Weekend Round-Up and Revisiting A Children's Classic

Weekend Round-Up

Some of the Week's Best

Celebrate summer by making this Blueberry Corn Salad. It is simple to make and can be made in advance which makes it perfect for summer bbq’s, picnics, and pool parties

This salad is light and refreshing. The pop of color and juiciness of the blueberries add to the corn salad. The cucumbers also add a nice crunch. The salad is full of flavor thanks to the cilantro, jalapeño, red onion, and honey lime dressing.

Blueberry Corn Salad

Honey Balsamic Chicken

A one pan meal that's easy to clean up. With a simple honey balsamic marinade, you can toss everything right onto the sheet pan and pop it in the oven, adding in your asparagus the last 10 minutes of cooking time so they are not overcooked. Other veggies like green beans and carrots can be substituted.

Honey Balsamic Chicken Breasts

Revisiting A Classic The Secret Garden

I am sure there is Magic in everything, only we have not sense enough to get hold of it and make it do things for us” 

― Frances Hodgson Burnett, "The Secret Garden" 

What I imagine a rose covered trellis might look like along a path in "The Secret Garden".
"The Secret Garden" is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was initially published in serial format starting in the autumn of 1910 and was first published in its entirety in 1911. It is now one of Burnett's most popular novels, and is considered to be a classic of English children's literature. Several stage and film adaptations have been produced.

original cover
A recent gift "A Year in the Secret Garden" from the author Valarie Budayr (see footnote below) 

motivated me to check out a library copy of the children's classic "The Secret Garden" from 1911.

I was quite amazed to see that Goodreads had over 9, 000 book reviews written by adults on "The Secret Garden." Having  read the book in grade school I wondered if the book would still have that magical feel and indeed it did. The author pulls you into the story with cholera outbreak, multiple viewpoints, mystery and lots of magic. Along the way I discovered the story with a fresh "set of eyes." Even though the storyline is outdated by modern standards, its powerful themes of effort, friendship and persistence still reign supreme. The author uses the novel to explore themes of mental and physical damage and healing. The garden becomes a sheltered paradise brimming with plants, flowers, animals, birds and evolving friendships among Mary, Colin and Dickon. Colin and Mary undergo a metamorphosis as the story moves them along from depressed, neglected children to self- confident, happy individuals.  
Try setting aside those wanna read books and revisit a favorite book from your childhood. It can be a worthy endeavor. You might surprise yourself how much you missed old friends as you see them in a new light.  

Footnote: The concept of "A Year in the Secret Garden" is innovative as it features monthly family activities based on a children's classic plus giving children exposure to Edwardian England. The books includes step -by-step crafts, kid friendly recipes, monthly gardening, characters studies and historical information.
Follow this link for the May 13th EVER READY book review of "A Year in the Secret Garden.
http://sockfairies.blogspot.com/search?q=+A+year+in+the+Secret+garden

Speaking of classics today is the birthday of  Elwyn Brooks "E. B." White (July 11, 1899 – October 1, 1985) an American writer and author of the beloved book "Charlotte's Web" .

Jump Into A Book and Taste Spring's Finest Strawberries

Strawberry Fields is a living memorial to the world-famous singer, songwriter and peace activist, John Lennon in Central Park. During his career with the Beatles and in his solo work, Lennon's music gave hope and inspiration for world peace and his memory and mission lives on in Strawberry Fields.

Jump Into A Book http://www.jumpintoabook.com/ is a blog site devoted to children's books created by Valerie Budayr. She is passionate about making books come alive with featured book lists, activities to enhance stories, poems, author chats and thoughtful articles on literacy posted several times a week.

Valerie is also the co-founder of Multicultural Children’s Book Day. She is committed to raising awareness for children’s books that celebrate diversity and multicultural characters and is also working to get more of these books into classrooms and libraries.

Award-winning authors, Valarie Budayr and Marilyn Scott-Waters, have created this wonderful book "A Year in the Secret Garden" based on the classic book,"The Secret Garden." The book introduces new generations of families to the magic of this classic tale in a modern and innovative way that creates special learning and play times outside in nature. This book encourages families to step away from technology and into the kitchen, garden, reading nook and craft room.

Inside the book you will find an introduction to the book the "Secret Garden". It also includes monthly recipes and gardening activities and DIY fun crafts/activities with step by step instructions. I must say the concept of this book is brilliant featuring activities based on a children's classic plus giving children exposure to Edwardian England. I see a lot of value in developing appreciation for literature based on the classics.

