Photo by Angie Quantrell
Yakima Valley
People.
RV life in the winter, particularly in a four-season location (like the Pacific Northwest, east of the Cascades), is not a piece of cake. Nor is it for the faint of heart.
I should have opened with a question mark and let you guess first. How many fleece blankets do you think a person would need to adequately block window drafts against winter chills? In January. While living in an RV? And all-season RV. At least that’s what it says on the side.
Nine. We require an assortment of 9 lap throw-sized fleece blankets to tuck along the cracks of all window openings to block drafts. Is this a pain? Yes. Do I despair? Yes. Murmur? Unfortunately. Yes.
But we are warm! The draft-blockers do their job. So well, in fact, that on super chilly mornings, they block the heat to portions of the curtains and the curtains freeze to the windows. Don’t worry! It eventually melts and we wipe away the beaded rivers streaming down into the window tracks.
Extra tasks are required for RV life in the winter. There is a longer daily chore list. But we keep warm. Our tricks of the trade keep us nice and toasty, despite ice, fog, snow, sleet, wind, rain, and sub-freezing temps. How about you? Any winter RV tricks you’d like to share with a couple of RV popsicles?
A Haiku Moment for you:
fleeced
winter’s chills gobble
heat, invite mr. frost in
9-fleece kicks him out
fleeced by Angie Quantrell
Yakima Valley
Merry Christmas to you, family and friends. Sending extra special wishes and prayers for love, joy, and peace. And if you are missing a loved one and having a tough holiday season, may the comfort of the Lord surround you and your family.
Joy and peace.
Photo by Angie Quantrell
Little Naches River area, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, WA
Pie for Breakfast, A Baking Book for Children
by Cynthia Cliff
Prestel Publishing, 2021
Thank you, Cynthia Cliff, for sending me a copy of this gorgeous cookbook for children! I read about Pie for Breakfast on Kathy Temean’s Writing and Illustrating, a blog about books and the publishing world. Thank you, Kathy, for featuring Cynthia and allowing me to win a copy. What a delicious feast for my eyes and my tummy!
Complete with colorful, detailed, delightful illustrations (all done by Cynthia-check out her website), Pie for Breakfast is filled with recipes from around world. Each recipe has directions appropriate for ages 5-9 and suggestions on when to ask for help from an adult. Safety tips are included.
I love how Cynthia wrote this cookbook as a picture book story. Hazel is the main character who loves to bake and likes to raise money for special projects. As Hazel discusses the school’s fair, she has the idea of organizing a bake sale at the fair to raise money for the school library. Since Hazel loves books as much as she loves baking, the project is a perfect fit. Hazel invites her friends to bake something special for the bake sale. Pie for Breakfast is filled with the recipes and bakers who contribute to the bake sale.
What I loved about this book:
~the recipes, yummy!
~the colorful illustrations filled with enchanting details
~the bake sale that ties together all of the recipes and friends
~a bake sale for books! Sounds perfect to me.
~metric measurements are included
~the overall adorableness of the book
Amazon Blurb:
A beautifully illustrated baking book for children featuring recipes for delicious treats along with a powerful message about family, diversity, and helping others.
When Hazel and her father bake together, her mother says they make the whole house smell like a fancy bakery. And when they bake in the morning, they get to eat their goods as a special treat–even if it’s for breakfast. One day Hazel decides to organize a morning bake sale for her school and encourages her friends to contribute to the effort. The results take readers all over the world, from strawberry mochi and pumpkin empanadas to Indian-spiced shortbread and Egyptian basbousa cake. Best of all, each of these treats including with muffins, carrot cake, scones, and vegan and gluten-free items–comes with its own easy-to-follow recipe. Cynthia Cliff’s charming illustrations combine the simplicity of folk art with a sophisticated flair. Her down-to-earth baking accommodate all sorts of substitutions and skill levels. The perfect book for satisfying baking, Pie for Breakfast introduces children to new flavors and treats, opening their palates and their eyes to the delicious ways that baking can bring us together.
Thank you, Cynthia. Congratulations and happy baking!
T – Thankful thoughts and prayers for overflowing blessings
H – Home filled with love and family
A – Answered prayers and wishes
N – Needs fulfilled
K – Kindness extended (and accepted)
S – Security of faith
G – God who provides
I – I AM
V – Victorious life
I – Inconceivable joy
N – Necessities in abundance
G – God who saves
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalm 100:4 NLT
Wishing you a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving Day filled with love, laughter, and gratitude.
