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Gina’s Mexican Restaurant, Nanaimo

Need a colourful perk-up and a little spice? Try Gina’s Mexican Restaurant at the top of the bluff, downtown Nanaimo. My son and I went there a couple of weeks ago for a late lunch after doing some packing and taking a load to Value Village.

Warm and cheery, it was just the thing. In a little old house, you can choose a room or deck to sit in, inside or out. Funky and homey, it’s a feel-good change from franchise hamburger joints.

Our table was adjacent to the kitchen. Staff chatted and bustled to and fro with orders, but as long as you don’t mind that, the room was cozy and bright. Rooms overlooking the city had been reserved. Good thing we hadn’t arrived during lunch hour or we would have had to wait outside due to covid restrictions. Mind you, if you come in your car you can wait there and they’ll call your cell when your table is ready.

Our meals came to $28 before the tip. We stuck with water, but there is a nice selection of drinks available.

I’d like to go for supper sometime and sit by a window overlooking the lights. See you there, maybe?

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Firstborn: A Novel, by Robin Lee Hatcher, RobinSong Inc. ebook edition, 2018.

Ebook Edition

Firstborn, by Robin Lee Hatcher, was a free ebook download. I read it on Kindle with a free app. Normally I prefer to read traditional paper books because I like flipping through the pages. This was my first time reading on this Kindle app, and it was okay other than the annoying features of the page jumping ahead or going black on me.

Themes of Teen Pregnancy, Secrecy, Adoption, Family and Forgiveness

Robin Lee Hatcher is one of my favourite authors, and this book is on a similar theme to my work in progress, so I wanted to learn from her approach. It centres around a young woman who, although she mostly lives by Christian values, makes a mistake and becomes pregnant in her teenage years.

The storyline alternates between Erica’s adult present life in the story, and her younger years in the ’70s. Hatcher uses month and year dates on some of the chapters to notify the reader of the timeline. I like this because as a reader you are not left guessing where you are in the story. Knowing what year it is also helps you understand the setting of the chapter.

The author explores thoughts and emotions in depth from the point of view of each character, especially at certain pivotal times in their lives. In this story the main character keeps her teenage pregnancy a secret, but it resurfaces into her ‘perfect’ adult life, causing untold disruption. The superficial perfection is shattered. Disaster looms, but in the end each character goes through much soul-searching and come out better for it.

I would consider this more of a Women’s Fiction than a Romance because the turmoil eclipses the elements of romance, although there is a sweet ending involving decisions of love. The story would be viable even if it ended differently, as it likely would in most real life situations.

The topic is relevant, exploring teen pregnancy, adoption, secrecy, family relationships, friendship, and spirituality. Life isn’t perfect, even for Christians. Acceptance and forgiveness are central to true Christianity, not superficial perfection. God doesn’t stand in judgement; it is people who do this to each other, ruining lives in the process.

Jesus Christ gave his life to bring forgiveness. Until the church embraces this gospel, it is a sham of destruction. Hatcher does a good job of bringing out this hypocrisy as each character in the story faces their own pride and unforgiveness and with God’s help is able to forgive the others, resulting in a satisfying ending.

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Moist Molasses Pear Muffins

Satisfying and slightly spicy, perfect for fall and winter with a hot drink, these moist muffins are sure to please.

Molasses Pear Muffin

Ingredients:

  • raisin bran cereal – 1 & 1/2 cups
  • ground flax – 1/2 cup
  • whole wheat flour – 1/2 cup
  • all-purpose flour – 2 tablespoons
  • baking soda – 1 teaspoon
  • salt – 1/4 teaspoon
  • currants – 1/4 cup
  • chopped candied ginger – 2 tablespoons
  • cinnamon – 1 teaspoon
  • cloves – 1/4 teaspoon
  • allspice – 1/4 teaspoon

Measure above ingredients into a large bowl and stir together. In a smaller bowl, beat one egg until frothy, and add 1/4 cup cooking oil, 1/2 cup molasses, 1 teaspoon cider vinegar mixed with 1/3 cup milk, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

Chop 3 small pears and add to wet ingredients. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mixture. Stir just until moist. Spoon into greased muffin tin and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Makes 12.

