Hopewell Takes On LIFE!

Fun Links: Cool Organizing Ideas

2012-02-09T14:45:00.011-05:00

I love it when I find new, simple, useful organizing ideas! I hit a new mother lode today by finding a new-to-me organizing blog, The Imperfect Home, which was FULL of great ideas both her own and those from other blogs.

How to organize a teenage girl? Here are two great ideas!

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DIY Magnetic Make Up Storage Board I think this is SUPER especially since B has such a small bedroom! I wonder though if the person who made it has never heard of magnetic tape for the heavier items or of cutting those ubiquitous business card magnets and gluing them on?

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Who'd have thought? So obvious it rates a loud DUH! and a sharp smack to the forehead, but how about a Carbiner Clip to hold hair bands??? Cool!

Now, how about a great KITCHEN ORGANIZING IDEA??

How's that for a clever way to store your measuring spoons and measuring cups??? Another obvious solution, but, be honest, did you think to do this? Neither did I, but I just might do it if they have cheap teeny-tiny Command hooks!

LABEL, LABEL, LABEL!!!!!

They are hard to see in the photo above, but Better Homes & Gardens has free printable labels that are great for pantry items! They are customizable and are available in different sizes and shapes.

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What a nifty idea! Chalk Board paint labels!!!

Want to learn more cool stuff?
Read my review of the new book All in Good Time which has all kinds of great ideas in it for all areas of life in your house!

All in Good Time!!!

2012-02-09T12:52:00.005-05:00

All in Good Time is actually FUN to read! I found myself saying "wow" and "who'd have thought...." and even taking a few notes--that's how helpful it is. Need to talk to a human at some company? See pages 150-151. Best time to get a deal on a vacuum cleaner? Try page 135. Don't want lice? Page 218. This is the book for exactly what the subtitle promises: "When to Save, Stock Up, and Schedule Everything for Your Home." And, like Laura's great book Clutter Rehab: 101 Tips and Tricks to Become an Organization Junkie and Love it, as well as like The Stocked Kitchen, this book would make an AWESOME first apartment housewarming gift or a great alternative to traditional Bridal Shower or Wedding gifts. If you enjoy looking at the Tightwad Gazette books or at "How Things Work"-type books or just have a passion for getting to grips with life, you'll LOVE this book!!!

All in Good Time: When to Save, Stock Up, and Schedule Everything for Your Home by Tara Kuczykowski and Mandi Ehman

Congratulations, Ma'am!

2012-02-06T17:36:00.003-05:00

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60 years ago today, Elizabeth II became Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (as it is known today). Well done, Ma'am!

Even though I'm an American, and glad I don't pay for them, I still admire Her Majesty for her dedication and devotion to duty. Be honest now, how many of us would keep the same job for 60 years??

Just like the rest of us, she can't pick her family. Good thing she has all those cute corgis, devoted Labrador Retrievers and sweet horses to dote on. Now if one son could step out of the Edwardian era, another get off the tax payers planes and the third grow up and live in a reasonably sized home the poor lady might have some peace! Thank heavens she has a sensible, non-nonsense daughter and some grandchildren who understand the real world!

Thank heavens, too, that Price Philip is still beside here. Diana only thought she had a "rock." Elizabeth could take out a patent.

Menu Plan Monday: Jamie Oliver edition!

2012-02-06T11:36:00.004-05:00

I'm still trying things from the Stocked Kitchen, but this week I'm also trying a few from this Jamie Oliver cookbook: (Sorry I thought the index/table of contents would be online for this book, but it isn't)

From "The Stocked Kitchen," we recently tried the "Greek Burgers." While we love any form of gyros type sandwich, this one had a weird flavor from the cinnamon included in the spices. If I'd left that out we'd have loved it. With it in......it only rated a 1 on our scale of 1 being "blech...." and 5 being "love it! ...make it again!"
Sunday--we skipped dinner and everyone just grabbed something when they got hungry. Very late lunch!

Monday: Jamie Oliver fish (supposed to be scallops but I'm allergic to them), rice and greens

Tuesday: Baked Potato Bar, Blueberry Smoothies

Wednesday: Cheeseburger Chowder (this recipe minus Velveeta--I use real cheddar)

Thursday: Jamie Oliver Asian noodles with beef and veggies with Pina Colada Smoothie (minus banana since we don't really like them)

Friday: Senior Night for Basketball & Cheer so who knows!

See all the menus this wee at I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday

It's the money, stupid! Part II: What I want retirement to be like

2012-02-02T10:06:00.004-05:00

You can read Part I here.

Kacie at Sense to Save challenged readers to decide what they want their retirement to be like. I'm so late in the game on this is a scary idea, but I've tackled it.

My retirement goals:

I want to live in a single family home and enjoy having pets and a garden.
I will continue to work out of necessity for as long as possible.
I may have to have (any/all) with me: aged mother, adult children and/or grandchildren.
I want to be able to help my kids if they, as adults, go back to college.

While many people are able to say "I want to quit working at 55 and travel," this isn't likely for me! I DO love to travel, but I did enough of that when I was young that I'm now content to stay home. There are still places I HOPE to see, but I won't die disappointed if that doesn't happen.

How I hope to make this happen:

Continue adjusting my 401(k) contribution until I reach 15% of my pay.
Open a Roth IRA and fund it as much as possible over the next 5 years.
Identify small income streams to fund IRA.
Apply all "found money" to retirement savings.
Get help choosing the right mix of funds, if necessary. (I've done research for such "advisers" for years so I'm pretty sure I can tackle most of it if I just face it head on!)

NOTE:I have not added "get a cheap mortgage and pay it off." I'm no where near ready for that again. Owning a house when you don't have several months income in savings for emergencies is crazy and a one way ticket to poverty--I know! Been there, done that! After two great houses bought cheap and sold at a profit, I got in over my head. Never again! Nor have I said "Pay for P. and B. to go to college at 18." That's not likely and I won't be borrowing for it since neither has a clear goal in mind or much motivation at this point. Later, perhaps.

Something New:

One thing you will be seeing here are a few "affiliate" links (all properly disclosed) to try to drum up a few more pennies toward retirement. You may even see links to my writing at other blogs or e-zines. These will not "solve" my retirement problem, but will be more "found money" to put towards the goal.

I will continue to chart this course publicly because I need accountability!

It's the money, stupid!

2012-01-31T12:52:00.011-05:00

Kacie, at Sense to Save, has been an inspiration to me since her blog began a few years ago. She's a very savvy young woman with "a good head on her shoulders" as my financially astute Grandmother would have said. She was the one who really got me to face my financial disaster: NO RETIREMENT SAVINGS. I've HAD very credible retirement savings over the course of my working life, but a bout of unemployment, a poor choice and the adoption of two kids left me with ZERO.

Organizing Your Way had a great post that also jarred me into reality: Evaluating Your Performance as a Home Manager. When I asked myself the question "would I hire me to manage our money?" the answer was harsh and to the point: NO.

The Family CEO (found money) and Crystal at Money Saving Mom (freebies, deals, good advice) and many others have provided advice and encouragement, too.

Ok, so, how do I solve the problem?

BABY STEPS

Several years ago, swamped with a house the realtor and bank said I could afford, but which I, in fact, could NOT afford, I found Dave Ramsey and have been trying to replug the financial common sense switch in my brain ever sense.

Getting Started with COMMON SENSE

First Step: We Moved. We were miserable in the "house from hell," so I found a much better job (more money, better benefits), let the horrible house go, moved to a different state for the new job and found a smaller, affordable rental a mile from my Mom (emotional support and parenting help).

WOW! What a difference!

But, honestly, not much else has changed and it's time to get really at it!

Second Step: Funding, then re-funding my Emergency Fund. Right now it's back down to rock bottom due to some car repairs. (It's been up to just over $2,000). This month I'm doing all I can to get it back to $200 (and eventually back to $1,000). Here's my strategy:

$50 cash from this paycheck (have quarterly trash payment this time so can't due usual $100)
$100 next paycheck
$59 work reimbursement for mileage ("found money")
$25 medical reimbursement ("found money")

Total = $234 + $42 (current balance) = $276 Emergency Fund by February 29.

But wait, there's MORE!!

I'm also going to use some other "Found Money"--the amounts I "saved" by using coupons and store rewards. (Mostly Kroger in-store rewards card savings). I've saved most of my grocery receipts so I'll add it all up and throw that in the Emergency Fund account, too.

Third Step: Track my spending and manage the bills. This is a no-brainer for financial types, but for me it's a panic attack in the making. I've faced it and found this great worksheet to use to track daily spending. I have one sheet at home, one in the car and one at work. I've also been keeping my grocery receipts. I still don't have a complete month, but I'm much closer now to knowing what's happening with the money each month. For the last few months I've been "mostly" using Dave Ramsey's Monthly Cash Flow forms and have a binder for my bills and bank statements that seems to be working out. And, I've faced another hurdle: I've printed my actual pay stubs and stopped at the ATM for a print-out of my account balances the morning after my check is directly deposited. This is HUGE for me. Nothing gives me anxiety like money!

Fourth Step: Create a liveable budget. I once fed us well on what Food Stamps would have supplied had we qualified. While I'm not really wanting to go THAT low, I do need to take a look at what we buy. Happily, food procurement and food optimization are two things I do to a CEO level! I've been working on the budget by reducing unnecessary phone bill items, finally figuring out the programmable thermostat, installing inexpensive insulated curtains that slashed our AC bill a miraculous amount and similar things.

Fifth Step: Upping my 401(k) contribution with each cost of living increase or raise. I'm now to 7% and will go to 8% next quarter to get the full employer match. I need to take a serious look at my fund allocations. As I turn 50 in a few weeks this is no laughing matter--I need to reach whatever "BEYOND Gazelle intensity" is! I also hope to use "found money" to save $2,000 to eventually open a Roth IRA within the next few years. (Tax Checks the next two years are dedicated to used cars and insurance for the kids.)

Sixth Step: Additional income. I'm not in the market for another job instead I'm just looking for extra income--freelance writing, Ebay sales, that sort of thing. Every penny will have to go to my retirement for a long time yet. Buying another home may happen someday only because it can be part of retirement "security," but it will be small and affordable.

Simplifying Life

Years ago I cut off cable t.v., internet, ridiculous cell phone contracts, eating out, credit cards, magazines or going to the Mall without a real "need" (and then only on sale!). So finding more things to "cut" is rough, but I'm trying.

More important than more little cuts is the fact that I've identified my main financial goal:
FUNDING MY RETIREMENT.
And, I've identified and begun taking the steps necessary to achieve my goal.

But, what about the kids college? Since neither is a very motivated student, I'm not really loosing sleep over this. My retirement will come first. That protects THEM most of all. The bills to put Mom in a home could leave them homeless!! But if later on they get serious I'd want to help them financially to get a degree. Right now--no. I was "sent" to college and played. I paid for graduate school myself and learned. If they are really determined they'll get a degree. They get free tuition thru my job, but the mandatory housing is $600 a month. Multiply that by the number of months in a semester and that's equivalent to a semester's tuition at our local community college! So, free isn't always "free." They can find part-time jobs and start college part-time to see if it's for them. If it is, we'll figure it out then. I have stressed often how silly it is to go into debt for anything short of medical school and do not plan to give in and take out student loans.

So, over the next many months I will be posting my progress as a form of accountability for me and to help anyone else who maybe in the same boat.

Menu Plan Monday: Too into Downtown Abbey to plan meals edition

2012-01-30T14:30:00.004-05:00

Poor Matthew! Poor William! Brave Daisy!! Icky Mrs. Bates!!! I'm obsessed with "Downton Abbey" and don't want to plan meals this week!! Good excuse for saying payday is TUESDAY, I'll probably grab stuff here and there until Friday night or Saturday when I can really grocery shop and, oh yes, I'm back to teaching two nights this week!! In other words HELP!!! What am I feeding the kids this week?? At least I got with it yesterday and fed us all with what was left and found enough for today.

Sunday:
Lunch: Potato Broccoli and Brown Rice Chowder
Diner: Pork Chops with Apples, Potatoes, Carrots and Kraut

Monday:
Crock-Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches
Pepperoni Pasta Salad
Fruit

Tuesday:
Mediteranian Tuna Melt
Salad
Fresh Fruit

Wednesday:
Chicken Enchilada Pasta
Ranch Coleslaw
fruit

Thursday
tba from The Stocked Kitchen

Friday
Homemade Pizza

The Stocked Kitchen update

2012-01-25T17:22:00.002-05:00

One a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being "blech" and 5 being "love it, make it again!" here's how this week's recipes have rated!

Chicken Fajitas 4
Black Bean Mandarin Orange Salsa 5
Roasted Red Pepper Dip 3 to 4 (differences of opinion on this one)
Black Bean Burgers 2 & 4 (nobody liked the corn in it--like it better on the side; my son feels cheated if there's no meat so he gave it a low score!)

What's on Your Nightstand New Year's Edition

2012-01-24T10:47:00.005-05:00

Not my best month for choosing books! I threw The Tiger's Wife back and should have done the same with the Cat's Table which went from a great story of a boy's adventure on an unaccompanied ocean voyage to a complete ship wreck of a book of RMS Titanic magnitude! I also wasted time on a "ho-hum" biography of Queen Elizabeth that added absolutely nothing to my knowledge of her and did nothing but string together quotes from other books--all of which I'd already read!

I love stories of immigrants and expats--both here and abroad. Lula, an Albanian who finds her first American "niche" taking care of a father and son whose wife/mother has fled is adopted by 3 fellow Albanians just as she is adopting the boy in her care into her own heart. There are funny moments, sweet moments and scary moments. The characters are not as real and fleshed-out as they could have been, but overall this is a nice story. My New American Life: A Novel by Francine Prose.

Another immigrant story! This time an after-the-war-"war"-bride Japanese wife of an American serviceman makes a life for herself in the America of the 1950s and beyond. The story is told with "help" from a "Guide" for such wives of the type that could have actually been distributed to wives leaving for the U.S.A. Shoko and her daughter Sue (and annoying granddaughter) are the main focus of the story as Shoko seeks to connect her present with her past. Most of the story is enjoyable. Why we needed a fertility shrine with a large-than-life ____ or why we needed to know what Shoko does to relieve the tedium of no love life is beyond me. The sledge hammer pounding the injustice of her present-day cousin's romance was way overwrought and came off as a gimmick--the product of a 20-something uber-PC editor. Ignore those and enjoy Shoko's story. How to Be An American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway.

This book is funny, sweet, gross and fascinating! Life in Maoist China took many odd turns and this little novel tells one part of that story. Two young men, city boys from "bourgeois" elitist homes (one the child of a doctor, the other a dentist's son) are sent to Phoenix Mountain for "re-education" by the proletariat peasants. Along the way their adventures are in turns funny and enlightening as well as typical to their age. It is their hunger for literature (books are banned) that keeps them sane. Wonderful little book that I will likely read again! Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie.

The novels above were all audio books I listened to on my commute. Most of my "print" reading was non-fiction, but even in that area I got almost nothing read! An exception is Jerrold M. Packard's Farewell in Splendor: The Passing of Queen Victoria and Her Age. I liked his earlier book, Victoria's Daughters much better although this book WAS interesting. What spoiled this book was not poor writing or abysmal research--both of those were fine.

It was the "tone." I felt like I was reading a history report by a very spoiled 15 year old boy whose only interest in the subject was to mock it and make cheap jokes. Constantly referring to the Queen's younger daughters as "The Petticoats" based on a cheap joke by courtiers Packard violates the rule I've taught my kids: "Once is funny, twice is obnoxious." You can SEE the smirk on his face as he typed this book. In spite of THAT, it is an interesting book. By now most royal watchers know that it was Lord Mountbatten's father (and who else could it have beeen? to use Packard's smirk-tone!) who saved the day at the funeral and established the now traditional use of Sailors to pull the gun carriage with the monarch's coffin instead of those unreliable horses! Kaiser Wilhelm looked good for a change, but his Aunt Beatrice looked worse.

