The Unexpected Can Cure Cabin Fever

As many of you know, I live in a part of the country that has been experiencing an unusually cold and snow filled winter. So it is no surprise that extended periods of not being able to leave our home created feelings of cabin fever. Blessedly, this past weekend we had one beautiful, sunny, day where the temperature reached fifty degrees.

Since my husband had a small matter of business to take care of in a town about an hour and a half away, we decided to make a day of it. We started with a wonderful breakfast of French toast that my daughter claimed was fluffy just like she likes it. Then, I packed a picnic lunch for us to take along which included my delicious chicken salad sandwiches.

Our plan was to do some Geocaching after my husband had concluded his business. For those of you who might not be familiar with  Geocaching, it is basically a very large outdoor scavenger hunt. The caches, which very in size from micros to large containers which hold swag for trading, are found by using latitude and longitude coordinates. To learn m ore about geocaching you can visit the official Geocaching site.

Soon we set off on our adventure, and little did we know, what unexpected treasures we would find. The first unexpected treasure we found was a small country church with beautiful stained glass windows. And across the road, a herd of gorgeous Scottish Highlanders.

After we reached our destination and my husband concluded his business, we headed out to find our first cache. It was in a small cemetery. We admired the worn stones as we searched, and we thought about the lives of those who rested beneath our feet. Once we had found our cache, we had an in-the-car picnic. We found four caches altogether, we saw deer, soaring hawks, a deceased coyote, and learned a little bit about Ohio History. It was a splendid day full of unexpected moments that definitely helped cure our cabin fever.

Although the next day was once again overcast and left a dusting of snow on our yard and driveway, two more unexpected treasures presented themselves to me in the form of the books I read for this weeks review.

The first book I read was Three Pebbles And A Song by Eileen Spinelli. This book is a beautifully written story of a mouse family getting ready for winter's approach. Mama mouse, Papa mouse, and Moses's sister, Missy, all tell him he should be gathering warm things and food. But as Moses sings, dances, and juggles the day away, snow arrives before he can collect anything but three small pebbles. When Moses arrives at his home, Mama has gathered crumbs, Papa has gathered rags for their beds, and Missy has gathered raisons. The only one who hasn't brought anything of value home is Moses. Or has he?

 

The second book I read was Big Week  For Little Mouse by Eugenie Fernandes. The illustrations by Kim Fernandes alone would make this book worth reading. They are three dimensional clay works of art! The story itself was delightful to, however, as we followed the busy week Mouse has as she get's ready for her birthday party. It was unintentional that both of this weeks books were about mice, but if you love mice, then these books are definitely worth checking out.

 

 

 

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, and my soon to be released sequel, Return To Fern Valley, coming summer of 2014! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.



A Soup And Book Kind Of Day!

At our house, I frequently make soup. I make soup all year round, although this winter I have probably made a little extra soup to see us through all the cold days. My daughter's favorite soup is cheesy potato soup with ham, and I can hardly blame her. After all who can resist the delightful combination of cheese, ham, and potatoes simmering together in a milky broth?

So of course when I made a recent trip to the library for some new books to review, The Cat Who Liked Potato Soup by Terry Farish immediately caught my eye. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this story as much as I enjoy soup. It's not that it was a bad story mind you, it's just that it didn't touch me like many other books have. To begin with, it is written with some very Southern vernacular and it seemed a semi-depressing story to me. The lonely old man and his cat seem happy enough together until a misunderstanding causes them to be separated temporarily. In the end, they do reunite and have some soup, but I still felt uninspired.

But the beautiful thing about books and soup, is the fact that there are so many to choose from and no two persons tastes are the same. So although this book did not turn out to be one of my favorites, I encourage you to check it out for yourselves. Perhaps it will be just right for you! And perhaps you will make some soup to eat after you are done reading!

Potato Soup

 

8 cups milk

8 large potatoes peeled and cubed

1 jar cheese dip

1 TBS onion powder

1 tsp black pepper

2 cups cooked, cubed ham

box of instant potaoes

Boil potatoes and set aside.  In large soup pot pour milk and cook on medium heat. Add seasonings and cheese. Stir continually until cheese is completely melted. Once cheese is melted add 1/2 box of instant potatoes and stir thoroughly. Finish by adding ham and potato cubes. Simmer until broth begins to thicken slightly. If broth becomes too thick just add extra milk.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, and my soon to be released sequel, Return To Fern Valley, coming summer of 2014! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.


