Mountain Musings

Under the Reading Tree ~ Little Mole Finds Hope!

Recently I posted about the coming release of a new children's book by author Glenys Nellist, Little Mole Finds Hope. It's published by @beamingbooksmn and releases Feb 4th. The countdown is on!

A preview copy arrived in my mailbox this week! Here I am checking it out today and getting ready to record the story for my grandsons and send it to them in Georgia via dropbox. That's what you have to do when grandchildren are 9 hours away!

"Sometimes, we have to close our eyes to what we can see, and try to imagine the good that lies ahead. When all that Little Mole can see is a wrinkled flower bulb, bare branches, and a shriveled chrysalis, he has to close his eyes and imagine instead the yellow daffodil, the leaf-filled tree, and the dancing butterfly that one day will surely come. That is hope."

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"And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." ~Romans 5:3-5

You can find a one-minute promo video at this link:

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book to Andrew, Matthew, and Charlie and hope they will like seeing and hearing their Granny read to them in faraway Virginia!Everyone loves little woodland creatures in children's stories. What's your favorite? I actually loved this little mole!

But my all-time favorite woodland creature is a skunk! I have always, always loved their aroma...and sniff with great delight when we’re traveling along and realize one has been by! I think I even put in some extra sniffs just to make a point. LOL!  No one can believe I’m being honest! When my 11-year old grandson found out I liked skunks a few years ago, he told me he would NEVER EVER forget that!

I found out that Glenys has also written a storybook with a skunk in it! You should check out the skunk illustration in this book…I think you’d love it!

Did you know that you can preorder a copy of Little Mole Finds Hope this week before the actual release date?

If you preorder, just screenshot a copy of your receipt and send it to [email protected] to receive your free downloadable Activity Pack which accompanies the book. There's also a Discussion Guide in the back of the book for parents.

Years ago when we were homeschooling, we had a Reading Tree full of birds and woodland animals in our schoolroom. Every day we would get on the floor under the Reading Tree, and I would read library books after lunch. One book I particularly remember reading is Where the Red Fern Grows, and I remember being barely able to read because I was crying so much when the dog died in the book!

I think the kids enjoyed those days. Here's Hannah in the 3rd grade with the Reading Tree behind her:

And here's Hannah today almost 30 years later holding her picture under the Reading Tree. Good memories!

Again, I would like to thank @beamingbooksmn for sending me a copy of the book to preview and also a special thanks to the author, Glenys Nellist, for selecting me for her launch team and for writing some adorable children's books.

Check out her book at Amazon today and preorder your copy and read it under your own Reading Tree.

~Deb

Did You Hear the Story About the Lady on the Elevator?

 
Well, it starts like this...

Back in October when we attended the Hope for the Family conference in Asheville, there was another group also on campus using the conference center....a group of artists gathering for their workshops.

In fact, we ended up having lunch with a couple of those ladies...very interesting artistic projects they were working on in class and telling us about.

Well, our family happened to be walking across this bridge-way you see below that connected the hotel rooms over to the elevators that led to the conference rooms: We were in the middle of a discussion on the way to one of our workshops, and I was animatedly talking, probably louder than I needed to in a public place, not hearing someone else walking close along behind us.

In fact, the lady actually joined into our conversation and told us her name was Lynda, and she was one of the artists on campus.

As we all got into the elevator, I immediately noticed her earrings--artistic, forest-y mosaic, and beautiful!

Of course, I asked if she minded telling me where she got them, and she said, "Tamela Wells, polymer clay!" And I could find her jewelry at the Southern Highland Craft Guild right there in Asheville. (More about Tamela here.) Well, our schedule was too tight to go gallivanting off to a craft guild when I was supposed to be in a workshop learning something...although I sure wanted to go on a craft guild adventure!

Weekend was soon over, and it was time to return home to Virginia...

That evening I started what seemed like a wild goose chase online googling Tamela Wells, polymer clay jewelry, Southern Highland...and anything else I could remember from that brief elevator conversation.

But...success! I right away sent an email off to Tamela asking about her jewelry and if she could make a pair of earrings just like the lady's in the elevator! She was surprised at my diligence to locate her after a chance encounter! Anyway, this past weekend I received a package in the mail...the earrings! And I love them! They are exactly what I remembered! Thank you so much, Tamela!

That was a very delightful, unexpected elevator encounter!

I love things like that. Do you?

~Deb

Behind the Scenes of Hannah's Birthday Meal ~ A Success!

Hello Friends and Happy New Year!  It's time to celebrate another birthday around here.

Hannah's birthday quickly follows all the Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations and gatherings. And this year, it's coming on the heels of our family just returning from a wedding we attended in Atlanta. So....lots going on lately!

If you've followed us for any of Hannah's past birthday meal posts, you know she always picks unusual, never-the-same, fascinating, not-your-norm, different, and unfamiliar recipes for her birthday meal--maybe that's what makes her special day a grand continuation of all the celebrations we've just enjoyed! Well...this year's choices are no different. My grocery list this week consisted of items I've never in my life purchased...artichoke hearts? never. feta cheese? not me. cauliflower? no thanks. kalamata olives? nope. pine nuts? not unusual I guess, but I've just never purchased...until now.

Let's get started cooking! We have a birthday to celebrate!

Her main dish selection is Sheet Pan Chicken and Cauliflower "Shawarma" from the blog Alexandra's Kitchen.

Now, for a southern girl, that word "shawarma" just isn't in my vocabulary!

For the salad, she picked Mediterranean Pasta Salad from the blog A Family Feast. This is where the olives, feta, and artichoke hearts come in. I texted her from the grocery store aisle and asked if she was sure on these ingredients...as in...who will eat this? She assured me it would all blend together and be delicious!

For the vegetable, Tuscan-Style Roasted Asparagus from Taste of Home. Thankfully, I actually do like asparagus, so this one might be a winner. Poor guys in the family though.

Dessert...Vanilla Bean White Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake from Mel's Kitchen, a favorite food blog.

Here's Hannah baking her own cheesecake today on her birthday...she assured me that "it's fun and enjoyable!"  So I guess she didn't consider it work like I did! Ha! I actually got started yesterday making the Mediterranean Pasta Salad so it could chill and blend flavors overnight. It does look pretty...olives, feta, and artichokes taking center stage, oh my!

Today I made both the Sheet Pan Chicken and Cauliflower and the Tuscan-Style Roasted Asparagus. Here's the cauliflower/onions/spices and chicken ready to go in the oven. I actually browned the chicken pieces in the fry pan first instead of putting them in with the cauliflower raw, as the recipe called for: Preparing the asparagus:

Here's the table set with snowman plates, snowflake napkin rings, and a winter blue theme...perfect for the 4 inches of snow we got this week: And here's the birthday girl's snowman table setting: I was happy when everything was on the table! We used both naan that the recipe called for and also whole wheat flatbread (both from Trader Joe's) to wrap the chicken/cauliflower mixture in, adding the yogurt sauce for the condiment: Here's Hannah ready to enjoy her birthday meal:

And, as you can see, Hannah's Vanilla Bean White Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake, served with mixed fruit, turned out just beautiful and delicious, too!

Afterwards she opened many nice birthday gifts, and we played a quick game of Psych!  (download the app and play on your phone with friends in another location!)

I think Hannah had a very enjoyable birthday...and I actually liked preparing all her special requests...mostly because they were for her!

I take back all the mean things I said about cauliflower. But I'm holding firm on no more artichoke hearts!

~Deb