Sail Into the Season with This Freebie!

~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 10 Comments

This month’s First Friday Freebie is so much fun!  I’ve been excited to let the cat out of the bag on this one.

If you’ve been keeping up with things for a while here at Midwest Storyteller, you’ll remember that I treated you to An Interview with Author Diane Yates.  Diane provided a copy of her first book, “Pathways of the Heart” as a First Friday Freebie.  Later, I offered another great freebie from Diane – her second book, “All That Matters”. 

Well, it’s been a little difficult to keep up with Diane!  She’s been turning out more great reads.  Her first two books, written in novel form, contained the true story of her mother’s life, a tale of a spunky woman whose difficult journey eventually brought her to the understanding of what really matters.  Diane then moved on to Christian romance and brought us “Melissa’s Fate” and the sequel, “Impossible Fate”.  The first book in this series brought Diane requests for the second and I can understand why.  What a story!

Now, just for fun, Diane Yates brings us “Christmas on the High Seas” and I thank her so much for offering it to you as this month’s First Friday Freebie.

Let’s see what Diane has to say about her latest endeavor.  Then, I’ll tell you exactly how to enter to win.

Storyteller:  How did you like writing your first Christmas romance?

Diane Yates:  It was truly a lot of fun! I thought it would be difficult because I had to write it in the middle of summer, but music has always been inspirational in my writing and I could literally listen to Christmas carols all year round. Since it was a Christmas in the Caribbean, I had Alexa playing everything from Jimmy Buffet’s Christmas Island album, to Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters!

Storyteller:  So, tell me about the main character in Christmas on the High Seas.

Diane Yates:  Her name is Halley Simpson. She works in advertising in New York City, but her life has not always been ideal. When she and her younger sister, Kaleigh, were little, their parents were killed in an auto accident. They were both raised by their grandmother. When Halley was thirteen, a popular boy, Devon Copeland, called her chubby and with the help of his friends, set about tormenting her all through high school. College was a much better experience for her. With her long blonde hair and slender body, she never had to give Devon Copeland another thought.

Storyteller:  How does Halley end up on the High Seas Cruise Ship for Christmas, sharing a room with none other than Devon Copeland?

Diane Yates:  Halley and her sister, Kaleigh, originally booked a Christmas cruise a year ago. Since that time, Kaleigh married and sold her ticket to her friend, Candace. Halley boards the ship expecting to share a room with her sister’s friend, but when she opens the door to her state room, she finds Devon as Candace has sold her ticket to him.

Storyteller:  How awkward is this for Halley?

Diane Yates:  First, it meant that she had to relive some painful memories and come to realize she still harbored anger and hatred, yet her beloved Nana had taught her to love her enemies. Not only does Halley have to sleep in the same room, but she will have to eat at the same table every evening and attend the same onshore excursions with him.

Storyteller:  What is remarkable about this particular Christmas story?

Diane Yates:  There are fun experiences from jet skiing and scuba diving to dancing in the sand under the stars. From Key West to Cozumel, Nassau to Christmas Island, this cruise is one exciting adventure.

Storyteller:  How does Halley deal with her high school enemy?

Diane Yates:  The big thing for Halley is she is experiencing the adventure of a lifetime yet her memories will be forever tainted with the presence of her high school enemy. Devon mentions that people can change, but she doesn’t believe it for a minute. She has hung on to her hatred for so long.

Storyteller:  When all is said and done, what next?

Diane Yates:  The big take away from this story is “never judge a book by its cover!” (Pun intended!) No, everyday Halley judged Devon by his past mistakes, but on this cruise, enmity meets forgiveness and hate falls for love.

Storyteller:  What is next for you as an author?

Diane Yates:  I will be completing the third book of the Fate Series, which is the Drake Family Saga. In the first book, Melissa’s Fate, Beth reappears with shocking news. Phil Drake will never forgive her, but he’ll do anything to save the little girl he didn’t know existed. In book two, Impossible Fate, Melissa and David Drake grow up. At a young age, David falls in love with Aliyah Zimmerman, but she’s Jewish and he’s Christian. Her parents equate Christians with Hitler because Hitler claimed to be Christian. Her parents forbid her to even be with David. She is expected to marry a nice Jewish boy, but David trusts God to provide a way. The title of the third book is still being determined, but my vote goes for “Love’s Fate.” It is in this story that Love itself will be at risk for some of the Fate characters you hold dear and beyond. I’ll be releasing more information about this story in the upcoming weeks.

Storyteller:  Do you have anything more you’d like to share?

Diane Yates:  Yes. As always, I remain so very thankful for my readers. Without you, my stories stop! When you take time to read my books, share a review or rating on Amazon, Goodreads, Bookbub, etc., and follow me on those sites, you participate in promoting my career. I am humbled by your faith in my writing.

Storyteller:  Thanks so much, Diane, for giving us such exciting previews.

You’ll find that “Christmas on the High Seas” is a quick read for all of us who are so busy this time of year, so even if you’re not the winner, be sure to grab a copy for yourself and some for stocking stuffers!

Christmas on the High Seas is published by Forget Me Not Romances, an imprint of Winged Publications. The book is available at www.DianeYates.com and Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-High-Seas-Diane-Yates-ebook/dp/B08H8M4QJW.   Or, you can click on any of the links in this post to access Diane’s books and more information about them. Diane is represented by Stephanie Hansen of Metamorphosis Literary Agency.

To enter to win “Christmas on the High Seas”, all you need to do is “Leave a Comment” on this post, saying, “Bring me some Christmas romance!”  You’ll need to do that before midnight TONIGHT, November 6th, 2020!

First Friday Freebies are for email SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, so hop on over to the right sidebar or use the menu to navigate to the “Contact” page and subscribe to Midwest Storyteller if you haven’t done so already.

Your friends will enjoy the stories, recipes, laughter and, of course, the FREEBIES here on the blog, too, so share with all your friends and family through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest.

Subscribers win every single month!  On the “Freebies” page, you’ll be able to see what they’ve been winning.

Once again, a winner will be chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight tonight by leaving a comment which says, “Send me some Christmas romance!”

Click here to see the complete rules. 

Four simple steps!

Don’t let the day slip away!  Subscribe now if you haven’t already, and confirm in your email before you forget! 

Thanksgiving is right around the corner.  Can you believe it?  Then, we “sail” straight into Christmas!  This Freebie will put you in the mood.

Comments or questions?  I’d love to hear from you!  Please leave a comment telling me what good books you’ve read lately.  I’m curious – what is your favorite book of all time?

Changing Time

~ Midwest Storyteller

It snowed here on October 26th – the first snowfall of the season and a bit jarring for someone like me.  I hadn’t even made the switch from Daylight Savings Time yet and that plunge into darkness is bad enough. I have a “love fall/hate winter” thing going on and I like to put the snow event off till Christmas Eve.  Make that dusk on Christmas Eve with somewhere between two and four inches.  However, I do have to admit there’s beauty in a frozen rose.

Frozen Joseph's Coat Rose

Today it was once again so beautiful that I put my ‘Lil Snookie in the stroller and we went for a long walk with not so much as a jacket.  I’m soaking up as many of these gems as God grants me before the actual Midwest Winter Nasties set in, unpack their frosty bags and refuse to leave until April except for brief episodes of hiding just to tease.

Recently, at my local writers group, we were challenged to write, on the fly, a story focusing on this time of year.  I thought I’d share mine with you today.  The prompt brought to mind the emotions that, for me, change with the season.

A nip in the air tells me that it’s changing time.  It happens every autumn.  For me, it comes as a strange mix – something between a child-like ecstasy and PTSD.

Soon the leaves will change and the inner voice tells me, so must I.

For ten minutes or so, I’ll lose myself in a world of cozy sweaters, chunky jewelry, scarves, boots and jeans.  Then, then some random distraction jerks me out of my reverie, my eye catches the strappy patent leather sandals I’ve left near my chair and I want to hug them and beg, “Please, don’t go!”

Each new fall sign brings another urge.  “Plant mums!” it says.  “What’s wrong with you?  Why are there no pumpkins on your porch?”  Yet, next to the front steps, my hot pink petunias wave and I wave back, “Please, don’t go!”

I make huge lists.  I need to stock up!  How squirrels do this without pen, paper and a phone app or two – I have no idea.  Herbs, spices, flours, broths, sauces and a bulk bag of chocolate (lest a blizzard set in) are all put on the list.  Three or four stores and two or three days later, the shelves are loaded, the checkbook’s been unloaded and I’m starting to calm as I take my tour of the estate and breathe the air that is now crisp.  I might be ready for colored leaves now.  That is, until my eyes fall upon the rows of pots clustered in the southern flower bed.  I feel an only too familiar pang at the sight of basil, parsley, sage, lemongrass and all the others and I stifle the urge to beg them, “Please!  Don’t go!”

How can this glory and this vibrancy bring this sadness?  Years of experience have proved that winter will pass, but it will pass slowly.

It seems my moods in autumn vary as much as do the many-colored leaves.

Autumn's First Snow www.midweststoryteller.com

How about you, Dear Reader?  Do you make a smooth transition into winter or do you curl up and feel as encrusted and weighed down as a rose that droops beneath the weight of unwelcome change? 

Science tells us, most unromantically, that it’s merely the chlorophyll’s exit that enables us to see the sugar in the leaves that up until now it’s kept hidden from view.  Perhaps that should serve as a great reminder to us to savor the sweetness of each beautiful autumn day and thrive in this beautiful season.

Autum is About to Tell Us How Beautiful It Can Be to Let Things Go www.midweststoryteller.com

How do you savor your autumn days?  Long walks?  Special events?  Scenic drives?  Leave a comment and share your favorite fall activities.

Meet October’s First Friday Freebie Winner!

~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 1 Comment

I almost didn’t get this announcement out while it’s still October!  The First Friday Freebie found its new home weeks ago, but in case you haven’t heard, I keep my grandbaby every day and am in the middle of the world’s longest kitchen remodel.  I’m just a wee teeny bit distracted. 

Meet the winner –

Ruby from Boonville, Missouri

Congratulations, Ruby!  I know you enter often and that it has paid off.  You’re not a first-time winner.

Ruby won this fall set of two kitchen towels from Fabulous Home’s Fall Harvest Collection.  Measuring 15” X 25”, they are of generous size.  One boasts a plaid of burgundy and gold while the coordinating towel has word art just right for the season. For an extra touch of fall color, you can display (either hanging or sitting) this 5” X 5” metal sign by Dayspring that lovingly lists “Ten Things God Wants You to Remember”.

If you’d like to see the original freebie offer and have a better look at the items Ruby won, click here.

You can see past First Friday Freebies and their winners on my Freebies! page here.  If you’re not yet a subscriber to Midwest Storyteller they might entice you to become one – First Friday Freebies are for email subscribers only.

Ruby entered her email in the subscription area here on the blog and then confirmed her subscription when the confirmation email arrived in her inbox.  And that, dear friends, is just as free as the freebie!  Subscribing is the best way to avoid missing what’s new here on the blog because you’ll get an email reminder each time there’s something new – like when there’s a FREEBIE on the First Friday of every month.

Comment as directed on the post that offers the Freebie and you’ll be entered to win. 

Freebies are my way of reaching more people with the stories, recipes and more.  When you share with all your friends via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, you’ll give them the opportunity to subscribe and win also.  Subscribing is free.  Freebies are free.  Get the idea?

I’m excited about November’s drawing which will take place next Friday on November 6th.   I’ll surprise you that morning with the announcement and photo of November’s free gift, so don’t forget to check it out.

A winner is chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight on the day of the drawing. 

REMEMBER:  Should your name be drawn as the winner, you will be notified via the email you used to subscribe.  That means you’ll need to check your email often in the week following the drawing so that you can respond and keep the prize from being offered to someone else.

Take a moment make yourself familiar with the complete Freebie Rules by clicking HERE.

These four simple steps will have you ready to enter to win on Friday, November 6th, 2020.

If you’ve won one of my Freebies in the past, leave a comment today and let me know how you liked it.  Did you gift it to someone special or keep it for yourself?    

You’ll Fall for This Freebie!

