Partying with Author Ann Charles by @JacquieRogers

 

Partying with Author Ann Charles

On the Road Again (with Mr R, not Willie)

by Jacquie Rogers

I think I'm a wanderer at heart, which is a bit strange since I grew up in Owyhee County and stuck mighty close to home until we moved to Seattle, and then we had only a couple of vacations in 30+ years.  But now we have our little 17' Casita Liberty Deluxe and I can't be bothered to sit at home very long.  Our last trip was to Garden Valley, Idaho, where we visited with relatives and also saw a couple of well-performed plays at the Starlight Mountain Theater.  We definitely plan to make that a habit in 2023.

Tillie the Tank got her name when we parked by a 45' motorhome
and an observer noted that our Casita looked like the propane tank to the moho.

This year, we're getting ready for a trip to Deadwood, South Dakota, where we'll hang out with my critique partner Ann Charles and her wonderful fans.  She has four full days of events planned.  I'm not going as an author--it'll be nice just to be a reader and a fan.  Here's the schedule if anyone would like to join us.  Believe me, you won't regret it!

Click for easier reading.

She won't be doing a raffle so I'm bringing a ruffle basket for the party on Thursday.

Not saying if this basket contains both Chicken Dinner Red
and Chicken Dinner White wines.

On the way to Deadwood, we plan to stop by the Fort Bridger Museum.  We've driven right by it at least five times and even stayed at the RV park across the street, so there's no time like the present to go.  Pictures posted here next month.  On the way home from Deadwood, we plan to stop by Devil's Tower.  Same reason.  We just never seemed to have the time when we drove by it before.  This time we hope to stay a few days.  I say "hope" because the October weather in Wyoming isn't exactly predictable.  We'll also stop by Rawlins (Fry Pan Gulch in the Honey Beaulieu series) and visit a friend of my daughter's.  But like I said, it all depends on the weather.

Once we get back home, we plan to have a cider pressing party!  Caroline Clemmons's Hero gave us the coolest cider press, so I've told all my friends to bring a bushel or two of apples, some cheesecloth, and their muscles.  A party we will have. :)  That probably will happen after my posting day so you won't see the results until my December post (unless you're on Facebook or TikTok).

Speaking of parties, my next readers' party will be on July 15, 2023--not sure if it will be in Homedale again, or in Silver City.  I'll keep you posted.

Until next month, Happy Reading!

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Honey Beaulieu - Man Hunter series
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THE MIGHTY APPLES OF AUTUMN

by Judy Ann Davis

Hello, Autumn! And here she comes with the wonderful fall harvest of foods and desserts. My favorites are pies. Although pumpkin is my favorite, my husband is a fan of apple. He is also the biggest fan of applesauce, and a jar sits in our refrigerator year ‘round.

Here in the Northeast, Johnny Appleseed Day is celebrated twice a year. On both March 11^th and September 26^th.  September 26, 1774, was actually the day when John Chapman or Johnny Appleseed was born. It coincides with the season of apple harvest. His date of death was not formally recorded, but it is believed he died on March 11, 1845, from the “winter plague.” History tells us that John Chapman was deeply religious person, often preaching during his many travels.

A nurseryman by trade, John Chapman initially started planting trees in New York and here in Pennsylvania. He was also know for going “West” to plant, but we must remember that “West” was Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois. It is estimated that he traveled 10,000 square miles of frontier country. As he traveled, he sold apple trees and seeds to settlers and planted many trees and seeds himself along the way during a forty-year span. He also started a string of nurseries spreading from western Pennsylvania across Ohio and into Indiana. When he died in 1845, he owned 1,200 acres of land.

No matter what the legends tell us about John Chapman, one thing is certain. He brought about the recognition of the apple and its versatility whether eaten fresh, stewed, baked or fermented. The food list that includes the mighty apple is exhausting—applesauce, pie, cider, crisp, cake, pancakes, apple butter, juice, and even vinegar, to name a few. Early settlers dried apples to use on their trip to West as we know it today.

When I was growing up, we had apple trees around our farmhouse and MacIntosh was my favorite for taking in my school lunch bag. We also had apple trees in what we called “the old orchard” in a pasture on the edge of our farm. It was an orchard planted by early settlers of the 1800s (or before) and had heirloom varieties like Northern Spy, Strawberry, Baldwin, and Winesap. Our dairy cattle loved to scout the old orchard and look for any fallen ones for a delicious treat.

Are you a fan of apples? After an extremely rainy summer here in Central Pennsylvania, I’m excited about the arrival of a drier autumn and the rich scent of apples, sugar, and cinnamon baking in the oven or cooking on my stove top. 

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        Here's a peek of the cover for my Christmas novella,"A Maple Cookie Homecoming," making its appearance on December 7th