Beyond the Storm review

 

I have just finished reading Beyond the Storm, book 1 in the Quilts of Love series & it is wonderful. I read the Kindle version & this is the first book I have read on the Kindle that I have wanted the hard copy of. The novel by Carolyn Zane is loosely cased on the Joplin & Tuscaloosa tornadoes of 2011. I could really visualize the tornado & aftermath having seen the tornado footage from Tuscaloosa & the damage to the towns of Greensburg, Kansas, which was wiped out by a 2007 tornado, & Joplin. This is a story of strength, forgiveness, surviving a natural disaster & hope for the future. You definitely need to have a box of Kleenex by your side as you read.

As the story opens it is the morning of the tornado. Times given throughout the chapters serve as a countdown to the tornado. Radio broadcasts track the storm & warn residents of the approaching tornado. One of the statements the weatherman says is that "Aside from the actual twister, complacency is probably the most dangerous thing of all." You see this later when a newby asks if the storm warning siren doesn't mean they should run for cover now & a local tells him that no, they get them all the time in the spring. I know that local's feeling. I've been known to go outside looking for the tornado when the sirens have sounded. As the tornado hits it may be hard for some who have gone through something like this to read. In the aftermath of the tornado, Abigail starts picking up scraps of fabric she finds as she wonders through the destruction. Her aunt's house isn't hit so 3 other families join her aunt & her in a communal living arrangement. Abigail's aunt owned the quilt shop in town & she knows that quilting will help this "family" to heal from the disaster. The scraps that Abigail has picked up becomes the basis for this quilt. Each person creates their own square & even friends of the family become involved. This quilt becomes a Storm Signal quilt & it does help in the healing. Even though there are heart wrenching moments, there are also some funny ones like then the guys are trying the tie the quilt. First time I've heard of using pliers to quilt a quilt.

I highly recommend this book. Even though it is part of a series all the books stand alone.

Introducing the Quilts of Love series is an article at Novel Crossing discussing the series.

I originally wrote this blog for Disleelandia but never got it sent to them so I'm posting it here. 

My grandparents owned a restaurant when I was growing up. My grandmother recently passed away 2 months shy of 100 & we are now cleaning out her house. We have come across several Disney items that I have claimed but I was surprised by one item I would never have associated with Disney. As owners of a restaurant my grandparents would go to restaurant shows. At one in 1961 they picked up “The Aunt Jemima Basic Batter Plan for pancake variety & profit growth. A new method for reaching maximum pancake preparation efficiency, varied menu & top profit margins. Created specifically for the restaurant operator & pancake specialty house.”  This manual was produced by Quaker Oats. It not only talked about how to produce pancakes efficiently & merchandise them for the best profitability but it also included recipes. There were the basic Adirondack pancakes, which are a stack of 3 pancakes topped with sweetened whipped cream & maple syrup. Then there are the more exotic like Ham Pancakes Rarebit which has ham stirred into the batter. They are stacked & topped with cheese Rarebit & garnished with strips of pimiento. There are pancakes with potatoes or oatmeal stirred into the batter, waffles, crepes & blinis. There’s even an Ice Cream Waffle Sandwich. 

Now I’m sure you’re wondering what this has to do with Disney. Well, I was going to throw this manual into the garbage until I got to the next to last page. It said “Aunt Jemima’s experience is based on the actual operation of the most famous pancake house in the world, Aunt Jemima’s Kitchen, Disneyland”. The last page was the menu for Aunt Jemima’s Kitchen. I was amazed that you could feed a family of 4 juice, eggs, bacon & sausage, waffles & pancakes & drink for $4.95. Can 1 person get all that for $4.95 now adays. Of course as soon as I saw the word “Disneyland”, I knew I couldn’t throw this manual out. While the basic pancake mix recipe was for 65 – 100 pancakes, the pancake recipes were for 1 pancake serving so I can use these at home especially since Aunt Jemima mixes are still being produced.

