HAPPY NEW YEAR!

HAPPY 2014

May your New Year be happy and bright as lights in the sky.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The preparations are almost complete.  A few miles up the road, I understand, the exits at our nearest shopping center are jammed, but I was there yesterday when it wasn't too crazy.   People seemed to be reasonably sane, there were no cart crashes in the grocery store although I saw a few close calls, and people wished each other Merry Christmas.  So, too, do I wish a very Merry Christmas to all those who observe.

My household always was and still is multi-religious.  We are Catholic, Protestant and Jewish in nearly equal number, have a few folk who observe Yule and a few who just observe a good dinner--because that is one thing we always have.  Most older members and a couple young ones are with us in spirit only.  Since the death of my Aunt Mary, I am now officially Matriarch of the Family.  And though I'll never mix a cocktail like my aunt--whom I happily carted to Midnight Mass for the last years of her life--I will dutifully dish up chili and cornbread on Christmas Eve and roast beef and Yorkshire Pudding on Christmas Day.   

To this day, there has been only the slightest variation in the menu bequeathed to me by my Nana Lillian, which she put together at the instigation of my grandfather.  So quiet he was nearly overlooked in the flood tide of Nana's boisterous Irish family, Grand Dad Herman Wells nevertheless left a legacy of indomitable will and roast beef very appropriate for a Cornishman.  I know most people have their own favorite method of preparing roast or prime rib, which has sneaked its way onto our table occasionally.  But I doubt anyone has my Nana's recipe for Yorkshire Pudding, so I thought I would share this with you as my Christmas cyber-gift:

NANA'S YORKSHIRE PUDDING

1 cup sifted flour          1/2 tsp. salt          1 cup milk          2 eggs

Remove roast from oven and keep warm.  Pour 1/4 cup drippings from roaster into a loaf pan.  Sift flour and salt.  Gradually stir in the eggs and milk.  Beat with a beater until smooth.  Pour into pan and bake at 450 degrees for approximately 30 minutes.  If pudding browns too rapidly, reduce heat to 300 degrees until pudding is puffy and a knife blade inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove and serve with gravy and roast.   Makes six modest portions. 

We usually doubled or tripled the quantity and simply lined up loaf dishes because the small-volume dish makes the pudding rise like crazy.

Additionally in our case this meal was always accompanied by Brussels sprouts, carrots and parsnips, creamed onions and apple pie.  And usually tea, though we're pretty thoroughly assimilated by now and coffee often prevails.  Still, I suspect this meal would look familiar to someone from Cornwall.  Someday I'd like to go there and find out for myself!

Happy Holidays, all!         
   

BLESSED YULE!

A peaceful, prosperous Yule and happy Solstice to all!

New release by Sarah Hoss

This year’s delightful collection of Christmas short stories features a multitude of romantic genres all with one common theme: during the holiday season, nothing’s better than spending it with the one you love.

Twenty talented Soul Mate authors have put together an anthology that’s sure to please any reader who enjoys their romance with a splash of Christmas cheer:
A time-traveling Highlander brings comfort and joy to a young woman grieving her lost family . . .
Best friends, both widowed, suddenly see each other through new eyes during a snowed-in Christmas Eve;
A royal prince and a commoner fall in love despite their differences and a handful of untruths, thanks to a wreath that grants wishes . . .
An alien race understands the simple reward of giving, when their human captive does not . . .


Just to name a few! If you are looking for something new to read this holiday season, please try out this book!.

BUY LINK

http://www.amazon.com/All-Want-For-Christmas-Soulmate-ebook/dp/B00GH2I458/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385914184&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=all+i+want+for+chrsitmas+is+a+soul+mate

HAPPY THANKSGIVING1

Wishing a peaceful and beautiful Thanksgiving Day to all who observe.

Nancy Lee Badger: Veteran's Day to Me

Guest author Nancy Lee Badger stopped by to talk about her latest release, UNWRAPPING CHRIS,  a contemporary Military short story with a Scottish Christmas theme.

My family and my husband's family have a proud history of military service. When researching our
family history many years ago, my hubby and I discovered that at least one member of our family served in every war fought on American soil since before the French & Indian War (1754-1763) through to the recent conflict in Iraq. (except for Desert Storm. There may be a cousin or two we missed, but our research did not find anyone fighting then.)

We found a memorial obelisk in front of Concord Hospital in Concord, NH with the name of ancestor John Bean who was killed by Indians on August 11, 1746.

