You Won't Believe What's In This Cookbook!

I preordered happy hens & fresh eggs because the author, chef Signe Langford, is a friend of my daughter. Signe has been a good chicken mommy to many of the rescued battery hens that my daughter brought to her farm for rehabilitation and rehoming. 

What I didn't expect was my absolute delight in the book itself. It has everything I love in a good read!

Where else will you find beautiful photos of gardens, vintage kitchenware, backyard chickens, coop plans, and practical information on caring for your own flock?  Okay, maybe you could find all that in one book but how about 100 egg recipes by the author and contributing chefs!

The photography is beautiful. ~ 

If you daydream about keeping your own chickens, Signe walks you through the highs and lows of having adorable feather balls hopping up on your knee as you sip a cup of tea in your garden and gives peeks into her stylish coop dubbed Cluckingham Palace. She also lets you know what happened to her meticulous landscaping when those feather balls started scratching and chomping their way through the garden like miniature, ravenous dinosaurs. You all know what my gals did to my yard so that won't surprise you much. There's lots of practical chicken keeping advice from Signe and two bloggers I regularly follow, Karen at The Art Of Doing Stuff and Lisa from Fresh Eggs Daily.

The author is as passionate as I am about stopping cruel factory farm practices and I was thrilled to see a picture of my granddaughter, holding a rescued hen, included in the book. ~

I couldn't put happy hens and fresh eggs down until I'd read it cover to cover and by then I was famished! 

I flipped through the book and settled on whipping up Hangry Eggs. They turned out beautifully and tamed the 'hangry' beast in me! ~

Tomorrow, I'll try something a little more refined. I think iles flottantes will do nicely. ~

The gals in the coop have their work cut out for them. I intend to cook my way through the entire book! ~

Luckily I  have lots of 'happy hens & fresh eggs'!

To order (and I highly recommend you do!) click here to take you through to Amazon.ca. 

It's All About The Little House

My sister and I squealed with glee when we found a full set of Little House On The Prairie books at a flea market yesterday.  This is the time of the year when I reread Laura Ingalls Wilder's charming books of growing up in a pioneer family.  But, the set of books I always read belonged to my daughter, Farm Girl, and she took them to read to her own three little girls.

The set I bought look to have been well read and that doesn't bother me a bit. ~ 

I absolutely love all the details of every day life that the author wove into her stories!  My favourite books in the series are Little House In The Big woods, where Ma and Pa use ingenuity, skill and hard work to provide a cosy home and life for their family and Farmer Boy, the story of Laura's husband Almanzo growing up on a prosperous farm in upstate New York.

It inspires me to plant and weed, can and preserve, and provide for myself in a wholesome, self sufficient fashion.  It's also just plain fun to read Almanzo's memories of bounty that his hard working parents were able to provide in his youth.

"He stopped just a minute at the pantry door.  Mother was straining the milk at the far end of the long pantry ... The shelves on both sides were loaded with good things to eat. Big yellow cheeses were stacked there, and large brown cakes of maple sugar, and there were crusty loaves of fresh-baked bread, and four large cakes, and one whole shelf full of pies ..."

Don't even think of reading this book if you are on a diet!

I settled right into a chair on the porch, with a cup of Chai tea, and began to read. ~

This time around, I feel even closer to Laura Ingalls.  I know the family personally now. It was one of those strange things where you are following a blog and making the odd comment and I liked the comments another reader was leaving. She also was a blogger.  Then I noticed her name. Could it possibly be? Could I really be looking at someone named Laura Ingalls Gunn.  Now, either her mother was a big fan of the books or she was a relative and I had to check out her blog Decor To Adore and find out.

She is Laura Ingalls Wilder's great granddaughter. I was so excited that I wanted to run around the house yelling Pa, Pa! 

And she's everything you would hope she would be because don't we just hate to see the offspring of icons turn out badly? I do. ~ 

She's a professional decorator, full time college student, photographer, crafter, wife and mother.  She's kind and thoughtful and shares her joys and even some of her troubles with her readers.  She takes us with her on her travels and her years as a military wife have made her into a very good traveler.

