What I'm Reading Now

First, I must confess my fascination of the World War 2 era. I don't know why - but I really like that time in American history. This book was a book club read, but it was right up my alley with the time setting.

The story follows Henry, a Chinese boy living in Seattle. His parents want him to only speak English in their home - even though they only speak Cantonese. He is "able" to go to an all white school where he is bullied. And one day a Japanese girl shows up to help out in the kitchen. Given the time period - Henry's father hates Japanese people. They two kids start to build a friendship.... and then the girl and her family are sent away!

The story goes back and forth between the past and the "present" (1980s). The characters are well developed and this is an easy read.

If you're still planning a trip to the beach - take this with you!

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Labor of Love (Part 1 of 3)

I love lace. I love the delicacy with which it presents itself to the world. That being said, I dont really use it very much. I do have some family doilies, and my wedding dress has some lace, but I dont go too crazy. I like to be able to clean things, and not have dust mites clinging to every available piece of cloth (they cling to everything else anyway.) So, I decided to try a painting technique. Why not paint the lace on the object? Easy to clean, lovely design, what could be better? We got this child's vanity in an old attic pick. Yes, we went into someone's hot and muggy attic for several hours. Yes, they let us jsut dig through things (can you believe it?!?!) unsupervised. Yes, we had to take our own flashlights. And yes, there was mouse droppings and dead birds up there. It was gross, but worth it. My boy LOVED it! American Pickers is his favorite tv show. So this school bus yellow vanity sat there looking at us. Begging for new life! I knew if we left ...

What's Cookin Wednesday - Sweet Potato & pinto bean tacos

SWEET POTATO AND PINTO BEAN TACOS adapted from thugkitchen.com ....but there is offensive language on the site (and in the recipes) - so you've been warned! 3 cups of cooked pinto beans (about 2-15 ounce cans) 1 teaspoons of coconut or olive oil (Olive oil is what I had) ½ cup veggie broth or water (water....) 2 teaspoons smoked paprika or chili powder (I went chili powder) 2 teaspoons blackstrap molasses (I used what I had in the cabinet) 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (I have both of these at home usually, went with lemon juice this time around) 2-3 garlic cloves 1 pound of sweet potatoes (this should be about 2 cups when you chop it all up) ½ of a yellow onion 1 teaspoon coconut or olive oil salt to taste soft corn tortillas standard taco toppings that you like to add. Warm the first teaspoon of oil in a medium pot. Add the beans, water, chili powder, molasses, vinegar, and garlic. Get it to start bubbling slowly for about 5 m...

What's Cookin Wednesday - Cinnamon Graham Crunchy Cookies

Adapted from AllRecipies Looking for a great "Throw in everything!" recipe? This might be the one :-) Ingredients 1 cup butter, softened 1 cup packed brown sugar ½ cup white sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup rolled oats 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (we used 1/2 pb chips, 1/2 chocolate) ½ cup chopped pecans (we used slivered almonds) 2 cups crumbled cinnamon graham crackers (we used cinnamon pretzel chips and regular graham crackers) Directions Instructions Checklist 1. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and brown sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat un...

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