~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 8 Comments

When I think of this time of year, what comes to mind is a pot of my Zesty Pumpkin Soup.  Click here for that and remember to use almond milk to stay plan-friendly with Trim Healthy Mama. (And the biscuits in that blog post – not on plan – tasty, but pure Frankenfood.) I also think of digging out my boots and scarves, going on outings with friends while the weather is brisk and the colors are bright.  I dream of having friends over for comfort food!

To do that, I like a touch of fall in the house, even in the kitchen.  You probably do, too, and that’s why I think you’ll enjoy October’s First Friday Freebie!

You’ll be hostessing in style with this fall set of two kitchen towels from Fabulous Home’s Fall Harvest Collection.  Measuring 15” X 25”, they are of generous size.  One boasts a plaid of burgundy and gold while the coordinating towel has word art just right for the season. For an extra touch of fall color, you can display (either hanging or sitting) this 5” X 5” metal sign by Dayspring that lovingly lists “Ten Things God Wants You to Remember”.

To enter to win this fall towel set and metal sign, leave a comment on this post before midnight tonight, October 2nd, 2020 and be sure to say, “I’ve fallen for the Freebie!”

First Friday Freebies are for email SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, so subscribe now over at the right sidebar or use the menu to navigate to the “Contact” page and subscribe to Midwest Storyteller if you haven’t done so already.

Your friends will enjoy the stories, recipes, laughter and, of course, the FREEBIES here on the blog, too, so share with all your friends and family through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest.

Subscribers win every single month!  On the “Freebies” page, you’ll be able to see what they’ve been winning.

Once again, a winner will be chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight tonight by leaving a comment which says, “I’ve fallen for the Freebie!”

Click here for complete First Friday Freebie rules.

Four simple steps!

If you don’t do it now, you might just forget between now and midnight and miss your opportunity to enter.  Subscribe now if you haven’t already, and confirm in your email.

Enjoy these beautiful days if you live in a place where the seasons change.  Winter around here is nothing I care to brag about, but autumn in the Midwest is a glorious sight to behold.  May you revel in the beauty of it all!  Have a picnic.  Take long walks. Gather some folks around a campfire. Just go sit and stare at the handiwork of God.

Comments or questions?  What’s your favorite thing to do this time of year? 

Meet September’s First Friday Freebie Winner!

~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 1 Comment

Autumn officially arrived a little over a week ago and the days have been just lovely here, even the rainy ones, for it has been the kind of rain that feels appropriate for the transition of the seasons.

As we now greet October, color is due to arrive where we live and I am always in hopes that science equals beauty.  All the right amounts of rain at just the exact times causes a burst of orange, gold and burgundy and that certain red that can only be described as “fall red”.  While we wait for it, let’s meet the latest winner of Midwest Storyteller’s First Friday Freebie. 

September’s free gift found its home with –

Debby from Boonville, Missouri

Debby is a first time winner here on the blog.  Congratulations, Debby!  I hope you enjoy your diamond dial watch and I know it will go with lots of your outfits for fall.

If you’d like to see the original freebie offer and have a better look at the beautiful watch Debby won, click here.

You can see past First Friday Freebies and their winners on my Freebies! page here.  If you’re not yet a subscriber to Midwest Storyteller they might entice you to become one – First Friday Freebies are for email subscribers only.

Debby is a fairly new subscriber and you must be an email subscriber to enter to win.  She did that entering her email in the subscription area here on the blog and then confirming her subscription when the confirmation email arrived in her inbox.  And that, dear friends, is just as free as the freebie!  Subscribing is the best way to avoid missing what’s new here on the blog because you’ll get an email reminder each time there’s something new – like when there’s a FREEBIE on the First Friday of every month.

Comment as directed on the post that offers the Freebie and you’ll be entered to win. 

Freebies are my way of reaching more people with the stories, recipes and more.  When you share with all your friends via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, you’ll give them the opportunity to subscribe and win also.  Subscribing is free.  Freebies are free.  Get the idea?

October’s drawing will take place tomorrow on Friday, October 2nd.  I’ll surprise you in the morning with the announcement and photo of October’s free gift, so don’t forget to check it out.

A winner is chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight on the day of the drawing. 

REMEMBER:  Should your name be drawn as the winner, you will be notified via the email you used to subscribe.  That means you’ll need to check your email often in the week following the drawing so that you can respond and keep the prize from being offered to someone else.

Take a moment make yourself familiar with the complete Freebie Rules by clicking HERE.

These four simple steps will have you ready to enter to win on Friday, October 2nd, 2020.

If you’ve won one of my Freebies in the past, leave a comment today and let me know how you liked it.  Did you gift it to someone special or keep it for yourself?    

Life With Smuffy (Episode 7): “It Has Its Ups and Downs”

~ Midwest Storyteller

Lest you think all Smuffy does is renovate the kitchen, let’s get back to what the man does in his off hours.  He doesn’t get too many of those, so he likes to jazz them up as much as possible.  I remember closing out Episode 6 of Life With Smuffy by giving thanks that there are enough angels to go around.

If I am to be honest and share the little phrase that floats through my head most often lately, it is this:  “Poor Smuffy”.  Living in an old house means constant upkeep and what isn’t actually broken needs updating.  Then, there are acts of God, nature’s tendency to descend from order into chaos and the animal world to contend with.  Because Smuffy knows how to do everything, he does everything. Why call the man when you can be the man?

We try to take a bit of leisure on Saturday mornings before we plunge into the mammoth project of the day and discuss the plan of attack, sighing a lot as we exchange looks that tell us that we are of like mind in wondering when and if this will ever end this side of Heaven.  A couple of weeks ago, we were doing just that.

I took a sip of tea and snuggled more comfortably into the sofa.  Smuffy, while never having contracted the Boogie Woogie Flu, has had a severe case of Rockin’ Pneumonia all his life and I’ve had to train myself to hold my head still when conversing with him while he’s in his rocking chair lest I get whatever it is people get in their necks from sitting at tennis matches and whipping their heads from side to side all day.  I hoped against all hope that I wouldn’t be losing my kitchen contractor for the day.  Nature, in the form of a once orderly tree, had descended into such a state that the whopper just to the south of our driveway would soon be causing plenty of chaos should the next big storm send it crashing onto the vehicles or the house.

“What’s the day look like, Dear?” I asked.

“Well, I’ve been thinking about that tree,” Smuffy sighed, taking another sip of coffee and making me wonder, yet again, how he can sip the hot stuff while moving so fast.  He can hold a plate of hot food and eat an entire meal while rocking at top speed, too, but that’s another story.

I stifled my own sigh and the groan that threatened to escape me.  Smuffy didn’t have any business up in that big old tree, but I’d never known that bit of common sense to stop him.  In addition to the danger of plummeting from a great height, the day promised to be hot enough to cause a heat stroke.

“The more I think about it,” he went on, “the less I want to climb it.  I’ve decided I’m just gonna call somebody and have it taken down.”

I could have jumped off the sofa and gone into a buck and wing dance right there in my jammies, but I refrained, lest it send him into one of those so-are-you-saying-I-can’t-get-that-tree-down-by-myself? attitudes.

We spent a few minutes discussing who we might call for the job and I actually began to feel like we were getting a little posh just for calling anybody for anything.  Smuffy listed off a few smaller outside chores he wanted to attend to before getting to work on the kitchen and then we each went our own way with him heading outside while I set about to get dishes, laundry and a few other things started before I got dressed and plunged into serious cleaning.

Just as I grabbed some clothes and headed for the bathroom, the phone rang.  Smuffy’s voice on the other end came slow and measured.

“I’m on the roof.”

Before the “Why?” that trembled upon my lips could escape me, he continued.

“There are wasps.  I have agitated them.  They are between me and the only way down.  I need you to bring the wasp and hornet spray out and throw it up onto the roof so I can spray them and get down.”

“Okay,” I said, “but I hope you realize that I’m the last person you want throwing something at anything.  And I’ll have to find it first.”

Smuffy tried to tell me where the can of spray was, but I knew he naively spoke of where it was supposed to be.  When we’d moved and reinstalled the reverse osmosis for the kitchen, I’d had to empty the shelf that held all that sort of thing and disperse the items around the basement wherever they’d fit.  On the way to the basement, I shed the robe, knowing it would hamper my (as I loosely referred to it in my mind) throwing arm.  The neighbors, if they didn’t get too close, would interpret my nightie to be a sundress, or so I told myself.

I don’t know if you have one of those “old house basements” that looks like a game of “Where’s Waldo and How Long Do You Think He’s Been Dead?” but locating the can nearly had me weeping at the thought that by the time I finally found it Smuffy could be sliding off the roof, a swollen mass of stings.  Laying hands on it at last, I imagined this must be how Sherlock Holmes felt every time he searched through cigar ash and discovered a speck of something that could only have fallen from a gentleman of independent means wearing a scarf of Shetland wool and carrying an Orpington hen.

I ran outside and around to the back of the house to find Smuffy perched near the highest point of the roof.  I thought this might be the proper time to ask him why he was up there.  He reminded me that he’d been wanting to adjust the antenna for a while now.  He explained that he couldn’t come any closer without agitating the wasps further and that I needed to back up and fling the can with all my might.

It went just about like I had expected.  In fact, it went that way three or four times.  Finally, Smuffy suggested that I go around to the northwest corner of the house to higher ground so I wouldn’t have so far to throw.  He could then climb over the roof and most of the way down and be ready to catch the can.  I didn’t balk at this, but I do admit to having the unpleasant awareness that I would now be much nearer to the street in my nightie, flinging myself about while being hollered at by a guy on the roof.  Oh, well…

While sound in theory, I had no faith in this new plan of Smuffy’s.  The last thing I wanted to see was Smuffy scrambling up, down and sideways across a steep roof trying to catch an oblong metal object launched by a woman in a manner which was bound to convince passersby that she’d been having a couple.

I scrambled in amongst the petunias and boxwood, tightened my grip on the can and drew my arm back in preparation to let it fly.

“It’s not a shot put!”  Smuffy yelled.  “Here, watch me.”  Instructing me to back up, he stood up and motioned with his arm, instructing me how to hold the can, how to swing my arm and when to release.  Then, crouching as near the edge of the roof as he could safely get, he cupped his hands and squinted as though he fully expected to receive a concussion.

Well, you can’t call me a slow learner!  I’ll have you know I landed it near enough to Smuffy that he managed, with a few interesting dance steps, to grab the can on my second attempt.  I ducked inside out of public view and he slithered over the top of the roof and down the other side to tackle the swarm.  Watching out the dining room window at the back of the house, I asked myself if this was the kind of thing I’d traded the tree job for and if it might have been wiser to save the money for hospital bills.  I gave thanks that there are enough angels to go around and went to get dressed.

A short while later, with the washer and dryer going and now the dishwasher, I finished dusting and pulled out the vacuum cleaner and continued my mission to get the basic chores done before I started my list of extras.  It was then that the earth moved.

The whole house shook with the crash.  The windows rattled.  The floor moved under my feet.  Phoebe June did a little shaking of her own.  The force was such that I looked around to see if cracks were snaking across the plaster on the walls and I wouldn’t have been surprised to find that the foundation had shifted.  Had some huge explosion occurred on the other side of town? Sirens would probably sound any minute. I raced around to the south kitchen window and my eyes followed a tall ladder as it stretched up into the very tree we had just decided not to cut down ourselves.  The gutter dangled off the east end of the porch and the fallen portion of the tree wouldn’t let me get down the deck steps.  I spotted Smuffy at the top of the ladder before I ran back through the house and out the front door.

Smuffy Up a Tree

I still couldn’t get anywhere near him for the tree lay over the front lawn, flower beds, driveway and the yard on the other side of the driveway, not to mention a portion of our truck.

Seeing me, Smuffy pointed at the truck.  “I thought I parked the truck far enough away,” he yelled.  “Guess not.”

Big Tree Gimpy Truck midweststoryteller.com

I looked at our dangling bumper – a nice match for the gutter.  Turning to the house, I gave it the once over.  No broken windows and the porch remained attached.  Shingles seemed to be in their places.  Now I gave Smuffy the once over.

