2017 Books and Cocktails Book Club

Join us in 2017 for Books and Cocktails, a book club that meets in Lancaster county and or York county every other month, the second Thursday of the month. Each book matches up with a cocktail.We meet at various restaurants to discuss the book of the month, have a cocktail, and enjoy an appetizer or dinner. And yes, you may join us even if you do not drink, feel free to order your drink virgin or have a tea, coffee or soda instead. We read books across a variety of genres such as classics, biographies, memoirs, romance, Amish, mystery, historical fiction and many others. Most of the books come from the book Cocktails for Book Lovers by Tessa Smith McGovern.

Cocktails for Book Lovers 

Examples of drinks from the book are Sweet Sherry Cocoa, Gin Rickey, Orange Champagne Punch, Salted Caramel Bourbon Milkshake, and various martinis. For our very first book club, we read Eva Luna by Isabel Allende.  For the cocktail, we had Madrina's Banana Rum Cocktail.  Eva Luna's godmother was a lover of rum. This is the recipe from the book which the restaurant made for us.

 Madrina's Banana Rum Cocktail

1/8 cup low-fat milk
1 tbsp. light rum
1 tbsp. white creme de cacao
1 tbsp. creme de banana (or other banana liqueur)
1/2 banana
wedge of pineapple
maraschino cherry

Place all ingredients except the fruit in a shaker with ice. Shake well. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with fruit. Serves 1.

We will also be having some additional events such as book festivals, day trips to bookshops, and author events.
Here are a few of the upcoming books we will be reading:

Murder is Binding

Wuthering Heights

Dan Gets a Minivan



 




We look forward to you joining us. Questions or comments, email Narnia9334@hotmail.com or to sign up go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/BooksandCocktails/ and request to join.

Anyone who may be visiting the PA Dutch country and would like to drop in the book club for a visit is more than welcome.  We like meeting new people!

Join Us in Reading Anna's Crossing

Join our book club In July we will be discussing Anna's Crossing by Suzanne Woods Fisher. We invite you to join us in Wrightsville Pennsylvania on July 14th for in-person meeting. Just go on Facebook and ask to join Books and Cocktails Or, if you can't make the face to face discussion join us in a discussion on Goodreads in the group Pennsylvania.

Here is Goodreads description of Anna's crossing:

 When Anna Konig first meets Bairn, the Scottish ship carpenter of the "Charming Nancy," their encounter is anything but pleasant. Anna is on the ship only to ensure the safe arrival of her loved ones to the New World. Hardened by years of living at sea, Bairn resents toting these naive farmers--dubbed "Peculiars" by deckhands--across the ocean. As delays, storms, illness, and diminishing provisions afflict crew and passengers alike, Bairn finds himself drawn to Anna's serene nature. For her part, Anna can't seem to stay below deck and far away from the aloof ship's carpenter, despite warnings.
When an act of sacrifice leaves Anna in a perilous situation, Bairn discovers he may not have left his faith as firmly in the past as he thought. But has the revelation come too late?
Amish fiction favorite Suzanne Woods Fisher brings her fans back to the beginning of Amish life in America with this fascinating glimpse into the first ocean crossing as seen through the eyes of a devout young woman and an irreverent man. Blending the worlds of Amish and historical fiction, Fisher is sure to delight her longtime fans even as she attracts new ones with her superb and always surprise-filled writing.

What others are saying about Anna's Crossing

Publisher’s Weekly said, “This book is a winner.”

Romantic Times gave it four stars.

Booklist said, "Fisher takes readers on an incredible journey in the first of her new Amish Beginnings series. Tracking a 1737 voyage of early Amish immigrants, this inspirational novel is rich in nautical and religious history and authentic detail… Those who summon the courage to read about the raw immigrant experience on this treacherous crossing will find a deeply satisfying story of conviction and hope." And USA Today is going to feature it in their ‘Happy Ever After’ section.

Pick up your copy of Anna's Crossing today!

