featuring Colorado authorsMore information:http://tinyurl.com/libraryfest

                               visit me at

TCRW Romancing the 8 April 2015

                   

     Welcome to TCRW Romancing the 8   

 blog hop for April 2015 

                        Today my eight sentences are from 

                              The Dragon and The Rose, 

    my adventurous romance set in the Medieval era, a time when magic still existed, and love could conquer a reluctant knight's heart.

****

  A monstrous wave tossed the tiny ship about with disinterested ease, and the windblown sea-spray added another layer of freezing mist to all that it touched. With a hand pale as death, Martanzia Verheire drew her sodden cloak closer about her shivering body. Now she was cold as well as afraid.

  Another breaker of grotesque proportions swept the listing craft upward, and for one breathless moment, the boat clung to the frothy

crest. Then the unseen pelagic hand relinquished its grip, and the floundering craft careened downward at a riotous angle.

 Clawing at the slippery surface, Martanzia fought to remain seated on the heaving deck. Her senses reeled and her stomach rebelled. 

   

   Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined sailing from Flanders to England would be such a dreadful ordeal.

kindle only $2.99 at AMAZON

 ****

Visit these authors today for more sneak peeks at great stories.

Denyse Bridger

Linda Carroll-Bradd

Darlene Fredette

****

                               The Dragon and The Rose

England 1100 A.D.

A Norman warrior—seeking land rather than love.

A Saxon good-faith hostage—seeking freedom and restitution.

     Sir Branoc Valtaigne, ordered to Northumbria By King William II, fights to keep peace along the Scottish border. A formidable battle-tested warrior, he honors his vows to God, king, and country, but a young woman’s smile may prove to be his undoing.

     Martanzia Verheire, tricked into standing as good faith hostage for Flanders, seeks freedom from castle Bamburgh and love from Sir Branoc. As she clings to the Celtic dragon statue given to her by her mother, she leads them all to the brink of an era where true magic will be gone forever, but where dreams can still come true.