the dovekeepers

The Dovekeepers tells the story of Masada, a Jewish stronghold, through the lives of four ladies.

Each has been forced out of their home and has made the journey through the desert to Masada where they find themselves working in the dovecotes.

As their lives become intertwined they slowly begin to open themselves to one another and are able to heal the deep wounds they carry.


Set in a time of exile and destruction for the Jewish people, this novel brings to life the circumstances surrounding this historical event. 


After reading, look up some pictures of Masada and see where this all really happened. It makes it all seem real.

cutting a mango

Mango's are one of my favorites. Cutting one can be difficult though, so here's how.

 

Slice one side off, then the other.
Try to get as close as you can to the seed in the middle.

Now cut off the strip left around the mango. Again, try to cut as close to the seed as possible.

Cut the two oval pieces in half lengthwise, and your ready to enjoy :)

Just eat the fruit right off of the skin and the seed.

This method is messy, so be prepared! 

favorite cookies

I've found it, the perfect cookie recipe! It is pretty much straight out of Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook.
Ranger Cookies
1 14 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup butter-melted
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups whole oats
1/2 cup coconut
1 cup chocolate chips

Simply mix all ingredients and put onto a cookie sheet. It may be difficult to make them stay together because of the oats, pressing them into balls worked best for me. Bake in a 375 F oven for 8-12 minutes and enjoy!

I love the coconut and chocolate combination. Raisins or other "chips" would be good too. I know you aren't supposed to eat the dough, but I always do, and this may be my favorite! The baked cookies actually tasted very similar to the dough which was a very pleasant surprise!

apricots

My aunt brought by some apricots that were really ripe. I've never had apricot anything before, but I decided to try something. So here's the result:

Apricot Cobbler
7 apricots (more or less depending on size)
2 cups oats
1 cup brown sugar
3 Tbs butter (hard)
cinnamon
nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350F. Cut up apricots into small pieces and place evenly in 9X9 pan. Mix oats and sugar in blender then cut in butter till only small pieces are left. Sprinkle lots of cinnamon and a little bit of nutmeg onto the apricots then pour oat mixture over it. Sprinkle a bit more cinnamon on top and bake for about an hour.



There you go, super easy and delicious! I love the sourness of the apricots, but you can add sugar to the fruit part if you want to. It's amazing right out of the oven with some vanilla ice cream.

cloth journal

I go through journals fast. I fill them up with whatever I feel like at the time which may be drawings, writings, quotes, pictures, tickets. It's kinda like a collection of me. 

I know that some people have trouble journaling or don't enjoy it, but they make great gifts and can be filled with anything, so be creative! 

 I've seen cloth journals around and really liked them, but you can skip the fabric and just decorate with pictures or whatever you have.

You will need:

• notebook
• fabric (I cut some from an old t-shirt)
• scissors 
• glue
• magazines, pictures, and whatever else you want to decorate with 

1. Cut the cloth an inch bigger than the notebook on
      all sides. Before you glue it to the inside of the  
      notebook make sure the fabric can stretch
      enough to close.
 




 2. Cut out a small section below the binding of
       the notebook so the fabric can fold over.

   










 3-5. Fold over the cloth from the bottom.
          There was extra fabric where the
          side and bottom overlap, so I cut it
          off. Glue and repeat with top and
          other side.








And now you have a cloth journal!


6. All that's left now is to decorate the
      cover, or not, depending on your
      preference.





So, pretty easy and now you can journal in style!

graduations

It is the season of graduations. I've been to three ceremonies in the last two weeks and about five parties. I've been helping prepare for some of our own parties all week. Our yard is full of flowers and I made a few arrangements from them. I also baked some cakes and decorated them.  

 

I am so excited for my favorite sister as she starts life outside of high school! She is going to do great things. My "little" brother was the last to graduate eighth grade, so only high schoolers and older in this family! I must admit that I was a bit partied out earlier this week, but I am so happy to congratulate and celebrate all of them.

gingersnaps

Time for more cookies! I really like food filled with different flavors and spices, so gingersnaps are one of my very favorites. I based the recipe off of the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, and tweaked it a little.

1 1/4 cup oat flour (grind up oats in blender)
1 cup white flour
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ginger (I didn't measure out the spices, so these are estimates)
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice

Mix all ingredients together then shape and put onto baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake in 375 F. oven for 8-10 minutes.

Pretty easy, and the result are some delicious cookies! They seem like they'd be good with a glass of milk (if I liked it!). The recipe also said to roll the dough in balls then roll in sugar, but I guess I was so excited for them to be done that I forgot that step! Oat flour gives the cookies a nice texture and doesn't change the taste too much. Usually when making food with spices, I just add a whole bunch more than called for because I like to taste it all. The original recipe called for about half of what is in this one, so if you want to play it safe, just add less. Hope you enjoy!