Showing posts with label memorial day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label memorial day. Show all posts

Saturday, May 29, 2021

Old Friends & Flowers on Memorial Day

 


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Perennials are my favorites. I can't claim to be a master gardener, but I do love to put my hands in the dirt and grow things.

Walking around the yard this spring, I'm pleased with all the color. We're past even the latest daffodils here in PA, but it's Memorial Day now and so the peonies are going great guns, as well as the irises and various other plants whose names my brain has misfiled. Perhaps I have forgotten the names, but I know that they come back reliably this time of year and that they have a delicate fragrance that I enjoy when I'm sitting on the porch. 



Many of my plants were gifts but ever so many of the givers are now dead. Each time I gaze at those  plants, blooming away with all their might, I think of the nice folks who shared them with me and I am grateful. 

Emily was one of the prolific givers. An athletic, charismatic red head, she and her equally good-looking husband Ray had a lovely down-a-country-road property. Over the years, Emily, who undertook nothing she did by halves, had turned their surroundings into a show place, with a stellar Koi pond surrounded by and ornamented with plants. There were the expected cattails and water lilies, but the papyrus she brought home from the nursery was a revelation, as I'd never actually seen a living breathing specimen before.

Over the years all the local wildlife found the pond, from deer to leopard frogs and tree toads. These little guys hatched in the water, then climbed, for the next part of their life cycle, into the nearby trees. They filled spring twilight evenings with their sweet quivering choruses. Herons came too, enraging Emily because they didn't just eat the frogs out of the pond, but her enormous Koi. 

We were visiting one night, enjoying their company on the deck--they worked together in their auto dealership and had a big supply of "people are crazy" stories--when suddenly Emily shouted, leapt up and ran, an Amazon screaming curses, towards the pond. It was all explained in a flash, when an enormous blue heron, his long, yellow landing gear still dangling, executed an emergency take-off. I'd never seen one of these big birds so close, and certainly never one with a large, flapping red and white Koi in his narrow beak!

                                                


These peonies came from Emily, who told me a long story about her favorite Aunt Pard, whose flower garden and warm presence she remembered with equal pleasure. These were the old-fashioned kind of peony, no ginormous blooms, but, instead, a fragrance you don't often find in modern cultivars. These peonies were not happy in her yard, but, for some inexplicable reason they loved mine. Consequently, over the years, I've split them many times. Now they perform their brief, bright celebration of May in many groupings all over my yard--and they do smell sweet! 

Today, enjoying the flowers, I remembered this couple, their out doors parties--blazing fires under 60 foot oaks, and barbecue-potlucks that lasted all night, their hunter's venison feasts and the annual trout opening day Bacchanalia begun before dawn, just behind their house on the rushing, brown Quittaphilia. So many laughter-filled, good-company evenings with them! 

Now, astonishingly, these active, vital people are both gone. Like many long-married couples, Ray followed his Em to the grave within 6 months. Although they are no more, I have these lovely peonies to always remind me of them both.


~~Juliet Waldron

Where to buy Mozart's Wife

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Recipes for Cooking Over the Campfire by J.Q. Rose


Terror on Sunshine Boulevard
Paranormal Mystery

Click here to find more mysteries by JQ Rose
from BWL Publishing

Hello and welcome to the BWL Publishing Insiders Blog!

Cooking over the campfire.

Recipes for Cooking Over the Campfire by J.Q. Rose

A few years ago we camped with our daughter Lee Ann and family over the Memorial Day holiday weekend near Stony Lake in West Michigan. Always the "event" planner, she invited our other daughter, Sara, (who is not a camper) and family to join us on Sunday for a fun dinner with Dump Soup as the main entree.

I bet you've heard the folk tale Stone Soup, the story of hungry strangers who convince the townspeople to share a small amount of their food in order to feed everyone. We weren't exactly hungry strangers, and we didn't ask fellow campers to contribute to the soup pot.

Lee Ann coined the term "Dump Soup" because we all brought ingredients to dump into the soup pot. There is NO recipe. That's the fun part. Just whatever is offered is added to the pot. Lee Ann poured in beef broth, beef consomme, and I added mushroom soup as a base for all the other stuff e.g. beans, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, onions, cans of veggies, etc.


All ready to cook over the campfire.
Lee Ann stirred it all together and placed the pot over the campfire for the men to watch while the ladies took a walk. Of course, we came back to check on the progress of the soup. After an hour and one half over the fire, we gobbled down the soup. It was delicious. The soup must have been good because the kids loved it too, especially with lots of crackers.

Another of our family faves for dinner over the fire is "hobo dinner." I've heard it called foil packet dinner too. We spray the foil with vegetable oil, place bacon on the first layer, hamburger or chicken next, and then add whatever fresh veggies you like to the foil e.g. potatoes, carrots, green pepper, onion, butter, and celery.
Ingredients ready to wrap.
Be sure to wrap the packet tightly so the grease doesn't run out. Then place the foil dinners in the coals or on a grate over the fire. Depending on how you cut the veggies and how hot the fire is, the packets need to cook 30--45 minutes. Chicken may take longer. 
PS--This dinner can be cooked on your grill at home too.
Dinner wrapped in foil packets.
Clean-up is easy. Just wrap up the foil and throw it away. THEN it'll be time to roast the marshmallows to make S'mores! But first, you may want to go for a swim or a hike!

What are your easy go-to recipes when having a crowd over to your house or when camping?

Click here to connect online with J.Q. Rose

Sunday, March 22, 2020

A Little of This and A Little of That




Ah Spring. My favorite time of year. New buds blossom, Trees begin to get their leaves and everything comes alive. The air smells fresher, little plants peek through the ground.
Crocuses often bloom through the snow and Snow Drops soon follow and of
course the lovely Daffodils appear as soon as the ground has thawed.
The crocus is a symbol of youthfulness and cheerfulness. The snowdrop symbolizes hope - hope that winter will soon end and new warmth will enter our lives.  Daffodils symbolize rebirth and new beginnings.
Something about seeing the new spring flowers creates a happiness. The long winter is finally passing and warmer weather is on the way.
Of course, we can't forget St. Patrick's Day - a day celebrated by many with corned beef and cabbage. parades and of course drinking - sometimes green beer.
St. Patrick's Day first started to honor St. Patrick on the anniversary of his death. Christian people had a great feast for which Lenten food and alcohol restrictions were temporarily removed, which is why drinking became synonymous with the holiday. As year passed, St Patrick's Day became less about the man and more about general Irish traditions, culture, and history. *

Unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus, this year's celebrations/parades were canceled.
When will things return to normal. Every day it seems like something else is closed down. Will everything shut down eventually?
If that's what's going to happen, I wish they'd do it sooner, rather than later. How many more have to get sick or die before that happens? I say get it over with, but who am I? Already restaurants, sports, schools, and churches are closed. Even some department stores. We're told to stay in. Not an easy thing for me. Not that I went too many places anyway, church, bible study, and of course, the store. Even that's been taken away. I'm blessed to have children willing to shop for me. But I do miss it. I enjoyed shopping. Got me out of the house for a while.  Enough about that. More about spring.

Easter is celebrated in the Spring. Sometimes in March, but often in April. A special Holiday (Holy Day) for Christians around the world. The day
 we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. I look forward to spending the day with family, making our Traditional Easter Food. I pray things will be back to normal by then.

May brings Mother's Day, celebrated the second Sunday in May and founded by Anna Jarvis, it's  a celebration honoring the mother of the family, as well as
motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society.  Designated as the second Sunday in May by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914. **

And finally, Memorial Day, observed the last Monday in May finishes off our Spring Holidays and kicks off the Summer Season. I remember when it was called Decoration Day. It's a  day to remember  and honor the men and women
who died while serving the U.S. military. This year it falls on May 25th, which just happens to be my birthday.  ***

* St. Patrick's Day
** Mother's Day
*** Memorial Day

Review of Trouble Comes in Twos
5 stars - Whodunit and Another Twin
Roseanne Dowell does it again, this time adding mystery to the romance--from the kidnapping of a bride on the eve of her wedding to stumbling across a body under a bush in the local cemetery, Kate Wesley has more than just two love interests distracting her. Not to mention, the victim's identical twin. Ms. Dowell kept me guessing throughout the book both whodunit and who was gonna "do it" with Kate.
5 stars - Romantic Suspense At It's FINEST!


You can find Trouble Comes in Twos as well as my other books at BWL Publishing

Monday, May 20, 2019

Video: Visit Yorkshire, England, and the Bronte Sisters Museum with J.Q. Rose, Memorial Day


Dangerous Sanctuary by J. Q. Rose
Cozy Mystery

Pastor Christine Hobbs never imagined she would be caring for a flock 
that includes a pig, a kangaroo, and a murderer.
Find more mysteries by J.Q. Rose at BWL Publishing
***
Hello and welcome to the BWL Authors Insiders Blog.
In the US, we'll be celebrating the Memorial Day holiday this weekend. This holiday is considered the kick-off to the summer season and all the fun activities enjoyed in the good ole summertime. Kids are out of school and families take vacations.

