M. Jean Pike's Blog, page 3

Hello, Sweetie

Back at the beginning of summer a woman came into the store where I work and wanted help printing out some photos she had stored on her phone. Easy enough. We plugged her phone into the kiosk and when her photos appeared on the screen, hit “print all.” There were three hundred of them – all puzzles! Turned out she was decluttering (I really need to do that again!) and had taken pics of the puzzles she’d completed in the last few years so she could pass the puzzles on to others and still have a lovely photo album showcasing her work. I was delighted to have found a kindred spirit. We talked for a long time about our favorite brands and themes of puzzles. I particularly liked her farm scene puzzles, and I told her so. The next week she came back to the store with a bag of puzzles for me! Since it was summer and I am mostly a cool weather puzzler, I tucked them in the back of the closet for later. Normally my puzzling season begins in October, but I started in September this year.

This one is called ‘Hello, Sweetie.’ I loved this farm woman with her tulips by the fence, her lambs and her faithful dog at her side

I finished this one, called ‘Planting Season,’ yesterday. Love the Amish couple, the beautiful horses, and the little red wheelbarrow. I see the dog also makes an appearance in this scene. Maybe the Amish couple and the farm wife are neighbors and the dog makes his rounds

I still have five or six puzzles in the closet. Not nearly enough for the puzzling season ahead. Thankfully I have lots of fellow puzzlers who are happy to share

Friendship, Muffins, and A Little Bit of Pumpkin Fun

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! Psalm 133:1

I love having friends in. It changes my house’s energy, somehow. I enjoy my quiet, introverted lifestyle, when it’s just me, Miss Emma and the radio. But there’s something about adding the laughter and the happy chatter of friendship that just seems to make the house (and my heart) smile

Our church is hosting a prayer tea this month, so I invited some of the girls over this morning to help make table decorations– crafty little pumpkins that we will pair with acorns and colorful leaves. It was a super simple craft, using just wiffle balls, colorful squares of fabrics, and cinnamon sticks. But so much fun to make!

Diane shows off a cute Granny Smith apple!

Marge and her pumpkin!

Kathy’s cute polka dot pumpkin!

After the crafts, I broke out a pot of New York Maple coffee and the glazed donut muffins I made on Thursday.

They were a hit and Miss Emma enjoyed licking up a few crumbs!

It’s so nice having friends at my table.

It’s so good for God’s people to dwell together in unity

Glazed Doughnut Muffins

I can’t help it. Some days I just want to bake.

I’ve been doing really well the last few months about eliminating sugar from my diet, allowing myself one planned sweet treat each month, because what’s life without a little sweetness here and there I love to bake, but haven’t done a lot of it lately. Who needs cakes and cookies in a trying-to-be sugar-free household, lol? But I have some friends coming over on Saturday for a girls’ craft day and I wanted to serve coffee and muffins. I saw this recipe on fb and knew I had to give it a try!

Glazed Donut Muffins:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, at room temperature1/4 cup vegetable oil1/2 cup granulated sugar1/3 cup brown sugar2 eggs1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder1/2 teaspoon baking soda1/2 teaspoon nutmeg1 teaspoon cinnamon1/2 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon vanilla extract2 2/3 cup flour1 cup milk

For the glaze:

3 tablespoons butter, melted1 cup powdered sugar3/4 teaspoon vanilla2 tablespoons hot water

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°F and line 12 muffin tins with liners.In a large bowl, beat together the butter, oil, and both sugars with an electric mixer until smooth.Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla.Stir in 1/3 of the flour, followed by 1/3 of the milk. Repeat with remaining flour and milk, taking care not to overmix.Divide batter evenly between the lined muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 15-17 minutes.Cool for 10 minutes on wire rack while you make the glaze.In a small bowl, mix together the melted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and hot water until smooth.Dip the top of each muffin in the glaze, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl. Allow glaze to harden, then dip once more. Enjoy!

I’m sorry I can’t credit whoever this recipe belongs to I copied it from a link and now I can’t find it again. But whoever you are, thank you!

I’ll be having my sweet treat early this month. The rest of the muffins will be going home with the girls

An Endorsement for Chester’s Miracle — From A Most Discerning Critic!

