second breakfast bath;
after canned dish, free range mouse,
and dry food chaser
second breakfast bath by Angie Quantrell
That’s our girl, Monet. First breakfast is half a can of Fancy Feast. After, she heads out to roam the pasture for a second breakfast on the hoof, er, paw. Next she takes a quick bath and chomps a few crunchy bits of dry food (to wash it all down?) and she is good for the morning.
Pardon the irreverent pose. She IS taking a bath . . .
Jelly
Written by Jo Cotterill
Yellow Jacket (an imprint of Little Bee Books); January 7, 2020
Happy Book Birthday, Jelly!
I LOVE Jelly! This is a great story about a large girl who figures out how to cope with rude comments about her size. Humor and excellent impressions of others keeps everyone laughing, but deep in her heart, she hides her true feelings. This is also a coming of age story. I loved the writing, the setting, the poetry (!!!), and the music. Not everyone has to fit in the same package or do the same things to belong. Honesty with family and friends is worth the risk. I love the way school, friendship, and home life is all tied up in one exciting bunch. Excellent read!
Thank you, Yellow Jacket, for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of Jelly to review.
As an adult who struggled with being the chubby kid at school, Jelly resonated with both my younger and more mature self.
Why I LOVE This Book:
~ The personality of Jelly is fantastic. This is someone I would love to meet in real life. Her story rings true.
~ The struggle with being overweight and how Jelly is treated by others is sadly life-like. Bullies are everywhere and Jelly learns how to deal with mean comments by reacting with humor. But beneath it all, she is hurt and is hiding her true self.
~ The courage and honesty of Jelly as she changes how she interacts with others and shares her real feelings is refreshing.
~ I love that Jelly writes in her journal to process life. I love the way she expresses herself through poetry.
~ Fantastic friendship, family, and school dynamics
~ The story!
~ I really enjoyed Jelly. Readers will see themselves in the many characters and hopefully learn to treat others kindly, no matter what size.
Happy Book Birthday, Jelly!
Amazon Blurb:
Twelve-year-old Jelly hides her true self behind her humor and keeps her true thoughts and feelings locked away in a notebook. Can she find the courage to share who she really is?
Angelica (Jelly for short) is the queen of comedy at school. She has a personality as big as she is, and everyone loves her impressions. But Jelly isn’t as confident as she pretends to be. No one knows her deepest thoughts and feelings. She keeps those hidden away in a secret notebook.
Then her mom’s new boyfriend, Lennon, arrives. He’s kind and perceptive, and he is the first person to realize that Jelly is playing a part. Jelly shares her poetry with him and he convinces her to perform one of her poems as a song at the school talent show. Can Jelly risk letting people see the real her? What if it all goes wrong?
It’s was like Christmas morning when I opened the December issue of Missions Mosaic to discover an article I wrote last year.
In the publishing world, deadlines are much earlier than the publication dates. Sometimes, deadlines are one year or longer before the written project is available in print. After I hit send, I move on to the next deadline, forgetting what I’ve completed in order to focus on what needs to be written.
Like I said, an early December surprise awaited for me in the pages of Missions Mosaic. Merry Christmas!
I love hot cocoa, hot coffee, hot tea, hot apple cider. While it’s good on its own, sipping a favorite hot drink is much nicer while chatting to friends or neighbors. So what’s holding you back from this pleasure, which can be enjoyed long after Christmas decorations are packed away and the tree is chipped up for the garden?
Sharing tea with my cousin, Melissa.
Let’s take some time this holiday season to connect – REALLY connect – with others. Actual people, face-to-face, heart-to-heart. Share kindness and conversation.
~ Invite a friend over for coffee.
~ Organize a street-wide or neighborhood hot cocoa and cookie get-together.
~ Meet with work buddies at a coffee shop one afternoon after work.
~ Surprise your Sunday school class or other faith group by taking along along coffee and pastries.
~ Go Christmas caroling in your neighborhood or a local nursing home. Gather together afterwards to enjoy hot cocoa.
~ Read the “Sip and Share Booth” Missions Mosaic article and arrange to host one in your community.
