Lots of Helpers

Our family's life in New Zealand

Book Review–From This Day Forward

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About the Book:

Title: From This Day Forward
Series: Dearly Beloved #2
Author: Deb L. Brown
Publisher: Peshina Publishing
Release Date: November 2, 2026
Genre: Contemporary Christian Women’s Fiction

Can a woman rediscover herself after spending decades putting everyone else first?

With an empty nest and a marriage that leaves her feeling less like a soulmate and more like a roommate, Brenda throws herself into helping everyone around her. But no amount of serving can fill the ache inside. When her mother’s health fails, Brenda embraces the role of caregiver, convinced that the only way for her to feel loved is by being needed.

As the responsibilities of caring for an aging parent intensify, she slowly loses sight of herself. The more she pours her energy into serving others, the more depleted she feels. A friend’s divorce forces her to take a hard look at her own marriage, while Marcus’s health struggles reveal a side of her husband she has overlooked for years.

Caught in the midlife demands of the sandwich generation, Brenda wonders if she can find purpose after motherhood.

My Thoughts:


I don’t read very many digital books anymore, but every so often one catches my eye. This one sounded like my style, and it sure was. The narrator, Brenda (the book is written in first person, present tense) is nearly my age, and has been married only a few years less than I have at this point. However, though she is experiencing the same type of physical changes that I am, she has an empty nest. (This is one of the many times I’m thankful to have a large family, and still have young children in my home!) Suddenly, she feels alone and unneeded. Throughout the book, she struggled to feel like she was worthwhile for more than what she did, for what she was. I can identify with that feeling. There were a number of times that I wanted to reach into the book and shake her, though, when I saw her feeling sorry for herself or disrespecting someone’s wishes. This is an encouraging and inspiring book for woman who are nearing menopause and trying to relearn who they are after their children leave home.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

Deb L. Brown is an Amazon bestselling author and Carol Award finalist who writes stories that explore loyalty in marriage and faith in God in the face of life’s challenges. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Women’s Fiction Writers Association, her books handle heavy issues with a touch of humor. She’s mom to her five children and Graham Cracker to her grandchildren. She lives with her husband in Minnesota.

Connect with Deb by visiting debbrownauthor.com to follow her on social media and subscribe to email newsletter updates.

The Series:

From This Day Forward is a stand-alone book in the Dearly Beloved series. This Christian novel has themes of marriage renewal, caregiving, and reinventing yourself in the second half of life. For fans of Karen Kingsbury, Katie Powner, Sara Brunsvold, and Amanda Cox.
More in This Series: To Have and to Hold

To purchase your copy: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookBub

Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a signed copy of From This Day Forward and To Have and to Hold, plus a $25 Amazon Gift Card and some surprise swag to go with each book!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight November 2, 2026 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on November 9, 2026. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

New in the Library! October 2026

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Did we ever add a lot of books to the library this month! Most are picture books, because they are easy to vet; the middle grade, young adult, and adult books take a lot more time, so they are waiting patiently on an overflowing shelf, or on stacks. Speaking of vetting books, I was struck again this month with how important that is. Among others I picked up were a picture book of an Australian ballad, and another one that is on many lists. In the ballad, the main character commits suicide. The other had witches on two pages. Those books are leaving the house again as fast as they came in. There were a few others that didn’t make the cut this month, as well. One showed blatant rebellion/disobedience of a couple of children, and they got away with it; another seemed to be normalizing divorce/remarriage, blending families, and custody battles. No thanks! So, here are the ones that we liked this month. I brought home a banana box full of books from a bookstore that was closing and would be destroying books, and we also went to the local Bookarama two days. On top of that, the local library gave me a lot of easy readers they received as samples but decided not to keep.

First up: A few beautiful photo books featuring New Zealand. Snow Storm is about a blizzard that struck Canterbury in 2007, and how people coped. Wairarapa features pictures and description of that region of the North Island. Jack & Charlie is all about two boys who live in Ross, about an hour and a half drive from us, and their adventurous life in the bush.

I found several classics. I have discovered that the Companion Library books are very good editions of classic children’s books; some are the best translations I have found. The Bible Companion Book 10, of course, is one I received for a review; Honey for a Child’s Heart is a good book list and encouragement to read together.

