I hope all of you have had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Ours was pretty fantastic. We visited with relatives. My husband and I stayed at the historic Vandiver Inn in Havre de Grace, Maryland.

The Vandiver Inn is a mansion that was built by Murray Vandiver for his new wife, Annie Clayton Vandiver, in 1886. Murray was a banker, politician, & mayor of Havre de Grace Maryland. He also owned a lumber company.

I didn’t take any pictures of the main room of our suite. By the time I remembered, we’d already unpacked and tossed our stuff around the room – and it was too messy! 😊

This is the adjoining room in our suite. It has a daybed, a fire place, a mirror, table & chairs, as well as a desk. That desk looked pretty old. The opening beneath it was so small that I could barely fit my legs underneath while I sat there!

Look at this cute little child-sized rocking chair in our room!

The Vandiver Inn is a bed and breakfast. This is the dining room. I really like the stained glass window.

This is the outside of the inn. There are tables to sit and relax, and maybe enjoy a cup of coffee! It’s nice to visit historic places and learn more about the area.

Share!

Please share your Thanksgiving photos & memories of the good times that you had! Email me!

I’m afraid I forgot to take pictures of the food. The only pic I have is of the sweet potato pie that I made.

We had turkey, stuffing, spicy greens with cabbage, mashed potatoes, gravy, ham, homemade dinner rolls, & cranberry sauce. Sweet potato pie & lemon pound cake for dessert!

On Black Friday, we went shopping with our son. He needed a new computer for school. The store was very crowded and busy. We dropped our son back to his college dorm on Saturday afternoon before we headed back home.

Speaking of Thanksgiving and baking sweet potato pies – Jamal in Cinnamon Kisses loves to bake. As a professional cruise-ship pastry chef he shares his passion by creating delicious desserts! A dreamer – he longs to own his own bakery. I think all of us can relate to Jamal. We might have dreams, and we’d love to see those dreams come true.

Thanksgiving is the stepping-stone to Christmas. Christmas is a time for love, baking, and good times with family. It’s also a time to re-connect with old friends.

Cinnamon Kisses is a sweet, delicious Christmas novel – it will warm your heart and soul during the holiday season.

When Jamal returns home – he finds out that his mom is sick & struggling. He wants to help her and take care of her. Worried, he prays for his mom’s healing as he runs into Kelly, his first love.

Kelly has always resented her overbearing father – and longs to escape from her home. She’s never lived on her own. She feels that it’s time to make some important changes in her life. She reconnects with Jamal. He’s like a breath of fresh air that brightens up her life.

Jamal has a problem, and it appears that Kelly is one of the few people who can help him to solve it.

Cinnamon Kisses is a novel that will tug at your heartstrings. If you’ve already read it, then purchase a copy for a friend!

Have a blessed week! If/when you decorate your home for Christmas, please share pics! I love Christmas decorations!

#Thanksgiving #holiday #holidays #Christmas #cake #baking #Christianfiction #Christianromance #romancenovel #inspirational #baking #recipe

Thanksgiving Love!

I hope all of you have had a wonderful week!

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I wanted to share one of my favorite recipes with you. I’ve shared this before, but, I’ve tweaked it a bit.

When you make this Old-Fashioned Lemon Pound cake, it’s best to make it in loaf pans. I used to bake this in a tube pan. The cake is still delicious when baked in a tube pan – but I found the exterior was a bit too thick and dark since baking in a tube pan increases the baking time.

If you bake the cake in 2 loaf pans, it turns out just right. I suppose that’s why we often see pound cakes baked in loaf pans – cuts down on baking time and makes a better exterior crumb.

It’s best to use real butter instead of margarine. Some people want to skip grating the lemon rind – don’t skip this step! The fresh lemon rind adds an extra zing to the cake. Also, it’s best to use freshly squeezed lemon juice. Here’s the recipe:

OLD FASHIONED LEMON POUND CAKE

1 ½ cups butter (3 sticks)

3 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon extract

Freshly squeezed juice of one lemon

Grated rind of one lemon

6 large eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup evaporated milk

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour two loaf pans. Beat butter in large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add sugar ½ cup at a time, creaming well after each addition. Stir in vanilla, lemon extract, juice and rind. Add eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Stir thoroughly after each addition. Pour into prepared pans. Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. If cake is not done after 50-60 minutes, bake longer, until wooden pick comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes; remove from pans.

