What’s New
The Shadow Valley Guitar: Recycled
With a book deadline breathing down my neck, this summer has required some difficult choices. The hardest was the decision not to attend the July Family Camp at Shadow Valley in Idaho. Another, not nearly so difficult, was to cut back on blogging. Today's post...
Non-Dairy German Chocolate Cake Tweaking
July is birthday month for my daughter and me. We celebrated last weekend–a bit early for both of us, but it was when our family could gather together. I baked the latest dairy-free rendition of the traditional family birthday cake, German's Chocolate. I last baked...
Top Ten Things About Living in Iowa
10. Radio ads during sports broadcasts feature seed corn, soybean hybrid, fertilizers, and the like. 9. During the recession, Iowa's unemployment rate was 2–4% lower than the national rate. 8. Unbearable hot, humid summer days and nights are interrupted by...
Priorities, Jane, Priorities!
This mystery novel update contains some good news and some bad news. Let's start with the good news. This update comes only a little over a month after the last one. Since they previously came every two months, the pace has picked up considerably. Too bad the same...
Lessons from my Father: Life Savers
Summer is vacation time for many families. Today's excerpt from Lessons from my Father describes summer travel trips, which our family took, due in large part to the kindness of my mother's sister, Donna, and her husband Jim. Lifesavers This is true and undefiled...
Cousin Gary’s Baked Beans
The kitchen is closed on our gravel road today because the man of steel and I are going out to eat to celebrate our 37th wedding anniversary. This recipe for baked beans, a popular summer side dish, comes from my cousin Gary. I haven't tried it yet (the man of steel...