I‘ve had such a wonderful time here! Lovely friends - sharing our lives and reading - and discovering books! So many I‘ve loved, but would never have known about, if not for Litsy. ❤️

Well, this was fun! Professor Peter Shandy is down to earth (literally as a botanist 😆) and clever. Set in Maine, Peter is visiting a small town to collect lupine seeds from mysteriously fabulous specimens. While supping at his hotel, the diner at the next table drops face first into the chicken pot pie. Charlotte Macleod has a terrific way with words and a great sense of humor. I will definitely be seeking out more of these!
#1994 for #192025

Isn‘t it fun to have bedtime reading that makes you extra excited to go to bed?

I‘m enjoying this immensely! And how different it would progress in the age of cellphones and internet. Instead of slowing ruminating on King Richard III, getting details bit by bit, all the information would be at Grant‘s fingers with a little googling. I‘m so glad that isn‘t the case 😄

What do a 30 year old jewelry heist, a murder in a columbarium (crypt) and a toucan have in common? More than you would think, as it turns out!

Also, I learned that toucans cannot not talk (I never thought about this before), and they are incredibly messy eaters that adore fruit.

Our Easter book shelves! 🐇🌸🌷

I read the book not long after it came out, so I don‘t remember much about the story. However, I did remember there was a fabulous lemon bar recipe! It is a “cockaigne” recipe from Joy of Cooking, so you know it is extra delicious. We made lemon bars recently, so I tried it again. Different from the traditional style in that they are lemon curd bars - the filling sets soft and creamy like it was topped with lemon curd. Very lemon-y! #mtcookbook

A country village mystery set amidst amateur theatricals, specifically Shakespeare‘s Measure for Measure.

The story doesn‘t not play (ha!) out as expected, compete with a shocking twist.

#1941 for #192025

This was such fun — and next year there‘ll be more.
Happy Birthday to you, Little Dinosaur! 🥰

We absolutely love Good Eats the show, but I don‘t enjoy the books as much. These were just ok.

I also like photos of the food in books 😆

#mtcookbook

Unsurprising, because America‘s Test Kitchen is great, this is a terrific book. The photos, layout, and ideas are fantastic.

This was the Faux Leftover Fried Rice - the Thai version.
#mtcookbook

Many of you may only have known her as Wickham, but we knew her as the sweetest, funniest, and most gentle girl, and we were lucky to have her in our lives. We loved her so. ❤️

A crow drops a finger on a footpath in front of a walker, and the best laid plans go awry.

Poor Crosby is back to the barely competent sidekick in this one 😆

Thank you for our bright and cheerful valentine, Chrissy! 💕💕💕
I hope you had a lovely day!

#MtCookbook Week 6
Our friends brought us a gift box of chiles and salsa from New Mexico, so I thought it was a good time to get out this book and try a recipe. Simple and tasty! Next time, I would just buy tostada shells, as I prefer their crunch, but I had the corn tortillas, so I went with the recipe instructions and fried those to use.

I love that Donna Andrews writes a Christmas book each year in the Meg series! I quite enjoyed this installment. Michael is directing the Christmas Carol production again, except this time the actor playing Scrooge is a minor big-name, who turns out to be temperamental and rarely sober. As usual, Meg is quite busy - trying to keep the star actor in line and then stumbling across an animal smuggling ring - and a murder!

How is tomorrow already Valentine‘s?? I forgot to switch out our book shelves! 💕

We read Arthur‘s Valentine this morning. I‘ve noticed the Arthur books tend to be a little negative at times - I skip words or reword some of it. This one also wasn‘t a very fun read. Arthur has a tough time through the whole book. I do always love DW‘s comments though 😂

Chris gave me this cookbook YEARS ago, and I‘m just now trying a recipe! Thanks to #MtCookbook !
Week 5 was Fancy Tuna Melts, with a unique ingredient list:
Tuna
Apples
Mayo
Dijon
Capers and brine
Shallot
Dill
Sun dried tomatoes
Greens
Naan

And marinated mozzarella, which the grocery I went to didn‘t have, so I used regular with oil/herbs drizzled. Trader Joe‘s had one, so we‘ll try it again with the marinated cheese.

