The Journey Back: November 2021

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Wordless Wednesday- Cruisin' Galveston

Tuesday Tea Time & Chat With Author Debra Parmley

Good Morning thanks for joining me for Tea! I have a little treat today.

But let's talk about Tea first and look at some beautiful cups . . .

I don't have a pretty Tea Pot but my whistling Tea Kettle does the job.

And this the Tea I have in my cup today.

I learned alot reading this post.

Oolong Tea helps Bone Density and your Heart. And lots more.

Click Here

Today I am sipping Oolong Tea and chatting with my friend Author Debra Parmley . . .

Debra writes swoony Romances and lives in a Motor Home! How cool is that?

A home on wheels to travel the country writing and promoting books. And meeting in readers!

Let's Chat with Debra

Hello and Welcome back to the blog!

Hello, and thank you for having me back!

I know our readers are as fascinated as I am about your traveling lifestyle. Can you share with us how it came about?

Happy to! We had been talking about selling everything in Memphis and moving somewhere and we'd also talked about buying a motorhome, so when everything in the country shut down, I said, this is a good time to go. If we have to stay home, why not do it in a motorhome? A rolling house that we can move down the road when and where we want to be. It took time to downsize our house, our rental house, and his business in the same place we had lived for twenty-three years. But by November 2020 we had sold everything and moved into our motorhome to live on the road.

How do you handle holidays on the road?

It varies. For the Fourth of July this year we were in Cody, Wyoming which has the biggest Fourth of July celebration I have ever been two. Parades on the 3rd and 4th and rodeos every night. A big fireworks evening on the 4th. It was a wonderful way to celebrate the fourth. I would love to go back.

We just had our first Halloween in an RV park in Florida but didn't have any trick or treaters. I had decorations up inside the motorhome and we watched movies.

This Thanksgiving we will travel to see family.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we'll be in the motorhome but the week before we will be in Savannah, GA with our kids and grandkids celebrating together.

What is your favorite dish at Thanksgiving?

Mashed potatoes and gravy are my favorites at any holiday meal. And I am a pie kind of woman. So I have baked many pies over the years.

What is your favorite holiday?

I love the costumes and seeing the children play make-believe.

Will you have a Christmas tree in your Motor Home?

Last year we had a small one and it fell over every time we moved down the road. One of the ornaments broke. So I think we will skip the tree this year and enjoy poinsettias instead.

I am really excited to try your Chili recipe and the fabulous sounding pie too. Can you share with us the history behind the recipes?

Growing up in Springfield, Ohio I was accustomed to eating Skyline Chili which is a Cincinnati style of chili. My husband and I love it, so I tried to recreate the recipe. Trial and error brought me to the final one I'm giving to you. Everyone who has tried it says it is very close.

The pie is one my maternal grandmother used to bake and I loved helping her in the kitchen. She passed when I was nine so it is a miracle that I know how to bake this pie. I can remember tasting the apples with her, and watching her put the ingredients into her hand. This much cinnamon, this much flour, etc. I had to learn to make this pie as an adult guessing the amounts so it could be written down for my children and grandchildren.

I expect the Chili might be easy to manage on On The Road. But what about pie? Do you bake when you travel?

Yes, the Chilli is easy to manage on the road. I have a convection/microwave oven combo which I love and which allows me to bake many of our family favorites, such as apple pie.

I am a foodie and love to cook. I imagine buying food might be a challenge.

Yes, food can be a challenge. The grocery store in particular. First, you much find one and it may be a store you have never heard of. So the great hunt begins. The grocery store you have never heard of may not carry that one item you really need or want for a recipe. So you learn to adapt and either make something else or try a substitute. It's not so much an issue with old-fashioned American-style recipes, but with modern recipes or ethnic ones which require specific items, you may not find it anywhere. If there's something you cannot live without, I suggest stocking up on it before you get on the road.

Assuming you've been working/writing while on On The Road what/where is the most magical place to write you have found in your travels?

Though being outside in beautiful nature does inspire me. It's more a taking in of everything around me and then being able to go there in my head when writing later. I always write on my laptop, usually inside the RV.

Do you dine out while traveling? What is the most Romantic place you've discovered?

Yes, we do dine out when traveling and have tried new foods for us (huckleberry milkshakes, prickly pear bbq chicken are examples and you may hear about the foods we find if you read and follow my travel/RV living blog, Beautiful Day Traveler) and have eaten in some great historical places. The most romantic place for me on our go west trip was the picnic we had in Yellowstone National Park.

I always enjoy chatting with my author friends but I know you are busy! Maybe eating a few leftovers!

I've enjoyed our chat too!

I am ready for more mashed potatoes and for pie!

Before I go can you give us a sneak peek into your plans for the New Year?

My event plans for 2022 so far include going to BOBASE in Jacksonville, FL in April and going back to Wild Deadwood Reads in Deadwood, SD in June. We will fit more RV travels around those two events.

Thank you so much for having me here today and wishing you and your family and all our readers a Beautiful and Peaceful Thanksgiving and Holiday season!

I hope you'll stop at Debra's website to get the current book news.

Click Here

And visit her travel blog too!