One of my little girls picked up the Breakfast cookbook. She hasn’t used it yet, but the children have fixed soft-boiled eggs for themselves several times after one of them was inspired by the cover picture. The Family Cow was on our shelf when I was young. Mom asked me if I wanted to try fixing it, which wasn’t hard at all, and now it’s on our shelf, ready for when we have questions about cow care. Evolution the Fossils Say NO! was also on our shelf when I was young. I found this copy at the Bookarama. Obviously, the staff there hadn’t noticed that it was falling apart, so I rescued it, rebound it, and now it will go a long time.

I was thrilled to find a bulk lot of books by Ronald Syme a couple of months ago; he was an excellent author of history books for children. We have been studying explorers, so I read Hudson of the Bay. It was very interesting! Susan is a heart-wrenching story about a young Chippewa girl trying to navigate living in a city away from the reservation she had always known. I enjoyed learning what life was like for Lady Jane Grey; she became a real person to me. Bambi was another read-aloud. It is a fairly realistic depiction of life for a deer, but could be a problem for children who become very emotionally attached to animals. Under the Blood-Red Sun is a perspective of Pearl Harbor like I’ve never come across before. It is told from the point of view of a Japanese-American boy who lived beside the Navy base. As far as The Black Stallion’s Courage, I won’t have all the Black Stallion books on our shelf, but this one was quite good. Helen Keller from the In Their Own Words series was very easy to read, interesting, and told me a lot more about her adult life than I had read anywhere else. Inventors Behind the Inventor is a fascinating look at the development of a lot of our modern technology–written in 1947! It shows how no invention is truly developed by only one person, but rather each inventor builds on others’ work. I debated for awhile about keeping Dead Dan’s Dee. It deals with a hard topic, as Dee copes with losing her father many years ago, and now her mother is very sick–and then she starts getting inklings that her father wasn’t the hero she always thought he was. I won’t give spoilers, but the ending was hard enough that I decided this book won’t go with the New Zealand Children’s fiction books on our shelf, but with the Young Adult books.

Among our read-alouds recently were a few that have been on the shelf for a long time. Three Young Pilgrims has always been a favorite; in fact, I had to recover this one because it was getting pretty tattered. Miracles on Maple Hill is a very special one about a family who moved to a farm and how the father recovered from his war experiences as he lived in the peace of Maple Hill. The Finest Hours kept our attention riveted; it is the story of a terrible storm in 1952 and how the Coast Guard worked to rescue men from two oil tankers that split in half.

I received Off the Rails for review. It’s a very exciting survival story, written for 8-10-year-old boys. The King’s Shadow is historical fiction about the Norman Conquest. I really enjoyed it. These others are some that one of my sons picked up at the Bookarama, and I previewed them for him. Tiggy is a delightful story about a cat and her kittens. The Dingle Ridge Fox is a collection of stories about several different animals. I haven’t read Outcast of Redwall, but he got it to add to his collection of those books. He likes Bear Grylls, so picked up these DVDs.

Now for the picture books! Some fit nicely into the History and Science area. Actually, I take that back. Inside the Hindenburg doesn’t fit nicely anywhere. It’s huge! My family enjoyed reading it, though.

The Story of Silk is very interesting. It is written/illustrated by a photographer who traveled through Southeast Asia, and became interested in the silk industry in Thailand. The photography is beautiful!

I used to have a copy of this version of Johnny Appleseed, but decided I like another we have better. When I saw this one at the Bookarama, though, I picked it up. Mr. Archimedes’ Bath is a fun investigation of Archimedes’ discovery of mass and volume. It includes a kangaroo and wombat! Suleiman the Elephant is a beautiful account of a trip across Europe with an elephant during the Middle Ages–a true story. The Sorely Trying Day is pure fun to read together; it had a lot of people in this family laughing out loud. One Green Apple and First Light are beautiful hardcover picture books about relationships–between cultures, and between father and son. Grandfather’s Journey explores the emotions produced by immigrating from one’s home country to another. The Richard Scarry books came home because my littlest daughter loved them.

