Latest Editions to My Library & Gifts to Others

I purchased the following two books:

• "Mid-Atlantic Gardener's Guide:  Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.", by Andre and Mark Viette with Jacqueline Heriteau.
• National Georgaphic, "50 Best Girlfriend Getaways in North America", by Marybeth Bond.

Gifts from my sister to me:

• "Manual for Living:  Epictetus", A New Intrepretation by Sharon Lebell.
• "Mamma Mia!:  The Movie Soundtrack Featuring the Songs of ABBA.

Gifts to my cat lady neighbor, who cared for the fur children while I was away for an extended weekend trip up north:

• "Cat Biz: A Compendium of Amazing Facts and Anecdotes from the Cat World", by  Amanda O'Neill
• (Scanned through this cat book the evening before I presented it to her.  Fascinating facts and stories, etc.)

• "The Boston Globe Illustrated New England Seafood Cookbook", by Jasper White

Books to Give as Gifts

Nine years ago, I was the maid of honor for my college roommate’s wedding.   She and her husband are currently off on an extended weekend vacation to have some private, honeymoon time together; which is very much needed.

It has been a rough year for them.  Mainly, my friend’s husband had to undergo a second open heart surgery operation, as the first operation six years ago was botched and the heart repair had severely restricted some of the blood flow through his heart valves.

Sometimes a celebratory card is in order for occasions’ such as anniversaries.  But, at times I prefer to give a book, as I did for my friend after her engagement.  That book was “What No One Tells the Bride: Surviving the Wedding…”.

The book that I am going to send her in celebration of her anniversary is a humorous little book entitled “101 Uses For A Bridesmaid Dress”. 

The author got her inspiration from stories she had heard, such as one woman who dug a hole in her back yard and buried her bridesmaid dress or the one that cut up a dress and used the fabric to wash her car.

From there she started jotting down notes for a variety of humorous ways one could re-use their dress or dresses and thus along with an illustrator a tongue and cheek book was born.

My bridesmaid dress for my friend’s wedding was actually very neutral and would have easily been worn again at another formal occasion.  It is long gone, as after the wedding, I took it to the dry cleaner and never got the gown back after he repeatedly told me he would take care of his store’s damage.  In the end, I had to take him to small claims court.

Yes, the judge ruled in my favor.  But, I have not one bridesmaid gown in my closet.

Now, my friend’s cousin, who was also a bridesmaid in the wedding… Well, she ordered the wrong size and received a gown that was far too small and could not be returned.  She, on the other hand, now has two identical gowns in two sizes!

My friend was a bridesmaid in a number of weddings and still has them hanging in her cedar closet. 

Nine years after her wedding and having been a bridesmaid for a number of family members and friends, I am hoping she gets a good chuckle out of the book.  I think that she will especially laugh over my favorite use; which I plan on placing a Post-it Note to mark the page, prior to sending her the book.

“101 Uses For A Bridesmaid Dress”, by Cindy Walker with illustrations by Donna Mehalko

The other book that I tripped upon was “The Grandmother’s Book” that I think would serve as a wonderful gift from the parents to be to their parents or as a baby shower gift that eventually will come back to the child after the grandmother has completed inserting her input and thoughts in her own writing into the pages of the book.

I want to send this book to my mother to fill out so that as her child, I will have a handwritten record of family and the little things that make up our history.

I am also pondering purchasing additional copies for my paternal aunt and uncle, as they could provide insight into that side of the family, as well as modifying responses to document more about who they are and about my grandparents.

“Grandmother’s Book”, by Marcia O. Levin

Homespun Gifts from the Heart

Reference books, what can I say, I just can not quench the thirst for knowledge and ideas that these books offer as a source of entertainment and learning.   Thus the ever growing collection of how-to books and other like reference materials.

Yes, some books I can pass up such as the Starbuck’s recipe book, I had in my paws this week. 

The defining test is to take the time and sit down to examine the contents of the book prior to getting to the cash register, if in a brick and mortar store. 

This is what I did with the Starbucks book and I am glad I did.  I found myself a chair and examined the pages while resting in a chair and decided quickly, that I did not need it. 

I told myself that there are plenty of recipes out there related to foods that can be served with coffee in recipe books I already own and for free via the Internet.  “Wake up, I thought, and realize that it is not unique recipes this book is selling, it is Starbuck’s and Starbuck’s coffee.”

Ha!  One book that did not follow me home like a lost puppy.

Another book was also recipe related and was rather large.  Yet, I carried it around the store thinking I would purchase it, as its cover art and copy gave the impression of generations’ worth of old southern recipes. 

NOT. 

Once I sat down and looked through the pages, I discovered it was more artistic nouveau cuisine, as opposed to good old classic southern country cooking. 

Another book put right back on the shelf.

A book that I did purchase this week is entitled “HOMESPUN GIFTS FROM THE HEART:  200 Creative Ideas, 250 Gift Tags & Easy Directions”, written by Karen Ehman, Kelly Hovermale and Trish Smith.

What caught my eye is in the back section of the book; “Gift Tags & Labels” there are pages and pages of 250 tags and labels to go along with the food and gift items from the front of the book. 

Not only are they artistic and in good taste, design wise, but they also have optional tags that include the recipe for the pre-made item (or) in the event it is a dry mix, it includes a list of wet ingredients and what other instructions are needed to complete the recipe.

The authors of the book first started “Homespun Gifts From The Heart” for women’s and church groups and with their mixture of various talents finally put their wisdom, ideas and designs into a nicely packaged book.

I did not read that last page, until after I purchased the book.  Though last night I had been thinking how well this book would present itself to a women’s guild, at a church for ideas on what to make and sell for a church fair and fundraiser.

The book has some not so main stream recipes, such as cinnamon spiced nuts and hot drink recipes consisting of the dry ingredients.  These are some of the many creative recipes that can be packaged in a nice cellophane bag or other choice container.  Afterwards, pull it all together with a decorative cord or ribbon and a copy of the appropriate tag from the back of the book.

Voila!

There are even such things as a recipe for dog biscuits and craft ideas and plans for homemade Christmas stockings.

Another final and interesting note from the last page of the book is that it lists each of the author’s biographies.  Not only are they all mothers.  They also all home school their children.

My mother is a member of her church guild and continues to enjoy and work on church fairs along with other church members.  Definitely, I will be passing along an idea or two from this book for her to share with her guild members, as well as experimenting with some homespun gifts of my own when the occasion arises.

I say, give the book a gander by accessing the link I provided at the top of this piece to view on Amazon.com.  ;^)