A MOTHER'S PRAYER AND APPLE CIDER

A new book just arrived and is on my desk ready for my review. Ready and waiting, since I just finished throwing ingredients into my crockpot for a batch of apple cider (recipe below) to enjoy with guests for a weekend of anticipated rain.

The spicy aroma is starting to fill my house and will keep me company as I peruse and share about the book, A Mother's Prayer, written and illustrated by Megan E. Gilbert (hardcover, 24 pages, from Ancient Faith Publishing). 

It's small in size (only 7.5 x 4.5 inches) and would make a perfect shower gift for a new mom (or for any mom, as a Christmas, Mother's Day, or birthday gift!)

Each colorful page has a different brief prayer, accompanied by Megan Gilbert's precious and delightful mixed media illustrations. 

Though this is a perfect book for moms, I think children will enjoy having it read by their mothers to them - they'll love the seeing the cozy illustrations of mothers and children, and knowing that these are the prayers their mothers pray for them.

About the author: Megan Elizabeth received a BA. in Fine Arts and Art Education from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, while also getting to study in France and Greece.  She has taught art to people of all ages in Canada, the US, and Europe.  She and her husband and their four children are currently residing at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York.

Crockpot Apple Cider Recipe

Put all ingredients in a crockpot: 

 

8 Cups Water 

4 apples, cored and quartered 

1 pear, cored and quartered 

1 cup sugar 

4 cinnamon sticks 

2 T mulling spices 

1/4 c pomegranate seeds (optional) 

Cook on low for 8 hours, then scoop out and discard the cooked fruit and spices from of the crockpot bowl. Pour remaining liquid through a strainer to remove any leftover bits. Serve warm - with a slice of apple, a stick of cinnamon, or drizzle of Jack Daniel’s (for adults only, of course.)

 

Notes: I like to use any variety of sweet apple (Honeycrisp apples are especially good!) I store any leftover cider in a large Ball jar in the refrigerator, ready to be microwaved a cup at a time! I found mulling spices at a specialty kitchen store, but you can also make your own. Recipe linked here https://inspiredbycharm.com/mulling-spices/.

FALLing in...LOVE?

Blogging has fallen on hard times here in my household over the summer.  There were a few reasons for that...

Covid. Bleh - but we've stayed healthy, thank the Lord. 

Masks. Uncomfortable. 

No church. Unprecedented. 

Politics. Yikes. 

Fires. Lord Have Mercy! 

My creative blogging juices were not flowing. 

But something else was happening that I could devote my attention to, thank goodness...

Lots of love. Both our sons decided not to wait out the Corona Virus, but to get married this summer - a challenge, to say the least during these Covid-19 times! 

Small, but ever so beautiful:  joyful ceremonies, sweet family gatherings.

There went June (wedding #1 in Arkansas). There went July (planning) and August (weddding #2, with a tiny reception in our backyard). I adore our two new daughters-in-law.  Our family is growing!  

Come September, my husband and I spent two amazing, energizing weeks out in the open National Parks of Utah and Arizona.  Why sit isolated and socially distanced in front of a computer when you can socially distance while hiking in Capitol Reef, riding electric bicycles through Zion, and off-roading in a 4x4 jeep in the red rock desert of Sedona???  It was glorious.

So: summer of 2020? Gone! 

I've been an absentee blogger for the whole summer season and now it's fall, y'all!  I can only tell it's October because pumpkins are for sale everywhere, squirrels are busy stealing pecans from our neighbor's tree and leaving empty shells on my front porch, and the arc of the sun is much lower in the southern part of the hot sky. No fall leaves yet where I live. Maybe an iced pumpkin latte will have to do.

Even though Blogger changed it's format a little while I've been away (grrr), hopefully I'm getting it figured out and can get back at it here.  I have quite a few books to review!

Did anyone happen to see Enola Homes on Netflix (sorry, yes, that network-that-should-not-be-named, if you're one of those who is boycotting because of the unfortunate Cuties film.  I won't be watching it, but I didn't cancel my subscription.)

Back to Enola ("Alone" spelled backwards) - she is the little sister of Sherlock Holmes, a young heroine created by author Nancy Springer, not Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  I enjoyed the movie and Millie Bobby Brown's fun and enthusiastic portrayal of Enola and ordered the first book of the YA mystery series, Enola Holmes, The Case of the Missing Marquess.  (LOVE the cover!)

From Common Sense Media:

Set in the days of corsets and horse carriages, this girl-centered mystery keeps readers on their toes with quick action, engaging characters, and fun riddles. Enola Holmes: The Case of the Missing Marquess is a great twist on a well-known name; older brother Sherlock Holmes isn't the focus of the story, and Enola's adventurous, inquisitive attitude help her grow well outside the confines of her society. The language Enola uses fits the early 20th century setting, so it could take readers a few chapters to settle into the style, but it quickly seems like another character in the story. There's violence, tension, and anger throughout, but all of it mild -- and some even comical.  

