Saturday, January 28, 2023

Old World Cooking


 
The Acorn Squash is from a generous neighbor's garden.
Potatoes were harvested by our family at a friend's farm.




 
Acorn Squash
 Ingredients 
One acorn squash
1 tbsp of butter
Cinnamon
 
  1. Cut acorn squash in half and seed.
  2. Place on baking tray
  3. Put ½ a tbsp of butter in each half of squash.
  4. Sprinkle cinnamon to taste.
  5. Bake at 375 until tender. 30-45 min
 




Lemon Pepper Fish
 Ingredients
4 Filet of white fish (we used cod)
Juice and zest of 3 lemons
3 Tlb of MELTED butter
2 tsp Rosemary
1 tsp of sea salt
1 tsp pepper
 
  1. Oil a baking sheet
  2. In a large baking bowl mix all ingredients (except fish) together
  3. Put fish in and rub with your mix.
  4. Bake at 375 for 15- 25 minutes depending on thickness of fish
 
 



Seasoned Asparagus
 Ingredients
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp of sea salt
1 tsp pepper
One bunch of Asparagus
Olive oil
 
(we cheated on this recipe and just used a lemon pepper seasoning found here: https://amzn.to/407Hf0N)
 
  1. Place washed asparagus in a casserole dish.
  2. Drizzle with olive oil
  3. Sprinkle with lemon, salt, and pepper mix
  4. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.
 



Seasoned Potatoes and Onions
 Ingredients
7 potatoes (we used red)
3 yellow Onions
Olive Oil
Parsley
Salt
Pepper
 
  1. Slice Vegetables and place in a casserole dish
  2. Drizzle with olive oil
  3. Season to taste with Parsley, salt, and pepper.
  4. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until tender.

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

The Five New Mom Mantras by Claudine Wolk

 

The Five New Mom Mantras by Claudine Wolk


Motherhood is a whole new world.

Here are some Ideas to help navigate it and make it a bit easier.

 

Mantra Number One: Manage Your Visitors

 

Naturally, everyone will want to come and see the baby.  Most new moms would agree that there are two kinds of baby visitors. Type number one is the baby visitor who wants to see you and the baby and brings a gift. The type-two visitor is the visitor who has come for an outing and wants to entertained. Embrace number one, shun number two!

 

If feels of guilt creep in at denying visitors to your home in the early weeks, remember that you’ve just had a major procedure that required hospitalization.  Speak up and do what is best for you! If you are up for visitors and would like to see people that is ok, too, just make sure the visits are on your terms.

 

Mantra Number Two: Take It Slow

 

A baby makes three and makes the household tasks that used to be easy and quick a bit more complicated.  Remind yourself in the early weeks that your job is to care for your baby and yourself. That’s it.  When you do feel up to a few household tasks, take it slow. Break up chores into individual tasks and do a bit at a time.  The dust can wait.

 

Mantra Number Three: Never Pass Up a Nap

 

Never pass up a nap to clean in those early weeks.  You are getting less sleep and it is broken sleep.  Naps are your lifeline. Naps also might help your love life.  A nap might rejuvenate you so that you might have the energy to renew your love life with your partner at the right time. Embrace your naps – even after the baby gets bigger!

 

Mantra Number Four: This Too Shall Pass

 

After two weeks of your new life with a baby, you may start to feel it.  The after-pregnancy euphoria may be wearing off and it might hit you that life will never be the same as it was, that you are responsible for another human being for (at least) 18 more years.  All parents don’t admit it, but this exact thought has crossed their minds, believe me.  What eventually gets replaced with this scary thought is the joy of having this new person in your life.  There will come a time when you cannot imagine life without your new baby.  Until then, take it easy on yourself.  Get as much sleep as you can, take it day by day, call your mom (or special friend) to report on your and your baby’s progress, and be kind to yourself and your partner.  Your new family is precious and fragile.  Treat it with love and tenderness.

 

Mantra Number Five: Ask For Help

 

A night of uninterrupted sleep is an amazing gift for new parents.  If you have someone in your life willing to care for the baby though the night so that you can sleep – anytime during those first few months of your newborn’s life consider asking for the help.  One night, my mother-in-law watched our son through the night on the couch in our family room while my husband and I slept through the night for the first time in four weeks.  What a blessing.  My son is 30 years old and I still remember the favor so that tells you how monumental a gift it was.  If you and your partner are in agreement with this kind of help, ask for it.  You would be surprised how many grandparents, siblings, or aunts and uncles would be willing to help for one night if asked. 

 

Best wishes with new motherhood.  Remember, you are not alone in your joy or anguish (at times).  Be good to yourself because motherhood is, by far, the hardest job in the world and congratulations!

 

Sunday, January 22, 2023

The 20 Little Poems for 20 Little Gnomes by Raven Howell

 





Discover the magic in simple moments when a child peers in the mirror to unintentionally come upon his smile, where kittens nap in boots, fairy hugs feel good, mice delight in reading books, and January snowflakes taste yummy.

