The Ride of Her Life

Just some friends going for funnel cakes and a ride on a Ferris Wheel--it sounded like a fun evening. Aimee hopped in the car, and away they
went.

Three-and-a-half years ago, Colin introduced Aimee to us. He'd told us she was "tiny and beautiful and half-Cuban."

Tiny--yep.

Beautiful--yep.

Half-Cuban... really? I’d pictured a dark-haired, brown-eyed gal. Nope. Blonde hair and green eyes. It was the first of many surprises. We went out for Mexican food that evening, and I asked Colin to pass the salt. He decided to salt their basket of chips first; Aimee smacked the back of his hand and told him to pass it to me first.

Are you falling in love with her? We did. The next time I saw Aimee, I told her she was "ours."

Aimee lived with us for awhile. She and Colin started taking college classes, and I knew my son had fallen hard. How? For an English assignment, he wrote, "Aimee makes me want to be a better man." At that point, she hadn't even baked her killer cupcakes yet.

Fast forward. They've matured and found their place in the world--working long hours and making tough decisions. A few decisions gave us pause, but part of parenting is letting go while still loving and praying. God is faithful. And my son made an important decision.

He decided to propose. Take a look at his smug smile, standing beside Aimee here. As any mama knows, that is the smile of a son who's up to something. Schemer that he is, Colin planned the time and place. He bought a ring, and I hid it until the big day. Aimee didn’t have
a clue.

How could she?

Seriously—what guy drags along two of his pals when he’s going to pop the question? But one of those friends is a photographer. The pals lagged behind and got in the next bucket on the Ferris Wheel. Around once. Around twice. Colin grabed a kiss for luck.

At the top of world on the third time, Colin went down on one knee. Surprise!

She said yes.

Now I'm wearing a schemer's grin because I know something: Colin loves Aimee, and he wanted to surprise her with the ride of her life. The truth is, Aimee is a spitfire, and that shining ride was just a beginning. Married to her, our son is in for the ride of his
life!

Oh--and because it's all in the family now, the secret ingredients to those killer cupcakes? Love and a handful of funfetti candy speckles regardless of the flavor.

Here's to a colorful ride!
Cathy

Admissions

Why is it so hard to admit our mistakes? Over the last 30 or 40 years of my life I’ve watched society take on a general attitude of looking for someone to blame when things go wrong. I’ve seen it taught to our children in school. I’ve seen the government teach it from congress and the executive office. I’ve even seen it taught in church and perhaps that’s the place where it’s most distressing.

You see this lack of ownership in mistakes everywhere. In the parking lots at the supermarket for instance – there’s a sign that says, “NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ACCIDENTS CAUSED BY GROCERY CARTS.” At the laundromat there’s a sign that says, “NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR LOST LAUNDRY.”

At the playground there’s a sign that says, “NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ACCIDENTS.” It seems just about everywhere I turn – there’s a sign declaring a lack of responsibility.

What happened to owning our mistakes? What happened to being willing to admit to fault? The Bible tells us to confess our sins to each other, but the world would suggest you put out a disclaimer instead.

When I was little, my mother taught me that making mistakes was a part of living. She told me that when I made mistakes things would go much better for me if I would just own up to it and apologize, take responsibility and start over. She told me she expected me to ALWAYS own my mistakes, but on the flip side, she NEVER wanted me to cover for someone else’s wrong-doings. She said that Jesus was the only one who was able to do that, and He did it at the cross. She told me that in owning my mistakes, people would be more inclined to believe me when something went wrong and I declared that I had no part in it. Believe me – that saved me more than once as a child and as an adult as people in authority dismissed me as being responsible because I was known for my honesty in owning my mistakes.

It seems sad to me and more than a little bit irritating that people are so unwilling to admit fault. Worse still is the lack of strength, character or moral fiber in the man, woman or child who purposefully seeks to find someone else to blame. The days are short, because life is short. Even if Jesus tarries another thousand years to return, our lives are just a handful of years long. So do yourself a favor - live life in liberty.
Do good. Speak kindly. Love fiercely. Admit your mistakes and seek forgiveness. Take responsibility!
Tracie

Want a Nook?

Or how 'bout a free book? Or maybe a gift certificate? Sound good? :o)

TONIGHT from 7:00-8:30 PM (CST), thanks to the benevolence of Bethany House, I'll be hosting a party on Facebook, with special focus on my newest story, Song of My Heart. And the prizes mentioned above will be given to some of our participants. So...come on by! Follow the link below for all the details:

Facebook Party at Kim's Page!