Christmas at Rose Hill Farm Book Brunch

Join us this November for a special Breakfast Brunch. Suzanne Woods Fisher has invited our book club to celebrate the Christmas Season with her. Books and Cocktails book club will be having a Christmas at Rose Hill Farm themed brunch. We will be discussing Christmas at Rose Hill Farm: An Amish Love Storyon Sunday November 23, 2014 11:00am at John Wright Restaurant in Wrightsville, PA. We will also have Amish themed trivia and will be having a drawing to win a copy of One Perfect Spring: A Novel. Also, Fisher will be making a donation to a Shepard’s Gate (a shelter for abused women and children) for 50 or more non-perishable food items we donate to our local shelter. So please bring some non-perishable food items along. You must pre-register.

The cost of the brunch is $18.95. It is a buffet brunch. It has omelets made to order, waffle station, carving station, and many other breakfast items, as well as,soup, salad, fish selection, fresh vegetable, pasta and 3 daily specialty items. Full Bar available including make your own Bloody Marys. Price of drinks is not included (Alcoholic or Non-alcoholic). You can sign up on meetup http://www.meetup.com/Books-and-Cocktails-Book-Club/events/212894572/ or send an email to PaDutchTravel@gmail.com.

About the Book:
Bess Riehl is preparing Rose Hill Farm for her Christmas wedding, but her groom isn’t who she thought it would be. Billy Lapp is far away from his Amish roots working as a rose rustler for Penn State and wants nothing to do with Stoney Ridge, his family, or Bess. And that suits Bess just fine. Why should she think twice about a man who left without a word, without any explanation? It’s time she moved on with her life, and that meant saying yes to Amos Lapp, Billy’s cousin and best friend. But as Bess and Amos’s wedding day draws near, her emotions tangle into a tight knot. She loves Amos. Yet she can’t forget Billy. When a “lost” rose is discovered at Rose Hill Farm, Billy is sent to track down its origins. Get in, identify the rose, and get out. That’s his plan. The only catch is that he’s having a hard time narrowing down the identity of the lost rose, and he can’t get those tropical blue eyes of Bess Riehl out of his mind. As the history of the lost rose is pieced together, it reminds Bess and Billy–and Amos, too–that Christmas truly is the season of miracles.

About the Author:
Suzanne Woods Fisher’s interest in the Amish began with her grandfather, W.D. Benedict, who was raised Plain in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Suzanne has a great admiration for the Plain people and believes they can provide wonderful examples to the world. In both her fiction and non-fiction books, she has an underlying theme: You don’t have to “go Amish” to incorporate many of their principles–simplicity, living with less, appreciating nature, forgiving others more readily, trusting in God–into your life. When Suzanne isn’t writing or playing tennis (badly!) or bragging to her friends about her grandbabies (so cute!), she is raising puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind. To her way of thinking, you just can’t take life too seriously when a puppy is tearing through your house with someone’s underwear in its mouth. Suzanne can be found on-line at: www.suzannewoodsfisher.com.

Books and Cocktails

Join us for a new Book Club that will meet in Wrightsville, PA Once a month on Thursdays for Cocktails and book discussion at a restaurant. Each book is assigned a cocktail that is either a favorite of the character in the book, the authors themselves or is of the era. Examples of drinks are Orange Champagne Punch, Salted Caramel, Bourbon milkshake, and Gin Rickeys. We will be reading the 50 Books listed in Cocktails for Book Lovers. It has such authors as Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Alice Munro, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Jamaica Kincaid. The genres cover a wide range such as classics, romance, autobiographies, as well as others. You do not have to own or have read Cocktails for Book Loversin order to participate. But, it is a great book that I highly recommend. If you have already read the selection for the month you are still free to come and join in on the discussion. For those who don't drink you can always order your drink Virgin or have a tea or soda instead.

We will also be planning some additional events that will take place on the weekends. Examples are book festivals, day trips to bookshops, and author speaking engagements.

People who may be out of state and are coming to to visit Pennsylvania Dutch Country are always welcome to come and join in at any of the meetings during their time here. Just send an email to PaDutchTravel@gmail and we can get you the name of that month's book. Here are a few of the titles we will be reading.

Eva Luna: A Novel

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: My Year of Magical Reading

David Copperfield

At the end of each meeting we will also swap books for anyone interested. This is also a great opportunity for people involved in BookCrossing. If you don't know what BookCrossing is you can see the books I've shared here. http://bookcrossing.com/referral/PaDutchTravel

We look forward to you joining us. Questions, comments , email Narnia9334@hotmail.com or to sign up go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/BooksandCocktails/ and request to join.

