Every woman has that group of friends in her life ~ her "go to girls" The friends that she can turn to who "get it." The ones who are there for you no matter what. The ones who laugh with you and cry with you. The ones that will always be there. These are the women of Napa Valley. Jamie is the editor-in-chief of Wine Lover's Magazine, a single mother and caretaker to her senile mother-in-law ~ a woman who thinks her daily caregiver is Dean Martin. Jamie is still recovering, financially and emotionally from the death of her husband several years earlier. And when she finds what could be the key to happiness, can she open the door and let it in? Or will her feelings of guilt and betrayal hold her back? Danielle is a vintner and the divorced mom of two. She's basking in what she knows is going to be a successful launch of her new wines. Wines she created on her own after her divorce. But what she doesn't expect is for her daughter to come home with news that will shock her to her core. Will an old flame help her accept the changes that are coming and find the love she's been missing in her life for so long? Or will a tragedy that no one sees coming change their lives forever? Kat is a sommelier, co-owner of a magnificent restaurant with her chef husband, and mother of a blended family. But is being deeply in love with your husband enough to get them through the teenage years, step-children and exes? And what happens when old faces return and she's faced with the knowledge that not everything is what you thought it was. What happens when she finds she was mad at the wrong person and finds out the "right one" was in the wrong? Can she forgive and move on? Can love overcome everything and truly bring a family together? Alyssa is an artist and gallery owner with a secret of her own. One she was hoping would stay buried deep in her closet. But the time has come for her to put someone else first, to face the past and to deal with her demons. What she never expected to find was love and her "home." No matter what is going on in their own lives, no matter the heartache or joy they're experiencing these four women are always there to love, support and encourage each other.

“In this fascinating book, you will learn about a part of our country’s history that has not been thoroughly documented. I guarantee you will be proud of what these ‘grandmas’ did to serve America in a time of great need. In so doing, they carved a path that other women for many generations have since benefitted from. I include myself in that very grateful group of women who today stand on the shoulders of these awe-inspiring pioneers.” —Gen. Janet C. Wolfenbarger, USAF (ret), first female four-star general in the Air Force, chairperson of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services “A wonderful and heartwarming account that highlights the often untold stories of our female World War II veterans. This book ensures that their important legacy of service will be shared with future generations.” —Sen. Bob Dole Contributors to this unique memorial include the family of military women and those who preserve their history. They are Dr. Francoise Bonnell (director of the US Army Women’s Museum), Curt Dalton (visual resource manager at Dayton History), Terry Lee Harmon (daughter of Women Airforce Service Pilot Elaine Danforth Harmon), Earl Morse (founder of the Honor Flight Network, Inc.), Dr. Janet Butler Munch (professor and special collections librarian at Lehman College of the City of New York), and Dean and Anne Whiteford (son-in-law and daughter of US Army nurse Martha Miller). A portion of the proceeds from this book will be donated to Honor Flight Dayton, an Ohio chapter of the Honor Flight Network, Inc. The cover art is by aviation artist Craig Kodera and features (clockwise) Elaine Danforth Harmon, Martha Miller, Dorothy Mae Wise, and Pauline Norfleet Hill.

Maybe your grandchildren are living with you. Maybe they're thousands of miles away. Their parents may be spiritually rebellious or simply neglectful of the family's spiritual life, failing to make prayer and church attendance a regular part of their routine. But even if your grandchildren's parents have established a strong Christian home, busy schedules, jobs, parenting, and all the distractions of today's world conspire to distract or even destroy the family. How can you, as a grandparent, help? God gives grandparents a sacred trust an opportunity to imprint another generation with the message of his faithfulness. You can stand in the gap by being a godly example for your grandchildren and by praying for them. Even grandparents who already pray regularly for their grandchildren will discover creative suggestions for making the practice even more meaningful. From cell phones to photo prayer journals, you'll find tools that work for you and for your grandchildren. Author Lillian Ann Penner provides specific examples of prayers to help you get started, such as alphabet prayers, prayers based on special scriptures, and prayers for certain holidays. You may even widen the circle, praying for other children in your life, for children who have parents in the military, and for the adults who influence your grandchildren. Regardless of how far away your grandchildren are, praying for them can bridge the distance between you and leave them with an inheritance more precious than gold.

Becoming the grandmother of twins changed Harriet Hodgson and altered her life course. According to Hodgson, we live in a fast-paced, complex time, a time when too many grandchildren are victims of bullying, Internet scams, and sexual abuse. Hodgson believes that grandmothers are needed today more than any other time in history. "Grandmas can't be passive," she declares. "Every grandma has the power to protect and guide her grandchildren and needs to tap this power." This narrative weaves Hodgson's personal story with research findings. It's packed with ideas for helping grandchildren. Hodgson's age, child development degree, life experience, teaching experience, witness to history, and extensive research converge to make this an inspiring read. Working individually and together, grandmas are changing the world. "The Grandma Force is about the power of love and the power of one." Hodgson says. "One-by-one, grandmas are standing up for grandchildren and creating a hopeful future for them."

Kids will love this cumulative and hysterical read-aloud that features a free downloadable song "I was walking down the road and I saw... a donkey, Hee Haw And he only had three legs He was a wonky donkey." Children will be in fits of laughter with this perfect read-aloud tale of an endearing donkey. By the book's final page, readers end up with a spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey Download the free song at www.scholastic.com/wonkydonkey.