She shares her decorating knowledge, her interests and her creativity with us and she's very conscious of keeping it all to a budget. ~

You really should pop over to Decor To Adore.  You'll like her.  I promise!  Then, you can tell your friends you are friends with the family, too.

I think Laura Ingalls Wilder would be pleased that my granddaughters are loving her books as much as their mother and I did.  The live on a farm and can relate to the tasks that every member of the family had to do to make it all work.

I even think she would laugh to see Amish Girl balancing her pet chick on her head! ~

I hope you all join me on the Banks Of Plum Creek, or at least the banks of the river behind my house!

It Takes A Village

Yesterday was such an exciting day for me, when I attended the launch for the book my daughter coauthored with Lisa Highfield.  The Promise is the story of how a mom and a child care support worker came together and worked to make the adoption of my four grandchildren a success.  The authors wrote the book in the hope that their experiences would give parents and support workers some tools for working with traumatised, adopted children and help families heal and thrive.

The book is selling well on lulu.com and social workers from many adoption agencies have it on their recommended reading list.  It was time for a celebration!

Of course my heart swelled with pride as Farm Girl read a passage from the book to a standing room only crowd.  ~

Farm Girl had herself convinced that she would be reading to an empty room and was overwhelmed by both attendance and that so many wanted a chance to talk to the authors.  A little miracle began to unfold and I was hard pressed not to burst into tears.

This lady said she had been a kindergarten teacher to two of my granddaughters before they came into our family.  She saw their situation go from bad to worse and said, "We (several teachers) cared about those kids and we thought they were lost".  She was crying tears of joy. ~

A couple came up and introduced themselves as former neighbours of the kids, during an aborted first adoption, and said how out of control they had been.  They were so happy that they were doing well in their new family.

This couple fostered the children before the first adoption and took them back in when it failed.  They were retired and the man had cancer, but they could not, would not let those kids down or see the kids separated again. ~

A social worker introduced herself to me as the one that placed the kids in my daughter's home.  I thank her for that gift.  Many social workers purchased multiple copies for clients. ~

As I looked at coauthor Lisa Highfield standing ready to read her piece, I thought of how different things might have been without her counselling and hands on support with the children.  Yes, she has a business that works with troubled families, but she does it because it is her passion. ~

It struck me that scattered around the room were people that shone like little lights of hope.  They had done a part, large or small, to save four little kids in need.  That led to a book that was helping other people help more kids in need.  One adoptive parent found the book so helpful she contacted my daughter and let her know she has started a group that lobbies government for more resources for parents who adopt older children that have special needs.

From proud aunties ~

to ever supportive and helpful great aunties ~

it took a village to get where we are today.

I hope you remember that the care you show for a troubled child today will bring tears to the eyes of a grateful Grandma like me some day.

You may never know how much you have meant to a family, but you can hold in your heart the knowledge that you were part of the village.  Let us all keep our lights of hope shining.

Thank you!

I'm sharing this with Wordless Wednesday, Share Your Cup

Special Interest Books As Gifts

I always feel the giver shows an extra level of thought when they gift me with a book that is about things they know I am experiencing and care about.  On the most difficult Christmas of my life, I was given a copy of Simple Abundance.  It is written as a chapter for each day of the year and I used that book as an anchor as I found my way in a new and sometimes frightening life.  Other books have been invaluable learning tools and sources of enlightenment.  I've loved gardening books, cookbooks and magazine subscriptions.

These are a few suggestions for the people on your gift list who have special interests.

For the person interested in healthy eating, sustainable food production methods and the state of agriculture in the world today, I recommend Real Dirt. ~

A sixth generation farmer, having taken over the family industrial pig farm and with a masters in business and agriculture, Harry Stoddart made the transition to a more environmentally friendly and sustainable means of producing food.  It's a common sense look at how our food is grown and relies on scientific fact, not sentimentality, to argue for change in the agricultural sector.  He says he has enough material in the book to make everyone mad at him, from vegetarians to organic proponents to industrial farm corporations. I'd agree with him there, but found it a great book to sort through all the rhetoric and develop my own stance on what forms of agriculture I will support with my dollars.  You can order the book through Amazon here.