Constable Crosby takes some initiative and investigates on his own! Inspector Sloan is trying to keep up with the murder investigation - and his wife prepping for the maternity ward!

Well a #MtCookbook week 4 flop! This is the second or third recipe I‘ve made from this book and for some reason they fail for me!
I thought these would be a fun, quick afternoon project. Whip them up and bake 25-29 min. Not so much! They came together easily, but they baked and they baked and they baked! I check every few minutes (as things can turn from batter to overdone in the blink of an eye), but it just kept coming out batter. I lost track…

Switched out our Christmas books with some of our January reads ❄️❤️❄️

So my goal with #MtCookbook is to enjoy the cookbooks I have, and hopefully, find a few that could go to new home. However, seeing new additions to my mom‘s collection, I‘m afraid I‘m going to be adding to my mountain 🤣

By the author of 100 Cookies - this book is BEAUTIFUL! 😍

#MtCookbook Week 3 - continuing the cheese theme 😆

Bubbling Baked Fontina Val D‘Aosta (found it at Whole Foods!) and Food processor French bread (adapting a recipe from King Arthur‘s site)

#MtCookbook Week 2
I had the this out all Dec, planning to try different things through the holidays. Ha! The first recipe I tried this week - Cheese Pie with Chestnut Pastry, Brussels Sprouts, & Hazelnuts
Holiday comfort food, the flavors were a bit reminiscent of Thanksgiving. I had my doubts on the all-butter chestnut crust, but it actually had quite a good crisp, tender crumb. It was more of a creamy Brussels sprout & onion, than a cheese pie.

From 1989, this version was illustrated by Cheryl Harness. Overall darker color tones, with the text of the poem in boxes over the images.

#27 of #TwastheNight

This is the version that I found I also had in a board book. Originally published in 1995, with illustrations by Christian Birmingham. I have quite a few versions that I love, but I think this is my favorite. The illustrations are gorgeous - soft and slightly mysterious that perfectly suits the poem. The black & white illustrations on the text pages are lovely, and the font is perfect too.

#26 of #TwastheNight

This was a super fun find in my collection! The pirates await Sir Peggedy to bring their gifts on the night before Christmas. His sleigh is drawn not by reindeer, but by seahorses. “More sluggish than flounders, his coursers they came … Now Salty, Now, Scurvy! Now Sinbad an‘ Mollie!”

#25 of #TwastheNight

Copyright 1989 by Running Press, this is the tiniest version in my collection! Just 2-3 inches tall, it includes the whole poem in a hardback with a dust jacket! The font and greenery on the text pages is very pretty.

#24 of #TwastheNight

Kicking off #MtCookbook this week with one of my favorites! Ali Stafford has such approachable, delicious recipes. I‘m making the Spicy Jalapeño, Corn and Jack Bread, which I have made before, but as it has been over 6 years, it‘s like new. ?

Also, I got out corn in preparation, but found out the “Corn” is actually cornmeal. ?

A fun one! This is an I Spy version, with the full poem printed inside the covers. The book itself is composed of themed images, such as “Not a Creature Was Stirring” and “It Must Be St. Nick”, with lists of items hidden in the photos. I found it very relaxing to do a page before bed 😄
Copyright 2005 by Walter Wick

#23 of #TwastheNight

Christmas added a few feet to #MtCookbook ! 🧗😄

Another surprise!! Thank you so much, Chrissy! I just found the box 🤣

I am SO excited for both books! Soph and I are going to love reading about Carl in the snow! (Though right now the tag on the bag is really interesting 😂) Perfect for us!! And the cozy is going to be so fun!