GLAZE:

Sift one cup of confectioners’ sugar into a bowl. Squeeze juice of one lemon into a separate bowl. Remove seeds from the lemon juice. Mix lemon juice with confectioners’ sugar and drizzle over cooled cake.

Enjoy!

I’ll be baking this cake for Thanksgiving. We’re picking up our son from college on Wednesday. We’ll then go to my sister’s place for the holiday. We’ll be staying in Havre de Grace Maryland Wednesday through Saturday.

I might make a sweet potato pie for Thanksgiving, too, if I feel like it! Pies taste so much better with a homemade crust.

Folks often debate about pumpkin and sweet potato pie. Which do you prefer?

Will you be baking desserts for Thanksgiving? If so, what are you making?

Coffee Time!

Every morning, I enjoy a large cup of coffee. Here’s a pic of me enjoying my brew earlier today!

Speaking of baking – Jamal in Cinnamon Kisses loves to bake. As a professional cruise-ship pastry chef he shares his passion by creating delicious desserts! A dreamer – he longs to own his own bakery. I think all of us can relate to Jamal. We might have dreams, and we’d love to see those dreams come true.

Thanksgiving is the stepping-stone to Christmas. Christmas is a time for love, baking, and good times with family. It’s also a time to re-connect with old friends.

Cinnamon Kisses is a sweet, delicious Christmas novel – it will warm your heart and soul during the holiday season.

When Jamal returns home – he finds out that his mom is sick & struggling. He wants to help her and take care of her. Worried, he prays for his mom’s healing as he runs into Kelly, his first love.

Kelly has always resented her overbearing father – and longs to escape from her home. She’s never lived on her own. She feels that it’s time to make some important changes in her life. She reconnects with Jamal. He’s like a breath of fresh air that brightens up her life.

Jamal has a problem, and it appears that Kelly is one of the few people who can help him to solve it.

Cinnamon Kisses is a novel that will tug at your heartstrings. If you’ve already read it, then purchase a copy for a friend!

House Trouble

I hope all of you have had a fantastic week!

We had some trouble in our house last week. Our hot water heater busted. Water was all over the basement and a bunch of our stuff got wet.

We were able to get he heater replaced fairly quickly, but it was still a bit of an inconvenience. We didn’t have hot water for a couple of days. Cold showers are so uncomfortable! Brrr…!

While we were clearing out all of the wet stuff underneath the stairs, I came across these items! I guess we purchased a cake topper but never used it. The decorative comb – I wore that in my hair on our wedding day.

Home Life

Our son has been busy playing in the Towson University Marching Band. He shared a few pics with us – which were taken while they were practicing. He loves playing his saxophone! He’s been taking private lessons since sixth grade!

Thanks for your suggestions about lowering my cholesterol. I might try implementing oatmeal into my diet again. I had a bowl this morning. It was delicious!

I’m continuing with my walking, when I’m able to do so. Here’s a pic of the trees near my house.

Speaking of Thanksgiving – that holiday is the stepping-stone for Christmas.

How will you be celebrating Thanksgiving this year?

Christmas is a time for love, baking, and good times with family. It’s also a time to re-connect with old friends.

Cinnamon Kisses is a sweet, delicious Christmas novel – it will warm up your heart and soul during the holiday season.

When Jamal returns home – he finds out that his mom is sick & struggling. He wants to help her and take care of her. Worried, he prays for his mom’s healing as he runs into Kelly, his first love.

Kelly has always resented her overbearing father – and longs to escape from her home. She’s never lived on her own, and feels that it’s time to make some important changes in her life. When she reconnects with Jamal, it’s like a breath of fresh air that brightens up her life.

Jamal has a problem, and it appears that Kelly is one of the few people who can help him to solve it.

Cinnamon Kisses is a novel that will tug at your heartstrings. If you’ve already read it, then purchase a copy for a friend!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

I hope all of you have had a fantastic week!