The spicy scent of the muffins mingled with the scent of a rose that my late husband planted–such a lovely gift from him. He would have like these muffins too I’m sure.

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The Forgiving Jar, by Wanda E. Brunstetter, 2019, Shiloh Run Press (Barbour Publishing Inc.)

The Prayer Jars, Book Two
The Forgiving Jar

The Forgiving Jar is a novel about a young woman whose mother has recently passed away. In her mother’s Bible, she finds a note about her mother’s parents, who she never knew. She learns that they are Amish, and she goes to meet them and live with them for a period of time.

The main character, Sara, is not a Christian at the outset of the novel. She cannot find it in her heart to forgive. But she finds a jar full of thoughts and verses on little slips of paper. Intrigued by these notes, she reads a few when she finds herself in need of encouragement. Some of the notes are about forgiving. Why is forgiving so important anyway?

The Forgiving Jar is second in a series, but I read it as a standalone and didn’t need to read the first book to understand the story. I enjoyed it very much, and will read more of Wanda Brunstetter’s books. I learned some things about the Amish community and their gentle ways, and the Strasburg area in Pennsylvania where the novel is set. The book makes me want to visit the area–maybe sometime for a holiday.

The characters in the novel are all likeable. Some are Amish and some are not. We see how they interact with each other. Sara meets a young man who is studying to become a pastor. She isn’t a Christian, but he is so nice. Will their relationship be able to grow? You’ll have to read it yourself to find out.

To learn more about the author, visit www.wandabrunstetter.com.

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Something Worth Doing, by Jane Kirkpatrick, 2020, Revell (Baker Publishing)

Something Worth Doing is a historical fiction based on the real life story of Abigail Duniway. The novel covers the years from 1852 to 1912, from when Abigail was seventeen to when she was seventy-seven. Chapter one begins with Abigail’s family travelling west by wagon train from Illinois. Her mother has recently passed away. Abigail (or Jenny, as was her nickname), felt that the move may have contributed to her mother’s early death. Men ruled in those days. Women had very little choice about anything. So, although her mother, after bearing a series of children, wished to remain in Illinois where “civilization was catching up to them”, her father had said no. He also forbid his daughters to bring anything that they treasured, however they found ways of hiding some of their mother’s possessions to sneak along.

Girls were expected to marry young, to be under the protection of a husband. Marriage had little to do with love. An older sister was forced to marry a man 20 years her senior. Abigail was fortunate to marry a man who did love her. However, she felt that she had no freedoms and a heavy workload, while he was able to enjoy time with his friends. Men had all the rights and women had none. Abigail felt it keenly and saw it clearly. She began to write articles for the paper highlighting the unfairness of it all. Then she wrote a novel to portray her concerns. But people were not reading novels at that time.

Abigail continually found ways to supplement the family income throughout her childbearing years, and her work was always in some way for the betterment of women. She eventually got involved in the suffragette movement, especially concentrating on pushing for womens voting rights. With the assistance of her family she even started up a newspaper, and later toured the country speaking.

After many years some regions gradually changed, but she met with continual opposition, even from an older brother who published a bigger newspaper. Finally, at the age of 77, she saw success and honour, even from that brother.

Persistence pays off is the message I take away from this story. Dont quit. Keep working at “something worth doing”, the worthy cause that has been handed to you.

A novel of an early suffragist
historical fiction of Abigail Duniway.
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Loving Libby, by Robin Lee Hatcher, 2005, Zondervan

Loving Libby, by Robin Lee Hatcher

Libby isn’t really Libby. Or is she? Born Olivia, she has run away and changed her name to escape from a forced marriage.

Now she owns and manages a sheep ranch in a remote part of Idaho. It’s hard work and dangerous in more ways than one for a single woman. But here she finds freedom.