Click Here

Monday, November 29, 2021

Children's Book Spotlight Mia and the Hummingbird

November 30

About the book

Book Details:

Book Title: MIA AND THE HUMMINGBIRD by Nancy Carlisle
Category:  Children's Fiction (Ages 4-9), 34 pages
Genre:  Juvenile fiction/social themes or animals/birds
Publisher:  Sage Green Press
Release date:   March, 2021
Tour dates: November 17 to November 30, 2021
Content Rating: G. There is nothing that even comes close to PG.

Book Description:

“An inspirational story! The juxtaposition of the hummingbird's struggle with Mia's struggles is unique and I feel that kids will be able to relate to it." - Reader in a 5-Star Review

Mia and the Hummingbird is the story of a young girl who immigrates to a new country and learns to accept a new life.She sees the hummingbird building her nest for her babies and thinks that she and the bird are similar as they learn to adapt to their new homes. Mia and the Hummingbird includes information about environmental and social reasons for immigration, the struggle to adapt to a new home and information about hummingbirds.

Included is a glossary about these issues, a bibliography, and references.

Buy the Book:
Amazon
add to goodreads

Visit I Read Book Tours

Click Here

Sunday, November 28, 2021

Planning My Day(s) -A Prompt Driven Post & Menu Monday & An Apple Pie Recipe

Good Morning & Welcome

Do you plan your day? I make a flexible plan. Making a plan even if I go down a Rabbit 🐇 Trail helps me stay organized.

Today I am beginning a new feature on the blog.

I hope you'll enjoy and play along.

You will still find my weekly Happy Homemaker in Texas post where I join Sandra's party. I write my post every day Saturday and then link with HHM on Monday.

Sandra asked us not to add any prompts so. ( Insert pout)

Here's a little background . . .

In my early blogging days I joined a link party that ran for years The Simple Woman's Day Book.

The last time there was a post was in July so I the party is no longer weekly. Click Here to link at the current party.

For a season I joined this weekly party. After awhile I realized the prompts really didn't fit my style or what I wanted to share.

Then I found Sandra's party!

A few years ago I began to place my own photos at the top of my posts so that when I linked it I could use my own photos.

I put Sandra's at the end of my post with invites to other link parties.

I enjoy HHM but I have felt my posts were lacking. There are topics I want to share so today I give you my Prompts . . .

About my planner

This is an older photo of my Calendar. You can see how filled in it is. I use this kind of calendar for keeping track of my Book Reviews.

Along with a calendar I use a planner. My favorite is a Happy Planner because they are a type of spiral but you can add and remove pages.

In June of this year I began making mu own planner from a local free magazine.

I like this method. It is budget friendly and have plenty of space to write. I post my menu on each day. I write a To Do List. And I write down memories.

Let's get to the prompts . . .

Today it is . . .

. . . Outside

On my To Do List

To Day . . .

Tidy up my Air Plane Plant and Purple Jew Basket and bring inside

Finish my Tea Time Tuesday post

This Week . . .

Buy a new calendar

Bring in the Bakers Rack and use it for inside plants. We have a beautiful under used window in our Media/Crafting Space

A new recipe to try . . .

Debra Parmley's Apple Pie

(like her grandmother, Grace Maxwell used to make. It was never written down until recently.)

Preheat oven to 375

Take half the pie crust and line a 9-inch pie pan. (You can make your own crust or buy Pillsbury-ready crust.)

Peel and slice one entire bag of granny smith apples.

To apples, add1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

(These measurements are approximate as you must taste the apple and add more or less sugar depending on whether the apples are tarter or sweeter.)

Mix. Put into the pie.

Top with 2 Tablespoons butter sliced thin.

Cover with the second pie crust.

Pinch edges and put holes in the middle for steam.

Put foil around the edges of the crust to prevent burning.

Remove foil after 25 minutes and bake for 25 more minutes.

This week's menu

Saturday

Chicken and Dumplings

Sunday

Homemade Pepperoni Flat Bread Pizza

Monday

Prime Rib, Baked Potato's, Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Tuesday

General Taso Chicken, Fried Rice and Egg Rolls

Wednesday

Ground Beef Stroganoff w/ Noodles and Green Beans

Thursday

Green Chili Stew and Corn Bread

Friday

Church Lady Sausage Casserole, Fried Okra, Salad

Something fun to share . . .

A Cruisin' Galveston moment . . .

Over at My Reading Journeys . . .

I am featuring Author Debra Parmley . . .

Debra and her husband live in a motor home and travel.

She shares about their travels on her blog. Click Here

Thanks for joining me today! I'll be sharing be at all the regular in parties .

Feel free to use my prompts and write your own post. Or make your own prompts and link up at

Click Here

The Fabulous Party

Link away!

Simple Sunday

Saturday, November 27, 2021

Happy Homemaker in Texas

Joining Sandra for her party

Here are her prompts . . .

The weather . . .

Fall on Galveston Island! Awe!

Upper 50'/mid 60's in the mornings.

Afternoons mostly mid 70's.

Mostly sunny all week with a shower or two. Awe!

How I am feeling this morning . . .

Happy. Blessed.

On my mind . . .

Ugh... Putting away Christmas boxes! Getting my crafting table useable again!

On the breakfast plate . . .

Hash and Eggs easy. Peasy. Yum!

Right now I am . . .

Looking at said space/crafting table. I need a stiff drink. LOL!

What I am wearing today . . .

Black leggings under dog walking pants that I slip on when we go outside. For a top a brown tank top with pretty crochet and beaded applique and a Bleach stain. It's now my stay at home top.

On my reading pile . . .