Harvest blessings

We accidentally planted in stages this year, so our garden is coming in stages. But it has worked out well. The squash, cucumber and green beans are producing like crazy and the green peppers are just starting. The tomatoes, watermelons, cantaloupes and corn haven't started producing yet, which gives us time to focus on just a few things at a time.

A friends of mine asked how many days a week we had to harvest... try EVERY day! This is one day's harvest, and it's pretty typical. This is mostly squash and green beans with a few cucumbers and some herbs thrown in. So far, I have frozen about 15 bags of squash (6 cups in each bag), and still have plenty more to go.

Even though it's hard work to harvest, wash, chop, blanch and vacuum seal ALL that squash, I feel blessed that we will have garden squash that hasn't traveled any farther than our back yard all winter long. And I'm not doing everything myself. The whole family helps out. In fact, we have a routine. Hubby plants and weeds, the kids and I all harvest, my 13-year-old son washes all the veggies, my 16-year-old daughter chops, and I blanch and vacuum seal. Working together, we manage to get a lot down despite our jobs and outside activities.

My daughter picks green beans

Hubby uses a bucket to gather weeds

Book reveiw: Shepherd's Fall

is introducing
Shepherd's Fall
WaterBrook Press (April 14, 2009)
by
Wanda Dyson


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Wanda Dyson lives with her severely autistic teenager on a busy farm with horses, chickens, dogs, cats, rabbits, and the occasional fox, deer, groundhog, and snake. She could seriously live without the snakes, but that's life in the country.

After writing three critically acclaimed suspense novels, she was asked to write the true story of Tina Zahn (Why I Jumped), which was featured on Oprah. Readers characterize her books as "riviting" and "Packed with twists and turns."

Wanda serves on the board of several writers conferences across the country including the Colorado Christian Writers Conference, and the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference.

Wanda has finished the second in this series called Shepherd's Run,that will come out in 2010. And she's hard at work on the third and final installment of the Prodigal Recovery Series - Marti's story -- tentatively called Shepherd's Quest.


ABOUT THE BOOK


Bounty hunter Nick Shepherd is fearless when it comes to chasing down criminals. It's his difficult ex-wife, rebellious teenage daughter, and dysfunctional siblings that keep him awake at night. In charge of the family business, the Prodigal Recovery Agency, he thinks of himself as a shepherd of sorts. When his "flock" is out of his control, Nick's well-ordered universe falls into chaos.

Prodigal Recovery's search for Zeena, a prostitute on the run, leads to a faulty arrest, complicating Nick's business. He is thrown together with Zeena's twin, the beautiful Annie, and the two find themselves on a desperate search. The stakes significantly increase when Nick's daughter is kidnapped. Now, to save someone he loves, Nick must risk everything.but will it be enough

If you would like to read a Prologue excerpt from Shepherd's Fall, go HERE

Book review: Love's Pursuit

Love's Pursuit
Bethany House (June 1, 2009)
by
Siri Mitchell


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Siri Mitchell graduated from the University of Washington with a business degree and worked in various levels of government. As a military spouse, she has lived all over the world, including in Paris and Tokyo. Siri enjoys observing and learning from different cultures. She is fluent in French and loves sushi.

But she is also a member of a strange breed of people called novelists. When they’re listening to a sermon and taking notes, chances are, they’ve just had a great idea for a plot or a dialogue. If they nod in response to a really profound statement, they’re probably thinking, “Yes. Right. That’s exactly what my character needs to hear.” When they edit their manuscripts, they laugh at the funny parts. And cry at the sad parts. Sometimes they even talk to their characters.

Siri wrote 4 books and accumulated 153 rejections before signing with a publisher. In the process, she saw the bottoms of more pints of Ben & Jerry’s than she cares to admit. At various times she has vowed never to write another word again. Ever. She has gone on writing strikes and even stooped to threatening her manuscripts with the shredder.

A Constant Heart was her sixth novel. Two of her novels, Chateau of Echoes and The Cubicle Next Door were Christy Award finalists. She has been called one of the clearest, most original voices in the CBA.


ABOUT THE BOOK

In the small Puritan community of Stoneybrooke, Massachusetts, Susannah Phillips stands out both for her character and beauty. She wants only a simple life but soon finds herself pursued by the town's wealthiest bachelor and by a roguish military captain sent to protect them. One is not what he seems and one is more than he seems.