65th Annual Kutztown PA Dutch Folk Festival

Every year people come from all over the world to experience the sights and sounds of the PA Dutch Folk Festival. The festival ran from June 28th to July 6th. And they now have extended hours til 8pm in the evening. This unusual nine-day festival had been featured twice in National Geographic and has been called "one of the most unique festivals on the East coast" by the Washington Post. If you want to learn more about the PA Dutch Culture and see the beautiful PA Dutch Art. The Kutztown festival is the the place to be. The festival is annually in June. If you haven't experienced it. Then you really should. There is no other like it in the country.

I recently visited on Thursday. I wish I could have visited a second time this year but was unable to. I look forward to next year's festival. Below is a few photos from the festival. Including yours truly with distelfinks (PA Dutch Goldfinch art) on my skirt.

They had an operational PA Dutch summer kitchen set-up by Albany Township Historical Society. They were make PA Dutch Bot Boi (Pot Pie)with chicken for the volunteers and they were also making shoo-fly pie.

The recipes come right from this really neat cookbook I got called Folk Art and Foodways of the Pennsylvania Dutch: A Collection of Paintings, Food Lore, and Seasonal Recipes from the Allemaengel in Northern Berks County. I love books. So its hard for me to pass them up. When I saw the PA German Historical Society was there I had to stop and get another book Writing the Amish: The Worlds of John A. Hostetler (Pennsylvania German History & Culture)

Baling Hay Demonstration. A much different method then is used today on modern farms.

If you haven't been then come check it out again next year. Hope to see you there!!

Airville Mud Sale

Saturday March 19th I attended a Mud sale in Airville, PA. You might be wondering what a mud sale is. No, its not a place where they sell mud. Mud sales are auctions that are held at various Fire companies throughout Pa Dutch Country. The auctions benefit the fire companies. The ground is thawing and its rainy, so therefore it is muddy. Hence the term mud sale. 

You will find various items up for auction, such as quilts, farm equipment, household items, arts and crafts, tools, and much more. Below is a quilt I purchased at the auction.

If you have never been to a mud sale you should check one out sometime. Below is a little video I took at the Airville Mud Sale.  You can see the parking area for the Amish buggies, one of the auctioneers and a little sample of some of the things available at the sale. If you have never been to a mud sale you should check one out sometime. Just be sure to wear your mud boots.

There is another Mud Sale coming up in April that I will be attending. It is April 2 Robert Fulton Volunteer Fire Company Mud Sale 7 a.m. breakfast, , 2271 Robert Fulton Hwy., Peach Bottom, 717-548-8995 They will have Crafts, plants, tools, antiques, farm equipment, furniture, food, buggies, wagons, groceries, horses, antiques, glassware and more. Robert Fulton Fire Company 

Animal Rescue Inc.

Animal Rescue is a no kill shelter located in  New Freedom, Pennsylvania (York County) .  This is a great place to adopt a cat or dog.  There are many many wonderful animals to choose from.  I personally know this from experience because when I am not busy with my travel business then I work there a few hours a week.  The owners are wonderful they really go over and beyond for all the animals.  All the animals there are very loved. The picture above is me sitting in my co-workers building with her cats. No makeup, hair not done, watch out!

The cats and dogs are so lovable.  Below is a picture of Tasha.  She hangs out with me in the laundry room.

Come visit yourself.  You can reach the shelter at 717 993-3232.  To see more adoptable pets go to 
http://animalrescueinc.org/ 

Going to Terre Hill - Lancaster County!

I am heading to Terre Hill this week to stay at a Bed & Breakfast. I am so excited. I have to get busy and start packing. I don't know what to take with me. Yes I know, I need clothes. But what type? And then the weather is an issue. I'll figure it out.

Has anybody out there been to Terre Hill? If yes, what would you recommend to do and see in the area?

We will be three miles down the road from Lancaster County's largest smorgasbord(Shady Maple). Between the delectable breakfast we will have at the B&B, the smorgasbord, and the Whoopie Pie festival my mouth is watering! Stay tuned for more updates!