Charlotte’s Blog
Cookies and desserts for special diets and special occasions
It's back to school time! Some folks have started up their home school classes. Some districts have kids attending already. Some wait until September. But even if you're waiting, you're getting ready. Making plans, buying supplies, getting out your favorite cookie...
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Double chocolate chocolate chip cookies (yes, they’re gluten-free!)
You might have noticed that I haven’t been posting as much as usual lately. Summer has gotten busy! We went camping with friends, in the Okanagan-Wenatchee National Forest. Then my husband, and my children, and my grandchildren all descended on my sister’s house. It’s...
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St. Paraskevi and Ss. Joachim and Anna
I wanted to write about St. Paraskevi today. She's the patron saint of the blind (which you'll understand when you read her story). As my vision is becoming increasingly impaired as a side-effect of surgery I had in March to fix my vision, I've been asking St....
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Thank You, Mr. Falker: A tribute to teachers
I should have known not to read Thank You, Mr. Falker on the train. I'm a sappy and sentimental reader, and all kinds of stories make me cry. And it's awkward, sitting on the train with a book on my lap and tears running down my face. I try to avoid it....
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Saturday morning muffin disaster
You can tell, when I post recipes, that I’m not a food blogger. I’m just someone on a restricted diet who loves good food and likes to cook and to share recipes with my friends. But the recipe I tried today, I’m not going to share with you. Because it was a Saturday...
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A Boy and a Jaguar: A story of words and promises
A Boy and a Jaguar is more than a picture book. It’s a memoir written by a noted zoologist and conservationist, Alan Rabinowitz. When Rabinowitz was a child, he stuttered. Except when he was singing, or talking to animals. Then he could speak fluently. He could tell...
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Dairy-free Chocolate Mousse
Y’all, I don’t know where this recipe came from. My husband and I have a fat three-ring binder with recipes we’ve cut out of magazines and copied from friends and family. And I was going through the desserts in that binder, looking for one that had no flour, no dairy,...
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17 essential picture books for Orthodox Christian kids
When my children were young, it was hard to find picture books where they could see themselves and their Orthodox Christian faith. Sure, there were books about saints, and books that explained the feasts. But picture books about Orthodox children who loved the saints?...
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When your eyes are too tired to see
I almost cried at work last week. I asked a colleague for some data I needed. She sent me a link to a spreadsheet. It was a huge, complicated spreadsheet that would require some fancy pivots to get the data I needed. I looked at the spreadsheet, and felt the tears...
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The Man and the Vine and the Woman and the Wheat
A dozen years ago, my kids were too old for picture books. So I didn’t see The Man and the Vine when it came out. And when its companion book, The Woman and the Wheat, came out, I didn’t see it, either. And what I have missed for not having them! If you’re looking for...
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My Pal, Victor: A bilingual story with a disabled character
I thought that I would love Diane Gonzales Bertrand’s bilingual picture book, My Pal, Victor. Characters with disabilities are incredibly rare in picture books. A picture book that includes a child who has a disability and who is not white, is a rare and precious...
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How to make lime curd
I hope you'll forgive me for sharing a recipe that has eggs in it during the Apostles Fast. But two weeks ago, my “ugly fruit” box came with ten limes. I wasn't sure what to do with so many limes. So I decided to make lime curd. What’s an ugly fruit box you ask? It’s...
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