“What are you doing up there?  What happened to calling the man to come cut down the tree?” I yelled.

“Well,” Smuffy replied, and I’m not sure he didn’t give his chin a thoughtful rub.  “I just decided I wasn’t going to let this old tree beat me.”

I resisted the urge to scream that for two cents I’d be happy to beat him.

“I suppose it never occurred to you to tell me in advance that you were going to climb up there and cut down that tree?”

At this point I threw my hands up in the air and went back in the house, figuring that his logic must be that after the wasp incident, this was mere child’s play.  Your mind can’t help but take some sort of stab at Smuffy’s reasoning.

Once my heart stopped racing and the urge to strangle Smuffy subsided a bit, I stopped to give thanks again that there are enough angels to go around.

The scary part about it is that Smuffy only took down a third of that tree.  Maybe he’ll give me a while to recover before the next chapter in this story.

The answer is “yes” in case you are wondering – Smuffy has always been this way. 

Dig those socks!

Life With Smuffy does, indeed, have its ups and downs.  I’m glad that his angels specialize in bringing him down gently.

My Life With Smuffy has been exciting from Day 1.  Read about our Smokin’ Hot Honeymoon.  You’ll find, in Smuffy Takes the Cure that I did try intervention.  His river adventures here and here will make this story seem like a walk in the park (on flat ground)!

I’d love to hear from you.  Please leave a comment!

It’s Time for a Freebie!

~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 7 Comments

I think you’ll agree with me that as soon as the calendar flipped over to September, it was time for a change!  People have shown an amazing amount of patience in the last several months, but I can sense a certain something in the air that tells me we are all ready for cooler weather, a shift in how we connect with the world and a big dose of normalcy.

I’m here to lift your spirits with a lovely gift!  I think you’ll enjoy September’s First Friday Freebie! 

Freebie Diamond Dial Watch midweststoryteller.com

This gorgeous watch by “Time and True” will help you get back into the swing of things in style.  It has a genuine diamond in the dial and the thing I love most is the self-adjustable bracelet band.  You can see that on the watch in the lower portion of the photo. This means you won’t have to have the band adjusted by adding or removing links. You ask why there are two watches?  I couldn’t resist buying one for myself when I got one just for you!  Smuffy always gets the job of removing links when I buy a watch with a metal band because I have small wrists, so I was thrilled to be able to find such a pretty watch that I could just put on and wear.

The color is a rose gold that leans toward bronze which will look perfect with your fall outfits.

And guys, do you know how many points you’ll score if you win this watch and give it to her “just because”?  I’m trying to help you out here.

So many people have said these last few months that the days have gone by in a blur to the point where they didn’t know what time it was or what day it was.  I’ve found myself feeling the same way.  So, if you’re headed back to school, work or just a more normal life, you might enjoy this First Friday Freebie.  By the way, it is September, it is Friday and it is the 4th day of the month.  Are we all straightened out now?   

To enter to win this “Time and True” Diamond Dial Watch, leave a comment on this post before midnight tonight, September 4th, 2020 and be sure to say, “It’s time I won a Freebie!”

First Friday Freebies are for email SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, so subscribe now over at the right sidebar or use the menu to navigate to the “Contact” page and subscribe to Midwest Storyteller if you haven’t done so already.

Your friends will enjoy the stories, recipes, laughter and, of course, the FREEBIES here on the blog, too, so share with all your friends and family through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest.

Subscribers win every single month!  On the “Freebies” page, you’ll be able to see what they’ve been winning.

Once again, a winner will be chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight tonight by leaving a comment which says, “It’s time I won a Freebie!”

Click here for complete First Friday Freebie rules.

Four simple steps!

If you don’t do it now, tomorrow will dawn and you’ll have missed your opportunity to enter.  Subscribe now if you haven’t already, and confirm in your email before you forget! 

The days are shorter now.  Autumn will officially be here in less than three weeks.  Decorate your home, pull out the scarves and sweaters and have them ready for that first nippy day.  Things are about to change and, my dear friends, it’s about time!

Next up, (did I say up?) Smuffy’s up to something – WAY up!

Comments or questions?  What have you done in the last few months to keep the joy alive? 

Life with Smuffy (Special Episode – Part 6 of ?): “Transition of a Kitchen”

~ Midwest Storyteller

Today’s post is actually a report on what is actually “old news” around here – by a few weeks at least.  I find that by the time I take care of my sweet little grandson all day every day, blog posts are to be squeezed in around all the fun and games.  He began crawling a couple of days ago on the very day he turned eight months old, so now I am really having to be on my toes around here.

Smuffy continues to plug away at the new kitchen in his off hours and those seem to be few.  It’s been amazing how long it takes to make something that looks so simple to those who have walked into the store and walked back out with the item or who have told their contractor to “make it happen” and had it appear magically in their house.  But, when every single piece of the puzzle has to be custom designed by the designer (me) and then created to fit perfectly by the master carpenter (Smuffy), it does drag on and on.

I’m tickled pink with this great storage cabinet he’s completed for above my wall oven.

Upper Cabinet Storage midweststoryteller.com

I’m a tall cook, so I have no problem reaching up there for cookie sheets, cooling racks and oversized pans.  I added the bottom row of small holes for rolling pins, pastry mat, tall bottles, drying mats and anything else that needs stashing there. 

We had originally planned on walnut countertops made from a tree that Smuffy cut up and hauled home from the forest.  Due to a concatenation of circumstances, we opted to abandon this plan along with the bowed front antique buffet we’d bought for a sink base.  I shed a tear or two over that before sitting down to design my own furniture style sink base and then go shopping for the right countertops to go with it.  We’ll still use Smuffy’s walnut for our open shelving areas and some ideas I have for other rooms.

Granite soon rose to the top as the best choice for us and we ended up choosing one called “Giallo Fiorito”.  With my creamy cabinets, I didn’t really want any granite with white in it and I did want one with the same tones that my walnut would have had. 

I don’t know if you recall that in my last kitchen update, I was a tad nervous about the installation of my long-awaited countertops and expressed my desire to escort the installers personally to my door lest they go to the wrong house.  Well, you can call that woman’s intuition if you like, but that’s exactly what happened.  They were just a bit late and then, wouldn’t you know, they called me and told me that they were knocking on my door and no one was answering.  After some discussion during which we arranged all the digits of my house number in proper order, they continued on their way.

I remained a bit tense.  I knew I would be until that breakable hunk of rock was safely installed.  I followed the man who seemed to be in charge of the crew of four into my kitchen.  Having a rear view, I saw his shoulders sag as he let out a heavy sigh and breathed the words, “This is going to be difficult.”

Those four guys got their morning’s exercise!  When it was all said and done, we had no breakage, beautiful countertops and a sink that beat my “farmhouse” one all to heck!

Giallo Fiorito Granite midweststoryteller.com

Phoebe June had to wait for the guys to leave before she could belly up to the lunch counter.

The next day, Smuffy got busy and installed my new gas cooktop, Delta faucet with soap dispenser, reverse osmosis faucet, reverse osmosis water filtration system and garbage disposal.  I hardly knew how to act!

You’re supposed to ignore the towel rack applied with floral duct tape and the hideous window that has since been ripped out. Only the storm windows have been temporarily re-installed while we await the arrival of our new windows.

A cabinet above the refrigerator is finished and ready for installation and then we are on to upper cabinets, open shelving, more pull-outs and doors.  Somewhere in there, I’ve got to remove old wallpaper, paint the walls and shop for backsplash.  I am not following the crowd on subway tile here, so I’d appreciate all your comments and ideas on backsplash.

In the midst of all this, Smuffy has undertaken a couple of other things that took up his time and slowed things down.  He doesn’t seem to know how to do that without bringing sudden bursts of excitement into my day and giving me something else to write about so I’ll share that with you soon – now that calmness has returned to the household. 

I know you’re bored these days with so many activities cancelled.  What better time to catch up on my Life With Smuffy?  He has his own page here on the blog for good reason, so why not start at the beginning?  He’s full of surprises!

The kitchen makeover chronicles include my embarrassing “before” photos in “Death of a Kitchen”.  After that, you can catch up with “A Glimmer of Hope and Stainless Steel”, “Birth Pains of a Kitchen”, “My Not-A-Kitchen Kitchen” and “A Trim Healthy Pantry and Some Plywood”. 

I truly value any tips you can leave me in the comments concerning features you like/don’t like in your kitchen.  Or, have you seen something online or in someone else’s kitchen that you’d like to have if you could remodel your kitchen?  Do you have any great storage ideas?

Meet August’s First Friday Freebie Winner!

~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 1 Comment

Here we are winding down to the end of summer.  Time to meet the latest winner of Midwest Storyteller’s First Friday Freebie.  This winner is yet another example of why it pays to enter often.

August’s free gift goes to –

Freebie Winner August 2020 midweststoryteller.com

Jenny from Boonville, Missouri

Jenny’s name has been drawn a couple of times in the past because she just keeps entering to win almost every month! 

Congratulations, Jenny!  I hope you “find JOY” in your Freebie!

If you’d like to see the original freebie offer and have a better look at the “Find Joy in Everything” wood and metal wall art that Jenny won, click here.

You can see past First Friday Freebies and their winners on my Freebies! page here.  If you’re not yet a subscriber to Midwest Storyteller they might entice you to become one – First Friday Freebies are for email subscribers only.

Jenny subscribed by entering her email in the subscription area here on the blog and then confirming her subscription when the confirmation email arrived in her inbox.  This is the best way to avoid missing what’s new here on the blog because you’ll get an email reminder each time there’s something new – like when there’s a FREEBIE on the First Friday of every month.

Comment as directed on the post that offers the Freebie and you’ll be entered to win. 

Freebies are my way of reaching more people with the stories, recipes and more.  When you share with all your friends via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, you’ll give them the opportunity to subscribe and win also.  Subscribing is free.  Freebies are free.  Get the idea?

September’s drawing will take place on Friday, September 4th.

A winner is chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight on the day of the drawing. 

REMEMBER:  Should your name be drawn as the winner, you will be notified via the email you used to subscribe.  That means you’ll need to check your email often in the week following the drawing so that you can respond and keep the prize from being offered to someone else.

Take a moment make yourself familiar with the complete Freebie Rules by clicking HERE.

These four simple steps will have you ready to enter to win on Friday, September 4th, 2020.

If you’ve won one of my Freebies in the past, leave a comment today and let me know how you liked it.  Did you gift it to someone special or keep it for yourself?    

It’s Freebie Day – Oh, The Joy!

~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 8 Comments

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it’s August and the weather has been fabulous!  I’m told it’s to be short-lived, but here in the hot, sticky Midwest, we take relief any time we can get it.  To find myself looking in the mirror all throughout the first week of August and not muttering about the frizz and general icky-ness of my mane is almost miraculous – and welcome.  It’s almost as nice as a First Friday Freebie!

The year is now well into its second half and most of us will be glad to see 2020 and its ridiculousness go and we won’t even bother to tell it not to let the screen door smack its fanny on the way out!  Oh!  Wait a minute – I know what we need to do –

My first Friday Freebie is a great reminder to (as the old song goes) count your many blessings and name them one by one.  Or, as the Scripture says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” (James 1:2)  We definitely need reminding. My general tendency right now is toward muttering to myself throughout the day, rehearsing a list of world events and news reports that are stepping on my last frayed nerve.  You know the one.  It’s the nerve that (if I may borrow a phrase from P. G. Wodehouse) is already sticking out an inch and curled on the end.

This 6” X 6” reverse box-top framed word art by “Sign of the Times” has metal lettering and will easily fit into that little nook in your décor that just “needs a little something”.  Right now, we all need a little something.

To enter to win this “Find Joy in Everything” décor, leave a comment on this post before midnight tonight, August 7th, 2020 and be sure to say, “Freebies bring me joy!”

First Friday Freebies are for email SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, so subscribe now over to the right sidebar or use the menu to navigate to the “Contact” page and subscribe to Midwest Storyteller if you haven’t done so already.

Your friends will enjoy the stories, recipes, laughter and, of course, the FREEBIES here on the blog, too, so share with all your friends and family through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest.

Subscribers win every single month!  On the “Freebies” page, you’ll be able to see what they’ve been winning.

