A new friend gave me good reasons for including an image of at least some of the books I recommend in my blog. I started with updating the October 4, 2014 blog as those covers were mine so if I made a mistake of some sort, it would affect only me. ;-) Several frustrating hours later with results I didn't like, I removed the cover pictures. Then, I deleted the blog and started over as the spacing was all wonky and looked dreadful. Obviously, I have much to learn! :-)

I love the song "Sunrise, Sunset" and how the seasons follow each other 'laden with happiness and tears'. (It's from the musical Fiddler on the Roof, by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock). I found myself humming it as I worked on this blog.

In an effort to create jobs during the Depression the government started the WPA: the Works Progress Administration. Part of this was "America Eats" which was designed to gather recipes, traditions and so forth from across the country. It was a project that was never completed, at least until Mark Kurlansky came along. The Food of a Younger Land, edited and illustrated by Mr. Kurlansky is a collection from those unused records. The book is divided by region, each with it's own unique celebrations, music, and food. One of my favorite books!

Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good: a Memoir of Food & Love From an American Midwest Family, by Kathleen Flinn. In researching her ancestors, the author discovers she is related to a bootlegger, a bigamist, a midwife ... and that a common bond down the years is that many of them liked to cook (as does she). The family recipes and memories (happy and sad) make this a most pleasant read.

A delightful and charming read came from Tall Reader (both as a recommendation, and as the actual book). Single Woman Homesteader, is a memoir by Leona Dixon Cox. Born in 1902 in Sonoma County, California, Leona is the 'outdoorsy one' of twins. The skills she learns (and loves) will serve her well in the Depression. From the one room school house, to building a small cabin up in the mountains (where she and her dad lived during the Depression), to learning to ride a motorcycle later in life after one leg was amputated, to learning to use a computer in her 70's, this is a wonderful read.

I had no idea just how much happened in the summer of 1927! Wow! There's Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, Lindberg's flight, a terrible flood, a school bombing (the worst in history), boxing, Coolidge chooses not to run for president, Prohibition, murders and convictions, and much much more and it's all woven nicely together in One Summer: America 1927, by Bill Bryson. (Whew! I do believe that might considered a run on sentence) :-)

It's Veteran's Day today. To all of you past, and present, thank you.

Reading Hermit With Dog