Unless I trap myself in a box (yes, I'm STILL packing...), I'll be there. See ya then!

God bless you muchly as you journey with Him! ~Kim

GO HERE TO SEE WHO WON ALL THE GREAT PRIZES. :o) And THANK YOU to everyone who spent the evening with me!

Spring has sprung in Topeka

I try to walk at Lake Shawnee several times a week. Sometimes I do well and go even more often. Other times, I’m nowhere to be seen. Much depends on my writing schedule and other demands of life. However, we have been having beautiful weather. Much warmer than a normal March. In fact, it has been in the low 80’s for several days. The beginning of spring means Tulip Days at the lake and since I was out for a walk, I took my camera along and thought I’d share some pictures of spring in bloom at the lake. The picture below shows the small gazebo and one bed of tulips. (Just in case you couldn't figure that out!)


Below is a little more up close and personal to a bed of the tulips--again, just in case you couldn't figure it out.

Zooming in for a closer look at the red ones.



Not to be outdone by a bunch of flowers, the ducks took to the water for a photo-op.


And, the fishermen did there best to try and catch supper! Don't think I saw much success.


The day was gorgeous, the walk enjoyable, and now it's back to work on revisions. May you find joy as you enjoy the beauty of this season of renewal. ~Judy

Someone's absconding with pies

Are your pies safe? Are you sure? Have you checked them recently? Because the only way to be completely certain is put them in––you guessed it––a pie safe. 

Don't you just love that someone crafted a piece of furniture to keep pies safe? I do. I didn't even know them but I love them already. And I wish I had one of these lovely pieces of furniture. The one to the left is a reproduction made by an Amish gentleman. Lovely, huh? Below are pie safes from the 1800s. Be still my beating heart...

I love the detail work on the tin panels...

Here are some quick historical facts on pie safes:

• Long before refrigerators and ice boxes, pie safes stored baked goods, flour and other kitchen items.
• Pie safes are constructed of wood native to that area of the country (pine was especially popular in the South), and they vary in size and shape. But they all have holes or shelves with small air holes.
• The pie cabinet (or safe) most likely originated in 16th century Europe and was introduced to the U.S. by German immigrants who came to Pennsylvania in the 1800s and soon became known as the Pennsylvania Dutch.
• The pie safe was generally kept as far from the wood stove as possible to keep the food safe from too much heat. In some homes, it might have been kept on the back porch next to the dry sink (to benefit from the cooler air circulating).
• Pie safes have screening or punched tin designs in the top, sides, doors, or a combination of these. The screen allowed the baked goods to have ventilation while keeping rodents, flies, and hungry Judy Millers at bay. The ventilation also helped the food stay cooler and kept it from molding as easily.

• The punched tin started with each hole being punched by the craftsman individually, then moved to nails put in boards in certain patterns and used to punch the holes, then on to "punching the tin" mechanically, all at one time.
• Some of the "tin patterns" were fashioned in the likeness of well known people at the time, such as presidents of the country––or a beloved favorite author (not really).
• Some kitchen safes have tops that open upward while others have a combination of doors and drawers.
• There were even pie safes that were combination safes (that's what I'm talkin' about!) and that also included a jelly cupboard (because you must have jelly with your pie!)
• Owning an antique pie safe can mean rolling out some major dough (you knew that was coming, right?), but there are many places selling reproductions for much less.

And now...what would a pie safe be without a pie? It's yummy time! Here's a pie I made recently, along with the recipe. Hope you enjoy! Let me know if you make it and how it turns out.

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cream Pie

(oh, so good!)

1 baked 9-inch Pie Crust

1 Cup Sugar

4 Tablespoons plain flour 

Dash of Salt

3 Tablespoons Baking Cocoa

2 Cups Milk

1/3 cup Milk

3 Eggs, Separated (yolks well beaten, keep the whites for the meringue)

1 Tsp Vanilla

1 Tablespoon Butter

Preheat Oven to 350. Bake pie crust till golden brown. Prick the bottom and sides (and use pie weights, if you want, to keep the crust from shrinking). 

Heat 2 cups milk to almost boiling. Mix sugar, flour, salt, and cocoa. Stir dry mixture into 1/3 cup cold milk until moistened. Add beaten egg yolks. Add entire mixture to hot milk and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and the butter. Remove from burner and let cool while you prepare the meringue. Oh yum! Honestly, this pudding is good enough to eat right now. Straight from the pan! 

