Courting Cate

About The Book:  When Amish farmer Pete Treger moves to Paradise Township, Pennsylvania, seeking a better life, he meets sisters Cate and Betsy Miller. Both are beautiful, but older sister Cate is known more for her sharp tongue and fiery temper than her striking appearance. Betsy, on the other hand, is sweet and flirty--and seems to have attracted most of the bachelors in Lancaster County!
However, the sisters' wealthy father has made one hard and fast rule: elder sister must marry first, before the younger can even start courting. Unfortunately for poor Betsy, and for the men who want to court her, her older sister, Cate, doesn't have any suitors--until Pete comes to town, that is. Though he finds both sisters attractive, something about Cate's feisty demeanor appeals to him. Soon the other bachelors in the district convince Pete to court Cate. She hardly seems receptive to his overtures, though. Instead, she's immediately suspicious of his interest.

About The Author: According to Leslie, "Some of my strongest memories from childhood include stories—and how those stories connected me to my family and friends. As a preschooler, I remember playing Island of the Blue Dolphin with my three siblings and the neighbor kids, my father reading A Street of Flower Boxes to us before bed, and my mother reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn on long car trips. I also soaked up Bible stories and accounts of grace and redemption during Sunday school and Good News Club. Along with my love of stories, my love of writing began in those early years with my very first written word—S-K-Y. Even though I knew I wanted to write fiction by the time I was in the sixth grade, as I grew older I pursued other things instead, such as majoring in history and communications, and then working as a museum curator, then a public relations specialist, and finally as a magazine editor. Once I finally started writing fiction, it was another ten years until I sold my first novel. By that time I’d been married for nearly 20 years and had four children of my own to read to.  In the decade since my first contract I’ve written fifteen books, from Beyond the Blue, a story about international adoption set in Vietnam, to Courting Cate, a retelling of Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew” set in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. No matter what I write, I aim to reveal truths about God’s love, beauty, and redemptive work in our lives. My goal is to connect more deeply to God, family, and friends through my writing. My hope is that my stories encourage readers to deepen their own connections too."

My Thoughts On The Book:  This book was amazing.  The story of Cate and Pete just warmed my heart.  I felt as if I knew every character personally.  Gould is definitely a wonderful wordsmith.  Her characters came to life off the pages.  From beginning to end it was the kind of book you did not want to part with.  Courting Cate will be released on November 1st.  You need to head over to Amazon and reserve your copy now.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from the NetGalley Publishing Group and Bethany House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. All they asked for was an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

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Five Minute Friday - Look

For the past couple of months I have been taking part in Lisa-Jo's Five Minute Friday.  I have really enjoyed this and would love for you to join in.  It is really simple.  All you have to do is: 

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..

Oh and Ahem, if you would take pity and turn off comment verification, it would make leaving some love on your post that much easier for folks!  Please, please, please turn off those comment verification things.  Sometimes it takes me four or five tries to get them accepted. 

OK, are you ready? Won’t you please give me your best five minutes on:::

Today's topic is:

LOOK

Go:

I did not look where I was going this morning.  I always get up before Frank and get ready for work.  Beau, the dog, had an upset stomach and if I had been looking as I walked down my dark hallway I would not have started my day by stepping in dog poop.  Not a great way to start even a Friday.  I looked carefully on the side of the road from Roanoke to Alex City to make sure no deer become suicidal and jump into my car.  I look around my room and see all my Spanish II students working silently on a test.  In a few minutes they will all be finished and pandamonium will break out as they began their projects on the Aztecs, Incas, and Mayans.  They have to look at the lives of these power house Indian groups through their eyes.  They have to explain to someone else what it was like to be one of  them.  I look at my students and I smile.  I look slouchy today because this is pep rally Friday.  I have on jeans and a t-shirt, no make-up, and tennis shoes.  I love Fridays.  Frank and I are going to the movies in LaGrange tonight.  We may stop by the Kia dealer and look at a new Kia.  It looks like we might need to get me another car because my car has nearly 200,000. miles on it.  Isaiah 40:26 is one of my favorite verses.  It tells us to, "Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens."  This is one of  the verses I claim daily.  I just remembering....that I have to look....forward....heavenward.....to the future.....and keep my eyes off the past.

STOP:
Have a great weekend.  See you on the flipside...and I hope you will join us and play along.

