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Looking in the Window: A Brief History of Mulling Spice and Two Recipes Plus a .99 Book Sale

  A Taste of Fall Fall brings yellow, orange and red leaves, football, arts and crafts festivals and apple cider with mulling spice, which originated around 500 BC when the Greek Physician Hippocrates mixed wine with spices to treat various physical ailments. The Romans adopted the practice to mask spoiled wine and add flavor. By the Medieval Period the idea had spread to Northern Europe as a way to improve the taste of wine and promote health. Those in Victorian England used the spices for their drinks at holiday gatherings. There are many recipes for mulling spice. Here’s one given to me by a friend years ago. Mulling Spice Recipe Ingredients: 1 cup of sugar, 2 tsp. cinnamon, 1 ½ tsp. cloves, ¼ tsp. allspice. Enough equal portions of tea, apple and orange juice to make a gallon or half gallon of liquid. If making a gallon add four tablespoons of mulling spice. If making a half gallon, add two tablespoons. Mix the spice and liquid and heat in a pan on the stove, the microwave or a...
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Looking Out the Window: American Christian Fiction Writers' September New Releases

More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website Amish Romance: Her Amish Christmas Rescue by Amy Grochowski -- For years, Rose Burkholder has lived in the shadow of a family tragedy. But one snowy day, she strays from her usual path and aids an injured deer in the woods. And comes face-to-face with a ferocious wolf! Forest steward Lukas Brenneman rescues her in the nick of time, just before a winter storm strands them at her family’s house. As Christmas approaches, Rose’s matchmaking grandmother and aunt conspire to push them together. And Rose and Lukas will have to find the courage to reach for the future they both truly want? An Amish Red Riding Hood retelling in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. (Amish Romance from Love Inspired [Harlequin])   Contemporary Romance: Lighting Up Christmas by Amy R. Anguish -- Four Christmas romances. Four glowing displays. One season bright with hope. In Lighting Up Christmas, four heartw...
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Looking in the Window: Romance, Faith and More. Treading Water: Barely above Water Free for a Limited Time

  There’s more to Treading Water: Barely above Water , than the sweet, contemporary romance. While a young man and woman work through their reasons for not getting serious about anyone, readers enjoy a fun rag-tag swim team and learn about new treatments for a little-understood malady.  Like Suzie, the heroine, in Treading Water , I’m a victim of chronic Lyme disease. Over the years, I’ve learned there’s little interest in the illness. My journey began in a physician’s office where I had one month of testing before I was told, “You have something foreign in your system, but we can’t treat you because we can’t diagnose your problem.” And, that was that—until God led me  to an alternative doctor, David G. Lee, D.C., PhD., CAd . I’m blessed, Dr. Lee has kept me on my feet and active. Still, I’m constantly searching for promising breakthroughs. One day, I found a couple. Unfortunately, the news made no headlines. I pondered updating  Barely above Water, a novel I ...
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Looking out the Window: A Spiritual Throwback to the Nineties. Giveaway

 Seeing the big yellow buses rumble through my neighborhood picking up children waiting at their stops took me back in time to when my daughter attended school. I recalled a popular, spiritual piece of jewelry kids wore in the nineties -- WWJD bracelets. The acronym stood for What Would Jesus Do?  Some youngsters stacked them up their arms. When they went to school, sports arenas or friends' homes, the bracelets kept Jesus' teachings close to them. For instance, if one of the young men found himself in a situation where he grew angry and wanted to punch someone in the nose, he had a bracelet to remind him that Christians should be “…quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.” (James 1: 19 - 20).    Perhaps one of the young ladies heard gossip about a friend. A bracelet she wore might have Scripture from James 1:26: “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep ...
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Looking in the Window: The Mysterious Rose and Life's Ups and Downs. Giveaway.

  My husband gave me a rose. I added water and the preservative that came with the flower. The next day the flower’s stem drooped, the bloom tilting toward the kitchen table. However, I was busy and didn’t throw it away. When I walked in the room the next morning, the rose stood straight and proud in the vase. Puzzled, I leaned down and studied the flower. I checked it later that afternoon, then another time early in the evening. After five days, the rose still stood upright on its stem, its petals only aging a tiny bit around the edges. Then, the rose had my curiosity. To learn why the rose wilted so soon then perked up, I asked several friends, who are more knowledgeable about flowers than I am. They couldn’t explain it. Finally, I called a well-known florist in Georgia. The people there had never heard of a fresh flower sagging. Maybe I wasn’t meant to understand the rose, but simply to enjoy it. Sometimes I slump like the rose with the strength to stand tall nearly gone from me...
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