One of my grown sons likes Dr. Seuss, so I collected several of his books that my son didn’t have yet and gave them to him for his birthday. I got Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? to join Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, which has long been a favorite.

Notice the collection of Jungle Doctor picture fables? I was delighted to find this at the bookstore. We had three of the books individually, but I’m thrilled to have them all together. These are such good stories!

We added a few more books to the Art shelf.

A lot of books got added to the New Zealand Picture Books and Nature shelves. The one I was most excited about is The First Kiwi Christmas, about the first missionaries to bring news of Jesus to these islands.

We have always loved Arch Books, so were happy to find a few that we didn’t have.

Finally, the new easy readers. They are color-coded to make it easy for young children to find the ones they are able to read. Yellow labels, here, are the simplest.

Next is orange, which are a little more complex.

Red is next. Let’s Get Turtles reminded me of why I really like older books. This isn’t a how-to guide to getting a turtle as a pet–but it contains all the information that would be in such a guide, in the form of a story, along with scientific investigations.

Green are the most advanced books on our Easy Reader shelf. Children who can read these are ready to move on to our Independent Readers shelves. Adventure in Jersey is my favorite of these books. It happens on the Island of Jersey, and involves a cow!

To borrow any of these books or others, please go to our catalog. Find out how we loan books on this page.

Book Review–The Secret Sauce

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About the Book:

Book: The Secret Sauce: A Story of Apples, Robots, and a Grateful Heart (Rena Whittaker Book 2)

Author: Fay A. Klingler

Genre: Children Ages 6-11

Release Date: June 26, 2026

The recipe for joy? A grateful heart and helping hands!

When Rena Whittaker’s neighbor, Eithan, falls from a ladder and injures his ankle, Rena and her best friend Harper jump into action to help save his apple harvest. What begins as hard work soon turns into a day filled with laughter, teamwork, and an unexpected surprise that changes everything. In this engaging adventure, Rena discovers a powerful truth—happiness has a secret ingredient.

This tender, faith-filled story gently weaves together gratitude, service, and friendship. A beautiful choice for Christian families, thoughtful gifting, and parents and grandparents who want to share stories that nurture both faith and character.

My Thoughts:


This is a cute story. A couple of children start helping their neighbor when he gets hurt, and learn a lot about happiness and loving others. It has a science fiction element; there are two robots in the story. Personally, I don’t like science fiction, so the story didn’t appeal to me much, but I did like the main storyline, and the ending was great. It was fun to see how the girls invented a cake, and the recipe for it is included. I also liked seeing all the different things that were done with apples in the story. Oh, and the pictures are lovely, too.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

Fay A. Klingler is an accomplished author and illustrator known for her award-winning work in both creative and technical writing. Her literary contributions span a wide range of subjects, with a particular focus on empowering women, promoting effective grandparenting, and guiding individuals through betrayal recovery. In addition to her inspirational works for adults, Fay is also recognized for her captivating children’s books, weaving together heartwarming stories that spark imagination and impart valuable life lessons. Her insights and expertise have made her a sought-after motivational speaker.

More from Fay:

Ever made apple juice by pressing apples through an old wooden apple press? One of my favorite scenes in The Secret Sauce came about because it happened to me in real life—swallowing a fly! I was just a young teenager helping a neighbor press apples for juice. I opened my mouth and in flew a fly. Just like Harper in the story, I coughed and coughed to expel the insect, but instead I swallowed it! I’m the one taking this picture at my neighbor’s home.

To purchase your copy, click here.

To visit more of the blog stops on this tour, click here.

To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

Book Review–Off the Rails

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About the Book:

Book: Off The Rails – A Wilderness Survival Adventure

Author: Susan Count

Genre: Children’s Fiction

Just because your cousin jumps from a train in the wilderness doesn’t mean you should too.

After planning a fun experience for a year, two Texas cousins make their first trip to Montana. When their train stalls, the boys leap from it into the white wilderness, beginning a perilous run for their lives.

As a blizzard hits, the boys spend a miserable night trying not to freeze. They struggle along the tracks to find shelter, but a disaster leaves them exposed to the elements and every famished wild creature.

