Saturday, November 30, 2024

November 2024 Book Day

GREAT CHRISTMAS READS

 


 

 

UNPUZZLING THE PAST

1990s Cozy Mystery

Edited By Mary Davis, Written by Mary L. Chase

When secrets and lies are uncovered, will Mar be able to put the pieces together to learn the truth? A year after her mom’s death, Margaret “Mar” Ross discovers the proverbial skeleton in the closet. Most families have a secret or two. Some are best left in the dark. Others need to be brought into the light of day to heal old wounds. With the help of her best friend, a lawyer, and a handsome doctor, Mar is determined to hunt down all the facts. When she does, will she find what she’s searching for? Or should she let this puzzle R.I.P.?


 

 

BRIDE BY BLACKMAIL

By Debbie Lynne Costello

A broken heart, controlling father, and intrusive Scot leave Charlotte reeling. Accused of stealing an heirloom pin, she must choose between an unwanted marriage and the ruin of her family name. With her and her sister’s futures at stake, Charlotte must navigate through injustice to find forgiveness and true happiness. Eager to find the traitor who caused the death of his brother, Duncan comes to America attempting to fit into Charleston society. But when the headstrong Charlotte catches his eye, Duncan acquires a second mission—winning the lass's hand. After several spurnings, he uses unconventional ways of winning her heart.

 

 

 

TITANIC: LEGACY OF BETRAYAL

A Time-Slip Novel

By Kathleen E. Kovach, et al.

A secret. A key. Much was buried on the Titanic, but now it's time for resurrection. Follow two intertwining stories a century apart. 1912 - Matriarch Olive Stanford protects a secret after boarding the Titanic that must go to her grave. 2012 - Portland real estate agent Ember Keaton-Jones receives the key that will unlock the mystery of her past... and her distrusting heart. Review: “I told my wife to move this book to the top of her reading list... This titanic story is more interesting than the one told in the Titanic movie... She will absolutely love it.”

 

 

 

A CALCULATED BETROTHAL

By Denise Weimer

The death of her titled husband abandons Tabitha Gage on a South Georgia plantation with only a log cabin on unsettled timber land. Sergeant Edmond Lassiter aids the dark-haired beauty fending off cattle rustlers. The Patriot scout and Loyalist widow are surprised by their shared values. When Edmond learns the same man who ruined his family is after what little Tabitha has left, he convinces her they should work together to make her land profitable—while fighting off the British from East Florida and her greedy neighbor, who sabotages their every effort to succeed.

 

 

 

WHEN MEMORY WHISPERS

By Johnnie Alexander

Marie Wyatt longed for fame and fortune and found herself in wartime London working as an Allied courier. But when a routine mission turns deadly, a mysterious German agent becomes her unlikely savior. Yet the line between duty and loyalty blurs when the German agent is imprisoned in a Florida POW camp with Axis soldiers who consider him a traitor. Marie embarks on a desperate mission to save him before he’s fatally injured. Plummet into a heart-wrenching tale of courage, treachery, and a love that defies all odds.

 

 

 

EVEN IF WE CRY

By Terrie Todd

Now available to pre-order! Warned they “mustn’t cry,” British teenager Nina Gabriel and her two young siblings board a ship bound for Canada as part of the WWII child evacuee program. Nina’s mischievous brother and seasick sister test her limits on the long voyage—but her burden of responsibility grows still heavier in Canada. When a telegram arrives after a London bombing, will Nina find a way to fulfill her promise for the brother she’s never met? Will the Gabriel siblings learn that each of them is loved, even if they cry?

 

 

 

LOVE AND CHOCOLATE

BY Linda Shenton Matchett

She just needs a job. He wants a career. Is there room in their hearts for love? Ilsa Krause and her siblings are stunned to discover their father left massive debt behind upon his death. To help pay off their creditors and save the farm, she takes a job at Beck’s Chocolates, the company her father despised and refused to supply with milk. Then she discovers her boss is Ernst Webber, her high school love who unceremoniously dumped her via letter from college. Could life get any more difficult?

 

 

 

ALL WE THOUGHT WE KNEW

By Michelle Shocklee

Ava must put her life back together after her husband is killed at Pearl Harbor. A job at Camp Forrest provides income, but it also puts her in contact with Enemy Aliens interned on the military installation. Can she trust the German medical student whose friendship means more to her than it should? Mattie ran away from the pain when her brother was killed in Vietnam. Now she’s back in Tullahoma facing another devastating loss. Yet it is the bundle of WWII letters Mama insists she reads that makes her question everything she thought she knew about herself.

