This historical novel collection takes readers on a journey with librarians on horseback, who transport books to remote communities. I love reading historical novels where I learn new things about our history while enjoying a good story. I didn’t know that part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal provided for a Pack Horse Library Initiative. I love that folks who rarely left home during the Depression had the opportunity to read—or learn to read—a new book every week.
All four stories—Love’s Turning Page by Cynthia Hickey, For Such a Time by Patty Smith Hall, Book Lady of the Bayou by Marilyn Turk, and The Librarian and the Lawman by Kathleen Y’Barbo—touch on the danger faced by these brave young women. Riding horses or mules, they ventured out on mountain paths and bayous to deliver books.
I enjoyed this collection. All four stories are different. I like that they were set in different parts of the country.
Like everyone else the past two years, Covid has affected holiday plans—either by cancelling or postponing them. As I write, my son-in-law has Covid and a late Christmas family gathering will be delayed again.
I often try to bring some new holiday recipe to Christmas gatherings. Last year I made a yule log—delicious! This year I had planned to try Candied Orange peel. I decided to make it even though our celebration is delayed.
I looked at a few different recipes and they were all very similar.
Candied Orange Peel
2 large oranges, cut and peeled into 8 wedges
4 cups sugar, divided
3 cups water
8 oz chocolate, melted (optional—and for later, will use this after the peels dry)
Cut peel and pith (the white part) from orange wedges. Because oranges are a juicy fruit, this part can be messy so cut the oranges over a plate or rimmed dish. (I served the leftover fruit as a packed-with-Vitamin-C snack for the children in my home. 😊)
Next, slice the peel wedges into 3 strips each. Boil a large pot of water and then add strips. Cook for 15 – 20 minutes. Peels will be soft. Drain in a colander. Rinse and then drain again.
Place 3 cups of sugar in 2 cups of water in a medium saucepan. Stir to dissolve sugar and then leave it alone, bringing it to a boil over medium heat. Add the orange and allow the syrup to return to a boil and then reduce heat so that the mixture gently simmers for about 45 minutes, until peel is very soft. Remove the peel with a slotted spoon.
Hint: Save the orange syrup for another recipe or serve it on pancakes for a different flavor.
Place a cup of sugar in a mixing bowl and coat the peel. You may need another 1/3 cup of sugar to coat all the slices—at least I did, with the help of a preschooler and a kindergartner. 😊
Set aside the peel to dry on a sheet of parchment paper. I set mine on a lined baking sheet and it took 2 days for them to dry.
Optional—not optional for the chocolate lover in me!—melt 8 ounces of chocolate and dip the slices halfway into the melted chocolate. Delicious! I love the combination of orange paired with chocolate.
Store the dried peel in an airtight container. It should keep up to two months.
My family ate these without chocolate too and asked for more. It’s a different yet delicious orange treat, packed with vitamin C in this cold and flu season—a win-win!
I will look for ways to use this orange peel in recipes. I’ve already steeped a slice in my tea for a hint of orange—and added vitamin C!
I was thrilled when Yolonda Tonette Sanders asked me to contribute to this devotional book!
The book is divided into themes such as Renewal, Love, Promises, and Rest. My devotions can be found under the Celebration/Freedom and Giving sections.
Sanders wrote some of the devotions and invited other talented authors to join her. DiAnn Mills, Cindy Thomson, Obieray Rogers, Chelsea C. Elliott, and Leslie J. Sherrod, along with others, also wrote for this well-done devotional.
I hope you pick up a copy for quick, inspiring weekly devotions.
Sometimes Penelope doesn’t quite fit in with her classmates because there aren’t any other T. rex’s at her school.
Oh, she plays with the other kids at recess but they always want Penelope to play all the dinosaur parts in their games. Her favorite thing of all is singing and playing guitar.
Should she sign up for the talent show?
A nice story about embracing your own talents. The book is geared toward beginner readers and children 5 – 7.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 1:4-7)
The manger—a trough for horses and cattle to eat from—was the first bed for Jesus because there was no room at the inn.
Here’s a list of ten traditional Christmas songs that mention a manger:
“Away in a Manger”
“Angels We Have Heard on High” – See him in a manger laid
“Good Christian Men Rejoice” – And he is in the manger now
“Angels and Shepherds” – Lo he is lying, born in a manger
“Gentle Mary Laid Her Child” – Gentle Mary laid her child lowly in a manger
“O Come, All Ye Faithful” – Child, for us sinners poor and in the manger
“While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks” – and in a manger laid
“Mary’s Boy Child” – and in a manger cold and dark
“O Holy Night” – The King of Kings lay thus lowly manger
This contemporary novel collection is set during the holidays. Each novella is set at an Amish bakery. Prepare to want a delicious dessert as you read …
In Cookies and Cheer by Amy Clipston, Alyssa lends her artistic abilities to a creative window display for her employer’s bakery. She knows the best person to create the cookie cutters but Kyle, a boy she remembered from school, might feel it isn’t worth his time. When he agrees, she dares to dream of dating him. Unfortunately, finding enough time to date becomes an unexpected issue.
Katie, a talented baker, takes charge of the family’s bakery while her mother recovers from surgery in Loaves of Love by Beth Wiseman. She learns that running the bakery isn’t as easy as it seems. Henry, whom she’s known since childhood, hangs around more and she wished he would ask to date her, but she’s just started dating someone. This new boyfriend is a bit too affectionate, something she and Henry agree on.