Once again, a winner will be chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight tonight by leaving a comment which says, “Freebies bring me joy!”

Click here for complete First Friday Freebie rules.

Four simple steps!

If you don’t do it now, tomorrow will dawn and you’ll have missed your opportunity to enter.  Subscribe now if you haven’t already, and confirm in your email before you forget! 

Spend the rest of your summer counting your blessings, even if is something as trivial as a week without frizzy hair!  I have so many things in my life to put on my blessings list.  We are all enjoying good health, this frightful kitchen makeover has made a giant leap forward and my sweet grandbaby is all laughter and smiles as he learns to sit up by himself and eat from a spoon.  He certainly seems to find joy in everything – except pears – and he would have you know that pears are disgusting.

An update on Smuffy’s grand kitchen remodel is coming up soon!

Comments or questions?  What have you done in the last few months to keep the joy alive? 

Meet July’s First Friday Freebie Winner!

~ Midwest Storyteller

I suppose 2020 has been crawling for some people, but not for me.  How in the world did we arrive at August?  It’s almost time for another First Friday Freebie, but before that, let me introduce you to July’s winner –  

Shirley from Boonville, Missouri

Shirley enters often and this time she’s won the beautiful fabric covered remembrance book/journal.

Congratulations, Shirley!  Whether you journal your thoughts or just let it rest somewhere as décor, I hope you enjoy your First Friday Freebie.

If you’d like to see the original First Friday Freebie offer of this great Tuesday Morning find, click here.

Past winners of my First Friday Freebies are on my Freebies! page here.  First Friday Freebiesare for email subscribers only, so be sure to subscribe today if you’d like to enter to win.

Shirley’s name was drawn from among those who commented as instructed after reading the post that appeared on the first Friday of the month.  Becoming a subscriber is the best way to avoid missing what’s new here on the blog because you’ll get an email reminder each time there’s something new – like when there’s a FREEBIE on the First Friday of every month.

Comment as directed on the post and you’ll be entered to win. 

I love it when you share my blog posts with your friends via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest.  That helps me reach more people and gives them the opportunity to subscribe and win also.  Subscribing is free.  Freebies are free.  That makes life good.

August’s drawing will take place tomorrow on Friday, August 7th.

A winner is chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight on the day of the drawing. 

REMEMBER:  Should your name be drawn as the winner, you will be notified via the email you used to subscribe.  That means you’ll need to check your email often in the week following the drawing so that you can respond and keep the prize from being offered to someone else.

Take a moment make yourself familiar with the complete Freebie Rules by clicking HERE.

These four simple steps will have you ready to enter to win on Friday, August 7th, 2020.

Spread the word and, most importantly, look for tomorrow’s post and enter to win!   

Life with Smuffy (Special Episode – Part 5 of ?): “A Trim Healthy Pantry and Some Plywood”

~ Midwest Storyteller

Sometimes, it’s the little things in life that make all the difference.  For instance, Smuffy’s custom “farmhouse sink” installation.  That certainly breathed new life into the old kitchen!  But, alas, I suppose I’m one to never be satisfied, because I found myself wanting more of life’s little luxuries.

The last few weeks have brought some advancements that have at least gotten the kitchen back into the kitchen.  If you’d like to see my “Not-A-Kitchen” which was in the dining room, click here.  With Smuffy’s addition of plywood along one kitchen wall, we now have a countertop (sort of) and I’ve cut my trusty vinyl tablecloth in half and moved it onto the counter to be able to wipe up messes and keep the plywood from getting icky.  Just in case you’re wondering, those don’t rank high in durability.  The poor thing has lost its luster and has a couple of melted spots and will soon be ready for the trash can.  Bless its tacky lil’ heart, though, it has helped it make this giant leap into actually cooking in the kitchen!

In order to allow for adjusting the base cabinets, there are gaps in the temporary countertops.  This makes food prep interesting as I try my dog-gone-dest not to drop food and utensils down inside those holes.  While I am grateful for each baby step forward in this kitchen remodel, I do have to admit, if I am being totally honest, that there are some days when I’ve had just about as much ugly as I can stand.  And weird storage made of cardboard boxes stacked on their sides.  And this hot plate that is second only to my old stove in the category of “burners with minds of their own”.

I am loving the giant drawers Smuffy made. They hold a lot of stuff and I’m loving the smooth glide.

This has all gone on for so long now that I feel the urge to go over next week and personally escort the countertop installers to my door for my appointment just to be sure they don’t get lost or end up at the wrong house or something.  Perhaps I should also deliver nourishing meals to their door between now and then to reduce the likelihood of them calling in sick on the Big Day.

I like to find my bright spots where I can and when Smuffy finished my pantry, I was over the moon!  He advised me to cram it tight “for now” and wait for the final touches until the kitchen was much further along.  I vetoed that idea, knowing that it would give me a much needed mental boost to have a spot of loveliness and an area of organization.  I added the large red and cream medallion print wallpaper I’d chosen as a backdrop for all my pantry goodies and headed to Hobby Lobby to stock up on lots of nice jars and chalk labels (at half price, of course) for my ingredients.  The tall, antique ten-pane casement window will show off my efforts.  My theory is that you can always put anything unsightly in a nearby closed drawer.

As you can see, all my ingredients are conveniently at hand for making THM plan-friendly meals – my Gluccie, beef collagen, gelatin, baking blend, stevia, Super Sweet, Gentle Sweet and all the rest.  It’s really been a stress reliever to have this small area of the kitchen complete. The pantry goes floor to ceiling, so I overlapped three photos here. That’s the explanation for any oddities in viewing.

All the shelves are adjustable with strips and clips that make them easy to move, but it took me longer to get those exactly where I wanted them than it did to wallpaper the whole thing!

Some of the items won’t stay in the pantry, such as my food processor, blender and mugs, but right now they have no other home, so…

This concludes Part 5 of these special episodes of my Life With Smuffy.  With each completed step, I remind him that he’s my hero.  He’s not all about remodeling – not by a long shot – so check out his page if you need stories to curl your hair and broaden your smile.

The kitchen makeover chronicles include my embarrassing “before” photos in “Death of a Kitchen”.  After that, you can catch up with “A Glimmer of Hope and Stainless Steel”, “Birth Pains of a Kitchen” and “My Not-A-Kitchen Kitchen”. 

Next week, when I finally stop kissing and stroking my new countertops, I’ll be back to share the joy!

I’m curious. How do you organize your kitchen?  Do you have a pantry? Do you stock it only with food and ingredients or pots, pans and small appliances?  Do you have any great organizational tips?  Leave a comment!

Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Freebies!

~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 6 Comments

It’s July!  The heat and humidity has arrived here in the Midwest, but so has the First Friday Freebie, so that’s refreshing, isn’t it?

I haven’t figured out how summer can be lazy and crazy at the same time.  I suppose the songwriter was grasping for rhymes or perhaps was just bored to tears between parties or something.

I’ve forgotten what lazy feels like, but I refuse to refer to my days as crazy.  “Wildly blessed” – How’s that?

Having made it through the first half of 2020, I think we all have to admit that it’s been a corker.  Most of us are fed up with events and the lack thereof to the point of wanting to throw a real hissy-fit and scream, “Can’t we all just be together, and normal and nice to each other at the same time?”

Anyhow, it’s been a half-year for the record books and that brings us to this First Friday Freebie.

This beautiful fabric covered remembrance book/journal (a great find from Tuesday Morning) looks handmade and is ready for you to record precious memories, daily happenings, observations on life or perhaps tuck in photos.  The way things are going, a few prayers wouldn’t hurt. As an item of décor, it’s lovely!  French themed and measuring 7″X 4 3/4″, it has the appearance of having been passed down through the generations.  Aged prints decorate the inside covers. The blank pages, appearing browned with age, are simply secured to the binding with satin and lace ribbons that run through the metal rivets of the cover.  This allows the individual pages to be easily taken out in case you’d like to remove them in the future for sharing or copying.

Some people love to journal.  Some don’t.  If there’s ever been a time in your life to jot down your thoughts – it’s now.  You’ll want to leave behind your version of the historical times we live in.  I have a friend who loves to have ladies over for tea as much as I do and I envision her using this journal as her guest book.  You might find that keeping a “treasure book” such as this a great thing to have handy so that you can quickly record the milestones or just the cute things your children or grandchildren do or say.

To enter to win this beautiful journal, you’ll need to “Leave a Comment” on this post, saying, “The pretty journal, pretty please!” Be sure to do that before midnight TONIGHT, July 3rd, 2020!

First Friday Freebies are for email SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, so subscribe now over to the right sidebar or use the menu to navigate to the “Contact” page and subscribe to Midwest Storyteller if you haven’t done so already.

Your friends will enjoy the stories, recipes, laughter and, of course, the FREEBIES here on the blog, too, so share with all your friends and family through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest.

Subscribers win every single month!  On the “Freebies” page, you’ll be able to see what they’ve been winning.

Once again, a winner will be chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight tonight by leaving a comment which says, “The pretty journal, pretty please!”

Click here for complete First Friday Freebie rules.

Four simple steps!

Don’t let the day slip away!  Subscribe now if you haven’t already, and confirm in your email before you forget! 

May your summer be spent with the people, places and events you love and cherish enough to record in this beautiful book!

Comments or questions?  I’d love to hear from you! 

Announcing June’s First Friday Freebie Winner!

~ Midwest Storyteller

My goodness!  What a month!  I won’t get into the whole story while I’m announcing the freebie winner, but you’ll see in an upcoming post why I’ve had little time for blogging lately.

June’s First Friday Freebie goes to a three time winner –

Ruth from St. Louis, Missouri!

To give you a hint as to how distracted and busy I’ve been, you can see here that I’ve had to do a little bit of hurried, and unprofessional, photo editing of Ruth from one of her past wins.  (I’ve had some major problems getting to the post office lately and that left little time for us to send, receive and get a photo back.  Sigh…)

Ruth enters almost every month and it’s paying off!  This time, she’s won three copies of the U. S. Constitution.  I’m sure she’ll find a couple of friends to share the extras with who may already know and love this great document that grants us our rights and freedoms or maybe she’ll give them to someone who needs to get acquainted with it.

Congratulations, Ruth!  I hope you enjoy your First Friday Freebie – again!

If you’d like to see my original First Friday Freebie offer and find out why I chose to give away copies of the U. S. Constitution, click here.

You can see past First Friday Freebies and their winners on my Freebies! page here.  If you’re not yet a subscriber to Midwest Storyteller they might entice you to become one – First Friday Freebies are for email subscribers only.

Ruth subscribed by entering her email in the subscription area here on the blog and then confirming her subscription when the confirmation email arrived in her inbox.  This is the best way to avoid missing what’s new here on the blog because you’ll get an email reminder each time there’s something new – like when there’s a FREEBIE on the First Friday of every month.

Comment as directed on the post and you’ll be entered to win. 

Freebies are my way of reaching more people with the stories, recipes and more.  When you share with all your friends via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, you’ll give them the opportunity to subscribe and win also.  Subscribing is free.  Freebies are free.  Get the idea?

July’s drawing will take place tomorrow on Friday, July 3rd.

A winner is chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight on the day of the drawing. 

REMEMBER:  Should your name be drawn as the winner, you will be notified via the email you used to subscribe.  That means you’ll need to check your email often in the week following the drawing so that you can respond and keep the prize from being offered to someone else.

Take a moment make yourself familiar with the complete Freebie Rules by clicking HERE.

These four simple steps will have you ready to enter to win on Friday, July 3rd, 2020.

If you’ve won one of my Freebies in the past, leave a comment today and let me know how you liked it.  Did you gift it to someone special or keep it for yourself?    

Exciting News! I’m Hot Off the Press!

~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 2 Comments

Just a quick note today to announce that once again, one of my stories has been accepted for publication in the Columbia Chapter of the Missouri Writers’ Guild’s annual collection of poetry and prose! “Well Versed 2020” makes it’s debut this Saturday, June 13th! My story, “The Eyes of Love” is among the entries chosen for this year’s book.