If you enjoy Royal books and, like me, missed this one when it came out then read it and ignore the smirk. Farewell in Splendor: The Passing of Queen Victoria and Her Age, by Jerrold M. Packard.

I wasted too much time on Andrew Marr's neither "intimate" nor "revealing" biography
While some errors, such as the color of Charles Aston Martin (BLUE not green) do not detract too badly, saying that King George VI suffered from BOW LEGS defies imagination! Knock knees are not the same thing! I could go on and on here. (Sad fact checking for a journalist!) More serious is the fact that he comments on Philip's "Nazi" relatives without reading the main book on the subject--The Royals and the Reich. There is absolutely nothing new here. Unnamed "court officials" could be anyone--the lady who irons the dinner napkins or a Guardsman who has stood duty outside the palace. He even says the infamous Crawife book should be seen as a great source--after Hugo Vickers revealed the truth of it! Unless you have never heard of Queen Elizabeth, skip this mess. The Real Elizabeth by Andrew Marr.

Finally, I reviewed the Lazy Couponer by Jamie Chase.

Check out all the books at What's on Your Nightstand this month hosted, as always, by 5 Minutes for Books.

Menu Plan Monday: The Stocked Kitchen Edition UPDATED

2012-01-23T10:44:00.010-05:00

For the next few weeks I will be trying more of the so-far fabulous recipes in The Stocked Kitchen. If you WANT to cook at home but don't even know where to start or what you really need to have on hand, then this is THE cookbook you need!! For me, reading the grocery list (they have included handy pull-out grocery lists in the book) was VALIDATION. I love finding out other people do things the way I do!

What we've tried so far: Black Bean-Mandarin Orange Salsa! It was GREAT and this is the opinion of 3 generations of my family!!! We also tried the Chicken Fajitas--another unanimous vote for Great!

I like this cookbook because it does not depend on sodium-laden box mixes or frozen food and I haven't yet come across a can of Cream of Crap soup. That's win-win to me! Nor will you find (as I did in another cookbook I'm trying) "Pomegranate Molasses" (I'm not making this up) or other ridiculous ingredients. You do not need to own a salmon poacher or anything much except a normal blender! That, too, is a huge plus.

So, when you see things marked "TSK" you'll know what that means--The Stocked Kitchen!

Saturday:
Nachos with the above mention Black Bean and Mandarin Orange Salsa (TSK)

Sunday:

Lunch: Chicken Fajitas (TSK)

Monday:
Black Bean Burgers (TSK)
Roasted Red Pepper Dip & corn chips (TSK)
Oven Sweet Potato Fries
Salad

Tuesday:
Italian Beef Sandwiches (Crock Pot : Meat, garlic, 2 packs of Italian Salad Dressing Mix, 1 c water or red wine)
Pasta Salad (contains pepperoni, mozzerella and tons of veggies)
Fruit

Wednesday :
tba from The Stocked Kitchen

Thursday:
Crock-Pot pot roast with carrots and potatoes
Fruit

Friday:
Homemade pizza

Want to see more of The Stocked Kitchen? Their website has sample lists and menus? Click HERE to go to their site! [Thanks, Sarah!]

Need help planning menus? Head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for this week's Menu Plan Monday.

2012-01-18T13:05:00.003-05:00

Source:

You may have noticed some web sites are blocked out today. Congress wants to change the way you use the internet. Stop them! Send them a message by using their email form:

You can find your Congressman at http://www.house.gov (you don't have to know the name or district--it's by zip code and/or street address)
You can find your Senator here at http://www.senate.gov (don't have to have their name--it's by state)

Encourage them to vote NO to PIPA (house) or SOPA (Senate) and leave the internet alone.

Review: The Lazy Couponer

2012-01-16T12:43:00.006-05:00

Menu Plan Monday? Click HERE.

The Lazy Couponer: How to Save over $25,000 per Year in Just 45 Minutes Each Week by Jamie Chase.

First, the important part: I was not contacted to do this review and was in no way compensated for it!

Like most "Extreme Couponers" Chase has a theory that she backs up with examples from her own spending. Her book, set up like a course with a little quiz at the end of each chapter, IS very helpful if you are wanting to begin learning the couponing game. If you are a seasoned couponer and drug store shopper, there is little new here.

Good:

Chase limits herself to 45 minutes per week for all her coupon hunting and clipping.
She does not stockpile products.
Her examples attempt to show how she uses strategies to pay for fresh veggies, fruit and meat.
She does not buy much convenience food.
She only prints coupons as she needs them avoiding wasting printing supplies.
She clearly points out unethical and illegal couponing practices.
She demonstrates what I call her "apply on the fly" philosophy of how to grab an emergency item at a drug store and come out ahead! This was very helpful.
She covers couponing at U.S. Military commissaries, post exchanges and other types of military shopping facilities.

Bad:

Did we really need the "personal lubricant" example? Just ick.
I'm cautious about buying the kinds of meats that generally have coupons--frozen meatballs and sausage generally have tons of salt and preservatives, but some do not. She seems to try to buy a lot of this type meat.
She buys more snack foods in one profiled trip than I bought for a family of 3 in all of 2011! Even if they ARE "good" or "organic."
Why do people who don't need them buy a glucose monitor just to get store "bucks"??

Did I learn anything? Yes! Most of what's presented here I've learned elsewhere, but I did get a few tips:

Companies give products out to people who will host promotional parties. (I didn't know this, but wondered if some of the bloggers I read host "virtual" parties when they has brand-specific give-a-ways.)
There are databases that help you locate a coupon--IF you save your coupon inserts, or that direct you to sites where you can print coupons.
I liked the "apply on the fly" plan I mentioned above for getting a great deal when you have to make an emergency or forgotten purchase at a drug store.
Some stores take expired coupons for a certain period of time.
I did not know about the reusable bag gizmo (Green Bag Tags or GBTs) at CVS
You can donate coupons to oversees military personnel/families to help them with the higher cost of living on those posts.
She validated, with examples, the things I was already doing right--and that's a good thing!

If you want to start couponing I'd recommend blogs like Money Saving Mom and others who introduce you to the same stuff for free and have a lot of the week's "deals" at various stores already worked out for you often with the coupon insert named for the coupons. Many bloggers (Money Saving Mom included) have e-books you can buy, but wait till they are on sale or free and save even more money! But if you're in a hurry, this is a good deal at the library!

Menu Plan Monday: Out-of-the-Rut Edition

2012-01-16T08:37:00.007-05:00

Read my review of the Lazy Couponer by Jamie Chase!

Trying some new recipes again!

We loved the super-easy, kid-friendly Taco Twist Bake we tried earlier this month. Definitely a keeper!

Saturday:
Thai Chicken Pizza (One of my very favorite pizzas!) I now add some lime juice/zest & cilantro

Sunday
Lunch: Smoked sausage and Pirogeis (new favorite easy meal)

Dinner: New Mexican Green Chili Pork Tacos
(See the internal link for cooking the pork--super-fast prep and into crock pot!)
We added sliced avocados, chopped cilantro and sliced green onions since our radishes were pretty blah.........

Monday: Leftovers from Sunday dinner

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Tuesday:
Greek Chicken in Pita
Rice cooked with garlic, onion & spinach
Mango Smoothies

Wednesday:
Tuscan Rapini and Spicy Sausage

Thursday
Sweet and Sour Ham Balls
Rice

Friday
Depends who's home!

Need help planning your menus? Head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie to see all the great plans for this wee!

First Dance

2012-01-12T10:17:00.003-05:00

Yes, they had real dates--this is a before picture of just B and P! I was so proud of them--they dressed up and had a blast!

Menu Plan Monday--Almost NO Grocery Shopping Allowed Edition

2012-01-09T10:03:00.006-05:00

Ok, I did buy a bag of carrots. That's it!

Sunday:
Homemade Veggie Burgers
Oven Sweet Potato fries
Fruit

Monday:
Beef Stew in Crock Pot** recipe below
Warm bread
Fruit

Tuesday:
Tuna Casserole (Can of cream of anything soup (usually Chicken), partially cooked pasta, some veggies, onion and cheese. Cracker or bread crumbs if desired on top. Bake or just cook in large skillet.)
Fruit

Wednesday:
Swiss Steak in Crock Pot (has lots of veggies in it)**** recipe below
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans
Fruit

Thursday:
Corn/Ham Chowder in Crock Pot
Corn Muffins
Fruit

Friday: If anyone is home I'll fix something!

Swiss Steak in Crock Pot
Tenderize round steak with meat mallet if desired. If desired toss with flour s/p then brown slightly (I use olive oil if I even do this). Arrange in crock pot and sprinkle well with pepper and Seasoned Salt (I like to use those crock-pot liners for easy clean-up). Top with chopped onion, chopped green pepper, chopped carrots and one can of drained mushrooms or fresh mushrooms. Add a 16 oz can of tomato sauce and more pepper. Cook all day on low.

Crock Pot Beef Stew
1-2 lbs stew beef
2 onions chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
Several carrots peeled and chopped or those little carrots
3 T Minute Tapicoa (in the pudding isle)
1 T sea salt
1t pepper
1T sugar
32 oz tomato sauce

Mix well and put in Crock Pot on low for 6 hours or so. In oven this is "5 Hour Stew" cooks on a low heat. Serve with crusty warm bread. My kids REQUEST this meal!

Need help planning menus? Check out all the great stuff posted each week at I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday.

Comfort watching

2012-01-05T11:49:00.007-05:00

It may seem like all I do is read! Actually that's a ton of what I do, but occasionally I do watch things too! Lately I've had a spell of not being able to sit thru anything new. That will pass--I've been in that valley before. I have favorite movies and tv shows that "comfort" me, allow me to relax, to breathe a little easier. And, that help tide me over in periods of loneliness.

I also listen--and not only to books. On Monday I was without an audio book so I caught up on the news by listening to N.P.R. on the way into work. "Morning Edition" had a delightful interview with film maker Mike Mills that resonated with me in so many ways.

There's some movies I watch, they're kind of like my anti-anxiety pill, my anti-depressant pill. I watch them at least once or twice a month probably.

Someone who "gets it!!" I did one of those stupid-over-used- YES!-fist-pumps, nearly swerved the car into a window company truck and smiled all the rest of the way to work! While Mills' list is nothing like mine, I loved that the Humphrey Bogart movies were apparently a sort of subliminal emulation of his mother who frequently said that in her next life she'd marry Bogart. He even used the delightful phrase "Bogartean hats" which makes me think of in terms of my favorite movies that I think of or say in certain situations. How many dull meetings have I visualized the Calendar Girls (approximately 1:10 in the clip below) trying to stay awake for the history of rugs or cauliflower? [Admit it, you've sat thru meetings or sermons where you had to be nudged to clap or smile or whatever was expected at the end, right? And, yes! I DO appreciate how hard it is to get good speakers on a nothing budget.]

"Aw, Thank God! For a minute there I thought it was going to be dull!"

What movies like "Calendar Girls," or "Steel Magnolias" or shows such as "Keeping Up Appearances" or "As Times Goes by" (or even my favorite child-torturing royal documentaries) do is remind me through their familiar lines and images, and sometimes even their story lines, of connection--of friends and caring. They take away the loneliness of being an adult living somewhere new (even after almost 4 years) and trying to forge new friendships not supplement the older, tried and true but now long-distance ones.

Here are a few of my favorite "comfort" shows or movies:

Steel Magnolias
Calendar Girls
Keeping Up Appearances
As Time Goes By
That Touch of Mink
The Grass is Greener
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Father Goose
McClintock
In Harm's Way (when I miss my Dad)
Sabrina (the original version with Bogart)
The Trouble With Angels and Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows
Yours, Mine and Ours (either version)
Auntie Mame or Mame
Parent Trap (either version) (funny, all 3 of us will pull this one out)
Alvin and the Chipmunks (always with one child who'd die if the name was revealed)
Billy Elliot

There are others, but those are the main ones. And, yes, I have favorite books that give me the same lift, too. I've posted most of them elsewhere.

Loneliness is often a fault of my own though. I'm shy--yes, shy, especially on the phone. And, with 2 exceptions in the entire world, there is no one I'd be comfortable dropping in on. The phone is the same way for me--that's why I like texting and emails. As a single parent loneliness also comes from not wanting to put my needs first--or not making time to do that. Some times favorite movies, books or music can fill that ache. I do now have a few friends locally that I text and see at Church, but often there's no time to get together when we're all moms and mostly single ones to boot. My long-distance friends ARE there for me, but sometimes films are a nice salve on my mood.

How about you? Anything you re-read, re-watch or listen to over and over as a comfort measure? Leave your favorites in a comment. Who knows? Maybe you'll lead me to a new favorite!

Must Read Book of 2012

2012-01-03T12:55:00.005-05:00

I read SO MANY great books this year! However, the one that touched me most was Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West by Dorothy Wickenden. You can read my earlier review of this book HERE. This book is what happened when two "society" girls decided to ditch the country club and "get a life." So amazing and so inspirational.

The Runners-up were many and included:

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet which I reviewed HERE.
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand (which I did not like in print, but loved in audio) which I reviewed HERE.

There were several more good ones, but there you have THE book I recommend you read this year and two others!!

What's on Your Nightstand: Year-end edition

2011-12-27T11:51:00.006-05:00

The Wonderful.....
First off I reviewed Kathryn Stockett's best-selling book, The Help, here. Like a few other novels this year, I finally got into this one on audio!

The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry, a fabulously literate and delightfully silly book about a sibling group who get to recreate their own family. Teachers will rub their hands in glee at the rich vocabulary, then shudder at the thought of the complaints if they read it with the kids! It's that type books--but oh!! What a Wonderful Book!! Sort of an anti-Penderwicks!

In the Sea There are Crocodiles by Fabio Geda I didn't know what to think of this, but ended up marveling at this boy's survival instinct. Makes me cringe when I think of the silly stuff we American parents "worry" about happening to our kids--like bad grades, not being picked for the team or having to eat nutrition-free school lunches. This young man, even though this is a fictionalized account of his life, is a ROLE MODEL. And his mother DID know what she was doing--she gave him LIFE for ever, not for the short selfish term.

Quite a few "duds" this month.....
I reviewed the "nothing new about it" "new" biography of Prince Philip here.
Authors should always write what they know--right? Had David Baldacci not been the author, this would not have seen the light of day. It's not bad it's just not.....good. One Summer by David Baldacci.

This novella is written in a unique plural style that alternates between compelling and annoying. Annoying won. It is not a traditional novella. I am fascinated by the women's stories but this was not the way to learn more. Buddah in the Attic by Julie Otsuka.

A Covert Affair by Jennet Conant does not really belong in the duds but it does deserve a lawsuit for false advertising. Lord Mountbatten takes up more space in this book that either Julia or Paul Child. And the author is so dense about HIM she thinks the King of England's cousin and Noel Coward's chum would need the help of a mere American secret operative to get New York Theatre tickets! Please! It IS an interesting book--it's just not about the Childs.

This wasn't bad it just wasn't .....that..... interesting? Nothing wrong with it, just nothing much happened. This is the new LHJ Book Club pick and I was pretty disappointed after they recommended the Widower's Tale which was wonderful.The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen.

The NICE....

While Philip Gulley's Harmony is not Jan Karon's Mitford it's a wonderful place to visit now and then. I enjoyed both my "visits" to this fictitious Indiana town.

Head over to 5 Minutes for Books for more good reads this month!

Countdown to Christmas: My Number # 1 Favorite Christmas Song of all time!

2011-12-21T09:20:00.003-05:00

Mary, Did You Know? by Mark Lowry

Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you.

Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.

The blind will see, the deaf will hear and the dead will live again.
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb.

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding is the great I am.

Credit: http://artists.letssingit.com/mark-lowry-lyrics-mary-did-you-know-hc1xwsv

Countdown to Christmas: a few of my many favorite children's Christmas books: Humorous Edition

2011-12-20T10:18:00.005-05:00

The best humor has an element of truth to it!

How Santa Got His Job (and the sequel which I have not seen, How Santa Lost His Job) is a clever take on both Santa and the struggle to find that first job and subsequently to build a career. I love this book because it doesn't talk down to kids and the humor is not a bunch of cheap gags.