Frustrated by their too-real situation, Davy and Anderson struggle to endure. Instead of vacationers at a wolf sanctuary, they become players in an unplanned survival experience.

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this story. The author did a good job of keeping me wondering how the boys would ever get out of the wilderness. She also did a great job of showing how one poor choice can lead to another… and another… and another. At the beginning of the book, Davy complained that his cousin Anderson always managed to ruin adventures. However, he forgot that when Anderson jumped off a train to see what was calling for help in the wilderness! That led to a long series of mistakes and near misses.
I won’t be offering this book to my sons. They are all too old for the target audience, and would not like it. However, younger boys, or even girls, would likely enjoy it. My 11-year-old daughter enjoyed it. She said it was good writing, and had a good lesson in it (Look before you leap, or if you know something is wrong, but someone else is doing it, just don’t, in her words.) She says it was an exciting story that made her want to keep reading. She also says that it would be good for boys younger than herself, because it is really easy to read.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

Susan Count writes for the joy and entertainment of young readers. She is an Amazon best-selling, award-winning author of the Dream Horse Adventures Series, Dream Pony Riders Series, and Texas Boys Adventures.

She prefers to create stories in a quiet zone. Out her window, her mind wanders through the forest and keeps her in a grateful, contented state of being. Susan writes at a fabulous antique desk that has secret compartments filled with memories, mysteries, and story ideas. As a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and American Christian Fiction Writers, she takes studying the craft of writing seriously.

Susan confesses to being overly fond of brownies, and horseback riding on forest trails. She is a lifelong equestrian and is owned by a Rocky Mountain Horse.

Her newest release, Off The Rails – A Wilderness Survival Adventure was written for her four grandboys who wanted an adventure of their own. What’s a fairy grandmother to do but wave her magic pen and create.

More from Susan:

Ten of my novels are horse books for girls. On the rare occasions that I do a book sales table, I’m inevitable asked if I’ve written any books for boys. So, I wrote this two book series (Texas Boys Adventures) because you asked and kept asking. You and my four grandsons. Finding wholesome books that will engage 8- to 12-year-old boys is a parental challenge.

I’m so old school. Let the kids keep their childhood for as long as possible. I believe in protecting their young hearts and minds. Give them adventures where they learn to build friendships and be the hero of their own stories. Capture their nterest and then encourage and strengthen them to grow into the arrows they are destined to be.

To purchase your copy, click here.

To visit more of the blog stops on this tour, click here.

To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

Anniversary Getaway Day Two

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After our day at Fox Glacier, celebrating our 29th wedding anniversary, we started for home in the morning. Because we had all day, we decided to do some walking at Franz Josef first. Our first stop was at Peter’s Pool, which reflects the peaks beautifully.

While we were admiring it, a pair of Paradise Ducks landed.

Once again, this was the closest we could get to the glacier. It’s frustrating to know that 12 years ago we were allowed to walk right to it, but now this is the end of the permitted track. No wonder there weren’t a lot of people there!

Notice this rock? We liked the way it split up between layers!

After leaving Franz Josef, we went to Okarita Lagoon, the nesting site for white herons. We didn’t see any, but the lagoon and beach were beautiful.

Notice the black sand? It was full of sparkles in the sunlight, although I couldn’t capture that with my camera. I brought home a big handful of the blackest sand for Mr. Imagination to try panning, since it probably has gold in it.

In Hari Hari we stopped to see a mosaic garden.

Many different people contributed to this garden. Some pieces are memorials to loved ones. There are a lot of bits of broken dishes. It’s fun to wander around and spot all sorts of little things in here.

Just out of Hari Hari, we stopped for lunch beside the Wanganui River, and this weka came to check us out.

After lunch we walked up the river to locate some hot springs a neighbor told us about. They aren’t signposted, but a local had laid out some clues and marked a path with small piles of stones, so we were able to find them.

I saw a lot of bubbles coming up in this area.

Our last stop was in Hokitika, where we watched this tui checking out the blossoms.

