Authors #161 and #162 : From New Year's Peas to a New Year's Resolution (Piernas-Davenport and Miller)

 Gail Piernas-Davenport with illustrator Marion Eldridge shares a story of sharing in Shante Keys and the New Year's Peas and there's even a recipe for Grandma Louise's Hoppin John at the end.  Shante shares the new year with her neighbors in her quest for black-eyed peas.

 Ingredients for Hoppin' John include broth, celery, onion, garlic, bay leaf, blackeye peas, ham, and oil and cooked rice (not pictured)

Finished Hoppin' John over rice.  It was good with a definite southern flavor.

Squirrel's New Year's Resolution with pictures by Kathi Ember and text by Pat Miller gives us a look at squirrel who wants to make a resolution but isn't sure how to do so.  She helps her friends and finds the answer to her question as she goes through her day. See more of  Pat Miller's books at: http://www.patmillerbooks.com/books.html

Authors #157, #158, #159, and #160 Sawyer, Obed, Glaser, and Rose with humor and love for Hanukkah and Christmas

A simple tale by Ruth Sawyer and illustrated by Max Grafe is shared in The Wee Christmas Cabin of Carn-na-ween.  Where does one go when one has served others but has no place to call their own?  Ooona welcomes all who come to her bogland abode.

Nancy Cote's bright colors liven up this delightful tale of friendship and Hanukkah in The Borrowed Hanukkah Latkes by Linda Glaser.  Read more about Linda Glaser at her website: http://www.lindaglaserauthor.com/

Who Would Like a Christmas Tree takes the reader from January through December to see how a Christmas tree fills the needs of a variety of creatures in each month of the year.  Ellen Bryan Obed wrote a wonderful story with simple illustrations by Anne Hunter. 


 Nancy Rose has inquisitive squirrels in her backyard and she's learned how to capture some of the most enchanting squirrel/prop interactions.  She explains in her books how she gets some of the pictures which involve having a lot of patience.  Merry Christmas, Squirrels! is well worth the read as is the companion book, The Secret Life of Squirrels.

Sunday Randomness #43: Ellensburg, WA has a great little Mexican restaurant named El Caporal II

Beautiful tile work and hand painted walls along with enormous real plants made the interior of the restaurant a joy to behold.

Plus they had carved backboards on the booths.

Complimentary chips and salsa-good but nothing really out of the ordinary.  We also ordered horchata which was good because it was not too sweet.

Beef chimichanga that was properly fried with a crispy outside shell.  Rice was fine, beans were good.

And the fried ice cream?  Absolutely fantastic!  Of course, we would find good fried ice cream at somewhere that we'll probably never see again.  It came with a house made fresh strawberry sauce that was out of this world.  I did mention to our waitress to please give the chef compliments on our meal, especially the fresh strawberry sauce and the chimichanga.

Hedgehog and family in her teeny, tiny college dorm room.  She brought a small microwave to supplement the two burners and a small dorm fridge under the counter top that comprises part of the room furnishings that she shares with two other roommates.  

Authors #155 and #156 : Mem Fox, Wombats, Nativities, and Goldman with gifts for Christmas and Hanukkah

*******Congrats to Nia!*********  (I'll get your prize to you by January 10th. And thank you for commenting.  I was going to get a card for everyone who entered within a reasonable number because I believed so few would comment but they just all lose out on a Menchie's outing.) Win a $5 Menchie's Frozen Yogurt gift card!  Ms. Goldman based her story on an older story that has been adapted into a number of films, an opera, a musical, and incorporated into an episode of Rugrats, Studio C, My Little Pony, and Futurama.  The story came out in 1905 and was first published in a book anthology in 1906.  The story is also available to read for free as part of Project Gutenberg.  Leave me a comment naming the author (either pen name or real name) and/or story title by December 30, 2016.   I will randomly pick a winner on January 2, 2017 from the comments with a correct answer and edit this post naming the winner and instructions on how to get your prize.

Hanukkah starts on the evening of December 24th, sharing the date with Christmas Eve.  Dara Goldman shares a story with a slight incorporation of both holidays in Boris and Stella and the Perfect Gift.