Piper's Night Before Christmas is a gift from Mark Lowry to parents of kids with ADD/ADHD or who just simply can't calm down during the holidays! I was spoiled--I first heard this story told live by Lowry himself. This is such a cute book--there ARE cheap gags here, but it's a story that holds the attention of any kid who happens to be a little "hyper" like poor Piper.

Catmas Carols is a fun little book of traditional Christmas Carols re-written from a cat's perspective. B and I used to laugh and laugh over these when she was little. If you are a cat person you will "get it" and immediately start laughing. If you are a dog person, don't bother it won't make sense.

The Librarian's Night Before Christmas is one of many job-related re-workings of Clement Moore's properly titled "A Visit from St. Nicholas." It's one of those clever pieces that make you nod your head at the knowing turns of phrase--most of which are, as the British say, "Spot On."

When P was little school was the ultimate in prison sentences for him. He HATED it. He could not understand why he had to SIT STILL or do something he didn't like. While it was hell for him it was 1000 times worse for his poor teachers. His first year in the USA he was in a tiny "annex" of a Christian School. A combined 3rd/4th grade with a very patient, experienced former public school teacher. In 3rd grade that year there were 9 little boys and no girls. He was accepted and cared for there. My fondest memory was stopping by one day just to peek in and see if he was causing total chaos and instead I got a gift from God and his teacher. They were all sitting on a rug, P was snuggled up tight to the teacher, and the 9 little boys were beaming with joy singing this song! That week math was no problem--it was all tied to the song. They read a little about each type dog. He was so happy that week. So, I include this one for that sweet, sweet memory. I'm not even positive it's the right version! 12 Dogs of Christmas.

Menu Plan Monday: Christmas Edition!

2011-12-19T09:40:00.004-05:00

Sunday:

Photo: www.tasteofhome.com

Spicy Pepper Penne--great taste and super easy!
Peas/Mushrooms

Monday:
Crock-pot pulled pork sandwiches
Corn Salad
something else tba

Tuesday:
Eat at the basketball game since it's parent's night!

Wednesday:

Pierogi Beef Skillet --Thanks to Organizing Junkie for the link to this one! Sounds like something we'll all like.

Thursday:
Treating kids to dinner out!

Friday:
Homemade pizza

Saturday (Christmas Eve)
Ham
Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
Baked Beans
Coleslaw

Sunday Christmas!
Filet steaks
Sauteed mushrooms
Loaded baked potatoes
Salad
Chocolate Mousse

Countdown to Christmas Best Christmas : Some FUN LINKS! Updated to include FREE COOKBOOK!!!

2011-12-14T17:26:00.011-05:00

Another new badge by Isabel! Just had to try it out!

STOP THE PRESSES!!! A Fun Link just got more FUN!! Lizzie's got a great way to get her special Christmas Cookbook FREE. Yes F-R-E-E!!!!!

Image Source: http://adustyframe.com/2011/11/23/sweet-potato-piefrom-my-cookbook/

How about a nice Christmas Cookbook? Lizzie has her lovely Visions of Sugar Plums cookbook ON sale a very reasonable price AND, if you post about the sale, you can get a FREE copy of the COOKBOOK!!!

I (Lizzie) have my cookbook on sale in my Etsy shop for $2.50 until Christmas-free shipping. I only listed a few copies on Etsy right now–if they all sell out, no worries! I can list more right away.

If you post about my sale on your blog, I will send you a free copy. If you already have a copy you can send me an email address of a friend or blog reader and I will send it to them as a gift from you.

The fine print–

1. Post about the Etsy sale on your blog make sure to include a link to my Etsy shop! You can copy the review in my listing–on Etsy. Please include that the sale is valid through December 24th,–that it is an e-book– and that it’s free shipping.

You can sample her Sweet Potato Pie recipe to help you decide! Makes a great Christmas gift for the cooks in your life!

Photo Source: http://momonamission.me/?p=3519

PEPPERMINT Red Velvet Cake!! Now that would be truly festive! Thanks to $5 Dinners for the link to this great looking desert recipe.

Photo source: http://angelinasfreudentanz.blogspot.com/2010/11/advent-wreath.html

Homestead Revival has several beautiful, natural ideas for Advent Wreaths and Candles. I like the way they are bringing nature in doors and yet keeping the spirit of the Holy Spirit in the holiday. I'd like any one of these for my table.

Photo source: http://acountryfarmhouse.blogspot.com/2011/11/beautiful-pomegranate.html

How's this for BEAUTIFUL!! There's more delicious, luscious and lovely pomegranite photos and a recipe at A Country Farmhouse. Pomegranite is a tradition in our family at Thanksgiving, but I forgot it this year, so we'll have it at Christmas in some way.

Photo source: http://kringles.wordpress.com/

Do you love glass Christmas ornaments? I do--they're so beautiful, but....a tad fragile for a 3-tree- climbing-cat household! Still, what could be better than an entire blog devoted to them? Blown Glass Ornaments has photos of some amazingly delicate and beautifully decorated glass Christmas ornaments.

My review of the Help.....

The Help

2011-12-14T11:19:00.011-05:00

This is probably the most hyped book (and movie) of the year. I was skeptical. In fact, I tossed the print version aside--it reminded me of my Grandmother and her bridge club grumbling about "how hard it is to find a really good colored girl these days". Ick. But friends kept reading it and raving about it. One told me the audio book was fabulous, so I got it. This time it "took."

First, let me get off my chest the numerous minor, yet still distracting, historical errors that the big-time New York editor did not correct:

Pantyhose had been invented but had not yet taken then world by storm.
Shake and Bake (as has been pointed out lots of places) was not yet on the market.
The Price is Right wasn't on the air yet.
Long-haired hippies, peace signs and draft dodgers were in the future. Just because the date has a 6 in it doesn't mean we were yet into what is known as "the Sixties." The Kennedy Administration was a much more Conservative era. Vietnam was just starting to gather in American soldiers, but in a trickle, not a flood.
The mini skirt hit London just a year or so later than this story.

Those are picky, minor details that don't detract from the story but show how little people really know about an Era in history.

I can live with these. I can live with a maid in 1963 being angry at a father of any race, creed or color, for beating his son. Just do not tell me she wanted to tell the boy it was ok to be gay. We cannot right past wrongs by re-writing history. In 1963, there wasn't even the barest beginnings of a Gay Pride movement, except possibly in Greenwich Village or other very, very liberal enclaves. Stonewall had not even occurred. Although it's sad but true, in 1963 homosexuality was still treated as a mental illness and although most adults WERE aware of "people like that" and may even have personally turned a blind eye to it, no one was defending a kid for liking the same sex. That is just historical revisionism on part with George Orwell's 1984. No matter how awful, we need to accept that this is how it was then. Just like police dogs and fire hoses being turned on African Americans who wanted to vote or sit down to lunch. Just like the bricks and rocks thrown at the buses full of Freedom Riders. It's the way it was--don't lie. Don't write it like you want it to have been.

Now that I've got the sermon out of the way, let me address the book--or rather the hype of the book. This is a very, very powerful story, but it shocks me that people are still shocked by it! Did the whole world buy into the "happy mammy" stereotype? Is it a shock that in any situation there are good and bad people of any race or religion? Is it hard to believe that a white person would pay for a black maid's child to go to college or is it harder to accept that a black maid could love and miss the children she helped raise? Do people not realize that social security was overtly racist at it's inception by leaving out domestic workers or that minimum wage laws skirted the whole issue of domestic help and how they are paid? Do people not believe that while the Klan was overtly awful the "Miss Hilly's" of the world wrecked as much havoc just quietly and out of sight of the media? Is it really shocking to read that a man beat his wife or that a child was sent away due to the color of her skin? Can you really tell me in the 21st century that these things are shocking? If so that's an even more damning indictment of the teaching of history as "sound bytes" in our schools.

What makes me applaud this book till my arms ache is the strength of character it shows in both the maids themselves and in the very few whites who were willing to join their still-on-going struggle for equality in any way. The earnestness of Skeeter, the calm thoughtfulness of Abeline, the just-under-the-surface-anger of Minnie--all are to the breaking point when they decide to fight in the only way they can--on paper. Strength, character, TRUE Christian values all add up to a moral victory.

On the other side of the coin is Miss Hilly, the sorority girl who runs the Junior League and clings to the status quo with her finely manicured claws. Her victories are cheap and show her for the shallow insecure being she was bred to be. She is the victim of one of the crudest jokes in literature (which I won't spoil by revealing here) and also gets a telling down worthy of Julia Sugarbaker ("Designing Women") when Skeeter's dying mother takes a look at Hilly--for once not her perfectly dressed, made-up and coiffed self and says "No young husband wants to come home to that......." Touche! The iron fist in the velvet glove smites the wanna-be steel magnolia.

The growth of Skeeter, Abeline and Minnie is profound. The secrets that are confronted, the stories shared and the sisterhood that grows are inspiring and believable. That is what makes this book work--it is believable. You want to know women with this kind of moral courage. You want to find them today and get them on board with your own pet cause. You want to sit and have coffee and learn from them. Most of all you want to be like them.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Countdown to Christmas: a few of my many favorite children's Christmas books: Living Books edition

2011-12-13T11:14:00.004-05:00

Back when P and B were little I wrapped a kleenex box in pretty Christmas wrapping paper and filled it with 24 slips of paper. On each slip was the name of a Christmas book, or an activity, or a Christmas show or movie. They took turns each night pulling out the slip for that night's treat. Today I'm sharing with you a few of those books--they are not in any order of preference.

The Christmas Cat, with Tasha Tudor's wonderful illustrations personifies the type of gentle, warm, caring book children need at bedtime. Once we'd read our Bible story, we'd gather OUR Christmas cats (Ok, only Stanley, for poor Livingston's nerves couldn't handle the kids for long at that age!) and we'd read this wonderful story. This is a Charlotte Mason-style living book in every possible way. A rich story, tremendous illustrations, and so gentle.

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathon Toomey is among that rare genre--a true instant classic. This, too, is a gentle, warm story more-than-worthy of the title "living book." We read this aloud time and time again. We also LOVED the cd of it. Many cold November or December night we'd listen to this on the long drive home from Scouts. What a fabulous story! The little boy pushing the gruff stranger to make his new nativity "just so" in order to try to replace what has been lost. The man, too, has suffered loss--an even greater one. Oh the work God does in this story!

Oh how we loved this story!! This is the sweetest, most awe-inspiring story of all times. The little lamb with who protects the Lamb of God that first night. If you do not have this story, then please, please order it. I won't make a penny if you click on the link and order it. Just do it because you love the Lord and love your children. It's that special. The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado.

Menu PLan Monday

2011-12-12T10:57:00.005-05:00

Click HERE to read my new letter to Jim-Bob Duggar

Sunday:
Borscht
Hillbilly Housewife's Garlic Bread Sticks [long-time readers of this blog will remember these as an almost weekly feature on our menus several years ago!]
Fruit

Monday
Crock pot cube steaks Yes, this has packaged gravy mix! I only use two packs and add dried minced onion to make it taste like 3 packs. For 3 people that's already a ton of sodium!
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Corn
Fruit

Tuesday:
Garlic Herb Turkey Burgers
Oven Sweet Potato Fries
Fruit

Wednesday:
Smoked Sausage Hawaiian (using turkey smoked sausage)
Fruit

Thursday:
Payday tba

Friday:
homemade pizza

Need help planning menus Check out all the great menu plans this week at I'm an Organizing Junkie

Letter to Jim-Bob Duggar

2011-12-09T14:51:00.005-05:00

[Note: I also posted this elsewhere.]

Jim-Bob;

First my very sincere condolences on the death of your unborn child. That is not something anyone should have to go thru. I am sincerely praying for Michelle's recovery and for protection for all the family as your grieve.

That said, as respectfully as I can I'm saying, you've exploited your father's death, the birth of your last 5 children and first two grandchildren and the near death of your 19th child (and wife) for financial gain. Do not, I repeat, do not give us a 'very special' episode with the miscarriage and funeral. Do not do it.

Michelle has been thru enough. So have your kids. Do not force your kids again into a "right response" moment of having to mourn what they may not yet be able to understand. Note, I am not saying not to have a funeral or not to grieve. Just tell TLC to take the cameras home. Give your family a break and let them grieve in private like normal people. You might even want to hire some security for the event so you CAN have privacy. I trust the people of Westboro Baptist and other groups will not protest at your doorstep, either. No one needs that at a time of grief.

We get the point that this was a child not a choice. We get it. Really. We don't need to be shown a group of scared little kids and coerced teenagers trying to thank God for saving their mother, or for asking him why their new sister or brother couldn't live to be born. Let them do this in private.

Yes, you'll lose possibly more money than I make this year. It will be worth it.

I am sincerely praying for everyone in your family right now--this is a difficult situation for any family. Somethings are best left alone. This is one of them.

The choice is yours. But remember:

Dignity is priceless.

Regards,

Hopewell

Countdown to Christmas Best Christmas Humorous Piece

2011-12-09T13:39:00.010-05:00

Christmas Giveaway winner is MARA--Mara, please contact me by 12/16/2011 at noon!

I was at my desk one morning not long before Christmas of 1992. I had the radio on since, like most of my jobs, I was pretty isolated and lonely. On Morning Edition on NPR I heard this unbelievable story start to unfold. Then I started to laugh. I, like much of America, was being introduced to the incomparable David Sedaris and part-time job as an Elf in Santaland at Macy's. The rest, as they say, was history.

Photo Credit: www.npr.org

Now a best-selling author and iconic figure, Sedaris's big break-thru came on NPR that day. Happily, it was such a hit it has been rebroadcast many times. You can listen to it on the N.P.R. web site. I listen to it annually and am never disappointed by it!

[NOTE: this piece is for Grown Ups. It contain suggestive language and attitudes. Parents will want to preview this.]

Countdown to Christmas....favorite movies!

2011-12-09T12:54:00.007-05:00

Christmas Giveaway winner is MARA--Mara, please contact me by 12/16/2011 at noon!

I started this series off with a book turned into a movie, but today I'm listing my all-time favorite Christmas movies!!

Number One Favorite Christmas Movie:

1. The Bishop's Wife. How can you top a movie with BOTH David Niven AND Cary Grant?? You can't, right?? Niven is stuffy-full-of-himself Episcopal Bishop. Cary Grant is Dudley, the answer to his prayers. That's right, an Angel sent down to help the Bishop. There are wonderful whimsical touches in this movie that I won't spoil by pointing out. The angel flirts with being a mortal man, but in the end sticks to the angel's creed. David Niven, so pompous you want to stick a pin in him, finds out the true meaning of faith but never relaxes. Here's a wonderful scene with Cary Grant:

Credit

The daughter is the only weak element--she should have been seen and not heard. She's like a rush of corn syrup. Gratefully, she's a small part. Love the dog. Like most older Christmas movies this one is unapologetic about mentions of the Gospel and I'm all for that. Add in Grant and Niven and the kind of body language only those two could give and you have a fabulous film. [This was remade with Whitney Houston as the wife. It was a very nice modernization that encourages adoption. I liked it, but it doesn't have the class of Niven and Grant.]

credit

2. White Christmas Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye sing and dance thru this fluffy piece. It's worth it for the looks Bing and Kaye exchange in the "drag" (not really cross-dressing just a little fun) scene. Love the spirit of this movie!

credit

3. Joyeux Noel The story of the voluntary Christmas truce in World War I. Poignant story with an excellent cast. Nobel action rewarded with dire consequences.

4. Christmas with the Kranks which I reviewed earlier.

5. Home Alone (the original one). Just plain fun. Just plain cute kid. Love the house. Love the grocery store scene and so much more.

The Runner Up:

Stewart learns Mary's fate

Stewart confronts Mary the spinster

6. It's a Wonderful Life....fast forward to the scene I like. Jimmy Stewart is finding out what life would have been like had he not been born. There's his wife.....a dried up spinster....the town's LIBRARIAN. I love it! The rest of the movie is ok--it's just been hyped to death. Typical of the era the kids are horrible--just awful little babies.