Thanksgiving Words by Angie Quantrell
photo by Angie Quantrell
Ahtanum Mission, Yakima Valley
snow, ice, sunshine, warmth
orange green red harvest decor
fall and winter friends
two seasons clash in
popularity battle!
yet time marches on
die, rest, rebirth, grow-
to repeat again, cycles
chase each other home
two seasons clash by Angie Quantrell
photo by Angie Quantrell
Yakima Valley, WA
“Run, run as fast as you can, you can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man!”
Or I could say, “Run, run, as fast as you can, you can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Nan (a)!” They try, but Nana captures them all for hugs.
This was the first year everyone tried icing bags. Some successes, lots of messes, plenty of fun.
It’s easier to eat icing straight from the bag.
The grands are growing up fast, and they tried to run, but Nana and plenty of sugar captured their taste buds and creative imaginations.
Welcome to our annual Gingerbread House decorating tradition. The designs are getting a little bit more sophisticated, but I noticed decorations disappear just as quickly as in previous years . . .
Mullet Man. Yep.
Nana is getting shorter . . .
Must remember to put toothbrushes and toothpaste in with Christmas gifts.
See? There are some decorations left!
Curly-locks twins!
Jamie claimed the extra house! Whew.
Getting shorter . . .
I’m still taller than a few of them!
Here’s to gingerbread, sugar, and sweet grands!
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the pasture.
Due to needing my Christmas photo background early, we went tree hunting this month-November. With indoor trees, this is a big no-no, but since we will keep this tree outside of the RV, it will be perfectly fine and not pose a fire risk as it dries out.
My honey drove us up along Oak Creek Road in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. Ready with our tree tag and saw in hand and mud boots on feet, we settled in to search for the perfect tree.
Before we hit the area where we could cut a tree, I noticed two big red blobs out in a meadow. Judging by the size, deer. Skinless and headless, left to rot. Ugh. Poachers. While I don’t personally hunt for meat, I understand some people enjoy the outdoor activity. In our state, hunters draw tags and their hunting helps control the numbers of herds roaming the forests. But to leave two carcasses and not use the meat was totally irresponsible. Grrrr.
On the way up the mostly deserted road, we saw a trail of smoke. From an untended campfire. Hoping that hunters or hikers were just out of view, we continued on our way, though I was fuming, because despite drenching rain, the fire was still smoldering. And we are just out of a horrific forest fire disaster of a summer. Even with the rain, fire is still a problem!
After 8.5 miles of rutted dirt roads and several “That one’s pretty good,” we finally found our tree. Though I tried to get Kevin to cut me a HUGE tree (heh-heh, wouldn’t that be funny, trying to drive down the road with a tree hanging off both ends of the truck?), we had to settle for a much shorter one. Cue the Christmas Vacation music.
We secured the sweet-smelling tree and headed back down the road. The fire was still going! Mr. Firefighter to the rescue. He literally got his hands dirty (the shovel was buried beneath the tree) to make sure it was dead. Good job, honey!
And much further down the road, we drove around a bend and startled a huge gathering of carrion birds! At least three bald eagles, numerous turkey buzzards, and magpies. All of them were enjoying the feast of deer meat. Whew. Nothing goes to waste in the wild, right? They were quite happy to take care of the deer carcasses. I imagine at night other predators would be drawn in-coyotes or wild cats.
A forest full of adventures. Here she is, our beautiful tree!
The Chickens Are Coming!
Written and illustrated by Barbara Samuels
Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers, 2019
I was sitting in my she shed the other day and heard a nearby rooster crowing. Very nearby. Just a note: we do not have chickens OR roosters.
Though our neighbors do. So we often have feathered guests running around the pasture. But I’ve never heard the crowing this close.
I carefully tip-toed to the window and looked out. Sure enough, there was a handsome fellow and his girls right outside the door! They happily pecked and picked, enjoying free range exploration and snacking.
They make me laugh, those chickens. Seeing them made me remember a picture book I had just read to my grandson, The Chickens Are Coming!.
This is such a fun picture book. A brother and sister who live in a large city see a sign about chickens needing a new home. Pretty soon they are the owners of a delightful group of hens, each with a name and personality. The story continues as the siblings hope for eggs, but no eggs are found.
Why I Like This Book:
~ the chickens have personalities
~ the story line is fun: discover chickens need a home, adopt the chickens, learn about chickens, try to help the chickens get ready to lay eggs, try to find eggs, try to find chickens
~ plenty of detailed and engaging illustrations – my first grader was captivated by all of the things he could see on the pages
~ chickens in the city!
~ chicken dance
~ free range eggs (a personal favorite of mine)
Feeling like a good chicken story or adopting a hen or three? The Chickens Are Coming! will give you plenty of good reading and/or help you learn what you need to do when your chickens arrive.
Love, Laughter, and Life 