 Twenty whimsical poems warm the heart and inspire cheer; a collection enticing both the young and seasoned reader to explore the enchantment of the wonderful world of poetry.

 

Publisher: Handersen Publishing

ASIN: B0BJNT69WG

ISBN: 1647030757

ISBN-13: 978-1647030759

Print Pages: 28 Pages

 

Purchase a copy of The 20 Little Poems for 20 Little Gnomes on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, or Bookshop.org. You can also add this to your GoodReads reading list.

 

About the Author

 Raven Howell writes stories and poetry for children. Having published several award-winning picture books, she enjoys sharing her love of literature by visiting classrooms and libraries. Raven is Creative & Publishing Advisor for Red Clover Reader, served as Poetry Director for Monster Magnificent, and writes The Book Bug column for Story Monsters Ink magazine. Her poems are found in children’s magazines such as Ladybug, Spider, Highlights for Children, Humpty Dumpty, and Hello Magazine. She’s an editor, and collaborating author for Reading is Fundamental SoCal.

 

When not writing, Raven enjoys sunshine and the beach, spending time with her family, hiking, laughing, reading, goofing around with artwork, and inventing new recipes.

 

You can find her on:

 Twitter: https://twitter.com/atpearthkeeper

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atpearthkeeper/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RavenHowellAuthorandPoetPage/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/pickward/_saved/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raven-howell-5a813015b/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ravenhowell22

Thursday, January 19, 2023

The Girl in Lime Green Jeans by Lindsey Miller

 




The Girl in Lime Green Jeans 

The girl in lime green jeans has never quite fit in. She spends her days with her trusty steed, Lucky and canine sidekick, Trixie. But when she hears about a rodeo queen competition, she finds herself yearning to become the next rodeo queen. Could this be where she belongs? As her inner light begins to shine inside the rodeo arena, she gains the confidence to just be herself and follow her dreams.

About the Author:

Lindsey Miller hangs her hat in Flaxton, North Dakota. Miller is the oldest of four children, and enjoys rodeoing, cowboy mounted shooting, and coaching young ladies eager to discover their own light. In 2016, Lindsey earned her first rodeo queen title. Winning in her favorite lime green jeans, Miller was literally "green" to the rodeo queen world. However, she did not allow that to hold her back, instead she embodied the girl in lime green jeans as she set a goal of becoming Miss Rodeo North Dakota. Since 2016, Miller has held four other rodeo queen titles, with Miss Rodeo North Dakota 2023 being the most prestigious- and to think it all started with a girl in lime green jeans who never gave up. 


Thursday, January 12, 2023

Whispering Through Water by Rebecca Wenrich Wheeler





The coming-of-age story follows Gwyn Madison, the summer after her high school graduation, as she grapples with her fast-approaching future. She’ll have to face more than she bargained for with her Aunt Delia, the family matriarch, who holds the purse strings and the final word. In the meantime, Gwyn stumbles upon a tightly held family secret. Could a mysterious letter provide Gwyn the leverage she desires? Will it only bring more family division? Or, maybe, the past was never meant to stay buried after all. Whispering Through Water navigates family dynamics, young love, and female autonomy with a little 1990s nostalgia.


Publisher: Monarch Educational Services, L.L.C

ISBN-10: 1957656052

ISBN-13: 978-1957656052

ASIN: ‎B0BCCW8T54

Print length: 265 pages


Purchase a copy of Whispering Through Water on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Bookshop.org. You can also add this to your GoodReads reading list.


About the Author



Rebecca Wenrich Wheeler was raised in West Point, a small town in the Tidewater region of Virginia. From the moment she submitted her first short story to a young author’s contest in second grade, Rebecca knew she wanted to be a writer. Her love of writing led her to earn a BA in English and an MEd in English education. She spent several years as a high school teacher, during which she also developed a passion for mental health advocacy. Rebecca completed an MA in professional counseling and now works in the school-based mental health field and as a college adjunct psychology instructor. Rebecca also teaches yoga for the young and the young at heart, and she likes to infuse yoga and breathwork in her counseling practice wherever she can.


She believes the most valuable use of her time is teaching youth how to love and care for each other and the world around them. Her stories share her focus on positive relationships and a love of nature. Rebecca now lives in Durham, North Carolina, with her husband, two children, and two spoiled Siamese cats.


Whispering Through Water is her first YA novel and second book. Her picture book When Daddy Shows Me the Sky was released November 2021. You can follow Rebecca on Instagram @rebeccawwheeler_author and www.rebeccawwheeler.com.


Wednesday, January 11, 2023

Little Church on the Prairie Vlog 23

 Vlog 23! Finally, I get to show you my NEW KITCHEN, build with love... and blood, yes, a little of that happened. The potato harvest, fabled apple tree, and Sunday School benches.






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