A girl struggles to say goodbye to the family table until she discovers that a new, bigger table means more room for creating memories and welcoming loved ones in this heartwarming picture book perfect for fans of All Are Welcome, The Bench, and A Grand Day. Clare loves her family’s table—it’s the perfect size for homework help and pancake breakfasts. But with Grandpa moving in, Mama says they need a bigger one. Clare is excited for Grandpa’s arrival, but not ready to say goodbye to the old table. When the new table arrives, neighbors help clean, sand, and paint. Friends and family bring over puzzles and peaches to help make Grandpa feel at home. But it’s not until Clare helps Papa make Grandpa’s favorite treat that she finally sees how this table means more space for creating new memories. And that when it comes to the people you love, there’s always room for one more.
In World War II, Bill Dwyer served as a Stars & Stripes correspondent with the US Fourth Infantry Division in Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany (often in company with Collier’s correspondent Ernest Hemingway). He was a member of a six-man truce party who went behind enemy lines for three hours and worked to negotiate the surrender of Rothenburg, a walled Bavarian city dating to the 14th century. For this action he was awarded the Bronze Star.
From the time she could barely see over the space bar of her old manual typewriter, to writing her popular southern culture blog, Folkways Nowadays, author Audrey McDonald Atkins has been sharing her downhome stories and essays about life in the South. In They Call Me Orange Juice, Atkins provides a nostalgic, poignant, and often-hilarious look at growing up in a small South Alabama town and how that upbringing still influences her today. What does it feel like to be the only Episcopalian at a Baptist church? How do you entertain yourself on a two-hour car trip with a dead man? What do you do when your foundation garment goes rogue in the middle of a busy intersection? And what price did they pay for calling her orange juice? Atkins answers all these questions and more in her own unmistakable Southern style. She recounts stories about the men who congregated in the police station and the eccentric characters who worked on Main Street, shares words of wisdom from her Granny, and tells how one superstitious old man could literally make it rain even during the dry, dog days of summer. Each person still lives in Atkins memory frozen in time just as they were in the 70s, and its these ghosts of bygone days who shine through in They Call Me Orange Juice.
“Honor thy father and thy mother.” This is the fourth commandment from the ten God gave us through Moses in the Bible. This fourth follows the initial three signifying our duties to the Supreme Being. After God, our next obligation is to our parents. This shows the importance of parents. Notice the word is “honor.” It does not say “obey”; but “honor” certainly includes “obedience.” Furthermore, this commandment does not end when we each reach maturity. The commandment of honor signifies we must respect our parents all their lives. Our mother was Norah Attracta Cusack. Our father was Joseph Charles Meissner. By the usual social standards, they were very ordinary people on this planet. However, they possessed their own wonderful beauty and intelligence. They were most extraordinary parents who welcomed us to life, took care of our needs, ensured we received great educations, and devoted their lives unselfishly to us for decades. But they gave us much more than our mere bodies. They gave us faith, hope, and love during their long lives. They showed us how to live as God urges us to live. They continuously nourished us spiritually from our mother’s nightly “demands” to kneel in the living room praying the rosary to our Blessed Virgin to our father who drove us even in the blinding snow, freezing cold, and storms to church every week, ensuring we arrived on time. Here are words from my brother Robert for our parents: “As for our son, Scott, [who suffering from severe PTSD, ended his life], I agree he is somewhere around and still present in the universe. So are our mom and dad. I think after we die, we will learn how all this is done—you know Mom and Dad are the greatest proof of God, religion, and an afterlife. They were so good and worked tirelessly for our family. If you asked them about religion, the church, and faith, they might say it really doesn’t matter, except you treat your fellow human beings with dignity and acknowledge God as Father. The rest of the argument really doesn’t mean that much.” So to Mom and Dad, we celebrate your lives and say an enormous thank-you.
Reminiscing Through The Years is a book of laughter, tears, and life Sandy Staub Kassimirs life to be exact. She begins the journey with the story of her parents childhoods, along with the struggles they encountered when they came to America. She takes us through their courtship; sharing the loving details of how they met and fell in love. She also shares the story of her romance with her husbanda romance that began at the age of eighteen. Over the years they have welcomed their wonderful children and then, with time, their grandchildren into their lives. Sandy has been fortunate to meet many wonderful friends along the way. She tells the stories of people who have touched her life in some way, with honesty, warmth, and humor. Sandy has included the stories of her travels which have been a particular joy for her to relive. Throughout the book she expresses herself with great tenderness and frankness that anyone can appreciate. Among the 211 stories in the book, there were two sisters and a cousin whose stories made front page headlines world-wide. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire In 1911 my great maternal aunt was caught in that fire when she was a teenager. She barely survived. Her entire back was burned, and she could not bend her body. I never saw her sit. Her sister was in the Plague of 1918. The Plague of 1918 The Influenza Plague in Europe killed my maternal grandmother in Poland. My mother was only seven years old at the time. The Klinghoffer Murder In 1985 Leon Klinghoffer was murdered on the Achille Lauro ship. He was shot in his wheelchair and thrown overboard. He was my fathers cousin. Reminiscing Through the Years was written to enlighten Sandys children and grandchildren about her origin and her experiences through the years.
Growing up on a modest family farm in rural Ontario, Jane Ovington was never the delecate flower that her mother might have imagined her to be. Instead, Jane was a rough and tumble tomboy who was known to enjoy time in the barn, skipping school for an impromptu hunt, or mixing it up with the boys who dared to pick a fight. As the years passed, Jane roused less rabble and opted to marry her childhood sweetheart, build a home, raise a family. and eventually transition into the off-farm workforce. She did this without letting go of her cheerful and humourous personality, and without forgetting her cherished family roots and childhood lessons of a simpler time. Plain Jane preserves and shares these stories. Whether viewed through a local history lens, or as a lookback at the Ovington family, these recollections are informative, entertaining, and they offer something for everyone.
Make your table a place where your family and friends long to be—where they will find rest, renewal, and a welcome full of love. Beloved author Sally Clarkson (The Lifegiving Home, Own Your Life, Desperate) believes that meals lovingly served at home—and the time spent gathered together around the table—are a much-needed way to connect more deeply with our families and open our kids’ hearts. Food and faith, mingled in everyday life, become the combination for passing on God’s love to each person who breaks bread with us. In The Lifegiving Table, Sally shares her own family stories, favorite recipes, and practical ideas to help you get closer to the people you love . . . and grow in faith together.