My friend Valerie Jacobsen offers a needed reminder about what it means to be a keeper at home. Hint: it doesn’t mean eating bonbons and watching soaps. If a woman has a job which involves spending a large amount of time away from her home and family, how is she being a homekeeper? Make sure to read the linked articles which started the brouhaha.

The Trolley Car Family by Eleanor Clymer
Some Joseph Altsheler historical novels for children
Ricka, Flicka and Dicka and Snipp, Snapp, Snurr books by Maj Lindman
The Wild Baby Gets a Puppy by Barbro Lindgren
Five Dolls and the Duke by Helen Clare
Schoolroom in the Parlor by Rebecca Caudill
One Writer’s Beginnings by Eudora Welty
Cobblestone magazines on Samoset and Squanto and The Swamp Fox
New and Selected Poems: 1923-1985 by Robert Penn Warren
A Stitch in Time by Monica Ferris
Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House by Mary Stewart-Wilson
Making Period Dolls’ House Accessories by Andra Barham
Hero Tales by Dave and Neta Jackson
The Story of Hannibal by Johanna Johnston
The Kidspacee Idea Book by Wendy A. Jordan
The Ultimate Doll Book by Caroline Goodfellow
Handel: Who Knew What He Liked by M.T. Anderson and Keven Hawkes
The True Adventures of Daniel Hall by Diane Stanley
Starry Messenger by Peter Sis
The First Christmas by Nonny Hogrogian
Inside the Secret Garden by Carolyn Strom Collins and Christina Wyss Eriksson
J.R.R. Tolkien: Architect of Middle Earth by Daniel Grotta
Several Hank the Cowdog books
Keith and Rusty McNeil California Songs CDs
Courtly Dances by the United States Marine Band, CD
The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends from Colin Towns, CD

I’ve also spent a book-hunting evening, finding all sorts of great things at Bookcloseouts, updating my bargains page. There are several Childhood of Famous Americans books, Diane Stanley picture book biographies for children, Mrs. Sharp’s Traditions and one of my favorite books, Letters of a Woman Homesteader, as well as many more great deals. Don’t forget the coupons!
Update: I added another book about the history of the English Bible, Wide as the Waters.

For an overview of the history and beliefs of Islam, read this article. It gives good suggestions for how the civil government, the church and individual Christians ought to respond to Muslims in our country and abroad.

Do you like muffins? Our family loves ‘em. Here’s a site with dozens of muffin recipes. I’m going to try the cranberry muffins with our turkey noodle soup for tomorrow’s dinner.

Gather your family around the fire and for family devotions and listen to Pilgrim’s Progress in a dramatized recording on SermonAudio.com. My favorite sermons there are from Joe Morecraft and Brian Abshire. You can also find Ken Ham defending biblical creationism here and here.

For Laura D. (and I think Samantha likes mystery novels, too), here are some novel suggestions that will have you in stitches. The settings for these books involve needlework and stitchery! I have not read any, so proceed at your own risk.

If you thought Judge Moore’s little monument in his courthouse was over the top, what do you think about these overt religious expressions sprinkled all over the nation’s capital? Don’t worry…the ACLU and their minions have been working hand-in-glove with the National Park Service to cover up or remove these offensive images. Soon those “temples” of government will be hypocrisy-free zones when they no longer have to pay eye-service to the Christian foundation on which this nation was built. I’m no engineer (at least, I’m only of the domestic variety), but even I know what happens when the foundation crumbles. CRASH!

While you’re at the Christian Heritage site, you might want to read Jessica’s First Prayer, a story by Hesba Stretton which has been reprinted by Lamplighter Publishing.

For those of my readers who like bluegrass and folk music, you might enjoy the free music downloads of John McCutcheon’s music at Amazon. Don’t miss this song. Thanks to Miss Kyriosity for pointing him out.

Happy 105th birthday to C.S. Lewis on November 29! In Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis wrote: “The Eternal Being, who knows everything and who created the whole universe, became not only a man but a baby, and before that a fetus in a woman’s body.”

Congratulations to my dear friend’s niece, Jenny Nichols, a homeschooler who is on the U.S. archery team for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.

We had a quiet but lovely day. We were going to roast this tender morsel, but he escaped before we could pop him into the oven. It’s lucky we had that 25-lb. turkey in reserve. We had enough food to feed an army, and we usually have the appetites to match, but with this flu bug we didn’t make much of a dent, and I had to do some creative rearranging in the refrigerator to make all the leftovers fit. If you had come to help us celebrate, this is the sublime (that’s for Drew) fall scene you would’ve seen as you drove up. Inside, the gang sat patiently while Daddy took a picture of everyone at the table waiting to fill up the plates which my grandma used when she was a girl. If you look closely you can see that we are in a state of remodeling…and you thought we were in the state of California. I think I’m in a state of silliness, so time to say adieu.

Here’s the recipe for the sweet potatoes for Kelly (from the Sue Gregg Main Dishes Cookbook, modified by me…I was going to link to her site, but it crashed my computer, causing me to lose a longer post and all the windows I had open to save, so google it if you want to take a chance):

Yams in Orange Sauce
6-8 servings
Peel 6 yams or sweet potatoes…place in a saucepan and cover with water, bring to a boil and cook until tender (not mushy) about 15 minutes; drain
Blend together in small saucepan:
1 c. orange juice (reserve a little)
1/4 c. honey
2 T. butter
2 T. cornstarch (mix with reserved orange juice to make a paste, then mix with other ingredients in sauce)
Heat sauce just until butter melts. Then pour over sweet potatoes in casserole dish. We added crushed pineapple, too. Cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes…sauce will thicken as it cooks.

We are still in the throes of sickness. I am well (although very tired), but tonight my dear husband finally succumbed. I have been optimistically cooking today, but I don’t think we are going to make a dent in the meal I have planned. It will probably be a little nibbling then into the freezer, and maybe we can try again in a few days.

In the meantime, we still have plenty to be thankful for. We’re warm, we have a comfortable home and medicine for relieving some of the worst symptoms and discomforts of this bug. I’ll think of more things to be thankful for later when I’ve gotten some rest.

Here’s the menu for tomorrow, the traditional Thanksgiving feast at the Friedrichs:
A 25 lb. turkey, slowly roasted most of the day
Cornbread stuffing with onions, celery, herbs, golden raisins and water chestnuts
Real sweet potatoes (not canned) in an orange glaze (no marshmallows)
Homemade Good Earth rolls (with sunflower seeds) and homemade peach jam and real butter
Whole berry cranberry sauce (not from a can)
Strawberry jello salad made with berries, crushed pineapple and bananas with a layer of sour cream in the middle
A relish tray with tiny dill pickles, huge green olives, black olives, baby carrots, celery sticks and pepperonicis
Spinach dip with sourdough bread
Brie cheese with crackers
Sparkling apple cider and wine
Pumpkin pie with real whipped cream
Pecan pie
Gumdrop cake (a family tradition, like a fruit cake except it’s good, with gumdrops instead of fruit, applesauce, raisins and nuts, soaked in wine for at least a week)

The older kids all picked something to make, and they were great helpers in the kitchen today. We like to invite people to feast with us on this special day, but this year we are under quarantine.

I hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving with your families. Write me a note after the dust settles and let me know what you did this holiday…maybe we can vicariously enjoy your experiences while we patiently wait for the Sickness Symphony to play out. You should hear the cacaphony of coughing.