In the book, Enola is 14 years old, while in the Netflix movie she is 16 - which seems more apropos to her adventures (she goes off to London on her own).  The movie and book differ in quite a few details and even characters/villains, but are equally entertaining.  I think both prompt a good discussion with mothers and daughters about how life has changed for women since the early 20th century.  The movie especially has a strong feminist worldview and will bring up questions about the pros/truths/influence - positive and negative - of feminism in general, depending on where you stand with that.  I would definitely recommend parents previewing the book and movie or at least watching/reading along with their kids. (Movie review here). For ages 13 and up.

What are you reading, these fall days?

Leaf Man Is On The Move!

Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert is a perfect read aloud choice for October. It is an imaginative picture book that both toddlers and preschoolers will love...

My daughter recently found it at the library. After she read it to my almost-four-year-old grandson, he couldn't wait to make his own Leaf Man (his little brother even joined in)!

He's got to go where the wind blows...
When the fall wind hits a pile of leaves, Leaf Man is on his way to an adventure.  He has no travel plans as he is blown aimlessly past leaf chickens, 

butterflies, 

ducks, 
pumpkins, 
mice, 
turkey, 
vegetables, 
cows, 
and turtles and fish in a lake.

The creative illustrations and playful text will put you and your child right there on the breeze with Leaf Man!  And I can guarantee that Lois Ehlert's colorful leaf collages will inspire your child to create his or her own beautiful nature collage!

Check out the Youtube below - it's a sweet reading of the book by a precocious four-year-old boy name Jonah...

 

Children of Bookworms Get...Books!

Happy First Day of Fall!

I've been spending a lot of time doing Fall Cleaning because we are getting ready to do some remodeling.  I'm getting a home library!!!!

Wish it could look like this...

Haha!  Just kidding.  This is the Los Angeles Central Library Children's Literature Room.  You can ready my past post about my visit there by clicking here.

Below are a couple of photos I found on Pinterest.  I'd be really happy to style my home office/library after either of them! First, a very chic look...

This next one would be nice because my house is Cape Cod style...

Anyway, back to Fall Cleaning.  It's been exhausting going through and trying to organize all the mementos I've kept over the years! Birthday cards, Christmas cards, family letters...

And of course, I'm trying to sort through books.  I sent off four grocery bags of old paperbacks already.  

I. Have. So. Many. Books.

Many of them were in our sunroom - not a great place to store books. And now they're getting all packed up.  

Some are getting sent off to my kids, who have inherited (and will continue to inherit) their childhood favorites.

The children's books I'm keeping (as much for me as for my grandchildren who visit), and our grown-up books, are going into bins and boxes.  I've packed up six long bins and five boxes so far!!!

They'll be unpacked and put back onto shelves, once the library is finished. I can hardly wait! Any tips??

In the meantime, I'm bringing autumn inside, since there's not much evidence of it outside, here in Southern California!

Some Vintage Goodies On My October Bookshelf!

I spent yesterday gathering some October/Fall themed books off my shelf; and today I'm trying to decide which volumes to put in a book basket I'm assembling for our church's annual Oktoberfest Silent Auction.

This year some of the proceeds from our annual fundraiser will go to IOCC's Syrian Relief Fund.  Our church youth group and women's group are also making emergency kits to send in for Syrian Refugees.  (For more information about how to donate, go here.)

About the fabulous fall line-up of books you see pictured.  Most are vintage, but I'll start with the new ones first...

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the new illustrated edition from Jim Kay!

I can't tell you how excited I've been to see this book in person.  It will not disappoint, and will be such a great read aloud for fall (or anytime).

Jim Kay's illustration of "the Boy Who Lived".

Inside cover endpaper loveliness - Hogwarts.

One of my favorite illustrations - Hagrid and Harry.

Murder at Mansfield Park (2010), by Lynn Shepard.  I'm having a bit of trouble getting into and excited about this one.  I enjoyed Death Comes to Pemberly (2013) by P.D. James more, but maybe that's because I liked Pride and Prejudice more than Mansfield Park in the first place?  (Young adult)

Whoo's There: A Bedtime Shadow Book (2005), by Heather Zschock, illustrated by Martha Day Zschock.  This is such a fun and unique book!  You read it with the aid of a flashlight, which you shine through the page ''windows'' to cast pictures on the wall as you read with your child at night.

Sarah, Plain, and Tall (1985), by Patricia MacLachlan.  2015 marks Sarah's 30th Anniversary of publication, so I couldn't leave out this classic Newbery Medal winner! Sarah, Plain and Tall gently explores themes of abandonment, loss, and love. It's a surprisingly short book that delves deeply into the characters of Sarah and the family she joins to wife and mother.  Below is the edition I grew up with...

Pumpkin, Pumpkin (1986), by Jeanne Titherington.  Simple story in a sweetly illustrated picture book for fall: A young boy named Jamie plants a pumpkin seed in the spring and, after watching it grow all summer, carves a face in it for Halloween! But best of all, he saves some seeds that he will plant again next spring. (ages 2-4)

Costumes for Nursery Tale Characters, (1975), by Jean Greenhowe.  Let's hear it for Literary Costumes! (go here for my previous post)  I found this fun vintage book at my library bookstore, and couldn't pass it up.  Starting with a basic one-piece tunic and pants pattern, some of the character costumes include Cinderella, Robin Hood, Friar Tuck, Little Miss Muffet, and Little Red Riding Hood.

