Linda's Sunflower

Karen Bloom and her doctor husband, Noel, are parents to a blended family: Noel has a daughter, Verity, from his first marriage. Karen has a son, Ewan, whose father she won't identify. Together, they have a daughter, Bronte. Each of them are hiding secrets. Noel abuses alcohol and sleeps around on his wife. Karen is one of those overbearing moms who pushes Bronte to do more and more. Early in the book, Bronte disappears for 24 hours. Where did she go? Was she kidnapped? She returns home, but keeps silent about what happened..Verity had a violent incident with her stepmother so she is in counseling. Last, but not least, is Ewan, who abuses drugs. When there is a murder, everyone is a suspect. This book highlights what can happen when parents are pushing their children too hard. Thought provoking.

Veterinarian Jade Johnson comes home after breaking up with her boyfriend (who turns into somewhat of a stalker). She's always had her eye on Rex Braden, the son of a neighboring rancher. However, her dad and Rex's dad are feuding, and have been for years. After sparks fly between Jade and Rex, they must decide how to approach their families and end the feud. Rex's late mother plays a part in the outcome of the book. I really appreciated how the main characters felt, and that they didn't want to upset their fathers. Enjoyed how this one turned out.

By Barbara Nickless Publisher: Thomas & Mercer Expected Publication Date: October 1, 2016 Genre: Mystery/suspense From the back cover: "A sadistic murder draws a war-haunted cop into the deadly world of a rail-riding gang." My review: Sydney Rose Parnell, a special agent for the railroad police, is suffering from PTSD after her time in the war. So when she is drawn into a murder mystery, the ghosts that haunt her appear more and more often. She is looking for the murderer of a young lady who helped the homeless. With the help of her K9 companion, Clyde, who is also a war veteran; she sets out to solve the crime. There are a lot of twists and turns along the way. I loved Sydney's strength and determination, even though she had bouts of mental fragility from the war. Who wouldn't? I highly recommend this author's first book.

4 Stars Yasmin Evans, fired (for having an affair with a double agent) from Interpol, ends up working for the CIA. She is tasked with finding deadly vials of a biological weapon that could cause mass destruction. To do this, she must infiltrate a Saudi palace. Along to help her is Navy SEAL, Ben, nicknamed "Big Bird". Tall and handsome, she becomes attracted to him. Will their growing attraction threaten their plan? Along with 2 other SEALS, they work together to save the world.  I enjoyed this book, though it was rather short and a quick read. I liked Yasmin, who was just the right amount of tough. Strong character. Thank you to Netgalley for giving me this e-book in exchange for my honest review

4 Stars Zoe Harper is competing in a televised cooking competition. Her competitors are mostly likable, except for Cher, who wants to win the competition so it will lead to modeling and/or acting. At the very beginning of the book, Zoe meets one of the judges, Gideon Irving. It's an interesting meeting, and the sparks fly almost immediately. It took me a while to get into the British writing, but once I did, it was smooth sailing. What I liked about the book was Zoe's sweet personality. She helped many people along the way, and for the most part had a smile on her face. In fact, she was almost too nice, because I would have kicked Cher to the curb, more than once. Not posting any spoilers about her relationship with Gideon, but this was quite an enjoyable book. Thank you to Netgalley for giving me this e-book in exchange for my honest review.

It was announced today that the Wichita Eagle building is under contract.  Brandon Steven, Dave Burk and Dave Wells are the buyers. Who knows what they will do. They may tear down the building and they may remodel. Either way, it's a sad day for me. I've been going to this building 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year (minus vacations & maternity leave), for almost 40 years. They say it will be about a year before the property changes hands. We have to find a new location in the downtown area. Bittersweet, but hoping we find some cool new digs!

I've worked at the local newspaper for 39+ years. I've lived on East Douglas longer than anywhere else in my life. So it was sad news a few weeks ago when it was announced that we would soon be printing the paper in Kansas City. And selling our building. And moving to another location downtown. We'll begin this process in late May, though none of us know how soon the building will sell. I've seen a lot of changes in the newspaper industry over the years, so on to the next chapter. As much as a new, fun, cool building excites me, I'm going to miss the building that I grew up in. That supported me as a young adult, then a married adult, then a married adult with children. And now I have a daughter who works in the same building. Bittersweet times.