Thank you!! ❤️❤️❤️

Chrissy, I just opened my gift from you - thank you! Such a surprise! The book sounds intriguing! ❤️ Happy Winter! ❄️

#2 in the Beacon Bakeshop series - A bakery in a lighthouse (slightly haunted by a sea captain) in Beacon Harbor, MI. Lindsay is a Wall Street type turned baker, enjoying life in her new town with her Newfoundland puppy and her boyfriend, Rory. Her Christmas dreams are complicated by the need for baking help and the suddenly announced cookie bake-off. An icky celebrity judge and a murder cap it all off!
Between so-so and a pick ⬇️

I love this version by Holly Hobbie. Soft, magical, sweet - one of my favorites!
Copyright 2013.

#22 of #TwastheNight

Meg is in charge of coordinating a charity show house of designers (including her mother). Though each designer has his/her own assigned rooms, Meg has her hands full juggling all their requests - and complaints - especially with a particularly nasty, selfish designer stirring the pot! When murder hits the show as well, Meg tries to get to the bottom of it.
Still a pick, but not my favorite of the Christmas ones - rather darker.

Classic, crisp illustrations with a darker color scheme in this version by Jessie Willcox Smith. Originally published in 1912!

#21 of #TwastheNight

This version took a unique approach to the pictures accompanying the text. The editors selected a vintage/antique illustration that they thought best fit each stanza, so many different styles (and Santas) are represented. It was published in 1998 by Blue Lantern Studios, and was compiled by Cooper Edens and Harold Darling.

#20 of #TwastheNight

A 1963 small hardback by Whitman, illustrated by Carol Munshi. The illustrations are primarily bright and kooky!

#19 of #TwastheNight

Pretty illustrations by Charles Santore in 2011.

#18 of #TwastheNight

I‘ve put together a few thoughts on options - since I realized instead of “happy fiction” most were “happy non-fiction” 😆 - I went way over 3 on choices!

Don‘t hesitate to say if none of them appeal! I can pull more 😊

This one is a Whitman from 1965, illustrated by Reisie Lonette. Another one with a pretty cover!

#17 of #TwastheNight

#TLT

1. Snowman ⛄️
2. Homemade marshmallows!
3. Gloves, but mittens really do keep my hands warmer
4. Fuzzy socks
5. White lights on the Christmas tree - strict on this 😆
6. The Holiday
7. Neither really, but if soup it must be creamy 😄
8. Shop online
9. Traffic - with an audiobook!
10. Both 😊

What do you think @Gissy @Chili ?

Delighted to start my annual reread! Deliciously nasty, quarrelsome family party that culminates in a murder on Christmas Eve. 🎄 Golly, I love this book! 😂

Love love love this Mary Engelbreit version! So bright, cheerful, and detailed!

My mom gave me the print of the mouse‘s house ❤️

#16 of #TwastheNight

Another A Little Golden Book, illustration copyright 1985 by Kathy Wilburn.

#15 of #TwastheNight

What a lovely package @Gissy !! I love everything! You always find such neat treasures. The candlesticks are so unique! I can‘t wait to see them alight with tapers. The bookmarks and page tabs are perfect! And the turron - yum, yum, yum!
Thank you for including each one of the kids - so cute and thoughtful! As you can see, Ted approves of his gift!
And I am so very excited for every one of the books, and they all have such pretty covers! 😍

This is Jan Brett‘s version, with her lovely, intricate illustrations. (I think it‘s missing the jacket) Copyright 1998

#14 of #TwastheNight

This was a unique one! A determined young lady sets off on her own plan of campaign, but inexorably draws others into her whirlwind along the way. Midway through, I felt “Oh no - there is no way this can end well.” But of course Heyer brings it all to a satisfying end. Lady Hester was a surprise favorite, and Amanda was a trip 😆

#1956 for #192025

Different cover, but this is the same version as #12! This copy is a Golden Book, not a Little Golden Book 😄, and it‘s from the 11th printing, 1973.

#13 of #TwastheNight

A Little Golden Book, copyright 1949. This copy is the 40th printing, 1982.

The illustrations are intended to evoke the year in which the poem was written, 1822.

#12 for #TwastheNight