Dear Kids, There are 5 weeks left of school. Five weeks. When did that happen. Eight weeks ago, I thought it would take forever for the end of the year to come. I was desperately hoping for even a slim chance of schools reopening before the end of the school year. I felt like the school year was never going to end and I was going to be a basket case by June. It took a few weeks, but we finally settled into a routine. Brother has a routine of what order he wants to do all of his schoolwork and we have a schedule for his Zoom classes that doesn’t…
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Round 2 of the Poop Stage
I’m sick and tired of this coronavirus thing; aren’t you? Right now, the only thing I like about it is that we get to spend more time together. My husband works part-time from home now and our oldest is doing home from school. It’s not always easy to coordinate meetings, classes via Zoom, work, school, and a toddler, but that toddler sure is keeping us on our toes and keeping us laughing! Me: What’s your name? Toddler: Poop. I knew it was going to happen. I knew I was going to go through the poop stage a second time. I did have a second child, after all. But it wasn’t something I…
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A Quick Guide to Ratio Baking Bread
I consider bread to be it’s own food group. I know it’s not, but that’s just how much I adore bread (as long as it’s not sourdough or rye). Once I figured out how to ratio bake bread, the only thing that’s ever stopped me is the weather. See, bread needs warmth to rise properly, which shouldn’t be a problem in Southern California, but it’s managed to thwart me an insane number of times over the past year. Nevertheless, I have persisted, even it means I have to crank up the heat or turn on the oven to the lowest temperature setting possible. I’ve perfected the bread my family enjoys,…
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Book Review: Last Memoria by Rachel Emma Shaw
Title: Last Memoria Author: Rachel Emma Shaw Publisher: Self-published Publication date: May 10, 2020 Genre: Fantasy Summary: Sarilla has the power to take memories, and is branded a monster because of it even though she is the king’s caged pet. Falon wants nothing more than to reclaim the 6 months worth of memories that were stolen from him. When fate throws them back together one night on a lake, they end up on a journey across the kingdom, one seeking to destroy and one seeking answers. The Characters: So Much Fun Oh my goodness, I loved the characters and the ways they interacted! And I really felt for Sarilla. Reading her hurt my heart. I understood…
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Queen of the Garden of Girls, Part 27
Now we’re getting to my favorite part of this story, and the main reason why I really want to write this: my takes on different fairy tales. Chapter 10 continued She wasn’t a princess, as everyone likes to believe, but he was most definitely a prince, one destined to take the throne and ensure a strong royal line. Their meeting was inevitable, their ending a tragedy, though perhaps not to us. The mermaid had no name, or not one that was ever offered to him. She was First Handmaiden to the princess, whose hand had long been bound to the prince. She had no identity save the one the princess chose to…
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Book Review: Queen of the Unwanted by Jenna Glass
Title: Queen of the Unwanted Author: Jenna Glass Publisher: Del Rey Publication date: May 12, 2020 Genre: Fantasy Summary: Alys may be the acknowledged queen of Women’s Well—the fledgling colony where women hold equal status with men—but she cares little for politics in the wake of an appalling personal tragedy. It is grief that drives her now. But the world continues to turn. In a distant realm unused to female rulers, Ellin struggles to maintain control. Meanwhile, the king of the island nation of Khalpar recruits an abbess who he thinks holds the key to reversing the spell that Alys’s mother gave her life to create. And back in Women’s Well, Alys’s own half brother is…
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Safer at Home Order Journal #6
Dear Kids, As we head into our 8th week, we did something different yesterday: we went to Nana and Papa’s house. It’s been hard for the past couple of months to not see them. We’re so used to going over almost every weekend, and you two love playing in their backyard and with your cousins. Last summer we spent a lot of time over there and Papa had a ton of fun getting all of you very wet. This year, it looks like you’ll only be getting wet in the tub at bath time. The last time we saw your grandparents was the end of February. After that, they were…
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The Black Magus — By Autumn Rain
If you’re looking for something to read, The Black Magus by Autumn Rain is free for the next few days! By the way . . . I didn’t forget. So, before I disappear off the face of the planet for a couple of months, here it is: The Black Magus By Autumn Rain Available as a free Kindle download May 1-5 via The Black Magus — By Autumn Rain
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5 Things You Can Bake Without Planning
Short on time or baking at the spur of the moment? These 5 things are perfect choices! For years, whenever I wanted to bake, I had to plan for it. I had to make sure I had my recipe and all the ingredients I would need, and remember to let the eggs come to room temperature and the butter soften. When I started ratio baking last year, I realized that, as long as I kept my basic baking ingredients stocked, I really did have everything I needed to bake. Not having to use a recipe has been freeing, but, when I do want to try something a little different I…
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Book Review: On a Blue Moon by Willow
Title: On a Blue Moon Author: Willow Publisher: Self-published Publication date: January 27, 2020 Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy Summary: Willow is an exceptional individual who has lived across time and space. These are the tales of her life and the lives of those she has known. The first in the Daughter of Firth Tales series, this book documents her early life when she and her mother first encountered an Earth man named Sam and ended up traveling the moon they called home in search of a place they could settle, picking up friends as they went. When the author contacted me for a review, I was told this novel was of a very different sort. I…