 

To order a printed copy or an eBook version follow this link  ghttp://audreypress.com/ayearinthesecretgarden/
One of my favorite days to check in on the blog http://www.jumpintoabook.com/is Wednesdays when recipes and craft ideas are shared. Today's posting  on strawberries caught my attention. 

http://www.jumpintoabook.com/2015/05/secret-garden-wednesday-strawberry-fields-forever-and-a-sale/

Check out this delicious looking shortcake. It looks yummy and is on top of my list to try. Follow the above link for the recipe.
Strawberry Shortcake Southern Style. 

Ever heard of the word chowchow? It is a noun and means a tangy concoction of fresh-picked and quick pickled produce beloved by Southern cooks. 
I had to do some sleuthing because I had never heard the term. 

Chow-chow (Chowchow, Chow Chow) is a Nova Scotian and American pickled relish made from a combination of vegetables. Mainly green tomato, cabbage, chayote, red tomatoes, onions, carrots, beans, asparagus, cauliflower and peas are used. These ingredients are pickled in a canning jar and served cold.

Chow-chow is regionally associated with the Southern United States, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, the Appalachian Mountains, and soul food. The recipes vary greatly; some varieties are sweeter than others. Pennsylvania chow-chow, known by the Wos-Wit brand [the company is located outside Tamaqua PA], is generally much sweeter than the southern varieties.

So the word chowchows seem to just roll off my lips bringing you a recipe from Southern Living May 2015.

Strawberry-Blueberry Relish  

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 TB. minced fresh ginger
• 1 tsp. lime zest 
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
• 2 TB.fresh lime juice 
• 2 cups chopped fresh strawberries 
• 1 cup fresh blueberries 
• 1 cup diced cucumbers
• 3 TB. minced red onion
• optional 2 TB. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

• Bring first 5 ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Add jalapeño, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and let stand 30 minutes. Stir in lime juice.
• Stir together strawberries and next 4 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add vinegar mixture, and stir to coat. Serve immediately, or refrigerate in an airtight container up to 2 days.

Serve with your favorite cornbread recipe. 

Time to Read

In the book of life, the answers arent' in the back.

Charlie Brown

Looks like the Charlie Brown gang is really engrossed in their books. Perhaps they are getting a jump start on the Read Across America, reading  initiative program, that starts February 25. It is a week long series of reading based activities to foster a life-time of good reading habits. It also celebrates Dr. Seuss's birthday March 2.   

As I left our local public library recently with a stack of 6 books I thought to myself how some things never change.  One of my favorite memories growing up was taking the bus downtown with my sister or a friend every week to the public library. The excitement of exploring the children's section at the library afforded endless possibilities. (my favorites were Little Women series, Secret Garden, Boxcar Children series and Nancy Drew series) I eagerly loaded up with books often 10 at a time and I even read them all in a week. 

My recent library adventure was going in for one title and coming out with 5 other unexpected finds. I was excited to get started reading but like us all wished there was more time to read.   

This is Stacy Cordery's new book,  The Remarkable Founder of the Girl Scouts Juliette Gordon Low. It is quite a well researched book that seems like a cross between a biography and a history book. Juliette Low, a social entrepreneur and community organizer, was able to use her talents, connections and wealth to impact millions of girls. She overcame deafness, a cheating husband and the stifling mores of her time. 

Low grew up in post-Civil War Georgia and had the nickname "Crazy Daisy". She fell in love with a British aristocratic and slightly dangerous Willy Low. A premature death left her widowed and wealthy in England. She was dissatisfied with the aristocratic way of life and began looking for a sense of purpose. She became acquainted with Robert Baden Powell's popular Boy Scouts. Low went on to organize her own organization called Girl Guides. She then moved the organization back to her hometown of Savannah, GA. It later was renamed Girl Scouts.  Low was a one woman grass-roots campaigner to get her organization flourishing up and down the East Coast. She wanted the Girl Scouts to be an organization that taught domestic and career related skills to girls but also allowed them to have fun. And we all know the rest of Juliette Gordon Low's success story.

This book Magic Room by Jeffrey Zaslow was one of my unexpected finds. I knew of the author from his collaboration on the following books: Randy Pausch: The Last Lecture.

Chesley Sullenberger: Highest Duty and Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly: Gabby, A Story of Courage and Hope and his own book The Girls From Ames

While looking up the author I was shocked to learn of his untimely death a year ago this month. He was 53 and on a book tour for this book Magic Room.   

This is a charming non-fiction book that looks at the bridal shop business, particularly that of Becker's Bridal Shop which still operates in the small town Fowler, Michigan. It is a 4th generational family business. While the book does overview the bridal business in today's world it also chronicles eight families on their quest for the perfect bridal gown and their stories. Zaslow's initial intent writing this book was to look at the topic of love as he raises his own three daughters. 