‘Tis the season to be merry. And nothing shouts MERRY more than loving human interactions. Be the beginning of Christmas cheer as you share your life and God’s love with those around you.
***Missions Mosaic may be ordered by calling 1-800-968-7301 or by visiting wmustore.com or wmu.com/adults.
What a week!
Our daughter ended up in the hospital due to cellulitis from a bug bite. As a result, we juggled child care, transportation, hospital runs, and assorted other duties while she received aggressive IV treatment to stop the infection (previous antibiotics did nothing to stop the infection from spreading).
Every week is busy and we tend to go full speed. Writing, working, cooking, cleaning. But add one off-kilter event, such as a parent (our adult child) being hospitalized, and chaos rules the day.
Good thing for me, I had a weekend away tucked in my hip pocket. Of course, I would have cancelled had my daughter not been released from her expensive spa treatment (that’s what we called her stay). Hooray, her bite improved, the high powered antibiotics did their job, and she went home in plenty of time for my retreat.
After handing off care of 3 grands to my daughter-in-love, I loaded the car with the important things (rubber stamps, food, clothes) and headed to Seattle to stay and play with my crafting partner. And boy did we pack in the fun.
I was amazed at all we managed to fit into our weekend. We
~rubber stamped cards (36 total for me)
~took a ferry ride to Hood Canal
~relaxed at a cabin where we sipped hot tea, read a magazine, read the newspaper, and attempted a crossword puzzle
~completed a four-mile walk through the state park where we saw one spawning salmon and several done spawning and deceased fish, bald eagles, a seal, seagulls, gorgeous fall colors, and sparkling streams leading to Hood Canal
~stopped at a craft market AND a thrift shop
~enjoyed a new apple crisp (with cheese!) recipe
~tasted creative and delicious meals
~talked much and solved world problems
~watched the Seattle Sounders win the national championship game
~walked to the University Village
~listened to a mystery on cassette
~kicked off the Christmas season with traditional music selections
~planned Christmas gifts and adventures
~traveled to Southcenter (a shopping area in Renton) where we perused Impress for more rubber stamping ideas and supplies, braved crowds and long lines at IKEA (plus I had coupons for a free birthday meal and stuff), and used coupons at JoAnn’s
~slept in and snuggled kitties
I’m sure that’s not all we did, but the change of scenery and responsibilities refreshed my body and energy. I was sad when my weekend away came to an end and I had to reload the car and drive home.
What a wonderful way to recharge! Should you find yourself needing stress relief and relaxation, consider a weekend getaway. Choose a new or favorite destination, pack your bags, and hit the road. It will be worth all of your time and efforts.
How do you relax? Where do you go to get away? What was your favorite weekend away?
I love November.
The scary stuff is gone. Pumpkins still hang out. Leaves whirl down and crunch underfoot. Nights and early mornings crisp any remaining plant life to bed. Birds flock and insects tuck in for the winter. November is perfect.
Also, let’s not forget Thanksgiving. When we lived in a house (bigger than the RV), I loved hosting Thanksgiving dinners. The good smells, tastes, and fun made the work all worthwhile. And after dinner, our traditional putting up and decorating a tree and watching a Christmas movie.
Notice I said “a” tree. Since I am a lover of Christmas trees, we usually had at least one in each room. Thanksgiving evening was just the harbinger of festivities in decor and traditional pastimes to follow.
AND November is my birthday. I’ve always had a fondness for my birthday month. So much fun anticipating not just my birthday, but also Thanksgiving with Christmas gaily tromping on its heels.
Apple crisp, pumpkin pie, juicy turkey, stuffed squash, toasty hot drinks. I guess I think and remember with my stomach. The nip in the air gives way to red noses and tingling fingertips. And if it’s to be perfect, the first snow falls. Just enough to whet my whistle.
November is also a time for me to focus on gratitude. Not only Thanksgiving Day, but each day of the month, I like to consider and remember the things for which I am thankful. God has been so good to me and my family. Giving thanks and naming the many blessings is the least I can do to honor Him.