Fox Glacier Anniversary Getaway

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Gayle and I have been married for 29 years, and this year we decided to get away by ourselves for two nights. We chose to go to Fox Glacier, about a three hour drive south of here, because we haven’t spent much time there. I was able to find a motel room for a very economical price (looking now, I think we must have squeaked in at the end of the “off” season, because prices next month are a lot more!), and it was a really nice room. We enjoyed a lot of walking, soaking in the spectacular mountain scenery and glimpses of the glacier, even though we couldn’t get close to it. Best of all, we had two days together without distractions, which is rare. We were both quite ready to get home by last evening, though. No matter how nice it is to get away, it’s even better to get home–and I overslept this morning! This first picture shows the view from our motel room, and the second is a pair of Paradise Ducks we saw on the lawn.

Peak View is about a 10-minute drive from our motel. It’s simply a place in open farmland from which there is an amazing view of the mountains.

This is Fox Glacier, viewed from Peak View.

Next, we went to Lake Matheson and walked around it.

The large mountain on the left is Mount Tasman; the slightly taller one to the right is Mount Cook.

When Gayle stopped to admire these ferns, he was thinking of you, Mom.

Our next destination was the walk up the Fox River valley to view the glacier. Notice the white glacial water in the river?

We took a side track that looped back to the main track, which went over a moraine. It has been ice-free for over 400 years, so there is old-growth forest on a lot of it. The moss all over everything made it feel enchanted!

This was a stump or rock completely covered with these tiny ferns. They were about two inches in diameter. So vibrant!

This was the closest we were allowed to get to the glacier. In 2014 when we were there, there was a track on the other side of the river which let us walk all the way to the base of the glacier.

After a rest back at our room, we drove the half hour to Gillespie’s Beach, a historic gold-mining area. We had a spectacular view of the mountains from there, too!

On the beach, we found this hollow log, and Gayle couldn’t resist crawling inside!

After dinner, we took our dessert back to Peak View to watch the sunset reflected off the mountains. It wasn’t as spectacular as it had been the night before as we drove down there (light clouds had diffused the light, making everything glow), but was still beautiful.

More next week….

Book Review–Bible Companion Book 10

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About the Book:

Book: The Bible Companion Book 10 Matthew–John The Gospels

Author: Karen Westbrook Moderow

Genre: Bible Study

Release Date: May 29, 2026

What do you think about Jesus?

The Bible Companion Book 10 Matthew–John explores the gaps between our view of Christ and who Bible says He is. A simple one-chapter-a-day format lets you engage with Scripture without the pressure of schedules, homework, or heavy reading loads. Short daily readings and thought-provoking questions connect your story to God’s Word. For personal, group, or homeschool Bible study.

After four hundred years of silence, when Israel has nearly given up hope of a messiah, God sends Jesus. The four Gospels introduce us to this long-awaited Savior but also chronicle the profound disappointment Jews feel when they realize He has not come to restore their nation. Jesus refuses to be boxed in by our limited view of Him. As Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John reveal a Savior who redefines power and love, we discover that our expectations are not too great but too small.

My Thoughts:

As always, I appreciated the thoughts about each chapter of the Gospels. There are also many tables throughout the book, organizing information; I find those very helpful. There were many little gems of wisdom that I liked. One, in a discussion about the Sermon on the Mount, stated, “…we aren’t to obey as rule keepers but God lovers.” Another quote I appreciated was, “We bump up against God thousands of times every day. He is with us in the sunrise, the air we breathe, the work we do, and the smiles of our loved ones, yet we seldom “touch” Him.” As with all of these books, I like that the author encourages reading an entire chapter from the Bible at a time, and then offers some thoughts about it.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

KAREN WESTBROOK MODEROW is a Bible teacher and author who brings a storyteller’s perspective to Scripture. She holds master’s degrees in theology and creative writing and loves introducing others to Jesus through the stories told in God’s Word.

More from Karen:

Bread is a big deal in the Gospels. After feeding thousands with just a few barley loaves and two fish Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). The night of His arrest He takes a loaf of bread and says to His disciples, “Take and eat. This is my body” (Matt. 26:26). Bread. Jesus makes this simple food a symbol of Himself because it represents what we must have to live. I think about this often now that I’ve started baking my own bread.

