Bøger udgivet af Lucky Valley Press

The stories in this collection are dedicated to my grandchildren, the eager listeners who encouraged me, again and again, to "tell me a story." I hope that hidden in the stories are numerous family values: kindness, appreciation and care for one another, enjoyment of life, curiosity, education, adventure, humor... These stories are part of my memoirs - preserving family events and giving something of myself, and my love, to my children and grandchildren...and you.

A LUCKY LIFE Memoirs of an amazing Man Kenneth Hugh Harrison was picked up by his father from an orphanage at the age of seven. He successfully survived: the Depression, starvation, the Battle of Britain and malaria in West Africa. He likes to say he's had "three wives and three lives," including careers as petty officer and steward in the Royal Navy, sailing on great liners like the Queens Elizabeth and Mary. In his third and American incarnation, Ken obtained a master's degree from Reed College and for many years was an English teacher and soccer coach. Now, happily retired in Carmel, California, where he lives with his wife, Lupita, he states, "This is the final life."

Once, long ago, Theo Maehr hiked his favorite loop trail up Mount Lafayette in New Hampshire. In a sheltered place out of the wind, he sat and gazed at the beautiful landscape. He received this clear message from the mountain: "If you want to know silence, remember me." He was surprised and excited and quieted, all at once. During the rest of the day in the mountains, he experienced a heightened awareness of and connection with his surroundings. He received quiet whispers from a stream, a chickadee, a grove of birch. Wild Whispers, a children's book about the messages we can receive from the world around us if we are quiet enough to listen and hear, is the result of that experience. Theo's whimsical poetry is illumined by the radiant illustrations of Sonja Lokensgard.

Thank you my readers for your willingness to be inspired. We never know where our answers might lie. Our most important insights may come from a sentence in a book. I hope this is true for you.Creating this book is the answer to a dream for me. I have wanted to be a writer since I was thirteen, but in those early days I had nothing to say. After I wrote THE COURAGE TO GRIEVE and then YOU DON'T HAVE TO SUFFER, I thought I was done writing books.Still I never stopped wanting to inspire others with ideas about living well. It has always disturbed me that there is no training to be a human being, no lessons in coping with trauma, illness, loss and tragedy. Ours is a world filled with people learning in hit or miss ways how to confront the inevitable troubles and sorrows in life or how to have satisfying lives and successful relationships.Unfortunately there is also no training for the biggest jobs most of us take on - like being a parent or a spouse. It's startling that we have so little assistance or support for dealing with the things that matter most to us in life. Seeing that we really don't have any ';curriculum' other than our own trial and error ways for coping with our emotional lives led me to write all of my books and now these articles.Beginning my newsletter project, I thought or hoped to write maybe fifteen articles at most. Instead I have found an endless stream of inspiration, the sharing of which has been one of the greatest joys in my life. This book came as a surprise to me. My hope is that it is valuable for you. I am living Goethe's words: ';Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.' May those words encourage you too in whatever are your endeavors.

Based on the fictional journals of Stefani Michel, Humming in Spanish is the third volume in Ginna's Lavandula Series. This multi-generational saga begins in the 1960s and is set in the fictional Sweet Farm, a Carmel Valley, California lavender farm of some local renown.The farm is the home of an intertwining cast of characters all somehow related to the Wyman clan: farmers, artists, writers, musicians. Over six decades, they bond and clash in unusual ways as they create their lives one breath at a time and discover all kinds of new and/or puzzling things about each other every day.

AUTHORS NOTE:Sweet Farm is the stage on which our players play. It is a Carmel Valley, California Lavender Farm of some local reknown. It is also the home of a revolving cast of characters all somehow related to the Wyman clan: farmers, artists, writers, musicians. They bond and clash in unusual ways as they create their lives one breath at a time.The women are restless. The men are nervous. The girls are growing up in the 60s and they and their peers will become known as Baby Boomers, Flower Children, Hippies, Yuppies, the ME generation; they will be affected by the Vietnam War, Rock & Roll, revolutions from sexual to political, and dramatic social change. But, mostly, they deal with their loves, children and homes as they relate to and are touched by those issues described above.Deke Interrupted, Book Two in The Lavandula Series, begins with Stevie mapping her first sexual encounter and Jolene working out some guilt, while Tate and her mother get a big surprise.There's more, of course. There's always more