September – As Slippery as a Bar of Soap

So here we are at the end of another month. The fall months are my favorites and I always say I am going to make them last – as if such a thing were possible. Despite my good intentions, September slipped through my hands like a wet bar of soap.

I read four books this month. One was a fabulous story I Beta read for an author friend, so I will tell you more about that after it is published So far I have read 40 books this year. According to Goodreads I am 4 books behind on meeting my 2025 reading goal of 60 books. I don’t worry too much about that challenge. I mostly use it to track what I have read and shout out the books I’ve loved. Reading is not a competition, and if it were, I would only be competing with myself, anyway

I decided to read a couple of older titles that had been hanging out in my bookcase for far longer than they deserved to.

Rainwater by Sandra Brown. This lovely story is about a widow operating a boarding house during the Great Depression while singlehandedly raising a disabled son. Love comes to her in an unexpected and heart-touching way. The book touches on racial and socioeconomic inequality with gentleness and truthfulness. I enjoyed it. 4 Stars on Goodreads.

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. This YA title is about a pair of teens, Violet and Finch, and their unlikely friendship. It is a story of depression, suicide, and finding a bright place in a dark time. It was nicely written and was by turns lovely and disturbing. I don’t normally include trigger warnings, but the suicide aspect might be triggering to some readers. 4 Stars

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden. A twisty, turny, most unpredictable psychological thriller. A past-my-bedtime-read for sure. I loved it! 5 Stars

Looking back, I didn’t have a lot written on my calendar this month (other than the hours spent at my day job.) As far as appointments, I had just a hearing aid check, a blood pressure check, and a follow-up eye dr. appointment. Which suited me just fine Hearing aides are good, blood pressure is good, and I love my snappy new red glasses!

On the social side of things, a friend and I hit The Big, Beautiful Rummage Sale early in the month. Other highlights included our town’s annual Apple Festival, hosting our monthly ladies Bible study, the library book sale, and apple picking with my besties

In the writing world, I got my cover for Chester’s Miracle!! I love it. A few months ago I sent my cover artist some photos of the real Chester and asked only that he be featured on the cover. She not only nailed that, but took all of the story elements and combined them to create one of my favorite covers yet

The real Chester

Reviews continue to come in for Superheroes. I’m so pleased with the positive feedback!

I’m still plodding along on Blackberry Summer. It’s taking a different turn than I had first envisioned but I’m loving the way it is slowly taking shape. Slow and steady wins the race!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve felt a little drained this month. A little overwhelmed by my work schedule and all of my to-do lists that did not get to-done. I’ve spent some quiet evenings listening to worship music and working on jigsaw puzzles and it has been restorative. 

Reading through the Gospel of Mark this morning, I came across a verse that spoke straight to my soul. The disciples had just returned from their first preaching mission. They had been going nonstop. They were surrounded by people and noise and demands. They were overwhelmed. They were exhausted.  And this is what Jesus said to them:

“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:31

As we head into October, I’m looking forward to Autumn beauty and apple cider, to pumpkins and hayrides, to shorter days and cooler temperatures. And on the days when life seems too much, I will put the busyness aside, get alone with Jesus in a quiet place, and find rest

Apple-Red Days of Autumn

I had the best day yesterday. My sister alerted me early in the week that her apples were ready for picking. Last year we had a spring freeze, and the trees did not produce, but they sure made up for it this year with a bumper crop! We’ve had quite a bit of rain recently, and I was hoping the weather would cooperate on Saturday, since it was my day off. It did

I don’t see as much of my besties as I’d like, since they both retired from our workplace, but it turned out they were both free, so we met at my house early yesterday morning and headed out to the country, to my sister’s little apple orchard.

We each got a nice mix of Granny Smith and Empire. The Roma’s didn’t do so well this year. I like to use a mix of tart and sweet in my applesauce

As an added bonus, the Hickory tree down the road also produced a bumper crop this year! There’s nothing like Hickory nuts to add a little magic to breads, muffins and cakes

With our buckets filled, we enjoyed glasses of ice cold cider and girl talk on Marge’s porch. A moment of respite before the work of peeling, coring and slicing up our apples began…

It was so good to spend time with my friends. And now I have a freezer full of apple goodness for fall baking. I’m thankful for the apple-red days of Autumn!