Basic Meringue

3 egg whites (from above)

Dash of salt

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

6 Tablespoons sugar

Beat egg whites, salt and cream of tartar until stiff but not dry. Gradually add sugar; beat after each addition until sugar is partially dissolved. Add pudding to cooled pie shell and top with meringue making sure the meringue touches the sides of the pie crust to prevent shrinking. Broil in 325 degree oven until lightly golden brown (5-10 minutes).

So tell me, do you own a pie safe? I'd love to hear about it, if you do. And quick! What's the last kind of pie you ate? Mine was...Chocolate Cream Pie, of course.

Tammy

The Changing Face of the TBR Pile

I'm guessing that most readers of Writes of Passage have been voracious readers for much of their lives. Right? And I'm guessing that our To Be Read shelves/piles are all pretty good sized.

Almost five years ago, I moved, downsizing my home considerably. In my big house, I had a library with shelves on all four walls, plus bookcases in almost every other room. Downsizing meant I had to give away hundreds upon hundreds of books: Bibles, novels, biographies, Christian living, research books, etc. No longer do I have bookshelves in every room, and those I do have are full.

For a book lover with limited storage space, the ebook reader is a marvelous invention. No longer do I have to worry about my To Be Read pile toppling over and breaking something. Nor do I have to get rid of an old book to make room for a new book. And I don't have to search from room to room for the book I want.

Currently, I have 385 books on my Kindle and another 483 are archived (because my Kindle got replaced and I haven't moved all my books I own onto the new reader yet). I put every book I buy into a Collection which helps me find what I want to read, depending upon my mood. Categories include Fiction, Christian Living, Historical Research, Biographies/Memoirs, Bibles & Devotionals, Writing Books, etc.

Amazing, isn't it? Did you see this coming a decade ago? I didn't. Sure, there was talk about ereaders back then, but it was hard to imagine that they would ever become small enough and the print good enough for anyone to want to use them on a regular basis.

So, assuming we are all fiction readers and all have our own TBR shelf/pile (whether physical or digital), let's share (1) what was the last novel we read; (2) what novel we're reading now; and (3) what novel's at the top of our pile to read next. And for a bonus, let us know what non-fiction book you're reading right now, if you are reading one (not counting the Bible which I hope we are all reading every day).

1) The last book I read was an advance copy of Angela Hunt's upcoming release, Five Miles South of Peculiar. Oh my goodness gracious! It is SO good!!!!! Releases in June. Don't miss it.

2) I'm currently reading The Centurion's Wife by Janette Oke and Davis Bunn. Loving it. Especially since it opens just before Christ's crucifixion, so it seems extra meaningful as Easter approaches.

3) I will probably read the next two books in the series by Oke and Bunn (The Hidden Flame and The Damascus Way) just because I'm enjoying reading Biblical fiction right now.

BONUS: non-fiction book in progress is Crazy Love by Francis Chan

Okay, how about you?

~robin

Suck It Up

We had a moment of silence around our house this week.My vacuum died this week.

I might manage using a washboard. I’ve washed millions of dishes. But living without a vacuum cleaner… sucks. Or doesn’t.

Historically, rugs were hung over a line and hit repeatedly with a carpet beater to pound out as much dirt as possible. This was done once a year for “spring cleaning.”
During the rest of the year, grated potatoes or damp tea leaves were sprinkled on the carpeting and hand swept into a dustpan. If the carpet were too dusty, it could be placed upside down in the snow and jumped upon. (What desperate mother came up with that?)

Bissell, a jeweler, noticed all the bits and dust on his carpet. He invented a carpet sweeper with rotating brushes to pick them up and tidy his shop.


1860 D Hess Created a carpet cleaning machine with suction and a water filter. Though he received a patent, there’s no evidence his machine was ever made. (No wonder! Look at that!)

On June 8, 1869, Chicago inventor Ives McGaffey patented a "sweeping machine” called the Whirlwind. His machine featured most of the components of a modern day upright vacuum cleaner except for a motor. Suction was created by a fan driven by a belt connected to a hand crank at the top of the cleaner. A wood and canvas contraption, it wasn’t easy for one person to work.
(Yes, that's the one I used in my book, Whirlwind.)

All sorts of pumper and plunger and bellow vacuums came into being.
Pumping a stick back and forth, suction built up in a canister connected to a
hose and nozzle. Two people could do it. Plunger or bellows relied on one operator
who yanked up and down on the handle while moving the nozzle on the carpet.

Potato peelings worked better.

(Unless the housewife needed to defend herself. Those vacuums made great weapons!)

1899 John Thurman invented the first motorized vacuum. The horse-drawn,
gasoline-powered machine went door-to-door. One long hose did the job, and by
1903 he charged $4 per visit.