In trying to discover true love's path, Susannah is helped by the most unlikely of allies, a wounded woman who lives invisible and ignored in their town. As the depth, passion, and sacrifice of love is revealed to Susannah, she begins to question the rules and regulations of her childhood faith. In a community where grace is unknown, what price will she pay for embracing love?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Love's Pursuit, go HERE



MY REVIEW: I've read a lot Amish fiction, but I have to say this is the first novel I've read that focused on the Puritans. I found it interesting and refreshing to become entwined in a lifestyle much farther removed from our own than even the Amish. I have to say, it was with a sort of morbid curiosity that this story held me in. I couldn't put in down. It followed a great story line of forbidden love, tragedy and deceit, but I couldn't help but be grateful for our modern day lives. It's not really our things that this book made me so grateful for... it's our modern freedoms. Though the story portrays the Puritans as Godly, hard-working folks, it also portrays them as joyless. A life of joy and laughter were not allowed. How glad I am that we have the freedom to engage in as much laughter as we want today!

The garden is thriving!

I love seeing all the green that indicates the gardens are growing well!

When you are trying to grow hundreds of pounds of produce on an urban homestead, you have to be creative. We barely have any grass left anyway, but this year we decided to utilize even more space by making beds around the perimeter of the fence.

Above, tomatoes seedlings reach for the sky.

We used twine to give these pickling cucumbers something to climb on. We are just starting to get cucumbers. This year, I plan to try my hand at pickles!


Above, the watermelon patch is hiding melons that size of softballs. We can't wait to taste that juicy red fruit!


We decided on an open pollinated heirloom variety of corn instead of GE (genetically engineered) seeds. Some people said we should have tried the GE seeds since it is our first year trying to grow corn, but we'll just see how it goes.


In the very back you can see our little peach tree. Eventually we hope to add a couple of apple trees, if we can make more room!

Book reveiw: A Bride in the Bargain

A Bride In The Bargain
Bethany House (June 1, 2009)
by
Deeanne Gist

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Deeanne Gist, the bestselling author of A Bride Most Begrudging and The Measure of a Lady, has a background in education and journalism. Her credits include People magazine, Parents, and Parenting. With a line of parenting products called "I Did It!® Productions" and a degree from Texas A&M, she continues her writing and speaking. She and her family live in Houston, Texas.

Since the debut of those novels, her very original, very fun romances have rocketed up the bestseller lists and captured readers everywhere. Add to this two consecutive Christy Awards, two RITA nominations, rave reviews, and a growing loyal fan base, and you’ve got one recipe for success.







ABOUT THE BOOK:

The Wedding Is All Planned...
Someone Just Needs to Tell the Bride
In 1860s Seattle, redwoods were plentiful but women scarce. Yet a man with a wife could secure 640 acres of timberland for free.

Joe Denton doesn't have a wife, though. His died before she could follow him to Seattle and now the local judge is threatening to take away his claim. In desperation, he buys himself a Mercer bride--one of the eastern widows and orphans brought to the Territory by entrepreneur Asa Mercer.

Anna Ivey's journey west with Mercer is an escape from the aftermath of the Civil War. She signed on to become a cook--not a bride. When she's handed over to Denton, her stubborn refusal to wed jeopardizes his land. With only a few months before he loses all he holds dear, can he convince this provoking, but beguiling, easterner to become his lawfully wedded wife?

If you would like to read the first chapter of A Bride In The Bargain, go HERE


MY REVIEW: I have yet to be disappointed by a novel by Deeanne Gist. In this one, the heroine, Anna, comes all the way from the east coast - which is being torn apart by the civil war - to the state of Washington in search of a job after her father and brother are killed in the war and her mother dies of a broken heart. She is to work for lumber mill owner Joe Denton as a cook for his employees. Unfortunately, a scam artist promised Joe Denton a bride, not just an employee.

Anna refuses to marry him and, since women are in short supply in the west, Joe sets out to make her fall in love with him in a last ditch effort to save his land. Meanwhile, Anna worms her way into the hearts of the lumberjacks under Joe's employ by cooking up a storm. Maybe the subtitle to this book should have said something about the way to a man's heart being through his stomach...

I thoroughly enjoyed "A Bride in the Bargain." I think I'll go fix a big meal for Hubby...