Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 11-30-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

I'm feeling a bit melancholy today and pondering the big question, "What's it all about?"

I'm not surprised this is how I'm feeling, because whenever I finish a project (my latest, the Thanksgiving reunion I orchestrated for our family at my home), there's a bit of a letdown, and I find myself feeling a little lost and wondering, "What did I used to do 'before'? Before I was working on organizing a family reunion?"

In the past after finishing a project, I'd rest for a day, maybe two, and then dig right into something new. Jumping-in would be easy for me to do this time, too. It's the holiday season, so I could grab hold of the Christmas spirit, get the decorations out of storage, untangle lights, put up a tree, decorate outdoors, and dig out my holiday cookie recipes. But even though my mind is telling me it would be logical to jump right into Christmas, my heart isn't ready to move on. I need to savor our Thanksgiving reunion a while longer. It was a big thing in my life and I want to spend more time thinking about our time together, so when I do move on, the sweet memories are fresh in my mind and ready to move on with me.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher 
[email protected]
www.muffinsandmayhem.com

* This month's Penguin Classics book is AN AFRICAN MILLIONAIRE by Grant Allen. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/12NovClassics

 

 

 

Dear Reader Column 11-29-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

When I was a kid, every few years the Shappell clan (my grandmother's side of the family) would reunite underneath one of the park shelters in Dubuque, Iowa. Everyone in the family brought a dish to pass. My grandmother loved to cook and always brought a picnic basket-full. There must have 50 aunts, uncles, first and second cousins (some once removed), I never really understood how the lineage tree worked (still don't), and I didn't know anyone except my grandparents, but the gathering made me feel like I had family. Family who automatically took a shine to me, and cared about me because we were "kin."

I never formed any lasting relationships with anyone on the Shappell side of the family, maybe because I was just a kid when the reunions were held. But the experience and feeling of family gathering together has stayed with me, and it's one of the things that inspired me to organize a family reunion this past Thanksgiving. It was an amazing experience. Fourteen of us gathered together for the six day reunion, and it was everything I'd hoped for and more. The best part is that unlike the Shappell reunion, our family coming together has indeed formed closer bonds. So even though we're miles apart, email, SKYPE, text messaging and speed dial, will make it easy to stay in touch and continue our conversations.

When I was planning the reunion I knew it was important to me, but I never had a clue, until everyone went home, how spending time together would change my life. If my grandmother was still here, I would thank her for setting the example of how important family really is, because the memories we created at our Thanksgiving reunion will forever be my own personal storybook--one that I'll love to read again and again.

*The foot poster painting was one of the activities I'd planned. Some people were leery at first, but eventually everyone took off their shoes, and dipped their toes in the paint. Don't miss the photos. You'll find them at: http://tinyurl.com/reunionfps

(A cab driver did run over my bubble machine, but thankfully it survived and I'm still in the bubble business.)

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
www.muffinsandmayhem.com

* This month's Penguin Classics book is AN AFRICAN MILLIONAIRE by Grant Allen. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/12NovClassics

 

 

Dear Reader Column 11-28-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

The big Beecher Thanksgiving family reunion ends today. My husband and I will be making two final trips to the airport. Fourteen people, hotel and airline schedules, lunch and dinner for everybody for six days, some people wanted to go fishing, some wanted to go to the beach, "let's make caramel apples," "I don't like fish, do you have any lasagna?" and the cab driver ran over my bubble machine. Stories and photos tomorrow. We all had a grand time.

Today let me share a favorite column of mine that I wrote years ago in 2008, and unfortunately some nights it's still true.

I'm big on making lists. I feel so good when I can draw a line through another completed task. Way to go, Suzanne! But sometimes a list works against me because it's not as simple as drawing a line through an item, especially if it's a list of problems and it's three in the morning. Last night was one of those nights.

I woke up at three, started thinking about all the things that have been bugging me, and I put them on a list. Bad idea, because every hour--on the hour--I felt the need to take roll call, just to make sure that all of my problems stayed fresh in my mind until morning.

"Problems, may I have your attention please! When I call your name, acknowledge, by giving me another kick in the gut. Because I certainly don't want to get any sleep tonight."

And of course, I didn't.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
www.muffinsandmayhem.com

* This month's Penguin Classics book is AN AFRICAN MILLIONAIRE by Grant Allen. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/12NovClassics

 

 

 

Dear Reader Column 11-27-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

Doing a little holiday housekeeping today.

Remember to keep the book club fun, especially during this busy time of year. If a book isn't a good match for you, hit the delete key. You're not being a bad boy or girl and Santa will still leave a present for you.

