These stories are dedicated to my grandchildren, the eager listeners who encouraged me, again and again, to "tell me a story." 
I hope that hidden in the stories are numerous family values: appreciation and care for one another, enjoyment of life, curiosity, education, sharing, adventure, humor... 
"Critter" stories are part of my memoirs - preserving family events and giving something of myself, and my love, to my children and grandchildren...and you.

Grandma, Tell Me a Story...About Critters (The Grandma, Tell Me a Story)

Science & Math

Ransford, Lynn

Biological Sciences

Lucky Valley Press

"Grandma, tell me a story," was the request that came at bedtime or sitting together on the porch swing or, most often, from the back seat on long car trips. 
"O.K. What kind of story would you like to hear?" I asked. 
"Any story... maybe about when you were young, or when my Dad was little...How about the times when you got lost?" Or, "Tell me about your pets when you lived on the chicken farm...like when your dog got hit by a car or about Tough-y, your pet rooster." 
However, bear stories were the favorite. "But you've heard all the bear stories so many times," I'd protest. 
Each grandchild always countered with a convincing explanation. "I like to hear them over and over, especially when Grandpa was charged by grizzly bears. Did Grandpa really cry?" 
So, by popular demand, I'll begin with stories about bears. 
These are dedicated to my grandchildren, the eager listeners who encouraged me, again and again, to "tell me a story."

Grandma, Tell Me a Story...About Bears (The Grandma, Tell Me a Story)

Soup is universally loved: on a cold day, it feels good to wrap your fingers around a warm cup of Tomato Bisque; in the sickbed, just the aroma of Chicken Noodle Soup makes you feel better, nurtured and well fed. At the bottom of a ski run, a fall picnic, in a lunchbox thermos or on the table, a bowl of soup brings a warm glow to the body, gives strength and brings a smile and a sigh as the spoon is dipped in the broth. Ginna BB Gordon has spent her lifetime studying the art of soup. From Bonnebrook Farm in Ohio to the Chopra Center kitchen in La Jolla, and in all her professional and home kitchens in between, soup has been on the menu. Not just a book of 77 delicious recipes, The Soup Kit is a map to good soup. It contains everything a cook needs to know about the subject: a little history, a lot of spice and herb combos borrowed from other cultures, notes about thickeners and other additions, the right vegetable cut for the right end result, when to add which ingredient and more for soup that has layers of flavor and is chock full of nutrition.

The Soup Kit

Cookbooks, Food & Wine

Gordon, Ginna B B

Main Courses & Side Dishes

Thank you my readers for your willingness to be inspired. We never know where our answers might lie. Our most important insights may come from a sentence in a book. I hope this is true for you. Creating this book is the answer to a dream for me. I have wanted to be a writer since I was thirteen, but in those early days I had nothing to say. After I wrote THE COURAGE TO GRIEVE and then YOU DON'T HAVE TO SUFFER, I thought I was done writing books. Still I never stopped wanting to inspire others with ideas about living well. It has always disturbed me that there is no training to be a human being, no lessons in coping with trauma, illness, loss and tragedy. Ours is a world filled with people learning in hit or miss ways how to confront the inevitable troubles and sorrows in life or how to have satisfying lives and successful relationships. Unfortunately there is also no training for the biggest jobs most of us take on - like being a parent or a spouse. It's startling that we have so little assistance or support for dealing with the things that matter most to us in life. Seeing that we really don't have any "curriculum" other than our own trial and error ways for coping with our emotional lives led me to write all of my books and now these articles. Beginning my newsletter project, I thought or hoped to write maybe fifteen articles at most. Instead I have found an endless stream of inspiration, the sharing of which has been one of the greatest joys in my life. This book came as a surprise to me. My hope is that it is valuable for you. I am living Goethe's words: "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." May those words encourage you too in whatever are your endeavors.

Inspiration for Living

TATELBAUM, Judy

Parenting & Relationships

After decades of singing the music of J. S. Bach and lecturing about his life in the 18th century, renowned Bach tenor David Gordon has compiled this personal collection of historical anecdotes, scholarly explanations, vintage illustrations, time lines, bits of pathos, gritty descriptions of everyday life, and colorful glimpses of Bach and the world around him. The Little Bach Book is a series of vignettes of Johann Sebastian Bach as a life-long salaried professional musician. These Bach scenes are presented in a rich context of middle-class daily life in Saxony in the early 18th century. What did people eat, drink, and wear, how did they bathe and cook? What fuels heated and illuminated their homes? How many weekly church services were there in Leipzig in 1727, and how many taverns? The central subject of this richly illustrated book is J. S. Bach, but nearly half the pages are devoted to engaging and detailed descriptions of the everyday world that surrounded him. Both elements contain the unexpected. This book is a refreshingly down-to-earth look at Bach's life and times, not an analysis of his music. For the newcomer to Bach, for the experienced listener, and for the general history buff, this book will be entertaining, moving, and sometimes surprising.

