Two friends reminded me to post about the Christmas book I co-authored, so here I am doing just that.
I enjoyed writing this book and its pages are filled with goodies. My baklava family recipe is shared in it. Once I made this baklava for a potluck and a man from across the room called out "I want to marry the woman who made this baklava." Sorry to disappoint him but I was already married.
Anyhow, this book is a resource that is fun and helpful to pull out each year in the Christmas season. In it we co-authors share what our favorite seasonal movies and books and charities are, easy and inexpensive gifts to make, you name it. Also we wrote about Christmas firsts for us, including Karen's first Christmas with her two adopted children and a purple stocking, Leslie and Cathy's Nativity Treasure Hunt ideas, my camping trip in the Everglades at Christmas and more. Plus the story from the Bible about the birth of Jesus. The full title is "A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts: Stories to Warm Your Heart and Tips to Simplify Your Holiday".
Here is a photo I took of a page in the book.
Let's see if I can get the URL for Amazon to display correctly! A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts
Yesterday Amazon had one copy and today it says out of stock, more to arrive soon. Maybe one of you dear friends bought that copy this morning! They do sell used copies on Amazon. Some of you commented how nice to share the expense of publishing but I am delighted to tell you all that there was no spending of money by the authors; the publisher paid completely for the publication, including paying the authors (that's me) and the artists. This is a traditional publisher, Leafwood Publishers, an imprint of Abilene Christian University Press. I stand amazed at the artwork in the book that the publisher had created.
Here is a photo of our Christmas tree this year, bought from an area tree farm that survived the recent fires. The tree has a lot of decorations on it, as of Dec. 12, and we have many more to add. My sons and Bounce went to the farm to find a tree to cut down. They walked up and down hills and ravines and found a gorgeous tree. We all agree it is our prettiest tree ever. Although that is what we think every year.
How is your Christmas season? Do you celebrate Christmas? Do you have a tree? I hope all of you have a fine December and holiday. This has been a rough year world wide and it is good to see lots of light shining in the darkness.
34 comments:
Our favorite family joke from Christmas time is that every single year for all of our lives when the tree was done and the lights were turned on mother said oh that is the most beautiful tree we've ever had. What a great idea for the book.
Lovely book and beautiful tree
Light on decorations, heavy on baking for this season here
Stay Safe and have a fun week-end
Sounds like a great book. Beautiful tree. Yes I do celebrate, and embrace Christmas in many forms, creating, baking and the reason for the season celebrating the birth of Jesus.
Lovely tree... We always used to go out, as a family, and cut down our Christmas tree. But since children are grown, we have a smaller artificial tree. Our son next door, still goes out to get a fresh tree from a tree farm though. It's a lovely tradition, and provides wonderful memories, for all.
How wonderful to have written a book!
Happy Christmas!
😊🎄😊
We love the Christmas season although it's very different this year. Still, we're fortunate in that several family members live close by and have been coming by all these months to lend a hand when needed.
I think we all think that this year's tree must be the best. Yours looks very lovely.
It truly is a beautiful tree. Our tree gobies up Christmas week. Take care.
Ha ha...You should teach the young women how to make that baklahva! It could be life changing. 😄
What a great book. I am done with baking, shopping and wrapping and now will just enjoy these next few weeks until the big day. Enjoy all your preparations.
Hugs,
Kris
Very pretty. I've never been big into decorating for Christmas as we celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah so we have a tiny tree, menorah and a wreath.
That sounds like a great book, and your tree is beautiful! We aren't decorating much this year but there will be lots of lights on our back porch where we will be spending Christmas social distancing with our grown children. Have a Merry Christmas!
Great idea for the book. Sounds like a good one.
Your tree is beautiful. I only have a fake one and it's up but not decorated yet
My congratulatios for this nice book full of stories and in cooperation with good friends!! It is a great sucess and - I'm shure - a HIT!!!!
This Christmas-tree really is MARVELLOUS! First the tree himself and second the lights.
Have a blesses time in these spiritual days - - -
Congratulations on your book. It sounds like it is doing well.
Since you follow my blog, you know all about my tree, and just about everything else.:-)
Gorgeous tree! Congratulations on the book's success! I'm thinking it might make a wonderful wedding gift for a young couple just starting out.
Your tree is so pretty! Your book looks very interesting but it's out of stock right now. :(
We do celebrate Christmas. Our tree is up. Due to covid, and uncertainty in both of our jobs, we got our shopping done very early this year. Everything is wrapped and tucked beneath the tree. I am so glad, because now the schools are closed and I am homeschooling a 1st and 4th grader.