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONLooking for John Steinbecka novel by Ginna GordonLooking for John Steinbeck is the first novel in Ginna Gordons multi-volume Lavandula Series, the story of the Wyman Family, of Carmel Valley, California.Book One joins the family int he 1960s as the Wheel of Life turns at Sweet Farm, the Wyman Homestead. The focus is on three sisters: Rita, Nana and Fox, and their three daughters: Tate, Stevie and Jolene, cousins and friends, as they tell the story in their own words.Sweet Farm is a colorful compound full of women, their men, children, elders and friends. They breathe the air of Carmel Valley, filled with the scent of their lavender growing on ten fertile acres. The women are restless. The men are nervous. The girls are growing up in the 60s and tyheir generation will become known as Baby Boomers, Flower Children, Hippies, Yuppies, the ME generation; they will be affected by the Vietnam War, Rock & Roll, revolutions from sexual to political and other dramatic social changes.But, mostly, they will be dealing with their loves, their children and their homes as they are touched by all the concerns mentioned above.

Honey Baby Darlin' is a multi-volume series memoir about cooking, love and the love of cooking, in which many beloved characters help to develop a young girl's consciousness about food, the art of nurturing, and the kitchen. It tracks the journey of a girl cook on her quest to create beauty, to nurture, to comfort and to please palates: to hear the sighs of the well-fed.

After decades of singing Bach's music and lecturing about Bach and the world of the early 18th century, renowned Bach tenor David Gordon has compiled his favorite material into one volume. The Little Bach Book is a light-hearted scholarly look at Bach and the world around him, with a special focus on Leipzig, the city where he lived for 27 years and wrote most of his great masterworks.Assembled and written by a master lecturer and story teller, this is an eclectic selection of historical anecdotes, scholarly explanations, gee-whiz factoids, vintage illustrations, time lines, bits of pathos, facts about daily life, and true stories about Bach and his world in the 1700s.In the 18th century, what did people drink instead of water? How did Bach light his home, and how did he write his music? Which concert killed Bach's principal trumpeter? How many of Bach's 20 children lived to be adults? What happened to Anna Magdalena after Bach died? What is the puzzle inside Bach's monogram? What did people eat and drink in Bach's time? What was the job application Bach sent to Dresden? What did everyone do just before getting into bed? How many church services did Bach oversee each week? What happened at the organ duel in Dresden? Why did Bach tell his cousin not to send him any more free wine? What was Bach's actual job description in Leipzig? How often did people do the laundry?The Little Bach Book is filled with fascinating and sometimes unexpected answers to these and many other questions. The scholarship is serious, and the stories are fun, surprising,  and heartwarming!150 pages, richly ilustrated, even a recipe for beer soup...

Today, marriage is inclusive, and the true meaning remains: a devoted loving relationship. These thoughts on love and relationships are fresh and timeless, and the accompanying illustrations are ... priceless. The Wise Ones of the Second Grade Class have created the perfect gift: a book of instructions - straight from their hearts - to establish a good and lasting partnership. May you have a long and beautiful life, filled with joy and happiness and all that comes from loving deeply. And remember to "use school rules."

The circumstances and challenges of our time call for wise counsel and disciplined practice. "Jesus and the Practice of the Golden Rule - A Book of Hours" offers each of us just these gifts. Here is an inspired companion to daily prayer and generous service. What began for the author as a study of the golden rule in its several iterations became a deeper consideration of the transforming power of empathy and forgiveness that Jesus brought to this principle which lies at the heart of all of the world's religions and great philosophies. The format of the book is taken from books of hours, the devotional resources of the Middle Ages designed to nurture the spiritual lives of lay Christians. It is arranged in seven days, Sunday through Saturday, setting aside four times during each day, Morning, Day, Evening, and Night, for reading, meditation, and prayer. The readings are from the Christian scriptures and the Hebrew psalms, and the prayers are from several religious traditions. Included in the prayers, introits, and benedictions are poetry and comments by the author. "Jesus and the Practice of the Golden Rule - A Book of Hours" is intended to be a useful devotional tool in the real life practice of the golden rule. It is not about doctrine; rather it is about energizing the practice of loving God and your neighbor. It will help feed your soul and expand your service to those around you. All the proceeds from the sale of this book will be contributed to UNICEF, in support of their work improving the lives of children around the world.