Reading, Writing & Pondering

  Are you looking for a cookbook to use with the whole family of all ages? The Best Kids Cookbook by Danielle Kartes has over 60 recipes that are fun and appealing to various ages. The Best Kids Cookbook starts off with cooking hints and helps for those new to cooking. Then there are recipe chapters: Breakfast for Champions Lunch Box Dreams and Snick-ity Snack Time Dip, Drizzle, and Dunk Dear Dinnertime, We Love You Not-So-Boring Side Dishes Sweet Treats There is an index at the back of the book so you can easily find recipes you want to get back to. Some recipes that appeal to my family: Blueberry Overnight Oats, Cheese and Olive Pizza Pockets, Zippy French Dressing (homemade is best!), In A Flash Chicken Pot Pie, Big Time Berry Fruit Salad, and Pumpkin Muffins. The recipes are easy to read and to follow, especially if one person leading the children is an experienced cook. Even if they aren't, everything is well explained. There are also a lot of pictures, which I think always ad...

  Nikki Werner is just finishing up teaching literature for the school year when she struggles with her parent's divorce. She is so shook up that she just isn't herself and she isn't even sure who she is anymore. In The Divine Proverb of Streusel by Sara Brunsvold, the reader follows Nikki through a summer of personal growth as she comes to terms with the family issues of today and those in her roots.  As her summer off from school begins, Nikki has reached a breaking point with her parents' divorce. She is upset with her dad for running off with another woman and getting married--which she has just found out about the wedding on social media. She aches for her mom. She struggles with her boyfriend, Isaac, and isn't sure how to move forward with the relationship. So she runs. She runs to the farm her father grew up on and stays there for the summer helping her uncle remodel a house. In that house, she finds a hand-written recipe book from her great-grandmother and ...