For the person looking to reconcile religion, metaphysics and science, this book has it all. ~ 

Bruce Lipton takes us on his fascinating journey from successful biologist, to believer in the power of the mind and our environment to affect our health, well being and success in life.  Even though this book is scientifically based, it's written for the layman.  This is one of my top 10 books for 2013!  You can order the book here.

If someone on your list is considering or has adopted older children ~

The Promise is a truthful, raw and inspiring memoir of the struggles of one family to heal their four adopted children and create an atmosphere where everyone can thrive and grow together as a true family.  Written by the mother of the children (and incidentally my daughter) and the Child and Youth Counselor, who helped them develop strategies for success, it has proved so valuable to adoptive parents that it is endorsed by many adoptive agencies and the authors are enlisted to speak at Adoption Council functions. You can buy the book here.

The next one is a book review that several people have asked me to write and I've avoided for personal reasons.  I guess that all goes out the window now!

If you have anyone on your list who is trying to come to terms with the sudden and unexpected abandonment by a long term love, Runaway Husbands is the book for them. ~

When you've been in a long term relationship, often more than 25 years, and your mate blindsides you by walking out, many are left with no explanation and certainly no closure.  Someone you thought you knew well is behaving in completely different ways.  A life that was so intertwined with another is suddenly floating without ballast.  Absolutely everything in life gets called into question and no one is providing any answers. That is, until psychotherapist and family counsellor Vikki Stark had it happen to her.  Her study of the phenomenon led her to write the book that has been a tremendous tool for helping abandoned women understand what happened, regain their feeling of self worth and rebuild their lives.  The book was an enormous help to me and whenever I felt someone was having a tough time coming out of their shell shocked state, I've given it to them.  Every single one has thanked me for it and passed it on to the next person in need.  You can buy the book here.

Now that I've reviewed all the intellectual books, how about a little bit of Christmas fun for you?  You've earned a sweet, little read that transports you to Nantucket and and the magic that only a Christmas story by Nancy Thayer can bring.  It has new love, an adorable kid and an abandoned puppy looking for a forever home, all set in the historic beauty of a Massachusetts island paradise.

You can't help but feel happy when you read A Nantucket Christmas. ~

You can buy the book here.

Ready for the disclaimer?  Here it is.  I'm an idiot!  I have not signed up as an Amazon or Lulu.com affiliate and I will not receive a penny for promoting these books. I just put the links in to make shopping easier. My daughter, however, may say, "Thanks, Mom".  Therefore, all opinions are my own.

Malala's Book Is Here!

One day last week my friend Wendy called me and said I had better get over to her house because "my girl" was being interviewed by Diane Sawyer for 20/20.  I don't have TV and I sure did want to see that show! I had seen her speech to the United Nations on her sixteenth birthday, but I wanted to see Malala Yousafzai in an interview situation where the words would be her own.
Once again, Malala showed herself to be wise beyond her years, eloquent and committed to the cause of education for all children.  Diane described Malala as, "...an electrifying inspiration" and "unbreakable". ~

I ordered the book I Am Malala and it was a riveting account of conditions in the Swat region of Pakistan throughout her life, her life within her family and the course of events that led Malala to the fateful day when a Taliban gunman shot her at point blank range.  It's a story of miracles that converged to save her life and allow her to continue to speak up for the 50 million children, worldwide, who are denied the right to a basic education.

Of course, I know Malala isn't really "my girl".  But, she has become "everyone's girl".  She has transcended gender, nationality and religion to touch millions of people.  She has given courage to children who live in seemingly hopeless situations.  She has moved governments to action by shining a light on a shameful situation and has shown us what true courage and dedication to a cause is.  She makes me want to be a better person.  For that, she will always be "my girl".

I highly recommend this book, co written with Christina Lamb and published by Little, Brown & Co.

She says she does not  want to be thought of as the "girl that was shot by the Taliban" but the "girl who fought for education." 

I will always think of her as the girl who showed us, all that is good in mankind. ~

The Book You Have To Read - Whether You Adopt Or Not!

The book is finally here!