 

 

 

EL JIREH - THE GOD WHO PROVIDES

Compiled by Living Parables of Central Florida

Mary Dodge Allen, contributor

In A Mother’s Desperate Prayer, Mary Dodge Allen shares her struggle with guilt and despair after her son is badly burned in a kitchen accident. When we are at the end of all we have, El Jireh shows His hand. God doesn’t always give us what we want or when we want it, but He perfectly provides all we need at the right time. The stories, poems, devotions, and essays in this collection demonstrate the various and mysterious ways God is El Jireh—the God who provides—to His children.

 

 

 

MONTANA GOLD SERIES BOXED SET

By Janalyn Voigt

Love Wild West romance? Read the Montana Gold boxed set!

1. Hills of Nevermore – Can a young widow hide her secret shame from the Irish preacher bent on protecting her?

2. Cheyenne Sunrise – After her wagon journey goes terribly wrong, a woman disillusioned in men must rely on a half-Cheyenne trail guide.

3. Stagecoach to Liberty – A Hessian woman must decide whether to trust a handsome stranger or remain with her alarming companions.

4. The Forever Sky – A young woman with no faith in love wonders if she can trust the man who broke her heart.

Friday, November 29, 2024

How Old Were They? Experience and our Nation's Founding Fathers

 


There's an awful lot of fuss going on about who the incoming president is selecting for his cabinet. While various degrees of mud is dug up and slung, one of the biggest and loudest complaints by the opponents of his choices has been that they are either too young or lack experience, which seems to mean they aren't politician enough. The old guard sure doesn't like being shaken up!

So, let's take a look back at the ages of our founding fathers when they wrote and signed the Declaration of Independence. Let's think about their experience or lack thereof. Consider that most of them weren't politicians at all, but farmers, soldiers, lawyers, printers, and usually held more than one type of vocation.
 
Finally, let us ask ourselves whether or not they knew what they were about. I say that rhetorically, as I believe they clearly did know what they were about, and we've now 250 years behind us as the greatest nation in the world to prove it.

The Declaration Committee, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Sherman, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston, John Adams - Library of Congress

HOW OLD WERE THEY?

Signatories of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, by Age Group

20s and 30s: 
Thomas Lynch, Jr., 26
Edward Rutledge, 26
Thomas Heyward, Jr., 30
Benjamin Dr. Rush, 30
Elbridge Gerry, 32
Thomas Jefferson, 33
Thomas Stone, 33
James Wilson, 33
Hooper William, 34
Arthur Middleton, 34
Samuel Chase, 35
William Paca, 35
George Walton, 35
John Penn, 36
George Clymer, 37
Thomas Nelson, Jr., 37
Charles of Carrollton, Carroll, 38
Francis Hopkinson, 38
Carter Braxton, 39

40s:

John Adams, 40
John Hancock, 40
William Floyd 41
Button Gwinnett, 41
Francis Lightfoot Lee, 41
Thomas McKean, 42
Robert Morris, 42
George Read, 42
Henry Richard Lee, 44
Samuel Huntington, 45
Richard Stockton, 45
Robert Treat Paine, 45
William Williamson, 45
Josiah Bartlett, 46
George Ross, 46
Joseph Hewes, 46
William Whipple, 46
Caesar Rodney, 47
William Ellery, 48
Oliver Wolcott, 49

50s:

Abraham Clark, 50
Benjamin Harrison, 50
Lewis Morris, 50
George Whythe, 50
Lyman Hall, 52
John Morton, 52
Samuel Adams, 53
John Witherspoon, 53
Roger Sherman, 55
James Smith, 57

60s+

Philip Livingston, 60
George Taylor, 60
Matthew Thornton, 62
Francis Lewis, 63
John Hart, 65
Stephen Hopkins, 69

Benjamin Franklin, 70

As to their backgrounds, there were merchants, shippers (including a sea captain), farmers, at least one printer, one iron master, and doctors. While some of them were land owners and landed gentry, one of them came to America as an Indentured servant.

Many were trained in the law, but did not all become lawyers. Also, many were trained in theology, and four became ministers. Although there was one Catholic and a few Deists in the group, nearly all of them were Protestants.

Only Samuel Adams pursued politics as a vocation.

To satisfy our curiosity, let's take a look too at the signers of the Constitution, eleven years later.


Signatories of the U.S. Constitution, Sept. 17, 1787, by Age Group

20s and 30s:

Jonathan Dayton, 26
Richard Dobbs Spaight, 29
Charles Pinckney, 29
Abraham Baldwin, 32
Alexander Hamilton, 32
Rufus King, 32
Nicholas Gilman, 32
David Brearly (Brearley), 32
James McHenry, 33
Jacob Broom, 35
Gouverneur Morris, 35
James Madison, Jr., 36
Jared Ingersoll, 37
William Few, 39

40s:

Gunning Bedford, Jr., 40
William Paterson (Patterson), 41
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, 41
Thomas Fitzsimons (FitzSimons; Fitzsimmons), 41
Pierce Butler, 43
Thomas Mifflin, 43
Richard Bassett, 45
James Wilson, 45
John Langdon, 46
John Rutledge, 48
Nathaniel Gorham, 49
George Clymer, 49

50s:

Hugh Williamson, 51
Robert Morris, 53
John Dickinson, 54:
George Read, 54
John Blair, 55
George Washington, 55
Daniel Carroll, 57

60s+
William Samuel Johnson, 60
William Livingston, 63
William Blount, 63
Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, 64 (approximately)
Roger Sherman, 66

Benjamin Franklin, 81

I find the youth of our forefathers amazing to consider. It really makes one pause to think about the value and what kinds of "experience" belong to great achievements. 