And the Rest....

Santa Claus the Movie, Elf and the Santa Clause all of which would be on the kid's lists.

The total losers i.e. the ones I watch only if socially stuck with them!

The Christmas Story and Christmas Vacation. Spare me! I won't even LINK to them!

For today's other new post, click HERE.

And the Christmas Giveaway Winner is..........

2011-12-09T12:20:00.003-05:00

To go to today's post click HERE

The winner is......

MARA !!!!!

Mara said...: These look wonderful! I am a homeschool mom of three and was just having a conversation today with a veteran homeschool mom about the importance of memorization and how lacking I have been in this area. I found thy word products pinned on pinterest and was seeking reviews about them and came across your blog! Yeah!; 4:53 AM

Sadly Mara's blog profile is not public and she did not leave a means of contracting me (I see I forgot to ask for that!!) So I will leave this announcement up till noon on Friday December 16. If Mara has not claimed her prize by then I will draw again. If you know Mara, please let her know!!

Congratulations, Mara! I hope your kids enjoy the 10 Commandments! Please email me with your address so I can send the prize. hopewellmomschool@yahoo.com

A new royal book!! Prince Philip: The Turbulent Early Life...Can you say royal rehash?

2011-12-09T08:52:00.006-05:00

Nothing makes me much happier than a new Royal book! So I was very excited to find this new biography of Prince Philip--probably the most interesting royal ever. Slam! Was I disappointed! The is nothing new here! From the hype in the British press I expected much more. Sadly, this is just a collection of strung-together quotes from better books.

It IS understandable that he's done this in the case of the letters from Prince Philip to the Queen Mother written at the time of Philip and Elizabeth's engagement since only William Shawcross, official biographer of the Queen Mother, was ever given access to them. This is also true for some of the Mountbatten family letters. What it really shows though is laziness. Nowhere is there an acknowledgement to H.M. the Queen for allowing access to papers in the Royal Archives. This is either incredibly bad manners or else laziness. I'm guess the later--that his source notes listing "Buckingham Palace Archives" and a few others sources are really only covering what he found in other books.

He does seem to have interviewed a few people, but not too extensively. Gyles Brandreth conducted extensive interviews for his book on Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Many of the interviews in this book seem to be from those--or are merely rehashes by the same people. Certainly Countess Mountbatten and her sister Lady Pamela Hicks have been everywhere in the last 10-20 years discussing their cousin Philip and his family. They say the same things in every interview.

Eade also fails to learn from some of his sources--for example he actually quotes from Marion Crawford's "The Little Princesses" which has been widely discredited for years and finally put to rest in Vicker's book on the Queen Mother.

What's truly annoying here, beyond the simple repackaging of other author's work, is the inane political correctness in the form of prurient, unsubstantiated claims of who might have been a homosexual. This is simply put in because nearly every biography today tries to include a discussion of sexuality of someone even when it is in no way relevant to the story. In this case it rises to almost ludicrous levels.

So, forget this one and move on to some royal biographies that matter! For example:

Alice: Princess Andrew of Greece by Hugo Vickers (He, too, has a small problem in his books--he inserts quotes from his previous works to the point that I want to scream, but his books are very readable and are very ably researched.)

Mountbatten by Philip Zeigler (official biography, but very frank)

Philip and Elizabeth: Portrait of a Royal Marriage by Gyles Brandreth (But don't both with his book on Charles and Camila--all the interesting stuff is in the book on the Queen & Philip).

Royals and The Reich: The Princess von Hessen in Nazi Germany by Jonathan Petropoulous. This tells the story of Philip's in laws in Germany and their involvement in the 3rd Reich and Nazi party.

Countdown to Christmas: Must-see tv!

2011-12-08T10:55:00.005-05:00

For the Christmas Giveaway click HERE!

For most of the last 10 years we have had, at best, only for-free "broadcast" tv. Now we don't even have that! Still, the show must go on! It's Christmas and there are a few "must see" Christmas specials. Like many parents I bought a lot of vhs tapes and dvds when my kids were younger. While I stupidly tossed our vhs tapes (including many documentaries I'd taped that have yet to appear on youtube--a loss only to me, I'm sure!) not knowing we'd be given a tv with a built in v.c.r. long afterwards. So with no satellite, no cable, no broadcast tv we watch favorites on dvd from our collection or from the library. For me there are a still a few must see tv specials:

1. Charlie Brown's Christmas. The original. Not the stupid new one about a puppy. The one with Linus telling the Christmas Story in King James language. The one with the pitiful tree and Snoopy winning the decorating contest. THAT Charlie Brown.

Part III

2. Garfield's Christmas. It's about Grandma, ok? Garfield gets it right. Plus Odie comes out looking like he has a real brain and an even bigger real heart. And who can resist the idea of a "woodburning cat??!" Part I and Part II (part III is linked above)

Part I

3. The Homecoming. This was the pilot for the "Waltons" and the CBS affiliate in Indianapolis played it for years at Christmas time. I gave up lunch for two days to snatch up the dvd when I saw it at Wal-Mart or Target several years ago. It was one of the few good impulse purchases I've ever made. It has all the same kids, but many of the adults are different--and sometimes much better. Example of better: Patricia Neal. She was way more believable as a prim Southern Baptist mother in the 1930's then Michael Learned could ever be. The house, too, was way more believable than the sprawling Midwestern farm house the Waltons would inhabit in the tv show for all those years. I love this movie. The clueslessly bootlegging Baldwin sisters, the African American minister played by Clevon Little, and of course, the priceless, super-pious missionary who rejects Africa for the heathens of the Blue Ridge Mountains!! Part I linked above. Part II Part III Part IV Part V Part VI Part VII.

No Rudolph? No, we had it on vhs! Sorry! I still love it though!

Tomorrow: The must-see movies. I started this series off with the first of them HERE.

Countdown to Christmas: Favorite gifts

2011-12-07T10:56:00.009-05:00

For the Christmas Giveaway click HERE!

Did you have a favorite gift as a kid?? I sure did! There were my stuffed horses (which sadly my kids accidentally gave to Goodwill in a toy clear-out and I didn't find out till too late), my Breyer horses (mostly from Grandpa), things for my doll house which ALWAYS came from Marshall Fields and were all were very carefully debated and chosen by my big brother. Later there were records--classical, jazz, the Beatles and yes a few my brother didn't like such as Elton John and John Denver! But the most enduring of all were my stuffed animals (not only the horses). I was a sickly kid and my mom understood that I also hated school so she let me be sick more than I should have been!! My world as a little kid was Mom reading to me or playing with my animals. One of my favorites DOES survive to this day:

The guy on the right needs no introduction to anyone growing up in the 60s! Snoopy's "friend" on the other hand may not be too familiar to you whippersnappers who grew up never watching a black and white tv while holding the "aerial" (as rabbit ears were often called!) He's BERNIE BERNARD, a talking Saint Bernard (waaaaay before Beethoven became synonymous with the breed). Horror of horror to today's safety squirrels he carried a cask of brandy on his collar!

Imagine my delight when I found me dear friend on an "iconic toys" web site!

Photo Credit

Here he is--brand-spankin' new! (Top Vintage Toys has tons of stuff I fondly recall--remember those let's annoy the adults-CLACKERS? They're there!) Sadly, I almost didn't recognize the poor guy--he didn't have his sweater on! Yes MY Bernie was so beloved he got permanent possession of the blue sweat my mom knit for our poodle! And, there were no "remains" from his broken leg cast either!

Bernie today in his sweater, minus his brandy keg (long ago fell off his collar) and with the remains of his cast on his "arm." He doesn't talk anymore though--P pulled the string once years ago and that was it. Still, he's been enjoyed by basically 3 generations: Me, my 30/late 20-year old niece and nephew and my own two kids. Pretty nice life for a guy most kids tossed at some point. Not me. Never. You just don't "toss" a true friend!

I will say "Smokey Chief" and "Little Joe," my horses from the Western Horseman magazine WERE more precious (after all my grandmother played blacksmith and gave them new "shoes" [actually "hooves"] out of felt every time the wires broke thru), but I don't have any photos of them.

I'll always remember that wonderful, wonderful Christmas when Aunt Jeanie sewed HORSE BLANKETS for them!! Out of nice dark plaid flannel (probably from old shirts my Uncle or Grandfather had discarded). Oh how I loved THOSE! No stupid doll clothes--HORSE BLANKETS!! Imagine!! Presents like that, so personal and thoughtful, are rare. (Later Aunt Jeanie would try to help me into real womanhood by sewing me an amazing Barbie trousseau that included a wedding dress and a snazzy 70s velvet jumpsuit! For a chemist she could be creative when she set her mind to it.) I'm guessing Goodwill "recycled" my beloved "Smokey" and "Little Joe," but I haven't given up hope of someone selling off a stash of them found in a warehouse somewhere, someday. I'd love to have them back. I'm like that. Never really grew up when it comes to animals!

Another good year-end book list!

2011-12-05T17:01:00.004-05:00

For the Christmas Giveaway click HERE!

CS Monitor's 10 Best Fiction Books of 2011

Last week, we looked at the New York Time's 100 Notable Books of 2011 this week it's the Christian Science Monitor's book list! And, again, avid reader that I am, I've read only ONE title on the list. You can read more about them at the CS Monitor Books Page.

Binocular Vision by Edith Pearlman

The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obrecht

Once Upon a River by Bonnie Jo Campbell
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett Click here to read the review I posted earlier this year.

Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

IQ84 by Haruki Murakami

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

Nightwoods by Charles Frazier

The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje (waiting for me at the library)

Doc by Mary Doria Russell

How about you? Did you love, hate, "meh" any of these titles? Leave a comment!

All of these booklists are inspiration for my own list of best books of 2011 and my utlimate pick of the MUST READ BOOK FOR 2012. I'll post these after Christmas!

Menu Plan Monday

2011-12-05T10:39:00.006-05:00

For the Christmas Giveaway click HERE!

Today's Countdown to Christmas post here!

Sunday:
Chinese Beef, Broccoli and Bok Choy
Rice
Fruit

Monday
BBQ Meatballs
Buttered Noodles
Corn
Salad
Fruit

Tuesday
Cincinatti Chili 3 way
Fruit
Coleslaw

Wednesday
Italian Chicken
Pasta With Garlic & Olive Oil
Steamed Greens with red peppers
Fruit

Thursday
Tuna Melts
Oven Fries
Green Beans
Fruit

Friday
Homemade Pizza

Need ideas for your menu planning? Read all the posts this week at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Countdown to Christmas: Girl Scout Christmas Crafts circa 1971

2011-12-03T03:01:00.013-05:00

For the Christmas Giveaway click HERE!

Nice memories from the elementary school years this time!

Me Christmas of '71 (the date on the photo is wrong--it took my Mom YEARS to get film developed!). That was my favorite dress that year, too!

Illustration credit: http://www.girlscouts.org/who_we_are/history/exhibit/

Much of December was spent making "stuff" for Christmas gifts when I was a kid. There were the good projects--the felt Christmas Stockings Mrs. Englehart patiently taught us to hand sew, the bad, (too many to mention) and the ugly--popsicle stick manger anyone? But Christmas gift crafts were raised to a special level of "art" by those frustrated executives in green--the early 1970's Girl Scout Leaders! All were named "Mrs." All drove station wagons. And none tolerated shirking your crafting duties at Christmas.

Image copyright 1963 Girl Scouts of American

I was an enthusiastic girl scout in my youth! I was a brownie and then a Junior and would have enjoyed going further, but that's as far as it went at my school. Anyway, about that time band took over my life and I enjoyed that thoroughly, too. Later I enjoyed leading B's American Heritage Girl's group for a few years. Sadly, as in so many things, she did not share my passion for earning badges!!

Among the many crafts we Girl Scouts made in the Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall in the early 70's were these two classic Christmas decorations.

First the Reader's Digest Santa! You bought a plastic Santa or Mrs. Santa head at the Ben Franklin and then devised construction paper arms with mittened hands to make them more "human" looking. Spray paint, something ALL kids long to use, was allowed with an adult RIGHT. THERE. ready to seize the can if you dared aim at another scout of at anything belonging to the Church! Our mother's sewing box or button jar provided other goodies to "dress" the Santas with. I believe mine became a gift to my Grandfather and his new wife that year. Whatever did happen to it, I did at least have fun making it.

Photo Credit: http://www.allfreecrafts.com/christmas/paperback-Santa.shtml

Then there were the IBM PUNCH CARD WREATHS!! These were awesome! Staples AND spray paint! Too cool, right? Mine was spray painted gold and went to live in Roger's Park, in Chicago, on my Great Aunt's door. She came home from work one night to find it stolen. She remarked on that every Christmas till she died in the early 90s.

Photo Credit: http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ank/clt/2663216773.html

Countdown to Christmas! GIVEAWAY!

2011-12-02T13:32:00.011-05:00

This Giveaway is DONE. The winner was Mara--if she has not claimed her prize by December 16, 2011 at noon, then I will draw another winner.

Do you have a little one you want to develop a heart for the Lord? Thy Word Creations has given me a copy of their 10 Commandments Book and Cd for a giveaway!

Image source: www.thywordcreations.com/Childrens.htm

I fell in love with their products when P & B were little (they were on cassettes then) and asked if they'd let me have one for a back-to-school give-a-way. Sadly, the other merchants who promised products did not deliver on their promises, but Thy Word Creations was true to it's name and sent this wonderful book and cd set! It includes coloring pages, pages with each Commandment written out, sheet music and lyrics! We loved to listen to these at bedtime! When I turned out the lights, I'd put on the tape. I'm sure both can still sing the song if they were in the right mood all these years later!

Here's how to enter--you can have three entries! I will pick the winner next Friday December 9th. ENTER BY NOON (Eastern) on Friday December 9, 2011. If you prefer DIRECT shipping to the gift recipient, I can gift wrap, ship & include your message.

1. Go to the Thy Word Creations site and have a look, then come back here and live some comments on their materials . They have materials for the whole family and music samples ARE available on the web site.

2. Tweet about this giveaway! And then leave comments.

3. Link to this giveaway and come back and post your link in the comments.

Please be considerate--if you do not appreciate Christian materials please do not flame this company for their generosity in providing this give-a-way. It's a tough economy--no small business deserves that, ok?

Merry Christmas!

Counting down to Christmas! A little something fun.....sing along with!

2011-12-02T01:55:00.004-05:00

Today's fun? Christmas songs!!

Photo Credit

Favorite secular Christmas song # 1: Marshmallow World

Enjoy this old-time tv performance of this great song by two great rat-packers: Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra!

A Marshmellow World :

It's a marshmallow world in the winter
When the snow comes to cover the ground
It's the time for play, it's a whipped cream day
I wait for it the whole year round.

Those are marshmallow clouds being friendly
In the arms of the evergreen trees
And the sun is red like a pumpkin head
It's shining so your nose wont freeze.

The world is your snowball, see how it grows
Thats how it goes whenever it snows
The world is your snowball just for a song
Get out and roll it along

It's a yum-yummy world made for sweethearts
Take a walk with your favorite girl
It's a sugar date, what if spring is late
In winter it's a marshmallow world

Link to Source

Countdown to Christmas! A little something fun.....to READ or Watch

2011-12-01T01:54:00.006-05:00

Let's get the holiday started!! And what better way to start off than with a laugh?

Lawyer-thriller writer extraordinaire John Grisham took a well-earned break from high-powered attorneys to pen this masterful look at the commercialization of Christmas! Luther Krank decides for once to put himself (and his wife, Nora) FIRST and "save" some money by ignoring all things Christmas and heading off, just the two of them, on a well-earned vacation cruise. But Luther is soon surprised to learn how hard it is to just take a year off. Finally, like all good Christmas-scorners in literature, Luther finds out it's not really about the money...... Skipping Christmas, by John Grisham.

