SPECIAL NOTE! -- ANNE WILL PERSONALLY ANSWER ANY QUESTION OF YOURS AFTER READING THIS BOOK. ASK ON HER WEB SITE, AND YOU'LL NORMALLY HEAR BACK WITHIN HOURS! In this companion to "Baking with Cookie Molds," Anne L. Watson presents cookies and molds for many holidays and all seasons, as well as for special interests and occasions -- weddings, kids, storytelling around the fireplace, and much more. With nearly 150 photos of molds, cookies, and processes, "Cookie Molds Around the Year" features new techniques and new recipes, along with a month-by-month diary of the seasons on San Juan Island, Watson's home. ///////////////////////////////////////////////// Anne L. Watson is the author of "Baking with Cookie Molds," as well as a number of other popular books on home crafts and lifestyle, plus many novels. In a previous career, she was a historic preservation architecture consultant. Anne now lives in Bellingham, Washington. ///////////////////////////////////////////////// SAMPLE DECEMBER HOLIDAYS It's cold now, here on San Juan Island. Snow is a possibility every morning, and frost is a certainty. The trees are bare, but we bundle up in layer upon layer of coats and sweaters. And the days are so short. The sun comes up, far in the south, long after breakfast, and it sets long before dinner. This is the time of year when many cultures have celebrations to drive away the dark -- Christmas, with all its lights and its star; Hanukkah, the festival of lights; Kwanzaa; Santa Lucia; midwinter festivals in several cultures; and many others throughout history. Many homeowners on the island put up Christmas lights, of course, doubly welcome outside the town limits, where there are no streetlights. There are decorations, too. I have a tiny model village I put on the mantel for Christmas, and it usually stays for most of the winter. The merchants of Friday Harbor help drive away the dark with a competition to decorate their shop fronts. On December 5, we celebrate St. Nicholas Eve with molded cookies in the shape of the saint with his horse or donkey -- some cookie molds show one, some the other. The story of St. Nicholas is not well-known, but he was a real person who performed great acts of generosity and kindness. It was St. Nicholas cookies that originally sparked my own interest in molded cookies. My husband, Aaron Shepard, is a children's author, and his children's storybook "The Baker's Dozen" is about a baker who learns a lesson of generosity from St. Nicholas himself. Near the end of December is the winter solstice, that turning point that tells us that the sun is coming back, even as we see only cold and darkness. The month ends, of course, with its cornucopia of Christmas cookies! These include almost every secular and religious motif you could think of, from jolly snowmen to medieval manger scenes. Baking cookies for family and friends is a special holiday joy, and in the spirit of St. Nicholas, let's bake some to give away as well. For this month, I feature both traditional and new recipes to bake and share.

Cookie Molds Around the Year: An Almanac of Molds, Cookies, and Other Treats for Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Other Holidays, and Every Season

Cookbooks, Food & Wine

Watson, Anne L.