Earlier today, I had the pleasure of turning in my FINAL EXAM! This is the exam for the very last class for my graduate program! I’M FINISHED & and SO RELIEVED!

My degree is Master of Science in Accounting and Finance! Commencement will be in December! I’ll be sure to post pics!

It’s been a while since I’ve updated you on all that’s happening on the home front. Our son recently visited for the weekend. First time we’d seen him since he went away to college! It was nice having him home!

My husband, Chris, recently celebrated his birthday. He requested that I bake him a cake. I had too much homework to do so we ordered cupcakes instead. Don’t they look yummy?

My knees have been bothering me lately. I think I’m getting old. When I can manage it, I go for long walks around the neighborhood. Since I’m done with school, I’ll have more free time so that I can increase my exercise. My cholesterol is pretty high, so, I’m working to improve it. If you have any suggestions, I’d appreciate it. Here’s a pic that I took after one of my walks. Not sure why my eyes look closed! I guess I was looking down at the camera trying to get a good picture!

Halloween night was pretty quiet in my neighborhood. I was busy working late and doing homework, plus, my outside light had burned out, so, I didn’t give out any candy. I’m wondering if kids go out trick-or-treating very much anymore. If you have kids/grandkids, do they go out for Halloween?

When I was a kid we didn’t participate in Halloween. My dad brought home lots of candy for us, though. Speaking of candy, here’s a pic of my little grandniece after she went trick or treating! She hit the jackpot!

Speaking of holidays and candy, Christmas is next month. Cinnamon Kisses is a sweet, delicious Christmas novel – it will warm up your heart and soul during the holiday season.

When Jamal returns home – he finds out that his mom is sick & struggling. He wants to help her and take care of her. Worried, he prays for his mom’s healing as he runs into Kelly, his first love.

Kelly has always resented her overbearing father – and longs to escape from her home. When she reconnects with Jamal, it’s like a breath of fresh air that brightens up her life.

Jamal has a problem, and it appears that Kelly is one of the few people who can help him to solve it.

Cinnamon Kisses is a novel that will tug at your heartstrings. If you’ve already read it, then purchase a copy for a friend!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

BITTERSWEET DREAMS is FREE for a limited time! Spread the word! Tell all of your friends by sharing this link! Enjoy!

Take care and enjoy the rest of your week!

#accounting #dayjob #working #RockyRoadDreams #bookfestival #overtime #Christianfiction #inspirational #inspirationalromance #booksigning

It’s been a doozy of a week!

I’ve been working 10-14 hours each day – for my accounting job.

I’m so tired. All I want to do is rest. But most of my free time will be spent doing homework this weekend.

Do you ever feel like you just want to rest and take a break for a while? Do you ever feel like disconnecting from all the noise and reside in a quiet, peaceful environment? I’d like to hear what you do when you need to rest and relax.

In Rocky Road Dreams Kyle is burned out from working all of those hours at his law firm. He’s now hoping to rest as he tries to get his life back on track. His Christmas work hiatus takes place in the peaceful beach community of the Outer Banks.

Pick up your copy today. Thanks to all who’ve emailed me with their kind words about Rocky Road Dreams.

I’ll be participating in The Write Women Book Fest on Saturday October 14th at Bowie Comfort Inn & Conference Center! Come and meet some great authors! I’d be glad to see you!

You can find the event schedule here.

Take care and enjoy the rest of your week!

Just popping in to say hello! Is there anything you’d like for me to discuss on this blog in the future? Leave a comment!

#seashells #seashore #Chincoteague #novels #books #Christianfiction #Christianromance #inspirational #fiction #CeceliaDowdy #TheCandyBeachSeries #inspirationalfiction #church #worship

I hope all of you had a fantastic week!

I wanted to start this newsletter with some memories from my childhood. When we were at the beach last summer, I found a seashell. I picked it up and rinsed it off and kept it. When I did this, I recalled how I used to collect seashells when I was a kid. I had a shoe box with about seven or eight seashells. As you can tell, I didn’t have very many shells. At that time, I’d never been to the beach, so, am unclear as to where I had gotten the seashells. I believe some of them may have been purchased from a store?

