My Favorite Quote by Lynn Lovegreen

 Note: This month, many of us are re-posting our favorite blog posts. This originally ran in Romancing the Genres in 2022.

There are so many great quotes out there. You can find inspiring quotes about love, life, books, writing, you name it! It was hard to pick my all-time favorite, but one kept coming up for me:

 

 

I saw it first in a “cryptoquote” puzzle in the newspaper years ago, and it hit a nerve with me. I cut it out and stuck it on a window frame where I could see it often. A couple moves later, it’s on a shelf in my current guest room/study.

 

It’s one of those quotes that has different interpretations depending how you look at it. At first, I was thinking of sweet, simple things like wildflowers and sunsets. Later, I included acts like reading a good book and sipping a cup of tea. As I get older, those sweet, simple things also include time with loved ones.

 

Especially after the last few years, I value everyday moments with my husband. A cup of tea with a friend is special. Sharing a meal with my daughter and her family are precious. No huge expense or effort is needed. Laura was right. It really is the “sweet, simple things in life which are the real ones….”

 

What are the real things in your life?

 

Lynn Lovegreen has lived in Alaska for most of her life. After twenty years in the classroom, she retired to make more time for writing. She enjoys her friends and family, reading, and volunteering for her local library. Her young adult historical romance is set in Alaska, a great place for drama, romance, and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.com. 

 

Christmas Oranges by Paty Jager

Ever since reading about Laura and Mary receiving oranges in their stockings for Christmas in the book The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder, I've wondered about the significance of an orange in a stocking.

My grandfather in California raised oranges and we always received a box of citrus and nuts from him in December, so an orange in my stocking wasn't something that would leave me in awe. But the books and movies in that time period that made a big deal out of the event made me go looking for info on the subject.

In the 1880's oranges were plentiful in the U.S. being raised in Florida and California. And with the transcontinental railroad they could be transported efficiently. With oranges being harvested in the wintertime it was the perfect "fresh fruit".

The story I found that best tells why an orange is placed in the toe of a Christmas stocking has to do with Bishop Nicolas of Turkey. There was a poor man who had three daughters he wished to marry off but they were so poor they had no dowries. Because the man was a good man, on Christmas Eve Bishop Nicholas tossed three bags of gold down the chimney. A bag landed in eachone of the girls' stockings hanging from the mantle to dry. Due to the heat the gold coins melted and formed a gold ball.

To this day an orange or tangerine in the toe of a stocking symbolizes the gold ball and wealth.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century for a child to find an orange in their stocking was like finding gold. The fruit was a precious treat and it also symbolized their parents had enough prosperity to purchase the "gold" for their stocking.

I haven't used this in any of my stories but one day it might just end up in one.

I have one historical western romance Christmas story,  Christmas Redemption.

Blurb:

Van Donovan returns to Pleasant Valley, Oregon where twelve years earlier as a boy of fifteen he left in handcuffs after standing guard for a bank robbery. He's learned a trade and excelled at it and is ready to prove to his father and the town he can amount to something.

Upon his return he learns the fate of the daughter of an innocent man who died in the robbery crossfire. To make amends he takes her out of the saloon and gives her a job, not realizing she'd been squatting in the very building he'd purchased for his business.

Can two battered hearts find solace or will the past continue to haunt their lives?

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Wishing everyone a joyous Christmas filled with family, friends and good times!

Paty
www.patyjager.net
www.patyjager.blogspot..com