2013. What will the new year bring. This past year has brought the death of my grandmother at age 99. A new job at Amish Acres which I loved. Met so many new people from around the world. I completed Disney College Of Knowledge making me a Disney travel agent. If anyone needs help planning a trip to Disney or a Disney cruise please contact me (574-546-3275 or becky@enchantedearstravel.com). I'm hoping 2013 will bring a better paying job, an advancement in my Disney planning business & more travel.

Mattercam

I must confess. I'm a Mattercamaholic. Ever since I saw a post on Facebook about the Mattercam of Disneyland on the Howard Johnson by Disneyland Park website, I have been watching it. I have it bookmarked on my iPod Touch so I can check it throughout the day. On the weekends I try to catch World of Color & the fireworks. It'll be fun to watch the action on June 15th when Carsland opens. Right now there's a construction wall in front of it although they recently got the waterfall going & the camera has started shooting it also. This summer the mountain climbers are coming back to the Matterhorn so it will be fun to watch them climb the mountain. I've never been to Disneyland, I'm more a Walt Disney World girl, but these cameras have made me want to go there at least once. That's a lot longer haul than WDW for this Northern Indiana girl but maybe someday.

Fitzgeraald Bay

I have been reading Love Inspired Suspense 2012 continuing series Fitzgerald Bay. In the first book Olivia Henry is killed. By the third book I think I had figured it out. I just completed book 5. My theory still holds & some of my suspicions were confirmed. There was a shock in 5 that I didn't like. This is not a spoiler since I haven't read the 6th & final book yet, this is my hypothesis. I believe Christina Hennessy killed Olivia because Olivia is the Hennessy's adopted daughter, Georgina's birth mother & she wanted her baby back. Christina couldn't let that happen since the baby was so important to her husband Burke. Now who Georgina's father is I don't know. I'd like to think it is Conner Hennessy & his father adopted his daughter to cover up a family scandal. Will see how accurate my theory is. I'm about to start the last book.

Update: I was right about some things, there were some curves thrown in & of course everyone in the family lives happily ever after.

Duck who thought she was a Martin

I have never seen this. A female mallard landed on the top of the Martin house & for a while I wasn't sure if she was going to get off. The Martins tried to dive-bomb her with no success. All she did was squawk at them. They finally settled for one standing on each side of the roof with the females standing in front of the doors to their nests. Eventually she got tired of standing up there & flew off. Her mate joined her in the lake. Later saw the two of them being chased by another Drake. Have no idea why she thought the top of the Martin house was a good place to land.

Titanic

I'm watching Titanic: the Final Word with James Cameron. I feel frustration. I think my feelings have changed since visiting the Titanic Museum last October. I used to be fascinated with how it sank; now it doesn't matter to me how it broke apart. It kind of detracts from the story. Titanic hit an iceberg & sank. That's what happened. The real story to me has become the passengers' stories. One of my favorite parts of the visit to the Museum was the kids' audio tour. It has the kids looking for Miss Frou Frou, a dog that looks like my nieces' dog Coco. She was owned by Mrs. Helen Bishop who received her as a wedding present from her husband. The story for the kids' audio tour is Frou Frou is running loose around the boat & you need to find her. Frou Frou is found but unfortunately she doesn't survive the sinking. When you "board" the Titanic Museum, you are given a card with a description of a passenger. You look through the displays for objects or stories associated with your person. In the Memorial Room you find out if you lived or died. Grandma & I lived; Mom died.

Now watching Saving Titanic with Bob Ballard. I love Bob Ballard. I feel bad for him. You can see he feels some responsibility for the current tragedy of Titanic being exploited. I wonder if he regrets not taking a piece from the wreckage when they found it in 1985. If he had, he would have had the salvage rights & could have protected it from scavenger hunters & sightseers. He cares about the stories & not how Titanic broke up. To me stories are what make life meaningful. That is why we practice aural history in our family. We pass the family stories from one person & generation to another. We should probably write the family stories down so they won't be lost. Some will be scrapbooked; some will be lost to the ages but as long as someone in the family cares about the family history, the stories will survive.