Settling Back Into Normal…

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It was a much more involved season of celebrations for us this year. Our daughter was in town over Thanksgiving and we had two 12-13 people dinners in one week at our house. Then Christmas came, with my sister in … Continue reading →

Crafting, Anyone?

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It’s been a busy month for me, promoting Rudy’s Heart, my newest romance. It’s also been a crafty month, and I’ve found that a lot of crafts require group effort. At the very least, it’s more fun with a group, … Continue reading →

Holidays…

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For the first time in several years, my husband and I hosted Thanksgiving at our house. It was small by our family’s standards, with eight people total. However, we all fit at the table and I didn’t have to rearrange … Continue reading →

Welcome to My November

Jillian here. I hate to say my life is dull compared to some of you. Laurie with her cider making, Jane with her bike/car adventures, Lavada with her hidden state treasures visits, Kit’s gardening and Tricia’s trip all sound so much fun. I’m here trudging along with the day to day grind. Working the day job and writing on a new story for NaNoWriMo on my lunch hour and at home in the evenings. I was supposed to go to New York City in October but my traveling companion had an emergency arise with her mother in law so we postponed.

My older son is in for a visit this weekend so that’s a very nice thing. He’s always a pleasure to be around. We both have long been Liverpool football fans and usually both watch the matches and text each other while they are being played. This week, at 6:30 am central time, we’ll be up and watching in the same room for the first time in ages. Looking forward to it.

I have a new Christmas anthology out that was a lot of fun to write. I am working on this NaNo story that’s a pretty heavy subject matter and is much slower going as the level of angst is pretty deep. My inspiration for the story is the true experiences of Oney Judge. She was a slave owned by George Washington. She escaped and he never freed her -even after his death, so she technically died a slave even though she’d been living in a free state for years at the time she passed away.

The law in Pennsylvania at the time George was president was that if a slave lived there for six months, that slave became free. A lot of owners removed their slaves just before the time ran—even for a day or two—as that act would start the six months running again. George did the same thing.  It was a shameful time in our history and I’m tackling it in this story. It’s clearly not a romance though she does eventually find happiness as the true life lady did. It’s difficult to write how the slaves were treated as less than human. I can only hope I’m doing them justice.

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate. And bless the families who lost loved ones in WWI as we come up on Veterans Day and the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day. Would that their sacrifices in the War to end all Wars had been true.

Growing Older is…Fun!

One of the fun things about growing older is that you have a lot of memories about celebrations. Thanksgiving, for instance. I grew up going to my Grandma and Grampa’s house. Now, I’m one of five children. My Grandma and Grampa had eleven children. So I’ve got a few cousins. And that house was chaos every Thanksgiving. Wonderful, crazy, memory-filled chaos. This picture is just one of the tables. There were, if I recall, four or five to fit us all in. During the day, we kids would play in the bedrooms and attic upstairs. Hide and Seek or whatever we could invent. After dinner, Grampa got out the projector and we all snickered and laughed at each other as he showed family slides.

I’m the one peeking out from behind my Aunt Irene in the red. My mother is sitting across the table from me, in black.

Once I began having kids of my own, we had our own Thanksgivings. With our children, inviting our parents, family, and friends. Tables set for as low as seven and as many as eighteen. Each year as much fun as the last.

Now, as a parent of five and grandparent of eight, the baton has officially been passed. Oh, we’ve been mooching, er, getting invited to our children’s houses, or our siblings houses, for a few years. But this year was a first. We were invited to our grandson’s house. Wow.

It was small by our family’s standards, only eight of us. But that meant we actually got a chance to talk, instead of flying by with rolls or mashing potatoes over a story. It was one of the nicest holidays I’ve had. And the best part is the two pictures below. My grandson baked and brought a pumpkin pie to Thanksgiving at our house when he was a teenager. This year, I returned the favor, bringing pies to his house. Full circle.

Our children are fairly spread out and we’ve decided to start traveling for as long as we’re able, spending Thanksgivings with them each in turn (if the weather permits.) So I know there are more fun holidays in store.

If you celebrated Thanksgiving, I hope the dinner was great and the conversation lively. If you didn’t, at least you didn’t gain the weight the rest of us did!  And my wish to you all is a holiday season filled with love and peace and laughter.