Magic Room at Becker's Bridal Shop is the place where the bride-to-be stands on a pedestal and models different wedding gown choices to family/friends. Side note from me...This is just like at the award shows when a  movie star steps on the 360 so audience can get a view of their dress from all angles :)  

     This book was another unexpected find. It was written by Monte Schultz, Charles Schultz's son. The book is a terrific testimony to the talented Charles Schultz. In the introduction it was interesting to learn that he felt his father had never thought of himself as a true writer. Charles Schultz did not consider the comic strip as high an art form as the novel or stage plays. But he did love to talk about writing and meet with other writers. His son wrote about his father being an avid reader of all literature genres, the bible and enjoying classical music. A variety of Snoopy cartoons were shown that reflected his father's love of the artistic expression: Schroeder played Beethoven, Snoopy read Tolstoy and Schroeder laying on ground with Charlie and Lucy thinking how the clouds looked like profile of Thomas Eakins, famous painter or the Apostle Paul. Schultz's cartoons had subtle references to the things he valued in life.

The book profiles many best selling authors who had some connection to Schultz.
A Snoopy cartoon is featured on each page to illustrate a writing technique and then each author incorporates the cartoon into writing advice for the reader.

______________________________________

Is your Oscar ballot filled out yet? The prize for who has the most correct guesses is the chocolate foil wrapped Oscar in the photo. It's up for grabs at the party I am going to on Sunday.

The World of Fairy Magic

"I believe, of course, in magic. 

Magic is bringing about of unbelievable things 

through an obstinate faith 

that nothing is too good to be true..."

Frances Burnett Hodges, author "The Secret Garden" 

drawing by Susan Elizabeth Telke 

Backstory
Once upon a time I wrote a children’s story called Sock Fairy Thieves. Despite the fact I have had a number of rejection slips the lives of sock fairies still continue on through my writing in various ways. In September 2009 Ever Ready first emerged on the blogging scene. Sock fairies was used for the URL for my inspiration. Now fast forward some 1,600 blog postings to 2015. To kick off summer every Friday (during the summer) I will be posting a sock fairy adventure on Ever Ready. The first one will be posted June 19th. Share these adventures with a wee one.

There is no better time to step into the world of fairy magic than the coming of the longest day of the year June 21, also known as Midsummer. It is a time when fairies are thought to be abroad and at their most powerful. But there are some things you as a human must understand about sock fairies. 

• They are mischievous but intend no harm on humans. Sock fairies are quick and rarely seen by humans. 
• Sock fairies work in pairs. They carry their own bag for collecting socks. In their bag you can find a bottle of fairy dust, their secret weapon in case they need help and a fairy wand. 
• Sock fairies gather each morning for their to-do lists. They generally like to work during the day so they can gather in the evening to make merry near the fairy ring or work by the fireside on sock accessories. 
• Sock fairies go a sock bank whenever their bag is full. A sock bank carries only mismatched socks. If a sock fairy can find a matching sock at the sock bank, the pair can be exchanged for a gold coin. 
• Fall and winter seasons are sock fairies busiest times. Often they spend many evenings by the fireside making arm warmers, leg warmers, sock monkeys and other sock accessories from socks they have gathered. Mismatched socks are often turned into gifts to reward a human for a good deed. 

© Copyright 2015 EVER READY All Rights Reserved
Check back tomorrow for the first sock fairy adventure. Special thanks to the following for their encouragement and inspiration particularly my cousin Deb, Sarah C. Penny S. Becky F. and Shoreview Writing Group.

How about some fairy dust to make your world a more magical place? Haven't we all believed in magic at one time or another in our lives? Remember the whimsical nature of childhood dreams and fanciful ideas and themes? ...I wish...I wish... Why not make your own confection or medley of make believe? To wish for extraordinary blessings, to believe in wondrous events that sometimes one can only dream of...

If only I could share mine with you!

So the next best thing is making your own.

Recipe for Colored Pixie or Fairy Dust

Ingredients:

• 1 cup salt or sugar
• 6 drops of food coloring-add more if want a vibrant color
• generous sprinkle of extra fine glitter (any color) 
• 2 dashes of silver glitter

Directions:

• In a zip loc bag add salt or sugar and food coloring. Secure bag at top. Use fingers to press on outside of bag mixing dye into salt/sugar. 
• Add to the bag contents colored glitter with a little silver glitter and mix well.  

• Put the fairy dust into a small bottle or container. Try dollar stores or Michaels for containers. 

• You may need to use a funnel to get the fairy dust into a container, depending on how small the opening is. If you don't have a funnel, simply roll up a small piece of paper into a funnel shape and use a piece of tape to keep it in that shape. Cut the bottom of the funnel shape with a pair of scissors, making sure that the bottom of the funnel will fit into the container you want to put the fairy dust in.