If you ever miss getting your daily email, or accidentally deleted one you meant to keep, you can find previous emails at: http://www.emailbookclub.com/miss or you can drop me an email and I will be happy to send you the read.

If you'd like to make some holiday cookies, but cutouts are too big of an undertaking, try my Candy Cane Cookies. You'll find the recipe and a photo from a reader who made the cookies with her daughter. The photo shows a picture of the cookies, so you'll see what the final product should look like. No rolling pin needed, just two hands to roll two ropes of dough, then lay one on top of the other, turn the top corner down to form the head of the candy cane. You'll end up with not only impressive looking cookies, they taste fabulous, too! For the recipe and photo, go to: http://tinyurl.com/candycanecookies

* Guest Columnist Rachael Herron is sending a copy of her new book, Wishes and Stitches to Cathy Selmi. Congratulations!

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Warmest regards,
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
www.muffinsandmayhem.com

* This month's Penguin Classics book is AN AFRICAN MILLIONAIRE by Grant Allen. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/12NovClassics

 

 

 

Dear Reader Column 11-26-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

After reading today's guest column I'm inspired to put away my heavy coffee mugs, and get out my delicate china cups and saucers. Welcome to guest columnist, author Erica Bauermeister, the bestselling author of two previous titles, The School of Essential Ingredients and Joy for Beginners. Her new book, The Lost Art of Mixing will be released this coming January 24. Erica says she recently moved to the small town of Port Townsend, Washington and is enjoying remembering what it's like to walk everywhere, including down the middle of the street.

Send an email, say hello and Erica also has 10 advanced reading copies of The Lost Art of Mixing to give away to readers. (Be sure to include your postal address in case you're a winner.)

Email: [email protected]

Take it away Erica...

We moved house recently, to a small Victorian seaport about two hours outside of Seattle. Life has changed, in so many ways. Now there is a yellow plum tree outside my office window. Late this August, it exploded with plums, golden globes of liquid sugar, just barely contained by their skins, glowing against the green leaves. Far too many for us to eat, too full of juice to dehydrate, and there were too many moving boxes still left to unpack to even think of making jam.

So I ate dozens of plums, warm from the afternoon sun; I crushed them into a puree for smoothies and plum martinis. I gave a huge bowl to our local restaurant chef, who turned them into a luscious sauce for pork chops. I handed over bags full of fruit to a neighbor, who did have the time to make jam and one day when I returned home there was a lovely jewel of a jar sitting by my front door: "Shiro plum with lemon."

This morning I woke to sun pouring in our windows, a gift on a fall morning in the Pacific Northwest. I went downstairs and put the stovetop espresso maker on the burner, waiting for the tiny hurricane of sound that means the coffee is making its way from the base through the grounds to the top. I steamed milk and watched its color change as I added the espresso, then sprinkled sugar across the top to form a haze of sweetness. From the red and blue package in the cupboard I took out a McVities digestive, a breakfast tradition that always reminds me of a summer spent hitchhiking through Ireland in my early twenties, that glorious sense of discovery that comes with your first trip alone. Across the circle of biscuit, I spread cream cheese, and a layer of yellow jam.

It all took time, much more than simply pouring a cup of coffee from the family pot. Precious minutes that a month ago I would have sworn I needed to unpack a box or paint a room. But this morning, sitting in the quiet of a sleeping small town, a warm mug in one hand and the last golden moments of summer in the other, it seemed like those small rituals, those bits of unnecessary extravagance, are what life is all about.

In the spirit of unnecessary extravagance, my wonderful publisher, G.P. Putnam's Sons, is giving away 10 ARCs of The Lost Art of Mixing. To enter, send an email to [email protected] and tell me about a small ritual that makes a difference in your day.

All the best, Erica

Email Erica and enter her giveaway: [email protected]

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
www.muffinsandmayhem.com

* This month's Penguin Classics book is AN AFRICAN MILLIONAIRE by Grant Allen. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/12NovClassics

 

 

 

Dear Reader Column 11-23-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

Our family reunion is in full swing, and today is our foot painting day. Not to worry, I'll be taking plenty of photos to share. If you missed my column about our family Thanksgiving foot painting, you'll find it at: http://tinyurl.com/paintingfeet

Readers emailed ideas that have made their family gatherings memorable.