  

Now all I need to do is make a final decision about how to pack my basket of books for the silent auction.  And if I have time, I might put together a centerpiece basket of fall foliage to auction off as well, like the one pictured below that I saw at my sister's church over the weekend!  Happy October!

Happy First Day of Fall!

From The ABC Book (vintage, undated)

It's Finally Fall, and Our Owl is Back!

Our neighborhood owl is back!  A couple of nights ago I heard him:  the "hoo-hoo-HOO" of a Great Horned Owl, in one of the big trees just outside our window. Somehow, he knows it's fall...

(Illustration by Valerie Greeley)

Just like the owls, we are all thankful for cooler mornings and evenings here in Orange County!  We don't get freezing temperatures or huge amounts of fall color, but I love the deeper slant of the sun, and the still-warm breezes that scatter the fallen, dry sycamore leaves across our brick patio in the autumn.

That must be a cue for the Great Horned Owls to start looking for a mate - their breeding time is from October through December here in SoCal.  Below is a photo my son took at sunrise early one spring morning a couple of years ago, of two of them after nesting season was over.

Today I have to share an adorable children's book about owls! (you can also go here for my past post featuring other owl book recommendations.)

The book is Owl Babies, written by Martin Waddell and beautifully illustrated by Patrick Benson.  It's a story about waiting and reassurance...
And it is my grandson Peter's current favorite library book (my daughter told me he's checked it out three times!)  Last week I found a cute board book edition that came with a little stuffed owl, which I mailed off to Peter - he was quite ecstatic.

Toddlers and preschoolers can really relate to this simple story because, like most young children, the baby owls - "Sarah", "Percy", and "Bill" - miss their Mommy. Especially Bill, the youngest, whose only line (my grandson's favorite to chime in on) is: "I want my Mommy!"

The story starts as the worried owls wake up one night, in their little owl habitat (which the author describes perfectly), to find that their Owl Mother is gone.  They do lots of wondering and thinking - "all owls think a lot" - and waiting.  It's dark and things are moving all around them.  They have to be brave and stick together, and finally, just as they closed their eyes and began wishing... sure enough, "SHE CAME!"

Watch the charming animated version of the book below to find out what Bill's one line of input changes to at the end of the story...and Happy Fall, dear readers!

October's Party

(by George Cooper)

October gave a party; 

The leaves by hundreds came- 

The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples, 

And leaves of every name. 

The Sunshine spread a carpet, 

And everything was grand, 

Miss Weather led the dancing, 

Professor Wind the band.

October for Anne Shirley...

From Anne of Green Gables
by Lucy Maud Montgomery

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Excerpt from Chapter XVI: "Diana is Invited to Tea with Tragic Results"

October was a beautiful month at Green Gables, when the birches in the hollow turned as golden as sunshine and the maples behind the orchard were royal crimson and the wild cherry trees along the lane put on the loveliest shades of dark red and bronzy green, while the fields sunned themselves in aftermaths.

Anne reveled in the world of color about her.

"Oh, Marilla," she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs. "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it? Look at these maple branches. Don't they give you a thrill--several thrills? I'm going to decorate my room with them."

"Messy things," said Marilla, whose aesthetic sense was not noticeably developed. "You clutter up your room entirely too much with out-of-doors stuff, Anne. Bedrooms were made to sleep in."

"Oh, and dream in too, Marilla. And you know one can dream so much better in a room where there are pretty things. I'm going to put these boughs in the old blue jug and set them on my table."

My October view: It's not Green Gables, but it's Home.

It's Official: Fall is Here!

Yesterday marked the first day of fall: the Autumn Equinox.  

Here in Southern California, that means stores are stocking pumpkin candy corn, and we finally have temperatures below 85 degrees. (But we might get an "Indian Summer" in October).


Oh, how I've been waiting for this!  I LOVE FALL!  Why?  If you check out my Pumpkin/Turkey/Fall Time Board on Pinterest, you'll see why:

Stories like Pumpkin Moonshine, by Tasha Tudor -

Now It's Fall, by Lois Lenski -

Peter in Blueberry Land, (and many more books) by Elsa Beskow -

Trader Joe's Pumpkin Spice Rooibos Herbal Tea...

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Recipes - like homemade Pumpkin Coffee Creamer

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and Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting:

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Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Spice Bars:

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Also - Baked Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal, and Double Chocolate Pumpkin Cake with Pumpkin Spice Buttercream Frosting

Look at these Mums! ($13 from Costco!)

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DIY Pumpkin Bird Feeder via Martha Stewart:

(Non Scary) Halloween fun...If you've followed my blog for very long, you know I like to find ideas that are family friendly and book themed for Halloween -- like a "Storybook Pumpkin Patch", "Literary Themed Parties for 'tweens and Teens",  "Book or Treat", and "Literary Pumpkins".

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Watch for this year's Halloween ideas - coming soon!