Superstar funny guy Tim Allen takes the lead as Luther Krank in the movie adaptation with Jamie Lee Curtis as his long-suffering wife, Nora. It's worth watching just for his secretary's response to the "skipping Christmas" idea alone! Sure you can quibble over wooden characters or other high-brow stuff. Or, like someone once said about James Bond movies, just park your brains under the seat and enjoy it! This is a FUN movie and one that I enjoy every year! Christmas With the Kranks.

Like the badge? My designer can be reached thru her Mom at sjbraun@hotmail.com.

More booklist fun!! NY Times 100 Notable Books of 2011

2011-11-29T10:09:00.004-05:00

Image Credit: www.nytimes.com

As I begin the countdown to announcing my "Must Read Book" for 2012, I'm continuing to review what I've read and nominated for that prestigious title! While I'm ruminating, I thought you'd all enjoy another great booklist!!

The New York Times: 100 Notable Books of 2011

Here's my take, or link to my take if I've already reviewed it, of the books I've read from this year's NY Times List. New York Times editors' selections are not always fast or easy to come by where I live! Some I've been on the waiting list for for more than 3 months!

FICTION:
The Barbarian Nurseries by Hector Tobar: On my nightstand right now waiting for me to pick it up and start reading!

Buddah in the Attic: I'm on the waiting list for this title at the library. More to come....

The Cat's Table: Near the top of the list for this one at the library. Soon....

London Train..... ditto

My New American Life by Francine Prose.....I want this in audio and have requested it. Should have it in the next two weeks.

Train Dreams....trying to find a copy. It's set in the area I used to vacation in during the late 80s.

NONFICTION

Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie On my Christmas list. Massie is a favorite of mine, though he's lost his spark lately.

I previously reviewed the next three, so click on the link to read my take on each.

Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller

Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard

In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson

1861: The Civil War Awakening couldn't keep it long enough to finish it, I'll return to it again later.

The Information: A History on my professional to-read list

A Train in Winter to read

How about you? Have you read or reviewed any/every book in this list?? Post your comments, please or leave a link to your post!!

Menu Plan Monday: Leftovers edition

2011-11-28T10:59:00.002-05:00

Monday:
PW's Turkey Tetrazzini
Salad
Fruit

Tuesday:
Garlic/Herb Turkey Burgers
Sweet Potato Fries
Ranch Coleslaw
Fruit

Wednesday:
payday--so NOT turkey!

Thursday:
Meatloaf
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Corn
Fruit

Friday:
Homemade Pizza

Saturday:
Something appropriate for a Cheerleader off to her first high school game! Like, money for the snack bar probably?! I hope to be out Christmas shopping!

Need help with Menu Planning? Head over to I'm An Organizing Junkie to see all the posts at this week's Menu Plan Monday!

Snoopy and the Pilgrims & other holiday treats for Jemima

2011-11-23T08:53:00.007-05:00

Photo Credit

Last year, I posted links to the 60's classic "Mouse On The Mayflower," but this year I'm going with a few newer Thanksgiving treats!

Photo Credit

From the "This is America, Charlie Brown" series here's a LINK to "The Mayflower Voyagers" for Jemima (and others) down Under who has been learning about the good ole USA. And, something fun for us all this Thanksgiving.

This is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers
Part I
Part II

And, just for fun, here are a few other Thanksgiving shows that are fun!

Photo Credit

Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
LINK

Photo Credit

Garfield's Thanksgiving
LINK

For Traditionalists, here is the link to my Charlotte Mason Thanksgiving post with hymn study, artist study and other tidbits.

What's on Your Nightstand? Giving Thanks Edition!

2011-11-22T10:26:00.010-05:00

Non-fiction I enjoyed this month:

Many memoirs stress the misery in which the author grew up. "Girls In White Dresses" blogger, Susan Barnett Braun, gives hope to parents trying to raise happy, normal children while still being a believing Christian. Susan and I grew up in similar towns in the same years--in fact my Dad once sold products to her Dad for his ice cream business! We didn't meet, however, until blogging. She grew up in the John Mellancamp's fabled "Small Town"--Seymour, Indiana. This is the sort of town where a beloved school bus driver's funeral (and my best friend's Mom) brings out hundreds and the police officer directing traffic at the cemetery has tears running down his face. No, it's not Mayberry--there are meth and oxy addicts, illegal immigrants and run-of-the-mill redneck pot heads too, but most folks mow their grass, pay their taxes and work hard. Even Emril was surprised by the manners many children showed when he served lunch at an elementary school there a few years back. "Yes ma'am" is not at all uncommon.

For Susan, growing up as the daughter of a public school principal, in a family of Mom, Dad and three girls in a Brady Bunch style home, life was good. And life was centered on First Baptist Church. Yes, you read that right. She went to PUBLIC School (later taught in one, too!) and grew up BAPTIST. It happened all the time before what we know as the "religious right" took over. Her life is way, way more typical of growing up in America than the Glass Castle or There Are Now Children Here and the like. Not rich, not poor. They had "enough" and gave thanks for it.

Susan's memories are often overlap with my own--similar experiences at school, similar toys, tv shows, etc. Like another book I reviewed her story is a sort of epiphany. Those of us who grew up in suburban tract homes, attending decent schools, taking private clarinet lessons, singing "Love is Like A Magic Penny" at V.B.S. (it didn't matter which Church, you just went for the fun), who put on a Girl Scout uniform on Tuesdays and crammed in the back of Mrs. Leader's station wagon to go to a church hall and learn to crochet--we no longer have to hang our heads in shame. And ditto those who did NOT become drug addicts, or go to prison or whatever to find the Lord. Some folks grow up with that security and need not apologize for it.

I Love To Tell The Story ties a hymn to each chapters remin1scences--weaving Baptist fully into the life of a growing girl. Right now it's available for Kindle or Kindle for PC, a free download for any PC that let's you enjoy Kindle books on your computer.

This is a GREAT choice for Church book clubs, for 45--55-ers nostalgic for their childhoods and for anyone who likes to read a positive, uplifting life story.

I hope a major Christian publisher will soon pick this up. I also hope Christian women's magazines, Guideposts and others will soon be knocking on Susan's door. This book deserves real attention.
I Love to Tell the Story by Susan Barnett Braun.

Donna's story, by contrast, is more typical of the modern memoir: childhood near hell--in her case, literally. Her mother was the "common law" wife of famed traveling evangelist David Terrell. She and her brother were frequently dumped on "friends" of Terrell's ministry while he mom traveled with her secret "husband." There lives were sometimes decent, other times heart wrenchingly awful. This is not a story of God's love and redemption, but rather one of power corrupting and the damning effects of an unchecked cult of personality. Holy Ghost Girl by Donna Johnson.
Candice Millard is fast becoming a "look forward to" author of mine! I was mesmerized by The River of Doubt and felt similarly about her new book, Destiny of the Republic. This book should have been titled how an egotistical and not-so-competent doctor killed the President! After poor James Garfield was shot he really should have lived! But his doctor bizarrely did everything possible to keep him from living! A tale of incompetence and intrigue with a back story of Alexander Graham Bell's race to invent a viable x-ray type machine to aid in the President's recovery. Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard.

Fiction from November:
A delightful fictional counterpart to I Love to Tell the Story, is the "Harmony" series by Philip Gulley. Think Milford with slightly snarkier parishoners. This series was new to me so I am really looking forward to the rest of it. Home to Harmony, tells the story of a young pastor taking over his hometown Quaker Meeting as pastor. The cast of characters are funny, don't always see eye-to-eye an are occasionally just a little nuts in the nicest possible way. This is a nice story about very likeable people in a very realistic setting--unless you grew up in a crack house that is. Home to Harmony by Philip Gulley.I noticed this was the pick for the Ladies Home Journal book club recently (I didn't even know they had a book club!!) and decided to try it. RIGHT OFF I loved it!

But WHY, WHY, WHY is it required that every novel published today have at least one character with a STUPID NAME??? IN this case we have an adult daughter (44 or so) named, get this!, CLOVER?? I cannot even fathom someone having to go thru life with that. UGH! Good Night Nurse! The daughter named "Trudy" is really named "Truthfull" (Not making this up!) and Clover's children are LEANDER and PHILOMENA (something like that). Good grief!!! So it's not at all surprising that the main character is retired Harvard librarian Percy Darling. (What we librarians suffer when portrayed in fiction!!)

But what a librarian and what a man he is! Years after his wife's sudden death, Percy starts an amazing new chapter in his very settled life (no spoilers!). His life changes in ways he never dreamed--most for the better. Initially he finds amusement in the early antics of a group of eco-warrior-protestors who hit gas-guzzling vehicles and other unnecessary wastes. Finally the group goes too far and the story has an amazing shot of adrenalin.

The cast of characters, dialogue and description are all vivid, rich and believable. And, in the audio version that I listened to, the reader was superb!! We'd all be glad to have Percy's life in Matlock.
The Widower's Tale by Julia Glass.
Bobbie Ann Mason has taken a a story from her family's past and turned it into a fascinating novel. The French Resistance has taken on a rose-colored hue over the last 60+ years. In The Girl in the Blue Beret, the life of the Resistance becomes very, very real. That a sweet As Time Goes By-style romance is thrown in is just a delightful extra. There is so much in this book to enjoy--the history, the modern story, the characters--even some of the animals! When I finished it I was surprised by the lukewarm reviews at Amazon. I loved it! The Girl in the Blue Beret by Bobbie Ann Mason.

Other Titles This Month:

Earlier this month I posted My Top 5 Reads of All Time and My First Ever Review of a Graphic Novel.

Don't know what to read next? Head over to 5 Minutes for Books and see what's on all the other Nightstands this month!

MY 5 Top Reads of All Time

2011-11-18T09:10:00.005-05:00

To see the book list that prompted this click HERE.

1. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Yes, I'm aware of and truly regret the ridiculous way the slaves speak and the fact that their characterization perpetuates the stereotype of the "happy" slave. In spite of that (and Yes, that's a BIG "in spite of that....") its an amazingly rich story with vivid characters and locations. More than that it truly captures and communicates the feelings of the time and the people involved. I first read it in 8th grade and have read it annually ever since. I even took a paperback copy with me to Peace Corps.

2. The Joyous Season by Patrick Dennis. While I also absolutely love the author's almost equally marvelous Auntie Mame, I think this is actually the better of the two novels. While readers of the current smash hit The Help would be stunned by Lulu's thoughts in this book, the rest of a fan-damn-tabulous send up of families and the holidays. Seen thru the eyes of a young boy named Kerry, the Joyous Season takes us thru the Christmas from Hell, the demise of a truly happy marriage and the social snobbery of Old New York. I laugh my way thru it every Christmas.

3. And the Ladies of the Club by Helen Hooven Santmyer. Mrs. Santmyer's book caused a sensation when it was published--she was over 80 at the time and that was considered "remarkable." It also gave hope to other author's whose books were published by University Presses, for The Ohio State University Press was the original imprint of this book. It went on to top the New York Times bestseller list! This is a "sweeping saga"of the very best sort--multiple generations of very believable families in fictional "Waynesboro" Ohio starting soon after the Civil War and continuing to the 1930s. The two main characters, friends at the town's female "seminary" are invited to join the local women's "improvement" club where someone presents an essay or similar each month. The chapters open with a listing of the "ladies of the club." Each member receives her due in this engaging story. Recently I've had reason to be in and out of Xenia, Ohio quite regularly. It's been a thrill to be where Mrs. Santmyer's amazing story was set.

4. No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin. This book, and the movie Apollo 13, should be required reading for everyone involved in public education in this country (and, YES, that does include the legislators!). We've all heard the phrase about Franklin Delano Roosevelt that "he taught a crippled nation how to walk." This is the amazing story of how Roosevelt inspired the country to meet and exceed production targets for war materials, for training and equipping soldiers, and for gaining buy-in for necessary societal changes (many short-term) that made it all possible. This is THE book on leadership in my humble opinion. Roosevelt has many, many haters to this day, but in large part we owe our freedom to his strong leadership at this perilous time.

5. Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie. If you've read this blog regularly, you know I follow the British Royal Family rather ardently. What you may not know is, thanks to Queen Victoria's fecundity, the line of succession to the BRITISH throne eventually included the heirs to the thrones of Germany, Denmark, Spain and Russia among others. And, had King George V gotten better advice and been a stronger person, the Russian throne might still exist. Robert Massie, one of the most readable historians of all times (and one of my very favorite authors), made his name with this book. At the time he was the father of a young hemophiliac and was drawn to the Romanov's by the role the disease played in it's demise. The desperate young Tzar, Nicholas II and his wife the German Princess Alix of Hesse, had 5 children but only one son--the hemophiliac Alexei. There being virtually no medical treatment for hemophilia at the start of the 20th Century the parents had to sit by and try to comfort their son as best they could. Alix's faith sustained her, then led her to the manipulative Rasputin. The rest, as we say, is history. Eventually, the Bolsheviks overthrew the Romanovs going so far as to execute them. Alix sister, Ella, was thrown down a mine shaft to die. No one who reads this book, particularly the episode at Spala, can be untouched by it. Almost equally moving is Massie's "hemophilia" book, Journey about his own son's struggle with the disease, which I have also read several times. I believe that book prepared me to cope with my own son's very different struggles.

The "oh so close" books that I had to exclude included the works of Chaim Potok (any), Herman Wouk (Winds of War, War and Remembrance, Marjorie Morningstar, the Caine Mutiny) and Barbara Kingsolve (Poisonwood Bible, Prodigal Summer, The Bean Trees) (except the Lucana which I could not struggle thru). Missing too, are A Town Called Alice,: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand and the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, the River of Doubt and Rebecca. And there is plenty of nonfiction left off the list such as Blanche Wiesen Cook's fabulous biography of Eleanor Roosevelt, or memoirs like Behind the Urals, Life on the Color Line or the Glass Castle.

For a passionate, avid reader no list can stop with merely 5 entries!

Now, how about you? Why don't you share YOUR top 5 reads of all time?

My first ever review of a graphic novel

2011-11-17T15:01:00.006-05:00

I haven't given much thought to graphic novels. I tried, I really, really TRIED to read Persepolis, but couldn't stay the course. The graphics got in the way. They were not merely distracting, but actually annoying. It was that way with any graphic novel I picked up. Then I stumbled up The Night Bookmobile. The graphics made sense. They weren't jarring. The added a special "something" to a great story.

As you know I'm a librarian, but aside from a few months here and there I've never worked in a public library. If I did, and didn't have to drive it, I would LOVE to work in a mobile library. I could spend days telling you all why this is, but I'll stick to reviewing this marvelous little book for now.

Photo credit: http://tinyurl.com/7ygj55b

The Night Bookmobile, tells the story of an avid reader who, in at a bad moment in her life, stumbles upon the Night Bookmobile and it's fabulous collection. The librarian is inspiring, too! (I love a good strong hero!) But, here's where this leaves the realm of picture books and flings itself head-first into the darker world of graphic novels for grown-up: her wish to work in Harry Potterish Night Bookmobile requires a sinister step.......Too tell more would spoil it for you all! And, I KNOW, you will go out and read this incredible little story.

A classic tale of love, independence, dependence, loss and gain.

The Night Bookmobile, by Audrey Niffenegger

Short but sweet booklist

2011-11-17T11:22:00.006-05:00

As I sat waiting hours in the doctor's office yesterday I had time to do something I rarely do anymore--read real print magazines! In the current Woman's Day I found a short list of favorites reads by author Debbie Macomber. Here's how I stack up with her little list:

1. Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans. I've read it, enjoyed the moment, but would not re-read it. To saccaharin for my taste.

2. Christy by Catherine Marhsall. Loved it, have re-read it and probably will do so again. Even enjoyed the tv series about it. Of course Peter Marshall, her late first husband, was one of America's premier pastors.

3. The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. This one even made Oprah's list. I was mesmerized by it a few years ago. It had been on every suggested reading list of my life, but I'd never picked it up. A tremendous, if gloomy, story.

4. Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindberg. Loved it then and now. It resonates far more when I read passages from it as a Mother rather than when I was alone.

5. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I read it in Middle School like nearly everyone alive have watched just about every film version including the Flintstones and still love it.