Occasionally, I’d take out my gray shoebox and take the shells out, and just look at them. There was something about the shells that I found fascinating – but it was hard for me to say why I liked the shells so much. Well, in life, you learn that sometimes it takes time to find answers to questions – even questions about our own behaviors, likes, and dislikes.

While in Chincoteague last summer, I figured out that I loved my seashell collection because I loved the sea/beach! Do any of you remember that series, The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau? I enjoyed watching that show! Sea creatures can be so soothing, mesmerizing, and dangerous!

The first time I went to a beach, it was at a local place, Elk Neck State Park. I had a good time – but was somewhat disappointed that the beach didn’t look as pretty as I’d seen on TV. There were dead fish floating in the water and the beach was brown, no blue oceans or white sandy shores!

My love for the beach was reignited when I started traveling internationally. When I first took a boat out into the waters at Cancun, and saw all of those pretty fish swimming to the surface to eat breadcrumbs, I was overjoyed! It was so beautiful.
Although I love the beach, I don’t know how to swim! I might try and learn after I’m finished with graduate school!

Do you know how to swim? If so, how old were you when you learned?
My love for the beach was used as a springboard for The Candy Beach Series. In Rocky Road Dreams, Book 5 in the series, Kyle spends his Christmas on the Outer Banks. While there, he reconnects with his childhood friend Melanie. A snowstorm, a road trip and a mystery make this book a perfect read for Christmas, or, any time of the year!

Awhile ago, our son sent me this cool baseball cap. He’s been doing well at Towson. He doesn’t reach out to us very much. We’ve been calling him once a week – just to check in.

These cookies are so good!
They have a soft and chewy texture.You can add nuts and your favorite chips!
Ingredients:
1 box of brownie mix
2 eggs
1 stick of butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup of Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips (or whatever chips you prefer)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place the butter into a microwave-safe bowl. Melt the butter in the microwave.
When the butter has cooled, mix the butter, and the rest of the ingredients, in a large mixing bowl.
Scoop cookies onto a parchment-paper-lined cookie sheet; 12-15 cookies at a time; depending on the size of your cookie sheet.
Bake until done.
I have to bake mine for 12 minutes. But if you’re using a dark cookie pan, it will probably take less time. Makes about 28 cookies.
Enjoy!

#emptynest #emptynester #emptynesters #recipe #lasagna #lasagnarecipe #food #foodfor2 #freshherbs #tomatoes #book #books #Christianfiction

Empty Nesters!

I hope all of you have had a fantastic week!

In my last newsletter, I mentioned that our son had moved into his college dorm. Well, we’re still getting used to not having him with us.

We call him once a week to check in.

He never calls us.

Looks like he’s doing fine in college & doesn’t miss us.

He’s still marching with the band. Last week, Towson played against University of Maryland College Park (my alma mater). Towson lost.



University of Maryland is a few miles away from my house, but we opted not to go to the game. My husband had to work overtime that day and I had too much homework to do.

Lasagna for 2

Speaking of living in an empty nest, our grocery bill has decreased since our son has been gone. While here, he ate a lot of food. Now, we find that our leftovers last us a long time.

Since autumn is coming, in the mornings, there’s been a nip in the air. I wanted something warm and comforting for dinner.

I decided to make a pan of lasagna, but Chris suggested cutting the recipe in half.

Great suggestion!

I don’t use jarred sauce for my lasagna.

I take fresh tomatoes, garlic, onions, sugar, salt, pepper, fresh basil, fresh oregano, & red wine and cook it slowly for hours. I use this as the sauce for my lasagna.

It was so good! So rich and comforting!

I was too tired to make a salad – so we had sweet purple grapes with our meal.



In Rocky Road Dreams, Kyle is struggling with his life. An alcoholic, he’d learned to cope with his addiction by learning to cook. He loves making homemade lasagna and serving it with a nice bundle of sweet grapes on the side. Cooking brings him joy – and it was an untapped passion that was not discovered until he’d gone through therapy.



𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐊𝐲𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲!

Email me if you would like to purchase an autographed paperback of Rocky Road Dreams!