Bread-making is the next logical step in my quest for a healthier lifestyle. Years ago, I cut out fast foods. Sodas. Processed foods (except for Fritos which I still enjoy with a sandwich on occasion J). But despite the many health gurus who say we should cut bread out of our diets my family has bread every day.

I’m from Texas. My grandparents had biscuits for breakfast, cornbread for dinner (noon meal) and yeast rolls for supper. If my grandmother didn’t have time to make rolls (which happened more often as she aged), she served Wonder Bread stacked high on a plate. In those days, we all bought the hype—“Wonder Bread builds strong bodies 12 ways!” We sometimes commented on the wonder of it all—no pun intended—that science had improved on a staple mankind has eaten for centuries. Only it didn’t. Our taste buds told us that the bread my grandmother made was infinitely better but other voices won out.

I make my own bread now to assure that what I take into my body is as clean as I can make it. I use flour without glyphosate and the best organic ingredients I can find. But do I succeed in making a bread that is free of all contaminants? No. There’s not a plot of ground or a man-made product on earth that is 100% pure. But every loaf of bread I bake is a revolution of sorts—a rejection of a system I don’t think has my best interest at heart. My efforts are imperfect but they’re a sign I see the problem and want to address it.

Spiritually, the path is similar. We’re hungry. We want and need to eat. We crave bread. But God’s Word warns us that what the world offers is not good. Whatever nutrition it offers can be saturated with things not easily seen—a distorted view of Christ, a subtle twisting of the truth, a self-focused gospel that appeals to our pride and greed. If we are spiritually discerning, we will recognize that these things can hurt us. But once we know it, what do we do? The danger is that our response is to “make our own bread” thinking that our improved spiritual resources and knowledge can create a life-giving loaf. But our best intentions and efforts to live like Jesus will always fall short. Just as we cannot eliminate all contamination from our food, we cannot eliminate sin’s influence in our lives. But wanting to be holy—to be like Jesus—is a step forward. It’s like me deciding that I don’t want to eat the bread found on the grocer’s shelf and choosing to do something about it. But that’s where the analogy ends. I can make better bread, but not perfect bread. I can make bread that satisfies my physical body for a time but not one that fills my deepest needs or gives me eternal life.

Sometimes when I make bread, I fail massively. The bread doesn’t rise. It’s too dense. Too doughy. Too dry. Other times, it is delicious, crusty, and fragrant. But every time I make it, I think of Jesus’s words, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever” (John 6:51). I use my bread-making time to think on the One who is Himself the bread of life. If that sounds good to you, try making one of my favorite recipes and enjoy both the bread and your time with the Lord.

1 Hour Yeast Rolls  – 2 Dozen

To Begin:

Turn oven onto lowest temp (around 170 degrees)

Crack 1 egg in a bowl (to reach room temperature)

Set out a 9” x 13”plus an 8” x 8” pans. Grease or line with parchment paper

You can substitute a cookie sheet OR (2) 12-cup muffin pans.

In a stand mixer bowl:

Whisk together

3 ¾ to 4 cups BREAD FLOUR

¼ cup granulated sugar

2 pkg rapid rise/ yeast (4 ½ tsp)

1 tsp salt

In microwave-proof glass measuring cup:

    Heat to 100–115 degrees (90 sec.)

1 ½ cups whole milk

2 TBS unsalted butter

    Add (whisk) into warm milk mixture

1 egg (room temperature)

2 TBS olive oil

Place dough hook on mixer.

     Slowly add warm milk mixture to dry ingredients on low speed. 

(Confirm temp is still at 100–115 degrees)

Increase speed slightly and knead for 6-8 minutes.

Dough will be smooth and sticky.

If too sticky, add 1 tsp flour at a time and knead until dough holds together.

COVER tightly with plastic wrap and let rest for 5–10 minutes.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface.

Flour hands and using a scraper, divide the dough in two.

Shape one portion into a log and divide into 12 equal pieces.

Close the ends of each piece together at the top then turn it over and roll into a smooth ball on the counter.

Place pinched side down into the greased dish or muffin pans

Repeat with the second log.

Cover bread with a clean kitchen towel. You should have 24 rolls total.

TURN OFF THE OVEN you’ve preheated to 170 degrees and place bread in oven.

