Thursday, August 7, 2014

In the Interest of Pie, Books and other Important Things

Ruthy here!

First there's THIS:

Hello, baby cicada!!!! Welcome to the planet, dear.... Take a few minutes and stretch those wings!!!!

And not too long after that there was this delightful surprise!!!!

Dave's cousin Karen came to visit and hold a baby! We were happy to oblige her and it was so very good to see her!!!! Thank you for stopping, Karen! Love the baby updates!!!!

So life has been crazy and crazy fun here in upstate New York! We have resurrected our love of veggie growing in one of the wettest summers on record, and our veggies are requesting life jackets. Better we should have BUILT AN ARK!!!!! And we're actually considering that except for God's promise about the whole flood thing. Go you, God!!!!!

We're planning our annual Cousinpalooza, a day-long celebration of grandchildren and birthdays, food, pinata, bounce house, food, games, talk, oh, and did I mention food???? This will be the first time the entire family has been together in five years...

PHOTO OP!!!!!

:)

There's this:

I JUST SIGNED A SIX BOOK CONTRACT WITH LOVE INSPIRED BOOKS!!!!!!! :)

Okay, I had to put that in all-caps because I'm looking forward to working with Melissa and the wonderful crew on Broadway to spark some new series and finish one of my faves: the final Kirkwood Lake story is done! And I loved weaving Julia and Tanner's story, it got this hard-hearted author damp-eyed more than once!

Dave is growling on the couch with cellulitis in his right leg, poor thing, so I'm taking care of him and mocking him slightly. He seems to be immune to my special brand of humor. Imagine that????  :)

GRATUITOUS BOOK PICTURE, IN STORES NOW!!!!


Come on, you knew I'd give you a link, didn't you???? And this book is so stinkin' sweet, and the cowboy on the cover alone is worth the price of the book or download!!!!  :)  CLICK HERE FOR BOOK!!!

And seen on the VERY SAME SHELVES??????

There is this:
And this!!!!!

On the shelves with Jan Drexler and Mia Ross this month, how fun to share shelf space with your friends!!! Oh, happy dancing, big time!!!!

And I had the urge to make pie again last weekend, it just shouted to me from the back room, empty pie pans mocking me.... lamenting their empty state. I had to help them!!!!

Like the amazing triple berry cheesecake a few weeks ago, this is a triple berry pie. It was beyond good, it was wonderful, and everything a pie should be.... Great crust, perfect filling, not too ooozy and loaded with flavor! And: Simple ingredient list!

For the recipe for my FAVORITE PIE CRUST CLICK HERE!!!! (and then come back!)

TRIPLE BERRY PIE

6 cups frozen mixed berries (or berries of your choice)
1 cup water
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon Minute tapioca

Put 2 cups of berries in 3 quart saucepan.


Add water, simmer until thawed. Mash the berries because you want this to be the "set" for the other berries. Mix flour and sugar and tapioca together. Add to berry juice in pan and mix together, stirring until mix thickens.


(This won't take long, don't walk away, don't chase a kid, ignore the phone....)  Add butter, mix in. Stir the other 4 cups (or 5, it really doesn't matter! I love berries!) of berries in gently, remove from heat. Those are now your "pie" berries.

Gently spoon into crust-lined pie pan,


add top crust. I like to have a sugared top crust, so I brushed the crust with cream and sprinkled it with colored sugar.... a sugared crust has a great top texture!




Fold foil around crimped edges, bake at 425° for about 20 minutes or so, until crust is just browning lightly, a pretty golden shade. The filling is pre-cooked so this pie doesn't take very long....



Cool and serve warm or cool with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.



SO AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS!!!!!

And then there was a very special birthday celebration for a lovely 4 year old girl:


Casey and Taylor putting whipped cream swirls on ice cream cupcakes....


Happy birthday, Mary Ruthy!!!!!!  :)

And then there's this: A one year anniversary this month, a time of grave concern in 2013.... Now?  All systems are GO!!!!!

Roman, one year later.... and doing well!

So that's how our week went! Celebrating little joys, some aches, a few pains (mostly Dave's!!!) but all in all, counting our blessings like clover in the grass!

17 comments:

  1. Congratulations on the big contract!! You're the Li mainstay!

    And soooo glad about Roman. I was hoping and praying everything was going well for him.

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    1. Isn't the news with Roman just outrageously wonderful?????? HAPPY DANCING!!!!!! And how stinkin' cute is he????? Healthy children and young mothers puts the rest of my life in perspective. :) I love the book contract, I'm psyched, and I'm in love with this first hero... POOR DAVE!!!!! :)

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  2. ooops, I got that link all goofy. Here's Jessica Keller's book on the shelf right along with you guys. Friends have to stick together, right??

    http://www.amazon.com/Widowers-Second-Chance-Inspired-Harbor-ebook/

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  3. Trying once again to make Jessica's link live.... First time: FAIL!!!!! Second attempt in progress! JESSICA'S BOOK HERE!!!!

