This month, 89 years ago, Wisconsin dairy farmers debated a coordinated strike to protest the low milk prices. The day after Valentine’s Day, the first of three strikes began. The day before, I take readers to fictional Eagle, Wisconsin in To Stand in the Breach. Read on for an excerpt from the first chapter.
Wishing each of you, my reader friends, a Happy Thanksgiving!
Today if the fourth Sunday of Advent: Love.
Today is the third Sunday of Advent: Joy.
Today is the second Sunday of Advent: Peace.
Today is the first Sunday of Advent: Hope
Wishing each of you, my reader friends, a very….
How are you spending this day of thanks?
Happy Labor Day, reader friends!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Or so the song claims. I tend to agree, but also know that such expectation can often leave us wanting more. The wonder and magic of the season can get lost amid the running around, the shopping, the parties, the traveling. Not to mention wrestling with emotional disappointments, family drama, and personal loss. With so much riding on this season it is easy to let it drag us down when it seems like it should pick us up.
Whenever I say, ‘Santa Lucia,’ I can’t help picturing – and, frankly, hearing – Don Knots attempting to sing the traditional Italian song as Barney Fife in The Andy Griffith Show. So many other, better singers have recorded it, but for some reason, Knots’ is the version that sticks in my head.
However, that was not my first interaction with the celebration known as the Feast Day of St. Lucy. I first learned about the primarily Swedish holiday from Kristen’s Surprise, one of the books in Kristen’s American Girl series. Being part Swede and part Italian myself, Santa Lucia Day has become a holiday that fascinates me.