Dear Reader,
When I was a kid, I used to love to visit my Grandma and Grandpa Hale's house in the summertime. It kind of felt like I was going to summer camp at an orchard: red raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries, grapes, apples, pears, strawberries and popcorn--they all grew in Grandma and Grandpa’s backyard. My grandparents lived in the city, but nothing was built-up behind their home yet, so their backyard was more like the back forty.
Every morning, when I was staying overnight at Grandma’s house (which was frequently), it was the same routine. I'd stumble down the stairs still half asleep, walk into the kitchen, stick my head out the side screen door and yell, "Good morning Grandma". And she'd set aside her berry boxes, and come in and make me scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and a scoop of New York Vanilla ice cream--my favorite! (Was I spoiled, or what?)
My grandmother had already been up for a couple of hours picking raspberries--she had to--because at around 9 o'clock, neighborhood customers would start stopping by the house. She had a great word-of-mouth berry business. "Pocket money"--Grandma called it--"shoe money", I called it. Because every time I visited, she'd dip into her berry money, and I'd never go home without at least one, sometimes two, new pairs of shoes.
There was a shoe store off the downtown square, and when Grandma and I walked by it, we both knew what was going to happen. We'd walk past the store, and then I'd back up a bit, and stand in front of the store window looking at the shoes on display. Grandma would walk back, stand next to me and ask, "Do you need a new pair of shoes?"
"Well, I kind of like those shoes in the corner there, maybe I should try them on? Yea, I could probably use a new pair of shoes, Grandma..." About that time, the shoe man would recognize us, and wave us in. Because from past experience, he knew for sure he was going to sell a couple of pairs of shoes--real soon.
Thanks for reading with me. It’s so good to read with friends.
If you'd like to see photos of Grandma Hale and me, you can go here.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
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TREASURED (Fiction) by Lexi Blake
Who doesn't love a good treasure hunt? I grew up loving movies like "Romancing the Stone," and my new book is a little love note to that film. Of course there's a twist. This time our heroine is the brawn and the hero the brains. I hope it all makes for a fun romp where Tessa and David discover something far more valuable than gold. Enter to win one of five copies, click on the link to Authorbuzz and the book jacket to enter or email: [email protected]
Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on TREASURED to read more and to email author Lexi Blake, you'll get a reply.
This month's Penguin Classics book is THE TALE OF PRINCESS FATIMA, WARRIOR WOMAN: The Arabic Epic of Dhat al-Himma, translated and edited by Melanie Magidow. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.
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