From my Email Bag:

"Loved your story about the footprints! About 15 years ago I bought a tablecloth and a gold paint pen. While everyone was there at Thanksgiving, they signed their name to the tablecloth and added the date. Even the little ones 'signed/drew' something and we added the date. We do this every year. Now we have signatures of those who have went on to be with the Lord right next to brand new little ones' signatures. It's pretty awesome to go back and look at!"--Vickie

"I love your idea of everyone having a footprint poster. Starting when my kids were little, I had them put their handprints on a Christmas tree skirt each year, I also added the date. It's the skirt I always use for the Christmas tree which holds their ornaments. I really love looking at their hands at different sizes though the years."-- Teresa

"My mom has a cabin at the lake. When it was first built she had white pull-down shades. Anytime anyone went to the cabin they signed the shade with a permanent marker and the date they were there. She still has the shade. I always enjoy remembering with you."--Pamela

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
www.muffinsandmayhem.com

* This month's Penguin Classics book is AN AFRICAN MILLIONAIRE by Grant Allen. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/12NovClassics

AUTHORBUZZ: THE GUILTY ONES (Thriller) by Joanna Crispi

As summer turns to autumn in Rome, defense attorney, Juliet de Fournier, her husband, Francois, a wealthy Parisian banker, and Mike Chase, an experienced New York prosecutor, find themselves trapped in an anguished triangle of passion and deception as events unfold in the prosecution of an international conspiracy where the stakes go beyond the courtroom.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE GUILTY ONES to read more and to email author Joanna Crispi, you'll get a reply.

 

Dear Reader Column 11-22-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who live in the United States.

My family and I are having our big turkey dinner on Saturday, because it was more economical for everyone to fly into Sarasota today.

Happy thanksgiving. Gobble Gobble.

Thanks for reading with me. It is truly a blessing for me to be able to read with friends like you every day.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
www.muffinsandmayhem.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Fun, free books and meet authors. Ask questions, they'll reply and read samples from their books. Visit AuthorBuzz at: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

(Thriller)
WEAPON OF CHOICE by Patricia Gussin

(Fantasy)
FLESHER by Emily Shore

(NonFiction)
YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING by Joe Wenke

(Thriller)
THE GUILTY ONES by Joanna Crispi

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

* This month's Penguin Classics book is AN AFRICAN MILLIONAIRE by Grant Allen. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/12NovClassics

 

 

 

Dear Reader Column 11-21-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

If you're like me, you like to plan ahead, so I'm planning to make Turkey Pies after our big Thanksgiving dinner. It's an easy way to get rid of leftovers and I do it every year.

Suzanne's Leftover Turkey Pie Recipe

Buy ready-made crusts (this is the one day of the year I don't roll my own). The other ingredients are all from leftovers: turkey, a little dressing, dice an onion, add leftover vegetables--cut up the relish tray and dump it into the pie or open a bag of frozen vegetables, pour the leftover gravy on top (or if Uncle Fred polished off the gravy, use a can of gravy) add the top crust, bake in a 400 degree oven until golden brown and you've got the perfect leftover turkey pie. It's as simple as that.

I'm taking the rest of the day off.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
www.muffinsandmayhem.com

* This month's Penguin Classics book is AN AFRICAN MILLIONAIRE by Grant Allen. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/12NovClassics

AUTHORBUZZ: YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING (NonFiction) by Joe Wenke

Why was Lot's wife turned into a pillar of salt? Were there no other seasonings available? How did anyone miss the fact that Samson was hairy again? And who lost Jesus' baby book? YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING: The Cultural Arsonist's Literal Reading of the Bible. It's an engaging, provocative and hilarious investigation into the bestselling book of all time.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING to read more and to email author Joe Wenke, you'll get a reply.

 

 

Dear Reader Column 11-20-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

Holidays are wonderful because they bring families together. Unfortunately, at every holiday some of our loved ones aren't with us any longer, but isn't it funny how they always seem to show up in spirit?

Every Thanksgiving when our family sits down to eat dinner, someone--usually my son--retells the story about the year my mother cooked her now-famous Turkey Drumstick Thanksgiving Dinner.

In memory of my mother...

Some people want the white meat, some will only eat the dark, and for years our family members used to argue over who was going to get the turkey drumsticks on Thanksgiving. Every year it was the same routine. My mother would ring her china bell, "Dinner is ready. Come to the table," and we'd all start calling "dibs" on a turkey leg.

When there are only two turkey legs, but ten people want one...well, it used to be a huge problem until the year my mother made her famous Turkey Drumstick Thanksgiving Dinner.

It seemed like a normal enough Thanksgiving meal, until my mother announced, "I've got a surprise. No one will be disappointed this year. Everybody gets a drumstick, because that's all that I cooked." And Mom plopped down a serving platter, piled high with 20 turkey legs, in the middle of the table. "Dig in."

This felt a little strange. What, no bird this year? Only drumsticks?