Sons of Jude

About The Book:  Saint Jude is the patron saint of lost causes and police officers.  When Chicago detectives Frank Campello and Andy Polanski are assigned to investigate the murder of Trina Martinez it seems like an ordinary homicide.  An unfortunate young girl in the wrong place a the wrong time has been brutally murdered.  But their investigation is halted by a wall of silence, a wall formed by powerful interests that will render their inquiry a lost cause.  Then they enlist the support of reporter Christy Lee - and come under immediate fire.  Polanski is arrested, Campello is threatened, and Christy is attacked. It's the case that every cop ets.  The one that changes his life.  The one where justice is elusive and the hunter becomes the hunted.  Frank Campello and Andy Polanski are The Sons of Jude.

About The Author:  Brandt Dodson comes from a long line of police officers, and was employed by the Indianapolis office of the FBI.  he has lived in Chicago and travels to the city regularly.  He is the creator of the Colton Parker series and author of several stand-alone thrillers.  You can find him at:  www.brandtdodson.com.

My Thoughts On The Book:   This book is all that and more.  I am not a huge cop book kind of reader but this one was gritty, real, amazing, and addicting.  I have had friends and family in law enforcement and know better than to base my reaction on the television cop stories.   The whole book just felt amazingly real.  I began reading this book early in the evening during primetime television and could not put it down. I read the whole book in one night and sat there disturbed during the reading when sounds came from outside my house.  I am glad it was a Friday night and I did not have to go to work the next day. This book is a must read and I hope to read more by Brandt Dodson in the future.

Disclaimer:  I received this book free from the Kregel Publications blog tour. I was not required to write a positive review. All they asked for was an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

 

Hodge Podge - Vol 98

Welcome to this week's edition of the Wednesday Hodgepodge. So glad you joined the party...be sure to add your link at the bottom of Joyces's post and then go see what everyone else is saying.

Here are my answers-

I

1. Noah Webster was born this week back in 1758....besides the online version, do you own a dictionary? Do you ever use the hardback copy or is your hunt for a definition strictly online these days?  I love dictionaries and own many.  I love hunting for words and just reading words and then using them in everyday conversation.  I still love to open up a hardback dictionary, smell the pages, and look up the word.  I am old school!

2. Should public schools ban Halloween celebrations? What about other holiday celebrations currently under fire?    I am not a fan of Halloween....but I don't think Fall Festivals, Christmas and patriot programs should be eliminated.  I think these are things that make wonderful memories for children during their school years and they learn a lot from them.  I know I did.

3. What's your favorite 'dog' movie?   I should say "Ole Yellar"....or "Lassie"...but actually it is "Homeward Bound".  I love pretty much all dog movies...cartoon or real life.  I am a sucker for a sappy ending.

4. When were you last somewhere you'd describe as 'too quiet'?  Tuesday in my classroom during my planning period.  It was just too quiet....no sounds in the hall or from the room next door....so I went downstairs to the office....just to hear noise.  When I returned to my room....the halls had come to life.

5. Are you a neat cook or a messy cook? In other words do you clean as you go or make a big mess and then deal with it later?   I clean as I go.  When I get through with one part I wash everything I used and either use it again or put it away.....Frank on the other hand...makes a mess for me to clean up.  He uses every pot, pan, and bowl available....but I am not going to complain.....he has supper ready for me every night during the week.  He is a great cook....and I look forward to seeing what we are having any given night.

6. Did you hear about Felix Baumgartner, the skydiver who broke the sound barrier via parachute? Was your first thought COOL! or was your first thought CRAZY! Are you adventurous?   I actually thought IDIOT!  I am not adverturous now.  I was when I was younger.  I have actually hang glided from Lookout Mountain in Tennessee...and promised God when I got to the bottom I would never do it again....I am a woman who keeps her word.

7. What's not a word but should be?   Dulcinesque would be the one I would chose.  I am a big fan of don Quixote and believe I am rather quixotic.  With that said...Dulcinea del Tobosa was his lady fair....in his chivalric mind....even though she was a loose woman...so why not call young women who are rather loose...dulcinesque.  Makes sense to me.

8. Insert your own random thought here.  This is National School Lunch week.  What do you remember from your days in the cafeteria when you were younger?  I grew up in South Florida....and we always had fish sticks on Friday.  I looked forward to Fridays because I loved fish sticks.  My least favorite food was succotash.  I hated green lima beans...and once I put them in my milk carton.  The little girl next to me told on me....and my teacher poured the succotash back onto my plate and made me eat it.  Everytime I would gag....she would tell me that she would go get more until I ate it all.  I have HATED succotash and limas every since that day.  Do you have a tale to share...or a lunchroom nightmare.