Let dough rise until double in size (approx. 20 minutes).

REMOVE ROLLS FROM OVEN

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Just before placing in oven a second time, brush tops of rolls with an egg wash (1 egg, lightly beaten with a splash of water).

BAKE 16–18 minutes.

Brush baked rolls with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with coarse salt.

To purchase your copy, click here.

To visit more of the blog stops on this tour, click here.

To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

Painting

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I spent most of July painting. It all started one day in late June when I decided to clean behind a cabinet in the entryway. I pulled it out and found this behind it. I decided it was time to do more than try to clean old wallpaper.

Next step: peel off the wallpaper.

When James got home, he decided that the whole area needed to be skim-coated with plaster before I repainted.

Then, I decided to do the rest of the room. On the opposite side, in an area set off from the rest of the room, this is what I found. When we moved her, there was a water heater in the corner where there are slits in the wall. A couple of years later, it started to leak, and obviously, all that water went up into the wall. James pulled all the old gib board off, since it was so moldy.

This is what we found behind the gib board! This corner must have been outside the house at one time. I like the shade of blue! He filled the walls in with new gib left over from jobs, and then plastered the seams when he skim coated the rest of the room.

While I was waiting for that to be done, I decided to tackle the kitchen. The paint job in there has been bothering me for a year or two already, and there were a lot of holes that needed to be filled in. James ended up spending several evenings plastering those holes. The ceiling used to be the same blue as the walls; I decided to change it to white, but keep the blue for the walls.

I really like the way it turned out. It feels a lot brighter, and much, much cleaner now.

Finally, this past week we finished what we wanted to do in the entryway. We moved the fridge and cabinet to a different wall, and swapped the coats to the opposite wall from where they had been. James built a shelf for the coffee machine, and another boy built shelves for shoes. I got to paint both of those. We’re loving the new look and layout!

New in the Library! September 2026

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This month’s post is not as long as next month’s will be. There is a box of over 100 books waiting to finish being added to the library, and the annual Bookarama is happening this week. There are some real gems in here, though!

Our read-aloud time included a variety of books. The Red Pencil is a new one I got this year from Sonlight’s clearance sale in January. It turns out to be a free-verse novel about a girl in Sudan; her life was changed forever when her village was attacked. Heartwood Hotel: A True Home is a much gentler story about animals in the forest. I read it to my youngest, and even though she has heard it before, she loved it as much as my older children did the last time I read it aloud several years ago. She also enjoyed The Very First Americans, a beautiful picture book featuring a few different tribes of Native Americans from various parts of the United States.

I had never read New Kid, so I was glad when it was scheduled in one of our literature courses. It will never make my top favorites list, but is a good choice for people who like graphic novels. This was my second time to read The Missing Mummy. It’s a fun, easy-reading mystery; we keep it on the Independent Readers shelf for those who are ready to move on past Easy Readers. We’re currently learning about the earliest English settlers in North America, so I chose Captain John Smith as a read-aloud. What a story! His life reads like an adventure novel.

I brought a few books by Jean Fritz home in luggage when we went to American last year. I like her way of writing about a person’s life. She has a way of finding funny stories and of making the person come alive. I knew a lot of the story of Harriet Beecher Stowe and the Beecher Preachers already, but Make Way for Sam Houston and You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton? were new stories to me.

Early in the month, Esther and James returned home from a few weeks in America. They didn’t bring many books back with them, compared to last year’s trip, but these are among the ones they did bring. I had gotten This Promised Land and Ladies of the Lake for review a few years ago, and because I liked them so much Esther listened to the audiobooks–and fell in love with the author! We also both read The Bitter End Birding Society last year when it was published and loved it.

I also had Esther bring these books home. The biographies are very interesting reprints from the 1950s and 1960s, written for early readers. They fit with our Independent Readers, just up from the Easy Readers. The same people are reprinting the Cowboy Sam books. We have four of the original hardcovers of these, and they have been so much loved that I got all the ones that we didn’t have. My youngest has already read all of these Cowboy Sam books to me. One of them (and two of the Discovery Biographies) are printed with the Dyslexia Font (see the last picture in the sequence), and she is sure that one was much easier to read. (I have only reviewed Henry Hudson of these books.)