Tomorrow--MY 5 Top Reads of All Time.......

Menu Plan Monday--Prince Charles' birthday edition!

2011-11-14T10:37:00.003-05:00

Saturday:
Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala (We LOVED this!!!!)
Rice
Pineapple

Sunday:
Western Casserole (used homemade biscuit dough, black beans & sharp cheddar also 1 1/2 t chili powder)
Ranch Coleslaw
Fruit

Monday:
Posole (pork and hominy soup) in Crock-Pot
Corn Muffin

Tuesday:
TBA (payday desperately need to shop!)

Wednesday:
Buffalo Chicken Shepard's Pie (we LOVE this, but I use "real" chicken not ground turkey--well worth the hunt and the price for the Smoked Paprika)
Fruit Salad

Thursday:
Sausage Patties
Mashed Potatos/Gravy
Fried Apples
Carrot/Raisin Salad

Friday:
Some kind of homemade pizza

Need help planning your menus? Check out all the great menus at Menu Plan Monday!

Weekend of Organizing Part V:The Rest of the Story or "We're Livin' Small!!"

2011-10-27T09:10:00.017-05:00

PART IV, Part III, Part II and Part I

For my Daily Top 3, scroll to the bottom, or just keep reading till you get there!

One of the biggest benefits of living in a small house is prioritizing STUFF. One of the biggest benefits of being stone broke for several years is learning how little you need to buy STUFF. I buy my work clothes based on two criteria (other than "it fits" and "it's machine washable")

Is it appropriate?
Is it on Clearance?

(I do keep a nice "professional" outfit for each season--updated as appropriate and generally timed to coincide with certain work events involving the folks at the top of the food chain so I don't repeat last year's outfit!)

So what does this have to do with organizing?
PLENTY! I have substantially fewer clothes than many full-time workers. My work place is business casual so I simplify with one pair of casual black shoes and one of brown--appropriate to the season. I keep three pairs of black pants, 3 of khaki and one or two "others" and have a selection of blouses, sweaters and "tops" to go with them. This frees closet space!!!

Photo credit: http://polkadotsandpizza.blogspot.com/2011/05/furniture-makeover.html

How I simplified our bedrooms.
I threw out the dressers!!! Yes, you read that right! We are a dresser-free family. We had junky old dressers in our last few homes. I hated them. They always needed organizing and they collected junk like magnets. Other than my brilliant parenting moment of creating the "NO" drawer for clothing not acceptable at school, they were a disaster. When we came to this house I went to the new IKEA store for the first time. I highly recommend this to anyone who wonders if they can make the transition to a SMALLER home. IKEA tells you how "big" the sample space is--and that helped. What I loved was all the creative ways to keep the space neat. Today our closests (which do still need sorting and so still collect junk) are all organized with hanging clothes bags, wire drawer units and over-the-door-shoe bags.

Photo credit: www.ikea.com

What I saw at IKEA was a vision of AFFORDABLE organization! Developed by people accustomed to living in much smaller spaces than Americans have. Lightening Bolt Moment!

Photo credit: www.ikea.com

My son has ADHD and other organizational challenges, so I organized the two worst problems he faced every morning: Clean Socks and Clean Underwear. I also saved myself a couple of big hassles by organizing his dress shoes, "good" belt and ties. (And back in the day his Boy Scout uniform socks, belt, neckerchief and slide.) How did I accomplish this miracle?

Photo credit: www.Amazon.com

God's Gift to the Oranizationally-challenged: The Over-the-Door-Clear-Plastic-Shoe-Organizer-Bag!!

Although it's a FIGHT and a HALF to get him to put things away right, when he does put things away right (Which means I have stood there till he does!!!) he is ready on time for school, clean and smelling nice!

In my closet I have two similar bags--one for socks (formerly used for panty house back in the day when I wore suits and heels each day) and one packed away should I ever again need it for jewlery. Photo Credit

Without bulky furniture our bedrooms, although small, FEEL bigger. We don't miss the extra furniture or the junk that "grows" within it.

Here's what another Organizing blogger, "Organizing Your Way," had to say about the benefits of living in a smaller house.

Want to see what others are doing to Organize their homes this week? See all the posts at Organizing Junkie's 52 Weeks of Organizing

This is the last organizing post for now. I will be posting more again soon and will be posting on progress at doing my DAILY TOP 3: (I already plan my meals so that one isn't an issue any more!)

Dishes done/kitchen clean
Living room neat
My bed made

Weekend of Organizing Part IV: The Master Bedroom cum Storage Shed (aka Little Shop of Horrors)

2011-10-27T08:52:00.006-05:00

Part I, Part II, and Part III of this series!

Yes, this is a real photo of the "far" (aka "the dark side") side of my bedroom---right in front of the French doors that let in too little light and don't have a screen so can't be used for fresh air!

Restful? Inviting? Soothing? An serene oasis? Make me laugh! It's a game preserve for dust mites and little else! I used to be a huge scrapbooker. It's how I coped in the "house from hell." Other than making 4 pages as a Christmas present in '08, exactly 3 months after moving into this house, I have not touched my scrapbook stuff since. I even took time to unpack it from the nice IKEA storage boxes I'd bought for it, reorganize it--nothing. I think I'm just "over" scrapbooking. Maybe with the Grandchildren.

It makes me sad because I did really, really enjoy it and look forward to it. I got a digital camera--and lost 2 years worth of photos by accident. That didn't help. Teenagers don't do much that's "cute" or scrapbook worthy and even I'm not nutty enough to make each cat her own scrapbook! In retirement I would, however, like to make Life Books for foster kids so maybe then.

Whatever! The mess, enlarged by the homeschool books that need to go, makes me want to sleep all the time--not a good sign. It was time to be brave and tackle it. It's ok that I'm not ready to sell it all on Ebay yet (although if you want to make an offer......) Meanwhile it has to be out of it's current home.

Thanks to the previous ways I had organized the scrapbook material, it was easy to neatly store the stuff out-of-sight, but within reach. I keep the drawer unit fully accessible so scraps can be found easily for school projects or to make a quick greeting card. I kept the basket of unwanted photos in easy reach, too, for similar projects.

Because of the layout of the room it's hard to get a good photo. I also had to use a weird angle to get it all in. It looks MUCH NICER in person!! Honestly. Note the other organizing inspiration: the bag hanging beside the red boxes. I took a large carrier bag from a Old Navy and put my handmade prayer shawl in it and hung it over a hanger. Did the same (not visible) with a treasured afghan. Out of the way till I need them!

I was also able to work my way thru much, but not yet all, of the rest of the clutter. The blue wastebasket holding old school papers (oh the irony!) is now protecting the kitchen from another flood. The broken lamp and the crushed lampshade went to the curb as they should have years ago. Several small boxes of junk were culled for "keepers" or "trash" and the keepers were repacked into one box with a home in a closet.

Under the bed (which can become a disaster area fast) was mostly just very dusty. This weekend it will get vacuumed well. Under it reside the dining room table leaf and a box of treasures from my childhood. Not too bad! Someday I'll have a new headboard for the bed and it may finally look like an adult lives there!!

Final post tomorrow is on the benefits of Livin' Small and how I simplified our bedrooms for sanity!

Weekend of Organizing Part III

2011-10-26T08:38:00.016-05:00

Part I here, Part II here......

Some quick fixes for the kitchen were needed, too!
Such as that horrible area no one likes to deal with--under the sink. Did I mention we had a water disaster? Or that the landlord wouldn't spend the money to fix it right the first THREE times it happened?? Or that she still hasn't fixed the warped wooden floor tiles that are now hidden with a rug????

If you look carefully you can see the old sink parts the not-really-a-plumber-repair-guy helpfully tossed into the mix as he thoughtfully ( I do mean that--it's not his fault!) put all the junk back.

The can recycling bin wasn't working and I quit drinking diet Dr. Pepper a few months ago so it really wasn't needed anymore. So, getting rid of it led to a general cleaning out of the whole area. I used Organizing Junkie's PROCESS again and soon had things back to nice, neat and orderly.

Two baskets to hold cleaning stuff, scrub brush, a few huge trash bags and bug spray. An unused waste basket to help with FUTURE water disasters (you position it so the U-shaped pipe is inside the waste basket.) A small tote for dirty dish towels and, MY VERY FAVORITE THING from this weekend..........

an almost FREE solution to the grocery bag problem: An empty Kleenex box repurposed as a bag dispenser and attached to the cabinet door with a few Command Poster Strips! Yeah!!! No more bags of bag of bags of bags!!! Found the nifty idea at Real Simple and at someone's blog I forgot to save to my delicious links so I could give them credit!!

The other nifty idea is a TENSION ROD to hang trigger-spray bottles on! This is a SUPER idea from Apartment Therapy! Such a simple idea, but it frees up tons of space!! I only have two such bottles--one with vinegar and one with bleach, but I loved it so much I had to include it in my re-do.

Since we rent I can't install one of my other all-time-favorite organizers....

Photo credit: http://www.organizeit.com/sink-front-storage-tray-kit.asp

...the SINK FRONT STORAGE TRAY......I had to settle instead for what WAS doable so I attached the weird-sized drawer beside the sink that normally holds the scrubby pads for the stove and....well.....JUNK. I tossed the trash, and found some little bitty bread pans I had (little kids love getting their own "loaf" of bread instead of a mere roll!!) and repurposed them to hold the few weird things that needed to live there.

Pretty nice, I think!!

Then I moved on to attack the dreaded kitchen tool drawer! Oh my! What a mess!! Mind you I have a crock (that my big brother made in high school art in 1974 and which I will never part with!) on the counter with my wooden spoons and a knife holder beside it, but I still have tons of kitchen tools--most of which I use all the time. I like having multiples of things like slotted spoons so I keep a few of each. But.....they were simply out of control!!

I rounded up all the unused little baskets I could find and then, after sorting, tossing etc., made a fast trip to Family Dollar for a few more baskets. (Total spent was under $2.00). BOUNDARIES! At last!! And, for the heavy things--stick on velcro strips for the under side of the basket and drawer "floor." (These make a WORLD of difference!)

Tomorrow I'll finish up with the kitchen and Friday we'll deal with the Master bedroom cum storage shed problem!

What's on your nightstand?

2011-10-25T11:14:00.015-05:00

For WEEKEND OF ORGANIZING PART II click HERE

I've come to love and look forward to the novels of Sarah Addison Allen--especially on audio so I can have a fun drive to and from work. Each has a touch of "whimsy"--not really "magic," not quiet "fantasy," just some fun little "other worldly" touch. The Sugar Queen lives up to that tradition magnificently! A lady living in a closet (not metaphorically), a domineering mother, a cute mailman--what's not to love! If I write more it will spoil the fun! The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen.
These days people are tuning into gardening and intentional living. Back in the late 60s and early 70s the "back to the land" idea was going strong. Hippies are best remembered for it, but lots of other folks "took to the land" as well. Melissa Coleman tells her family's story in this "Hippie Glass Castle" of a memoir. A young family with such promise follows in the heels of the legendary Scott Neering and seems to have it all until it all goes somehow wrong. I struggled to put this book down--it was totally engrossing and will be devoured by book clubs. This Life in Your Hands by Melissa Coleman.

I'm always interested in great books from the rest of the world. One great source of them is 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. I'm a member of the "sister group," so-to-speak, at Good Reads. While I don't always choose to read the Group's current book, I do mine the list it's self for hidden gems. I read Muriel Spark's haunting Driver's Seat, due to this list.

The Namesake is the story of the son of India "education immigrants"--Ashoke and Ashima--whose life begins very inauspiciously: the letter from Great-Grandmother in India with his NAME never arrives. Faced with American bureaucracy the father pulls out the name of his favorite author, Gogol, and thus the boy is bureaucratically "christened." And thus begins his struggle to live with the name and it's hidden meaning.

The story of the son, Gogol, growing up and forging his own identity is the main story line, but beneath it is a marvelous view of expatriate life in American--especially the life lead by non-European immigrants. It's the story of making family where none exists, of maintaining the culture and rituals that sustain the parents but confuse the children. It's the story, ultimately, of a new type of classic American family. I simply loved every word of this book. I listened to it and the reader was pitch-perfect on the accents adding another delicious element to this marvelous story. The Namesake by Hjumpa Lahiri.

I was a political science major in college--with Russian and East European Studies thrown in for good measure. This book caught my attention immediately! Life in Cuba today is one of abject poverty. It's also a place fertile with dissent. Yoani Sanchez braves the terror of the secret police to keep publishing her blog of her daily life as lived in today's Cuba. It's a story of not enough food, insane restrictions, and yearning for true freedom. It's a collection of blog post so can easily be read in little bits here and there. Each post leaves you thinking and none are quickly forgotten. Havana Real by Yoani Sanchez.
This book popped up in my Amazon personal recommendations. It's not new, but I easily located a copy in the library. It did not disappoint. While there were a few tiny historical errors unrelated to the story, it was mostly enjoyable f0r the connections to other books on World War II that I've recently enjoyed. The women whose stories are told here were among the first women to cover wars as they happened, where they happened. Predictably, they were an independent lot. Many tried, and failed, to live a conventional married life. Others had messy love affairs. No matter, they got the story, filed it and lived to tell. It adds a little more depth to my knowledge of the war. Happily, too, the war in the Pacific was included. Often we are told of journalists in Europe (think Edward R. Morrow or the great Ernie Pyle), but the Pacific? And, women covering the Pacific? They're here. An interesting read. The Women Who Wrote the War by Nancy Caldwell Sorrel.

I never, ever tire of reading more about World War II!!! This book is being hyped everywhere right now, so I gave it a try. Thanks to one of the most boring "readers" in audio book history, this took about as long as the war itself, which is a shame because it was an otherwise excellent book. I should have quit and requested a print copy, but no! I soldiered on! (Sorry to mix in soldiers in a post on sailors!). In addition to the dull, dull, dull voice of the reader, the author made things worse by being unable to find another word for "leviathan." I cannot believe his editor let him use it so many times I nearly wrecked the car screaming over it!! Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors....by James Hornfischer.
Dick Francis's Gamble by Felix Francis Felix isn't Dick and it shows. Still, I enjoyed this audio book--just right for the busy week I had. Examples of problems:

"[My dad] was meant to be a " (as in "my Dad said he was a groom at Churchill Downs, but really he was a bookie).
or: "He couldn't have done." Really? I Lu'ville [aka Louisville, Kentucky--my one-time home]?? I think not inspector!
The son of an Earl, also an Army Colonel is ....Jewish?? In the BRITISH Army--bastion of chinless public school old boys?? What are there one? two? Jewish peers at best in the whole of the U.K. Peerage?

A Few Others......

While We're Far Apart by Lynn Austin A Sweet little World War II Christian novel I found free to try out Kindle for PC. I read it in a few hours, but enjoyed it.
The Good Daughter by Jasmin Darznik is a touching story of the daughter of an Iranian mother and a German father. The book focuses on the the women of the family, the marriages, family life and daily challenges. An excellent look back at the Iran of the Shah.

Finally.....

I don't normally post on too many book's I've given up on, but..... Miss Timms School for Girls by Nayana Currimbhoy deserves some mention. Never have I spent so much time reading a book I just couldn't finish! The story is told in aching detail, the characters vivid, the story so promising, yet it just didn't ....flow? end? die? I wanted so badly to like this. Truly, I did and I really did enjoy the first part. I just couldn't change to accept the different voices in the different parts of the book. That and the story just wouldn't flow? end? die? It was interminable. It will be a big movie though, likely nominated for an Academy Award. That's usually my luck with books I didn't quite like!

Need more reading inspiration? Head over to 5 Minutes for Books and see what's on all the other Nightstands this month!

A Weekend of Organizing Part II: What Wasn't Working in the kitchen

2011-10-25T10:16:00.016-05:00

For Part I click HERE....

A tiny bit of background...

When we moved into our current house I had downsized our life dramatically (you can read more about this in part I). My former kitchen had so many cabinets I didn't really have to ask "where can I put this?" But that also led to keeping too much stuff!!!

What wasn't working...