Winner of the 2014 Richard Kalish Innovative Publication Award presented by the Gerontological Society of America Young working mothers are not the only ones who are struggling to balance family life and careers. Many middle-aged American women face this dilemma as they provide routine childcare for their grandchildren while pursuing careers and trying to make ends meet. Employment among middle-aged women is at an all-time high. In the same way that women who reduce employment hours when raising their young children experience reductions in salary, savings, and public and private pensions, the mothers of those same women, as grandmothers, are rearranging hours to take care of their grandchildren, experiencing additional loss of salary and reduced old age pension accumulation. Madonna Harrington Meyer’s Grandmothers at Work, based primarily on 48 in-depth interviews conducted in 2009-2012 with grandmothers who juggle working and minding their grandchildren, explores the strategies of, and impacts on, working grandmothers. While all of the grandmothers in Harrington Meyer’s book are pleased to spend time with their grandchildren, many are readjusting work schedules, using vacation and sick leave time, gutting retirement accounts, and postponing retirement to care for grandchildren. Some simply want to do this; others do it in part because they have more security and flexibility on the job than their daughters do at their relatively new jobs. Many are sequential grandmothers, caring for one grandchild after the other as they are born, in very intensive forms of grandmothering. Some also report that they are putting off retirement out of economic necessity, in part due to the amount of financial help they are providing their grandchildren. Finally, some are also caring for their frail older parents or ailing spouses just as intensively. Most expect to continue feeling the pinch of paid and unpaid work for many years before their retirement. Grandmothers at Work provides a unique perspective on a phenomenon faced by millions of women in America today.

In a mission of preserving prairie Grasslands, I present Passage Through Dust--Pioneer Eastern Dakota, a historical chronicle showing changes of prairie life. Anecdotes concern German-American pioneer days on the Plains, with Victoriana noted. My German Grandparents and Great Grandparents homesteaded in Waverly-Watertown area in 1880. Born and raised on the farm, I also interviewed Mother throughout her 92 years about ancestors, land, community and climate. Anecdotes cover blizzards, hail storms, personality sketches, future of Plains, immigrant's ocean crossings, behind scenes in country community, remnants of early days, bare survival, drouth crisis, hand digging wells, other stories.

This beautiful collection of food and nostalgia features great traditions from the heart of Italy, with delicious recipes and colorful stories from the internationally celebrated grandmothers of Enoteca Maria—a one-of-a-kind Italian restaurant where a rotating cast of nonnas are the star chefs. Enoteca Maria takes great home cooking seriously. At this intimate, hospitable restaurant on Staten Island, all the cooking is done by ten nonnas (grandmothers), drawing on their own family recipes, handed down for generations, which reflect their regional traditions. Here are their delicious homemade pastas, risottos, desserts, and more, which have foodies from all over the world taking the ferry to the forgotten borough for an authentic taste of Italy. Beautiful full-color photography captures the fresh, distinctive flavors of these surprising dishes. Nonna Cristina shares her beautiful Risotto with Strawberries, Black Pepper, and Parmesan; Nonna Margherita offers delectable Stuffed Peppers with Pine Nuts and Raisins; and Nonna Teresa shows off her prize-winning Meat and Cheese Lasagna. Nonna Elvira whips up her peerless Linguine with Cuttlefish and Ink; Adelina creates a savory Tagliatelle with Pumpkin, Sausage, and Chestnuts; and Rosaria makes handmade Spaghetti alla Chitarra with Cherry Tomatoes and Porcini Mushrooms. Nonna Carmelina shares her classic Potato Pie with Ham, Salami, and Mozzarella; Rosa confides her nonna’s secret recipe for Rabbit with Sage; and Nina sautés Chicken alla Capricciosa, with prosciutto and mushrooms. Nonna Francesca launches the book with advice on the time-honored art of preserving everything from olives to soppressata. With its utterly delicious tastes of grandmother’s kitchen, Nonna’s House is a legacy of flavors passed down through generations, now captured here forever. Restaurant founder Jody Scaravella says it best: “If I have a choice between a three-star Michelin chef’s restaurant and Grandma’s, I’m going to Grandma’s. I’m going to the source.”

Grandma took a trip back to her childhood home in 1954. She took copious notes and photos on her travels, so she could revisit her adventure time and time again. Years later, I found the journal and felt as if I were traveling alongside her.

Writing a book is an exciting project especially when the topic is so close to home. My life story, how exciting can that be? I found it very appealing. But was there something about my story that would appeal to anyone else? Born a twin in Honolulu, Hawaii, just before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, I experienced a truly loving family. My dad and mom, John, and Ella Mendiola loved each other, and it rubbed off on all of us. We all went to Catholic schools, and Star of the Sea became the focal point of our lives. The Marist Fathers and the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur were part of our family. So it was that I became a Sister of Notre Dame, went off to serve God in California and back in Hawaii, and finally, across the world at the equator in Kenya. Then the whole world changed again for me. I exchanged the nun's veil for the bride's veil! God had decided to reward me for my twenty years of faithful service. He gave me Gilbert Gicaru Githere. And I said, "Thank You, God. Mahalo nui loa."