Welcome October 2026!
One of my favorite months of the year is October! I love the feel of the cooler weather; the energy and the smells fall brings. It makes me want to celebrate everything! Shouldn’t we always do that anyway? I’m sure going to give my best to do so this month.
What You Will Find in This Month’s Post
*Celebrating a Special Day
*Celebrating Four Book Birthdays
*Celebrating Progress on My Next Book
*Celebrating the Books I’ve Read and Reviewed
*Celebrating This Easy and Tasty Chicken Noodle Casserole Recipe
*Celebrating Some Art Projects I Made in 2024
Let’s get started…
Celebrating a Special Day
October is the month my husband and I started dating, and then we married six years later on the exact same day, October 21st. So yes, we have been together for a very long time. We are so very thankful for each other and our family.
Celebrating Four Book Birthdays
Happy Book Birthday to these titles! 🙂
► “Maggie, Millie, and Merries’ Magical Adventure” – October 04, 2014
What’s it about:
“The triplets are more than excited to move in the very same home that their mother had grown up in on Whimsical Avenue. Come along and join “Maggie, Millie, and Merrie’s, Magical Adventure.
Enjoy the fun project included at the end of the book!”
What fun it was to make this book back in the day. Yes, I still make this art project all the time, too!
► “Beasley’s Journey” – October 10, 2014
What’s it about:
“Everybody loves Beasley!
“Beasley goes on an unexpected journey after his family moves from the big city.
He meets many interesting friends along the way. Will he make it to his destination? Come along to find out.!”
Again, one of my early books, and it will always hold a special place in my heart. Beasley is named after a special beagle puppy named Goergie we had when I was 4 years old.
► “Maggie, Millie, and Merries Magical Mail” – October 11, 2019
What’s it about:
“The triplets are back, and my, have they grown. The Midwest winter strikes them with a vengeance of snow. Stuck in the house with too many snow days, they turn grumpy with nothing to do. That is, until a mysterious package is delivered. Will the trio be pulled from their boredom as mail arrives each day?”
I love the art project in this book and it’s fun and easy to make with many possibilities. 🙂
► “Maggie, Millie, and Merrie’s Magical Coins” – October 27, 2015
What’s it about:
“The is book two from “Maggie, Millie, and Merrie’s Magical Adventure.”
The triplets enjoy a fun visit with Grandmother when she returns from Florida. As they are helping her go through the attic, they find a wooden box. Inside, there are three bright shiny coins. Grandmother tells them they are magical. What do the magical coins hold? Readers will enjoy many fun activities as this story unfolds.”
This book was inspired from the love I have with dollhouses and miniatures.
Celebrating Progress on My Next Book
I’m doing a happy dance as I’m getting lots of work done on my next book. I will be searching for Beta Readers in the coming months. It will be a while, but I think this book will finally happen! (For a minute there, I wasn’t sure.) 🙁
I’ve even switched up a few things about the story, so if you read my first copy, it will be different. I’ll keep you all posted.
Celebrating the Books I’ve Read and Reviewed
It’s not hard to celebrate reading good books, right?
These next 3 books by author and illustrator, Richard Byrne were so fun and very interactive for readers!
They all get 5 Stars from me!
“We’re in the Wrong Book”
What’s it About:
“When a potato sack race goes awry, Bella and Ben find themselves bumped from their familiar page into uncharted territory. It’s a brave new world of lollipops and sphinxes—and Bella and Ben are on one page-turning adventure. How will they find their way back into their very own book?”
My Review:
When Bella’s dog accidently pushes Bella and Ben into the wrong picture book, they will explore adventurous styles of different stories. What a fun and interactive book to read!
“This Book Just Stole My Cat!”
What’s it About:
“When Ben’s cat disappears into the gutter of the book, Bella joins in the search-and-rescue mission. But when the helpers disappear one after another, Ben realizes it’s up to him to set things right. Cleverly using the physicality of the book, This book just stole my cat! is kid-friendly fun!”
My Review:
Another fun book by, Richard Byrne. Readers will turn the pages for an interactive adventure looking for Ben’s cat. Love the format and the illustrations in this one, too!
“The Case of the Missing Chalk Drawings”
What’s it About:
“The chalks are drawing flowers on the chalkboard, but someone keeps stealing their artwork! Who could the thief be? Fortunately, Sergeant Blue is on the case and determined to solve the crime.”
My Review:
What a great story for parents, teachers, and readers to discuss with this one. Not everything is what it seems. Each interactive page will reveal more of the story. What happened to the chalk drawings?
I hope to read more of this author and illustrator’s books. 🙂
Celebrating This Easy and Tasty Chicken Noodle Casserole Recipe
It’s so nice to think of meals that require the oven since our heat waves have ended. It’s a wonderful time of year to celebrate that.
Here’s a tasty recipe we tried. You can use any pasta you like. I liked the larger shell ones in this, but my husband prefers the smaller ones. Let me know if you make this and what you think. It’s a perfect fall and winter meal. Add just a side of vegetables or a salad and you are good to go.
Don’t forget to read my tip at the end.
Recipe:
Ingredients:
1/2 of a Rotisserie Chicken, skin removed. Chopped. (Save the other half for another meal to freeze?)
1 1/2 cups of dry large, shelled pasta. Cook according to the directions, al dente.
1 can of Cream of Chicken Soup (We used the “Heart Healthy” version.)
1 can of water
1 envelope of dry Italian Dressing. (These come in a box in your salad dressing isle.)
1/ 2 block of cream cheese (We used the 1/3 less fat kind.)
One 7 ounce pack of cheese, shredded. (We used Cheddar Cheese, 2% less fat, but feel free to use whatever cheese you like.)
Directions:
In a saucepan, melt the soup, water, cream cheese. Once it’s all mixed and melted, add the dry dressing mix. Let this mixture simmer on low for about 15 minutes, stirring often so it won’t stick.
When your pasta is cooked, drained, and rinsed, add to a sprayed 9×13 pan.
Sprinkle around the cut-up chicken.
Pour your soup mixture over the pasta and chicken and poke it with a fork to incorporate. You do not have to stir.
Top with shredded cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly and slightly brown.
Let set for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Tip:
I don’t know about you, but I never can get the consistency right for homemade Mac and Cheese. It occurred to me I could leave out the chicken, and it would be just that! I’m going to give this a try the next holiday meal I make. 🙂
Celebrating Some Art Projects I Made in 2024
I’m celebrating all the memories that pop up on Facebook since we lost many of our photos. We probably have most of them saved in our black box, but they would be hard to find.
I had a blast with this one in 2024.
I’m not a huge Halloween person but enjoy it for the kids. It was a lot of work to make this pop out card for our little ones a few years ago. It’s not so bad if you do it in stages. I’m sure I will be making one again someday.
Here’s when it was a mess and I had to put it together. Ha! 🙂
This is another angle of the completed card. See all the layers and how it expands and pops out? Again, this took a lot of time, but it was well worth it! 🙂
If you follow me on Facebook, you have already seen this next one.
I made this one with the same design, but I added it to a canvas.
This next project, I made completely by accident. 🙂
Can you guess what this is?
It’s a soap bubble I found on our kitchen counter. It made me laugh so I took a picture of it and turned it into this…
How I did this:
*I spliced the photo in half and merged together in Photoshop
*Then, drew the black cat
*Cloned the spots that look like flying books
*Found a bright blue paint and painted with an “overlay” effect
That’s all I have for now.
What Plans Do You Have for October?
Let us know what you love the most about October.
Are you celebrating any wins?
Tell us what plans you have for this month.
Enjoy your fall, and as always,
Happy Reading!
Rosie