In The Diamond Mine

Happy Saturday, friends! I’m over at the Diamond Mine today, talking with Nancy Bolton about SUPERHEROES and how stories and characters are born. Stop by if you get a minute

A Couple of Photos and A New Puzzle

In a recent post I put up a pic of a puzzle I had done that featured a pumpkin farm, a red truck, and a big, white house. One of my readers commented on the house and the stories it could tell (Thank you, Dawna ) That got me thinking about the big, loud, light in every window, white house I grew up in. I went in search of a picture of it and could not find one of the outside.  I really hope one of my siblings has one that I can copy.

This is the street I grew up on. It was a regular neighborhood in a regular small town like any other. But it was the place where some of my most magical memories were made.

Church Street.  

We had a little stone bench in our back yard. I don’t remember spending much time sitting on it, but the setting always made me feel so calm and peaceful.

Little stone bench.

I have not been back there in many years, but I hope the little bench is still there. I hope someone sits on it in the cool of the morning, beneath the shade of the maple tree and welcomes the day.

I’m throwing this one in just because. When people think of New York, they think of the Big Apple, or possibly Niagara Falls. But there is a lesser known gem in Western NY whose beauty is incomparable. It is gorgeous year round, but especially in Autumn.

Letchworth State Park

Since I have been working the opening shift all week, I have been spending my evenings puzzling. I am on a roll! I finished this one called Birds And The B’s last night, while mulling over ideas for my latest WIP, Blackberry Summer. I only got 1,500 words down yesterday, but I figured out what has kept me stuck and I think I can move ahead now

Today I am thankful for quiet evenings, lovely memories, and as another of my readers so beautifully put it, the golden season of Autumn

The Old Pumpkin Farm

Some days are easy. My work day flies by. I’m a problem solver who knows how to get things done. The people I encounter (well, most) are cheerful and pleasant. I come home energized, ready to walk the dog, throw in a load of laundry, work on my latest book.

Then there are the other days. The hard ones.

The kind where I drag myself home from work, unable to think about even one more thing. These days take everything I’ve got, and more. These are my puzzle days. These evenings are made for lighting a candle, pouring a coffee, and tuning into beautiful music. On these days, all I can do is puzzle. And puzzling is enough.

I love to slip into these magical little worlds that take shape one piece at a time (kind of like putting together my stories, but puzzles don’t require anywhere near as much time or brain power to create. Some days I just don’t have anything left to bring to the table.)

I just finished this one, called The Old Pumpkin Farm.

I love the fall scenery. The pumpkins and the red truck and the wooden gate that swings wide and seems to say, “Come on in!”

I’m so thankful for work days that seem like they will never end but finally do! For slow evenings. For candles and for music, and for puzzles

The Library Book Sale, A Visit to the General Store, and a Snappy Red Pair of Glasses

I didn’t think I would make it to the library book sale this year. If you know me, you know how much I look forward to it. But with the Apple Festival going on last week, parking pretty much anywhere in town was tricky. I just didn’t have the strength for it, lol. I was so, so pleased to find out the library had extended the sale another week.

So many books!

Today’s haul!

I was excited to find books by Marisa de los Santos and Colleen Cobble. The rest are new to me authors, but I think I picked some good ones My bookcase is full to overflowing, so I have some work ahead of me. Perfect timing. With fall finally here and winter just around the corner, the shorter days and colder weather will make for hours of guilt- free reading (Let it snow, lol).

After the busyness of last week, I decided to take an everything break and start the puzzle I got at the Big Beautiful Rummage Sale last month.

A Visit to the General Store

Just 300 pieces, I was able to finish it in two sittings. So fun and relaxing. I wanted to walk right into this puzzle and see what was inside that store! How I have missed my puzzling over the summer.

My new glasses came in! I went this morning and picked them up from the eye doctor. I wanted something a little snappy this time, a little sassy. I wanted to love them since I will probably be wearing them for the next year or two. These Liz Claiborne frames checked all the boxes!

Sometimes it’s the little things