I've been a Barry Manilow fan since 1975. That was the year that his first single, Mandy, came out. I remember going to see him at Century II that year. Mandy was such a big hit, I figured, why not go check him out. He was tall, skinny, and how should I put this? Geeky, I guess. But there was something about him. He had charisma. The concert was great. I remember leaving the concert hall thinking "this guy is going to be a star". And boy did he! The next time I saw him was in the early 80's. I'd have to dig out my old scrapbook with ticket stubs to find the exact date. This was after I met my best friend, now for about 37 or 38 years, Melody. We didn't know each other in 1975, but we were both at that concert at Century II, and we both knew he would be a star. Barry had a song on the album "This One's For You" that resonated with both Melody and I. It was ALL THE TIME. Here are some of the lyrics: All the time I thought there's only me...

Life changed dramatically for my sister, Rhonda, last week. Having been in the hospital (various locations) since June, she was moved to Good Samaritan Care Center in Dodge City. Unfortunately, no local facilities could handle the care she needs. Our choices were Dodge City or Highland. Highland is about 3.5-4 hours away, northwest of KC; so we opted for Dodge City. Melody and I went for a visit on the 7th, and were impressed with the facility and the staff. It's not new and it's not fancy, but they have everything they need to work with Rhonda on improving her health, both mental and physical. The only negative thing is the distance. She was successfully moved last Thursday, and Marilyn, Kaitlin and I went for a visit on Saturday. She was very tired, as the previous two days were pretty tough. With her mental health, change is hard for her. We're hoping she can settle in, and plan on visiting her in a couple of weeks.

I vowed to do a better job posting on my blog. I haven't succeeded at doing that. Still so much going on. My sister, Rhonda, is still in the hospital at St. Joseph Behavioral Health Center. Suffice it to say she's struggling with major depression which has caused mental issues. We're still not sure where things will go from here. Brandon moved to Dallas on Monday. We will miss seeing him every Sunday, since he would come over for a home-cooked meal. However, Kaitlin and I have a Dallas trip already scheduled. We leave Friday night, Oct. 23rd, and will come home on Sunday, the 25th. I think Melody and Marilyn may go with us. Royals won today, tying the ALCS with Houston at 1-1. They go to Houston now for two games (first one on Sunday). Let's hope they come out of there with at least one win! Would be fun to win it in KC!

The boys are hanging out in Dallas. Brandon is moving there for his job. Sounds like he found an apartment and will be moving in the next month. BOO! I want all my kids to live in Wichita, but alas, it's not to be. Now Kaleb will be in KC, Brandon will be in Dallas, and Kaitlin is moving home. At least they don't live so far away that we can't visit for a weekend. Did some shopping at Target and Dillons this morning, then came home and spent the day watching TV and relaxing. Watched a few episodes of NCIS, and then watched the summer finale of Rizzoli and Isles. Watched last week's episode of The Last Ship, preparing for the season finale tomorrow night. Now we're watching the Royals. Enjoying this 3 day holiday weekend!

My younger sister, Marilyn, and I have a meeting with my older sister's doctor and social worker tomorrow. Looks like we will be deciding where Rhonda will go from St. Joseph Senior Behavioral Health Center. I'm guessing she will go into full nursing care, with an outside change at going to assisted living. Just hope she is able to enjoy her life to some degree.