Mattie travels to Birch Creek to help in her new aunt’s bakery. Then she realizes Peter, whom she can barely tolerate, is also here to help her uncle build an addition. Her best friend, after dating him, had plenty of harsh words about Peter. Mattie must figure out the truth in Melting Hearts by Kathleen Fuller.
In Cakes and Kisses by Kelly Irvin, Ambrose is a sweet, kind man with a learning disability that kept him from learning to read. When Martha sees him being mistreated, she steps in to help. Ambrose has cared for her for years, but is certain she will never love him. The death of Martha’s parents has placed the responsibility of her younger siblings and the bakery on her and her sister’s shoulders. Dare she dream of love with so much weighing on her?
Each story is very different, which kept my interest engaged. I liked the characters in each story and found myself pulling for them. I love reading Christmas books around the holidays and enjoyed this collection. Because each story is set in a bakery, I found myself craving delicious baked goods!
Burning large yule logs for the entire Twelve Days of Christmas celebrations is a centuries-old tradition. A recipe for a sweet dessert by that name was first published in The English Huswife by Gervase Markham in 1615.
The yule log (also called buche de Noel) is a traditional Christmas cake filled and rolled into the shape of a log. French bakers began to place intricate decorations on the buche de Noel cakes in the 1800s. The cakes became a popular dessert that was served after Christmas Eve midnight mass.
Yule logs are usually made of sponge cake that is baked in a shallow Swiss roll pan. A creamy filling is rolled inside the cake before it is rolled into a log shape. The outside is typically iced with buttercream or ganache.
Decorations vary for the yule logs. Christmas decorations like holly leaves or Christmas trees make a festive holiday dessert. Yule logs are often decorated with marzipan or meringue objects one finds in the forest such as mushrooms.
I decided to make a yule log cake for the first time. I found a wonderful recipe on Life, Love and Sugar that included some helpful hints.
I followed this recipe and took the yule log dessert to a family gathering. It was a big hit! Everyone loved it.
Though the chocolate cake had a delicious cocoa flavor, the cream filling was the star of the dessert for me. It wasn’t too sweet. The mascarpone cheese wasn’t too heavy for the whipped cream filling. I splurged and ate a piece for breakfast the next morning. Delicious!
Angels played an important part in the birth of Jesus.
The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to let her know she’d bear the Son of God. His name was to be Jesus. (Luke 1:26-38)
An angel appeared to shepherds the night Jesus was born, telling them the “good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” Then many other angels joined them and sang praises to God. (Luke 2:8-14)
Here’s a list of ten traditional Christmas songs that mention angels:
“Angels We Have Heard on High”
“Angels From the Realms of Glory”
“Angels and Shepherds”
“The First Noel” – The First Noel, the angel did say
“Gentle Mary Laid Her Child” – Angels sang about His birth
“O Little Town of Bethlehem” – The angels keep their watch of wondering love
“God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen” – “Fear not, then,” said the angel
“Mary’s Boy Child” – Hark, now hear the angels sing, a king was born today
This contemporary novel is set during the holidays and snagged my attention right away.
Krista moves her daughter to Winter Hill to accept a position as city manager. She soon learns the town has a Christmasville celebration—and it’s part of her job description.
The trouble is, Krista doesn’t like Christmas. She grew up in various foster homes that made celebrating the holiday a challenge.
That’s not the only challenge with the job, but Conner Harris and his daughter certainly make Krista long for the move to a new state to work out.
The characters in this contemporary romance tugged at my heart. I was especially caught up in the struggles of Krista’s daughter, who had such a likeable, fun personality. As trouble escalated, I didn’t know how it was going to end. The festive names of different businesses in the city added to the holiday fun.
Are you looking for a fun treat to make with the children in your life? These reindeer cupcakes are a lot of fun to create. My two-year-old granddaughter decorated several. For her, getting the nose, eyes, antlers and mouth somewhere on the cupcake spelled success. Her older brother, after making a few with facial features in the proper spots, had a lot of fun making “silly” faces.
Making this a successful adventure required advance preparation. You can do this and have a blast yourself if you plan ahead.
If you have young children, make the cupcakes ahead of time. I followed my mom’s yellow cake recipe. Children in elementary school will probably want to help with all of it. Get yourself into the mindset that this will be messy. You can clean up later. Now is the time for organized fun.
While the baked cupcakes are cooling, prepare the reindeer “antlers” and “mouth.” Pretzels (I bought festive iced pretzels but the plain ones look more like reindeer) work great for these. Break them into pieces that resemble reindeer antlers and mouths. Older children will probably want to do this for you.
Candy eyes are often available at grocery stores. Red imperials cinnamon flavored candies, M&Ms, or chocolate chips make good noses.
Prepare icing or buy it. To keep things easy, I bought icing. White icing shows up really well but Christmas colors are also fun.
Once the cupcakes cool (I kept them in the fridge for about thirty minutes to make them easier to frost) gather the decorations and the children. Older children will want to frost the cupcakes while the younger ones will likely need adults to do it.
Frost the cupcakes one at a time and then decorate immediately. Demonstrate the first one so everyone knows what to do. After that, supervise as needed.
Learn to be flexible with the child’s own creative spirit. They’ll have more fun … and so will you.
What a fun activity for the children in your life! Maybe it will become a family tradition.
Sandra Merville Hart 