I was honored to be chosen for publication in this anthology last year (Well Versed 2019) with a story called, “The Brown Wedding Dress” a true-life depiction giving but a snippet of the great love story of my Aunt Martha and Uncle George who were married over eighty years and shared a life and love that I was privileged to witness and record.

I share more of their story this year with “The Eyes of Love” which tells of a horrifying incident that occurred shortly after they married and which, though it brought them shock, pain and responsibilities that any of us would shrink from, drew them into a greater knowledge of love’s sacrifices and brought healing to Martha’s soul.

My apologies for being so late with this announcement. It seems there’s something about keeping a five-month-old while in the midst of this kitchen remodel that keeps me from getting things done quite the way I’d like.

Further apologies for having to announce that if you’d like a copy, you will have to email me at barb@midweststoryteller.com no later than Friday, June 12. (I told you I was behind on things!) They are $11 and if you need me to ship it to you, they will be $14 if you’d like to get one directly from me. You may also respond to my Facebook announcement in the comments. They will be available on Amazon at a later date.

Mine is one of the many contributions to this anthology and I offer my congratulations to all the other contributors!

If you’d like to have get to know Martha and her family members, glimpses into their lives are found along with other family stories can be found right here on my “Laugh” page.

A Freebie in the Land of the Free!

~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 6 Comments

Welcome to the first Friday of June. That always means there’s a freebie for you, should you be a subscriber, comment as instructed and be so blessed as to have Smuffy pull your name out of the random drawing. It’s a one day only type of thing, so do it now before you forget! Subscribing is easy and every bit as free as a freebie.

We are on the one-month count-down now to Independence Day!  I’d like to issue a reminder right now for you to begin referring to it as just that, especially in front of your children and grandchildren, rather that “The 4th”.

How often have you been asked, “What are you doing on ‘the 4th?'”  Every month has one, after all.  Let’s really celebrate the birth of our nation this year with the kiddies, the grand-kiddos, the cousins, in-laws and others with renewed appreciation for what it means.  In the light of everything going on in the world right now, we need a fresh look at freedom and the founders who wisely and prayerfully mapped out a course for us to follow in order to maintain it!

Smuffy shares his birthday with the Good Ole’ US of A.  Needless to say, he’s gone about the day in the full spirit of the thing all his life and we’ve never been short of fireworks around here.

This special First Friday Freebie is one that I’ve offered before.  Considering our nation’s challenges and the likelihood that the majority of our citizens genuinely need a deeper knowledge of its roots and their own freedoms, I may start doing this every year.  I would have offered it in July, but I wanted you to have it before the big day!  If you happen to be one of my fellow citizens of the USA, you are privileged to live in the finest nation on earth!  It may not be perfect, but it’s the best!

Now here’s June’s First Friday Freebie!

The U. S. Constitution

Nobody’s perfect.  Nothing this side of Heaven is perfect.  But the U.S. Constitution is as near to a perfect document as has ever been crafted by humans (and, I believe, with Divine Guidance).

Most of us studied it in school, but, let’s face it – we did it to pass the dreaded Constitution Test, not because we were overly fascinated by it.

I’d love to send you these three copies of the U.S. Constitution –

US Constitutions Set of 3 www.midweststoryteller.com

It’s time to give this little booklet another read.  This little forty page book outlines our freedoms.  People all around the world wish they had the liberties outlined in these pages.

There’s a copy for you, one for the kiddies (whether they be children or adults) and another for the grandkiddos.  If we do not teach the generations to value this precious document, we will lose it!

To enter to win all three copies, “Leave a Comment” on this post, saying, “I love the USA!”

SHARE this post through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest or send the link in an email to all your friends so they can enter to win!

Previous freebies can be found on the “Freebies” page.   Take a look at the gifts subscribers have been winning.

Once again, a winner will be chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight tonight by leaving a comment which says, “I love the USA!”

And now, here are the complete rules: 

  • First Friday Freebies are available to SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.  That means if you have come to this post through social media or someone has emailed you a link to it and you haven’t become a subscriber yet, you’ll need to hop on over to the right sidebar and do that really quick.    If you are on a phone or tablet, the easiest way is to go to the “About Me” page.  All it means to be a subscriber is that you’ll receive an email each time Midwest Storyteller has something new, which won’t likely be more than once or twice a week. It keeps you from missing out on all the fun and FREE STUFF!  And, I’m not sharing your emails with anybody.
  • IMPORTANT:  After subscribing, you MUST check your email to confirm the subscription or it will not appear.  Then, sadly, you won’t be eligible to enter.
  • To enter the drawing, scroll back up to the top of this post (or all the way to the bottom, depending on your device) and click on “Leave a Comment”.  Subscribers who comment as directed before midnight on Friday will enter the drawing, provided they are already on the subscribers list and live within the continental United States.

Three simple steps!

What are you waiting for?  Go!  Go!  Go!  Subscribe if you haven’t already, confirm and comment to enter before midnight tonight, June 5th! 

Announcing May’s First Friday Freebie Winner!

~ Midwest Storyteller

If you’ve been keeping up with me here on the blog then you know why I’m slow in getting this announcement made.  Smuffy’s grand remodel is all consuming and I do have to stop once in a while to clean what can be cleaned, snuggle Phoebe June, have a little melt-down and, of course, play toys, read books and sing songs with my Lil’ Snookie.  He’s five months old now, sprouting teeth, rolling over and liking his grandma to be as interactive as possible.  (It’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it.  Tee-hee!)

May’s First Friday Freebie has found a new home in the Ozarks!  Let’s meet the winner –

Freebie Winner Carol midweststoryteller.com

Carol from Branson, Missouri

Carol may have had time to finish reading her free copy of “All That Matters” by Diane Yates by now!  If so, please comment and treat us all to a book review.

Congratulations, Carol, and I hope you truly enjoy it!

If you’re curious about this great read, I encourage you to check out my interview with author Diane Yates here where you can also read my review of her first book, “Pathways of the Heart”.  I would encourage you all to visit Diane’s website at dianeyates.com and take a look at what she as to offer.  I’ve also read her novel, “Melissa’s Fate” and I know you’ll be captivated by the story in that book.  Diane has a brand new novel out now called, “Impossible Fate” and you can find that on her website as well.

If you’re wondering what “All That Matters” is all about, see my original First Friday Freebie offer along with my comments here.

You can see past First Friday Freebies and their winners on my Freebies! page here.  If you’re not yet a subscriber to Midwest Storyteller they might entice you to become one – First Friday Freebies are for email subscribers only.

Carol subscribed by entering her email in the subscription area here on the blog and then confirming her subscription when the confirmation email arrived in her inbox.  This is the best way to avoid missing what’s new here on the blog because you’ll get an email reminder each time there’s something new – like when there’s a FREEBIE on the First Friday of every month.

Comment as directed on the post and you’ll be entered to win. 

Freebies are my way of reaching more people with the stories, recipes and more of the stuff of life.  When you share with all your friends via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, you’ll give them the opportunity to subscribe and win also.  Subscribing is free.  Freebies are free.  It’s one of those “I win – You win – We all win” situations!

June’s drawing will take place tomorrow on Friday, June 5th.

A winner is chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight on the day of the drawing. 

REMEMBER:  Should your name be drawn as the winner, you will be notified via the email you used to subscribe.  That means you’ll need to check your email often in the week following the drawing so that you can respond and keep the prize from being offered to someone else.

Be sure to take a moment make yourself familiar with the Freebie Rules by clicking HERE.

These four simple steps will have you ready to enter to win on Friday, June 5th, 2020.

If you’ve won one of my Freebies in the past, leave a comment today and let me know how you liked it.  Did you gift it to someone special or keep it for yourself?    

Life with Smuffy (Special Episode – Part 4 of ?): “My Not-A-Kitchen Kitchen”

~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 4 Comments

We still have no kitchen as we live in this cluttered world of hitches and compromises.  So, you may ask, how does a Trim Healthy Mama who is dedicated to eating healthy managing to keep on track during all this?  Let me introduce you to my Not-A-Kitchen!

These photos are really embarrassing, but hopefully will make the end reveal all the more glorious. And, please forgive the spastic decorating. I find that as things change, I keep poking things onto empty nails “for now” and the house is starting to look like I’ve lost my marbles. The chairs will go also – just gotta give Smuffy the time to get my new old ones re-done. Poor fella.

I’m hoping the reveal of this mess may help someone else who is going through something similar and knows that you can’t eat out all the time – not if you want to be trim, healthy and pay for a renovation!  The last thing we need around here is for me or Smuffy to get sick in the middle of the remodel.  That happened to us years ago and I still have PTKSS (Post Traumatic Kitchen Stall Syndrome) from that experience that put us three weeks behind and left us with a two-year-old and nothing – nothing – but a microwave in the otherwise empty kitchen for the whole time. 

I followed my original plan for daily function by shoving my dining room table as far over as possible to make room for incoming cabinets and then filling it with everything we’d be needing on a daily basis. I covered it with a felt-backed vinyl tablecloth first so that it would survive the ordeal.

Not-A-Kitchen Kitchen MidwestStoryteller.com

Tall items at the back included a rack of plates and bowls, a spice rack and the mixer.  In front of that, I lined up glassware and often used items such as salt and pepper, olive oil and salad vinegar, nuts, jars of sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and other things we grab to snack on and, of course, my big, fat jar of Dutch cocoa powder because, though I may not have a kitchen, I’ve gotta live!

I left an empty strip along the front for food prep and placed a cutting mat there.  This area also serves to hold the hot plate, crock-pot or whatever else may be in use at times when Smuffy is pounding away and I can’t get into the kitchen at all.

Smuffy had built huge new drawers for the new kitchen, but prior to them being installed, I stacked them on one another and filled the top one with flatware and utensils so they’d be in easy reach.  Needless to say, we fill our plates and head into the living room to eat.

My “buffet” (I think this is, in reality, a gentleman’s dresser that has seen changes over time) now serves as Appliance Row with the food processor, blender and toaster oven perched atop a towel and ready to go when I need them.  One of my old wall cabinets got its doors removed and is shoved against a wall and filled with plasticware and other food prep items we might want to grab.

Appliance Row MidwestStoryteller.com

Over in the “new” kitchen, once Smuffy got the base cabinets in, I was relieved to find that the holes in the tops were the perfect size to catch the rims of my cookie sheets!  We take our small blessings where we can find them and give thanks for them.  I filled in an area and plopped in some cutting boards.  Then, as if in direct answer to prayer, Smuffy discovered that one of our old cabinet doors dropped in perfectly to another cabinet top!  We celebrated that discovery by placing the hot plate there and felt like we were really getting somewhere!  Sort of.

Cooktop MidwestStoryteller.com

The problem remained that we had no water.  Family came to the rescue, sending us jugs of drinking water, but as for rinsing things for the dishwasher and washing up anything extra, we were running back and forth to the bathtub.

That is, until that glorious day!  Smuffy, that man of many talents, installed a true farmhouse sink!

Farmhouse Sink MidwestStoryteller.com

I’m feeling mighty stylish over here!  This is where we stand until countertops are finalized.  I love the way he placed the decorative part to the front so I would remember not to insert the grandchild.

Take heart if you are in the midst of a makeover.  We’ll get through.  When?  I have no idea.  In the meantime, I’m fixing healthy, balanced meals or pulling out frozen versions of the same that I prepared in advance and stashed in the freezer. In case you didn’t notice the bottle warmer and formula in the photos, I’ll point out that I am caring for my four-month-old grandbaby most days in the midst of it all. I have to admit there are days when I’m just a tad pooped.

If you have a friend in the middle of a renovation and finding themselves disheartened, share this post.  It helps to know you’re not alone.

That’s the tour of my Not-A-Kitchen.  Stay tuned for what I hope will be next – my pantry and remaining cabinetry and their insides.  Then, countertops!  I’m expecting to be downright giddy when that happens.

Now I’m leaving you hanging again.  I’ll bet this has your curiosity piqued more than back when some of you were wondering who shot J. R.  Others will have to do a search on that.  Life With Smuffy is never dull.  That’s why he has his own page here on the blog.  (He’s not all about construction, you know.)  If you need adventure and laughs, check that out.