Grandma and the Lane Cake

I was telling some friends about my grandmother's lane cake last night, it brought back so wonderful childhood memories, so thought I would share the story with you.  My paternal grandmother was an excellent baker and even better seamstress.  What she could make with her arthirtic fingers was nothing short of amazing.  But I am not here to talk about her sewing....I want to tell you about her baking....She had a closet in her house where she would make and put cakes she had made (Lane and Fruit cakes).  She put them in there to "season" since they were both doused pretty heavily with bourbon.  Even the raisins she used in these cakes spent many hours in the sauce. As a child I loved to hide in this closet...because I loved the way it smelled.   Well...one day when the new Baptist preacher and his family moved into the parsonage across the street from her house my grandmother decided to send over one of her "straight" Lane cakes.  She told my aunt to go and get one and run it on over....and my aunt did as she was instructed.....sort of.  She DID take a Lane cake to the Baptist preachers house....it just was not a straight one.  The preacher loved the cake and ate it all within just a few days.    He came to see my grandmother to ask for the recipe so his wife could make more.  My grandmother gave him the recipe....doctored a bit....and without alcohol.  The poor Baptist preacher's wife made several of these cakes but to no avail.  None of them tasted like my grandmother's cake.  One day the preacher's wife showed up on my grandmother's porch to ask her to SHOW her how to make the cake.  My grandmother showed her....and then broke down and confessed that the cake was ladened with bourbon.  The ladies both laughed and after that the preacher's wife would come visit my grandmother for her "special" raisins and sauce.  The preacher was delighted because now his precious bride had learned to make this divine cake.  My grandmother was delighted because she did not have to confess her cooking skills to the preacher.  All's well that ends well....I suppose.  While you are here I thought I would share my grandmother's "special" recipe with you.  If you want to make a "straight" cake just leave out the bourbon.

Grandmother's "Special" Lane Cake Recipe

 

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 3 1/4 cups sifted all purpose flour
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole milk
• 8 large egg whites

Filling:

• 3/4 cup bourbon
• 3/4 cup dried tart cherries
• 3/4 cup finely chopped raisins or apricots
• 8 large egg yolks
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup pecans, toasted, chopped
• 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 4 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped

Frosting

• 1 1/2 (3-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons bourbon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups chilled whipping cream

For cake:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter and flour four 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Line pans with waxed paper. Sift first 4 ingredients into medium bowl. Beat butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar in large bowl until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions. Using clean dry beaters, beat whites in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, beating until whites are stiff but not dry. Fold 1/3 of whites into butter mixture. Fold in remaining whites in 2 additions. Divide batter among pans (batter will be about 1/2 inch deep).

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks; peel off paper. Cool completely.

For filling:
Mix bourbon, cherries and raisins in small bowl. Cover; let stand at room temperature until most of bourbon is absorbed and fruit softens, at least 3 hours and up to 1 day.

Using electric mixer, beat yolks and sugar in medium bowl until mixture falls in heavy ribbon when beaters are lifted, about 5 minutes. Beat in butter. Transfer yolk mixture to heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until thermometer registers 160°F and mixture is thick, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat; mix in nuts, coconut and fruit mixture. Chill until cold, about 4 hours. Mix in chocolate. (Cake layers and filling can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap cakes; store at room temperature. Cover filling; chill.)

Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread with 1/3 of filling. Repeat layering of cake and filling 2 more times. Top with final cake layer, pressing slightly.

Chill cake.

For frosting:
Beat cream cheese and 1/4 cup powdered sugar in medium bowl until smooth. Beat in bourbon and vanilla. Beat cream and 1/2 cup powdered sugar in large bowl until soft peaks form. Add cream cheese mixture to whipped cream; beat until stiff enough to spread.

Spread frosting over top and sides of cake. If desired, place pecans around edge of cake. Using rolling pin, flatten apricot halves between sheets of plastic wrap. Cut out leaf shapes. Arrange on cake. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover with cake dome; chill.)

This cake is really good....I am not a coconut fan....but this cake is one of those memories you never forget. 

 

 

 

You Don't Know Me

About The Book:  Sometimes the secrets we keep to protect ourselves can be our undoing. To all who know her, Annalise Decker is a model wife and mother. She’s a permanent member of the PTA, never misses a sporting event, and is constantly   campaigning for her husband’s mayoral race.

No one knows that Annalise was once Deidre O’Reilly, a troubled young woman whose testimony put a dangerous criminal behind bars. Relocated through the Witness Security Program to the quaint harbor town of Deep Haven, Deidre received a new identity and a fresh start, which began when she fell in love with local real estate agent Nathan Decker.