1901 Hubert Cecil Booth developed a petrol-driven
contraption. The machine met with success and made a hit with royalty. The English monarchy bought two of the huge horse-drawn machines, and Booth
entertained the court by replacing parts with glass plates so they could see
the dust being sucked up!

The problem with horse-drawn machines was, their noise spooked other horses and caused all sorts of accidents.

Multiple inventors tried to create something smaller. Corinne Dufour invented a device that sucked dust into a wet sponge. David Kenney designed a huge machine that was installed in a cellar and connected to a network of pipes leading to every room of a house. Noisy, smelly, bulky and unsuccessful, none of the creations did well.

1907 James Spangler, department store janitor decided the carpet sweeper caused his chronic cough. He took invented a new portable, electric vacuum by stapling a soap box to a broom handle and attaching it to an old fan motor. Using a pillow case as a… and used a pillow case to collect the dust collector. Tinkering with a cloth filter bag and cleaning attachments, he patented his vacuum in 1908.

William Hoover bought the rights to Spangler’s vacuum. He altered it so it looked like a cake box and bagpipe contraption. Sales soared after he offered a ten-day trial.

In 1920, the Air-way Sanitizor Company introduced a ‘filter fiber” disposable bag.

1930 Vacuums are made of plastic. Some feature headlights. Let's hear it for the lightweights!

1969 Self-propelled vacuum cleaners make the chore easier.

1993 Dyson’s dual cyclonic action is perfected and marketed

2002 iRobot makes the Roomba—a robot machine.

My husband ordered a replacement vacuum on Ebay that night. It arrived today. I'm more than thankful. The dogs are shedding, and I'm heartily sick of white fur on everything!

So tell me--if you had to suck it up and sacrifice a household appliance, what would you do without?

Cathy

Spring Fling

So it's spring in Montana. You know how you can tell? The snow feels warmer.
This week we got 9-12 inches of the great white stuff after a winter with very little water of any kind.

The kids in the neighborhood got out ice skates and sleds and many a snowman was built. Those of us who were sane - stayed indoors and drank hot chocolate and read a few good books.






The cats went in and out - trying a different door of the house from time to time in the hopes that maybe the snow was limited to one side of the house. Here's Calvin J. Whiskers outside looking in at Safari basking in the sun.





And though the deer were annoyed, they didn't let it stop them from looking for good grazing ground.










I managed to read The Vow which I thought was very inspiring, and to finish Autism's Hidden Blessings. I can recommend both books!





Today the high is supposed to reach the upper 50's and the snow is gone. My mother's purple crocuses are out and there are a bevy of red breasted robins flitting around our leafless aspen trees. And yes, the gophers are out.

Oh and I got a nifty note from Bethany House that a few of my back list books are in the process of or have become Kindle books. Here's that list for you.

Framed – active on Kindle
Controlling Interests – active on Kindle
A Slender Thread – active on Kindle
Silent Star – active on Kindle
Entangled – should be active any day now
Long-Awaited Child - in process
Tidings of Peace – in process

It's so much fun to see that those old books will get new life through digital technology. Barbour Publishing is also preparing to put my old Heartsongs on Kindle as well, so those of you who have asked me in the past where copies of those books can be obtained will soon be able to get them in digital form.

So now I need to get back to researching granite and Minnesota. I think I'll sit outside and read a bit - upper 50's is a heatwave and it might be my only chance before the next snow comes in.

God Bless You!
Tracie

Oofta, what a mess...

Boxes...

boxes...

...and more boxes!

Everywhere I look, I see stacks of boxes. Packing from sunrise (actually before sunrise--I've been waking around 5 each morning, getting up, and getting started) to sunset (which, thanks to daylight savings time change, is later than it used to be), and there's still an awful lot to be put into boxes before our big move at the end of the month. What's funny is I down-sized when we moved into this house three years ago, so from where did all this stuff come? Someone on Facebook suggested there's a "Stuff Monster" that fills your closets and the space under the beds when you aren't looking. I'm starting to wonder if such a gremlin actually exists.

My cats are enjoying all of the boxes, though. They investigate them prior to packing to be certain the space is adequate; they climb up on them after they're packed to test the strength of the cardboard; and they sleep on the stacks so no one has the chance to sneak off with one or two when I'm not looking. I love the pic of Frances below...she chose a box that matches the colors of her fur. Pretty clever of her, wasn't it?