Missed a portion of my kitchen makeover story?  It all began with “Death of a Kitchen”, followed by “A Glimmer of Hope and Stainless Steel” and “Birth Pains of a Kitchen”.  Catch up on those and you’ll be ready for the next installment.

I’ll be sharing some of the meals I made ahead in order to get through this. and some of the ones I was able to whip up without losing my marbles in my Not-A-Kitchen.

Can I have your kitchen remodel ideas?  What would you have in your dream kitchen that you don’t have now?  Leave a comment!

Life with Smuffy (Special Episode – Part 3 of ?): “Birth Pains of a Kitchen”

~ Midwest Storyteller

I promised to keep you posted on Smuffy’s monumental project.  Welcome to the third and hopefully, most painful, installment.  It’s a little late in posting as the clogged internet has been refusing to put photos in my posts.

Earlier, in “A Glimmer of Hope and Stainless Steel”, I shared the little chunk of the project that propelled me forward into the world of a glorious new refrigerator, wall oven and fancy-schmancy dishwasher.  After that, we took time out for Thanksgiving, Christmas and to become grandparents.  Smuffy then entered another busy season with his business while it was way too cold to be in the workshop messing with wood.  Now, at last, we are making progress again! 

If you’d like to see my embarrassing kitchen “before” photos, click here, but read the whole post so you’ll have a little compassion.

Have you ever had one of those uneasy feelings – as though you’re being followed by a mysterious “something”?  Your Pollyanna nature tries to reassure you that you’ll never have to turn and face it and that it is probably just a series of spooky shadows, but eventually, you round a corner and there it is – the “thing” you knew was there but dreaded meeting face to face.  Trying to duck your head and peer at it through only one squinting eye doesn’t help.  We’ll, sooner or later it happens to us all and it has happened to me.

Smuffy is a marvel when it comes to undertaking almost any project, but he’s a numbers kinda guy and likes things in columns and rows.  Nuance and the artistic sense elude him in some instances, though he does have appreciation for it.  For some time, even though I’d labored over the perfect off-white paint for my cabinetry and the antiquing glaze that would go on over it followed by a couple of coats of polyurethane, I’d been deluding myself into thinking Smuffy would be the painter of these glorious creations.  I should have known.  Full of the can-do spirit he is – gifted with an artist’s touch he is not.

He got the primer on and the first coat of paint and asked me to inspect.  I murmured a prayer and did so.  Difficult as it was to declare them a tad crummy, I forced myself to be honest.  It was mere practice as I then pushed past my lips the notion that perhaps I needed to paint these myself.  (Though painfully slow, I am neat as a pin.)  Smuffy’s eyes lit up and he rushed to hand me the paint buckets and all the rest of the supplies.  I’d known, deep in my heart that Smuffy’s painting style and choice of tools, while fast and thorough, might not produce the results I desired.  He’s an expert at detail work, just not this particular kind. That lurking instinct had caught up with me and how here I was, holding the brush, the mini roller and newly sanded face frames, shaking my head, groaning a little, but not surprised that I hadn’t managed to outrun this dreaded task.

Antique Glazing www.midweststoryteller.com

First I used a Benjamin Moore trim paint in Fresh Narcissus with Floe-trol (from Home Depot) added to make the finish smooth as buttah.  After letting each coat of this dry overnight, I mixed one part paint in a Benjamin Moore Devonwood Taupe into 8 parts clear latex glaze.  I brushed this on and wiped it away with lint-free rags.  It doesn’t appear too impressive here on the face frames, but will show nicely on the finished cabinet doors where it will collect in the grooves of the panels and give definition.  Once this dried overnight, I applied two coats of clear polyurethane, allowing each to dry overnight.  This is because the antiquing glaze is not as hard as trim paint and will wear off if not sealed in between the layers.

Once ready, we started Demo Day for the lower half of the kitchen.  In order to have some functionality, we opted to complete this phase and tackle the upper portion once we can actually cook and have water again.

Chaos reigned.  Smuffy ripped and tore.  I shoved, shifted and fetched.  Phoebe June, caught in the cross-fire, opted to enjoy the exploration opportunity of a lifetime.  When cabinets, bags and boxes filled with the kitchen cabinet contents began filling every room on the main floor, she considered all rules null and void and flung herself into the spirit of the thing with wild abandon, jumping into bags of canned goods and strolling through utensil drawers.  After a while, I just shrugged and made myself a mental note that it could all be washed and wiped down later.  To say she was wide-eyed with excitement would be an understatement.

Wide-eyed Phoebe June midweststoryteller.com

By the end of Day 1, we had uglified the kitchen to the point where we were committed to completion whether we liked it or not and as I looked around the house for a bright spot, I found myself thankful that our little grandson has yet to reach the walking stage.  I have a feeling he’d make Phoebe June’s escapades seem like nothing at all!

Demo Day 1 midweststoryteller.com

With the lower cabinets in place, we’ll now attached the face frames and anchor everything in place so that Smuffy can begin the process of installing his beautiful walnut countertops and the oak furniture piece that will serve as our sink base.  Oh, to have water again!

I’m going to leave you hanging there and end this special episode of my Life With Smuffy. Coming up soon, I’ll give you a peek at my “not a kitchen kitchen” that will have to serve until the counters, sink and gas cooktop are installed.  I’m hoping that is very soon!

(After writing this post and struggling to get the photos inserted, we hit some snags. I’ve had to give up my design for the oak furniture piece and I may be having to part with my walnut countertops. I must confess to having two or three mid-remodel meltdowns already. I’d love to think this is the last of them, but… old houses are full of surprises and unless you open up a wall and find a chest full of gold and jewels, they are never really good surprises.)

If you’re not all caught up on the latest Smuffy episodes, check out, “A Studebaker in the Hands…”  and “Why Stop When You’re on a Roll?”  His river adventures here and here will having you longing for summer days on the water – or maybe not.

I’d love to have your input on a kitchen remodel?  What one mistake have you made that you’d like to un-do?  What feature of your new kitchen do you love the most?  Please comment! I need all the encouragement I can get.

May Day! May Day! First Friday Freebie to the Rescue!

~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 5 Comments

I couldn’t resist that one.  Merry May, Everyone!

Can you believe it’s May?  We’re promised about a half week of frolicking weather and then (so the weather lady just said) we’ll settle in for another little stretch of chilly stuff.  I’m over it, folks.  The upside is that it might give some of you a little extra snuggling in time because this month’s First Friday Freebie is another great read!

You may recall that a little over a year ago, I wrote a book review of a true story called “Pathways of the Heart” and interviewed the author, Diane Yates.  If you missed out on that or need a refresher, you can catch up on that here in “An Interview with Author Diane Yates”. 

Today, I’m offering one of you a free copy of the sequel –

Book, "All That Matters" by Diane Yates www.midweststoryteller.com

You may be distancing yourself from some of the people you know, love and care about right now, but there’s no need to separate yourself from a story like this one!

“Pathways of the Heart” is the story of Diane’s mother, Clella.  “All That Matters” picks up where “Pathways…” leaves off and follows Clella’s struggles, her joys, her decisions good and bad and her love story as she demonstrates her strong will and discovers “All That Matters”. 

If you read “Pathways of the Heart”, I know you were rooting for Clella, nudging her forward and shedding a tear as if she’d been your own mom.  Diane related the story just as it was, weaving the story from her own experiences and the accounts shared by her parents and family members.   If you haven’t read this book yet, you might want to check out Diane’s writings here and get yourself a copy! While you’re there, you’ll want to pick up the two new novels she has written as well.

Like “Pathways…”, “All That Matters” causes us to connect with our own hopes, dreams, shortcomings and disappointments, while it pulls us along with hope and promise.  Though it tells of real people making real mistakes, it is in no way too graphic to share with your teens.

While the original story began in the Ozarks of the 1920’s, this sequel follows Clella (now called Catherine) from 1957 as she finds herself starting over in Texas with her new love.  Again, with her, you’ll experience love, loss and the search for an everlasting love.

To enter to win “All That Matters”, you’ll need to “Leave a Comment” on this post, asking, “May I have this great book?”  Be sure to do that before midnight TONIGHT, May 1st, 2020!

First Friday Freebies are for email SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, so hop on over to the right sidebar or use the menu to navigate to the “Contact” page and subscribe to Midwest Storyteller if you haven’t done so already.

Your friends will enjoy the stories, recipes, laughter and, of course, the FREEBIES here on the blog, too, so share with all your friends and family through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Subscribers win every single month!  On the “Freebies” page, you’ll be able to see what they’ve been winning.

Once again, a winner will be chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight tonight by leaving a comment which says, “May I have this great book?”

For the complete First Friday Freebie rules, click here.

Four simple steps!

Don’t let the day slip away!  Subscribe now if you haven’t already, and confirm in your email before you forget! 

May the merry month of May bring you glorious, sunshiny, flower-filled days and may you finally get to spend them with the people you love!

Comments or questions?  I’d love to hear from you!  Please leave a comment telling me what good books you’ve read lately.  And, I always love to ask – what is your favorite book of all time?

April’s First Friday Freebie Winner!

~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 3 Comments

Here where I live, only in the last week or so have we really minded much that we’re cooped up because it’s been nippy and that makes for great reading weather.  I can tell from social media that many of you are also busy with home improvements and long-procrastinated closet cleanings and craft projects.  I’ve done my part to help out by sending out great reading material.

Let’s meet the recipient of April’s free gift –

Freebie Winner Carolyn www.midweststoryteller.com

Carolyn from Mount Carmel, Illinois

Lately, I’ve been asking my winners to let me know whether they’ve chosen to keep their First Friday Freebie for themselves or gift it to someone special.  On a technicality, I can’t congratulate Carolyn for winning April’s Freebie because her sister Jan entered the drawing.  Since Jan already owned “Killing Jesus” and loved it, she sent this copy along to her sis.  This book’s been getting out and about more than I have!  After journeying out west to Greeley, Colorado, it reversed course back to the Midwest and landed in Mount Carmel, Illinois. 

“Killing Jesus” by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard is a gripping read whether you are enjoying it during the season of Lent and the Resurrection or any time.  Could be you’re just a history lover and, if so, this well-researched story of Jesus’ life and death will have you hooked.  If you’d like to read my “Killing Jesus” book review and see the original freebie offer, click here.

Congratulations, Jan, for winning and to Carolyn – Enjoy!

You can see past First Friday Freebies and their winners on my Freebies! page here.  If you’re not yet a subscriber to Midwest Storyteller they might entice you to become one – First Friday Freebies are for email subscribers only.

Jan subscribed by entering her email in the subscription area here on the blog and then confirming her subscription when the confirmation email arrived in her inbox.  This is the best way to avoid missing what’s new here on the blog because you’ll get an email reminder each time there’s something new – like when there’s a FREEBIE on the First Friday of every month.

Comment as directed on the post and you’ll be entered to win. 

Freebies are my way of reaching more people with the stories, recipes and more.  When you share with all your friends via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, you’ll give them the opportunity to subscribe and win also.  Subscribing is free.  Freebies are free.  It’s one of those “I win – You win – We all win” situations!

May’s drawing will take place tomorrow on Friday, May 1st.

A winner is chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight on the day of the drawing. 

REMEMBER:  Should your name be drawn as the winner, you will be notified via the email you used to subscribe.  That means you’ll need to check your email often in the week following the drawing so that you can respond and keep the prize from being offered to someone else.

Be sure to take a moment make yourself familiar with the Freebie Rules by clicking HERE.

These four simple steps will have you ready to enter to win on Friday, May 1st, 2020.

If you’ve won one of my Freebies in the past, leave a comment today and let me know how you liked it.  Did you keep it for yourself?  Did you gift it to someone special? 

Pray That it May Passover

~ Midwest Storyteller

Our world has changed much these last several weeks and at no time have we been more aware of it so far than in preparing to change how we spend the next three days.

Many have taken a hit because of the corona virus.  Some have lost loved ones, some are working exhausting, back-breaking shifts while others only wish they had a job to go to.  The rest of us, here in the United States, are plodding along, wondering when we can again spend a day doing something we once took for granted – running errands.