Wombat just wants to be part of the Nativity.  What role will be the right fit for him?  Mem Fox brings us a touching story of how there is a place for everyone in Wombat Divine starring illustrations by Kerry Argent.  Mem Fox is an Australian writer with many books to her credit.  You can read more about her at: http://memfox.com/

Authors #153 and #154 crocodiles and christmas? with Becker and thoroughly tired with Thury

 Bonny Becker brings us a cute tale from 1998 with illustrations from David Small in The Christmas Crocodile.  "The Christmas Crocodile didn't mean to be bad, not really."  Read about the latest good news and updates at Ms.Becker's site: https://bonnybecker.com/2014/08/16/latest-news/   She's also written a number of other wonderful children's books that you can find at your independent neighborhood bookstore or library!

Vlasta van Kampen beautifully and with much detail illustrates The Last Straw by Frederick H. Thury.  Will the camel finally make it to his destination after all his boasting? You can see more beautiful illustrations at Ms. van Kampen's website: http://www.vlasta.ca/

Authors #151 and #152 Gill braves Outside and Wojciechowski carves a tale of Jonathan Toomey

Deidre Gill takes us Outside for a winter adventure with her imaginative illustrations.  You can find out what she doing currently on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/deirdregillstudio/

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski and illustrated by P.J. Lynch imparts the story of a village woodcarver and his interactions with a new widow and her son as she asks him to carve a Creche for Christmas.  You can read more about Susan and her work at: http://www.susanwoj.com/

Betsy Christensen of Orem, UT has an extensive Creche collection.  Read more about her and her collection and see pictures of the collection from The Daily Herald at: http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/central/orem/orem-woman-s-numberless-creche-collection-features-art-from-around/article_8080bb85-f06e-5b30-b386-466f949828de.html

Authors #149 Strand with cutting trees and #150 Huddy with saving a tree

The author, Keith Strand, recounts his grandfather's story of cutting down a stand of trees for firewood during a blizzard filled winter season in Colorado but keeping one tree for the future in Grandfather's Christmas Tree, illustrated by Thomas Locker.

Delia Huddy saves a Christmas tree in the book The Christmas Eve Tree illustrated by Emily Sutton.  A homeless boy takes home an unwanted Christmas tree because its branches are crooked and bent.  He spends what little money he has on some decorations for the tree, bringing some happiness to those around him.  The tree finds a new home when the street custodian plants the tree in an abandoned part of the local park.

Sunday Randomness #39: Pigeon books in Chinese and English by Mo Willems and two new candy bars from TJ's

Mica could read and understand most of the Chinese version of The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! by Mo Willems.  Mo Willems has written some great books for early readers that are still funny for adults too! He has a great website with links to games and merchandise and books at:  http://www.mowillems.com/

Two new candy bars that we found at Trader Joe's.  Quasar Bar with "whipped chocolate nougat and rich caramel enrobed in dark chocolate" and Boffo Bar with "peanuts, caramel, and nougat enrobed in milk chocolate".  They were fine but nothing spectacular.  I thought the Quasar was a bit like 3 musketeer with caramel and the boffo was a bit like how baby ruth use to taste before they changed the recipe.

Authors #147 McGhee shines bright with a little star angel and #148 Waldman takes a trip with a snowflake

 Author Alison McGhee and illustrator Peter H. Reynolds bring the story of a little angel and her gift to the Christ Child in Star Bright. Alison writes for all ages and you can see more of her books at https://alisonmcghee.com/books/  Of course Peter H. Reynolds is known for his own style of books like Ish and The Dot and more which can be found at http://www.peterhreynolds.com/

Do you wonder what happens to a snowflake after it melts?  Find out in this wintry wonderland of water book by Neil Waldman titled The Snowflake: A Water Cycle Story.

Authors #145 Jan Brett with a Bear/Troll tale and #146 Joyce Meyer presents a Christmas Pageant

Trolls take on a "kitty" in this turnabout tale by Jan Brett entitled Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve?  Jan Brett illustrates her books with gorgeous detail and exquisite side margin paintings.  Read more about Jan Brett at: http://www.janbrett.com/index.html where she also has thousands of free activity and coloring pages.