In 1890s high society New York she had been under the bondage of her father, who considered her a possession to profit his own interests. He would have given her away as a business arrangement. Nothing to do with love.

Years later, her father is still determined to own her, and hires investigators to search the country for her. She had already fled from place to place, but this time has been living on the ranch for several years before Remington finds her there. Remington has an agenda of his own, to get even with Olivia’s father.

The plot is complex. Just when you feel the story is nearing conclusion, there’s another twist. The author explores family relationships as they were in that time and place, but still exist in some places. Will Libby be forced to come back under her father’s control? What about her mother? And what about Remington? Will he get his revenge?

Originally published in 1995 as Liberty Blue by HarperCollins, this story continues to be relevant. What really constitutes love and should freedom exist for women? What about safety? Age-old issues for women throughout history.

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Sidney Gordon Fredericksen March 17, 1943 – July 28, 2020

My dear Sidney passed away nearly a month ago already. I loved him so much, from the moment I first saw him.

Not that our relationship has been smooth–no, it’s been rocky. I could never have married a boring person, nice though he may be. Sid was the complete opposite of boring! Never a dull moment. Peaceful moments, yes, many. Our favourite times were mornings to ourselves in our quiet living room, with God and our little dog, Bear. We read our Bibles, often aloud to each other, discussed scripture and whatever else was on our minds. Sid played his guitar or ukulele and sang hymns and choruses. He didn’t mind my joining in although I was usually off key. He just made me feel good if I actually got it right. We praised God together, prayed for each other and others as God laid on our hearts.

I miss him so much. It’s still hard for me to come to his page on my website and write about him because his passing is still so recent. I will add more to his story in the future.

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An Appalachian Summer, by Ann H. Gabhart, 2020, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

An Appalachian Summer

An Appalachian Summer is a heartwarming story set in the 1930s. Piper, at the ripe old age of 20, has just finished two years of college, and is now a debutante. Her father has matched her up with someone who will provide her a good life with everything she wants.

Trouble is, she doesn’t love him. She is still in love with her childhood friend, although he seems to have backed out of her life since his father died and his family lost everything.

Piper doesn’t care for the rich life of parties and afternoon teas, and being served. She takes after her aunt, a woman who refuses to settle for what’s expected of her. Her aunt introduces her to Mrs. Breckinridge, who runs a midwife service in the Appalachian mountains. Piper suddenly decides to join this organization for the summer as a courier. Little does she know what she’s in for.

Piper is an experienced horse rider, and most of her assignments have to do with running errands on horseback. But that’s the easy part. Soon she finds herself encountering men with guns, milking a cow, helping deliver babies, plucking a chicken and more.

She has come here to get away from thinking about settling into marriage, but she cannot get away from it at all. There are interesting developments and twists, but I won’t give them away.

This story reminded me of my own young life, when after a year of college I went away for a summer to work in a remote area here in Canada. I didn’t encounter such scary extremes, but I was a city girl working with country people of a different culture. Definitely a life-enriching experience.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for writing this honest review.

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Linley Valley Forest Trail, Nanaimo

Linley Valley Forest Trail, Nanaimo, is a refreshing naturalized area to come to when you need to blow the cobwebs out of your head.

  • Lily pond in Linley Valley
    Linley Valley, Nanaimo
Berry Season in Linley Valley

If you like sampling berries as you walk, go here for a stroll. These huckleberries, thimble berries, and small wild raspberries are out now in July. Salmon berries are ripening, and next month there will be blackberries. My dog, Bear, and I went this week, and I had a berry feast!

Linley Valley Forest Trail is in the centre of the city of Nanaimo. I parked in a new residential development at the peak of Rutherford Road, where there are signs at the entrance to the trail. Dogs on leash. Use poopy bags (provided there, alongside a garbage can). A map of the area. Facts about the flora and fauna. The trail by this lily pond even has illustrated story boards along the way, about a bird who went for a walk with her friends. Cute.