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  4. Nope, the link keeps getting an Amazon error.... :(

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  5. You make the prettiest pies, Ruthy. NOW STOP!!! You're killing me here. So far I've resisted, but it's getting mighty hard. I'd like those 25+ pounds I lost to remain in the missing column, but the pies are calling my name. Okay, maybe just some nice, fruit dessert. A cobbler, perhaps. When we have a large gathering.

    Uber mega congrats on the contract. I didn't know LI did multi-book contracts that large, so, once again, you've given me something to aspire to.

    Ruthy, I really hate that you're becoming the poster child for the person I most want to be. I mean, really? I don't want your picture staring at me everyday, telling me to write, write, write, all the while tormenting me with a deliciously gorgeous pie. I just don't think I could take it. You'd find me in a quiet corner, in the fetal position, stuffing my face with said pie. And trust me, that wouldn't be good for anyone.

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    1. ROF, LOL!!!! I've been dying to be a poster child but most of them are very, very sick..... so I've staved the urge! But to be a writing poster child, well... I'm psyched!!!! :) BUT A BAKING POSTER CHILD!!!! Now that's somethin'!!!! :) I will monitor your pie eating, because 25 lbs. is a wonderful feat!!!!! Bless you!

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  6. You've got your pie mojo going on this month, Ruthy. Yummy!

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    1. Fresh fruit.... berries...... Although this was a bag of frozen ones, but they're so stinkin' perfect!

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  7. Phew, that was a whirlwind blog! First and foremost...Dave has cellulitis?! Tell me he is on antibiotics!!! That he has a good doctor. That's what I had four years ago and now I have nerve damage and use a walker to get around. :-( But I didn't have good medical care and it wasn't treated aggressively enough in the beginning so every time I hear that someone has cellulitis I get on their case.

    Mary Ruthy is adorable! Love that grin! And so thrilled to hear that Roman is doing so well. Blessings are abounding down there in New York state.

    I'm just about to start reading Mia's latest and I did my August Harlequin order and the Montana twins should arrive soon. Can't wait to continue with that series. Congrats again on the 6 book contract. Glad the editors know they have something good on their hands.

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    1. Aw, you are too kind!!!! (blushing!!! ) Love you back.

      Yes, Dave got great ER care, they did an antibiotic drip before they let him come home and now he's on Keflex 4X/day and his leg looks gross... but better than it did! How can a bug bite, ingrown hair, etc. cause so much havoc???

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    2. I didn't even catch that. I've never heard of cellulitis! I thought it was some kind of joke.
      We'll be praying for his complete healing.
      And Kav, I'm so sorry. How frustrating to know that your current disability is due to bad medical care!!

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  8. I'm smack dab in the middle of "Her Montana Sweetheart." Loving it!

    Beautiful post, Ruthy. Such a wonderful celebration of life with healthy children growing up (Yay, Roman and Mary Ruthy!), pies, summer gardens, and life!

    Tell Dave to take care of his cellulitis :(

    AND KEEP WRITING THOSE BOOKS!!!! YAY FOR THE 6 BOOK CONTRACT!!!! WOO HOO!!!!

    Now, off to celebrate right after I take care of the snake that somehow got into the house.

    Done.

    A nice big garter snake, recently fed. So do we feel good about the mouse he ate or feel bad that he chose our house to rest in while his meal digested?

    Hmmm....

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    1. I use the hot dog tongs to extricate snakes. It's a wonderful tool (of course little ones I just pick up) but the big ones???/ Hot dog tongs! Ummm.... they work on bats, too, the SLEEPING ones. Laughing!

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  9. congrats on the book deal! gonna have to put amazon giftcards in my budget tomorrow LOL! too many books out this month and coming up!

    haven't had a lot of reading time but night shift coming up Sun night ;-)

    poor Dave - don't you feel guilty for feeding him sandwiches?!

    Susanna

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    1. Oh, Dave is so LUCKY to get sandwiches, Susanna! LOL! I'm thinkin' ol' Dave should be bringin' me food.... but we tend to feed each other (not literally..., oh my stars!!!!) depending on whose night is crazy. Now with garden veggies popping up here there and everywhere???? We're happy with the sandwiches! And thank you, Susanna, for buying books. Where would authors be without the beloved gift of readers?????? LOVE YOUSE GUYS!!!!

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  10. Beautiful pie!!! Did you use colored sugar to make it look so pretty?

    Love the photos! And of course I'll once again say CONGRATS on the new contract!!!

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