Photo Challenge, Week 20: Looking Up

This week sure flew by quickly! It's time for another post in the weekly photo challenge and this week's prompt from Sally at The Studio Sublime was Looking Up.

We tend to always be looking forward to the future.

We set our sites on the world in front of us and sometimes rely on "tunnel vision" to get to our goals.  Don't get me wrong, looking forward is a great way to achieve your goals, but sometimes looking at your world one way can lead to creative gridlock and if we just change our perspective a tiny bit a whole new avenue of ideas may open up!

This week let's change our perspective and look up! 

There is a whole world above us that we sometimes miss seeing because we simply forget to look up.

My skies lately look a lot like this:

So there is not much to see up...

I spend a lot of time looking up actually as I adore looking at the mountains that surround me. I feel comforted by them but when I read this prompt I felt that I should post a photo from a time I was forced to look up.

We had  a HUGE gust of wind and it blew the skylight right off of the yurt. I was sitting at the computer and felt this WHOOOOOSH. I looked UP.

Uhm, we have a problem!
I called the hubby and he came home and set about at least covering the hole. It has a 6' diameter.

He had help.
Anything we do around here gets help.

I should mention that he is up about 18'.
Harry the Farm cat is fearless and he LOVES to climb ladders.

It's never dull around here.
I truly hope I never have to look UP for this again.
Although that is the view I have when I look up and out the skylight when it is ON the yurt.
It is also especially beautiful when the full moon passes overhead when it is in line with the skylight.

Be sure to check out all of the other UPlifting photos at The Studio Sublime!

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Strawberry Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream - Recipe

I was lucky enough this year to have a lot of strawberries to play with - I usually only get enough to make a batch of jam or two and some to eat and that's that. But this year I was able to make my very first strawberry pie.

It won't be my last.....

This was a new crust recipe for me and it made the best crust I've had on a pie in a long, long time so I'd say it's a keeper!

It was so very easy to make and really, really delicious! I've included the ingredients and directions for making the goat's milk ice cream within the widget. You can substitute cow's milk - just be sure the milk is full fat.

Take 6 ounces of the ugliest strawberries and puree them in the food processor (1 1/2 cups). Whisk together the cornstarch and salt in a saucepan and add the berry puree. Bring to a full boil stirring constantly to avoid burning.

Cook for two minutes and remove from heat. Stir in the lemon juice. Cool to room temperature.

Cut the remaining berries into bite sized chunks.

Stir in the thickened puree and gently mix.

Scoop into the cooled pie shell and arrange nicely.

This was so good it did not last long around here.

I served it with a scoop of the vanilla goat's milk ice cream and some chopped chocolate chips on top.
Mmmmmmm.

I love strawberry pie!

A Prince to be Feared by Mary Lancaster - Blog Tour and eBook Giveaway #PrinceToBeFearedTour

I am very pleased to offer an ecopy of A Prince to be Feared by Mary Lancaster for giveaway today as part of her Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour.

About the Book:

Publication Month: April 2013
eBook; 343p
ISBN: 978-0-9573016-8-9

Europe’s most fearsome prisoner, Vlad Dracula, gifted military commander and one time Prince of Wallachia, the notorious Lord Impaler himself, is about to be released after twelve long years, in order to hold back the tide of Ottoman aggression. The price of his new alliance with his Hungarian captors is the king’s cousin Ilona.

Ilona does not wish to be married. In particular, she doesn’t wish to marry Vlad. Gentle, faded and impossibly vague, Ilona is hardly fit for court life, let alone for dealing with so difficult a husband.

But Ilona’s wishes have nothing to do with Vlad’s reputation and everything to do with a lifelong love affair that finally broke her. Ilona’s family blame Vlad; Vlad vows to discover the truth and sets out by unconventional means to bring back the woman who once enchanted him. Among court intrigues, international manoeuvrings and political deceptions, Vlad reveals himself more victim than villain. But he’s still more than capable of reclaiming his lost rights to both Wallachia and Ilona; and Ilona, when it counts, has enough strength for them both.

About the Author:

Mary Lancaster’s first love was historical fiction. Since then she has grown to love coffee, chocolate, red wine and black and white films – simulateneously where possible. She hates housework.

As a direct consequence of the first love, she studied history at St. Andrews University, after which she worked variously as editorial assistant, researcher and librarian. Although she has always written stories for her own entertainment, she began to make serious efforts toward publication in order to distract herself from a job she disliked. She now writes full time at her seaside home in Scotland, which she shares with her husband and three children.

Mary is the author of three historical novels: An Endless Exile – the story of Hereward, 11th century outlaw hero, A World to Win – a Scottish governess finds love in revolutionary Hungary and A Prince to be Feared: the love story of Vlad Dracula.

You can find more information on Mary Lancaster and her novels at her website. You can also connect with her on Facebook.

You can see the A Prince to be Feared Tour Schedule

You can purchase A Prince to be Feared for Kindle on Amazon.com

The Giveaway:

One lucky reader (open INT) will win an ecopy of A Prince to be Feared. How do you win? It's easy! Just hop on the Rafflecopter. Good luck everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclosure:  I received no compensation for this post.