Your book sounds wonderful. I made cookbooks for my daughters and granddaughters for Christmas last year with family recipes.
Because of the small apartment we are in, I have a little tree in a galvanised bucket. Lots of garlands and lights, so the house looks festive. Of course the centerpiece is special as it's my Nativity.
God Bless and Merry Christmas
Looks like a lovely little book. Your tree is very festive and bright. Definitely ready to close the chapter on this year. Take care.
Thank you for sharing your Christmas book. I'm sure you had fun putting the information together with friends. Christmas is a special time. Our Christmas tree was decorated early this year. Yours is beautiful.
Hello Terra, I didn't know about your Christmas book. How fun and I'm going to read more on it. We celebrate Christmas as the birth of the Christ child. We usually have a beautiful tree, full of family ornaments that are completely mis-matched, full of memories and completely beautiful. This year, all of that is in storage because of our RV living area and in my heart, something is definitely missing. We're used to spending holiday alone with all of our kids so far away, but we had our memories hanging on the tree. This year, not so much. But, we are blessed way beyond what we deserve. Just think. God came to earth. Just for me and for you too. He loved us that much. How can there be sadness at Christmas when we have that to celebrate?
Blessings and hugs,
Betsy
As a writer, I've always appreciated that you wrote and published a book. I hope Amazon makes more copies! How is that done?
We celebrate with a live tree. I was considering a faux tree tis year as my husband has not been well, but lo and behold, we carried it in and he held it and I screwed it into the stand--roles reversed!! :-D. I think I'll continue this tradition. With a smaller tree I can do it!
Sending holiday cheer, my dear friend!
Jane 😘
Nice tree there.
Because we won't be home for Christmas there is no tree - to me that makes sense.
Youngest son will be home but he doesn't want the tree put up :)
Take care.
How wonderful to be a published author! The book looks charming. Wishing you a joyful Christmas and goodness knows a better 2021. <3
Christians in India do celebrate the traditional way and most non Christians enjoy the festival season and some even put on lights in their homes. My daughter in love leaves the lighting done for Diwali to stay on till Christmas and New Year before she removes them for safe keeping till next year.
Hi Terra - your idea about the book is just amazing ... such a clever thing to do - happy memories for one and all. Memories - perhaps a couple of Christmases when my Ma was working in her Nursing Home and so we had Christmas over there, and then came home to chill out - with full Christmas decorations overlooking Penzance bay with its lights ... take care - Hilary
That is such a wonderful idea for a book. The tree is gorgeous. Sometimes I get into Christmas and run with it whole hog, but this is not one of those times. It will be very low key this year. I thought I made a good adjustment to my husband's death, but a Christmas tree (decorating it especially) brings up a sadness I am just learning to accept after all these years. Still, I love to see others' decorations and traditions.
I'm busy writing Christmas cards! I put my decorations up gradually during December and the tree is usually the last to come up, only a few days before Christmas - following the tradition from my childhood. (My own tree is a very small -fake- one, but with ornaments to match, and I put those on every year and take them off again when I take the tree down again in mid January.)
I love that you have a real tree. I still remember how they made the house smell of Christmas. I with you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday season. And now I will go and look for the book. It sounds like a good read.
The link worked and I bought a used copy of your book!!
SO looking forward to getting it!
What a beautiful tree! And that looks like a lovely scrapbook of ideas.
Proud of you, Terra! You have a book about Christmas. I am wondering about your baklava recipe :)
I will find your book!
What a beautiful tree! I love that your sons went and cut it down at the tree farm. I loved doing that when we could. Florida doesn't have "tree farms" that grow pretty Christmas trees like that. We did go cut down some native sand pine trees in years past in national forest (with a permit). They are kind of scraggly looking but fun to cut and try and decorate. But we just use an artificial one usually, which needs to be replaced as it sheds as much as a real one it is so old. Your book looks so interesting! Congratulations on being a part of such an ambitious project! What a fun idea to do that with friends and share the cost of publishing. Baklava sounds so good. I haven't had any in years, and would have the foggiest idea of how to make it. Maybe I should check out your recipe. I hope you will have a very Merry Christmas. Yes, we celebrate Christmas here...it's the biggest event of the year, and we look forward to welcoming Jesus into our homes as the Christ Child at Christmas, but as our Risen Savior all year long. God bless you and keep you always...
Beautiful book! The tree farm we used in Pennsylvania had a fire in their barn that destroyed it. I love a real Christmas tree! Andrea
That sounds like a very useful book.
The Christmas tree looks very nice.
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