Goodbye to Yesterday
The Discovery, Part 1 of 6
By Wanda E. Brunstetter
Publisher: Barbour Books
Pub. Date: Feb. 5th, 2013
ISBN: 978-1616260859
ASIN: B00AW3PXT8
Pages: 128
Buy Link: Paperback, Kindle

Review:

I've been reading Amish fiction for over ten years and I wrote the title and release date on a notepad for Wanda E. Brunstetter's newest release, so I could remember to keep an eye out for it in the stores. I guess I must be lucky, because it wasn't a day later that I received an email from Handlebar Publishing that Goodbye to Yesterday from Barbour Books was available to review. I eagerly agreed to review the book in exchange for my honest review. To my surprise, I found out that the book is a six-part miniseries, averaging about 120 pages a book (I'm guessing.).

Unlike most of Wanda's books where a young Amish man and woman falls in love and eventually gets married, the young couple, Luke and Meredith Stoltzfus, in Goodbye to Yesterday have already been married over a year. The life for these newlyweds isn't exactly easy as Luke has recently lost his job at a furniture store in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He has been making a little cash here and there selling his handmade furniture at a local farmer's market and a few gift stores, but he constantly worries about their finances as the money in their savings account won't last forever.

Their money troubles have caused an emotional strain on the young couple as Luke is pulling away from Meredith. She has offered to get a job and help pay the bills, but Luke has been raised to provide for his family and that is what he is going to do. Out-of-nowhere, Luke receives a message from Uncle Amos that he is retiring from engraving tombstones. Uncle Amos wants to sale his equipment to Luke and to teach him how to engrave, but it would mean Luke would have to spend several weeks in Middlebury, Indiana to learn the trade.

Wow! This year is already flying by quickly as Valentine's Day is next Thursday, which typically means that men will wait to the last minute to buy a gift for their spouses, significant others, daughters, mothers, grandmothers, etc. Why rush to buy a present when you can buy something online and have it delivered by Valentines Day?

We all know that women love jewelry and JewelryKind.com is a great online jewelry store to find the perfect gift. They carry a wide range of designs from rings, earrings, bracelets, pendants, chains to gold jewelry with diamonds. The jewelry is affordable so it can fit into any budget. All sterling jewelry above 3 grams is marked .925 and all gold jewelry is marked, no matter what the weight is. The online store is safe and secure. All orders are shipped within 1-2 days via standard delivery and it should arrive within 10-14 days.

Typically, I would write my morning ramblings after 7 AM, but with hundreds of thoughts rolling around in my mind and the caffeine from the two cups of coffee that I drank thirty minutes ago finally kicking in, I thought I would go ahead and get this written while everything is still fresh.

Weekends are normally jammed pack with errands, cleaning, writing reviews, etc., which was basically what it was on Saturday, with the exception that I did a little cooking and baking, which resulted in me eating one too many orange cinnamon rolls. They were more than delicious, but my diet is now out of whack.

I happened to be in a thrift store and stumbled upon an unopened Charles Craft infant bib and quilted bib for a $1.50. It’s been a while since I have cross stitched anything and my cousin and his wife just had a baby girl last weekend, so I bought the bib set. I spent Saturday afternoon sitting on my knees and going through my storage trunk full of patterns. By the time I found two perfect patterns, the damage had already been done to my knees as they were both a little stiff. I really do need to start doing yoga or maybe visit a doctor of physical therapy, so I can work out those kinks in my knees and legs.

When I was a kid, I always looked forward to the weekends as it meant I had two full days off from school. I would stay up late on Friday and Saturday nights watching low-budget horror movies and sleep in late the following mornings. I would go shopping with my mother on Saturdays, where I would normally buy a book and spend the rest of the day reading it. My many hobbies, such as puzzles, video games, plastic models, coin collecting, etc., would fill out the rest of the weekend.

How I miss those carefree weekends? Lately, my weekends have been nothing but stressful. Being single with no children, you would think I would have some free time on the weekends, but that is not the case with me.

As kids, we think we have too many responsibilities with school work, friends, and chores. As adults, we think having the weekend off from work would be less chaotic and more fun, which it can be at times, but the majority of the time we spend the weekend catching up on our lives.

Many people have outdoor swimming pools that they can enjoy during the summer, while being covered over during the winter. Many of these are of the “above ground” type, with wooden, brick or other material for their frames and fencing to prevent people from falling off. Such pools are often a better choice than in-the-ground pools, especially for growing families.

Here are several of the reasons why.

Safety 
Above ground pools are generally much safer than in ground ones are. This feature is essential for families that have small children, who can easily fall into in-ground pools and be drowned. Above-ground pools are not accessible to children in the same way.

Health 
Another reason for choosing such a pool is that it is much healthier. This is because it is the leaves and other debris can be kept away from it. Also, just as the pool is inaccessible to children, so too it is inaccessible to animals, whose germs might contaminate the water. For the same reason, the process of cleaning and maintenance is a great deal less complicated than it is for a pool in the ground.

Hearts Afire: The Complete Series
Starring: John Ritter, Markie Post, Billy Bob Thornton
Studio: Mill Creek Entertainment:
Release Date: January 8, 2013
ASIN: B00A2XQTF0
MSRP: $29.98
Number of Discs: 7
Running Time: 1410 minutes
Rated: TV-PG

Review:

In the fall of 1992, the late John Ritter (Three's Company) returned to television in the political sitcom Hearts Afire, playing John Hartman, a senator's aid and a recently divorced father of two boys. His life is flipped upside down when a down-on-her-luck journalist Georgie Anne Lahti (played by Night Court's Markie Post) walks into his office looking for a job and ends up staying at his house. Sparks fly between the two and they eventually tie the knot before the end of the first season. The second season changed the series setting from Washington D.C. to John's southern home town, where they buy a local newspaper office.

Billy Bob Thornton costarred for the entire series' run as Billy Bob Davis. Two and a Half Men's Conchata Ferrell joined the cast during the second season as Dr. Madeline Stoessinger; although she did play another character during the first season for two episodes. 

Mill Creek Entertainment has recently released the complete series with special features that includes bloopers and outtakes.

The episodes are: