By Angie Quantrell
Traveling east, white
surprise spring snow shower, don’t
leave, stay; coat flowers
Category Archives: Gardens
Grandmother Thorn – Picture Book & KID KANDY
GRANDMOTHER THORN
By Katey Howes
Art by Rebecca Hahn
(Ripple Grove Press, 2017)
Grandmother Thorn gives new meaning to the words OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder). She maintains her gardens with an iron will, daring anything to be out of place, grow where it’s not supposed to, or become mussed by irresponsible footprints.
Only one friend, Ojiisan, the man with a dragging foot and droopy shoulder, was allowed to make tracks in her perfectly groomed gravel paths. For they were best friends and enjoyed hot tea, conversation, and tasty sweets.
All was well until one day Ojiisan tasted gorgeous red berries and urged the salesperson to take some to Grandmother Thorn (but DO NOT walk on the path).
As you can imagine, he did not listen and disaster befell the merchant, the garden, and the welfare of Grandmother Thorn.
Or did it?
This beautiful picture book shares the story of letting go and allowing some things to be. And not all weeds are what they appear.
I love this book, both for the story and the tapestry-like illustrations.
KID KANDY:
Berry Hunt
1. Read GRANDMOTHER THORN. Memorize all the details you can of the weed and its fruit.
2. Does anyone in your family go grocery shopping or visit a farmer’s market? It’s time to go with that person. Go shopping.
3. Search the produce section. Can you find the fruit found in GRANDMOTHER THORN? Maybe your adult shopper will buy some!
4. Perhaps you live in an area where this type of fruit grows. Look around your neighborhood and see if you find the vines. If you time it right, you might even be able to pick some of those tasty fruits!
The MABEL Gate: In Memory of a Furbaby
Just before Christmas, our family was devastated to discover neighborhood dogs had destroyed our precious love-love (my nickname for her) Mabel. It was pretty awful. We still miss our little gray girl every day.
No more “Which one is this?” from the grands (and everyone else). No more help working on my writing projects. No more kitty tracks on my printed papers. No more head butts and lap cuddles.
Monet, her twin sister, was lost for quite a few weeks and is now just finally starting to come into her own as an ONLY cat. There are times she quite enjoys the attention. The rest of the time she’d rather be out mousing or birding. She was always the more independent wild thing.
To combat future attacks, we put up a gate on our driveway to discourage any other dogs from wandering in to check out what trouble they could get into. As Papa and Hayden finished up the gate, they decided it should be named after Mabel, a tribute to her short, cuddly, furry life.
Perfect! In honor of our Mabes, Mabel, love-love, gray girl, kitty baby. The MABEL gate. Ta-da!
Applesauce Day ~ Picture Book & KID KANDY
Applesauce Day
By Lisa Amstutz
Pictures by Tabitha Shipman
Albert Whitman & Company, 2017
I love Applesauce Day!
Fall is my favorite time of year, when the apples, pumpkins, squash, and other great produce is harvested. I can’t wait to sink my greedy fingers into a box of apples or a trunk-load of pumpkins.
Applesauce Day takes me right into autumn. I can just imagine the fun and tradition of gathering with family to make large amounts of applesauce. What tastes better than homemade applesauce? Nothing! Ok, maybe homemade pumpkin pie or apple cake or pear tartes or . . .
This lovely picture book tells the tale of a family traveling from the big city to the orchards to pick apples and then to grandma’s house to put those apples to good use. What’s special about Applesauce Day is the family heirloom – the applesauce cooking pot. Family traditions and passed-down items are a passion of mine, so I immediately bonded with this tale.
I found Applesauce Day to be well written and beautifully illustrated. Flashbacks! I don’t know that I’ve seen other picture books with flashbacks, but the ones in this book are adorable.
Even though apple season is at an end, boxes of apples are still available. Go ahead. You know you want to read this book and make applesauce. Just imagine the scent of warm apples and cinnamon wafting through your home. See? I can smell it from here.
KID KANDY
Make Crock-Pot Applesauce
Ingredients:
apples, cinnamon, water
Directions:
1. Wash, peel, and core apples. Slice into wedges.
2. Put apples in Crock-Pot. Sprinkle liberally with cinnamon. Add about 1/4 cup water.
3. Cover Crock-Pot with lid. Turn heat to high and let it simmer. Occasionally stir and check apples for tenderness.
4. When apples are soft and mushy, use a potato masher to mash the apples into sauce. I love chunks, so I don’t strain it.
5. Eat warm! Cool and put the rest in the fridge. Or freeze individual containers for later.
I love making Crock-Pot Applesauce with my students every fall. Everyone brings 2 apples, no matter what variety, and we put them all together to cook. By the end of the day, everyone in the school wants what’s bubbling in our room!
I’d love to hear (and smell and taste) how your applesauce turns out!
Pinksickle
photos and poem by angie quantrell
orange plus pink
sweet hues of sunset
and dessert
taste yummy to my eyes
and gift me
a smile
Expecting Spring
tightly closed fists peek
pink wisps bulge with life – spring yearns,
bursts forth, nest and tree alike
The most hopeful of seasons, spring, lies in wait, gathering herself in preparation to leap into the exploding fray of growth, buzzing with energy and promise.
What signs of spring do you see in your area?
From Snow to Pansies
It has ever been such a long, cold, snow-bound winter for us. The first season of surprises in our RV.
Not sticker or culture, but rather seasonal challenges and lack-of-space shock.
Today dawned with swirling and dancing fog. Thick mists block sun rays, and though the weather “suggestions” report zero chance of rain, my eyes tell me the overhead clouds and heaviness may disagree.
Yet spring is here. We have moved from this:
to this:
Cheerful pansies rest and smile in rain dampened glory.
Content.
Welcome Spring!
Spring Wildflower
S – shows of life, green carpeted paths
P – peek at bursts of color, winters’ grays fade away
R – renewed vigor, earth joyfully bursts forth
I – invitation to celebrate, cold passes as warmth returns
N – nature dons her new attire, fresh and vibrant
G – growing time arrives, rest is over for bounty begins
Columbia River Gorge
Throwback Thursday: John Smith
This talking-to-myself post originally aired on April 21, 2012.
It was warm outside and Captain John Smith was looking a bit washed out…
I crack me up.
Hello, Captain John Smith, toy of my daughter from years past. He was just hanging around, catching some rays. Now we know how many years plastic figures last.
Winter Lace – a Haiku
Photo by Angie Quantrell
winter lace
lacy swirls of cold
spires stretch long, fingers point
frozen work of art
by Angie Quantrell
Photo by Angie Quantrell
Love, Laughter, and Life 