Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart
Liam is a little boy with Down syndrome. His best friend is his puppy, Milo.
In fact, Milo is his only friend…until one day when Liam surprises everyone.
This sweet story tugged at my heart. Liam is a lovable character who will be relatable to children.
The author included an explanation of Down syndrome that is easy for children to understand.
The book is geared to early elementary grade boys and girls. Definitely recommend!
Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart
Book & Mug Mysteries
Book Four
After reading the first three books in the series, I had to know what happens next for the folks in Cadburn. They’re an interesting cast of characters.
Three years earlier, Steve and Lyndsy only seemed to have one thing in common—their love for Civil War history. The town has ties to the Underground Railroad that Lyndsy is determined to uncover. In public, it appears that the pair can’t agree on anything.
One night, Olivia, who works at the Book & Mug and rents a room in the same historic home as Lyndsy, spots them in period costume while in search of hidden history.
Now, three years later, Olivia finds herself in the middle of a mystery while housesitting for a friend.
This is a multi-layered series that is best read in order. Complex characters lay the foundation for complex stories. There are lots of characters, but the author does a good job of reminding readers of events in earlier books.
Levigne has delivered another well-written cozy mystery that kept me turning pages.
Recommended for readers of cozy mysteries.
George Washington’s vision for a major road westward likely built over time.
The Ohio Company of Virginia owned a trading post on the Monongahela River, which is now Brownsville, Pennsylvania, in the 1750s. George and his half-brother Lawrence were members of this organization that hired Colonel Thomas Cresap to oversee the blazing of a trail from Cumberland, Maryland, to its trading post in 1752. Cresap hired Delaware Indian Nemacolin who performed the task. The new trail was called Nemacolin’s Path.
The following year, the French occupied Fort Le Boeuf (currently Waterford, Pennyslvania), an area in British territory. Major George Washington, sent by Virginia Governor Robert Dinwiddie to order them to leave, rode his horse over the future National Road. The French ignored the warning.
In 1754, Washington commanded a small army with orders to remove the French from Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh.) Washington’s small army traveled over ground that would become the National Road. He was ambushed and eventually surrendered.
As aide to British General Edward Braddock, Washington again found himself traveling toward the French at Fort Duquesne in 1755. Braddock ordered 500 axmen to clear a road for his supply wagons and infantry. The army was ambushed again and Braddock was killed.
The road his army blazed, marked by stumps and brush, was called Braddock’s Road. It ends near Pittsburgh. Early pioneers preferred packhorse trails over the rough road.
After the Revolutionary War in 1784, Washington focused on his western holdings. He took the same difficult route westward as he’d taken in 1754. Then he called a meeting at a land agent’s cabin on the Cheat River (currently Morgantown, West Virginia) in September of 1784. He asked for opinions on the best route between the upper Potomac to an Ohio River tributary.
A young surveyor, Albert Gallatin, was present at that meeting. He surprised Washington by agreeing that a passage through the mountains of northwestern Virginia (now West Virginia) was the best route. Washington agreed.
Our first President died in 1799 without seeing his vision for a national road realized, but Gallatin didn’t forget. President Thomas Jefferson selected him to become Secretary of the Treasury. One of Gallatin’s duties was the disposition of western public lands.
Gallatin lived in southwestern Pennsylvania. He approved of a road there and assured Jefferson that this type of road was “of primary importance.”
Congress voted on March 29, 1806, to lay a road from Cumberland, Maryland, to Ohio.
Perhaps Gallatin thought of a long-ago meeting in the Virginia wilderness with a famous Revolutionary War general and future President as the National Road was voted into law.
-Sandra Merville Hart
Sources
Day, Reed B. The Cumberland Road: A History of the National Road, Closson Press, 1996.
Schneider, Norris F. The National Road: Main Street of America, The Ohio Historical Society, 1975.
Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart
The Beanbaggers of Cornhole County, Book 1
After treatment stops shrinking the tumor, Josie decides she wants a more peaceful lifestyle. She and Morgan, her husband, move to a small town in Texas. He wants to shelter her. She wants to do something meaningful. She convinces him to volunteer daily with youth at church.
This led to a business venture aimed at raising money for the church. The best part was the teenagers’ enthusiasm for the project. It soon becomes obvious that some are gifted in various ways that bless the entire town.
The story is set in 2014. I marveled at how far technology has come while reading.
This book is written in first person in both Josie’s and Morgan’s viewpoints. Her cancer is often in the background of the story and sometimes at the forefront. If that’s a rough topic for you, I recommend that you start reading the series with the next book. This first book is considered a prequel by the author.
I loved the small-town setting. I quickly learned to love the characters. I cried at several scenes. There are plenty of characters for the author to choose for later books in the series. I already have a few that I hope to find as the lead characters!
The game of cornhole is an important part of this story. While I felt that some dialogue could have been tightened, I enjoyed the book. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart
A Mac & Sam Mystery Series, Book 4
Private Investigator Mackenzie Love is still trying to find out if her parents’ deaths a few years ago were an accident. While she’s researching for clues, an electrician is electrocuted in an adjacent room. He’s in a coma, but his wife doesn’t seem as sorrowful as the nurse administering aid at the scene. Something strikes Mac as odd at the accident. Then she receives a note warning her not to dig into the past.
Detective Jake Sanders feels even more protective of Mac now that they are engaged. The investigation quickly becomes dangerous for both of them.
As always, I tried to figure out the suspect as the story unfolded, but I was wrong again.
The author does an excellent job of escalating both the mystery and the danger. This cozy mystery was a page-turner! I couldn’t put it down.
Recommended for those who enjoy cozy mysteries and suspense novels!
Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart
The Orchard House Bed & Breakfast Series, Book 1
Josie Martin returns home from college for the summer with a secret. Her relationship with her professor crashed when he asked her to end her pregnancy. Back at home with her family still recovering from the loss of her father the year before, she struggles with whether to give her baby up for adoption or raise him or her as a single mother. Tripp, her best friend who had wanted to date her last year, will be devastated by her news, along with her family.
Tripp Colton has loved Josie for a long time. While he supports her plans to open a Louisa Alcott-themed bed and breakfast, her mother’s dream, he struggles to accept that she only wants friendship from him. And then he hears a rumor…
I loved the bookish theme to the mother’s dream. Josie’s parents had even followed the Little Women theme when naming their children. Josie had turned her back on her dream of becoming a writer to pursue her father’s dream for her. The similarities between the lives of the Little Women sisters and the characters in this series will be plain for all who’ve read the classic novel.
I couldn’t put this book down. What a gripping, multi-layered story! Steadfast love shines in the lives of believable, flawed characters.
Unexpected twists, along with similarities to the much-loved classic novel, kept me turning pages. Recommended!
by Sandra Merville Hart
Parmesan Buttered Noodles is a great side dish. I’ve serve it with chicken and steak. It’s a nice change from potato sides. Tonight, I’m looking forward to serving it with pork chops. It’s an easy dish that takes minutes to prepare.
Ingredients
8 ounces of egg noodles
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter or margarine
4 tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese + 1 tablespoon, divided
½ teaspoon salt
¼ – ½ teaspoon pepper
I usually use medium or wide egg noodles. When preparing egg noodles, I often add 2 chicken bouillon cubes to the boiling water to enhance flavor. Alternatively, I sometimes use either chicken broth or chicken stock for half the water. For example, if the noodles require 1 quart of boiling water, half—or all—can be substituted with broth and cooked as normal. (I use beef bouillon when serving with steak or other beef main courses.) If I do add bouillon, broth, or stock, I cut back on the salt or omit it.
It’s a choice. Water is also fine. 😊
Cook the noodles per package instructions. Set aside.