Memorial Day, May 27

 In June 2018, my husband and I traveled to England for our summer trip. Today, I'm sharing a video I made of our travels into the county of Yorkshire. 

Please, grab the popcorn and red licorice and sit back in your chair. Join us as we tour through the area and meet up with an English friend in the video, 
Touring England--Visit Yorkshire.
VIDEO


Touring England--Visit Yorkshire
Youtube.com

Wishing you a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!
Are you planning a vacation this summer? 
Please leave a comment below. Thank you.
***
Click here to visit the J.Q. Rose, Author Facebook Page. Thank you.


Click here to connect to the Books We Love Website.


Monday, May 28, 2012

MEMORIAL DAY - DARING MASQUERADE

 MEMORIAL DAY AND MY BOOK - MARGARET TANNER
Call it blatant self promotion if you will, but I thought as it is Memorial Day in the US, I would post this battlefield excerpt from my latest romance novel, Daring Masquerade, which is set during the 1st World War.

In Australia we remember our war dead, on ANZAC Day, 25th April and also Remembrance Day/Armistice Day on 11th November.

ANZAC Day commemorates the landing at Gallipoli in Turkey by The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACS) on the 25TH April, 1915. And the 25th April is now sacred. It is when we remember the brave men and women who paid the supreme sacrifice in the 1st World War and in subsequent wars, 2nd World War, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. These battlefields are also stained with American blood, as you would be well aware.
DARING MASQUERADE – Out on Kindle from Books We Love Publishing
The third battle for Ypres had begun. The first and second Australian Divisions marched through the ruins of Ypres in Flanders, and fought their way along the Menin Road ridge. Their ultimate destination was Passchendale.
It had been raining steadily, the front had turned into a sea of mud, criss-crossed with miles of concrete German blockhouses. A German arc of machine gun fire dominated the landscape and the casualties were terrible.
Ross despaired of the carnage ever ending. After one battle another always followed. Men died or were wounded; many simply disappeared into the mud.
Reinforcements came and went, followed by more reinforcements. Few old faces were left now. Increasingly, he feared he might never leave this chamber of horrors and return to Harry at Devil’s Ridge. Never get the chance to utter the words, ‘I love you,’ to his wife.
How much longer could his luck hold out? He had suffered several minor shrapnel wounds that only required a dressing.
On the morning of the fourth of October, 1917, Ross’ unit was sent to Broodseinde Ridge. Forty minutes before the attack, soldiers waiting in the rear a mile behind the line saw white and yellow German flares through the hazy drizzle.
0530 hours.  Heavy trench mortars fell on Ross’s men as they sheltered in shell holes. At 0600 hours, the British artillery barrage opened up and he waited. Another attack—more casualties in this endless saga of death and suffering.
White tapes marked the jump off area. When the signal for attack came, he urged his men on.
“Come on, come on.”
He stood up and started running. Officers led by example, he remembered from training. The men charged forward now, yelling and screaming.
A line of troops rose from some shell holes a little in front of them, and Ross suddenly realized they were Germans mounting a counter attack. Too late to do anything but keep on going.
He did not see where the firing came from, but felt a thud, first in one leg then the other. As he sank to his knees, he felt a bullet slamming into his chest. He toppled forward.  Soldiers ran over him. Boots pressing into his back forced him deeper into the mud.
This is the end. I’ll never see Harry again.
He regained consciousness. It was daylight. How long had he been lying out in no-man’s land? Groggily, he got to his hands and knees. Pain and exhaustion racked his body. Breathing was agony. The landscape see-sawed. Shell fire echoed in his ears.
What’s the use? All I have to do is close my eyes and sink back into the mud and oblivion.
Too tired to fight any more, he started slipping away. His body floated upwards and the pain disappeared.
“Ross, don’t leave me. Fight Ross, fight for me.”
“Harry?” He opened his eyes but he was alone.  Only dead men, twisted and grotesque lay out here in no-man’s land with him.
Did he want to leave Harry a widow at twenty? Never hold his son? Oh, God, he couldn’t die like a dog out here. His body might never be recovered. Harry would wait and mourn, but keep on hoping for years. She would never hear the words ‘I love you,’ fall from his lips. What a bloody fool he had been obsessing over Virginia, instead of letting himself fall in love with Harry. Now it was too late.  She would never know the true depth of his feelings for her. He couldn’t do it to her. He must survive.


Regards
Margaret 






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