Available at Lulu.com

Of all the things my daughter, Farm Girl, has written this is the one that moved me the most.  It's an absolute MUST READ for anyone who is considering adopting older children or is already parenting them. It's a darned good read for absolutely anyone who loves to read about courage after failures and the power of love and commitment.  After all, I'm the grandma of the kids in the book and I know the whole story, but seeing the last three years laid out in chronological order brought me to tears!

You see ONCE UPON A TIME there were four little kids who's parents were not able to care for them.  The children saw things they never should see, went hungry, missed Christmases because the police came and took their father away and suffered from a number of medical issues caused by improper prenatal care.  The eldest two bounced back and forth between parents and foster parents.  The youngest two were seized at birth and placed in different foster homes.

But all good fairy tales work their way toward happy endings. ~

photo courtesy of Elena Dudina

The children are united, in time, with foster parents who have many years of experience and, though they were ready to retire and their home is not large enough for four children, they give them love and stability until they found a Forever home.  This was vitally important to the kids.  A psychiatrist report on the eldest girl at four, says one more move will be catastrophic for her.  She is moved seven more times in the next three years.

Along comes a forever family!  They have one adopted son, the age of the youngest child, and the preschoolers quickly bond.  For something like 10 mths. the new family struggles to adapt.  One day, when they are at daycare and school, the social worker comes and takes the children away.  The new parents can't cope and they have returned them.

This isn't how fairy tales end!  They go back to the elderly foster parents, though the man has had to delay his chemo treatments to take them back in.  It is a desperate situation.

Along comes a nice family with two teenage sons and a barn full of happy, rescued animals. ~

photos courtesy of Adam Sach's Photos

They want to adopt a girl of school age.  The social workers plead with them to consider the four children.  It's too many.  They can't afford it.  They don't have enough bedrooms.  Then, their eldest son says, "Why don't we just take them and work it out?"

The children come for weekend visits.  There are cats and dogs and plenty of room to play. ~

There are ponies to ride. ~

One day, the nice couple takes the children on a walk in a park and asks them if they would like to come live with them.  The eldest girl jumps up and says that is just what she has been praying for.  The eldest boy looks upset and goes into a long list of his faults.  He says they won't want him.  But, they do!  The youngest is confused and asks if they are going to be her mommy and daddy now.  Why wouldn't she be confused?  She's had a forever home before and they didn't stick around.

The couple explain that they keep their promises and this one really is forever.

The judge has held this adoption until the last of the day.  He says he wanted to take extra time with this very special family and asks each child if they agree to being adopted.  The boy says, "It's all I've ever wanted". The court stenographer can hardly see for the tears running down her face.  The whole courtroom follows suit.

The first one is done! ~

A new family is born! ~

There are grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends to welcome the children.  They have certificates that tell them this is permanent and they want to know if they can take them to school for show and tell. The bailiffs, court policeman and social workers cheer.~

If that were the end of our story, we would have a happy ending indeed!  But, it's not.

These children suffer from severe emotional issues and post traumatic stress disorders.  They have medications, doctors and therapists.  They require non stop, twenty four hour a day care and nurturing. They run away, break furniture, kick out window screens and throw screaming rages that go on for hours. Two of them never sleep through a night.  Remedial schoolwork takes hours each day and the parents fight for special help for one who has prenatal damage that makes learning impossible in a standard schoolroom.

The house is in chaos and the parents and older boys are worn out from coping.  But, this family meant it when they said they kept their promises.  Giving up was not an option.

A desperate call to Children's Aid united a child and youth counsellor and the family to work through the issues and find our happy ending.

Three years later, mom and social worker get a well deserved high five! ~

The book is co-written  in alternating chapters.  Farm Girl tells what happened and how she handled the situation, even when she knows she handled it badly.  Lisa, the child and youth counsellor, answers with a chapter of her own that talks about the same situation from a therapeutic point of view.  It's a wonderful way for adoptive parents and those who support them to gain insight into their own difficulties and see what has worked for real life people.