Baking

Next River Books

SPECIAL NOTE! -- ANNE WILL PERSONALLY ANSWER ANY QUESTION OF YOURS AFTER READING THIS BOOK. ASK ON HER WEB SITE, AND YOU'LL NORMALLY HEAR BACK WITHIN HOURS! In this standalone companion to "Smart Housekeeping," Anne L. Watson presents tips on cleaning, organizing, decluttering, furnishing, maintaining, and managing your home, as you'd face those tasks around the year. Travel with Anne through the calendar as she deals with every aspect of keeping the things around you just the way you want them. New homemakers will gain skills and perspective, while even veterans will find unique tips and insights. All delivered with a wit and frankness not seen in housekeeping books since the days of Peg Bracken. Anne's almanac also features the return of her photogenic family of felted mice. After their brief introduction in "Smart Housekeeping," LadyMouse and the rest now return, joined by even more critters, to help Anne illustrate many of her tips and add a touch of whimsy for readers' delight. ///////////////////////////////////////////////// Anne L. Watson is the author of "Smart Housekeeping," as well as a number of other popular books on home crafts and lifestyle, plus many novels and children's books. In a previous career, she was a historic preservation architecture consultant. Anne lives in Bellingham, Washington. ///////////////////////////////////////////////// SAMPLE Housekeeping has gotten a bad rap. Somehow, the subject has shrunk to discussions of clutter control and cleaning, a bit like when your mom told you to pick up your room. But that's the dull part. Necessary, of course -- I wrote a book, "Smart Housekeeping," that's mostly about getting to a state of order. But housekeeping is no more about clutter control than gardening is about weeding. Yes, you have to do some of both -- but why stop short of the interesting stuff? Housekeeping is making yourself comfortable in your home, whatever that takes. A lot of housekeeping is about what you do, and why you do it, after you've taken care of the obvious chores. How do you set up a guest room? Unclog a sink? Keep garbage odors out of the kitchen? Arrange toy storage so that the kids will use it on their own? What's the best way to wash a family quilt? To be safe on a ladder? To choose appliances? Housekeeping isn't just housework -- it's setting the stage for your whole life at home -- which includes play, enjoyment, and creativity. This book is arranged as an almanac because the more skilled housekeeping tasks tend to follow the calendar. We do what we need to for seasonal celebrations, and we try to get the weather on our side when we paint a room, air dry a comforter or get the carpets steam cleaned. Other tasks and concerns are less linked to the seasons, but also don't need to be revisited often, once you've arranged things to please yourself. So considering them on an annual basis is probably about right. You may want to use this book as much as a reference as a read-through, especially if your seasons are different from mine, or even nonexistent. "Smart Housekeeping" featured felted white mice, at least on the cover. As mice will do, they have now taken over the house, and are shown throughout this book, doing their chores, handling household crises, and entertaining other small animals. And they "step out" each month, enjoying adventures together and just having fun. I recommend that for all of us.

Smart Housekeeping Around the Year: An Almanac of Cleaning, Organizing, Decluttering, Furnishing, Maintaining, and Managing Your Home, With Tips for Every Month and Season

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Home Improvement & Design

#1 KINDLE (US) BESTSELLER IN SOAP MAKING (FEBRUARY 2023)\nSPECIAL NOTE! -- ANNE WILL PERSONALLY ANSWER ANY QUESTION OF YOURS AFTER READING THIS BOOK. ASK ON HER WEB SITE, AND YOU'LL NORMALLY HEAR BACK WITHIN HOURS!\nIn between writing several of today's most popular and innovative beginner books on soapmaking -- including the modern classics "Smart Soapmaking" and "Milk Soapmaking" -- Anne L. Watson engaged in a number of projects, experiments, and investigations into areas of advanced soapmaking. A lot of it never got into those books!\nNow Anne shares with you her explorations into such topics as herbal soaps, chocolate soaps, silk soaps, sea soaps, "wood" soaps, citrus soaps, cucumber soaps, oatmeal soaps, egg soaps, beer and wine soaps, castile soap, and even laundry soap. Along the way, she shares hard-earned tips about soap equipment and ingredients, choosing soapmaking suppliers, designing and resizing recipes, troubleshooting, trace accelerants, soda ash, essential oils and fragrances, natural colorants, gift soaps, and soapmaking as a business. And as a special bonus, she provides a fun and instructive look at the history of soap ads, using antique trade cards from her personal collection.\nLooking for new challenges as a soapmaker? Anne's soapmaking almanac will keep you busy, engaged, and entertained throughout the year.\n/////////////////////////////////////////////////\nAnne L. Watson is the author of "Smart Soapmaking," "Milk Soapmaking," three more books on making soap and lotion, other popular books on home crafts and lifestyle, and many novels and children's books. In a previous career, she was a historic preservation architecture consultant. Anne lives in Bellingham, Washington.

Smart Soapmaking Around the Year: An Almanac of Projects, Experiments, and Investigations for Advanced Soap Making

Business & Money

Business Development & Entrepreneurship

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Next River Books publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Next River Books