𝐒𝐨, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝?

Lasagna for 2 Recipe

1 or 2 pounds of ground beef

1/2 box of uncoooked lasagna noodles

1/2 container of ricotta cheese

1 egg

fresh oregano and basil

1/4 teaspoon salt (more to taste)

1 large bag of shredded mozzarella cheese

Sauce:

6-7 roma tomatoes

a few splashes of red wine

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 bunch of fresh basil, chopped (I cut mine with scissors)

A few sprigs of fresh oregano, chopped (Again, I use scissors)

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

1 tablespoon of sugar (may use more or less, depending on your preference)

1 small can of tomato paste

1-4 hot peppers, chopped, with seeds (optional). I used fresh jalapenos from my garden. If you don’t like spice, you can leave this out.

Dump all ingredients, except ground beef, into a large pot or dutch oven. Turn on the heat to high and stir the ingredients together. When the tomatoes start to sizzle, add more wine, put the lid on the pot, and turn the heat to low.

Let this cook for several hours. I believe mine cooked for four or five hours. You may sample while cooking, adding extra salt, pepper, etc. depending on what you like.

This sauce takes awhile, but it is so worth it! It tastes so much better than the jarred sauce.

You can also use this sauce for spaghetti, if you wish.

Once the sauce is done, brown the ground beef. Add the beef to the sauce.

Chop more fresh oregano & basil. Add oregano, basil, egg, and salt to ricotta cheese. Mix well.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spray an 8×8 square pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Spread some sauce at the bottom of the pan.

Layer uncooked noodles on top of the sauce.

Layer ricotta cheese mixture on top of the noodles.

Layer mozzarella on top of the ricotta cheese mixture.

Repeat these layers.

The final layer might be noodles, sauce, then mozzarella cheese.

It’s okay if the layers are not exactly as stated above, just do what’s comfortable for you. It’s sometimes hard to get layers exact when using a small pan.

Cover with aluminum foil.

Cook at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

Sauce may bubble over into the stove!

After 45 minutes, remove foil and leave in the oven for an extra 10 minutes so that the cheese on the top layer can get brown.

Let the lasagna cool before serving.

Enjoy!

ROCKY ROAD DREAMS by CECELIA DOWDY

#Chincoteague #Assateague #Virginia #JamesAlone #shipwreck #vacation #beach #ceceliadowdy

Wow, what a busy couple of weeks it has been! Our son has officially moved into his dorm room! We’re officially empty nesters! Here are a few pics from his move-in day!

In my last newsletter, I’d mentioned that we were embarking on an amazing adventure! We went to Chincoteague Island for vacation! So much fun!

This little guy came looking for food!

We tried a glazed donut topped with bacon! Tasted strange! I prefer my bacon on the side!

I visited the Museum of Chincoteague Island.

While visiting the museum, I was mesmerized about the account of James Alone.

Over 200 years ago a Spanish ship was tossed amidst a raging storm off the coast of Assateague Island. The ship broke apart and 400+ soldiers, plus wives and children, perished. Before the ship broke apart, the mother of one of the children tied her boy to a wooden plank and tossed him into the ocean, desperately hoping that he would survive.

When the storm was over, the boy washed ashore. The boy spoke in a language unknown to the islanders. The islanders raised the boy as their own.

They named him James Alone.

When James was 20 years old, he officially changed his name to James Lunn. He chose that name because that was the name of the family who raised him.

James Lunn married twice and had kids and grandchildren. Many islanders can trace their lineage back to James Lunn.

This story resonates with me because I wonder how it feels not to know from where you came.

What I mean is, what is it like to not know your relatives, which might lead one to wonder about one’s roots.

James Alone never knew his mom. In spite of this he lived a life on the island and he embraced his new family.

In Rocky Road Dreams, Kyle is somewhat lost – he never knew his mom, and not knowing her – has left an unfilled hole in his life.

During his work hiatus, he longs to find out more about the mother who gave birth to both him and his twin brother.

Rocky Road Dreams is the story about a journey – a mysterious journey where Kyle finds out about his mother’s past, giving him insight into his current life.

I hope all of you have an amazing week!