Take a ¼ cup of the cooking water and add to a small saucepan. Add 4 tablespoons of butter. Cook on medium heat. Once it begins to softly bubble, cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Drain noodles. Toss with buttered sauce and parmesan cheese. Place in a serving dish.
Sprinkle more parmesan cheese on top.
My husband and I love this dish. And I especially love how easy it is to prepare with just a few ingredients.
Experiment with other types of cheese for a refreshing change.
Enjoy!
George Washington became the first President of the United States in 1789 to a nation in debt from the Revolutionary War. Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of Treasury, proposed the first national internal revenue tax to reduce the national debt. Congress passed a tax on distilled spirits in 1791.
Frontier citizens living in Western Pennsylvania violently opposed the tax. Dangerous roads made it difficult for farmers to haul corn and rye to eastern markets. They often distilled their grain because it was easier to preserve and store.
The excise officers only accepted cash as payment, which was out of the ordinary for the time period. Many refused to pay the tax.
Others resorted to violence. They threatened excise officers, which was enough to make some leave. Other officers were tarred and feathered before deciding to leave.
President Washington issued an admonishment in 1792, hoping to resolve the matter peacefully. Instead the situation escalated.
In July of 1794, about 400 rebels burned the home of a regional tax collection supervisor near Pittsburgh.
Washington responded by leading 12,950 men in a militia force to Western Pennsylvania. Perhaps the former general enjoyed wearing full military dress once again.
The rebels had scattered when the forces reached Pittsburgh. Out of about 150 men tried for treason, only two men were found guilty. President Washington pardoned them.
This historic event marks the only time that a United States President directly commanded ground troops.
-Sandra Merville Hart
Sources
Kotowski, Peter. “Whiskey Rebellion,” George Washington’s Mount Vernon, 2017/04/18 http://www.mountvernon.org/digital-encyclopedia/article/whiskey-rebellion/.
Logsdon, Chris. “Wills Creek,” George Washington’s Mount Vernon, 2017/04/18 http://www.mountvernon.org/digital-encyclopedia/article/wills-creek/.
“Ten Facts about Washington’s Presidency,” George Washington’s Mount Vernon, 2017/04/18 http://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-first-president/ten-facts-about-washingtons-presidency/.
“Whiskey Rebellion,” Encyclopeadia Britannica, Inc., 2017/04/18 https://www.britannica.com/event/Whiskey-Rebellion.
“Whiskey Rebellion,” National Park Service, 2017/04/18 https://www.nps.gov/frhi/learn/historyculture/whiskeyrebellion.htm.
Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart
The movie script based on the novel, In Shady Groves by Yvonne Lehman.
I’ve been intrigued with the idea of writing movie scripts for a while. A decade ago, I spent several months digging into how to write scripts. I read scripts for popular movies as part of my study.
So when I discovered Lori Marett’s script for Yvonne Lehman’s, I couldn’t wait to read it. Marett is a talented screenwriter, and I loved that she wrote a script for one of her mother’s novels.
This script did not disappoint. Rather, it kept me turning pages from start to finish.
Windsowers is a story about the Biblical prophet Hosea and his wife, Gomer. I couldn’t put it down. Yvonne Lehman wove a masterful tale of tragedy, betrayal, and brokenness that Marett has captured into a script.
How I hope to see this one day at the movies! Well-done to this talented mother and daughter team. Recommended!
Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart
Faith, Freedom, and the Front Porch Way of Life
This wonderful book is filled with stories of hope and reflection.
It is divided into sections by topic. The author includes his own reflections written in first person to introduce each new topic. Each section contains several stories written in third person.
Topics covered include honesty, friendship, hope, judging others, and overcoming adversity.
The author’s conversational style reminded me of sitting around the dinner table as a child, listening as my dad told story after story. We sat long after the meal had been cleared from the table as my dad enthralled us with events from his past. These reflective thoughts took me back to those days.
What a wonderful read. Recommended!