Birthdays and Black History

Because of all the snow and cold we've had of late, we had to cancel Emily's birthday party and reschedule it for a later date. After much waiting, we were finally able to celebrate this past weekend. Normally I make some kind of a fancy cake or cupcakes for the occasion, but this year I opted for the easy route and bought cupcakes.

I was a good mother, however, and did have crafts and party games prepared for her Lisa Frank theme. The kids all decorated treat bags, played Lisa Frank Bingo which I made at Eslactivities, guessed how many candy kisses were in a mason jar, tried to remember what twelve items were in a box they viewed for six seconds, and played hot potato.

The party was great! The birthday celebration successfully accomplished, I was free to celebrate black history month with two very interesting books. Although both books were fictitious, they were based on historical events that actually occurred in many places.

The first book I read was Ruth And The Green Book by Calvin Alexander Ramsey. It is the story of a young girl named Ruth who is traveling with her parents from Chicago to Rural Alabama in the 1950's to visit her grandmother. Many times they stop for gas, food, or an overnight stay and are turned away because they are negroes. Finally they stop at a gas station where the kindly attendant sells them a Green Book. The Green Book shows them friendly gas stations, hotels, and restaurants that serve traveling persons of color.

I can only imagine the frustration, anger, and feelings of helplessness those families of the fifties felt, and although my family is white, I want Emily to know of the struggles and unfairness suffered by others. It is my hope, that by sharing with her stories such as Ruth And The Green Book, she will learn to treat people with respect no matter what color they might be.

The second book I read was Light In The Darkness by Lisa Cline-Ransome. It is the story of how slaves learned to read in secret. This tale is of a girl named Rosa and her mother who must sneak out at night and walk far into the forest. Their destination__ deep pits hidden by sticks and twigs where a learned slave would pass on his knowledge of letters and words. The danger of being caught by patrols or being beaten if the master found out they knew their letters did not deter Rosa from seeking out the light that knowledge would surely bring.

Both of these books are excellent representations of  darker parts of our American history. Both of these books are excellent choices for celebrating Black History Month. And both of these books are good reminders of  the indomitable spirit of persecuted persons who fought against the odds.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, and my soon to be released sequel, Return To Fern Valley, coming summer of 2014! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.


It's Still Cold...

I'm sure you are all aware that it is still EXTREMELY cold out there. So cold, in fact, that last week some unusual visitors showed up at our bird feeder to scavenge for seeds.

There weren't many seeds on the ground, so that afternoon I took a small bowl out and set it underneath the feeder just in case our friends came back. Only one duck came back the next day, but I enjoyed watching him fill his little belly. Unfortunately for him, a tiny squirrel that had helped himself to seeds earlier that morning was in a  less generous mood.

I watched the tiny squirrel hop across the yard, creep up our small tree so he could have a better view, and crawl back down again. What he did next totally took me by surprise though. That little squirrel charged that duck and leapt on him like some kind of a ferocious beast. Needless to say the duck was a bit surprised. Okay, he was a lot surprised. Until then, I had not realized how high a duck could jump straight up into the air. It was one of those moments where you really wish you had camcorder instantly in your hand.

Since school continued to be canceled, Emily and I filled our time with other things like baking rolls and playing boggle. And it goes with our saying that books were read!

In honor of the continued cold and snow, we read a delightful book called The Night The Moon Blew Kisses. Although no longer in print, this book is worth hunting down a used copy or seeing if your library owns it. Short, sweet, and beautifully written, it is the story of a grandmother and her grand-daughter taking a moonlit stroll. The grand-daughter blows the moon kisses and in return, the moon blows some back. The art work reminded me of Vincent Van Gogh's A Starry Night, dark but lovely.

We also read Birthday Pony.  Grandma Aggie bought Jane a Pony for her birthday. Unfortunately, the pony, named Popcorn, has been spoiled for far too long, and Jane can't get him to obey commands. Can lessons in good manners and riding skills help both to learn to enjoy the ride? Emily and I both enjoyed this simple story and think it would be great for kids in first through third.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, and my soon to be released sequel, Return To Fern Valley, coming summer of 2014! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.


Blustery Weeks and Too Fridgid Birthdays

Like most of the rest of the country, Ohio has been having some extremely blustery weeks. That is to be expected in January, but it can be awfully disappointing for girls who are born during this month. Unfortunately for my daughter, Emily, she is one such girl. She was actually born during a blizzard, so I guess that should have clued us in to what the future might hold.