The book description on Lulu says, "The Promise is a raw and compelling memoir. It offers insight into the behaviours of adopted and foster children, gives hope to struggling families, and is a must-read for adoptive parents who are at a loss after bringing wounded children into the family."

Farm Girl has a facebook page for her literary work and can be found here. She has a real name even, Christen Shepherd! You'll still think of her as Farm Girl but it's nice to know I didn't make her up as one of my fictional characters! Her co author is Lisa Highfield.

Both of her books can be bought at Lulu.com. ~

I know many of you read The Flawed Farm as an ebook but I'm partial to the hard copy. ~

I apologise for such a long post. I just wanted you to have some background and know why The Promise means so much to me.

Was it worth it to risk so much for four little kids? Absolutely!!! They have made my life better than I ever imagined and I love them to pieces! Every time one of them runs up to me, arms outstretched and a grin on their face, my heart grows two sizes. At least two sizes!

I'm sharing with:  Wordless Wednesday, My Happy List Tuesdays

Hope For Alzheimer's Disease?

My mom had Alzheimer's.  It's a relentlessly cruel disease.  I watched it strip her of every joy in life, make her loved ones become strangers and her home environment become a constant danger to her.

I knew the disease was "shrinking" her brain and the damaged areas were lost forever.  All the doctors and all the material I read told me this was a fact.  Autopsies of deceased Alzheimer's patients confirm these facts.  I don't dispute these medical studies.

What I do have is an experience that I present as another fact.

I spent my mom's last Christmas day with her at the nursing home.  Mom was always happy to see me, but it was clear she did not know my name or my relationship to her.  I was simply someone she liked.  She paced the halls of the nursing home day and night and whistled continuously.  When she was tired of a visit she whistled louder to drown out my conversation.  This visit started out the same.  I followed her around and around the halls and chatted away about her grandchildren.  As we approached the lobby, Mom suddenly decided to sit down for a bit.  That was a rare and welcome event and I was delighted to take a breather on walking and talking.  Mom reached out and took my hand. Although she had been unable to say a simple sentence for close to a year, she said, "I have loved, and yet, I am alone.".  Tears sprang to my eyes and I tried to comfort her. She shushed me and continued, "And you have loved and you are alone.".  Now the tears were flowing.  My mom was back and she was comforting me!  She continued to converse, normally, for a couple of hours and then became very tired and wanted to sleep.

Over the next few weeks she was able to recognize and talk to several family members.  During those weeks she became physically ill and was discovered to be in the late stages of pancreatic cancer.  Twenty-two days later, she passed away.

I'm telling you this story because I believe that my mom's brain was not completely damaged beyond hope.  Otherwise, how could she have regained the skills of speech, understanding and recognition that Christmas day?

I picked up this book. ~

When Dr. Mary T. Newport's husband was losing a seven year battle with Alzheimer's, she tried to get him into clinical trials.  Tests showed him to be ineligible as his condition was verging on severe.  Her research led her to believe she could raise his level of functioning with simple dietary changes and he might score high enough to enter one of the trials.  This is her account of  the shocking improvement he experienced and her plea for more study into this form of therapy.

Snopes will tell you that this work does not fulfill the requirements of a scientific study and that is true.  It is the observations of a loving wife, with a scientific background in neonatology.  It is her story of research and everyday application of findings, right down to recipes.  It is a remarkable account of a man regaining skills and his personality.

I am not an authority on Alzheimer's disease.  I'm an at risk daughter of a mother, that lost ten years of her life to a disease that is expected to hit epidemic proportions as the boomers age.  I'm someone who knows the toll, physically and emotionally, that the caregivers suffer.  I have friends that are watching their loved ones slip away more everyday and I will lose friends to this disease.

If this book had been published before my mom passed away, I would have used Dr. Newport's information to give us a fighting chance.  I wanted to let you know the book exists, so you can make the decision on it's validity yourself.

I am forever grateful for that short time my mom was returned to me.  But oh, I might have had so much more!

I Promised To Tell

 The rainy weather is sure making it difficult to finish the outside Hallowe'en decorating and I'm knee deep in leaves.  Tomato cages are tilting drunkenly in the garden and a hard frost last night left the herb pots looking forlorn.