The Little Bach Book: An eclectic Omnibus of Notable Details about the Life and Times of the esteemed and highly respected Johann Sebastian Bach

Biographies & Memoirs

Gordon, David J.

Arts & Literature

Honey Baby Darlin' is a multi-volume series memoir about cooking, love and the love of cooking, in which many beloved characters help to develop a young girl's consciousness about food, the art of nurturing, and the kitchen. It tracks the journey of a girl cook on her quest to create beauty, to nurture, to comfort and to please palates: to hear the sighs of the well-fed. The Gingerbread Farm, Farm #2 in the Honey Baby Darlin' Series, follows Glory as she explores the 60s and 70s - from her grandfather's farm in Ohio to the Gingerbread Farm on California's beautiful Carmel Coastline. It is the 70s, and her pantry bulges with whole grains, the windowsills carry trays of sprouting seeds, and chickens once again scratch 'n scrabble in the backyard. Includes 160+ recipes and a few historical nuggets, both culinary and pop-cultural.

The Gingerbread Farm: Farm Two in the Honey Baby Darlin' Series

Twenty-one year old Sandy Connors is a very curious green-eyed blonde, whose fascination for mysteries takes her on some wild journeys. In true Nancy Drew fashion, our girl detective, brave and intrepid, follows every clue to solve a puzzle, leaving no stone unturned as she moves ever forward, her mind always on the solutions.  In this first book of the Sandy Connors Mystery Series, Sandy is challenged to discover just what is the Clue in the Old Ring, and who wanted it badly enough to steal it?  This page turning mystery novel will charm young adult readers and invite them into the world of Sandy Connors.

The Clue in the Old Ring

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Rosenbaum, Stephanie

Mystery

"The circumstances and challenges of our time call for wise counsel and disciplined practice. Jesus and the Practice of the Golden Rule - A Book of Hours offers each of us just these gifts." Here is an inspired companion to daily prayer and generous service. What began for the author as a study of the golden rule in its several iterations became a deeper consideration of the transforming power of empathy and forgiveness that Jesus brought to this principle which lies at the heart of all of the world's religions and great philosophies. The format of the book is taken from books of hours, the devotional resources of the Middle Ages designed to nurture the spiritual lives of lay Christians. It is arranged in seven days, Sunday through Saturday, setting aside four times during each day, Morning, Day, Evening, and Night, for reading, meditation, and prayer. The readings are from the Christian scriptures and the Hebrew psalms, and the prayers are from several religious traditions. Included in the prayers, introits, and benedictions are poetry and comments by the author. Jesus and the Practice of the Golden Rule - A Book of Hours is intended to be a useful devotional tool in the real life practice of the golden rule. It is not about doctrine; rather it is about energizing the practice of loving God and your neighbor. It will help feed your soul and expand your service to those around you. All the proceeds from the sale of this book will be contributed to UNICEF, in support of their work improving the lives of children around the world.

Jesus and the Practice of the Golden Rule

Religion & Spirituality

Art Schuller

Christian Books & Bibles

Carmel-by-the-Sea, a little town on the California coast, was one of the artistic hot spots of the West in the early 1920s, when two extraordinary women paid a visit one spring, and never left. Dene Denny and Hazel Watrous designed Carmel's first art gallery, and three dozen of its early houses. They founded the Carmel Music Society in 1927, and-in the midst of the Great Depression-they created the Carmel Bach Festival. For two decades they ran a successful repertory theater in Monterey and a major performing arts series in San José. In a man's world, their partnership brought music and harmony to Central California and far beyond. Carmel Impresarios is a cultural biography of these two amazing pioneers in music, architecture, design, and the arts. The book spans more than a century of history (1830-1960) and includes nearly 300 vintage photos and illustrations. It places the life and work of Denny and Watrous within the context of the artistic, intellectual, and cultural currents of early 20th century California.

Carmel Impresarios: A cultural biography of Dene Denny and Hazel Watrous

Twenty-one year old Sandy Connors is a very curious green-eyed blonde, whose fascination for mysteries takes her on some wild journeys. In true Nancy Drew fashion, our girl detective, brave and intrepid, follows every clue to solve a puzzle, leaving no stone unturned as she moves ever forward, her mind always on the solutions. In this second book of the Sandy Connors Mystery Series, Sandy is challenged to discover the reason a station wagon was abandoned on her street, and it's possible connection to a missing child. This page turning mystery novel will charm young adult readers and invite them into the world of Sandy Connors.

The Abandoned Car

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