The Perfect Christmas Pageant by Joyce Meyer and illustrated by Mary Sullivan is a whimsical look at how a production doesn't have to be perfect to be just right.

Author #143 David Milgrim introduces Santa Duck and Author #144 Gunter Spang with a manager story

 In The Ox and the Donkey by Gunter Spang and illustrated by Loek Koopmans, two animals bond when a baby needs their help.

Duck needs to find Santa to tell him what he wants for Christmas but what happens when the other animals mistake Duck for Santa?  Find out in Santa Duck by David Milgrim.  See more of Mr. Milgrim's books at his website: http://www.davidmilgrim.com/index.html

Sunday Randomness #813: Opening a fruit drink and Korean Fried Chicken

We had to use the Robo grip wrench and two people (one holding the bottle, the other holding the wrench onto the plastic lid of the bottle) to get the top off the drink.  

 Tried Bok a Bok Korean Fried Chicken in Seattle, WA.

 Got the house-made biscuit with spiced honey, kimchi mac n cheese, sweet potato tots with Korean chili salt, and chicken breast strips.  It was all good and all spicy.

If you're in Seattle, this is a great place to visit for some different but good food. http://www.bokabokchicken.com/

Sunday Randomness #472: Weeping Lemon Chain

Different flowers in the yard.  Pruned the tree in the spring and it really produced a lot of flowers in return.

Answers to Owl Post Balloon Matching

A. Mica                        1. blue-eyed owl
B. Daisy                       2. horizontal outline eyes owl with dash feathers
C. Hedgehog                3. vertical outline eyes owl with v-birds feather/hair line & eyebrows
D. Rhubarb lady           4. triangle-like or greater/less than eyes owl, also with dash feathers and                                                     squiggly hair

1 is B. Daisy
2 is D. Rhubarb lady
3 is A. Mica
4 is C. Hedgehog

Sunday Randomness #97: The Cursed Child, Midnight, Owl Post

 We each made an owl for our Hogwarts Owl Post.  Can you guess which one is which by matching?  I'll post the answer in a few days.
A. Mica                        1. blue-eyed owl
B. Daisy                       2. horizontal outline eyes owl with dash feathers
C. Hedgehog                3. vertical outline eyes owl with v-birds feather/hair line
D. Rhubarb lady           4. triangle or greater/less than eyes owl

We were all tired and ready to get our books as we waited in our designated line so we didn't even mind the photo bomber.  It was fun and some of us read and finished the book in the next day or two.

Sunday Randomness #92 : Casual combinations

One of Hedgehog's final projects for AP Statistics about the Association between Gender and Substance Abuse.

 Jack leaves little presents like compressed fur balls, loose clumps of fur,
and shed outer claw nails.  Measurement tape is turned to the centimeter side.

Happiness can be found in simple things like homemade buttermilk waffles.

Mica, Daisy, and Hedgehog did color eggs this year for Easter.  

Brownie tarts with Cream Cheese filling

Mica made brownie tarts with cream cheese filling and fresh blueberries for a family home evening treat last night for her singles ward.  They watched the movie The Sandlot.  We got the tart pans from my Aunt Lorraine (Thank you!) and we've used them on a few occasions.  We used a regular brownie mix and it made about 28-30 brownie tarts.  We greased the tart pans with shortening and flour and they came out fairly easily.  Make the cake like brownies as directed on the package and bake for about 14-16 minutes or until edges are set.  Immediately make a small indentation in center of each brownie after removing from the oven (we used a small measuring cup to make the indentation) and let cool 15 minutes or so before removing them from the tart pan to cool completely.

The cream cheese filling recipe is as follows:  2 oz. white chocolate melted with 2 tbsp. milk in microwave, stirring until smooth.  Soften 8 oz. of cream cheese and beat with 1/4 cup powdered sugar.  Stir in chocolate mixture to cream cheese mixture and then gently fold in 1- 2 cups of thawed frozen whipped topping (like cool whip).  Spoon or pipe final mixture into cooled brownie tarts and top with fresh berries.  Keep refrigerated.  Thanks to Pampered Chef for the original recipe: https://www.pamperedchef.com/recipe/Desserts/American/Tuxedo+Brownie+Cups/22995