Enigma Squad: The Cast of the Old Man in the Mailbox

A few months ago, we were asked to read a new book that has recently been published by the husband of one of my friends on the MOMYS board.  We received the book and my son Douglas devoured the book in a day. He is huge fan of the mystery/adventure genre of fiction so this book was right up his alley.

I also have read the book.  I find it to be comparable in tone and adventure to the old Hardy Boys mysteries. I did not find anything objectionable in the book that would prevent me from letting him read the next book in the series  (Hint, Hint Brian!)  So if you have a pre-teen son that also loves mysteries, I think you would both find the book a pleasure and fun to read.

Douglas’s review of the book

Enigma Squad: The Old Man in the Mailbox was written by Brian C. Jacobs.  It is a great read for everyone who likes a simple mystery with a deadly twist.  It all starts when three friends, Tyler, Scooter and AJ see a man at a mail box.  As they investigate who this mystery man is, they stumble across a crime. The investigation of this crime can turn deadly for the friends.  The only dissapointment I had was in the book is the mystery man dies before the friends can meet him to find out more of his story.  Other than this, I give the book five stars.  As for the crime, you will have to read the book for yourself.  A word of warning:  Once you start, you will not be able to put it down.

So Mr. Jacobs when IS the next book coming out?   — Douglas Blasdell

A married woman must often leave God at the altar in order to find Him in her housework ~~St. Francis of Rome

New Blog Button

I want to point you all to my new blog button over in the sidebar. As you know, Liz has been home dealing with her medical condition and subsequent issues. She has always enjoyed learning, so just sitting around the house has been hard on her. Over the past couple of months she has been finding online tutorials to learn various aspects of computers and computer programs. She has been enjoying playing around with them, but she was getting bored, since she had nothing to practice in real life.

I have been contemplating having a button designed for the blog. I think they are a fun addition and felt like I was missing out not having one. So I asked Liz if she could come up with one for me. Over the course of a couple of days she played around with the graphic and developed a couple of prototypes. After looking though them all, we settled on the one you now see.

I invite you to grab the button for your blog.

Pax Christi!

A married woman must often leave God at the altar in order to find Him in her housework ~~St. Francis of Rome

A new one from Anita Renfoe

Enjoy!

A married woman must often leave God at the altar in order to find Him in her housework ~~St. Francis of Rome

Traditional Foods Tuesday: Peanut Butter Granola

This is a favorite recipe in our house. I have to make a double, triple and even quadruple batches of this recipe to keep it in the house for more than a meal.  We eat it as a snack by itself, over vanilla ice cream, or mixed in yogurt

Peanut Butter Granola

2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup natural peanut butter (to make it nut free double the honey)
1/3 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins or other dried fruits (optional)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (if being used as a trail mix type of thing)

Preheat over to 375 degrees.

Begin by melting the butter and peanut butter together in a 3-quart saucepan. Add the honey, vanilla and salt. Stir the mixture until it is smooth and hot throughout. It doesn’t need to boil. Add the oats. Stir until the oats are completely coated with the sticky gooey peanut butter mixture. It will be chunky. Turn the mixture into an ungreased cookie sheet, or a large 9 by 13-inch pan. Spread the granola out evenly and bake it for 10 minutes.

It will be brown and crispy. Now remove it from the oven and allow it to cool right there in the pan. Break it up into pieces after it is cooled. Transfer the granola to a clean coffee can or sealed canister. Add the raisins, fruits and or chocolate chips if you are using them, when the granola is cool.

Pax Christi!

A married woman must often leave God at the altar in order to find Him in her housework
St. Francis of Rome

Laid Back Sunday at the Zoo

It was a quiet day the zoo. Richard picked up Douglas from a Boy Scout camping trip mid morning. Early afternoon Mandy and I headed out to the store since we were running low on milk. Running out of milk in this house is NOT an option. The children played outside between the rain showers.

Right now dinner is in the oven and we will be sitting down for family meal here in the next hour. We are having a family favorite: zippy beef. We are going to have salad, applesauce and garlic bread with it.

I hope you have an enjoyable rest of your Sunday.

Pax Christi!

A married woman must often leave God at the altar in order to find Him in her housework ~~St. Francis of Rome