July's Picks/The Necklace: 13 Women and the Experiment That Changed Their Lives

By Cheryl Jarvis and The Women of Jewelia

To many people, owning a diamond necklace may seem frivolous and also induce envy in many others. But what if you could change those feelings? What if you could change your life, your friends’ lives, and that of a community? Would that make owning it a little easier? Such is the question asked in “THE NECKLACE,” the story of thirteen friends and acquaintances that decide to share in the cost of a diamond necklace.

Several years ago, Jonell McLain saw a diamond necklace, valued at $37,000 in the window of a jewelry store in Ventura, California. At first, it inspired desire. Then she began to wonder why some luxuries were only for the few, why can’t something like this be shared by many? A few phone calls to some friends, a huge leap of faith, and about $1,000.00 later she and thirteen friends owned the diamond necklace.

But this story is about much more than a few California women wearing a piece of jewelry to the spa. It’s about women bonding, sharing their lives, and opening up to strangers and taking chances. It’s about giving someone’s daughter something special to wear on the most special day any woman could have, her wedding day. It’s also about creating a foundation for sharing and giving back to the community by hosting fund-raisers centered around Jewelia (the name they gave the necklace) and donating the money to worthy causes.

Time For Dessert! Decadent Champagne Cake
Ingredients
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup champagne
6 egg whites

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 10 inch round cake pan.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until very light and fluffy. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together, and then blend into creamed mixture alternately with champagne.
In a large clean bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into batter to lighten it, then fold in remaining egg whites. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

July's Picks/The Ghost and Mrs. McClure

The Haunted Bookshop Series
By Cleo Coyle, writing as Alice Kimberly

For mystery fans and the fans of those hard-boiled detective novels of the thirties and forties. THE GHOST AND MRS. McCLURE, the first book in the THE HAUNTED BOOKSHOP series, introduces you to bookshop owner Penelope Thornton-McClure and the ghost of hard-boiled 1940’s detective, Jack Shepard.

When widow Penny decides to take her late husband’s small life insurance policy and move herself and her young son back to her small Rhode Island hometown to invest in her aunt’s failing bookstore, she most certainly did not believe in ghosts. At the bookstore’s first author event the guest of honor, a best-selling author who coincidentally wrote crime stories based on the real-life Jack Shepard, drops dead. Penny is the main suspect. But suddenly, there’s a deep voice inside her head saying “No way!” and she sees the shadow of a fedora wearing man. Is this a figment of her imagination or could this 1940’s era detective with the “acres of shoulders” really be talking to her and no one else? With the “help” of Jack, and her friends, Penny eventually solves the mystery. Along the way she also finds out that Jack’s last case ended in his death in her bookstore and he’s been forced to spend eternity in a small town far from his former stomping grounds of post
WWII New York.

Cooking Up A Treat! Killer Cheese Dip (HOT)
A Hot Spicy Party Cheese Dip known to make women faint, strong men cry and small children fun for their mommies.Makes 18 oz of dip
11 oz Cheese Soup (one can of condensed cheese soup)
4 oz Chopped Green Chilies ( use Old El Paso canned chillies)
1 Medium Yellow Onion, chopped
1 tbsp Crushed Red Pepper
1 tbsp Chili Powder
1 tbsp Cumin1 Garlic Clove, crushed
1/4 tsp Hot Sauce (Tabasco sauce or hot pepper sauce)
8 oz Sour Cream
Mix together all ingredients except the sour cream; heat to boiling at low heat.When blended, correct seasoning (usually needs more cumin and garlic)Add sour cream and heat until it bubbles slightly. Serve with Tostitos or any natural Mexican-style corn chip.