Happy American Thanksgiving (11/23/17)
Happy Hanukkah (12/12-20/17)
Merry Christmas (12/25/17)
Happy Kwanzaa (12/26/17-1/1/18)

And a very safe and hope-filled New Year (1/1/18)
Laurie Ryan and family

For more information about Laurie Ryan:
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Turkey Stuffing Makes Me Cry by Valerie J. Patterson

Who knew?  I mean it’s not something that’s ever happened before.  I had no idea that stuffing and I were so close it could make me cry.  But it did.  In a very big way.  And I was caught unaware right there in the aisle of the grocery store.  Unaware and unprepared for the force of emotions that washed over me and left me sobbing and left my husband bewildered.

It was a very innocent trip to the store to stock up for Thanksgiving dinner.  Had everything in the cart and turned down the aisle with the bread crumbs and the premixed stuffing selections and the seasonings.  I looked up at the canister of bread crumbs and instantly, tears began to stream down my face as I choked back sobs.  Steve came beside me, placed a hand on my back and rubbed gentle little circles between my shoulder blades.

“What’s wrong?”

“S-s-stuffing…”

“I don’t understand.  What happened?”

“I saw the bread crumbs and it reminded me of my mom.”

“Okay…”

My mom passed away October 20th, and I’m in that phase of mourning where just seeing something or hearing something brings a flood of tears.  Mornings are the worst for me.  I’ll be getting ready for work, see the time on the clock and break down.  But stuffing caught me off guard.

From the time I was old enough to wield a knife, I sat in the kitchen with my mom and dad and–while they did other things–I chopped onion and celery into microscopic slivers for my mom’s homemade turkey stuffing.  Mom liked the flavor of both in her stuffing but hated biting into chunks of either one.  After I got married and moved away, my dad took over my dicing duties unless by some stroke of luck we arrived early enough for me to do the honor.

It’s been many years since I last chopped any onion or celery in my mom’s kitchen, which is why I was taken aback when, right there in the aisle, I was overtaken with emotion.  I guess I just never expected a canister of bread crumbs to affect me in quite a personal way.

Mom was an excellent cook.  She was the best friend I never expected, but was blessed to have.  She was strength and grace and beauty and charm.  She was warm and funny and loving and tough.  She was heart and soul and faith and light.  She was generous and giving and sympathetic and compassionate.  She and my dad were active participants in my life and I have equal parts of both of them inside of me–of the person I am.  And because of all of that, stuffing can make me cry!

I miss my mom.  I will miss her for the rest of my life, but we will meet again, and what a reunion that will be!

2016 has been a year of hard knocks and loss, but it has also been a year of great blessing, and I have much to be thankful for.  And I am indeed thankful.

Until next time, may you always be able to see the blessings in your life and may the memories you share add flavor to your days!

Memories: the Foundation of our Present and Future

I’m a day late with my blog, which means I need to make it a super special blog, right? So here is the picture that is my inspiration when I sit down to write stories, romance or otherwise.

This is my Aunt’s wedding picture and I have been in love with it ever since I first saw it. To me, this speaks of happiness and family.  It is the perfect vision of the happiness of a wedding day, but is also so much about family.

My aunt is standing with her four sisters, in bridesmaid dresses hand-sewn by my grandmother.

My Grandma and Grandpa had eleven children. (I can’t even imagine that these days.) She raised them all pretty much single-handedly, because my grandfather traveled for months at a time working for companies who build dams all over the world. And she did an amazing job.

I have such fond memories of my grandparents, who lived close to us. Especially Thanksgivings spent at their house, where year after year we all gathered. Sisters, brothers, cousins, the whole lot of us. Tables would be hobbled together end to end through the living and dining rooms for a sit down dinner (with about 40 attending). Before dinner, we kids had the run of the upstairs. Hide-an-seek was the game of the day. Or games.

Dinner always included Grandma’s homemade rolls, which no one ever managed to duplicate after her death. I guess it was the special brand of love she infused them with.

After dinner, Grandpa would set up the projector and show pictures, mostly so we kids could laugh and tease each other.