Fast forward to our current kitchen which has a perfectly adequate number of cabinets for a family of 3 and has a small, but useful pantry closet. Still there were problems:

Where to put the potatoes & onions
How to keep non-approved junk from living on top of the fridge

First the onions & potatoes. These don't like the refrigerator and, frankly, our fridge is too small (due to being partially built-in) for them to live there. I tried the pantry but the trash can kept overflowing onto them (I know, I know don't let the trash get like that, but trash is teenage boy's chore--ok??) I tried a few different containers. I looked at wooden potato bins but couldn't bring myself to own something labeled "Taters." Still no solution. Finally I "settled" and went with these:

A pair of matching metal baskets to hold the onions and potatoes. These were to sit prettily on the floor beside the bench in the entry way. You can "sorta" see them with the broom leaning against one in the picture in yesterdays post (scroll down to the photos of the junk). Nice idea, but.....They collected junk because they were too big for the potatoes and onions, were't good cat napping spots in spite of the easy access to sun beams, and well, I was just too lazy to return them!

Now the junk on top of the fridge. I also "settled" for these not terribly attractive woven "cubes" to hide the seldom used coffee maker, and (I naively thought) my packed lunch dishes and bag as well as the only-ever-used-for-ginormous-batches-of-Chex-Mix cake carrier! (That doesn't stay closed, doesn't have a carry handle and.....why am I keeping this? Oh, yeah--Chex mix!!) I cringed even buying these since the kitchen is black and stainless and these are some kind of dried grass--mixing metaphors in my decorating!!!! I'm sure there's a law (or needs to be) against that! BUT, they DID hide the stuff and DID look (somewhat) better than the junk on top of the fridge. However, my lunch bag disappeared, I could never find a plastic container with a matching lid (except, of course, in the sink dirty) and frankly Cali has enough "spy kitty" places to hide in. This needed a change! One more "however" though.....My budget was about $10 so I needed to try to make things I already owned work.

Photo credit: kraft foods

I used the Organizing Junkie's P-R-O-C-E-S-S step-by-step. I threw out the disposable plastic containers ( I do not buy soft margarine or Cool Whip--ok once in a while cool whip--so I don't have THOSE containers floating around. Likely this is because we threw out multiple generations of them when my Mom left my childhood home. You can read more about my childhood home in part I.)

Here's my solution for now. If it doesn't work, I'll start over. The kids like it and praised it so that's all good!

Potatoes and Onions are in their pretty metal baskets at the front for easy access. (If I like this arrangement I'll probably spray paint them black or silver.)

The ugly woven grass cubes are at the back hiding the coffee maker, the cake-carrier-aka-Chex -Mix-container and a few holiday dishes. They're there when we need them, but not in sight. Cali has been up to inspected it all and left disgusted so I guess that's a good sign!

Tune in tomorrow, same bat blog, same bat time, for another edition of a "Weekend of Organizing" right here at Hopewell Takes on LIFE!!

A weekend of organizing!

2011-10-24T08:53:00.022-05:00

For Menu Plan Monday clic k HERE.....

Coming up this week on Hopewell Takes on LIFE! The one where she takes back the house!

Photo credit & book link

Last week I reviewed Laura Whittmann's new book Clutter Rehab. This week, I started in attacking the problem spots in my house. And, boy! did I make progress!! First, I made an ACTUAL LIST (rare for me) of the places that needed to be fixed, then I used the steps she recommends HERE to accomplish my tasks. Now, before you have visions of tv shows on people who hoard grocery bags and matchbox cars and drier lint [YES! I do know this is a mental illness--I've had one such person in my family] I have organized and KEPT organized many other areas of my home. Example: Our Laundry Closet.

A Little Background Information:

This post may prompt you to say "Who has to LEARN to de-clutter?" Well, I DID for one! I grew up in a chaotic house marred by my father's depression and my mother never getting over once having live-in help.

Photo credit: http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/organizing/storage-ideas-00100000066140/page2.html

I did not know what "organized" meant until I visited my friend Sue's house in the 6th grade. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, had a place and was in it in that house! Her father had an actual workbench with tools neatly hanging above it and had rows and rows of baby food jars attached by the lid to a shelf, each carefully labeled with the EXACT size of screw, nut, bolt or dohicky within. I was in awe.

Not only did they never use the groceries straight from the car or try to cover their nakedness with a four year old Reader's Digest as they went, soaking wet and shivering, in search of a reasonably clean bath towel, but they actually knew how many towels they owned! Blew. Me. Away. I swore my house would be like this.....until I walked home and had the organizing dream sucked right out of me as I stepped in our front door.

Fast forward a lot of years. My cousin is nearly OCD--I once put my purse down after arriving at her house and didn't see it again till I asked for it on leaving. She looked at me like I was crazy and said "I hung it on the guest purse hook in the closet where it belongs." O-K........ Did I mention she's an incredibly successful home decorator now??

Anyhoo, I bought my first home and decided things would be different. I found this book (this was before Organizing Junkie had launched her blog--actually before Al Gore invented the Internet):
In my eyes, author Denise Schofield was a GOD. Idolatry here I come! [Kudos, I think to the Chinaberry Catalog, for bringing it to my attention.] Life got way, way better!

Fast forward AGAIN to adopting two kids, plunging into the worst depression of my life, ruining my life by buying way too expensive of a house and making it worse by buying a mini-van we also couldn't afford and certainly didn't need......life sucked. It sucked so badly I lost and never found MY copy Ms. Schofield's book as well as the library's copy of her other book Confessions of a Happily Organized Family!! (Ok, we found the library book--at the bottom of the cedar chest as we were moving!) Finally I "dug out" by taking a new, much better paying job and moving into a nice tiny house with a tiny FREE car! Life keeps getting better!

So, what did you DO already?? I hear you....

I used Laura's P-R-O-C-E-S-S

P---plan of attack! I made my LIST of what wasn't working, what IS working, budget etc. My budget was pretty much nothing, but I gave in and decided I could part with $10.

R--remove items. I went to AREA #1--the dreaded back door entry way. Which is also the ONLY entryway since the living room is too small and we have a chair parked in front of the front door. Otherwise we'd all have to squish up on the little couch--not happening while I'm alive. Besides, how can 3 cats nap on ONE couch when one of them is our Coco??? Glad you understand....now back to organizing! Ok, I took everything out of that lovely bench which though lovingly given and assembled by my Mom and my kids is NOT the shoe cubbies I passionately wanted!! I'm working on letting that go, in the meantime I had to conquer the chaos.

Sorry the photo looks as bad as the area DID......

Yep, that's what GREETED us when we came in! No wonder the kids complained that I walked in the door and started yelling......

So I REMOVED everything from the cubbies and the area. Worn out shoes, mismatched flip-flops, one house slipper and misc trash were simply thrown out. Bye-bye!

O--organize piles. I made it simple. I threw the trash straight into the giant wheelie trash can I dragged to the back door and put shoes that were still in use in another pile. ALL trash went straight to the trash.

C--"containerize" – find storage solutions. Containers create boundaries according to Laura. I had previously gathered up all the useable storage containers so I looked them over and tried a few. My goal though was to make the bench work for us.

E--evaluate plan. Could I get this mess to something we could keep "decent" if not "perfect." Maybe......

S--solve/Simplify any remaining issues. I didn't like any of the available storage containers, but couldn't recall seeing anything for sale (except the originally desired shoe cubbies) or nifty little wall-mounted thingys from IKEA, but they were out as I didn't think the landlord would go for screwing them to the wall or to the cabinet.

Time for a compromise that doesn't have to be permanent. Go with what you have!

Then I put my few pairs of shoes in their cubbies, put P's work boots and mowing shoes to the side behind the door and added a basket (I'm not thrilled with a white plastic monster sitting there, but it beats the mess we had!) to hold flip-flops in front, my oversized, but oft-used cookbooks in the back and the library bag and other tote bags in it too. Not ideal, just WAY BETTER!

All this week I will be posting the results of my de-cluttering and re-organizing mission this past weekend. Some areas are working fine so I left them alone. Some I'm trying something new. In NO AREA am I letting DESPAIR over-take me. I'll be sharing some ideas I found at Laura's website, I'm an Organizing Junkie, as well as from participants in her many Organizing Challenges as well as from other sources. If you need inspiration to tackle similar projects, please stop by!

Menu Plan Monday

2011-10-24T08:46:00.014-05:00

Part One of my WEEK OF ORGANIZING can be found

HERE

Season Cool Links Recipes Post is HERE

Monday:
San Francisco Pork Chops (Crock-Pot) [postponed]
Rice
Peas/Mushrooms
Fruit

Tuesday:
Homemade Sloppy Joes on Baked Potatoes w/cheese & sour cream
Green Beans
Fruit

Wednesday:
Homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza

Thursday: Something in the Crock-Pot

Friday:
No one home--Dance at School so I'll find something for just me!

Need more help with menu planning? Try Menu Plan Monday at "I'm an Organizing Junkie."

Saturday:
Dinner at Church with the "Trunk or Treat" Crew

Cool Seasonal Links II--all RECIPES edition--UPDATED

2011-10-21T09:20:00.016-05:00

Photo credit: www.easyeverydayeats.com/2011/10/pumpkin-cream-cheese.html

Pumpkin Cream Cheese What a great addition to your breakfast bagel or toast or????

Photo credit: http://willowbirdbaking.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/pumpkin-spice-pull-apart-bread-with-butter-rum-glaze/

Pumpkin Spice Pull-Apart Bread With Butter Rum GlazeSounds heavenly!!

Photo Credit: http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/2010/09/27/pumpkin-scones/

Pumpkin Scones!! I hope to make a batch of these this weekend!

Pumpkin Spice Bread with a hint of orange?

Pumpkin Oatmeal to start your day? Sounds good!

Soft PUMPKIN pretzels? They look GREAT! And, I bet they taste and smell wonderful!!

Pumpkin CHILI????

Copy Cat DQ Pumpkin Pie Blizzard??

Pumpkin-Sage Vegetarian Pasta???

Almost Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins?

If you're "over" pumpkin already, let's try APPLES!

Photo credit: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Candy-Bar-Apple-Salad

Apple Snickers Salad sounds yummy! Fun for the kids' table at Thanksgiving, too!

Photo credit: http://seeminglygreek.blogspot.com/2011/09/apple-fritters.html

Apple Fritters!! These look SOOOOOO good!! All that apple taste! All that good gooy glaze!!

For the Grown Ups table this Thanksgiving, why not try these Apple Turnip Mashed Potatoes? I'm going to make some for our table to sample, but I'll be nice to the kids and still make plain mashed potatoes, too!

A new healthy snack for fall? Apple Chips--no dehydrator needed, either! (Scroll down on the page to see the recipe.)

Or a quick casserole--Apple Ham Bake?

Of if apples are "tired" too....how about....Winter Squash Bread?

Want more cool links? Part I of this series

Two Words: BUY IT

2011-10-20T09:07:00.004-05:00

If you read this blog regularly, you know most week's I participate in "Menu Plan Monday" over at the blog "I'm An Organizing Junkie." Laura Wittmann, PRACTICAL organizer extrodinaire (you won't find multi-thousand-dollar custom built closets at her site!) has published her wisdom in a great new book. I'm very ASHAMED to say that, having been burnt by other blog-to-book books, I waited in line for this one at the library. I will be remedying that ASAP. This book is too valuable. I'm sure it will be my bridal shower "go-to" gift for years to come--it's that cool. Just like Dave Ramsey's class, this book should be required reading for all engaged couples!

For those of us to whom organization is not innate, this book has to be the #1 Beginner's class in home and life organization. Every single one of the 101 tips in this book are free or very cheap, easily doable and--best of all--they WORK! No degree in architecture, no upper-6-figure income needed, either. The book is perfectly sized to toss in your purse, briefcase or diaper bag for those minutes spent waiting in traffic or at the orthodontist. You can use it as a to-do list for organization.

Although I follow her blog religiously,have adopted many of her suggestions and posted results from my own home in many of her online challenges, I still got so much out of this that I have a whole new approach to a few problem areas in our home. I especially like #30 "If you don't like something, change it or stop complaining." There will be changes posted from my own home--SOON! Look forward to them! Hold me accountable. And, in the meantime, go buy this book!!! Money very, very well spent!

Seasonal Cool Links and a shamless plug!

2011-10-19T09:55:00.009-05:00

Photo credit: http://www.printcandee.com/tutorial-paper-pumpkins/

The Candee blog has this nifty paper pumpkin to make!

Photo credit: http://motherhood.yourway.net/printable-gratitude-journal-to-count-your-blessings/

Motherhood Your Way (via Money Saving Mom) has this lovely printable Gratitude Journal! Perfect for Thanksgiving.

Photo credit: http://www.bystephanielynn.com/2010/11/make-your-own-pumpkin-spice-sugar-scrub.html

Under the Table Dreaming has this yummy sounding Pumpkin Spice Sugar Scrub recipe! Set this out with some pretty seasonal towels on Thanksgiving Day and everyone will come to the table with clean, wonderful smelling hands!

Photo credit: http://eatathomecooks.com/2011/10/caramel-pumpkin-cake.html

Sick of Pumpkin Pie? Try this luscious-sounding Caramel Pumpkin Cake instead! Thanks to Eat at Home.

And now the shameless plug! Not so shameless really--I'm not paid for this, nor was I asked to do it. I'm not much of a scent person partly because my Mom lives close by and has endless alergies. But, on a company retreat this fall, I found the Twisted Wick Candle Company, met one of the owners and fell in love with the whole business concept. (Reminder--I am in NO WAY being compensated for this!!) I fell in love with their Creme Brulee candle!

Logo and photo credits: http://store.twistedwick.com/

But, as yummy as it smells, I KNEW, you'd all want to order some of their fabulous FALL SCENTED candles! Who could resist scents like these: Apple Cider, Autumn Harvest, Candy Corn, Carmel Apple, Plum Pudding and Pumpkin Crunch!!! Perfect to light on Halloween or Thanksgiving. Their kitchen themed scent, Grandma's Kitchen is a good choice, too, for this time of the year. If you are really into home fragrance this is YOUR company--start ordering from them now! No big corporation--just real people, running a real business, making a real product. They're nice, too!

Want more fun links? Here's last week's list! Here are a few links to past Cool Links posts Link 1 Link 2

Some fun links!

2011-10-10T14:47:00.010-05:00

Photo credit: http://pursuitofhippieness.com/2011/10/01/funfetti-cake-batter-fudge/

This looks so cute and would be perfect for a birthday party! Funfetti-cake batter fudge!

Photo credit: http://naptimecrafters.blogspot.com/2010/12/guest-post-rag-quilt-from-just-enough.html

Super easy flannel rag quilt for chilly nights to come!

I've wanted to make this denim rag quilt for years now. I save up jeans, forget why I have all these outgrown jeans and give them to Goodwill, then do a head-slap when I remember it!

Dark hot chocolate mix to drink with that cozy quilt and that wonderful fudge! (Scroll down for the recipe.)

And if that isn't enough sugar to warm you up, try homemade carmel corn!

I really, really want to make one of these Plaid Christmas Wreaths some time! But if I don't get around to it I could make the seller really happy and just buy one! So pretty!

Menu Plan Monday

2011-10-10T10:40:00.006-05:00

Last week's Buffalo Chicken Chili was such a hit the kids ASKED to eat leftovers! (NOTE: it took a lot more of the Wing Sauce to please us than the recipe stated.) So, we skipped my planned dinner one night and had the leftovers! So, one meal pre-planned for this week. Then change of plans Friday left another pre-planned meal! And yesterday I ended up not even cooking--one kid ate with a friend the other at Youth Group!