The worldwide celebrations of Passover and The Resurrection of Christ have to rank at the top of the list of things Jews and Christians never thought they’d do without attending the largest faith gathering of the year, not to mention home gatherings to celebrate with family and friends.  We thrive when we practice our faith and share our holy days with one another and we’re feeling a bit cheated this year.

I just can’t go along with the idea that these events “got cancelled”!  Maybe we’ve forgotten that on the first Passover, Hebrew families were huddled, each in their own dwelling, partaking of a meal as instructed by God in order that the angel of death might pass over.  And what happened the following morning?  They were set free from cruel taskmasters and the bondage that had been their way of life for four hundred years.  Perhaps we’ve forgotten that when Jesus, our Perfect Passover Lamb, lay in His borrowed tomb, all his followers scattered each to their own homes, hiding.  No throng gathered at the entrance to that tomb on Sunday morning to celebrate the Big Day.  They were, for the most part, each in their homes, confused and scared. 

Neither group called it “social distancing”, but when you’re shutting yourself away from deadly plague or staying inside so that no one recognizes you and reports you to the authorities, it amounts to the same thing and reminds us that our situation is mild in comparison.

If you knew you had the cure for cancer, would you keep it hidden, or would you share it with the world, hoping to save even one who might listen?

I believe there’s an answer.  I won’t tell anyone else what they must believe, but neither will I hide “the Cure” when people all over the world are suffering.

I believe in the loving God who calls his people to pray and then answers.   I believe Scriptures hold examples, instructions and insights on how to pray.  I believe in “standing on the promises” as the old hymn goes!  I believe now is the time, this special weekend, when we’ve been offered a quiet time with just those few closest to us, to pray like we’ve never prayed before – to be bold in coming before God’s throne to ask that this plague on our health and our economy might “pass over”!

I’m asking my readers to join me and to SHARE this prayer right away with all your friends and family so that we can stand on these promises together, fasten our spiritual seat belts and see what the Deliverer will do if we will but ask.  Scripture references are included to encourage you to delve into God’s Word and see what He promises (and also so you won’t think I’ve been nipping into the hand sanitizer).

I hope this has inspired you to pray and believe for an answer.  I encourage you to print this out and read it aloud together with those you celebrate with this weekend. I’ve included a FREE easy-to-read PRINTABLE HERE.

Wherever you are, may you have a Blessed Passover and a Glorious Resurrection Day and may we celebrate next year together!

“The Lord bless you
    and keep you;
 the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;
 the Lord turn his face toward you
    and give you peace.”  —Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV)

How have you adapted your celebrations during this season of social distancing?  What great food ideas have you invented because you might not have been able to get your hands on the usual ingredients?  How have you decorated when you haven’t been able to acquire a few new things?  Leave a comment and give us all your tips!

April’s First Friday Freebie: A Triple Offer!

~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 10 Comments

Much has changed in our world over the last month.  Here in the United States we grapple, as so many other countries do, with shut-downs, social distancing and concerns for loved ones.

Each month, I try to offer, as a First Friday Freebie, something I think my readers would enjoy.  This month, I believe I’ve found something that qualifies in three categories – a free gift for you, a book review and an opportunity for reflection.

As we enter Holy Week, my prayer is that this will be a blessing to you, no matter your faith or lack thereof.

Although it is not my blog’s “theme”, I’m sure most people have gleaned that I am a Christian.  I not only enjoy, but depend upon, spending daily time in prayer and Scripture studies.  Often, I read other books by Christian authors that offer extra insight into a particular area of study.  Although I’ve never read a book by these authors before, I had heard rave reviews about history books they’ve collaborated on.  I don’t know quite how it happened, but I stumbled across it and found myself immersed in the book I’m offering as April’s First Friday Freebie –

It just seemed that still, small Voice tugged at me, telling me that this was the perfect time of year to get a better grasp on the whole of world events surrounding the one event in human history of which it can be said, without dispute, changed everything!

“Killing Jesus” by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard had me hooked right away.  The third in O’Reilly’s “Killing…” series (after “Killing Lincoln” and “Killing Kennedy”), it takes a detailed look at the life and death of Jesus purely through the lens of world history.  Various sources including Roman writings and records, the detailed, first-hand historical accounts of Josephus, archaeological evidences, and other sources which provided records of the current events of the time are woven in with the historical record provided in the four Gospels to give a thorough picture of not only what happened, but what drove what happened and what it was like to live through what happened.

Despite my first instinct to find the book lacking and to have the tendency to pick it apart, I found myself educated and enthralled to comprehend the driving forces that motivated Herod, Pilate, Caesar, the Jewish hierarchy as well as Jesus’ followers.  The efforts that the authors undertook to in order to convey the sights, sounds, smells, economy, political atmosphere and customs of the time and place transported me to Bethlehem, Galilee, Nazareth, Jerusalem and the other places Jesus lived, walked and taught.

This book is not preachy.  In no way does it seek to validate miracles or prove the Messianic claims of Jesus or induce you to become His disciple.  It merely lays out the historical events in ways that will familiarize you with the backgrounds, motives and sometimes the personal issues of all the people involved.

To discover what the records have to say about Herod’s health issues, the total depravity of the Roman rulers, the financial interests and investments that probably motivated the Temple priests more than service to God and where the kick-back from the money-changers’ tables really went was eye-opening.

“Killing Jesus” is an enthralling and easy read for anyone.  Even if you are not a follower of Jesus or perhaps you’re even a card-carrying atheist, this book will, without coercion, educate you as to what all the fuss was about concerning this one Man who lived and died in this small geographical area all those years ago.

Here we are, in modern times, tuning into the news each day to find that people all over the world are not giving up on their Messiah because of pandemic and isolation, but looking for innovative and meaningful ways to recognize on Friday, April 10th that He was, indeed, condemned to death by the highest authorities within his own religion and given over to the Roman executioners to be tortured and put to death by crucifixion.  They’re looking for ways to connect, as best they can, to celebrate on Sunday, April 12th, their belief that He rose from the dead and is still alive and will return.

I hope this First Friday Freebie offers you all three:

            1.  A free gift you’ll enjoy.

            2.  An honest book review.

            3.  An opportunity to reflect on who Jesus was, what His life and death were really like and who the people are who follow Him.

It benefits us all to understand other people groups and their faith and traditions, so, non-believers, this will help you do that.

Parents, this book would not be appropriate for anyone who is not yet ready to be exposed to the detailed horrors of crucifixion methods or the lengths Roman emperors and their cohorts went to indulge their vile imaginations, even at the expense of innocent children.

If you’d like to win this free copy of “Killing Jesus”, you’ll need to comment on this post, saying, “Send me the book right away!”  You’ll need to do that now, because the deadline for entering the drawing is midnight tonight, April 3rd.

The winner will be chosen at random from those who comment as directed and this month, we will do that as quickly as possible so that I can get this book into your hands during the coming Holy Week time of reflection.

For the complete Freebie rules, please click here.  Winners are notified using the email they used to subscribe, so be checking that in the coming days to see if you’ve won.

Each month, there’s a new Freebie – SUBSCRIBE so that you don’t miss out!

Why not SHARE this post through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest or send the link in an email to all your friends who might like to enter to win?

Midwest Storyteller’s previous freebies can be found on my “Freebies” page.   Take a look.  You’ll get an idea of the greatgifts subscribers can win!

REMEMBER:  A winner will be chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight tonight by leaving a comment which says, “Send me the book right away!”

Three simple steps – Subscribe, comment as directed and check your email!

Now hurry!  Go!  Go!  Go!  Subscribe if you haven’t already, confirm and comment to enter before midnight tonight, April 3rd!

March’s First Friday Freebie Winner!

~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 1 Comment

Spring has sprung in parts of the Midwest and here we have daffodils, hyacinths and tulips to cheer us while we are social distancing.   I’m happy to announce that my March First Friday Freebie went where it could bring a little needed cheer.  Something tells me that its new owner may be debating whether to use it as a table runner or a shawl.

March’s First Friday Freebie winner is –

Alicia from Brooklyn, Wisconsin! 

Congratulations, Alicia, and thank you for entering to win this 48”X16” table runner from Signature Collections by Sullivans.  It’s perfect to lie flat on a larger table or you can let the ends hang over on a smaller table as shown in the original freebie offer here.

Made of a soft green linen, each end is trimmed in burlap and embellished with embroidered patches that remind us of the garden herbs we’re all wishing we could get outside and plant.  That’s two weeks away for me and probably just a teeny bit longer than that for Alicia.  Hopefully the freebie will impart a spring feeling even though Wisconsin may be crossing its arms over its chest, shaking its head and saying, “No way – not yet!”

You can see past First Friday Freebies and their winners on my Freebies! page here.  If you’re not yet a subscriber to Midwest Storyteller they might entice you to be come one – First Friday Freebies are for email subscribers only.

Alicia subscribed by entering her email in the subscription area here on the blog and then confirming her subscription when the confirmation email arrived in her inbox.  This is the best way to avoid missing what’s new here on the blog because you’ll get an email reminder each time there’s something new – like when there’s a FREEBIE on the First Friday of every month.

Comment as directed on the post and you’ll be entered to win. 

Freebies are my way of reaching more people with the stories, recipes and more.  When you share with all your friends via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, you’ll give them the opportunity to subscribe and win also.  Subscribing is free.  Freebies are free.  It’s one of those “I win – You win – We all win” situations!

April’s drawing will take place on Friday, April 3rd.

A winner is chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight on the day of the drawing. 

REMEMBER:  Should your name be drawn as the winner, you will be notified via the email you used to subscribe.  That means you’ll need to check your email often in the week following the drawing so that you can respond and keep the prize from being offered to someone else.

Be sure to take a moment make yourself familiar with the Freebie Rules by clicking HERE.

These four simple steps will have you ready to enter to win on Friday, April 3rd, 2020.

If you’ve won one of my Freebies in the past, leave a comment today and let me know how you liked it.  Did you keep it for yourself?  Did you gift it to someone special? 

Gotcha! You’ve Been Ambushed!

~ Midwest Storyteller
Food Freedom with Coach Barb www.midweststoryteller.com

There you go!  It’s too late now.  This is like yelling, “Tag!  You’re it!” or poking pink flamingos in your yard.  (Actually, it’s much better than that – don’t ever do that to me!)

In fact, I’m gonna get you twice.

First, I know the whole world is full of folks saying, “you’ve just gotta hear this/see this/try this”, but I’m challenging you to do this one thing right away.  I listen to the Trim Healthy Podcast every week.  I know you’re thinking, “Yeah, but Barb, you’re a health nut food nerd.”  I am telling you, people, the most recent podcast by Serene Allison and Pearl Barrett, founders and authors of Trim Healthy Mama is not only a gem – it is vital!

It runs a little longer than usual as a 2-in1, but they felt it was important, during this outbreak of the corona virus, that you are fully armed to equip your body for battling viruses and other illness.

Trim Healthy Podcast #165:  Fear, Sugar and Your Immune System is full of rock-solid science presented in simple layman’s terms that will enable you to turn your family’s health around and head it in the right direction.  They’ll give you a great list of simple foods that are real healers and a short list of things to avoid if you want your immune system to have a fighting chance.  Grab a piece of paper and make a grocery list while you’re listening that will put your family on the right track!

So…GOTCHA!  You’re Ambushed!  I challenge you to listen to this podcast here or on iTunes, iHeart Radio app or however you like to listen to music and podcasts.  iHeart Radio is my preferred method.  With the app on my phone, I can wear my headphones while I pull weeds, clean house, do laundry – whatever.  Get listening!  And don’t let me get word that you didn’t do it because I’m tryin’ to help you, people! And it’s FREE!

My second challenge –

No Place Like Home www.midweststoryteller.com

We’ve all been social distancing for a while here and I love how our community is coming together without coming together.  Creative ways of making fun range from the Great Bear Hunt to Sidewalk Art Spotting.  There is hardly a street in our town without several bears waving at families who have watched them pop up on social media and then piled into their cars to drive around and hunt them down.  (No animals were harmed in this social distancing stress relieving activity.)  Now, families are getting out the chalk and posting their sidewalk art on social media, creating a new search activity for those who’ve been cooped up and are ready to get out for an interesting drive.