So don't let the white wigs fool you! Think of a 33-year-old Thomas Jefferson drafting our marvelous Declaration!

From the Library of Congress view:

________________

Courting the Country Preacher is almost a month old! I am grateful for every one of you who have read and reviewed our sweet stories of new preachers gaining their first pastoring experiences--and finding love.


ALSO AVAILABLE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED!

Thursday, November 28, 2024

History of French Toast – by Donna Schlachter -- with giveaway

Photo by Daniela Constantini: https://www.pexels.com/photo/delicious-breakfast-with-toasts-and-berries-on-table-5591730/

Today, November 28th, is National French Toast Day. Imagine, an entire twenty-four hours set aside to celebrate the ooey, gooey egginess that goes so well with maple syrup, bacon, sausage, and powdered sugar. And French Toast isn’t just for breakfast anymore. You can enjoy it any day as often as you like. Don’t wait for its own day to come around each year – make it a weekly treat.

French Toast in many forms has been around a long time. One of the earliest mentions is in a cookbook called Cooking and Dining in Imperial Rome by Apicius in 300 AD.

Throughout history, bread has enjoyed a special status as holy, likely a reference to Christ being the Bread of Life and thus not to be wasted. Yet, without preservatives, keeping the bread fresh was a struggle. So, soaking in anything allowed the consumer to not waste the bread. It’s probably a good reason for bread pudding, turkey stuffing, and croutons, too.

As the population expanded and more countries in Europe came into being, soaking stale bread in eggs and frying it came into fashion, which meant the French adopted it as they did with many other recipes throughout history. In that country, this dish was called pain perdu, or lost bread, referring to the resurrection of stale bread from waste.

In Medieval Europe, the dish was called “poor knight’s pudding” because it was affordable. Most countries had their own version, including Spanish Toast, German Toast, Bombay Toast. In Italy, they add slices of mozzarella cheese and call it Mozzarella En Carrozza.


Photo by Magda Ehlers: https://www.pexels.com/photo/slice-of-bread-1586947/

 
In the 1400s, in the court of Henry V, the dish with bread, milk, and eggs, attracted a lot of interest, but it wasn’t until the 1700s that the term French Toast came into use. An interesting note is that the term “French” didn’t mean it originated in France, but rather came from an Old Irish word meaning “to slice”.

In traditional English breakfasts, if a slice of bread fell into the frying pan, they added milk and an egg, creating a dish they called a la tripe.

Just as a rose by any other name is still a rose, French Toast by any other name is still a warm and loving addition to any meal. It is also known as Eggy Bread, Omelet Bread, Gypsy Toast, Nun’s Toast, and Torrijas (traditionally topped with cinnamon and honey).

It’s believed that Irish settlers emigrating to Canada and the United States in the 1800s brought the recipe with them. The name French Toast first appeared in The Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink in 1871.

Photo by Маргарита Колван: https://www.pexels.com/photo/painting-of-people-cooking-a-fried-egg-8484472/

A less exotic theory of the name is that the reference to France allowed chefs and restaurants to inflate the price of the low-cost dish. And that could be more true than we like to admit. After all, “Lost Bread” or “Gypsy Bread” wouldn’t have the same attraction.

Whatever you call it, go ahead and splurge today. And tomorrow. And next week.



Question: What is your favorite side with French Toast? Leave a comment, and remember to cleverly disguise your email address so we can get in touch if you win – and I will gift one lucky winner with a digital copy of Cooking Up Trouble.

Link to book: https://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Up-Trouble-Contest-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0CGKFS338



About Cooking Up Trouble:
An unsuitable match to satisfy a debt. Can Holly find another solution?
An unsuitable calling--a man in the kitchen. Practically unheard of. Can Adam find the strength to step into his purpose in life?
Or will they both resist God and make their own way?



About Donna:
A hybrid author, Donna writes squeaky clean historical and contemporary suspense. She has been published more than 60 times in books; is a member of several writers' groups; facilitates a critique group; teaches writing classes; and judges in writing contests. She loves history and research, traveling extensively for both, and is an avid oil painter



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Resources:

https://www.google.com/search?q=history+of+national+french+toast+day

https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-day/national-french-toast-day-november-28