The Farm is a very early reader. It only has a few words on a page, with quite large type, and my little girl noticed, much to her delight, that it is a counting book! Birds of a Feather is all about feathers of all types. It’s beautiful! Animals at War describes what animals, mostly dogs but also pigeons, horses, and even a cat, did to help soldiers in the two World Wars.

The church a friend of mine has been going to is closing, and she asked if we wanted to take any of the books from their library. I offered to try to sell the books, in exchange for keeping the ones we wanted. My youngest badly wanted some books, so I told her she could choose three from the stack of picture books that I didn’t think were in good enough shape to sell. She chose these three.

We kept these for our library. I have always liked the Lion Story Bible, and we didn’t yet have Ruth’s New Family. We also like My Bible Friends, and I hadn’t known there were more than the five we had. This is #10, though. They are pretty easy readers. The Rescue Squad and Why God Sent Jesus are by the author of the Jungle Doctor books. They are delightful fables. I kept The Christ Child because of the illustrations. They are by Maud and Miska Petersheim, and are gorgeous! The text is quoted directly from the Bible.

We also kept Well With My Soul, the stories of four famous hymn-writers. Both Esther and I had read and enjoyed this. We were excited to find Exodus to a Hidden Valley among the church library books. I read it as a child, and then read it to my family a few years ago. It is an amazing story of a missionary family going with the people they ministered to, through the jungle to find a safe place to live. I kept Sergei to replace my tattered copy of The Persecutor, which is the same book published in a different country. I’ve been considering buying D is for Dinosaur for 30-odd years, ever since it was published. Finally, it is in our hands! One of my sons wanted The Genesis Flood. Finally, I have stuck a photo of My Heart is Home in here because I needed one more to fill out the section! See my review of it from last week.

I read a few memoirs this month that got added to the shelves. Rabbit Stew and a Penny or Two turns out to be the story of the life of a Romany, or Gypsy, woman. Most of it is about her childhood during the 1950s when her family still traveled around England, but she also tells what her life was like as an adult when she had to settle down, and how she helped her people. I really enjoyed this book. Any Fool Can Be a Dairy Farmer is the account of the author’s attempt at farming, and all the things he did wrong. It was interesting to compare dairy farming in England with the way it is done here. A friend gave me Last Horse Standing awhile back, and when I started reading it I knew why she recommended it–this is an incredible story of survival in one of the most inhospitable regions of Australia! I know a book is good if I talk about it a lot, and this is one I keep telling people about.

I also read these books, which likely came from the 2026 Bookarama. Attack at Shark Bay is an exciting adventure story set in a fictitious place in New Zealand. It’s a rather unlikely scenario, but kept me reading to find out how the children would get out of the fix they found themselves in. The Growing Summer tells about four children whose parents had to be away, so the children were packed off (from England) to a great-aunt they had never met, in Ireland, and she expected them to care for themselves. Edith Herself is the story of a little girl who developed epilepsy soon after her only living parent died, leaving her in the care of an older sister who had an overbearing husband.

A Distant Prospect turned out to be, probably, one of my top reads of the year–if not my very favorite. I loved the story, but even more, I loved the author’s way of using language. Her descriptions are so much fun to read! I kept reading excerpts to Esther. It is a very long book, but held my attention to the very end. I was able to add The Bible Companion Book 9 to the library; it arrived here in luggage. I really like this series. I found Tamales 101 at a secondhand shop. I have eaten tamales a few times, and want to learn how to make them. Maybe next summer when we have corn husks!

We replaced a few books that were not in the best shape. The Little House set I bought before I got married has been falling apart for years. I am watching for hardcover copies, but took this paperback in the meantime. I covered it with plastic to help it stay nice for a little while. We already had these two Jungle Doctor books, too, but when I found ones with dust jackets I grabbed them. They would have been destroyed if I hadn’t taken them; I went to a bookstore that was closing down, and filled a box with nearly 100 books that were slated for destruction if not taken that day. You’ll see more of them next month, after they have been processed into the library.

To borrow any of these books or others, please go to our catalog. Find out how we loan books on this page.