Today is the 22nd, and my desk STILL hasn't arrived. Apparently the company from which I ordered the desk gave the shipper an incorrect telephone number, so when the shipper called to make the delivery they reached a disconnected number. So my desk went back to the warehouse. *sigh* Now it's sitting, waiting until a truck is heading from Texas to Kansas again. So who knows when it will actually get here--might not be until next month. But I wanted you to see what I chose.

As you can see, it isn't either of the ones I shared earlier...but it's a combination of both: the style of Desk #1 and the dark color of desk #2. I think that was clever of me! Neatest thing? This desk has pull out shelves at both ends so I can extend the surface space if I want to. I like that idea because I love to spread out. And I think this desk will look dandy in my new office at my new house. When it finally gets here.

Anyway, I gotta get back to packing now. Anybody want to guess how many total boxes of books are awaiting delivery to the new house, where we will have an official library? Go ahead--make a guess. We'll have some fun with whoever hits the magic number. :o)

God bless you muchly as you journey with Him! ~Kim

P.S. -- For Kindle owners, Amazon currently has Courting Miss Amsel discounted to $2.99. It must be an Amazon thing because I'm not seeing it discounted elsewhere, but if you don't own a Kindle you can always download to your computer. That's a great price, and it won't last long, so feel free to take advantage! :o)

Oh, those Madison County Bridges!

Along with my daughter, I made a trip to northern Iowa to visit family. I’ve traveled I-35 South many a time coming home from the Amana Colonies. On each of my many trips, I’ve seen the signs to stop and visit the Bridges of Madison County as well as the John Wayne home in Winterset, Iowa. Until yesterday, I’d never taken the time to stop.

And though cloudy, the sun popped out often enough that I thought the forecasters were wrong about those terrible thunderstorms they had promised and I didn’t worry too much about racing toward home. When the exit number appeared, we turned off and didn’t have to go far before we caught sight of the first covered bridge. It’s called the Imes Bridge and was constructed in 1870 and it is situated at the outskirts of St. Charles, Iowa.

We stopped at the old Presbyterian Church which is now a visitor center and picked up a map in order to locate the remaining five bridges. Now, for those of you who know me, that map was pretty useless. And I have to tell you—my daughter has inherited my sense of direction which means we both get lost trying to fight our way out of a paper bag. Still, we felt adventurous and, map in hand, drove down the highway while scoffing at the fellow who’d told us it would take a couple of hours to visit all six covered bridges. A couple of hours? We giggled and agreed it couldn’t take more than forty-five minutes—an hour at most.

On our way to Winterset, we missed the turnoff for the Holliwell Covered Bridge, but vowed we’d catch it on the way back. (Needless to say, we never found that road again). We finally drove into Winterset where one of the bridges was supposedly located in a park.


When we didn’t immediately find it after circling the town several times, we stopped for a photo-op at the John Wayne statue (that's my daughter getting up close and personal with "The Duke"), and also took a picture of his home. Once again, we circled the town and then decided to stop and asked directions—the map was no help. Soon we arrived at the park and located the Cutler-Donahoe Bridge which was constructed in 1870 (same as the Imes). While there, we saw a sign pointing up a road to “Clark’s Tower or King’s Castle.” Need I say more? We couldn’t pass up a castle.

















The road was narrow, winding and far higher than we’d anticipated, but we finally made it. Although a bit small to be called a castle, we were impressed to find it sitting up there all by itself and both of us climbed to the top of the tower for a look around. With trees in bloom during the spring or fall, I’m sure the view is amazing. Once we made the downward ascent, we stopped at the Cedar Bridge, since it’s the only one you can actually drive through. Although it was constructed in 1883, it was destroyed by arson in 2002 and a replica was dedicated on October 9, 2004.

By this time, we’d used up more than two hours and decided our scoffing had been misplaced. We also decided we weren’t going to make it to the remaining three bridges. We didn’t see Roseman Bridge which was the bridge used in the movie, The Bridges of Madison County, but we did get a picture of the rock bridge that was in the film. Of course, I had to sit and pose on it.


After stopping at a grocery store for yet more directions on how to get back to the highway, we headed off to I-35. You’ll remember I mentioned thunderstorms had been forecast. Well, we ran straight into a horrific thunderstorm. I couldn’t see a car length in front of me for a period of time, and then we were held up in traffic TWO times due to accidents. It was a very long trip home, but I’m glad we took time to visit the bridges and take pictures with “The Duke.”

May you find joy as you take time to experience a piece of history and the beauty of God’s creation. ~Judy

P.S. If you’d be willing to take a few minutes and vote for the Amana Colonies, in the People’s Choice Site, I know they’d be most appreciative, and so would I.