Today, I am thankful for:
God and His provisions, my honey, my family, my veteran (our son), my RV (no matter how tiny), fall in all its glory, pumpkins, food, my health, friends, chocolate, our hunter kitty who keeps the fields free of tasty kitty morsels (mice and voles), warm clothes, music, and trees.
Which is your favorite month? How will you celebrate in November?
Blessings to you and your family.
SPIDEY SNACK
by Angie Quantrell
Written in honor of Susanna Leonard Hill’s 9th Annual Halloweensie Writing Contest. As Susanna says, “aahhhrrrooooOOOOO!!!!!” It’s time for some fun!
Read more tiny stories at Susanna’s blog here.
SPIDEY SNACK
“Help! I’m stuck in this cobweb!” shouted Bumblebee.
Hedgie looked up. “I’ll help” she called. But how? She was too low, Bumble too high.
In her workroom, Hedgie searched recipes. Grow tall spell? Invisible wings oil? Jumping legs gel?
Hedgie heard a chanting voice. “Hungry, yes, starving! Who’s in my web?”
“Legs is coming!” squeaked Bumble.
A floating spell? That’s the trick.
Hedgie mixed ingredients and chugged the potion. She glided up, grabbed Bumble, and popped open her spines.
“Ouch!” yelled Legs. “Wahhh! I’m still hungry.”
“You may not eat my friend. But do join us for Halloween pumpkin soup.”
I’ve been thinking quite a bit about my mom lately, especially in the car, which usually leads to driving through the tears. I truly miss all those phone calls, hugs, and visits since she passed away in May. She is happy. I will be fine. But I do miss her.
Which is not the main focus of my thoughts. For some reason, perhaps the upcoming season of feasts and gatherings, my inner foodie is on high alert. Mama was an excellent cook. Sure my dad usually had smart comments about biscuits being hard like hockey pucks or gravy being thick enough to plaster walls, but that was just dad. He loved to tease. That was how he showed love.
I know mama worked hard to keep us fed. She also worked as cheaply as possible, cutting costs, stretching meals, and making most meals from scratch. Even without much in the pantry, Mama was so creative, we still had filling meals. She might have been short on stature, but she was a giant in love and resourcefulness.
Not every meal did I LOVE. I avoided fried grit pancakes with syrup if possible and cornbread milk toast. Eggplant, no matter how much she battered and fried it, did not agree with my taste buds. But she was famous for so many of my favorite foods. I’m going to do a quick brainstorm list and see how many I can remember. Just consider that each dish was made from scratch…
Grits and eggs
Sausage gravy and homemade biscuits
Hash browns and gravy
Tortillas and refried beans
Burritos
Homemade bread, butter, and jam
Spaghetti (my go-to birthday request favorite meal)
The Gasser (her noteworthy casserole, aptly named, which included beans, onions, green chilies, corn, hash browns, corn tortillas, and enchilada sauce)
Chicken and dumplings
Pancakes
Homemade syrup
Jam
Fried bologna and cheese sandwiches
Sliced hotdogs baked with ketchup
Fresh corn (either frozen or on the ear)
Macaroni and milk, the first meal after stomach flu
Homemade noodles
Mama was always purchasing, harvesting, preserving, and storing food. I still remember the 50-pound bags of dried pinto beans, onions, and corn on the cob. We had goats, cows, chickens, and ducks. Eggs were plentiful and the milk was sold for extra cash. Nobody can drink that much milk! I was not a fan of the bits of cream lingering in the whole milk, regardless of how much we carefully skimmed it off the top. Unpasteurized to boot! It’s amazing that we survived.
How about you? Did you have favorite home-cooked meals? If you know my family, do you remember any other special foods my mama made?
colors scream intense
vibrant, exploding passion
swan song before cold
brilliant gemstone hues
garden offspring demand gaze,
dried promise for spring
hastily comes foe
winter breathes down our neck, quick!
capture fall passion
fall passion by Angie Quantrell
Souvenirs of the long summer growing season. Just like that-blink-and cold winds usher in the end of heat and beginning of cold. Get out today and store fall beauty in your mind’s eye to save for the dark cold snowy white and gray days of winter.
Love, Laughter, and Life 