Sometimes though, you just have to go with the flow.  I can't change the weather so I might as well settle in with a hot mug of tea and a good book.  I read The Postmistress by Sarah Blake.  

The story of three American women during WW II, it is nostalgic and thought provoking at the same time.  The central question is, "what needs to be told and what should be held back".  I found the answer to be a little less clear than I'd thought.  This is the kind of book you think of long after you have turned the last page!

The sunny spot in the day was Michelle of Shabby Love featuring my bucket, from the All That Glitters post, on her lovely site.  It's quite an honour to be there with the beautiful furniture pieces that are featured as well!  Pop over there and soak up some inspiration!

Part of the deal with accepting the Versatile Blogger Award is telling you seven things about myself.  The very nature of blogging means you already know quite a bit, so I had to really think about what might surprise you. Here we go ~

1.  For 14 yrs. I owned and operated a recording studio that worked with artists like Emmy Lou Harris, U2,   Gordon Lightfoot and David Sylvian.
2.  My dad re-enlisted during the Korean War and I was born on Trenton Airforce Base.
3.  I was the kind of kid that would bring anything home for a pet - mice, snakes, a duck and a weasel. ( I didn't get to keep the mice or snakes)
4.  I was a dental assistant in the 60's.
5.  I have a college degree as a law clerk.
6.  I can't ride a bicycle.
7.  I know pretty much everything about wells and pressure systems.

Now, if that didn't confuse you, I don't know what would!

Now, I get to nominate ten of my favourite Versatile Bloggers.  Here they are ~

Herballistic Garden
You Could Make That
Heaven's Walk
Normandy Life
Musings From A French Cottage
The Vintage Farmhouse
The Lavender Tub
Make The Best Of Things
Shabby Love
Real Housewives Of Buck County

Just click on the names and you can take a peak through their houses.  Isn't that neat?  You'll find them as varied as my list of things you didn't know about me is!

Have a kick back and relax kind of Saturday!

It's A Continuum For Us

The Thanksgiving and Columbus Day weekend is fading away amid memories of summer like temperatures, last boat rides, bike trips and cottage closings ~

There is one group of people who need never fear their pleasures ending.  For gardeners they never do end. When the sunflower heads begin to droop, there are seeds to be harvested. ~

As sad as it seems to pick the last glorious rose blooms, there are rose hips to collect and mulching to be done. ~

The surety of a hard frost coming soon means it's time to dig the last of the potatoes. ~

Frost nips on the Basil leaves say I must give up on my daily, fresh supply.  Instead, I will now make it into Pistou. ~

I pack 2 cups of basil, 3 Tbsp. of peeled garlic, a dash of sea salt and 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil into a food processor and give it a good chop. ~

Then I put it in ice cube trays and cover it liberally with more EVO. ~

I freeze the cubes and move them to freezer bags to keep frozen until I want to thaw and drizzle on soup or add pine nuts and Parmesan cheese for a classic Pesto.  Note:  I call it Pistou because that's what Julia Child called it.  Unable to reach my French sister-in-law Mylene, my usual translator, I googled it.  The French word Pistou = Pesto.  Who knew?


I love to collect gardening books as my tea in bed January reading material.  Then, I'll make elaborate plans that would take a large contingent of professional nurserymen to accomplish.  The book I really will follow is my gardening bible. ~

Follow what this guy says with no deviations and you will have the most amazing veggie garden of your life!  The book is out of print but you can find it on Amazon and it is really, really worth the $20 investment.

I'd like to share a pic of some of my favourite things with you.  This shabby chic dresser came from my sister when I suddenly had only half my bedroom furniture.  (I'm not telling you - you have to guess why!)  My father gave me this hand thrown vase just before he passed away.  It was made by my grandfather for my grandmother, in the height of the depression, when they had gone from riches to rags.  It means love to me.  The old print of the horses towing barges up the river depicts the same transportation means as happened on my river in the same era.  The rose petals will be left to dry and placed in a bowl to scent the house long after the snow falls and to remind me I must decide what seed catalogues I need to order to start seedlings indoors. ~

Have a continuously pleasant day!