Mom was smiling, so proud she'd finally found a solution for the annual turkey leg squabble. Apparently she'd begun working on this year's Thanksgiving surprise the day after our last Thanksgiving dinner. Clipping coupons and always keeping an eye out for a turkey leg sale, my mother had been buying up turkey legs for the past year. It sounded okay in theory, but either Mom didn't wrap the legs in freezer paper, or the turkey legs were on sale because they were near their expiration dates, or it was just a bad year for turkeys--because when we tried to stick a fork into our drumsticks--we couldn't!

I'm not exaggerating here, the turkey legs were nowhere near fork-tender. The tines of our forks actually bounced off of our drumsticks when we tried to pierce them. A table knife wouldn't even saw through the sinewy--who knows how old--freezer burnt, turkey legs. My son suggested we fire-up the chain saw.

Sometimes when you try to solve a problem, it merely shows up in another form. Those were some tough birds. We ended up dueling with our turkey drumsticks instead of eating them. And the next year--nobody in our family fought over drumsticks. Nobody even wanted to look at a drumstick, the memories were still too fresh in our minds.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
www.muffinsandmayhem.com

* This month's Penguin Classics book is AN AFRICAN MILLIONAIRE by Grant Allen. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/12NovClassics

AUTHORBUZZ: FLESHER (Fantasy) by Emily Shore

What Ashleigh hides in her basement is a curse worthy of eternal condemnation? Garrett, her fiance who nightly becomes a zombie, or those her people call fleshers. Will Ash find a cure for Garrett before they find him and kill him? A love story by nature, "Flesher" awakens deep and dark enigmas which stir your soul's very roots and leave you stalking the pages at night.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on FLESHER to find out more about the book and the author, Emily Shore. Send her an email, she'd love to hear from you.

 

Dear Reader Column 11-19-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

With the Thanksgiving holiday only a few days away (for those of us in the USA), book club readers Heidi and Markenna already know what dish they are making for the big feast.

From my Crock Pot Dressing Email Bag:

"I always love the holidays, it's family time and I get to spend time with my mom cooking. I remember as a kid, my sister and I were responsible for cleaning the meat off the turkey necks for the giblet gravy; I absolutely hated it. Now that I am an adult (34 years), skinning the turkey neck falls to my daughter and I have moved on to bigger and better things. I know how to make most of the meal but I don't know how to make the stuffing. So this year I am taking the day before Thanksgiving off, and I'm going to go help my mom cook, but I told her to leave the stuffing for me."--Markenna

"Thank you for sending this recipe early. I know I have it copied somewhere.... Anyway, we are trying something new this year, and I wanted to try your recipe as it looks like it will make a delicious moist stuffing, almost like it was cooked in the bird. My husband bought a turkey fryer and that's how we're cooking our turkeys this year. Of course I have to have stuffing, and just baking it in the oven tends to make it dry. I am happy to relinquish cooking duty to my hubby and I still will get my stuffing after all."--Heidi Zoll

If you missed getting a copy of the Crock Pot Dressing, here it is again.

Crock Pot Dressing

1 cup butter, melted
2 cups chopped onion
2 cups chopped celery
1/4 cup fresh parsley
2 cups mushrooms (if you use canned, drain them)
2 eggs beaten
3 1/2 to 4 1/2 cups chicken broth, or enough to moisten well
13 cups dried bread, cubed
1 1/2 teas. Poultry seasoning
2 teas. Salt
2 teas. Sage
1 teas. Thyme
1 teas. Pepper
1/2 teas. Marjoram, (optional)

Melt butter in fry pan and saute onion and celery until soft. Mix with remaining ingredients and toss well. Pack in large crock pot. Cover. Cook on high for 45 minutes, then turn to low and continue cooking for 6-8 hours. And while it's cooking tell your relatives about the online book clubs.

**Congratulations to the winners of Guest Columnist, Samantha Hoffman's new book What More Could You Wish For, Betty Burlingame, Anne Robertson, Mary Neville, Kathy Stenson and Joanne Hingston.

And the winners of my Muffins & Mayhem Cap Giveaway are: Amy Stenglein, Kathy Toeppner, Jean Uhl and Onie Wallace.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
www.muffinsandmayhem.com

* This month's Penguin Classics book is AN AFRICAN MILLIONAIRE by Grant Allen. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/12NovClassics

AUTHORBUZZ: WEAPON OF CHOICE (Thriller) by Patricia Gussin

The first case of AIDS in Tampa coincides with an outbreak of a rampant, lethal staph infection. And in Atlanta a covert white supremacist cell is about to unleash a bioterrorism attack on a massive scale. Are these events related? Dr. Laura Nelson, chief of surgery, in Tampa and Dr. Stacy Jones of the CDC in Atlanta join forces to create one serendipitous opportunity to save thousands of lives.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on WEAPON OF CHOICE to read more and to email author Patricia Gussin, you'll get a reply.