Ho, Ho, Ho! No Gifts - No Snow

If you don’t have all your shopping done yet, you better hurry. This year, since our children are grown, married, and far away, we’ve all decided to skip gift-giving and just buy for the one-year-old grandson in Alaska. When I mentioned the idea of not gift-giving this year, I could hear the collective sighs of my daughter-in-law and son in Texas and daughter-in-law and son in Alaska. Trying to purchase the perfect present for adults, and then having to ship them out is a nightmare. So we’ve all decided to Skype together as usual and see what each family bought our first grandchild.

Little Alaskan Harvey will be bringing in a haul this year. And to be honest, I had a fun-filled time searching and buying toys again. For the larger, more bulky ones, Amazon with its shipping was perfect. My son, Jeff, in Anchorage is receiving Harvey’s haul and wrapping them for us.

Although my husband, Scott, and I will be celebrating alone, we will do our usual enjoyable celebration of the holiday in Florida with NO SNOW. Instead of going out—and there are spectacular restaurants in New Smyrna Beach—we cook a full Christmas meal together. This year we’ll do our usual crab legs and crab cake Christmas Eve dinner with all the fixings. And on Christmas day, we’ve decided upon ham and all its complimentary dishes. And yes, I also bake cookies, if just half a batch of various kinds. The smell of chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven is one of the most glorious holiday smells I know.

What am I working on now? I’m working on a historical romantic mystery with a setting involving the early logging industry in the 1800s in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, when white pine was king of the forest. I pulled the manuscript back from my editor to try to rewrite and trim it a bit, so real edits will begin in January. The working title is called, “Willie, My Love.” The heroine, Wilhelmina Wydcliffe, is a feisty logger’s daughter, and the hero is a handsome, Chesapeake Bay sea captain named Jonathan Wain.

This year was a good one, even though there were some difficulties with health that had to be overcome. I hope the year ahead proves to be a splendid one—for us and our family, friends, neighbors, and associates.

Have a very Merry Christmas and a healthy and Happy New Year!  
May the sleigh bells ring, the children sing…and everything be merry and bright.
 

Gift Buying for the Grandson this Christmas

Black Friday is over, thank goodness, and now the holiday shopping will begin with voracious zeal. This year, I’m content to do some buying on the internet. I admit I’m more inclined to shop small businesses and take a peek at Cyber Monday to snag some deals before I’ll ever consider leaving the safety of my home to fight throngs of frenzied Christmas shoppers at the malls.

After talking with our grown children, it was unanimously agreed upon that we’d dispense with the tons of present buying this year. I heard a collective sigh of relief reach my ears without using the telephone. Instead, we decided we’d all buy toys for our first grandson in Alaska. Our son and wife in Texas, who are the aunt and uncle, and our youngest son and wife in Alaska with our year-old grandson, decided it would be fun to just Skype and see what little Harvey hauled in for Christmas.

Did you know there are over 4000 results for “toys and games – for children from birth to twenty-four months” on Amazon? They even have a plastic Radio Flyer – My first 2-in-1 Red Wagon. And there are enough pull and push toys to circle the globe if strung end-to-end. Don’t get me started on books. There is over 5000 of them for one-year-old children alone.

My next question is, “Who on this planet buys all these toys?” I’m hoping that parents are taking the time to “spend time” with their children, instead of handing over tin and plastic junk to keep them amused.

I neglected to tell my son when he called the other day that he should save all the big boxes. Kids seem to love the boxes as much as the toys inside them. I’ve even considered sending some empty boxes up to the Last Wilderness. But maybe, I’ll put a set of drums in one of them. Pay back is always fun.

If you have grandchildren, use the comment box below and share what’s on your gift list for your grandchildren this year.

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Judy-Ann-Davis/e/B006GXN502/ 
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Some Truths About the Pilgrims

For me, Thanksgiving has always been my holiday of choice. It’s a time when families come together to eat, rejoice, and celebrate the holiday without the responsibility, and sometimes burden, of foraging into the crowded commercial world to buy presents.

I like the idea of the Pilgrims gathering together to thank the Almighty for their survival and also to invite and thank the Native Americans of the Wampanoag tribe who were helpful in their endeavor. Unfortunately, what we believe about the Pilgrims isn’t all facts or truth.

They did not come for religious freedom and liberty. In fact, the Pilgrims were intolerant of other religions and had specific ideas about how to worship God. They were Separatists who thought the church of the Old World was corrupt. When they did decide to set sail for America, after living in the Netherlands for nine years, they were forced to allow strangers to set sail with them because of financial difficulties. These strangers and the strict Pilgrims, although not in favor or fond of each other, banded together to enact the Mayflower Compact, which affirmed in a time of crisis, a monarch’s authority could be set aside, but the consent of the governed never could be. It was a ground-breaking document for future generations.  