It was a time of togetherness and love that has been the foundation of my life ever since. And I see that when I look at the happiness and love of these sisters.

I hope you all have memories, Thanksgiving or otherwise, that can make you smile each time you think of them. I am very, very grateful for mine.

Happy Thanksgiving month!

 

 

 

 

Spring Has Sprung…Babies are in Bloom!! by Valerie J. Patterson

I guess a long winter can be good for many things.  When the weather is harsh, the wind is stinging, and roads are icy there are so many activities you can get caught up on.

There’s knitting or crocheting a blanket.  Making your way through your To Be Read pile.  Shampooing your carpets.  Sorting through your closets.  And, of course, shoveling all that fluffy snow!

Oh, and there’s building snowmen or snowwomen or snowbears!

You can settle in for some serious movie watching–the classics or new releases.  Your pick.  How about making those fabulous recipes you’ve clipped from magazines or newspapers and stored in your recipe file just knowing you’d eventually make them and wow the family with your gourmet finesse?

Of course, there’s also cuddle time on the sofa with the love of your life.  There’re lazy naps on winter-gray weekend afternoons.  And there’s making a pot of your favorite soup and enjoying it with a freshly baked loaf of bread.  A kettle of tea.  A mug of hot cocoa.

Or, you could be like two of my nieces and participate in an activity that will bless our family with two beautiful wee ones just in time for Thanksgiving!!  Two of my little sister’s girls will give her grandbabies this November!  Who said nothing good comes from 14 inches of snow?

From now until Thanksgiving, I expect that I will be busy shopping!

Until next time, may the flowers that bloom in your garden color your life with joy!

At long last, below is a picture of my Paint & Praise painting.  It’s called The Spirit Tree, and I so enjoyed painting it!

Being Thankful

Tomorrow, it’s Thanksgiving Day here in the U.S. So today, I thought I’d talk about a great program that my husband and I help out with. It’s a local meals program. You know, we all give money as we are able to the charities that are important to us. But I’m sure most of you also know the feeling of giving locally, giving in person, giving when you can SEE the results.

That’s what this meals program is like. Five nights a week in our town, folks who need a little help can get a home-cooked meal for free. Some of these people are homeless, some simply can’t afford both rent and food. Some are single, some are families with children. The circumstance doesn’t matter.

Helping to make certain they have a decent meal, though, is the best feeling in the world. The group hubby and I help with, we’ve been together for 7 or 8 years now. We started off with once a month, now we do a night every other month because there are so many organizations helping out.

And the program is run by an amazing woman. Hannah is there every night. She knows us, and she knows these people. After everyone’s been served, she’ll slip us a to-go container to be filled, then hand it to a family of four to take home. She makes the men, well, everyone, actually, take off their hats when they come in, demands polite behavior, and isn’t afraid to tell someone being disruptive to leave. Each and every day, she stumps for handouts at local stores. Day-olds that would be tossed become the rolls or cupcakes handed out with the casseroles, meats, potatoes, vegetables, salad, milk, and juice.

Both hubby and I are awed by Hannah’s single-minded determination. And we are so grateful to be part of this process. We may be helping others, but we get so much more than we give, it seems. A smile here, a hug there. It’s awesome to be part of this local tradition.

So we give thanks to Hannah and her meals program. And we wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving Day tomorrow. For those of you not celebrating this holiday, enjoy the quiet e-waves. The rest of us will be in turkey/tryptophan-induced comas. 🙂

Family Thanksgiving Dessert Tradition

My husband’s family has this dessert as a family tradition – one of my sisters in law always makes sure we have this on hand.  It’s absolutely divine so I thought I’d share it this week before Thanksgiving. Happy Turkey Day to all who celebrate.

Four Layer Delight

Layer 1: 1 cup flour, 1 stick oleo melted, ½ cup crushed pecans

put in 9×13 pan and cook at 375 for 15 mins. Let cool

Layer 2: 8 oz cream cheese softened, 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 cup cool whip

spread over layer one after cooled

Layer 3: 3 small pkgs instant chocolate pudding mixed with 4.5 cups of milk.

pour on as 3rd layer

Layer 4: rest of cool whip and crushed nuts on top