Everything Sirious
Dang. Yes it’s a WW2 book but not like most of the others at all. What a great story. Highly recommend this book and this author, even if you’re not a historical fiction fan. Great personality development, a solid ending, just a good, good read.
Well I almost put this down – not wowed by the title to start with, and then while we all wish we did, who has a talking dog? But this turned out to be a delightful story full of life lessons, warm feelings, a few chuckles and an occasional tear. Great job. An easy and enjoyable read. Can’t wait to read one of Ms. Crewe’s other books!
This was amazing. I was doubtful just because of the olive oil for no good reason – I used Wegmans extra virgin lemon olive oil and subbed almond milk for the whole milk. Absolutely yummy, very moist, great taste, lovely tea or breakfast cake. (And I love this site for recipes as well).
https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a44950730/olive-oil-cake-recipe/
If you’re interested in history at all, and in particular Chinese history, the (horrible) treatment of women in the late 1500’s, and a great cast of characters, this is an excellent read. Loosely based on a woman physician in China during that time, I found it fascinating – not only a good story and as mentioned, great characters, but all the intricacies of life at that time. 5 Stars in my opinion!
Not knowing much about this book other than it was recommended on one of the Facebook groups I frequent, it popped up as now available on my library hold list. Well. What a story! I didn’t know the history of Mr. Breitweiser but this is worth a read in my opinion – it’s not super long, about a 4 hour read, and just a fascinating true story. I won’t go into any spoilers though I had to read everything Wikipedia had to say about him of course.
18 years ago, in October of 2005, I adopted Alexander the Great from the VA Siamese Rescue. Yesterday, I had to make the difficult decision to let him go, to free his sweet soul from his old and failing body.
I wanted to write to thank you for everything you have done for cats over the years. Alex was truly one of the sweetest cats I’ve ever known, and I am so grateful to you for making it possible for me to adopt him and spend the last 18 years loving him. He grew into a confident cat, but he always maintained the sweetest and most laid back demeanor.
You and your team gave him his name because you wanted this sweet but shy guy to grow up into a strong brave cat. I couldn’t bear to change his name, because I had nothing better to offer, so “Alex” stuck. And it worked. He grew up to be a strong, confident, and adventurous cat. Many friends said he was like a puppy, because he would greet people at the door and follow people around the house. When I started taking him on adventures beyond his own back yard about 6 years ago, he was a welcome participant. And I loved it, because that meant he could go with me on my travels. He was truly one of a kind, and I hope he sends me another sweet kitty soul to fill his big adventurous paw prints.
Thank you again, for facilitating a perfect match for me and Alex 18 years ago. My heart is aching today, but I will be forever grateful to have had him fill my life with joy for so long. Thank you again for touching so many lives with your commitment to caring for rescue cats.
While you could easily make these with another type of jam/center, raspberry is one of my favorites, and this recipe does not disappoint in any way, shape or form – even my non-raspberry liking friend loves them! It is basically a very good shortbread ‘bar’ with a strip of jam in the middle and a light piping of sweetness on the top (which you could skip if you wanted). Be sure to use butter, not margarine, and a good quality jam (Bonne Maman my go-to). Ignore the 1/2 cup designation and use what you feel like. I also used heavy cream for the glaze (vs. evaporated milk).
Saw these and thought not much can go wrong with orange and cranberry, one of my favorite combos, and then add in cream cheese frosting – WELL. Sure enough, this is a five star bake! And it makes quite a bit, so if you’re looking to parcel off some pieces to thank the UPS Driver (see https://www.facebook.com/ChannellingKindness/ post of 12/11/23 ), these just might be your ticket! My one comment on the recipe is the 1/4 cup of orange zest can be, depending on the size of your oranges, quite a few oranges (took 6 for me), so keep that in mind before you get started. My bake time was also a little bit longer than indicated – closer to 28 minutes.
https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/orange-cranberry-cookie-bars/
Lovely update received today!
Hi Siri! I hope that you’re doing well! Just wanted to report that Gilda VA3840 was adopted by us 18 years ago today!! We do “mouse reiki” every night at bedtime – her request, of course! We love her too much!!
Happy Holidays!
Sandy & Whit
THIS! OMG on these cookies. If you like marzipan, if you like almond, if you like crunchy outside and chewy interior, if you like gluten free/cholesterol free, and if you like fairly easy, these are SO good. Truly in my top five cookies ever.
https://foodtasia.com/almond-paste-cookies/#tasty-recipes-6790-jump-target