Her actual birthday, which was last Tuesday, wasn't too bad. It was one of the two days she actually had school, so she did get to take her cupcakes. I made the minion cupcakes, I had seen online, that use Twinkies for the bodies.  They didn't turn out quite as nicely as I had hoped since the black gel I used for mouths and goggles ran a bit, but the children enjoyed them anyway. It was also the day she let me put her hair up. Now for those of you who don't know, Emily has refused since birth to let me touch her hair. She had received some new fancy hair bands for Christmas, however, and actually asked me to put her hair in a ponytail. Her instructions, "Make sure it's on the side."

Picture from the website. Mine were much smearier.

Birthday girl with a pony on the side!

As the week wore on, the weather worsened, and school was canceled repeatedly, it became clear that we were going to have to cancel her weekend birthday party. Understandably she was disappointed, but she wanted her friends to be safe and to be able to actually come to her ninth birthday celebration. I told her we would reschedule in a couple of weeks when, hopefully, the weather is warmer. And by warmer, I mean at least 32 degrees.

At this point I would gladly have begun hibernation, but we were out of milk and staples, so I decided to drag myself to the grocery store. Since her party was going to be canceled and she hates to shop, I dropped her off at my mother's, on the other side of town, to spend the night. By sheer coincidence, the library is on that side of town. Naturally it stood to reason that since I had to pass by the library on my way out of town for shopping, I should stop and get a new stack of books. And it's a good thing I did because the next day the library closed due to inclement weather!

Dealing with blustery weather too frigid for parties, caused me to check out a slew of books on winter and birthdays. I also managed to slip in one about a sasquatch which looked interesting. So when Sunday afternoon rolled around, the time I usually write my blog posts, I asked Emily if she would like to read some of the book selections to me.

She chose four out of the eight books I brought home and started by reading Larf, the sasquatch story. Larf is happy with his solitary life. He likes to be alone with his pet rabbit Eric. And, he likes the fact that most people don't believe he exists. Until one day, when he reads in the newspaper that a sasquatch will be making an appearance at the nearby town of Hunderfitz. Realizing he might not be the only living sasquatch, he quickly dons a disguise and heads to town. What he finds isn't what he expects, but all turns out well in the end.

Next she read Poppleton in Winter. Although Poppleton books are bit below her reading level, she still loves the character very much, and she told me so. Since I want reading to be fun for her, I encourage her to read whatever she enjoys no matter the level. In this book we found one story about icicles, one story about the bust he makes of his friend Cherry Sue, and one story about his birthday. We weren't expecting a story about his birthday so that was an exciting bonus.

After that, she read Mouse's Birthday. It was a simple book with short sentences which she found a little short and boring, but it would be a great book for beginning readers. She did laugh as each friend of mouse came and tried to squeeze into his house. And since each friend was larger then the last it was inevitable that something was going to happen to his tiny home. To find out what, I suggest you snag a copy for yourselves.

And last but not least, she read Duncan Rumplemeyer's Bad Birthday. It too was geared for younger children, but it did hold her attention better then Mouse's Birthday. Duncan learns a good lesson after all his friends leave his party. He learns that sharing isn't as bad as he thought, and it's always more fun to make rude noises when you have a friend around.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, and my soon to be released sequel, Return To Fern Valley, coming summer of 2014! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpses into my days.


Sweets For The Brain: A Valentine Book Review

As the class mother, I work closely with the teacher to set up all the holiday parties, and Emily's teacher just contacted me about the upcoming Valentine party. I can hardly believe that Christmas is just  memory and we are already well started on the new year, but there you have it. Of course this reminded me that I had better get over to my local library and  switch out the children's display case.

I decided on a cute monkey theme and got busy. That done, I set about to find books for the top of the display and that inevitably caused me to find several books to bring home. Since most children bring home scads of candy after their big Valentine's Day parties, I thought it would be wonderful to review a few books that that would make wonderful alternative gifts. Sweets for the brain so to speak.

The first book I read was Valentine Surprise by Corrine Demas. Lily wants to make her mom a special valentine. She starts at the beginning of the week and tries to make a valentine every day, but not a single one turns out how she wants. When Valentine's Day finally arrives, Lily doesn't have a perfect heart to give her mom, or does she?

Next came Ruby Valentine Saves The Day by Laurie Friedman. Ruby Valentine loves Valentine's Day and wants to throw a party. Ruby plans for everything, everything except the unexpected snow storm. Does the storm ruin her party plans, or does Ruby come up with new plans?