We started mid afternoon, strolling and feasting slowly for an hour or two. On the way back I was glad to rest on a bench by the pond as the sun lit up the trees and undergrowth in golden shades. Couples, singles, children and families came out with dogs of all kinds on leashes. A boy on a bicycle called his dacshound named Ava, just as a family with a little girl named Ava approached. Must be a popular name these days. I’ve noticed there are more ‘Ada’s around too. When I was growing up I hated my names, Pearl Ada, because nobody I knew had those kind of names. And there was funny old Aunt Pearl on the Beverly Hillbillies. How embarrassing! I’m glad these old-fashioned names are making a bit of a comeback. Now I like mine. And I’ve become Aunt Pearl and I like that too.

It’s another new favourite place for me. Maybe we’ll run into each other there sometime. Hope so!

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What Momma Left Behind, by Cindy K. Sproles, 2020, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

Do orphan stories tug at your heartstrings? This one is set in 1870s Tennessee, at a time when epidemics of fever swept through remote mountain homesteads, leaving orphans to fend for themselves.

Worie suddenly found herself in this position at the age of 17. Considered a grown woman in the day, she took on responsibility for a string of younger orphans that kept coming to her for help. Unbeknown to Worie, her mother had been bringing food to them before she died.

Though homes were far apart, neighbours knew each other and helped each other. They didn’t have much, but they made do.

Guns were part of life here too, and Worie’s mother had shot herself, for no apparent reason. No sooner had she buried her mother with the help of a neighbour, than one of her older brothers showed up demanding their mother’s treasure, hidden in a jar. Worie chased him off at gunpoint. And this is just the beginning of this adventure-filled story.

Written in first person, using vernacular throughout, Sproles shows us Worie’s life through her own eyes. Her mother’s legacy was truths she learned from the Bible. Initially angry at God, Worie gradually fell back on her mother’s wisdom.

Through this work of fiction, Sproles addresses some of the universal questions of life and death, good and evil. Worie finds peace in God, and forgiveness and purpose.

I cried at the end, and that doesn’t happen often. It’s not all sad though; people find joy in one another in the midst of hardship, danger and injustice, which is the way life should be.

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Standoff, by Patricia Bradley, 2020, Revell(Baker Publishing Group)

I met Patricia Bradley in a small Zoom conference for writers last month, and she kindly offered to do a critique for me of the novel I am working on. What an honour! Now I’m excited to be reading her latest novel that just came out. I chose it out of several books that Revell wanted reviewers for. My review is due today, though probably because of COVID19, I only received it here in Canada a few days ago. So far I’ve managed to get a third of the way into this 384 page novel. I don’t want to spoil my enjoyment by skimming ahead, but already I can recommend it.

Standoff, by Patricia Bradley

Standoff is a romantic suspense, the first in a series called Natchez Trace Park Rangers. Chapters are short and each one is written from a different character’s point of view, so it took a few chapters for me to get familiar with who’s who. The main character, Brooke, is in her early 30s. She is about to embark on a new career, following in her father’s footsteps as a park ranger, when everything goes awry.

So far, a third of the way in, three people have been shot, there are many suspects, and two great prospects are vying for Brooke’s affection. The story is fast-paced, although I admit that I have to stop from time to time to sort out the characters and their positions. Various levels of investigators and law enforcement are involved in solving the mysteries of who shot who and why. It has to do with a major ring of drug smugglers at a time when the government is considering legalization.

Brooke doesn’t know who can be trusted. As a reader I catch glimpses of several secrets and dangers. I hope she will stay safe and perpetrators will be brought to justice. And I hope she will choose the right suitor. One of them is giving me a bad feeling.

Natchez Trace is a parkway in Mississippi. Several scenes take place at historical tourist sites. I think from now on I’ll always be wary when visiting tourist attractions. Characters are armed with various types of guns, something I’m unfamiliar with as a Canadian. Learning lots! If you like mystery and suspense with some romance in the mix, with family values and spiritual thoughts too, then this is for you!

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