My challenge is for anyone in grades K-12.  It’s the –

“Cabin Fever Cook-off”!  Have your parents been telling you, “Enough with the junk food!”?  It’s time to share on social media the great food ideas that have sprouted from this period of confinement. What have you been binging on these few weeks?  If you’ve got a great idea for a healthy meal or snack to share, send me a photo and the recipe.  Post them on my Food Freedom – THM Certified Lifestyle Coaching Facebook page here.  I’ll give them an honest review as to their “healthiness” and we’ll all enjoy your great ideas for eating well while you’re all cooped up!  Get in the kitchen and create!  The challenge is on for anyone grades K-12.  Surely it hasn’t all been pizza rolls and hot pockets – has it?  Remember – post your photo and the recipe.  Someone else might want to take your idea and make themselves some yummy grub!  It can be as simple or elaborate as you choose.  Someone might need a great idea for something as simple as what to do with an apple!

Remember, everyone, a second FREE video conference via Skype will be held at 7:00-8:00 PM (CST) on Tuesday, March 31 and you are welcome to join.  This week we will be talking about “What a Week of Eating Trim & Healthy Looks Like”.  Email me if you’d like to be included and I’ll reply with a link that will take you straight into the conference!  That’s barb@midweststoryteller.com

Share with friends right now and let’s see how many are ready to get Trim & Healthy!

It’s a great way to come out of social distancing a better person.

What type of eating challenges has the recent health crisis have you been experiencing?  Leave a comment and let’s talk about it.

So, How’s Your Immune System?

~ Midwest Storyteller
Food Freedom with Coach Barb www.midweststoryteller.com

News Flash!  The immune system in your body that fights off the common cold is the same immune system that fights off COVID-19, cancer and a plethora of other baddies!  Now, however, we seem to have become keenly aware of its existence practically overnight.

It’s time to pull together and learn how to build up those vital systems.  But, we’re supposed to be social distancing, right?

Tonight, March 24th at 7:00 PM (CST) I will be hosting an hour-long FREE video conference on how the Trim Healthy Mama plan can help you take control of this issue for you and your family.  We don’t know what we don’t know.  Right? Food is your vital fuel to improve and keep your health! It’s time to ask yourself if you’ve been ignoring your most important line of defense.

Forgotten Your Immune System? www.midweststoryteller.com

I’ll be leading this via Skype, so if you are not already a Skyper, you’ll need to download Skype from www.skype.com/download and go ahead and set up a username and password.  It’s a simple process and also free.  Then, send me a quick email at barb@midweststoryteller.com and I will reply with a link.  Between 6:45 and 7:00, all you’ll need to do is click on the link and you’ll join the video conference.

Nervous about it?  A few precautions are all that’s necessary.  Comb your hair.  That always helps.  You’ll be onscreen until you choose to turn that feature off.  Put on some lipstick if that’s your thing.  Wear pants – I insist – you never know when that laptop or device may slip out of your hands!

In this interactive (if you choose) video conference, we’ll talk about how your body makes new and healthy cells, what you can do to build it up and maybe what you’ve been doing to tear it down.  We’ll have an overview of the THM plan for getting healthy and getting trim if you need to do that also.  I’ll have info on how you can get started all on your own or in a group setting or with me as your private coach.

A second FREE video conference will be held at 7:00 PM (CST) on Tuesday, March 31 and you are welcome to join that one as well.  Watch for instructions on that early next week.

Remember, email me right away to be included in tonight’s conference!  That’s barb@midweststoryteller.com

Share with friends right now and let’s see how many are ready to get Trim & Healthy! You can also find this even and share through my Facebook page at Food Freedom – THM Certified Lifestyle Coaching.

It’s a great way to come out of social distancing a better person.

Has the recent health crisis made you give extra thought to how you’re fueling your body?  Leave a comment and tell me the changes you’ve made or are considering.

Honoring Your Irish: There’s More to Patrick than Meets the Eye, So Let’s Eat Trim Healthy Irish!

~ Midwest Storyteller

Before the day closes, I wanted to wish you all a Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!  I never gave it much thought growing up, that is, until I discovered how Irish I am.  Oh, yeah – the Bairds, the Allens, the Glenns – it’s all over my mom’s side of the family.

Learning about our heritage helps us thrive.  It helps you take the good with the bad.  Just about the time you think you’re from a long line of nobodies, you discover that grandmother of noble birth or that war hero that saved his country.  And then, just about the time you get all puffed up from that knowledge, you stumble across the double spy who got hanged for a whole bunch of things you’d rather not talk about.  We’ve all got stories that go back to the beginning of time and it enriches us to learn about them and appreciate those who went before us and the struggles they endured.

In honor of the day, I wanted to post a photo of a recipe I made recently, but now realize that I didn’t.  Well, I did make the recipe and it was delicious, but I didn’t take the photo.  Be that as it may, I highly recommend you give it a try.  “Irish King Trimmy Bisque” (page 169, Trim Healthy Table) is a recipe your family will enjoy and never have a clue that you’re helping them be trim and healthy.  It’s an energizing “E” meal on the Trim Healthy Mama plan, loaded with chicken, leeks (oh, how I love leeks!) and other ingredients that give it a rich, soothing, comfort-food flavor.  I was a little surprised at finding chamomile tea bags in the list of ingredients, but I said, “Well, Serene,” (even though she wasn’t there to hear me, of course), “you haven’t let me down with one of your Trimmy Bisques yet…” and brewed the tea and put it right in there.  And yes, it’s wonderful.

The only thing I like to change in the Trimmy Bisque recipes is that I put less of the ingredients in the blender than recommended.  We don’t like our soup quite that smooth.

If you haven’t picked up the cookbooks by Trim Healthy Mama yet, you can get them from www.trimhealthymama.com or Ebay or even check them out of your public library.  Soon, you’ll be able to get them from me as well.

Making a great soup is a wonderful family activity while we’re all cooped up waiting for this virus to pass and this makes a big pot that will give you plenty of leftovers to freeze.

If you need coaching with Trim Healthy Mama, I’m here to help. Just click on the coaching icon in the right sidebar and you’ll find out about getting started or click here. Also, feel free to email me at barb@midweststoryteller.com

I thought you might like to close out this day by gaining a little appreciation for its namesake.  Saint Patrick should mean much more to us than wearing a green outfit and having one too many green beers.  I’m thinking he probably contributed much to my family’s heritage of faith – and maybe yours, too.

Who was Saint Patrick?

Questions?  Comments?  Just scroll back up to the beginning of this post and click on “Leave a comment” and if you don’t see this till tomorrow, “Top ‘o the mornin’ to ya!”

First Friday Freebie: Rushing Spring!

~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 10 Comments

The March winds are blowing here in the Midwest and they might just be blowing a Freebie your way! They’ve certainly been howling around my house and doing this curly-girl no favors at all in the Good-Hair-Day department.

Spring-like weather puts a smile on everyone’s face and even thought there are over two weeks to go until it’s official, I say we should pretend it has arrived, put the turtlenecks and fleece away and decorate with pastels and things that remind us that we will soon be enjoying the outdoors and its “bloomery”.

Let’s get in the mood with March’s First Friday Freebie –

Linen Table Runner www.midweststoryteller.com

This 48”X16” table runner from Signature Collections by Sullivans will give you a start on your décor. It’s perfect to lie flat on a larger table or you can let the ends hang over on a smaller table as shown in the photo. Made of a soft green linen, each end is trimmed in burlap and embellished with embroidered patches that remind us of the garden herbs that will adorn our gardens and porch pots just as soon as we can get their little toes planted in the soil. The cute little button on the “herbs” patch is a nice detail. (See inset photo.)

If you’d like a chance to win the table runner, all you have to do is enter TODAY! You have until midnight to become a subscriber, if you are not already, and comment on this post, saying: “I’m ready for spring!”

For the complete Freebie rules, please click here. Winners are notified using the email they used to subscribe, so be checking that in the coming days to see if you’ve won.

Each month, I like to offer my readers something that makes life just a little sweeter and I always seem to find something that’s a little difficult to part with! This runner would go well in my dining room, but I’m sticking with my decision that it is for YOU!

Why not SHARE this post through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest or send the link in an email to all your friends who might like to enter to win?

Midwest Storyteller’s previous freebies can be found on my “Freebies” page. Take a look. You’ll get an idea of the great gifts subscribers can win!

REMEMBER: A winner will be chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight tonight by leaving a comment which says, “I’m ready for spring!”

Three simple steps – Subscribe, comment as directed and check your email!

Now hurry! Go! Go! Go! Subscribe if you haven’t already, confirm and comment to enter before midnight tonight, March 6th!

“How to Eat?” It’s Time to Learn!

~ Midwest Storyteller ~ 4 Comments
Food Freedon with Coach Barb Banner www.midweststoryteller.com

These two free sessions are for you if you live within driving distance of the Boonville, Missouri area. We’re going to learn a lot and we’re even going to be doing some taste testing! After all, who wants to eat healthy if it isn’t going to be absolutely fabulous! And, who wants to lose weight if they feel deprived and like they’re restricted to rabbit or caveman food?

Maybe – just maybe – you’re overwhelmed by conflicting information concerning what’s healthy and what’s not healthy for your family.

Please share. I know you know someone who really needs this! It’s absolutely free, but you’ll need to reserve a seat by calling the library.

How to Eat? www.midweststoryteller.com

If you don’t live within driving distance, but need help, please email me at barb@midweststoryteller.com. Your first session is always free. Sometimes, all you need is a little nudge to get started on a whole new road to a trim, healthy body!

Want to know more about my Trim Healthy Mama journey? Click here to learn how I found this sustainable lifestyle plan and made it work for me.

February’s First Friday Freebie Winner!

~ Midwest Storyteller

We’ve been trudging along through single digit temperatures here again, hanging on to the promise of a pleasant weekend starting today.  One has to look for the bright spots in life.  Here’s one!  Remember that Mystery Freebie?  Did you choose what was hidden inside Beautiful Valentine Box #1 or Box #2?  It’s time for a reveal.

February’s First Friday Freebie winner is –

Freebie Winner Carol www.midweststoryteller.com

Carol from Boonville, Missouri 

Carol chose Freebie #1 and, in turn, Smuffy drew her name at random from the qualifying entries. 

Congratulations, Carol, on winning this wood and metal wall art from Hobby Lobby.  Appropriate for including in your Valentine décor, this plaque can either be hung on the wall or propped on an easel.  Mixed media home décor is being used in so many great decorating schemes right now and I hope the galvanized metal on wood ads a bit of rustic charm to your home.  You can’t go wrong with the sentiment either!

And what, you may be wondering, was inside Box #2?  That remains to be seen.  I think I’ll keep that Freebie for another First Friday.

You can see the original freebie offer here.

Carol subscribes to MidwestStoryteller.com via email  and that is Step 1 in entering to win First Friday Freebies here on my blog.  The only other thing you’ll need to do is check your email for the post on the First Friday of the month and comment as directed in the post.  It’s always a quick read and tells you how to comment  “as directed” so that you don’t forfeit your entry. 

Freebies are my way of reaching more people with the stories, recipes and more.  When you share with all your friends via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, you’ll give them the opportunity to subscribe and win also.  Subscribing is free.  Freebies are free.  It’s one of those “I win – You win – We all win” situations!

Freebies happen every month.  My Freebies page features past winners and the free gifts they’ve won, so if you haven’t subscribed and entered to win yet, you might want to see what you’ve been missing.

 March’s drawing will take place on Friday, March 6th.

A winner is chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight on the day of the drawing by leaving a comment as instructed in the post. 

REMEMBER:  Should your name be drawn as the winner, you will be notified via the email you used to subscribe.  That means you’ll need to check your email often in the week following the drawing so that you can respond and keep the prize from being offered to someone else.

Be sure to take a moment make yourself familiar with the Freebie Rules by clicking HERE.

These four simple steps will have you ready to enter to win on Friday March 6th, 2020.

Leave a comment!  If you’ve won one of my Freebies in the past, why not let me know how you liked it and whether you kept the little goodie to yourself or gifted it to someone special.