Our son has just completed 10 years of service in the United states army which included a tour in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

My late father-in-law retired from the air force as a Lt. Colonel, and my dad served in the navy during WW2. What does this all mean to me on November 11th...America's National Veteran's Day? It means that I am very proud of all who served.

So proud that I wrote a short story I titled Unwrapping Chris. It was published in 2010 by Whispers Publishing when they published a dozen short stories whose main theme had to include a Christmas wedding. When I recently got my rights back from the publisher, I created a new cover and released the book on October 10th everywhere. Yes, there is a military theme, and my son, Sgt. Eric Badger, assisted me by helping me make sure the military terminology was correct.

Here is the BOOK BLURB:

Army widow Jayne Rockwell searches for a secure future for her and her two daughters. Staff Sergeant Christopher Hawkins regrets leaving young Jayne eight years ago to go off to war. A crash encounter a week before Christmas thrusts these two lonely people back into each other's lives once more. Jayne must learn to trust a man who disappeared with her heart. Chris must overcome the guilt of taking her innocence, and then leaving her heartbroken and alone. A Christmas wedding brings them closer when Jayne spies him as a groomsman in Highland dress, complete with kilt. He cannot keep his eyes off the woman in green velvet wearing a wedding ring. Accusations, explanations, and remorse leads to a love that erupts among candlelight, Christmas carols, and a dark room. Who needs mistletoe?

UNWRAPPING CHRIS buy links

AMAZON    NOOK    

 

SMASHWORDS    iTunes

 

 

Connect with Nancy Lee Badger:

Blog                                      http://www.nancyleebadger.blogspot.com
Website                                 http://www.nancyleebadger.com
Twitter                                  https://twitter.com/NLBadger
Facebook                              https://www.facebook.com/#!/nancy.l.badger
Goodreads                            http://bit.ly/Vd1Usg
Amazon Author Page           http://amzn.to/13ICHLq

 

Please visit my Blog

Where Happy Ever After Takes the Road Less Traveled

for a more on all my books!

Come away with me…

I’m Cynthia Owens, back once again to invite you to visit a tiny island jewel on the Atlantic Ocean, complete with tidal pools, caves, a beautiful lighthouse and a rocky coast upon which many a Maritime sailor has run aground…including Cathal Donnelly.

Turtle Island is the setting for my new historical-romance-with-a-paranormal-twist, Keeper of the Light.

If you’ve read Deceptive Hearts, the first book of the Wild Geese Series, you’ll recognize Cathal as one of Shane MacDermott’s best friends. A story teller and a singer of songs, a dreamer and a bit of a rebel, Cathal washes up on the stormy shores of Turtle Island with no memory of who he is or why he’s there.

He’s rescued by Laura Bainbridge, a spirited Maritime beauty with dreams of a wider world beyond the island home she’s always known. But will dreams of Prince Charming take her away from Turtle Island? Or will an encounter with Helena Bodewell, the island ghost, point her in a different direction.

Here’s an excerpt from Keeper of the Light, when Laura first meets the Lady of Turtle Island:

A high, thin cry sliced through her reverie. Her skin prickling, Laura peered into the thick fog.

Nothing. Had she imagined the sound? Was it merely the wail of the wind, the cry of a seabird?

The sound came again, lost, grief-stricken. A woman’s keening wail.

She squinted harder, straining to make out a form, a shape, anything in the thick shroud of fog and dark.

“Is someone there?”

The heartrending cry came again, shivering along Laura’s spine and raking fingers of pain across her heart. “Please… where are you?”

There! High on the cliff at the far end of the beach. A small white-gowned figure, long blonde hair blowing around her. Laura gasped, coughing violently as the wind scored her lungs.

It couldn’t be!

“Helena?” The howling wind snatched the whispered word and carried it away.

The woman turned slowly, and Laura’s breath caught in her throat. Had the woman in white heard?

She was beautiful. Laura had known she would be. Fragile and ethereal, the small woman’s sea-colored eyes blazed, her ruby lips curved into a smile of heartbreaking loveliness as she gazed steadily at Laura for a timeless moment.

Then the wisp of a vision vanished.

Laura squeezed her eyes shut. “It can’t be.”

Was it possible? Had she really just seen the legendary Lady of Turtle Island? Had Helena’s gaze really met hers?

Would the island ghost’s prophesy come true?

Come visit me!

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