And last but not least there was Dear Bunny - A Bunny Love Story by Michaela Morgan. This story is so sweet it almost made my teeth hurt. Two bunnies, Tino and Teeny, had admired each other for quite some time, but each was too shy to tell the other. They each decide to leave the other a note in the hollow log, but unforeseen circumstances kept them from receiving the letters. The tiny mouse family, who weathered the storm in that same log and used the letters to keep warm, felt really badly for the bunnies. What they did to get the bunnies together is divine as are the illustrations in this very, very, very sweet book. Be sure to check out the audio version as well as the bound version.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, and my soon to be released sequel, Return To Fern Valley, coming summer of 2014! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Messed Up Wedding

My daughter's school has Accelerated Reading. This means that the children must read books, each which is given a certain number of points or partial points, and then they test on that book. Each child has a point goal and must read books to equal or surpass their goal. Emily has already doubled her goal, but her personal desire is to have more points then the other children in her class. Two other students area little ahead of her, so she is trying hard to catch up.

So, this morning she read me a book by Elsepth Campbell Murphey who writes mystery series for children. This particular book was from the Ten Commandments Series and was called The Mystery Of The Messed-Up Wedding.

Although she brought home three mysteries from this particular series, she said this one looked the most interesting. That might have something to do with a little girls dreams and visions of romantic weddings. I know I was certainly intrigued by the cover which prominently featured a beautiful wedding cake with an upside-down bride and groom.

I don't know about you, but an upside-down bride and groom would certainly qualify as a good start to messing up a wedding. And an unusual cake wasn't the only strange thing happening at the wedding about to take place . There was also the bride's missing ring and the matter of the popped balloons. But of course, the mystery party pooper was no match for the three cousins, Timothy, Titus, and Sarah Jane who as always save the day and catch the culprit.

As Emily read this book to me, I thought of the two weddings for which I made cakes. Thankfully these weren't messed-up weddings and although not professional, the cakes turned out quite nicely. And despite all the shenanigans, the wedding in the book turned out quite nicely as well.

 

 

Signing off for now with wishes for a bright and beautiful day!

2013 A Year In Review

2013 was an eventful year for me as an author. I taught a children's writing workshop for kids in grades k-6. I even had one eight grader show up because he was so interested in writing.

I participated in the Southern Kentucky Book Festival where I once again met and hung out with author Mary McDonough, illustrator Mark Wayne Anderson, and author Debbie Dadey. I also got to meet and go out to lunch my good friend and author Amanda Stephan who came up for the writer's conference.

Mary and Me

Amanda and Me

I participated in the very first North Branch Children's Festival in Michigan where I met some lovely new friends like the talented sponsor Kevin White. It also turned out to be a great mini family vacation. My husband, daughter, and I visited the Dow Gardens on the way up and once there, we asked some locals where the best swimming area was and we were turned onto a lovely and secluded watering hole with amazing views.

I sold books every Saturday at the local farmer's market in my home town. The fellow vendors are all friendly and we became like an extended family. My daughter even tried her hand at commerce by making and selling magnets she made.

I was one of three YA judge in for the Grace Awards. And towards the end of the year, I was also able to meet fellow Ohio author, Deb Boerema, who lives just an hour and a half away from me. She graciously shared a table with me at a local event and then she took me out to lunch. I tried to split the check with her, but she insisted that I had given her lots of instruction since she was a new author and it was her way of saying thank you.

Deb and Me

I wrapped the year up by making it to the semi final round of the Author SdB Cover Contest and I started production on my second book, Return To Fern Valley. Not a shabby way to end up a perfectly respectable year.

And in-between, I read and reviewed many books; but my five favorites for the entire year were Mark The Missing Moose by Lisa Tortorello, When Grandma's False Teeth Fly by Mary Lee, Mortimer's First Garden by Karma Wilson, The Innkeepers Dog by Deb Boerma, and And Then The Rain by Karina Harris.

 

Yes, 2013 was a wonderful year and 2014 looks like it will be just as interesting.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, and my soon to be released sequel, Return To Fern Valley, coming summer of 2014! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpses into my days.


Reaching Out For Help

The thing about being an author is that you can't manage alone. You have to have someone willing to publish your book, you have to have fans who want to read your book, you have to have reviewers who are willing you share your book, You have to have family and friends to support you and cheer you on, etc...

That is why I'm reaching out to everyone today. My book, Fern Valley, is a finalist in the Author SdB book cover contest. I would love to win the best cover in the children's category, but I need your votes. So if you think my cover is nice and worthy of a vote, please stop by the SdB site and click on the stars under my book cover. Clicking on the stars under my cover will activate your vote.

Signing off for now with wishes for a bright and beautiful day!