Neither were the Pilgrims allies with all the Indian tribes in the area. They did make friends with Samoset, a Wampanoag Indian warrior, and later formed an alliance with his chief, Massasoit. Why? The Pilgrims had lost half their population over the winter from sickness, cold, and lack of proper food. In turn, the Wampanoag tribe had lost most of its population to an epidemic brought by European coastal fisherman. Since both groups were vulnerable to attack or domination by other tribes, the Pilgrims and Wampanoags needed each other for protection and the security in numbers.

Thanksgiving came about when Tisquantum [Squantum] from the Wampanoags helped the settlers planted corn, squash, and beans, using fish for fertilizer, in the spring. The Pilgrims also built more houses, fished the local waters, and traded with the Native Americans. As fall approached, they gathered to rejoice together after their first successful harvest was completed.

According to old records, there is no mention of inviting the Wampanoags to the feast, but Massasoit appeared with ninety men who bagged five deer to add meat to the meal. They stayed for three days and played games.

When we sit down at our tables this year to eat pumpkin pie, turkey, mashed potatoes, and all the many delicious foods, we need to thank these tenacious forefathers for establishing a colony at Providence Harbor, Massachusetts. And let us also give thanks to Abraham Lincoln who proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday for all to enjoy.

Hunting Down the Funky Fall Fungi

A Czech adage warns that “every mushroom is edible, but some only once.” Obviously, this translates to the fact that there are both safe edible varieties and ones that are deadly or extremely hazardous when consumed.

Mushrooms are used in many dishes.

Do you like to eat mushrooms?

The other day I found some in our yard, and it reminded me of my childhood days on our farm in Northeastern Pennsylvania when my mother and father would set off on a foggy morning into the woods to collect them. Mushroom hunting is an old Polish tradition that was handed down when my immigrant grandparents came to America and brought their knowledge with them. They are hunted in both the spring and fall.

However, over the years, the popularity of mushroom picking has grown into nationwide celebrations, usually held in September and October. These festivals, honoring these funky little fungi, range across the United States from Boyne City, Michigan down to Madisonville, Texas and as far as Girdwood, Alaska to Kennett Square in Pennsylvania.

Mushrooms are picked in spring and fall.

Of all the things I’ve tried to recall about mushroom foraging, I do remember my mother and father had favorite places to hunt them—around certain conifer trees and rotting stumps. They used paring knives and cut the mushroom from the bottom, allowing for renewed growth from underground. Carefully, they’d place them in wicker baskets. Plastic or metal containers don’t allow for air to circulate around the mushroom and can encourage mold. A wicker basket also allows for the spores to fall out of the container and hopefully land in a perfect environment to reproduce. 

In most cases, mushrooms are cooked. Only those you know for certain should be consumed raw without cooking. Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Czech, and German people use them extensively in many of their dishes including soups, sauces, and pierogis. They also fry them in butter with onions and serve them as a side dish.

Mushrooms around the base of a tree.

Pine mushrooms, chanterelles, morels, and oyster mushroom are among the most popular ones. They can be canned or dried to be used later. I remember one year when my mother pierced the mushrooms’ stems with a needle and string and hung them to dry in our basement. They looked like little upside down umbrellas until they dried into a shriveled state.

The deadly fly agaric

Although I’ve never tried hunting them myself, I know there are important things to remember if you plan to pursue the sport. The first rule is very simple. Make sure you know which ones to pick. Your first forage should be with someone who is experienced about identifying them since there are look-alikes among the many existing types. Remember, there are poisonous varieties like the false morels which are deadly or the red fly agaric with its large white-gilled, white-spotted top. I remember my father chopping the fly agaric up in a shallow metal pan and sprinkling sugar on it to attract the barn flies which died after munching on it.

Additionally, you need to wear protective clothing. There are insects, ticks, and snakes in the wooded areas and forging sites. You also need to check with the property owner to determine whether you are allowed to hunt on their land. Many state and national parks not only issue permits, but also have certain rules about the amount of mushrooms that can be harvested per person.

I’m told there are many mushroom clubs throughout the United States where you can join and go in groups to forage for mushrooms. I, myself, am content to use the grocery store's whites or portabella ones when I sit down with my steak topped with the delicious, funky, little fungi.  

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until the end of the month for $0.99!

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Judy-Ann-Davis/e/B006GXN502/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudyAnnDavis4 
Twitter ID:  JudyAnnDavis4 
Blog Link: “A Writer’s Revelations” ~  http://judyanndavis.blogspot.com/ 
Website: http://www.judyanndavis.com/ 
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4353662.Judy_Ann_Davis
Yahoo Groups:  wrppromo@yahoogroups.com and ahachat@yahoogroups.com and pennwriters@yahoogroups.com