Wild Blue: Taming a Big-Kid Bike by Dashka Slater & illustrated by Laura Hughes [Review & Giveaway]

My thoughts:  I remember the joy of Christmas morning and seeing my "big girl bike" sitting in front of the Christmas tree. I also remember my dad holding the bike for me and running pell-mell down the sidewalks of the city of Wilmington as I learned to wobble-ride my big girl bike. What joy! 

Years later, my dad gave that same joyful experience to my children when they awoke on Christmas morning and saw their big-kid bikes under Granddad's tree. Then later in the backyard he ran pell-mell in circles with those little riders as they learned to steady their new bikes and stay astride. 

Cookie Queen: How One Girl Started Tate's Bake Shop® by Tate's founder Kathleen King & Lowey Bundy Sichol, illustrated by Ramona Kaulitzki [Review & Giveaway]

Did you know that August 4th happens to be National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day? That 's a super fun day to celebrate. There is nothing quite so delicious as a top grade chocolate chip cookie. I recently found the Tate's Chocolate Chip cookie bag in my local grocery store and indulged in far too many bags of the delicious cookies.

The Hiding Place Film (2023) [Review & Amazon Gift Card Giveaway]

Experience the incredible true story of Corrie Ten Boom in this new cinema event, coming to theaters in August! A powerful film of Corrie’s faith and courage. 

"The Hiding Place" tells the heroic true story of Corrie Ten Boom and her family, who risked everything to hide Jewish refugees by the hundreds during World War II before being discovered and ultimately facing the consequences. "The Hiding Place" is a story of faith, hope, love and forgiveness in the face of unthinkable evil.

Candlewick summer reading fun [Book Spotlight / Review & 5-Book Giveaway USA/CANADA]

Moving the Millers’ Minnie Moore Mine Mansion: A True Story, by Dave Eggers & illustrated by Júlia Sardà

 

My thoughts:  This is an absolutely hilarious story. This is an absolutely real story about a real silver mine, a really big house, a house that was moved, really. And it all happened in a really real place in Idaho. I love this story and the method it is written in makes it a "got to be read aloud" book. 

I just love the illustrations, too. They are spot-on quirky and the neutral tones with a bit of red make them even more charming. I recommend!

About the book: Author Dave Eggers and artist Júlia Sardà spin a quirky historical event into a whimsical and tall-ish true tale of American ingenuity.

National Geographic Kids Almanac 2024 [Book Blitz & Giveaway - 3 Winners]

Buy | Goodreads
National Geographic Kids Almanac 2024 (Us Edition) - National Geographic Kids

 National Geographic Kids Almanac 2024 Book Blitz & 3-Winner Giveaway

Posted on July 24, 2023 by Chat With Vera

The New York Times best-selling Almanac is packed with incredible photos, tons of fun facts, National Geographic exclusives, games, activities, and fascinating features about animals, science, nature, technology, and more. 

 

ISBN: 978-1426373879
Paperback $15.99 | Ages 8-12

This new edition features:  

• EXCLUSIVE National Geographic Explorer interviews and features   
• EXCLUSIVE Interactive Almanac Challenge 2024, plus the results of the Almanac Challenge 2023  

Christian Moms Blog guest post: "Wisdom From A Mom From the 60s"

Wisdom From A Mom From the 60s

Having been given the opportunity to write for Christian Moms Blog, I set to thinking what I, a very senior “Mom,” could share with today’s modern mothers that might enlighten, encourage, and perhaps entertain them a bit. As a Christian, I would like to state emphatically that without the Grace of God and His strengthening me in my weak moments and His holding me firmly in His Almighty hand, I simply would not have made it.

I was a young mother in the 1960s and those were tumultuous years – the 1960s and 1970s. So much was changing morally, politically, and socially. But even in the midst of that turmoil and the heart-wrenching news of the day, my biggest concern was my home – my young family and my dear husband. We had a large family. We had four children in just under six years, and then child number five was born just as the others were all settled nicely in school. So a full house.

CHRISTMAS 🎄IN JULY BLOG HOP - a inLinkz listing [Giveaways]

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Chat With Vera's giveaway for a Good Earth Beauty Exclusives Rose Hand Cream is one of the giveaways listed. Other giveaways are sponsored by individual bloggers and their sponsors. 

Lotion that feels super good, protects skin, and is all natural - Good Earth Beauty Exclusives Rose Hand Cream [Review & Giveaway]

 It's summer! It's hot! It's muggy! It's delightful!

We love it and our bodies love it because we're more active. We're out getting exercise, breathing more deeply (builds lung power), building muscle strength, and helping our heart. We're soaking in the Vitamin D from the Sun's rays and enjoying that special "glow" we get from sunny days.

We also have some skin hazzards during the summer. Sun exposure dries the skin, toughens the skin, and ultimately degrades the skin. Wind exposure (yes, even those deliciously warm breezes) also dry the skin. 

Quick cook fry pan bread treat

 I have found a delightful way to make a "treat" using bits of left overs and ripe bananas.The "recipe" is kind of a mish-mash and no particularly set amounts. It is for a non-stick fry pan about 8" in size. Ingredients I use sometimes (and you can vary).... NOTE: I started making this using just over-ripe bananas so they wouldn't go to waste. Then I began the adventure of playing with other add-ins. 

A word about grocery shopping

I never liked the idea of planned menu grocery shopping. Of course, I recognize that this might be a positive shopping approach for some. I found that once I had learned the basics of cooking and had enough cash-on-hand to stock basics that I could prepare most meals and meals/dishes without issues. There are, of course, special fresh items that one needs to purchase for specific recipes that require a shopping trip other than basic shopping.

Shopping cart with plastic-free foods.
(Martha Bebinger/WBUR)
borrowed from https://www.wbur.org/news

I approach shopping (in these, my senior years) by shopping for what I enjoy, sales (for stashing away in pantry or freezer), products for which I have a really good coupon, and what will agree with my health. So some limitations. Some splurges. Some sensibilities.