Celebrate Nancy Drew's 80th birthday with Grilled Tequila Lime Chicken

When I was growing up I was a regular patron at the library. The limit was 10 per library so I would ride my bike to our neighborhood library and check out my limit. Then on the weekend my sister and I would take the bus downtown to a bigger library and I'd check out another 10. This was before the time of computers and centralized book keeping (cross checking). This might have been me

My all time favorites included "Little Women", "Betsy Tacy" and "Nancy Drew" series. Often I was lost for hours in the life of these characters. I liked strong female figures who were brave, principled, dared to be different and loved adventure.
At one point in my life I owned all the books in both series and both volumes of "Little Women" but with 5 younger sisters who knows where all those books disappeared to.

Last week I posted a blog on "A Year in the Secret Garden" http://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2015/05/jump-into-book-and-taste-springs-finest.html
from blog jumpintoabook
This week author Valarie Budayr has novel approach to celebrating the 80th birthday of the Nancy Drew series. She is rallying all Nancy Drew readers young and old! She would love to see YOUR Nancy Drew books/collections, learn which ones were your favorites and hear how they have become a valued asset in your life. For the rest of May, she is inviting readers to share photos of their favorite Nancy Drew books along with the hashtag #DrewToYou on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 
 What a fun way to share a piece of your life and your love of books with thousands of like-minded readers!

Here's the link to her post with more information. http://www.jumpintoabook.com/2015/05/drewtoyou-a-fun-and-bookish-way-to-honor-

nancy-drew/

Did you know that the first Nancy Drew book was published in 1930? Can you guess the title?  
"Secret of The Old Clock". Do you have a favorite? Mine was" Secret of the Hidden Staircase". 

Grilled Tequila Lime Chicken, a.k.a. Margarita Chicken, is one of those dishes that just screams fun. The marinade — a combination of tequila, lime, garlic and spices is loaded with bright Southwestern flavor. Contrary to what you might think, it’s family friendly: the tequila is mild and the chicken isn’t too spicy. I like to serve it with a corn and tomato salad. 
recipe adapted from closetcooking.com  and serves 4
Ingredients

• 1/4 cup tequila
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 TB. oil
• 2 tsp. lime zest
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 TB. cilantro
• 1 tsp. cumin (toasted and ground)
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 4 large chicken breasts (boneless and skinless)

Directions:

• Puree the tequila, lime and orange juice, oil, lime zest, jalapeno, garlic, cilantro, cumin, chili powder,salt and pepper in a food processor.
• Place both the chicken and the marinade in a freezer bag and marinate over night in refrigerator. 
• Drain marinade and grill the chicken until cooked, about 5-7 minutes per side.

Weekend Round-Up Part Two

The Secret Garden 

by Frances Hodgson Burnett

7th Annual Writing in the Garden (Writing Retreat) 
Recently I had an opportunity to participate in a unique writing retreat A Day of Writing in the Garden at the home of Bev Abear, writer and artist, Brainerd, MN. 
The retreat was facilitated by Candace Simar, award winning author and poet (on right) and her sister Angela Foster, writing instructor and author (on left). 

Candace Simar nurtures a passion for Minnesota History. She has published The  Abercrombie Trail Series: Abercrombie Trail , 2009, Pomme De Terre, 2010; Birdie, 2011, and Blooming Prairie, 2012. Birdie received the 2012 Spur Award for best juvenile fiction set in the west. She co-authored Farm Girls with her sister, Angela Foster, in 2013 and published Shelterbelts, 2015 and her most recent book Dear Homefolks, 2017 

Angela Foster holds an MFA (Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing) from Pine Manor College in Boston, MA. She teaches memoir at The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, MN. Her work has been published in Poetry Midwest, Lake Country Journal, Dust and Fire, Minnesota Literature, Talking Stick, The Drum Literary Magazine and others. In 2013 she co-authored Farm Girls with her sister, Candace Simar.

The class was geared towards fiction and memoir writers. This year's writing retreat focused on How to Create Vivid Scenes Through the Use of Sensory Details. 
It was a day of learning on how to strengthen one's writing by 

• Developing dynamic prose by showing versus telling
• Incorporating sensory details when creating scenes
• Using strong verbs 
• Avoiding the use of thought verbs 
• Building a scene by creating vivid images   

The meet and greet with other writers was supposed to be in Bev's lovely garden. She had worked days getting ready for us. Unfortunately, a steady all day rain kept us inside though did not dampen our spirits for literary conversations. Note it had not rained for weeks until the day of this gathering!
On a no rain day here is what her garden looks like-so tranquil.

  









What a wonderful energizing way to spend the day talking about books, writing and sharing ideas with other writers.

On my way out (in between the rain drops) I snapped one lovely flower picture from Bev's yard. 

As with all gatherings food plays a central part. Many brought treats to share. I figured my chocolate buttermilk brownies would make good soul food.  

http://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2015/10/buttermilk-brownies.html