Monday
Ground Beef Gyros
Spinach Rice
Fruit

Tuesday:
Broccoli Ham Turnovers
Potato Wedges
Coleslaw
Fruit

Wednesday:
Creamy Italian Chicken (Crock Pot)
Buttered Pasta
Peas & Mushrooms
Fruit

Thursday
Meatloaf Burgers (postponed) (Crock Pot)
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans
Fruit

Friday
Philly Cheesesteak Pizza (Postponed)

Need more menu planning ideas? See all the posts at Menu Plan Monday over at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Pat Conroy's Reading Life

2011-10-06T09:20:00.005-05:00

As you know if you've read any of my recent posts, I love book lists. And a book titled My Reading Life just has to mention a few books, right? And since Pat Conroy was one of my favorite authors until his horrible South of Broad came out, I just had to read this. (Ok, I actually listened to Pat read it in the audio version.) Happily, Pat is back as a favorite author with this wonderful little memoir. So much of this book spoke to me in ways so knowing and so intimate that I can't clearly put them into mere words. Much of what touched my soul was contained in the first chapter when Conroy pays well-deserved homage to his mother for the passion for literature she gave to him and to his poet-sister, Carol.

"My mother hungered for art, for illumination, for some path to lead her to a shining way to call her own." (. 15)

Conroy makes the intellectual life his mother created for herself and two of her seven children so real that I could smell the mustiness of the library books on those hot Southern days--especially the day of the painting. I tried so hard to be that type mom for my kids....but they did not take to it. They are, at best, reluctant readers although P had one excellent season as a true reader and may return to that past-time again. But it is just that to them--a way to fill time. It is never a passion, a consuming force as it is for me, or as it has been for Pat Conroy.

While I have two college degrees, Mrs. Peg Conroy, like so many in her generation, left college to get married. Leaving formal education did not dampen her ardor for learning. Instead, she found the library on the Marine base where they were stationed or in the town just outside it's gates and used it as her "university," pulling her children along with her.

"Since she did not attend college, she looked to librarians as her magic carpet into serious intellectual life." (p. 5)

"A library could show you everything if you knew where to look." (p. 14)

"To my mother, a library was a palace of desire masquerading in a wilderness of books." (p. 13)

I'd not be much of a librarian if I did not rejoice in those sentiments--those truths.

But it was this statement, more than any other, that made this book nearly a second umbilical cord for me:

"Peg Conroy used reading as a text of liberation, a way out of the sourceless labyrinth that devoured Southern girls like herself."

I could re-write this to read: I used reading as a text of liberation, a way out of the sourceless labyrinth that devoured rootless suburban girls like myself, locked into a cookie-cutter life in a cookie-cuter house with a family that broke the mold.

Like Conroy I grew up as a rootless "brat"--not military, but corporate. My Dad was transferred 4 times before I reached the fourth grade (which goes a long way to explaining why I never learned math). In my second kindergarten class I discovered the truth pretty quickly: I was a new kid and I didn't belong. And so it would be in every school thereafter. As a little child I made my life with my stuffed animals. Then I grew into the world of the doll house my grandfather built me or the Breyer horses my other grandfather helped me collect. Finally I outgrew that and made my world my record collection, my band instruments and my books. It was the books that really helped me survive always being on the outside looking in. Being from a sarcastic home with a mentally-ill Dad and a mother trying to cope. Books helped me escape and find myself.

"I take it as an article of faith that the novels I've loved will live inside me forever." (p. 11)

The first book that consumed me was Gone With The Wind--it's probably why I cannot have a decent relationship with a decent man! I spent too much time at Tara on the porch with the Tarleton twins, or at Twelve Oaks fawning over Ashley all the while wishing a Rhett Butler would look at me. Instead I found myself at the movies with a poor relation of Charles Hamilton or eating at a chain restaurant with a long-lost cousin of Frank Kennedy. It was one of two books I took with me to Peace Corps. I can still recite the first paragraph by heart. I have the 50th Anniversary edition in the slipcase and keep 2 $2 bills to mark my favorite scenes.

Peg Conroy also loved Gone With the Wind and like me she re-read it over and over. I've read it so many times I can tell you who really minor characters are! I've watched the movie so many times I could perform it with sock puppets and be word perfect on the entire script. While I agree 100% that the book is seriously demeaning in it's portrayal of the slaves, I think it is too powerful a book to be dismissed out right for not being politically correct. As Conroy points out, it captures accurately the mood the passionate Confederates after the war--it is their story told thru their eyes. The only Americans ever to have a war in their own yards. It is about survival.

The other books he discusses, the teacher he idolizes, are beautifully written and stand alone as individual stories. But for me the book was really Chapter 1 about his mother and Chapter 2 about Gone With The Wind. I love Anna Karenina, too, but not with the passion that ceased me when I first lost myself in the red earth of Tara on that sunny Spring day in 1861.

Menu Plan Monday

2011-10-03T09:10:00.002-05:00

Sunday:
Breakfast: Ripple Coffee Cake (our all-time favorite coffee cake)

Lunch: Broccoli/Potato Soup

Dinner:
Homemade spicy chicken nuggets***
Cornbread "casserole"
green beans
fruit
Strawberry Cheese Cake Pie

Monday:
Buffalo Chicken Chili (Crock Pot)
Fruit

Tuesday:
Lasagna (Crock Pot) [Using Ricotta & adding black olives]
Roasted red pepper salad*****
Garlic Bread
Fruit

Wednesday
Asian Chicken (Crock Pot)
Rice
Veggies
Fruit

Thursday
Meat Loaf Burgers (Crock Pot)
Buttered macaroni
peas & mushrooms
fruit

Friday
Philly Cheese Steak Pizza (Using my own pizza crust)

Spicy Chicken Nuggets coating:
1/4 c corn meal
1 t chili powder
1/4 t red pepper
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 garlic powder
salt if desired

Toss chicken cubes or strips in melted butter and bake 10 or more minutes till done at 400.

Roasted Red Pepper Salad:

Put 3-5 red peppers (whole) on a baking sheet and bake at 400 for about an hour, turning to "blacken" all sides. When done (I do this over the sink) puncture each one so the liquid can run out, then peel (skin should come off very easily) and slice.

Mix 5 T olive oil, 2 T balsamic vinegar, s/p a few drops of hot sauce and 1-3 cloves of chopped garlic. Mix and chill several hours. We love this on mixed greens (no need for additional dressing) or, drained, on crusty bread and toasted.

Need more menu planning ideas? Go to I'm an Organizing Junkie and see what everyone else has on the menu this week!

A New Book List!

2011-09-28T10:03:00.003-05:00

You KNOW I love a good book list! I've posted about this here and here. As a librarian who trained before computers took over the universe (Gosh! that makes me sound REALLY old!) I learned to love bibliographies (i.e. book lists) as much as a reader's guide as for their research value. Today I stumbled upon a list new to me: The American Library Association's Young Adult division's reading list for the College Bound. "Yawn," you say? "Been there, done that," you say? Not so fast!! This is not your high school Literature teacher's lists of classics. This is a list designed to expose the college bound to a new world:

"The books on this list offer opportunities to discover new ideas, and provide an introduction to the fascinating variety of subjects within an academic discipline. Readers will gain an understanding of our diverse world and build a foundation to deepen their response to that world." (website)

I must say it is without doubt the most politically correct list I've yet encountered (not that there's anything wrong with that, you understand). I went thru the different sections of the list to "grade" myself on how aware I am of what's considered good to be exposed to today before going off to college. I got a high D. Here are the one's I've read--only one of those I read in college and frankly I was STUNNED to see it receive spot on any list, let alone this one!

Here are the books I've read from this list in the order they appeared in the list:

The Red Tent
Year of Living Biblically
Annotated Mona Lisa (I have not read EVERY page of this--yet)
(Complete Perespolis)
Maus: A Survivor's Tale
(Curious Incident of the Dog in Night-time)
Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead (the one from college)
What Color is Your Parachute (admittedly I read the 1983 version)
Three Cups of Tea
The Glass Castle

That's a very short list! The Secret Life of Bees and The Book Thief have been on my to-read list for a while. They also mention the Kite Runner, which I have not read, but I have read the author's Thousand Splendid Skies so I felt a little better about myself! NOTE: titles in ( ) are ones I gave up on.

This got me thinking--what books would I want to add to that list? In creating MY list I ignored those classics that make it on every such list and focused on books public since 1990. To make it more challenging I only picked books I've read cover-to-cover. Here goes! (I've used the categories the original list uses--as best I could since they overlap a bit here and there).

Arts & Humanities

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Ann Lammott

History & Cultures

Havana Real by Yoani Sanches

Nothing To Envy: Ordinary Life in North Korea by Barbara Demick

Village of Waiting by George Packer

Literature & Language Arts

Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Wingshooters by Nina Revoyr

Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Science & Technology

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology by Eric Brende

Fruitless Fall: Collapse of the Honeybee.... by Rowan Jacobson

Social Sciences

Columbine by Dave Cullen

Horse Boy by Rupert Isaacson

Life on the Color Line by Gregory Howard Williams

Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose

I doubt this list is complete and I may repost it as I recall other titles that should be there. It is interesting to note that I found myself drawn only to titles that would fit within todays PC rubric. Self-censorship is often unconscious.

[Note: I am not a member of the American Library Association simply because it deals more with public libraries and with school libraries. I am a past member and state officer in The Special Libraries Association and am currently involved in a faith-based librarians association that is relevant to my current job.]

What's on your nightstand?

2011-09-27T15:12:00.004-05:00

"There we go then," Mum said, "I'll just get my Uzi and we'll be off...."

"Bullets, lipstick, sunglasses. Off we go...." (p. 28-29).

Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller. You can read my full review HERE. One minor annoyance: the weird size of the book. I hate gimmicks like that! Now we'll have a slew of books in this weird size.

I grew up with families like these. This book resonated with me--the farms lost, the old people, the tragedies of our everyday family life--all of it. The Erikson's are an Iowa farm family in the early 1970s. Each of the four children take a slightly different, but believable, path in life. Tragedy strikes. Marriages fray. Money is made and lost. Normal mid-western life. I listened to the audio and thoroughly enjoyed it. The Year We Left Home by Jean Thompson.

My Mom and I, along with my late Dad, were HUGE fans of the books and tv series "All Creatures Great and Small" which starred Carol Drinkwater as Helen Herriot. We enjoyed the first of her "Olive Trilogy" a few weeks back. Mom accidentally ordered the THIRD book next so we skipped ahead in the story and enjoyed it. In spite of her rather shrill, spoiled-little-girl ranting against shooting the wild boars this was another nice installment to the story. The characters that surround her are so marvelous and the food makes you drool! The Olive Harvest by Carol Drinkwater.

This book is a MARVEL! What an unexpected gem of a book! I loved every word of it. Society girls, sick of the round of parties and good works while waiting for husbands to arrive on the scene take a bold step and change lives. Like modern day Peace Corps Volunteers they journeyed to a remote part of early-20th Century Colorado to teach school. Just read this one--you won't regret it. A definite possibility for my "Must Read Book of the Year." Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West by Dorothy Wickenden.
Imagine women being able to easily bear children into their 70s or beyond? No more agonies of fertility treatments? Well, that's the idea in this novel--a "lost" tribe on the Amazon in which women remarkably bears children almost throughout their lifespan. Dr. Anneck Swenson is a research scientist and doctor of obstetrics who has studied these folks for year. Dr. Marina Singh arrives after another pharmacologist from her Big Pharma company disappears. Swenson and Singh have a hidden past that plays out in an interesting way. I did not find this to be a "blockbuster" of a book, but it was good enough to finish, although it could have used more editing. As I listened I was extremely annoyed that the reader of this audio book could not decide how to pronounce the name "Marina." It was so badly slaughtered on occasion I thought for a few seconds there was a new character! While listening I could picture the late Katherine Hepburn as Dr. Swennson and Donald Southerland as Anders and maybe William Hurt as Mr. Fox. Probably we'll get some huge star in the movie version. I guess I'm hoping for Meryl Streep for Dr. Swennson. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett.

Like Nothing Daunted (above) this little book is another gem. I'm positive it will become part of the literary cannon Women's Studies and be a required case study in most business schools. That said it is an amazing read! One woman's "pluck" in the face of adversity is so uplifting, so real and believable that I find myself wondering what happened to that spirit in this country? Admittedly unhampered by sweat-shop laws and other regulations that often hinder as much as they help here in the USA (No, no, I'm not PRO-sweatshop! Not all regulations are bad!!), Kamila Sidiqi, armed with a couple of basic sewing lessons goes home to start a business empire. Oh, did I mention the Taliban had forbidden women to work? That, too! She was really up against it. Her little brother had to accompany her to do business, but she made it and then some. And, took most of her neighborhood to a better existence with her. Another one to JUST READ, ok? The Dress Maker of Khair Khana..... by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon.

Love to read? Check out more entries at What's on Your Nightstand over at 5 Minutes for Books!

Menu Plan Monday Crock-Pot edition with links!

2011-09-24T11:56:00.004-05:00

Sunday:
Sweet Mustard Pork Roast in Crock Pot
Roasted Potatoes
Green Beans
Fruit

Monday
Beef Stew in Crock Pot
Coleslaw
Fruit

Tuesday:
Chicken Cacciatore in Crock-Pot
Spaghetti with olive oil & garlic
Veggie
Fruit

Wednesday:
Cheerleading Competition!
We will eat at the Fair

Thursday:
Something easy--it will have been a long week already
Friday:
Homemade pizza

Need more menu ideas? Join the Menu Plan Monday fun at I'm An Organizing Junkie!

Catch-up post: This season of life

2011-09-22T10:08:00.011-05:00

In real life I'm a librarian for a university. This time of year I'm run ragged teaching endless sessions on how to do research (which students ignore for the most part) and how to avoid plagiarism (ditto). I also spend time "embedded" in online courses doing the same thing. The students online tend to ask more questions than the students sitting in a classroom. Go figure.

That said, I do still have what passes for a life! This fall it's meant Saturdays at high school cheerleading competitions and Sunday afternoons cooking for our week. I find the grind is harder this year than the last 3 years on this job--probably because the kids are both in high school, are testing their independence in normal ways that add stress for me as a mom. They have more homework and for once are actually talking about it a little. That's great and I love it, but it does mean less "down time."

I don't blog much about P and B anymore because they are teenagers and they don't want me to. I respect that. Friends and school are their world--not me as it was when they were little. That makes me both happy and sad. I'm happy they are growing up and in daily life need less from me. Sad because peers have so much influence and not all of it is desirable.

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=compass&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=595&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=ME75ZImqg5TCFM:&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compass&docid=wXUS0cajQaBVpM&w=220&h=220&ei=WlV7TtGBBvDD0AHq1MjnAg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=254&page=1&tbnh=111&tbnw=111&start=0&ndsp=25&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=42&ty=60

The other thing happening at this Season of my life is I'm exploring. Mostly looking at possible second income ideas that can eventually carry over into retirement. So many people are doing that that I've a ready peer group for encouragement and ideas. I don't know what will come of all this yet. My brother and sister-in-law have a mobile BBQ business and a shop in a flea market to help fuel their retirement and pay for the horses they love. Other friends have started "hobby" businesses--a small retail "niche" somewhere on the web or a small service company.

http://www.progressivereadingseries.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Business-plan-this-year-150x150.jpg

I find myself reevaluating most of my life right now--what do I want to keep? What do I want to change? Typical of reaching 50 I find. With the both P and B eligible for independence in only 3 years I try to think through how that could look. Will either go to college? Will they move out? What kind of work could they find--especially in our very rural area. Lots of changes coming up.

Menu Plan Monday

2011-09-19T10:03:00.004-05:00

Sunday:
Lunch:
Pork Lo Mein (postponed from last week)

Dinner:
Broccoli Salad
Spicy Pepper Penne (SUPER!!! We LOVED IT!!)
Plum Kuchen with vanilla ice cream

Monday:
Polynesian Sausage Supper
Rice
Salad
Fruit

Tuesday:
Ham & Corn Chowder (crock pot)
Corn Bread
Fruit
Salad

Wednesday:
Buffalo Chicken Strips
Rice
Mixed Veggies
Fruit

Thursday:
Homemade Hamburger Helper
Veggies
Fruit Smoothies

Friday:
Homemade Pizza

What's on YOUR Menu this week? Need ideas? Head over to I'm An Organizing Junkie to see all the Menu Plan Monday entries.