Twenty years later, Annalise couldn’t be more unprepared for her past to catch up with her. When Agent Frank Harrison arrives with news that the man she testified against is out on parole and out for revenge, Annalise is forced to face the consequences of her secrets. Will she run again, or will she finally find the courage to trust those she loves most with both her past and her future?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  Susan May Warren is the RITA award-winning novelist of over thirty novels. A five-time Christy award finalist, a two-time RITA Finalist, she’s also a multi-winner of the Inspirational Readers Choice award, and the ACFW Carol Award.

A seasoned women’s events speaker, she’s a popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation and the author of the beginning writer’s workbook: From the Inside-Out: discover, create and publish the novel in you!.  Do you want to find out more about Susan May?  If you do then you can find her at http://www.susanmaywarren.com/.

Want to see what others think about the book then click here and visit the blog tour schedule and get others reactions to the book.  Want to buy the book?  That is easy too, just simply click here.

My Thoughts On The Book:  I have read a couple of other books by Susan May Warren, but this is my first from the Deep Haven series. Warren is a master wordsmith and I was instantly glued to the plot of a woman dealing with a past that could cost her everything that she has worked for during the past twenty years.  I could not put it down.  If you love a good romantic suspensful thriller, then this is the book for you.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from the Litfuse Publishing Group bloggers tour. I was not required to write a positive review. All they asked for was an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Project 365 - Week 41

Well....the tiny Fall Break I had is over.  Tomorrow I will head back to the masses.  Next free day is Veteran's Day.  Next week will be so much fun because I paid into the United Way fund and get to wear jeans every day.  Whoooo Hoooo!  Eleven weeks left in this year.  Sara has been such a gracious hostess and I hope you will hop over and check out everyones offerings by clicking right here, and maybe think about trying your hand at Project 365 next year.  Ok so this is what my week looked like:

Sunday, October 7th

 I preached at Waverly and Amanda and I sang there.  After church Frank and I went to Alex City for a funeral of my sister, Debbie's mom, prebowled because we are going to be in Knoxville on Thursday, and got some stuff from my mom's house for Marcie's yardsale on Saturday.  I grabbed this dogwood in Daviston.  The color was just so pretty.

 

Monday, October 8th

My classroom rug from the Milliken sale last weekend.  It really brightens up my classroom. 

 

Tuesday, October 9th

Today is the 3rd anniversary of my dad's death.  I found the Veteran sticker up at my mom's on Sunday and put it on my dad's picture I keep on my desk at work.

 

Wednesday, October 10th

The last of the cascarones and painted rock projects were turned in today.  This is our last day before Fall Break....or what we are having as fall break this year.  Usually we get a week.  This year....we get two days. 

 

Thursday, October 11th

Thursday broke bright and early and I grabbed a shot of sunrise coming up from Susan's kitchen window.  Frank and I headed to Cade's Cove....after a stop at Flapjacks for breakfast.  The Cove was beautiful today.  We saw a deer and some turkeys....but sigh....no bear.  Traffic in the Cove was horrendous so we took a cut through and headed to the Craftsman's Fair in downtown Gatlinburg.   From there we checked out Smokey Mountain Moonshines place.  They actually have a sampling room for moonshine.  We went from there to the Apple Barn to get Jessica's Hannah and Rhett some Apple Butter....of course we got some for ourselves.  Then on to the Lodge outlet where I bought myself a second cast iron dutch oven for making bread and some other pieces.  Back to Chuck and Sues to get them and head to dinner at Wild Wing Cafe....and a trip to Belks to catch their buy one coat and pants....get two free.  Frank loaded up.  Back at the house we visited and Susan and I went to bed.  Tomorrow will be a busy day.  I wonder what kind of adventure we will have.

 

Friday, October 12th

The guys went shooting over at Tony's and Susan and I baked cinnamon bread,  3 Cheese bread, and made earrings, bracelets, and necklaces.  It was a crafting/cooking kind of day.  After Jan and her sons got there we all went to Ye Olde Steak House for dinner.  If you are ever in the Knoxville area you must eat here.  The food is amazing and there is plenty of it for sure.  It is one of our favorite places. 

Saturday, October 13th

We pass two of these on our way to and from Susan's.  There is nothing prettier than looking up and seeing this huge cross peaking out of the trees.  It always makes me feel as if my trip will be a safe one and it was.  We made it home safe and sound.  Have a great week and I'll see you next week.