Happy Anniversary

HAPPY WEDDING ANNIVERSARY TO US TODAY!

The Colors of Nature

I was going through some of my photographs this morning and I came across this one that I like a lot. I took it last summer while Brit Boy and I were out around Wiltshire. I took it from the car as I am fond of doing when we are out and about :-) It's rather blurry, but I love the colors of nature and it was just a beautiful day that day. Seeing this photo again instantly takes me back to that day and how I felt as Brit Boy drove along. I look forward to getting some more photos like this hopefully this summer, and if I do, you know that I will share them here! :-)

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Happy Earth Day

I'm sending out some love to our beautiful planet!

HAPPY EARTH DAY

Photo: Courtesy of NASA

The Fabulous Wanda B. Wonders Books

Today I’d like to share two fun books that I’ve read recently and I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed both of them. The two books are, Wanda B. Wonders Speaks Her Mind and Wanda B. Takes the Cake, both by Claudia Moss. Each book acquaints us with the wonderful character Wanda B. Wonders, who is a social commentator of sorts who speaks her mind on a variety of subjects and does it with humor and a zest for life.

The author shares her inspiration for creating the character of Wanda in the notes to Wanda B. Wonders Speaks Her Mind. She writes that she sees Wanda as a “contemporary twin to Jess B. Simple, the beloved Everyman of my literary mentor, Langston Hughes”. Hughes’ character, Jesse B. Simple's stories take place mostly with Mr. Simple sitting in a bar discussing his take on life. However, Wanda B. chats up Miss Lady, the owner of the establishment, as she sits in the nail salon. This makes for a very enjoyable read because it’s like you’re sitting there in the salon a few seats over as you take it all in. Wanda tells stories and gives her view on a variety of subjects as Miss Lady engages in conversations with her about a little bit of everything.

Wanda is a bold and loveable character who speaks out and doesn’t hold back on her views about anything and I like that about this character. Her authenticity is definitely to be admired! It’s hard to decide which book I like the most because the first continues so seamlessly into the other. It’s like having a long conversation with a friend as you sit on the porch on a summer’s evening with a cool drink nearby.

To give you an idea of some of the subject matter, I’ll share some of the story titles. In Wanda B. Wonders Speaks Her Mind, there are titles like: ‘Blue-Collar Husband’, ‘Face on the Cover’, ‘A Virtual Reality’, ‘No More Salad, Please’, and ‘The Deal Breaker’. And in Wanda B. Takes the Cake, there are engaging titles such as: ‘Bag of Blessings’, ‘Cuzin Bozwell’s Mean Mug Blues’, ‘Patriotism’, and ‘Pride Prunes’. The titles of each story are gems on their own that lead us to a vibrant world that the author shares with us on every page.

Claudia Moss is a masterful storyteller and her absolute skill shows through in each story. Even though the character Wanda B. Wonders is a woman that speaks her mind and doesn’t hold back, she is not a harsh character. She just tells it like it is. She gives off this vibe of love, humor and hope, as well as a love for life throughout both books. She is rightfully named, as Wanda does continually wonder about life and our world and the people we all meet each day. In a nutshell, Wanda tells us about the world as she sees it and it’s an enjoyable ride to take along with her.

So please check out these fantastic books by Claudia Moss! Each is available at Amazon in paperback here and here. They are in addition available on Kindle here and here!

Also, here’s a bit about the author Claudia Moss...

CLAUDIA MOSS is a novelist, short story writer, poet, blogger, motivational speaker and talk show host. She is a former English educator. Ms. Moss is independently published and is the author of the Amazon bestselling Kindle novel, If You Love Me, Come.

You can visit her at her blog www.thegolden-goddess.blogspot.com .

You can also follow her on Twitter : @TheLadySiren and you can follow the fabulous Wanda B. Wonders @WandaBWonders .

Disclaimer: I was sent both books free of charge. However, all opinions are mine and mine alone :-)

Cookie Recipe

Hello :) I wanted to share the chocolate chip cookie recipe from an earlier post. I promised in the comments that I'd post the recipe here. It's certainly not my very own recipe, but it's one that I've made quite a bit back in my teen years. It's a classic recipe from back home and so I'm sure that many of you already know this recipe well, but for those of you who are from elsewhere and may not be familiar with it, here it is. As I noted within the recipe, I had to substitute the main ingredient in the recipe since I'm not able to get the chocolate morsels here readily. However, the cookies turned out great and I look forward to making some more some time in the near future :-)

One more thing, I've also included a conversion tool here to make the measurements easy to calculate for everyone if needed. Click here for the site. So without further delay, here it is :-) I hope you enjoy giving them a try and if you do try to make them, please drop by and let me know how they turned out!


Original NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep: 15 minutes
Baking time: 9 minutes
Cooling time: 15 minutes


Ingredients
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.)NESTLE TOLL HOUSE Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels (I can’t get these here, so I substituted another brand of chocolate chips)

• 1 cup chopped nuts

Directions
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (5,200 feet): Increase flour to 2 1/2 cups. Add 2 teaspoons water with flour and reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each. Bake drop cookies for 8 to 10 minutes and pan cookie for 17 to 19 minutes.

**If you'd like to see the link to the website where I got this recipe, click here.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter from the Yellow House, to all who celebrate this glorious day!

And to everyone, Brit Boy and I wish you a wonderful Sunday! :-)