I set the bar too high this year on my book challenge. Way too high. Especially considering I was working on a huge 9 month project at work. So here it is, August 27, and I've only read 39 of the 85 books I challenged myself with. Obviously, I'm not going to be able to read 46 books in 4 months. Well, I could if they were 100 pages each! I think I'll lower my goal to 55. 16 books in 4 months? Can it be done? I guess we'll have to wait and see!

since I posted on this blog. Are blogs dead? Or do people just spend too much time on Facebook and Twitter? I'm guilty of both I guess. A lot has happened in the past year. Last November I was sent to Florida with 4 co-workers to begin the process of building/creating a new advertising system. I'd been through this before, 3 years ago, when the project was put on hold after 4 months. This time, we worked our butts off, and sailed through a couple of audits. We were able to skip audit #3 because of our hard work, and we went live the first of August. There have been a few bumps along the way, but overall it was a successful go-live. In the midst of the project, my sister Rhonda became ill. She has spent the last 10 weeks either in the hospital or rehab. At this point, it looks like she may have to go into full nursing care. My siblings and I are in the process of deciding what to do with her apartment, her cats, and her belongings. Tough decisions ahead. I'll keep this...

I read 7 books in March: 1) Reversible Error - Robert K. Tanenbaum (paperback) 2) Desperate - Daniel Palmer (ARC) 3) The Chance - Robyn Carr (Kindle) 4) Evening Stars - Susan Mallery (Kindle) 5) The Good Sister - Wendy Corsi Staub (Kindle) 6) NYPD Red - James Patterson w/Marshall Karp (Kindle) 7) Meant To Be - Terri Osburn (Kindle) Reversible Error was the first Tanenbaum book I've read, but it won't be the last. Margaret, a friend from work, loaned me the book. We are both bookaholics, and she's read most of his books. I quickly downloaded No Lesser Plea on my Kindle, but unfortunately I have a lot of books to read before I get to it. Daniel Palmer's book was amazing. I really love the way he writes.  He always keeps me on the edge of my seat! I'm so glad I got to know about him from his father, the late Michael Palmer. I am now part of Daniel's street crew, and I received this ARC in return for an honest review. Enjoyed Carr and Mallery's boo...

The Wichita State Shockers ended the season with 35 wins and one loss. Unbelievable! Who would have thought at the beginning of the season that they would go through the season, through the Missouri Valley Conference tournament and on to the NCAA tournament with NO losses? No one! And no other team in history has done this. Then, the powers that be who determine the brackets, sent the Shockers to the toughest bracket in the tournament. I am so, so proud of the way the Shockers played their second game against Kentucky, a powerhouse with six players destined to be NBA players in the next year or two. The game went down to the wire, and we lost by 2 points when our three point shot at the end of the game went wide. The Shockers should not hang their heads. They should be proud of the amazing season that invigorated the community. The season that brought Wichitans together. The season that will live forever in history. BE PROUD, SHOCKERS! Because the state of Kansas is so proud of...

Finished "The Chance" by Robyn Carr today. Really enjoyed it. Now on to a new Susan Mallery book. Back to work tomorrow after a vacation day spent with Kaleb.

Took the day off to spend with Kaleb while he's home on spring break. We made a trip to Kansas Star Casino. I lost, he won. We had fun!

It's hard to keep up with a blog when you're on Facebook and Twitter, but I'm going to try... As an avid book reader, I'm a bit behind on my goal for the year. JANUARY 2014: Miracle Road - Emily March (Kindle) A Change of Heart - Barbara Longley (Kindle) Doctor Sleep - Stephen King (hardback) Fearless Fourteen - Janet Evanovich (paperback) A Cold Creek Christmas Surprise - RaeAnne Thayne (Kindle) Finger Lickin' Fifteen - Janet Evanovich (paperback) Seaview Inn - Sheryyl Woods (Kindle) FEBRUARY 2014: Home to Seaview Key - Sheryyl Woods (Kindle) Sizzling Sixteen - Janet Evanovich (Kindle) Fear Nothing - Lisa Gardner (Kindle) Come Home to Me - Brenda Novak (Kindle-ARC) Single by Saturday - Catherine Bybee (Kindle) Smokin' Seventeen - Janet Evanovich (Kindle) Perfect Together - Carly Phillips (Kindle) Loved the Sheryyl Woods books, and Fear Nothing by Lisa Gardner was one of her best! Love Brenda Novak, and enjoyed reading the ARC of her new bo...